SUMMARY
EPDM (Ethiopian People’s Democratic Movement) was a rebel organization active in the Ethiopian conflict over government. From the 1200s to 1974, Ethiopia was an independent empire that eventually became known as “Abyssinia”; it was one of the few African states that avoided colonization by an European power. Abyssinia was ruled by a succession of Emperors, of which Haile Selassie I was the last one. In September 1974, Emperor Haile Selassie was overthrown in a coup orchestrated by a Marxist-Leninist military junta that later became known as the Provisional Military Council (PMAC); the junta was however most known as the “Derg”, which was a shortened version of its name. The new Derg-led Government of Ethiopia then initiated the implementation of a socialist system, and the purging of opposing elements. Not long after the coup, the Derg began facing an ever increasing number of domestic challengers, both for government power and separatist agendas. It was in this context that EPDM emerged with the primary goal of overthrowing the Derg-led government. EPDM claimed that it was “a democratic organization which is struggling for the democratic rights of the peoples of Ethiopia and for their complete freedom”. Furthermore, EPDM largely modeled its policies and programs after those of TPLF, another Ethiopian rebel organization active at the time. For example, EPDM shared TPLF’s idea that all Ethiopian nationalities had the right to self-determination. While EPDM was initially described as a “pan-Ethiopian” group, it came to be primarily associated with the Amhara ethnic group.
EPDM was formed in November 1980 by a breakaway faction from EPRP. During the late 1970s, the Ethiopian Marxist-Leninist rebel group EPRP was engaged in fighting the Derg-led Government of Ethiopia on one hand, and TPLF on the other; TPLF was a rebel organization based in Ethiopia’s Tigray region. The rivalry and open conflict between EPRP and TPLF –caused by the two groups’ competing revolutionary agendas and competition for support among Ethiopia’s peasantry – were instrumental in EPDM’s formation. Fierce clashes between TPLF and EPRP forces in Tigray in 1978 fragmented the EPRP, splitting it in three major factions. One of the EPRP factions retreated to the Wollo region, and initiated talks with TPLF. Consequently, the Wollo-based EPRP faction was reconstituted – with considerable assistance and guidance from TPLF - as EPDM in November 1980. However, due to the chaotic situation in Ethiopia during the late 1970s and early 1980s, no statement regarding the group’s aims and goals could be found until 1983. Tamrat Layne led EPDM, which recruited most of its fighters from the Amhara ethnic group; no reliable estimates regarding the group’s total cadre strength was available. Apart from its military activities, EPDM mainly focused on building a network of peasant associations and civilian administrative councils in areas that it had “liberated”. For example, some reports claimed that EPDM attempted to initiate a land reform program, and that it was building schools and clinics.
Give the pivotal role TPLF played in the group’s formation, EPDM received considerable military support from the far larger TPLF. One of the main reasons for the former group’s willingness to assist EPDM was its fears that it would not be readily accepted as liberators when operating outside the Tigray province, wherefore it needed allies – such as EPDM - outside of Tigray. As a result, EPDM coordinated its military activities with those of TPLF. In 1984, EPDM also cooperated militarily with EPLF, another rebel organization active in Eritrea.
In January 1989, EPDM merged with TPLF to create the Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democaratic Front (EPRDF); after this EPDM ceased to exist as an independent actor in the UCDP data.
