BY KASSAHUN CHANIE
Ethiopia has marked Martyrs Day – a day on which Italian soldiers massacred thirty thousand civilians in Addis Ababa.
On February 19, 1937 Italian soldiers carried out one of the highest forms of genocide by brutally killing 30, 000 innocent civilians.
So each year, on February 19, Ethiopians remember their heinously killed citizens.
By the same token, this year’s Martyr’s Day was marked Tuesday with assortments.
The day was observed at Yekatit 12 Square, around Sidist Killo in Addis Ababa, where Martyr’s Memorial Statue is erected.
High level government officials including the Mayor of Addis Ababa City, Adanech Abiebie, members of the Ancient Ethiopian Patriots Association and hundreds of residents have attended the memorial event locality. Mayor Adanech Abiebie laid wreaths at the Martyrs’ Memorial Monument.
Speaking on the occasion, Mayor Adanech said Ethiopian forefathers and foremothers sacrificed their lives to defend the sovereignty of Ethiopia, calling the generation to honor what was paid by the ancestors by maintaining peace and supporting ongoing development endeavors.