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36–826PDF 2007

ETHIOPIA DEMOCRACY AND ACCOUNTABILITY

ACT OF 2007

MARKUP

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON AFRICA AND GLOBAL HEALTH

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ONE HUNDRED TENTH CONGRESS

FIRST SESSION

ON

H.R. 2003

JULY 18, 2007

Serial No. 110–93

Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs

(

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.foreignaffairs.house.gov/
(II)

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

TOM LANTOS, California, Chairman 

HOWARD L. BERMAN, California 

GARY L. ACKERMAN, New York 

ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American 

Samoa 

DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey 

BRAD SHERMAN, California 

ROBERT WEXLER, Florida 

ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York 

BILL DELAHUNT, Massachusetts 

GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York 

DIANE E. WATSON, California 

ADAM SMITH, Washington 

RUSS CARNAHAN, Missouri 

JOHN S. TANNER, Tennessee 

GENE GREEN, Texas 

LYNN C. WOOLSEY, California 

SHEILA JACKSON LEE, Texas 

RUBE ́ N HINOJOSA, Texas 

JOSEPH CROWLEY, New York 

DAVID WU, Oregon 

BRAD MILLER, North Carolina 

LINDA T. SA ́ NCHEZ, California 

DAVID SCOTT, Georgia 

JIM COSTA, California 

ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey 

GABRIELLE GIFFORDS, Arizona 

RON KLEIN, Florida 

ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida 

CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey 

DAN BURTON, Indiana 

ELTON GALLEGLY, California 

DANA ROHRABACHER, California 

DONALD A. MANZULLO, Illinois 

EDWARD R. ROYCE, California 

STEVE CHABOT, Ohio 

THOMAS G. TANCREDO, Colorado 

RON PAUL, Texas 

JEFF FLAKE, Arizona 

JO ANN DAVIS, Virginia 

MIKE PENCE, Indiana 

JOE WILSON, South Carolina 

JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas 

J. GRESHAM BARRETT, South Carolina 

CONNIE MACK, Florida 

JEFF FORTENBERRY, Nebraska 

MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas 

TED POE, Texas 

BOB INGLIS, South Carolina 

LUIS G. FORTUN ̃ O, Puerto Rico 

GUS BILIRAKIS, Florida 

ROBERT R. KING, Staff Director 

YLEEM POBLETE, Republican Staff Director 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON AFRICA AND GLOBAL HEALTH

DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey, Chairman 

DIANE E. WATSON, California 

LYNN C. WOOLSEY, California 

SHEILA JACKSON LEE, Texas 

ADAM SMITH, Washington 

BRAD MILLER, North Carolina 

CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey 

THOMAS G. TANCREDO, Colorado 

JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas 

JEFF FORTENBERRY, Nebraska 

MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas 

NOELLE LUSANE, Subcommittee Staff Director 

HEATHER FLYNN, Subcommittee Professional Staff Member 

SHERI RICKERT, Republican Professional Staff Member 

FAY JOHNSON, Staff Associate 
(III)

C O N T E N T S 

Page

MARKUP OF 

H.R. 2003, To encourage and facilitate the consolidation of peace and security, 

respect for human rights, democracy, and economic freedom in Ethiopia ...... 2

LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC., SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD 

The Honorable Donald M. Payne, a Representative in Congress from the 

State of New Jersey, and Chairman, Subcommittee on Africa and Global 

Health: Prepared statement ................................................................................ 23

The Honorable Christopher H. Smith, a Representative in Congress from 

the State of New Jersey: Prepared statement ................................................... 25

APPENDIX 

The Honorable Sheila Jackson Lee, a Representative in Congress from the 

State of Texas: Prepared statement ................................................................... 33

(1)

ETHIOPIA DEMOCRACY AND 

ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 2007

WEDNESDAY, JULY 18, 2007

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

SUBCOMMITTEE ON AFRICA AND GLOBAL HEALTH,

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS, 

Washington, DC. 

The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:29 a.m. in room 

2172, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Donald M. Payne 

(chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. 

Mr. PAYNE. I call the meeting of the Subcommittee on Africa and 

Global Health to order. Pursuant to notice, I call up the bill, H.R. 

2003, the Ethiopian Democracy and Accountability Act of 2007, for 

the purpose of markup and move its recommendation to the full 

committee. Without objection, the bill will be considered as read 

and open for amendments at any point. 

[H.R. 2003 follows:]
2

1

I

110TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2003

To encourage and facilitate the consolidation of peace and security, respect

for human rights, democracy, and economic freedom in Ethiopia.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 23, 2007

Mr. PAYNE (for himself, Mr. HONDA, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Ms. WATSON,

and Mr. CLAY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Foreign Affairs

A BILL

To encourage and facilitate the consolidation of peace and

security, respect for human rights, democracy, and economic freedom in Ethiopia.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ethiopia Democracy

5 and Accountability Act of 2007’’.

6 SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

7 It is the policy of the United States to—

8 (1) support the advancement of human rights,

9 democracy, independence of the judiciary, freedom of
3

2

•HR 2003 IH

1 the press, peacekeeping capacity building, and eco2 nomic development in the Federal Democratic Re3 public of Ethiopia;

4 (2) seek the unconditional release of all political

5 prisoners and prisoners of conscience in Ethiopia;

6 (3) foster stability, democracy, and economic

7 development in the region;

8 (4) collaborate with Ethiopia in the Global War

9 on Terror; and

10 (5) strengthen United States-Ethiopian rela11 tions based on the policy objectives specified in para12 graphs (1) through (4).

13 SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

14 Congress finds the following:

15 (1) The people of Ethiopia have suffered for

16 decades due to military conflicts, natural disasters,

17 poverty and diseases, regional instability, and the

18 brutal dictatorship of the military junta under

19 Mengistu Haile Mariam. Hundreds of thousands of

20 civilians were brutally murdered by the Mengistu re21 gime, including women and children. Many more

22 sacrificed their lives fighting for freedom, respect for

23 human rights, and to bring an end to the brutal dic24 tatorship of the Mengistu regime. Members of that
4

3

•HR 2003 IH

1 murderous regime are currently living in Europe, the

2 United States, and Africa.

3 (2) In May 1991, the brutal dictatorship of the

4 Mengistu regime came to an abrupt end when the

5 Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front

6 (EPRDF) defeated the Mengistu army. In July

7 1991, the EPRDF and a coalition of other political

8 groups established a transitional government in

9 Ethiopia. A number of liberation movements joined

10 the transitional government in a spirit of a new start

11 and the building of a democratic Ethiopia. These

12 groups included the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF),

13 the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), and

14 many others.

15 (3) Since the ouster of the Mengistu regime in

16 1991, the EPRDF-led government instituted a

17 multiparty system and organized 3 regional and na18 tional elections and a number of local elections. The

19 1995 and 2000 elections were largely boycotted and

20 judged to be neither free nor fair. Some opposition

21 groups participated in the 2000 elections, giving

22 such groups 12 seats in the 546-seat parliament.

23 (4) The May 2005 pre-election period and the

24 conduct of the elections in Ethiopia were seen by ob25 servers to be transparent, competitive, and relatively
5

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1 free and fair, although there were a number of prob2 lems reported. More than 90 percent of registered

3 voters participated and dozens of political parties

4 took part in the elections. Moreover, some inter5 national groups observed the elections, unprece6 dented access to the mass media was given to the

7 opposition, and there were televised debates between

8 the government and the opposition. Some political

9 parties and armed political groups boycotted the

10 2005 elections. However, trained local groups were

11 barred from observing the elections.

