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“THE PLIGHT OF THE OROMO PEOPLE OF ETHIOPIA” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H6469-H6470 on July 27, 2017.
The State Department is responsibly for international relations with a budget of more than $50 billion. Tenure at the State Dept. is increasingly tenuous and it's seen as an extension of the President's will, ambitions and flaws.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
THE PLIGHT OF THE OROMO PEOPLE OF ETHIOPIA
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Shimkus) for 5 minutes.
Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address the plight of the Oromo people of Ethiopia. The Oromo are Ethiopia's largest ethnic group, with a population of more than 25 million, or 35 percent of Ethiopia's total population.
I speak here on behalf of one of my constituents, Ms. Seenaa Jimjimo, who is of Oromo descent. Ms. Jimjimo is the president of the Coalition for Oromo Human Rights and Democracy. The coalition is dedicated to bringing the suffering of the Oromo people and other Ethiopians to the attention of Americans and the world.
She impressed me with her passion for defending the rights of her people, and that is why I bring this issue to the floor. Human rights in Ethiopia have been subject to deteriorating conditions for over a decade, with a sharp decline since 2014, making an already difficult situation even worse.
The Ethiopian Government has adopted laws restricting freedom of expression, association, and assembly, including rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in the Ethiopian constitution. These violations have been widely decried by numerous international bodies and nongovernmental organizations. Our own State Department has said the following about Ethiopia: ``The most significant human rights problems included harassment and intimidation of opposition members and supporters and journalists; alleged torture, beating, abuse, mistreatment of detainees by security forces and politically motivated trials.''
Free expression is curtailed by laws permitting the government to punish speech it disagrees with up to 5 years in prison.
In just 2016, security forces killed at least 1,000 and held more than 28,000 newly arrested persons in detention centers.
In the midst of the difficult situation for all Ethiopians, the situation for the Oromo people is particularly dire. The Ethiopian Government released the Addis Ababa Master Plan, which sought to expand the capital into the Oromia region. The plan would displace millions of farmers, carve Oromia into two regions, changing the livelihood of 36 Oromia towns and 17 districts by hurting the livelihoods and lives of the Oromo without consulting the Oromo.
The Oromo protests erupted in November 2015 in response. The Ethiopian Government admitted the use of excessive force. A Human Rights Watch report described interviews of hundreds of people who survived gruesome and inhumane acts by security forces. Even so, no one has been brought to justice.
According to the State Department report, the government also recently won what appears to have been a rigged election. The deaths of thousands of Oromos and other Ethiopians cannot bring a lasting solution to the country's mounting problems, yet the Ethiopian Government continues to receive money for its role in the Somalia and Sudan peacekeeping missions.
We must ask how long the United States should keep financing a regime that has received $30 billion in foreign assistance since it came into power in 1991, and reportedly has stolen virtually all of it.
In honor of thousands of Oromo people who have been savagely murdered, injured, arrested, and have been victims of enforced disappearance, I now join my colleagues in cosponsoring House Resolution 128, which calls for supporting respect for human rights and encouraging inclusive governance in Ethiopia. This resolution sends a clear and strong message to the Ethiopian movement and government by letting them know that we keep a vigilant eye on the suffering that some minorities have been going through in recent years and the offenses that caused these sufferings.
Many Ethiopians who dare to speak up against the current government are being treated badly all across Ethiopia. Oromos are being singled out.
Consider the case of Bekele Gerba. He was arrested upon his return from the United States, where he spoke to several Members of Congress. Now he stands charged with terrorism, although after a year and a half, the government has been unable to produce a single document to back up their accusation.
Even as the Ethiopian Government has admitted to arresting 28,000 people, there is reason to believe the number is closer to 80,000.
We must condemn violence against peaceful protestors, unlawful arrests, inhumane treatment, and the withholding of key human rights.
The Government of Ethiopia has an obligation to care for all its people, including the Oromo. As the United States, we should stand with the people of Ethiopia and help the Ethiopian Government return to the path of peace and democracy.
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