DECLARATION TO
DEFEND FREEDOM, DEMOCRACY AND
HUMAN RIGHTS IN ETHIOPIA
IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM
July 4, 2007
Preamble
In the history of all great nations, there comes a moment when the people must make a choice that will define them
in their own time, vindicate the enormous sacrifices of their ancestors and enable them to bequeath an enduring legacy for
generations yet unborn. They are often forced to make that choice by arrogant tyrants who use brute force to entrench and
perpetuate their dictatorial rule, and unabashedly proclaim to the world their contempt for the rule of law, democratic principles
and civil liberties.
In the history of oppression, tyrants have spared no effort to erode the natural
courage of their people and force upon them a life of cowardice and submission, debilitate their natural instincts for bravery
and valor and intimidate them into accepting servility, replace their yearning for liberty with false hopes and pretensions
of freedom, trick them into bartering their desire to live in dignity for a life of shame and fear, subvert their natural
sense of honor, duty and patriotism for vulgar materialism, and corrupt them into selling their fidelity to truth
at the altar of falsehood.
In 1776, the American people had their defining moment when they stood up and defended
their liberties against a tyrannical king who taxed them without representation, closed down their legislatures and imposed
upon them laws made by representatives for whom they did not grant consent. They declared then, as we do now:
“When a government has ceased to protect the lives,
liberty and property of the
people, from whom its
legitimate powers are derived, and for the advancement
of whose happiness it was instituted, and so far from being a guarantee for the
enjoyment of those inestimable and inalienable rights, it becomes an
instrument in the hands of evil rulers for their oppression.”
Our Moment
to Stand Up Against Evil Rulers and For Freedom, Democracy and Human Rights in the New Ethiopian Millennium in Ethiopia is
Here! We Must Act Now!
Ethiopians the world over must now make a choice, a choice that will define them
today, tomorrow and in the next Millennium. We must plant the seeds of liberty today so that future generations may harvest
its bounty.
We MUST therefore
rise to defend freedom, democracy and human rights in Ethiopia against a tyrant who has:
Connived and made alliances with enemies of the Ethiopian people to break up
the country and bargain away its territory.
Subverted
the civil and criminal laws of the land and encroached upon the fundamental rights of the people by denying them due process
of law.
Forbidden the people from speaking freely, assembling peacefully, petitioning
government for grievances, and the press from reporting.
Trampled
upon the basic human rights of the people, and flagrantly violated international human rights laws and conventions.
Employed the malicious methods of
divide and conquer, and dredged up historical grievances to sow hatred and discord among the people.
Threatened and made good on his threats
to visit violence, intimidation, terror, arbitrary arrest and imprisonment and torture and untold privation upon the people.
Dispatched swarms of soldiers throughout the land to harass the people and
administer street justice against them.
Refused to step down and leave office after he was overwhelmingly defeated
in a democratic election, and rejected by the people.
Unjustly
imprisoned the elected representatives of the people and persecuted peaceful
political opponents on false and fabricated charges and crimes.
Obstructed
the administration of justice by neutralizing and intimidating the judiciary to do his bidding.
Intervened
in the internal affairs of neighboring countries and waged war against their people creating lasting and insurmountable enmity.
Refused
the aid of Great Nations to build democratic institutions and institutionalize human rights and the rule of law in Ethiopia,
and has hired at great expense to the people’s treasury, mercenaries to lobby against such efforts in the Legislatures
of such nations, and
Practiced
cruelty and crimes against humanity scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages.
In every stage of these oppressions, the people have petitioned for redress in
the most humble
terms. We have sought the intercession of international
human rights
organizations, the Legislatures of the Great Nations of the world
and appealed
to his sense of native justice, magnanimity and patriotism.
He has sneered at the people’s pleas for justice, scoffed at their petitions for
redress of
grievances and turned a deaf ear to the advice of the international
community.
We, the undersigned, therefore, solemnly publish and declare, that the People of Ethiopia have the God-given right
to live in freedom, democracy and human rights, to be free and establish a government that is of their own choosing and consent,
and that we shall work tirelessly and without reservation or evasion to:
Gain the unconditional release of ALL political prisoners of conscience.
Restore the democratic rights of the people.
Institute democratic reform and accountability.
Enhance the capacity of legislative institutions to enact fair and just laws;
Strengthen civil society groups and organizations and support human rights
advocates.
Cause the arrest and prosecution of human rights abusers, and to bring to
justice the killers of 193 innocent men, women and children and wounding of
763 others.
Increase the independence of the judiciary.
Establish permanent human rights monitoring and reporting processes.
Secure the rights of women and promote families as a foundation for a
stable society.
Encourage and engage youth to become future leaders.
Remove all press censorship, restore full press freedom and strengthen private
media.
Improve the electoral process to ensure fraud-free elections, and strengthen
competitive party politics.
Limit
the use of U.S. security assistance to maintain global peace, and NOT against the civilian population, and
Work tirelessly to bring to justice all persons guilty of crimes against
humanity.
In support
of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other and to
the People of Ethiopia that we will defend and promote, without evasion or reservation, the cause of freedom, democracy and
human rights in Ethiopia in the New Millennium.
DECLARE YOUR
COMMITMENT TO DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN ETHIOPIA HERE :
http://www.petitiononline.com/Alem1234/petition-sign.html
IN SUPPORT
OF THIS DECLARATION,
ALEMAYEHU
GEBRE MARIAM
ABRAHA BELAI
ABEBE GELAW
KIFLE MULAT
KINFU ASSEFA
SELESHI TILAHUN
MAMMO MUCHIE
LEMLEM TSEGAW
WONDIMU MEKONNEN
SHAKESPEAR FEYISSA
AYALNESH CHIANIALEW
AMARE GIZAW
ELIZABETH
NEGA
SEBLE TADESSE
DOROTHY AMARE
LULIT MESFIN
ALEMAYHU ZEMEDKHUN
AZEB GIRMA
MERON AHADU
WASI TESFA
ASTER DEMEKE-HANSSON
ZUFAN YIMER
AZIZ MOHAMMED
ELIAS WONDIMU
ABEBA FEKADE
ZENEBWORK TEKLU
GHENET GIRMA
DANIEL ASSEFA
TIRWORK WONDIMU
ABEBE BOGALE
MARIA C. LUGO
MEAZA GEBREWAHIDE
JOSEPH M.
CIUFFINI
EHITE GEBRE
KEIF SCHIEFIER
BEKLETCH ASSEFA
NEWAY MENGISTU
ABAYNESH ASSEFA
MULLUNEH YOHANNES
ANDARGATCHEW TSIGE
NATHAN YIMER
BELAYNESH T. HAIMANOT
BERHANE MEWA
MULU AYELE
ZEKE AYELE
FEKADE SHEWAKENA
AKLOG LIMENEH
FIFI DERSO
YOUSOUF OMER
MEAZA EGIJU
TADEWOS BEYENE
AZIZ MOHAMMED
GIDEY ASSEFA
BELAYNESH
SOLOMON
HAREGEWEIN
MISMAKU
HAILU AWLACHEW
ZEMED YITREF
BERHANU DINKU
TSIGE MOGES
MESELE ALEM
ADAM ZERIHUN
GIRMA DAWD
YITAGESU WELDEHNA
SOLOMON KEBEDE
MULLUNEH YOHANNES
JUNIOR YIGZAW
ABIY ASSEFA
EMEBET SOLOMON
TESFAYE SILESHI
SAMUEL BELIHU
SEMOU ZINABOU
GIRMA KASSA
MEKDESE B.
KASSA
TARIKU BADAMA
BINYAM YINESU
TESFAYE LETTA
