CHARGÉ D’AFFAIRES SPEECHES

Remarks by the Chargé d’Affaires
Ambassador Vicki Huddleston
Opening of the General Orientation Training for
The House of People’s Representatives

Monday, December 12, 2005

I have been looking forward to today, because it marks the beginning of a partnership for democracy and good governance between my government and Ethiopia.

This orientation training provided by Women’s Campaign International – WCI – is the first activity in a five-year program of support to the House.  With your good will and the critical support of your development partners – especially the UNDP – I know that the legislative branch of Ethiopian democracy will grow strong and straight.

I believe this because when I look out on the members of Parliament, I see many women, and both men and women who represent different religions, regions, and ethnic groups.  This diversity is what made my country strong; clearly, it is what can make Ethiopia strong as well.

Equally significant is that I recognize members of the opposition, who have courageously demonstrated their commitment to democracy by taking their seats in the House.  Your full and effective participation as the loyal opposition is absolutely critical to the creation of multi-party democracy in this country.

I have a very special interest in Parliament, because I was once a Fellow in the United States Senate.  I had the opportunity to draft a piece of legislation – known as the Missile Technology Control Regime – that was voted into law in 1990 and that, I am proud to say, remains the major piece of legislation for the control of illegal sales of technology that can be used to fabricate weapons of mass destruction.

In order to craft this legislation, I had to learn how the U.S. Senate and House functioned.  Where would I find information about the current situation?  Which committees would hold hearings on the proposed legislation?  And, most critically, how could I get the Republicans on board so that the bill would have the support it needed to pass both the House and Senate?  I would also need Republican support if the then-President, George H.W. Bush (the first President Bush!) were going to sign it into law.

Many of you are new to the House – just as I was when I began to draft legislation.  From that experience, the most important thing I learned was that to be an effective member of the legislature demands that you reach across party lines – that you make allies and that you compromise.  This is the way you make good laws:  you acquire broad support; compromise is the name of the game.  Yes, you may have to give up something you care about, or accept ideas that you may not fully support.  But once you have put the legislation together, it will have the broadest possible support – and as a result, will be accepted by the constituents of all parties, just as my legislation passed in 1990 and remains today the law of the land in the U.S.

One congressional wag once said that making legislation is like making sausage – you don’t want to see what goes into the grinder, just what comes out.

You might think that there should be more agreement and less argument and debate.  If so, you are in the wrong place.  Parliament is a lot messier than diplomacy.  It is the place where ideas are announced, debated, and often debunked.  It is, in short, where democracy begins.

Our great President, Abraham Lincoln, sad that democracy is “government of the people, by the people, and for the people.”  Parliaments are the bedrock of democracy, because they are the voice of the people and because they are created by the people.  If you fail their trust, they will find someone else to elect next time.  It is you responsibility to lead courageously for the people, representing the interests of your constituents, never damaging the rights of others.

Democracy is not just Parliament, nor it is just one election.  Democracy is a process, based on the following important ideals:

· The rule of the majority, and respect for the minority;
· Leadership that has vision, flexibility, and is unafraid of compromise;
· Equality of all men and women before the law;
· Checks and balances among the legislative, judicial, and executive branches of government;
· Periodic elections that ensure that the voice of minorities as well as majorities are heard;
· Observance and respect for the law, and respect for the will of the people;
· Reconciliation of differing points of view and interests.

Ethiopians have paid a heavy price for elections, and they have every right to expect that you – their representatives – will nurture the democratic process and create a true democratic system in Ethiopia, no matter the price.

Perhaps President Franklin D. Roosevelt said it best:  “Let us strive for a world in which there are four essential freedoms:  freedom of speech and assembly everywhere in the world; freedom to worship a God of your choice everywhere in the world; freedom from want everywhere in the world; and freedom from fear anywhere in the world.”

You are wise people, from an ancient culture; surely  with your dedication and reconciliation, you can build an Ethiopian democracy, based on these fundamental freedoms, for the good of all the Ethiopian people.