Ethiopia military accused of war crimes by Human Rights Watch

ifindtrends' comments: Ok, as usual, I am getting carried away because I want to know more and do research about stories I am interested in. What I found in this case really fascinated me. I must have been asleep that day at school when they taught this part?


In all seriousness, I hope someday soon, the terror of the common people and the thousands of lives that are being lost every month will be over.


We all know, I assume, about the recent attrocities from recent decades ( the 90's, 80's and 70's) of ethiopia in it's dealings with war, famine, and who knows what other horrors for it's people.


Well, I found this timline of the history of Ethiopia. I could not stop reading it because for such a "poor third world country" it has quite the history. I went back to 1931 when slavery was abbolished, but it goes further if you want here is the link

http://timelines.ws/countries/ETHIOPIA.HTML

Keep in mind, these are small snapshots in time, and although the sources are noted and many are.edu, there are always 2 sides to history and also that we must only look at history so that we may learn from the past and not repeat the bad stuff.


The more I look at history, the more the saying holds true that history it repeats itself. BUT, at certain times there have stood up and said ENOUGH and history as we know it was changed for the better.

http://timelines.ws/countries/ETHIOPIA.HTML


1931 Slavery was officiallyabolished in Ethiopia (1930 by the Ethiopian calendar).
(www.law.emory.edu/WAL/Advocacy/day1.htm)

1932 Aug 7, Abebe Bikila, barefootrunner from Ethiopia, winner of the 1960 Olympic marathon, was born.
(HN, 8/7/98)

1933 Count Byron De Prorokundertook an archeological expedition from Egypt into Ethiopia. Hisbook "Dead Men Do Tell Tales" described the venture. He pioneered theuse of motion pictures from 1920. His other books included "Digging forLost African Gods" (1926), "Mysterious Sahara" (1929) and "In Quest ofLost Worlds" (1935).
(AM, 9/01, p.64)

1934 Dec 5, Italian and Ethiopiantroops clashed at the Ualual on disputed Somali-Ethiopian border.
(HN, 12/5/98)

1935 Jun 30, Fascists caused anuproar at the League of Nations when Haile Selassie of Ethiopia spoke.He also warned the League of Nations of the dangers of appeasement.
(HN, 6/30/98)

1935 Jul 18, Ethiopian King HaileSelassie urged his countrymen to fight to the last man against theinvading Italian army. He had previously warned the League of Nationsof the dangers of appeasement.
(HN, 7/18/98)

1935 Oct 3, Italy invadedEthiopia.
(DoD, 1999,p.237)(www.onwar.com/aced/data/india/italyethiopia1935.htm)

Italo-Ethiopian War (1935-36), an armedconflict that resulted in Ethiopia's subjection to Italian rule. Oftenseen as one of the episodes that prepared the way for World War II, thewar demonstrated the ineffectiveness of the League of Nations whenLeague decisions were not supported by the great powers.

Ethiopia (Abyssinia), which Italy hadunsuccessfully tried to conquer in the 1890s, was in 1934 one of thefew independent states in a European-dominated Africa. A borderincident between Ethiopia and Italian Somaliland that December gaveBenito Mussolini an excuse to intervene. Rejecting all arbitrationoffers, the Italians invaded Ethiopia on Oct. 3, 1935.

Under Generals Rodolfo Graziani andPietroBadoglio, the invading forces steadily pushed back the ill-armed andpoorly trained Ethiopian army, winning a major victory near LakeAscianghi(Ashangi) on April 9, 1936, and taking the capital, Addis Ababa, on May5. The nation's leader, Emperor HaileSelassie, went into exile. In Rome, Mussolini proclaimed Italy's kingVictor Emmanuel III emperor of Ethiopia and appointed Badoglio to ruleas viceroy.

