A ‘day of rage’ in Ethiopia?

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http://blogs.reuters.com/africanews/2011/05/25/a-%E2%80%98day-of-rage%E2%80%99-in-ethiopia/

Ethiopia’s handful of TV channels are not carrying much news lately. Instead, broadcasters are spending most of their time covering every phase of the construction of a new mega dam along the country’s Nile waters.

From mawkish ballads to patriotic poems and documentaries, programmes are waxing eloquently about how far the impoverished African nation has come since the dreaded Communist junta was toppled two decades ago, by defying Egyptian pressure and embarking on a massive project from its own coffers.

The long-standing rivalry with Cairo, fuelled by Ethiopian accusations it was meddling to stop any project along the river, has mustered up nationalistic fervour in the country. Most Ethiopians now say they are fully behind the project and some are even buying government bonds to help fund its construction.

A job well done then, Ethiopia? Not so say the government’s detractors. They say the public mobilisation is just a diversionary tactic, a ploy to distract citizens from the country’s ills.

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1. I wonder how they know what "most Ethiopians" think?

Ethiopia is a very mountainous land and not well developed, so I have doubts that the infrastructure is in place to keep tabs on the mind of the Ethiopian citizenry.

It is worth remembering that there was a good deal of disagreement about the results of the last election.

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2. i remember the concerns about the election. nt

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3. I can well imagine the Ethiopian public being less than happy with their government. nt