'Stop the war in Eritrea!'

'Stop the war!'

The Eritrean community rallied in Brisbane on June 6 chanting "We want peace, stop the war!" and demanding humanitarian assistance from the federal government for those suffering in Eritrea. Since Ethiopia began a massive military offensive against its former colony on May 12, a quarter of Eritrea's population of 4 million has been displaced, fleeing indiscriminate bombing and artillery shelling of towns and villages. Rally organiser Simon Bisrat told Green Left Weekly, "We need the Australian government to denounce the actions of Ethiopia and call for a cease-fire". International action, he said, is "a question of survival".

Photo by Angela Luvera.

From GLW issue 409