Pass the word... __________________________________________________________ --- "Zerzghi, Amanuel (Amanuel)" <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > From: "Zerzghi, Amanuel (Amanuel)" <[log in to unmask]> > To: "[log in to unmask]" <[log in to unmask]> > Subject: Eritrean Community Demonstration in DC, May 24-25 > Date: Tue, 23 May 2000 16:11:23 -0400 > > Selamat, > > Subject: Join Eritrean-American Community Demonstration > > May 24-25 10 a.m. U.S. Capitol Upper Senate Park > (Constitution Avenue and Delaware Street, NE.) > > > > Dear Sir: > > > > The Eritrean American community in the Washington DC metro area and > from other regions of the U.S. invites you to participate and address > its > gathering to be held Wednesday May 24 and Thursday May 25 at the > Upper > Senate Park at 10 a.m. This demonstration is being held on the > occasion of > the 8th Independence Anniversary of Eritrea, a small country of 4 > million > situated in the Horn of Africa. Sadly, this anniversary has come at a > time > when Ethiopia has renewed its invasion against Eritrea. By its own > admission, Ethiopia renewed the war after more than 1 year lull. > During the > last two years, Ethiopia deceptively claimed to accept most of the > OAU/U.S. > formulated peace package, while all the time planning and now > executing a > costly and un-necessary military solution. > > > > Since the war erupted in May 1998, Ethiopia deported to Eritrea in > inhumane manner close to 70,000 innocent Eritreans and Ethiopians of > Eritrean origin, while it holds 1,500 of them in concentration camps > and > bars almost 10,000 destitute from leaving Ethiopia where they can no > longer > work. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and others have > condemned > Ethiopia's actions. Over the last two years, Ethiopia's war against > Eritrea > has resulted in tens of thousands dead. Now in the midst of an > unprecedented > humanitarian disaster threatening famine for 8 million Ethiopians, > Ethiopia > continues waging a senseless war against its Eritrea. Eritrea > accepted the > OAU/US peace plan in its entirety and was focussed on staving off > famine > threatening 350,000 Eritreans displaced from the border areas. > > > > Currently over 100,000 Ethiopian troops are by Ethiopia's own > admission 43 kilometers deep inside uncontested Eritrean territory > where > they displaced 250,000 farmers from Eritrea's breadbasket region of > Gash-Barka, just before the harvest season and seeding for next year. > Ethiopian troops are looting the displaced farmers' meager resources > as they > advance toward populated centers pounded incessantly by air raids. > > > > As we prepare to hold this demonstration, international humanitarian > organizations are reacting to the escalation of the war and > exacerbation of > the size of people needing relief assistance all over Eritrea: > > > * Save the Children reports threat of starvation to around > 15,000 children in Eritrea > > > > > > * Action by Churches Together (ACT) members in Eritrea, > Lutheran World Federation/Department of World Service (LWF/WS) and > Norwegian > Church Aid issued an alert indicating the Ethiopia invasion is > "resulting in > hunger and starvation for over 1 million Eritreans." (ACT 5/19/2000) > > > > > > * The World Food Program (WFP) has begun 600 ton food airlift > to help feed more than 250,000 Eritreans displaced; WFP warns even > larger > amounts are urgently needed (WFP 5/23/200) > > > > > > As American citizens who know intimately the suffering of our > families in Eritrea, we are deeply concerned over the catastrophic > consequences of U.S. lack of intervention and its foreign evacuation > of the > Eritrean capital Asmara in the absence of an air moratorium. We urge > you to > join us to call on the Clinton Administration to urge Ethiopia to > stop its > invasion and in the interim effect a moratorium on air raids and > establish > an air relief corridor to the millions of Eritrean farmers threatened > by > famine. > > > > By failing to intervene and secure an airlift corridor and allowing > Ethiopia to bomb Asmara and deny urgent food aid supply, U.S. foreign > evacuation will be the most macabre man-made action causing > irreparable > damage to Eritrea's and the international community ability to tackle > the > country's worsening humanitarian crisis. Considering the gravity of > the > impending humanitarian crisis, it is unacceptable for the U.S. to > contrive > neutrality and wait for Ethiopia to impose a military solution that > will > cause unprecedented loss of life of hundreds of thousand people. Such > hands-off posture in the face of tragedy of this proportion is simply > un-American. Act now! > __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Send instant messages & get email alerts with Yahoo! Messenger. http://im.yahoo.com/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------