War with Somalia is
Zenawi's own choice
Kinijit International
July 27, 2006
Instead of abiding by the rule of law, the ruling regime decided to destroy the aspirations of the Ethiopian people for democratic governance, and launched massive crackdown on elected parliamentarians of the opposition, their supporters, human rights activists and civic society advocates.
As mounting evidences from the Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and other rights watchdogs show, Ethiopia has been turned into a huge prison camp where at least five concentration camps kept about 50,000 detainees each in the aftermath of the crisis for several months. The ensuing nationwide, state-sponsored terror of harassment, detention without trials, beatings, torture and extra-judicial killings quashed what little remaining hope Ethiopians had for a rule of law in the country.
The brutal government response to the Ethiopian people’s demand for respect of their votes was denounced with unequivocal terms by members of the European Parliament and members of the U.S. Congress. In the United States, for instance, the gross human rights violations in Ethiopia prompted Rep Chris Smith (NJ-R), to initiate what was previously HR 4423, and now HR 5680, a bill known as the Ethiopia Freedom, Democracy and Human Rights Advancement Act of 2006.
Growing awareness of the plight of the Ethiopian people under the tyrannical regime of Meles Zenawi was reflected when Congressman Smith was joined by Rep. Donald Payne, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee, 15 bipartisan cosponsors and called for the immediate and unconditional release of the political prisoners comprising journalists as well as human rights workers.
It is in the middle of such crisis that Meles Zenawi jumped into Somalia with the clear motive of diverting public attention away from the ever-worsening domestic crisis without informing the Ethiopian people and seeking the advice and consent of the so called people’s representatives (Parliament).
In Kinijit’s political program, Section 3.7, Kinijit has clearly stated that "the relationship of Ethiopia with its neighbors will be based on equality, mutual benefit, trust, good neighborliness and peacefulness"… To maintain this relationship, Kinijit would also like to reiterate its unwavering commitment in the fight against terrorism in the horn of Africa.
Such principle is based on the interest of the Ethiopian people who would like to maintain peaceful and mutually beneficial ties with their neighbors. Hence, any interference, or any conflict that involves Ethiopian troops should be taken as the responsibility of the current regime, and must not misconstrued as involving the Ethiopian people – who themselves are waiting for justice to be served for the crimes committed against them.
Kinijit International, Public Relations Section
ETHIOMEDIA.COM - ETHIOPIA'S PREMIER NEWS AND VIEWS WEBSITE
© COPYRIGHT 20001-2006ETHIOMEDIA.COM. EMAIL: webmaster@ethiomedia.com
July 27, 2006
Instead of abiding by the rule of law, the ruling regime decided to destroy the aspirations of the Ethiopian people for democratic governance, and launched massive crackdown on elected parliamentarians of the opposition, their supporters, human rights activists and civic society advocates.
As mounting evidences from the Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and other rights watchdogs show, Ethiopia has been turned into a huge prison camp where at least five concentration camps kept about 50,000 detainees each in the aftermath of the crisis for several months. The ensuing nationwide, state-sponsored terror of harassment, detention without trials, beatings, torture and extra-judicial killings quashed what little remaining hope Ethiopians had for a rule of law in the country.
The brutal government response to the Ethiopian people’s demand for respect of their votes was denounced with unequivocal terms by members of the European Parliament and members of the U.S. Congress. In the United States, for instance, the gross human rights violations in Ethiopia prompted Rep Chris Smith (NJ-R), to initiate what was previously HR 4423, and now HR 5680, a bill known as the Ethiopia Freedom, Democracy and Human Rights Advancement Act of 2006.
Growing awareness of the plight of the Ethiopian people under the tyrannical regime of Meles Zenawi was reflected when Congressman Smith was joined by Rep. Donald Payne, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee, 15 bipartisan cosponsors and called for the immediate and unconditional release of the political prisoners comprising journalists as well as human rights workers.
It is in the middle of such crisis that Meles Zenawi jumped into Somalia with the clear motive of diverting public attention away from the ever-worsening domestic crisis without informing the Ethiopian people and seeking the advice and consent of the so called people’s representatives (Parliament).
In Kinijit’s political program, Section 3.7, Kinijit has clearly stated that "the relationship of Ethiopia with its neighbors will be based on equality, mutual benefit, trust, good neighborliness and peacefulness"… To maintain this relationship, Kinijit would also like to reiterate its unwavering commitment in the fight against terrorism in the horn of Africa.
Such principle is based on the interest of the Ethiopian people who would like to maintain peaceful and mutually beneficial ties with their neighbors. Hence, any interference, or any conflict that involves Ethiopian troops should be taken as the responsibility of the current regime, and must not misconstrued as involving the Ethiopian people – who themselves are waiting for justice to be served for the crimes committed against them.
Kinijit International, Public Relations Section
ETHIOMEDIA.COM - ETHIOPIA'S PREMIER NEWS AND VIEWS WEBSITE
© COPYRIGHT 20001-2006ETHIOMEDIA.COM. EMAIL: webmaster@ethiomedia.com
