Mengistu Haile Mariam: Difference between revisions

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{{Quote|In this country some aristocratic families automatically categorize people with dark skin, thick lips and kinky hair as 'Barias'... Let it be clear to everybody that I shall make these ignoramuses stoop and grind corn!|Mengistu Haile Mariam}}

'''Mengistu Haile Mariam''' (May 21st, 1937 - ) is an Ethiopian politician who was the most prominent officer of the [[Derg]], the Communist military junta that governed Ethiopia from 1974 to 1987, and President of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia from 1987 to 1991. Effectively a dictator, he oversaw the [[Qey Shibir|Ethiopian Red Terror of 1977–1978]], a campaign of repression against the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party and other anti-Derg factions. Mengistu fled to Zimbabwe in 1991 at the conclusion of the Ethiopian Civil War, and remains there despite an Ethiopian court verdict finding him guilty ''in absentia'' of [[genocide]]. Some estimates for the number of deaths his regime was responsible for are as high as 1.285 million. He is currently living in exile in Zimbabwe.

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Mengistu followed his father and joined the army, where he attracted the attention of the Eritrean-born general, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aman_Andom Aman Andom], who raised him to the rank of sergeant and assigned him duties as an errand boy in his office. Mengistu graduated from the Holetta Military Academy, one of the two important military academies of Ethiopia. General Aman then became his mentor, and when the General was assigned to the commander of the Third Division took Mengistu with him to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harar Harar], and later was assigned as Ordnance officer in the 3rd division. A few years before his departure for training to the US he was in conflict with the then 3rd Division commander Geneara Haile Baykedagn who apparently hated the sight of him. It was said the general once said to him that he would "...chew him like chewing gum and make him suffer". At the time the Ordnance group was offered military technical training support in a large scale compared to other units of the Imperial Army. Despite his hatred, the general was obliged to release him and Mengistu went for six months' training in Maryland, USA. Returning after his training, he was expected to command the Ordnance Sub-division in Harar. Mengistu, without doubt, met General Haile Baykedagn, the man who treated him badly as a prisoner among other commanders, and later murdered him with the 60 ministers and generals.

Mengistu experienced racial discrimination (while studying in the United States), which led him to a later strong [~~http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Americanism~~ anti-American sentiment] He equated [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism racial discrimination] in the United States with the class discrimination in Ethiopia. When he took power, and attended the meeting of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derg Derg] members at the Fourth Division headquarters in Addis Ababa, Mengistu exclaimed with emotion:

Mengistu experienced racial discrimination (while studying in the United States), which led him to a later strong [[[Americophobia|anti-American sentiment]] He equated [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism racial discrimination] in the United States with the class discrimination in Ethiopia. When he took power, and attended the meeting of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derg Derg] members at the Fourth Division headquarters in Addis Ababa, Mengistu exclaimed with emotion:

In this country, some [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristocracy aristocratic] families automatically categorize persons with dark skin, thick lips, and kinky hair as "Barias" ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amharic_language Amharic] for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slave Slave])... let it be clear to everybody that I shall soon make these ignoramuses stoop and grind corn!

Professor Bahru Zewde notes that Mengistu was distinguished by a "special ability to size up situations and persons". Although Bahru notes that some observers "rather charitably" equated this ability with intelligence, the professor believes this skill is more akin to "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Know-how street smarts]": "it is rather closer to the mark to see it as inner-city smartness (or what in local parlance would be called ''aradanat'')."

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 {{Quote|In this country some aristocratic families automatically categorize people with dark skin, thick lips and kinky hair as 'Barias'... Let it be clear to everybody that I shall make these ignoramuses stoop and grind corn!|Mengistu Haile Mariam}}
 '''Mengistu Haile Mariam''' (May 21st, 1937 - ) is an Ethiopian politician who was the most prominent officer of the [[Derg]], the Communist military junta that governed Ethiopia from 1974 to 1987, and President of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia from 1987 to 1991. Effectively a dictator, he oversaw the [[Qey Shibir|Ethiopian Red Terror of 1977–1978]], a campaign of repression against the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party and other anti-Derg factions. Mengistu fled to Zimbabwe in 1991 at the conclusion of the Ethiopian Civil War, and remains there despite an Ethiopian court verdict finding him guilty ''in absentia'' of [[genocide]]. Some estimates for the number of deaths his regime was responsible for are as high as 1.285 million. He is currently living in exile in Zimbabwe.
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 Mengistu followed his father and joined the army, where he attracted the attention of the Eritrean-born general, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aman_Andom Aman Andom], who raised him to the rank of sergeant and assigned him duties as an errand boy in his office. Mengistu graduated from the Holetta Military Academy, one of the two important military academies of Ethiopia. General Aman then became his mentor, and when the General was assigned to the commander of the Third Division took Mengistu with him to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harar Harar], and later was assigned as Ordnance officer in the 3rd division. A few years before his departure for training to the US he was in conflict with the then 3rd Division commander Geneara Haile Baykedagn who apparently hated the sight of him. It was said the general once said to him that he would "...chew him like chewing gum and make him suffer". At the time the Ordnance group was offered military technical training support in a large scale compared to other units of the Imperial Army. Despite his hatred, the general was obliged to release him and Mengistu went for six months' training in Maryland, USA. Returning after his training, he was expected to command the Ordnance Sub-division in Harar. Mengistu, without doubt, met General Haile Baykedagn, the man who treated him badly as a prisoner among other commanders, and later murdered him with the 60 ministers and generals.
-Mengistu experienced racial discrimination (while studying in the United States), which led him to a later strong [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Americanism anti-American sentiment] He equated [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism racial discrimination] in the United States with the class discrimination in Ethiopia. When he took power, and attended the meeting of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derg Derg] members at the Fourth Division headquarters in Addis Ababa, Mengistu exclaimed with emotion:
+Mengistu experienced racial discrimination (while studying in the United States), which led him to a later strong [[[Americophobia|anti-American sentiment]] He equated [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism racial discrimination] in the United States with the class discrimination in Ethiopia. When he took power, and attended the meeting of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derg Derg] members at the Fourth Division headquarters in Addis Ababa, Mengistu exclaimed with emotion:
 In this country, some [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristocracy aristocratic] families automatically categorize persons with dark skin, thick lips, and kinky hair as "Barias" ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amharic_language Amharic] for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slave Slave])... let it be clear to everybody that I shall soon make these ignoramuses stoop and grind corn!
 Professor Bahru Zewde notes that Mengistu was distinguished by a "special ability to size up situations and persons". Although Bahru notes that some observers "rather charitably" equated this ability with intelligence, the professor believes this skill is more akin to "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Know-how street smarts]": "it is rather closer to the mark to see it as inner-city smartness (or what in local parlance would be called ''aradanat'')."