An advisory this week from the Brussels-based International Crisis Group is alerting world bodies and governments to stop Ethiopia and Eritrea from sliding back into a protracted border war. Although both sides agreed in Algiers in 2000 to halt their boundary dispute, which flared up in 1998, and abide by rulings of an international commission, tensions have grown since 2002, when Ethiopia blocked physical demarcation of the border and Eritrea blocked UN peacekeepers from carrying out their mission. Crisis Group Vice President Donald Steinberg, who helped negotiate the Algiers treaty as a US diplomat in the Clinton administration, says the international community must warn both countries that they run a real risk of renewed conflict.
“In our mind, it is essential for the United Nations Security Council, the United States, and also the groups that supported the Algiers agreement, including the African Union, to communicate to both parties that it is time to de-escalate the tensions, to communicate to Ethiopia that they must indeed accept the Boundary Commission that ruled mostly in their favor, but also gave the small, very symbolic village of Badme to the Eritreans, and for the Eritreans to allow the United Nations to perform the full functions that they were sent to do,” he said.
Steinberg warned that tensions are brewing along both sides of the border, with increasing numbers of troops pitted perilously close to each other.
“We’ve been deeply concerned about the movement of some four to five-thousand Eritrean troops into the temporary security zone. In addition, we’ve seen some movements from Ethiopia of troops towards the border, in some continuing buildup outside the temporary security zone by the Eritrean forces, such that we now have literally hundreds of thousands of forces facing off against each other. In some cases, we’re looking at a distance between a potential combatant of less than 100 meters,” he warns.
Steinberg adds that Ethiopian threats to withdraw from the Algiers agreement have been disturbing, as have rumors that Addis Ababa may be stirring up internal unrest among groups inside Eritrea to help bring down the Asmara government. At the same time, he notes Eritrea has restricted the movement of about 17-hundred UN peacekeeping troops near the disputed border “such that they’re not able to effectively perform the peacekeeping role that they were sent there to do.”
Steinberg dismisses the notion that Washington’s security ties with Ethiopia due to last December’s intervention in Somalia have effectively given the green light for Addis Ababa to strike at Eritrea, which is said to be harboring Somali opposition forces and lending logistical and possibly military assistance to oust the Ethiopians from Mogadishu.
“The United States government has a really strong interest in peace and stability in the Horn of Africa. Another war along that border would serve no purpose, just as the first war didn’t serve any purpose. And I think that the United States has to communicate this view more clearly to the Ethiopian government, that there would be sanctions should the Ethiopians get involved in anything like a coup attempt within Eritrea. And it has to make it clear at the same time that the United States, as well as other countries, will support in a very strong economic and political way the reconciliation of these two brother states,” he said.
The International Crisis Group report warns that a border showdown could erupt as early as the end of this month, when the international Boundary Commission is expected to finalize the two countries’ border on maps and shut down its operations along the contentious state line.
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – Students at Ethiopia’s top religious college are protesting the close ties between the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and the government, alleged restictions on their speech, and American singer Beyonce’s recent meeting with the patriarch.
Beyonce Knowles with self-appointed, gun-totting pop Aba Gebremedhin (aka Aba Diabilos) in Ethiopia
The 26-year-old performer met with the [illegitimate] Ethiopian patriarch, Abune Paulos Aba Gebremedhin, before performing in skimpy sequined outfits as part of celebrations of the country’s millennium, which fell in September according to the church’s calendar.
Daniel Techale, a 28-year-old Theological College of the Holy Trinity alumnus who lives at the college, said he was not protesting but that around 30 of his friends had been hospitalized after a hunger strike they began on Sunday. He said students were upset by the church’s closeness to the ruling party and restrictions on their speech, but that they also were upset over the Beyonce-Paulos meeting.
Beyonce Knowles back at home in the U.S.
“She provoked the whole situation,” he said, accusing the patriarch of “practically a non-religious act. It’s unacceptable, or inappropriate, to say the least.”
Authorities were trying to persuade the students to end their hunger strike, he said.
Another 26-year-old college student from the northern town of Gonder, who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation by Ethiopian authorities, said that in addition to the meeting, students were protesting what they saw as the politicization of the church.
The Orthodox Church is Ethiopia’s largest, claiming 45 million out of 77 million citizens as members. It is considered to be very close to the government. It is stringently traditional _ banning modern musical instruments from services, which are conducted in the archaic language of Ge’ez.
The 26-year-old student said he and 14 friends had joined a hunger strike that began on Sunday night. On Monday, ambulances were seen at the campus and on Tuesday, the college was closed and students staged a sit-in.
Not all the students were concerned with the singer, or even politics. Student Kinetibebeu Assefa, 25, said that he had joined the protest to demand an improvement in cafeteria food and demand the firing of some college officials.
