Tadesse Birru (1921 – 19 March 1975) was an Ethiopian
general
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...
of the
Imperial Ethiopian Army and civil rights activist. Initially a strong proponent of Ethiopian unity, Tadesse eventually became an activist for the empowerment of the
Oromo people
The Oromo (pron. Oromo language, Oromo: ''Oromoo'') are a Cushitic people, Cushitic ethnic group native to the Oromia region of Ethiopia and parts of Northern Kenya, who speak the Oromo language (also called ''Afaan Oromoo'' or ''Oromiffa''), ...
in the 1960s. His advocacy turned into repeated attempts to overthrow the government through a coup and later through a military rebellion. He was eventually captured and executed by 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 " c ...
regime. He is considered to be the father of modern Oromo nationalism.
Life and career
Early life
Tadesse was born in Salele, in the Shewa province of the Ethiopian Empire during 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 (' ...
's reign. His father, Birru, was killed by poison gas during the
Second Italo-Ethiopian War
The Second Italo-Ethiopian War, also referred to as the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, was a war of aggression which was fought between Italy and Ethiopia from October 1935 to February 1937. In Ethiopia it is often referred to simply as the Itali ...
and his mother died of grief three months later. Tadesse is of
Tulama Oromo
The Tulama are an Oromo subgroup inhabiting the Shewa Zones of Oromia, Ethiopia, East Shewa Zone, North Shewa Zone (Oromia), Oromia Special Zone Surrounding Addis Ababa).
See also
* List of Oromo subgroups and clans
Fistly,The Native Orom ...
descent.
Military career
Left without a family, Tadesse joined his uncle, Beka, as a member of the
Arbegnoch
The Arbegnoch () were Ethiopian resistance fighters in Italian East Africa from 1936 until 1941. They were known to the Italians as shifta.
Organisation
The Patriot movement was mostly based in the rural Shewa, Gondar and Gojjam provinces, th ...
, a guerilla army of Ethiopian patriots who fought
Italian occupation.
He was eventually captured and sentenced to life in prison with hard labor in
Mogadishu
Mogadishu (, also ; so, Muqdisho or ; ar, مقديشو ; it, Mogadiscio ), locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port ...
,
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
where he remained until the British captured Mogadishu in 1940. Tadesse was freed and given military training in Kenya and returned to Ethiopia in 1941. In 1942, Tadesse was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant and enrolled into the national military academy at
Holota, where he served for years as an instructor.
In 1954, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and he moved from the military to the police force and was in charge of modernizing it. He was made a commander of the "Fetno-Derash" (Special Force), the Ethiopian Special Forces, and was instrumental in crushing
the attempted 1960 coup by proving
the conspirators wrong through his loyalty to the Emperor. It was also as commander of the Fetno-Derash that he trained
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...
, the South African anti-apartheid activist, in guerilla warfare. It was he who gave Mandela his famous lost Liliesleaf pistol.
Tadesse Birru was promoted to Brigadier General by which time he was commander of the Fetno-Derash, the deputy commissioner of the National Police Force, the commander of the Territorial Army and the chairman of the National Literacy Campaign.
Mecha and Tulama Self-help Association
Despite initially rejecting the nationalist sentiments that existed among his people, the Oromo, General Tadesse Birru's views were changed during a talk with Prime Minister
Aklilu Habtewold. As chairman of the National Literacy Campaign, Tadesse held a meeting with the Prime Minister during which Aklilu, not knowing Tadesse Birru's heritage, suggested that it was unwise to educate or recruit Oromos to the military. This is the comment that is believed to have influenced the general's decision to join the
Mecha and Tulama Self-Help Association
The Mecha and Tulema Self-Help Association ( om, Waldaa Wal-gargaarsa Maccaa fi Tuulamaa) was an Oromo political and freedom social movement in Ethiopia. The movement was primarily based in Bale, but was active in other regions as well (including ...
in early 1963, an Oromo social movement in which he went on to become a prominent figure.
