US should use same scrutiny on Ethiopia as it does on Uganda

By Scott A. Morgan

March 16, 2006

The Congressional Human Rights Caucus heard testimony regarding the crisis in the North of Uganda but there is a developing situation in another part of Africa. It also involves another US ally and the US risks alienating more people in its quest to defeat terror by supporting stable but increasingly autocratic governments. This case I am talking about Ethiopia.

Last year there were Parliamentary Elections in Ethiopia. What followed after the votes were counted is chilling at best. On two separate occasions there were violent street protests to show displeasure with the counts. Members of the Opposition that had won seats were detained by the authorities when they refused to take their seats. There has been a crackdown on the Media as well. And what has the Administration done?

The silence so far has been deafening. The State Department has asked for those detained to be released and have fair trials. But it also has stated that it has no means to place pressure on the Ethiopian Government. Congress has two bills in front of it to deal with the problem. One will propose an arms embargo on Ethiopia to keep US arms from being used to abuse Human Rights.

Before it takes up these bills the Congressional Human Rights Caucus needs to hold a briefing on what is happening in Addis Ababa. Our elected officials need to hear about how this “ally” is trying to rule through intimidation. People need to know why the State Department is basically silent in this crisis. After that maybe they can decide what will be done to help Zimbabwe and the DRC recover. The US is proposing to spend Millions of Dollars in Africa. Lets spend the money on the right problems and fix them.

(Scott A. Morgan: LA Chronicle; March 15, 2006)