Seattle April 19, 2010
- A meeting led by Ethiopian government oofficials was held in Seattle on April 18, 2010 at 2:00 PM.
The Ethiopian government delegates visiting
from Ethiopia was led by Minister of Justice Berhan Hailu
and included Yohanes Fenta and Berhane KidaneMariam.
The meeting was chaired
by Los
Angeles Ethiopian Consul General
Ambassador Taye Atske Sellasie. Los Angeles Consul Staff member Endale Mitiku was also in attendance.
This is the
first visit of Seattle by high government officials from
Ethiopia since the visit by Deputy Prime Minister Addisu Legesse in August 2006.
The government officials
gave a detail account of the state of affairs in Ethiopia including
economic development, educational coverage, health care, infrastructure
building, the upcoming election, good governance, and the democratization process. The audience was given a
full and unhindered opportunity to ask questions and get even more details on
the topics of discussion.
The atmosphere and
the conduct of the meeting was unprecedented. Out of all the
meetings held in Seattle, this is the first Ethiopian government led meeting
that was attended by a good number of opposition and concluded without a single
incident. All meeting attendees conducted themselves admirably and were
respectful of the government officials.
The visiting officials
were happy to meet Ethiopians and felt their time was
well spent. The officials expressed a heartfelt appreciation and
admiration to the civility of attendees.
It is the impression of the meeting organizers that the Seattle
meeting is a sign that a mature and sober discussion is possible between
Ethiopians living in the Western hemisphere and the Ethiopian government.
If this continues, meetings with high Ethiopian government officials in US and
Europe will become the norm rather than the exception.