In the late 1980s the military government of Ethiopia found itself in a very precarious situation as a result of the escalating war in Eritrea and Tigray. As of May 1988 the government focused its manpower and material resources for the war effort in the northern battles. However, at the battle of Shire (Dec. 28, 1988 -Feb. 19, 1989) its huge army was decisively neutralized by rebel forces. Almost two years and three months later the EPLF captured Asmara and the EPRDF occupied Addis Ababa, making the battle of Shire a turning point in the protracted war in Ethiopia. This paper is a brief account of the event and has been prepared primarily from authentic, original sources from the government and the concerned rebel forces.
THE BACKGROUND
The TPLF was founded in 1975 by a group ofTigrian university students most of whom were active participants in the Ethiopian student movement. The front began its guerrilla activities on 18 February of the same year. It made its zone of operation in the localities of Tigray, which are known to have been influenced by the protracted war in Eritrea. TPLF’s area of operation between 1975 and 1978 was mainly eastern Shire, eastern Axum and eastern Adigrat, all adjacent to Eritrean territory.
Partly because of its military preoccupation in Eritrea and Ogaden and partly because it underestimated the potential threat from the TPLF, the government did not launch significant military campaigns into the region until 1978, although there were cases when the government made efforts to eliminate TPLF’s “suspected” members and supporters during the Red Terror. This, on the other hand, provided the TPLF with the opportunity to operate in the larger part of Tigray.
Later, however, the growing political and military activities of the rebels were not only felt by the government but made it launch better organized military campaigns into the region. Between November 1976 and early 1983 the government launched six major offensive campaigns against the TPLF. But none of these campaigns could attain their goals. The TPLF mostly avoided conventional resistance whenever the military balance of power was in favor of the government. It usually moved out of its liberated zones of operation downwards to Wello and the Assab Dessie road and averted planned government offensives. The front during this time largely depended on guerrilla warfare to destroy government forces stationed in the different parts of Tigray.
No major offensive campaigns were launched during 1983-1984. The TPLF effectively used this period for reassessment and consolidation of its positions. In September 1984, following misunderstandings with the EPLF, the TPLF constructed its own supply line through Welquait, western Tigray to the Sudan.
The 1985 great famine and drought made hundred thousands of people flee to the Sudan. Relief Society ofTigray (REST) did its best to alleviate the problem through cross-border supply. The government on the other hand launched joint operations of its airforce and ground forces to stop flights of the drought and famine stricken Tigreans to the Sudan. Its efforts in this respect, however, failed. In June 1985, when the rainy season approached except for the children, elders and weak women REST brought back the hundred thousands of refugees from the Sudan.
On the other hand 1985 was also a year of significant advancement for the TPLF in many aspects. A congress of its members was held and a crucial reassessment was made on the history of its ten years of struggle. After democratically held discussions from top downwards to the smallest unit, the front purged some founding members and others such as Aragawi Berhe and Giday Zeratsion for political and disciplinary reasons.
With respect to its military strategy, the congress realized that the government forces were superior in terms of manpower, possession of weapons and other facilities. But it also knew that many of the government soldiers had been conscripted, trained and deployed by force. It then defined its new military policy to be “we should not fight the army but its leadership and liberate those who joined the army without their consent.”
The 1985 congress of the TPLF also considered the need for a permanent base area. In 1985/86 the rebels destroyed the bridge on the river Tekezze, blocked the Welqait-Tembien-Adi Da’ero roads and founded a permanent base area at Kazza and Dajana.
The TPLF was able to integrate itself with the people ofTigray. It defined its political line in a way to uphold the grievances of the people. Leaders and fighters of the front operated inside the people tasting the life of the poor peasant. Through time the rebels refined their political and military position through a series of corrective measures, produced disciplined, well-politicized and gallant fighters and managed winning victories over government forces. In both of its political and military operations it clearly identified and attacked targets. It objectively exploited government weaknesses and endeavored to win not only civilian support but also that of government soldiers. At times of both relative peace and fierce fighting it objectively addressed grievances of government soldiers on class and nationality basis.
It has also been widely reported that the TPLF showed a good degree of hospitality to prisoners of war. As a matter of fact those who were allowed to rejoin the army went on disseminating pro-TPLF information among their colleagues. Soldiers who listened to them and who saw their colleagues being safely returned began to see submission to the rebels as a good opportunity to save one’s life. … continued on page 2
PARIS — Two expatriate staff for French aid group Medecins du Monde have been kidnapped in a rebellious southeastern region of Ethiopia.
