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Paper Abstract: Politics, leadership, military, tribal issues, Cold War, overthrow of Salassie, famine, future. Paper Introduction: Introduction: Ethiopia - Promise and Peril In 1974 the "3,000" year-old reign of the descendants of Solomon and Sheba, personified in the "Lion of Judah" Emperor Haile Selassie I, was replaced by a national committee of military men, junior and noncommissioned officers known as the Dergue. In 1991, after a mere seventeen years in control, the Dergue - led since 1977 by Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam - was replaced by a revolutionary coalition still holding power as a transitional government, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). The EPRDF, pledged to holding national elections in 1994, has already seen two major coalition members break away: the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), representing Ethiopia's largest tribe, and the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF), seceding the province of Eritrea from Ethiopia. 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In 199 the then-guerilla leaders (now Presidentand Foreign Minister, respectively), Meles Zenawi and Seyoum Mesfin visitedWashington to assure the Bush Administration of their less-than-hardlineideology.[36] As noted in the introduction to this study, other officialsin the coalition government have, since assuming power, reasserted Ethiopia"commitment to capitalism."[37] While Somalia is besieged by internecinewarfare and the Sudan becomes the newest Muslim fundamentalist battlefield,the ex-guerrillas of Ethiopia appear guardedly committed to a peacefulevolution of their own country's government. [11]Weaver, 1 9-111. [1 ]"It appears that the parliament met infrequently, was shrouded insecrecy and was thoroughly controlled by Haile Selassie. . Martin'sPress, 1971), 42. A several-decades existence as anItalian protectorate-in-all-but-name prior to Mussolini's overt takeover ofthe province in the 193 s also served to alienate Eritreans fromEthiopians. In Eritrea, as part of the U. Africa in Eclipse. . What was left out of thepublicity package for Ethiopia was how tribal that legacy was. The EPRDF, pledged to holding national electionsin 1994, has already seen two major coalition members break away: the OromoLiberation Front (OLF), representing Ethiopia's largest tribe, and theEritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF), seceding the province of Eritreafrom Ethiopia. With acountry existing on a medieval level of feudal infrastructure, the schools,university and hospitals he built - primarily with U. Those relations were to fightfor, and achieve, increased participation in the emperor's centralizedgovernment, but it was always in deference to his person. N.-supervised referendum on independence in 1994. Then, around 1977 and still following the classic pattern, the Derguebegan to "purge" the country of all opposition, real and imagined, in orderto consolidate its position. It must be noted that, until Dergue documentsshed some light on this period of events, it is unknown whether HaileSelassie was coerced, confused or persuaded into participation in thesearrests. Facts on File: 1991, 374-375, 424-425. Yet, as one observer noted in 1972, two yearsprior to the end of Haile Selassie's reign (and after fifty-two years inpower): "in the face of what needs to be done to reform agriculturalpractices, rural communications and health, the pace of change isagonizingly slow."[8] Slow and backward-looking: the reforms HaileSelassie instituted in the 192 s were modern by turn-of-the-centuryEthiopian tribal standards; by 1974 they resembled the type of autocratic,near-fascist ruling approach that he had argued against forty yearsearlier, no better for being home-grown than foreign-born.[9] Indeed, Haile Selassie's vaunted "constitutional monarchy" consistedof few rights granted to the people and many obligations - to the emperorinstead of to their feudal lords.