In response to Ethiopian appeals, theLeague of Nations had condemned the Italian invasion in 1935 and votedto impose economic sanctions on the aggressor. The sanctions remainedineffective because of general lack of support. Although Mussolini'saggression was viewed with disfavour by the British, who had a stake inEast Africa, the other major powers had no real interest in opposinghim. The war, by giving substance to Italian imperialist claims,contributed to international tensions between the fascist states andthe Western democracies.

1935 Oct 6, Italian army occupiedAdua, Abyssinia (Ethiopia).
(MC, 10/6/01)

1935 Oct 11, The League of Nationsmet and voted 50 to 4 (Austria, Hungary, Italy and Albania opposed) tocondemn Italy for the attack on Ethiopia.
(http://nazret.com/history/)

1935 Dec 30, Italian bombersdestroyed a Swedish Red Cross unit in Ethiopia.
(MC, 12/30/01)

1935-1936 The Italian army used chemical warfareagainst Ethiopia in violation of the 1925 Geneva Protocol.
(NH, 10/98, p.18)

1936 Jan 5, Daggha Bur, Ethiopia,was bombed by the Italians.
(HN, 1/5/99)

1936 Mar 29, Italy firebombed theEthiopian city of Harar.
(HN, 3/29/98)

1936 May 2, With the Italianinvasion Ethiopia’s Emp. Haile Selassie left for French Somaliland. Hewent into exile for 5 years during which time he was based in Bath,England.
(http://tinyurl.com/ahqhm)

1936 May 5, Italian troopsoccupied Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 1757 Italians and 1593 Eritreans werekilled, more than 275,000 Ethiopians were killed.
(http://history.acusd.edu/gen/WW2Timeline/Prelude05.html)(http://nazret.com/history/)

1936 May 9, Fascist Italy annexedEthiopia as Benito Mussolini celebrated in Rome.
(AP, 5/9/97)(HN, 5/9/98)

1936 Jun 30, Haile Selassie askedthe League of Nations for sanctions against Italy.
(www.historychannel.com/speeches/archive/speech_400.html)

1936 Jul 4, The League Councilvoted to end economic sanctions against Italy with the collapse ofEthiopia. The cancellation of economic sanctions against an aggressorstate marked the failure of collective security under the League andwas a harbinger of conflict in the upcoming years.
(http://www.indiana.edu/~league/1936.htm)

1937 Jan 9, Italian regime bannedmarriages between Italians and Abyssinians.
(MC, 1/9/02)

1937 Feb, More than 30,000Ethiopians were massacred in Addis Ababa.
(http://nazret.com/history/)

1937 The 1,700 year-old AxumObelisk was dismantled and removed from Ethiopia by Italian forces.Mussolini used it to commemorate the 15th anniversary of his march onRome. In 1998 Italy agreed to return it. The border war delayed thereturn to 2003.
(AM, 5/01, p.10)(SSFC, 11/9/03, p.A2)

1941 Mar 7, British troops invadedAbyssinia (Ethiopia).
(MC, 3/7/02)

1941 Apr 6, Italian-held AddisAbaba surrendered to British and Ethiopian forces.
(MC, 4/6/02)

1941 May 5, Emperor Haile Selassiereturned to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
(http://nazret.com/history/)

1941 May 18, Italian army underGeneral Aosta surrendered to Britain in Ethiopia.
(SC, 5/18/02)

1941 Nov 18, Mussolini's forcesleft Abyssinia (Ethiopia).
(MC, 11/18/01)

1942 Aug 26, Haile Selassie issueda new proclamation outlawing slavery in Ethiopia. Slavery was firstoutlawed in 1924.
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R28)(http://nazret.com/history/)
1942 Aug 26, Haile Selassieestablished the State Bank of Ethiopia.
(http://nazret.com/history/)

1944 Apr 4, British troopscaptured Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
(MC, 4/4/02)

1945 After WW II Ethiopia annexedEritrea, a former Italian colony, and ruled it ruthlessly.
(SFC, 6/11/97, p.C16)

1946 Dec, Ethiopian Airlines wasfounded.
(http://nazret.com/history/)

1947 Dec 28, Victor Emmanuel(b.1869-1947), also known as Victor Emmanuel III, King of Italy(1900-1946), Emperor of Ethiopia (1939-1943) and King of Albania(1939-1943), died.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Emmanuel_III_of_Italy)

