# Anti-Ethiopian sentiment

Anti-Ethiopian sentiment or Ethiophobia is a fear, broad opposition, bias, prejudice and/or discrimination against/toward Ethiopia, its people and government as whole.

## Sentiment from foreign countries

During the Italian occupation, Benito Mussolini determined Ethiopia as a colony with intent of humiliating Ethiopians in reprisal to their defeat at the 1896 Battle of Adwa, as well as competing with France and Britain in relations of colonial interests. The Italian government grieved by the loss of Ethiopia.
Anti-Ethiopian sentiment as foreign policy appeared during the War in Somalia following Ethiopian government support for the US-led war on terror against jihadist militant groups in the region. On 28 December 2006, the Ethiopian government, backed by the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia (TFG), entered Mogadishu and expelled leaders of Union of Islamic Court (UIC). As the conflict intensified, the Islamic Courts Union, Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS), and more remarkably, Al-Shabaab have publicized an increase of anti-Ethiopian attitude while the latter became more influential to circulate as a movement.
Eritrea has soured relations to Ethiopia beginning its federation with Ethiopia imposed by the United Nations in 1950 and annulled by Ethiopian government. Many Ethiopian nationalists—the Amhara elites—supported the annexation while leftist Eritreans viewed Ethiopian annexation as hostile to Muslim inhabitants and Eritrean statehood, mounting national liberation movements like the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF) in 1960. As the Eritrean War of Independence began, ELF rebelled with the Ethiopian Imperial government under Emperor Haile Selassie and the Derg regime, forming alliance with the Tigrayan Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) until 1991 Derg defeat. With the rise of TPLF in Ethiopian politics from 1991, Eritrea began to have good relations with Ethiopian government at least until the 1998 border war. After Algiers Agreement in 2000, both countries' government went stalemate and frozen conflict. Shortly after taking office in 2018, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed signed joint declaration at 2018 bilateral summit to end 20 years long conflict. The two countries then enjoyed trade and diplomatic ties.

## Sentiment from domestic groups/factions

Anti-Ethiopian concept can be defined by the opposition of Ethiopian nationalism by different ethno-nationalist groups. Ethiopian nationalism, a form of civic nationalism, repudiated by ethno-nationalist party such as Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) who claimed the Amhara-Tigray Ethiopian Empire subjugated Oromos from their homeland. Furtherly, they claimed Oromo nation has its own social and political policy and superseded by Abyssinian principle via colonialism initiated by Emperor Menelik II. Likewise, they asserted that Ethiopian nationalism is propagated in order to advance Amharan culture assimilation. Even the Amhara people historically affiliated to Ethiopian movement, the use of "Amhara nationalism" is heavily debated among historians and scholars. Although Marxists student activist Wallelign Mekonnen wrote in his manifesto that Amhara is "one of the ‘nations’ of the country", he did not accurately define their identity.