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Testimony | open this file in Word open this file as a PDF document archive |
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Testimony to the United States House Subcommittee on Africa, Mr. Obang O. Metho “The Anuak Massacre of 2003: The Ethiopian Government Attacks an ethnic group listed by Cultural Survival in 1984 as endangered! ” March 28, 2006
My name is Obang Metho. I am an Anuak. I grew up in Gambella. I am not here as part of a political party. I am not here as an expert. I am here as a witness and human rights defender to speak up for the 424 educated Anuak who were massacred on December 13, 2003 and who can no longer speak up for themselves. I am here for the children who lost their fathers on that day. I am here as the voice of the woman who lost her husband or son and for the grandparent who lost their grandchild. I am here to speak for the families whose husbands, sons and fathers have been in prison for years with little hope of release. I am here for the four thousand Anuak refugees in Pochalla, Southern Sudan who still cannot return home. I am not here to speak about something I do not know, for I am one of these people. I grew up with them. They are my family members, my classmates, my friends and my people. The first time I encountered injustice by the government was twenty-five years ago when I was in fourth grade and was at school. I witnessed an Ethiopian police officer beat up an Anuak student just because he looked at him in the wrong way. I saw his blood and wondered why a government who was supposed to protect its people could do this? This image stuck with me. I grew up with it and made me want to defend the right. I am doing this now because of my people. I am doing this now because if I had been there during the massacre of the Anuak on December 13, 2003,. I would have been one of the 424 killed. My name would have been on that list as I meet all the requirements. I am Anuak. I am educated and I would have been one of those to speak out. But, I am not only here today for the Anuak. I am here for the Tigrayans who disagree with their own government. I am here for the Oromo,
the Somali, the Afar and for any in other ethnic groups throughout Ethiopia who have been oppressed. I am here for the Ethiopian woman whose
son or daughter was shot dead on the streets of Addis Ababa after the national elections. The voice you are hearing is not just my voice, but the voice of those crying for help. I hear their voices and am bringing them before you this day. The Prime Minister will deny what I am about to say. Who will you believe---these voices calling from the dark or his? I am speaking to each person on this committee. I ask you---please listen to these voices as if they were coming from your own sons or daughters, as if they were coming from your neighbors and friends who are calling for help from freedom and peace loving people like yourself. Take these words with you and nurture them, not only for the Anuak and other Ethiopians, but also for any human oppressed in this world. These people want you to know what they have gone through and for you to do something about it! What’s Troubling Ethiopia? How about the charges of genocide against CUD party members? Or, what should one think about the tens of thousands of Ethiopians imprisoned for being anti-government? What should our response be to the May 15, 2005 national elections??? Was the current ruling party really elected? How about the violent aftermath of the elections, when student protesters and others were shot and killed by EPRDF troops----was this defensible? What about the Ethiopian people? Are they so hopelessly divided in ethnic conflict that they “need to be controlled” or chaos and killing, reminiscent of the Rwandan genocide, will erupt and spin out of control? What explains such widespread poverty and hardship under Meles despite the billions of international dollars being poured into the country? What explains the human rights abuses being reported amongst almost every ethnic group? Perhaps, the “golden glow” of progress and democratic governance in Ethiopia, along with the denial and repression of any information to the contrary, is simply a marketing strategy, adeptly and charmingly propelled in the public arena by the current chief broker, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. However, in order to know the truth, you might need to go elsewhere. Oftentimes, the larger truths can more easily be seen and understood in the microcosms of real life situations and people. The Case of the Anuak The government of Prime Minister Meles and its regionally controlled implementers at the district level, have brutally repressed the Anuak using violence, imprisonment, loss of property, loss of government jobs and other such means of control as a way to silence Anuak who protested against the federal control over regional affairs or against blatant violations by the government of the basic human rights of the Anuak. Additionally, any Anuak who called for regional involvement in the decisions involving the extraction of the vast oil reserves in the area, were seen as “anti-government elements” needing to be punished. This ongoing undercurrent of oppression finally culminated in the December 2003 massacre of 424 educated Anuak leaders. These ethnic atrocities were witnessed by countless others and the facts provide incontrovertible evidence of an ethnically based massacre by agents of the Zenawi regime. Acts of this scale, were previously unknown in Ethiopian culture. This genocide against the Anuak was incited and carried out by none other than the EPRDF Defense Force, Gambella Regional Police and the decision makers behind the scenes. Human Rights investigators have uncovered