Does Ethiopian Embassy represent all Ethiopians, equally?
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To All Ethiopians:
We concerned Ethiopians in Chicago invited the EPRDF Embassy along with opposition leaders from CUD and UEDF for a discussion on July 15, 2005. Initially the Embassy contacted us expressing their interest, provided the organizing committee meets two conditions:
1) To have one more speaker to back up the ambassador, and
2) Since the forum was organized by concerned Ethiopians, the ambassador wanted that the forum be sponsored by a non-Ethiopian entity, like a college or university.
By agreeing on the first request to have two speakers on each side, we told them that the organizing committee would get back to them on the second request. The committee made an effort to accommodate their concern, but was unable to find any sponsoring agency. The committee contacted the Embassy to let them know our unsuccessful effort in finding sponsors. However, we assured them that the forum will be conducted as to the ethics and manners of public debate, even in the presence of police and city officials to make sure all six speakers are protected from any kind of harassment from anyone at the forum. Unfortunately, they declined our invitation for the concerns they have on the organizing committee.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We have learned the Embassy would not accept the invitation. The EPRDF agents and officials would never accept any Ethiopian gatherings unless the organizers are TPLF members or those of diehard followers of EPRDF government. We knew that EPRDF officials only took part in ethnic-based activities. It is so unfortunate that the Ethiopian Embassy supposedly representing Ethiopian people in general would act on ethnic basis in the 21st century. We as Ethiopians have the duty to accommodate each other regardless of our differences. It was with this understanding we concerned Ethiopians took a step forward to invite the EPRDF government. We believed they needed the same chance as the opposition to reach out all Ethiopians. By the same token, we believed that Ethiopians deserve some explanations on what took place in those bloody June days on the streets of Addis Ababa.
As the first group in North America to reach out to each other and break the shackles of ethnic division through dialog and discussions, as promised, we will continue to host public forums with CUD and UEDF in a very short period. Meanwhile, please look for our official announcement of the forum in the near future. As we speak an official invitation to the top CUD and UEDF leaders has been sent.