12 (5) Despite apparent improvement in the elec13 toral process, preliminary election results announced

14 by the Government of Ethiopia shortly after the May

15 15, 2005, elections were seen by observers as ques16 tionable. The opposition accused the Government of

17 Ethiopia of stealing the elections and called for civil

18 disobedience, which resulted in the killing of dem19 onstrators and detention of opposition leaders and

20 thousands of their followers, including 11 elected

21 members of parliament and the elected mayor of

22 Addis Ababa.

23 (6) The Coalition for Unity and Democracy

24 (CUD), the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces

25 (UEDF), and the ruling EPRDF reached an agree-
6

5

•HR 2003 IH

1 ment to resolve disputed election results peacefully

2 with the help of the National Electoral Board

3 (NEB). The NEB investigated more than 299 com4 plaints and later agreed to hold reruns in 31 con5 stituencies. In late August 2005, the NEB held re6 runs in the 31 constituencies as well as in all 23

7 constituencies in the Somali region, where elections

8 had been postponed due to insecurity.

9 (7) Election results show that opposition parties

10 won 170 seats in the national parliament, a signifi11 cant increase from the 12 seats they won in the last

12 elections. Opposition parties also won the city coun13 cil in Addis Ababa, giving them control over the cap14 ital. An estimated 150 of the 170 opposition mem15 bers of parliament have taken their seats. In early

16 May 2006, the Government of Ethiopia appointed a

17 caretaker government in the capital. Members of

18 parliament from the CUD walked out of parliament

19 in protest. The CUD won the city, but the des20 ignated mayor has been in detention since November

21 2005.

22 (8) Human rights conditions deteriorated sig23 nificantly after the May 15, 2005, elections in Ethi24 opia and overall human rights conditions in the

25 country remain poor. The Department of State, in
7

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1 its 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Prac2 tices, noted a myriad of human rights abuses by the

3 Government of Ethiopia. Moreover, journalists and

4 editors of the independent press have been and con5 tinue to face harassment and prosecution for alleged

6 violations of press laws in Ethiopia. Dozens of jour7 nalists have fled the country, and some are currently

8 in exile fearing prosecution or harassment.

9 (9) In June 2005, more than 35 demonstrators

10 were killed by Ethiopian Government security per11 sonnel and in November 2005 an estimated 53 peo12 ple were killed, including 7 policemen, according to

13 Human Rights Watch and several other reports. The

14 violence against these victims occurred after pro-op15 position groups went to the streets of the capital to

16 protest government actions in handling the elections

17 results of May 2005. Tens of thousands of people

18 suspected of being opposition supporters were de19 tained over the past months, although many of these

20 detainees were released. Nonetheless, government se21 curity forces continue to abuse opposition leaders,

22 supporters, and family members.

23 (10) An estimated 112 political leaders, human

24 rights activists, community leaders, and journalists,

25 including the chairman of the CUD (Hailu Shawel),
8

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•HR 2003 IH

1 the newly elected Mayor of Addis Ababa (Berhanu

2 Nega), and the founder of the Ethiopian Human

3 Rights Council (Professor Mesfin Wolde Mariam),

4 were imprisoned and charged with treason and geno5 cide. These measures were deliberately taken to sti6 fle and criminalize opposition party activity in the

7 country. The measures also were intended to intimi8 date and silence independent press and civil society,

9 raising serious question about the Ethiopian Govern10 ment’s commitment to democracy and good govern11 ance.

12 (11) According to Department of State’s 2006

13 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices,

14 ‘‘human rights abuses [in Ethiopia] reported during

15 the year included: limitation on citizens’ right to

16 change their government during the most recent

17 elections; unlawful killings, and beating, abuse, and

18 mistreatment of detainees and opposition supporters

19 by security forces; poor prison conditions; arbitrary

20 arrest and detention . . .’’.

21 (12) Whereas the Ethiopian Parliament estab22 lished an 11-member Commission of Inquiry to ‘‘in23 vestigate the disorder and report to the House of

24 People’s Representatives in order to take the nec25 essary measure’’. The Commission was tasked to in-
9

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•HR 2003 IH

1 vestigate whether government security forces used

2 excessive force, caused damage to life and property,

3 or showed a lack of respect for human rights. The

4 Commission was mandated to investigate the June

5 8, 2005, and November 1–10, 2005, violence in dif6 ferent parts of the country.

7 (13) Whereas members of the Commission of

8 Inquiry visited several regions, reviewed police re9 ports, met with prisoners and government officials,

10 made 122 radio and TV announcements to the pub11 lic, examined 16,990 documents, and took testi12 monies from 1,300 people.

13 (14) Whereas the Commission of Inquiry con14 cluded that 763 civilians were injured and 193

15 killed. The Commission also reported that 71 police

16 officers were injured and 6 killed. Damage to prop17 erty was estimated at $512,588. The Commission

18 also reported that more than 30,000 civilians were

19 detained, some were tortured, and prisoners in Kaliti

20 were killed.

21 (15) Whereas the Commission of Inquiry re22 ported that security forces fired 1,500 bullets at

23 prisoners, killing 17 and injuring 53. The Commis24 sion stated that civilians did not use weapons and

25 reported bank robberies by demonstrators did not
10

9

•HR 2003 IH

1 take place. The Commission’s deliberations were

2 video-taped and votes were taken on key findings on

3 July 3, 2006.

4 (16) Whereas shortly after the Commission of

5 Inquiry reached its decision, the Ethiopian Govern6 ment reportedly began to put pressure on Commis7 sion members to change their report. The Chairman

8 of the Commission, a former Supreme Court Presi9 dent of the Southern Region of Ethiopia, was told

10 by a senior advisor of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi

11 to call for an emergency meeting of the Commission

12 in order to change the Commission’s report.

13 (17) Whereas the Commission of Inquiry was

14 scheduled to give its report to the Ethiopian Par15 liament on July 7, 2006, but the Parliament was ad16 journed a day early. Several Commission members,

17 including the Chairman and the Deputy Chair, left

18 the country with the final report, other documents

19 relevant to the investigation, and several video tapes

20 of the Commission deliberations.

21 (18) Whereas in November 2006, the Chairman

22 of the Commission of Inquiry and another Commis23 sion member presented the Commission’s report and

24 briefed Members of the United State Congress.
11

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•HR 2003 IH

1 (19) Whereas in November 2006, at a congres2 sional briefing with members of the Commission of

3 Inquiry, a young women named Alemzuria submitted

4 her testimony about what happened to her mother,

5 Etenesh Yemam. Alemzuria’s father was elected in

6 May 2005 as Council Member of in Addis Ababa.

7 Subsequently security personnel came to arrest him

8 at his home and then shot Etenesh Yemam as she

9 pleaded for her husband’s release.

10 (20) Whereas the Commission of Inquiry inves11 tigated the killing of Etenesh Yemam and confirmed

12 beyond doubt what happened on that dreadful day.

13 Etenesh Yemam’s husband still languishes in prison

14 while Alemzuria remains a refugee in another Afri15 can country.

