Open Letter to U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert

September 24, 2006

The Honorable Dennis Hastert
Speaker of the House
235 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

BY FAX

Re: H.R. 5680 (Ethiopia Freedom, Democracy, and
Human Rights Advancement Act of 2006)

Dear Mr. Speaker:

I write this letter on behalf of hundreds of thousands of proud and loyal Ethiopian Americans who have placed their trust in the United States Congress to spread the blessings of freedom, democracy and human rights to our birthplace of Ethiopia.

Background on H.R. 5680

Mr. Speaker: Two great members of the United States Congress from New Jersey, Representatives Christopher Smith, Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations, and Vice Chairman of the International Relations Committee, and Donald Payne, former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and ranking member on the Subcommittee, worked collaboratively to craft H.R. 5680, the “Ethiopia Freedom, Democracy and Human Rights Advancement Act of 2006”. They drafted this bill with the conviction that it will help Ethiopia become a stable democratic society with strong human rights protections for the Ethiopian people, and to strengthen the Ethiopian American partnership in the global war on terror. For this purpose, Chairman Smith and Mr. Payne worked hard to persuade and enlist other distinguished members of the House to cosponsor the bill; and representatives Tom Lantos (CA), Charles Rangel (NY), Jim Leach (IA) and Martin Sabo (MN), among others, accepted the call and did so.

Mr. Speaker: Chairman Smith and Mr. Payne exerted extraordinary efforts to convince the Chairman of the International Relations Committee, Representative Henry Hyde and the 50 members of that Committee to favorably consider H.R. 5680. They succeeded in their efforts, and on June 27, 2006, H.R. 5680 passed unanimously in the International Relations Committee.

Mr. Speaker: The Ethiopian American community in the United States rejoiced upon learning that H.R. 5680 had passed unanimously in the International Relations Committee. We rejoiced because we believed, at last, the people we had left in Ethiopia, our mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, relatives, neighbors and friends, may be able to experience for the second time in just over a year the irresistible exhilaration of democracy, and smell the wholesome fragrance of liberty and human rights. We sat in anxious anticipation when Congress took its August recess. We never doubted the outcome of H.R. 5680.

Recent Developments on H.R. 5680

Mr. Speaker: When Congress returned after Labor Day, Ethiopian Americans throughout the United States were in full celebratory mood. We felt joyous because we believed President Bush’s prediction in his second inaugural speech had come to pass in H.R. 5680:

“All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know: the United States will not ignore your oppression, or excuse your oppressors. When you stand for your liberty, we will stand with you.”

We believed the dye had been cast for freedom, democracy and human rights in Ethiopia in the International Relations Committee, and no force could stop the freedom train carrying H.R. 5680 from the International Relations Committee to the floor of the House.”

And we waited for H.R. 5680 to show up on the House floor in early September, but we found no trace of it on the House calendar. We became concerned. We began to inquire.

Mr. Speaker, our inquires yielded the most agonizing news. We learned that the train carrying the Ethiopia Freedom, Democracy and Human Rights Advancement Act to the House floor had been stopped dead in its tracks in your office. We were heartbroken; we felt let down. We began to ask questions of ourselves: “Why did the Speaker block H.R. 5680? What is it that he did not like about the bill? What reservations could he possibly have about a bill whose only aim and focus is freedom, democracy and human rights in Ethiopia?

Mr. Speaker: As we asked these questions of ourselves, we became even more bewildered: Why would the Speaker block a bill that passed with the unanimous support of the Chair and Vice Chair and 50 members of the House International Relations Committee? Why would he stop a bill authored by one of the truly great giants of international human rights, a great republican, Chris Smith, and one of the prominent experts on Africa in the entire United States Congress, Donald Payne?

We were mightily confused because we felt, if you opposed H.R. 5680 and blocked it from getting to the floor, it must surely mean Chris Smith, Don Payne, Tom Lantos, Jim Leach, Charles Rangel, Martin Sabo and all of the many co-sponsors of the bill were misguided and ill-advised in authoring and co-sponsoring it. Of course, none of these members would be part of any scheme that would subvert their constitutional duties.
And so we began to inquire with your office. We made telephone calls, sent you faxes and emails. We came to your offices to be heard. We had our friends and supporters in the 14^th Congressional district of Illinois call on our behalf, and find out why you had blocked the bill from getting to the floor.

We received no answers, not a single official word, from your office. We were merely informed in general terms that that you had issues and concerns about H.R. 5680.

Quandary of Ethiopian Americans Over Blockage of H.R. 5680 in the Speaker’s Office

Mr. Speaker: Your reasons for blocking H.R. 5680 from a floor vote mystify us; and we are dismayed by your silence to our inquiries.

And so, Mr. Speaker, we present our petition to you once more:

Is your concern with the language in H.R. 5680 that requires the “Secretary of State [to] establish a mechanism to provide financial support to local and national human rights groups and other relevant civil society organizations to help strengthen human rights monitoring and regular reporting on human rights conditions in Ethiopia”?

Or are you concerned about the provision having to do with “establish(ing) a program to provide legal support for political prisoners and prisoners of conscience and to assist local groups or groups from outside Ethiopia that are active in monitoring the status of political prisoners and prisoners of conscience in Ethiopia”?

Could it be the language in H.R. 5680 which “seek(s) to increase the independence of the Ethiopian judiciary through facilitation of joint discussions for court personnel, officials from the Ethiopian Ministry of Justice, relevant members of the legislature, and civil society representatives on international human rights standards”?

Or the provision which “create(s) and support(s) a judicial monitoring process, consisting of local and international groups, to monitor judicial proceedings throughout Ethiopia, with special focus on unwarranted government intervention on strictly judicial matters, and to investigate and report on actions to strengthen an independent judiciary”?

Are you concerned about the provision “encourag(ing) the Government of Ethiopia to enter into discussions with the Oromo Liberation Front to bring them into full participation in the political and economic affairs of Ethiopia, including their legalization as a political party”?

Does the provision which “establish(es) a program to strengthen private media in Ethiopia, provide support for training purposes, offer technical and other types of support as necessary, and expand programming by the Voice of America to Ethiopia” trouble you?

Is it possible that the language in H.R. 5680 which “seek(s) the unconditional release of all political prisoners and prisoners of conscience in Ethiopia” presents some ambiguity for you?

Do you find repugnant the provision which directs the U.S. “President [to] provide assistance for the rehabilitation of victims of torture in Ethiopia at centers established for such purposes”?

Mr. Speaker, please help us understand! We want to know what concerns you. What is it that you do not like about H.R. 5680?

Mr. Speaker: We know you are a great champion of human rights. We know that you are a member of the highly respected Congressional Human Rights Caucus. Your recent actions demonstrate that you are a champion of human rights. You said on August 26^th in California, and just last week, that you will bring the Armenian Genocide Act (H.R. 398) to the floor of the House before the end of September. We are impressed by your commitment and courage to the Armenian Genocide Act, because we can imagine the difficult hurdles you had to overcome -- strong opposition by the Turkish Government, the State Department, and Turkey’s allies in the defense and oil industries. And you have our sincere admiration for the courage and determination you have shown to bring the Armenian Genocide Act to the floor.

But then we looked at our situation, and asked the obvious question: “If Mr. Hastert can help Armenian Americans, why couldn’t he help us? Why wouldn’t he allow H.R.5680 to just tag along H.R. 398 to the floor?”

Mr. Speaker, we are in a quandary. We are at a loss.

Opponents of H.R. 5680

In all candor, Mr. Speaker, the Ethiopian American community believes that the legislative intent and aims of H.R. 5680 have been mischaracterized by opponents of the bill, and the lobbyists for the Ethiopian government.

We believe you have been misinformed on H.R. 5680: that the bill will undermine American counter-terrorism efforts in the Horn of Africa, particularly in light of the recent crisis in Somalia, that it could strain the Ethiopian American partnership in the war against terror, that is really the work of Ethiopian elites in America who have an axe to with the government and has no real support among Ethiopians or Ethiopian Americans, that its passage will derail and reverse the economic growth in the country and “calamity” will befall the millions of ordinary Ethiopians if H.R. 5680 were to pass. We also believe that you have heard laudatory words about Mr. Zenawi: one of a new breed of African leaders, dedicated to democracy and human rights, a loyal and dutiful friend of America, a dependable partner in the global and regional war on terror.

We also believe you have been misled on the issue of political prisoners, and the demand in the bill for their immediate release. As you are aware, the top leadership of the opposition and numerous independent journalists and many others remain incarcerated today in Ethiopia for exercising their consciences. As aptly stated in H.R. 5680, the opposition leaders

“were imprisoned and charged with treason and genocide. These measures were deliberately taken to stifle and criminalize opposition party activity in the country. The measures also were intended to intimidate and silence independent press and civil society, raising serious question about the Ethiopian Government’s commitment to democracy and good governance.”

