| Ethiopian Revolution | |
|---|---|
| Part ofOpposition to Haile Selassie | |
_in_1974.jpg)   Clockwise from top: The Coordinating Committee of the Armed Forces (Derg); the1974 coup d'état ofHaile Selassie; Public demonstration on 24 August 1974 | |
| Date | 12 January – 12 September 1974 (8 months) |
| Location | |
| Caused by |
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| Goals | Human rights, social change, agrarian and land reforms, price controls, free schooling, releasing political prisoners |
| Methods | |
| Resulted in |
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TheEthiopian Revolution (Amharic:የኢትዮጵያ አብዮት) was a period of civil, police and militaryupheaval inEthiopia to protest against the weakenedHaile Selassie government. It is generally thought to have begun on 12 January 1974 when Ethiopian soldiers began a rebellion inNegele Borana, with the protests continuing into February 1974. People from different occupations, starting from junior army officers, students and teachers, and taxi drivers, joined a strike to demand human rights, social change,agrarian reforms,price controls, free schooling, and releasing political prisoners, and labor unions demanded a fixation of wages in accordance with price indexes, as well as pensions for workers, etc.
In June 1974, a group of army officers established the Coordinating Committee of the Armed Forces, later branding itself as theDerg, which struggled to topple Haile Selassie's cabinet under Prime MinisterEndelkachew Makonnen. By September of that year, the Derg began detaining Endalkachew's closest advisors, dissolved the Crown Council and Imperial Court and disbanded the emperor's military staff. The Ethiopian Revolution ended with the12 September coup d'état of Haile Selassie by the Coordinating Committee.
For many centuries, theEthiopian Empire had a semi-feudalmode of production, with most land held by thechurch (25%), the Emperor (20%), thefeudal lords (30%) and the state (18%), leaving a mere 7% to the roughly 23 million Ethiopian peasants. The landless peasants lost as much as 75% of their produce to the landlords, leaving them in a miserable life state.Haile Selassie had also promised to reform andmodernize the country.[1]
The late 1960s in Ethiopia includedstudent movements developing their knowledge of and debating thesocial sciences andsocial change. Their debates were influential in theiropposition to Emperor Haile Selassie.[2] InDecember 1960, a coup d'état attempt seeking liberal reforms, includingland reforms and land redistribution, took place. TheWollo famine overshadowed the emperor's reputation, affecting the peasants.[3] The government negligence in dealing with the famine was known by this point, and no relief effort report arrived via the Ministry of the Interior.[1]
As the regime of Emperor Haile Selassie declined, the army became increasingly politicized as Selassie increasingly relied on more oppressive measures of governance. As recruitment from educated Ethiopians grew over the 60s and early 70s, thepolitical consciousness of the armed forces grew as well. This awareness grew as the army was increasingly utilized to put down student protests, peasant uprisings and regional revolts inOgaden,Bale andEritrea. The multiplication of regional revolts and economic downturn in the country during the early 70s made many army units rebellious as their living conditions deteriorated. The military mutiny that precipitated the 1974 revolution started as demands for better working conditions and wages for troops in remote regions, particularly the Ogaden,Negele and the desert of western Eritrea.[4]
By 1973, it was clear to many observers that the army was the true power behind the throne and it was widely expected that the military would take over in the event of the Emperor's death. Since the failedEthiopian coup attempt during 1960, no further coup were attempted largely due to the deep divisions within the armed forces, particularly the officer corps.[4]
When the first social unrest and mutinies broke out across the country during 1974, the Ethiopians had the largest military inSub-Saharan Africa.[5] The Ethiopian Revolution is widely considered to have begun on 12 January 1974 when a group of Ethiopian soldiers rebelled inNegele Borana.[6] In February 1974, the military rulers of theEthiopian Army, who were not ideologically united, comprised conservatives, moderates and radicals. In the process of socialist reforms, the radicals emerged victorious and wrested state power.[7] In April, theEthiopian Muslim protests occurred which was considered a massive rally at the time as over 100,000 citizens were witnessed participating.[8]
The Coordinating Committee of the Armed Forces formed in June 1974, later called theDerg, which decided to seize power from the emperor while confronting the Prime Minister,Endelkachew Makonnen.[9] Endelkachew was criticized for his backwardness in reforms which theEmperor, as the constitutional head, agreed to. On the Coordinating Committee's recommendation, Haile Selassie appointed him Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces in early July 1974.[9][10]
Endalkachew resigned from office on 22 July[11] and went toDjibouti;[12] the Coordinating Committeetook power by the end of the year.[10] On 12 September, they arrested Haile Selassie,[13] who remained at the National Palace until his death on 27 August 1975.[14]
Elleni Zeleke argues that 1960s'student movements' views onsocial sciences andsocial change were major factors in not only the 1974 revolution itself, but also in socially progressive and lethally repressive aspects of the revolution, and in the laterFall of the Derg and events during the rule of theEthiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front.[2]