As an Ethiopian American constituent concerned the current US policy against Ethiopia. As Senator Inhofe spoke on the senate floor on May 25th, “I oppose the heavy-handed visa restrictions from the Biden Administration.” Equally concerning is the H. Res. 445 introduced by Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.), the chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee panel on Africa. I and many Ethiopian Americans across the country vehemently oppose some of the provisions contained in the resolution, and seek your support in raising the following concerns. 1. The EACC advocates for the disarming of all TPLF troops while the Eritrean troops withdrawal from the Tigray region to ensure peace in the region. The EACC supports full integration and amnesty to TPLF once the TPLF disarms. 2. The EACC supports strengthening the historic economic, military, and cultural bonds between the United States and Ethiopia. 3. The EACC calls on the international community to investigate the role that the TPLF conducted by allegedly destroying energy grids in December, 2020, allegedly releasing thousands of prisoners in Tigray in late 2020, who later committed crimes in the region, allegedly ambushing international development convoys transporting much needed humanitarian supplies, and allegedly assassinating members of the Tigray interim administration. 4. The EACC calls upon the Ethiopian government to fully investigate the Mai Kadra incident on November 9, 2020 to determine the author of the atrocities and the number of victims involved. 5. The EACC requests that the Ethiopian government fully investigate the number of Ethiopian government military casualties on November 4, 2020 when the TPLF attacked the Ethiopian government Northern Command Center and fired multiple missiles on Asmara. 6. The EACC acknowledges that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed made several attempts to resolve the conflict peacefully prior to Nov 4, 2020. 7. The EACC applauds the 36 million Ethiopians who registered to vote for the June 21, 2021 nationwide election with 40 political parties and 8,000 candidates. The EACC fully supports free and fair elections in Ethiopia. 8. The EACC opposes the recent United States government’s visa restrictions on Ethiopian officials, the elimination of international aid to Ethiopia, and the threatened economic sanctions. These actions only harm Ethiopian civilians and will exacerbate an already tenable humanitarian situation. 9. The EACC opposes the characterization naming the Ethiopian Defense Force as a belligerent force in its own country. 10. The EACC supports the second filling and operation of the Grand Renaissance Ethiopian Dam (GRED) so that both Ethiopia and the east African region can experience stable sources of power and electricity. 11. The EACC applauds the Ethiopian government’s recent investment of humanitarian aid to Ethiopians in the Tigray region. To date, the Ethiopian government has allocated 166,000 metric tons of aid to hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians that cost $131 million dollars. The Ethiopian government provided 70% of funding and 30% of funding was purchased by international NGO’s. The Ethiopian government also purchased 12 ambulances, 530,000 bags of fertilizer, and thousands of seeds for farmers in Tigray. Thank you,
