Ethiopian Novelist Fikremarkos Desta seeks asylum in the U.S.

July 28th, 2009 Fikremarkos Desta, an author of six ethnographic and historiography novels and four documentary films, is reportedly seeking political asylum in the United States. The author traveled to the U.S. on July 9, 2009, with his family to attend his brother-in-law's graduation. He told friends that his main reason for seeking asylum in the U.S. is that because of his opposition to the Omo-Gibe Hydroelectric Project, which could devastate Lower Omo Valley affecting the entire population of the region, he is being harassed and persecuted by security forces. The authrities were also suspecting him of being associated with opposition parties. Ato Fikremarkos' works include: "Land of the Yellow Bull," a novel about the Hammer, Kio, Ebore, and other ethnic groups in the south-western Ethiopia.