“There is no problem with Beyonce,” he said. “But the (cafeteria) food is poisoned.”
College official Bedilu Assefa confirmed that students had complained, but said: “What they have done is they have raised some administrative issues regarding food and clinical facilities. Nobody has protested against Beyonce. Never.”
There are 196 students at the college, training to work at the church, although not as clergymen.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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.”
ADDIS ABABA (AFP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel kicked off her first tour of sub-Saharan Africa with a plea for more democratic freedoms in Ethiopia and an enhanced European role on the continent.
Her first trip to the region since taking the helm of Europe’s largest economy two years ago is also due to take her to South Africa — where she is expected to pressure the government over Zimbabwe — and Liberia.
“We are in favour of further openness of the country, of the political system,” Merkel said at a joint press conference with Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi in Addis Ababa.
“We have the interest to see this society more open and the opposition’s rights protected,” she said, adding: “The respect of human rights is among the factors very conducive for development.”
Meles — a top western ally in the region who has come under scrutiny for his rights record and crackdowns against opposition groups — deflected criticism and promised Ethiopia would contribute troops to a new Darfur force.
“We have been asked to contribute to the UNAMID, we promised 5,000 troops, and we’ll do so, and I can tell you they’ll be fully equipped troops,” Meles said at the press conference.
UNAMID is a 26,000-strong peacekeeping force jointly run by the African Union and United Nations which is set to replace an embattled AU contingent in the troubled western Darfur region of Sudan.
Ethiopia also sent its troops to Somalia last year to support the interim government backed by the international community and oust an Islamist militia which briefly controlled the country and is suspected of ties with Al-Qaeda.
Human rights organisations have criticised Meles’ regime for its repression of political opponents who claimed they were robbed of victory in 2005 parliamentary polls.
Ethiopia is also under close watch over military sweeps currently under way in the rebellious Ogaden and Oromia regions.
On Tuesday, the US House of Representatives passed a measure aimed at freezing security assistance to Ethiopia if the Horn of Africa country does not improve its democratic record.
But Meles dismissed the Ethiopia Democracy and Accountability Act — still only a bill — as unjust.
“It is an unfair decision. It is the result of a vendetta… If it was about the human rights situation, they should have looked at Eritrea first,” he said, in reference to Ethiopia’s neighbour and arch-foe.
“We have excellent relations with the the USA, I hope they’ll stay like that. But it is a two way thing,” he added.
Addis Ababa hosts the headquarters of the African Union, where Merkel was to give a speech and hold talks with AU Commission Chairman Alpha Oumar Konare before flying to South Africa for the longest leg of her tour.
Her aides said the chancellor plans to urge South African President Thabo Mbeki to take a tougher line on neighbouring Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe is already dominating the upcoming EU-Africa summit, with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown threatening to boycott it if President Robert Mugabe attempted to defy a travel ban and attend the meeting.
Merkel has signalled that despite her abhorrence of Mugabe’s policies which have plunged the once prosperous nation into a state of meltdown, she believes his presence should not derail the event.
China’s trade links and political influence have grown spectacularly in recent years and Merkel stressed in Addis Ababa that Europe should be more present on the continent.
The “EU has to do more for Africa, and the coming EU-AU meeting has an importance to find new development strategies to enhance our cooperation,” she said.
Merkel is wrap up her Africa tour in Liberia, where she is expected Sunday.
Statement by Dr Berhanu Nega, Mayor-Elect of Addis Ababa at the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health hearing on Ethiopia
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
INTRODUCTION
Chairman Payne, Ranking member Congressman Chris Smith, Distinguished Members of the House Africa Subcommittee, and Committee Staff:
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is indeed a great honor and privilege to get the opportunity to appear before you to discuss issues related to the state of Democracy in Ethiopia. Since my colleague Judge Bertukan have spoken on the current state of democracy in Ethiopia in great detail, it would be more fruitful to concentrate my remarks on where we are going as a country in terms of political stability and democratization. I will largly limit my brief presentation to that issue today.
I must, however, first use this opportunity to thank the committee, particularly the chairman and the ranking member for your unflinching support for the causes of liberty and democracy in Ethiopia and for your efforts to secure our release from prison.
Mr. chairman, your personal visit to Kaliti and your words of support when we met in prison was a great source of strength for all of us during our long period of incarceration on what everyone knows are completely fabricated charges that will not deserve a minute’s worth of a judge’s time in any self respecting court. For most foreign observers of that court’s proceedings, it must have been a text book case of the waste of the human and material resources that condemned developing countries to their perpetual poverty. For me as an Ethiopian, it was a painful but familiar exercise in the humiliation not only of individual functionaries of the state, but key institutions such as the judiciary, inflicted by the incredible arrogance of dictatorships.
