(in THE AFRICAN OBSERVER (Living), March 6-12, 1997, p. 12.)

The funeral of Ethiopia's crown prince, who named himself emperor in exile was held in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa last month.

The body of 80-year-old Crown Prince Asfaw Wossen Haile Selassie arrived in Addis Ababa abroad a plane from the United States on February 1 and the next day, the funeral took place at the Ethiopian Orthodox Trinity Cathedral.

Details of the death were not immediately available. He was buried following a requiem mass in a royal tomb prepared during the rule of his father Emperor Haile Selassie, who ruled for 40 years and was killed in detention in 1975 at the age of 83. Asfaw Wossen's wife Princess Medferiash-Work Abebe, his son Zera-Yacob, other members of the exiled royal family, former aristocrats and royalists attended the funeral.

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(in THE WEEKLY STAR, October 30-November 5, 1997, p. [20].

CHICAGO

His Imperial Majesty (H.R.H.) Prince Erimas Sahle Sellasie, grandson and great-grandson respectively of H.I.M. Emperor Haile Sellasie I of Ethiopia will visit Chicago from October 31 to November 2 at the invitation of Frontline Distribution International, Inc., a Chicago publishing house and The Ethiopian Village Cafe.

Prince Erimas and Prince Bekere will be in Chicago to celebrate the 67th anniversary of the coronation of Haile Sellasie as Emperor of Ethiopia and to officially launch the Emperor's autobiography, "My Life And Ethiopia's Progress Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, published by Frontline Distribution.

On Sunday, November 2nd, at 5:00 pm, a gala book signing and dinner will be held at The Ethiopian Cafe at 3462 North Clarke Street, Chicago.

The two Princes have inherited responsibility for the Ethiopian Monarchist Party, Moa Ambessa (Conquering Lion). Prince Bekere was recently appointed Enderasse, a traditional title meaning, "one who represents the Crown and acts on its behalf." Prince Erimias is the Chairman of the Ethiopian Crown Council.

A special meeting between the Princes and members of the Rastafari community is also planned. Prince Erimias concern for the welfare of the Rastafari community was demonstrated in April, this year. During a visit to the island of St. Vincent, he met with Prime Minister James Mitchell and spoke with him on the issue of cutting of Rastafarians hair by police if they were arrested. The meeting resulted in the Prime Minister announcing a reversal of the policy.

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By Howard Goller

(in DAILY CHALLENGE (AFRICAN SCENE), August 22, 1997, p. 8.)

JERUSALEM - The Israeli army acknowledged Thursday that it routinely tests Ethiopian Jewish draftees for AIDS without their knowledge, angering community leaders who accused the military of being devious.

Brig.-Gen. Ari Eldad, the chief army medical officer, confirmed to Israeli's army radio that blood tests are given to black Jews of Ethiopian origins and to avowed homosexuals as part of their medical exams ahead of conscription’s at age 18.

"There is no issue of discrimination or relating negatively to any sort of group here. We relate to risk groups," Eldad insisted in response to the report first published on Thursday in the newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth.

"There are 70 lands on the face of the globe that are defined by the World Health Organization as being lands with a high risk of AIDS and from these blood tests are taken. We don't take only from Ethiopia," he said.

Army radio said those given the blood tests, including Ethiopians, gays and drug addicts, are not informed of the reason unless they ask. Those later found to have the virus that cause AIDS are told they are carriers and excused from military service.

Addisu Messele, an Ethiopian-born member of parliament, said the affair showed Israeli had learned nothing from a similar instance in 1996 when it emerged that hospitals were dumping blood donated by Ethiopians behind their backs for fear of AIDS.

He said Israeli officials had to understand the best way to cope with the AIDS problem was not to conceal information from the draftees but to flood them with it.

"Devious ways, which create a negative stigma for an entire community, are the easiest thing but they aren’t the solution and the government should have understood that some time ago, " Messele, an activist for Ethiopians, said in a statement.

He said draftees should be informed about safe sex. Sex is one way of transmitting the HIV virus that causes AIDS.

The Ethiopian community has grown to 62, 000 since [sectair ]lifts brought the black Jews to Israel in 1980s and 1990s. More than 95 percent are enlisted for mandatory army service at age 18 compared with a national average close to 83 percent.

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(in The Final Call (National), November 4, 1997, p. 6.)

WASHINGTON - Researchers in an Ethiopian AIDS drug study will not give fake pills to a group of pregnant women with AIDS.

The John Hopkins study and others like it have come under heavy criticism because researchers planned to give AZT to some HIV-infected pregnant women while others would receive placebos, or fake pills.

John Hopkins spokesman Marc Kusinitz confirmed Oct. 23 that the women set to receive placebos have been dropped from the study, and all of the remaining women will get the real drug.

A recent editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine compared the AIDS research to the infamous Tuskegee study in which penicillin was denied to Black men with syphilis.

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(in DAILY CHALLENGE (AFRICAN SCENE), August 22, 1997, p. 8.)

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - Ethiopian police said Thursday they arrested 12 monks for growing and selling cannabis for the last 14 years, the statement run Ethiopian News Agency reported.

It said the monks admitted they grew cannabis at monasteries in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church stronghold of Gojjam in the northeastern region of Amharar and had been selling it. The 12 were remanded in jail until police investigations were completed.

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