Panelists:
Sirak Bahlbi, Thomas C. Mountain, Selam Kidane
Story:
On the 22nd of February 2009, tens of thousands of Eritreans and Friends of Eritrea took to the streets of Geneva to voice their opposition to Security Council Resolution 1907 (2009) which imposes sanctions against Eritrea . The demonstration in Geneva was part of the world wide demonstrations being held simultaneously in the United States , Australia Middle East and Africa.
It is to be recalled that, on the 23 December 2009 the Security Council adopted Resolution 1907 and sanctioned Eritrea for “providing financial support to the Somali insurgents”, with out ever producing any evidence. The Security Council also called on Eritrea to acknowledge the nonexistent “conflict with Djibouti “.
The participants stated that the Eritrean people would never kneel down and that there was no external pressure that could break the will of a strong and united population. Assembling in front of the UN Office in Geneva, the participants of the demonstration chanted slogans in various languages denouncing the shameful sanctions resolution, and messages from various Eritrean communities in Europe as well as messages of solidarity and friendship from other Horn of Africa communities were conveyed. They also submitted petition representing over 116,000 signatories to pertinent UN officials.