4 Author’s interview
5 The three Soviet advisers were released in March 1991, after Moscow acceded to EPLF demands that it remove its ships from the Dahlak Islands and stop airlifting supplies to Asmara. Interpreter Alexander Kuvaldin, who now lives in Minsk, told me he spent his time in captivity giving EPLF fighters English lessons and teaching them how to drink shots ‘Russian-style’. Being held prisoner had left him with some psychological problems, he said, ‘but when I look back I don’t remember any bad things from that time’.
6 Author’s interview
7 For a detailed account of the Ethiopian army’s failings in this period, see Gebru Tareke, ‘From Af Abet to Shire: the Defeat and Demise of Ethiopia’s Red Army 1988–89’, Journal of Modern African Studies, vol 42, 2, June 2004
8 Harold G Marcus, A History of Ethiopia, University of California Press, 1994, p 213
9 Author’s interview
10 Author’s interview. Varennikov later took part in the abortive August 1991 attempt to unseat Gorbachev. Exonerated for his role in the attempted coup, he has now entered Russian politics
11 The Falasha episode, and the ultimately unsuccessful US attempt to broker a peace agreement between Mengistu and the EPLF and TPLF, is recounted in Herman J Cohen’s Intervening in Africa: Peacemaking in a Troubled Continent, Palgrave, New York, 2000
12 Alex de Waal, Evil Days, Human Rights Watch, September 1991. In late 1989, Washington Jewish Week published a leaked US Congressional staff memo confirming that 100 cluster bombs had been supplied to the Ethiopians in late 1989
13 In May 2001, Russia President Vladimir Putin agreed to cancel 80 per cent of Ethiopia’s outstanding debts and said the balance would be rescheduled through the Paris Club
14 The Promised Land proved a mixed experience for the Falashas. Shunted into isolated development towns in Israel, many ended up doing menial jobs. The community complains that its members are discriminated against because of its skin colour and are regarded as second-class Jews. In January 1996, the discovery that their blood donations were being routinely thrown away because of AIDS contamination fears triggered a wave of Falasha rioting. Nevertheless, the Israeli and Ethiopian governments agreed in January 2004 to complete the repatriation of Ethiopia’s remaining Falashas
15 Author’s interview
16 16 Interview on ‘The World at One’, BBC Radio 4, June 4, 1991
Chapter 17 A Village of No Interest
1 Author’s interview
2 Paul Henze, Eritrea’s War, Shama Books, 2001, p 24
3 Dan Connell, Against All Odds–A Chronicle of the Eritrean Revolution, The Red Sea Press, 1997, p 272
4 Shabia means ‘the masses’ in Tigrinya, while Woyane translates as ‘popularly-based’. Depending on context and tone, the terms can be either matey or insulting, rather like the ‘Yank’ Britons use to refer to Americans or the ‘Pom’ Australians apply to Britons
5 Eritrea has since admitted that Bezabeh Petros died in custody
6 Patrick Gilkes and Martin Plaut, ‘War in the Horn. The Conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia’, Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1999, p 22
7 Amnesty International: ‘Ethiopia/Eritrea. Amnesty International witness cruelty of mass deportations’, January 29, 1999; ‘Ethiopia and Eritrea: Human rights issues in a year of conflict’, May 21, 1999; Human Rights Watch: ‘The Horn of Africa War: Mass Expulsions and the Nationality Issue’ June 1998–April 2002
8 Author’s interview
9 On November 25, 2004, as this book was going to press, Ethiopia appeared to soften its position, saying it accepted the boundary commission finding, however ‘illegal and unjust’. But Prime Minister Meles Zenawi stressed the acceptance was ‘in principle’ and Ethiopia expected ‘give and take’ in implementation, suggesting his country has yet to recognise the binding nature of the border ruling.