information indicating that members of the EPRDF cabinet were aware of and involved in this massacre. In fact, witnesses have revealed information about secret high level meetings in Addis Ababa, beginning in September of 2003, where the shameful plan was laid out for the removal of those Anuak who were standing in the way of the government’s plan to exploit the area of its vast natural resources, in particular, its oil. The oil rights to the area had already been given to Petronas of Malaysia who contracted with the subsidiary, the Chinese firm, Zhongyuan Petroleum Exploration Bureau (ZPAEB) who was ready to set up the sites for drilling. At the same time of the massacre, Ethiopian government troops moved into Gambella to protect the oil company workers from any local resistance. It has been learned that part of the agreement with the oil company was that the government would have to pay $25,000,000 (US) should any oil worker be killed; thus requiring high levels of security so as to ensure that the Chinese and Malaysian workers would stay. When these workers travel outside their compound, no wonder why 20 to 30 EPDRF troops accompany one Chinese or Malaysian. Who are the Anuak? The Anuak were not originally an Ethiopian tribe, but in 1902, the British “accidentally” cut Anuak country into two or three parts, now dividing them between Sudan and Ethiopia. The Anuak from either side of the border, have had to flee to the other side in order to find safety as outside threats from the west, the civil war in Sudan, and now from the east, the current government of Ethiopia, have threatened their survival. In a January 2006 report by a branch of the UN, yet unreleased, it has been indicated that the Anuak people and their culture are threatened
with the possibility of completely disappearing and may likely disappear from the Gambella region in the next 10-15 years unless immediate
and substantive intervention is made on their behalf by the international community. The Anuak and others, who live in the area, are considered different from other Ethiopians. They are black Africans as opposed to most other Ethiopians, called “highlanders”, who were of lighter color. The Anuak are ethnically, culturally, linguistically, historically and religiously different from most other Ethiopians. Their indigenous land is totally different from anywhere else in the country in both climate and geography. The Gambella region is hot and tropical with rich, fertile, well-watered soil coming from the rivers originating in the mountains of the highlands where there is a much cooler, dryer climate. The difference in geography has separated Ethiopians into distinctive categories of “lowlanders”, such as the Anuak and other indigenous groups in the area, as opposed to the “highlanders” who comprise the vast majority of the population of Ethiopia, such as Amharas, Oromos, Tigrayans and others. It is believed that the central government does not consider the Anuaks to be “true Ethiopians”, but does value the vast resources that exist in the area. As a result, the Anuak and other indigenous people from this area have significantly less access to basic services such as clean water, health care and education. However, until more recently, the Anuak have lived in harmony with highlanders who have resettled in this area, even intermarrying with them. Historically, this area has always been marginalized since the British leased this area to Ethiopia on October 15, 1956. During the time of Mengistu, the Anuak were mainly valued as fighters, resulting in hundreds of young men, as young as fourteen or fifteen, being forcibly taken from their school classrooms in order to fight in a war against Eritrea. Most never returned. Others returned without legs and with other severe injuries, but were never compensated. Meles repeated this during the war with Eritrea in 1998. The Anuak became convinced that their only value to this government was to be exploited as a commodity of war. Now the ruling government has taken it further. They are killing Anuak in order to gain access to their land, oil and untapped resources. The Anuak Massacre of December 13, 2003 Okello Ochalla, the former governor of Gambella at the time, reported that Major Tsegaye Beyene and Tadessa Haile Selassie then brought the dead bodies of the ambushed refugee workers to the regional government office, looking for Governor Okello. When Okello was not there, they waited about twenty-five minutes until in apparent frustration; Selassie shot three bullets into the wall of the regional government cafeteria. Witnesses reported that Selassie then told them that Governor Okello was going to have to bring these highlander corpses back to life. He then went to the police station where he left the bodies in the car while he met with other highlander police who would later be involved in the massacre. The mutilated bodies, with the exception of the Anuak driver, were then displayed in front of the regional hospital. Within a very short time, many converged on the location; federal troops in their vehicles, including the federal commander of the forces, as well as highlanders, prepared with machetes and other weapons in their hands. Nearly 250 people came. One highlander businessman brought two bags full of machetes to the scene. As highlander women cried for the dead, witnesses report that Chief Selassie and Major Beyene were openly and loudly laughing. Finally, the commander shot into the air and said, “That’s it! Go!” At this point, the people dispersed to various areas of Gambella town and the massacre began. Tadessa Selassie, the defense forces, other police officers and some highlander civilians choosing to join, went to the Omininga area of Gambella where most Anuak lived. These Ethiopian Defense troops, police and