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{{short description|1976–1979 communist political party in Ethiopia}}
Abyotawit Seded ('Revolutionary Flame') formed in 1976 by a group of [[Derg]] officers who had attended political trainings in the [[Soviet Union]] from 1975 and onwards. Mengistu Haile Mariam was the titular chairman of Seded. The key organizer of the group was, however, Legasse Asfew (a former sergeant). Seded was the key instrument of Derg to gain control over POMOA. The admission of Seded into POMOA divided the coalition. Meison and Ichat saw the entry of Seded as a threat to their own control over the structure. Malerid and Waz League, on the other hand, supported the entry of Seded as a counterweight to Meison and Ichat.<ref name="clap67">clap, 67</ref>
{{Infobox political party
| name = Revolutionary Flame
| native_name = አብዮታዊ ሰደድ
| colorcode = #FF0000
| founder = [[Mengistu Haile Mariam]]
| founded = 1976
| successor = [[Union of Ethiopian Marxist-Leninist Organizations|Imaledih]]
| dissolved = 1979
| ideology = [[Communism]]<br>[[Marxism–Leninism]]
| country = Ethiopia
}}
'''Abyotawit Seded''' ({{langx|am|አብዮታዊ ሰደድ}}, 'Revolutionary Flame', 'Seded' for short) was a communist organization in [[Ethiopia]], formed in 1976 by a group of officers of the [[Derg]] military junta who had attended political trainings in the [[Soviet Union]] from 1975 and onwards.<ref name="clap67"/>
==History==
Seded was set up in August 1976 by [[Mengistu Haile Mariam]] and 15 other Derg members.<ref name="shinn"/> Mengistu was the titular chairman of Seded. The key organizer of the group was, however, Legasse Asfew (a former sergeant).<ref name="clap67"/> The political programme of the group was elaborated at the time of its founding.<ref>Tiruneh, Andargachew. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=ABbnAd0oWokC&pg=PA133 The Ethiopian Revolution 1974-1987 : a Transformation from an Aristocratic to a Totalitarian]''. Cambridge: University of Cambridge, 1995. p. 133</ref> Through the launching of Seded, Mengistu hoped to be able to challenge the influence of the [[All-Ethiopian Socialist Movement]] (Meison) in the urban dwellers' associations (''[[kebele]]s'').<ref name="shinn">Shinn, David H., and Thomas P. Ofcansky. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=ep7__RWqq4IC&pg=PA344 Historical Dictionary of Ethiopia]''. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2004. p. 344</ref><ref>Clapham, Christopher, and George D. E. Philip. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=VNgNAAAAQAAJ The Political Dilemmas of Military Regimes]''. London: Croom Helm, 1985. p. 272</ref>


Seded was a clandestine group, known by the name of its publication.<ref>Tadesse, Kiflu. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=TK1yAAAAMAAJ Ethiopia Transformation and Conflict]''. Silver Spring, Md: K & S Distributors [u.a.], 1998. p. 109</ref> The existence of Seded was never publicly acknowledged.<ref>Ottaway, Marina, and David Ottaway. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=U6VyAAAAMAAJ Ethiopia: Empire in Revolution]''. New York: Africana Pub. Co, 1978. p. 187</ref>
Seded held 4 of 15 seats in the Politburo in 1976.<ref>paradox, 137</ref>


Seded was a clandestine group, known by the name of its publication.<ref>Generation II, p. 109</ref> Existence of Seded never publicly acknowledged.<ref>Ottaway, Marina, and David Ottaway. ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=U6VyAAAAMAAJ Ethiopia: Empire in Revolution]''. New York: Africana Pub. Co, 1978. p. 187</ref>
Regarding the national question Seded recognized the right to national self-determination in principle, but saw practical constraints for its implementation.<ref>Clapham Christopher. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=LeszAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA198 Transformation and Continuity in Revolutionary Ethiopia]''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. pp. 198-199</ref>


Derg was suspisous of Meison's influence in different sectors (such as education). Seded sought to displace Meison as the chief political adviser to Derg. Officers linked to Seded were sent to Soviet Union, East Germany and Cuba for political training.<ref name="revo">Keller, Edmond J. ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=2ts7ErVABO0C&pg=PA199 Revolutionary Ethiopia: From Empire to People's Republic]''. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1988. p. 199</ref>
The Derg was suspicious of Meison influence in different sectors (such as education), and Seded sought to displace Meison as the chief political adviser to Derg.<ref name="revo">Keller, Edmond J. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=2ts7ErVABO0C&pg=PA199 Revolutionary Ethiopia: From Empire to People's Republic]''. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1988. p. 199</ref> Seded would function as the key instrument of the Derg to gain control over the [[Provisional Office for Mass Organizational Affairs]] (POMOA). However, the admission of Seded into POMOA caused dissent in the coalition. Meison and Ichat saw the entry of Seded as a threat to their own control over the structure. Malerid and Waz League, on the other hand, supported the entry of Seded as a counterweight to Meison and Ichat.<ref name="clap67"/> Seded obtained 4 of the 15 seats in the POMOA Central Committee.<ref name="clap67"/><ref>Mammo, Tirfe. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=-X_SuY5cteYC&pg=PA137 The Paradox of Africa's Poverty: The Role of Indigenous Knowledge, Traditional Practices and Local Institutions: the Case of Ethiopia]''. Lawrenceville, NJ [u.a.]: Red Sea Press, 1999. p. 137</ref>


