Russian
& East German Documents on Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa, 1977-78
Memorandum
of Conversation between Soviet Acting Charge d'affaires in Ethiopia S. Sinitsin
and Ethiopian official Maj. Berhanu Bayeh, 18 March 1977
TOP
SECRET Copy No. 2
From
the journal of 30 March 1977
Issue
No. 124
RECORD
OF CONVERSATION with the member of the Permanent Committee of the PMAC
Major
BERHANU BAYEH 18 March 1977
This evening I visited Berhanu Bayeh in the office
of the PMAC at his request.
Referring to an instruction of the leadership of
the PMAC, he informed me for transmission to Moscow of the following.
I. The meeting in Aden which took place March 16
between Mengistu Haile Mariam and Siad Barre, with the participation of [Cuban
President] Fidel Castro and [People's Democratic Republic of Yemen President]
Rubayi [Ali], ended without result in view of the position which Siad Barre
took at the meeting.
As Berhanu Bayeh said, the President of the SDR
in arrogant terms expressed Somalia's territorial claims against Ethiopia,
called Ethiopia a "colonial power," and declared that Somalia will
continue its current policy in relation to Ethiopia, "while all Somalians
have not received freedom." Siad Barre displayed disrespect to
Mengistu Haile Mariam, crudely saying that that he allegedly is carrying out
the same policy as had Haile Selassie. The Somali leader also declared
that if Ethiopia considers itself a socialist state, then it must rapidly
transfer the Ogaden to the SDR. As the basis of a settlement of the
Ethiopian-Somali disagreement, Siad Barre suggested the creation of a confederation
of the two countries on an "ethnic basis," i.e., with the preliminary
transfer by Ethiopia of the Ogaden to Somalia's benefit. This proposal
was rejected not only by Mengistu Haile Mariam, but Fidel Castro and Rubayi
also expressed themselves against such an approach, which served as grounds
for disrespectful statements to them by Siad Barre.
In the words of Berhanu Bayeh, in the course of
the meeting Siad Barre declared that if the socialist countries want to split
with Somalia, that is their affair: the Somalian people carried out
its revolution without outside help and "if the socialist countries will
not help the Somalis, then reactionary countries can help them."
At the meeting Mengistu Haile Mariam stressed the
necessity of a consolidation of progressive forces in this region so as to
oppose jointly the maneuvers of reaction and imperialism. In this regard,
he underlined that no genuine revolution can successfully develop without
the support of other progressive, especially socialist, states.
Despite such results of the meeting, Berhanu Bayeh
said, the Ethiopian leadership believes that the meeting brought an indisputable
diplomatic success to Ethiopia, insofar as it visibly and in the presence
of the leaders of Cuba and the PDRY revealed the true position of Somalia
not only towards Ethiopia, but also in regard to the general tasks of the
struggle with imperialism and reaction. In the opinion of Berhanu Bayeh,
which, he said, is expressed also by the Cuban comrades, Siad Barre had taken
such an uncompromising position at the meeting with Mengistu Haile Mariam,
that he apparently had previously secured promises of support from reactionary
Arab states.
2. In the evaluation of the leadership of the PMAC,
Berhanu Bayeh continued, in light of the results of the Aden meeting it is
possible to assume a sharp activization of anti-Ethiopia activity by Somalia
in close cooperation with reactionary Arab states. According to information
which the PMAC received from Mogadishu, the President of Sudan [Ja'afar Mohammed
al-]Nimeiry should arrive in Somalia in a few days. In this regard the
PMAC pointed to a report in the Egyptian newspaper "Al Ahram" to
the effect that in current conditions the possibility is created that Somalia
with join the political command of Sudan, Egypt, and Syria. It is also
well known, said Berhanu Bayeh, that Saudi Arabia is continuing to seek an
end to Somalia's cooperation with the Soviet Union, including in the military
area, promising in exchange to provide Somalia with the necessary assistance.