[1 ] During the fifty-four years of hisrule, Haile Selassie succeeded in breaking the grip of the various tribaloverlords - by replacing them with new overlords from among the noblefamilies of his own Amhara tribal relations. Regional guerilla sniping between the OLF and thetransitional government has continued since June '92 - but secret talksbegan in October, brokered by the ambassadors of five Western nations,including the United States; the prospects for the Oromo faction rejoiningthe government - in return for the government's army becoming a true multi-ethnic, rather than Tigrean, entity - look promising. The Tigre People'sLiberation Front joined with the Oromo Liberation Front and the EritreanPeople's Liberation Front, three different tribal/ regional/ideologicalgroups previously in competition, to spearhead a devastating new offensiveupon the Mengistu regime - with the support of a countryside enraged by theDergue's pillaging of the relief agencies' food aid. Martin's Press, 1971.Facts on File 1991: Weekly World News Digest with Cumulative Index. [21]"Africans, at the upper and middle levels at any rate, were findingout what it means to have been brought up under a colonial system . The Amhara never accounted for more than 25% of thepopulation,[12] but since Ethiopia has eighty some-odd ethnic andlinguistic groups, their dominance was based as much upon superior numbersas on other factors.[13] Closely related to the Amhara, from similar origins if not the samewave of immigration, the Tigre tribal families dominate the rough highlandsbetween the Abyssinian plateaus and the Eritrean flatland coastal areas onthe Red Sea. Easternneighbor Somalia is currently occupied by United Nations peacekeepingtroops attempting to keep the lines of humanitarian aid from being attackedby pillaging warlords. New York: Facts on File, Inc., 1972.Weaver, Mary Anne. [15]Weaver, 125. N. - and the bloodyelimination of all competitive personalities within the Dergue. [22]Ibid., 43-44. Cruel Mother Nature, as fate would have it, for in1984-85 years of decreasing rainfall ended in an East African drought thatbrought swarms of refugees into comparatively water-rich Ethiopia andresulted in a famine of crippling proportions. International scandal after scandal ensued. Are the Tigreanleaders "ethnicizing" Ethiopian politics by redrawing the country'sregional boundaries along tribal lines, as one nonaligned observer charges,and will Eritrea gain independence? [19]Weaver, 1 8-1 9. BibliographyAbir, Mordechai. . In 1991, rememberingIsrael's interest in the Falasha and pressed for arms in the face of rebelforces coming in from all sides, Mengistu renewed the offer: in return forIsraeli-made claymore mines, fourteen thousand Falasha would be airliftedfrom Addis Ababa to Tel Aviv.[34] American negotiators were brought in.Headed by U. [23]Greenfield, 375-458. [3 ]Weaver, 119 & 122-124. New York: Frederick A. S. . The Amhara have traditionally been the dominanttribal group in the central Ethiopian area of highland plateau knownformerly as Abyssinia. Richard Greenfield, Ethiopia: A NewPolitical History (New York: Frederick A. [2]Facts on File 1991: Weekly World News Digest with Cumulative Index(New York: Facts on File, 1991-92), 425. "Israel: The New Exodus." The Atlantic, May 1992, 34- 49.Schwab, Peter. [27]Ibid., 112. To a certain extent, Haile Selassie earned this admiration. The Horn of Africa nations,of which Ethiopia is prominent, have been in the eyes of the world for overa decade now as the homelands of drought, famine and civil war. [13]Mordecai Abir, Ethiopia: The Era of the Princes (New York:Frederick A. Potential destroyers of the fragile peace - and thehopes for recovery that lie beyond - stand on all sides. is that the colonialists . In 1992 Ethiopia was ranked "85" on the World Misery Scale- in the bottom fifteen percent, on a par with Haiti, Somalia, Angola andLaos.[3] This thumbnail sketch of contemporary Ethiopia points to both thetragedy - and the challenge - of the region. Thekey aspect of the system . [28]In terms of the "legitimacy" of Kebele targets, the EPRP did, infact, institute their own campaign of "White Terror" against governmentcollaborators - as violent, if not nearly as large-scaled, as the Dergue'sRed Terror. [9]Censorship was the norm, an American editor stationed in Ethiopianoting ". [4]Weaver, 122-128. With an estimated population of forty-two million inEthiopia, the third largest in Africa, a 1 % discrepancy is a significantfigure, however - and these discrepancies represent one of the points ofcontention among the tribal groups competing for power-sharing within thetransitional government. The streets and alleys ofAddis Ababa became littered with bodies - Kebele thugs would not letparents collect their children's remains unless a certain purchase pricewas met.[3 ] Cold War politics continued to drum a constant backbeat on thesituation. without adapting him to theircivilization. As part of that national emergence, new, non-colonial models were needed. F. 