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Ethiopia: Deforestation: Difference between revisions
Ethiopia: Deforestation (view source)
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Power was assumed in 1974 by a provisional administrative council of soldiers known as the [wikipedia:en:Derg|Derg], with Mengistu as head of the newly Marxist state and Derg chairman. This triggered the [[wikipedia:en:Ethiopian_Civil_War|Ethiopian Civil War]] that was to last until 1991, with the Derg imprisoning or exterminating many thousands of its political opponents, and continuing to prosecute the Emperor’s war against the rebel province of Eritrea, as was as the province of Tigray. Under the Derg, Ethiopia became a client state of the Soviet Union, and as a result also became the most militarised state in the region. It was thanks to military aid from the Soviet Union, Libya, GDR and North Korea, and 17,000 professional soldiers from Cuba that Ethiopia was able to fight off an [[wikipedia:en:Ogaden_War|invasion by Somali forces]] in 1977. | Power was assumed in 1974 by a provisional administrative council of soldiers known as the [wikipedia:en:Derg|Derg], with Mengistu as head of the newly Marxist state and Derg chairman. This triggered the [[wikipedia:en:Ethiopian_Civil_War|Ethiopian Civil War]] that was to last until 1991, with the Derg imprisoning or exterminating many thousands of its political opponents, and continuing to prosecute the Emperor’s war against the rebel province of Eritrea, as was as the province of Tigray. Under the Derg, Ethiopia became a client state of the Soviet Union, and as a result also became the most militarised state in the region. It was thanks to military aid from the Soviet Union, Libya, GDR and North Korea, and 17,000 professional soldiers from Cuba that Ethiopia was able to fight off an [[wikipedia:en:Ogaden_War|invasion by Somali forces]] in 1977. | ||
At the same time, the Derg attempted to follow through on its Marxist philosophy by redistributing land to the peasants. However, mismanagement, corruption, and wholesale hostility to the Derg's violent rule combined with the debilitating effects of constant warfare resulted in a precipitous fall in agricultural production, and it is during this period that deforestation in Ethiopia began to rapidly escalate. Although Ethiopia has generally long been prone to drought, few were prepared for the scale of drought and [[wikipedia:en:1983%E2%80%931985_famine_in_Ethiopia|famine]] that hit the country in the mid-1980s, in which up to eight million were affected and one million may have died. | At the same time, the Derg attempted to follow through on its Marxist philosophy by redistributing land to the peasants. However, mismanagement, corruption, and wholesale hostility to the Derg's violent rule combined with the debilitating effects of constant warfare resulted in a precipitous fall in agricultural production, and it is during this period that deforestation in Ethiopia began to rapidly escalate. Although Ethiopia has generally long been prone to drought, few were prepared for the scale of drought and [[wikipedia:en:1983%E2%80%931985_famine_in_Ethiopia|famine]] that hit the country in the mid-1980s, in which up to eight million were affected and one million may have died. [[File:T-55 Ethiopian Civil War 1991.JPEG|thumb|A T-62 main battle tank guards an intersection following seizure of government control by rebel factions, 1991.]] | ||
Mengistu was finally overthrown in 1991 when the [[wikipedia:en:Ethiopian_People%27s_Revolutionary_Democratic_Front|Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front]] captured Addis Ababa and the Soviet Union under Mikhail Gorbachev failed to intervene on the Marxist government's behalf. Under a transitional government, a new constitution was written in 1994 that established a bicameral legislature and judicial system. The first ever multi-party elections then took place in 1995 with Meles Zenawi elected Prime Minister. | Mengistu was finally overthrown in 1991 when the [[wikipedia:en:Ethiopian_People%27s_Revolutionary_Democratic_Front|Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front]] captured Addis Ababa and the Soviet Union under Mikhail Gorbachev failed to intervene on the Marxist government's behalf. Under a transitional government, a new constitution was written in 1994 that established a bicameral legislature and judicial system. The first ever multi-party elections then took place in 1995 with Meles Zenawi elected Prime Minister. | ||