[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 191 (Monday, November 1, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7535-S7536]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 TIGRAY

  Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, the situation in Tigray continues to 
deteriorate. Recent bombings by the Ethiopian Government of Tigray's 
densely populated capital city, Mekele, has reportedly killed 
civilians, including children. Millions of people have been displaced, 
and many in Tigray are facing famine. Combatants on both sides of the 
conflict have committed atrocities.
  The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian 
Affairs reported recently that only 14 percent of trucks with relief 
aid were getting through to the people of Tigray, due to roadblocks and 
lack of fuel. Lifesaving medications have been blocked from getting 
into Tigray, which cripples the ability of the UN and their NGO 
partners to respond to urgent health needs. If the government does not 
permit deliveries of humanitarian aid, more and more people will 
needlessly starve to death.
  The United States has imposed sanctions against the government in 
Addis Ababa. The Congress has also acted. The Fiscal Year 2022 
Department of State and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill was 
introduced in the Senate on October 26, and it would prohibit U.S. 
military aid to Ethiopia. It would also require the Department of the 
Treasury to oppose international bank loans to the Ethiopian 
Government, except to meet basic human needs, until the government 
ceases offensive military operation, takes credible and sustained steps 
toward a genuine political dialogue to end the conflict, implements 
measures to protect human rights, allows unimpeded humanitarian access, 
and cooperates with independent investigations of violations of human 
rights.
  Ethiopia is a country facing every imaginable problem, increasingly 
exacerbated by climate change. There is no military solution to the 
ethnic rivalries that have divided the country for generations. Any 
sustainable solution will only be achieved through negotiation and 
compromise. The international community, including the United States, 
can help support such a dialogue, but it is the Ethiopian Government's 
responsibility to create the conditions for that to occur. Rather than 
squander the country's scarce resources on a fruitless, brutal campaign 
to dominate Tigray by force, Prime Minister Abiy would be well advised 
to listen to the international community

[[Page S7536]]

and support a diplomatic solution. The alternative is famine, 
displacement, and unending misery for the people of Tigray, and for 
this Nobel Peace Prize winner to be held accountable for crimes against 
humanity.
  (At the request of Mr. Thune, the following statement was ordered to 
be printed in the Record.)

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