Like all peace loving people, Ethiopians at home and in the Diaspora are appalled and horrified by the recent indiscriminate and senseless killings of innocent people in London. We deplore the act and condemn the perpetrators most vehemently.

Having been victims of terror of a different kind, one committed by the autocratic regime of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, Ethiopians fully understand the depth of the grief and pain of those who have lost loved ones in the horrible tragedies in London. The June 8, 2005, post-election massacre of over 36 peaceful demonstrators in Addis Ababa is still fresh in the minds of Ethiopians. The people of Ethiopia believe that we should all have the resolve to fight terror in all its forms, whether it is government sponsored or perpetrated by religious fanatics, wherever and whenever it takes place.

The killings in Addis Ababa took place only weeks before the terrorist attacks in London. The man who ordered the killings in Ethiopia, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, has condemned the terrorist killings in London. However, there is a remarkable and cruel irony here because the same individual has condoned the killings in Addis Ababa as a necessary measure to preserve order, under an illegally declared state of emergency. There can be no cause noble enough to justify the barbaric killings of innocent civilians in London or peaceful demonstrators in Addis Ababa.

The people of Ethiopia are all too familiar with the double-faced approach Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has unashamedly deceived world leaders while skillfully portraying an image that blurs his old Albanian Marxist autocratic leadership roots. The June 8 massacre in Addis Ababa is only his most recent and most blatant defiance of the will of the people. If the world fails to understand the Prime Minister for what he is, and does not take decisive steps to stop him, this may be a prelude to more intractable problems that will inevitably engulf Ethiopia.

The people of Ethiopia have finally spoken loud and clear when they went to the polls in the May 15th elections. Now, they are asking all freedom loving people to stand on their side to insure that the outcome of the elections is reflective of their will. Unlike Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who condemns killings in London and still carries out murders of
innocent people at home, the people of Ethiopia believe that they are the true and reliable ally of the people of Great Britain in the fight against terrorism. A leader who terrorizes his own people, who has lost their confidence, and who is determined to cling to power using terror as a primary instrument, cannot and should not be trusted as a partner in the fight against terrorism. Ethiopians strongly believe that nobody is more knowledgeable than the people of the United Kingdom when it comes to appreciating the danger of trying to appease a dictator, whose power is built on abuse of human rights and total disregard for basic democratic principles.

Your Excellency,

We would like to express once again our deepest condolences to the families of the victims of the London bombings, and to assure you of our unswerving support to the people of Great Britain in the fight against global terrorism.

Respectfully yours,
Ethiopian-Americans for Democracy

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