Mr. Speaker: Passage of H.R. 5680 will have no negative impact on U.S. counter-terrorism efforts in the Horn of Africa. The suggestion that passage of the bill undermine the role played by the Ethiopian government in cooperating with the U.S. is unfounded because the bill provides a clear exception to “humanitarian assistance, assistance under emergency food programs, assistance to combat HIV/AIDS, and other health care assistance [and does] not apply with respect to peacekeeping or counter-terrorism assistance.”

Similarly, Mr. Speaker, the current Somali crises has nothing to do with freedom, democracy and human rights in Ethiopia. If anything H.R. 5680 sends a stern and unmistakable warning to those regimes in the region that provide support and aid to terrorists. As President Bush stated in his March, 2005 speech at the National Defense University on the centrality of promoting democracy as a potent weapon in the war against global terrorism:

“Our strategy to keep the peace in the longer term is to help change the conditions that give rise to extremism and terror, especially in the broader Middle East. Parts of that region have been caught for generations in a cycle of tyranny and despair and radicalism…. It should be clear that the best antidote to radicalism and terror is the tolerance and hope kindled in free societies. And our duty is now clear: For the sake of our long-term security, all free nations must stand with the forces of democracy and justice that have begun to transform the Middle East.”

Mr. Speaker, that is all H.R. 5680 aims to do, help the “forces of democracy and justice that have begun to transform” Ethiopia.

Issue of “Sanctions” in H.R. 5680

Mr. Speaker: We believe the crux of the issue and your concerns with H.R. 5680 most likely have to do with the so-called sanctions provisions of H.R. 5680. Indeed, the word “sanctions” is a misnomer, because the bill contains only reasonable accountability provisions.

The accountability provisions in the bill are twofold: First, there are restrictive provisions which prohibit delivery of “nonessential United States assistance to the Government of Ethiopia if the Government of Ethiopia acts to obstruct United States technical assistance to advance human rights, democracy, independence of the judiciary, freedom of the press, economic development and economic freedom in Ethiopia.” This restriction does not apply to humanitarian assistance and counter-terrorism and peacekeeping assistance. (Emphasis added.) There is also a travel restriction on “any official of the Government of Ethiopia who has been involved in giving orders to use lethal force against peaceful demonstrators in Ethiopia, or has been accused of gross human rights violations.”

Second, there are reporting and certification provisions which require (1) the U.S. President to present “to Congress a report on the implementation of this Act, including a description of a comprehensive plan to address the security, human rights, democratization, and economic freedom concerns that potentially threaten the stability of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia”, and (2) certify to “Congress that the Government of Ethiopia is making credible, quantifiable efforts to ensure that all political prisoners and prisoners of conscience in Ethiopia have been released, the Ethiopian judiciary is able to function independently, the investigation of the killing of civilian protesters by Ethiopian security forces is credible, transparent, and those involved in the unlawful killing are punished and print and broadcast media in Ethiopia are able to operate free from undue interference and laws.”

These are reasonable, and not burdensome accountability provisions.

Mr. Speaker: Regardless of the foregoing accountability provisions, the U.S. President is invested with waiver authority under the bill, and he may decline to apply the relevant provisions of the bill if he “determines that to the maximum extent practicable, the Government of Ethiopia has met the requirement of paragraph and such a waiver is in the national interests of the United States.” There is really no concern.

Mr. Speaker: We surmise that you have been told that the accountability provisions in the bill will somehow serve to embolden and strengthen Mr. Zenawi’s opposition in Ethiopia and abroad, and that his opponents will use this bill to undertake other hostile legislative efforts. Such arguments have no merit, and merely seek to divert attention from the real issues at hand, namely, the need for reasonable mechanisms to promote freedom, democracy and human rights in Ethiopia.

We suspect, Mr. Speaker, that you have probably been told that the accountability provisions of H.R. 5680 will cause international embarrassment to Mr. Zenawi and stigmatize him and his government as violators of human rights. But if there is any such stigma, it is not found in H.R. 5680. One must look elsewhere in the reports of the United States State Department Annual Human Rights Reports, and Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch reports for evidence.

Mr. Speaker: We are sure you agree that accountability is the soul of any meaningful piece of legislation. Without accountability, H.R. 5680 will not be worth the paper it is written on. And if H.R. 5680 were to pass without its accountability provisions, it would not only lack teeth, it will be a mockery of the hard work and efforts of Chris Smith and Don Payne and all of the others members who have cosponsored the bill. It would be ultimately a mockery of a solemn act of the United States Congress. It would be worse than having no law at all, because H.R. 5680 without accountability would be an empty proclamation that tells the Ethiopian people that U.S. Congress gives only lip service to their yearning for freedom, human rights and democracy. There must be accountability!

Mr. Speaker: Let me emphasize again that there really should be no concern with the accountability provisions of H.R. 5680.The accountability provisions apply only, and only, if the Ethiopian government fails to carry out the freedom, democracy and human rights provisions of the bill; and the President has full discretion to waive application of the provisions if he makes certain determinations or finds waiver to be in the national interest of the United States.

But Mr. Speaker, there is even a more compelling reason why you should have no concerns at all about the accountability provisions. It is unlikely that they will ever be applied because Mr. Zenawi and his ruling party in Ethiopia have always proclaimed that “Ethiopia is a true democracy. Human rights are respected, and the rule of law is supreme in Ethiopia.” H.R. 5680 would only make their jobs infinitely easier, and provide them $20 million to implement practically what they have been professing to the world for well over a decade now. You should have no concerns.

But as President Bush stated in June, 2003, “Notorious human rights abusers, including, among others, Burma, Cuba, North Korea, Iran, and Zimbabwe, have long sought to shield their abuses from the eyes of the world by staging elaborate deceptions and denying access to international human rights monitors.”

H.R. 5680 without its accountability provisions will itself serve as “shield of abuse.” The Ethiopian government will trumpet to the world that the U.S. Congress passed a law which has no binding legal effect; that Congress did so because Congress believed the Ethiopian government has an unblemished human rights record, and an unquestioned commitment to democracy. Indeed, such a view would be manifestly justified if H.R.5680 were to pass without its current accountability provisions.

But Mr. Speaker, the so-called sanctions issue is a non-issue, and unsupported by any legal or informed political analysis. We must have the current accountability mechanisms in H.R. 5680 if the U.S. is serious about freedom, democracy and human rights in Ethiopia.

The Clock is Running on H.R. 5680

Mr. Speaker: As you are well aware, the clock is running on H.R. 5680. We know that if H.R.5680 is not placed on the suspension calendar by September 27, 2006, it will not have much of a chance to be considered this year. Surely, we do not doubt your authority to make things happen in the House; and we believe you can send H.R. 5680 to the floor on the last day of the legislative session, if you so choose. But realistically, if H.R. 5680 is not on the suspension calendar by midweek, it is unlikely to be up for floor consideration this year.

Mr. Speaker: We Ethiopian Americans despair over the fate of H.R. 5680 in your office. We are deeply disappointed by what appears to be a silence of indifference in your office. We are wondering if you have turned a deaf ear to our pleas for help? Many of us despair that you have abandoned us, and the cause of freedom, democracy and human rights in Ethiopia.

In our desperation, we have sought refuge among the good people of DuPage, Kane, Kendall, LaSalle, DeKalb, and Lee counties in Illinois. Many of our Christian brothers and sisters, and all people of faith in Illinois, have opened their arms and commiserated with us, and cried with us over the misfortunes we have experienced in getting H.R. 5680 to the floor. By the hundreds they volunteered to help us, intercede on our behalf. We are deeply grateful to them for their assistance in calling your office on our behalf.

Mr. Speaker: As the hour hand sweeps ever so closely to midnight on H.R. 5680, many in the Ethiopian American community have given up hope that you will relent and allow the bill to get to the floor this legislative session. But I tell them they are wrong, dead wrong: that even in the midnight hour, you will be with us. You will be shepherding H.R. 5680 to the floor of the House.

Mr. Speaker: We Ethiopian Americans are new to the American political process. We are new to grassroots advocacy. We lack the sophistication and polish of the professional lobbyists. We do not have the savvy and cleverness of those professionals who can talk to members of Congress in pithy phrases and diplomatic eloquence.

But as we take “baby steps” in the American political process and begin to exercise our democratic rights under the U.S. Constitution, we feel empowered and our spirits are uplifted into the heavens by the knowledge of the freedoms guaranteed us under this sacred document. And so, as we place our petition in your hands to let H.R. 5680 go to the floor, we are ever so mindful and thankful for what America has given us -- a precious gift of freedom and liberty that we could not get anywhere in the world, least of all in the country of our birth.

