Washington Update
US Congressman to visit Ethiopia over election crisisWASHINGTON DC – Rep. Christopher Smith (R-N.J.), Chairman-Africa, Global Human Rights, and International Operations, plans to visit Ethiopia in about two weeks. He will meet with the Meles government and with the opposition. Smith has been briefed about the situation in Ethiopia, including the regime’s attempts to subvert democracy and suppress human rights. Smith said he and other members of Congress are very concerned about the situation. In fact, he originally planned to visit only the Darfur region of Sudan, but he changed his plans to include Ethiopia in order to gather more information and to express his concern. State Department. The U.S. State Department is also receiving information about the situation on the ground in Ethiopia. The State Department is emphasizing the need for dialogue between the opposition and the ruling regime. We have expressed disappointment with the failure of the State Department to publicly criticize the Meles regime or to take stronger actions to induce it to change its policies. We have discussed with Congress and the State Department: voting irregularities; the lack of independence of the electoral board; anti-democratic rules that have been imposed on parliament that prevent opposition members from participating in or influencing the outcome of legislation; repression in Wollo and other parts of Ethiopia. ETHIOMEDIA.COM – ETHIOPIA’S PREMIER NEWS AND VIEWS WEBSITE © COPYRIGHT 20001-2003 ETHIOMEDIA.COM. EMAIL: [email protected] |