Letter to Senator Russ Feingold and the People of Wisconsin

Dear Senator Russ Feingold,

Most of those who follow your carrier with great interest like I do always believe you stand for the right things and vote your own position based on your views, understanding of the needs of the good people of Wisconsin and the US  no matter how unpopular, tough or risky it may be for your own carrier. Your vote regarding the Patriot Act is a testament to that. The good people of Wisconsin believed in your character and desire to serve the country fairly and elected you to the office of the US Senate repeatedly.

Dear Senator Russ Feingold,

Your letter to the president regarding the deteriorating human rights situation in Ethiopia, and its implication to the Horn, seemed to indicate the hearing you chaired was going to be about the situation in Ethiopia. Your statements to the president reflected the point and here is a quote to that effect; “Mr. President, genuine democratic progress in Ethiopia is essential if we are to have a healthy and positive bilateral relationship. We can not allow a myopic focus on one element of security to obscure our understanding of what is really occurring in Ethiopia. Rather than place our support in one man, we must invest in Ethiopia’s institutions and its people to create a stable, sustainable political system. As we are seeing right now in Kenya, political repression breeds deep-seated resentment, which can have destructive and far-reaching consequences. The United States and the international community can not support one policy objective at the expense of all others. To do so not only hurts the credibility of America and the viability of our democratic message, but it severely jeopardizes our national security.  

Dear Senator Russ Feingold,

After watching the videos and read the transcripts of the hearing with great interest, it is easy to conclude the hearing was lacking. It lacked fairness in a sense that not all affected and mentioned were represented. In addition, the agenda driven panel that was allowed to make the case for the Bush administration and collectively against Eritrea didn’t have a panel to oppose it. The hearing lacked, balance and most importantly, it failed to address the genuine interest of the people affected and their needs from their perspective. It failed to address the core issue, and gave the people responsible for the problems a stage to set the agendas and exacerbate further the situation.

Dear Senator Russ Feingold,

To evaluate the current situation one must look at the key players and see the result of the strategies they employed on implementing US policies in the Horn and see success and failure. In this case, Assistant Secretary of State for African affairs, Jenday Frazer failed the people of the Horn and the US by any standard. She failed to win the hearts and minds of the people of the Horn, failed to create a bridge between the actors and she lacked a unifying message that can rally the actors. She is a non factor in the Sudan, failed the Eritrean Ethiopian border issue, Somalia, and now Kenya .If stability is  a measure employed she failed in that effort, if democracy is a gauge Ethiopia is far less democratic, the Ogaden is far worse with millions suffering, Somalia is in a much grimmer state than ever before. Millions of Somali’s are displaced and dying in the hands of Ethiopian soldiers and the TFG, brutally.  If peace is the measure, there is no peace. If applying the rule of law is the measure lawlessness is ruling and the breach of rule of law is exercised by US allies, namely Ethiopia.  The truth is the American public is far removed from the truth and the extent of the US involvement in the issues to be outraged.

The plight of the Somali people is something that should outrage any American particularly those who want to make the case of the Darfur and genocide. It should outrage any human being into calling on the US leaders to speak up and act for justice and humanity as opposed to always looking at things with the view of US interest. With the back drop of a cold war history that vowed to stop supporting despots and tyrants, and the legacy of Nazi and Rwanda genocide in a recent past, we have learned a great deal and the responsibility of the US is far greater than ever to play a positive and competent leadership role.

Dear Senator Feingold,

The hearing you conducted on the Horn of Africa did exactly what you opposed the Bush administration of doing by failing to challenge it in a balanced manner. You failed to uphold the principles of fairness by allowing the participants to change the message from the core issues into demonizing a victim without presenting the views of the demonized, Eritrea. The American justice system is worthy of the example it sets because it holds the idea of minority representation as a core value.

Dear Senator Feingold,

If your objective is to demonize Eritrea without fair representation, one can conclude you have succeeded with you taking part in it. To what end? Time will tell. But, if you want to bring the door and open it to the wind of justice, a day of cooperating alliances to benefit the people of the horn with out choosing sides, for the sake of peace and prosperity you have to stop the lynching without representation. You have to give the American people a little more. Criticizing the Bush administration and not giving the issue the time, the balance, diverse views, and the expertise it needs will not yield a better result. Moreover, it is incumbent upon the good people of Wisconsin to join hands and to assist the people of the Horn for the sake of peace!

Sincerely,

Amanuel Biedemariam