From: kijak@ecs.umass.edu
Newsgroups: soc.culture.african
Subject: Re: Ethiopia (Was: Re: Abortion, Euthanesia and the wrongless West.
Date: 7 Nov 92 19:35:29 GMT

In article <9203@blue.cis.pitt.edu.UUCP>, pmmst8+@pitt.edu (Paul M Mweene) writes:
> In article <1dbi93INNn06@pacific.cs.ubc.ca> shaze@cs.ubc.ca (Scott Hazelhurst) writes:
>>I wasn't aware of this division of Ethiopia. I would be 
>>interested to know more of the history of colonialism in
>>Ethiopia.
>>Scott
>>
Mr Scott,
If you are mocking GO TO 1
If you are geniunely interested accept ignore 1 and SEE BELOW!
1)You can go to Adwa and count the skulls of the invaders or read the diaries
of the Italian Generals !!!
>>
>  I was responding to at least 10 messages and was not exactly accurate. You are
> right, "Ethiopia" was never colonised by any one. Rather Italy expropriated its
> nothern province, Erithrea, and rendered impossible for reunity subsequently.
> 
> The gist really is that Italian colonisation caused the Ethiopian civil war
> and contributed to the Somali conflict.
> 
> 
> Makala
>>
>>
As an African from Ethiopia I do not think the cause of our civil wars was the 
Italian Colonialism. Eventhough it is not the sole factor, British colonialism 
has done more damage & is closer to the source. I would like to remind you the 
main factor in our destiny is ourselves. We(Africans in general) should watch 
for the machinations of the colonizers & the venom they have left. What did we
do the last 30 years? If we are not wise enough to avoid their traps we should
not blame them. It is a cruel world, we have to fight to survive. 
Yes we may not be responsible for getting down to where we are,but remember We 
are the only ones responsble for getting UP!

Just to point to you the wit of the colonizers I will expound how the British 
are at the bottom of these two civil wars. Let us go back more than 100
years ago to June 1884,the signing of the Hewett treaty. Ethiopia was fighting
to keep its independence from the incursion of Kehdive Ismael's Egypt between
1872 and 1883. The Egyptians were already in the Northern most of Ethiopia
(todays Eritrea,then Medri-Bahri) and along the Red sea Cost.The Ethiopians
frustrated their advance by two big defeats,at Gundet & Gura in Nov1875 &
March 1876 under the able leadership of the Governor of the region,Ras Allula
nick named 'Africa's greatest General after Hanibal'.With the Conquest of Egypt
herself by Britain and the rebellion of the Sudanese "mahadists" the Egyptians
were forced to negotiate. 

The so called Hewett treaty is between Ethiopia,Egypt
and Britain .Ras Allual was to relieve the Egyptian garrisons under seige in
the Sudan from the Mahadists. In return Egypt will handover the land it has
occupied from Ethiopia. The British were the sponsors for Egypt. Ras Allula
did his job. But the Brtish arranged the Italians to replace Egypt at the
ports. This way Italy is introduced into the race for colianlism.Ethiopia
treaded one weak enemy,Egypt for two strong ones;Italy and the Mahadists.
King Yohannes iv died fighting the Mahadists. while he & his army were busy
fighting the Madadists on the Western side the Italians swept the highland
from the port & decalred the formation of Colonia-Eritrea in jan 1890. 

With the internal
power struggle moving the center further South the Italians were given rest for
6 years. But their appetite was whetted. So they moved South to conquer
Ethiopia only to be knocked back at ADWA. This resounding victory of Black
people sent a chill through the whole world of colonialists. Ethiopia survived
the scarmble. With the rcognition of Ethiopia as a Sovergin state the Europeans
rushed to sign border agreements with Ethiopia for their colonies. An
artificial border was drawn to divide the people of Somali. Both Menilik
and Yohannes claimed the sea is the natural border of Ethiopia!

The second deciet of the British was during the 1935 invasion. The British
did not follow the League of nation's arms embargo to Italy & Ethiopia 
(It was not first of all fair to embago on EThiopia!) by allowing them to pass
arms through the Suez Canal. It recognized Italy's soverginity over Ethiopia
after the war. They thought Italy could be satisfied by swallowing Ethiopia.
In his famous speech to the League Emperor Haileselassie said "Today it is us
tommorrow it is you" Once the second world war started Britain changed side.
It started to help Ethiopia,whose assets were frozen by their order! The
British used the daring children of Ethiopia to distract their enemy & to
keep as many Italian soldiers as possible there.If the Italians could send
the more than 60,000 soldiers around Ethiopia to North Africa to help the
winning Rommel ,you can imagine what would have resulted. They never tell
this big service rather they always tell us their 'liberating' us!

During the war with Italy the British were dropping leaflets to the Eritrean
people promosing them to join their 'mother Ethiopia' if they rebelled then.
This made a lot of Eritreans in the Italian army to desert and join the
patrioits. But once the war is won the British did their third treachory!
They attempted to put Ethiopia under the occupied territories admin.,a nice
name for colony! The cunning Haileselassie wrote to Stalin,Roosvelt & Churchil
 to Churchil's embaracement! So Ethiopia was to be free,but there is
still some venom to be left. Claiming security reasons they demanded to
adminster Ogaden with Italian & British Somaliland, Creating the dream of 
Great Somalia. They also broke the promise &Eritrea remained under their rule.
There they did a lot of politicizing work to join Tigray& Eritrea into one
single kingdom. This politicizing had a lasting effect as the people could not
fit into the absolute monarchy when Eritrea was federated to Ethiopia. This
was further exacberated by grave errors made by the Hailesselasie government
to be a full blown civil war in the 70's. 

In the South Ethiopia & Somalia
fought 2 major wars in 30 years time. The wars sucked up the scarce resources
of these countries. In the case of Somalia frustration over these wars & the
abundant arms fueled the contradictions among its clans.
So this is the legacy of the British in Ethiopia & Somalia. They have left
two big time bombs to destroy us. Unfortunately we were not wise enough to
deactivate them before they explode and we are suffering from the blow!

"the white man is as the chiken lice. Though not bold it will kill even the big
 trees.I know the ways of the white man in other parts of
Africa;first they send the explorers,the explorers are followed by the
missionaries,the missionaries by the trade cosuls & then the Battalion follows 
to 'protecet' the consuls. I am not going to be fooled like this,I would rather
 ENGAGE the Battalion at Once" 
                            King Tewdros of Ethiopia 1855-1868
 
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Newsgroups: soc.culture.african