Ethiopia rings in new millennium

Seven years after the rest of the world, Ethiopia celebrated the third millennium Tuesday _ those with money shelling out for a gala concert headlined by the hip hop group Black Eyed Peas and others gathering in quieter, candlelit observances.

Ethiopia's government, which follows the Coptic calendar instead of the more common Gregorian, spruced up the capital for months before the festivities, moving homeless people to the countryside and poisoning stray dogs that roamed the streets.

While many in this impoverished country complained about the money spent for the celebration, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi predicted it would usher in better times.

"A thousand years from now, when Ethiopians gather to welcome the fourth millennium, they will say that the eve of the third millennium was the beginning of the end of the dark ages in Ethiopia," Meles said at a multimillion-dollar concert hall built for the occasion.

Ethiopia, which captured attention in the 1980s with a civil war and famine that killed as many as 1 million people, remains among the world's poorest nations and suffers chronic food shortages that affect hundreds of thousands every year.

Many people dismissed Meles' description of the holiday as an "Ethiopian renaissance," saying their celebrations would be subdued because of a tense political situation, a conflict with separatist Muslims in the Ogaden region and Ethiopian involvement in Somalia's war.

"The average people, they have nothing," said Kiddy Tesera, a 40-year-old who nevertheless was out in the capital celebrating. "It's the millennium," she said.

But she disdained the appearance by the American singers Black Eyed Peas, which followed a cultural and musical festival at the new concert hall and cost $170 a seat _ two months' pay for an average Ethiopian. "For me, it's not worth it," she said.

Yoself Passew, a shoe shiner, had no party plans but said he hopes the new millennium will bring him gainful employment.

"In the future I will have a job, that is my hope," said Yoself, 25. "The future will be bright."

Officials at the Millennium Secretariat noted some festivities were free, notably several cultural events at a stadium in Addis Ababa and at a field just northeast of the city center. The concert also was broadcast live on television and on a big screen at the stadium, which holds more than 15,000 people.