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Against the Emperor. Analysis of the Student Protests Evolution During the Reign of Haile Selassie I (1960-1974)

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Against the Emperor. Analysis of the Student Protests Evolution During the Reign of Haile Selassie I (1960-1974) Revista Universitară de Sociologie. Year XV, no. 1/2019 www.sociologiecraiova.ro AGAINST THE EMPEROR. ANALYSIS OF THE STUDENT PROTESTS EVOLUTION DURING THE REIGN OF HAILE SELASSIE I (1960-1974) Pablo Arconada LEDESMA Ph.D. Candidate Universidad de Valladolid (Spain) [email protected] Abstract: Contrary to popular belief, African populations have been able to force, through social protest, numerous changes in their societies. One such example is Ethiopia, where its last emperor, Haile Selassie I (1930-1974), faced fierce opposition in the streets during his reign, specially the one boosted by students. This study focuses on how student protests in the country have evolved since 1960, what were the causes of their development and what impact they had on the government of the Ethiopian negus. Finally, it will be analysed whether the protests against the emperor were connected with the 1974 Revolution and the military coup that provoked the coming to power of the Provisional Military Government of Socialist Ethiopia, popularly known as Derg. In order to carry out this research, a detailed review of the bibliography has been conducted as well as an analysis of the period's newspaper and graphic material related to student protests. Key words: Ethiopia; social movements; Haile Selassie; protests. Introduction Contrary to popular belief, Africa has not been that static space, populated by immobile and passive societies, but rather social movements have become an indissoluble part of its history, especially since the colonisation promoted by Europeans. In fact, the African continent has a history full of massive protests: the colonial powers had to face resistance movements that later became national liberation movements, in addition to a whole series of strikes led by trade unions, street demonstrations and protests in the countryside. In addition, the seizure of power by single parties and dictatorships also brought an important part of the population to the streets, especially when the economic situation and austerity measures hindered social progress (Arnould, Tor & Vervaeke, 2006: 1). A paradigmatic case is Ethiopia where social pressure was particularly evident among different sectors such as peasants, students, teachers and urban workers especially since the 1960s. Of them, we have chosen to analyze how the student protests evolved because we consider that this was a group with a capacity for constant and intersectional mobilization with other social movements. In terms of time, this article analyzes the evolution of the movement between 1960-1974. The chosen time period is justified because it is framed in the last years of the reign 76 Revista Universitară de Sociologie. Year XV, no. 1/2019 www.sociologiecraiova.ro of Emperor Haile Selassie I (1930-1974) It is precisely in this framework that the rapid development that was conceived in the student movement at both ideological and strategic levels is visible. In order to carry out this analysis, this work has been divided into three phases: the first is based on the awakening of the student movement and its first actions after the coup d'état of 1960; the second coincides with a period of consolidation of the structures of the movement and its radicalisation (1966-1973) and, finally, the third phase focuses on the role of students during the 1974 Revolution. Throughout this research, the evolution of the Ethiopian student movement, the causes that led to its alteration over 15 years, its relationship with other social movements with which it shared time and space, its position with respect to the structure of the Ethiopian Empire and the figure of Haile Selassie I and the extent to which this group facilitated the outbreak of the 1974 Revolution have been deeply studied. 1. The awakening of the ethiopian student movement (1960-1965) Haile Selassie had been crowned emperor in 1930 and except for the brief parenthesis of the Italian invasion (1935-1941) remained in power almost four decades (Pankhurst, 1983: 148-156). The emperor controlled directly the whole country, with the exception of Eritrea, which, due to its historical characteristics, had its own institutions. If Eritrea had state status and was linked to Ethiopia in the framework of a federation, had its own Parliament and political parties, Selassie dismantled one by one these institutions and ended up turning the country into a mere province of the empire around 1960. This event had repercussions on the country's subsequent historical processes since, together with social protests, the empire had to face guerrilla groups opposed to the Ethiopian administration (Hrbek, 1993: 151-152). Thus, in 1958, the Eritrean Liberation Movement ("Mahber Sheweate") was founded, a clandestine movement that defended Eritrea's independence and began to operate in urban areas. In 1961, armed struggle began with the