The pair were kidnapped on Monday in Ethiopia’s Ogaden region, an arid stretch of land on the border with Somalia where rebels are fighting for independence, the Paris-based group said.
Medecins du Monde – which translates as Doctors of the World – did not give the names or nationalities of the kidnapped staffers. Nor did it give other details about the kidnapping or the kidnappers.
The aid group, in a statement Tuesday, said it is in contact with the authorities, with its other staffers in the Horn of Africa country and with the two staffers’ families.
Ethnic Somalis have been fighting in the Ogaden for more than a decade, seeking greater autonomy or an independent state. Somalia lost control of the region – the size of Britain and home to around 4 million people, in a war in 1977.
The region is being explored for oil and gas. Ethiopian forces stepped up their operations after the rebel Ogaden National Liberation Front attacked a Chinese-run oil exploration field in April 2007, killing 74 people.
Drought and the rebellion have also combined to create severe food shortages in the region. Because of the military campaign, the government has restricted humanitarian agencies and others from accessing the Ogaden.
DERKA, ETHIOPIA – Fatima Muher Nur is one of the world’s marginal farmers. On two small plots in the Ethiopian village of Derka, South Wollo, Muher Nur grows sorghum and a little teff – the national staple – for herself and her family. On a village plot she also cultivates grass to feed her few animals and to sell within the community.
A widow with three young children, Muher Nur struggles to produce enough for the whole year. In a bad year her harvest lasts for just six to eight months. When it runs out, she may have to sell livestock to buy food. Or go hungry.
Marginal farms like Muher Nur’s make up the majority of farms in many developing countries. Varying in size from a quarter of a hectare to two hectares, these farms are home to most of the one billion people who live in absolute poverty. Across Africa, Asia and Latin America, marginal farmers, producing food mainly for their own families, are largely dependent on rain to water their crops. Few have irrigation. In good years they may have a surplus which they sell or barter in local markets. In bad years their food runs out long before the next harvest is ready.
The millions of farmers like Muher Nur have a limited impact on their country’s economic statistics. The food they produce only counts in national income statistics if they sell it.
Rising world food prices are hitting urban dwellers and the rural landless in developing countries, and benefiting better-off farmers with produce to sell. Farmers like Muher Nur are largely unaffected either way.
But marginal farmers are affected by changes in the global environment. Climate change is already hitting farmers, especially the poorest, who have little margin for survival. And its impact is likely to worsen.
Rainfall is becoming less dependable, posing a huge threat to marginal farmers. Anything that reduces rainfall, or makes it more erratic, can be life-threatening.
“Croplands, pastures and forests … are progressively being exposed to threats from increased climatic variability. Those least able to cope will likely bear additional adverse impacts,” says the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) report, Adaptation to Climate Change in Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
Ethiopian farmers interviewed by the non-governmental organisation Concern Worldwide were unanimous that changes in rainfall patterns are one of the major challenges facing them. Most indicated that rain patterns had changed dramatically over the past 10 to 20 years. In the past, changes to the rainfall patterns happened every few years and were the exception rather than the rule, they said, but now each year is unpredictable.
The FAO report says that to help farmers cope with climate change a strategy is needed that emphasises “conserving diversity, adapting varieties to diverse and marginal conditions, broadening the genetic base of crops, promoting locally adapted crops and under-utilised species”.
Marginal farmers are at the heart of world poverty and hunger. But development aid for them has declined over the past 20 years. Supporting them seems essential if the goal of halving poverty is to be reached.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Ethiopia ranks 126th place out of 180 countries as having one of the most corrupt governments in the world, while Somalia is the last. What the researchers have failed to see is that Somalia is being governed by the same regime that is ruling Ethiopia. If they dig deeper, they would find that the Meles dictatorship in Ethiopia is more corrupt than its puppet regime in Somalia.
_______________________________
By Noah Barkin
BERLIN, Sept 23 (Reuters) – Corruption in poor countries has created a humanitarian disaster which threatens to derail the global fight against poverty, Transparency International said.
Releasing its annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) on Tuesday, the anti-corruption watchdog said donor countries should address the problem by carefully targeting aid.
The index ranks 180 countries according to perceived levels of public sector corruption. The CPI scores countries on a zero to 10 scale, with zero indicating high levels of corruption and 10, low levels.
