1ST LEAD Lilesa uses Rio stage to protest against Ethiopian government By Derek Wilson, dpa

Rio de Janeiro (dpa) - Olympic men‘s marathon silver medallist Feyisa Lilesa on Sunday used the Rio de Janeiro Games to protest against the authoritarian Ethiopian government."You only get freedom if you support this government," Lilesa told reporters shortly after finishing second to Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge in the race. On crossing the line, Lilesa crossed his hands at the wrists to make the symbol used by demonstrators in Ethiopia."I support our protest ... I stand with the protest," he said when asked why he made the gesture.Ethiopia‘s state broadcaster, EBC, did not broadcast images of Lelilsa with his hands raised, only showing Kipchoge‘s finish.Protests have been taking place in Ethiopia since late last year and the government has responded with force. The Ethiopian People‘s Revolutionary Democratic Front has ruled for the last 25 years and took almost all the seats in parliament in the 2015 elections that were dismissed as fake by opponents."State security forces in Ethiopia have used excessive and lethal force against largely peaceful protests that have swept through Oromia," the Human Rights Watch organization said in a report published in June.The Oromo ethnic group is the largest in Ethiopia, but sees itself as being politically marginalized."Normal people protest now for what is right, for peace, as democrats," Lilesa said in broken English.Lilesa, who is from the Oromia region, alleged that 1,000 people had been killed by the army over the last months and said relatives of his were in prison.Lilesa is considering not returning to Ethiopia after the Olympics although he did not have an exact plan."If I go back to Ethiopia, maybe they kill me," he said. "If not they put me in prison."The International Olympic Committee is likely to take a dim view of Lelisa‘s comments as political statements are not permitted at the Games. Theoretically he could be disqualifiedAmericans John Carlos and Tommie Smith famously gave the Black Power salute on the medal podium in Mexico City 1968 to protest against racial discrimination.