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Qey Shibir or Kay Shibbir (), also known as the Ethiopian Red Terror, was a violent
political repression Political repression is the act of a state entity controlling a citizenry by force for political reasons, particularly for the purpose of restricting or preventing the citizenry's ability to take part in the political life of a society, thereby ...
campaign of the
Derg The Derg (also spelled Dergue; , ), officially the Provisional Military Administrative Council (PMAC), was the military junta that ruled Ethiopia, then including present-day Eritrea, from 1974 to 1987, when the military leadership formally " ...
against other competing Marxist-Leninist groups 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 ...
and present-day
Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopi ...
from 1976 to 1978. The Qey Shibir was an attempt to consolidate Derg rule during the political instability after their overthrow of
Emperor Haile Selassie Haile Selassie I ( gez, ቀዳማዊ ኀይለ ሥላሴ, Qädamawi Häylä Səllasé, ; born Tafari Makonnen; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia ('' ...
in 1974 and the subsequent Ethiopian Civil War. The Qey Shibir was based on the
Red Terror The Red Terror (russian: Красный террор, krasnyj terror) in Soviet Russia was a campaign of political repression and executions carried out by the Bolsheviks, chiefly through the Cheka, the Bolshevik secret police. It started in ...
of the
Russian Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Russian Civil War , partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I , image = , caption = Clockwise from top left: {{flatlist, *Soldiers ...
, and most visibly took place after
Mengistu Haile Mariam Mengistu Haile Mariam ( am, መንግሥቱ ኀይለ ማሪያም, pronunciation: ; born 21 May 1937) is an Ethiopian politician and former army officer who was the head of state of Ethiopia from 1977 to 1991 and General Secretary of the Wor ...
became chairman of the Derg on 3 February 1977. It is estimated that 10,000 to 750,000 people were killed over the course of the Qey Shibir.US admits helping Mengistu escape
BBC, 22 December 1999
In 2007 and 2008, Mengistu was convicted ''
in absentia is Latin for absence. , a legal term, is Latin for "in the absence" or "while absent". may also refer to: * Award in absentia * Declared death in absentia, or simply, death in absentia, legally declared death without a body * Election in ab ...
'' by Ethiopia for his role in the Qey Shibir while leader of the Derg.


History


Background

Following the
deposition Deposition may refer to: * Deposition (law), taking testimony outside of court * Deposition (politics), the removal of a person of authority from political power * Deposition (university), a widespread initiation ritual for new students practiced f ...
of Emperor
Haile Selassie Haile Selassie I ( gez, ቀዳማዊ ኀይለ ሥላሴ, Qädamawi Häylä Səllasé, ; born Tafari Makonnen; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia (' ...
on 12 September 1974, the Derg was faced with a number of civilian groups competing for control of Ethiopia, most notably the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party (EPRP). In September 1976, EPRP militants were arrested and executed, at the same time as the EPRP carried out an assassination campaign against ideologues and supporters of the Derg. This activity is known as White Terror. Although an unsuccessful attempt to kill Mengistu on 23 September was attributed to the EPRP, the first prominent victim of the EPRP's terroristic or insurgency activity was Dr. Feqre Mar'ed, a member of the
Political Bureau A politburo () or political bureau is the executive committee for communist parties. It is present in most former and existing communist states. Names The term "politburo" in English comes from the Russian ''Politbyuro'' (), itself a contraction ...
and
All-Ethiopia Socialist Movement The All-Ethiopia Socialist Movement ( am, መላ ኢትዮጵያ ሶሻሊስት ንቅናቄ, Mela Ītyōṗṗyā Soshalīsit Nik’inak’ē, native acronym: MEISON) is a political party in Ethiopia. A Marxist-Leninist organization, MEISON ...
(MEISON), a rival revolutionary party. However, the Derg was split between then-temporary chair Colonel Mengistu and a faction allied against him, which limited his control. This rivalry was resolved at the meeting of the Standing Committee of the Derg on 3 February 1977, at which fifty-eight top Derg officers were killed in an hour-long shootout. Seven of these officers were opponents of Mengistu, including chairman and Lieutenant General Tafari Benti, Captain
Almayahu Haile Captain Alemayehu Haile (died 3 February 1977) was a member of the Derg, the military junta that ruled Ethiopia from 1974 to 1987. An Amhara, Alemayehu was a graduate of the Dina Police College in Addis Ababa and of Haile Selassie University (now ...
, Captain
Mogas Wolde Mikael Mogas may refer to: * Motor gasoline, a slang for common gasoline (for cars, motorcycles, lawnmowers ...) used by aviators to distinguish it from avgas (aviation gasoline). * MOGAS Group, a Ugandan oil company * Mogas 90 FC Mogas 90 Football ...
, and Lt. Colonel
Asrat Desta Lieutenant Colonel Asrat Desta (Amharic: ኮሎኔል አሥራት ደስታ) of Ethiopia was the Chairman of Information and Public Relation Committee of the PMAC of Ethiopia. He died on February 3, 1977, together with Head of State Brigadier Ge ...
, the latter being an avowed Marxist-Leninist. Mengistu said "We are doing what
Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...
did. You cannot build
socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes th ...
without
Red Terror The Red Terror (russian: Красный террор, krasnyj terror) in Soviet Russia was a campaign of political repression and executions carried out by the Bolsheviks, chiefly through the Cheka, the Bolshevik secret police. It started in ...
." Christopher Andrew and Vasili Mitrokhin. ''The World Was Going Our Way: The KGB and the Battle for the Third World.'' Basic Books, 2005. ch. 25. Two rivals to Mengistu were still alive: Colonel
Berhanu Bayeh Berhanu Beyeh (born 1938) is a former Ethiopian army officer and politician. He was Foreign Minister during the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (1986–1989). Prior to that, he was chairman of the Derg's committee for legal affairs. Beyeh ...
and Lt. Colonel
Atnafu Abate Lieutenant Colonel Atnafu Abate ( gez, አጥናፉ አባተ; 31 January 1931 – 12 November 1977) was an Ethiopian military officer and a leading member of the Derg, the military junta which deposed Emperor Haile Selassie and ruled the co ...
. Col. Berhanu had sided with Mengistu, and Lt. Colonel Atnafu quickly sided with the victor of the bloodbath, leaving Mengistu as the undisputed head of the Derg, and ruler of Ethiopia. A few days later, Mengistu turned his attention to his rivals outside of the Derg, foremost being the EPRP.


