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{{short description|1975–1979 political organization in Ethiopia}}
{{Infobox political party
| name = Provisional Office for Mass Organizational Affairs
| native_name = የሕዝብ ጽሕፈት ጊዜያዊ ጽሕፌት ቤት
| colorcode = #FF5733
| chairperson = [[Haile Fida]]
| governing_body = Supreme Organizing Committee
| standing_committee = Mass Political Education and Co-ordinating Committee
| founded = December 1975
| dissolved = December 1979
| leader1_title = Vice chairperson
| leader1_name = Sennai Likkai
| newspaper = ''Abiotawit Ityopya'' (''አብዮታዊ ኢትዮጵያ'')
| ideology = [[Communism]]<br>[[Marxism-Leninism]]
| country = Ethiopia
}}
⚫
The '''Provisional Office for Mass Organizational Affairs''' ({{langx|am|የሕዝብ ጽሕፈት ጊዜያዊ ጽሕፌት ቤት}}, abbreviated '''POMOA''') was a political organization in [[Ethiopia]] active between 1975 and 1979. POMOA functioned as a forum to involve different [[Marxism-Leninism|Marxist-Leninist]] organizations in the revolutionary process and to politicize and organize the masses.<ref name="t181">Tiruneh, Andargachew. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=ABbnAd0oWokC&pg=PA181 The Ethiopian Revolution 1974–1987 : a Transformation from an Aristocratic to a Totalitarian]''. Cambridge: University of Cambridge, 1995. p. 181</ref><ref name="hai">Haile-Selassie, Teferra. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=fptyAAAAMAAJ The Ethiopian Revolution, 1974–1991: From a Monarchical Autocracy to a Military Oligarchy]''. London [u.a.]: Kegan Paul Internat, 1997. p. 230</ref>


==Foundation==
⚫
POMOA ({{lang-am|የሕዝብ ድርጅት ጊዜያዊ ጽሕፌት ቤት}}) was a political organization in [[Ethiopia]]. POMOA functioned as a forum to involve different [[Marxism-Leninism|Marxist-Leninist]] organizations in the revolutionary process and to politicize and organize the masses.<ref name="t181">Tiruneh, Andargachew. ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=ABbnAd0oWokC&pg=PA181 The Ethiopian Revolution 1974-1987 : a Transformation from an Aristocratic to a Totalitarian]''. Cambridge: University of Cambridge, 1995. p. 181</ref><ref name="hai">Haile-Selassie, Teferra. ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=fptyAAAAMAAJ The Ethiopian Revolution, 1974-1991: From a Monarchical Autocracy to a Military Oligarchy]''. London [u.a.]: Kegan Paul Internat, 1997. p. 230</ref>
⚫
POMOA was set up through a decree of the [[Derg]] military junta in December 1975.<ref name="c53">Clapham Christopher. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=LeszAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA53 Transformation and Continuity in Revolutionary Ethiopia]''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. p. 53</ref><ref>Eide, Øyvind M. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=7NsmAQAAIAAJ Revolution and Religion in Ethiopia: A Study of Church and Politics with Special Reference to the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus 1974–1985]''. Uppsala: [Svenska institutet för missionsforskning], Univ, 1996. p. 137</ref> The existence of POMOA was publicly revealed on April 21, 1976 following the announcement of the National Democratic Revolution Programme. Initially the organization was known as the '''People's Organizing Provisional Office'''. The organization was conceptualized not as a political party, but as a "popular revolutionary front".<ref name="c66">Clapham Christopher. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=LeszAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA66 Transformation and Continuity in Revolutionary Ethiopia]''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. p. 66</ref> The Yekatit '66 Political School, an institution under the supervision of POMOA, trained political cadres.<ref name="c67"/> POMOA functioned as a government department, and received allocations from the state treasury.<ref name="t162"/> According to Kiflu Tadesse, POMOA had an annual budget of 7&nbsp;million [[Ethiopian birr|Birr]].<ref>Tadesse, Kiflu. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=TK1yAAAAMAAJ Ethiopia Transformation and Conflict]''. Silver Spring, Md: K & S Distributors [u.a.], 1998. p. 56</ref>