The leadership of the PMAC also is on guard about
the intensified infiltration in the Ogaden by Somali armed groups, which moreover
now include regular Somali troops disguised in civilian dress, armed with
modern weapons. This, observed Berhanu Bayeh, has determined the extremely
stubborn nature of recent armed conflict in the regions of Harar and Jijiga,
as a result of which the Somalis managed to put out of action several armored
vehicles of the Ethiopian Army. On 17 March, a Somali Air Force MiG
fighter plane completed a provocative flight over Ethiopian territory in the
region of Jijiga.
In light of all this, Berhanu Bayeh reguested that
a PMAC request be sent to the Soviet government to take all possible measures
to restrain Somalia from anti-Ethiopia actions. The PMAC does not exclude
the possibility that Somalia at the present time may be preparing a serious
armed provocation against Ethiopia, and therefore would be grateful for any
information about that which it could receive from the Soviet side.
From my own side I pointed out to Berhanu Bayeh
the need in this situation for Ethiopia to display fortitude. Further,
I underlined the principled line of the Soviet Union of all-round support
for the Ethiopian revolution and our diplomatic steps in this regard which
were taken recently in states which border on Ethiopia.
Berhanu Bayeh said that Ethiopia does not intend
to aggravate its relations with Somalia or to toughen its own position.
With satisfaction he noted the support of the Soviet Union for the Ethiopian
revolution, particularly underlining the significance of the early deliveries
of Soviet arms.
In the words of Berhanu Bayeh, at the present time
the PMAC is confronted with the critical issue of the uninterrupted supply
to the Ethiopian Army of ammunition and spare parts for weapons which it possesses.
The Americans are procrastinating on previously-agreed deliveries, and also
deliveries of weapons on a commercial basis, referring in this regard to a
required review of certain contracts in view of an increase in prices for
these or some other types of weapons. The leadership of the PMAC, as
in the past, is counting on the Soviet Union to provide Ethiopia with the
necessary varied military assistance, but it understands that time will be
required to master Soviet military equipment. Therefore, the PMAC is
now urgently seeking out the possibility of receiving weapons, ammunition,
and spare parts of American manufacture, insofar as the Ethiopian Army for
now is armed by the USA.
To this end, said Berhanu Bayeh, the PMAC in the
coming days will send its own delegation to the Socialist Republic of
Vietnam, which has at its disposal significant reserves of American trophy
weapons. In this regard Berhanu Bayeh in the name of the PMAC leadership
expressed a wish that the Soviet side will convince the Vietnamese comrades
to provide, according to their capabilities, the necessary assistance in American
arms, either on a grant basis or on a combined grant and commericial basis.
In this regard he noted that in contrast to the past the PMAC intends
to consider this issue with the Vietnamese directly, rather than running to
the PRC for mediation. For my part, I promised to send through channels
the wishes and requests which had been expressed by Berhanu Bayeh.
At the end of the conversation Berhanu Bayeh made
a personal request that his brother Abraham Bayeh (19 years old) be accepted
into one of the educational institutions of the Soviet Union. Counter-revolutionaries,
including among the student population, threaten his brother with reprisal
for familial relations with the "fascist junta," because of which
Abraham cannot go to school and must hide at another brother's house (Fisseha
Bayeh, jurist). In these circumstances it would be desirable if Abraham
Bayeh could be sent to the USSR as soon as possible. The level of his
education -- 12th (graduating) grade of high school[;] however, because he
currently is not able to attend classes (he studies at home with a teacher)
and take the examinations, he evidently will not manage to receive an official
certificate for finishing high school (he studies in the Wingate school, where
until recently instruction was led by teachers from England).
I told Berhanu Bayeh that I would bring his wish
and thoughts regarding his brother to the attention of the Soviet ambassador.
On a personal plane, I noted that resolving that issue would require consultation
with the appropriate Soviet agencies.
MINISTER-COUNSELOR
OF THE USSR EMBASSY IN ETHIOPIA
/S.
SINITSYN/
[Source:
TsKhSD, f. 5, op. 73, d. 1638, ll. 93-97; translated by Mark H. Doctoroff.]"
