February 14 2007 at 09:55AM
(By Andrew Heavens)
"We want to show the world that poverty is not Ethiopian," said Mulugeta Aserate Kassa, communications chief for the Secretariat to the Ethiopian Millennium Festival National Committee, the body responsible for the official celebrations.
"We want to show the world that we are a patchwork of nations... hopefully it will result in an attitudinal shift in Ethiopia as well. Mutual tolerance has not been one of our strengths in the past," added Mulugeta, a second cousin to Ethiopia's last emperor, Haile Selassie.
Nonetheless, plans for the party are being made in turbulent times: Ethiopian forces joined Somali government troops in December to oust Islamists from southern Somalia, Ethiopia's border dispute with Eritrea is still unresolved, there has been civil unrest inside Ethiopia.
Participants hope the millennium events will have a positive effect on the divided country.
"We've got to keep celebrating our culture despite these wars and rumours of war," said Ras Tagas King, deputy representative of the Ethiopian World Federation, a Rastafarian group hoping to stage a series of concerts.
"His Majesty (Emperor Haile Selassie) said spiritual and cultural education leads human beings back into unity. So that's what we're doing," he added. more
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