EACC urges US to play constructive role in addressing circumstances in Ethiopia

Addis Ababa, May 21, 2021 (FBC) – On behalf of hundreds of thousands of members of the Ethiopian American diaspora community, the Ethiopian American Civic Council (EACC) and Ethiopian Advocacy Network (EAN) wrote letter to President Joe Baiden addressing the important matter of the current situation in Ethiopia.

The EACC is a U.S. based, nonprofit organization that represents approximately 750,000 Ethiopian Americans. We are outlining our wishes from the U.S. government in the following paragraphs.

In the statement EACC says Ethiopia is an ancient nation which has achieved written civilization spanning three millennia, gallantly preserving its independence against European Colonialism. In its long history, Ethiopia never sought territorial expansion to invade its neighbors to assert its dominance. Its unique civilization enshrined with rare cohesion of the major Semitic faith providing a time-tested political continuum in a region not known for these enduring virtues. A founding member of the United Nation and the African Union, remains a symbol of freedom to all African descendants. These unique historical predispositions have made Ethiopia the unique regional ally in the fight against global terrorism.

Within our recent history, Ethiopia‘s political and human rights spaces have undergone many challenges. However, since 2018 when the political reform movement was ushered, Ethiopia has continued overcoming a series of roadblocks from within and foreign actors.

Particularly, in the past three years, Ethiopia has been receiving an insufferable challenge at the hands of its own former rulers. The Tigrayan Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF), a terrorist group as labeled by the Ethiopian Parliament, is alien to democracy and the rule of law. For decades, it has spoiled the peace and stability of the Ethiopian State. This group that led Ethiopia for three decades, squandered innumerable opportunities for peace and reconciliation.

The TPLF side stepped and abused the forgiveness of the Ethiopian people and engaged in acts of destabilization. TPLF – a political party turned into a criminal enterprise – has spared no effort to reassume power and to continue its draconian and divisive rule. In the failure of this futile effort, the group is proven to be invested in destabilizing Ethiopia and harming the Ethiopian people. The TPLF conducted heinous crimes while in power and scarred the conscience of the Ethiopian public.

The TPLF’s propaganda campaign intentionally works to discredit the Ethiopian government and army and create enmity among the Ethiopian people. This is an old and destructive tactic. According to Global Financial Integrity between 2005 and 2014, an estimated average of US$1,259 million to US$3,153 million dollars left Ethiopia as Illicit Financial Flows every year” It is unfortunate these finances embezzled from the Ethiopian people and international connections of TPLF operatives, including members of global institutions, established for official purposes, are now being employed to inflict damage on Ethiopia.

It is incumbent on the United States to look beyond the portrayal of orchestrated biases that seek to erode the legitimacy of actions of the government of Ethiopia. Following are principles we stand for and what we, as the Ethiopian diaspora representing hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians in America, wish to see from our US government as it relates to the present conflict:

To this end, we welcome prime minister’s Dr Abiy Anmed’s statement on March 9, 2021 to African Peace and Security Council “We express our will to openly engage the African Commission on Human and People’s Right in undertaking investigations jointly with the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission.

Our community seeks to assure the global community that, after so many years of political struggle, Ethiopia now has a responsible government. Ethiopia has already permitted unfettered access to humanitarian agencies in the Tigray region. In an unprecedented manner, the government is open to work with the international community to address concerns on human rights and humanitarian assistance.

The Ethiopian government is doing everything in its power to make sure the humanitarian gap is bridged, and the basic supplies are provided. In this tegard, Ethiopia is also grateful to UNWFP and other organizations that stood with the people of Ethiopia at this time of need.

On the open debate under the theme of “conflict and food security,’ we expect a constructive approach and context informed deliberation. It shall be noted, despite the progress from the efforts of the Ethiopian people in the past years, to alleviate extreme poverty, food insecurity remains a central challenge in Ethiopia. The acts of the TPLF to destabilize the nation and render its institutions fragile exacerbates this challenge and exposes vulnerable populations to further harm.

Ethiopia’s long history of independence and freedom makes it synonymous with all elements of national sovereignty. That is precisely why we welcome the recent UN Security Council unequivocal assertion in its statement released on April 22, 2021…” members of the Security Council reaffirmed their strong commitment to the sovereignty, political independence, territorial integrity and unity of Ethiopia.”

Therefore, we appeal to the United States as a permanent member of the UNSC to respect and adhere to the resolution therein.

Ethiopia also ushered in a new political transformation by creating an independent Election Commission, National Election Board of Ethiopia- NEBE to uphold one of the most important pillars of democratic governance, by holding a fully transparent election.

NEBE is an autonomous government agency led by the indomitable Judge Birtukan Medika, which is overseeing several competing political parties for the first time in the country’s history to ensure a fair balanced electoral outcome. To protect the sanctity of such a significant election, we condemn any and all foreign powers who are interfering in Ethiopia’s electoral process or attempt to cast doubt in the outcome before a single vote is casted.

While we appreciate the attention, the United States is giving to Ethiopian crisis, we remain concerned by the risks of interference and undue prescription into the internal affairs of Ethiopia.

The law enforcement measure in Ethiopia is a response to large scale treasonous military attacks from within. Most certainly, any sovereign nation would take a similar and much graver measure against a serious domestic threat.

The Government of Ethiopia should be supported in its efforts to preserve the unity and sovereign integrity of the state. America which partners with Ethiopia to fight global terrorism, shall also keep an eye on foreign affiliates and sponsors of TPLF that seek to destabilize Ethiopia and the region at large. Ethiopia incorporates all regional forces as part and parcel of Ethiopian Defense Forces.

Recent statement of the U.S. Department State demanding “…urge the Government of Ethiopia to withdraw Amhara regional forces from the Tigray region…” amounts to requesting the removal of Ethiopia’s Defense forces from Ethiopia itself, an unprecedented request in the entire global political order.

Once more, the United States is cautioned not to repeat similar policy missteps made during the Carter administration regarding Ethiopia. Instead, we plead for the United States to play a constructive role and stand with the People and Government of Ethiopia to successfully complete the National Election; complete the second filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD); resolve the border dispute with Sudan and successfully prosecute the law enforcement operation in Tigray.

Withstanding the current concerns, we are hopeful the strang US-Ethiopia friendship and longstanding alliance, first established by President Teddy Roosevelt for more than 115 years will continue to prosper.