SEATTLE, WA — Hundreds of members and allies of the Tigrayan diaspora community across the greater Seattle area protested against the nearly 2-year long genocidal war committed against the people of Tigray, Ethiopia. The protest took place in downtown Seattle, Washington, on Friday, November 4th (the two-year mark since the start of the war). The demonstrators blocked all four lanes of I-5 North, completely blocking traffic, leaving their cars and flooding the interstate. A sign laid on the floor read “our families are being murdered” followed by atleast 200 cars while demonstrators chanted the same message “Stop the Tigray genocide”. This was a completely peaceful protest which resulted in no arrests but garnered plenty of attention from onlookers and people online. The following is important information on the war.
For the past 24 months, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Eritrean President Isais Afwerki and both their administrations have led a systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing in Tigray, Ethiopia. 600,000+ civilians have been killed, and 5.2+ million people (91% of the population) are being purposely starved to death.
A telecommunication blackout has made it extremely difficult to see exactly how bad deplorable conditions are on the ground, but, leaked footage has surfaced depicting Ethiopian soldiers shooting unarmed civilians and throwing them off cliffs, the gang rape of a young women by 23 soldiers who forced nails, a rock and other items into her vagina, and Ethiopian soldiers burning civilillans live. What has leaked from Tigray is only a small fraction of what’s actually going on, which tells us reality on the ground is exponentially worse than what some few videos have allowed us to see.
The Ethiopian government has placed Tigray on complete lockdown. Nothing and no one is allowed in or out of the region meaning food, aid and medicine has been purposely withheld from civilians and those same civilians cannot flee Tigray to seek food, treatment and refuge like many people in war-zones do. Aid workers and journalists have been banned from the region as well, to ensure these war crimes happen with little to no media coverage. After all, the man responsible for these crimes and what the World Health Organization called “the worst disaster on Earth”, is the same man who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019.
On November 2nd, a peace deal was signed by the Ethiopian federal government and the regional government in Tigray that outlined a cessation of hostilities on all fronts. Less than 4 hours later, the Ethiopian government broke the truce and bombed Tigray 3 times on November 3rd and again on November 4th.
Political leaders in the Ethiopian government have made it clear their goal is to eradicate the Tigrayan population as they compare Tigrayans to cancer and weeds, fueling the hatred of armed groups and ordering them to kill every single youth from Tigray.
In the demonstration, hundreds gathered to demand President Biden label the atrocities as genocide & that the United States and the international community take action against the civilian atrocities, sexual violence, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and man-made famine that have plagued the Ethiopian state of Tigray. They demand that the United States and the international community act swiftly to ensure:
- the immediate cessation of hostilities;
- the immediate withdrawal of Eritrean forces from Tigray and other parts of Ethiopia
- unimpeded and unfettered humanitarian assistance to the entire people of Tigray
- a UN-led investigation into the war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide on Tigray’s population; and
- that the United States expedites the hearing schedule of HR 6600.
Footage of the protest linked below!
Additional Sources:
- The World’s Deadliest War Isn’t in Ukraine, But in Ethiopia
- Ethiopia: Troops and militia rape, abduct women and girls in Tigray conflict
- Graphic video shows Ethiopian troops executing prisoners in Tigray – CNN
- Ethiopian soldiers admit to war crimes
- Babies in Tigray dying at 4 times pre-war levels, study says
- ‘Where is humanity?’ ask the helpless doctors of Ethiopia’s embattled Tigray region
- Heightened Risk Of Genocide Against Tigrayans In Ethiopia
- Ethiopia restricts information sharing about war
- Tigray War Costing 1 Million Children a Third Year of School, UN Says
- Two children killed in airstrike on Tigray refugee camp
- HC a.i. statement on the killing of 23 aid workers in the Tigray region since the start of the crisis
- Six months on: Almost 5,000 children separated from parents by conflict in Tigray
- The Crisis in Tigray: Women & Girls Under Violent Assault
Linked Above:
- Geographer Jan Nyssen: Hundreds of starvation deaths a day in Tigray
- Ethiopia: UN warns 90% of people in Tigray need food aid
- Ethiopia’s Tigray conflict: Nasa shows how a war zone faded from space
- Graphic videos show Ethiopian soldiers carrying out mass killing in Tigray, investigation finds
- Special Report: Health official alleges ‘sexual slavery’ in Tigray; women blame soldiers
- Ethiopian forces burned Tigrayan man alive
- ‘Where is humanity?’ ask the helpless doctors of Ethiopia’s embattled Tigray region
- Ethiopia set a world record for displacements in a single year: 5.1 million in 2021
- Ethiopia’s Tigray conflict and the battle to control information
- WHO Chief: Tigray worst disaster on Earth
- Ethiopia’s Abiy Ahmed: The Nobel Prize winner who went to war
- “The Cancer of Ethiopia”: Statement by PM Abiy Ahmed
- UN genocide official: Hate speech is fueling Ethiopia’s war
- The Ethiopian government and Tigray have agreed to end a 2-year war
- Tigray rebels accuse Ethiopia of attacks after peace deal