==Leadership and structure==
⚫
POMOA was set up through a decree of the [[Derg]] military junta in December 1975.<ref name="c53">Clapham Christopher. ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=LeszAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA262 Transformation and Continuity in Revolutionary Ethiopia]''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. p. 53</ref><ref>Eide, Øyvind M. ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=7NsmAQAAIAAJ Revolution and Religion in Ethiopia: A Study of Church and Politics with Special Reference to the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus 1974-1985]''. Uppsala: [Svenska institutet för missionsforskning], Univ, 1996. p. 137</ref> The existence of POMOA was publicly declared in April 1976 following the announcement of the National Democratic Revolution Programme. POMOA conceptualized not as a political party, but as a 'popular revolutionary front'.<ref name="c66"/> [[Haile Fida]], the leader of Meison, was the chairman of POMOA.<ref name="t181"/><ref name="c66"/> Sennai Likkai of the [[Waz League]] served as the vice chairman of the organization.<ref name="c66"/>
Through POMOA the Derg military junta received political support in the face of opposition from the [[Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party]] (EPRP), especially through the building of organizational structures in the provinces. But the Derg was wary of the dominance of the [[All-Ethiopian Socialist Movement]] (Meison) over POMOA. As a means of keeping POMOA under check, [[Mengistu Haile Mariam]] employed tactics of playing out different POMOA factions against each other.<ref name="c67"/>


The leading body in POMOA was a 15-member committee. Its full name was the Mass Political Education and Co-ordinating Committee.<ref name="t162">Tiruneh, Andargachew. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=ABbnAd0oWokC&pg=PA162 The Ethiopian Revolution 1974–1987 : a Transformation from an Aristocratic to a Totalitarian]''. Cambridge: University of Cambridge, 1995. p. 162</ref> It was commonly referred to as the 'Politburo', and had many scholars within its ranks.<ref name="c66"/><ref name="bulcha">Bulcha, Mekuria. ''[http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn%3Anbn%3Ase%3Anai%3Adiva-368 Flight and Integration: Causes of Mass Exodus from Ethiopia and Problems of Integration in the Sudan]''. Uppsala: Scandinavian Institute of African Studies [Nordiska Afrikainstitutet], 1988. pp. 65–66</ref> The Politburo and other POMOA structures were dominated by Meison.<ref name="c53"/><ref>[[Kinfe Abraham|Abraham, Kinfe]]. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZAqVZwjScw0C&pg=PA80 Ethiopia, from Bullets to the Ballot Box: The Bumpy Road to Democracy and the Political Economy of Transition]''. Lawrenceville, NJ: Red Sea Press, 1994. p. 80</ref> [[Haile Fida]], the leader of Meison, was the chairman of POMOA.<ref name="t181"/><ref name="c66"/> Sennai Likkai of the [[Waz League]] served as the vice chairman of the organization.<ref name="c66"/>
⚫
Five political groups were active inside POMOA; Meison, Waz League, the [[Ethiopian Marxist-Leninist Revolutionary Organization]] (Malerid), [[Echat]] and [[Seded]].<ref name="shinn"> [[Mengistu Haile Mariam]] employed tactics of playing out different POMOA factions against each other. The entry of Seded (the political faction started by the Derg military officers) caused controversy within the coalition. Two factions (Meison and Echat) opposed the entry of Seded into the alliance (seeing Seded as a threat to their influence in POMOA) whilst the other two (Malerid and Waz League) supported the integration of Seded.<ref name="c67">Clapham Christopher. ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=LeszAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA67 Transformation and Continuity in Revolutionary Ethiopia]''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. p. 67</ref>


