AN EYE WITNESS TO THE COLLUSION OF THE VATICAN AND MUSSOLINI’S ADVENTURE IN ETHIPIA

by Dr. Syoum Gebregziabhe
Since the 1880’s, the Italians had had their eyes on Ethiopia, or Abyssinia, (as it was called) however; Emperor Menelik’s forces decisively deflected their attempts at colonization. The Battle of Adowa of 1896 and its victory brought Ethiopia to international attention. Europe for the first time acknowledged an African nation that had resisted and defeated an European power. By 1923, Ethiopia became a member of the League of Nations.
Ras Teferi Makonnen, the then Regent of Ethiopia, set out on an international tour, visiting Jerusalem, Cairo, Alexandria, Brussels, Amsterdam, Stockholm, London, Geneva, and Athens. Il Duce Mussolini who felt the humiliation of the Italian defeat by the Ethiopians and the respectful reception that Regent Haile Selassie received, especially by those countries who were allies of Italy and the wide publicity and admiration he was being accorded humiliated Mussolini’s and increased his desire for revenge. But to camouflage the indignity, Il Duce invited Ras Teferi the Regent to stay at the Villa Torlonia, making it appear as if Ethiopia were under the Italian protectorate and that he enjoyed an indirect influence!
In the meantime the Lateran Pact signed by Mussolini and a Vatican representative on 11 February 1929, had three significant parts: (1) a political advantage (giving the Vatican its own micro-state), (2) a financial convention (giving the Vatican reparations) and (3) a concordat (giving privileges within Italy, letting the Church influence public education). In return for all of this, Mussolini received Vatican recognition over the Kingdom of Italy — of which he happened to be the “dictator.” Mussolini achieved a great diplomatic success; perhaps the greatest of his career to have boosted his future adventure to avenge Italy’s historical humiliation at the battle of Adowa.
By February 1934, Mussolini had indicated to his General De Bono his intentions to conquer Ethiopia and avenge Italy’s defeat at Adowa. The Vatican on the “Day of Faith” in 1935, actively supported the war effort by helping Mussolini in his nation-wide drive to collect financial aid and active support of the Church to colonize Ethiopia. This Pact is a building mortar that gave Mussolini the unfettered license in his colonial venture. It effectively not only silenced the Vatican in condemning the various and continuous atrocities of Fascist Italy; but also the use of the poison gas. The brutal savagery of the Fascist colonizers in Christian Ethiopia was not only condoned but; abated by Vatican leaders. Vatican came to Ethiopia with an evangelizing mission!
As a recruit seminarian, on my way to Harrer and later to Figan Birra in the training to priesthood[1]my experience of Italian apartheid was tacitly supported and tolerated by the Catholic priest: whom I had considered protector of human rights and my role model. I had assumed my priest had the moral fortitude to defend me . He failed me miserably and injected an early doubt to what I thought the Church its servants ought to have. This impression at a formative age of 91 left its permanent mark in my life.
On 19 February 1937, Marshal Rodolfo Graziani held an outdoor ceremony to honor the birth of Prince Umberto’s son. Two Eritrean patriots threw seven or eight bombs at Graziani and his entourage, wounding the viceroy and thirty others whereupon Graziani’s  guards shot down numerous people then and there  and the Italian army and police went rampaging all over the city searching the native quarters for hidden arms and killing everyone in sight  throughout Addis Ababa. The secretary of the Fascist Party in Addis Ababa, Guido Cortese, called for more drastic action, and for 48 hours the Italians massacred Ethiopians, burning their homes and businesses and looting their property with no restraint whatsoever. I was out with my nanny in search of my father as to his whereabouts. On our way, I saw several dead bodies on the street just before we were imprisoned with other 3000 prisoners. After three days of this traumatic experience, women and children were released. I was one of them [2]As regard to the other prisoners of more than 3000 people what happened to them is a question that is better left to historians. Thousands were killed indiscriminately throughout the city. As someone who professed the Catholic faith and no voice of protest from the Vatican had confirmed my conviction that the Vatican and Mussolini were the same colonizers.
In my later schooling at Akaki Seventh Day Adventist School, the classes were conducted after a prayer and we were assigned to memorize a chapter or a verse from the Bible. But some of us coming from other Christian denominations were not in conformity with the teaching of the Seventh Day Adventist School. This created some confusion, but at the same time enabled me to better evaluate my own religious perspective. The Seventh Day believed the end of the world was approaching, and that the number 666 in the Book of Daniel Revelation referred to the Pope! Although their teaching did not convert me, they did make me less of a zealot and more tolerant and skeptical about religious practices and teaching.[3] My later College and university training and education have enabled me to evaluate my own religion rationally without prejudice.
In “The Symphony of my life” published May 2012, I have clearly indicated: as a Catholic Seminarian I was and I am a living witness of the close social, political and economical relations and collaboration of the Catholic Church with the Fascist government that had occupied Ethiopia.   The allegation that Ambassador Zewde, in his journalistic investigation, did not find any concrete evidence that Pius 11 personally blessed Mussolini’s army does not expunge the Holy See from moral and religious responsibility[4].
I understand that Zewde wrote his remarkable book as a historian with his   journalist and diplomat background and experiences. Zewde’s statement that there are no evidences that Pope Pius 11 personally and actively collaborated with or blessed the invading Mussolini’s army, does not necessarily relieve him from His high Vatican position and responsibility for the action of His Cardinals, Bishops, and priests. It appears to me that Pius the 11, may have not personally, blessed  Mussolini’s invading army; but did collaborate in implementing his irredentism and his colonial ventures.
Ambassador and Journalist Zewde has in my opinion erred. His acceptance of the historical facts so far presented, should convince him to stand up with his fellow Ethiopians in demanding justice. The Vatican should apologize for the Fascist atrocities perpetrated on innocent Ethiopians as it did for the Nazi holocaust on the Jewish people.
His book is a monumental contribution to the Ethiopian history of the period covered. Yet his attempt to immunize the Holy City from such responsibility, not only devalues his book but it also defuses the contents of his book.
The present Pope (Pope Francis I) is the 266^th Pope of the Catholic Church having been elected bishop of Rome and absolute sovereign of the Vatican City State. Indeed the Pontiff has reinvigorated the Church around the world and is bringing redemption to the Catholic Faith. Yes, redemption will ultimately depend on the rediscovery of a moral authority by accepting the spiritual lapses of the Vatican.
It is time for Pope Francis I who has made clear his aim to restore the church’s original evangelical passion for “a clarion call for a decisive shift in the Catholic Church’s self-understanding in full continuity with the teaching of the Second Vatican Council”[5] to recognize and acknowledge the moral lapses of Pope Pius 11. It is a duty and a privilege to give my timely eyewitness account of the various atrocities perpetrated on the Ethiopian population during the brief occupation of Ethiopia by Mussolini’s regime.

