DLA Piper law firm represents the fascist Woyanne regime’s interest in the U.S. for $50,000 per month.
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By Ben Moshinsky
(thelawyer.com) — DLA Piper is teaming up with Northwestern University School of Law and Accenture to donate much needed resources to the Addis Ababa Law School in Ethiopia.
DLA Piper and Accenture lawyers will travel to Addis Ababa to teach courses in tax, company law, international arbitration and corporate crime at the law school during the spring term this year. The project will last two years.
Through New Perimeter, DLA Piper’s pro bono arm, the firm will update the school’s law library and launch a new law and economic development research centre.
Sheldon Krantz, director of New Perimeter and partner in DLA Piper’s Washington office said: “Addis Ababa Law School is the premier law school in Ethiopia, but it currently faces extremely challenging circumstances. It’s severely hampered by aging facilities and a lack of financial resources that compromise the school’s ability to provide a solid legal education for its students.”
DLA Piper — a lobbying firm in Washington DC that is hired by the Woyanne mass murderers in Ethiopia for $50,000 per month — has contributed $403,420 to U.S. Democratic Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton (see the list of Hillary contributors here). This is one more proof that Hillary would be a disaster to Africans, as her husband was.
The following analysis of Dennis Hastert’s congressional service is provided by the Ethiopian American News Service.
Dennis Hastert, the former Republican speaker of the House of Representatives from Illinois’ 14th district, resigned his seat in Congress effective 11:59 p.m. on Monday, November 26. Hastert is remembered in the Ethiopian community as the individual responsible for blocking H.R. 5680 (The Ethiopia Freedom, Democracy and Human Rights Advancement Act of 2006, sponsored by Christopher Smith) from reaching the House floor in 2006 for final action. He is widely regarded as the man who hijacked human rights in Ethiopia. Harper’s Magazine last year reported that “Armey [former House majority leader and DLA Piper lobbyists] twisted the arm of then-House Speaker Denny Hastert to ensure that [H.R. 5680] didn’t come up for a vote.”
Hastert was one of the most anti-human rights lawmakers in modern Congressional history. Prior to his opposition of the Ethiopia human rights bill, Hastert bottled up human rights bills aimed at China, Turkey, Colombia and other countries with massive human rights violations.
Hastert showed his callousness in September, 2005 when he declared that spending federal money to rebuild New Orleans from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina “doesn’t make sense to me. It looks like a lot of that place could be bulldozed.”
Hastert has been criticized for a number of questionable ethical practices, including a legal effort to quash a subpoena to force him to testify in a criminal case linked to Randy “Duke” Cunnigham, the former San Diego congressman convicted of bribery in 2006. He was also criticized for an appropriation of $356 million for a highway that will speed the development of large tracts of land he owned in Illinois.
Hastert sought campaign contributions from groups and organizations with questionable background. He received multiple contributions from Enron Corporation, which defrauded investors and employees of billions of dollars. He also received thousands of dollars in contributions from clients of lobbyist Jack Abramoff who pled guilty in 2006 to a massive fraud and bribery scheme in Congress.
In September of 2006, it was revealed that Hastert had been aware for over a year that Representative Mark Foley had been soliciting sex from underage congressional pages. Hastert did nothing to stop Foley. Foley continued to engage in sexual harassment of young men working as congressional pages until he was forced to resign.
The Washington Times and a number of republican opinion leaders called for Hastert’s resignation over the Foley sex scandal. The Times editorial stated, “Either he was grossly negligent… or he deliberately looked the other way in hopes that a brewing scandal would simply blow away. He gave phony answers Friday to the old and ever-relevant questions of what did he know and when did he know it? Mr. Hastert has forfeited the confidence of the public and his party, and he cannot preside over the necessary coming investigation, an investigation that must examine his own inept performance.”
