In May the ruling party claimed to have won an incredible 100 per cent of the seats in a country that has nearly 80 political parties that contested the elections. And the regime’s allies around the world keep churning out reports of rapid economic development – while turning a blind eye to the widespread repression by the dictatorship.

Tired of a stale diet of propaganda churned out by state radio, many Ethiopians rely on foreign broadcasters to follow events in their own country. Now the BBC has announced plans to broadcast in Ethiopian languages. This is welcome. But Ethiopians must continue the struggle to have their own independent and vibrant media.

Ethiopia's sweeping anti-terrorism law has been used to prosecute journalists and bloggers, opposition politicians, and peaceful protesters. Many have been accused without compelling evidence of association with banned opposition groups.

Last week, President Obama declared that Ethiopia has a “democratically elected government”. That is the country where in May elections, the ruling party won all the 547 seats in parliament, thrashing all the 78 other parties. If there ever has been an election won by one party by 100 percent that is democratic, then there is indeed the famous purple cow that nobody has ever seen or the pink elephant that people like Obama see often.

In order to understand the broader significance of President Barack Obama’s July 2015 visit to Ethiopia more fully, we must put it in a historical perspective, argues Professor Seifudein Adem, associate director of the Institute of Global Cultural Studies at Binghamton University, United States. Tracing back the history of Ethio-American relationship is one step in that direction.

Next week, President Obama will visit US client state Ethiopia, ruled by a despotic regime that locks up anyone who dares to speak out against its mass atrocities. Mr. Okello Akway Ochalla, the former governor of Gambella, is one such. His son now appeals to Obama to secure Ochalla’s release from jail.

Last week, the Addis Ababa dictatorship suddenly released jailed prominent journalist Reeyot Alemu and four bloggers without explanation. Reyoot has vowed to continue her struggle for democracy in her country, where many other journalists, bloggers and political leaders remain in jail.

Ethiopia is a heavily aid dependent country. Its Western supporters should ask themselves why such a poor country spends millions of dollars a year trying to hack the phones of exiled journalists instead of using the money to feed hungry citizens and provide other essential services.

Unsurprisingly, international reaction to the charade that was Ethiopia’s elections has been mild, with the West instead trumpeting the country’s economic growth. Oppressed by the regime for so long and abandoned by the world, the only option for change left to Ethiopians seems to be open resistance.

The 24 May election was worse than a sham. In turning the poll into a process of complete elimination of the opposition, the government and the ruling party have loudly told the Ethiopian people that any hope of change through peaceful means is just an illusion.

If the economic and human rights situation in Ethiopia is really as rosy as it is painted by the EPRDF government, how come hundreds of thousands of its youthful population are risking their lives to flee the country and die in the deserts of the Sahara, Sinai and Arabia, beheaded by fundamentalist lunatics in Libya and killed in South Africa?

With national “elections” close - periods historically marked by boycotts, corruption and vote-rigging, violence and repression – Ethiopia merits attention. It’s a country characterized by widespread torture, oppression and crackdowns on perceived dissidents.

Ethiopia’s rich heritage in music immortalized in vinyl records is vanishing into the international collector scene alongside other artifacts. There is a need to reclaim and honor the vinyl classics as part of the ancient nation’s cultural memory.

Karuturi has nothing to show for his “investment”, except a humongous debt. Where are the tens of thousands of hectares of oil palm, sugar cane, rice, edible oils and maize and cotton he promised? Where are the 60,000 workers? They exist only in the warped imaginations of the corrupt state fat cats in Addis Ababa.

Ethiopia’s already limited space for civil society and human rights defenders is undergoing further contraction, warn CIVICUS, The East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project, and the Ethiopia Human Rights Project (EHRP).

Ethiopia’s sovereign debt has grown in recent years to unsustainable levels likely to create problems for the economy. The external debt especially has not been matched by a vibrant and diversified export sector.

30 years after images of Ethiopian famine haunted British TV screens, they still shape how we see Africa - and ensure we fail to understand.

With the connivance of the ‘international community’ and a phalanx of aid people, successive Ethiopian regimes have succeeded to hide the reality of famine facing millions of its people every year. The regimes have also prevented critical interrogation of the political dimensions of these recurrent food crises.

Ethiopia will hold national elections next year. It is certain that the US-backed TPLF regime will rig the poll and proclaim a landslide victory. A look at the present repressive political climate shows clearly that there is not a chance for a free and fair election

The Ethiopian prime minister’s recent outburst against Eritrea appears to be an attempt to turn the spotlight away from his own government’s crises as it continues to face rising popular discontent against its various policies, crackdowns and interference in socio-religious affairs