Joseph Biden President of the United States of America . The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 July 19, 2021
Dear Mr. President, We are American Citizens of Ethiopian origin. We were pleased last November to support your platform and vote for your vision as a constituency. Lately, we are concerned about the direction of your policy against Ethiopia mainly run by Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, Ethiopia had been a staunch ally of the United States for over 100 years. Our Ethiopian fathers, uncles and brothers had fought and gave the ultimate sacrifice in the same trenches with American Gls in the Korean War.
Mr. President, The Ethiopian people have suffered enormously by Tigrai People Liberation Front (TPLF), an irredeemable terrorist group for the last half a century. TPLF has displaced, ethnically cleansed and dislocated millions of people and has maimed and slaughtered Amharas, Oromos, Somalis, and every ethnic group in Ethiopia. It has committed incalculable crime against humanity by enlisting Child Soldiers which has been part of TPLF common practice since its inception and sadly it is being implemented today even after a reprieve to cease hostility announced by the Ethiopian government. Starting from the 1949, the Geneva Convention with subsequent additional protocols, the ICC had adopt- ed International Humanitarian Law regarding children. According to Article 8(2) of 1981 ICC Statute, “conscripting or enlisting children under the age of fifteen years”into armed forces or groups constitutes a war crime.
Regrettably, the US Department of State, a prominent political body in the world has not condemned the use of child soldiers by TPLF. We ask you to condemn the use of child soldiers in Tigray by TPLF in the conflict which we assure you that the information is correct, truthful, and valid. If this heinous crime act is not condemned today, it will have a monumental consequence on your legacy, and permeant stain in the moral leadership of the United States. Respectfully,
Deacon Yoseph R. Tafari Chairman, Ethiopian American Civic Council Ethiopian American Civic Council 16890 E Alameda Pkwy #472795, Aurora, Colorado 80017-2795 Email: hr.128us@gmal.com Web: http://www,sr168.org