16 SEC. 4. SUPPORT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN ETHIOPIA.

17 The Secretary of State shall—

18 (1) establish a mechanism to provide financial

19 support to local and national human rights groups

20 and other relevant civil society organizations to help

21 strengthen human rights monitoring and regular re22 porting on human rights conditions in Ethiopia;

23 (2) establish a victims support network to pro24 vide legal support for political prisoners and pris25 oners of conscience and to assist local groups or
12

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•HR 2003 IH

1 groups from outside Ethiopia that are active in mon2 itoring the status of political prisoners and prisoners

3 of conscience in Ethiopia;

4 (3) seek to increase the independence of the

5 Ethiopian judiciary through facilitation of joint dis6 cussions for court personnel, officials from the Ethi7 opian Ministry of Justice, relevant members of the

8 legislature, and civil society representatives on inter9 national human rights standards;

10 (4) create and support a judicial monitoring

11 process, consisting of local and international groups,

12 to monitor judicial proceedings throughout Ethiopia,

13 with special focus on unwarranted government inter14 vention on strictly judicial matters, and to inves15 tigate and report on actions to strengthen an inde16 pendent judiciary;

17 (5) establish a program to strengthen private

18 media in Ethiopia, provide support for training pur19 poses, offer technical and other types of support as

20 necessary, and expand programming by the Voice of

21 America to Ethiopia; and

22 (6) establish a mechanism to identify and extra23 dite members of the Mengistu Haile Mariam regime

24 and the current government residing in the United

25 States who were engaged in gross human rights vio-
13

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•HR 2003 IH

1 lations and work with other governments to identify

2 and extradite such persons, including Mengistu

3 Haile Mariam.

4 SEC. 5. SUPPORT FOR DEMOCRATIZATION IN ETHIOPIA.

5 (a) STRENGTHENING LOCAL, REGIONAL, AND NA6 TIONAL DEMOCRATIC PROCESSES.—The Secretary of

7 State shall—

8 (1) provide assistance to strengthen local, re9 gional, and national parliaments and governments in

10 Ethiopia through training in consultation with gov11 ernment authorities, political parties, and civil soci12 ety groups;

13 (2) establish a program focused on reconcili14 ation efforts between the Government of Ethiopia

15 and peaceful political and civil society groups, in16 cluding in minority communities, in preparation for

17 negotiation and for participation in the political

18 process;

19 (3) strengthen training for political parties in

20 Ethiopia in areas such as organization building and

21 campaign management; and

22 (4) provide training for civil society groups in

23 election monitoring in Ethiopia.

24 (b) DEMOCRACY ENHANCEMENT.—
14

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•HR 2003 IH

1 (1) ASSISTANCE.—United States technical as2 sistance for democracy promotion in Ethiopia should

3 be made available to the ruling party as well as op4 position parties in Ethiopia.

5 (2) RESTRICTION.—

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—Nonessential United

7 States assistance shall not be made available to

8 the Government of Ethiopia if the Government

9 of Ethiopia acts to obstruct United States tech10 nical assistance to advance human rights, de11 mocracy, independence of the judiciary, freedom

12 of the press, economic development and eco13 nomic freedom in Ethiopia.

14 (B) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph, the

15 term ‘‘nonessential United States assistance’’

16 means assistance under any provision of law,

17 other than humanitarian assistance, assistance

18 under emergency food programs, assistance to

19 combat HIV/AIDS, and other health care as20 sistance.

21 SEC. 6. ENSURING GOVERNMENT SUPPORT FOR HUMAN

22 RIGHTS, DEMOCRACY, AND ECONOMIC DE23 VELOPMENT IN ETHIOPIA.

24 (a) LIMITATION ON SECURITY ASSISTANCE; TRAVEL

25 RESTRICTIONS.—
15

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•HR 2003 IH

1 (1) LIMITATION ON SECURITY ASSISTANCE.—

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in

3 subparagraph (B), security assistance shall not

4 be provided to Ethiopia until such time as the

5 certification described in paragraph (3) is made

6 in accordance with such paragraph.

7 (B) EXCEPTION.—Subparagraph (A) shall

8 not apply with respect to peacekeeping or

9 counter-terrorism assistance. Peacekeeping or

10 counter-terrorism assistance provided to Ethi11 opia shall not be used for any other security-re12 lated purpose or to provide training to security

13 personnel or units accused of human rights vio14 lations against civilians.

15 (2) TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS.—Beginning on the

16 date that is 60 days after the date of the enactment

17 of this Act and until such time as the certification

18 described in paragraph (3) is made in accordance

19 with such paragraph, the President shall deny a visa

20 and entry into the United States to—

21 (A) any official of the Government of Ethi22 opia who—

23 (i) has been involved in giving orders

24 to use lethal force against peaceful dem25 onstrators in Ethiopia; or
16

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•HR 2003 IH

1 (ii) has been accused of gross human

2 rights violations;

3 (B) security personnel of the Government

4 of Ethiopia who were involved in the June or

5 November 2005 shootings of demonstrators;

6 (C) security personnel responsible for mur7 dering Etenesh Yemam, as described in para8 graphs (20) and (21) of section 3; and

9 (D) security personnel responsible for mur10 dering prisoners at Kaliti prison in the after11 math of the election violence.

12 (3) CERTIFICATION.—The certification de13 scribed in this paragraph is a certification by the

14 President to Congress that the Government of Ethi15 opia is making credible, quantifiable efforts to en16 sure that—

17 (A) all political prisoners and prisoners of

18 conscience in Ethiopia have been released, their

19 civil and political rights restored, and their

20 property returned;

21 (B) prisoners held without charge or kept

22 in detention without fair trial in violation of the

23 Constitution of Ethiopia are released or receive

24 a fair and speedy trial, and prisoners whose
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•HR 2003 IH

1 charges have been dismissed or acquitted and

2 are still being held are released without delay;

3 (C) the Ethiopian judiciary is able to func4 tion independently and allowed to uphold the

5 Ethiopian Constitution and international

6 human rights standards;

7 (D) security personnel involved in the un8 lawful killings of demonstrators, Etenesh

9 Yemam, and Kaliti prisoners are punished;

10 (E) family members, legal counsel, and

11 others have unfettered access to visit detainees

12 in Ethiopian prisons;

13 (F) print and broadcast media in Ethiopia

14 are able to operate free from undue interference

15 and laws restricting media freedom, including

16 sections of the Ethiopian Federal Criminal

17 Code, are revised;

18 (G) licensing of independent radio and tel19 evision in Ethiopia is open and transparent;

20 (H) access in Ethiopia is provided to the

21 Internet and the ability of citizens to freely

22 send and receive electronic mail and otherwise

23 obtain information is guaranteed;

24 (I) the National Election Board (NEB) in25 cludes representatives of political parties with
18

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•HR 2003 IH

1 seats in the Ethiopian Parliament and guaran2 tees independence for the NEB in its decision3 making;

4 (J) representatives of international human

5 rights organizations engaged in human rights

6 monitoring work in Ethiopia are admitted to

7 Ethiopia without undue restriction; and

8 (K) Ethiopian human rights organizations

9 are able to operate in an environment free of

10 harassment, intimidation, and persecution.

