Abiy Ahmed’s remarks in Tigrinya with Ethiopian state media do not survive contact with the historical record. He threatened Eritrea and claimed Eritreans thrived during the brutal Ethiopian occupation of Eritrea from 1961-1991
The facts say otherwise. Between 1961 and 1991, Ethiopian regimes under Haile Selassie and the Derg committed crimes against humanity and what Eritreans describe as genocide. Estimates place the death toll at 150,000 to 300,000 Eritreans, including 280,000 cited by Dawit Woldegiorgis in Michela Wrong’s work—roughly 20 to 30 percent of the population. Massacres included the 1967 campaign (thousands killed, villages burned, mass flight to Sudan); Ona and Besikdira 1970 near Keren (nearly 1,000 civilians in 48 hours); public hangings of students in Keren; and Derg-era atrocities at She’eb, Afabet, and Massawa.
Napalm, cluster bombs, and other banned weapons were used against civilians. Systematic rape, forced displacement, starvation tactics, and ecological destruction accompanied the violence. Haile Selassie’s reported statement that he wanted only the land and sea of Eritrea, not the people, is cited as evidence of genocidal intent. For three decades civilians hid whenever Ethiopian aircraft flew overhead. The 1987 photograph of an Eritrean child burned and partly blinded by napalm became known worldwide.
The Illegal Annexation Eritrea was illegally annexed in 1962 when Haile Selassie dissolved the federation, closed the Eritrean parliament, and abrogated the constitution. Ethiopian forces suppressed protests against plans to replace Tigrinya and Arabic with Amharic.
Language and press freedoms were banned. The economic base—ports, airports, streets, and institutions—had been built primarily during the Italian colonial period, not by Ethiopia. Ethiopian Economic Damage in Eritrea Ethiopia’s thirty-year occupation inflicted massive economic devastation. It used Massawa and Assab ports for free for decades, looted businesses and factories, seized land and assets, and destroyed infrastructure.
Livestock were deliberately killed to induce starvation. Thousands of trees were destroyed. Approximately 100,000 landmines were planted in fertile lands, creating long-term costs. These systematic economic crimes continue to burden Eritrea decades later. Life Expectancy and HDI During Ethiopian Occupation of Eritrea There is no evidence Eritreans thrived under occupation. Life expectancy was very low.
Maternal and child mortality were high. Hundreds of thousands fled to Sudan. Stability in Asmara masked widespread devastation elsewhere. Improvements After Eritrean Independence After independence the trajectory changed. Eritrea’s HDI rose. Life expectancy increased. Literacy improved. FGM rates fell. Maternal and infant mortality dropped. Access to water expanded through nearly 800 dams (up from roughly 130), largely self-funded. Access to electricity increased. Conflict and homicide deaths fell sharply. Eritrea has among the lowest HIV rates in Africa. The U.S. embassy and UN have noted progress. Ethiopia vs Eritrea: HDI, Life Expectancy, Literacy, and Disease Rates Ethiopia currently has a lower HDI and lower literacy rates than Eritrea according to available data. Eritrea’s post-independence gains contrast with occupation conditions. Ethiopia’s wars since 2020 have killed hundreds of thousands.
Neither country is perfect—Eritrea faces conscription, prisoners, and emigration—but occupation was not a period of prosperity. Both Countries Should Fix Their Own Countries Abiy Ahmed should focus on his own country first. Ethiopia faces starvation and wars, including fighting in Amhara and Tigray. and Eritrea faces mass exodus of the youth and a tense political situation.
Both countries have serious problems at home and should not dictate to each other. Ethiopia Has No Standing to Dictate Eritrea’s Affairs The state that annexed Eritrea, committed genocide against the Eritrean people, occupied it for thirty years, fought the Badme war, and is accused of mass killing 20–30 percent of the population has no standing to lecture Eritrea. Ethiopia denied Eritreans independence in 1962. Abiy’s threats and revisionism do not erase this record.
Abiy Ahmed’s 2018 Apology and the Return to Revisionism
In 2018 Abiy visited Asmara and acknowledged past Ethiopian wrongs. This contrasts with later claims that Eritrea thrived under occupation—a distortion designed to deny the suffering.All in AllThe thirty years of Ethiopian rule featured illegal annexation, mass civilian deaths, banned weapons, economic extraction, and demographic loss. Independence brought measurable improvements in health, water, electricity, literacy, and HDI. Ethiopia’s past role, current challenges, and lower HDI remove any moral authority to lecture Eritrea. Both countries have work to do at home.