highlander militia groups then went home to home in Gambella town, pulling out Anuak men from their homes. One of the first on the list was a devout middle-aged pastor, Okwier Oletho, whose church was growing in the community and also the father of my sister-in-law who I have known since I was a child. His wife was returning from visiting a sick relative when soldiers and highlander militia came to his home during a prayer meeting. After they set his hut on fire, he jumped out a window. As he ran he was hacked and mutilated with the highlander’s machetes before being shot in the back by Ethiopian soldiers in uniform. His wife witnessed his death along with the death of other male relatives and attendees of the prayer meeting. Choir members at the church were also killed that day. Human Rights Watch gives further details of his death in their report. Please see http://hrw.org/reports/2005/ethiopia0305/. When she was told this past week about the opportunity to present the case of the Anuak genocide at this congressional hearing, she could not speak. She finally explained :
As the killing went on in an orgy of violence, Ethiopian soldiers stood by, cheering and laughing with members of the highlander militias, as these civilian militias brutally hacked the Anuak victims with machetes in front of their mothers, wives and children. As the victims attempted to run, the troops then shot and killed them in their backs. Mary, a young mother with a baby, witnessed her husband’s death. She reports:
Women and young girls were raped, at times in front of the men before they were killed, while the perpetrators taunted them with the slogan, ‘Today is the day for killing Anuak,’ and telling the victims of rape, ‘Now you won’t have Anuak babies.’ They then set their homes and crops on fire, leaving countless widows, children and elders with almost no means of support. One Anuak woman told the AJC that when she recently saw Saddam Hussein in Court on CNN, that it strangely gave her hope. Two years ago, she witnessed her husband killed in front of her on December 13, 2003 by Ethiopian defense troops and highlander militia. Several days later, she was raped by seven Ethiopian defense troops, carrying their uniforms on their arms. They took turns with her, raping her for four hours.
The highlander militias, police and Ethiopian Defense troops roamed the streets, looking for any men, young or old, which they then viciously attacked. Between two and three thousand Anuak took refuge in the Mekane Yesu Church compound and the Catholic Church compound. Many highlanders, Nuer and other ethnic groups did not participate. Some were real heroes, warning Anuak, hiding them in their homes and standing up for them as friends or fellow human beings. A Tigrayan highlander was recently interviewed by the AJC. He and his Tigrayan neighbors were some distance away from where the killing took place, but for hours, they could hear the gunshots, the screams from the victims and see the smoke from the burning Anuak huts. He reports:
In less than three days, at least four hundred and twenty four persons were slaughtered in a well-calculated plan utilizing a prepared list of the names of educated Anuak men and leaders. As the killing subsided, men from other indigenous ethnic groups were forced to collect the bodies. A Nuer man gave the following testimony to the AJC. He reported:
Many bodies were never identified and were buried in one of three mass graves. The exact locations are unknown although it is known that the bodies were subsequently moved from one of these mass graves and burned on February 4, 2004. Most of the bodies have never been returned to their families for a proper burial. Although the government alleges that only 65 persons were killed, we have the names, ages and pictures of most every one of the 424 victims. Similar actions were taken by Ethiopian troops in many of the rural towns in the Gambella district, causing many more victims and much more destruction of homes, crops, property and granaries. In addition to those killed in Gambella town, it is estimated that over fifteen hundred more people have been killed since that time. Preceding and following the incident, over a thousand other Anuak were arrested, imprisoned without charges and tortured. The sick have been denied medical treatment. Two years later, thousands of Anuak men and some women still remain in crowded and unhealthy conditions in prison, many still subject to torture. Their court cases are continually delayed for “another six months” despite most never being charged a crime and essentially being innocent prisoners of conscience. The Ethiopian government reports 111 Anuak as being incarcerated; however, the AJC has obtained only a partial list of names and that list includes well over 800 persons. Nearly ten thousand Anuak fled to Sudan for refuge. Approximately four thousand remain today, afraid to go back home, as it is still unsafe. Many who have returned, have been arrested or killed. Therefore, they remain in the refugee camp where they are living in horrible conditions, without clean water, adequate food, education for their children and any health services. Others have been internally displaced and as they have slowly returned home, they face hardship and conditions they had not seen for fifty years. Anuak men and some women continue to be subject to harassment, arbitrary arrests, beatings, detentions and extra judicial killings. Rape of Anuak women remains widespread, and while it is greatly unquantifiable, human rights investigators have concluded that Anuak women throughout the region have almost universally suffered from this crime against their person by Ethiopian Defense Troops. During the last two years, human rights violations were committed against the Anuak by