Oklahoma senator denies blocking HR 2003 By Associated Press
November 14, 2007
OKLAHOMA CITY -- About 75 protestors attended a demonstration outside the Oklahoma City office of U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe, saying he is blocking consideration of a bill that addresses human rights in Ethiopia.
But a spokesman for Inhofe, an Oklahoma Republican, says the senator has not placed a hold on the bill, which has not yet reached the Senate floor.
The spokesman, John Collison, says he planned to meet with the protest leaders on Tuesday afternoon.
During the peaceful protest, held across the street from one of Oklahoma City's major shopping malls, many demonstrators held U.S. flags, while others held the red, yellow and green flag of Ethiopia.
The bill, which passed in the U.S. House, decries Ethiopia's recent human rights record and opens the door for sanctions.
Meanwhile, Ethiopians on Tuesday submitted a protest letter to Mr. Peter Ogego, Kenyan ambassador to the US, over Nairobi's reluctance to protect the lives of Ethiopian refugess who are being killed by assassins being smuggled into the country by the regime in Addis Ababa.
Ambassador Ogego assured the demonstrators that he would hand over the protest letter to the government of President Kibaki, and convey the concern of Ethiopiansover the wanton killings of Ethiopian refugees.
Citizen TV, Nairobi's second most popular TV.
Earlier last week, unidentified armed men also held four exiled Ethiopian journalists at gunpoint, tied their hands behind their backs, dragged them out of their home when violence-wary neighbors cried out for help and stopped the progress of the crime.
Disappointed Ethiopians told the ambassador in the US capital that Kenya should have provided, as a neighboring country and a signatory to an international convention on the rights of refugees, a shelter for those Ethiopians who were fleeing their country for fear of political persecution, including torture and death.
"The Ethiopian government's efforts at political control are supported by a wide network of informers and secret police," reported The Economist in its latest issue, adding "critics say the regime is exploiting the jihadist terror threat to link many legitimate opposition campaigners and supporters with terrorist groups and take them off the streets."
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November 14, 2007
OKLAHOMA CITY -- About 75 protestors attended a demonstration outside the Oklahoma City office of U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe, saying he is blocking consideration of a bill that addresses human rights in Ethiopia.
The spokesman, John Collison, says he planned to meet with the protest leaders on Tuesday afternoon.
During the peaceful protest, held across the street from one of Oklahoma City's major shopping malls, many demonstrators held U.S. flags, while others held the red, yellow and green flag of Ethiopia.
The bill, which passed in the U.S. House, decries Ethiopia's recent human rights record and opens the door for sanctions.
Meanwhile, Ethiopians on Tuesday submitted a protest letter to Mr. Peter Ogego, Kenyan ambassador to the US, over Nairobi's reluctance to protect the lives of Ethiopian refugess who are being killed by assassins being smuggled into the country by the regime in Addis Ababa.
Ambassador Ogego assured the demonstrators that he would hand over the protest letter to the government of President Kibaki, and convey the concern of Ethiopiansover the wanton killings of Ethiopian refugees.
Citizen TV, Nairobi's second most popular TV.
Earlier last week, unidentified armed men also held four exiled Ethiopian journalists at gunpoint, tied their hands behind their backs, dragged them out of their home when violence-wary neighbors cried out for help and stopped the progress of the crime.
Disappointed Ethiopians told the ambassador in the US capital that Kenya should have provided, as a neighboring country and a signatory to an international convention on the rights of refugees, a shelter for those Ethiopians who were fleeing their country for fear of political persecution, including torture and death.
"The Ethiopian government's efforts at political control are supported by a wide network of informers and secret police," reported The Economist in its latest issue, adding "critics say the regime is exploiting the jihadist terror threat to link many legitimate opposition campaigners and supporters with terrorist groups and take them off the streets."
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© COPYRIGHT 2001-2006ETHIOMEDIA.COM. EMAIL: webmaster@ethiomedia.com