Your visit to Kaliti was a source of strength for us partly because of the different message that it conveyed to us about America’s position towards dictatorships in our continent. At a time when we were uncertain about US positions based on what we were hearing from the then official representative of the US government, your visit reassured us that this great nation’s commitment to democracy and human rights is still strong. We really thank you for that.
You must also allow me to use this opportunity, Mr. chairman, to thank numerous US citizens that provided us with continuous support by writing to congress on our behalf, by urging the executive branch to reflect their core values of liberty, democracy, and human rights in its dealings with our country, Ethiopia.
When I met congressman Smith in Addis Ababa after the first massacre in June, I told him the story of the continuous open surveillance by security forces that I and other CUD leaders were subjected to beginning immediately after the election. I told him the behavior of the security forces during this surveillance. I told him about the insult, the occasional spitting on our faces, the wielding of loaded guns and the direct and open threats on our lives. He first thought that this was simply an exaggerated claim by the opposition to tarnish the image of the government of Meles Zenawi. I remember him telling us that this cannot happen. No decent government could do this to a legal opposition. For him, it was simply unfathomable that a government that claims to be democratic could even think about doing such a thing in the 21st century. I asked him if he wants to see it in his own eyes right there and then by taking a five minutes drive with me. He agreed and he sent one of his aides with me for a few blocks ride. The minute we left the US embassy grounds there they were. Two cars full of plainclothes men, without any fear of being seen but tailgating me wherever I go. The rudeness of the security guys was quite amazing to my guest in the car. But for me that was the life I lived for six months till I was finally sent to prison in November. I heard later that the congressman, as promised, raised the issue with the Prime Minister and got the usual response. Complete denial. That is the arrogance of dictatorships that we have to live with on a daily basis.
The absence of the rule of law in any meaningful way in our country does not need detailed reporting to this committee. It is a well known fact and amply reported by human rights groups and the State Department, among others. The human rights abuses practiced in countries such as Ethiopia mainly because of lack of rule of law and democratization is also well documented. But, the effect of such form of government on the economy and on the fight against poverty was an issue that was given short shrift by aid agencies and international development institutions such as the World Bank and the IMF. A number of scholars (among them the Nobel Laureate Amaratya Sen) have been strongly arguing on the link between freedom and development for a long time, although largely ignored by development practitioners. As an economist and the president of the Ethiopian Economic Association, I personally have advised policy makers in Ethiopia for the need to open up and democratize society as part of the larger strategy to provide peace, stability and economic development in the country. Indeed, I was pushed to join politics largely to practice what I preached. I strongly believed then, and I passionately believe now that the only way we could have a stable and prosperous Ethiopia that could be a source of stability in the region and a stable and reliable partner to the international community in the struggle against terrorism and extremism is by democratizing the country and providing basic liberty to its citizens.
Mr. Chairman,
I believe this link between good governance (as defined by the existence of rule of law) and economic development is by now incontrovertible. Even the World Bank is grudgingly acknowledging this issue.
Last weekend’s edition of the Wall Street Journal (September 29-30th, 2007) featured an article titled “The Secrets of Intangible Wealth” by Ronald Bailey based on the recent World Bank Resarch “Where is the Wealth of Nations?” Following is excerpt from the article:
Intangible wealth – The trust among people in a society, an efficient judicial system, clear property rights, and effective government boost the productivity of labor and results in higher total wealth. The world bank finds, “Human capital and the value of institutions (as measured by rule of law) constitute the largest share of wealth in virtually all countries.” ….80% of the wealth of rich countries and 60% of the wealth of poor countries is of this intangible type. Bottom line, “Rich countries are largely rich because of the skills of their populations and the quality of the institutions supporting economic activities.” According to their regression analysis, the rule of law explains 57% of countries’ intangible capital. Education accounts for 36%. The US scores 91.8 out of 100 on the rule-of-law index and Ethiopia 16.4. 30 wealthy developed countries have an average score of 90, while sub-Saharan Africa’s is a dismal 28.
The World Bank’s path breaking “Where is the Wealth of Nations?” convincingly demonstrates that the “mainsprings of development” are the rule of law and a good school system. The big question that its researchers don’t answer is: How can the people of the developing world rid themselves of the kleptocrats who loot their counties and keep them poor?”
Mr. Chairman,
That is the political question that we must answer if Ethiopia is to be prosperous, stable and at peace with itself. And that is what Ethiopia seriously lacks presently. Since the brutal repression of the democracy movement in 2005, the country is moving further and further away from the path of democracy and prosperity and towards the slippery slope of conflict and tyranny. The key political challenge we are facing as a country today is whether we are able to choose the right course. Unfortunately, this decision currently and largely rests on the government in power and all indications are that it seems determined to cling on to power by force even if it is plain to anyone with a clear mind that this could only lead to further conflict and instability and economic misery to its largely impoverished population.
