earlier
this month that said the Ethiopian military had “forcibly
displaced thousands of civilians in the country’s eastern
Somali . . . while escalating its campaign against a
separatist insurgency movement.” Government troops were
“destroying villages and property, confiscating livestock,
and forcing civilians to relocate,” according to Peter
Takirambudde, Africa director of Human Rights Watch.
“Whatever the military strategy behind them, these abuses
violate the laws of war.” Eyewitness accounts offered to
Human Rights Watch said Ethiopian troops had been “burning
homes and property, including the recent harvest and other
food stocks intended for the civilian population,
confiscating livestock and, in a few cases, firing upon and
killing fleeing civilians.”
Despite that record, the Bush Administration views
Ethiopia as an important counterterrorism ally,
which federal disclosure records show is
being paid at least $50,000 per month by the Ethiopian
government for “strategic advice and counsel.”
In 2006, the House International Relations Committee
approved the Ethiopia Freedom, Democracy, and Human Rights
Advancement Act, which criticized the government for its
human rights record, called for it to free jailed opposition
leaders and restricted security assistance. But the full
House never voted on the bill. Two sources that follow the
issue - one a former Hill staffer and the other a lobbyist
on African affairs – tell me that Armey twisted the arm of
then - House Speaker Denny Hastert to ensure that it didn’t
come up for a vote. “Armey has a lot of influence over
there,” the former Hill staffer said. “A lot of people in
the GOP leadership owe their positions to him.”
Armey has no pull with the new Democratic leadership so
now Gephardt has apparently been called on to block full
passage of this year’s version of the bill. Gephardt,
incidentally, also lobbies for the government of Turkey
(another Piper client to the tune of $100,000 per month), as
was recently detailed in a terrific New Republic
piece in which author Michael Crowley wrote about Gephardt’s
efforts to stop Congress from
the Turkish
massacre of Armenians during the early twentieth century:
A few years ago, [Gephardt] was a working-class
populist who cast himself as a tribune of the
underdog–including the Armenians. Back in 1998, Gephardt
attended a memorial event hosted by the Armenian
National Committee of America at which, according to a
spokeswoman for the group, “he spoke about the
importance of recognizing the genocide.” Two years
later, Gephardt was one of three House Democrats who
co-signed a letter to then House Speaker Dennis Hastert
urging Hastert to schedule an immediate vote on a
genocide resolution. “We implore you,” the letter read,
arguing that Armenian-Americans “have waited long enough
for Congress to recognize the horrible genocide.” Today,
few people are doing more than Gephardt to ensure that
the genocide bill goes nowhere. It’s one thing to
flip-flop on, say, tax cuts or asbestos reform. But,
when it comes to genocide, you would hope for high
principle to carry the day.
Piper’s lobbyists have been working the “war on
terrorism” angle hard, arguing that even a hand-slap of
Ethiopia for human rights abuses will jeopardize its support
in Somalia and the Horn of Africa. (And we all know what a
that’s been.)
I called Armey and Gephardt but never heard back from
them. Piper did, however, send me a statement which said:
The U.S. first established diplomatic relations with
Ethiopia more than a century ago and Ethiopia remains a
close ally today, particularly in the global war against
terrorism. It is crucial for the United States to have
friends and allies in the strategically important Horn
of Africa region who are committed to democracy,
stability and moderation. The firm is assisting Ethiopia
in strengthening bilateral relations with the U.S.,
including increasing humanitarian, economic and
development assistance, expanding trade and investment
opportunities, and enhancing relationships with
financial, academic and public policy institutions.
I had heard that former Senate Majority Leader George
Mitchell of Maine, Chairman of the Global Board of Piper and
Co-Chair of its Government Controversies Practice Group, was
also working on the account. The firm’s statement said that
Mitchell “has never lobbied or done legal work on behalf of
Ethiopia in connection with DLA Piper’s representation.”
However, Piper declined to say whether Mitchell had played a
role in winning the Ethiopia deal or whether he was offering
strategic advice or playing some other role in the contract.
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