Dear Congresswoman Maxine Waters

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By:
Haggi Mustapha El-Sabhi
07/12/07)

July 12, 2006

Dear Congresswoman Maxine Waters,
Bismilah Rahman Rahim, in the name of Allah the Compassionate, the Merciful…
Last week at the closing ceremony of the Ethiopian Soccer Tournament here in Los Angeles, you had the nerve to make a public demand that the Ethiopian Government unconditionally release opposition party leaders who are in prison. I would like to know what your demand is based on.

The US State Department is fully aware of the situation from experts on the ground assigned to follow events in that area of the world. Donald Yamamoto, the current U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, has spent time in Ethiopia, has met the leadership, and knows the situation quite intimately. The Subcommittee on African Affairs and Committee on Foreign Relations United States Senate get regularly briefed on all significant events and developments, and they have never made the kind of demand you are making. Do you think you can talk to some Taxi drivers here in Lost Angels and get anything worth while? Do you think you know enough to make these demands? I and many of my friends and acquaintances were embarrassed and dismayed to hear you talk.

Ethiopia is not a colony, but a sovereign nation, and as such, does not take orders from you or anyone else for that matter. The opposition leaders who are now in prison have legal attorneys and lawyers, and however poor our country, Ethiopia, may be, it has a legal process and a tradition of justice and fairness. These people will be tried by the due process and the law of the land, and if found not guilty, they will be set free. If they are found guilty, they will be punished appropriately. Your interference in the internal legal system, and the due process of the law of our country is not acceptable, and certainly not something any one can tolerate.

As Tip O’Neal used to say, all politics is local politics. This is true especially for a US Congressman or woman. We have enough political and economic problems right here in South Central Los Angeles, which is closer to you and your responsibilities, and I would like to advise you to focus on local politics.

Please keep your hands off the Ethiopian legal system, and stay out of it!

Sincerely,

Haggi Mustapha El-Sabhi email address: maxmillan@excite.com

I tried posting the message on the Congresswoman’s contact website: http://www.house.gov/waters/IMA/issue.htm,but was surprised to receive words to the effect: “Your Zip code is outside 35th District, and we cannot reply to your email or to address your concerns…”

Dear Honorable Lady,

You have the nerve to go across the oceans and to demand from Ethiopia that authorities they release prisoners unconditionally, but you would not reply to me, because I am outside your 35th District? That is simply amazing... Again, you will be well advised to stay out of Ethiopian internal affairs and stay in the affaris of your own 35th District.
Thank you.

Haggi Mustapha El-Sabhi

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