11 (4) WAIVER.—

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The President may

13 waive the application of paragraph (1) or (2) on

14 a case-by-case basis if the President determines

15 that—

16 (i) the Government of Ethiopia has

17 met the requirements of paragraph (3);

18 and

19 (ii) such a waiver is in the national in20 terests of the United States.

21 (B) NOTIFICATION.—Prior to granting a

22 waiver under the authority of subparagraph

23 (A), the President shall transmit to Congress a

24 notification that includes the reasons for the

25 waiver.
19

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•HR 2003 IH

1 (b) TREATMENT OF POLITICAL PRISONERS AND

2 PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE.—

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President, the Secretary

4 of State, and other relevant officials of the Govern5 ment of the United States shall call upon the Gov6 ernment of Ethiopia to immediately release all polit7 ical prisoners and prisoners of conscience, especially

8 prisoners held without charge.

9 (2) TORTURE VICTIM RELIEF.—While it is the

10 responsibility of the Government of Ethiopia to com11 pensate the victims of unlawful imprisonment and

12 torture and their families for their suffering and

13 losses, the President shall provide assistance for the

14 rehabilitation of victims of torture in Ethiopia at

15 centers established for such purposes pursuant to

16 section 130 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961

17 (22 U.S.C. 2152).

18 (c) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con19 gress that the Government of the United States should—

20 (1) encourage the Government of Ethiopia to

21 enter into discussions with peaceful political groups

22 in order to bring such groups into full participation

23 in the political and economic affairs of Ethiopia, in24 cluding their legalization as a political party; and
20

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•HR 2003 IH

1 (2) provide such assistance as is warranted and

2 necessary to help achieve the goal described in para3 graph (1).

4 SEC. 7. SUPPORT FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN ETHI5 OPIA.

6 (a) RESOURCE POLICY ASSISTANCE.—The President,

7 acting through the Administrator of the United States

8 Agency for International Development, shall provide as9 sistance for sustainable development of Ethiopia’s Nile

10 and Awash River resources, including assistance to help

11 Ethiopia with the technology necessary for the construc12 tion of irrigation systems and hydroelectric power that

13 might prevent future famine.

14 (b) HEALTH CARE ASSISTANCE.—The President,

15 acting through the Administrator of the United States

16 Agency for International Development, shall provide mate17 rial support to hospitals and health care centers in Ethi18 opia, especially hospitals and health care centers in rural

19 areas.

20 SEC. 8. REPORT.

21 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact22 ment of this Act, the President shall transmit to Congress

23 a report on the implementation of this Act, including a

24 description of a comprehensive plan to address the secu25 rity, human rights, democratization, and economic free-
21

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•HR 2003 IH

1 dom concerns that potentially threaten the stability of the

2 Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia .

3 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro5 priated to carry out this Act $20,000,000 for each of the

6 fiscal years 2008 and 2009.

7 (b) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated pursuant

8 to the authorization of appropriations under subsection (a)

9 are authorized to remain available until expended.

Æ
22

Mr. PAYNE. I yield myself as much time as I may consume to explain the provisions of the bill. 

This is a very straightforward piece of legislation which essentially does three things. 

First, it requires the secretary of state to support human rights 

by establishing a mechanism to provide funds to local human 

rights organizations and victims’ support networks to provide legal 

support for political prisoners and prisoners of conscience. It also 

requires the secretary of state to put in place a means to identify 

and extradite members of the Mengistu regime currently residing 

in the United States. 

Second, the bill supports democratization by directing the State 

Department to provide assistance to strengthen local, regional, and 

national democratic processes through training authorities, political parties, and civil society groups in negotiation skills, campaign 

management, and election monitoring. 

It prohibits nonhumanitarian assistance to Ethiopia if the ruling 

party obstructs United States efforts to provide human rights and 

democracy assistance and training within Ethiopia, and it makes 

it illegal for members of the security forces who have committed 

human rights violations against civilians to receive United States 

security assistance training. 

The bill provides flexibility for the administration by means of a 

waiver that the President can exercise to continue security assistance to programs with Ethiopia that support United States’ efforts 

on the Global War on Terror and the Ethiopians’ efforts in United 

Nations peacekeeping and whatever is deemed necessary for the 

United States’ national interests. 

Finally, the bill attempts to foster accountability for the actions 

the Ethiopian Government has taken that undermine rule of law 

and fundamental political freedoms. It restricts security assistance 

for Ethiopia until the President certifies that, among other things, 

the Government of Ethiopia has taken steps to release political 

prisoners, hold security forces accountable for human rights abuses 

related to the demonstrations of 2005, and the Meles regime is respecting freedom of speech and information and allowing human 

rights groups to operate without being harassed. 

The legislation bans travel visas for government officials who 

have been accused of gross human rights violations. 

The bill is not merely punitive in nature, however. It also contains provisions for economic assistance and health care assistance 

for victims of torture, and it authorizes $20 million in 2008 and $20 

million in 2009 to carry out these provisions. 

According to Ethiopian news reports today, the pardon board recommended that the Ethiopian President grant clemency for a number of political prisoners. That is good news, and we welcome it, 

and we hope that the Government of Ethiopia will continue to 

move in this direction. I hope that clemency is granted, but the fact 

remains that those on trial never should have been jailed in the 

first place, and it is unclear how many people will be granted clemency and whether they will be able to take up the positions to 

which they were elected, even if they are free. 
23

Equally as troubling is the fact that the government has yet to 

bring members of the security forces responsible for the killings 

which occurred in the wake of 2005 protest to justice. 

The Ethiopian Democracy and Accountability Act of 2007 addresses much more than the detention of political prisoners. Its 

purpose is to promote accountability for the killing of innocent civilians by government security forces, to build the institutions of 

democracy, and to provide meaningful support for human rights 

and those who defend them in Ethiopia. 

Brutal acts committed on behalf of the government against the 

political opposition have gone unpunished for too long. For example, a woman named Etenesh Yemam was killed in her home in 

front of her family for simply asking why her husband, one of the 

politicians elected in May 2005, was being arrested. The security 

officer who killed her faced no sanctions. In fact, he still has his 

job. 

This is deplorable. We cannot remain silent in the face of such 

impunity. It is obvious to me and, I hope, to my colleagues in the 

United States Government that we need to do much more in order 

to promote the rule of law and respect for fundamental freedoms 

in Ethiopia. Ethiopia is a very proud country and has a tremendous 

heritage and history. As a matter of fact, next week, Congressman 

Honda will be sponsoring a resolution that I will co-sponsor recognizing the Second Millennium Celebration in Ethiopia. 

So we want to see Ethiopia move back, as it has in the past, to 

being a good ally of the United States. We can no longer sit by and 

allow these issues to go without us mentioning them. 

I plan to work with Congressman Rohrabacher on an amendment 

to be offered when the full committee marks up the bill. This bill 

currently has 83 co-sponsors. So we are sure that many Members 

of the U.S. Congress feel that this legislation is overdue. I urge my 

colleagues to support the legislation, and, at this time, I yield to 

the ranking member of the subcommittee for his opening statement. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Payne follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE DONALD M. PAYNE, A REPRESENTATIVE

IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY, AND CHAIRMAN, SUBCOMMITTEE

ON AFRICA AND GLOBAL HEALTH

This meeting of the Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health will come to order. 

