A Day of Sacrifice for Ethiopia! A Mass Rally in Washington DC, On Oct. 3rd

PUBLIC PROTEST

A Day of Sacrifice for Ethiopia! A Mass Rally in Washington DC, On Oct. 3rd

UEDF Support Group
September 20, 2003

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As part of its international efforts, the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF) will hold a rally in Washington, D.C., on Friday, October 3, 2003. All major civic organizations in the Washington Metropolitan area have joined hands to make the upcoming rally a resounding success.

The demonstration will highlight the following issues:

• Since Ethiopia had already declared the 1900, 1902 and 1908 Treaties null and void, the country can no longer be expected to honor them. Therefore, the Alger Agreement does not bind Ethiopia. Thus, the final decision made by the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission can neither be accepted nor be recognized as legitimate.
• The fundamental right of the Afar people to remain an integral part of Ethiopia was violated when they were forced by the illegitimate Meles Zenawi’s regime to join Eritrea on the 29th of April 1993. As His Excellency Sultan Ali Mirah, the spiritual and religious leader of Afars, eloquently put it, in the presence of Meles Zenawi and Issays Afeworki, at the “Charter” conference in July 1991 in Addis Ababa, “…We are one with all Ethiopians. No one can make excuses and take this identity from the Afar people. Only the forces who are anti-Afar people will make claims of separation.” Hence, we pledge to commit ourselves to struggle for the unity of Afars with Ethiopia.
• We unequivocally reject the forceful incorporation of Assab with Eritrea– an area that has historically been inhabited by the Afar people of Ethiopia. The illegal regime in Addis Ababa had evoked redundant colonial treaties to strip away Ethiopia’s legitimate claim over Assab. We challenge the annexation of Assab by the regime in Asmera with the collaboration of the dictatorship in Addis, and will intensify the struggle by using all legitimate means at our disposal both domestically and internationally. It must be noted that Ethiopia’s right to have access to the sea has been long been recognized by the United Nations as early as the 1940s. In fact, when the world body decided to federate Eritrea with Ethiopia in 1952, this issue was a crucial factor.
• The illegitimate regime of Meles Zenawi has been in the forefront working against the interests of Ethiopia. The regime is in power through the use of force. Since the people of Ethiopia completely reject all treaties signed by the rouge Meles regime, we urge the United States government to reconsider its relation with the authorities in Addis Ababa.

Date: Friday, October 3, 2003
Time: 10 A.M
Assembly point: In front of Supreme Court at 10 A.M. (on the side of the US Congress)
Final Destiny: Reflecting Pool (between 3rd and Constitution)

Be there on time. Bring your families, friends and colleagues with you. Let us show to the United States government that Meles Zenawi’s regime is not a legitimate representative body to the people of Ethiopia. Support the worldwide UEDP’s demonstrations to be held in San Jose, London and Ethiopia etc.

UEDP Members (Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity Front (ARDUF), All Ethiopian Unity Party (AEUP), All Ethiopian Socialist Movement (MEISON),
Council of Alternative Forces for Peace and Democracy (CAFPDE),
Ethiopian Democratic Unity Party (EDUP),Ethiopian Democratic Union- Tehadiso- (EDU Tehadiso), Ethiopian Medhin Democratic Party (Medhin), Ethiopian National Unity Front (ENUF),Ethiopian People Federal Democratic Unity Party (Hibrehizb),
Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Party (EPRP), Gambella People’s United Democratic Front (GPUDF), Oromo National Council (ONC), Oromo People’s Liberation Organization (OPLO- IBSO), Southern Ethiopia Peoples’ Democratic Coalition (SEPDC), Tigrean Alliance for Democracy (TAND)

Civic Organizations: Action League, Moanebsa, Tigray Solidarity and Ethiopian Civic Coalition.