Editing Derg (section)

==History==
{{See also|Timeline of the Derg}}
Before the revolution, the [[Ethiopian Student Movement]] presented a threat to the monarchy.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lemma |first=Legesse |date=1979 |title=The Ethiopian Student Movement 1960–1974: A Challenge to the Monarchy and Imperialism in Ethiopia |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43660011 |journal=Northeast African Studies |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=31–46 |jstor=43660011 |issn=0740-9133}}</ref> Many of their ideals were similar to those of the Derg.

===Formation and growth===
[[File:Derg.gif|thumb|High ranking Derg members: [[Mengistu Haile Mariam]], [[Tafari Benti]] and [[Atnafu Abate]]|left]]

After the [[Ethiopian Revolution]] in February 1974, the first signal of any mass uprisings was the actions of the soldiers of the 4th Brigade of the 4th Army Division in [[Nagelle]] in southern Ethiopia.<ref>Bahru Zewde, 'The Military and Militarism in Africa: The Case of Ethiopia,' 269-70, citing Hall 1977, 115–119, in Hutchful and Bathily, 'The Military and Militarism in Africa,' CODESRIA, 1998, {{ISBN|2-86978-069-9}}</ref> They were mainly unhappy about the lack of food and water and then arrested their brigade commander and other officers and kept them incarcerated. When the government sent the commander of the [[Ethiopian Ground Forces]], General [[Deresse Dubala]], to negotiate with the rebels, they held him and forced him to eat their food and drink their water. Similar mutinies took place at the [[Ethiopian Air Force]] base at [[Bishoftu]] on 12 February, and at Second Division at Asmara on 25 February. It was these protests that gave rise to the general uprising among the civilian segments such as students and trade unions.

The Coordinating Committee of the Armed Forces, Police and Territorial Army, known as the Derg, was officially announced on 28 June 1974 by a group of military officers. This was done under the pretext of maintaining law and order, due to the powerlessness of the civilian government following widespread [[mutiny]] in the armed forces of Ethiopia earlier that year. Its members were not directly involved in those mutinies nor was this the first military committee organized to support the administration of Prime Minister [[Endelkachew Makonnen]]. [[Alem Zewde Tessema]] had established the armed forces coordinated committee on 23 March. Over the following months, radicals in the Ethiopian military came to believe Makonnen was acting on behalf of the hated feudal aristocracy. When a group of notables petitioned for the release of a number of government ministers and officials who were under arrest for corruption and other crimes, three days later the Derg was announced.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ottaway |first1=Marina |last2=Ottaway |first2=David |title=Ethiopia: Empire in Revolution |date=1978 |publisher=Africana |isbn=978-0-8419-0362-3 |page=52 |oclc=464563913}}</ref>
[[File:Ethiopia IMG 4846 Addis Abeba (38824861344).jpg|thumb|Advocacy manifesto of the Derg, published in June 1978]]
The Derg, which originally consisted of soldiers at the capital, broadened its membership by including representatives from the 40 units of the Army, Air Force, [[Ethiopian Navy|Navy]], [[Kebur Zabagna]] (Imperial Guard), [[Territorial Army (Ethiopia)|Territorial Army]] and [[Law enforcement in Ethiopia|police]]: each unit was expected to send three representatives, who were supposed to be privates, NCOs and junior officers up to the rank of major. According to Bahru Zewde, "Senior officers were deemed too compromised by close association to the regime."<ref name=Bahru-234>Bahru Zewde, 2000, p. 234</ref> The Derg was reported to have consisted of 120 soldiers,<ref>See, for example, [[Richard Pankhurst (academic)|Richard Pankhurst]], ''The Ethiopians: A History'' (Oxford: Blackwell, 2001), p. 269.</ref> a statement which has gained wide acceptance due to the habitual secretiveness of the Derg in its early years. But, Bahru Zewde notes that "in actual fact, their number was less than 110",<ref name=Bahru-234/> and Aregawi Berhe mentions two different sources which record 109 persons as being members of the Derg.<ref>Aregawi Berhe, ''A Political History of the Tigray People's Liberation Front'' (Los Angeles: Tsehai, 2009), p. 127 and note. The sources he cites are both in Amharic: Zenebe Feleke, ''Neber'' ([[Ethiopian calendar|E.C. 1996]]), and Genet Ayele Anbesie, ''YeLetena Colonel Mengistu Hailemariam Tizitawoch'' (E.C. 1994)</ref> No new members were ever admitted, and the number decreased, especially in the first few years, as some members were expelled or killed. 