The activities of POMOA supervised by Supreme Organizing Committee, a body chaired by Mengistu himself.<ref name="t181"/>
POMOA built up organizational structures in the regions and provinces, and sometimes in the districts.<ref name="c66"/> The organization developed a network of some 4,000 political cadres in cells across the country.<ref name="shinn">Shinn, David H., and Thomas P. Ofcansky. ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=ep7__RWqq4IC&pg=PA337 Historical Dictionary of Ethiopia]''. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2004. pp. 336-337</ref>


⚫
Membership in POMOA was kept secret.<ref name="c66"/> Five political groups were active inside POMOA; Meison, Waz League, the [[Ethiopian Marxist-Leninist Revolutionary Organization]] (Malerid), [[Echat]] and [[Seded]].<ref name="shinn"/> The entry of Seded (the political faction started by the Derg military officers) caused controversy within the coalition. Two factions (Meison and Echat) opposed the entry of Seded into the alliance (seeing Seded as a threat to their influence in POMOA) whilst the other two (Malerid and Waz League) supported the integration of Seded.<ref name="c67">Clapham Christopher. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=LeszAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA67 Transformation and Continuity in Revolutionary Ethiopia]''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. p. 67</ref> The different member organizations of POMOA conspired against each other, trying to place their own people in key positions inside POMOA.<ref name="c66"/> Haile Fida and Sennai Likkay competed over power in POMOA.<ref name="c67"/> In particular, the coalition was shaken by the power struggle between Meison and Seded.<ref name="shinn"/>


POMOA had committees for ideology, organization and for running the Yekatit '66 Political School. POMOA built up organizational structures in the regions and provinces, and sometimes in the districts.<ref name="c66"/> The organization developed a network of some 4,000 political cadres in cells across the country.<ref name="shinn">Shinn, David H., and Thomas P. Ofcansky. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=ep7__RWqq4IC&pg=PA337 Historical Dictionary of Ethiopia]''. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2004. pp. 336–337</ref> POMOA took control of the [[kebele]]s (urban dwellers associations), and turned them into vigilante bodies with militia squads under the supervision of POMOA.<ref name="mark">Markakis, John, and Michael Waller. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=mWV2EtBcI1oC Military Marxist Regimes in Africa]''. London, England: F. Cass, 1986. p. 33</ref><ref>Katsikas, Suzanne J. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=uo4EAQAAIAAJ The Arc of Socialist Revolutions: Angola to Afghanistan]''. Cambridge, Mass: Schenkman, 1982. p. 139</ref>
----


POMOA published the biweekly newspaper ''Abiotawit Ityopya'' ('Revolutionary Ethiopia').<ref>Makonen Getu. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=3QbtAAAAMAAJ Socialism, Participation, and Agricultural Development in Post-Revolutionary Ethiopia: A Study of Constraints]''. Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell International, 1987. p. 154</ref>


==White and Red Terror==
Meison dominated 15-member pomoa council.<ref>Abraham, Kinfe. ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=ZAqVZwjScw0C&pg=PA80 Ethiopia, from Bullets to the Ballot Box: The Bumpy Road to Democracy and the Political Economy of Transition]''. Lawrenceville, NJ: Red Sea Press, 1994. p. 80</ref>
On September 26, 1976, EPRP unleashed a campaign of assassinations against POMOA cadres.<ref name="ae">Uhlig, Siegbert. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=l4WUdKWGcYsC&pg=PA668 Encyclopaedia Aethiopica 3 He – N]''. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2007. 668</ref> The first prominent victim of the EPRP assassination spree was Fikre Merid (Meison leader and POMOA Committee member), who was shot in his car in Addis Abeba.<ref>Tiruneh, Andargachew. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=ABbnAd0oWokC&pg=PA186 The Ethiopian Revolution 1974–1987 : a Transformation from an Aristocratic to a Totalitarian]''. Cambridge: University of Cambridge, 1995. p. 186</ref> The campaign of [[Red Terror (Ethiopia)|Red Terror]] began in March 1977, as POMOA ''kebele'' militia squads and the army attacked the EPRP.<ref name="mark"/>


