YEKATIT 12 (FEB19)- THE MASSACRE OF ETHIOPIANS BY THE ITALIAN FORCES

In February 1937 – the second year of the Italian occupation of Ethiopia – the Viceroy, Graziani, decided to hold a celebration at the Addis Ababa Palace – now Addis Ababa University, to commemorate the birth of an Italian royal baby: the Prince of Naples. The commemoration was scheduled for 19 February, and the principal Ethiopian courtiers in the city were all invited to attend.

Ethiopian opponents of the occupation included two young Eritrean friends – The Two Plotters.

The first of the plotters was Abraha Deboch, who had by then succeeded in finding employment with the Fascist Political Bureau in Addis Ababa, here his Eritrean origin, knowledge of Italian, and familiarity with the city made him appear useful. He was, however, bitterly opposed to the Graziani regime, and particularly its racial discrimination.

The second plotter was Moges Asgedom, who was unemployed but looked after by a friend by the name of Sebhat, who served as a language instructor in the German Consulate (formerly the German embassy). The two friends, Abraha Deboch and Moges Asgedom, decided to seize the occasion of the forthcoming celebration at the Palace to attempt to assassinate the hated Viceroy.

Tradition has it that Abraha, not wishing to harm innocent Ethiopians warned a number of them to stay away from the Palace on a fateful day. However, most of them reportedly ignored his warning, for they saw him as an employee of the Fascists, and felt that as such could not be trusted.

It is told that Abraha and Moges had by then acquired a number of Breda-type Italian hand-grenades, and had on several occasions traveled into the nearby lowlands, in the direction of Mount Zeqwala, to experiment with throwing them.

On the appointed day Abraha, before leaving home, placed an Italian flag on the floor of his house, and stuck an Ethiopian spear into it – a symbol of defiance for everyone later to see.The two men, taking a number of hand-grenades with them, then made their way to the Palace compound.

They entered the Palace building, where, as assumed collaborators, they attracted no attention – and took up their position to strike. They were thus, it appears, standing immediately below the overhanging balcony, which was to be the Viceroy’s saving, as it prevented the little bombs from exploding immediately beside him.

The official ceremony began as might be expected. Viceroy Graziani made a speech, a number of Ethiopian notables made their submission to the victors, Italian planes made a fly-over above the city, and at 11 o’clock officials began distributing the promised alms to priests and the poor.

Abraha and Mogus managed to slip through the crowd to the bottom of the steps to the Little Gebbi, then began throwing grenades. According to one account, they managed to lob 10 of them before escaping in the resulting confusion. According to Richard Pankhurst, they were rushed from the scene by a third conspirator, a taxi driver named Simeyon Adefres. Pankhurst also credits him with providing the grenades that Abraha and Mogus threw.

The bombs were hurled, it is said, shortly before midday. Graziani and some thirty of his colleagues were wounded – and the Viceroy, who was badly shaken, later claimed that no less than 250 pieces of steel had entered his body.

Viceroy Graziani was rushed to the Italian hospital where he was operated on immediately and saved. General Liotta lost his leg to the attack. For a while Abraha and Mogus hid at the ancient monastery of Debre Libanos but soon moved on, seeking sanctuary in Sudan. Somewhere in Gojjam local inhabitants, always suspicious of strangers, murdered them.

The Italian response was immediate. According to Mockler, “Italian carabinieri had fired into the crowds of beggars and poor assembled for the distribution of alms; and it is said that the Federal Secretary, Guido
Cortese, even fired his revolver into the group of Ethiopian dignitaries standing around him.” Hours later, Cortese gave the fatal order:

“Comrades, today is the day when we should show our devotion to our Viceroy by reacting and destroying the Ethiopians for three days. For three days I give you carte blanche to destroy and kill and do what you want to the Ethiopians.”

For the rest of that day, through Saturday and Sunday, Italians killed Ethiopians with daggers and truncheons to the shouts of “Duce! Duce!” and “Civiltà Italiana!” They doused native houses with gasoline and set them
on fire. They broke into the homes of local Greeks and Armenians and lynched their servants. Some even possed on the corpses of their victims to have their photographs taken. In three days, the Italians had killed 30000 Ethiopians in Addis Ababa only. The first day is commemorated as “Yekatit 12” (Ethiopian February 19) till now. There is a monument called with the same name in Addis Ababa in memory of those Ethiopian victims of Italian aggression.

Thousands of Ethiopians of all classes were sent to detention camps at Danan in the Ogaden and Nokra in the Dahlak Archipelago. Conditions at Danan were inhospitable, and Graziani had given orders that the prisoners would receive only the bare minimum of food and water. Between ten percent and half of the prisoners died at Danan.

The final reprisal struck in May. Investigators found that Abraha and Mogus had stayed a while at Debra Libanos and slight circumstantial evidence suggested that the monks had foreknowledge of their plans. Graziani, mindful of his misadventure at Jijiga, believed they were complicit and 19 May cabled the local commander, “Therefore execute summarily all monks without distinction including the Vice-Prior.” The following day, ironically a feast day of their patron saint Tekle Haymanot, 297 monks plus 23 laymen were shot the entire population of the monastery.

Credits: Estifanos Ghebremichael

Source: www.harep.org/Africa
:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yekatit_12