Word: ababa
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Clearly shaken, the Emperor of Ethiopia, Lion of Judah, Elect of God and King of Kings mounted the balcony of his lion-guarded Jubilee Palace in Addis Ababa. Speaking to 600 members of the armed forces, Haile Selassie declared in a faltering and cracking voice: "This is a poor land. Your country cannot afford to give you more. I appeal to your loyalty!" From the palace courtyard, the Emperor received the expected cheers of support. But in Ethiopia's key garrison towns, where thousands of his soldiers were mutinying, the appeal fell on deaf ears. There, junior officers...
Sheltered by oversolicitous courtiers, the Emperor was largely unaware of the desperate plight of his 26 million subjects until last month. Then thousands of disgruntled Ethiopians took to the streets of Addis Ababa and rioted against inflation for four days. Helmeted police finally cleared the streets but left five demonstrators dead, at least 35 wounded and 1,000 in jail. Afterward the Emperor made a rare radio and television appearance to announce a rollback of gasoline prices and a freeze on the cost of basic commodities. The Emperor's action calmed civilians, but left the armed forces dissatisfied. Although...
...Hapte Wold, who had been Prime Minister since 1961, quit, as did his entire Cabinet. When the Emperor did not immediately accept Aklilu's resignation, dissident soldiers in full battle gear moved into the capital's streets. In a show of strength, they took control of Addis Ababa's banks, its airport and key buildings. At that point, Haile Selassie capitulated. Appearing once more on radio and TV, he granted the armed forces virtually the entire pay raise they had demanded, pledged no reprisals and designated a popular career diplomat, Endalkachew Makonnen, 46, the new Prime Minister...
Ethiopia's case is the saddest ot all because many of the deaths could have been avoided. Last January, when officials brought word of imminent starvation among peasants to one provincial governor, he disciplined them for their "negative attitude." He also refused to press Addis Ababa for aid, for fear of embarrassing a government that was pushing tourism. The result was widespread starvation and an initial reluctance on the part of international agencies to send food; U.N. officials assumed that Ethiopia was suffering far less than the Sahel states...
...became the first black African to win an Olympic gold medal when he won the marathon in his bare feet in Rome in 1960 and the only athlete to win the event twice in a row with his victory in Tokyo in 1964; of a brain hemorrhage; in Addis Ababa. An Ethiopian national hero and member of Emperor Haile Selassie's elite Imperial Guard, Bikila missed the hat trick in Mexico City in 1968 because of a strained ankle. He was paralyzed from the waist down as the result of an auto collision...