"A Country can't progress if there's no Democracy and that's exactly what happened.
Haile Selassie I, didn't listen to the protesters and disregarded them and their complaints about his policies and put the protesting Students and Intellectuals in Prison or to be executed.
Haile Selassie I, could've put the Landlords in prison through force since he was the Emperor, he had the men and he had the technological superiority."
-Haile Selassie I: "Democracy, republics: What do these words signify? What have they changed in the world? Have men become better, more loyal, kinder? Are the people happier? All goes on as before, as always. Illusions, illusions. Besides, one should consider the interest of a nation before subverting it with words. Democracy is necessary in some cases and We believe some African peoples might adopt it. But in other cases it is harmful, a mistake."
People that were actively creating dissent and divisiveness were not only in opposition to the view His Majesty had for Ethiopia, they threatened Ethiopia's ability to remain a sovereign nation. Should Ethiopia break into separate ethnically run nations, as opposed to ethnically run states that make up the whole of Ethiopia, they would all be absorbed by stronger surrounding nations. The existence of Ethiopia depended on His ability to exercise judgement. The students/intellectuals that you're speaking about weren't trying to just sit down for peaceful dialogue.
Putting the landlords in prison is a ridiculous notion. The feudal system in place was an inherited one, His Majesty didn't create it, it existed for ages. The landlords weren't committing crimes, and upending this system overnight would've created massive instability. My point is evidenced by the Derg's policies and actions. The control that the landlords held added to the stability of the nation at the time, which was crucial to rebuilding Ethiopia after the war.
Democracy as it exists in the world today is exactly the way His Majesty describes it, an illusion. If you think otherwise, you're fooling yourself.
"Also, he didn't do anything to the Extreme Poverty and the big gap between the Rich and the Poor. And due to his poor Economic Policies, the GDP was lower than Ethiopia in 1980 (While it was in the mid of a Civil war)."
-How would you expect the poverty level, let alone the GDP to rebound after the war Italy waged on Ethiopia. After mustard gas has rained over the land, and infrastructure has been wiped out, how quickly do you expect a country to bounce back? especially with the limited resources they had at the time. You talk like His Majesty just sat around, yet in truth He worked tirelessly. Again you site the Derg like they accomplished something great for Ethiopia, while their "accomplishments" were nothing but the product of forced militarization and terror.
"His Education campaign was a miserable failure, because of lack of Investment and Maintenance.
Look at the Soviet Union, it had at the beginning a literacy rate of around 10% (The same literacy rate as Ethiopia at the end of Haile Selassie's ''successful'' Education Campaign, lol), after 20 years the literacy rate in the Soviet union was 90%.
The Soviet Union was successful because the Government wasn't lazy and made Education compulsory. Because of its very high literacy rate and good maintenance of Education, the Soviet Union prospered.
Haile Selassie didn't do any effort to improve the poor quality of Education and make more schools to educate the youth."
-In my last post, I discussed His Majesty's education efforts and His view on education; I feel like you didn't read any of it. Your comparison to the Soviet Union makes no sense, it's a nation far away, with many millions more people. The man power, proximity to other developed/wealthy nations, and availability of qualified teachers makes the comparison mote.
"There was also no gender equality in Ethiopia, AT ALL!
Women, or should I say Girls, married at a very young age. Because of this, They didn't get Education and when their husband dies they're pretty much screwed.
For example, My Grandmother living in Ethiopia was married on her 15th and she had to rely on money of her children who were adults since she couldn't work anywhere because she didn't get Education.
Also, Life-quality in Ethiopia was horrible and since Haile Selassie didn't bother to improve these poor situations many died of diseases or malnutrition.
If they got a Disease they knew they would die quickly since Healthcare was too expensive or simply not known because Clinics were few or the Healthcare Quality is really bad."
-Again, this is inherited culture, it has existed for ages and is not dismantled overnight. His Majesty has always expressed His views on gender equality, and I clearly showed that in my last post, go back and read it. You have to ask yourself, what is the state of gender equality in Ethiopia now? how does it really differ from His Majesty's time? do you really see progress? same goes for healthcare in any rural area of Ethiopia. As for quality of life, it is what you make of it, the abject poverty that Ethiopia has seen over the ages absolutely exists today.
"I'm not defending the Derg, I'm simply saying that Ethiopia was better off when Haile Selassie was deposed."
-You are defending the Derg, if Ethiopia was better off after His Majesty was deposed, then you're saying it was better off under the Derg. I feel the complete opposite is the truth, the Derg was one of the most horrible things to ever happen in Ethiopia.
"And the Justice system under Haile Selassie was very bad and of very bad quality.
His Imperial forces massacred Eritrean and Tigrayan villages/towns for fun and plundered them.
Also, About the Famine of Tigray, you do realize that the Famine mostly killed innocent farmers right?
They had nothing to do with the rebellions.
They were a victim of the discrimination of Ethiopian Nationalism under Haile Selassie."
-Everywhere there are rebellions, the innocent suffer. His Majesty strived for diplomacy, despite that, there are those who identify ethnically, with specific areas of Ethiopia, that choose to advocate for secession as opposed to nationalism. Your issue, and the reason you come here to debate His merits, is because you are in direct opposition to Ethiopian Nationalism. You don't want the Tigray region or Eritrea to be connected to Ethiopia. That's your prerogative, but how has that worked out for Eritrea? In what state is the quality of life in Eritrea today. The Tigrayan people of Ethiopia today have held greater political power, and are considered the wealthiest Ethinic group in Ethiopia. Did Meles not rule with an iron fist? yet still Meles sought to preserve one Ethiopia, as did His Majesty; for they knew, one Ethiopia is the only way Ethiopia will survive.
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