Mr. Speaker: As we feast on the cornucopia of freedom in America -- the freedom to speak our minds, to petition the highest officers of our government, to freely associate and assemble with our American friends, live our lives with fear of a midnight knock on our doors -- we remember our mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, and the friends, relatives and neighbors we have left in Ethiopia; and we are saddened. We are saddened because free speech, freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention, honest elections, a fair justice system are all forbidden fruits to them. Yes, they may take a chance to taste these fruits, but they may have to pay with their lives. And many have paid with their lives.

And so, Mr. Speaker, we Ethiopian Americans of all faiths believe in the power of prayer. We will pray that you will have a change of mind, that God will guide your heart and direct your hand to pick up H.R. 5680 from the International Relations Committee and deliver it safely to the floor of the House so that the representatives of the American people could pass judgment on it. We will pray that God will show you that our cause of freedom, democracy and human rights is the same cause the Founders of the American Republic defended in the American Revolution -- that “all men are created equal by their Creator and have the inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

We call upon you to hearken to the memorable words of President Bush: “All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know: the United States will not ignore your oppression, or excuse your oppressors. When you stand for your liberty, we will stand with you.”

Mr. Speaker, stand with us! Help us! Be that strong link in the chain of freedom, democracy and human rights forged by Chris Smith and Donald Payne in the House International Relations Committee. History will remember you that when the clock struck midnight, you were on the side of your proud and loyal Ethiopian American constituents, and not the distant tyrants repudiated by their own people.

Mr. Speaker, we make a final appeal to you:

Let freedom ring in Ethiopia!

Let democracy flourish and thrive in the land of the Blue Nile!

Let human rights triumph for our mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, friends, relatives and neighbors in Ethiopia!

Let H.R. 5680 go!

GOD BLESS AMERICA!

Sincerely,

Alemayehu G. Mariam, Ph.D. J.D. (Esq.,)

Professor and Attorney at Law

cc: President George Bush, The White House

Dr. Condoleeza Rice, Secretary of State

Mr. Donald Yamamoto, Ambassador Designate to Ethiopia

United States House of Representatives:

Hon. Nancy Pelosi Hon. Dana Rohrabacher

Hon. Henry Hyde Hon. Jim Moran

Hon. Christopher Smith Hon. Loretta Sanchez

Hon. Donald Payne Hon. Steve Chabot

Hon. Tom Lantos Hon. Al Green

Hon. Jim Leach Hon. Cynthia McKinney

Hon. Charles Rangel Hon. Edolphous Towns

Hon. Martin Sabo Hon. Tom Tancredo

Hon. Frank R. Wolf

Prof. Alemayehu G. Mariam’s Special Message to Ethiopian-Americans in Illinois and in the 14th Illinois Congressional District

My friends and fellow Ethiopian-Americans in Illinois, and those of you particularly in the 14th Illinois Congressional District:

I thank you for inviting me to join you in discussing the fate of H.R. 5680, and what you can do to help it get to the floor of the House for a vote.

I regret that I am unable to accept your invitation now due to prior commitments.

I thought, given the running clock on H.R.5680, I would share with you in this open message a few thoughts about what you can and should be able to do in getting H.R. 5680 to the House floor for a final vote.

Let me first say that, without any action on your part, Ethiopian-Americans in Illinois and in 14th Illinois Congressional district have been dealt a historic role in determining whether our people in Ethiopia will have freedom, democracy and human rights, or continue to swelter with the heat of injustice and oppression.

I am not sure if you would have voluntarily welcomed such a historic responsibility, but I am afraid, being the constituents of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dennis Hastert, that responsibility has now been thrust upon you.

And so, you must now lead the charge to get H.R. 5680 to the floor.

But as I ask you to take up the mission of rescuing H.R. 5680 from captivity in the office of your representative from Illinois, and delivering it to the House floor for a free debate and vote, I must share with you my own personal and profound sadness.

Your representative, Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the House of Representatives, has abandoned Ethiopia.

And forgive me if I offend you, but he has abandoned you as well.

I am not sure why he has abandoned Ethiopia, but you must find out why he has abandoned you!

I have a few thoughts why the Speaker may have abandoned Ethiopia, if you would like to know.

Perhaps the mighty lobbying firm of DLA Piper has something to do with it.

Perhaps Richard Armey, the former House majority leader and right hand man of the Speaker, has a lot do with it.

Perhaps $600,000 paid to a lobbyist has done it!!

But it does not matter. Whether it is 30 pieces of silver or $600,000, your congressman, Dennis Hastert, has chained H.R.5680 to the floor of the International Relations Committee, and will not let it get to the floor of the House.

And as his constituents, you have to hold him accountable. He has betrayed your trust.

As voters in Illinois and his constituents in the 14th Congressional district of Illinois, you have a special covenant with your representative, Dennis Hastert.

It is a covenant of trust.

You trust Mr. Hastert will represent you first and foremost in Congress. Not Richard Armey, the DLA Piper lobbying firm or a foreign government.

You trust that he will be your voice in Congress. Not turn a deaf ear when you plead for his assistance, while listening attentively to the whispers of Richard Armey.

You trust he will serve you as his constituents, help you in whatever way possible when you need help, when you request for help. Not abandon and ignore you, and your plea for help.

But I am afraid, your trust has been betrayed. Dennis Hastert has placed his trust with others, those who can flash crispy notes of $600,000.

And so, I call upon you to undertake a rescue mission to save H.R. 5680.

It is a historic mission that will write a glorious chapter in the annals of Ethiopian Diaspora.

What can you do? What can you do as Speaker Hastert’s constituents? What can you do to restore your faith in him and reaffirm the covenant? What can he do to earn your trust again?

First, you have to demand that you want to be heard while Mr. Hastert sits in his office in Washington, and when he comes back to the district for the midterm elections.

Richard Armey was heard. Loud and clear. And the Ethiopian government was heard. Loud and Clear.

And neither Armey nor the Ethiopian government live in Illinois or in the 14th congressional district. They don’t vote there.

You have a right to be heard!!

You have a right to be heard over the telephone, by mail and by email, by fax and in person.

You need to tell Mr. Hastert that you are concerned, deeply worried about what can happen to your mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, friends and relatives if H.R. 5680 does not make it to the floor.

You need to tell him that H.R. 5680 will bring freedom, democracy, human rights and economic development for those you have left behind.

He needs to know that there is not a single provision, not one, in the bill that will harm to any person or entity in Ethiopia.

You need to tell him that, but for its arrogance and hubris, the Ethiopian government could use H.R.5680 to live out the true meaning of its public declarations that “Ethiopia is a democracy. Human rights are protected. And the rule of law reigns supreme in Ethiopia.”

You need to tell him that Chairman Christopher Smith is not a person of rash judgment, and when he introduced H.R. 5680, and previously H.R. 4423, he had done his homework. He begged and pleaded with the Ethiopian government to observe human rights standards, ensure fair and honest elections, accept the judgment of the people in the elections, investigate the killings of peaceful protestors, and work with opposition groups in the spirit of unity and common purpose.

When his pleas fell on deaf ears, then, and only then, did he introduce H.R. 5680.

And you need to tell Mr. Hastert that it is not fair, not fair at all, for him to chain the hopes and aspirations of an entire nation based on the whispers and insinuations of Richard Armey.

Richard Armey is a hired hand. He does not care about your mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, friends and relatives. You could probably say the same about his clients.

Armey cares only about his fees.

Then you need to ask Mr. Hastert to take a stand:

Is he with you or with the notorious human rights violators, whose flagrant violation is recorded in the annals of the U.S. State Department Human Rights Reports, year after year?

Is he with you or with the jail keepers of Qaliti prison? Killers of peacefully protesting children? And practitioners of state terror?

Is he with you as he is with the Armenian victims of genocide whose cause he
champions as we speak, and whose cause he champions and has promised to bring
(H.R. 398) to the House floor before the end of September?

Does he believe our human rights cause is as important as the human rights cause of
others?

But you can not carry out this mission alone, and you need not carry it alone.

You have allies.

You have allies in people of faith in the Illinois and the 14th Illinois congressional district. I know some of them. They are good moral and God-fearing Americans. They will help you.

Go to the churches and ask church members to help you call Mr. Hastert’s office and ask him to release H.R. 5680 to go to the floor.

Use civic organizations and others in your community including local lawyers and the legal community, human rights groups, branch offices of the NAACP, ACLU, Rotary and Lion’s clubs, fraternal associations, voter groups, and even city council and aldermen’s offices. They are all there for you, and all you need is ask for their help.

And by no means overlook your American friends, co-workers, parents with whom you associate on the soccer and baseball fields.

Ask them to help you. And they will. That is the American way!

But we are running out of time on H.R. 5680, but not out of hope.

Yes, we have 2 weeks left to save H.R. 5680. And we must put out our best efforts.

But two weeks is a lot of time to do good things; to show your Mr. Hastert that may be he did not get a chance to carefully study the bill, that may be he relied on the briefings of his staff.

