Harrison West

HGHG-2100-001
November 25, 2014
Research Paper: Mengistu Haile Mariam: Red Terror

"Revolutionary Ethiopia or death" was the statement given to Ethiopians by their chief of
state, Mengistu Haile Mariam, on the 10th anniversary of the revolution that ended the rule of
Emperor Haile Selassie I (Henze 99). Colonel Mengistu headed the political group known as
the Derg, which took power in 1974. Remembered in the history of Ethiopia during his reign are
the events of the Red Terror campaign and the devastation of the 1984 famine. One an extreme
form of violence brought on by political polarization unleashed by the military government to
decimate the left opposition the other the worst famine to hit the country in a century. The effects
of both of the events during this period have left indelible scars and far-reaching implications
for the countrys future evident even today (Tegegn, 249).
The history of Ethiopia has been riddled with mass killings of various profiles. Its a
violent history without much peace since the internecine wars between Christian and Muslim
kingdoms in the sixteenth century. Whether it was in the 1850s with Emperor Tewodros killing
campaigns against those who he considered as his enemies; the 1870s with Emperor Yohannes
infamous slaughtering of members of the Muslim community who refused to be converted to
Christianity; or Emperor Haile Selassies massacres of peasants and pastoralists who rebelled
against the feudal land-holding system and discrimination of rural populations in the 1960s.
(Tegegn 249-250) As a reflection of this culture, it is not uncommon to notice that boys in

almost all ethnic groups are raised as fighters and that a culture of violence is common to all
cultures in the country. (Tegegn 251)
However in the beginnings of the 1974 Ethiopian Revolution many were optimistic and
believed that the revolution would bring about much desired prosperity and democracy to the
Ethiopian people (Kebede 295). The year previous five hundred people were dying each day in
the northern highlands from famine caused by a three-year drought. The Government attempted
to suppress news of the famine leading to severe criticism from the people and the government
officials alike. U.S. influence began to decline and along with it, the prestige of Ethiopia's U.S.
educated elite. Then due to the outbreak of the Arab-Israeli War in December 1973 oil prices
spiked causing taxi drivers to begin protesting higher fuel prices. Teachers and other soon joined
the mix demanding better wages in a strike that crippled capital city. Dissatisfaction spread to the
troops of the Second Divison who grew tired of low pay, poor living conditions. They arrested
their commanding officers and took control of Asmera (Henze 118-119) They sent a 22-point
petition to the emperor, complaining, among other things, that ''ministers have too many
Mercedes automobiles." (Henze 119) By the end of February, Selassie's cabinet resigned in the
face of popular pressure. The public and the press called for a transition that would not only
change names and faces but concepts. The country began to slip out of control with a revolution
looming overhead (Henze 119).
In was an unclear urban uprising with no individual or institution to lead it and no
philosophy to guide it. Yet it was widely popular and generally bloodless in the beginning. It
didnt take long though before several potential contenders emerged searching for power. The
opponents of the fallen regime had conflicting interests, and contrasting aspirations. They had
been temporarily united by their common opposition government, but now no longer shared a

similar vision of the future. Once the monarchy had been removed, factional differences had
sharpened, democracy and dictatorship ideals began to differ and were scrutinized as never
before (Tareke 188).
In April, representatives from all branches of the military formed the Armed Forces
Coordinating Committee, or Derg. Mid way through the year, the Derg had arrested two hundred
former ministers and other high officials, charging that they had "betrayed" the emperor and
were responsible famine. The government began to take shape and reorganized, but as the Derg
encompass more members of the old regimes inner circle, it became apparent that there was
going to be a coup. On September 12, 1974, New Year's Day in Ethiopia, three senior
representatives from the Derg arrived early in the morning at the National Palace to escort
Emperor Haile Selassie to Derg headquarters (Henze 118-119). Confined to Menelik's former
palace, the King of Kings, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Elect of God Haile Selassie I
died on August 27, 1975. (Henze 119)
Three contending forces began to battle for control. On one side was the Derg, composed
of 120 men of different ranks, ranging from private to major. They had seized power in June; just
six months after the first mutiny had sparked the popular upsurge. They hastily passed laws
restricting democratic rights of speech and assembly (Tareke 188). The Council showed no signs
of sharing power with the people. Power, once forcibly acquired, is seldom freely relinquished.
(Tareke 189) Oppossing the Derg, were not only remains of the old authority but also, that of the
new orders. They were called the Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Party (EPRP) and the AllEthiopia Socialist Movement (Meison), both created from the Ethiopian International student
movement in the 1960s. As the three parties began to clash for power, political violence arose.
(Tareke 197)