The Derg first assembled at the Fourth Division headquarters,<ref>Zewde 1998, 280.</ref> and elected Major [[Mengistu Haile Mariam]] as its chairman and Major [[Atnafu Abate]] as vice-chairman. Their stated mission was to study and address the grievances of various military units, investigate abuses by senior officers and staff and root out corruption in the military. In July, the Derg obtained key concessions from emperor, [[Haile Selassie]], which included the power to arrest not only military officers but government officials at every level. Soon both former Prime Ministers [[Aklilu Habte-Wold]] and [[Endelkachew Makonnen]], along with most of their cabinets, most regional governors, many senior military officers and officials of the Imperial court were imprisoned. In August, after a proposed constitution creating a constitutional monarchy was presented to the emperor, the Derg began a program of dismantling the imperial government to forestall further developments in that direction. The Derg [[1974 Ethiopian coup d'état|deposed]] and imprisoned the emperor on 12 September 1974.

On 15 September, the committee renamed itself the Provisional Military Administrative Council (PMAC) and took full control of the government and all facilities within the government. PMAC said it was only a provisional administration, and months passed before the full force of the civilian opposition gained momentum. In the first major outbreak of opposition, on May Day 1975, soldiers killed some protesters who demanding a return to civilian government{{Author missing}}. Throughout 1974, since the overthrow of Emperor Selassie, underground student cells and the leadership of the [[Confederation of Ethiopian Labor Unions]] (CELU) had united to form an alliance militantly opposed to the PMAC. The EPRP demanded an elected assembly and the immediate establishment of a people's democratic republic. The Derg responded to all this by repressions and suppression of anti-government protests, and formally disbanded the CELU in December.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Ufheil-Somers |first=Amanda |date=1982-06-15 |title=Ethiopia's Revolution from Above |url=https://merip.org/1982/06/ethiopias-revolution-from-above/ |access-date=2025-04-03 |website=MERIP |language=en-US}}</ref> The Derg chose Lieutenant General [[Aman Andom]], a popular military leader and a [[Royal Military Academy Sandhurst|Sandhurst]] graduate,<ref name="wrong-2005">{{cite book |title=I didn't do it for you |last=Wrong |first=Michela |year=2005 |publisher=Harper Collins |isbn=0-06-078092-4 |page=[https://archive.org/details/ididntdoitforyou00wron/page/244 244] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/ididntdoitforyou00wron/page/244 }}</ref> to be its chairman and acting head-of-state. This was pending the return of Crown Prince [[Amha Selassie|Asfaw Wossen]] from medical treatment in Europe when he would assume the throne as a constitutional monarch. However, General Aman Andom quarreled with the radical elements in the Derg over the issue of a new military offensive in [[Eritrea]] and their proposal to execute the high officials of Selassie's former government. After eliminating units loyal to him—the Engineers, the Imperial Bodyguard and the Air Force—the Derg removed General Aman from power and executed him on 23 November 1974, along with some of his supporters and 60 officials of the previous Imperial government.<ref>Bahru Zewde 2001, 237f.</ref> 
[[File:Ethiopian army soldiers huge rally in support of the Derg military junta.jpg|thumb|223x223px|Ethiopian army soldiers rally in support of the Derg; many of them holding advocacy manifestos of the regime.]]
Brigadier General [[Tafari Benti]] became the new Chairman of the Derg and the head of state, with Mengistu and Atnafu Abate as his two vice-chairmen, both with promotions to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. The monarchy was formally abolished in March 1975, and socialism was proclaimed the new ideology of the state. Emperor Haile Selassie died under mysterious circumstances on 27 August 1975 while his personal physician was absent. It is commonly believed that Mengistu killed him, either by ordering it done or by his own hand although the former is considered more likely.<ref>See, for example, Paul Henze, 2000, p. 332n</ref> Both Derg and Haile Selassie government relocated numerous Amharas into southern Ethiopia, including present-day of the Oromia region, where they served in government administration, courts, church and school, where Oromo texts were eliminated and replaced by Amharic.<ref>{{cite web|title=Country Information Report Ethiopia|url=https://www.dfat.gov.au/sites/default/files/country-information-report-ethiopia.docx|type=docx|date=12 August 2020|access-date=31 October 2022|publisher=Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade}}</ref>

