SUMMARY
EPRDF (Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front) was a rebel coalition 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 EPRDF emerged with the primary goal of overthrowing the Derg-led government. Nominally, EPRDF also called for the establishment of a democratic government, the elimination of the last vestiges of feudalism and imperialism, the formation of a genuine peoples government based on peoples councils, the guarantee of basic human and civil rights, and self-determination for all oppressed nationalities.
In January 1989, EPRDF was formed as a coalition between TPLF and EPDM, two Ethiopian groups that had fought against the government since the 1970s and 1980s respectively. In May 1990, OPDO (Oromo Peoples Democratic Organization) and EDORM (Ethiopian Democratic Officers Revolutionary Movement) also joined the coalition. While EPRDF was a coalition, it was almost completely dominated TPLF, which was by far the largest and most powerful of the factions within the organization. In fact, it was suggested that TPLF had facilitated the creation of EPRDF in order to present itself as a viable candidate to government power, should it successfully oust the Derg regime. TPLF had initially been created as a Tigray nationalist and Marxist-Leninist organization; as such, the group had focused almost exclusively on the rights of the Tigray ethnic group. Already in 1988 – a year before the creation of EPRDF – TPLF had adopted a new official politico-military doctrine that prescribed cooperation with other groups in order to create “united fronts”. By creating a coalition with other rebel organizations, TPLF could thus claim more credibly to represent other segments of the Ethiopian population. For example, while it was defined as a “pan-Ethiopian” group, EPDM was primarily associated with the Amhara ethnic group; OPDO’s main constituents were the Oromo, the largest ethnic groups in Ethiopia. While EDORM was not organized around a particular ethnic group, it was comprised of soldiers and officers that had defected from the Derg regime’s armed forces. In general, both OPDO and EDORM played very minor roles in EPRDF’s political and military activities. Reflecting the TPLF’s domination of the coalition, the EPRDF’s charter and stated goals were almost exact copies of those adopted by the TPLF. Furthermore, EPRDF was led by Meles Zenawi, the chairman of TPLF.
EPRDF’s armed forces functioned as a “party army”, as they were organized to fight for a specific political and ideological agenda. Consequently, the group’s military leadership was closely intertwined with the political leadership; many of EPRDF’s political leaders also served as battlefield commanders. In 1989, EPRDF had around 30 000 troops, most of which were most likely former TPLF fighters. By 1991, the EPRDF had grown to include approximately 70 000 troops, which indicated an exponential growth over just a few years. Many of EPRDF’s cadre members were recruited from areas that had been subjected to government repression and abuse. The fact that EPRDF was able to recruit disgruntled members of the civilian population also made it weary against large-scale abuse against civilians in the group’s areas of control. In order to avoid resistance, EPRDF facilitated a system where it relied on the support of local civilian populations to fill, for example, civilian functions.
EPRDF maintained a close alliance with EPLF, a rebel group engaged in fighting the Government of Ethiopia for the secession of Eritrea; prior to 1989, TPLF had also cooperated closely with this group. The two groups coordinated their military campaigns, and EPLF supplied EPRDF with intelligence, material and weapons. EPLF also provided direct warring support to EPRDF in 1989 by sending an armored brigade and heavy artillery to assist in battle for Endaselasie. The EPRDF-EPLF alliance was maintained through 1991. EPRDF also received some non-warring secondary support from Sudan, which allowed the group access to its territory.
On 28 May 1991, EPRDF captured the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa and ousted the Derg regime; the group then established a transitional government. After 28 May, the EPRDF thus ceased to exist as a non-state actor in the UCDP data, and became the Government of Ethiopia.