10 Britain, for example, said in February 2004 that it would triple its bilateral aid to Ethiopia to £53m. Announcing the rise, Hillary Benn, international development secretary, specifically ruled out using the aid as a way of pressurizing Addis into accepting the boundary ruling, saying London hoped the stalemate could be resolved through dialogue
11 One notable example is Dan Connell, a journalist who covered the EPLF liberation campaign in impressive detail. ‘Enough! A Critique of Eritrea’s Post-Liberation Politics’, presented at African Studies Association in Boston in November 2003, summarized his disquiet over events
Chapter 18 ‘It’s good to be normal’
1 For more details of the manqa episode, see David Pool, From Guerrillas to Government–The Eritrean People’s Liberation Front, James Currey, 2001. Two years later, Isaias faced another challenge by a group of Christian highlanders pushing for greater democratic accountability. Over a dozen members of the ‘rightist movement’, as it was known, were executed. Like the manqa affair, the episode has been air-brushed out of the leadership’s memories of this period
2 David Strickland and Thomas Bowidowicz, two Americans working at Kagnew, were kidnapped in September 1975 by the ELF, which threatened to kill them unless the US halted arms supplies to Ethiopia and closed Kagnew. They were subsequently released
Other Sources
Bamford, James–The Puzzle Palace, Penguin, 1983
Bereket, Habte Selassie–Eritrea and the United Nations, The Red Sea Press, 1989
Connell, Dan–Conversations with Eritrean Political Prisoners, The Red Sea Press, 2005
Duncan, W Raymond and Ekedahl, Carolym McGiffert–Moscow and the Third World under Gorbachev, Westview Press, 1990
Erlich, Haggai–The Struggle Over Eritrea 1962–1978, Hoover Institution Press, 1983
ESFA–The Federal Case of Eritrea with Ethiopia, Mogadishu, 1979
Gandar Dower, Kenneth–Abyssinian Patchwork, An Anthology, Frederick Muller Ltd, 1949
Goodman, Melvin–Gorbachev’s Retreat, Praeger Publishers, 1991
Harding, Jeremy–Small Wars, Small Mercies: Journeys in Africa’s Disputed Nations, Viking, 1993
Henze, Paul B–Horn of Africa: From War to Peace, Macmillan, 1991
Henze, Paul B–‘Arming the Horn 1960–1980’, Wilson Centre Working Paper No 43, Washington DC, Smithsonian Institution, December 1982
Killion, Tom–Historical Dictionary of Eritrea, Scarecrow Press, 1998
Lefebvre, Jeffrey–Arms for the Horn: US Security Policy in Ethiopia and Somalia 1953–1991, University of Pittsburgh Press, 1991
Levine, Donald–Greater Ethiopia: The Evolution of a Multi-Ethnic Society, University of Chicago Press, 1974
Lewis, Jon (editor)–The Mammoth Book of Battles: The Art and Science of Modern Warfare, Robinson Publishing, 1995
Longrigg, Stephen–A Short History of Eritrea, Clarendon Press, 1945
Luard, Evan–A History of the United Nations. Volume 2 The Age of Decolonisation 1955–1965, The Macmillan Press Ltd, 1989
Lyons, Terrence–‘The United States and Ethiopia: The Politics of a Patron–Client Relationship’, Northeast African Studies Volume 8, Numbers 2–3, 1986
Mack Smith, Denis–Italy, A Modern History, University of Michigan Press, 1969
Mack Smith, Denis–Mussolini, Granada, 1981
Mack Smith, Denis–Mussolini’s Roman Empire, Longman, 1976
Martini, Ferdinando–L’Eritrea Economica, Istituto Geografico de Agostini, 1913
McGiffert Ekedahl, Carolym and Goodman, Melvin–The Wars of Eduard Shevardnadze, C. Hurst and Co, 1997
Mockler, Anthony–Haile Selassie’s War: The Italian–Ethiopian Campaign 1935–1941, Random House, 1984
Negash, Tekeste and Tronvoll, Kjetil–Brothers at War: Making Sense of the Eritrean–Ethiopian War, James Currey Ltd, 2000
Negassi, Amina Habte–‘The Massacre of Besik-Dira and Ona’, University of Asmara, Department of History, July 2001
Ottaway, Marina–Soviet and American Influence in the Horn of Africa, Praeger Publishers, 1982
Pankhurst, E. Sylvia
and Pankhurst, Richard–Ethiopia and Eritrea: the last phase of the Reunion Struggle 1941–1952, The Walthamstow Press Ltd, 1953
Pateman, Roy–Eritrea: Even the Stones are Burning, The Red Sea Press, 1988
Prouty, Chris and Rosenfeld, Eugene–Historical Dictionary of Ethiopia and Eritrea, Scarecrow Press, 1993
Pugh, Martin–The Pankhursts, Penguin, 2001
Romandini, Massimo–Visita a Dogali, L’Universo LXI 3, 1981
Romandini, Massimo–Le Comunicazioni Stradali, Ferroviarie e Marittime dell’Eritrea durante il Governatorato Martini, Africa (Rivista Trimestrale di Studi e Documentazion dell’Istituto Italo-Africano), Anno XXXVIII–No 1
Sbacchi, Alberto–Legacy of Bitterness, Ethiopia and Fascist Italy, 1935–1941, The Red Sea Press, 1997
Segre, Vittorio–La guerra privata di tenente Guillet, TEA, 1997
Tesfagiorgis, Abeba–A Painful Season and a Stubbon Hope: The Odyssey of an Eritrean Mother, The Red Sea Press, 1992
Acknowledgements
Discretion is a quality dear to Eritreans. Few, I know, would want to be publicly thanked in these pages. But those who welcomed me into their homes, accompanied me on my trips, pointed me in interesting directions and alerted me to my errors know who they are. I am enormously grateful.
Apart from my editor, Mitzi Angel, and literary agents Pat Kavanagh and Joy Harris, I owe special thanks to Clive Priddle, who originally commissioned the book and maintained his interest in the project long after moving on. My mother helped by reading through all of Martini’s Eritrean diaries, my father meticulously edited the text, my sister Jessica provided weekend respite, my brother-in-law Julian kept my computer running.
