የታኅሣሥ ግርግር - ፲፱፻፶፫ "The December Commotion"
ETHIOPIAN COUP D'ETAT ATTEMPT OF 1953 ETH. CAL. (DECEMBER 1960)
by CHRISTOPHER CLAPHAM
A BRIEF OUTLINE OF EVENTS
On Tuesday, (Tahsas 4, 1953 Ethiopian Cal.) 13 December 1960, Emperor Haile-Selassie was away on a state visit to Brazil. That night the Commander of the Imperial Bodyguard, Brigadier General Mangestu Neway (born 1908 Eth. Cal.), took control of the imperial palace in Addis Ababa; he there detained the Emperor's eldest son, Crown Prince Asfa-Wasan, and leading politicians, including the Ministers of Commerce, Defence, and the Interior. He was aided by his younger brother Germame Neway (born 1916, eight years his junior), a radical sub-provincial governor who was mainly responsible for the planning and political motivation behind the coup, and the two brothers were joined by the Chief of Security, Colonel Warqenah Gabayahu, the Police Commissioner, Brigadier General Tsege Dibu, and a few educated radicals; they were supported by most of the Imperial Bodyguard.
On Wednesday morning, 14 December, the rebels secured control of most of Addis Ababa and drafted a proclamation, broadcast by Asfa-Wasan, who is generally regarded as having acted under duress. This attacked Ethiopia's economic backwardness in relation to other African countries, announced the formation of a new government under Asfa-Wasan, and promised the start of a new era. It helped to secure the support of the university students, who demonstrated in Addis Ababa in the new government's favour.
But the rebels had failed to neutralize a very important group of opponents, who were headed by an influential nobleman, Dajazmach Asrata Kasa, and by the Chief of Staff, Major General Mared Mangasha. These made for the headquarters of the army, on the opposite side of Addis Ababa from the palace and the headquarters of the Imperial Bodyguard. The army and the Bodyguard were two entirely separate military formations, which Haile-Selassie kept apart in rivalry to one another; when the guard went against him, a countervailing military force was therefore immediately available in his support.
There followed an uneasy 24 hours. During this period Mangestu and the rebels issued an 11-point programme of proposed reforms, and appointed as Prime Minister a liberal old nobleman and cousin of the Emperor, Ras (Prince) Imru, with Major General Mulugeta Buli, who was popular in the army, as Chief of Staff. Asrata, Mared, and the loyalists spent their time more usefully; they secured the support of the tank squadron and the air force, both stationed within reach of Addis Ababa, and made up their initial shortage of troops by airlifting about 1,000 loyal soldiers in from outlying provinces; they also issued leaflets signed by the Patriarch of the Ethiopian Church, condemning the rebels as anti-religious traitors and calling for loyalty to Haile-Selassie. These seem to have had a great effect on waverers and townspeople.
Fighting broke out in the afternoon of Thursday, 15 December. The rebels were heavily outgunned, and were slowly driven back through Addis Ababa on Thursday and Friday. Many ordinary Bodyguard soldiers lost heart on discovering they were fighting against the Emperor, as they had been given to understand that they were fighting for him; the townspeople, once the fighting started, gave fierce support to the loyalists. Before retreating, Germame and others turned machine-guns on the politicians who had been rounded up on the first night and since kept as hostages, killing 15 of them. Later Germame and Warqenah committed suicide; Tsege was killed in action; Mangestu was captured, and was tried, condemned to death, and hanged the following March.
Haile-Selassie flew first to Asmara, which, like all the provincial centres, had remained loyal to him; on Saturday, 17 December, he re-entered Addis Ababa amidst fervent rejoicing, and the attempted coup d'etat was all but over. Official casualty figures, which are likely to be underestimates, indicate at least 300 killed, many of them civilians caught in the street fighting.
The Journal of Modern African Studies, 6, 4 (1968), pp. 495—507
The Ethiopian Coup d'Etat of December 1960 - Cambridge University Press
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