ABSTRACT
Ethiopian history has had multi-layered conflicts which have sometimes been characterized by gross human rights violations. The mass killings of the 1970s that were committed by the Derg regime, which later became known as the Red Terror, was part of protracted and systematic human rights violations in the country. The Red Terror took place between 1974 and 1978 following the Derg ascendancy to power in 1974 through a bloodless coup. The terror regime institutionalized violence through mass killings, organized targeted killings, and torturing prisoners by burning, hanging on them on their arms, and constantly flogging them. The conflict annihilated an extensive generation of educated Ethiopians given that many university students who protested the oppressive regime were eliminated. The Red Terror of the Derg regime also led to massive displacements of populations fleeing persecution, and until the early 1990s, Ethiopia was one of Africa’s largest sources of refugees.
In this chapter, it is argued that one of the major repercussions of the Red Terror in the post-Derg regime is that it instituted repressive state tendencies towards dissidents. Memorialization of systematic mass killings is vital for the post-conflict reconstruction of Ethiopia. Such memorialization ought to advocate for the institutionalization of the rule of law through political accountability and prosecution of those responsible for crimes against humanity; the cultivation of a national identity through inclusive structures of governance and expanded civil space that allows for citizen participation in democratic processes; and the development of economic programs that increase employment, food security, and peace sustainability.
