Organizers from New York, Virginia, DC, Maryland, and other north-eastern states.

WHEREAS, On September 22, 2010, Ethiopians in the Diaspora staged an extraordinarily successful demonstration against the invitation of Meles Zenawi to Columbia University in the City of New York; and

WHEREAS, in the days leading to the said demonstration, there was a manifestation of unsurpassed unity among the democratic forces; and

WHEREAS, This unity was further galvanized by the 99.6% victory blatantly declared by the Dictator in the sham election of May of 2010, his continued violation of human rights, his untamed embezzlement of the country’s resources, and his remorseless use of land and jobs as means of subjugation; and

WHEREAS, There is a clear recognition of the need to maintain the momentum exhibited by the democratic forces in the Diaspora.

THEREFORE, The coordinators of the protest from the North Eastern part of the United States met immediately after the successful demonstration, and issued the following declaration, hereafter referred to as “The New York Manifesto”:

1. Henceforth, the FOCUS of the struggle by ALL individuals and groups of Ethiopian origin shall be solely on the liberation of Ethiopia from the TPLF tyranny.
2. The immediate launch of a capacity building initiative, with full transparency and accountability, shall be a critical component of the struggle to remove the dictatorship of Meles Zenawi and his ethno-centric party.
3. In the short term, meaningful, realistic and achievable goals shall be formulated and implemented to further motivate, rally and engage the Ethiopian community in the Diaspora.

Organizers from New York, Virginia, DC, Maryland, and other north-eastern states.