By 1977, thousands of Ethiopian military personnel had passed through training courses in the Soviet Union, East Germany, Bulgaria, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia. The graduates of these courses formed the bulks of the followers of Seded.<ref name="shinn"/><ref>Clapham Christopher. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=LeszAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA224 Transformation and Continuity in Revolutionary Ethiopia]''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. p. 224</ref><ref>Clapham, Christopher, and George D. E. Philip. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=VNgNAAAAQAAJ The Political Dilemmas of Military Regimes]''. London: Croom Helm, 1985. p. 272</ref> But Seded also won support amongst high-level civil servants, who either felt threatened by the influence of Meison, supported the intervention of the army into politics or had links to Derg officials.<ref>Ottaway, Marina, and David Ottaway. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=U6VyAAAAMAAJ Ethiopia: Empire in Revolution]''. New York: Africana Pub. Co, 1978. p. 188</ref>
Regarding the national question Seded recognized the right to national self-determination in principle, but saw practical constraints for its implementation.<ref>clap, pp. 198-199</ref>


⚫
On February 26, 1977 Seded, Meison and three other organizations (Ichat, Malerid and Waz League) founded the [[Union of Ethiopian Marxist-Leninist Organizations]].<ref name="singh">Harjinder Singh. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=6lWNdA89xC4C&pg=PA187 Agricultural Problems in Ethiopia]''. Delhi, India: Gian Pub. House, 1987. p. 187</ref><ref name="ae">Uhlig, Siegbert. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=l4WUdKWGcYsC&pg=PA668 Encyclopaedia Aethiopica 3 He - N]''. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2007. 668</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. 180</ref> These were the same organizations that were members of POMOA.<ref name="hai">Haile-Selassie, Teferra. The Ethiopian Revolution, 1974-1991: From a Monarchical Autocracy to a Military Oligarchy. London [u.a.]: Kegan Paul Internat, 1997. pp. 230-231</ref><ref name="clap67"/>
By 1977 1,000s of Ethiopian military personel had passed through training courses in the Soviet Union, East Germany, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. The graduates of these courses formed the backbone of the Seded group.<ref>clap, 224</ref>


⚫
After the split between Meison and the Derg in August 1977 a series of Meison leaders were assassinated. Seded members were suspected of being behind these killings. Seded cadres were placed in the leadership of institutions such as the Yekatit '66 Political School, which had been under the control of Meison.<ref name="clap67"/> But whereas the top leaders of Meison were killed, many second-rank cadres of Meison joined Seded and obtained prominent government positions.<ref>Marcus, Harold G. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=jX7-0ROBfyIC&pg=PA200 A History of Ethiopia]''. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994. p. 200</ref>
Seded also won support amongst high-level civil servants, who either felt threatened by the influence of Meison, supported the intervention of the army into politics or had links to Derg officials.<ref>Ottaway, Marina, and David Ottaway. ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=U6VyAAAAMAAJ Ethiopia: Empire in Revolution]''. New York: Africana Pub. Co, 1978. p. 188</ref>


⚫
After the elimination of Meison and Ichat, Seded was the largest political organization in the pro-Derg coalition.<ref>Connell, Dan. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=RUlXLoWw5rgC&pg=PA250 Taking on the Superpowers: Collected Articles on the Eritrean Revolution, 1976-1982]''. Trenton, NJ: Red Sea Press, 2003. p. 250</ref> A Seded cadre, Lt. Desta Tadesse, was named as the general secretary of POMOA.<ref name="clap67"/>
⚫
After the split between Meison and Derg in August 1977 a series of Meison leaders were assassinated. Seded members were suspected of being behind these killings. Seded cadres were placed in the leadership of the Yekatit '66 Political School, which had been under the control of Meison.<ref name="clap67"/>


