We remember and respect those fellow Ethiopians who gave their lives for their right to vote and for their vote to be counted.
On
May 15, 2005, over 26 million Ethiopians voted peacefully to elect
their leaders. As the results started to come in, showing a landslide
victory for the opposition party, Meles Zenawi went on TV and declared a
state of emergency. He also ordered re-votes in several districts where
members of his party went down in defeat, banned political rallies, and
unleashed his killers against peaceful citizens who protested his
attempt to steal the election.
When the Addis Ababa Police showed
restraint, Meles ordered all of them to be disarmed, and gave the
Federal Police and his personal army, the Agazi, a shoot-to-kill order.
The
Agazi and Federal Police snipers from roof tops and military trucks
gunned down young, hundreds of unarmed protesters with 50 caliber
rifles. Over 50,000 students and other individuals were rounded up and
sent to concentration camps in remote parts of the country. All senior
members of the opposition CUD were arrested. All the private press were
shut down. The 2005 election massacre was one of the darkest moments in
the history of Ethiopia.
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