The attempted military coup in Ethiopia in 1960 was a coup d'état organized in Ethiopia on December 13, 1960 . His goal was to overthrow the emperor Haile Selassie , who at that time was on a state visit to Brazil . The four conspirators, led by Hermame Neva and his older brother, Brigadier General Mengistu Neva, commander Kebur Zabangi (Imperial Guard), took several ministers and other important people hostage and took control of most of Addis Ababa . The leaders of the coup said that the Haile Selassi regime was overthrown and a new, more progressive government headed by the emperor’s eldest son, Crown Prince Asfau Vossen , would be formed and would implement the necessary economic and social reforms. Despite the support of students of the University of Haile Selassie, other military units remained loyal to the emperor and suppressed the coup. By December 17, the loyalists regained control of the capital, and the conspirators were either dead or fled from the capital.
| Attempt of a military coup in Ethiopia | |
|---|---|
| A country |  Ethiopia |
| date | December 13, 1960 |
| the main goal | The overthrow of the emperor Haile Selassie |
| Total | Defeat the rebels |
| The organizers | Germame Nevai, Mengistu Nevai |
| Driving force | guard Kebur Zabanga , students |
| Opponents | military |
The attempted coup is considered the most serious threat to the reign of Haile Selassie between 1941 and his deposition in 1974 during the Ethiopian revolution .
Coup
Germame Neway, considered the instigator of the rebellion, was one of the governors, disappointed with the central government. When he tried to induce the Oromo population in Vellama to build roads, bridges and schools, this led local landowners to campaign for his resignation. Then Nevai was transferred to Jijiga , where he “immediately faced extreme poverty and underdevelopment of the region and with obvious signs of official neglect” [1] . As one of the Ethiopian historians points out, “the obstacles that Nevai encountered even in these remote areas convinced him of the need for change, and he began working on this with his brother” [2] .
Germame convinced his brother Mengistu of the need for a military coup. Mengistu was vital for the success of the plan, not only because he commanded Kebur Zabanga - the Emperor's Guard, whose members, as expected, would follow orders without discussion, but also because Mengistu had connections in the Ethiopian armed forces [3] . Germame and Mengistu were formed by a secret “Council of the Revolution”, which also included the head of the security department, Colonel Varken Gabayahu, and the police commissioner, Brigadier General Jagu Dibu. The conspirators began to plan a rebellion, but, fearing that their plans had already become known to the authorities, rushed into battle without sufficient planning as soon as the emperor went on a state visit to Brazil [4] [5] .
On the evening of Tuesday, December 13 , the conspirators invited several ministers and other important political figures to the Genette Palace for an emergency meeting, where they were taken hostage. At the same time, supporters of Colonel Varkeny occupied the central bank, radio station and the Ministry of Finance, and guardsmen surrounded the army bases in and around the capital [6] .
The morning after the insurgents secured control over most of Addis Ababa, Asfaw Vossen, believed to be under duress, read a proclamation in which he pointed to the economic backwardness of Ethiopia in comparison with other African countries and announced the formation of a new government, promising the beginning of a new era. In response, students at Haile Selassie University showed support for the new government.
It is obvious that the leaders of the coup expected that the action of the Crown Prince will force other military units to join them. For the next 24 hours, the conspirators waited for the reaction of the soldiers. During this period, Mengistu and his colleagues launched a program of proposed reforms from 11 points and appointed Prime Minister Imru Haile Selassie , and the popular in the army, Major General Muluget Bulli - Chief of Staff. Meanwhile, loyalists in the armed forces were able to come to a consensus on how to respond to this threat. Asret Mekhin Kassa, Major General Mared Mangesha and other loyalists provided support to the tank brigade and the Ethiopian Air Force, which were within the reach of the capital, and aired about 1,000 loyal soldiers from remote provinces. They also issued leaflets signed by the Ethiopian bishop condemning the rebels as anti-religious traitors and calling for loyalty to Haile Selassie. These leaflets are believed to have had a major impact on the population [7] .
In the second half of the next day the battles began. Strongly inferior, the rebels began to lose ground. Many ordinary soldiers of Kebur Zabangi, having learned that they were fighting the emperor, lost their fighting spirit, because they were convinced that they were fighting for him [7] . When the fighting began, residents of the capital supported the loyalists. Before leaving the capital, Germame ordered the shooting of 15 hostages in the Genet Palace [8] .
General Jorge was killed in battle, Colonel Varken committed suicide [9] . Mengistu and Germame were able to avoid being caught until December 24, 1960 , when they were surrounded by soldiers near Mojo. Germame committed suicide, while Mengistu surrendered. A few months later he was hanged publicly in the church square. The body of Germame was brought to Addis Ababa and hung to prove the emperor's determination [10] . Official data on mortality during this period indicate that at least 300 people were killed, many of them were killed on the streets, according to Kenyan data, the total loss during the coup was about 2,000 killed and wounded [9] .
Notes
- ↑ Keller, Revolutionary Ethiopia (Bloomington: Indiana University, 1988), pp. 133f
- ↑ Bahru, A History , p. 213
- ↑ Keller, Revolutionary Ethiopia , p. 134
- ↑ Paul B. Henze, Layers of Time (New York: Palgrave, 2000), p. 254
- ↑ Spencer, Ethiopia at Bay: A Personal Account of the Haile Selassie Years (Algonac: Reference Publications, 1984), p. 316
- ↑ Paul B. Henze, Layers of Time (New York: Palgrave, 2000), p. 254; Keller, Revolutionary Ethiopia , p. 132
- ↑ 1 2 Clapham, “The Ethiopian Coup”, p. 496
- ↑ Henze, Layers of Time , p. 255
- ↑ 1 2 Clapham, “Ethiopian Coup”, p. 497
- ↑ Paulos Milkias. Ethiopia . - ABC-CLIO, 18 May 2011. - P. 65–. - ISBN 978-1-59884-258-6 .