In the end, Hastert will be most remembered for his ineptitude in maintaining a republican majority in the House, and for his sleazy dealings with fraudsters and conniving and corrupt lobbyists. It is not surprising that Rolling Stone magazine rated him the worst congressman in 2006. He will forever be remembered in the Ethiopian community as the man who hijacked human rights in Ethiopia.
The Honorable James M. Inhofe (R-Okla)
United States Senate
53 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C.
20510-3603 Phone: 202-224-4721
Fax: 202-228-0380
Dear Senator Inhofe,
Allow me to express my gratitude for your interest on the current crisis in the Horn of Africa specially, the call for a transparent democracy in Ethiopia.
Dear Senator Inhofe, On April 19, 1995 the Oklahoma City Federal Building was attacked by an evil extremist group. The attack claimed 168 lives and left over 800 injured. Until the September 11, 2001 attacks, this was the deadliest act of terrorism on U.S. soil.
Following the disputed election results of May 2005, Ethiopians marched to the streets to protest the fraudulent election process and deceptive result claimed by the ruling party. The Ethiopian government replied to their call for a true and fair election by slaughtering 193 unarmed protesters including 40 teenagers. The protesters were shot execution style at a close range, beaten and strangled to death, thousands were taken to unidentified prisons throughout the country and thousands fled the country in search of a save heaven; as the entire world turned a blind-eye on Ethiopian.
Dear Senator Inhofe, the massacre of 168 civilians in Okalahoma city and the massacre of 193 unarmed protestors in Ethiopia in 2005 is unequivocally the act of evil and the act of terrorism at its peak. The single differentiating factor may be, the first terrorist act was carried out by extremist group and the key perpetrator a 27-year-old man Timothy McVeigh was brought to justice within days. The latter is a state sponsored terrorism by a regime on innocent civilians that the government sworn to protect and never held accountable for its deed. Therefore, the United States has a moral obligation to denounce all terrorist acts despite they are being sponsored or carried out by a government, groups or a single individual.
Dear Senator Inhofe, On October 2, 2007, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Ethiopia Democracy and Accountability Act of 2007 (H.R. 2003) on a unanimous vote. For millions of Ethiopians around the glob and defenders of Democracy and Civil Liberty in America, this day was cited as “A GREAT DAY FOR AMERICA AND A GREAT DAY FOR ETHIOPIA!” Because, this bill is not only intended to promote human rights in Ethiopia but also demonstrates that freedom, democracy and human rights are the fundamental values in American foreign policy.
Furthermore, the Ethiopia Democracy and Accountability Act of 2007 (H.R.2003) strengthens the relationship between the United States and Ethiopia and promotes a strategic alliance between the two countries in the Global War on Terror; while cultivating the advancements of human rights and democracy, independence of the judiciary system and freedom of press and economic development for Ethiopia.
On October 16, 1854 during his speech on the Repeal of the Missouri Compromise Abraham Lincoln said, “No man is good enough to govern another man without that other’s consent.” Therefore, I say unto you “No man is good enough to reign over 76 million Ethiopians without their consent.” Dear Senator Inhofe, Once, the 40th President of this great nation Ronald Wilson Reagan said, “People don’t start wars, governments do.” The root cause for the current crisis in the Horn of Africa specifically between the Ethiopian government vs. Somalia extremist groups, the Ethiopian government vs. Eritrea and the Ogaden region humanitarian disaster is a byproduct of 16 years tyranny by the Ethiopian government and the lack of Democracy and the Rule of Law in the region. Tragically, despite the U.S. State Department report on the lack of respect for basic human rights in Ethiopia. The regime has decided to use “The Global War on Terrorism” as a strategic mask and divert the focus from real issue at home from the international community.
Dear Senator Inhofe, While preparing this letter to your office, my research led me to believe that,
• You are a God Fearing Man with a great faith.
• You were a key supporter of H.R. 3824 (Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act of 2005.)
Today anyone who dares to speak for a transparent democracy and liberty in Ethiopia has become Endangered Specie of the Human Family. So; I ask you to support H.R. 2003 (Ethiopia Democracy and Accountability Act of 2007); for a human life is more precious if not equal to Endangered Species of the Wild Kingdom.
