EDITORIAL: HOW TRUE STATESMEN PERCEIVE ETHIOPIA

By Tecola W. Hagos

It is no secret that I am incensed with the behavior of Representative Donald Payne and the Congress that he manipulated into passing the ignoramus and subversive H.R. 2003 that has no merit whatsoever except to undermine the oldest nation on Earth�Ethiopia�a friendly and courageous nation that stood by the United States to this day in its fight against terrorists and terrorism in that part of the World. Back in the 1950s, Ethiopian soldiers fought and died along their American counterparts in the Korean War [1951-54], for whom the grateful Koreans, a truly decent people, erected a monument honoring the sacrifices of those heroic Ethiopians. Such is how a great and decent people would act: honoring and respecting heroes who helped them in time of their needs. By contrast, some barbaric Somalis are dragging the bodies of fallen great warriors, who were there to restore peace and order for the suffering people of the region, on the street of Mogadishu as was the case recently reported of the dragging of a fallen heroic Ethiopian soldier and a few years back the bodies of equally courageous fallen American soldiers.

The United States Congress should have brought up such consideration to erect monuments or to build monuments for friends of the United States; instead, what we received is the insulting and scurrilous Bill H.R. 2003. It is my remembrance of such glorious history of friendship and loyalty of Ethiopians to the American People that infuriated me, especially when I see some ersatz Congressman, a Johnny-come-lately, campaigning against such great friendly nation as Ethiopia. The greatness of America cannot be determined or measured by such individuals like Donald Payne, who come into office at some point in the American government due to the door opened by highly principled civic and political leaders. He degraded the legacy of such people by becoming an instrument of derision taking advantage of particular circumstances to subvert the truth and the great legacy and current struggle of Ethiopians of the past and those of the present.

What is even more hurtful to me is to witness a number of Ethiopians in the Diaspora supporting such outrageous Bill (H.R. 2003) just because they disapprove of Meles Zenawi and his Government. I do not think much of Meles Zenawi and his government either, but there is no way I will be campaigning in a manner that ends up hurting Ethiopia, in order to get rid of Meles Zenawi and his Government. One must understand that individual leaders are phenomenon that vanish like a morning dew in the Sunshine of the long history of Ethiopia. What is important is that Ethiopia must survive with its territorial integrity and Sovereignty.

Here below I have attached the H.R. 550 that the House passed on November 5, 2007, the least the House of Representatives could do for Ethiopia! However, it is unfortunate that in this rather meager or derisory gesture they have inserted unacceptable mistakes of fact or have grossly misrepresented Ethiopian history. They have tried to imply that Ethiopia is a creation of about two hundred years by Emperor Tewodros II in reference to the �modern� Ethiopia. Such attempted distinction or demarcation to limit Ethiopian modern history to the time of Tewodros II is dishonest on the part of the House, for Ethiopia has a continuous existence for almost three thousand years. The fact of the matter is that when all ancient civilizations fell apart for a number of reasons, it is Ethiopia that survived with almost all of its original vast territory intact until the time of the �scramble for Africa� by the �Colonial Powers� in the 1900s. It is absurd for the United Sates House of Representatives to attempt to teach us a new history turning illegal occupation and conquest as the basis of their idea of Ethiopian history.

Another dubious statement in H. R. 550 is the suggestion or assertion that Ethiopia�s sovereignty and border is dependent on the recognition of �Colonial Powers� of 1908. Colonial powers have no legitimacy to demark or limit Ethiopia�s borders or sovereignty. On the other hand, they have illegally forced on Ethiopia their colonial occupation of Ethiopia�s coastal territories, such as the present �Eritrea,� �Djibouti,� �Somalia,� and part of the Sudan. They have no right whatsoever, whether derivative or direct, that Ethiopia should respect. I can see the dirty hands of the enemies of Ethiopia like those of Payne and Smith behind such push to undercut the legitimate interest of Ethiopia. It is blatantly juvenile not to acknowledge the Axumite foundation of Ethiopia in an official recognition of the history of Ethiopia. By not mentioning the great maritime power of Axum, the founding civilization of Ethiopia, whose major ports were at Adulis (in present day �Eritrea�) and further down in Zeila, the House is trying to limit Ethiopia�s legitimate territorial and coastal waters on the Red Sea. Shame on you!

The House of Representatives have also tried to portray Ethiopia as �a slave� owning society, I suppose on a par with the United States. Such suggestion is utterly wrong, for there is no society in human history that had dehumanized human beings to such an extent of brutality with the practice of slavery as the United States had done. It must be understood that slavery in any form is a dehumanizing and degrading process, and I condemn its practice in what ever form. However, one must understand the limited practice of slavery in Ethiopia was distinctly different from the practice in the United States. Slavery in Ethiopia was a result of war triumph and not an economic exploitative system as was the case in the United States. Slaves were conquered enemies and were never denied their basic humanity in Ethiopia, and they were never listed as chattel or animals as was the practice in the United States. They were treated as family members, and could marry and were freed in time and become a member of society without any such stigma.

