The Habesha: Latest Ethiopian News, Analysis and Articles

English French German Hebrew Swedish Spanish Italian Arabic Dutch

Open Letter to Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey

NJ/NY Ethiopians Task Force
May 31, 2021

Dear Senator Senator Bob Menendez

We are a group of Ethiopian Americans residing in New Jersey and New York. We are writing you this letter to express our concern regarding your recent statement on the current situation in Ethiopia including your discussion with Egyptians regarding the GERD (Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam) and resolution 97 (SR97), recently passed by the senate.

While we share your concern about the conflict in Tigray, there should not be any doubt that remnants of a terrorist group called the TPLF (Tigray People’s Liberation Front) and its affiliates are responsible for the conflict and its aftermath. Moreover, Egypt and Sudan are supporting terrorist forces in Ethiopia, including the TPLF, to destabilize the nation and prevent it from using its natural resources. Despite all these challenges, the majority of Ethiopians are working hard to ensure the coming elections as well as the filling of the GERD go forward as planned.

We strongly believe that Resolution 97 is unfair, one sided and heavily reliant on the deliberate misinformation/lobbying campaign of TPLF supporters. The fact that some former and current administration officials in the state department, including the recently appointed East African Envoy Mr. Jeffrey Feltman, are known to have strong ties with former TPLF leaders/associates indicates the resolution’s intent to support the TPLF, which was recently declared as a terrorist group by the Ethiopian parliament.

Here are ten reasons why we think the SR97 is unfair to Ethiopia:

  1. It puts a legitimate government working hard to stabilize the country on equal footing with a terrorist force that perpetrated treason on the nation
  2. While admitting the TPLF bypassed the central government in carrying fake elections, it ignores the fact that the same group was destabilizing the nation by sponsoring ethnic and religious cleansing and assassinations all over the country for three years.
  3. While it mentions, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s refusal to negotiate with the TPLF, it completely ignores the painstaking effort his administration undertook to bring the former leaders to the negotiating table prior to the war.
  4. It glosses over the fact on how the war was started by the TPLF, without condemning its evil intent to control military installations/heavy artillery to bombard Addis Ababa, Asmara and Amhara neighboring states.
  5. It completely avoids associating the Mai Kadra massacre of more than 600 Amhara Ethiopians in November 2020 with a TPLF trained youth group called the Samri.
  6. It relies on a debunked Aksum Massacre story cooked up by TPLF supporters in the US.
  7. Moreover, it doesn’t acknowledge the brave Ethiopian military forces that were attacked and killed in hundreds and the fact that those brave sons and daughters of Ethiopia have saved the country from the brink of disintegration
  8. It ignores all the efforts the central government took to stabilize and reconstruct the region before and after the TPLF started the war.
  9. It completely ignores the huge efforts undertaken by the current temporary Tigray administration to stabilize the region and provide humanitarian assistance.
  10. It ignores the fact that the Ethiopian government already gave hundreds of humanitarian institutions and more than 80 independent journalists access to the region

It is indeed frustrating to see the US working hard to undermine all the efforts of the Ethiopian government, including an election anticipated by the majority of Ethiopians and its efforts to build an independent economy and escape poverty.

In October 2020, we witnessed a sitting US president advocating for the bombing of a project in Ethiopia built by contributions of poor citizens and considered as the symbol of freedom from poverty. At that time, most of us felt like the US threw Ethiopia under the bus! Now the Biden administration, as well as congress, seem to be following in the footsteps of the Trump Administration, guided by false claims, a misinformation campaign and lobbying by terrorist TPLF associates and the Egyptian government.

Besides asking the government to negotiate with a terrorist group, it is very disturbing to see the US determined to stand guard for an outdated colonial treaty on the Nile and using its power to twist the hands of a poor nation to fulfill the desires of an ally.

Ethiopia is at a crossroads, and as our senator, we are asking you to please

  1. Revisit your support to SR97, opposed by the majority of Ethiopians.
  2. Support the sitting government that is striving to keep the nation together and carry out the first ever-democratic election in the country.
  3. Support Ethiopia’s efforts to use its resources to get out of poverty and
  4. Ask Egypt (a US ally) and Sudan to refrain from destabilizing Ethiopia.

While disappointed by the actions of the US congress and the current administration’s policy towards our homeland, we are hopeful that Ethiopians will stand united against internal and external forces trying to destabilize the country and we hope you will not stand with destructive forces, including the terrorist TPLF, that are advocating to dismantle Ethiopia.

 

We thank you for paying attention to this important matter!

 

Sincerely

NJ/NY Ethiopians Task Force

 

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top