“An Essential Contribution”: A Book Review

I am pleased to share the following book review from a veteran of the 1970s struggle. Ordering information for my book follows afterwards. I am available for telephone or zoom interviews...leave a comment to inquire.—ISH 

LIKE HO CHI MINH! LIKE CHE GUEVARA!
THE REVOLUTIONARY LEFT IN ETHIOPIA, 1969-1979
Foreign Languages Press, Paris, 2020, by Ian Scott Horst

Book Review by Tariku Debretsion

I am a veteran of the Ethiopian Student Movement (ESM) and the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Party (EPRP), and I find this book to be a comprehensive documentary analysis of the Ethiopian Revolution of 1974. With 502 pages and 889 extensive citations, the book is an essential contribution to the study of the Yekatit Revolution.

The book is unique in that instead of writing his own narrative or analysis, the writer chose to present the complex development of the revolution through the participants’ own narratives, thoughts, and analysis. For this, he used massive documents published by the Ethiopian Student Unions over the 25 years that preceded the revolution and a decade of the Ethiopian left parties’ and their antagonist the Derg’s publications. Vivid testimonies of the individuals who participated or were caught in the revolutionary tempest are extensively cited. Even secret documents from the CIA and KGB are uncovered to present the assessment and involvement of the superpowers. The Yekatit 1974 Ethiopian Revolution was a classical revolution in the spirit of the French and the Russian revolutions. The writer has succeeded in presenting a very incisive and comprehensive picture of this epochal, albeit tragic, revolution: the gallant struggle of the Ethiopian Student Movement over two and half decades; the frantic effort of the leftist parties that morphed from ESM to play a vanguard role to the revolution and their fatal internecine fights; the treachery of the fascist Derg faction led by Mengistu Hailemariam in hijacking the revolution; the intervention of soviet imperialism that sealed the fate of the revolution; and the orgy of violence that was the devastating massacre of a generation of the country’s educated Youth.

 

Ian Scott Horst, as a true revolutionary, has been able to grasp that the Yekatit revolution is part of the international struggle for the emancipation of the oppressed and exploited classes. As Ethiopian revolutionaries extensively studied international revolutions to guide them in their struggle, they in turn have--through their successes and shortcomings--contributed worthwhile experiences that need to be studied and examined by all internationalists. Inter alia: how the first socialist revolution ends up landing the crushing blow to a popular revolution; how Marxism/Leninism can end up as a cover ideology to a fascist military regime; the fate of international solidarity in the present era; the role of armed struggle in modern age social revolutions and more. After the Soviet revolution and the rise of Stalin, Marxism changed from an instrument of revolution into a canonized dogma. This splintered the leftist forces into followers of Stalinism, Trotskyism, Maoism, Enver Hoxha, etc., and expended much of their energy in squabbling among themselves. Unfortunately, this was the reality of European and American revolutionaries in the 70s as well.

 

I was a student activist in the early 70s in Germany and had strong relationships with many leftist organizations. Mostly they were student revolutionaries like the Ethiopians. The Ethiopian students used to watch with bemusement how much time and energy these groups spent manifesting their ideological purity and superiority versus other groups and by their propensity to splintering. This was a manifestation of their alienation from the working classes which they aspired to lead.

 

The experience in the ESM was different in that Marxism-Leninism was regarded as an instrument to study and analyze the actual situation and a guide for action. The Ethiopian students were voracious readers of revolutionary literature and most of their writings were supported with heavy doses of quotations from the Masters. However, the focus was on the actual situations on the ground and actual courses of actions to take. As a result, there was minimal splintering in the movement, and those that occurred were based on the assessment of the existing situation in Ethiopia rather than on ideological interpretations. Current Ethiopian activists, regardless of their political ideals, need to study this book as a comprehensive guide to the revolution for two main reasons. First, because the current conflicts are a continuation of the unresolved revolution. One cannot understand properly the current struggle without studying its roots. Secondly, when current activists look back to this time it is too often to assign blame and settle scores rather than gain insight. Name-calling and finger-pointing are not a substitute for knowledge to be gained from the introspective study of past experiences Ian didn’t try to tell us what the revolution was about or what it should be, rather he lets the protagonists tell their own stories and readers derive their own conclusions. 

 

—*—

 

Like Ho Chi Minh! Like Che Guevara! is available from the Foreign Languages Press storefront. The cover price is low and the shipping from France is reasonably priced and inexpensive. Order here!