Ethiopia's Ethnic Cleansing

In: Dissent: a journal devoted to radical ideas and the values of socialism and democracy, Band 46, S. 47-50

Abstract

Describes Ethiopia's expulsion of people with Eritrean heritage as a moderate form of ethnic cleansing. A historical overview of Ethiopia discusses Haile Mariam Menghistu's regime's movement of large ethnic communities around Ethiopia's provinces, & analyzes President Meles Zenawi's regime's initial preservation of Ethiopian-Eritrean relations & his later decision to adopt a more belligerent attitude toward Eritrean peoples living in Ethiopia. The May-June 1998 battles between Ethiopian & Eritrean forces in the Badme region are discussed. Although US President Bill Clinton's intervention calmed Ethiopian-Eritrean relations, Ethiopia's expulsion of people with Eritrean heritage reignited ethnic tensions. While Ethiopian officials claimed that those being expelled were armed spies, several anecdotes invalidate this assertion. Although the Eritrean government has embraced & provided some financial assistance for the expelled people, the issue of housing these individuals remains an immediate problem. It is suggested that the current Ethiopian government is slowly heading toward dissolution as a result of increased ethnic tensions. J. W. Parker