[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 35 (Monday, March 3, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1462-S1463]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    THE POLITICAL CRISIS IN ETHIOPIA

  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I rise today to discuss the political 
situation in Ethiopia. The U.S.-Ethiopian partnership is an incredibly 
important one--perhaps one of the more significant on the continent 
given not only our longstanding history but also the increasingly 
strategic nature of our cooperation in recent years. Ethiopia sits on 
the Horn of Africa--perhaps one of the roughest neighborhoods in the 
world, with Somalia a failed state and likely safe haven for 
terrorists, Eritrea an inaccessible authoritarian regime that 
exacerbates conflicts throughout the region, Sudan a genocidal regime, 
and now Kenya descending into crisis. By contrast, Ethiopia seems 
relatively stable with its growing economy and robust poverty reduction 
programs.
  Indeed, one look at the deteriorating situation on the Horn of Africa 
and it is clear just how essential our relationship with Ethiopia 
really is. Unfortunately, the Bush administration's approach to 
strengthening and building bilateral ties with Ethiopia has been 
shortsighted and narrow. As in other parts of the world, the 
administration's counterterrorism agenda dominates the relationship, 
while poor governance and human rights concerns get a pass.
  Genuine democratic progress in Ethiopia is essential if we are to 
have a healthy and positive bilateral relationship. We cannot allow a 
myopic focus on one element of security to obscure our understanding of 
what is really occurring in Ethiopia. Rather than place our support in 
one man, we must invest in Ethiopia's institutions and its people to 
create a stable, sustainable political system. As we are seeing right 
now in Kenya, political repression breeds deep-seated resentment, which 
can have destructive and far-reaching consequences. The United States 
and the international community cannot support one policy objective at 
the expense of all others. To do so not only hurts the credibility of 
America and the viability of our democratic message, but it severely 
jeopardizes our national security.
  I am seriously concerned about the direction Ethiopia is headed--
recurringbecause according to many credible accounts, the political 
crisis that has been quietly growing and deepening over the past few 
years may be coming to a head. For years, faced with calls for 
political or economic reforms, the Ethiopian government has displayed a 
troubling tendency to react with alarmingly oppressive and 
disproportionate tactics.
  For example, in 2003, we received reports of massacres of civilians 
in the Gambella region of Ethiopia, which touched off a wave of 
violence and destruction that has yet to truly loosen its grip on the 
region. At that time, hundreds of lives were lost, tens of thousands 
were displaced, and many homes, schools, and businesses throughout the 
area were destroyed. Credible observers agree that Ethiopian security 
forces were heavily involved in some of the most serious abuses and 
more than 5 years later no one has been held accountable and there have 
been no reparations.
  The national elections held in May 2005 were a severe step back for 
Ethiopia's democratic progress. In advance of the elections, the 
Ethiopian Government expelled representatives of the three democracy-
promotion organizations supported by USAID to assist the Ethiopian 
election commission, facilitate dialogue among political parties and 
election authorities, train pollwatchers, and assist civil society in

[[Page S1463]]

the creation of a code of conduct. This expulsion was the first time in 
20 years that a government has rejected such assistance, and the 
organizations have still not returned to Ethiopia because they do not 
feel an environment exists where they can truly undertake their 
objectives.
  Despite massive controversy surrounding the polls, it is notable that 
opposition parties still won an unprecedented number of parliamentary 
seats. Their pursuit of transparency and democracy was again thwarted, 
however, when they tried to register their concerns about the election 
process. In one incident, peaceful demonstrations by opposition members 
and their supporters in Ethiopia's capital of Addis Ababa were met with 
disproportionate and lethal force that killed more than 30 people and 
injured over 100. In another incident, the Ethiopian government 
arrested thousands of peacefully protesting citizens who took to the 
streets in support of the opposition.
  The systemic nature of this crackdown was revealed in credible 
reports coming from the Oromia and Amhara regions that federal police 
were unacceptably threatening, beating and detaining opposition 
supporters. Indeed, international human rights groups documented that 
regional authorities were exaggerating their concerns about armed 
insurgency and ``terrorism'' to try to justify the torture, 
imprisonment and sustained harassment of critics and even ordinary 
citizens.
  This tendency to portray political dissent as extremist uprisings has 
been repeated more recently with regards to what is being characterized 
by some as a brutal counterinsurgency operation led by Ethiopia's 
military in the Ogaden, a long-neglected region that borders Somalia. 
Certainly I recognize the serious security concerns in this region, 
made worse by the porous borders of the failed state just a stone's 
throw away.
  But it is precisely because Ethiopia is our partner in the fight 
against al-Qaida, its affiliates and allies, that I am so concerned 
about what I understand to be a massive military crackdown that does 
not differentiate between rebel groups and civilians. While I am sure 
there are few clean hands when it comes to fighting in the Ogaden 
region, the reports I have received about the Ethiopian government's 
illicit military tactics and human rights violations are of great 
concern.
  I have been hearing similar reports of egregious human rights abuses 
being committed in Somalia, about which I am gravely concerned. When I 
visited Ethiopia just over a year, I urged the Prime Minister not to 
send his troops into Somalia because I thought it might make 
instability there worse, not better. Tragically, more than a year 
later, it seems my worst fears have been realized as tens of thousands 
of people have fled their homes, humanitarian access is at an all time 
low, and there are numerous reports of increasing brutality towards 
civilians caught in the crossfire. In the interest of its own domestic 
security, Ethiopia is contributing to increased regional instability.
  What troubles me most is that the reports of Ethiopia's military 
coming out of the Ogaden and Mogadishu join a long list of increasingly 
repressive actions taken by the Ethiopian government. The Bush 
administration must not turn a blind eye to the aggressive--and 
recurring--tactics being utilized by one of our key allies to stifle 
dissent.
  I certainly welcome the role the Bush administration has played in 
helping to secure the release of many--although not all--of the 
individuals thrown in jail in the aftermath of the 2005 elections. I 
welcome the Embassy's engagement with opposition members and their 
efforts to encourage Ethiopian officials to create more political space 
for alternative views, independent media, and civil society. These are 
all important steps but they do not go far enough.
  The administration's efforts at backroom diplomacy are not working. I 
understand and respect the value of quiet diplomacy, but sometimes we 
reach the point where such a strategy is rendered ineffective--when 
private rhetorical commitments are repeatedly broken by unacceptable 
public actions. For example, recent reports that the Ethiopian 
government is jamming our Voice of America radio broadcasts should be 
condemned in no uncertain terms, not shrugged off.
  The Bush administration must live up to its own rhetoric in promoting 
democracy and human rights by making it clear that we do not--and will 
not--tolerate the Ethiopian government's abuses and illegal behavior. 
It must demonstrate that there are consequences for the repressive and 
often brutal tactics employed by the Ethiopian government, which are 
moving Ethiopia farther away from--not closer to--the goal of becoming 
a legitimate democracy and are increasingly a source of regional 
instability.
  I am afraid that the failure of this administration to acknowledge 
the internal crisis in Ethiopia is emblematic of its narrow-minded 
agenda, which will have repercussions for years to come if not 
addressed immediately. Worse yet, without a balanced U.S. policy that 
addresses both short- and long-term challenges to stability in 
Ethiopia, we run the risk of contributing to the groundswell of proxy 
wars rippling across the Horn--whether in Somalia, eastern Sudan, or 
even the Ogaden region. And those wars, in turn, by contributing to 
greater insecurity on the Horn and providing opportunities for forces 
that oppose U.S. interests, pose a direct threat to our own national 
security as well.

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