In response to Resolution 1907, calling for the imposing of sanctions on
Eritrea by the United Nations Security Council on December 23rd, 2009,
Eritrean youth in the Greater Seattle area held a mekete to denounce the actions by the international body as unjust and unfair. The event took place as part of the larger global E-SMART campaign, which has been working ceaselessly to annul and repeal the sanctions immediately.
The mekete* *began with a talk* *by the esteemed guest speaker, Dr. Ghidewon Abay Asmerom, who walked the young audience through an engaging presentation filled with hard-hitting facts. Using history as a reference and presenting a picture of young, defiant Eritreans protesting in the 1970’s, Dr. Ghidewon explained that Eritrea remains in a continuing struggle. He went on to elaborate on the leading role of the United State’s in passing the blatantly unjust Resolution 1907 and the obvious double-standards inherent to the resolution’s text.
Important facts that might have otherwise been lost, obscured, and
glossed-over by the mass media, were brought to light for further
investigation using primary sources. Perhaps the greatest strength of the presentation, according to the participants, lied in Dr. Ghidewon’s
persistence to challenge the youth in going beyond his own analysis and
investigating the facts for themselves. Indeed this is now the case, as the youth have committed themselves to holding a second youth-led mekete on March 10th at 7 P.M. at the Eritrean Association of Greater Seattle to further raise their consciousness of national issues and take whatever actions deemed necessary to defend Eritrea. In addition, almost all participants present signed-up to attend a globally-coordinated, multi-city demonstration to be held in San Francisco, CA, USA, on February 22nd.
Contrary to the intended purpose of the sanctions–to impede the Eritrean nation-building process–the unjust measure has only served to awaken the dormant fire in Eritrean youth that has burned continuously in the hearts of Eritreans for generation after generation since Eritrea’s illegal annexation 1951. Thus, Resolution 1907 has only hieghtened the consciousness of Eritrean youth the Greater Seattle environs, giving the ever-continuing Eritrean struggle for total liberation and national development added impetus to meets its goals.
More information at: http://www.eritrean-smart.org
YPFDJ-Seattle