{"id":11581,"date":"2019-03-03T10:44:54","date_gmt":"2019-03-03T02:44:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.namnewsnetwork.org\/?p=11581"},"modified":"2019-03-03T10:44:57","modified_gmt":"2019-03-03T02:44:57","slug":"ethiopians-celebrate-defeat-of-colonialists-call-for-unity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/?p=11581","title":{"rendered":"Ethiopians celebrate defeat of colonialists, call for unity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>ADDIS ABABA, March 3 (NN-AGENCIES)- Bedecked in lion mane collars, warriors\u2019 headdresses and military fatigues, thousands of Ethiopians descended on Addis Ababa\u2019s main squares to celebrate the anniversary of the Battle of Adwa &#8211; one of Ethiopia\u2019s finest hours in the battlefield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"615\" src=\"http:\/\/www.namnewsnetwork.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/ethopia-1024x615.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-11582\" srcset=\"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/ethopia-1024x615.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/ethopia-300x180.jpg 300w, http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/ethopia-768x461.jpg 768w, http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/ethopia-600x360.jpg 600w, http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/ethopia.jpg 1839w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Ethiopian men dressed in traditional costumes dance during the 123rd anniversary celebration of the battle of Adwa where the Ethiopian forces defeated an invading Italian forces, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, March 2, 2019. Photo courtesy Tiksa Negeri<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>It was in the northern town of Adwa 123 years ago that poorly-armed Ethiopians &#8211; clad in such attire &#8211; routed an Italian force that sought to expand Rome\u2019s fledgling 19th century colonial empire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The victory that preserved Ethiopia\u2019s independence in 1896 resounded elsewhere in Africa, becoming a rallying point for Africans a generation later as they bid to end colonial rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI call myself independent because my fearless fathers fought the battle from all corners of the country,\u201d said 27-year old Bonsa Kuma, who arrived in the capital on horseback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI rode for two days to get here to remember my heroes,\u201d he told Reuters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The event was also used by some Ethiopians to call for unity at a time of persistent ethnic strife that has left over 2 million people displaced due to violence in the last two years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAdwa for me is a sign of freedom and a sign of unity of the country. Today\u2019s generation should learn the importance of unity and abstain from clashing on the basis of ethnicity,\u201d said Tiki Gebreab, a 36-year old Addis Ababa resident who attended the celebrations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed also joined a chorus of calls to end violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe young generation of today should repeat the victory of Adwa by defeating current challenges and barriers,\u201d Abiy said in remarks published by state-owned media<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ADDIS ABABA, March 3 (NN-AGENCIES)- Bedecked in lion mane collars, warriors\u2019 headdresses and military fatigues, thousands of Ethiopians descended on Addis Ababa\u2019s main squares to celebrate the anniversary of the Battle of Adwa &#8211; one of Ethiopia\u2019s finest hours in the battlefield. It was in the northern town of Adwa 123 years ago that poorly-armed [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":11582,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[291],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11581"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11581"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11581\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}