Things came to a head on 19 feb., Yekatit 12, when the viceroy Graziani held a public ceremony marked by the giving of alms to celebrate the birth of the prince of naples. In the midst of the festivities two Ethiopians of Eritrean descent, Abraha Deboch and Mogus Asgedom, lobbed several grenades into the group of gathered fascist officials and other dignitaries. Graziani was injured in the attack, though not fatally. As he was rushed to the hospital, the italian carabinieri began firing randomly at the gathered Ethiopians. Chaos ensued and in retaliation, Guido Cortese, the italian federal secretay, declared to the Blackshirts in Addis Ababa that italian forces were allowed to kill and do whatever they pleased with Ethiopians for the next three days, as well as to burn and raze the city as they saw fit. The next three days were nightmarish as a general massacre ensued with helpless Ethiopians being gunned down, tortured and put to death in the most horrific manner. Large parts of Addis Ababa burned. A particular group singled out for extermination were educated Ethiopians, members of the remaining intelligentsia who it was feared would instigate more plots against the occupiers. The large part of a generation of Ethiopians, painstakingly educated in previous decades, was effectively wiped out.
As the italians investigated the assasination attempt they discovered that one of the conspirators had traveled to the monastery of Debre Libanos prior to feb.19 and that monks from the monastery had come to addis ababa earlier that month requesting loans from the Administration. The percieved complicity of the monks resulted in instructions to exterminate the order. During the May celebrations of the day commemorating St.Tekle Haimanot, the founder of the Debre Libanos monastery, the wholesale slaughter of monks took place in retaliation for the attack on 19 feb.
July 1940. His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Haile I Selassie issues Mercy Proclamation
"This is perhaps one of the most important legacies of Emperor Selassie, and with regard to the fascist adventure begs the question, who should have been civilising whom"
Indrias Getachew from Beyond the Throne
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