==Derg taking control of POMOA==
Five parties in POMOA. Clashes between Meison and Seded over influence over POMOA. AFter Seded's takeover more of a military organization.<ref name="shinn">Shinn, David H., and Thomas P. Ofcansky. ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=ep7__RWqq4IC&pg=PA337 Historical Dictionary of Ethiopia]''. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2004. pp. 336-337</ref>
⚫
In December 1976 the Derg issued proclamation 108/1976. The proclamation dissolved the Supreme Organizing Committee and brought POMOA under direct supervision of the Derg Standing Committee. A proclamation issued in February 1977 retained these provisions.<ref>Tiruneh, Andargachew. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=ABbnAd0oWokC&pg=PA194 The Ethiopian Revolution 1974–1987 : a Transformation from an Aristocratic to a Totalitarian]''. Cambridge: University of Cambridge, 1995. pp. 188, 194, 209</ref>


⚫
On July 14, 1977 the Derg issued a proclamation calling for POMOA to be put more strictly under its control. This move signaled a divide between Derg and Meison.<ref name="bulcha"/><ref>Clapham Christopher. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=LeszAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA262 Transformation and Continuity in Revolutionary Ethiopia]''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. p. 57</ref> In essence, the July proclamation served as a final warning to Meison.<ref name="c67"/> As POMOA was reorganized, the membership of the Politburo was reduced from 15 to five.<ref>Aliboni, Roberto. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=OqEMAAAAIAAJ The Red Sea Region: Local Actors and Superpowers]''. London: Sydney, 1985. p. 52</ref>
Starting september 26, 1976, EPRP unleashed campaign of assassinations against POMOA cadres. Yusuf killed.<ref name="ae">Uhlig, Siegbert. ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=l4WUdKWGcYsC&pg=PA668 Encyclopaedia Aethiopica 3 He - N]''. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2007. 668</ref>


⚫
In August 1977 the head of POMOA in [[Hararghe]] and prominent Meison cadre, [[Abdullahi Yousuf]], was killed during a visit in Addis Ababa. As regional POMOA chief, he had disarmed Shoan Christian settlers and implemented land reform in Hararghe.<ref name="bulcha"/><ref>Clapham Christopher. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=LeszAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA203 Transformation and Continuity in Revolutionary Ethiopia]''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. p. 203, 216</ref>
called Politburo. Yusuf belonged to Meison, killed by Derg. July 14, 1977, Derg take control of POMOA in order to counter influence of Meison. Meison break with derg in August 1977.<ref>Bulcha, Mekuria. ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=YEf4SJbLFqYC&pg=PA66 Flight and Integration: Causes of Mass Exodus from Ethiopia and Problems of Integration in the Sudan]''. Uppsala: Scandinavian Institute of African Studies [Nordiska Afrikainstitutet], 1988. pp. 65-66</ref>


Meison withdrew its support to the Derg in August 1977.<ref name="bulcha"/> POMOA continued to exist after the departure of Meison, but was now under military control. A Seded cadre, Lt. Desta Tadesse, became the new general secretary of POMOA. Militaries began occupying key positions in several regional units of POMOA.<ref name="shinn"/><ref name="c68"/> Seded cadres also took over the Yekatit '66 Political School.<ref name="c67"/> One after one, POMOA member organization were purged.<ref name="c68"/>
July 1977, POMOA reorganized, 15 to 5 members in cc.<ref>Aliboni, Roberto. ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=OqEMAAAAIAAJ The Red Sea Region: Local Actors and Superpowers]''. London: Sydney, 1985. p. 52</ref>