=== Red Terror's campaign ===
{{Main articles|Red Terror (Ethiopia)}}
From 1976 to 1978, the Derg conducted a very brutal military campaign to suppress its potential opponents, not only separatist movements but also rival [[Marxism–Leninism|Marxist-Leninist]] groups (as [[Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party|EPRP]] or [[All-Ethiopia Socialist Movement|MEISON]]). The campaign officially began on September 23, following a failed assassination attempt on an influential member and future leader of the Derg, [[Mengistu Haile Mariam]], by the [[Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party]] (according to the Derg).<ref>Marina and David Ottaway, ''Ethiopia: Empire in Revolution'' (New York: Africana, 1978), p. 247</ref> By this time, the EPRP was very active in killing Derg members and supporters across the country, including the capital [[Addis Ababa]]. Many EPRP members were among the hundreds of thousands of people killed in the government campaign, causing the EPRP's activities to be significantly curtailed.<ref name=":2" /> In less than two years (1976–1978) of the Red Terror campaign, according to the highest estimates, up to 980,000 people were killed.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Genocides, Politicides, and Other Mass Murder Since 1945, With Stages in 2008 |url=http://www.gpanet.org/content/genocides-politicides-and-other-mass-murder-1945-stages-2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190419013211/http://www.gpanet.org/content/genocides-politicides-and-other-mass-murder-1945-stages-2008 |archive-date=19 April 2019 |access-date=22 July 2016 |website=Genocide Prevention Advisory Network}}</ref> 

===Under Mengistu's leadership===
{{Main|Mengistu Haile Mariam#Leadership of Ethiopia}}
{{unreferenced section|date=July 2021}}
[[File:Ethiopian dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam speech.jpg|thumb|287x287px|[[Mengistu Haile Mariam]] speech.]]
Mengistu did not emerge as the leader of the Derg until after the 3 February 1977 shootout, in which Chairman Tafari Benti was killed. The vice-chairman of the Derg, Atnafu Abate, clashed with Mengistu over the issue of how to handle the war in Eritrea and lost, leading to his execution with 40 other officers, clearing the way for Mengistu to assume control.<ref>Indian Ocean Newsletter publication, 1985 "Ethiopia: Political Power & the Military"</ref> He formally assumed power as head of state, and justified his execution of Abate (on 13 November of that year) by claiming that he had "placed the interests of Ethiopia above the interests of socialism" and undertaken other "counter-revolutionary" activities.<ref>Henze, ''Layers of Time'', p. 302.</ref> Mengistu intensified the junta's repression during the Red Terror and his army's military operations in Eritrea: the Red Terror campaign intensified after he came to power and claimed more lives than before, about 500,000 people, according to Amnesty International.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BBC News {{!}} AFRICA {{!}} US admits helping Mengistu escape |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/575405.stm |access-date=2025-04-02 |website=news.bbc.co.uk}}</ref> By the end of 1979, Mengistu, “the Chairman,” was being projected through the official media in a strong totalitarian light. He derived from his earlier years an exceptional acquaintance with the regional diversity of Ethiopia. Many who have met him attest to his great calmness, a cool realism that has enabled him to overcome the many problems which he has faced.{{cn|date=May 2025}}

In 1987, he formally dissolved the Derg and established the country as the [[People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia]] (PDRE) under a [[1987 Constitution of Ethiopia|new constitution]]. Many of the Derg members remained in key government posts and also served as the members of the Central Committee and the Politburo of the [[Workers' Party of Ethiopia]] (WPE). This became Ethiopia's civilian version of the Eastern bloc communist parties. Mengistu became Secretary-General of the WPE and President of the PDRE while remaining the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces and the undisputed [[Totalitarianism|totalitarian]] [[dictator]] of Ethiopia.

====Ethiopian Civil War====
{{Main|Ethiopian Civil War}}
[[File:Soldiers of the Ethiopian army at a pro-government rally.jpg|thumb|Ethiopian soldiers at pro-government rally.]]
Opposition to the reign of the Derg was the main cause of the [[Ethiopian Civil War]]. This conflict began as extralegal violence between 1976 and 1978, known as the Red Terror, when the Derg struggled for authority, first with various opposition groups within the country, then with a variety of groups jockeying for the role of [[vanguard party]]. Though human rights violations were committed by all sides, the great majority of abuses against civilians as well as actions leading to devastating [[famine]] were committed by the government.<ref>de Waal 1991, [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_RcVFXUwraxsC iv.]</ref> The Derg spied on Ethiopian citizens through its [[secret police]], the [[Central Revolutionary Investigation Department]]. 