'Nothing in this country depresses me as much asthe harm done to Ethiopia's children by half-baked, cynical, unworthyteachers.'" Leonard Barnes, Africa in Eclipse (New York: St. . Later programs of"communization" were only half-heartedly instituted. giveperfunctory instruction to the African . Senator Rudy Boschwitz, a Republican from Minnesota, thenegotiations quickly became multi-sided: the Marxist/Muslim liberationfronts negotiating with the Dergue negotiating with Mengistu negotiatingwith Israel. The Mengistu-led Dergue was unable to replaceHaile Selassie's feudal order with a workable alternative, whether throughlack of effort, opportunity or ability is beside the point (it was a bit ofall three). Eritrea had been a reluctant part of the Ethiopian entity since theEuropean colonial period. Few modern roads exist in the country, only two railroadlines, and decades of neglect and turmoil have left the agriculturalsector, the country's mainstay, with an eroded soil base incapable of muchmore than subsistence level cultivation.[44] Returning to the nominalstructure of the royal order is an option few Ethiopians considerseriously; but socialism is not a viable option either in the currentatmosphere of international aid - while capitalism needs a foundation thatisn't there to build upon. The ancient line of kings from whom Haile Selassie and the rulingfamilies hailed was of the Amhara tribe, descendants of ancient immigrantsfrom southern Arabia intermixed with the original Cushtic and Negroidpeoples of the region. Althoughlittle is actually known about his background, including his age and familyconnections, reliable documentation has him receiving military securitytraining twice in the U. Like his Europeancounterparts, Haile Selassie's position was extremely tentative: the powerwas his, true, but the psychology of loyalties was still tribal. S.' preoccupationwith pulling out of the swampland of Vietnam and the domestic uncertaintyof the Watergate scandal; there was little room for attention to theAfrican continent, which is usually neglected in American foreign policyanyway. Weaver, 126.----------------------- 1 Ethiopia has emergedfrom the heinous regime of Mengistu Haile Mariam with an exhausted distastefor further extended warfare that appears to have left its factionsseriously looking for nonconfrontational solutions to their differences.It is highly likely that Ethiopia as it formerly existed geographicallywill cease to exist, replaced by a handful of smaller entities. - basedPopulation Crisis Committee; the scale is from O - 1 , with being thebest; Denmark is ranked "1". In the 195 s, HaileSelassie chose the Americans - and their weapons (especially aircraft) - toprotect his position. As for Eritrea,Foreign Minister Seyoum notes: "The referendum is the only viable option .. [38]Despite relief at Mengistu's departure, there were street protestsover "Cohen's Coup": the peace agreement negotiated by U. During this period, heart and soul of the ColdWar between the Communist Soviet Union and the anti-Communist UnitedStates, little attention was given the niceties of moderate socialism orother variations on the scale of democracy vs. Cold War politics were nothing if not ironic, however, and the suddenturnabout of the Soviets on Eritrea, combined with the demise of detente inthe wake of Brezhnev's invasion of Afghanistan and Cuban troops in Angola,found the U. Praeger, 1968.Barnes, Leonard. L. onward[14] - they constituteapproximately 12% of the population today.[15] In this century, as aresult of Haile Selassie's centralization of Ethiopian affairs, the Tigreannobility found itself increasingly disenfranchised by Amhara interests.Ironically, the transitional government currently seated in Addis Ababa,the EPRDF, is Tigrean-dominated - in the heart of Amharic Abyssinia, wherethey are not welcomed.[16] It is the third major tribal group, however, that holds the key toEthiopia's history: an ethnic grouping known as the Galla. That evolution appears to be divisively along tribal and regionallines, however. See NOTE 12. clandestinely in support of the EPLF via its EritreanMuslim factions - and opposed to Ethiopia's "Marxist" policies.[31]Famine and the New World Order - The Fall of the Dergue If Cold War politics complicated by Muslim fundamentalist nationalismplayed its role in Ethiopia's tale during the Dergue's tenure in power, so,too, did Mother Nature. Like theAmhara and Tigre from "beyond the sea or dawn,"[17] as their traditionrecalls, the Galla immigration was not Semitic, but probably of Balineseorigin. . Still respectful of the imperialinstitution, the coup plotters attempted to replace Haile Selassie with an(unsuspecting) relative while the emperor was on a state visit to Brazil,including with the new emperor's investiture a number of institutionalreforms of a liberalizing nature.