The Face of Repression: Political Prisoners

Flyer from the Ethiopian Students Union in Berlin, October 1978

I’m pleased to present another original translation of an Ethiopian Student Movement flyer. This flyer was issued in West Berlin, nominally a part of West Germany, in October of 1978. By this time the worst of the so-called “Red Terror” had more or less run its course: the Derg and its agents had massacred untold thousands of civilian leftists, now including supporters not only of the EPRP but of Meison and WazLeague, and begun to consolidate its rule, its popular support bolstered by its defeat of the Somali invasion of 1977–1978. But the Derg’s repression was not over; the legacy of imposing its will on the Ethiopian people would be jails and prisons filled with dissidents. We can see that the rarified atmosphere of sharp political debate in the Ethiopian student movement has begun to take a back seat to calls for simple and concrete solidarity against repression, as it becomes clear that the Derg’s two years of vicious repression have borne bitter fruit.

Thanks again to the MAO Projekt for excavating and archiving these leaflets, and to comrade LM for the translation from German to English. I’ve made some minor edits to the translation.—ISH

———

THE SITUATION OF 20,000 POLITICAL PRISONERS IN ETHIOPIA

Back of the flyer

The struggle of the Ethiopian peoples for independence, democracy and progress against the reactionary forces and the military junta led to many bloody disputes and have cost many people’s lives. The movement of over sixty nationalities of Ethiopia for the right of self-determination has been quelled repeatedly with armed violence by the military junta. In his speech in September 1978, Mengistu Haile Mariam admitted that during the wars between regular government troops and the liberation fighters in Eritrea over 70,000 people were killed and hundreds of thousands made homeless. In the Ogaden War between Ethiopia and Somalia around 100,000 people were killed. At the same time several thousands of the oppressed minorities got shot by the chauvinist Amhara (“Neftegnas”).

For over a year the junta has been hunting down the leaders of the peasant, trade union, workers, women and youth organizations, religious leaders and intellectuals, who struggle for national independence and sovereignty, equal rights, wealth, progress and democracy; both openly and secretly with soldiers and death squads. Daily the number increases of those who are murdered during the day or night in their houses, in their workplaces, on the field, on the street, in private and public transport. We know from unofficial sources that almost 20,000 political prisoners are jailed under inhuman conditions in prisons. Because these 20,000 prisoners “cost much money” for the military junta, it cedes them — without any medical care — to illnesses and epidemics and starvation. Thousands have been partly or fully crippled by brutal torture and or have lost their mental abilities by brain injures. Many are disappeared, some are killed.

Since the end of September 1978, especially during one week, in both Ethiopian radio broadcasts “Radio Ethiopia” and “Voice of Revolutionary Ethiopia” and the two Ethiopian newspapers “Ethiopian Herald” and “Addis Zemen” and in public speeches of the members of the military junta the continuing of the “red terror” against political enemies is being propagated; their slogans include, “The prisoners must become canon fodder!” or “Instant execution of all prisoners!”. Not long ago we got information from unofficial sources, that the military junta already murdered some political prisoners; some are missing and the others are waiting for the so called “red terror”.

We Ethiopian students who live in Germany appeal to all who are for peace, freedom, independence and democracy, to unite in solidarity with the Ethiopian people’s masses and to condemn the repressive actions of the military junta and protest against it in public. We invite all democratic forces to withdraw support the military regime and stand against them with the democratic cause in Ethiopia. Challenge the Ethiopian newspapers “Ethiopian Herald” and “Addis Zemen” at the Ethiopian embassy in Bonn, Brentonastr. 1!

For further information on the founding of a committee for the release of political prisoners in Ethiopia contact: A. Selassie, Postfach 104804, 69 HEIDELBERG

(Ethiopian Students Union - Berlin) 

The attached protest letter should be sent directly to the Provisional Military Council on the following address: P.M.A.C. PO Box 5707, ADDIS ABEBA, ETHIOPIA