ETHIOPIA & PRESIDENTIAL ADVISOR
9108 OU23 - Ethiopia -- History
The history of civilisation in Ethiopia goes back many centuries, long before that of most of Europe. It was supposed to be the land of Sheba, the nation of the Queen of Sheba who visited Solomon. It was also where the Ark of the Covenant was supposed to have been brought to rest -- and it is still supposed to be in a temple in Axum. Certainly, it had been the first country to take Christianity, and its Coptic religion was accordingly the oldest one of its kind in the world.
Over the centuries it had remained unconquered, since its high plateau -- at 9,000 feet -- meant that it was almost impossible to invade. Even so, over the centuries its various emperors had fought for ascendancy, and the control of the country had switched regularly backwards and forwards between two tribes; the Tigray in the North and the Amhara in the South, based on Addis. For the last century it had been the possession of the Amhara.
The greatest character in recent history had been Haile Selassie. He had called himself Ras Tefera, claiming a link with ancients emperors, but in fact he had come from common stock and had won control of Ethiopia by a coup. On the other hand his influence stretched far beyond Ethiopia. The Rastafarians in the Caribbean were named for him, and wore the red and green colours of Ethiopia. They believed that, as the Lion of Judah, he was the great leader of the black nations.
The first invasion to succeed was a prelude to the Second World War, when Ethiopia -- then called Abyssinia in the West -- was successfully invaded by the Italians. They didn't stay long, only for five years or so; but they had influenced parts of the country. Indeed, despite their invasion, they are held with some affection by a part of Ethiopia population. They were eventually driven out by the British Army, and accordingly the British were held in even greater friendship by most other Ethiopians. This was the reason why, despite the fact that they were Communist, the rebels in coming to power had asked for their education to be provided by Britain.
Some 30 years before my coming out to Ethiopia, the Eritreans, who had been incorporated into Ethiopia by the Italians, had demanded their independence; and, when this wasn’t granted, they had started a guerrilla war against the centre -- which was still ruled by Haile Selassie. This was the background which the British press understood and reported on. Not long afterwards, there was a coup and the Communists took over control. Call the Derg, they were led by the ruthless dictator Mengistou. He was probably more ruthless with his own supporters than anyone else. I heard first hand reports of his wandering around the old palace wearing a gun on his hip and shooting down opponents in his own government who offended him.
This is the point where my students came into the picture. Students at Addis University, following the precedent set my Mao in his cultural revolution, they were sent out to work on the farms. They didn’t come back until 17 years later, for they started a civil war of their own; to free Tigray province. Needless to say they started by fighting alongside the Eritrean rebels. On the other hand, by the time they entered Addis they were by far the dominant part of this coalition. Their war went on for 17 years. It was led by the Tigrayans, since it was based in that province of Ethiopia, and all its leaders fought in the bitter war. Each of them, even the leaders, only owned a blanket and a Kalashnikov and they spent much of the 17 years sleeping in the open.
In theory at least, there was also another faction opposing the Derg. This was the OLF: the Orrumo Liberation Front. However, they chose not to fight the war themselves but to withdraw to America -- where they spent 20 years lobbying American governments, and living in some comfort if not in luxury. These were supposedly based on the Orrumo part of the population, who were the largest part with around 50% of the total. Although they had no impact before, their presence came to have a significant impact once the civil war had been won.
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