The [[Ethiopian Orthodox Church]], which represents the Christian [[Christian state|state church]] of Ethiopia for centuries, was disestablished in 1974.<ref name="Desta2020">{{cite web |last1=Desta |first1=Alemayehu |title=Ethiopian Christians Endure Persecution |url=https://providencemag.com/2020/02/ethiopian-christians-endure-persecution/ |work=Providence Magazine |access-date=29 August 2020 |language=en |date=25 February 2020}}</ref> The Derg declared a policy of [[state atheism]], a tenet of [[Marxist-Leninist atheist|Marxist-Leninist]] ideology; this was opposed by the vast majority of the Ethiopian population.<ref name="Bonacci2000">{{cite book |last1=Bonacci |first1=Giulia |title=The Ethiopian Orthodox Church and the State 1974–1991: Analysis of an Ambigious Religious Policy |date=2000 |publisher=Centre of Ethiopian Studies |page=17 |language=en|oclc=45740708}}</ref><ref name="Stremlau2018">{{cite book |last1=Stremlau |first1=Nicole |title=Media, Conflict, and the State in Africa |date=9 August 2018 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-108-42685-5 |language=en |quote=... atheistic Derg also sought to undermine the Church did not sit well with the devoutly Christian population in the north.}}</ref><ref name="Daniel">{{cite book |last1=Daniel |first1=Seblewengel |title=Perception and Identity: A Study of the Relationship between the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and Evangelical Churches in Ethiopia |date=14 October 2019 |publisher=Langham Publishing |isbn=978-1-78368-635-3 |language=en |quote=In 1978 the atheist philosophy of the Derg, copied from China, was openly declared but before that time Christianity was systematically condemned through the state-owned media, bringing the initial alleged honeymoon between Christianity and Socialism to a close.}}</ref>[[File:Ethiopian soldiers at a pro-government rally.jpg|thumb|Ethiopian soldiers at a pro-government rally with sickles and shovels, symbolizing (partly) communism.]]

On 4 March 1975, the Derg announced a program of [[Land reform in Ethiopia|land reform]], according to its main slogan of "Land to the Tiller", which was unequivocally radical, even in Soviet and Chinese terms. It nationalized all rural land, abolished tenancy and put peasants in charge of enforcing the whole scheme.<ref>Ottaway 1978, 67.</ref> Many students embraced Mengistu as a 'the hero of the reform'.<ref>Ottaway 1978, 71.</ref> But in 1980, state farms and cooperatives combined accounted for only 6 percent of agricultural output and 20 percent of marketed production.<ref name=":2" /> The Derg's policies had particularly strong effects on factories: by mid-1970s, workers raised widespread demands for shop-floor control over production, but the government repelled them. Strikes, illegal since junta come to power, were prohibited in the 1975 Labor Code. The housing law also encountered serious difficulties: the nationalization led to a net subtraction of the number of dwellings available for rental. The ''kebeles'' did carry out some housing redistribution and welfare programs, but they were unable to provide a sufficient set of retail outlets for food to offset the shortages and hoarding.<ref name=":2" /> In addition, the Derg in 1975 nationalized most industries and somewhat secured urban real-estate holdings. Mismanagement, corruption and general opposition to the Derg's dictatorial and violent communist rule, coupled with the draining effects of constant warfare with the separatist guerrilla movements in Eritrea and Tigray, led to a drastic fall in general productivity of food and cash crops.<ref name=":0" /> Eritreans came under increased oppression and economic disruption at the hands of the regime.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last= |date=1981 |title=Ethiopia: Conquest and Terror |url= |journal=Horn of Africa |language=en |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=8–19}}</ref> In July 1976, the group who wanted a rapprochement with the EPRP was eliminated from the Derg: In the same month junta introduced the death penalty for some political crimes, and prolonged the [[state of emergency]] proclaimed in September 1975. As a result, insurgencies began to spread into the country's administrative regions.{{sfn|de Waal|2002|pp=[https://archive.org/details/faminecrimespoli00dewa/page/106 106–09]}} By late 1976 insurgencies existed in all of the country's fourteen [[Administrative divisions of ethiopia|administrative]] regions.{{sfn|Ofcansky|Berry|1993|p=43}}[[File:Statue - Tiglachin Monument (1984) (18085457261).jpg|thumb|[[Tiglachin Monument]] commemorating the victory of the Derg over [[Somali Democratic Republic|Somalia]] in the [[Ogaden War]]|324x324px]]During 1976, civilian opposition to the regime was ruthlessly cracked down on following an attempt on Mengistu's life. In some cases entire families were executed based on the accusation of being 'reactionary'.<ref name=":1" /> These grouped ranged from the conservative and pro-monarchy [[Ethiopian Democratic Union]] to the far-leftist [[Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party]], the  [[Eritrean People's Liberation Front]] (EPLF) [[guerrillas]] fighting for [[Eritrea]]n independence, rebels based in [[Tigray province|Tigray]] (which included the nascent [[Tigray People's Liberation Front]]) and other groups. For some time, the [[Western Somali Liberation Front]] (WSLF), had been conducting guerilla operations in the Ogaden. By June 1977, it had succeeded in forcing the Ethiopian army out of much of the region and into fortified urban centers. During the [[Ogaden War]] that soon followed, Somalia launched a full-scale invasion to assist the WSLF.<ref name=":6">{{Cite journal |last=Urban |first=Mark |date=1983 |title=Soviet intervention and the Ogaden counter-offensive of 1978 |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03071848308523524 |journal=The RUSI Journal |language=en |volume=128 |issue=2 |pages=42–46 |doi=10.1080/03071848308523524 |issn=0307-1847|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Under the Derg, Ethiopia became the Soviet bloc's closest ally in Africa and became one of the best-armed nations in the region as a result of massive military aid, chiefly from the [[Soviet Union]], [[East Germany]], [[Cuba]] and [[North Korea]].