In March 1977, the (EPRP) accused the Derg of fostering military dictatorship. In
response Derg vice-chairman Atnafu Abate called to his supports and ordered them to "cleanse
the city of these undesirable elements." At least three hundred students were killed in one day. It
became tough to discern who was radical or reactionary or who really ran the Derg. (Henze 121)
The Derg undertook a number of mass executions that were both official and unofficial. The
official executions being those executions publicly announced through the mass media, and the
later, ones that were not made public at all (Tegegn 251). The first official execution had taken
place when the Derg had consummated their rise to power by first killing the Emperor himself
and 59 members of his cabinet along with the Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox church (Baker
1492). This act signaled to the people and their opposition that the Mengistu faction was
committed to holding onto power no matter what and was prepared to push itself towards ending
the old system (Tegegn 251)
Riding on their success, the Derg launched a campaign of killings and mass arrests
throughout the country of anyone suspected of being an EPRP (Ethiopian People's Revolutionary
Party) member, the Dergs main political opposition. The EPRP responded with its own version
of urban armed struggle by assassinating Derg members who they thought were responsible for
designing the mass clamp down and killings. In March 1977, the Derg executed 23 (EPRP)
members followed by another round of executions of 27 (EPRP) members officially accused of
resorting to terrorism (Tegegn 252-253) As casualties on both sides went up and the violence
spread throughout the country with no concrete sign that the opposition and EPRPs activities
were weakening, the Derg leadership was divided on how to handle the situation. (Tegegn 253)
In February 1977 a shoot-out took the life of Derg chairman General Teferi Banti and
eight other Derg members. This brought Lt. Col. Mengistu to power though hed been rumored

be the person pulling the strings all along. Mengistu later consolidated his seat of power by
executing Atnafu in November 1977 for "placing the interests of Ethiopia above the interests of
socialism." (Henze 121) Only a day after his assumption of absolute power, Mengistu declared:
We shall beat back White Terror with Red Terror, vowing to avenge the fallen comrades
double-and-triple fold. (Tareke 197)
Colonel Mengistu came out with a new policy which he called netsa ermija (a shoot to
kill or shoot first and ask later policy). It was at this time that Mengistu called for a red terror
to crush the white terror of the anarchists, meaning the (EPRP). (Tegegn 253) This is also the
point in time when the Derg fell out with its one-time mentor and ally, Meisone. They quickley
crushed the organization in a short amount of time. Its leaders were imprisoned and executed.
What happened after the shoot to kill policy came in to effect was nothing less than an atrocity:
decimation of an entire generation of the educated class. (Tegegn 253) Its hard to put a figure on
how many died during the struggle for power but one keen observer has written:
History offers few examples of revolutions that have devoured their own children with
such voraciousness and so much cruelty. It can be estimated that, of ten civilians who
had actively worked for a radical transformation of Ethiopia, only one escaped arrest,
imprisonment, torture, execution or assassination. The revolution swallowed the whole
of the young generation of Ethiopian intellectuals. (Lefort, 1983: 257)
Executions and disappearances became common, and those who disappeared never came
back. Executions were conducted in detention centers and prisons outside the capital. Secret
executions continued throughout the Red Terror period, the individuals of which were taken
away at night from detention centers. They would be brought to a forested area called Kotebe, on
the outskirt of Addis Ababa, and executed by firing squad. The average number of victims was