In a Senate speech you made in support of the State of Israel, you said:
“America should base its Israel policy on the text of the Bible. I believe very strongly that we ought to support Israel; that it has a right to the land. This is the most important reason: Because God said so. As I said a minute ago, look it up in the book of Genesis. It is right up there on the desk. In Genesis 13:14–17.”
The bible also says, Isaiah 18.1: “Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia.”
Exodus 5:1: “Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.”
So! I say unto you “Let the Ethiopian people be free from bondage so that they may hold a feast in the land of life liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
Dear Senator Inhofe, the struggle for democracy is not without its barriers. The Ethiopia Democracy and Accountability Act of 2007 (H.R.2003) encountered many obstacles. For a country that can barely afford to feed its people, the Ethiopian government paid approximately $600,000 USD to lobbying army of DLA Piper to defeat the bill. They made hundreds of phone calls and visited members of Congress and Senators asking them not to support and vote for the bill. Despite all the wicked efforts to block the bill, on October 2, 2007, The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 2003 by a unanimous vote. Because the liberty of 76,511,887 Ethiopians is not for sale.
Dear Senator Inhofe, on your recent speech on Ethiopian Resolution you stated, “I care deeply about Africa and visited the continent frequently.” Let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action (1 John 3:18). So I ask that you show your true compassion for Africa by supporting the Ethiopia Democracy and Accountability Act of 2007 (H.R 2003). Because, this is not just a bill rather a sacred manuscript written to delivery 76,511,887 Ethiopians from bondage.
May God continue to bless this great nation, The United States of America.
May God bring a better day for Ethiopia.
Respectfully,
Hagos
A Concerned Citizen
Cc:
U.S. Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice
Congresswoman, Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House Congressman,
Donald Payne, Chairman, House Subcommittee on Africa, Congressman,
Tom Lantos, Chair, House Committee on International Relations Congressman
Christopher H. Smith, Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Africa,
Senator Russ Feingold, Chair, Senate Subcommittee on African Affairs
Ms. Louise Arbour, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Coalition for Unity and Democracy Party (CUDP)
Coalition For H.R. 2003
Ethiopian American Civic Advocacy (EACA)
Anuak Justice Council
Ethiopian Review
Letter from Washington
By Janine Zacharia Bloomberg News
WASHINGTON: In 1998, President Bill Clinton hailed Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia as the leader of an African renaissance. Today, human-rights groups say Zenawi’s security forces are raping and murdering civilians while fighting insurgents seeking autonomy in the Ogaden region.
While the U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill linking some Ethiopian military aid to support for human rights and democracy, President George W. Bush remains firm in his backing of Zenawi, 52, whom he considers an important ally in preventing Al Qaeda from gaining a foothold in the Horn of Africa. Ethiopia is the latest example of how the war on terror is trumping Bush’s goal of spreading democracy around the globe.
“Security concerns have prevailed as the thing that drives U.S. relations with Ethiopia at the moment,” said Terrence Lyons, associate professor of conflict resolution at George Mason University in Virginia. The administration hasn’t been willing to alter its “strategic relationship on behalf of other goals and interests,” he said.
Ethiopia is waging a U.S.-backed war in Somalia to shore up an unpopular transitional government after ousting the Islamic leadership from the capital, Mogadishu. Thousands of residents have reportedly been killed and 400,000 displaced. Zenawi has also arrested and jailed some dissidents and members of the press.
Bush opposes the House bill, which was approved Oct. 2. While the measure may not trigger a demonstrable change in U.S. policy – it has exemptions for peace-keeping and counterterrorism assistance and a national-security waiver – the vote showcases Ethiopia when few African issues, save perhaps the fighting in Darfur, grab attention.
“When you start seeing the U.S. Congress engaging in efforts like this, it’s a strong signal that something has gone really wrong in a country,” said Saman Zarifi, an advocate with Human Rights Watch in Washington.
