| Gambela People's Liberation Movement | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Dates of operation | 1985 – 1998 |
| Headquarters | Pochalla, Sudan (1992) |
| Active regions | Gambela Region, Ethiopia |
| Opponents |  Derg |
The Gambela People's Liberation Movement (abbreviated GPLM) was a rebel group in the Gambela Region in Ethiopia. The GPLM was founded by Anuak dissidents during the Derg and Woyane regime. [1] The organization remained dominated by Anuaks. [2] Agwa Alemu was the chairman of the GPLM. [3]
The GPLM emerged from one faction of the erstwhile Gambela Liberation Front (GLF). The group that would form the GPLM were supported by the Sudanese government and linked to the Oromo Liberation Front. [4] The faction took the name GPLM in 1985. [5] GPLM guerillas operated out of bases in Sudan. [4]
At the time of its founding, the GPLM had the stated objective of liberating Gambela from domination by Highlanders (i.e. Amharic, Tigrinya and Oromo peoples). [6] Moreover, the GPLM conceptualized Nuer territorial encroachments in Gambela as a national issue, i.e. as a conflict between Ethiopians and non-citizens. The GPLM labelled the Nuers as 'foreigners', making reference to the 1902 border which had placed the majority of Nuers in Sudanese territory. [7]
The Derg regime labelled the GPLM as wonbede ('bandits'). This discourse, which insinuated that the Anuaks as a whole were outlaws and unreliable, had the effect of cementing collective Anuak resistance to the Derg (which in turn pushed the Nuer into strengthening their alliance with the Derg). [8] In the second half of the 1980s, the GPLM began attacking settlers and civil servants in Gambela. [9]
In the war against the Derg regime the GPLM would ally itself with the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), joining the joint anti-Derg offensive in western Ethiopia in 1989. [2] [10] However, the alliance had an uneasy start. The GPLM discourse on 'Highlanders' differed from the other ethno-nationalist movements, whose discourse focused specifically on Amhara domination. [6]
On 16 May 1991, the GPLM and EPRDF forces captured Gambela, routing the Derg and SPLA forces. [6] The GPLM would dominate Gambela politics during the transitional period of 1991–1994. [11] After the victory over the Derg regime, the regional government in Gambela was handed over to the GPLM. [2] GPLM participated in the 1991 National Conference. [12] During the transitional period, the GPLM had two delegates in the Council of Representatives. [13] In July 1992, the GPLM leader Agwa Alemu was killed by his own troops. [14]
The transitional period in Gambela was marred by ethnic violence between Anuaks and Nuer. The Anuak GPLM fighters are said to have worn a magic called kunjur, supposedly making them bulletproof. It is said that many Anuak youths joined the GPLM, impressed by the force of the kunjur. [15]
Relations between the GPLM and the EPRDF remained complicated. The GPLM did not become an EPRDF associate. Its ambition was to become a hegemonic force in Gambela politics, an aspiration that the EPRDF would not accept. The EPRDF government ordered a forces demobilization of GPLM fighters in 1992, which led to clashes in the regional capital. The GPLM forces retreated to Pochalla, Sudan (now part of South Sudan, where they remained for months until a settlement was reached. As part of the settlement, GPLM fighters were integrated into the national army. [16]
In 1995, under pressure from the federal government, the GPLM was renamed as the Gambela People's Liberation Party. [16] In 1998 the federal government pressured the GPLP to merge with the Nuer-dominated Gambela People's Democratic Unity Party (GPDUP), forming the Gambela People's Democratic Front (GPDF). Anuaks unhappy with the GPLP-GPDUP merger formed the Gambela People's Democratic Congress. [2]
The Derg, officially the Provisional Military Administrative Council (PMAC), was the military junta that ruled Ethiopia, then including present-day Eritrea, from 1974 to 1987, when the military leadership formally "civilianized" the administration but stayed in power until 1991.
The Gambela Region, officially the Gambela Peoples' Region, is a regional state in western Ethiopia, bordering South Sudan. Previously known as Region 12, its capital is Gambela. The Region is situated between the Baro and Akobo Rivers, with its western part including the Baro River.
Gambela, also spelled Gambella, is a city and separate woreda in Ethiopia and the capital of the Gambela Region. Located in Anyuak Zone, at the confluence of the Openo River and its tributary the Jajjabe, the city has a latitude and longitude of 8°15′N34°35′E and an elevation of 526 meters. It is surrounded by Gambela Zuria.
The Anyuak, also known as Anyuaa and Anywaa, are a Luo Nilotic ethnic group inhabiting parts of East Africa. The Anuak belong to the larger Luo family group. Their language is referred to as Dha-Anywaa. They are primarily found in Gambela Region in western Ethiopia, and South Sudan. Group members number between 200,000 and 300,000 people worldwide. Many of the Anyuak people now follow Christianity. It is one of the first of the Nilotic groups to become almost entirely Christian, following the Shilluk people.
The Gambela Peoples’ Democratic Movement, also known as the Gambela People’s Democratic Movement or Gambella Peoples’ Unity Democratic Movement, was a political party in the Gambela Region of Ethiopia. It is the regional ally of the ruling EPRDF coalition.
