ETHIOPIAN-AMERICANS and FRIENDS of ETHIOPIA in OKLAHOMA for H.R. 2003
Contact Person: December 3, 2007 Mr. Muluneh Zeleke, Phone: 405-314-4560 Dear fellow Oklahomans, On November 13 and November 20, 2007, peaceful protest rallies were held in front of Senator James Inhofe's Oklahoma City district office, objecting to the Senator's strong opposition to H.R. 2003, the “Ethiopia Democracy and Accountability Act of 2007" http://ethiounited.blogspot.com/2007/10/indulging-ethiopian-adopted-child-to.html. H.R. 2003, is a bi-partisan human rights bill that passed unanimously from the U.S. House of Representatives on October 2, 2007. Senator Inhofe is currently on an official visit to Ethiopia. Senator Inhofe has publicly admitted he has a close friendship with one of the World’s Worst Dictators, (http://www.parade.com/export/sites/default/articles/web_exclusives/2007/02-11-2007/dictators17.html ) Prime Minister Meles Zenaw and his wife. As Senator Inhofe's Oklahoma constituents who are extremely concerned about the gross human rights abuses in Ethiopia, we had requested Senator Inhofe meet with individuals and/or organizations that support H.R.2003, during his visit to Ethiopia: (http://www.ethiomedia.com/ace/protesters_address_senator_inhofe.html ) Our written request was accepted by Senator Inhofe's state director, Mr. John Collison. A list containing the names of individuals and organizations who were victims of human rights abuses were given to Mr. John Collison in the presence of state Senator Constance N. Johnson (D-Oklahoma City) to be passed on to Senator Inhofe so that the Senator would meet with the identified individuals during his official visit to Ethiopia. Unfortunately, Senator Inhofe chose to attack the Human Rights bill immediately upon arrival in Addis Ababa, before meeting with any of the victims of the human rights abuses: http://ena.gov.et/EnglishNews/2007/Nov/29Nov07/44031.htm “Senator Inhofe during the discussion told Prime Minister Meles that he, in his capacity as member of the US Senate, strongly opposes the endorsement of HR 2003 bill” The list Senator Inhofe received from his Oklahoma constituents include: 1) ETHIOPIAN HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANIZATION ( 2 individuals) 2) FAMILIES THAT HAD MEMBERS OF THEIR FAMILIES MASSACRED IN JUNE/NOVEMBER 2005 (9 individuals) 3) INDIVIDUALS THAT WERE INJURED BY GUNSHOT IN JUNE/NOVEMBER 2005 (6 individuals) 4) OPPOSITION PARTY LEADERS (6 individuals) 5) JOURNALISTS IMPRISONED AFTER THE MAY 2005 ELECTIONS (3 individuals ) 6) PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE (2 individuals) Unfortunately, Senator Inhofe, despite his 6-day stay in Ethiopia, chose to meet with only 2 individuals (20 minutes each) out of the 28 he was requested to meet by us, his constituents, in order to enable him to reach an informed decision on H.R. 2003. Ethiopian-Americans and Friends of Ethiopia in Oklahoma for H.R.2003 ask fellow Oklahomans, to personally deliver this letter, fax and/or call Senator Inhofe and ask him to be FAIR ON HR 2003!!! Washington, DC Office: (202) 224-4721 (tel); ( 202 ) 228-0380 (fax) 453 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING, WASHINGTON, DC 20510-3602 Oklahoma City, OK Office: (405) 608-4381 (tel); (405) 608-4120 (fax) 1900 NW Expressway, Suite 1210, Oklahoma City, OK 73118 |