Press Release
The United States House of Representatives
Committee on Foreign Relations
Washington, DC – To correct erroneous reports about the Ethiopia Democracy and Accountability Accountability Act (H.R. 2003), Chairman Tom Lantos of the House Foreign Affairs Committee issued this statement today:
“The full committee did not consider the measure at today’s markup because I wanted to give Ethiopia’s elders, government officials, courts and opposition leaders an opportunity to work out a pardon arrangement for the more than 30 remaining political detainees. Late last week I notified other members of Congress, including the House leadership, of my decision. I continue to be concerned about the detainees, and hope for their release soon.
“This bill will not be considered by the full committee for now, but this does not mean the matter of progress in political and other rights in Ethiopia is closed. The United States relationship with Ethiopia will continue to be conditioned on Ethiopian support for human rights and the rule of law. We will continue to hold the Ethiopian government accountable for the way it treats its citizens.”
Lantos is the founding co-chairman of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus.
By Dean Jacobs/Letters to America
Freemont Tribune
Our conversation stops as silent eyes glance to the knock that came from the door, a student appears to ask a question and leaves.
Talking about politics is a dangerous undertaking in Ethiopia.
Those who are willing to speak about such things, only do so under the agreement of remaining anonymous. Stories of people being harassed by the federal police are common. It generally starts with a warning phone call about a comment or activity that they call into question.
A newspaper publisher tells me about an opinion column he runs in his business newspaper. He heard once on a BBC TV interview with the current Ethiopia ruler that he doesn’t plan to run again, and he shared that statement in his newspaper. He was called about it, and warned to write only about business, not politics, even though that decision would affect business.
After the student leaves, my office companion, whom I will call David says: “Did you see the marks on his eyebrows, that means he comes from the Tigrai region where the president is from.”
This communicates a potential loyalty to the current government.
Elections in 2005 were marked with irregularities, according to international officials observing the process. The irregularities are thought to be changed ballots or switched ballot boxes.
After the election, the word got out that the sitting government rigged the election.
“It was so obvious that everyone knew,” so students began to demonstrate peacefully, David says.
Another knock on the door, and our conversation once again stops. This time it is a student David wants me to meet.
“She’s very clever and understands what is happening,” he says.
This student, whom I will call Tigist, shares some of her thoughts about the current situation.
“The people are frustrated, and because it is not safe to express one’s opinion, they continue to swallow those frustrations. But one day, people will not be able to swallow any more, and we will explode like a volcano,” Tigist says.
When asked about the timing of that explosion, she pauses and says, “the economic situation is not good in Ethiopia. The inflation is running high, and if it continues, people will no longer be able to afford basic food. I feel it will happen sooner rather than later.”
Those peaceful demonstrations turned deadly as federal police opened fire on unarmed civilians, killing 22. People do demonstrate now, but only when the international press is around because the demonstrators know the federal police will not take action in front of international media, at gatherings like major football matches or running races where large groups make it hard to single out one person.
The opposition has a symbol, the peace sign that people in the U.S. would recognize from the 1960s.
“Once I was waving down a taxi using the same two fingers to let the taxi know there was two of us,” says David, “a federal policeman saw me, ran over and started beating me. I had a hard time explaining I was just trying to wave down a taxi.”
The people of Ethiopia are frustrated with the U.S. government. Many have family or friends in the United States, so it is hard to be critical of a place they feel connected to.
“But the U.S. government is supporting the corrupt government of Ethiopia, and that is bringing a larger suffering to the majority of the Ethiopian people as a whole,” David says.
People are just surviving, according to Tigist, and waiting for the next elections.
“I don’t think there will be an election. Those who want to run are in prison. What ever you call the opposite of Democracy, that is what we currently have in Ethiopia,” David says.
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Dean Jacobs is a former Fremont Tribune photographer and a world traveler. Follow his latest journey each Monday in the Tribune.
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By Stephanie Hanson
Council on Foreign Relations
After Ethiopia’s December invasion of Somalia to vanquish Islamic militants, many observers labeled Addis Ababa a proxy of the United States, and a few even called it a “puppet.” Both labels implied the United States was an unseemly ally. Now, after the Ethiopian government’s recent attempt to put dozens of opposition politicians to death and reports of military abuse of civilians (HRW), Washington may be starting to balk at its close relationship with Addis Ababa.