In the second half of 1978, suspicions were raised that the Waz League had infiltrated Seded and come to occupy leading posts in Seded, leading to a break with the Waz League as well. It was, however, unlikely that the Waz League would have been able to penetrate the inner circle of military leaders of Seded.<ref name="clap67">Clapham Christopher. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=LeszAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA67 Transformation and Continuity in Revolutionary Ethiopia]''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. pp. 67-69</ref> In 1979, Seded was legally disbanded.<ref name="mp">Milkias, Paulos. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=hPVyAAAAMAAJ Haile Selassie, Western Education, and Political Revolution in Ethiopia]''. Youngstown, N.Y.: Cambria Press, 2006. p. 266</ref>
Whereas the top leaders of Meison were killed many second-rank cadres of Meison joined Seded and obtained prominent government positions.<ref>Marcus, Harold G. ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=jX7-0ROBfyIC&pg=PA200 A History of Ethiopia]''. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994. p. 200</ref>


==References==
After the split with Meison, a Seded cadre Lt. Desta Tadesse was placed as general secretary of POMOA.<ref name="clap68"/>
{{reflist|2}}

[[Category:Communist parties in Ethiopia]]
⚫
After the elimination of Meison and Ichat, Seded was the largest political organization in the pro-Derg coalition.<ref>Connell, Dan. ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=RUlXLoWw5rgC&pg=PA250 Taking on the Superpowers: Collected Articles on the Eritrean Revolution, 1976-1982]''. Trenton, NJ: Red Sea Press, 2003. p. </ref>
[[Category:Defunct political parties in Ethiopia]]

[[Category:Factions of the Ethiopian Civil War]]
⚫
Imaledih was founded on February 26, 1977, by five organizations: [[All-Ethiopian Socialist Movement]] (Meison), [[Ethopian Oppressed People's Revolutionary Struggle]] (Ichat), [[Ethiopian Marxist-Leninist Revolutionary Organization]] (Malerid), [[Waz League]] and [[Revolutionary Flame]] (Seded).<ref name="singh">Harjinder Singh. ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=6lWNdA89xC4C&pg=PA187 Agricultural Problems in Ethiopia]''. Delhi, India: Gian Pub. House, 1987. p. 187</ref><ref name="ae">Uhlig, Siegbert. ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=l4WUdKWGcYsC&pg=PA668 Encyclopaedia Aethiopica 3 He - N]''. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2007. 668</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. 180</ref> These were the same organizations that had formed the Provisional Office for Mass Organizational Affairs (POMOA).<ref name="hai">Haile-Selassie, Teferra. The Ethiopian Revolution, 1974-1991: From a Monarchical Autocracy to a Military Oligarchy. London [u.a.]: Kegan Paul Internat, 1997. pp. 230-231</ref><ref name="clap2"/>

In the views of the Derg, the Imaledih project was a failure. The Derg began seeking other ways to form a vanguard party.<ref name="hai"/> However, even as of September 1978 President Mengistu still maintained the position that the new party would emerge out of Imaledih. In his Revolution Day speech he argued that 'the foremost slogan of the day is "Let the Common Front of Ethiopian Marxist-Leninist Organizations evolve into merger!"' Mengistu's position on Imaledih changed soon thereafter, as claims were made that Waz League had infiltrated Seded and come to occupy leading posts in Seded.<ref name="clap2">Clapham Christopher. ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=LeszAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA69 Transformation and Continuity in Revolutionary Ethiopia]''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. pp. 68-69</ref>

The member organizations of Imaledih were crushed by the Derg.<ref name="mp">Milkias, Paulos. ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=hPVyAAAAMAAJ Haile Selassie, Western Education, and Political Revolution in Ethiopia]''. Youngstown, N.Y.: Cambria Press, 2006. p. 266</ref> Meison was banned. The smaller civilian factions (Malerid, Ichat and Waz League) were suppressed. Even Seded, Mengistu's own group, was disbanded.<ref name="mp"/>

Latest revision as of 05:59, 4 December 2024

Revolutionary Flame
አብዮታዊ ሰደድ
FounderMengistu Haile Mariam
Founded1976
Dissolved1979
Succeeded byImaledih
IdeologyCommunism
Marxism–Leninism

Abyotawit Seded (Amharic: አብዮታዊ ሰደድ, 'Revolutionary Flame', 'Seded' for short) was a communist organization in Ethiopia, formed in 1976 by a group of officers of the Derg military junta who had attended political trainings in the Soviet Union from 1975 and onwards.[1]

History

[edit]

Seded was set up in August 1976 by Mengistu Haile Mariam and 15 other Derg members.[2] Mengistu was the titular chairman of Seded. The key organizer of the group was, however, Legasse Asfew (a former sergeant).[1] The political programme of the group was elaborated at the time of its founding.[3] Through the launching of Seded, Mengistu hoped to be able to challenge the influence of the All-Ethiopian Socialist Movement (Meison) in the urban dwellers' associations (kebeles).[2][4]

Seded was a clandestine group, known by the name of its publication.[5] The existence of Seded was never publicly acknowledged.[6]

Regarding the national question Seded recognized the right to national self-determination in principle, but saw practical constraints for its implementation.[7]