In October 1978, the Derg announced the [[National Revolutionary Development Campaign]] to mobilize human and material resources to transform the economy, which led to a ten-year plan (1984/85 – 1993/94) to expand agricultural and industrial output, forecasting a 6.5% growth in GDP and a 3.6% rise in per capita income. Instead, per capita income declined considerably to 0.8% over this period.<ref name=":0">Bahru Zewde 2001, 262f.</ref> Because of the impact of the wars in Ogaden and Eritrea, food output did not even keep pace with population growth in the 1974-1978 period. Between 1977 and 1979 Ethiopia faced severe food shortages, both in the towns and in parts of the countryside.<ref name=":2" />[[Image:Derg-badge.png|thumb|Derg party badge, {{Circa|1979}}.]]Many Ethiopians viewed the revolution as a mask to perpetuate [[Amhara people|Amhara]] colonization that began during Emperor [[Menelik II]]. By 1978 the proportion of Amhara officials running the Ethiopian government was higher than it has ever been – even under Menelik and [[Haile Selassie|Selassie]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Greenfield |first1=Richard |last2=Hassan |first2=Mohammed |date=1980 |title=Interpretation of Oromo Nationality |url=https://www.africabib.org/rec.php?RID=P00022029 |journal=Horn of Africa: An Independent Journal |language=en |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=3–14 |quote=However, revolution seems to many to mask the perpetuation of colonization. In 1978 the proportion of Amhara officials mainly Shewans in the government of Ethiopia is higher than it has ever been.}}</ref> By 1980, the original 120 members of the Derg had been whittled down to only 38. All members but three were ethnic [[Amhara people|Amhara]] and were predominantly from settler colonialist ''[[neftenya]]'' origins. Many member of the ruling elite were deeply opposed to the idea of loosening control on the rebellious [[Menelik II's conquests|southern regions conquered under Menelik II]].<ref name=":1" />

====1983–85 famine====
{{Main|1983–85 famine in Ethiopia}}
Famine scholar [[Alex de Waal]] observed that while the [[1984–1985 famine in Ethiopia|famine]] that struck the country in the mid-1980s is usually ascribed to drought, closer investigation shows that widespread drought occurred only some months after the famine was already underway.<ref>de Waal 1991, [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_RcVFXUwraxsC/page/n270 4.]</ref> Hundreds of thousands fled economic misery, conscription and political repression and went to live in neighbouring countries and all over the [[Western world]], creating, for the first time, an Ethiopian [[diaspora]]. 