Attacks on the EPRP

Mengistu officially began his campaign with a speech in Revolution Square (formerly and currently Meskel Square) in the heart of
Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...
, which included the words "Death to counterrevolutionaries! Death to the EPRP!" When he delivered these words, he produced three bottles of what appeared to be blood and smashed them to the ground to show what the revolution would do to its enemies.Backgrounders: Ethiopian Dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam
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 ...
, 1999
This campaign involved organized groups of civilians, or ''
kebele A ward ( am, ቀበሌ; om, Araddaa; ) is the smallest administrative unit of Ethiopia: a ward, a neighbourhood or a localized and delimited group of people. It is part of a district, itself usually part of a zone, which in turn are grouped into ...
s'', which within a month's time began to receive arms from the Derg. "Contrary to expectations," note researcher Marina Ottaway and then Washington Post correspondent David Ottaway in their account, "these squads did not all side with the ''Derg'' or heed its call to track down 'reactionaries' and 'anarchists'. Rather, many followed their own whim and law, in accordance to the political faction that controlled each ''kebele'' or factory. Not only had numerous defense squads been infiltrated by the EPRP, but also those controlled by the Political Bureau were often bent on furthering the interests of MEISON rather than the ''Derg''." The Ottaways date the height of the Red Terror in Addis Ababa to 22 March, when the Derg felt that they had armed enough civilian groups to permit a house-by-house search for EPRP members, arms, and other paraphernalia. However, the search was anything but systematic, the Ottways note, with "each squad a law unto itself. Some looked only for arms, but others confiscated food supplies, building materials, and gasoline; some considered cameras espionage equipment and others regarded typewriters as highly dangerous." Despite many being taken from their homes in the middle of the night, some never to return home, few of the top leaders of the EPRP were among the dead. A number of distinctly ugly incidents followed. One was at the Berhanena Selam Printing Press, where three days later a dozen workers were arrested for being EPRP members, then afterwards released for lack of evidence; on the morning of 26 March, nine of them were found murdered, including a woman in an advanced stage of pregnancy, which shocked the city. The deaths were found to be the responsibility of a certain Girma Kebede, and who was later found to be "the Political Bureau's chief executioner; he had already murdered twenty-four persons and had a list of over two hundred others he was supposed to liquidate." Embarrassed, the Derg had him and five associates executed as counterrevolutionaries on 2 April. Despite this brutality, the EPRP continued to strike back, best as it could. As one contemporary report describes: : In and around the capital, the main opposition group is the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party (E.P.R.P.) .... E.P.R.P. has given the Dergue good reason to be nervous: it has assassinated more than 20 government officials, mounted at least one daring raid on Dergue headquarters, and even wounded Mengistu in an ambush. One rebel sympathizer accosted Correspondent Griggs on a busy downtown street and boasted: "We have 700 marksmen, and some of them are Mengistu's own soldiers. It will take time, but we will clean out the pseudo-Marxist military leaders eventually." Events like this led to tension between the Derg
junta Junta may refer to: Government and military * Junta (governing body) (from Spanish), the name of various historical and current governments and governing institutions, including civil ones ** Military junta, one form of junta, government led by a ...
(and presumably Mengistu) and the civilian Political Bureau. Concern over the threat of the EPRP kept this tension from becoming a definite break until the eve of
