The Italian Air Force rained poison gas from the sky on poorly armed barefooted Ethiopian militia, defending themselves against the well-trained professional Fascist army equipped with tanks, artillery, bombs, hand-grenades and rifles far superior to that of the victims, which included all ethnic groups of Ethiopia. Air superiority of the enemy enabled it to indiscriminately deliver bombs and pour poison gas on the Ethiopian forces; it decisively tilted the balance of the fighting in favor of the Fascists. Under the circumstances, the Ethiopian militia, mainly equipped with outdated rifles, had no choice but abandon conventional warfare and revert to guerilla warfare – the first of its kind in Africa conceived, planned, organized and set in motion by none other than the venerated patriot, Dejazmatch Takele Woldehawariat. Incidentally, Dejazmatch Takele wanted a republican form of government for Ethiopia and was always politically at odds with the Emperor. Finally he committed suicide at his residence in Addis Ababa, defying Police order to surrender.
It is a sad irony of history that the Pope, from Saint Peter’s Chair in the Vatican, gave his blessing to the Italian Fascist Forces to invade Ethiopia, a non-secular Christian State at the time. It is even a more sad irony of history that Ethiopia under Haile Selassie lost her appeal against the brutal aggression to the League of Nations of which she was a founding member; the Western powers gave a green light to the invasion under the pretext that it was a civilizing mission to a backward country. It turned out however that the Italian occupation unleashed a series of gruesome gross human right violations: patriots were thrown alive from flying aircraft above in the sky; arbitrary arrests of citizens en masse; summary executions at random; flogging of corpses in the streets of Addis Ababa to deter resistance, ad infinitum.
But all the abovementioned atrocities did not deter Ethiopian patriots from fighting in the rugged mountains and valleys of their motherland, inflicting heavy casualties on the aggressor. The young Abdissa Agga was one of the patriots fighting with valor in the guerilla warfare unleashed on the occupying fascist forces.
Unfortunately, Abdissa Agga was caught and briefly jailed in Addis Ababa by the brutal Fascist authorities. He was whisked to Italy via Eritrea and incarcerated in a high-security prison there.
I was privileged and honored to be invited to a gathering of officers where Abdissa was the guest speaker. It was an awe-inspiring moment to hear him speak about his ordeals in Italy. The invincible hero broke out from jail and walked miles in unknown terrain to join Yugoslavian guerrilla fighters in their fortified mountain hideout. He was well received and respected for his fighting ability and was recognized as number two man of the resistance. The guerillas would descend from their hideouts in the mountain to the ground below and inflict damage to the fascist military targets. They blew up bridges, burnt ammunition depots and gathered military intelligence and transmitted to the Allied Forces with which they had established contact and earned recognition.
This tall and heavy-built freedom fighter held the Ethiopian Green, Yellow, and Red Flag neatly folded and held in his arm as he was talking to his audience. He told his admiring audience it was this same cherished flag that was hoisted on the pole in his guerilla camp fluttering in the wind blowing over the mountain hideout. He was given a standing ovation.
The II World War ended in victory for the Allies. The guerillas went down to a city below to celebrate the victory. Unfortunately a scuffle arose in the bar and racist remarks were thrown at Abdissa Agga. The scuffle went into a full fight and the guerillas beat the hell out of their belligerents. Abdissa could not be missed for his color and tall and well-built bodily structure. He was identified, jailed and court-marshaled by the authorities of the Alliance. He was sentenced to prison and to pay a heavy fine. Ethiopians contributed and paid the ransom money and Abdissa came to his motherland at last. He was among others instructed by the then Ministry of War to take training at Holeta Military Training Centre before assignment. Abdissa was defiant and fell out of favor with the ruling class. He disappeared in the ranks of ordinary masses until fortune knocked at his door years later at the time of the official state visit of Marshal Tito in the first half of the 1950s.
One of the members of Tito’s entourage was a high ranking general and former guerrilla leader and comrade of Abdissa Agga in their mountain hideout in Italy. He asked for the whereabouts of Abdissa apparently noting his absence from the ranks of Ethiopian dignitaries who welcomed the visitor. Ethiopian officials must have been embarrassed. Abdissa was sought, found and appeared in military uniform with the rank of a lieutenant. To make a long story short, Abdissa since rose to the rank of Colonel and Commander of the Emperor’s Personal Guard Unit.
In sharp contrast, some nobilities and dignitaries carried gifts to Rome as a tribute to Mussolini and procrastinated before the dictator to demonstrate their loyalty. These same people held their status and positions of power upon the return of the Emperor from exile at the end of World War II. So, Ethiopian history is a long saga of highly-placed renegades betraying the national interests of Ethiopia in opportunistic greedy pursuit of their own. One should therefore not be surprised that renegades play destructive role in the present political upheaval in mother Ethiopia.
I had the habit of walking among the dead in their graves reading epitaphs. At the Trinity Cathedral (Kidist Selassie) in Addis Ababa where burial is reserved for heroes, I red several epitaphs with humility noting gratefully that so many of them paid invaluable sacrifices for the freedom of all of us. These heroes were all Ethiopians of diverse nationalities including Amhara, Oromo, Guraghe, Tigrai, Kambata, Hadya, and Sidamma among others. I also saw the epitaph on the graves of Eritrean heroes who had fought courageously against the Italian aggressors.
We owe it to these heroes and thousands of others that paid the ultimate sacrifice in the battle field lying in unknown graves to preserve the legacy of the values for which they have so bravely fought and paid the ultimate price. Colonel Abdissa Agga should be remembered as a venerable legendry hero who made the Ethiopian flag flutter high on the mast in the very territory of the enemy where he waged guerrilla warfare and gave hell to the Italian Fascists. This venerable hero must have also been highly intelligent to mastermind his escape from a high-security prison in a foreign land. He decided to die fighting for freedom rather rote in the prison of the enemy which had invaded his country. He was in my honest opinion in the ranks of visionary heroes like Ras Gobena, Dejazmatch Balcha Aba Nebsso, Hapte Giorgis Dinegde, et al in his love for Ethiopia.
As to Meles Zenawi, he has desicrated our cherished flag – the sacred symbol of the sacrifices of our forebears and the present generation for freedom; he has disgraced our patriots and heroes by despising all that was achieved in the past and bringing Ethiopia to the brink of further dismemberment – as if the secession of Eritrea at his behest was not enough damage.
The Ethiopian people have clearly and nobly demonstrated their earnest desire to stay united. They did so at the historic election of 15 May 2005. The Ethiopian people have set their priorities: peace, democracy and prosperity. They have set the agenda for much less spending on the military and much more allocation of resources for health, education and construction of infrastructures that will enhance the growth of the national economy. This will of the people must be respected.
It is time that all opposition forces genuinely unite and bring the tyrant Meles and his accomplices to justice for their heinous crimes against the people of Ethiopia. It is time to intensify a well-coordinated struggle to bring the repressive regime down to its knees. It is time to entitle the Ethiopian people to private property ownership including land. It is time to free the CUDP heroes of the 15 May 2005 election in Kaliti jail and all other prisoners of conscience. It is time to rise up in unison and build a strong and democratic Ethiopia.
It is my fervent hope, that national liberation movements within the AFD will take a hard look at the rich Ethiopian culture and history to discard their ‘secessionist’ garb and work for unity under the Green, Yellow and Red Ethiopian flag cherished by the likes of Colonel Abdissa Agga.