More accurate evidence suggests that the famine was deliberately induced by the government in rebel areas of the Ethiopia (such as [[Tigray Region|Tigray]] and Eritrea) as part of the junta's [[counterinsurgency]] strategy against guerrilla such groups as [[Tigray People's Liberation Front]]<nowiki/>or [[Oromo Liberation Front]].<ref name="US">{{Cite web |title=Ethiopia Drought/Famine (1983–1985) |url=http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PBAAH005.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220212224417/https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PBAAH005.pdf |archive-date=12 February 2022 |website=[[United States Agency for International Development]] |quote=No. Dead: More than 300,000 No. Affected: 7.75 million}}</ref> Although the Mengistu's regime did not openly block all [[humanitarian aid]] to the rebel regions, he used that famine as government military policy against the rebellion: aid was delivered through companies closely associated with the Derg and strictly limited by the regime.{{sfn|de Waal|1991|p=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_RcVFXUwraxsC/page/n270 4–6]}}{{sfn|Young|2006|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=S9LX8UpI97MC&pg=PA132 132]}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Peter Gill, page.43 "Famine and Foreigners: Ethiopia Since Live Aid" |url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/sites/default/files/file%20uploads%20/peter_gill_famine_and_foreigners_ethiopia_sincebook4you.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180516155623/http://www.sahistory.org.za/sites/default/files/file%20uploads%20/peter_gill_famine_and_foreigners_ethiopia_sincebook4you.pdf |archive-date=16 May 2018 |access-date=2 March 2019}}</ref> Due to organized government policies that deliberately multiplied the effects of the famine, around 1.2&nbsp;million people died in Ethiopia from the famine where the majority of the death tolls were from the present day Tigray Region and [[Amhara Region]] and other parts of northern Ethiopia.<ref name="Ethiopia Since Live Aid2">{{Cite web |author=Peter Gill |title=Famine and Foreigners: Ethiopia Since Live Aid |url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/sites/default/files/file%20uploads%20/peter_gill_famine_and_foreigners_ethiopia_sincebook4you.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180516155623/http://www.sahistory.org.za/sites/default/files/file%20uploads%20/peter_gill_famine_and_foreigners_ethiopia_sincebook4you.pdf |archive-date=16 May 2018 |access-date=2 March 2019 |page=44}}</ref><ref name="Red Tears">{{Cite book |last1=Giorgis |first1=Dawit Wolde |title=Red Tears: War, Famine, and Revolution in Ethiopia |publisher=Red Sea Press |year=1989 |isbn=0932415342}}</ref>{{sfn|de Waal|1991|p=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_RcVFXUwraxsC/page/n22 5]}}

====Aid and controversy====
{{See also|1983–85 famine in Ethiopia#Effect on aid policy}}
[[File:MASTER SGT. Edward Barnes, loadmaster from the 6th Military Airlift Squadron, directs the loading of one of 11 pallets of supplies onto a waiting truck during Ethiopian relief opera - DPLA - bc5b8b02657a68af0c663e43cc117927.jpeg|thumb|180px|An airlift supplying water truck during the famine in 1985]]
The 1984–1985 [[Tigray Province|Tigray]] famine brought the political situation in Ethiopia to the attention of the world and inspired charitable drives in [[Western nations]], notably by [[Oxfam]] and the [[Live Aid]] concerts of July 1985. The money they raised was distributed among [[NGO]]s working in Ethiopia. A controversy arose when it was found that some of these NGOs were under Derg control or influence and that some Oxfam and Live Aid money had been used to fund Derg's [[Resettlement and villagization in Ethiopia|enforced resettlement programmes]], under which they displaced millions of people and killed between 50,000 and 100,000.<ref name="Guardian 24.06.2005">{{cite news |url=http://arts.guardian.co.uk/live8/story/0,16066,1513359,00.html |title=Cruel to be kind? |first=David |last=Rieff |date=24 June 2005 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=9 October 2011}}</ref> A [[BBC]] investigation reported that [[Tigray People's Liberation Front]] rebels had used millions of dollars of aid money to buy arms; these accusations were later fully retracted by the corporation.<ref name="BBC 17.11.2010">{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/content/ecu/ecu_bandaidmoneydonatedethiopia |title=ECU Ruling: Claims that aid intended for famine relief in Ethiopia had been diverted to buy arms |author=BBC Complaints |date=17 November 2010 |publisher=BBC |access-date=9 October 2011 |quote=Following a complaint .&nbsp;.&nbsp;. the BBC has investigated these statements and concluded that there was no evidence for them .&nbsp;.&nbsp;. The BBC wishes to apologise unreservedly}}.</ref>