More recently, Ethiopia is again in the news concerning the conflict and the horrific human rights abuse perpetrated by the government on its own people in the Ogaden region. Our heart bleeds for those civilian compatriots who are the most recent victims of this ongoing conflict in our country and we condemn this barbarity in the strongest possible terms. But, I am afraid the Ogaden is but one manifestation of the escalation of conflict in various parts of the country largely owing to the refusal of the government to address the political problems of the country in a peaceful and civilized manner.
Currently, there is some kind of low intensity guerilla warfare in 8 out of the 9 regions of the country. In Oromia and Amhara, the two largest regions of the country, human rights abuses, lack of good governance and democratization has alienated the population so much, it has become an open field for recruiting armed combatants to a variety of causes. Even in Tigray, the region supposedly most favorable for the ruling party is slowly becoming a hot bed of armed opposition to the government. The broadening armed conflict in the country is fueled by the loss of hope among the population in the government’s ability and willingness to find a peaceful, negotiated settlement to the country’s political impasse. This was made amply clear to the public in the way the government handled the problems related to the 2005 elections and its current belligerent behavior. What the government’s brutality showed was that any serious attempt at a peaceful opposition or any serious challenge to the powers of the ruling party even through the ballot box will meet stiff resistance from the government.
Unless otherwise something is done soon to reverse this frightening trend, I am afraid our country will further plunge into a more intensified conflict with wider ramifications to the region’s stability and the international community’s wider interest in combating extremism.
Mr. Chairman,
The political problem of Ethiopia is not complicated as some suggest. In my view it is really a very simple problem. The manifestations of the problem could be varied. But the source and essence of the problem is the same. Whether in Addis Ababa, Oromia, Amhara, Ogaden or Tigray, the issue is the same. It is the people’s yearning for democracy. It is the fulfillment of the aspiration of the Ethiopian people to live in freedom and liberty. It is their natural urge to be ruled by a government they elected. They have amply demonstrated that they deserve such a system in the 2005 elections. All the other issues that are specific to the various regions, important as they are, are simply a variation on the same theme. If we address these issues of democratization and the rule of law that were clearly written in the constitution of the country in practice, if we do this through a peaceful, negotiated settlement on the mechanics of how to institutionalize it in practice, we would have addressed the greater portion of the country’s development problems. I really believe the various opposition forces in Ethiopia (both armed and peaceful opposition) are matured enough at this time to work towards this end and settle their political differences through the ballot box if the polls are credible and the institutions that ensure this are in place. What remains is to put enough pressure on the government to see that this is the only future for Ethiopia and that it should be a part of this future. The government must be and can be pressured to see this light and play a constructive role in usuring this new democratic and prosperous Ethiopia.
Mr. Chairman,
Ethiopia has always been a good friend to your country and the relationship between our two countries has a long history. The Ethiopian people have a great admiration to the American people particularly for their hard work, decency and above all their love for liberty. The Ethiopian people rightly expect Americans to be with them in these difficult times and to support their legitimate struggle for liberty as they deeply believe they are with Americans in their fight against terrorism and extremism. I deeply believe that the fight against terrorism is a struggle for decency and liberty. The best and durable allies in the fight against terror are those countries and governments that deeply share the values of liberty and democracy. Dictatorships that have nothing but scorn for liberty in relation to their own people, autocratic regimes that see all alliances as temporary instruments with the sole purpose of maintaining their grip on power, governments that have no qualms about lying and cheating in so far as it proves even temporarily useful to maintain power and states that terrorize their own people, cannot be real allies to a fight against international terrorism.
A good and durable ally for your country is a stable and democratic Ethiopia. As a good friend and ally that provides broad support for the government of Ethiopia, the United States has the potential and certainly the capacity to help us get out of the current political impasse. We know most of the work to make this a reality is to be done by local political forces. Still, well timed and measured pressure from the international community will certainly help. All that is needed from the US is to work with its other allies to mount a coordinated pressure to force the Ethiopian government to negotiate in good faith with all the opposition political forces for a broad political settlement that leads towards genuine democratization in Ethiopia. I truly believe, Mr. chairman, that the opposition would play its part for such an effort if the government is serious. But such an effort is time sensitive. It has to happen quickly before the ongoing conflict passes that threshold where peaceful and negotiated settlement becomes too late in the game.
Mr. Chairman, working towards such an outcome is not only the right thing to do but also the smart thing to do. The world community has enough experiences by now to know that doing nothing at the early stages of a crisis could be extremely costly later. The crisis in Ethiopia is a looming crisis. If we act wisely now, we can avoid a lot of pain later. I hope the United States will play its part to bring about a peaceful and durable solution to the political crisis in Ethiopia. Such an outcome is good for the Ethiopian government, good for the international community and certainly good for Ethiopia.
I know, Mr. Chairman, under your leadership your committee and this house will do its part for the wellbeing of the people of Ethiopia.