Pursuant to notice, I call up the bill H.R. 2003, the Ethiopia Democracy and Accountability Act of 2007, for purposes of markup and move its recommendation to 

the full committee. Without objection, the bill will be considered as read and open 

for amendment at any point. I yield myself such time as I may consume to explain 

the provisions of the bill. 

This is a very straightforward piece of legislation, which essentially does three 

things: 

First, it requires the Secretary of State to support human rights by establishing 

a mechanism to provide financial support to local human rights organizations and 

victims’ support networks to provide legal support for political prisoners and prisoners of conscience. It also requires the Secretary of State put in place a means to 

identify and extradite members of the Mengistu Mariam regime currently residing 

in the United States in place. 

Second, the bill supports democratization by directing the State Department to 

provide assistance to strengthen local, regional and national democratic processes 

through training authorities, political parties and civil society groups in negotiation 

skills, campaign management and election monitoring. 
24

It prohibits non-humanitarian assistance to Ethiopia if the ruling party obstructs 

U.S. efforts to provide human rights and democracy assistance and training within 

Ethiopia. And it makes it illegal for members of the security forces who have committed human rights violations against civilians to receive United States security 

assistance training. 

The bill provides flexibility for the administration by means of a waiver that the 

President can exercise to continue security assistance programs with Ethiopia that 

support U.S. efforts in the global war on terror should he deem it in the national 

interest to do so. 

Finally, the bill attempts to foster accountability for the actions the Ethiopian 

government has taken that undermine rule of law and fundamental political freedoms. 

It restricts security assistance for Ethiopia until the President certifies that, 

among other things, the government of Ethiopia has taken steps to release political 

prisoners, holds security forces accountable for human rights abuses related to the 

demonstrations of 2005 and the Meles regime is respecting freedom of speech and 

information and allowing human rights groups to operate without being harassed. 

The legislation bans travel visas for government officials who have been accused 

of gross human rights violations. The bill is not merely punitive in nature, however. 

It also contains provisions for economic assistance and health care assistance as 

well as assistance for victims of torture. And it authorizes $20 million to carry out 

the provisions for assistance. I am encouraged to hear that Prime Minister Meles 

has recommended Amnesty for the political prisoners. I hope that it is granted. But 

the fact remains that those on trial never should have been there in the first place. 

And it is unclear whether they will be able to take up the positions to which they 

were elected, even if they are freed. 

Equally as troubling is the fact that the government has yet to hold members of 

the security forces responsible for the killings which occurred in the wake of the 

2005 protests. The Ethiopia Democracy and Accountability Act of 2007 addresses 

much more than the detention of political prisoners. Its purpose is to promote accountability for the killing of innocent civilians by government security forces, build 

the institutions of democracy and to provide meaningful support for human rights, 

and those who defend them in Ethiopia. Brutal acts committed on behalf of the government against the political opposition have gone unpunished. 

For example, a woman named (EE TE NE SHE) Etenesh Yimam was killed in 

her home in front of her family for simply asking why her husband, one of the politicians elected in May of 2005, was being arrested. The security officer who killed her 

faced no sanction. In fact, he still has his job. This is deplorable. We cannot remain 

silent in the face of such impunity. 

It is obvious to me, and I hope to my colleagues that the United States government needs to do much more in order to promote rule of law and respect for fundamental freedom in Ethiopia. I urge my colleagues to support the legislation. 

I yield to the ranking member for his opening statement.

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and I thank you for your graciousness in delaying this a bit. 

I was a keynote speaker at a breakfast this morning and made the 

mistake of taking questions, and the questions never ended. So I 

thank you again for your kindness. 

I am very pleased that the Ethiopia Democracy Act is up for subcommittee markup this morning. Last year, as you know, when I 

was chairman, you and I moved a piece of legislation that made it 

through the full committee only to be blocked from coming to the 

House floor. It is my earnest hope that that will not happen with 

this legislation. It is important, it is timely, and it needs to become 

law. 

The Ethiopia Democracy Act is as timely now as it ever was, 

maybe even more so after the failure of half-hearted attempts to 

promote democratic reform. People in this room will know that, on 

Monday, the Ethiopian Government, after trials in a kangaroo 

court, sentenced opposition leaders and democracy activists to prison. Thirty-five received life terms, six received terms of 15 to 18 
25

years, and two journalists received 1 to 3 years in prison. This is 

only the most recent in a long series of human rights outrages. 

As you know, Mr. Chairman, this bill was born in response to the 

June 2005 slaughter of almost 200 pro-democracy demonstrators in 

Addis and the mass arrests that followed. As I think you know, I 

visited Ethiopia and met with Prime Minister Meles and urged him 

to investigate the atrocities, the parties responsible for them, and 

to release the political prisoners. Meles told me, ‘‘I have a file on 

all of them. They are all guilty of treason.’’

Mr. Chairman, only a vicious dictator would make a remark like 

that. I remember thinking, as I got on the plane to fly home, that 

we needed something like the Belarus Democracy Act for Ethiopia, 

and you and I worked together last year to try to bring that legislation to the floor. Regrettably, it was blocked from coming to the 

floor. 

I believe that the Bush administration, frankly, has not pushed 

Meles hard enough on human rights issues because it is satisfied 

that his government is cooperating with us in the War on Terror. 

The War on Terror is very important—we all know that—but no 

regime that terrorizes its own citizens can be a reliable ally in the 

War on Terror. 

Terrorism is not just a military issue; it is also a human rights 

issue. Terrorists come from countries whose governments failed to 

respect their human rights. In promoting human rights in Ethiopia, we are attacking terrorism at its roots. 

Over the past several years, Mr. Chairman, I have come to know 

and admire many people from Ethiopia’s great and ancient civilization, and I assure my colleagues that democracy, human rights, 

and the rule of law are things they want desperately for their own 

country. It should be our country’s policy as well to promote these 

things which correspond to our long-term interests. 

I urge my colleagues to support this important piece of legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Smith follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, A

REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and good morning to everybody. 

I am very pleased that the Ethiopia Democracy Act is up for subcommittee markup. Last year, when I was chairman of this subcommittee, you and I, Mr. Chairman, 

moved this bill through full committee but were blocked when we tried to bring it 

to the floor. It is my earnest hope that the bill will not be blocked again, and I will 

continue to give the Ethiopia Democracy Act my wholehearted support. 

The Ethiopia Democracy Act is as timely now as it was last year—maybe even 

moreso, after the repeated failure of half-hearted attempts to promote democratic 

reform. People in this room will know that on Monday the Ethiopian government, 

after trials in a kangaroo court, sentenced opposition leaders and democracy activists to prison: 35 received life terms, 6 got terms of 15 to 18 years, and two journalists got 1 to 3 years. 

This is only the most recent in a long series of human rights outrages. 

This bill was born in response to the June 2005 slaughter of almost 200 pro-democracy demonstrators in Addis, and the mass arrests that followed. In August of 

that year, as I think you know, Mr. Chairman, I visited Ethiopia and met with 

Prime Minister Meles. I urged him to investigate that atrocity, to punish those responsible, and to release political prisoners. Meles told me, ‘‘I have a file on all of 

them, they are all guilty of treason.’’ Mr. Chairman, only a vicious dictator would 

make a remark like that. 