1950 Dec 2, The UN voted 46-10 forEritrea to be federated with Ethiopia. Union was to be achievedSeptember 15, 1952.
(http://nazret.com/history/)

1951 Feb 27, University College ofAddis Ababa, Ethiopia, was opened.
(http://nazret.com/history/)

1951 Oct 7, Dr. Eduardo AnzeMatienzo of Bolivia, UN commissioner for Eritrea, announced thatEritrea had accepted the UN Federation plan.
(http://nazret.com/history/)

1952 Jul 10, The new constitutionof Eritrea, adopted and ratified on August 11, provided that Eritreashould have legislative, executive and judicial powers in matters notreserved to the federal government.
(http://nazret.com/history/)

1952 Sep 11, Eritrean-Ethiopianfederation act was signed and Eritrea became an independent (federated)nation. Washington, worried an emergent Eritrea would come under Sovietinfluence, had arranged for it to be yoked in a federation to U.S.client Ethiopia.
(AP, 1/3/05)(http://nazret.com/history/)

1955 Nov 4, Haile Selassieintroduced a revised constitution under which he retained effectivepower while extending political participation by allowing the lowerhouse of parliament become an elected body.
(http://encyclopedia.laborlawtalk.com/Haile_Selassie)(http://nazret.com/history/)

1955 King Selassie granted a groupof Rastafarians a small area of fertile land in southern Ethiopia.
(SFC, 12/4/00, p.A14)

1955 US Col. Edward S. Berry(d.1999 at 93) helped establish the Ethiopian Military College.
(SFC, 7/28/99, p.C2)

1959 A water agreement betweenEgypt and Sudan was based on an annual net yield of 96.2 billion cubicyards of water and gave Egypt 72.15 billion and Sudan 20.04. Ethiopiagot no allocation and never recognized the treaty.
(WSJ, 8/22/97, p.A1)

1962 In Ethiopia a 16-year-oldartist painted "Woman at the Market."
(SFEM, 1/12/97, DB p.20)

1962 Ethiopia made Eritrea aseparate province.
(WSJ, 5/26/00, p.A22)

1963 May 25, The Organization ofAfrican Unity (OAU) was founded, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In 2001 itwas replaced the African Union.
(AP, 5/25/97)(SFC, 7/12/01, p.A12)

1966 Apr 21, Emperor HaileSelassie (Ethiopia) visited Kingston, Jamaica.
(MC, 4/21/02)

1970 The Finchaa Dam was built inEthiopia.
(WSJ, 8/22/97, p.A9)

1970 China established relationswith Ethiopia.
(WSJ, 3/29/05, p.A2)

1972 The Addis Ababa accords endedfighting between north and south Sudan. It made the south aself-governing region. Pres. Gaafar Muhammed Nimeiri ended the 17 yearcivil war in the Sudan between the north and south.
(NG, May 1985, p.609)(WSJ, 10/22/03, p.A1)

1973 In Ethiopia the OromoLiberation Front (OLF) was formed to seek greater autonomy for Oromiaregion.
(AFP, 11/10/06)

1974 Mar 1, The Ethiopiangovernment of Makonnen Endelkacaw (1927-1974) formed.
(www.worldstatesmen.org/Ethiopia.html)

1974 Sep 12, Haile Selassie I,"King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and Conquering Lion of the Tribe ofJudah," was deposed by the military from the Ethiopian throne. Amilitary committee (known as the Dergue) was established from severaldivisions of the Ethiopian Armed forces. General Aman Amdon was electedas spokesperson for the Dergue and implemented policies for thecountry, which included land distribution to peasants, nationalizingindustries and services under public ownership and led Ethiopia intothe Socialism.
(AP, 9/12/99)(http://tinyurl.com/7lnnz)