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[1] The symphony of my Life  (Syoum Gebregziabher) The Red Sea Press ISBN 978-1-56902-357-0 May 2012 pp 64-69

[2] ibid pp 60-61

[3] ibid pp 84-89

[4] Yekedamawee Haile Selssie’s  Government Chapter 16; pp 206-311

[5] The Wall Street Journal
 

Global Alliance donates funds to International Organization for Migration (IOM)

On Friday, January 3, 2014 representatives of the Global Alliance for the Rights of Ethiopians in Saudi Arabia (GAFRESA) handed over a check in the amount of $30,000 to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to assist Ethiopians abused and displaced from Saudi Arabia since early November 2013.

Tamagn Beyene, Chairman of the Alliance; Dr. Aklog Birara, Head of Foreign Relations; Ms. Hirut Lisanework, Head of Finance and Senior Advisor of the Alliance, Neamin Zeleke, met with Ms. Maria Moreno, IOM’s External Relations Head and Chief Administrator at U.S Association for International Migration in Washington D.C., to hand over the donation and discuss issues related to the support that would be provided to the victims of the displacement and future partnership with IOM on similar efforts.
Ms. Moreno thanked and appreciated the Ethiopian Diaspora for its effort to assist the victims and stated, “we are very close to the people and we operate directly with staff members that have direct knowledge about the crisis.” She further pointed out that children and women are IOM’s priority groups and the funds will also be directed to alleviate the suffering of such vulnerable groups as agreed between the two parties. She also disclosed that IOM faces over 13 million-dollars gap that needs to be filled in order to assist and rehabilitate the victims.
According to Ms. Hirut Lisanework, the funds that was donated to IOM were raised from fundraising efforts done by partners of the Alliance in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Charlotte, New York, Nuremberg, Germany, Norway, Buffalo, Rochester and individuals residing in various parts of the world. She added that other cities that have raised funds are expected to transfer funds into the Alliance’s account in the coming weeks.
Discussing the significance of the meeting with IOM, Tamagn said, “the goodwill gesture from the Ethiopian Diaspora all over the world signifies the beginning of the start of such a proactive initiative.” He underlined the urgent need to further get mobilized and organized in order to respond to the desperate call for help that is coming from thousands of Ethiopians that have been displaced and languishing in camps and prisons in Saudi Arabia, Yemen and other Middle Eastern countries. He pointed out that Ethiopians should do their best to help their compatriots being impacted by the unfolding humanitarian crisis. Tamagn also stated that this was the first phase of continuing donations that will be made to help alleviate the suffering of fellow Ethiopians via IOM.
Dr. Aklog Birara giving his assessment of the Alliance’s meeting with IOM noted “that Ethiopians are victims of the grim economic and political reality confronting Ethiopia.” He urged the Ethiopian Diaspora to continue supporting efforts to rehabilitate the victims of the humanitarian crisis. Dr. Aklog further stated, “There is no challenge we cannot overcome and there is no enemy we cannot defeat when we rise up in unison like our forefathers. With passion and conviction, we will extensively organize Ethiopians across the world so that this movement becomes a formidable force in the fight for freedom and dignity.”
GAFRESA was launched in November 2013 in response to the shocking news of the killings, gang rapes and mass displacement of Ethiopians in Saudi Arabia.
To support the work of the Global Alliance please make your donations to:
ENPCP-GAFRESA
Chase Bank
Account# 994431476
Routing Number:072000326
Swift code: CHASUS33

