Mengistu Haile Mariam: Difference between revisions

Military gains made by the monarchist [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopian_Democratic_Union Ethiopian Democratic Union] in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begemder Begemder] were rolled back when that party split just as it was on the verge of capturing the old capital of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gondar Gondar]. The army of the Republic of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somalia Somalia] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogaden_War invaded Ethiopia] having overrun the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogaden Ogaden] region, and was on the verge of capturing [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harar Harar] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dire_Dawa Dire Dawa], when Somalia's erstwhile allies, the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Union Soviets] and the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuba Cubans], launched an unprecedented arms and personnel airlift to come to Ethiopia's rescue. The Derg government turned back the Somali invasion, and made deep strides against the Eritrean secessionists and the TPLF as well. By the end of the seventies, Mengistu presided over the second largest army in all of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sub-Saharan_Africa sub-Saharan Africa], as well as a formidable [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopian_Air_Force airforce] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navy navy].

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amnesty_International Amnesty International] estimates that up to 500,000 people were killed during the [[Ethiopian Red Terror]]<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-books.google.com_17-0">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mengistu_Haile_Mariam#cite_note-books.google.com-17 [17]]</sup><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-US_admits_helping_Mengistu_escape_18-0">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mengistu_Haile_Mariam#cite_note-US_admits_helping_Mengistu_escape-18 [18]]</sup><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Devil_pg_151_19-0">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mengistu_Haile_Mariam#cite_note-Devil_pg_151-19 [19]]</sup>

In the mid-1970s, under Mengistu's leadership, the Derg regime began an aggressive program of changing Ethiopia's system from a mixed feudo-capitalist emergent economy to an eastern bloc style command economy. Shortly after coming to power, all rural land was [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nationalization nationalized], stripping the Ethiopian Church, the Imperial family and the nobility of all their sizable estates and the bulk of their wealth. During this same period, all foreign-owned and locally owned companies were nationalized without compensation in an effort to redistribute the country's wealth. All undeveloped urban property and all rental property was also nationalized. Private businesses such as banks and insurance companies, large retail businesses, etc. were also taken over by the government. All this nationalized property was brought under the administration of large bureaucracies set up to administer them. Farmers who had once worked on land owned by absentee landlords were now compelled to join collective farms. All agricultural products were no longer to be offered on the free market, but were to be controlled and distributed by the government. Despite progressive agricultural reforms, under the Derg, agricultural output suffered due to [[Civil War|civil war]], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Famines_in_Ethiopia drought] and misguided [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Ethiopia economic policies]. There was also a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983%E2%80%931985_famine_in_Ethiopia famine in 1984], which was the 10th anniversary of the Derg.

During the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogaden_War Ogaden War], learning that after the fall of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jijiga Jijiga] to units of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_of_Somalia Somali army] (2 September 1977) Ethiopian units had started to mutiny, Mengistu flew to the front and took direct control. According to Gebru Tareke, he ordered those suspected of leading the mutiny "bayoneted as cowardly and counterrevolutionary elements", then had the soldiers regrouped and ordered to recapture Jijiga in simultaneous attacks from the west and north. The Ethiopians recaptured the city on 5 September, but Jijiga remained within range of the Somali artillery, which shelled the city the whole night long. The next day the Somalis counterattacked, "considerably strengthened and ever more determined", and before he could be encircled inside the city, Mengistu fled back to Adew on the 7th where he boarded a plane back to Addis Ababa. The Somalis broke through Ethiopian lines, recapturing Jijiga on 12 September, and managing to overrun Ethiopian positions past the Marda Pass.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-20">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mengistu_Haile_Mariam#cite_note-20 [20]]</sup>

After Mengistu's conviction in December 2006, the Zimbabwean government said that he still enjoyed asylum and would not be extradited. A Zimbabwean government spokesman explained this by saying that "Mengistu and his government played a key and commendable role during our struggle for independence". According to the spokesman, Mengistu assisted his guerrilla fighters during the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodesian_Bush_War Rhodesian Bush War] by providing training and arms, and after the war he had provided training for Zimbabwean air force pilots; the spokesman said that "not many countries have shown such commitment to us".

Following an appeal on May 26th, 2008; Mengistu was sentenced to death ''in absentia'' by Ethiopia's High Court, overturning his previous sentence of life imprisonment. Twenty-three of his most senior aides also received death sentences that were commuted on 1 June 2011. On October 4, 2011, 16 of former Mengistu officials have been released from prison on parole, due to their old age and good behavior, while they were incarcerated. However, Mengistu's sentence remains unchanged. It is not clear if a change in government in Zimbabwe will result in his extradition, though despite Robert Mugabe's resignation in 2017, the [[ZANU-PF]] still remain in firm control of the country, so this is unlikely.