To:  President George Bush

Dear Mr. President:



We, the undersigned citizens of the United States, were delighted to learn that Ethiopia, one of the oldest nations in the world, was evolving peacefully into a democratic state, and that on May 15, 2005 nearly 90% of the registered voters turned out to vote, to the extent that some voters had even to wait over 12 hours in line to exercise their democratic rights.



However, the government in power claimed victory before the votes were counted. The two major opposition coalition groups, the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD), and United Ethiopian Democratic Front (UEDF), have now gone on record to challenge the victory claim made by the regime. Having already expressed serious misgivings about the independence of the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia, and despite the EU’s contention that the NEBE “has lost control of the vote counting,” the opposition had asked for review of 299 of the 547 constituencies. However, the NEBE just announced that it will only be looking into 146 disputes, with a possibility of adding 29 more.

The opposition coalition has demanded that investigation be conducted by a group that is free from all influences, including the government’s.

On June 6, 2005, hundreds of university and college students in Addis Ababa staged sit-in demonstrations against what they believed was a rigged parliamentary election.

Mr. President,

Incredible as it sounds, the government deployed its security forces armed with assault rifles to go on a rampage against the unarmed and peaceful demonstrators. Many of the university and college students were beaten with batons and rifle butts. Many who were taken away by the police have not been released yet.



Mr President,

The situation in Ethiopia is getting worse by the day. Without a timely intervention by the government of the United States, it could get out of control and destabilize the region. The death toll is now thirty-nine by government counts, and many fold by eye-witness accounts.



As we speak,

More than 3,000 supporters of the opposition have been arrested by the government since election day, the leaders of the opposition are under repressive political environment, and recently elected opposition member of parliament was shot dead by the security police



Members of the Ethiopian Human Rights Council are held incommunicado

Journalists have been detained

The call by Amnesty International for an urgent independent investigation into the killings of the demonstrators has been rejected by the government.

We the undersigned, citizens of the United States, condemn the killings, the terror and imprisonment of people who struggle peacefully for the respect of their rights. We ask the United States government to use its powerful office to exert maximum pressure on the government of Ethiopia to end the cycle of violence, to respect the international principles of human rights, to allow investigations into the deaths of the 39 people, and to allow recounts to take place in the disputed constituencies.



Unless arrested, the situation on the ground is extremely volatile and might destabilize the region. We are convinced that a democratic, stable and peaceful Ethiopia is in the best interest of the United States.

Mr. President,

We believed you when you said that:

"All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know...

the United States will not ignore your oppression, or excuse your oppressors. When you stand for your liberty, we will stand with you."

Ethiopia needs our help.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

The Petition to President George Bush was created by Citizens of the United States and written by Solomon Abubakir (info@prayforethiopia.org).  This petition is hosted here at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. There is no endorsement of this petition, express or implied, by Artifice, Inc. or our sponsors. For technical support please use our simple Petition Help form.

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