On October 23, members of the Ethiopian-American community met in the US Senate’s Kennedy Caucus Room to discuss constitutional reform and brief congressional staff about the path to democracy, peace, and prosperity in Ethiopia.
A summary of the meetings follows: the constitutional conference and the congressional briefing. In addition to the comments described below, Amanda Thorpe, Senator Peter Welch’s national security advisor, addressed the group, welcoming them and wishing them success. Two congressional candidates, Dr. Myrtle Alexander, who is seeking election as a non-voting delegate from Washington, DC, and Jerry Torres, who is seeking election from Northern Virginia District 8, also addressed the meeting. The meeting was covered by news media, including two Ethiopian television broadcasters, Anchor Media and Menalesh Merti Media, and the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle.
Introduction from Mesfin Mekonen
Mesfin Mekonen, Author of Washington Update, a bulletin about Ethiopia’s struggle for freedom and prosperity, and founder of MM Management, opened the meeting, welcoming the participants and thanking Senator Peter Welch and his national security adviser Amanda Thorpe for their support, their continuing interest in Ethiopia, and for making the meeting possible. He also thanked Dr. Abrera Meshesa and Ato Meonnen Dyamo for their tireless efforts to craft a draft constitution. In the end, of course, the work they have undertaken and that was discussed at the conference is the start of a process that can only be completed with the approval of the Ethiopian people.
At the outset, it was essential to mention the ongoing and very recent attacks the Ethiopian government has launched on the Amhara people, including murderous attacks with drones. The US government must act to restrain the Ethiopian government to protect the lives of innocents.
It was the group’s second meeting in the Kennedy Caucus room. The effort to craft a constitution has been underway for over a year. It isn’t easy, and we are still at the start of the journey.
Our work must start with an understanding of the reasons for constitutional reform. In short, a new arrangement is needed because the root cause of Ethiopia’s misery is the current constitution, which was created and imposed by the former Ethiopian dictator Melese. He and his cronies sought to impose divide-and-rule ethnic federalism.
The constitution they created in 1994 includes Article 39, granting any ethnic group the right to secede and form a nation. Thus, groups such as the Tigrayans and the Amhara currently have the constitutional right to secede, which, of course, sparks a protracted civil war. The ability of the central government to govern is undermined when every ethnic group has the right to secede. Peace is impossible in a country where ethnic groups compete for access to resources. Prosperity and justice are unattainable in a country where political connections and corruption, not the rule of law, determine who prevails in the courts.
This approach, which remains in place, allows a small minority to control the country. It is fueling ethnic conflicts that threaten to tear Ethiopia apart. As one example, the Abiy regime is using drones to attack the Amhara people. Even the regime’s own Human Rights Commission acknowledges that the central government is involved in extrajudicial killings, indiscriminate attacks against civilians, attacks targeting civilians, and abductions. The US State Department has documented similar abuses.
A new constitution is needed to address the root causes of Ethiopia’s most serious problems. To secure democracy, human rights, and economic prosperity, Ethiopia needs a new constitution that places power in the hands of its people, and that turns the page on ethnic division, corruption, and abuse of human rights.
A fundamental change in the government’s structure is essential to prevent Ethiopia from sinking deeper into the abyss. By failing to observe even the most basic human rights of its own people, including the right to life itself, the Abiy regime could turn Ethiopia into a failed state. The result would be unbearable hardship for Ethiopians, destabilization of the entire Horn of Africa, and the creation of safe havens for terrorists.
Ethiopians realize that the fate of their country rests in the hands of the Ethiopian people, but they also believe that the United States of America can help a great deal and can serve as an inspiration in Ethiopia’s quest for human rights, democracy, and prosperity.
The US government should undertake a three-part strategy focused on cessation of hostilities, sanctions, and constitutional reform – the topic of our discussions today.
