Kinijit for Unity and Democracy

August 21st 2007

KIC - Washington Update

The newest item for your attention is the report on our meeting with the Staff of Congress’ House African Affairs Sub-Committee last week on August 16th. We had a good meeting as the staffers knew a lot about the Ethiopian situation and were sympathetic to our goals.

In attendance were Dr. Bezabhe, Major Admasu, and myself representing the Kinijit International Council. We tried to strategize with them the best way to proceed to move forward enactment of the legislation HR 2003, commonly known as the Ethiopian Democracy, Development, and Human Rights bill.

The staffers urged us to remind the Ethiopian community to work together in unity for the passage of HR 2003. Chairman, Donald Payne (D-NJ) and ranking Member Chris Smith (R-NJ) are working with their colleagues to bring this legislation to the full International Relations Committee and then to the floor of the House for a vote.

Ethiopians all over the USA need to contact their Congressmen and Congresswomen to explain just how important this legislation is to our community. This is a “human rights” bill and needs to be identified by the Ethiopian community as such when speaking with Congress.

Just today in the
Washington Post’s Stephanie McCrummen wrote a piece from Nairobi Kenya in which newly exiled Ethiopian journalists were interviewed by her about death threats received after finally being released as political prisoners in Addis Ababa.

Kinijit international Council is very happy for the release of these leaders and thank you and sent letters of Appreciation's to Congress, State Department, and the International community at large. Our struggle continues for peace, democracy, justices for all, human rights and development in Ethiopia. As you know these leaders has been incarcerated in disease infected jail almost for two years. There crime is only for speaking out for lack of injustices, respect for the people vote, human rights and development in Ethiopia.

We are still waiting for the visa from the United States Department of State for the scheduled visit to Washington of Engineer Hailu Shawel. We will keep you posted for developments on this.

In conclusion we need to keep on putting our point of view in front of congress and the American people as Meles regime has a lot of money to buy slick K Street lobby shops to push his agenda. We need a untied effort to help America resist them and to push on to passage of HR 2003.

Mesfin Mekonen