Ethiopia and Eritrea Conflict (1990-2019)

• 1869 -1941: Eritrea was part of the Ethiopian empire, but it was colonized by Italy from 1869 to 1941.
• Following Italy's defeat in World War II, the United Nations determined that Eritrea would become part of Ethiopia, though Eritrea would maintain a great deal of autonomy.
• In 1961 Ethiopia removed Eritrea's independence, and Eritrea became just another Ethiopian province.

In 1974 the Ethiopian Revolution ended the longest ruling monarchy in African history. Haile Selassie, the well-known emperor and statesman, was deposed in a revolution caused by inequality and lack of development and democracy within Ethiopia. The Marxist government that took overpower was called the Dergue, which is the Amharic word for committee. (Amharic is the language of Ethiopia.) But what was supposed to be a committee quickly turned into a dictatorship under the control of Mengistu Haile Mariam. Shortly after the revolution, Mengistu began to purge the country of dissent in what was called the "Red Terror."Many young people died, others fled the country or joined armed opposition groups in the countryside.

Opposition to the state was already going on in the northern province of Eritrea, where fighting dated back to 1961. In 1961 the Ethiopian state abolished any autonomy held by the Eritrean region. Though it was at one-point part of the Ethiopian empire, the Italian colonization of Eritrea from 1869 until 1941 gave it a distinctly different history than the rest of the Ethiopian state, which had never been colonized. When Italy was defeated in World War II, it was forced to give up its colonies. A United Nations commission decided what should be done with the Italian colonies in Africa: Eritrea, Libya and Italian Somaliland. It was determined that Eritrea should be united with Ethiopia, but that it should be allowed to keep its own laws, flag and language. Eritrea, therefore, had some autonomy from 1952 until 1961, when Haile Selassie decided to end what Eritrean autonomy existed. In 1961 Eritrea was stripped of its distinctive government and became simply another province of Ethiopia. It was at that time that fighting began between Eritreans who supported complete independence from Ethiopia and the Ethiopian state.

Armed opposition to the Ethiopian state continued throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Opposition to the Ethiopian government grew during the Ethiopian famine that occurred in 1985. The government was thought to have responded too slowly and to have favored certain regions with food aid. By the late 1980s, the Ethiopian state was threatened by organized rebel groups throughout the countryside. These groups were organized along ethnic lines with the Oromo supporting the Oromo Liberation Front, the Tigrayans supporting the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and the Eritreans supporting the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF).

“For 30-years people of Eritrea fought a bitter struggle for independence, and for 13-years people of Ethiopia fought to overthrow a brutal totalitarian regime. Eventually through tenacity, courage, and will they succeeded. It is outstanding now (1999) that leaders who already sacrificed so much and who know what true suffering is cannot find some way to resolve their differences without massive bloodshed” (Gilman, 1999, p. 3).

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Prepared by: Marco A. Cuevas, Kalkidan A. Kebede and Khalid Salih

Submitted to: Prof. Rosemarry Fernholz, PhD