12 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’, is expected to go to the floor of the House of Representatives in September. HR 5680 was initiated by Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ), and last month passed the House International Relations Committee with unanimous and bi-partisan support. This bill is a strong and powerful expression of true American values: If it becomes law, it would promote 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. The wording of HR 5680 makes this very clear. Over 40,000 people, arbitrarily swept from the streets during pro-freedom demonstrations, have been detained in malaria-infested military camps. The entire pro-Western opposition party leadership faces ridiculous charges of treason and attempted genocide that may carry the death penalty. All this and more is well documented by the US Department of State and the international media. Please see the attached documentation. This internal violence and instability is starting to destabilize the entire Horn of Africa, with a possible outbreak of war between Ethiopia on the one hand, and both Eritrea and Somalia on the other.

Ethiopia is perhaps the starkest and strongest manifestation of a statement I strongly believe in which President Bush made in a speech at the National Defense University in March 2005: “Our strategy to keep the peace in the longer term is to help change the conditions that give rise to extremism and terror. […] To draw attention away from their social and economic failures, dictators place blame on other countries and other races, and stir the hatred that leads to violence. This status quo of despotism and anger cannot be ignored or appeased, kept in a box or bought off.” It is in this spirit that I deeply hope that you will vote Yes on HR 5680.

Sincerely,
Girma Workneh