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ROBERT KITCHEN / Things
Filmon Tesfay from Wellington, draped in a New Zealand flag, was moved by the protest.
Crowds of New Zealanders and Ethiopians from the Tigray region flocked to the Parliament grounds on Thursday asking the New Zealand government to help them resolve an ongoing conflict in their homeland.
Temesgen Alem had not heard from any members of his family in three weeks and did not know if they were still alive.
“It is really devastating. This is the worst time of our lives. We do not know what is happening, because we have not contacted our families, “he said.
Clashes broke out in the area after a dispute between the Tigray regional government, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front and the Ethiopian government, led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, winner of the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize.
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Tigray has long struggled for self-government, despite the federal government’s desire for unity.
Both sides declared war after Tigray held its own elections in September, challenging the Abiy government, which postponed national elections due to Covid-19.
ROBERT KITCHEN / Things
Protesters held signs calling Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed a murderer.
All phone lines, internet and roads have been cut to the region, limiting information, but Abiy has claimed that airstrikes have been carried out against military assets in Tigray.
Alem, president of Tigray Community NZ, said that many people traveled from Auckland and Christchurch to attend the protest.
ROBERT KITCHEN / Things
Wellington’s Tigray NZ Community went to the Parliament grounds to protest the violence in Ethiopia that began in early November.
Protesters waved posters with messages including “Stop the genocide in Tigray” and “Abiy Ahmed is a murderer.”
“People die every day. the [Nobel Peace] The award is not a license to bomb your own people, ”Alem said.
“What they are doing is like ethnic cleansing. They are trying to destroy our people in every way possible. We believe that our people deserve peace, ”he said.
ROBERT KITCHEN / Things
Hundreds of civilians are believed to have died in the civil war in just three weeks, although no official figures are known.
Alem called on the government and its international allies to intervene and use diplomatic measures to resolve the crisis.
“New Zealand needs to interfere and stop it before it gets worse. People have died for no reason, ”he said.