Part I: Rise of the Ethiopian Chee-Hippo Generation in 2014

by Alemayehu G. Mariam*

In my first weekly commentary of 2013, I declared that year to be the “Year of Ethiopia’s Cheetah (young) Generation”. It was a great year for Ethiopia’s Cheetahs.

I declare 2014 “Year of the Ethiopia’s Chee-Hippo Generation”. A Chee-Hippo is a Hippo (member of the older generation) who thinks, behaves and acts like a Cheetah.  A Chee-Hippo is also a Cheetah who understands the limitations of Hippos yet is willing to work with them in common cause for a common purpose. Ethiopian Chee-Hippos are a special breed. By nature, they are bridge builders and force multipliers. They build strong intergenerational bridges that connect the young with the old. They build bridges to link up the rich with the poor. They build transitional bridges to transport people from dictatorship to democracy. They build bridges across ethnic divides; they build connecting bridges for people stranded on desolate “kilil” islands (ethnic homelands or ‘bantustans’). They bridge the gulf of language, religion and region. They build bridges over gorges of distrust, ravines of doubt and canyons of suspicion. They build bridges of national unity to harmonize diversity. They build bridges to connect the youth at home with the youth in the Diaspora. Chee-Hippos build bridges over troubled waters.

Ethiopian “Chee-Hippos” are also force multipliers. They optimize the energy, passion and dedication of youth with the knowledge, skills and experiences of Hippos to bring about lasting structural change. They use their creativity to operate within the rigid parameters of a ruthless dictatorship to maximize the effectiveness and capabilities of youth change agents at decisive points.

I am a Chee-Hippo and damn proud of it!

Ethiopian Cheetahs at grave risk

In my view, the problem of 21st Century Ethiopia is quintessentially the problem of Ethiopian youth. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in less than 37 years, Ethiopia’s population will more than triple to 278 million, placing that country in the top 10 most populous countries in the world. Ethiopia’s population growth has been spiraling upwards for decades. In 1967, the population was 23.5 million. It increased to 51 million in 1990; and by 2003, it had reached 68 million. In 2008, that number increased to 80 million. In 2013, Ethiopia’s population was estimated to be over 94 million. Today, an estimated 70 percent of Ethiopia’s population is under 35 years old (66 million). Since 1995, the average annual rate of population growth has remained at over 3 percent.

Nelson Mandela observed, “Our children are our greatest treasure. They are our future. Those who abuse them tear at the fabric of our society and weaken our nation.” If Ethiopia’s youth are its greatest treasure, they are at extreme risk today; and so is the future of that country. Ethiopia’s greatest treasures are neglected, abused, squandered and wasted. “Ethiopia is one of the countries with the lowest primary school enrollment rates in the world… [L]ow quality of school and a high dropout rate, as well as gender and rural-urban disparities remain the major challenges of the country” according to a report of the African Population and Health Research Center. Those who manage to finish high school have vastly diminished opportunities for higher education or gainful employment.

