To Honorable Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi
235 Cannon HOB
Washington, DC 20515
Phone- (202) 225- 4965
Dear Honorable Congresswoman Pelosi:
We are writing to you to express our concerns about the recent arrest of more than thirty-five people in
Ethiopia that include individuals who happened to have familial relationship with opposition leaders on
fabricated charges of plotting a coup and about the Ethiopian government disregard to the international human rights law.
In the past 17 years, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, State Department, New York Times,
Los Angeles Times, BBC and other leading newspapers and institutions have repeatedly reported about
the use of arbitrary arrests, torture, rape and killing of civilians by the Ethiopian government as methods to undermine the resistance movement for freedom and democracy under the pretext of a
counterinsurgency campaign against terrorism. According to the report by the Voice of America (VOA), the key opposition Parliament Member Bulcha Demeksa has expressed skepticism about the reports of this coup plot and described the arrest as :
“I honestly believe this is not true. The government of Ethiopia has used such accusations so many
times to make it a reason to arrest people. The election approaching, anybody who could be a viable
candidate for an opposition party will be caught by this net”.
As Parliament Member Bulcha Demeksa stated to VOA, this latest baseless and fabricated charges
against the 35 people including individuals who happened to have familial relation with opposition leaders is a continuation of same old and worn out practices of criminalizing Ethiopian activists and there family members under the pretext of counterinsurgency campaign against terrorism. As you may be well aware, those in the Ethiopian government, who arrested over 35 people under the pretext of
counterinsurgency campaign against terrorism, have been many times implicated for committing war
crimes and violating domestic and international humanitarian law, including deliberately and
indiscriminately attacking and harming civilians. The arrest of the thirty-five people on fabricated charges of plotting a coup by the Ethiopian government is another violation of Ethiopia’s government obligations under international law.
Recognizing your efforts to promote democracy, freedom, peace and international humanitarian law, we ask you to demand for immediate and unconditionally release of all political prisoners immediately and ensure an end to the practice of arbitrary arrest and unfair trials in Ethiopia. We also call on you to take immediate and tangible steps to ensure that the actions of Ethiopia’s government to comply fully with the Geneva Conventions and the Ethiopian government to be accountable and responsible for violating the international human rights law as well as to condition any kind of US aid to Ethiopia on democratic values and human rights preservation.
Sincerely,
Mekdese B Kassa
Acting secretary
-email-
Po. Box 1292,
Lorton, Virginia 22199-1292