estimated to be between twenty-five and thirty at a time. The bodies were then dumped in to
mass graves (Tegegn 253).
Political prisoners who were not killed immediately were likely tortured. The forms of
torture used by the Derg varied from place to place during the Red Terror, depending on the
intensity of the presence and activity of the EPRP. (Tegegn 255) Wofe lala was one of the more
popular forms of torture widely used by the political police against political It involved the
caning of the soles of the feet by some form of hard wood or coiled wire. The detainee would be
hanging on a bar upside down, his or her body bent upwards and towards the ceiling. The sole of
the feet were caned nonstop until the detainee confessed. (Tegegn 255)
Another form of torture used was forcing detainees to eat human flesh. This was more
psychological torture than physical torture, designed to dehumanize detainees and subject them
to total submission. The torture was used in select detention centers when a detainee repeatedly
refused to confess. A close family would be called in and forced to eat a piece of flesh cut out of
the detainees body. Other types of tortured included the pecking out of eyes, cutting off digits,
burning, burying alive, and throwing detainees over a cliff (Tegegn 254). Many individuals lost
family members during the Red Terror. It is common today, both in urban areas and in the capital
of Addis to hear of families remembering the loss of a loved one. (Tegegn 255) Many families
lost more than one child or parent. To date, records indicate that some families lost up to four of
their kin during the Red Terror. (Tegegn 255)
Unfortunately the mass killings, torturing, and kidnapping werent the only things
negatively affecting the Ethiopian people. In 1984-1985 the country faced severe famine. As the
anniversary of the revolution approached people were being driven on to the roads by hunger.
The government resettled more than 600,000 civilians from northern Ethiopia in the western

lowlands and moved 35% of the rural population into hastily constructed villages as part of its
villagization program. Tens of thousands of peasants died in the process. Massive famine relief
efforts and foreign donor programs for emergency medical assistance were needed to avert the
worst consequences of the Derg's policies on the country (Kloos 506-507).
In 1991, the forces of the EPDRF (Ethiopian People's Democratic Revolutionary Front),
OLF (Oromo Liberation Front) and EPLF (Eritrean Peoples' Liberation Front) defeated the Derg
armies; Eritrea became an independent nation in 1993. (Kloos 507) The new Ethiopian regime
was able to initiate prosecutions against Mengistu Haile Mariam and the other Derg members. In
1992, a Special Prosecutor's Office was set up. Then in 1994, Mengistu and seventy-three Derg
members indicted. They were charged on a collective basis with genocide and crimes against
humanity. The charges were based on domestic criminal laws, including the Ethiopian Penal
Code of 1957 that implements the international prohibition against genocide and crimes against
humanity (Baker 1493).
The Red Terror was the most agonizing experience that the citizens of Ethiopia have and
hopefully will experience. The entire country was held hostage by one man. The level of cruelty
inflicted upon the members and supporters of the (EPRP), the (Meison) and innocent civilians
during the Red Terror was absolutely horrific. Will the people of Ethiopia ssaynever again to
such brutality? What will be done to ensure that such crimes will never be repeated in Ethiopia?
Unless the proper institutions of governance democratic political system is put in place, another
potential terror of genocidal proportions will continue to be a possibility. Until then the future of
Ethiopia is uncertain. (Tegegn 263).

Works Cited

Baker, Bruce. "Twilight of Impunity for Africa's Presidential Criminals." Third World Quarterly.
25.8 (2004). Print.
Henze, Paul B. "Ethiopia." The Wilson Quarterly (1976-). 8.5 (1984): 98-124. Print.
Kebede, Alem. "The Social Origins of Military Dictatorship in Ethiopia." Journal of Developing
Societies. 26.3 (2010): 295-327. Print.
Kloos, H. "Primary Health Care in Ethiopia Under Three Political Systems: Community
Participation in a War-Torn Society." Social Science & Medicine (1982). 46 (1998). Print
Lefort, R. (1983) Ethiopia: An Heretical Revolution? London: Zed Press.
Tareke, Gebru. "The Red Terror in Ethiopia." Journal of Developing Societies. 24.2 (2008): 183206. Print.
Tegegn, Melakou. Mengistus Red Terror. African Identities 10.3 (2012): 249-263.
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