Ethiopia receives nearly half a billion dollars in U.S. aid each year as well as military assistance. Yet the Ethiopian government has shown little inclination to improve a dismal record on human rights, as well as a history of unresponsiveness to international pressure on its domestic policies. When Ethiopian prosecutors jailed over one hundred opposition politicians and journalists after 2005 parliamentary elections, international donors—including the United States—put $375 million in aid on hold. By mid-2006, Ethiopian prime minister Meles Zenawi still refused to release the prisoners. “U.S. concerns about terrorism in Somalia led diplomats to accept a status quo they concluded would not change and to get on with business,” writes Terrence Lyons in a Council Special Report on the Horn of Africa.
Since then, Ethiopian authorities have been accused of further harsh measures. Last month, Zenawi announced a crackdown on the Ogaden National Liberation Front, a separatist movement in the country’s eastern Ogaden region. Some aid officials and diplomats now claim the government is blocking emergency food aid (Reuters) to the region. Ethiopia’s military—one of the largest and best-trained in Africa—has been accused of widespread domestic abuses (NYT)in villages in the Ogaden, including civilian executions and gang rape.
Ethiopia is an “important partner for the United States,” writes Horn of Africa expert John W. Harbeson, but “joint counter-terrorism initiatives must be kept separate from Ethiopia’s struggles with democracy and its continuing pursuit of a post-imperial political identity.” The U.S. Congress clearly agrees—it recently passed an amendment cutting $3 million in assistance, and pending legislation would put strict conditions on remaining aid. Yet the Pentagon is “dead keento boost [Zenawi’s] armed forces,” writes the Economist.
Some in the U.S. government may have qualms about Ethiopia’s undemocratic behavior, but it has been a reliable ally in the tumultuous Horn of Africa. While tensions simmer between Ethiopia and Eritrea over a disputed border, rebels wage regular attacks in Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital. The Ethiopian military had hoped to withdraw months ago, but it remains mired (WashPost) in the city battling insurgents on behalf of Somalia’s weak transitional government. In an Online Debate, Sadia Ali Aden of the Somalia Diaspora Network and Terrence Lyons agree that Ethiopia must withdraw from Somalia. Lyons argues that the U.S. relationship with Ethiopia could help promote peace in the region, but Aden calls it “a grave impediment to lasting peace in Somalia,” arguing that Washington’s partnership choice “may further radicalize the region.”
BBC
Some 40 forty heavily armed fighters have attacked an Ethiopian [Woyanne] base close to the Somali capital, Mogadishu.
At least four people died in the fighting, with heavy machine-guns and rocket-propelled grenades.
The insurgents arrived in five vehicles and begin attacking the base, shouting “God is great,” an eyewitness said.
At least three civilians are reported to be among the dead, including a four-year old child.
Doctors at the city’s main hospital said one government soldier was killed.
Members of the controversial Kinijit International Council (K.I.C.) held a meeting yesterday to discuss their group’s status after receiving a letter from the main leadership in Addis Ababa informing them that it is taking back the political leadership of the party.
The 23-member K.I.C. had 17 active members. Out of those 12 were present at the meeting. Some of them said that the K.I.C. must now dissolve itself as required in the instruction that came from the main leadership.
But with Dr Taye Woldesemayat’s insistence that Kinijit chairman Ato Hailu Shawel wants the K.I.C. to continue as a support group, the majority of those who were present voted against disollving it.
There is also a press conference with the Kinijit North America auditor Ato Tesfaye Asmamaw tonight. Reportedly, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has launched an investigation into the financial impropriety by the Shaleqa Yoseph group.
Members of the controversial Kinijit International Council (K.I.C.) held a meeting yesterday to discuss their group’s status after receiving a letter from the main leadership in Addis Ababa informing them that it is taking back the political leadership of the party.
The 23-member K.I.C. had 17 active members. Out of those 12 were present at the meeting. Some of them said that the K.I.C. must now dissolve itself as required in the instruction that came from the main leadership.
But with Dr Taye Woldesemayat’s insistence that Kinijit chairman Ato Hailu Shawel wants the K.I.C. to continue as a support group, the majority of those who were present voted against disollving it.
There is also a press conference with the Kinijit North America auditor Ato Tesfaye Asmamaw tonight. Reportedly, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has launched an investigation into the financial impropriety by the Shaleqa Yoseph group.