I have tapped the intellectual riches of many experts. In Addis Ababa, Richard and Rita Pankhurst were generous with their insights and Teshome Bokan Gabre Mariam was kind enough to offer detailed comments on an early draft. Professor Massimo Romandini, probably the world’s leading expert on Martini, was a wonderful correspondent, Martin Plaut kept me up-to-date with current events on the Horn, Nick Lera and Jennie Street told me what was what on the railway.
During my research trips I relied on the hospitality of many: Caroline Lees and Alan Macdonald in Asmara, Judith Matloff in New York, Peter Whaley in Washington and the Ostrovskys and Frys in Moscow deserve particular mention. Thanks are also due to the Kagnew veterans who welcomed me to one of their reunions in Florida and to Zazz, Zio Bob and Tom Indelicato for their running commentary on early drafts and life in general.
John Caveney, researcher at the Financial Times, was a wonderful asset and Olga Shevtsova, the Times’ fixer in Moscow, saved me from confusion. The Society of Authors helped by paying for one of my many trips to Eritrea.
Having already dedicated one book to Michael Holman, I won’t repeat myself, but he was the reason why, Against All Odds and Never Kneeling Down, I finished the book.
Searchable Terms
Abyssinia, see Ethiopia
Ad Shirum pass
Adamishin, Anatoly
Adua, battle of
Adulis
Afabet, battle of
Afwerki, Isaias 9, 15, 19–21, 360; and border war
crackdown on opponents
EPLF leader
OAU address
personality
as President
UN address
unpopularity
Aklilou Habte Wold 158; execution
as Foreign Minister
Prime Minister
Alula, Ras
Aman Andom, Gen
Andropov, Yuri
Annan, Kofi
Arab-Israeli War
Arabs
Ark of the Covenant
Army Security Agency
Ascari
Asfa Wohen, Crown Prince of Ethiopia
Asmara x, 1–7, 11, 13, 57, 216; architecture
in Badme war
British administration
cemetery
Ethiopian brutality in
Italians in
GIs in
guerrilla operations in
liberation
political riots
racial segregation
reconstruction
University
Western consulates closed
in World War II
Asmerom
Assab
Axum
Axumite empire
Badme
Bairu, Tedla
Baldissera, Gen. Antonio
Banda, Hastings
Barre, Siad
Belgium
Berakis, John
Berhe, Solomon
Berlin Manifesto
Besik Dira
Bono, Gen. Emilio de
Brezhnev, Leonid
Britain 64, 65, 103, 149; aid 420n;
Army
asset-stripping
colonies
Foreign Office
Military Administration
and postwar Eritrea
recognises Italian Ethiopia
World War II
Boundary Commission
Cagnassi, Eteocle
Carnimeo, Gen. Nicola
Carter, Jimmy
Churchill, Winston
Cicoria, Filippo
Cochrane, Peter
Cohen, Herman
Cold War
Congo
Cordier, Andrew 163, 168, 190–1,
Corio, Silvio
Cornaggia, Count Gherardo
Crispi, Francesco
Crocker, Chester
Cuba
Dahlak Islands
Danakil 2, 103–5, 149
Derg
civilian government
end of
Eritrean war
military committee
purges
relations with Soviet Union
relations with US
Dimbleby, Richard
Di Rudini, Antonio
Djibouti
Dogali
Dulles, John Foster
Dymond, Bob
Eden, Anthony
Egypt
Eisenhower, Dwight D 270
ELF (Eritrean Liberation Front)
civil war with EPLF
fedayeen operations
hit men
Isaias in
liberation struggle
supporters
EPLF (Eritrean People’s LiberationFront)
authoritarianism
Christians in
and coup attempt
democracy in
dissolution
Fighters
finances
guerrilla operations
liberation struggle
manqa episode
medical facilities
and OAU
purges
relations with ELF
relations with superpowers
relations with TPLF
in Sahel
supporters
and UN
women in
Ergetu, Major Gen. Teshome
Eritrea: annexation 153, 181, 182–6; anti-Unionists
army
Badme war
Baito (Assembly)
constitution
currency
economy
Ethiopian atrocities in
as Ethiopian province
exiles
Federation
foreign relations
geography
independence proposal
as Italian colony
naming of
national character
national identity
partition proposal
political parties
post-independence
postwar destiny
railway
referendum
ropeway
Utopian vision of
in World War II
&nb
sp; Eritrean Peoples Legal
Representatives Abroad
Ethiopia
aid
air force
annexes Eritrea
asset-stripping in Eritrea
Badme war
British administration
Christianity
claim to Eritrea
constitution
coup attemps
deports Eritreans
Derg regime
emperors
Eritrean war of independence
famines
Federation with Eritrea
foundation myth
history
isolation
as Italian colony
Marxist state
military aid
military significance
nationalism