washington, DC
06/05/2010
American documentary filmmaker and activist Chris Flaherty is on a hunger strike at the front gates of the White House in Washington, D.C. to support Birtukan Mideksa, an Ethiopian lawyer and major opposition party leader serving a life sentence in Ethiopia.
Birtukan, leader of the largest opposition group in Ethiopia, Unity for Democracy and Justice, has been held at the Kaliti prison for the past 16 months on a treason conviction.
Flaherty became interested in Birtukan's case while doing research for his film about Ethiopian politics and the 2005 election. He is convinced that the Ethiopian government claims about her are inaccurate. He is using his strike to bring her case to the attention of the Obama administration. He is calling on the President to identify her as a prisoner of conscience.
"This is important to me as she was jailed simply because she stands by what she believes. To me that is a strong character. She believes in the same values that I believe in as far as democracy and freedom are concerned. I would hunger-strike for anyone like that," Chris said. "She shouldn't have been in jail in the first place."
Kebadu Belachew, an Ethiopian-American, took three days off from work to join Flaherty on the hunger strike in front of the White House.
Birtukan was arrested in December 2008 for allegedly violating the terms of an earlier pardon. She and several fellow opposition leaders previously served two years in prison on government charges.
Flaherty's film, Migration of Beauty, will broadcast in the United States this month.
Listen to the Amharic report on Flaherty's strike.
Good job. Let the world know our problem. I hope Ethiopians are also with him during his hunger strick.
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