May be if he took a second look, he may change his mind; once he made sure that H.R. 5680 is concerned only with freedom, democracy and human rights.

I believe that if Mr. Hastert took a careful look at the bill, he will change his mind and let the bill go to the floor. Often times, people in Mr. Hastert’s leadership position do not get a chance to read over every piece of legislation that comes to the floor. That is understandable.
And so you will need to encourage him to take a second look and make up his mind.

You should praise him for changing his mind, if he chooses to do so.

But choices always include alternatives.

You and your fellow American helpers -- from the churches to the soccer fields -- you will all have a chance to be heard again on November 7.

H.R. 5680 may have 2 weeks left on it, but November 7 is a long way away.

You will have a job to do as proud members of a democratic society.

I am confident you will do your jobs then, and in the days preceding November 7.

So, onward with your historic mission.

Unshackle H.R. 5680 from your Congressman’s office.

Work together with your fellow Americans hand-in-hand and shoulder-to-shoulder, and deliver H.R. 5680 to the floor of the House of Representatives.

God Bless you. God bless Ethiopia. God bless America.

==============
Additional information available at: www.hr5680.org

Betrayal of Democracy

(Text of Prof. Alemayehu Gebre Mariam’s speech at the premier of the documentary “Betrayal of Democracy” at the University of California, Los Angeles, Ackerman Union, September 16, 2006. “Betrayal of Democracy,” Obang Metho, Producer, in association with the University of Saskatchewan, Canada.)

*** This speech followed immediately after the showing of Betrayal of Democracy.***

Thank you Wassy [Tesfa] for your kind introduction.

I am overcome by emotion, of what I have seen in this documentary. Such crimes committed against our own people.

So as I try to collect my thoughts here, I hope you understand that such injustice must not pass unnoticed, or unpunished.

My young friend Obang, you have done a great service for our people. I am not sure how we can thank you, but I suppose you did not do it for gratitude.

But we thank you nonetheless.

Good evening everyone, and welcome.

I am honored to have the privilege of making a few remarks on the occasion of the premier showing of Betrayal of Democracy.

One of our best and brightest young people has exerted extraordinary energy and creativity to put together a documentary which will serve to inform us, teach us, and educate us on the betrayal of democracy in our homeland.

This documentary is done for a worthy cause: the cause of human rights, freedom and democracy in Ethiopia.

Before I offer my remarks on the betrayal of democracy in Ethiopia, I would like to take a moment to thank the Task Force on H.R. 5680, particularly Ms. Meron Ahadu, for helping to organize this event.

The extraordinary efforts of the Task Force in the struggle to pass H.R. 5680, the “Ethiopia Freedom, Democracy and Human Rights Accountability Act of 2006”, is well-known and widely appreciated.

I thank the members of the Task Force for their unwaivering commitment to human rights and democracy in Ethiopia, and for sponsoring this event.

With your permission, I want to take a few moments to share some personal thoughts about the young man who has brought us here today, and thank him for his work in this documentary.

This documentary has been a labor of love for him; and for us, his fellow Ethiopians, an object of singular pride and honor.

Obang is an extraordinary young Ethiopian.

I first saw him at a hearing of the Subcommittee on Africa in Washington, D.C., last Spring when H.R. 4423 (Ethiopia Consolidation Act of 2005) was on calendar.

Obang was one of the scheduled witnesses.

I had no idea who he was, and what he was going to testify about.

As Obang took the witness chair, I sat nauseated in the back of the gallery in the hearing room having just finished listening to the lies and subterfuges of the Ethiopian Charge d’Affaires Fisseha Tessema.

Mr. Tessema represented to Congress: “There is no single person I know of in Ethiopia who is incarcerated because they refuse to sit in parliament. There are elected parliamentarians who have chosen not to join the Parliament. They are living peacefully.”

Peaceful life in Qualiti prison! Just imagine that!

That was why I was nauseated.

As Obang took the witness chair to testify, I had a vague feeling that this young man has not had a peaceful life. Pain was evident in his face.

And soon enough, I realized why this young man seemed to be in so much pain.

“I will talk today about the Anuak,” he said, as he began his testimony.

“I am an Anuak. I grew up in Gambella. Please bear with me if I am emotional.”

And he glanced towards the gallery of the large hearing room filled with spectators, and continued:

“As I am speaking, most of you may look at my face today and most of you would say I am not Ethiopian. To some Ethiopians, I could pass for German. I have been excluded even today. The only person who mentioned the word Anuak was Chariman Smith.”

I had barely propped myself up in my seat when Obang hit me with the truth. He said:

“The Anuaks belong in Ethiopia. They are Ethiopian citizens. Ethiopians have to accept that reality.”

Then he went on to plead the cause of the Anuak people with passion and fervor. He said:

“We are a very tiny minority. There are no more than 100,000 Anuaks. That is including me.”

He said he has appeared before Congress to have his cry for justice for the Anuak people heard by the American people.

He said he has come to seek the help of Congress to save his people from annihilation by the Ethiopian government.

He said 1,600 hundred of his brothers, sisters, relatives, friends and neighbors had been murdered, massacred by Ethiopian government troops. And countless thousands have become refugees.

He sat in that hearing room as the lonely voice of a tiny minority which now sits precariously on the precipice of ethnic annihilation.

Then he told of the despair of the Anuak people:

“Right now,” he said “the Anuak have lost hope. And the international community has failed them.”

No one could have made a more passionate plea for justice than Obang that day in Congress.

No one could have pled with more conviction and passion the cause of human rights for the Anuak people.

And I sat in the back of the gallery, I found myself in a state of shame.

I knew nothing about the Anuak, or the massacres that had taken place over the past few years, or the state of terror that had existed in Gambella for years.

I knew then why this young man’s face was draped in pain.

It became clear to me that 1,600 Anuak victims were speaking in unison through his voice.

Obang was just their messenger in Congress that day. He had carried their solemn message from the grave.

And I thought to myself, what a cross for a young man to bear!

As he continued his testimony about the persecution of the Anuak, the moral force of his arguments, and my own sense of guilt became unbearable.

I wanted to stand up and tell him to stop. I wanted to protest:

“Obang, I didn’t know. I had no idea the Anuaks were being massacred by the government. I had no way to find out. I have no responsibility.”

I wanted quick absolution. I wanted to be forgiven.

I felt if I could raise the defense of ignorance, I may be able to avoid moral responsibility, and avoid judgment for being willfully blind to the suffering of the Anuaks.

But I knew ignorance would offer me no defense, because in my case, it was a case of willful ignorance.

The atrocities committed against the Anuak were no secret. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the U.S. State Department Human Rights Reports have been reporting them for years.

But as I thought about Obang’s testimony in Congress, I began to think that perhaps it was not ignorance that kept me from knowing about the suffering of the Anuak. For ignorance can be cured with knowledge.

Perhaps I did not want to admit the real reason to myself.

Perhaps it was a malignancy of the heart.

Just may be, I did not care about the Anuaks. May be deep down, I did not think they mattered.

And so that day, I left that hearing room with a heavy heart and downcast eyes.

But as downcast as my eyes were, they were eyes wide open.

I took Obang’s words at the hearing not as a condemnation, but a challenge. A challenge to learn more about the plight and suffering of the Anuak.

And as I poured over the human rights reports and newspaper reports and the very few books on the recent history of the Anuak, I learned more.

I learned that Obang had been very cautious in his report of the body count of the Anuak killed by government forces. It was not 1,600. No, No. It was much higher than that.

On January 25, 2005, Genocide Watch reported “Government defense forces, called the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), have killed as many as 2,500 ethnic Anuak in the Gambella region since December 2003.”

I learned that an investigative delegation of Amnesty International had been turned back from Gambella and prevented from discovering the truth.

I learned that thousands of Anuak have been arbitrarily arrested and jailed. Many tortured. Anuak women raped. It was all there.

But the numbers spoke of the extent of the destruction of a society and a culture.

Obang spoke of the suffering of the individuals and families.

But Obang need not speak alone, any more. He need not protest alone, anymore.

We are all with you, Obang. The suffering of the Anuak people is the suffering of all Ethiopians. Their liberation, our liberation.

But I will never forget your words: “To some Ethiopians, I could pass for a German.”

My friend, you are no German! You are a 24 carat Ethiopian!!

So, my young friend, thank you for pleading the cause of the Anuak people.

Thank you for this documentary. And thank you for all you do for Ethiopia.

And thank you all for letting me share this personal moment with you.

And now, let me say a few words about the documentary we have just seen.

Obang has chosen the theme of democracy and betrayal in producing this documentary, and so I thought I would share with you a few personal thoughts about democracy and betrayal, and for good measure, I have added a few words on tyranny as well.

Democracy, since its birth in Athens in 508 B.C., has undergone various transformations in diverse societies and cultures.