the same government who was supposed to defend them. It is the worst kind of betrayal—like a child who is killed by his own father. As typical in a culture where citizens are terrorized, some Anuak colluded with the central government, gaining access to power, protection and privilege. Others became increasingly passive, losing hope of a better future. Some escaped, leaving for Sudan and Kenya, until stability returns to the area. Understandably, as political expression led to intimidation, imprisonment and death, some Anuak decided to join resistance movements, attempting to defend themselves, their families and their endangered fellow Anuak. The extent of the genocide probably could have been reduced had the Anuak not been disarmed by the government, leaving them unable to defend themselves. The goal of most of these resisters is in reaction to this and has been an attempt to bring a halt to the continuing extra judicial killings, beatings and rape. However, unfortunately, but not unexpectedly, some scattered rogue groups of Anuak have gone beyond defending themselves, retaliating in pent up anger against some innocent highlander citizens or against Anuak who have collaborated with the government. In response, Ethiopian Defense Troops have arrested, beaten or killed Anuak farmers or other easily found, but innocent Anuak targets. In fact, even before the massacre, it had been common practice for the government controlled police or military to go into villages where suspected assailants were thought to be hiding, and for them to randomly kill uninvolved Anuak men, women and children. Many Anuak are trusting that God will ultimately provide justice for their loved ones. An elder woman reported to the AJC:
The Ethiopian Government’s Plan: “Operation Sunny Mountain” Information uncovered by human rights investigators indicate that these crimes were part of a government-instigated plan with an actual name, Operation Sunny Mountain, with the objective of eliminating any resistance to federal government control over the vast natural resources found on the indigenous tribal land of the Anuak, particularly the oil. Since the initial genocide, the Ethiopian military has continued to perpetrate these crimes against the Anuak with impunity. Human Rights
Watch released a report on March 24, 2005 that documents systematic and widespread atrocities committed against the Anuak by Ethiopian Defense
Forces, Gambella Regional Police and some highlander militia groups. In their report, HRW indicates that these acts meet the stringent definition
of crimes against humanity. (Please see http://www.anuakjustice.org ). Oil Development in the Gambella Area Ethiopian defense troops are returning to the Gambella area in order to “ensure stability” during this process. With the return of the troops, Anuak fear the return of the daily killings, rape, harassment, torture and disappearances of Anuak who simply are involved in the basic chores of their lives, but are found by troops in the wrong place and at the wrong time. The government and the oil company have essentially pushed the Anuak aside and moved onto land previously considered to be the indigenous tribal land of the Anuak. Ethiopian troops have turned local Anuak farmers into “slave-laborers” as they are forced to build and to set up their military camps to protect the Chinese and Malaysian workers. The Anuak farmers receive no remuneration despite the fact that this is the time of year when the farmers would have been preparing their land for the planting their crops. These camps have amenities such as electricity and clean water, while a parallel economy exists in nearby Anuak villages, where there are no such advantages. As Anuak see the central government in Addis working directly with the oil company, making all the decisions regarding the oil without any consultation with regional authorities, in violation of international and Ethiopian law, they are realizing that they will never have a share in any of the benefits of this resource unless substantive action is taken. Aftermath of the Genocide A primary loss was access to clean water. Before December 2003, there were 119 water wells in Anuak areas. Currently only five wells are in working condition. Previously, there were 136 schools in operation in Anuak areas, now there are 27. The Anuak rates of school attendance in the Gambella region show that fewer than 8% of Anuak boys and 4% of Anuak girls are attending school in two Anuak districts. The attendance rate of children from other ethnic groups in the area is much greater, being 50% for boys and 30% for girls. The same report previously mentioned that was completed but not released by a UN entity, warns that an entire generation of Anuak children are going without an education. A recent visitor to the area viewed some of the vacated Anuak schools. In plain view inside these schools were piles of charred hardware from the desks, tables and chairs that had been used as firewood by Ethiopian troops who had occupied the schools, using them for barracks. Nothing of any value was left in these schools, including books and supplies. Due to ongoing human rights abuses in the rural areas, many of the schools in operation have few or poorly trained teachers, as many of the teachers were targets of the massacre. Of those who lived, a majority either escaped to Sudan following the genocide or since that time, have moved to Gambella town where they are safer and not subject to arbitrary killings and arrests. Gambella, as the largest town in the region, is in the public eye and therefore is safer. The government has deceptively used the relatively better conditions and stability in Gambella as their proof to outsiders of the stability in the area. Ethiopian troops also took over health clinics, again