[23] Their bloody failure - the emperor had the conspirators' bodiesdisplayed in front of his palace for a week - did not discourage oppositionto Haile Selassie, but merely drove it underground. Moreover, as noted earlier, the initial compliance of HaileSelassie, followed by the new regime's long delay before declaring itself aMarxist state, allowed the Dergue to consolidate its domestic positionwithout United States interference. There was no sudden upheaval at this development: the internationalorganizations were clearly disorganized, the Dergue too firmly in control.But, with the eyes of the world on Ethiopia - and without Sovietsponsorship - Mengistu was forced to downplay his repressive tactics. The majorpowers considered it an "either/or" situation. aid[7] - and thecentralized government he encouraged, these most certainly were stepsforward for the country. See also NOTE 19. Fulbright (D-Arkansas) concurredthat there had been "very artful, in-depth concealment of what we aredoing" in Ethiopia. At thesame time, however, during that period the demographics began to change:Galla identifying themselves primarily in Muslim versus Christian terms,led by the dominant Oromo tribal group, now make up fifty percent of thepopulation. . involvement in Ethiopia had been "asmuch of a surprise to most citizens as . S. S. See NOTE 26, however, which presents some evidence against theargument that he was coerced. . The Dergue initially benefitted from the U. New York: Facts on File, 1991-2.Facts on File 1992: Weekly World News Digest with Cumulative Index. In short order and with littleadvance notice, the Soviet Union under Gorbachev abruptly cut back its aidto the "Marxist" African regimes in Ethiopia and Angola. As a consequence, unrest in Ethiopia was pandemic in the 196 s.Student unrest along socialist lines percolated in the capitol, AddisAbaba; in the hinterlands, discontent took on tribal attributes resentfulof their Amhara lords. Yet within Ethiopia, for all the tensions inherent in itstransitional state of government, there is relative peace and potential forrecovery. See NOTE 12 to account forthese discrepancies. New York: St. With Amhara-dominated Addis Ababa residents cool to theTigre-led transitional government of Meles and Seyoum[38], already thecoalition of liberation groups that replaced the Dergue has broken apart.Protesting Tigre tribal domination, the Oromo Liberation Front withdrewfrom the transition government and boycotted the country's firstparliamentary elections in June of 1992;[39] international observersconcurred that the elections "were marred by widespread governmentintimidation, mismanagement, and, in many areas, lack of real choice . The term "opposition" was never defined by the Dergue. The EPRDF government is pledged to conciliation with thebreakaway Oromo and Eritrean groups; in stark contrast to the Dergue, ithas so far prevented large-scale reprisals against the soldiers andsupporters of the preceding regime,[4] concentrating instead uponrebuilding the country;[5] it has arranged $672 million in aid from theWorld Bank and other international organizations for infrastructurerepair.[6] It is a tentative situation, fraught with perils beyond the controlof the participants. .the O. [16]Facts on File: 1991, 425; Weaver, 119. that tradition would have them accept; both groups wereadrift in the shifting times.[22] Haile Selassie and his imperial courtwere not interested in providing any national mooring to which theEthiopian peoples could cling. Western neighbor Sudan is witnessing an Iranian-backed Muslim government's program of annihilation visited upon its ownpopulation's Christian and animist minorities living along the borderareas. Socialist ideals were readily embraced - asopposed to capitalist ideals associated with colonialism. But it was the Muslim religion of their predominantly Gallatribal groupings that set Eritreans apart from Amharic and TigreanChristian Ethiopians; unlike their Galla cousins in the interior, EritreanGalla were only a few miles distant, across the narrow Red Sea, from thecenter of Islam, the Arabian Peninsula. Weaver,11 -111. [12]Ibid., 125. [26]Until only a few weeks before his own arrest, Haile Selassiemaintained a palace bodyguard composed of crack military troops. The strong-willed Mengistu - who, when hisfamily was kidnapped by Eritrean rebels in 1974 responded, "Kill them ifyou want"[27] - initiated the "Red Terror." His primary instrument was theKebele, local "revolutionary units" heavily armed by the Dergue andauthorized to arrest and execute suspected opposition at their discretion. [44]Facts on File: 1992, 218. In the end, just as the Dergue assumed power with relatively littlebloodshed, the Tigre-led alliance of liberation fronts entered Addis Ababain May 1991 in a peaceful turnover of government by moderate Dergueleaders: Mengistu was allowed to flee to sanctuary in Zimbabwe, theFalasha flown to Israel - an American administration had successfully pavedthe way for a Marxist guerilla group to assume power.