OPEN LETTER
The Hon. Barack H. Obama
President of the United States of America
President of the United States of America
The White House
Washington DC
November 29, 2012
Mister President,
In view of your long standing concern for Human
Rights, the Rule of Law and the profound inequities prevailing around the
World, I would like to bring to your attention the terrible plight of human and
social economic conditions in Ethiopia.
The US State Department Human Rights 2011 report on
Ethiopia states:
“Human rights abuses reported during
the year included unlawful killings, torture, beating, and abuse and
mistreatment of detainees and opposition supporters by security forces, especially
special police and local militias, which took aggressive or violent action with
evident impunity in numerous instances; poor prison conditions; arbitrary
arrest and detention, particularly of suspected sympathizers or members of
opposition or insurgent groups; detention without charge and lengthy pretrial
detention; infringement on citizens' privacy rights, including illegal
searches; use of excessive force by security services in counterinsurgency
operations; restrictions on freedom of speech and of the press; arrest,
detention, and harassment of journalists; restrictions on freedom of assembly
and association; restrictions on freedom of movement; ruling party
intimidation, threats, and violence during the elections; police,
administrative, and judicial corruption; harassment of those who worked for
human rights organizations; violence and societal discrimination against women
and abuse of children; female genital mutilation (FGM); exploitation of
children for economic and sexual purposes; trafficking in persons; societal
discrimination against persons with disabilities and religious and ethnic
minorities; forced labor and child labor; and government interference in union
activities.”
The Ethiopian Human Rights Council, Amnesty International,
Genocide Watch and many other reputable organizations have reported irrefutably
of these crimes. Since then and even after the change of leadership these
conditions have not changed. In fact they have worsened due to the
progressive faltering authority of the regime and growing discontent amongst
the population. Coercive measures that pit ethnic, religious and cultural
communities against each other are being deliberately carried out by
interfering in their organizations and practices. For instance, Muslim
communities are being harassed; their members arrested and persecuted.
Although some degree of economic development has been
recorded, Ethiopia is still amongst the poorest countries in the World
according the Human Development Index (HDI). The economy is largely dependent
on foreign aid, and its development has caused enormous disparities of income
and social disarray in a country where 98 percent of the people subsist on less
than one dollar a day. Ethiopians have no rights to own property and are denied
all fundamental legal rights and freedoms. The regime has total control of the
economy and is in possession of all physical and material resources. The
population on the whole is marginalized and confined to performing cheap labor
and to other demeaning functions. Moreover, thousands have been displaced
forcibly from their ancestral lands and made vagrant, to make space for foreign
investors and associates of the regime. The dislocation of several million
people from their land has been the cause of an immeasurable tragedy, social
disarray and death. As reported by many institutions and NGO’s, populations
dislocated from the Omo Valley, Gambela, Gura Ferda, Ogaden, Beny
Shangul-Gumuz, Afar, Amhara regions are left without resources and means of survival. Corruption,
nepotism, cronyism, mismanagement and inefficiency prevail over public
affairs.
Mister President,
American and Ethiopian relations date back over a
century, during which they have developed and their relationships have
flourished to the advantage of both nations. In the international arena,
Ethiopia has stood with the US in matters of common concern, and in promoting
peace and stability in the world. The US has been a major provider of financial
and technical to Ethiopia particularly in giving food aid during famines as
well as supporting Ethiopia’s demands from international financial
institutions. At the individual level our community in America has grown
exponentially, now going into second and third generations of
Ethio-Americans. Unlike previous patterns of migration, thanks to modern
advances of science and technology, as well as the globalization of world
affairs, our relations and contacts with the homeland are close and frequent,
hence strengthening further the relations of both countries and giving us a
well-informed insight about events and critical developments in Ethiopia.
In spite of the bad governance and criminal misdeeds
perpetrated by the dictatorial regime on its own population, the United States
has been providing political support and substantial economic development aid
to Ethiopia, particularly in support of the anti-terrorist campaign that is
being conducted in Somalia, the Horn and in Yemen. This US policy has
created consternation amongst the great majority of the population that wonders
why the US is supporting a regime that acts contrary to the basic values and
principles that are fundamental for the US itself. The majority
of opposition parties and the public do not support terrorism in any form,
nor have they expressed any demonstrable anti-American sentiments. To the
contrary their demands are for freedom and justice and a freely elected
democratic form of government, which are legitimate claims that the US should
promote and support, morally and actively. Suggestions that a political space
be made for the opposition parties is tantamount to condemn them and the
population they represent to a permanent minority status to the rule of an
ethnic cabal, and make them surrender to a rule of violence and terror.
Mister President,
The best formula to stabilize Ethiopia and avoid
future crisis is to hold free and fair elections. Considering that a political
landscape with 90 or more political parties with their sundry demands appears
to be difficult and unmanageable, an equitable solution to these problems can
be reached with good will and determination. The different Ethiopian
ethnicities have lived and interacted together for a very long time. But for a
few extremist factions the vast majority of the population is amenable to
reasonable arrangements that guarantee their freedoms and their various rights under
a democratic system of government.
The Horn of Africa and its geopolitical sphere, of
which Ethiopia is a main component, is of major strategic interest for security
and peace of the region, for Africa and the world. Therefore, it is
incumbent for the United States to promote vigorously and actively the
installation of a genuine democratic system of governance in Ethiopia and the
region, and pre-empt unnecessary turmoil in the future. So far US policy has
been mostly focused on security matters and to a lesser degree on Human Rights
and the Rule of Law which are fundamental for a democratic and free
nation. I believe that the present political situation in Ethiopia offers
a good opportunity for the US to promote and support actively the democratization
process. It is the fervent hope of millions of Ethiopians that, during this
second tenure of your Presidency, the US endeavor in Ethiopia will be conducive
to legitimate democratic governance.
Respectfully
Imru Zelleke
(Ambassador of Ethiopia, Ret.)
CC:
The.
Hon. Hillary R. Clinton
US
Secretary of State
The
Hon. John Kerry
Chairman,
Senate
Foreign Relations Committee
The
Hon. Christopher H. Smith
Chairman,
House,
Sub-Committee for Africa