Churchill once said that “Democracy is the worst form of government, except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.”

But I would wager to say, democracy has not had a more glorious rebirth than the one we almost witnessed in Ethiopia in May, 2005.

26 million of Ethiopia’s 74 million people were registered to vote for the May 15 elections.

30,000 polling stations were opened to receive their votes.

319 international observers were present to serve as midwives in the rebirth of democracy in Ethiopia.

And on May 15, 2005, an earthshaking event took place in Ethiopia.

90% of the eligible voters came out to vote. That is over 23.4 million Ethiopians who cast their votes.

That day, Ethiopians made themselves the undisputed heavyweight champions of democracy in the world.

Neither India, the largest democracy in the world, nor America, the longest enduring democracy, could match that turn out of Ethiopian voters in May, 2005.

But as we all know, democracy was not born in Ethiopia on May 15, 2005.

It was aborted. It was stillborn.

And as Ethiopians held a wake for a stillborn democracy, I paused to contemplate what it was that democracy meant to them at precisely 6:00 a.m. on May 15, 2005, when the polling stations opened.

I wondered if, on that morning, they were thinking about the direct democracy of ancient Athens, or Jeffersonian democracy and popular government with constitutional safeguards for individual liberties, or parliamentary democracy, or social democracy, or any of the other variants of democracy.

And as I thought about this question, it seemed to me less likely that they were concerned about the ideals or theories of democracy.

They had far more practical and mundane concerns and problems.

And as I thought back on that fateful morning of May 15, 2005, I could imagine millions of Ethiopians marching to the polling stations at the crack of dawn from every hamlet and neighborhood, town and city with a fresh broom in one hand and a hammer in the other.

They had a job to do!

And it was a glorious Spring day.

It was house cleaning time!

It was time to sweep out 14 years of mismanagement. 14 years of misrule. 14 years of misgovernment. 14 years of malfeasance. And 14 years of corruption.

It was time to sweep out the EPDRF rascals.

And sweep out, they did. Out of every hamlet and neighborhood, town and city.

They scooped up the rascals and threw them in the dustbin of history.

And when dusk had arrived and the polling done that day, the people rested.

And their house was clean.

The opposition had swept across the Ethiopian political landscape like an F-5 tornado.

Addis Ababa was “addis” again. The people had scrubbed it clean from top to bottom.

Addis was ready for the new occupants.

Ethiopia was ready to accept its new representatives.

And so the following day, the people put down their brooms and picked up their hammers.

They had a job to do!

It was time to build a free society, a new future based on the rule of law, respect for civil liberties and human rights.

It was time to pick up the wreckage of the last 14 years and rebuild society, and heal the wounds of ethnic hatred and division.

There was a lot to build.

But when the people showed up on the job site to begin construction the following day, they were told the whole thing was make believe.

The elections did not happen. Nothing has changed. The rascals are still in charge.

And so overnight, the people’s victory had changed to defeat, their hopes dissolved into despair, their aspirations transformed into a nightmare.

But the people refused to believe the elections were make believe.

The newly elected leaders refused to accept the elections were a game or a joke.

The people demanded that their judgment be respected.

But the rascals would have none of it.

The demand of people was answered with bullets.

Their new leaders were sent to the jailhouse, while the rascals sat comfortably in parliament house.

And so the people’s hopes, desires and aspirations for democracy were betrayed.

When Judas Iscariot took 30 pieces of silver from the Romans to turn in Jesus, that was betrayal.

When unarmed young men and women who were protesting peacefully were shot by government soldiers, that was betrayal of democracy.

When Meles Zenawi paid his Washington lobbyists $600,000 to defeat H.R. 5680, a bill whose only purpose is to advance freedom, democracy and human rights in Ethiopia, that is the ultimate betrayal of democracy.

When Meles Zenawi jailed the winners of the 2005 elections, the people’s choice, that was the ultimate betrayal of democracy.

But history shows democracy is always betrayed by tyrants.

From the first tyrants of ancient Athens to the present day, they are all afflicted by the same malady.

They all believe they can rule by force.

They do not believe it is necessary to have the consent of the people to govern.

They believe they can solve the problems of their society by jailing, killing and persecuting those who disagree with them.

And the rogue’s gallery of tyrants in East Africa testifies to that. Al Bashir betrayed democracy in the Sudan. Siad Barre in Somalia. Idi Amin in Uganda. And Meles Zenawi in Ethiopia.

In May 2005, Mr. Zenawi had a serious collision with democracy.

He was injured badly, and he will never be the same again.

Yes, he will limp along, and use his soldiers as a crutch to stay in power, but not for long.

For once you have been disowned by the people, there is no redemption.

Meles is now riding the caged tiger of democracy, and he will stay in power as long as he stays on the back of the tiger, and the tiger remains caged.

And neither he nor his party will ever gain the faith and trust of the people he betrayed.

But democracy will not remain betrayed. And all is not lost.

There is a glimmer of hope and resurrection. Democracy can yet arise from its grave in Ethiopia.

The Ethiopian people look to us in America, in Europe and wherever else on earth we have been scattered by the winds of oppression and persecution.

And so we face the question, how do we “unbetray” democracy?

How do we restore faith in our people? How do we reassure them deliverance is near?

Our people did their jobs on May 15, 2005. We now have ours to do.

And our job is to get H.R. 5680 (the Ethiopia Freedom, Democracy and Human Rights Accountability Act of 2006) passed.

But H.R. 5680 is in trouble in Congress. Deep trouble.

We are in trouble.

Democracy is about to be betrayed yet again. This time the cost of betrayal is not 30 pieces of silver. It’s gone up. It is $600,000 paid to the lobby firm of DLA Piper.

The mighty warrior of the DLA Piper lobbying firm has met us on Capitol Hill, the U.S. Congress.

Richard Armey, the former Majority Leader of the House of Representatives and lobbyist for the Ethiopian government, has arrayed his mighty DLA army against us and H.R. 5680.

Dick Armey, the trusted right hand man of Dennis Hastert, the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Yes, Armey is a powerful man, and very well connected man in Washington.

And he has whispered in the Speaker’s ears.

And so H.R. 5680 is stuck in the International Relations Committee. Speaker Hastert will not let it get to the floor for a vote.

When Joshua fought the Battle of Jehrico, he did not rely on bows and arrows, or swords and axes.

He had his army shout a great shout, and the walls of Jehrico came tumbling down.

My friends, we have only three weeks to save H.R. 5680. Like Josua’s army, we must shout a great shout now. We must get our voices heard.

We have to call Speaker Hastert’s office. Not just once, but as many times as necessary.

We have to write the Speaker. Email him, fax him, meet with him and his staff. Not just once, but as many times as necessary.

We need to make our case to him. We need to plead our people’s cause before him.

We must tell him that our people hunger for democracy. H.R. 5680 will nourish them by helping them have honest elections.

We must tell him our people thirst for liberty. H.R. 5680 will quench their thirst by helping secure their human rights.

We must tell him our people demand justice. H.R. 5680 will help them get judges and prosecutors who serve in the interest of justice, and not just serve their own interests.

We must tell him our people demand the release of our leaders who are languishing in prison. H.R. 5680 will help free them and let them join their families.

And we must tell him our people thank the American people for their generosity, for their gift of $20 million to make it all of that possible.

And so, in the end I say, let us shout a mighty shout, and bring down the walls of DLA Piper lobbyists.

Let us shout a might shout and pass H.R. 5680.

Thank you. God bless Ethiopia. God bless America.

AN INTERVIEW WITH PROFESSOR ALEMAYEHU GEBRE MARIAM ON H.R. 5680

Interviewer’s Note: Prof. Alemayehu has written various pieces on H.R. 5680, most recently, a widely read analysis entitled “Could the Somali Crisis Affect Passage of H.R. 5680.” The H.R. 5680 Task Force recently caught up with him to get his insights and sense of the legislative process on H.R. 5680 as members of Congress gear up for the midterm elections.