The Derg was suspicious of Meison influence in different sectors (such as education), and Seded sought to displace Meison as the chief political adviser to Derg.[8] Seded would function as the key instrument of the Derg to gain control over the Provisional Office for Mass Organizational Affairs (POMOA). However, the admission of Seded into POMOA caused dissent in the coalition. Meison and Ichat saw the entry of Seded as a threat to their own control over the structure. Malerid and Waz League, on the other hand, supported the entry of Seded as a counterweight to Meison and Ichat.[1] Seded obtained 4 of the 15 seats in the POMOA Central Committee.[1][9]

By 1977, thousands of Ethiopian military personnel had passed through training courses in the Soviet Union, East Germany, Bulgaria, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia. The graduates of these courses formed the bulks of the followers of Seded.[2][10][11] But Seded also won support amongst high-level civil servants, who either felt threatened by the influence of Meison, supported the intervention of the army into politics or had links to Derg officials.[12]

On February 26, 1977 Seded, Meison and three other organizations (Ichat, Malerid and Waz League) founded the Union of Ethiopian Marxist-Leninist Organizations.[13][14][15] These were the same organizations that were members of POMOA.[16][1]

After the split between Meison and the Derg in August 1977 a series of Meison leaders were assassinated. Seded members were suspected of being behind these killings. Seded cadres were placed in the leadership of institutions such as the Yekatit '66 Political School, which had been under the control of Meison.[1] But whereas the top leaders of Meison were killed, many second-rank cadres of Meison joined Seded and obtained prominent government positions.[17]

After the elimination of Meison and Ichat, Seded was the largest political organization in the pro-Derg coalition.[18] A Seded cadre, Lt. Desta Tadesse, was named as the general secretary of POMOA.[1]

In the second half of 1978, suspicions were raised that the Waz League had infiltrated Seded and come to occupy leading posts in Seded, leading to a break with the Waz League as well. It was, however, unlikely that the Waz League would have been able to penetrate the inner circle of military leaders of Seded.[1] In 1979, Seded was legally disbanded.[19]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Clapham Christopher. Transformation and Continuity in Revolutionary Ethiopia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. pp. 67-69
  2. ^ a b c Shinn, David H., and Thomas P. Ofcansky. Historical Dictionary of Ethiopia. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2004. p. 344
  3. ^ Tiruneh, Andargachew. The Ethiopian Revolution 1974-1987 : a Transformation from an Aristocratic to a Totalitarian. Cambridge: University of Cambridge, 1995. p. 133
  4. ^ Clapham, Christopher, and George D. E. Philip. The Political Dilemmas of Military Regimes. London: Croom Helm, 1985. p. 272
  5. ^ Tadesse, Kiflu. Ethiopia Transformation and Conflict. Silver Spring, Md: K & S Distributors [u.a.], 1998. p. 109
  6. ^ Ottaway, Marina, and David Ottaway. Ethiopia: Empire in Revolution. New York: Africana Pub. Co, 1978. p. 187
  7. ^ Clapham Christopher. Transformation and Continuity in Revolutionary Ethiopia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. pp. 198-199
  8. ^ Keller, Edmond J. Revolutionary Ethiopia: From Empire to People's Republic. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1988. p. 199
  9. ^ Mammo, Tirfe. The Paradox of Africa's Poverty: The Role of Indigenous Knowledge, Traditional Practices and Local Institutions: the Case of Ethiopia. Lawrenceville, NJ [u.a.]: Red Sea Press, 1999. p. 137
  10. ^ Clapham Christopher. Transformation and Continuity in Revolutionary Ethiopia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. p. 224
  11. ^ Clapham, Christopher, and George D. E. Philip. The Political Dilemmas of Military Regimes. London: Croom Helm, 1985. p. 272
  12. ^ Ottaway, Marina, and David Ottaway. Ethiopia: Empire in Revolution. New York: Africana Pub. Co, 1978. p. 188
  13. ^ Harjinder Singh. Agricultural Problems in Ethiopia. Delhi, India: Gian Pub. House, 1987. p. 187
  14. ^ Uhlig, Siegbert. Encyclopaedia Aethiopica 3 He - N. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2007. 668
  15. ^ 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. 180
  16. ^ Haile-Selassie, Teferra. The Ethiopian Revolution, 1974-1991: From a Monarchical Autocracy to a Military Oligarchy. London [u.a.]: Kegan Paul Internat, 1997. pp. 230-231
  17. ^ Marcus, Harold G. A History of Ethiopia. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994. p. 200
  18. ^ Connell, Dan. Taking on the Superpowers: Collected Articles on the Eritrean Revolution, 1976-1982. Trenton, NJ: Red Sea Press, 2003. p. 250
  19. ^ Milkias, Paulos. Haile Selassie, Western Education, and Political Revolution in Ethiopia. Youngstown, N.Y.: Cambria Press, 2006. p. 266
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