I remember thinking, as I got on the plane for the flight home, ‘‘We need a 

Belarus Democracy Act for Ethiopia.’’ I am also the author of the Belarus Democ-
26

racy Act, and, working off that model, I wrote the first draft of the Ethiopia Democracy Act on that flight from Addis to Washington. In November 2005 I introduced 

it as HR 4423 and, in 2006, you and I, Mr. Chairman, worked together to move it 

as HR 5680. This spring I reintroduced it as HR 2228. 

I believe that the Bush administration has not pushed Meles hard enough on 

human rights issues because it is satisfied that his government is cooperating with 

us in the war on terror. The war on terror is very, very important; but no regime 

that terrorizes its own citizens can be a reliable ally in the war on terror. Terrorism 

isn’t just a military issue, it’s also a human rights issue. Terrorists come from countries where their governments failed to respect their human rights. In promoting 

human rights in Ethiopia, we are attacking terrorism at its roots. 

In the past three years I have come to know and admire many people from Ethiopia’s great and ancient civilization, and I assure my colleagues that democracy, 

human rights, and the rule of law are things they want desperately for their country. It should be our country’s policy to promote these things, which correspond to 

our own long-term interests. I urge my colleagues to support this bill. 

Finally, I’d like to thank my former subcommittee staffer Greg Simpkins for his 

dedicated work on this legislation.

Mr. PAYNE. Thank you very much, Mr. Smith. I do recall the 

frustration when you introduced the legislation last year. Hopefully, this year we will be able to break through and mark it up 

in full committee and then finally get to the floor, so thank you. 

I will recognize any members to strike the last word. Congresswoman Watson? 

Ms. WATSON. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for your 

work on this crucial piece of legislation. 

I represent a district that has a significant number of EthiopianAmerican constituents, and I know they are happy to see our committee moving forward with this bill. 

This week, 35 Ethiopian opposition politicians were sentenced to 

life in prison by an Ethiopian court. Their crime was simply to 

have challenged the results of a national election. I think this indicates that there are some serious problems in Ethiopia that this 

bill is intended to address. 

Ethiopia is one of the oldest and proudest civilizations in the 

world. Sitting astride the confluence of Africa and Asia of Islam 

and Christianity, Ethiopia has, over the centuries, found its diversity to be a crucial asset, even as it poses significant challenges. 

Ethiopia’s recent history has been marred by political violence. In 

May 2005, Ethiopia held elections which some observers billed as 

the freest in the country’s history. Unfortunately, these elections 

still fell short of the basic standards of openness and transparency. 

U.S.-based groups funded by the National Endowment for Democracy were prevented from observing the elections. When average 

Ethiopians took to the streets to protest their flawed elections, the 

government responded with violence and killing dozens of unarmed 

citizens. 

Mr. Chairman, I think there are some key points we need to 

keep in mind when we try to craft a policy to support democracy 

in Ethiopia. Ethiopia is not a totalitarian dictatorship. In May 

2005, elections were deeply flawed; even so, they resulted in unprecedented electoral gains for opposition parties. 

Furthermore, the United States cannot bring democracy to Ethiopia. Democracy is a process that must be, and will be, led by Ethiopian people themselves. The most we can hope to do is to provide 

assistance to those Ethiopians seeking to bring peace and positive 

change to their country. 
27

Ethiopia is a strong ally of the United States, and we should continue to support it and the Ethiopian people, but I think we have 

an obligation to do what we can to support those Ethiopians who 

are seeking to change their country to make it more stable, democratic, and affluent. 

So I support the balanced approach that is found in H.R. 2003. 

I am also a co-sponsor, and it is an effective strategy for achieving 

this goal. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. PAYNE. Thank you very much. Mr. Boozman? 

Mr. BOOZMAN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I really reluctantly am 

kind of taking a little bit of the other side of view of my chairman 

and my ranking member, which I have a tremendous amount of respect for. 

I think there are a lot of good things in the bill, but I just do 

not like the overall tone. It really does appear that we are taking 

sides. There is no recognition of the fact that there have been significant advances since the ruling party came to power in 1991. 

Also, I have concerns that the suspension of the joint military activities and the travel ban are inconsistent. 

We deal with many, many countries that have similar or much 

worse records that we do not impose those kinds of restrictions on 

their countries, and I think the one thing that the world looks to 

us, you know, is we take these polls, and we try to decide, why is 

the rest of the world not liking us? I think the one thing that the 

world expects out of us is fairness. So I would feel much better if 

we imposed a similar sanction on whatever. I am making it very 

broad. 

For those reasons, I do think it appears that we are taking sides, 

and, for those reasons, I will oppose the bill. Thank you. 

Mr. PAYNE. Thank you very much. Ms. Woolsey? Mr. McCaul? 

Mr. MCCAUL. I want to thank the chairman and ranking member 

for their hard work to address issues of freedom and democracy in 

Ethiopia and around the world. Your work in Africa during your 

time in Congress has been admirable, and I give great deference 

to your expertise on this issue. 

However, I do come to today’s markup with some concerns about 

both the state of democratic reform in Ethiopia, on one hand, and 

the effects of this bill on the progress of that reform, on the other. 

Ethiopia has traveled a long, hard road over the past few decades. The Ethiopian people have suffered through devastating wars 

and famine. However, the progress made in recent years has been 

remarkable, culminating in a new constitution and elections. 

Ethiopia is also an important ally in the War on Terror. They 

have provided crucial intelligence on Islamic extremist activities 

and play a crucial role in the ongoing crisis in Somalia. Despite 

this progress, there is still much work that needs to be done. 

Recent protests against the government have been met with 

deadly responses by government forces, and the people responsible 

for that have not been brought to justice. Steps need to be taken 

in order to establish a more independent judiciary, and political 

processors who have been held for exercising their democratic 

rights must be released. 

We have recently heard that negotiations between the government and the opposition may finally be bearing fruit. We under-
28

stand that the detainees and government will remain committed to 

pursuing such a resolution, and tribal elders have confirmed to 

American diplomats that they are close to reaching a consensus between the detainees and the government to resolve this matter. 

The Ethiopian Government is far from perfect. However, they 

have shown a willingness to move in a positive direction. I am concerned that the passage of this bill, as it is currently written, will 

do more harm than good to the Ethiopian democratic movement 

and will hurt our strategic partnership with Ethiopia in combating 

terrorism. 

I am also concerned that it may have a negative effect on the 

current negotiations between the government and the opposition. 

I believe that this bill, as currently drafted, has number of shortcomings that must be addressed. By failing to do so, we may be inadvertently undermining the very principles of democracy and 

human rights that this well-meaning, well-intentioned piece of legislation seeks to advance. 

Mr. Chairman, I do not intend to stand in opposition to this bill 

today; however, I would like to urge the chairman and ranking 

member to address these fundamental concerns that I have with 

this bill prior to its consideration in the full committee so as to address some of the unintended consequences that I see in your goodfaith effort, and I yield back. 

Mr. PAYNE. Thank you very much. Mr. Brad Miller? 

Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. Chairman, can I just comment? 

Mr. PAYNE. Yes. 

Mr. BOOZMAN. The other thing, and I failed to mention, I guess, 

the other concerns that I have about the suspension of joint military and the travel ban is that—maybe we should change what we 

are training, but that is an opportunity for us to interact with their 

military in the sense of trying to teach them some positive things 

about how you do crowd control. 

