This week I had some very interesting and fruitful interactions with the White House and United States State Department about human rights in Ethiopia.  The plight of the people of Ethiopia was stressed again to these people.  These professionals knew quite a bit already about the Ethiopian human rights situation but when these topics were raised with them they responded humanly. 

 
They were well aware of the crimes of the regime and welcomed our input.  The many harassments of the members of the All Ethiopian Unity Party (AEUP) were noted.  We will continue to report these human rights violations to the United State State Department as they occur.
 
The authoritative report on Human Rights in Ethiopia for 2008 and recently issued by the United States government was repudiated by the regime’s official spokesman, Bereket Simon.   Bereket said, and I quote, :… "The State Department report is based on hearsay and lies.  We fully reject it."  On the other hand Donald Yamamoto, the United States Ambassador to Ethiopia said in Addis Ababa, “We talked to Ethiopian government officials and we stand by our report."
 
Incidents like this are not merely words, … or details.  As we continue to press for legislation in the United State Congress such unequivocal pronouncements by America’s eyes and ears in Ethiopia are very effective.  When we speak to the members of Congress, and especially those on the relevant committees, we can stress that our reports of20human rights abuses are supported by the United State government.  As we all know the work for change in Ethiopia is the work of Ethiopians but the help of the United States could provide critically needed support in the International community.

Sunday, May 17, 2009 More articles in Kinijit AEUP Radio

This week interview program with Dr Taye Woldesmiate provides critical discusssion on the serious flows of the current Court/Justice and Prison systems in Ethiopia and on the seven point demands that was submitted in the aftermath of the 2005 national election. For those that reside in the Washington Metro area we recommend to stay tuned to this educational & informative program that broadcasts every Sunday, at 11:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on WZHF 1390 A.M.

Mesfin Mekonen, Kinijit AEUP International Foreign Relations

---

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Name

Email

Comment

Write the displayed characters

Add Comment