[35]The EPRDF and Ethiopia's Future The Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front may have beenformed by Marxist-inspired liberation groups, but the transitionalgovernment's leadership is nothing if not pragmatic: this is a world wherethe only remaining "Communist" player is Deng Hsiao-Peng's China, dedicatedto marketplace economics. [45]"We're ready to decentralize - to offer genuine autonomy to theregions. [34]Donna Rosenthal, "Israel: The New Exodus," The Atlantic, May1992, 34. . Notso easily done: the Kebele thugs employed by the Dergue quickly sized upthe situation and began looting the relief agencies' stockpiledhumanitarian aid. Ethiopia & Haile Selassie. NOTE: Elsewhere, on Page 125, Weaver identifiesthe Oromo population percentage as only 4 %. He ordered Haile Selassie's remainsburied under his own office desk. "Annals of Political Terror: Burying the Martyrs - Facing a fragile future, Ethiopia mourns Mengistu's Victims." The New Yorker, 28 December 1992/4 January 1993, 1 6-123. StateDepartment official Herman J. . Obscured by most of the political tightrope walking is the mostelemental problem facing the future of Ethiopia: its dire poverty andwrecked infrastructure. [17]Greenfield, 54. It wastheir cooperation, in fact, that allowed the United States to enter Somaliaand open up relief transport lines under the aegis of the U. Rather than immediately depose him, they madethe near-senile, totally confused ruler their figurehead for severalmonths. [39]Facts on File: 1992, 999. Coming to the conclusion thatyouth was comparable to opposition, the Mengistu-dominated Dergue[29]encouraged the Kebele groups to round up children as young as ten yearsold, plucking them from homes while they slept. . D. Matters went from bad to worse for the Dergue on the internationalfront. [32]Facts on File, 425. Admired for hisimpassioned plea to the League of Nations in 1934 warning against fascism,in the post-War years Haile Selassie was praised as a "modernizer," a manwho brought his country into the 2 th Century as a constitutional monarchy. Time after time the whole paper was blue-pencilled . [41]Mesfin Wolde-Mariam, professor of geography at Addis Ababa(formerly Haile Selassie) University, interviewed and quoted by Weaver,125. Weaver, 12 -122. . In Haile Selassie University, run by Jesuits until theyappealed against the government's repressive policies and were replaced,informers were routinely planted among the student body. Worse for the Dergue, though, was the effect the looting ofhumanitarian supplies had on the countryside. New York: Frederick A. Furthermore, atGorbachev's humanitarian prodding, Mengistu was encouraged to letinternational relief organizations into the country. [37]Facts on File: 1992, 218. African states were emerging monthly,freed from colonialism. The Americans did not bother to question HaileSelassie's version of constitution monarchy: he was anti-Communist, thatwas all that mattered.[2 ] As noted throughout this study, however, Haile Selassie'sconsolidation of power, always tentative, had also disenfranchised a numberof groups; their discontent led them to retreat to tribal loyalties.Increased education - more than a little half-baked and introduced by HaileSelassie in colonial terms[21] - created an uneasy mixture of oppressionand unrest. Greenfield, 365-367. ." Asthe literacy rate increased throughout the country, Shakespeare's JuliusCaesar was banned and even the Bible was subjected to the censor'srevisions. [4 ]Weaver, 126. [25]Facts on File: 1991, 425; Weaver, 1 9, 111-112. S. Between the two, fifty-four thousand people are estimated tohave been killed in Addis Ababa alone. [36]Weaver, 119. Indeed, when the Dergue seized power in 1974, they originally did soin the name of the emperor. Still, in the 196 s and early '7 s, the Muslim fundamentalistnationalism that rocks the world today was comparatively obscure: it wasthe Communist revolutionary movement that predominated. W. Haile Selassie tried. The EritreanPeople's Liberation Army was a well-organized Marxist movement sponsored bythe Soviet Union in competition with Haile Selassie's American-builtmilitary forces.The Dergue and Mengistu Haile Mariam Until researchers have the opportunity to examine the contemporaryEthiopian chronicle objectively, without interference or fear of reprisal,the details of how the Dergue effected the overthrow of Haile Selassie andhis imperial government must remain largely anecdotal. Often, theemperor issued decrees without even presenting them to parliament for itsapproval." Schwab, 17. S., with one often-related story having him beatenby a mob of white youths in Maryland. [3]The World Misery Index is compiled by the Washington, D. There was no aristocratic resistance to the Dergue replacing thembecause the orders for their arrests were signed by Haile Selassie.