According to a 2012 USAID study, “Ethiopia has one of the highest urban youth unemployment rates at 50 percent and there is a high rate of youth under­employment in rural areas, where nearly 85 percent of the population resides.”  Another 2012 study of youth unemployment by the International Growth Center reported that the “current 5 year [Ethiopian] development plan 2010/11-2014/5, the [ruling regime’s] Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP), does not directly address the issue of youth unemployment…” That study found “in 2011, 38 percent of youth were employed in the informal sector” which “often provides low quality, low paying jobs.” There is a substantial segment of the youth population that is not only unemployed but also unemployable because they lack basic skills. Youth access to public sector jobs requiring training and skills depends not so much on merit or competition but political and social connections and party membership. Every young person in Ethiopia knows that a card verifying membership in the ruling party is more important than an honestly earned university diploma. Moreover, rural youth landlessness has contributed significantly to the chaotic and ever increasing pattern of youth urban migration, joblessness and hopelessness.

The risks faced by Ethiopia’s youth cover the gamut of social maladies. According to the humanitarian agency GOAL, there are 150,000 children living on the streets, some 60,000 of them in the capital. The average age at which children first find themselves homeless is between the age of 10 and 11 years. Health risks for youth from HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases are on the increase. Large numbers of young people who lack opportunities are involved in drug and alcohol abuse, prostitution and other criminal activities. Without job or educational opportunities in the urban areas, large numbers of youth are rendered jobless, homeless, helpless and hopeless.

A decade ago, the ruling regime in Ethiopia issued its “National Youth Policy” and asserted that “44% of the population is below the absolute poverty line. Under this situation of poverty, the youth is the hardest hit segment of society… The fact that the majority of the unemployed youth constitute females indicates the magnitude to which young women are the main victims of the problem.” Taken as a whole, the so-called National Youth Policy is nothing more than a blueprint for the recruitment of youth to become supporters of the regime and the ruling party. The policy directs that the “Government shall have the responsibility to direct, coordinate, integrate and build the capacity for the implementation of this policy.” Yet, as the International Growth Center study showed, the “current 5 year [Ethiopian] development plan 2010/11-2014/5, the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP), does not directly address the issue of youth unemployment The “National Youth Policy” has been sitting on the shelf for a decade gathering dust, a manifest fact ascertainable from an international data base of national youth policies.

A tale of two generations: Need for dialogue between Ethiopian Cheetahs and Hippos

What time is it in Ethiopia? It is now Chee-Hippo Time. It’s now high time for Ethiopian Cheetahs and Hippos to talk, to dialogue and to reconcile. It is now time for Ethiopia’s restless Cheetahs and progressive, enlightened and forward-looking Hippos to come together, to think and act decisively together. Now is 2014!

By dialogue I mean formal and informal conversation between Cheetahs and Hippos across all forums–  from the dinner table to the halls of academia, from churches and mosques to civic associations. The topic of the dialogue is unlimited but the aims are specific. We need to have dialogues to question old ideas, keep the good ones and discard the rest. Dialogue is needed to change old, narrow-minded and counterproductive patterns of thinking. We need to dialogue to generate fresh new ideas about politics, government and society. We want to dialogue and brainstorm and generate innovative and creative solutions to persistent socio-political problems.  We need to dialogue so that we can agree to disagree in a civil and respectful manner. We need to dialogue to persuade each other on how best to right wrongs. We need a “new generation” to shoulder the task of coordinating the dialogue. Broadminded Cheetahs and Progressive Hippos can facilitate the dialogue.

What is NOT the purpose of the dialogue? The proposed dialogue is not to engage in recrimination, accusation and finger pointing. It is also not about bellyaching, heart aching or teeth gnashing about what happened or did not happen in the past. The Chee-Hippo sponsored dialogues have two purposes: 1) to begin intergenerational reconciliation, and 2) to develop consensus on the roles and division of labor between Cheetahs and Hippos.

Intergenerational dialogue cannot happen when there is a “language” barrier. I believe there is a failure to communicate between Ethiopian Hippos who often speak with silence and Ethiopian Cheetahs who are deafened by that silence. Let’s look at a few examples. When many of us Hippos talk about change we are concerned about removing the current regime and installing ourselves. The guys in power are bad, we are good. No, we are better; actually we are the best. The Hippos in power think that they are the sole agents of change. When we Hippos talk about leadership, we want the young people to follow our commands because we have power, experience, skills and/or knowledge. We want Ethiopia’s Cheetahs to become a flock of sheep and to follow us, their good and benevolent Hippo shepherds. We have great difficulty accepting the fact that we have dynamic youth leaders with extraordinary abilities who can think critically and act decisively; we do not want them to have a separate and independent existence from us.  We look down dismissively on the youth in general. We say the youth have little discernment or depth of understanding and should sheepishly follow what we tell them. “Children should be seen not heard.” We belittle them with outmoded sayings. “When children cook, they won’t cook enough to last for dinner” (lij yabokaw lerat aybekam). We do not respect youth ideas nor do we lavish them with praise and encouragement for doing things better or differently; but we are  quick to criticize and condemn them.   