====Dissolution and trials====
{{Main|Fall of the Derg|Trials of the Derg members}}
[[Image:T-55 Ethiopian Civil War 1991.JPEG|thumb|upright=1|[[T-55]] tanks in the streets of [[Addis Ababa]] after rebels seized the capital]]
[[File:Derg members in court in Addis Ababa, 1994.jpg|thumb|Derg members in court in Addis Ababa, 1994]]
Although the Derg government came to an end on 22 February 1987, three weeks after a [[Ethiopian constitutional referendum, 1987|referendum approved]] the [[1987 Constitution of Ethiopia|constitution for the PDRE]], it was not until September that the new government was fully in place and the Derg formally abolished.<ref>{{Country study|country=Ethiopia|abbr=et|editor=Thomas P. Ofcansky and LaVerle Berry|date=1991|section=The 1987 Constitution|first=Edmond J.|last=Keller}}</ref> The surviving members of the Derg, including Mengistu, remained in power as the leaders of the new civilian regime.

The geopolitical situation became unfavourable for the communist government in the late 1980s, with the Soviet Union retreating from the expansion of Communism under [[Mikhail Gorbachev]]'s ''[[glasnost]]'' and ''[[perestroika]].'' Socialist bloc countries drastically reduced their aid to Ethiopia and were struggling to keep their own economies going. This resulted in even more economic hardship, and the military gave way in the face of determined onslaughts by guerrilla forces in the north. The Soviet Union stopped aiding the PDRE altogether in December 1990. Together with the fall of Communism in the Eastern Bloc in the [[Revolutions of 1989]], this itself dealt a serious blow to the PDRE.

Towards the end of January 1991, a coalition of rebel forces, the [[Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front]] (EPRDF) captured [[Gondar]] (the ancient capital city), [[Bahir Dar]] and [[Dessie]]. Meanwhile, the [[Eritrean People's Liberation Front]] had gained control of all of Eritrea except for [[Asmara]] and [[Assab]] in the south. The Soviet Union, mired in its internal turmoil, could no longer prop up the Derg.<ref>Henze 2000, 322.</ref> In the words of the former US diplomat Paul B. Henze, "As his doom became imminent, Mengistu alternated between vowing resistance to the end and hinting that he might follow Emperor [[Tewodros II]]'s example and commit suicide."<ref name="Henze 2000, 327f">Henze 2000, 327f.</ref> His actions were frantic: he convened the [[National Shengo|Shengo]], for an emergency session and reorganized his cabinet, but as Henze concludes, "these shifts came too late to be effective."<ref name="Henze 2000, 327f"/> On 21 May, claiming that he was going to inspect troops at a base in southern Ethiopia, Mengistu slipped out of the country into [[Kenya]]. From there, he flew along with his immediate family to [[Zimbabwe]], where he was granted asylum and where he still resides.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://mg.co.za/article/2017-12-11-quest-to-extradite-ethiopias-dictator-mengistu-as-mugabe-departs |title=Quest to extradite Ethiopia's dictator Mengistu as Mugabe departs |work=Deutsche Welle |date=11 December 2017 |access-date=10 June 2019 }}</ref> 
  
Mengistu was sentenced to death in 2008 ''in absentia'', charged with genocide, homicide, illegal imprisonment and property seizures.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ethiopia-mengistu-idUSL2648747420080526 |title=Ethiopian court hands death sentence to Mengistu |last=Tadesse |first=Tsegaye |website=Reuters |access-date=31 October 2022 |date=26 May 2008 }}</ref> In 2009, Zimbabwe's late former Information Minister, [[Tichaona Jokonya]], in an interview with [[Voice of America]] said Harare was not going to extradite Mengistu.<ref name="Zulu">{{cite web |last=Zulu |first=Blessing |url=https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/6577243.html |title=Zimbabwe Willing to Extradite Mengistu, Vows to Investigate How Late Rwandan Fugitive Mpiranya 'Evaded Capture for Years' |access-date=31 October 2022 |date=17 May 2022 |website=Voice of America Zimbabwe}}</ref> 
In August 2018, Ethiopian former Prime Minister [[Hailemariam Desalegn]] while heading an [[African Union]] election observer mission in Harare met with Mengistu, and shared their photo on [[Facebook]], which was quickly deleted as it proved so controversial and generally unpopular. It is thought that Prime Minister [[Abiy Ahmed]], who had at that time released thousands of political prisoners, had approved the visit possibly because some opposition groups had used Mengistu's image to voice their disapproval of Abiy's policies.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-45043811 |title=Why a photo of Mengistu has proved so controversial |work=BBC News |date=2 August 2018 |access-date=31 October 2022}}</ref>
In May 2022, [[Zimbabwe]]'s Foreign Affairs Minister Ambassador [[Frederick Shava]] gave a clear sign that Harare would be prepared to extradite Mengistu in a reversal of Jokonya's policy.<ref name="Zulu"/> Given the turmoil in [[Ethiopia]] with the [[Tigray War|Tigray]] conflict, there have been no further apparent developments.

