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Oromia Watch Protests Meles Zenawi's Visit to Harvard September 2, 2000 Jeffrey
Sachs Dear Professor, We recently formed an organization called the Oromiyaa Human Rights Watch. The basic purposes of our organization is to monitor, document, advocate and to expose the gross human rights violations that are being committed against the Oromo people. There were Oromo citizens back home that tried to do just the same things we are doing here, who formed the Oromo Human Rights League only to find them selves in prison. The leaders of the organization are still languishing in prison and the organization has long been banned. Even though the human rights situations in Ethiopia is going from bad to worse each day, we find the opposite trend in the rest of the world where the protection and issue of human rights is thriving. Today, we see states moving beyond the question of sovereignty and intervening in situations of gross human rights violations. The recent involvement in Kosovo and East Timor are cases in point. Sovereign immunity is no more an absolute defense. Today, there is no sanctuary for human rights abusers. The Pinochet situation and the tribunals in Arusha and the Hague prove this point. Today, we are on the verge of forming a permanent International Criminal Court to do away with the jurisdictional issues that abusers raise when confronted. In short, the shift of thinking and the new paradigms seem to favor the support for protection of human rights laws in the world. When the world is moving towards this direction, it surprises us that you have chosen to disregard Meles Zenawi's human rights records and have opted to invite him to Harvard. This is not at all the time to pat the back of human rights abusers, nor is it the fight tactic to try to appease them. The best tactic is to expose and isolate them. This should be the message that everyone must try to send to such types of leaders. The move you have taken could have a dire consequence on the morale of those who are still being tortured in Meles's hidden torture centers. Your act undermines the sufferings of 30 million Oromo people who are expecting a lot from institutions such as yours in terms of the protection of their rights. In this short letter it is impossible to show the full magnitude of human rights violations committed against the Oromos and other ethnic/ national groups by Meles Zenawi's government. We encourage you to read the recent annual report of the Human Right Watch. We also encourage you to visit OSG's web site: www.oromo.org/osg , to learn more the magnitude of human rights abuses in Ethiopia. We must tell you Mr. Sachs, another Rwanda is in the making under Meles's government. It is in the middle of this grave situation that you insisted on your plan of hosting this person. Our wonder is would you invite Pinochet under your theory of "accommodating different ideas and views"? It is one thing to accommodate different views including dissents and it is totally another thing to invite a person who would be indicted for human rights violations sooner or latter. Finally, we hope you will reconsider your decision and cancel your invitation. You owe this to thousands of Oromos who are killed , tortured and still being tortured , raped and still being raped or imprisoned by Meles Zenawi's government. If you have questions please contact us at:
Thank you. cc:
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