ABSTRACT
Thehopesforsocialjustice,nationalself-determination,anddemocracythat emergedwiththedemiseofMengistu'sregimein1991weredashedwhenthe EthiopianPeople'sRevolutionaryDemocraticFront(EPRDF),dominatedby theTigrayanPeople'sLiberationFront(TPLF),cametopowerwiththe supportandendorsementoftheU.S.government,andthenlaterestablisheda minorityTigrayan-basedauthoritariangovernment.Toobtainpolitical legitimacy,atthebeginningtheTPLF-ledregimeinviteddifferentliberation fronts,thelargestandmostprominentofwhichwastheOromoLiberation Front(OLF),andotherpoliticalorganizationstojointhemandestablisheda transitionalgovernment.TheEPRDFpersuadedtheothersthatitwould prepareagroundfortheformationofamultinationalfederaldemocratic governmentofEthiopia.However,inlessthanayear,thistransitionalregime hadexpelledallcoalitionpartnersbyusingwarandterrorismandhad establishedanethnic-basedpartydictatorshipwithoutanyoppositionfrom theUnitedStatesorotherWesterncountries(Trueman,1997;Pollock,1996, 1997).