==Later period==
POMOA took control of urban dwellers association, and turned them into vigilante bodies. Red terror March 1977, POMOA squads against opposition EPRP jointly with army.<ref>Markakis, John, and Michael Waller. ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=mWV2EtBcI1oC Military Marxist Regimes in Africa]''. London, England: F. Cass, 1986. p. 33</ref> Urban kebeles were allowed to formed militia units under POMOA supervision.<ref>Katsikas, Suzanne J. ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=uo4EAQAAIAAJ The Arc of Socialist Revolutions: Angola to Afghanistan]''. Cambridge, Mass: Schenkman, 1982. p. 139</ref>
⚫
POMOA was dissolved in December 1979 as the [[Commission for Organizing the Party of the Working People of Ethiopia]] (COPWE) was formed.<ref name="c68">Clapham Christopher. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=LeszAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA68 Transformation and Continuity in Revolutionary Ethiopia]''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. p. 68</ref> Out of the 15 members of the original POMOA politburo, only two remained in active politics in 1984.<ref name="c67"/>


⚫
==References==
POMOA declared on April 21, 1976 initially known as People's Organizing Provisional Office. Functioned as govt department, budgetary allocation from the state treasury. 15 member Mass Political Education and Co-ordinating Committee leading organ. Newspaper Revolutionary Ethiopia.<ref>Tiruneh, Andargachew. ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=ABbnAd0oWokC&pg=PA162 The Ethiopian Revolution 1974-1987 : a Transformation from an Aristocratic to a Totalitarian]''. Cambridge: University of Cambridge, 1995. p. 162</ref>
⚫
{{reflist|colwidth=33em}}


[[Category:1970s in Ethiopia]]
POMOA supervised by Supreme Organizing Committee, chaired by Mengistu.<ref name="t181">Tiruneh, Andargachew. ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=ABbnAd0oWokC&pg=PA181 The Ethiopian Revolution 1974-1987 : a Transformation from an Aristocratic to a Totalitarian]''. Cambridge: University of Cambridge, 1995. p. 181</ref>
[[Category:Communism in Ethiopia]]

[[Category:Government agencies established in 1975]]
September 1976 cc member Fikre Merid (Meison leader) killed in Addis Abeba by EPRP.<ref>Tiruneh, Andargachew. ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=ABbnAd0oWokC&pg=PA186 The Ethiopian Revolution 1974-1987 : a Transformation from an Aristocratic to a Totalitarian]''. Cambridge: University of Cambridge, 1995. p. 186</ref>
[[Category:Government agencies disestablished in 1979]]

[[Category:1975 establishments in Africa]]
SOC abolished, POMOA directly under Derg control.<ref>Tiruneh, Andargachew. ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=ABbnAd0oWokC&pg=PA188 The Ethiopian Revolution 1974-1987 : a Transformation from an Aristocratic to a Totalitarian]''. Cambridge: University of Cambridge, 1995. p. 188</ref>
[[Category:1979 disestablishments in Africa]]

⚫
proclamation 108/1976 brough POMOA directly under Derg standing committee. retained by proclamations in Feb and July 1977<ref>Tiruneh, Andargachew. ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=ABbnAd0oWokC&pg=PA194 The Ethiopian Revolution 1974-1987 : a Transformation from an Aristocratic to a Totalitarian]''. Cambridge: University of Cambridge, 1995. p. 194</ref>

pomoa under derg control Dec 1976.<ref>Tiruneh, Andargachew. ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=ABbnAd0oWokC&pg=PA209 The Ethiopian Revolution 1974-1987 : a Transformation from an Aristocratic to a Totalitarian]''. Cambridge: University of Cambridge, 1995. p. 209</ref>

According to Kiflu Tadesse, POMOA had an annual budget of 7 million [[Birr]].<ref>Tadesse, Kiflu. ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=TK1yAAAAMAAJ Ethiopia Transformation and Conflict]''. Silver Spring, Md: K & S Distributors [u.a.], 1998. p. 56</ref>

