An international group of human rights advocates representing organizations opposed to the government of Eritrea marched August 18th to 28th 2006, from New York City's Statue of Liberty to the U.S. Capitol in Washington DC, in what they termed a "walk for Freedom".
The organizers said the objective of the march was "to raise awareness of the continued assault on human rights in Eritrea". The "Walk for Freedom" ended at the State Department, where the group presented a letter to Deputy Secretary of State for African Affairs, Donald Yamamoto, detailing alleged human rights violations committed by the government of Eritrea.
Two groups, Eritrean Anti-Tyranny Global Solidarity and ASPER (Association per la Tutlea dei Diritti Urmano del Popolo Eritrea) organized the New York to Washington, D.C. march. A co-founder of ASPER and one of the march coordinators, Dania Avallone, from Italy, said, "We want to break the silence. We want the attention of the international community. We want the world to know what is going on in Eritrea. We are worried, we have no time to lose, and we want people to know that thousands are prisoners in Eritrea." Ms. Avallone said, similar marches were conducted in Europe. (click the link above to listen to an interview with Dania Avallone and others)
