|
Ethiopia The Mengistu Regime and Its Impact
The transition from imperial to military rule was
turbulent. In addition to increasing political discontent,
which was particularly intense in the late 1970s, the Derg
faced powerful insurgencies and natural calamities
throughout the 1980s.
Political Struggles Within the Government
Following the establishment of his supremacy through the
elimination of Tafari Banti, Mengistu declared himself Derg
chairman in February 1977 and set about consolidating his
power. However, several internal and external threats
prevented Mengistu from doing this. Various insurgent groups
posed the most serious threat to the Derg. The EPRP
challenged the Derg's control of the revolution itself by
agitating for a broad-based democratic government run by
civilians, not by the military. In February 1977, the EPRP
initiated terrorist attacks--known as the White Terror--
against Derg members and their supporters. This violence
immediately claimed at least eight Derg members, plus
numerous Derg supporters, and soon provoked a government
counteraction--the
Red
Terror (see Glossary). During the Red
Terror, which lasted until late 1978, government security
forces systematically hunted down and killed suspected EPRP
members and their supporters, especially students. Mengistu
and the Derg eventually won this latest struggle for control
of the Ethiopian revolution, at a cost to the EPRP of
thousands of its members and supporters imprisoned, dead, or
missing.
Also slated for destruction was MEISON, proscribed in mid1978 . In coordination with the government, MEISON had
organized the kebeles and the peasant associations but had
begun to act independently, thus threatening Derg dominance
of local governments throughout the country. In response to
the political vacuum that would be left as a result of the
purging of MEISON, the Derg in 1978 promoted the union of
several existing Marxist-Leninist organizations into a
single umbrella group, the Union of Ethiopian MarxistLeninist Organizations (whose Amharic acronym was EMALEDEH).
The new organization's duty was similar to that of MEISON--
promoting control of Ethiopian socialism and obtaining
support for government policies through various political
activities. The creation of EMALEDEH symbolized the victory
of the Derg in finally consolidating power after having
overcome these challenges to its control of the Ethiopian
revolution.
Data as of 1991
|