Here are snippets of some of his thought-provoking observations. On the Ethiopian government’s opposition to the bill: “Meles and the Ethiopian government have been proclaiming for years that they support human rights, democracy, the rule of law,…I would have thought that they would be leading the parade in trying to get this bill passed since it would help them practice what they preach and give them the international legitimacy they so desperately crave.” On chances of passage of H.R.5680 this legislative session: “I think the chances of passage in the House are very good,… My concerns are really about what could happen in the in the Senate.” On the time pressure to get the bill to the Senate floor before the midterm elections: “When we look at the few weeks left in this session of Congress altogether and the October recess and all of the other pressing issues vying for Congressional attention,… I am very concerned about the fate of the bill in the Senate.” On his special concerns about what could happen in the Senate: “My main concern is the possibility of the government’s lobbyist persuading a senator to put a secret hold on H.R. 5680, and running the clock on it so that it will not get to the Senate floor for a vote this legislative session…. In other words, one senator can block H.R. 5680 from coming on the floor for a vote and keep his or her identity secret. This is something that causes me great concern.” On the political power of Ethiopian Americans: “For the past three decades Ethiopians have not registered on the American legislative or political radar. With H.R. 5680, formerly H.R. 4423, they have opened their eyes to the kinds of political power and influence they can exert in the American political system to help the country of their birth.” On the lobbying fees paid by the Ethiopian government to DLA Piper: “It is an outrage,… that a country on the list of the top ten poorest countries in the world should spend such an enormous sum on lobbying firms, and then turn around and beg for international handouts to support public services and projects because they do not have money. In this case, it is criminal for the Ethiopian government to spend over $600,000 a year to make sure that it will not get the $20 million designated for implementation of H.R.5680.” On the work of the government’s lobbying firm: “The lobbying firm has another important job as well, and that is repairing the badly tarnished image of Mr. Meles in the U.S. Congress and the American media. For some time, Mr. Meles has been successful in maintaining the image that he was a leader in the pack of a new breed of African leaders dedicated to democracy, human rights and so on…. But his actions after the May, 2005 elections have shown him to be just another ‘two-bit dictator’ in the African continent.” On the strategy of the government’s lobbyists: “The DLA Piper lobbyists know all too well that there are just a few weeks left to this session of Congress, and if they can delay action in either or both houses, they would win without fighting.” On what immediate steps should be taken by Ethiopians in the U.S.: “If you really look at what needs to be done objectively, it is really very simple. There are only 2 senators from each state. It takes may be ten minutes to contact their senatorial offices and bring up the issue. The rest is follow up by letter, email, and telephone call. So, the real question is can we spare 10 minutes for the country and people that have given us so much.”

INTERVIEW

Meron Ahadu: Prof. Alemayehu, thank you for doing this interview. We appreciate the time you have taken to talk to us.

Prof. Alemayehu: It is my pleasure. Thank you for the opportunity to discuss H.R. 5680 with you.

Meron Ahadu: Let me start by asking you to briefly summarize the purposes and main elements of H.R. 5680?

Prof. Alemayehu: I think the alternate description, “Ethiopia Freedom, Democracy and Human Rights Advancement Act of 2006” best captures the essence of the bill. H.R. 5680 is intended to achieve certain clear objectives, that is, advance specific goals that will help Ethiopia become a thriving and stable democratic society functioning under the rule of law. These goals include the immediate release of political prisoners, institutionalization of democratic practices and processes, protection of human rights, including protections for free speech and press, and local and international groups involved in human rights work, improvements to the court system and judicial process, and insulating judges from political pressure or interference, economic development with emphasis on water resources development and improvements in the management of economic institutions, and strengthening the Ethiopian American partnership in the fight against international terrorism. The bill provides $20 million USD to cover the cost of technical training and support, and other expenses related to the implementation of these efforts over a two year period.

Meron Ahadu: How did this bill come about?

Prof. Alemayehu: The bill was authored by Representative Christopher Smith of New Jersey, who is also the chairman of the House Committee on Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations. Later it was co-sponsored by numerous members of Congress, including such prominent democrats as Donald Payne, former chairman of the Black Caucus and Africa expert, and Tom Lantos, founder of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus.

In public statements, Chairman Smith has explained that he decided to introduce the bill after he became aware of disturbing facts following the May, 2005 elections. He stated that the human rights situation in Ethiopia deteriorated significantly after the elections, marked by the killing of scores of demonstrators by government security personnel. He was distressed by the arrest and detention of tens of thousands of government opponents, including opposition political leaders, human rights activists, community leaders, journalists and youth. He traveled to Ethiopia to investigate the situation and had an opportunity to meet with Mr. Meles Zenawi to discuss the disturbing developments. When his efforts to address these issues with the Ethiopian government proved futile, he introduced the bill, which was designated as H.R. 4423 while it was in his subcommittee.

Meron Ahadu: Is this the first time such a bill has been drafted or enacted by the U.S. Congress?

Prof. Alemayehu: Hardly. It is important to understand that this is not a bill that singles out Ethiopia for unfair treatment or punishment, or designed with the intention of undermining Ethiopia’s sovereignty. There are many precedents where the U.S. government has made grant of economic and military assistance to other countries contingent upon the recipient country’s compliance with human rights standards and democratic practices. For instance, the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the International Security and Arms Export Control Act of 1976 require termination or suspension of U.S. aid to any country that is involved in gross violation of the human rights of its citizens. These two laws are based on the idea that the U.S. can not proclaim and preach democracy throughout the world while supporting tyrants and dictators with the tax dollars of the American people. Congress felt that the U.S. as a constitutional democracy was obligated to put into practice overseas the same principles it claimed to hold dear at home. H.R. 5680 is consistent with longstanding U.S. law and policy on human rights.

Meron Ahadu: Are there examples where the U.S. has cut off, threatened to cut off or made U.S aid contingent upon improvements in the human rights records of aid recipient countries?

Prof. Alemayehu: Yes, there are many examples. Cutoff of U.S. aid to countries with a record of gross violations of human rights is common. Recently, the U.S. cut $18 million in military and economic aid to the government of Uzbekistan because it failed to implement measures to improve its human rights record. In the past few years, similar actions have been taken against the governments of Colombia and Indonesia, among others.

Meron Ahadu: If H.R.5680 is about human rights, democracy and economic development, why do you think the Ethiopian government is fighting “tooth and nail” to defeat it?

Prof. Alemayehu: And, let’s not forget, the release of political prisoners. It is stupefying to think of the reasons why the Ethiopian government would even consider opposing this bill, let alone expend thousands of dollars on lobbyists to defeat it. Mr. Meles and the Ethiopian government have been proclaiming for years that that they support human rights, democracy, the rule of law, freedom of speech, press and so on. I would have thought that they would be leading the parade in trying to get this bill passed since it would help them practice what they preach and give them the international legitimacy they so desperately crave, in addition to a cool $20 million over two years to implement provisions of the law.

But your question raises intriguing possibilities, particularly in light of the manifest benefits and advantages to Ethiopia if the bill were enacted into law. I suspect there are several reasons why the government is spending well over a half million dollars to defeat the bill. Clearly, if the bill should be enacted into law, it would amount to an indictment of the Ethiopian government, particularly for its gross and consistent violation of human rights as documented in the annual U.S. human rights report and other reports over the past decade. I suppose the Ethiopian government desperately wants to avoid the judgment of the U.S. Congress. There is also accountability in the bill for the Ethiopian government with sanctions for failure to implement steps to improve human rights. I don’t think the Ethiopian government or its top leaders particularly like or are accustomed to the idea of accountability. The government has also claimed that H.R. 5680 is a product of individuals and groups in the United States opposed to it. If the bill should pass, that would be a clear victory for the Diaspora opposition. I don’t believe the Ethiopian government wants to see such an outcome, or see an awakened and emboldened Ethiopian community in America working together through the American political system to apply pressure on them on other issues as well. They probably want to “nip in the bud” any sense of political empowerment by Ethiopians in America. But in all candor, I do not know why the government is fighting to defeat the bill. I would love to see an official government analysis or position statement on H.R.5680.

Meron Ahadu: Are you suggesting that Ethiopians in America can use their new found political empowerment to work for change in Ethiopia?

Prof. Alemayehu: Positive change, yes. For the past three decades Ethiopians have not registered on the American legislative or political radar. With H.R. 5680, formerly H.R. 4423, they have opened their eyes to the kinds of political power and influence they can exert in the American political system to help the country of their birth. And this is nothing new. There are thousands of groups and organizations in the U.S. advocating on behalf of their countries of national origin in the U.S. Congress and the executive branch. We are just getting to the game a little late. The difference between us and other groups, I suppose, has to do with the level and quality of participation. I think those of us eligible to vote should register and vote. We should make contributions according to our abilities to the candidates of our choice, and volunteer to provide non-monetary support such as campaign work, and maintain linkages with our representatives at the national level. That’s how the game is played in America. You must participate to get the benefits. It can’t be done from the sidelines.

Meron Ahadu: What is the current status of H.R. 5680?

Prof. Alemayehu: As you may recall, the bill passed with the unanimous support of the members of the House International Relations Committee in late June, and is now awaiting floor action; that is a final vote by the full House before referral to the Senate for further action. Hopefully, by mid-September, it will be sent to the floor for a final vote, and expedited along to the Senate for consideration and vote before the October recess; that is before members go back to their districts to do final campaigning before the November midterm elections.

Meron Ahadu: What is your sense of the chances of passage of this bill this legislative year?