Upon entering Addis Ababa, the EPRDF immediately disbanded the WPE and arrested almost all of the prominent Derg officials shortly after. In December 2006, seventy-three officials of the Derg were found guilty of genocide. Thirty-four people were in court, fourteen others had died during the lengthy process, and twenty-five, including Mengistu, were tried ''in absentia''.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/6251095.stm Mengistu is handed life sentence], ''BBC News'', 11 January 2007</ref> The trial ended 26 May 2008, and many of the officials were sentenced to death. In December 2010, the Ethiopian government commuted the death sentence of 23 Derg officials. On 4 October 2011, 16 former Derg officials were freed after twenty years of incarceration. The Ethiopian government paroled almost all of the Derg officials who had been imprisoned for 20 years. Other Derg ex-officials managed to escape and organized rebel groups to overthrow Ethiopia's new government. One of these groups is the [[Ethiopian Unity Patriots Front]] which waged an insurgency in the [[Gambela Region]] from 1993 to 2012.{{sfnp|Gagnon|Clough|Ross|2005|pp=8–9}}<ref>{{cite news |url=http://sudantribune.com/spip.php?article31607 |title=Ethiopian rebels leave South Sudan as peace initiative fails |work=Sudan Tribune |date=23 June 2009 |access-date=22 March 2019 |archive-date=2 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402175159/http://sudantribune.com/spip.php?article31607 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://nyamile.co/2014/10/25/ethiopian-rebels-deny-taking-side-in-south-sudan/ |title=Ethiopian Rebels Deny Taking Side in South Sudan Conflict! |work=Nyamile |date=25 October 2014 |access-date=25 January 2019 }}</ref>

At the conclusion of a trial lasting from 1994 to 2006, Mengistu was convicted of [[genocide]], [[war crimes]] and [[crimes against humanity]] and sentenced ''in absentia'' to death by an Ethiopian court for his role in Ethiopia's [[Red Terror (Ethiopia)|Red Terror]].<ref>[https://www.hrw.org/news/1999/11/24/ethiopian-dictator-mengistu-haile-mariam "Ethiopian Dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam"]. Human Rights Watch. 24 November 1999. Retrieved 17 November 2020.</ref><ref>Tadesse, Tsegaye (2006). [https://www.redorbit.com/news/international/512182/verdict_due_for_ethiopias_exdictator_mengistu/ "Verdict due for Ethiopia's ex-dictator Mengistu"]. Reuters. Retrieved 17 November 2020.</ref><ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6171429.stm "Mengistu found guilty of genocide"]. BBC News. 12 December 2006. Retrieved 17 November 2020.</ref><ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7420212.stm "Court Sentences Mengistu to Death"]. BBC News. 26 May 2008. Retrieved 17 November 2020.</ref> The Ethiopian legal definition is distinct from the legal definition as outlined in the [[Genocide Convention]] by the [[United Nations]] and other definitions in that it defines genocide as intent to wipe out political and not just ethnic groups. In this respect, it closely resembles the definition of [[politicide]] outlined by [[Barbara Harff]], who wrote in 1992 that no Communist country or governing body had been convicted of genocide.<ref>{{cite book |last=Harff |first=Barbara |chapter=Recognizing Genocides and Politicides |editor-last=Fein |editor-first=Helen |title=Genocide Watch |date=1992 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-04801-8 |volume=27 |pages=37–38 |doi=10.2307/J.CTT1XP3T17.6 |s2cid=150924767}}</ref>