[11]Tribal Loyalties: The Myth of Ethiopian Unity As part of the Haile Selassie persona projected on the screen ofworld opinion - and, it should be noted, it was a successful publicrelations effort - the Lion of Judah's imperial line was presented as theunifying force of an ancient empire. That Haile Selassie could boast ofancient lineage is not disputed, although the Solomon-Sheba origins hasmore myth than meaning in its documentation. As part of that effort, the EPRDF has also discontinued theEthiopian government's backing for Sudanese rebels, attempting to disengagefrom border conflicts and, by placating the fundamentalist regime inKhartoum, somewhat soothing relations with its more moderate domesticMuslim factions. For years Ethiopia had helped the Sudanese People's LiberationArmy, offering refuge to Christian rebels within its borders as a means offending off Muslim fundamentalism infiltrating from Sudan. Praeger, 1965.Rosenthal, Donna. The emperor's order wasobeyed. Histhrone was never secure.Unrest in the 195 & 6 s: Tribal and Cold War Politics A new element entered the equation during the late 195 s and early'6 s: international socialism. [35]Facts on File: 1991, 374-5, 392, 424-5; Weaver, 1 7, 119-12 . . . . the only other option is going to war, and that didn't work for thirtyyears . The "Haves" took their education and Amharic familialconnections as a privilege not to be shared with the uneducated and thepeasantry; the "Have Nots," when exposed to even minimal education,understood that the inequities imposed upon their peoples were not thesituation fix? [2 ]This is somewhat of an oversimplification: most of the aid toEthiopia was clandestine. Praeger, 1965), 357-359; also,Peter Schwab, Ethiopia & Haile Selassie (New York: Facts on File, Inc.,1972), 136-138. The fear of such "Balkanization" isreal: "The question is not whether Eritrea will go but whether the rest ofEthiopia will remain," is that same observer's reply.[41] Under such pressures and charges of malfeasance, then, it isencouraging to note that the EPRDF leadership is refusing to be drawn intoopen conflict. ----------------------- [1]Dergue - Amharic (the official government language of Ethiopia) for"committee"; the full name of the group was the "Armed Forces CoordinatingCommittee." Mary Anne Weaver, "Annals of Political Terror: Burying theMartyrs - Facing a fragile future, Ethiopia mourns Mengistu's victims,"The New Yorker, 28 December 1992/4 January 1993, 1 9. You cannot force a people to remain united . [14]Ibid., xviii-xx. S. totalitarianism. Worst hit, however, were the young. Arriving in the Horn of Africa via the Arabian Peninsula, theGalla originally settled into the coastal regions of Somalia - where theyembraced Islam, as opposed to the indigenous animism or AbyssiniaChristianity. At the same time and as part of the same process, theycultivate an elite . Schwab, 138. Ethiopia: The Era of the Princes. [29]Within a very short time of emerging as the prominent figure of theDergue, Mengistu was to earn the nickname "the Stalin of Africa" by hissimultaneous creation of a cult of personality around himself - erectingstatues galore, requiring his photographs in shops, etc. Irony returns to the playing field. S. Traditionally allied with the Amhara in terms of culturalidentity - in addition to being Semitic, both groups were EthiopianOrthodox Christian from the 4th Century A. It was during this period, in fact, thatthe Amhara-mixed-Galla nobility achieved its first master-subject clarity:the Galla peasantry was gradually placed under Amharic feudal domination.The egalitarianism inherent in the Muslim faith and the Galla's nomadicorigins could not withstand the relatively structured organization of theChristian-hierarchic Abyssinian culture.[18] As noted earlier, Haile Selassie's reign saw the disenfranchisementof non-Amharic nobility: the Galla-related tribes suffered most. If there are still those in Ethiopia who think we have to fightto keep Eritrea in, they are simply not realistic."