1974 Nov 23, In Ethiopia 60government officials were executed.
(http://reference.allrefer.com/country-guide-study/ethiopia/ethiopia39.html)

1974-1991 The regime of Col. Mengistu Haile Mariamruled Ethiopia.
(SFC, 11/6/00, p.A12)

1975 Feb 18, The Tigray People’sLiberation Front began a rebellion in northern Ethiopia.
(www.scribd.com/doc/14967/The-Origins-Of-TPLF)

1975 Mar 21, Ethiopia ended itsmonarchy after 3000 years. In May the monarchy was formally abolished,and Marxism-Leninism was proclaimed the ideology of the state.
(www.worldstatesmen.org/Ethiopia.html)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derg)

1975 Aug 27, Haile Selassie, thelast emperor of Ethiopia’s 3,000-year-old monarchy, died in Addis Ababaat age 83 almost a year after he was overthrown in a military coup. Itwas later discovered that the Derg, the ruling military committee, hadvoted to murder the imprisoned emperor. Selassie was born of royalblood and originally named Ras Tafari, and is regarded as the savior bya religious sect originating in Jamaica whose members are calledRastafarians. Crowned emperor in 1930 under the title Haile Selassie I(meaning "Power of the Trinity"), he was by tradition a descendant ofKing Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. He reigned as emperor of Ethiopiauntil 1974. Ryszard Kapuscinski later authored "The Emperor," abiography of Selassie.
(AP, 8/27/00)(HNQ, 2/4/00)(WSJ, 4/18/01,p.A20)(Econ, 9/29/07, p.49)

1976 Feb 18, The Tigray People’sLiberation Front (TPLF) issued a manifesto to secede from Ethiopia.
(SFC, 6/24/99,p.A14)(www.abugidainfo.com/?p=3393)(http://tinyurl.com/2j2pxf)

1977 Feb 24, Pres. Carterannounced the US was cutting off all military aid to Ethiopia becauseof its human rights violations. The unstated reason was the US desireto cooperate with Saudi Arabia to lure Somalia from the Soviet camp, aneffort which was ultimately successful.
(www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Politics/africa.html)

1977 Somalia and Ethiopia engagedin battle. The Soviet Union provided tanks to both sides. Somalia triedand failed to push into the Ogaden area of Ethiopia. The Somalismanaged to reach the walled city of Harer, a center for Islam inEthiopia.
(Econ, 8/12/06, p.19)(Econ, 10/14/06, p.49)

1977-1978 The Ethiopian Red Terror, or Qey Shibir,was a violent political campaign in Ethiopia undertaken during theleadership of the Derg, a socialist military junta. Hirut Abebe-Jiri,imprisoned and tortured during a purge known as the “Red Terror,” laterset up an organization to archive, translate and index the Dergfiles.
(Econ, 9/29/07,p.50)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Terror_(Ethiopia))

1978 Feb 7, Ethiopia mounted acounter attack against Somalia.
(HN, 2/7/99)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogaden_War)

1982 Jan 2, The Somali NationalMovement (SNM) launched its first military operation against the Somaligovernment. Operating from Ethiopian bases.
(www.onwar.com/aced/data/sierra/somalia1982b.htm)

1984 Nov 18, The Soviets helpeddeliver U.S. wheat during the Ethiopian famine.
(HN, 11/18/98)

1984 In Ethiopia the OgadenNational Liberation Front (ONLF) was formed for the independence ofOgaden, which Rebels claimed has been marginalised by Addis Ababa. Theregion is suspected of holding large oil and natural gas reserves.
(AP, 7/25/07)

1984-1985 Severe famine hit Ethiopia and took anestimated 100,000 lives.
(SFC, 4/20/98, p.A8,12)(SFC, 11/6/00, p.A12)

I guess I got cut off here so if you want to learn more visit the time-line. I will try to do some more posts if I have time.