Brigadier General Taddasa Birru: A Militry-Political Biography (1922-1975)
| dc.contributor.advisor | Ta’a, Tesema (Prof) | |
| dc.contributor.author | Kenei, Biratu | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2019-12-18T06:28:47Z | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2023-11-19T12:02:29Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2019-12-18T06:28:47Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2023-11-19T12:02:29Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2019-07 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Brigadier General Taddasa Birru: A Military-Political Biography (1922-1975) Biratu Kenei Aga Addis Ababa University, 2019 In this study, discussion on the concept of biography is taken as an academic exercise to address the disciplinary and conceptual frameworks of biography in order to situate this study within the broader field of historical inquiry. This dissertation examines the military and political activities of Brigadier General Taddasa Birru. It investigates how his military career proceeded from an ordinary guerrilla fighter in 1936 to the rank of Brigadier General in October 1963 and how his political movement followed after he joined the MTSHA in 1964. It looks into how he subsequently transformed the Association into a pan-Oromo movement and became a rallying figure of Oromo resistance since the middle of the 1960s. The dissertation examines how he used the MTSHA and its meetings as platform to promote Oromo unity and self-consciousness in order to mobilize the Oromo against the Imperial regime. It also investigates why he resumed his resistance despite regime change in 1974 and how he was captured and executed. The source materials used for this research are gathered from extensive oral interviews conducted with contemporary and knowledgeable informants, the archives of the IES of AAU, documents in private hands, including the Trial Document of the leaders of the MTSHA and his handwritten diary, newspapers, magazines, student papers and published works. The synthesis, analysis and careful examination of the sources have proven the central thesis of the dissertation both empirically and logically. Though General Taddasa was dubbed Amharized before he joined the MTSHA, the concept does not fully explain his case. In this dissertation, I argue that initially he served the Imperial regime enthusiastically as a member of the military and made his own contributions for his country until he was conscious enough to understand the existence of discriminations against the Oromo. I contend that his speeches, actions and movements within the MTSHA and later were reflective of his deep-rooted belief in Oromo cause of equality and helped to develop anti- neftegna Oromo nationalism. Government repressive measures made him more militant and radical and pushed him to the corner to chair the foundation of the OLF. The importance of this dissertation includes its presentation of the place of an individual in history, its attempt to look into Ethiopian history from a different perspective and its focus on Oromo grievances through a biographical approach. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/12345678/20409 | |
| dc.language.iso | en_US | en_US |
| dc.publisher | Addis Ababa University | en_US |
| dc.subject | A Military-Political Biography (1922-1975) | en_US |
| dc.title | Brigadier General Taddasa Birru: A Militry-Political Biography (1922-1975) | en_US |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_US |