In other words, I really believe, and I think we all believe, that 

the way you change the world is through personal relationships, 

but that does allow our military to, I think, have a positive role in 

interacting. 

Maybe the same is true of the travel ban, if you banned certain 

functions and maybe not other functions. I do not know, but I do 

think that it is positive that the United States interact in both of 

those ways to try and be helpful. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. PAYNE. Yes. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. I thank you, and I say to my good 

friend, I understand those thoughts, but, frankly, we do apply this 

and try to apply it to more countries. I wish that we had a more 

consistent policy vis-a`-vis those countries. 

We passed the North Korea Human Rights Act. I was the sponsor of the Belarus Democracy Act. One of the core features of the 

Belarus Democracy Act, which is similar to the act under consideration, is that we try to strengthen civil society, we try to ensure 

that the court system is transparent and independent. When it 

comes to travel bans, the problem is the ability, the unfettered ability, on the part of many of those in government, to travel, to make 

money, to really not be held to account for the atrocities for which 

they appear to be complicit in. And so we include travel bans in 
29

this legislation, because people are accused of gross human rights 

violations. 

We are talking about a serious human rights violator who should 

not be allowed to come to this country and move around with impunity when, back home, there are people who have suffered, died, 

and have been tortured because of him. 

Let me also say that I chaired the Human Rights Committee for 

12 years in this body and held numerous hearings on security assistance, the military-to-military, the JSETS program and the 

other programs that we have. 

I will never forget hearings that we held on Indonesia, where 

Capiases, which was the equivalent of their Green Beret, were getting training from the United States during the Clinton administration, so, it seems, it does not matter who is in the White House. 

When it came down to the change of leadership from Zohartu to 

Habibi, there were troops out in the streets, we believe, using the 

very training that we had provided, and little red dots were showing up on people’s heads in terms of crowd control. 

I tried desperately to get from the government, our Government, 

who it is that we trained and what kind of human rights training 

they received, and I never got it. We held hearings, we got redacted 

copies of lists, and I went to Indonesia a couple of times to try to 

glean that information, and I could not get it. The same holds true, 

as Mr. Payne and I have been witness to, crowd control turned out 

to be crowd killing. 

When I visited with Meles the first time, asked him, ‘‘What are 

you doing to investigate these massive numbers of deaths of people 

who were out there clamoring for democracy?’’ We know that the 

election was egregiously flawed. Despite that, the opposition did extremely well. They would have done much better, but there were 

flaws. For that, they got bullets, and they got killed. They got 

clubbed. 

We were saying, ‘‘Investigate and hold those people responsible.’’ 

We got none of that. As a matter of fact, that is when Meles went 

into his tirade with me about how he has dossiers on everybody. 

He said, ‘‘I could throw them all in prison for treason.’’ I said, 

‘‘Please, Mr. President, do not do that.’’ We want to be friends, but, 

frankly, it is hard to be friends when you have got a clenched fist, 

and you are using it and using your secret police. 

Greg Simpkins, who is here with us today, and I met with the 

opposition leaders while we were there. Greg got in the car with 

some of the opposition leaders, and as soon as he took off, a group 

of bully boys was following close behind, within yards, following 

these individuals around. You know, if Greg was not there, who 

knows if they would not have gotten the club then, too? 

So I take your point: We are inconsistent around the world, the 

PRC, for example, and other countries where we do not do enough. 

Notwithstanding that lack of consistency, I would hope that we 

would try where we can make a difference. This legislation, I think, 

will make a difference, and my hope is it becomes law. I hope that 

maybe it does not need to become law because Meles does turn a 

new leaf. Hope springs eternal, but, absent pressure. 

Finally, Mr. Chairman—I know I have gone on too long—when 

I was in China, I visited with Weijing Chang, the great human 
30

rights democracy world leader, who spent years in the gulag. After 

our visit he was rearrested. The Chinese wanted Olympics 2000. 

They let him go, thinking they would get it. 

I had him testify, when he was finally given a parole and when 

he was well enough—he was next to death—he came and testified, 

and he said that contrary to what many of you in the West think, 

when you are nice and placate dictatorship, they beat us more. 

When you draw a line in the sand and say, as this bill does, we 

mean business; there are going to be sanctions. You are not going 

to be able to travel, they pay attention. Even Joseph Coney, when 

he was indicted by the ICC, all of a sudden, he wants that lifted 

as a precondition to coming to a final negotiating settlement with 

Uganda. 

It does sharpen the mind, and I think this is a modest step in 

that direction. I will never forget sitting right there when Weijing 

Chang said that when you are nice, when you lift glasses and try 

to accommodate, even though you are well meaning, they beat us 

more. When you are tough, the beatings, they do not end, but they 

are diminished. 

So my hope is that this will have a positive, laudatory affect on 

this government that we mean business, and I thank you, my 

friend. 

Mr. PAYNE. Let me thank the ranking member. I certainly concur 

with what he said. I also visited the prisons, saw Professor Mesfin, 

went back to the prime minister and said, ‘‘He is elderly, he is very 

ill, and he is probably going to die,’’ and he said, ‘‘Well, it is up to 

the courts and the mayor of Addis.’’

Then when we were able to speak to the chairman of the inquiry 

board, who was a Supreme Court justice from Ethiopia who fled 

the country because the prime minister continually asked him to 

change the findings. He slipped out of the country with another of 

the commissioners. He showed us photos. 

There were sharpshooters. The people who were killed in the 

demonstration were not killed by random shooting. If that were the 

case, you would see people hit in the stomach or in the shoulder. 

These people were shot in the head with the intent to kill by sharpshooters trained by someone. 

This happened in 2005. They said there were going to be some 

things done, and so we held off in 2006. In 2007—this is almost 

2 years ago—we have exempted assistance to Ethiopia for fighting 

terrorism. We have exempted peacekeeping assistance. We have 

said that it will not impact on our U.S. existence and cooperation 

in terrorism. 

So I think that we are hoping that the President will grant clemency, and then the provisions related to the release of the prisoners 

will be removed, if they are allowed to leave, and the $40 million 

that we have to help the Black Star Hospital, which is atrocious, 

to help in Erhiopia’s development of the Nile, to help with the 

whole question of democracy building can go forward. There is 

much more positive, as a matter of fact, in this bill than the fact 

that we are simply saying, Do the right thing and release the political prisoners. 
31

So, with that, I yield to Ms. Jackson Lee, and we will have to 

call this vote before eleven. Several members have markups in 

their committees, and we will then convene the hearing. 

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Chairman, let me thank you very much, 

to the ranking member, to my colleagues, and I know that time 

marches on. We are equally, many of us, in markups, but I wanted 

to come, Mr. Chairman, because, obviously, this is an important 

markup and important legislation. 

You know very well that I cannot mention Ethiopia and Houston 

without mentioning Congressman Mickey Leland. I pay tribute to 

him every time that I can, for he taught those in the deep, if you 

will, areas of my congressional district, the Fifth Ward, Texas, 

where he was born, the importance of internationalism and the importance of Ethiopia. During the time that he lived, Ethiopia was 

gripped with a terrible drought. 

Since that time, we have seen cycles of drought. This Congress 

has made every effort to provide, if you will, the stones of opportunity rather than the stones of clubbing by providing resources 

and looking to provide opportunities for irrigation and working 

with the cycles of hunger in Ethiopia. 

