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Vendaval -> RE: In Ethiopia, Fear and Cries of Army Brutality (6/18/2007 12:32:08 PM)
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"Red Terror"
" The efforts by the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party to discredit and undermine the Derg and its MEISON collaborators escalated in the fall of 1976. It targeted public buildings and other symbols of state authority for bombings and assassinated numerous Abyot Seded and MEISON members, as well as public officials at all levels. The Derg, which countered with its own Red Terror campaign, labeled the EPRP's tactics the White Terror.
Mengistu asserted that all "progressives" were given "freedom of action" in helping root out the revolution's enemies, and his wrath was particularly directed toward the EPRP. Peasants, workers, public officials, and even students thought to be loyal to the Mengistu regime were provided with arms to accomplish this task.
Mengistu's decision resulted in fraticidal chaos. Many civilians he armed were EPRP sympathizers rather than supporters of MEISON or the Derg. Between early 1977 and late 78, roughly 5,000 people were killed. In the process, the Derg became estranged from civilian groups, including MEISON. By early 1979, Abyot Seded stood alone as the only officially recognized political organization; the others were branded enemies of the revolution. Growing human rights violations prompted the United States to counsel moderation. However, the Derg continued to use extreme measures against its real and perceived opponents to ensure its survival. From 1975 to 78, some experts say 150,000 university students, intellectuals and politicians were killed in a nationwide purge by Mengistu's Marxist regime.[30][31]
Together with what most Ethiopians & rights groups claim was a systematic counter-insurgency crime of holding millions of northern Ethiopians in famine, which prompted the famous Live Aid, Mengistu HaileMariam is alleged to be responsible for the 7th worst genocide in world history. Around 1,500,000 Ethiopians were claimed to be the victims of the Derg genocide.[32]
In addition to the urban guerrilla warfare being waged by the EPRP, nationalist movements such as the EPLF, the OLF, the TPLF/EPRDF, and the Western Somali Liberation Front (WSLF) also stepped up their military campaigns in the countryside to help the overthrowment of Mengistu's regime. In 2006, after a long trial, Mengistu was found guilty of genocide. [33] "
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopia
(punctuation edit)
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