May Day May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice. Festivities may also be held the night before, known as May Eve. Tr ...
, when the Political Bureau, on the pretext that an anti-government protest was in the offing, ordered the ''kebeles'' to arrest any young person suspected of being an EPRP member. According to the Ottaways, "Hundreds were arrested, taken to three different sites on the outskirts of Addis Ababa, and executed en masse. Scores of others were gunned down in the streets by the Derg's 'permanent secretaries', the jeeps mounted with machine guns constantly patrolling the streets of Addis Ababa. The death toll may have been as high as one thousand." Afterwards, the Derg disavowed this outrage and put the blame for the slaughter on the Political Bureau in a proclamation on 14 July. The Bureau's leader Haile Fide and a group of his followers attempted to flee the capital the following August, but were caught. At the same time, the Red Terror made MEISON its next target. "Sensing danger," writes Bahru Zewde, "the leaders of the organization hastily tried to go underground. But almost all of them were either captured or killed in August 1977 as they tried to retreat into the countryside in several detachments." Thousands of men and women were rounded up and executed in the following two years.Mengistu is handed life sentence
BBC, 11 January 2007
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and s ...
estimates that the death toll could be as high as 500,000. Groups of people were herded into churches that were then burned down, and women were subjected to systematic rape by soldiers. The Save the Children Fund reported that the victims of the Red Terror included not only adults but 1,000 or more children, mostly aged between eleven and thirteen, whose corpses were left in the streets of Addis Ababa.


Aftermath

The victims' lives are immortalized in the
"Red Terror" Martyrs' Memorial Museum The "Red Terror" Martyrs' Memorial Museum in Addis Ababa was established in 2010 as a memorial to those who died during the Red Terror under the Derg government. The museum has displays of torture instruments, skulls and bones, coffins, bloody ...
in Addis Ababa. Mengistu was found guilty of
genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the ...
''in absentia'' and was sentenced to life in prison in January 2007. After his conviction,
Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...
, where he received sanctuary due to friendship with
Robert Mugabe Robert Gabriel Mugabe (; ; 21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017. He served as Leader of the ...
, said it would not extradite him. On 26 May 2008, the Ethiopian Supreme Court sentenced Mengistu ''in absentia'' to
death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...
. Eighteen associates of Mengistu, 16 of whom are in Ethiopian prisons, also are under a death sentence. Two senior regime officials lived in the Italian embassy in Addis Ababa from 2008 until their death sentences were commuted and they were granted parole in 2020. Another individual who was found guilty ''in absentia ''in May 2002, Kelbessa Negewo, was returned from his exile in the United States several years later to serve a life sentence.


See also

* Ethiopian Civil War *
March of the Iron Will The March of the Iron Will () was an Italian Fascist propaganda event staged from 26 April to 5 May 1936, during the final days of the Second Italo-Ethiopian War. Its goal was to capture the Ethiopian capital in a show of force. A ...
* Hutu Ten Commandments * Mass killings under communist regimes


Notes


References

* ''Talk of the Devil: Encounters with Seven Dictators'' by Riccardo Orizio, 2003, p. 150.


External links

*
Victims of Red Terror Memorial website
{{Ethiopian Civil War (1974–1991) 1977 in Ethiopia 1978 in Ethiopia Communism in Ethiopia Conflicts in 1977 Political and cultural purges Conflicts in 1978 Ethiopian Civil War Political repression in Ethiopia Politicides