The Gambela People's Liberation Movement (
abbreviated
An abbreviation (from Latin ''brevis'', meaning ''short'') is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method. It may consist of a group of letters or words taken from the full version of the word or phrase; for example, the word ''abbrevia ...
GPLM) was a rebel group in the
Gambela Region
The Gambela Region (also spelled Gambella; am, ጋምቤላ), officially the Gambela Peoples' Region, is a regional state in western Ethiopia, bordering South Sudan. Previously known as Region 12, its capital is Gambela. The Region is situated ...
in
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
. The GPLM was founded by
Anuak dissidents during the
Derg and Woyane regime. The organization remained dominated by Anuaks.
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
.
Targeting the Anuak: human rights violations and crimes against humanity in Ethiopia's Gambella Region
'. London: Human Rights Watch, 2005. pp. 9-10 Agwa Alemu was the chairman of the GPLM.
[International Conference of Ethiopian Studies, Katsuyoshi Fukui, Eisei Kurimoto, and Masayoshi Shigeta. ]
Ethiopia in broader perspective: papers of the XIIIth International Conference of Ethiopian Studies, Kyoto, 12-17 December 1997
'. Kyoto, Japan: Shokado Book Sellers, 1997. p. 810
Founding
The GPLM emerged from one faction of the erstwhile
Gambela Liberation Front (GLF). The group that would form the GPLM were supported by the
Sudan
Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
ese government and linked to the
Oromo Liberation Front
The Oromo Liberation Front ( om, Adda Bilisummaa Oromoo, abbreviated: ABO; English abbreviation: OLF) is an Oromo nationalist political party formed in 1973 to promote self-determination for the Oromo people inhabiting today's Oromia Region and ...
.
[Feyissa, Dereje. ]
Playing Different Games: The Paradox of Anywaa and Nuer Identification Strategies in the Gambella Region, Ethiopia
'. New York: Berghahn Books, 2011. p. 199 The faction took the name GPLM in 1985. GPLM guerillas operated out of bases in Sudan.
At the time of its founding, the GPLM had the stated objective of liberating Gambela from domination by Highlanders (i.e.
Amharic
Amharic ( or ; (Amharic: ), ', ) is an Ethiopian Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amharas, and also serves as a lingua franca for all oth ...
,
Tigrinya
(; also spelled Tigrigna) is an Ethio-Semitic language commonly spoken Eritrea and in northern Ethiopia's Tigray Region by the Tigrinya and Tigrayan peoples. It is also spoken by the global diaspora of these regions.
History and literatur ...
and
Oromo peoples).
[Bahru Zewde. ]
Society, state, and identity in African history
'. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Forum for Social Studies, 2008. p. 140 Moreover, the GPLM conceptualized Nuer territorial encroachments in Gambela as a national issue, i.e. as a conflict between Ethiopians and non-citizens. The GPLM labelled the Nuers as 'foreigners', making reference to the 1902 border which had placed the majority of Nuers in Sudanese territory.
War against the Derg
The Derg regime labelled the GPLM as ''wonbede'' ('bandits'). This discourse, which insinuated that the Anuaks as a whole were outlaws and unreliable, had the effect of cementing collective Anuak resistance to the Derg (which in turn pushed the Nuer into strengthening their alliance with the Derg). In the second half of the 1980s, the GPLM began attacking settlers and civil servants in Gambela.
In the war against the Derg regime the GPLM would ally itself with the
(EPRDF), joining the joint anti-Derg offensive in western Ethiopia in 1989.
However, the alliance had an uneasy start. The GPLM discourse on 'Highlanders' differed from the other ethno-nationalist movements, whose discourse focused specifically on Amhara domination.
Transitional period
On 16 May 1991, the GPLM and EPRDF forces captured Gambela, routing the Derg and
SPLA forces.
The GPLM would dominate Gambela politics during the transitional period of 1991-1994. After the victory over the Derg regime, the regional government in Gambela was handed over to the GPLM.
GPLM participated in the 1991 National Conference. During the transitional period, the GPLM had two delegates in the Council of Representatives.
[Akol, Lam. ]
SPLM/SPLA: The Nasir Declaration
'. New York: iUniverse, Inc, 2003. p. 101 In July 1992, the GPLM leader Agwa Alemu was killed by his own troops.
The transitional period in Gambela was marred by ethnic violence between Anuaks and Nuer. The Anuak GPLM fighters are said to have worn a magic called ''kunjur'', supposedly making them bulletproof. It is said that many Anuak youths joined the GPLM, impressed by the force of the ''kunjur''.
[Schlee, Günther, and Elizabeth E. Watson. ]
Changing identifications and alliances in North-East Africa: Sudan, Uganda, and the Ethiopia-Sudan Borderlands
'. New York ;Oxford: Berghahn, 2009. p. 173
Relations between the GPLM and the EPRDF remained complicated. The GPLM did not become an EPRDF associate. Its ambition was to become a hegemonic force in Gambela politics, an aspiration that the EPRDF would not accept. The EPRDF government ordered a forces demobilization of GPLM fighters in 1992, which led to clashes in the regional capital. The GPLM forces retreated to
Pochalla
Pochalla (also Pochala, Pochella, Pachella) is a town in South Sudan.
Location
Pochalla is located in Pochalla County, Boma State, in eastern South Sudan, on the International border with Ethiopia. The town sits on the eastern edge of Boma Nation ...
,
Sudan
Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
(now part of
South Sudan
South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the C ...
, where they remained for months until a settlement was reached. As part of the settlement, GPLM fighters were integrated into the national army.
[Bahru Zewde. ]
Society, state, and identity in African history
'. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Forum for Social Studies, 2008. p. 146
Merger into the GPDF
In 1995, under pressure from the federal government, the GPLM was renamed as the Gambela People's Liberation Party.
In 1998 the federal government pressured the GPLP to merge with the
Nuer Nuer may refer to:
* Nuer people
* Nuer language
The Nuer language (Thok Naath) ("people's language") is a Nilotic language of the Western Nilotic group. It is spoken by the Nuer people of South Sudan and in western Ethiopia (region of Gamb ...
-dominated
Gambela People's Democratic Unity Party
The Gambela People's Democratic Unity Party was a political party in Gambela Region, Ethiopia. GPDUP was mainly based amongst Nuer people, formed in 1992 in Nasir in the midst of mass displacements of Nuers as the Anuak people, Anuak-dominated Gamb ...
(GPDUP), forming the
Gambela People's Democratic Front Gambela or Gambella may refer to:
Places
* Gambela Region, Ethiopia
* Gambela, Ethiopia, a city and separate woreda in Gambela Region
* Gambela Zuria, ''Greater Gambela'', a woreda surrounding the city of Gambela
* Gambela National Park
* Apostolic ...
(GPDF). Anuaks unhappy with the GPLP-GPDUP merger formed the
Gambela People's Democratic Congress Gambela or Gambella may refer to:
Places
* Gambela Region, Ethiopia
* Gambela, Ethiopia, a city and separate woreda in Gambela Region
* Gambela Zuria, ''Greater Gambela'', a woreda surrounding the city of Gambela
* Gambela National Park
* Apostolic ...
.
References
{{Ethiopian political parties
Defunct political parties in Ethiopia
Factions of the Ethiopian Civil War
Gambela Region
National liberation movements in Africa
Rebel groups in Ethiopia