What Is Genocide? And what criteria must an event meet to be considered one?
Genocide is the mass killing of a large group of people based off of things such as belief or ethnicity. For an event to be considered a genocide, it must follow at least six out of the eight steps of genocide. Click below to view the eight stages in a genocide.
What provoked the start of the Red Terror?
Mengistu Haile Mariam was the leader of the Derg in Ethiopia, and was responsible for the commencement of the Red Terror, and the deaths it caused. He wanted to rid the country of any counter-revolutionary, or anyone
that posed a threat to his steadfastness in holding his office. The government of Ethiopia wanted to have an uncontested rule over the country, and supposedly the only way to do this was to eliminate any opposition through unconventional acts such as violence, arrests, and murder. |
General area in which the red terror took place
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Timeline1973-1974- 200,000 people die in Wallo Province due to famine
1974- Haile Selassie overthrown in military coup, Teferi Benti becomes head of state 1975- Haile Selassie dies under unknown circumstances while in custody 1977- General Benti is killed, and is replaced by Mengistu Haile Mariam 1977-1979- Hundreds of thousands of government enemies are killed in the Red Terror campaign led by Mengistu Haile Meriam 1978- Ethiopia and Somalia sign a peace treaty |
How did the world react to the Red Terror?
Taking place at the end of the cold war, this genocide received support from the Soviet Union and other western countries, however it was done more for political reasons rather than for the fact that peoples natural rights were being violated. Mengistu Haile Mariam was able to retreat to Zimbabwe, and could not be affected or put into custody by any international law. Eventually, he was caught, but it wasn't for a very long time until justice was served.