* SOMALIA
4 September, 2006

Honorable Gil Gutknecht
United States House of Representatives
425 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Re: Please vote “Yes” to HR 5680, a bill supporting freedom in Ethiopia!

Dear Congressman Gutknecht,

As an American residing in your constituency, I have admired your unwavering commitment to values that President Bush and our administration holds dear: the values of democracy, freedom, and a free private enterprise. It is for this reason that I am writing to urge you to Vote “Yes” on HR 5680. This bill, called ‘The Ethiopia Freedom, Democracy and Human Rights Advancement Act of 2006’, passed the House International Relations Committee with unanimous and bi-partisan support and promotes democracy and economic and political freedom in Ethiopia.

As an American of Ethiopian descent, I am deeply disturbed by the overt brutality and open disdain of basic human rights which the Marxist-oriented Ethiopian regime under Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has displayed, most bluntly since May 2005. Furthermore, I am noticing how the repression within Ethiopia is starting to destabilize the entire Horn of Africa. Pretending to be an “ally on the war on terror”, Meles Zenawi has invaded Somalia, ostensibly to support the secular transitional government there. However, this has given the Islamic militants in Somalia a tool to recruit new supporters. I have seen hurtful videos of the Ethiopian flag being burnt, accompanied by threats of war, by Somalis. Exploiting fear of an Ethiopian invasion, the fundamentalist Islamists have succeeded in deeply antagonizing moderate Somalis against Ethiopia.

It appears that the Ethiopian regime, utterly unpopular in the country due to its Marxist-Leninist and repressive policies, is attempting to stoke instability and volatility in the Horn, so that it can subsequently portrait itself as an “ally” in the war on terror. These are the typical actions of a regime deeply resented by citizens whose freedom it is suppressing. In order to hang on to power despite having been rejected at the voting booth, the government is recklessly putting the country and the rest of the world at risk. As a direct consequence of Ethiopian government brutality in the country, we may see the outbreak of war between Somalia and Ethiopia, something that I feel the world can ill afford.

I strongly urge you to vote “Yes” for HR 5680 because it supports democracy in Ethiopia and, with that, stability and security internationally. Please find enclosed documentation on this issue which members of the Ethiopian-American community compiled from international sources.

Sincerely,
Girma Workineh