For the second year running, Somalia, Myanmar and Iraq received the poorest marks, with Somalia scoring 1.0 and Myanmar and Iraq scoring 1.3 each.
Denmark defended its ranking as the world’s least corrupt nation, alongside Sweden and New Zealand. All scored 9.3.
Transparency International (TI) chair Huguette Labelle called the high levels of corruption in low-income countries a “humanitarian disaster”.
“Stemming corruption requires strong oversight through parliaments, law enforcement, independent media and a vibrant civil society,” Labelle said in a statement.
“When these institutions are weak, corruption spirals out of control with horrendous consequences for ordinary people, and for justice and equality in societies more broadly.”
The Berlin-based watchdog estimated that unchecked levels of corruption would add $50 billion — or nearly half of annual global aid outlays — to the cost of achieving the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals on combating poverty.
It urged a more focused and coordinated approach by the global donor community to ensure assistance strengthens institutions of governance and oversight in recipient countries.
TI also singled out the performance of some wealthy exporting countries which saw their scores decline from 2007, saying continued evidence of foreign bribery scandals suggested a broader failure by developed nations.
It said statistically significant declines were seen in 2008 in Bulgaria, Burundi, Maldives, Norway and the United Kingdom, which saw its score dip to 7.7 from 8.4.
TI said the UK’s anti-corruption credentials had suffered a setback following the December 2006 decision to discontinue a criminal investigation of British defence firm BAE Systems in relation to a contract in Saudi Arabia.
Significant improvements were seen in Albania, Cyprus, Georgia, Mauritius, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, South Korea, Tonga and Turkey.
(For a table of the best and worst ranked countries click here).
(Writing by Noah Barkin; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
EDITOR’S NOTE: Over $1 billion dollars the Meles dictatorship in Ethiopia receives annually in aid and loan from the U.S. and other countries have made the country more poor, and the regime more corrupt and brutal. Little or none of this $151-million would go to serve the people of Ethiopia. It is an award to Meles for being a good puppet. The money is going to be used to fuel the Woyanne instruments of repression. The people of Ethiopia continue to live in an abject poverty as the video below shows.
ADDIS ABABA (AFP) — The United States has given Ethiopia 151 million dollars to boost its health and education services, the US embassy said here on Tuesday.
The agreement was signed Monday by USAID representative Glenn Anders, US ambassador to Ethiopia Donald Yamamoto and Ethiopia’s Finance Minister Mekonnen Manyazewal, a statement said.
The grant will also finance economic growth and democracy and governance programmes.
Washington will this year also provide more than 900 million dollars (610 million euros) in aid to the Horn of Africa country, a key ally in its anti-terrorism war.
Ethiopia received US backing in late 2006 when it deployed troops to neighbouring Somalia to overthrow an Islamist movement accused of harbouring extremist elements.
The video below shows the result of U.S. assistance to the brutal dictatorship in Ethiopia. It shows Ethiopia’s obscene poverty after 17 years of plunder by the U.S.-financed regime of the Tigrean People Liberation Front.
South Africa was plunged into political chaos today after 11 cabinet ministers, including internationally respected Finance Minster Trevor Manuel, resigned in support of Thabo Mbeki who was kicked out of office after losing a bitter power struggle within the ruling African National Congress (ANC).
Opposition parties termed the exodus, which also saw three deputy ministers leaving the government, a disaster for the country’s stability. Mr Mbeki is believed to have asked cabinet members to stay put in the interests of stability.
Independent analysts said it showed the depth of division within the ANC and predicted it could ultimately lead to a realignment of the ineffective opposition.
Analysts believe younger pro-Mbeki supporters, who now face years in the political wilderness, could be tempted to launch a new party.
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“It now longer a split, it is a chasm… the ANC is hopelessly divided – even if some of these ministers will accept to serve a new president and go back in government for the sake of unity. They were asked not to do this, but made the gesture to show the depth of anger within the party,” said one ANC insider.
Ian Davidson, parliamentary chief whip of the opposition Democratic Alliance which has largely failed to resonate with black voters, said the move could lead to the creation of a new “black” political party and hasten a much-needed political reshuffle.
“We need a realignment of politics in this country… the ANC is tired. All people of all colours who respect the constitution and independent institutions should be together under one banner,” he said.
The news of Mr Manuel’s action spooked the markets, already jittery that the triumph of Mr Mbeki’s arch foe, ANC President Jacob Zuma, would mean a lurch leftwards.
