one of the politicians who organized a peaceful demonstration at the end of November to demand a peaceful solution to the conflicts in the country, fled the country saying ‘my life is in danger’.
“Enough of war; Mr. Daniel, who says that the coordinators of the “Salaam Ysifen” march “suffered a lot”, says that the government’s security forces are still chasing them.
Eight months ago, “Stop the war; “Peace be with you” for November 30/2016. One of the organizers, Daniel, told the BBC that politicians who called for public demonstrations were harassed and persecuted by the government. Zetan politicians who said, “We are worried about our country’s affairs”, have expressed that they have been harassed and pressured, including imprisonment, especially in the Amhara and Oromia regions.
“We thought about what was done in the early days of Somalia, where people were hanged on Burayu, Shashemene. Again, the war in Tigray, then the situation in the Amhara and Oromia regions worried us… we reached an agreement that the war should stop,” he explained, explaining how the rally was intensified.
On November 30, the coordinators called for a peaceful demonstration “all over the country” for the people to abandon the government. Ato Daniel said that the country’s security forces, including the security office, have put pressure on them since they started the movement to hold the demonstration.
Mr. Daniel says that an individual who said, “Show me your security ID” warned them to stop their activities. “We will take action against your life,” they said.
The politicians who announced to the media that the arrest of the organizers of the rally and the “government pressure” forced them to extend the rally indefinitely; They say we have been harassed.
But Mr. Daniel, who says, “Even if we procrastinate, they will not stop.” “In this situation, everyone will be arrested,” said the organizers of the rally, saying that they were arrested, harassed and threatened after they said they would hold a rally.
And he said that this march led to the arrest of most of the organizers and to exile.
“One has emigrated to America; I am also where I am. Someone said it was hidden. All the others were arrested and there were only forty. Ato Yeshwas was left. They arrested him for a week and released him.
“We have all been afflicted. The psychological pressure, the living conditions, the displacement from work; When a person is arrested, he is not the only person who is arrested, many things are arrested together. “Family is bound together.”
Among the arrested coordinators of the rally are EHPA Vice President Megavi Old Abraham Heman (released after three months), EHPA President Assistant Professor Znabu Abera, EZEMA former leader Yeshwas Asefa (twice arrested and released), EZEMA former member Ato Nathanael Mekonen as well as leaders of the Resurrection Seventy. They include Mr. Gidena Medhen and Mr. Kalayu Mehari.
According to Ato Daniel, they have been monitored and harassed by the government’s security forces in their places of movement and also in their homes. They also say that their family living outside Addis Ababa was harassed and beaten. In addition, they were arrested when they came to Addis Ababa for Christmas at the end of December. Mr. Daniel, who says that he was arrested for 15 days at the Kera Lampang police station, says, “I was released after being given a final warning.” He said that on March 25, from 9:00 pm to 1:00 am, his house was searched and documents and electronic devices were taken from him.
