Tearful joy greets CUD leaders

*Full coverage of Kinijit delegation (DW Radio)
*Kinijit Forum (Amharic Audio)
*Photos London
*Photos US
*Washington, D.C. reception report (video by ETN)
WASHINGTON DC & LONDON - Thousands of Ethiopians danced to the tune of their traditional songs as part of an emotional welcoming ceremony for opposition leaders who were released recently after nearly two years of imprisonment that followed a highly controversial national election in 2005.


The five-person delegation included Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) vice chair Bertukan Mideksa, Addis Ababa mayor-elect Dr. Berhanu Nega (who joined the delegation in DC after having arrived here earlier), CUD Executives Dr. Hailu Araya, Engineer Gizachew Shiferaw and Mr. Brook Kebede.

Some observers said nearly 5,000 Ethiopians converged on Dulles Airport which echoed with the drum beats and ululation of Ethiopian songs mainly reserved for national or patriotic holidays.

Meanwhile in London, a similar tumultuous welcome was accorded to the Kinijit delegation headed by the young and charismatic Kinijit leader Muluneh Eyoel. Also prominent among the London-bound delegation is Dr. Yacob Haile-Mariam, a former UN advisor and a university professor in the United States.

The visits to the U.S and Europe, where a large Ethiopian community resides virtually in each country making up the what's known as the European Union, breaks a two-year non-stop campaign by the Ethiopian Diaspora for the release of the leaders who were jailed following their landslide victory at the May 2005 elections which prompted the current regime in power to declare a state of emergency, which, though not official, but continues to this very day as Ethiopians have virtually lost their rights without the government telling them that they have no rights whatsoever.

Though plagued by intra-party conflict in the Diaspora, CUD remains very popular among Ethiopians and the lingering problems are hoped to be resolved once a democratic structure is put in place in each CUD-support community.

The CUD delegates who arrived in Washington DC on Saturday are scheduled to tour major cities like Los Angeles, Seattle, Atlanta and others. The Europe-bound CUD delegation is also on schedule to do likewise. A third delegation has travelled to South Africa, which is also another home to a considerable size of Ethiopian community.