The doctrine, as stated in the Fetha Negest, in reference to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church�s teachings, was that the greatest virtue was thought to be the granting of freedom to ones slave. There was no such comparable Christian ethics by Baptists, Protestants, or Catholics in the United States during the early history of slavery in the United States. At any rate, slavery was banned in Ethiopia long before the United States abolished slavery in the 19^th Century. For example, Emperor Zera�Yaqob (1433-1468) banned slavery of all Christians, and his descendant Emperor Susinios (1607-1632) reaffirmed and continued that edict against slavery. Emperor Tewodros II was vehemently anti-slavery, and had edicts against slavery. Emperor Menilik II had continued that tradition against slavery. The reference by the House to the 1923 antislavery act gives the wrong idea as if Ethiopia was still a slave owning society up to that late date, which was contrary to the tradition of Ethiopia.

There was no need to undercut Ethiopia�s great history by inserting dubious and inaccurate statements in H. R. 550. It is my understanding that it was Donald Payne who is still interfering and scheming with his �Eritrean� handlers to undermine Ethiopia.  Donald Payne has continued his pervert behavior trying to insert his own political agenda as reflected in that subversive H.R. 2003 dictating to the sovereign people of Ethiopia how to behave, and also his other agenda in the service of �Eritrea� pushing for the Ethiopia and �Eritrea� border demarcation as part of the Bill (which was rejected), but he succeeded inserting himself shamelessly (as part of the Black Caucus) in the sponsoring and mention of the Bill. What I would say to Donald Payne is to go to the nearest mirror and take a good look of himself, and learn about humility and about his place in the scheme of things.

There is no measurement the degree of contempt I have for Donald Payne, who is more of an �Eritrean� agent than a representative of the US Congress. Representative Honda in his introduction of the Bill mentioned such effort. �The resolution also recognizes the efforts of all those who organized the millennium celebrations. The African Union has already declared the Ethiopia Millennium as the African Millennium and acknowledges the critical role Ethiopia plays in keeping peace on the continent. I thank my colleagues for passing H. Res. 550, and I look forward to the Senate vote.� The House of Representatives, must do much more than that, and clean up their acts in regard or in connection with matters dealing with Ethiopia.Ω

Tecola W. Hagos

Washington DC.

November 10, 2007

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H. Res. 550

In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

November 5, 2007.

Whereas Ethiopia is a proud country with a long, rich history;

Whereas the earliest known hominid, internationally known as Lucy and classified as the Australopithecus Afarensis, was found in Ethiopia;

Whereas in the 9th century, Ethiopians discovered coffee beans in what is now known as the Kaffa region;

Whereas Lalibela, a group of 11 medieval monolithic rock-hewn churches, was constructed in the 13th-century during the Zagwe Dynasty;

Whereas in 1978, Lalibela was recognized on the World Heritage List as a property considered to have outstanding universal cultural value by the World Heritage Committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO);

Whereas in the mid-19th century, Emperor Tewodros II began the modernization of Ethiopia and led a successful campaign to unify Ethiopia;

Whereas the proud and courageous people of Ethiopia defeated the invading Italian army in the Battle of Adowa in 1896;

Whereas United States-Ethiopian relations were established on December 27, 1903, by Emperor Menelik II and President Theodore Roosevelt;

Whereas since then, the Ethiopian-American community has grown to become the second largest African immigrant group in the United States;

Whereas in 1908, European colonial powers recognized Ethiopia's borders and sovereignty;

Whereas in 1923, Ethiopia officially banned the slave trade;

Whereas in 1923, Ethiopia joined the League of Nations;

Whereas Ethiopia is the only country in Africa that was never colonized, with the exception of the 6 years of occupation by the Fascist government of Italy;

Whereas Ethiopia played an important role in the struggle for freedom for many African countries during the colonial period;

Whereas in 1930, Ras Tafari Makonnen was crowned as Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia;

Whereas Emperor Haile Selassie modernized Ethiopia, kept the country united, and largely peaceful;

Whereas in 1974, Emperor Haile Selassie was ousted from power through a military coup by the Derg junta and Lt. Col. Mengistu Haile Mariam was installed as Head of State;

Whereas in May 1991, the brutal Mengistu dictatorship came to an end after a 17-year reign of terror;

Whereas Ethiopia was a founding member of the United Nations and one of the original drafters of the Security Council Charter;

Whereas Ethiopia played a pivotal role in creating the Organization of Africa Unity (OAU), which was founded on May 25, 1963;

Whereas Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, became the headquarters of the OAU and remains the headquarters of its successor, the African Union; and

Whereas the 8th African Union Summit, held from January 29-30, 2007, officially declared the second Ethiopian millennium as the second African millennium: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives--

(1) congratulates the people of Ethiopia on the second millennium of Ethiopia;

(2) recognizes the long, rich history of Ethiopia;

(3) commends Ethiopia's contribution to peace and stability on the African continent through the role it played in the creation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU);

(4) recognizes the longstanding relationship between Ethiopia and the United States;

(5) commends the organizers of the second millennium celebration in Ethiopia and the United States; and

(6) commends the peaceful and jubilant celebration of the second millennium of Ethiopia.

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