Sample letter to representative in Congress

Sample letter to representative in Congress. Copy and paste or modify -

I am writing with great concern about the escalating human rights violations in Ethiopia and asking you to support House Resolution 861. I am a constituent who has family and friends in Ethiopia and I fear for their safety.

In the Ethiopian elections of May 2015, the ruling party claimed 100 percent of parliamentary seats. In November the majority ethnic group in Ethiopia, the Oromo, began a series of overwhelmingly peaceful protests asking for democratic reforms. The Oromo were later joined by other ethnic groups, including the Amhara and the Konso. The Ethiopian government has responded with arbitrary arrests, extrajudicial killings, and restrictions on freedom of expression and political organizing. Human Rights Watch gives a low estimate of 500 peaceful protestors killed in the Oromia and Amhara regions in the last few months. In the last few weeks government-sponsored violence has escalated, with security forces seemingly adopting a scorched-earth policy to punish protest. Last week Ethiopian National Defense Forces attacked the community of Konso, in the south of the country, burning entire villages and killing more than 30 people. The following day more than 400 shops in the city of Gondar in Amhara were burned. 
 
We must do something to help. Ethiopia is an ally in the war on terrorism and receives large amounts of aid from the United States. In return we have the right to expect respect for basic human rights. I ask you to support House Resolution 861 condemning the killing of innocent civilians in Ethiopia and calling for increased accountability of United States assistance to Ethiopia.

On behalf of my loved ones in Ethiopia, thank you for your help,