|
Nov 27, 2007
 The supporters of
the Family and Friends of the Free Bashir Makhtal Campaign, FROBMAC,
yesterday held large public demonstration in Ottawa. FROBMAC members
and many of their supporters some of whom traveled from far away
places converged in front of the Ethiopian embassy at 1:00 PM local
time yesterday.
The demonstrations were in support of an earlier press conference
held at the Canadian press club by Makhtal's lawyer Mr. Lorne
Waldman and the secretary general of Amnesty international in Canada
Mr. Alex Neve. Mr. Waldman articulated the reasons for the lawsuit
against the Ethiopian government on behalf of Mr. Bashir Makhtal who
has been held in an indefinite detention in Ethiopia for more than
ten months.
Some of the individuals mentioned in the lawsuit include Warqine
Gabayo, the head of the Ethiopian police, and Taadese Masareti, the
head of the prison where Bashir Makhtal has been incarcerated for a
while now.
Mr. Waldman and Mr. Alex Neve joined the demonstrators in front of
the Ethiopian embassy. The demonstrators sung in unison that they
wanted justice for Mr. Bashir Makhtal and that they wanted justice
NOW. The demonstrators appeared very organized.
They later walked to the Canadian parliament buildings where they
delivered a letter outlining Makhtal's plight to the speaker of the
House of Commons. They also moved and spent a considerable time in
front of the Canadian prime minister's office.
Some of the demonstration leaders requested to hand deliver a signed
letter outlining Makhtal's plight to the right honorable Stephen
Harper, the Canadian prime minister. The chief of security for the
prime minister met the demonstration leaders at the gate of the
prime minister's office and agreed to accept the letter on behalf of
the prime minister.
FROBMAC members said that the demonstrations were an other step to
bring to the fore Makhtal's plight. They said they have been
campaigning at the grassroots level to gather close to ten thousands
signatures which were to be recorded in a well-crafted plea poster
with a summary of Makthal's plight on it.
So far, FROBMAC members have mailed close to a thousand such cards
to the Canadian prime minister. They said efforts are underway to
complete the remaining cards before the Christmas holidays.
After concluding the demonstration at around 3:30 PM as their permit
allowed, the peaceful demonstrations concluded and the crowd
dispersed. Some of those who traveled from far away place such as
Hamilton, Kitchener, and Toronto headed straight to the highway to
get a head start on the afternoon rush hour traffic.
See pictures
|
Do all the
good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you
can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to
all the people you can, as long as ever you can.
by John
Wesley |
|
