Anti-Ethiopian sentiment orEthiophobia is a fear, broad opposition, bias, prejudice and/or discrimination against/towardEthiopia, itspeople andgovernment as whole.[1]
During theItalian occupation,Benito Mussolini determined Ethiopia as a colony with intent of humiliatingEthiopians in reprisal to their defeat at the 1896Battle of Adwa, as well as competing withFrance andBritain in relations of colonial interests. The Italian government grieved by the loss of Ethiopia.[2]
Anti-Ethiopian sentiment as foreign policy appeared during theWar in Somalia followingEthiopian government support for the US-ledwar on terror againstjihadist militant groups in the region. On 28 December 2006, the Ethiopian government, backed by theTransitional Federal Government of Somalia (TFG), enteredMogadishu and expelled leaders ofUnion of Islamic Court (UIC). As the conflict intensified, the Islamic Courts Union,Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS), and more remarkably,Al-Shabaab have publicized an increase of anti-Ethiopian attitude while the latter became more influential to circulate as a movement.[3][4][5]
Eritrea has souredrelations to Ethiopia beginning itsfederation with Ethiopia imposed by theUnited Nations in 1950 and annulled by Ethiopian government. ManyEthiopian nationalists—theAmhara elites—supported the annexation while leftist Eritreans viewed Ethiopian annexation as hostile to Muslim inhabitants and Eritrean statehood, mounting national liberation movements like theEritrean Liberation Front (ELF) in 1960. As theEritrean War of Independence began, ELF rebelled with the Ethiopian Imperial government under EmperorHaile Selassie and theDerg regime, forming alliance with theTigrayanTigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) until 1991 Derg defeat. With the rise of TPLF in Ethiopian politics from 1991, Eritrea began to have good relations with Ethiopian government at least until the1998 border war.[6][7] AfterAlgiers Agreement in 2000, both countries' government went stalemate and frozen conflict. Shortly after taking office in 2018, Prime MinisterAbiy Ahmed signed joint declaration at2018 bilateral summit to end20 years long conflict. The two countries then enjoyed trade and diplomatic ties.[8]
Anti-Ethiopian concept can be defined by the opposition ofEthiopian nationalism by different ethno-nationalist groups. Ethiopian nationalism, a form of civic nationalism, repudiated by ethno-nationalist party such asOromo Liberation Front (OLF) who claimed the Amhara-TigrayEthiopian Empire subjugatedOromos from their homeland.[9] Furtherly, they claimed Oromo nation has its own social and political policy and superseded by Abyssinian principle via colonialism initiated by EmperorMenelik II.[10][11] Likewise, they asserted that Ethiopian nationalism is propagated in order to advance Amharan culture assimilation.[12] Even the Amhara people historically affiliated to Ethiopian movement, the use of "Amhara nationalism" is heavily debated among historians and scholars.[13][14]
