(Congressmen joining Lelisa in a protest gesture)
ESAT News (September 14, 2016)
Congressman Chris Smith said at a presser on Tuesday that the way the Ethiopian government treat its people is an abomination.
Presenting a new resolution on Ethiopia H RES. 861, the congressman said the Ethiopian regime has been an ally and friend on the war on terror but when the regime is mistreating its own people “it was time that we spoke out.” “Friends don’t let friends commit human rights abuses,” Smith said.
Flanked by his colleagues, athlete Feyisa Lilesa and victims of the brutal regime in Ethiopia, Smith, who is chairman of the House Foreign Affairs’ subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations, said the resolution is an opportunity for democrats and republicans to say “enough is enough.”
The resolution calls for credible investigations into killings in the Oromia and Amhara regions, as well as the recent fire and shootings at Qilinto Prison.
The House Resolution 861 also urges the government of Ethiopia to allow a United Nations human rights rapporteur to conduct an independent examination of the state of human rights in Ethiopia.
Speaking on the occasion Representative Al Green (D-Texas) said Ethiopia should have the same kind of due process that the US expect everywhere.
“Ethiopia belongs to all Ethiopians, not just one ethnic sect with in Ethiopia,” Mr. Green said. The United States want justice to prevail everywhere in the world, Green said adding that “a threat to injustice in Ethiopia is a threat to injustice in the USA.”
Congressman Mike Coffman of Colorado on his part expressed his concern that foreign aid that US give to the regime for anti-terror activities could be used to kill innocent civilians in Ethiopia.
“What the government of Ethiopia will know after this resolution is that the congress of the US is watching, that the international community is watching and we are concerned about what’s going on in Ethiopia,” Coffman said.
Rio Olympic silver medalist, Feyisa Lilesa, who brought the violence in Ethiopia to the attention of the world by crossing his arms at the finish line as well as other athletes and victims of abuse by the regime also addressed the gathering at the Capitol grounds.