Prof. Alemayehu: Well, before H.R.5680 is enacted into law, it requires separate action by the House of Representatives and the Senate. I think the chances of passage in the House are very good; and I say that based on the facts that H.R. 5680 is a non-controversial bill for the House, that it is authored by Chairman Chris Smith, who is highly respected inside and outside Congress for his work on global human rights, that the bill has been co-sponsored by numerous members of Congress, including Donald Payne, regarded to be a policy specialist on Africa and the former chairman of the Black Caucus, and Tom Lantos, the founder of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, and that it was reported out of the International Relations Committee with unanimous bipartisan support. My concerns are really about what could happen in the in the Senate. But the bill has yet to clear the House, and so there is a critical timing issue in both the House and Senate.

Meron Ahadu: When you say a “timing issue,” do you anticipate problems in the congressional legislative process in getting timely action on the bill?

Prof. Alemayehu: I do have serious concerns about timely legislative action in the Senate, but to a limited extent in the House as well. There are just too many hot political issues that compete for congressional attention before the November elections such as immigration reform, national security issues, Pentagon and domestic security bills and so on. Also, Congress will be taking another recess before the middle of October. So, time is of the essence for the bill.

Fortunately, H.R. 5680 is not a hot political issue in the House. It is one of those bills they call “non-controversial.” I expect it will be sent to the House floor by a procedure called “suspension of the rules” because it is a “non-controversial” bill. If this happens, floor debate on the bill will be limited to a maximum time of 40 minutes, no floor amendments will be allowed and a favorable vote by a two-thirds majority is required to pass the bill. My guess is that Chairman Hyde of the International Relations Committee will bring the bill to the floor as a “suspension” before the middle of September for a final vote.

Meron Ahadu: And what are the timing issues in the Senate?

Prof. Alemayehu: Well, the Senate can not act on the bill until it is first acted upon in the House. An equivalent bill was not introduced in the Senate, and so the House must have a final vote before the bill is taken up in the Senate. When we look at the few weeks left in this session of Congress altogether and the October recess and all of the other pressing issues vying for Congressional attention and the rather lax Senate procedures, and so on, the timing issue for the bill takes a dimension of its own. That is why I am very concerned about the fate of the bill in the Senate.

Meron Ahadu: What is your analysis of the Ethiopian government’s overall legislative strategy to defeat H.R. 5680?

Prof. Alemayehu: This is a somewhat difficult question to answer definitively as neither the Ethiopian government, its lobbyists nor local supporters have articulated their reasons for opposing the bill. But one can make logical inferences from the available evidence. The government has hired DLA Piper, Rudnick, Cary, one of the most powerful lobbying firms in the United States at an annual cost exceeding $600,000 USD. It has mobilized its supporters in the United States who have been lobbying members of Congress to defeat the bill principally based on the argument that the bill is the product of former Derg members, ethnic malcontents, elites and others who have an axe to grind, and showcasing the Somalia-cum-terrorism argument. There is also evidence that recently parliamentary representatives have been sent under assumed covers to supplement the lobbying effort.

Meron Ahadu: You indicated that the government’s lobbying firm will be paid over $600,000 per year for their work to defeat H.R. 5680. What could the lobbyists possibly do to earn such a huge sum for one simple bill?

Prof. Alemayehu: It is an outrage, and personally distressing to me, to see that a country on the list of the top ten poorest countries in the world should spend such an enormous sum on lobbying firms, and then turn around and beg for international handouts to support public services and projects because they do not have money. In this case, it is criminal for the Ethiopian government to spend over $600,000 a year to make sure that it will not get the $20 million designated for implementation of provisions of H.R.5680. But such ghastly expenditures for political influence are not uncommon among tyrannical governments. Mr. Meles’s government would be upholding a longstanding tradition among dictatorships. The apartheid government in South Africa, Ferdinand Marcos of the Phillipines, Mobutu of Zaire (Congo), Anastazio Somoza of Nicaragua and many other dictators have used powerful lobbies and spent such vast sums in their efforts to maintain influence on the U.S. Congress.

Meron Ahadu: And for what services do you think the DLA Piper lobbyists are getting $600,000?

Prof. Alemayehu: That is rather difficult to quantify. I believe the work of the lobbying firm is made more difficult by the leadership role taken by Chairman Smith who has a stellar reputation for human rights globally and the co-sponsorship of influential democrats such Donald Payne and Tom Lantos, whom I mentioned earlier. I doubt the government’s lobbying firm, DLA Piper, will try to attack the bill head on. Their likely strategy will be to use the old “run-the-clock” trick and rehabilitate the tarnished image of Mr. Meles. The DLA Piper lobbyists know all too well that there are just a few weeks left to this session of Congress, and if they can delay action in either or both houses, they would win without fighting. I suspect they will try to get their congressional members to use whatever available procedural techniques and tricks to keep the bill from getting to the floor of either house for a vote.

But I don’t think they will put all of their eggs in just one basket. The lobbying firm has another important job as well, and that is repairing the badly tarnished image of Mr. Meles in the U.S. Congress and the American media. For some time, Mr. Meles has been successful in maintaining the image that he was a leader in the pack of a new breed of African leaders dedicated to democracy, human rights and so on. He has been able to dupe many European governments, and to some extent has successfully hoodwinked the U.S. government as well, that he is Ethiopia’s savior. This despite the fact that the U.S. Department of State Human Rights reports for the last ten years have shown him and his government to be among the elite group of gross violators of human rights. But his actions after the May, 2005 elections have shown him to be just another “two-bit dictator” in the African continent.

Meron Ahadu: But how will the lobbyists present the Ethiopian government’s case to Congress?

Prof. Alemayehu: Well, I suppose DLA Piper has a dual task, one of presenting an opposition to the bill on the merits and another one, as I indicated, rehabilitating Meles’and his government to members of Congress. I don’t believe the lobbyists can make a persuasive argument to members of Congress on the merits of the bill. The bill speaks for itself, and has legitimacy on its face by virtue of the fact of the stellar reputation of its author and co-sponsors. I think the lobbyists will focus their efforts in Congress on rehabilitation of Mr. Meles as a strong leader, and his party as the best alternative for Ethiopia under the present circumstances for U.S. policy in the Horn.

I suspect they will try an argument that will portray Mr. Meles as a victim of internal and external circumstances; that he is really a progressive guy who wants to change and help Ethiopia transition into democracy. They will likely point to the fact that Mr. Meles allowed for free and competitive elections, free press, and so on. That he is willing to release the prisoners if they would agree to join the parliament as some of their counterparts had done, and the ones that remain in jail are really street criminals, and other similar nonsense. Members of Congress will probably be told that Mr. Meles has been victimized by extremist members of his own party who do not want to liberalize or achieve a negotiated settlement with the opposition. On the other hand, the opposition, including those in the U.S., will be accused of being uncooperative, uninterested in negotiation and hellbent on destroying the regime and the country, and so on.

The second part of their work is likely to be along the lines of the old adage: “It’s better to deal with a devil you know than an angel you do not know.” They will try to persuade members that the opposition is disunited, disorganized and will plunge the country into chaos and anarchy. They will probably try to convince members that Mr. Meles is America’s best ally in the region in the war against terrorism. They may try to emphasize that given the rise of Islamists in Somalia, Mr. Meles is America’s best bet. Just the same old tired arguments. For the record, I’d rather deal with an angel I don’t know than the devil I know.

Meron Ahadu: Do you believe the government’s lobby will succeed in defeating the bill?

Prof. Alemayehu: Well, as you know, in the American federal system, a bill must be passed by both the House of Representatives and Senate, and signed by the president before it becomes law. I do not think the Ethiopian government lobbyists and local opponents of the bill can defeat the bill on the floor of the House when it comes up for a vote, hopefully in the first half of September, for the reasons I have previously stated. My concerns are really about what could happen in the Senate.

Meron Ahadu: You have repeatedly indicated that you have concerns about the fate of the bill in the Senate? Could you be more specific about your concerns?

Prof. Alemayehu: Gladly. My anxiety about the Senate reflect more tactical than strategic concerns. What I mean is that but for the abbreviated congressional session, the November midterm elections and so on, the strategic outcome of enacting H.R. 5680 into law would not present any insurmountable problems. My concerns are tactical in the sense the government lobbyists will try to use delaying tactics in the legislative process so that the legislative session will run out before the bill is presented for a vote in the Senate. That is my principal concern, delaying tactics in the Senate to prevent consideration of the bill. I also think that the government is using the old “rope-a-dope” tactic to tire out H.R. 5680 supporters, and deliver the coup de grace, that is, the death blow in the Senate.

Meron Ahadu: Could you explain a bit more about how you think the Ethiopian government will use what you referred to as “rope-a-dope” tactic?