Abwobo is a woreda in Gambela Region, Ethiopia. Part of the Anywaa Zone, Abwobo is bordered on the southeast by the Majang Zone, on the south by Gog, on the southwest by Jor, on the northwest by Itang special woreda, on the north by Gambela Zuria, and on the northeast by the Oromia Region; part of its northern boundary is defined by the Alworo River. The major town in Abwobo is Abwobo.
Gog is a woreda in Gambela Region, Ethiopia. Part of the Anuak Zone, Gog is bordered on the south by Dimma, on the southwest by the Akobo River which separates it from South Sudan, on the west by Jor, and on the north by Abobo. The major town in Gog is Fugnido.
Itang is a woreda in Gambela Region, Ethiopia. Because Itang is not part of any zone in the Gambela Region, it is considered a Special woreda, an administrative subdivision which is similar to an autonomous area. It is bordered on the south and southeast by the Anuak Zone, on the west by the Nuer Zone, on the northwest by South Sudan, and on the north by the Oromia Region; part of the southern boundary is defined by the Alwero River. The major town in Itang is Itang.
Gambela Zuria was a woreda in the Gambela Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Anuak Zone, Gambela Zuria is bordered on the south by Abobo, on the west by Itang special woreda, and on the north and east by the Oromia Region. Gambela, which is the capital of the Region, is surrounded by this woreda.
Akobo is a woreda in Gambela Region, Ethiopia. It is named after the Akobo River, which flows westwards then north into the Baro River, defining its border with South Sudan. Part of the Nuer Zone, Akobo is bordered on the south and west by South Sudan, on the north by Wentawo, and on the east by the Anuak Zone. The westernmost point of this woreda is the westernmost point of Ethiopia. Towns in Akobo include Tergol.
The Gambela conflict refers to sporadic conflicts in the Gambela Region of Ethiopia between armed groups of the indigenous Anuak people with armed groups of the Nuer people, and the Ethiopian military. Following resettlement policies implemented by the Derg regime in the 1980s, a number of ethnic conflicts have taken place between the Anuak people indigenous to much of the Gambela region, and other groups which were resettled in the region. Following the collapse of the Derg regime, persistent ethnic tensions in the region have occasionally exploded into open conflict. Such conflict erupted in the early to mid 2000s, coinciding with an increase in petroleum extraction in the region, and led to a number of incidents resulting in the large-scale deaths of civilians. The Ethiopian military has intervened to combat Anuak militias.
The tom is a plucked lamellophone thumb piano used in the traditional music of the Nuer and Anuak ethnic groups of western Ethiopia. The instruments is also called thoom Otieno and may also be spelled toom and thom.
Itang is a town in the Gambela Region in western Ethiopia. Within Gambela, Itang belongs to Itang woreda which forms a special woreda. Located on the Baro River.
Agwa Alemo was an Ethiopian politician. He belonged to the Anyuak ethnic group, and became the first president of the Gambela Region.
The Mecha and Tulema Self-Help Association was an Oromo political and freedom social movement in Ethiopia. The movement was primarily based in Bale, but was active in other regions as well. The organization was accused of committing acts of terror by the Ethiopian government, in hopes of suppressing the Oromo National Movement that was developing at the time. The Association was established by Oromo nationalists like Mamo Mezemer, Haile Mariam Gemeda and Alemu Kitessa.
The Gambela People's Democratic Unity Party was a political party in Gambela Region, Ethiopia. GPDUP was mainly based amongst Nuer people, formed in 1992 in Nasir in the midst of mass displacements of Nuers as the Anuak-dominated Gambela People's Liberation Movement had taken control over Gambela in 1991. GPLM and GPDUP struggled violently against each other for most of the 1990s, until the Addis Ababa government intervened and forced the merger of the two parties into the Gambela People's Democratic Front in 1998.
The Ethiopian Unity Patriots Front is a political party and militant rebel organization that waged an insurgency against the Ethiopian government from 1993 to 2012. Formed by ex-officials of the Derg regime, the EUPF was mostly active in Ethiopia's Gambela Region as well as eastern Sudan and South Sudan. The group agreed to a ceasefire with the Ethiopian government in 2012, and officially ended its insurgency in 2016. The EUPF remains active, however, and its armed wing has reportedly been involved in the South Sudanese Civil War, although to what extent is disputed.
The Gambela Massacre was a three-day-long massacre in the city of Gambela targeting Anuak people in December of 2003. The massacre perpetrated by the ENDF and "highlander" militias after an ambush of ARRA employees. Calls from International community made to condemn and stop the various forms of attacks against the Anuak people- i.e. Ethiopia to take immediate action and to comply to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (“ICERD”). The calls included actions against: 1)Racial Discrimination 2)State obligation to protect and ensure economic development, economic, social, and cultural rights, 3) Freedom of movement 4)The right to equal treatment in the justice system 5) Protection Against Violence, and 6) Access to Remedies and Justice for Crimes of Racial Discrimination.
This list details about chronological aspect of the Derg, the military junta that ruled Ethiopia from 1974 to 1987 by decade.
This is chronology of Gambela city, the capital of Gambela Region of Ethiopia.