⚫
set up by Derg in December 1975, along with the Yekatit '66 Political School. Meison formed the core of POMOA structures.<ref name="c53">Clapham Christopher. ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=LeszAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA262 Transformation and Continuity in Revolutionary Ethiopia]''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. p. 53</ref>

⚫
In July 1977 Derg issued a proclamation calling for POMOA to be put more strictly under its control. This move signaled a divide between Derg and Meison.<ref>Clapham Christopher. ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=LeszAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA262 Transformation and Continuity in Revolutionary Ethiopia]''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. p. 57</ref>

POMOA was publicly declared with the NDRPE in April 1976. POMOA conceptualized not as a political party, but as a 'popular revolutionary front'. [[Haile Fida]], Meison leader, chairman of POMOA. Sennai Likkai of [[Waz League]] vice chairman of POMOA. 15-member CC. Many academics. Membership in POMOA secret, largely to confuse EPRP for assassinations. POMOA had ideology, organization and Yekatit committes. POMOA had region and provincial, and sometimes district, units. The different member organizations of POMOA conspired against each other, trying to move forward their own positions within POMOA.<ref>Clapham Christopher. ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=LeszAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA66 Transformation and Continuity in Revolutionary Ethiopia]''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. p. 66</ref>

Haile and Sennai competed over power in POMOA. Out of original 15, only 2 remained in active politics in 1984. Through POMOA Derg received a political backing (in the face of attacks by EPRP), especially through the building of organizational structures in the provinces. Yekatit, under POMOA's supervision, educated political cadres. Mengistu sought to play out different POMOA factions against each other. July 1977 declaration final warning. Purge of Meison, Seded moved into positions in institutions like Yekatit.<ref name="c67">Clapham Christopher. ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=LeszAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA67 Transformation and Continuity in Revolutionary Ethiopia]''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. p. 67</ref>

POMOA continued to exist after Meison's departure, but now under military control. Seded cadre Lt. Desta Tadesse new general secretary of POMOA. Several regional POMOA leaders now militaries. POMOA dissolved in december 1979, as COPWE was formed. One after one, POMOA member organization were purged.<ref>Clapham Christopher. ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=LeszAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA68 Transformation and Continuity in Revolutionary Ethiopia]''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. p. 68</ref>

⚫
Leader of POMOA in Hararghe was Abdullahi Yusuf. He disarmed Shoan Christian settlers and implemented land reform. He was killed during an Addis visit in August 1977.<ref>>Clapham Christopher. ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=LeszAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA203 Transformation and Continuity in Revolutionary Ethiopia]''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. p. 203, 216</ref>

⚫
==References==
⚫
{{reflist|2}}

Latest revision as of 19:01, 8 November 2024

Provisional Office for Mass Organizational Affairs
የሕዝብ ጽሕፈት ጊዜያዊ ጽሕፌት ቤት
ChairpersonHaile Fida
Governing bodySupreme Organizing Committee
Standing CommitteeMass Political Education and Co-ordinating Committee
Vice chairpersonSennai Likkai
FoundedDecember 1975
DissolvedDecember 1979
NewspaperAbiotawit Ityopya (አብዮታዊ ኢትዮጵያ)
IdeologyCommunism
Marxism-Leninism

The Provisional Office for Mass Organizational Affairs (Amharic: የሕዝብ ጽሕፈት ጊዜያዊ ጽሕፌት ቤት, abbreviated POMOA) was a political organization in Ethiopia active between 1975 and 1979. POMOA functioned as a forum to involve different Marxist-Leninist organizations in the revolutionary process and to politicize and organize the masses.[1][2]

Foundation

[edit]

POMOA was set up through a decree of the Derg military junta in December 1975.[3][4] The existence of POMOA was publicly revealed on April 21, 1976 following the announcement of the National Democratic Revolution Programme. Initially the organization was known as the People's Organizing Provisional Office. The organization was conceptualized not as a political party, but as a "popular revolutionary front".[5] The Yekatit '66 Political School, an institution under the supervision of POMOA, trained political cadres.[6] POMOA functioned as a government department, and received allocations from the state treasury.[7] According to Kiflu Tadesse, POMOA had an annual budget of 7 million Birr.[8]