In July, Zenawi’s government expelled the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders from the Ogaden region. The latter reported treating civilians who said they had been beaten, shot and raped by Ethiopian security forces after several dozen soldiers were killed in a rebel attack on an oil platform.
Ethiopian troops are “among the most abusive on the continent,” Zarifi told a House panel before the vote. While the Ogaden “is not Darfur yet, it is probably only a few months away from sliding over the edge into a full-blown humanitarian crisis of massive proportions.”
Ethiopia is the second most populous country in sub-Saharan Africa after Nigeria and one of the poorest countries in the world, with a gross domestic product of $160 per capita, according to the World Bank.
The Bush administration requested $481 million for Ethiopia in the 2008 budget, mainly for health, education, civil-society groups and economic-development projects. The total includes $1.5 million in military assistance and $5 million in economic-support funds, some of which may be used for military aid.
The House bill would add $40 million over two years to support development of democratic institutions. The measure was referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; no date has been set for consideration in the upper chamber.
Jendayi Frazer, assistant secretary of state for African affairs, called the measure one-sided and said it would constrain what Bush is able to do to manage U.S. government interests.
She also said the Ogaden dispute was “not something we can address,” calling it a matter Ethiopia should deal with “internally, through a political process.”
Samuel Assefa, Ethiopia’s ambassador to Washington, said the bill violated Ethiopia’s sovereignty and was “destructive to regional security.”
While acknowledging that “democracy is unfinished business for us,” he said the House had ignored Zenawi’s efforts at reform, including pardons for some opposition leaders. He blamed the Ogaden rebels’ “active PR machinery” for the reported crimes against civilians.
Ethiopia has hired a former House majority leader, Dick Armey, and the Texas Republican’s lobbying firm, DLA Piper, partly to fight the legislation.
Armey’s opponents include the Ogaden rebels, who sent a delegation to Washington last month. Abdirahman Mahdi, foreign relations secretary of the Ogaden National Liberation Front, said it “will commit a mass rebellion” if there’s no international intervention.
Ethiopian Americans, who are concentrated in the Washington area, are also lobbying hard for the bill. They have organized rallies and started letter-writing campaigns to lawmakers in cities including Atlanta and Dallas with significant Ethiopian constituencies.
Disputed elections in 2005 for the Ethiopian Parliament and local councils helped galvanize the democracy movement after soldiers clashed with demonstrators alleging fraud. Nearly 200 people were killed, and several dozen opposition leaders and journalists were arrested.
Other members of the press have also been targeted. Nine reporters who were acquitted in April on anti-state charges face retrial in November. If convicted, they may get the death penalty, the Committee to Protect Journalists says.
Berhanu Nega, a 49-year old, U.S.-educated economics professor, was imprisoned after winning the race for mayor of Addis Ababa in 2005. He never took office and was released in July after 21 months in jail.
“The enthusiasm, the commitment for democracy in Ethiopia is unbelievable right now,” he said after meeting with Representative Donald Payne, Democrat of New Jersey, a leading sponsor of the House bill, during a visit to Washington last month. “People are tired of living under tyranny.”
Donald Payne delivers gift of freedom, democracy and human rights to Ethiopians
“It is a good day for Ethiopia. It is a Good Day for America.” – Donald Payne
September 26, 2007, the House Foreign Affairs Committee unanimously passed H.R. 2003, “Ethiopia Democracy and Accountability Act of 2007.”
The bill authored by Africa Subcommittee Chair Donald Payne provides funding and technical assistance to Ethiopia to improve human rights protections and build democratic institutions. H.R. 2003 has full bipartisan support in House, and is co-sponsored by 85 members.