creation of the Eritrean Liberation Front (Tseggai, 1976: 26). Furthermore, in 1963, in the Ogaden region, a revolt was started by part of the Somali population demanding the independence of the region and its possible annexation to Somalia. In January 1964 a brief war began with this neighbouring country and although Ethiopia came out victorious, signing the peace in March of the same year, this reflected the multiple problems faced by the crown (Arconada Ledesma, 2018: 97). Parallel to this absolutist change in Eritrea, which was aimed at avoiding at all costs its independence, Selassie launched a series of political reforms aimed at washing the face of the autocratic imperial system. From 1955 Ethiopia became a "constitutional monarchy" with quasi-representative institutions. In order to legitimise this transformation, a reform of the 1931 Constitution was made that allowed the creation of a parliamentary system in which the emperor elected the 77 Revista Universitară de Sociologie. Year XV, no. 1/2019 www.sociologiecraiova.ro Prime Minister and in which political parties did not exist. These reforms, although they did not generate a real change in the Ethiopian feudal system, did end up opening a debate that was reflected since the mid-1960s, when the feudal values of the old aristocracy were opposed to the democratic values defended by the new classes of workers and wealthy families (Keller, 1981: 541). It should be noted here that, until the 1960s, the imperial system had not faced any kind of opposition, which was undoubtedly due to the high popularity of Haile Selassie after the liberation of the country in 1941. The images of that moment perfectly reflect the euphoria of the Ethiopian people and the celebrations of the emperor's return to Addis Ababa1. However, in the early hours of December 14, 1960, Mengistu Neway, commander of the imperial guard, and his brother, Garmame Neway, provincial governor and intellectual, took advantage of the fact that the emperor was travelling in Brazil to carry out a coup d'état. They quickly took control of the Imperial Palace in Addis Ababa, arresting the emperor's eldest son, Prince Asfa- Wasan, as well as the Ministers of Trade, Defence and the Interior. The coup was joined by most of the imperial guard and other leaders such as Colonel Warqenah Gabayahu and Police Commissioner Tsege Dibu. That same morning, a proclamation issued by Prince Asfa-Wasan, acting under duress, denouncing the country's poor economic situation compared to other African countries, announced the formation of a new government headed by Asfa-Wasan and promised the beginning of a new era. The response of the university students was immediate, demonstrating in the streets of Addis Ababa in favour of the new government (Clapham, 1968: 495). Before the coup d'état the students had not demonstrated in favor of a change in government, so it has traditionally been considered that the coup d'état also meant the birth of the student movement and the beginning of the struggle against the emperor. However, this support should not be understood as the search for a radical change in the imperial system. The fact that the person chosen for leading the change was a member of the royal family reveals the predilection of the military to keep the crown as an easy way to legitimise change and the students' interest not in overthrowing the imperial system as such, but in achieving real democratic openness. This is visible in a student publication of December 16, 1960, which specified that the new government would promote "freedom of speech, of the press, and of political parties” 2. Nevertheless, democracy was never mentioned by the coup plotters. In addition, the students became a beacon of opposition to the emperor since they were, with the exception of some military personnel, "the most outspoken and visibly the only consolidated opposition group" (Balsvik, 1985: 13). 1 British Pathé. 13 abril 2014. Haile Selassie Returns to Addis ababa from exile (1941) <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akChOvfHADs&t=32s>. 2 News and Views, 16 December 1960, published by the students of the University College of Addis Ababa. 78 Revista Universitară de Sociologie. Year XV, no. 1/2019 www.sociologiecraiova.ro In spite of the short-lived success of this putsch, the truth is that the Neway brothers only managed to control the capital, since no other uprising had taken place in the rest of the provinces. As of December 15, confrontations began to take place between the rebels and the military loyal to the regime. The emperor entered the city two days later, definitively aborting the coup d'état. An estimated 300 people died, most of them civilians surprised by the fighting (Clapham, 1968: 496). But why this uprising? In part it has to do with the expectations of national development that Haile Selassie had promised when she returned from exile in 1941. After almost three decades in power, the emperor had failed to keep these promises and had generated a wave of frustration in a significant part of society and especially among some circles of intellectuals and senior army commanders.
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