Leadership and structure

[edit]

Through POMOA the Derg military junta received political support in the face of opposition from the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party (EPRP), especially through the building of organizational structures in the provinces. But the Derg was wary of the dominance of the All-Ethiopian Socialist Movement (Meison) over POMOA. As a means of keeping POMOA under check, Mengistu Haile Mariam employed tactics of playing out different POMOA factions against each other.[6]

The leading body in POMOA was a 15-member committee. Its full name was the Mass Political Education and Co-ordinating Committee.[7] It was commonly referred to as the 'Politburo', and had many scholars within its ranks.[5][9] The Politburo and other POMOA structures were dominated by Meison.[3][10] Haile Fida, the leader of Meison, was the chairman of POMOA.[1][5] Sennai Likkai of the Waz League served as the vice chairman of the organization.[5]

The activities of POMOA supervised by Supreme Organizing Committee, a body chaired by Mengistu himself.[1]

Membership in POMOA was kept secret.[5] Five political groups were active inside POMOA; Meison, Waz League, the Ethiopian Marxist-Leninist Revolutionary Organization (Malerid), Echat and Seded.[11] The entry of Seded (the political faction started by the Derg military officers) caused controversy within the coalition. Two factions (Meison and Echat) opposed the entry of Seded into the alliance (seeing Seded as a threat to their influence in POMOA) whilst the other two (Malerid and Waz League) supported the integration of Seded.[6] The different member organizations of POMOA conspired against each other, trying to place their own people in key positions inside POMOA.[5] Haile Fida and Sennai Likkay competed over power in POMOA.[6] In particular, the coalition was shaken by the power struggle between Meison and Seded.[11]

POMOA had committees for ideology, organization and for running the Yekatit '66 Political School. POMOA built up organizational structures in the regions and provinces, and sometimes in the districts.[5] The organization developed a network of some 4,000 political cadres in cells across the country.[11] POMOA took control of the kebeles (urban dwellers associations), and turned them into vigilante bodies with militia squads under the supervision of POMOA.[12][13]

POMOA published the biweekly newspaper Abiotawit Ityopya ('Revolutionary Ethiopia').[14]

White and Red Terror

[edit]

On September 26, 1976, EPRP unleashed a campaign of assassinations against POMOA cadres.[15] The first prominent victim of the EPRP assassination spree was Fikre Merid (Meison leader and POMOA Committee member), who was shot in his car in Addis Abeba.[16] The campaign of Red Terror began in March 1977, as POMOA kebele militia squads and the army attacked the EPRP.[12]

Derg taking control of POMOA

[edit]

In December 1976 the Derg issued proclamation 108/1976. The proclamation dissolved the Supreme Organizing Committee and brought POMOA under direct supervision of the Derg Standing Committee. A proclamation issued in February 1977 retained these provisions.[17]

On July 14, 1977 the Derg issued a proclamation calling for POMOA to be put more strictly under its control. This move signaled a divide between Derg and Meison.[9][18] In essence, the July proclamation served as a final warning to Meison.[6] As POMOA was reorganized, the membership of the Politburo was reduced from 15 to five.[19]

In August 1977 the head of POMOA in Hararghe and prominent Meison cadre, Abdullahi Yousuf, was killed during a visit in Addis Ababa. As regional POMOA chief, he had disarmed Shoan Christian settlers and implemented land reform in Hararghe.[9][20]

Meison withdrew its support to the Derg in August 1977.[9] POMOA continued to exist after the departure of Meison, but was now under military control. A Seded cadre, Lt. Desta Tadesse, became the new general secretary of POMOA. Militaries began occupying key positions in several regional units of POMOA.[11][21] Seded cadres also took over the Yekatit '66 Political School.[6] One after one, POMOA member organization were purged.[21]