When we Hippos talk about power, we mean power for ourselves without much accountability and transparency. The Hippos in power use power to divide and rule; they abuse power to cling to power; they misuse power because they can. Hippos out of power want power because they don’t have it; and if they have it, it is because power is an end in itself. Hippos do not use power to empower the disempowered or the powerless. The youth in Ethiopia are the most disempowered and powerless segment of society. That means 70 percent of the country’s population (66 million) is disempowered.

I believe Ethiopian Cheetahs have lost faith in Ethiopian Hippos. That faith can be restored only when there is mutual respect and understanding and honest and civil communication.  We must restore faith and reconcile with them by treating and relating to them as our equals. We must fully accept that their views, hopes and aspirations for Ethiopia are no less important or valid than our own. We must dialogue with them as equals and with respect.

Hippos teaching Cheetahs

The Cheetahs need to dialogue with us Hippos because we could be very helpful to them. We can teach them by example.  The first lesson Cheetahs must learn is that those who do not learn from the mistakes of their elders are doomed to repeat them. We have made many mistakes. The second lesson is that Cheetahs must overcome the deficits of Hippos and make a fresh start of their own.  I wish Hippos could teach Cheetah’s the virtues of courage, trust, sacrifice, honesty, integrity, endurance, tenacity and fortitude. We suffer from a “virtue deficit”, but we could discover and practice these virtues together. We could most certainly teach our Cheetahs to avoid many of our vices including arrogance, anger, suspicion, bigotry, corruption, intolerance, incivility, fearfulness, malice, vengefulness and narcissism. We can help them learn the art of clear communication and the virtues of accountability and transparency in public and private life.

Cheetahs teaching Hippos

Cheetahs can teach Hippos that social and political problems could be solved in a peaceful and nonviolent manner. Young people could be educated and trained not merely as war fighters but most importantly as peacemakers. They have the capacity to build healthy human relationships and rid a society of the plague of ethnic and religious hatred and strife. They could teach Hippos that it is necessary and possible to create communities that value cooperation, amity, consensus, peace, unity and hope. They could show us that they have the capacity to construct a “New Ethiopia” where we can all  live in peace, equality and justice. Cheetahs could teach Hippos that if they are invited and made genuine partners and allowed to participate in social and political organs of society, they could play transformative roles. If we listen to them in earnest, they could save us from ourselves. Imagine that! They could help us breakout of the walls of our ethnic prisons, unchain ourselves from imaginary fears and escape the bigotry and prejudice that has closed our eyes so that we are blinded from seeing the “New Ethiopia” on the horizon.

If Ethiopians have a chance of survival as a nation and as a people, that survival will depend on the creativity, stamina, determination, goodwill, commitment and sacrifices of its youth. That places an extreme burden on the youth. They must do the lion’s share of the heavy lifting, the hard work and the sacrifices. Similarly, if Ethiopians have a chance of survival as a nation and as a people, that survival will also depend on the active and sustained support of the older generation to the upcoming generation. We Hippos must do all we can to make sure our Cheetahs will not falter and fail. If they do, we must help them get up, dust off and do it again and again. We must stand by them all the way, no matter how long it takes. We must dialogue with them and tell them we will support them and love them; we will gladly serve as water carriers so long as they remain on the construction site of the “New Ethiopia”.

Ethiopia’s youth force is unstoppable. There is no force on earth, no dictatorship strong enough to defeat Ethiopia’s rising Cheetahs. We Hippos are well advised to follow the old saying, “if you can’t beat them, join them”. Let’s join the Cheetahs in dialogue! Let’s talk to them and ask them what they need. If they need and seek our counsel, let’s give it to them freely and generously. If they seek our technical support, let’s provide it to them. If they need moral support, let’s offer it to them. If they need material support, let’s raise funds for them. If they are going to do the heavy lifting, the bridge building, the road mending and mountain climbing, let us be their humble water carriers. Let’s be force amplifiers for our youth.

(Part II will follow.)

Professor Alemayehu G. Mariam teaches political science at California State University, San Bernardino and is a practicing defense lawyer.
Previous commentaries by the author are available at:

• http://open.salon.com/blog/almariam/

• www.huffingtonpost.com/alemayehu-g-mariam/

Amharic translations of recent commentaries by the author may be found at:

• http://www.ecadforum.com/Amharic/archives/category/al-mariam-amharic 

• http://ethioforum.org/?cat=24