using them as barracks. Previously, 22 health clinics were functioning, now there are only 7 left. Most of the clinics have no supplies, medication or equipment left. Malnutrition is a continuing major crisis. Anuak in one of the three refugee camps in the region have suffered disproportionately in comparison with other refugee populations. Within the internally displaced Anuak population in the refugee camp, the rate of acute malnutrition earlier in the year has been estimated to be 36.5% and continuing to rise. (Acute malnutrition in children under five years of age is 11% in Ethiopia.) This is astonishing considering that the Anuak have most always been able to support themselves due to their fertile land. The rates of malnutrition outside the camps, in the rural communities, may be even higher due to Ethiopian Defense force interference with farmers. Rates of disease, malnutrition and susceptibility to disease, including HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria are extremely serious. According to one medical official, the prevalence of TB amongst the Anuak is eight times what is considered to be an epidemic. The prevalence of HIV/AIDS amongst the Anuak of the Gambella region is over 19%, whereas the rate in Ethiopia is much lower. Due to the widespread incidence of rape of Anuak women, the prevalence of HIV/AIDS will certainly increase. In addition, many of the women have untreated sexually transmitted diseases due to the lack of health services in the area. Anuak Justice Council The AJC cannot protect the Anuak and save them from extinction without help from the international community and policy makers such as you. Please join with the AJC to work towards procuring justice and peace for the Anuak so they can live in harmony with the rest of Ethiopia and the global community. Reasons why justice for the Anuak of Ethiopia cannot be found Gebre-ab was transferred to another position within the government, possibly due to being repeatedly mentioned by witnesses in the human rights investigations. These men were also allegedly repeatedly involved as the two masterminds in fomenting ethnic conflict between the Anuak, the Nuer, the Majenger and the highlanders. They reportedly justified the assumption of increasing levels of power in the region as they instigated the instability. On January 28, 2004, the US Ambassador to Ethiopia, Aurelia Brazeal, held a special private meeting in Gambella with some Anuak, Nuer and highlanders where they felt empowered to speak the truth. Ambassador Brazeal later issued a public statement urging the Ethiopian government to “bring the perpetrators of these crimes to justice, wherever they are found, even from the highest offices.” She called the Gambella region, with its vast natural resources, “the conscience of Ethiopia” after she learned that the Ethiopian government had realized that the fastest route to economic prosperity was from the untapped natural resources in the area. Following the Ambassador’s public statement, Tadessa Selassie, the Chief of Police in Gambella, and an active organizer of the massacre was arrested since witnesses repeatedly mentioned him in the meetings. However, shortly thereafter, he was released and has now resumed his job as the current chief of police of the entire Gambella region. It was also then that six innocent men from within the ranks of the Ethiopian Defense Force were arrested. However, information has been received that they were not even stationed in Gambella until months after the massacre. Over two years later, not even one of the perpetrators of these “Crimes Against Humanity” has been held accountable. A Gambella
police officer, from another ethnic group, was asked how many people had been arrested from the many who had been involved in the killing
of the Anuak. He said, “None, one hundred percent were never arrested. The only people arrested are the people who had nothing to do
with the killings!” The Ethiopian government’s investigation---a whitewashed report! However, when the Ethiopian government continued to receive significant pressure from the international community and when foreign aid was linked to completing an independent investigation, the executive branch of the government of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, finally appointed their own commission, without ever bringing it before the Parliament. The head of this commission was the head of the Supreme Court, Kemal Bedri. It is not surprising that he was also appointed to be the Chairman of the Electoral Board during the May 2005 national election. The report is full of flaws, inconsistencies and lacks detail. In addition, reports from participants and witnesses to the interviews indicate that the commission closely controlled and suppressed information from eyewitnesses of the massacre. A full international investigation is necessary, as this report is so biased that it is useless in establishing the facts and in holding anyone accountable for the crimes. The Commission’s report bases the cause of the massacre as ethnic violence between the Anuak and the Nuer, accusing them of vying for political power and resources in the region. It then refers back to ethnic incidents in 1995 and 1996. It does not address on what basis they purport that the massacre was ethnic violence when all of the victims were Anuak, not Nuer. Ethnic conflicts have occurred between the Anuak and the Nuer. These conflicts usually occurred as the pastoral Nuer moved into the traditional land of the Anuak, looking for more land for their cattle from the Anuak who are mainly farmers. However, these conflicts were usually settled according to their cultural traditional ways until the EPDRF government became adept at fomenting conflict between them. They perfected this approach