The Rand immediately fell some 2.5 per cent against the dollar and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange dropped about four percent. Both recovered slightly after Mr Manuel was forced to give an impromptu press conference in Washington saying it was a question of protocol and he remained ready to serve a new incoming administration.
The ANC later said it had asked him to remain as Finance Minister and would also re-appoint some of the other ministers who had stepped down to give the ANC’s new man, Kgalema Motlanthe, a free hand.
Mr Motlanthe will be sworn in on Thursday when the current president’s resignation formally takes effect. Parliament, which is dominated by the ANC, today voted 299 to 10 to approve Mbeki’s exit which brings to a humiliating end the nine-year administration of the man who succeeded anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela.
Only 14 years after the end of apartheid, the ANC dominates politics in the country and is expected to once again triumph in what will be the country’s third democratic election. However, many disillusioned voters are now expected to remain home, cutting the ANC’s overwhelming majority in the National Assembly.
The ANC said on Monday it wanted Mr Motlanthe, 59, as a caretaker president. He is expected to keep the seat warm for Mr Zuma who is not a member of parliament and cannot take over until after the next elections, now expected in April 2009.
The president’s office said the ministers’ resignations would also take effect on Thursday.
Those leaving include Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, who spearheaded a turnaround of the country’s AIDS policies, and Local Government Minister Sydney Mufamadi, a key negotiator in the Zimbabwe crisis.
Both are close allies of Mr Mbeki and would have not proved acceptable to the backers of Mr Zuma. The caretaker president however is seen as appealing to a far wider spectrum of people within the ANC and will see some of the resignations as a blow to his hopes of reuniting the party ahead of next years poll.
Kgalema Motlanthe
— Elected ANC deputy president in December last year and appointed to Cabinet this July
— Defended Jacob Zuma against corruption allegations after he was sacked by Thabo Mbeki in 2005
— Believed to be about 59, is a former student activist, a trade unionist and a soldier in the ANC’s disbanded military wing
— Jailed on Robben Island with Nelson Mandela under the apartheid regime
— Elected secretary-general of the ANC in 1997 on the retirement from politics of Cyril Ramaphosa
Source: Reuters
– – – – – – – – – – Motlanthe named new South Africa president
By Hassan Isilow, Daily Monitor Correspondent
ANC president Jacob Zuma has suggested that his deputy Mr Kgalema Motlanthe will be acting President of South Africa when Thabo Mbeki finally steps down.
Addressing a press conference yesterday in Johannesburg, Mr Zuma said his party had forwarded Mr Motlanthe’s name to Parliament awaiting its approval.
“Once Parliament approves comrade Motlanthe’s name then he will become our interim president,” Mr Zuma told a press conference at the ANC house.
Asked why the ANC had chosen Mr Kgalema Motlanthe as their favoured candidate, Mr Zuma said “Kgalema has all the potential to govern and stir this country in a good direction”.
Mr Mbeki, who presided over South Africa’s longest period of economic growth, said in a televised address on Sunday he had tendered his resignation after the ANC asked him to quit before the end of his term next year.
The ANC made its request eight days after a judge threw out corruption charges against party leader Jacob Zuma, suggesting there was high-level political meddling in the case.
There are striking similarities between the political careers of Mr Motlanthe and the ANC President Mr Zuma. The two are long serving members of the ANC Party and actively participated in the freedom of South Africa resulting into their imprisonment.
The two were sentenced to a prison term of 10 years each to Robben Islands for their political activism.
He was born in 1947 and is currently the ANC’s deputy president and minister without portfolio.
He was appointed to Parliament in May after the death of an ANC Member of Parliament, which clearly paved a way for him to become a cabinet minister.
Mr Motlanthe was appointed as minister without portfolio in July after the executive asked President Mbeki to bring him into Cabinet so as to manage the transfer of power when Mr Mbeki steps down at the expiry of his term in April 2009.
While working as minister without portfolio Mr Motlanthe was responsible for the co-ordination of government business.
He was a former student activist, trade unionist and soldier in the ANC’s disbanded military wing UmKhonto we Sizwe. He was elected as the ANC’s deputy president in December 2007.
Analysts had speculated that the ANC executive had wanted Mr Motlanthe to be appointed in Cabinet so as to gain leadership skills at a time when the ANC President Jacob Zuma was facing corruption charges, therefore implying that he would be the party’s second choice had Mr Zuma been sentenced to prison.
Mr Zuma, who holds no government post, is all but certain to become head of state in an election in 2009.
