Ethiopian civic and media groups in Washington DC are organizing a public gathering today, August 18, to honor and express appreciation to members of the former Kinijit International Leadership.
Several Ethiopian civic and media groups are sponsoring this special event which is scheduled for Saturday, August 18, 2007, at the Unification Church in Washington DC, starting at 3 PM.
The Kinijit International Leadership (K.I.L.) had been operating on behalf of the leaders of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy Party (Kinijit) until they were released from jail on July 20 last months after 21 months of incarceration.
Although the K.I.L. faced persistent leadership crisis caused by the disgraced former chairman, it was able to accomplish a few but crucial tasks.
One of the K.I.L. major accomplishments is creating international awareness for the plight of the jailed leaders, which contributed to securing their freedom.
K.I.L. was able to do that while its former chairman was busy stealing money from the organization and later on airing a radio broadcast calling some of the top officials of the K.I.L. ‘Woyanne agents.’
Under the leadership of Ato Andargachew Tsige, the head of organizational affairs, K.I.L. was also able to help facilitate the democratization of Kinijit chapters around the world and the creation of several new chapters. As a result, currently there are over 50 Kinijit support chapters in North America, Europe and Africa.
Considering the enormously difficult conditions under which the K.I.L. operated, it is a remarkable achievement, and Ethiopians around the world owe them a heartfelt thank you for keeping the Kinijit movement alive.
The groups that are involved in organizing the event include Ethiopian Review, Netsanet Le Ethiopia Radio, Addis Dimits Radio, Mebt Radio, Ethiopian Current Affairs Forum, Tegbar League and Kinijit DC Metro. More groups are expected to sponsor the event.