Democratic Palestine : 45 (ص 38)

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عنوان

Democratic Palestine : 45 (ص 38)

المحتوى

by Yafa Munir
Historical background
Near the end of May, two major
events took place in Africa: the complete
defeat of Mengistu Haile Mariam’s
regime in Ethiopia, and the climax of
Eritrea’s 30 — year armed struggle, which
ended in freedom, paving the way for
independence. These events will be
recorded in the history of all liberation
movements not only in Africa but
internationally as well.
In 1952, Eritrea, a former Italian
colony, was federated to Ethiopia by the
UN, and then annexed by Emperor Haile
Selassie in 1961. This last action led to
the escalation of the Eritrean armed
struggle for independence, waged at that
time by the Eritrean Liberation Front
(ELF).
At the end of the 1960s, a Marxist
current grew in the ELF, believing that a
socialist program could better realize
their aims of self — determination and a
free, independent Eritrea. In 1970, the
Eritrean People’s Liberation Front
38
(EPLF) was formed by leftist cadres who
had split from the conservative ELF in
1969. The EPLF quickly gained
popularity among the masses and within
a couple of years became the main force
of the Eritrean struggle for freedom.
At the same time, opposition to Haile
Selassie developed in Ethiopia, and in
1974 the old Ethiopian regime collapsed.
Power was seized by Ethiopian officers
who ruled collectively through a
committee named Derg. This change in
power, however, didn’t change the
regime’s stand towards the Eritreans and
their struggle. The battle against the
Eritrean liberation forces continued, as
it did after Mengistu Haile Mariam took
power in 1977 and became the new ruler
of Ethiopia. Not only did the new regime
in Ethiopia keep a traditional stand
towards the national question; it was
also incapable of solving the country’s
many internal problems, mainly the
social and economic crisis. This failure
increased the dissatisfaction and unrest
among broad sectors of the masses, who
were thirsty for a real change in
Ethiopia.
Balance of forces
The Mengistu regime’s defeat and
Eritrea’s liberation are closely
connected. Certain factors intertwined
to create circumstances which led to both
dramatic events. In other words, the
balance of forces in Ethiopia tipped
strongly in favor of both the Eritrean
liberation forces and the opposition
forces in Ethiopia.
The Soviet Union, which had been
the main ally of Mengistu’s regime —
providing it with financial and military
aid — abandoned it about two years ago.
This left the Ethiopian regime without a
powerful ally to support it and at the
same time further worsened the already
deteriorating economic conditions. The
results of the economic crisis in Ethiopia:
poverty, unemployment and famine,
coupled with the regime’s denial of the
people’s rights to true democracy,
increased the masses’ antagonism and
made them rally around the opposition
forces. Furthermore, Eritrean and
Tigrean military advances over the years
exhausted the Mengistu regime. In an
attempt to preserve power and to
Democratic Palestine, August 1991

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Democratic Palestine : 45

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