Information on the role and activities of the National State Security Service between 1975 and 1991, and on whether they were terrorizing citizens in this period [ETH23482.E]

Specific information on an organization called the National State Security Service could not be found among the sources consulted by the DIRB.

However, for general information on police and/or otherwise unspecified security force actions against Ethiopian citizens, including human rights violations, please consult the attached documents, and the Amnesty International report, Ethiopia: End of an Era of Brutal Repression(A New Chance for Human Rights, which is available at Regional Documentation Centres.

Several sources report that the Ethiopian government used security forces to hunt down and eliminate suspected opponents in a so-called "Red Terror" campaign beginning in 1976 or 1977 and lasting until 1978 (Ethiopia: A Country Study 1993, 58, 327; Africa Watch 1991, 101; Report on Human Rights 1979, 52-55; Amnesty International Nov. 1978, 8; ibid. 31 Mar. 1978, 1). For information on this campaign, please consult the attachments and pages 101-111 in Evil Days: 30 Years of War and Famine in Ethiopia, an Africa Watch report that is available at Regional Documentation Centres.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References


Africa Watch. 1991. Evil Days: 30 Years of War and Famine in Ethiopia. New York: Human Rights Watch.

Amnesty International. November 1978. Human Rights Violations in Ethiopia. (AI Index: AFR 25/10/78). London: Amnesty International. (Compiled in Amnesty International Reports on Human [Rights] Violations in Ethiopia 1976-1978.)

_____ . 31 March 1978. The Military Government's "Red Terror" Campaign. (AI Index: AFR 25/04/78). London: Amnesty International. (Compiled in Amnesty International Reports on Human [Rights] Violations in Ethiopia 1976 to 1978 Update 1979-1980.)

Ethiopia: A Country Study. 1993. Edited by Thomas P. Ofcansky and LaVerle Berry. Washington, DC: Secretary of the Army.

Report on Human Rights Practices in Countries Receiving U.S. Aid. 8 February 1979. United States Department of State. Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office.

Attachments


Amnesty International. November 1978. Human Rights Violations in Ethiopia. (AI Index: AFR 25/10/78). London: Amnesty International, pp. 1-16. (Compiled in Amnesty International Reports on Human [Rights] Violations in Ethiopia 1976-1978.)

_____ . 31 March 1978. The Military Government's "Red Terror" Campaign. (AI Index: AFR 25/04/78). London: Amnesty International, pp. 1-6. (Compiled in Amnesty International Reports on Human [Rights] Violations in Ethiopia 1976 to 1978 Update 1979-1980.)

_____ . 14 December 1977. Ethiopia: The Human Rights Situation. (AI Index: AFR 25/07/77). London: Amnesty International, pp. 1-26. (Compiled in Amnesty International Reports on Human [Rights] Violations in Ethiopia 1976 to 1978 Update 1979-1980.)

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1979. 4 February 1980. United States Department of State. Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office, pp. 66-71.

Ethiopia: A Country Study. 1993. Edited by Thomas P. Ofcansky and LaVerle Berry. Washington, DC: Secretary of the Army, pp. 226, 315-19, 326-330.

Report on Human Rights Practices in Countries Receiving U.S. Aid. 8 February 1979. United States Department of State. Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office, pp. 52-57.


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