Arrest
The critical event that doomed Endelkachew's administration occurred 26 June. On that day, a group of conservative members from the Chamber of Deputies petitioned the Emperor for the release of some of the officials that had been imprisoned for corruption. Numerous writers agree with Keller's judgement that this act "was seen as a clear indication that ruling politicians had no intention of bringing these individuals to justice." The new military committee acted swiftly, arresting 50 more alleged culprits from the ruling classes on 30 June. Within the next two weeks, 150 more members of not only the former government, but the current government, the provincial administration, the nobility, and even the Imperial family -- Iskinder Desta, the Emperor's grandson.
Despite continued attempts to retain power, on 22 July, Prime Minister Endalkachew was arrested, and the Derg asked Lij Mikael Imru to assume the Prime Minister's office. Over next months, events moved swiftly as the Derg systematically dismantled the government and numerous public institutions. On 12 September, Emperor Haile Selassie was formally deposed by the Derg, an act Keller describes as "anticlimactic given the events that had unfolded since July." At last, on November 23 Lij Endelkachew and 60 ex-officials of the former Emperor's government were taken from Menelik Palace and to Addis Ababa Prison (Kerchele) where they were summarily executed.
Read more about this topic: Endelkachew Makonnen
Famous quotes containing the word arrest:
“One does not arrest Voltaire.”
—Charles De Gaulle (1890–1970)
“An unjust law is itself a species of violence. Arrest for its breach is more so.”
—Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869–1948)
“Let me arrest thy thoughts; wonder with me,
Why plowing, building, ruling and the rest,
Or most of those arts, whence our lives are blest,
By cursed Cain’s race invented be,
And blest Seth vexed us with Astronomie.”
—John Donne (c. 1572–1631)