For a detailed explanation of the bill in Amharic and English, click here:
At the mark-up hearing, Payne explained that the bill had been delayed for various reasons, but cautioned that “our democracy is a long and arduous trail” which takes time. He urged Zenawi’s regime to set free the “hundreds of prisoners still in prison” without just cause. He expressed his hope that Zenawi’s regime will be focused on such things as judicial reform, health care and democracy building. He said, “We would like for them to be our allies, but we can’t have people who disregard human rights.” He said the bill will be debated and passed on the House floor “in the near future”, and also be approved in the Senate and made into law once the president signs it.
The bill was debated vigorously by Committee members. Congressman Chris Smith explained that he met with Zenawi in August, 2005. At that time, Zenawi told him he “had a dossier on virtually all of the opposition leaders and it was a matter of time before all were arrested and charged with treason. And like any other petty dictator, he arrested these individuals.” Smith urged bipartisan support for the bill.
Congressman Dana Rorabacher explained that the bill is “vitally important” for Ethiopia. He said “Ethiopia could be a shining light of democracy” but a “a group of self-serving thugs ignored the democratic process and decided to hold power no matter what the election results were in Ethiopia. What shocked me most was when I learned that there were American Humvees armed with machine guns rolling the streets of Ethiopia murdering, maiming and terrorizing the population after the election into submission for a government that was not elected. This is not what American military assistance should be used for.”
Both Smith and Rorabacher hammered DLA Piper, the lobbying firm hired by Zenawi to defeat H.R. 2003. Rorabacher said, “There has been a strong lobbying effort. Top people from this Congress have been hired to come back and twist our arms. This is not right for members of Congress to do.” Smith added, “We got this bill passed in Committee in the last session of Congress” but “lobbyists, a high powered bi-partisan group killed the bill and never made it to the floor.”
Sheila Jackson Lee, who recently returned from a visit in Ethiopia, argued for continued engagement with Zenawi’s regime, but was very insistent that Zenawi observe the basic human rights of the Ethiopian people. She declared: “We want the people to stop suffering!”
Zenawi’s ambassador in Washington released a statement which repeated the tired and discredited canard that “this bill is a blatant effort to employ the U.S. Congress in support of a partisan Ethiopian political agenda.” He warned that “this legislation, should it proceed further, will create fresh obstacles by emboldening those who seek confrontation rather than dialogue, encouraging politics of extremes.” He threatened:
“But under no circumstances will Ethiopia accept what it regards as officious intermeddling by misinformed Members of Congress to intrude in our internal politics.”
Delegation members who just weeks ago were political prisoners observed the hearing as special guest observers. Following the hearing, Dr. Hailu, Ato. Gizachew and Ato Brook marveled at the dynamic and intense debate that occurs in the American Congressional process. Their presence at the hearing gave a special poignancy to the entire proceedings. Just a few weeks ago, they were hostages in a tug-of-war between Zenawi’s regime and the Committee. At the time, Zenawi desperately sought to thwart mark-up action on the bill and threatened to prolong the imprisonment of the political prisoners.
The bill will proceed to the House floor for final action under suspension of the rules, which bypasses the regular House deliberative procedures and speedily delivers the legislation to the floor final consideration. Such a procedure is generally used to quickly pass non-controversial bills, and bills for which there is massive support. AND THERE IS MASSIVE SUPPORT FOR H.R. 2003. THERE IS NOT A SINGLE MEMBER OF THE HOUSE THAT OPPOSES H.R. 2003.
The coalition for H.R. 2003 wishes to thank all Ethiopians and Americans who worked diligently to help pass this bill out of committee. The number of individuals, groups and organizations who played central roles in this effort are too many too list. You all know who you are. THANK YOU all for teaching us the value of united action! THANK YOU for proving to the world that despite our diverse backgrounds and interests, we can still stand as ONE when it comes to freedom, democracy and human rights in Ethiopia! And THANK YOU for subordinating any individual interest in getting credit and working tirelessly to ensure the success of our collective cause.
It was the 26th of September, a day all Ethiopian Americans, and all Ethiopians will always remember! “It was a good day for Ethiopia. It was Good Day for America.”
