ETHIOPIA: Ethiopians celebrate the start of their new millenium in Addis Ababa

Euphoria gripped Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa as crowds cheered the "end of the dark ages" in Millennium celebrations on Wednesday (September 12), seven years after the rest of the world according to their ancient calendar. Live performances and parties drew in tens of thousands of revelers who danced and cheered into the final hours of 1999 and fireworks burst into the sky at the stroke of midnight to bring in the year 2000 to the excitement of the anxious crowds. Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, called it a "glorious new page" in the history of a country that, from the 1980s, became for many in the outside world a byword for poverty, hunger and conflict. He was speaking at a newly built exhibition hall where U.S. hip hop group Black Eyed Peas later performed for foreign dignitaries and the capital's elite. Many Ethiopians stayed away from the official event, seen by critics as a government project, preferring to party for free in a sports ground rather than pay 170 U.S. dollars, the equivalent of two months' wages. Cheering could be heard throughout the capital's city centre on the stroke of midnight as Ethiopia, following a calendar long abandoned by the West, entered the 21st century. Surging crowds of partygoers, danced in streets long after midnight, many already planning their new year's resolution. "In the new millennium we need to change the image of Ethiopia, we are known for poverty and war. My plan is to try and work to improve the image of this country," said one man in the crowded streets. Ethiopia's last century saw a king deposed, the ousting of a military dictator whose "Red Terror" purges terrorised the nation and a troubled experiment with democracy. While some partied, others gave thanks. The Ethiopian Orthodox church, the guardian of the calendar, which is pegged to key events in the Orthodox religion, held special prayers at the Entoto church. The Patriarch of the church, Abune Paulos, who conducted the liturgy, said God was the only reason Ethiopia was able to celebrate the new millennium. The date of the New Year is believed to be the day that signaled the end of Noah's flood, seen by the Ethiopians as a new beginning. Criticised by the international community for an opposition crackdown after disputed 2005 polls, the government released nearly 18,000 prisoners across the country this week.

ITN Source | September 12, 2007