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Ethiopia

Uncomfortable Truths

was increasingly viewed as maintaining Ethiopia's feudal political system that heavily favored
the Ethiopian nobility who had routinely rejected his reforms. “

"Ethiopian Civil War" 130
Wikipedia
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“ He has been criticized by some historians for his suppression of rebellions among the landed

aristocracy (the mesafint), which consistently opposed his reforms; some critics have also
criticized Ethiopia's failure to modernize rapidly enough. During his rule the Harari people were

persecuted and many left the Harari Region. His regime was also criticized by human rights
groups, such as Human Rights Watch, as autocratic and illiberal. “
"Haile Selassie" 129
Wikipedia
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The Derg
" The Derg, officially the Provisional Military Government of Ethiopia, refers to the military junta
that ruled Ethiopia from 1974 to 1987, when the military leadership formally civilianized the

administration but stayed in power until 1991.
The Derg was established in June 1974 as the Coordinating Committee of the Armed Forces,

Police and Territorial Army, by officers of the Ethiopian Army and police led initially by
Chairman Aman Andom. The Derg was formally renamed the Provisional Military
Administrative Council and in September 1974 overthrew the government of the Ethiopian

Empire and Emperor Haile Selassie during mass protests. The Derg abolished the monarchy
and established Ethiopia as a Marxist-Leninist one-party state with itself as the vanguard party

in a provisional government. The abolition of feudalism, increased literacy, nationalization, and
sweeping land reform including the resettlement and villagization from the Ethiopian

Highlands became priorities. Mengistu Haile Mariam became Chairman in 1977, launching the
Red Terror political repression campaign (Qey Shibir) to eliminate political opponents, with tens

of thousands imprisoned and executed without trial.
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By the mid-1980s, Ethiopia was ravaged by multiple issues such as, recovering from invasion
attempt by neighbouring Somalia, droughts, economic decline and the 1983–1985 famine.
(The Derg itself estimated more than a million deaths from famine during its time in power.

This was followed by increasing reliance on foreign aid and a gradual resurgence of conflicts,
particularly the Eritrean War of Independence, and the Ethiopian Civil War between it and

various ethnic militias in the periphery. In 1987, Mengistu abolished the Derg and formed the
People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia led by the Workers' Party of Ethiopia, with a new
government containing civilians but still dominated by surviving members of the Derg “