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Large Somali Community Demonstration in Washington, DC

An estimated 500 people, women, children, the elderly, and the young gathered on the north lawn of the State Department Building at Foggy Bottom, Washington, DC. 04/13/2007 - SJP

 

Press Release
Somalis for Justice and Peace (SJP)

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On Friday, April 13, 2007, Hundreds of Somalis held a peaceful protest in front of the US State Department against the genocide and war crimes acts against defenseless civilians in Mogadishu, the capital city of Somalia and to demand an end to the unmitigated wholesale slaughter and to express their strong disapproval of the illegal presence of Ethiopian troops in country.

 

Participants of the demonstration said that this was the largest rally held in Washington, DC since the occupation of Ethiopian troops in Somalia. An estimated 500 people from every walk of life, women, children, the elderly, and the young gathered on the north lawn of the State Department Building at Foggy Bottom, chanting the nationally renowned inspirational patriotic song “Soomaaliyey toosoo,” and demanding immediate halt to the indiscriminate shelling of residential areas and an end to the genocide.

 

Large crowds gather in front of the State Department, some came from as far as Minnesota and North Carolina

Some of the protestors came from as far as Minnesota (923 miles =1,486km) driving over 16 hours, while others left Raleigh, NC (375 lm) early in the morning to join their Community in the greater Metropolitan Washington DC area and express their shock and dismay and to strongly condemn the atrocities visited upon their people and family members as well as their total rejection of Ethiopian occupation in Somalia.

During the demonstration, protestors waved the azure blue flag of Somalia to symbolize national unity and to express their sympathies and solidarity with the innocent victims of the genocide: the internally displaced, the injured and the dead and also to their loved ones.  

 

Before the end of the demonstration, representatives of the protest organizers held a brief talk with an official of the State Department who they handed documents and fact sheets about the unfolding humanitarian condition in Somalia. The official assured them that the US was deeply concerned and was closely monitoring the situation. The official also expressed her desire to hold discussions with the organizing committees on the subject matter and the overall situation in Somalia as well as the pressing concerns of the Somali Community in the United States.

An estimated 500 people, women, children, the elderly, and the young gathered on the north lawn of the State Department Building at Foggy Bottom, Washington, DC. 04/13/2007 - SJP

For Further information and inquiries, please contact: (703) 772 6231

Bashir Nero, Director of Communication

Somalis for Justice and Peace (SJP)

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