[42] Apparently all sides are in general concurrence on this matter: ledby the EPRDF in Addis Ababa, Oromo, Eritrean, Sudanese, Djibouti and Kenyanleaders agreed last year to end the use of food as a weapon and to assertthe "basic right of all" to receive humanitarian aid provided byinternational relief organizations helping the Horn of Africa. Other details of the coup are less documented but fairly wellaccepted as fact. Charter - amajor improvement over the previous decade's human rights debacle in thatregion. Weaver 11 . Numerically superior to the Semitic tribes in the highlands,their migrations into Abyssinia (it was not a warring incursion) reachedtidal proportions by the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries; but, with notribal agendas, their leadership was quickly absorbed into the Amharafamilial and cultural traditions. there is no need for any groupin this country to launch a civil war." Interview with EPRDF ForeignMinister Seyoum. Withinthat possibility, there is also the already-being-planned for option ofexistence as a cooperative federation, rather than as warringcompetitors.[45] Where there is cooperation there is potential. [18]Ibid., 54-57. Its desertlike coastal flatlands in starkcontrast to the temperate Abyssinian highlands, Eritreans were of ancestryand culture more sympathetic to the neighboring Somalis than the Amharadynasty claiming rule over their land. In theabsence of order, the Dergue's initial positioning of itself as the"cleansing" force acting in the name of the emperor forestalled anyorganized resistance from those with the power to do anything: thearistocracy and other military groups.[26] Contending opposition groupswere tolerated as "land reform" (aka, mass arrests of the aristocracy) wasinstituted with little resistance. Reflecting shiftinginternational policy changes, Haile Selassie announced a "non-aligned"position for Ethiopia in association with India - thus enabling him toreceive Soviet aid to complement the U. . New York: Facts on File, 1992-3.Greenfield, Richard. [6]Ibid. if anynationalist or ethnic group wants to secede it can do so as long as it'sdone through a referendum or a plebiscite. Ethiopia: A New Political History. Certain facts areknown: the original June 1974 coup was essentially bloodless; HaileSelassie was allowed to remain in power for three months, until September,during which time it was he who issued the orders to arrest most of hisloyal staff and the Ethiopian aristocracy; Mengistu Haile Mariam did notemerge as the leader of the new government until February 1977; and aSoviet alliance-aid agreement was not made public until March of 1978[25] -at which time Soviet support for the Eritrean People's Liberation Forceabruptly ended and was routed instead to the new "Marxist" government inAddis Ababa. Praeger, 1968), xvii-xix. There is agroundswell of criticism, from domestic and international organizations, atthe transitional government's delay in beginning jury trials to prosecutethe Red Terror offenses of the Dergue and its Kebele proxy murderers; "ifthere are no trials there will be families avenging their dead" is a commonthreat heard in the countryside.[43] The EPRDF, understandably, isreluctant to reopen wounds that can only fan the flames of tribalanimosity. [33]Weaver, 119. The man who wouldlead the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics to its quiet demise in 1991was no fiery counter-revolutionary when he first came to power; rather, hewas an economics-minded leader who understood that his country was over-extended financially and militarily. As a country sproutingarmed "liberation fronts" as readily as it failed to develop a workableinfrastructure to replace the one the Dergue had torn apart, Ethiopia wasnot in a position to manage its own affairs beyond simple crowdcontrol.[32] Matters were further complicated for the Mengistu regime - which wasby this time propped up by 15, Soviet-sponsored Cuban troops[33] - bythe appearance of Mikhail Gorbachev on the world scene. had not been permitted to field its candidates fairly."[4 ]There is also the religious factor: the Tigre-led coalition is stillaligned with the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, the traditional organ ofnational unity - as opposed to the predominantly-Muslim Oromo population. . . Facts on File 1992: Weekly World News Digestwith Cumulative Index (New York: Facts on File, 1992-93), 495. to me." Chairman of theSenate Foreign Relations Committee, J. Student groups were eliminated first, either by summary execution, orslowly, via the time-honored Communist technique of "re-education" marchesinto the countryside to "rebuild the nation" - without benefit of plan,shelter or adequate food. Mengistu'spolicies began to backfire in 1989 as Iran - freed from war with Iraq -began supplying the government in Khartoum with arms and seasoned"advisors." Even worse: Iraq's 199 invasion of Kuwait had Americanpolicymakers turning a blind eye to the Arab Muslim-funding of the Oromo inreturn