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UTNA
P.O.BOX 73736
Washington,
DC 20056
UTNAINK@aol.com
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Tel.
(202) 265-8702
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A
Call for sobriety
And
Justice by the US Senate
By: The Union of Tigreans in
North America (U.T.N.A)
It
is profoundly disheartening and saddening to observe the recent
passage of the HR.2003 Bill by the House of Representatives as a
castigating stick against Ethiopia, a strong and close ally of
America in its fight against International Terrorism.
The United States government is aware and intimately
engaged in bolstering the effort by Ethiopia to strengthen the
burgeoning democratization process that is currently in full swing
in Ethiopia. We believe, it is also appreciative of the critical
role that Ethiopia is playing in fending off and rooting out the
futile attempt by Al-Queda to entrench itself in the Horn of
Africa and to use it as a spring board to sabotage the strategic
American interest in the region and undermine peace and security
in the vicinity, by turning it into a haven serving as a breeding
ground of terrorists.
Contrary to this tellingly glaring
reality on the ground, which has been indisputably testified by
the international community; the House of Representatives, has
paradoxically opted to stand in a stark and flat contradiction and
contravention to the stated foreign policy of the American
government.
The regrettable and lamentable piece
of legislation sponsored by Congressman Donald Payne was not an
inadvertent mishap, but a deliberate and diabolical move by the
good representative from New Jersey.
Mr. Donald Payne driven by hate and
vendetta, and fuelled by anti-Ethiopia forces conniving with him,
purposefully misled the House, along with his disciples by
misrepresenting Ethiopia contrary to its obvious positive move
towards democratization and its unquestionable stand along side
the US in its fight in the anti-terrorist global struggle.
We believe that Ethiopia does not
deserve to be reprimanded or be served with a
threateningly punishing Bill from the House of
Representatives. On the contrary, Ethiopia expects a positive
appreciation and support from this August body. However, to our
dismay, the House of Representatives has passed a misplaced
legislation, which if passed in to law, endorsed by the Senate,
would seriously puncture the cordial Ethio-US bond and undermine
mutual understanding.
Ethiopia as a sovereign nation, and a
proud and ancient civilization has never allowed, any foreign
power to adversely impact on its cherished history of
independence.
We would like to categorically
pronounce at this juncture that the passage of HR.2003 Bill is
nothing but a shameful and futile attempt to lord over and
permeate into the sacred and sacrosanct sovereignty of our
country, Ethiopia.
This unabashedly arrogant exercise by
the House of Representatives, we believe, is a misplaced one and
is certain to suffer frustrating consequences, for it collides
with the declared and time tested tradition of the Ethiopian
people of never cajoling to an unjust encroachment on their
preferred existence. It is the Ethiopian people, who jealously
guard against foreign intervention, who decidedly determine their
fate, destiny and future, not the US House of Representatives.
We, are aware that the HR.2003 Bill
is set to be tabled in the Senate shortly. It is our strong and
sincere belief that the Senate would weigh the Bill in
contradistinction to the positive role that Ethiopia is playing in
the maintenance of peace and stability in Africa and its special
contribution in concert with the US in the anti-Alqueda onslaught
in the Horn of Africa. We also believe that the Senate would give
due respect to the efforts being made by the Ethiopian people to
build a prosperous and democratic Ethiopia, which will stand tall
as a dependable US Ally in the region. It is our strong desire to
see the Senate, unlike the House of Representatives, which was
pressured and taken hostage by the sinister motive of a few
individuals in the ranks of the opposition, the vocal Diaspora,
the rogue and terrorist state of Eritrea and its cohorts, to heed
to the facts and reality on the ground, that is above board for
every body to see.
As a reminder, it is common knowledge
that Ethiopia’s May 2005 multi-party election was hailed by the
Carter Center, the African Union and the Arab League and the
European Observation Mission commended it with a cautionary
footnote that excellent as it was in the run up to the election,
it was marred with some irregularities observed in the post
election ballot counting.
It is also appropriate to bring to
the notice of the Honorable Senators that Ethiopia has embarked
upon a new path of reconciliation, consensus building,
inclusiveness and dialogue, to strengthen the democratization
process. As a showcase in this endeavor, the Ethiopian government
pardoned the top echelon of the CUD opposition party and restored
their full rights to engage in the political process respecting
the laws of the land and allowed their right to movement with in
and out of the country. Ironically, the CUD leadership instead of
using the window of opportunity and the political space for
constructive engagement, they have has entered into a marathon
spree of divisive politics, smear campaign and blatantly
hoodwinking some members of the House of Representatives who
championed the ill-advised HR.2003 Bill.
We, therefore urge the Senate to act
responsibly and take a stand that would result in cementing the
already existing Ethio-US ties and pass the right message as
opposed to the House, which sent the wrong message.
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