We worked with President Meles during the Eritrea-Ethiopia 

conflict, which still today poses concern. The Clinton administration worked extensively, and, during that time, there was an effort 

by Ethiopia to work with Eritrea; of course, differences of opinions. 

But I think Ethiopia can meet its longstanding history of having 

the first human, Lucy, a long and viable history, respected leaders, 

over years, honored around the world, by rising to its appropriate 

higher angels, and that is to address the decades’ question of 

human rights. 

So I am interested in seeing this legislation pass. I would remind 

Chairman Payne that the first time, I believe, he met me, there 

was an amendment on the floor regarding Ethiopia, and, of course, 

we had, at that time, maybe similar views but differences of opinion on how we were approaching it. We worked together, and I am 

an advocate, a strong advocate, for Ethiopia. 

I am concerned about the military assistance, but I am listening 

to how it is to be instructive because, right now, although we are 

about to release a number of prisoners, we still have a series of individuals who are still incarcerated. The question becomes, what 

will happen to them? 

It is crucial that we make these steps toward human rights in 

Ethiopia and the final recognition by Prime Minister Meles to take 

the critical step of referring the cases of all sentenced opposition 

leaders to Ethiopia’s Board of Pardon and, hopefully, that Ethiopia’s Board of Pardon and Prime Minister Meles will grant clemency to the sentenced prisoners in the interests of justice and political reconciliation. Only through amnesty will the Ethiopian Government and opposition leaders be able to secure a path to reconciliation rather than sharing a future political divisiveness. 

So I look forward to working with Congressman McCaul on his 

areas of concern, but I do believe, as Father Mandela did in South 

Africa, reconciliation is now, it is imperative, and it is the only 

route for Ethiopia to again take its rightful leadership role as a historic leader, a leader in democracy and human rights. 
32

With that, Mr. Chairman, I thank you for your leadership and 

that of the ranking member. I know we can always do better, but 

I am very glad to hear you say that, as we move toward the full 

committee or move toward the full House, that as we look to Ethiopia’s work, we may be able to look, again, at ways of working with 

them, and I yield back my time. 

Mr. PAYNE. Thank you very much. Mr. Adam Smith? 

Mr. SMITH OF WASHINGTON. No. Thank you. 

Mr. PAYNE. Thank you. 

There are no amendments to the legislation. Therefore, the question occurs on the motion to report the bill, H.R. 2003, favorably. 

All in favor, signify by saying aye. 

[A chorus of ayes.] 

Mr. PAYNE. Aye. Opposed? The ayes have it. The motion is approved, and the bill is reported favorably. 

The staff is directed to make any technical and conforming 

amendments. At this time, this hearing markup stands adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 11:01 a.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.] 
(33)

A P P E N D I X 

MATERIAL SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING RECORD

PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE SHEILA JACKSON LEE, A REPRESENTATIVE

IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF TEXAS

Mr. Chairman, I am proud to support H.R. 2003, the Ethiopia Democracy and Accountability Act of 2007, of which I, together with over 70 of my colleagues, have 

co-sponsored. This important legislation reaffirms the United States’ commitment to 

supporting human rights, democracy, independence of the judiciary, freedom of the 

press, and economic development in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. 

Ethiopia is currently on the road to democracy. This is a path that should be 

paved with civil and political discourse, peaceful transitions of power, and respect 

for human rights. By necessity, the achievement of a modern democracy requires 

the implementation of electoral reforms, the separation of powers in the government, and the establishment of a truly independent judiciary. These are the founding principles of our American Republic, and I have seen firsthand the progress on 

the path to democracy Ethiopia has made since the brutal dictatorship of Mengistu 

Haile Mariam was brought down in 1991. I strongly believe that the United States 

should do all it can to support this transition, including bolstering civil society and 

speaking out when fundamental human rights are violated. 

Ethiopia has a long and proud history. It is the cradle of mankind, as illustrated 

by Lucy, also known as Dinkinesh (Amharic for ‘‘you are wonderful’’), which is the 

nearly complete hominid skeleton discovered by archeologists in the Awash Valley 

of Ethiopia on November 30, 1974. Lucy is estimated to have lived 3.2 million years 

ago and has redefined science’s understanding of human evolution. I was happy to 

work with Texas State Senator Rodney Ellis, Ethiopian Ambassador Samuel Assefa, 

and the Houston Museum of Natural Science to bring Lucy to Houston, which is 

one of only nine American cities and the only city in Texas where the bones will 

be on display later this year. 

Ethiopia is also the oldest independent nation in Africa, has never been colonized, 

and is home to the African Union. Despite Ethiopia’s rich history, however, this bill 

recognizes that recent decades have brought hardship and suffering to Ethiopia’s 

people, through military conflict, natural disasters, and a military dictatorship. 

For over a decade in the House of Representatives, and prior to that in the Houston city council, I have been an outspoken and unwavering advocate for the country 

of Ethiopia and its people, both in Ethiopia and in the diaspora. Following in the 

legendary footsteps of my predecessor, Mickey Leland, who died attempting to alleviate the starvation faced by Ethiopia’s innocent populace, I have been a champion 

of increasing foreign aid to, political, economic, and social cooperation with, and improving human rights in Ethiopia. 

While I continue to advocate close interaction and constructive dialogue with Ethiopia and its leaders, I believe the human rights situation there must be addressed. 

Of particular recent concern has been the detention of elected parliamentarians, 

human rights advocates, and independent journalists and the harsh response to 

protestors after Ethiopia’s recent unprecedented elections in 2005. In response to reports that thousands of prisoners languished in prisons throughout Ethiopia, I was 

proud to join a number of my colleagues in sending a letter to Secretary Rice, expressing our strong concern about the treatment of detainees. 

Only this week, an Ethiopian court harshly sentenced 35 opposition leaders and 

activists to life in prison and denied them the right to vote or run for public office 

on charges of inciting violence. Although I was pleased to see the Court rebuff the 

prosecution’s call for the death sentence against these defendants, I believe that the 

sentence of life imprisonment is still too severe a punishment. 
34

However, I am heartened by the active role that elders such as Professor Ephraim 

Isaac have played in the negotiations for these prisoners’ release, and I am hopeful 

that these negotiations will lead to the imminent release of these prisoners. Moreover, I believe Prime Minister Meles Zenawi took a critical step by swiftly referring 

the cases of all sentenced opposition leaders to Ethiopia’s Board of Pardon, and I 

am confident that Ethiopia’s Board of Pardon and Prime Minister Zenawi will grant 

clemency to the sentenced prisoners in the interests of justice and political reconciliation. Only through amnesty will the Ethiopian government and opposition leaders 

be able to secure a path to reconciliation rather than assuring a future of political 

divisiveness. 

This legislation reaffirms the United States’ commitment to supporting Ethiopia 

as it builds the necessary institutions and civil society framework for a successful 

democracy. It contains a number of important provisions directing the Department 

of State to provide mechanisms for supporting and monitoring the promotion of 

human rights and democracy within Ethiopia. 

Mr. Chairman, I would like to conclude by reiterating my firm belief in the extreme importance of supporting the strengthening of democracy and human rights 

in Ethiopia. Thank you, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Æ