for support in the Persian Gulf. In 196 Senator Stuart Symington (D-Missouri),complained that the extent of U. [43]Ibid., 122. They followed the now-classic pattern: a nonideologicalalliance of junior and noncommissioned officers, disgruntled veterans of ano-win war (the rebellion in Eritrea), swept into power in the midst of aperiod of mutiny and street demonstrations. . As a method of "purchasing"arms, in 1984-85 Mengistu negotiated with Israel, offering to allow theemigration of Ethiopian Jews, or Falasha; the "exodus" was secretlyaccomplished without his government's cooperation. [8]Schwab, 3. Haile Selassie had resisted,then given-in to, calls for land and tax reform - his mishandling of theissues alienating both the aggrieved tenants, a majority of the population,and the aristocratic landholders, normally the emperor's allies. [42]Ibid., 128. The Marxist leanings of the emergingMengistu faction were known, of course, but the Nixon-Ford-Kissinger policyof detente was a deterrent to head-on conflict with the Leonid Brezhnev-ledSoviet Union. C. . [7]This was a conscious policy decision made in the late 195 s,replacing European aid programs. Other efforts will have to be made, of course. [31]Certain "land reform" programs were instituted, mainly in the firstyears of the Dergue when popular support was courted by the distribution ofconfiscated aristocrat's lands among the former tenants. Introduction: Ethiopia - Promise and Peril In 1974 the "3, " year-old reign of the descendants of Solomon andSheba, personified in the "Lion of Judah" Emperor Haile Selassie I, wasreplaced by a national committee of military men, junior andnoncommissioned officers known as the Dergue.[1] In 1991, after a mereseventeen years in control, the Dergue - led since 1977 by Colonel MengistuHaile Mariam[2] - was replaced by a revolutionary coalition still holdingpower as a transitional government, the Ethiopian People's RevolutionaryDemocratic Front (EPRDF). S. Cohen that allowed the Tigre People'sLiberation Front into Addis Ababa. In at least one instance a court minister resistant to the Dergue,the nobleman Ras Mesfin, was personally ordered by Haile Selassie to theGrand Palace to surrender his weapons and himself. Weaver, 1 9, 111-112. negotiated peace "Charter" of May1991, the EPLF established control with the avowed intention of holding aU. Even Haile Selassie's military, staffed alongsupposedly imperial-leaning noble family lines, was not immune to theinfluences: in December 196 a major coup d'?tat was attempted, led byhigh-ranking, idealistic officers. [24]Schwab, 83. Still, where there is peace there is promise. . . . contributions[24] - andintroducing a Soviet diplomatic presence in the country that was to helporganize certain elements of the opposition, particularly in the coastalprovince of Eritrea. In response,the Kebele - little more than hired killers - never bothered to distinguishbetween the apolitical general population and legitimate targets, such asthe Marxist intellectual Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party (EPRP)[28]. It will be thegoal of this study to examine the sources of disruption and reconciliationthat are playing on the stage called "Ethiopia" today.Haile Selassie: Medieval Autocrat Perhaps the biggest misconception the American observer must overcomerelates to the popular view of the pre-Dergue/Mengistu regime of HaileSelassie I (ruled as regent 1917-3 , as emperor 193 -74). . Moreover, half of that population is under the age of twenty-one and, thus, unfamiliar with the tradition of the emperor and his court,which ended in 1974.[19] Thus, while the outside world was presented a picture of Ethiopia asan ancient kingdom united under the banner of the emperor, in reality HaileSelassie was essentially consolidating a position along nationalistic linesthat had been accomplished in Europe centuries earlier. NOTE: Population figures and, indeed, well-documentedstatistical analysis of the region must be considered "soft." During thereign of Haile Selassie no full census, nor geological survey of Ethiopiawas ever completed - as almost every research source laments - and theturbulent state of affairs since then has not offered the opportunity forsuch an endeavor. Tribal modelswere also tested; on Ethiopia's Kenyan border, Jomo Kenyatta's Mau Mauorganization had successfully frightened away the British imperialists.Such ideals could not be kept out of Ethiopia. [5]"We have 1.2 million demobilized soldiers in need of jobs and1 , children living on the streets." Abdul-Mejid Hussein, Minister forForeign Economic Relations, quoted in Facts on File: 1992, 218. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.