Prof. Alemayehu: Rope-a-dope is a tactic used by boxers in the ring. During a fight, a boxer using the rope-a-dope tactic would lean against the ropes defensively and roll with his opponent’s punches. He would let his opponent exert all of his energies throwing ineffective body blows and tire himself out. In the latter rounds, the defensive boxer would apply the energy he has conserved on the rope against the exhausted opponent. I am using the phrase metaphorically to show that the government probably knows that it does not have much of a chance to defeat the bill in the House, but will pretend to fight the battle in the House to the bitter end on the House floor. Yet, its lobbyists are laying the knockout punch in the Senate. I don’t want to see H.R.5680 supporters lead decisively by points and suffer a technical knockout in the Senate in the 15^th round.

Meron Ahadu: Do you feel that H.R. 5680 supporters are tiring after the House International Relations Committee passed the bill?

Prof. Alemayheu: Not quite, but I am somewhat concerned that supporters of H.R. 5680 may be taking out too much time to “regroup” after their victory in the International Relations Committee. What I am saying is that H.R. 5680 supporters need to re-energize themselves for the final battle in the Senate. They should be prepared to deflect the government’s planned knockout punch in the Senate by careful planning and tireless work with the offices of their senators. If you will allow me to be candid, I am not sure supporters of H.R. 5680 are ready for the government’s offensive in the Senate; and I am not sure if they are showing signs of fatigue after swinging so many solid punches in the House.

Meron Ahadu: When you say “offensive in the Senate,” what are you referring to exactly?

Professor Alemayehu: Well, it is important to understand that the U.S. Senate is a very unique institution. It has only one hundred members, unlike the 435 in the House of Representatives. Senate rules, practices and traditions give the individual senator enormous power. For instance, there is a special procedure called “filibuster” that allows a single senator or few senators to block a vote on a proposal or delay consideration. There is another procedure called “unanimous consent” which allows an individual senator to request the permission, that is the unanimous consent of all members to expedite or delay proceedings. These tactics allow an individual senator to control the fate of a piece of legislation. My main concern is the possibility of the government’s lobbyist persuading a senator to put a secret hold on H.R. 5680, and running the clock on it so that it will not get to the Senate floor for a vote this legislative session.

Meron Ahadu: I do not think many Ethiopians are familiar with the Senate practice of putting a secret hold on legislation. Could you explain more?

Prof. Alemayehu: Sure. A secret hold is one of those quirky traditions in the U.S. Senate. Just a few days ago, in a highly publicized event, one or two senators put a secret hold on legislation that promoted government transparency and accountability in U.S. government contracting practices. A secret hold is basically a one-senator veto. That is to say, a single senator can inform the Senate majority leader of his or her desire to place a hold on any voting on a bill, while keeping his or her identity a secret. According to Senate rules, a bill with a secret hold will never come to a vote as long as the hold continues. In other words, one senator can block H.R. 5680 from coming on the floor for a vote and keep his or her identity secret. This is something that causes me great concern.

Meron Ahadu: If such a hold is possible and the identity of the Senator is kept secret, what can really be done to save H.R. 5680 in the Senate?

Prof. Alemayehu: There is quite a lot that can be done. The first and immediate step that can be taken by H.R. 5680 supporters is to engage their senators in every state in the United States. What I mean is that supporters should take immediate steps to contact their senators and their staffers, and get a commitment, preferably in writing, that the particular senator will not put a secret hold on H.R. 5680. Second, of course, is to ask their senators to support H.R. 5680 and vote for its passage when it comes to the floor for action. Let me just add that supporters should understand that they are up against DLA Piper, one of the most powerful lobbying firms in the world. If they are not prepared and ready to carry on the fight in the Senate, they will surely be steamrolled by DLA Piper. I hope supporters will not underestimate the immense power and influence of the Ethiopian government’s lobbyists.

Meron Ahadu: Is there a way to find out the identity of a senator who has put a secret hold on a bill?

Prof. Alemayehu: Yes, but it is not going to be easy. That is why it is important to be proactive and “head off the lobbyists at the pass.” When I say supporters should be proactive, I mean to suggest that they should act before the situation becomes a crisis. There is no point in gathering forces in October to find out the identity of a senator who may have put a secret hold on H.R. 5680. It would be too little,too late then. The time to act is now, that is get senators to commit their support for H.R.5680, and promise not to put a secret hold on it.

Meron Ahadu: What can grassroots organizations and advocacy groups do to counter the power of the DLA Piper lobby?

Prof. Alemayehu: Well, I suppose H.R.5680 will set the stage for the battle between David and Goliath in the Senate. DLA Piper is a formidable lobbying organization with tremendous power and influence in Congress. Supporters of H.R. 5680 consist of individuals and groups, principally Ethiopian Americans, who want to see democracy flourish in their motherland and the human rights of their countrymen and women respected. If H.R.5680 supporters are to win against the might lobbying army of DLA Piper, they would need to work in coalitions, pool their meager resources and avoid duplicating each other’s efforts. As David slew Goliath, I believe H.R.5680 supporters will win in the end because their cause is a righteous one, and history and truth are on their side. There is a difference when you work for a “few pieces of silver” or labor to improve the lives of your brothers and sisters and countrymen and women. DLA Piper does not care about Ethiopia or Ethiopians. It cares only about its lobbying fees.

Meron Ahadu: What kind participation or support has been shown to H.R.5680 by Ethiopians living in America? Do you think the level of participation by Ethiopians in support of H.R. 5680 has been sufficient?

Prof. Alemayehu: The support for H.R. 5680 in the U.S. has been enormous, and let me underscore that participation has been across-the-board. There are individuals and groups from academia, there are private business owners, physicians, engineers, students, young professionals, transportation workers, those in the personal services sectors and others who actively support H.R.5680. These individuals, groups and organizations have been active with their members of Congress writing letters, sending emails, making telephone calls, arranging personal meeting in Washington and the local district offices and so on. I am really proud of the work my Ethiopian brothers and sisters have done on this bill.

I think it is important for Ethiopians living in America to understand that we can play a positive role in improving the lives of our people in Ethiopia. But some of our people have difficulty seeing the value of their participation and take a defeatist attitude. All I can say is that President Bush won the 2000 presidential elections by 537 votes in the swing state of Florida. So, the participation of each and every Ethiopian in the United States is vital and critical to passage for H.R.5680. But we do not need to “go it alone.” We have our American friends, neighbors, coworkers, classmates, church members, professional associations, and so one who are willing to help us advocate for 5680. They will only be too glad to help, but it is our duty to ask them to help us.

Meron Ahadu: Is there a coalition of Ethiopian groups and organizations working to pass H.R.5680?

Prof. Alemayehu: I’d say there is a loose coalition of various groups and organizations. What is needed is a more formal kind of arrangement that will help the various groups avoid duplication of effort, achieve greater coordination, pool their resources and have a cumulative impact on the legislative process. I think an effort to achieve such purposes is underway and will likely be made pubic soon.

Meron Ahadu: Some critics of H.R. 5680 have suggested that the bill was the product of a small group of elite Ethiopians in the U.S. and that their purpose is to wreak havoc in Ethiopia and not promote democracy, human rights or any other positive outcome. What do you think of this criticism?

Prof. Alemayehu: It is not much of a criticism. It is the old smoke and mirrors trick. To argue that a human rights bill is drafted by former Derg loyalists, Amharas who lost their power under the current regime, elites and opposition elements is not to argue the merits of the bill. Since neither the government nor its supporters could articulate or defend their position on H.R. 5680 publicly, they’d have to look for distractions. The questions we should all ask, regardless of who is behind the bill, is what is wrong with protecting human rights in Ethiopia, or helping establish democratic institutions, or promoting freedom of speech and press, or insuring equal protection of the laws of all citizens. We should be careful not to fall into this trap, get distracted and engage in irrelevant personalized recriminations.

Meron Ahadu: Is there anything you’d like to add?

Prof. Alemayheu: Well the only thing I would add is to urge H.R. 5680 supporters to intensify and redouble their efforts in the Senate. They have all worked so hard for so long, it will be a shame for them to let victory slip from them because of lack of attention or overconfidence. If you really look at what needs to be done objectively, it is really very simple. There are only 2 senators from each state. It takes may be ten minutes to contact their senatorial offices and bring up the issue. The rest is follow up by letter, email, and telephone call. So, the real question is can we spare 10 minutes for the country and people that have given us so much. The answer to this question is something we need to face in the privacy of our individual conscience. So, let me just say to the supporters of H.R. 5680, “Remember the Senate!”

Meron Ahadu: Thank you for giving us this interview. We appreciate your time.

Prof. Alemayehu: It’s been a real pleasure talking to you. Thank you.

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Interviewer’s Note: A complete discussion of the issues raised in this interview as well as other grassroots advocacy materials can be accessed online under the title, “Could the Somalia Crisis Affect Passage of H.R. 5680?” The analysis is also available online at Prof. Alemayehu’s blogsite: http://almariamforthedefense.blogspot.com/

Contact information for members of the U.S. Senate are listed at:

http://senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm