Mrs. Susan Rice, we demand your apology to the Ethiopian Democratic Opposition

September 4, 2012

Ambassador Susan Rice
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
Permanent Mission to the United Nations
799 UN Plaza
New York, NY 10017-3505

Dear Mrs. Rice

We are utterly disappointed and disgusted by your speech at the funeral ceremony of the late dictator of Ethiopia, Meles Zenawi. You gave him not only an accolade he does not deserve, but you also pushed your unsubstantiated bias to a greater extent of calling the Ethiopian opposition “idiots”. This insult coming from you as a US diplomat has shocked and angered Ethiopians around the world.

First and foremost, as a US diplomat, it is totally out of line and unprofessional to take sides and be directly involved in the dynamics of the internal politics of a volatile country such as Ethiopia. You may, as any individual, have a political position to endorse and even passionately defend which we certainly respect. But you don’t have that privilege to officially express in front of the whole wide world showering all that undeserved praise and approval to a brutal dictator in your position as a US diplomat. And to add insult to injury, you denigrated and insulted the Ethiopian opposition that has been waging a holy struggle for genuine freedom and democracy in Ethiopia by calling them “idiots”.

Let me tell you something which you are not aware of. Even the late darling of yours who you adore so much did not call us “idiots”. He knows we are not. On the contrary, he admits the intellectual capacity and reserve in expertise the opposition has at its disposal. He may have called us other names describing our inability to unite or do what he did which is be aggressive and deadly enough to maim and kill thousands to come to power. I assure you he knows what intellectual power we have got on our belt. It is unnecessary for me to go in detail presenting some of the credentials the Ethiopian opposition has in it. That should have been your homework before you uttered that reckless, irresponsible and unprofessional word in front of the public.

If your memory serves you right, your boss, President Obama, made a speech in Ghana while he was on a tour visiting Africa. There was a part that rings a bell in me as well as in many other Ethiopians around the world. And he said, “Africa needs strong institutions and not strong men.” Do you remember that? I hope you do. Of course, this does not mean individuals should not get credit for what they accomplish. Sure, credit should given to whom credit is due.

Let us see the resume of the late tyrant of Ethiopia whom you embraced and willing to testify on his behalf more than his own wife. Have you wondered to read or at least scan his human rights record document available at the US State Department? I know, for America, national security and stability are more important than democracy and human rights combined. But what is the limit beyond which America won’t tolerate gross human right abuses such as genocide? Or is there such a limit that you and your boss won’t tolerate gross human rights abuses? Obviously, it does not look like it. And make no mistake about it. Your boss, president Obama, who sent you to insult us, will pay a dear price for it. Ethiopian Americans in the swing states such as Virgina and Ohio are waiting for him. And they have an appointment with him on November 6, 2012.

How dare you give this level of admiration to a tyrant who killed 200 protesters on broad day light in 2005 to steal an election? How can you shower your praise to a deadly tyrant who executed 400 Anuak people from Gambella committing a horrendous genocide that has been investigated and verified by Genocide Watch? How can you in your right mind admire a brutal dictator who massacred the people of Ogaden with unparalleled barbarism Ethiopia has never seen before? What is there for a brutal dictator to give credit for who imprisoned thousands of political prisoners and journalists who are languishing in his dungeons under inhuman conditions even as we speak? What does this say about you and your value for the human soul that God created? What make you think that the lives of thousands of Ethiopians stolen by your darling dictator have no value in your eyes? Or do you consider them chickens or wild beasts who deserve to be killed?

Mrs. Rice, do you have any value for the soul of this innocent young man who was gunned down in 2005 like a wild beast by your darling’s order?

How about this young woman who lost her husband by cut short by the tyrant’s bullet? Mrs. Rice, do you care or you think he deserves it?

Mrs. Rice, does this well-known surgeon who was killed by tyrant Meles Zenawi mean anything to you?

Mrs. Rice, do you think this young man deserves to be executed by your darling’s bullet only because he demanded for his God given right to live as a free man in his own country?

Last but not least, we ask you and the US government which you represent, to apologize for the irreparable damage you inflicted on the emotional and psychological well-being of our people who have endured 20 long years of terror under the brutal dictator, Meles Zenawi. The Ethiopian Opposition also demands an apology from you for insulting them and behaving under and below your professional calling and meddling in the internal political affairs of Ethiopia.

Sincerely yours,

Kirubeal Bekele