through utilizing preferential treatment in services and opportunities, through resettlement practices that encroached on established Anuak land, by ignoring or punishing legitimate complainants and by disarming the Anuak and conversely, supplying guns to the Nuer or others that were ultimately used against the Anuak with impunity. As the Anuak stood up for their constitutional rights, they were intimidated, arrested or oppressed. The government usually found indirect means and trumped up reasons to justify this repression of legitimate self-determination. In fact, we purport that the Ethiopian government was the main contributor to the ongoing strife in the region prior to December 13, 2003, which then gave them an excuse for taking increasing control of the region. It is appalling that even though the report does admit that some police, highlander militias and defense troops were involved, none of these have been held accountable. Instead, in their list of perpetrators being held on charges, most all of them are Anuak even though none of the witnesses in their own report ever accuses an Anuak in their statements. In the conclusion of their report, they indicate that the cause of the Anuak massacre are the Anuak and that the heroes of the incident were the defense forces, with the exclusion of the few who they report killed thirteen persons. This report from the Commission of Inquiry does not meet even minimum international standards for investigative practice. Has Ethiopia become a “Vampire State?” George Ayittey, a highly respected African economist from American University in Washington DC, convincingly points out that the corruption by governmental leaders of what he calls “vampire states”, has created a climate where investment and development cannot take place because their leaders’ own objectives, of exploiting the people and resources for their own power and gain, lead to taking over and subverting every key institution of government in order to serve their own interests. He states in his article, “Down and Out! Who Broke Africa?” that they have their hands so steeped in blood and their pockets so full of booty that they are afraid that all their past gory misdeeds will be exposed if they are removed from office, so they cling to power at all costs, implementing only the barest minimum cosmetic reforms that would ensure continued flow of Western aid.” Ethiopian Justice System: A Judge’s Testimony
Why is it imperative that the US take immediate action? US military aid is being used against Ethiopian citizens as a means of prolonging the life of this regime. Consequently, the suffering of the intended beneficiaries of the aid is also being prolonged. American taxpayers should protest having paid for the US military aid to Ethiopia that funded the purchase of American made weapons used in the killing of innocent Anuak in the genocide of December 2003. Evidence of that was found in the area. Despite Prime Minister Meles’ public statement calling the large scale genocide “fiction,” US Marines saw evidence to the contrary. Three days after the massacre began; they rescued US citizens from Gambella. They could see smoldering huts, still burning after being set on fire. They could see bloodstains on the streets of Gambella. They heard the testimony from US citizens who had directly witnessed the killings. Ethiopia is considered to be strategic to the US in its fight against terrorism, but our “partner” may not be whom we expected.
The government of the EPRDF can be best known by their actions. Instead of being partners in stabilizing the Horn of Africa, they are a government
deeply entrenched in the use of terroristic tactics of oppression against their own citizens, accomplished in manipulating the truth to cover
up for it and in hanging on to power lest they ever be held accountable. The question is, how long will the Ethiopian people put up with this
before a full-blown crisis results? Ethiopia, as a potentially failing state, needs substantive diplomatic and economic intervention in order
to avert such a national crisis and to protect its citizens from additional suffering and the loss of life. An imploded Ethiopia can certainly
be more dangerous to the US than exerting pressure for diplomatic solutions at this time! For years, the Ethiopian people have looked to the US as allies and friends, but have recently been disappointed and disillusioned with the lack of attention and action directed towards the continent of Africa. Criticism is increasing that US rhetoric does not apply to Ethiopia. Ethiopians are reaching out for help, but are not being heard. The US has a large Ethiopian population of US citizens who are calling for action. It is not in times of prosperity that one finds out who is really your friend, but in times of crisis where significant engagement is needed. This is such a time for the Anuak and the people of Ethiopia. The US is in a desirable position that could allow the US to assist in shaping a better future for generations of Ethiopians to come. If we fail now, new friends may immerge for the Ethiopians, some with whom we may not share common values and vision. Some of these new economic or political partners may actually further exploit the Anuak and other Ethiopians. They may also further undermine our strategic relationship with this “partner against terror.” In this strategic area of the world, where stability is already in delicate balance, the impact of meaningful action may have far and long reaching benefits. Can we afford to ignore this opportunity? Objectives of the AJC:
Recommendations to the US Government and international donor community
A Call to Join Voices with those in Dark Places
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
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