His public image helped elevate the association's status and his organizational capacities and leadership qualities transformed the self-help organization into a pan-Oromo movement.
Through the organization, Tadesse Birru, advocated the empowerment of Oromos through education and an emphasis on self-reliance. Following his example, many Oromo military officers, civilian officials, professional elites, businessmen and religious leaders joined the association.
Many of these people had hidden the fact that they were Oromo before joining the association and joining it was seen as a reaffirmation of identity.
Opposition to government
Tadesse Birru's decision to join the association and the elevation of its status had angered the Emperor and his officials. Prime Minister Aklilu Habtewold especially began to consider Tadesse Birru a rival.
The prime minister used a bombing in
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 ...
and a rebellion started by Oromos in the Bale province as a pretext to ban the organization. Many of its members were arrested, killed, or exiled. Tadesse escaped the worst of repercussions but was put under house arrest from which he escaped after three years. He then plotted and attempted an unsuccessful
coup in 1966 along with other high ranking Oromo soldiers during which they planned to assassinate the Emperor. He was arrested and severely tortured despite his old age. Initially he received capital punishment , but later on it was changed to life in prison.
Tadesse was eventually released from prison and put into house arrest in
Gelemso
Galamso (also spelled Gelemso, and in Oromo Galamsoo), is a town in West Haraghe of Oromia Region, Ethiopia, Gelemso is located eastern Ethiopian is far from country capital 301 km and second way 413 km in the western periphery of the highly ...
. It was during that time that Tadesse was visited several prominent Oromo leaders such as
Baro Tumsa,
Elemo Qiltu
Hassan Ibrahim (1936 – August 1974), more commonly known by his '' nom de guerre'' Elemo Qiltu, was an Ethiopian guerilla commander and businessman, a prominent member of the Oromo nationalist movement and the leader of the first Oromo Liberati ...
(Hassen Ibrahim),
Ahmad "Hundee" Taqi and the legendary Shaykh Bakhri Saphalo.
In June 1974, Ethiopia was in turmoil as the imperial regime began to weaken. Tadesse took this chance and escaped from Gelemso and returned to addis Ababa. 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 " c ...
, which was the military regime that took over the government, asked Tadesse to become Minister of the Interior which he refused. After a second refusal, the police were sent to detain him from which he escaped began to organize an armed Oromo rebellion in Shewa.
He was joined by
Colonel Haile Regassa, Major
Abebe Gebre Mariam and eventually General
Jagama Kello
Jagama Kello ( om, Jaagamaa Keelloo; ; 29 January 1920 - 7 April 2017) was an Ethiopian military officer in the Ethiopian Armed Forces.
Early life
Jagama Kello was born on 29 January 1920 in Ginchi area of Shewa, not far from Addis Ababa. He ...
, former military comrades of his. In respect to the defunct Oromo army of the late
Elemo Qiltu
Hassan Ibrahim (1936 – August 1974), more commonly known by his '' nom de guerre'' Elemo Qiltu, was an Ethiopian guerilla commander and businessman, a prominent member of the Oromo nationalist movement and the leader of the first Oromo Liberati ...
, Tadesse Birru's forces operated under the name of the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) ( om, Waraanna Bilisummaa Oromoo).
Death
Tadesse Birru led the rebels until he was captured along with Hailu Regassa.
They were tried and were sentenced to life in prison but this was changed to execution by 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 " c ...
. Tadesse Birru, Hailu Regassa and a host of other Oromo leaders were executed on 19 March 1975. The OLA continued to operate and it became a part of the Oromo Liberation Front in 1976.
Legacy
Tadesse Birru is considered by many of Oromos to be the father of modern Oromo nationalism. His lectures about Oromo identity and nationhood inspired an entire generation of Oromos and led to the reaffirmation of the Oromo culture, language and identity as well as the development of the
Oromo independence movement.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Birru, Tadesse
1921 births
1975 deaths
Ethiopian generals
Oromo people
Ethiopian politicians
People of the Ethiopian Civil War
People executed by Ethiopia