Later period

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POMOA was dissolved in December 1979 as the Commission for Organizing the Party of the Working People of Ethiopia (COPWE) was formed.[21] Out of the 15 members of the original POMOA politburo, only two remained in active politics in 1984.[6]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Tiruneh, Andargachew. The Ethiopian Revolution 1974–1987 : a Transformation from an Aristocratic to a Totalitarian. Cambridge: University of Cambridge, 1995. p. 181
  2. ^ Haile-Selassie, Teferra. The Ethiopian Revolution, 1974–1991: From a Monarchical Autocracy to a Military Oligarchy. London [u.a.]: Kegan Paul Internat, 1997. p. 230
  3. ^ a b Clapham Christopher. Transformation and Continuity in Revolutionary Ethiopia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. p. 53
  4. ^ Eide, Øyvind M. Revolution and Religion in Ethiopia: A Study of Church and Politics with Special Reference to the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus 1974–1985. Uppsala: [Svenska institutet för missionsforskning], Univ, 1996. p. 137
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Clapham Christopher. Transformation and Continuity in Revolutionary Ethiopia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. p. 66
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Clapham Christopher. Transformation and Continuity in Revolutionary Ethiopia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. p. 67
  7. ^ a b Tiruneh, Andargachew. The Ethiopian Revolution 1974–1987 : a Transformation from an Aristocratic to a Totalitarian. Cambridge: University of Cambridge, 1995. p. 162
  8. ^ Tadesse, Kiflu. Ethiopia Transformation and Conflict. Silver Spring, Md: K & S Distributors [u.a.], 1998. p. 56
  9. ^ a b c d Bulcha, Mekuria. Flight and Integration: Causes of Mass Exodus from Ethiopia and Problems of Integration in the Sudan. Uppsala: Scandinavian Institute of African Studies [Nordiska Afrikainstitutet], 1988. pp. 65–66
  10. ^ Abraham, Kinfe. Ethiopia, from Bullets to the Ballot Box: The Bumpy Road to Democracy and the Political Economy of Transition. Lawrenceville, NJ: Red Sea Press, 1994. p. 80
  11. ^ a b c d Shinn, David H., and Thomas P. Ofcansky. Historical Dictionary of Ethiopia. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2004. pp. 336–337
  12. ^ a b Markakis, John, and Michael Waller. Military Marxist Regimes in Africa. London, England: F. Cass, 1986. p. 33
  13. ^ Katsikas, Suzanne J. The Arc of Socialist Revolutions: Angola to Afghanistan. Cambridge, Mass: Schenkman, 1982. p. 139
  14. ^ Makonen Getu. Socialism, Participation, and Agricultural Development in Post-Revolutionary Ethiopia: A Study of Constraints. Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell International, 1987. p. 154
  15. ^ Uhlig, Siegbert. Encyclopaedia Aethiopica 3 He – N. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2007. 668
  16. ^ Tiruneh, Andargachew. The Ethiopian Revolution 1974–1987 : a Transformation from an Aristocratic to a Totalitarian. Cambridge: University of Cambridge, 1995. p. 186
  17. ^ Tiruneh, Andargachew. The Ethiopian Revolution 1974–1987 : a Transformation from an Aristocratic to a Totalitarian. Cambridge: University of Cambridge, 1995. pp. 188, 194, 209
  18. ^ Clapham Christopher. Transformation and Continuity in Revolutionary Ethiopia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. p. 57
  19. ^ Aliboni, Roberto. The Red Sea Region: Local Actors and Superpowers. London: Sydney, 1985. p. 52
  20. ^ Clapham Christopher. Transformation and Continuity in Revolutionary Ethiopia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. p. 203, 216
  21. ^ a b c Clapham Christopher. Transformation and Continuity in Revolutionary Ethiopia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. p. 68
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