On a March 2 worldwide rally, for three hours beginning at 2 in the afternoon, peaceful protesters chanted and ambled before the US General Consulate in Frankfurt. The rally exceeding over 100 demonstrators was composed of Ethiopians belonging to different opposition political groups and from a wide range of backgrounds. The mood was emotional. People carried flags, signs and banners, and pictures of the charismatic opposition leader Birtukan Midekssa and the Ethiopian pop singer Tewodros Kassahun while chanting slogans demanding the Obama administration to end the injustice in Ethiopia.
“Ethiopian people deserve freedom and the rule of law” “US stop assisting the tyrannical regime in Ethiopia” “Free Birtukan Midekssa, Teddy Afro and all political prisoners” were among some of the slogans carried by the demonstrators.
“We urge president Obama to keep his words and end dictatorship in Africa. I know he can. And I hope he does,” said Alem Gebretsadkan who came all the way from Mulheim to partake in the rally.**“In times such as this, we should join forces and oppose the government irrespective of our political affiliation,” said Anteneh Teffera another demonstrator from Wuerzburg. “Ethiopians living in the free world should seize the open and democratic political environment of the west to voice their opposition and demand freedom and justice in Ethiopia,” he added.
“I am a mother my self,” exclaimed a woman with a baby in her arms, “I feel the pain Birtukan is going through. We should not turn a blind eye and keep quite. I am here for Birtu. I am here for my country.”Before the demonstration came to an end, Getachew Taye, organizer of the Frankfurt demonstration called upon the protesters to keep this spirit of unity and participate in upcoming rallies against the ruling regime in Ethiopia.
Meanwhile, Ethiopians living in the southern part of Germany also held a protest in front of the US General Consulate in Munich. Click on 'Read More' for more pictures. Here is a report from Abbay Media on the demonstrations that took place in other parts of the world.
**Correction- The original version of the story mistakenly said Alem Reda from Muenster. That has been corrected to read: Alem Gebretsadkan from Mulheim.
