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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