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Yekatit 12 is a date in the Ethiopian calendar, equivalent to 19 February in the Gregorian calendar, which is commonly used to refer to the indiscriminate massacre and imprisonment of Ethiopians by elements of the Italian occupation forces following an attempted assassination of Viceroy Rodolfo Graziani 19 February 1937. Viceroy Graziani had led the Italian forces to victory over their Ethiopian opponents in the Second Italo-Abyssinian War and was supreme governor of Italian East Africa. This was one of the worst atrocities committed by the Italian occupation forces. Estimates of the number of people killed in the three days that followed the attempt on General Graziani's life vary. Ethiopian sources afterwards estimated as many as 30,000 people were killed by the Italians, while Italian sources claimed only a few hundred were killed. Over the following week, numerous Ethiopians suspected or accused of opposing Italian rule were rounded up and executed, including members of the Black Lions, and other members of the aristocracy; most of the 125 young men whom Emperor Haile Selassie had sent abroad to receive college education, and were still resident in Ethiopia, were killed.〔Edmund J. Keller, ''Revolutionary Ethiopia'' (Bloomington: Indiana University, 1988), pp. 72f〕 Many more were imprisoned, even collaborators like ''Ras'' Gebre Haywot, the son of ''Ras'' Mikael of Wollo (who had been imprisoned by Emperor Haile Selassie for nine years prior to the Italian invasion), Brehane Markos, and even Ayale Gebre; the latter had helped the Italians identify the two men who made the attempt on General Graziani's life.〔Alberto Sbacchi, ("Italy and the Treatment of the Ethiopian Aristocracy, 1937-1940", ''International Journal of African Historical Studies'' ), 10 (1977), pp. 215f〕 == Background == Following the defeat of the Ethiopian forces under his personal command at the Battle of Maychew on 31 March 1936, Emperor Haile Selassie left Ethiopia to address the League of Nations to plead for their assistance against the Italians. He made his close friend and cousin ''Ras'' Imru Haile Selassie his regent during his absence, who attempted to set up a Provisional Government at Gore, in the southwestern part of the country. Gore, however, was located deep in the homeland of the Oromo people, who opposed his attempts to maintain imperial hegemony; some went as far as to approach the British to recognize their attempts to create a Western Galla Confederation.〔Mockler, Anthony (2003) (''Haile Selassie's War'', Olive Branch, p. 175 )〕 When the Italians advanced on Nekemte on 24 October, ''Ras'' Imru found his position untenable and marched south in search of more welcoming surroundings. The two opponents maneuvered over southwestern Ethiopia, the Italians pursuing the Ethiopians, through the month of November until ''Ras'' Imru was caught on the banks of the Gojeb River, where after fierce fighting ''Ras'' Imru surrendered on 18 December.〔Mockler, Anthony (2003) (Selassie's War'' ), pp. 163 - 169〕 Meanwhile, loyalists made a poorly organized attempt to recapture Addis Ababa on 28 July. Various armed groups of Ethiopians pounced on the Italian positions in the capital city, taking the defenders by complete surprise; the first Italians they encountered were reportedly a group working on a well. However, General Gariboldi had expected an attack on the capital, and had prepared for this eventuality. Although a unit under Abebe Aragai had almost entered the Little Gebbi, where Viceroy Graziani was working, the Ethiopians were repulsed on all sides. Despite a last rally by Abune Petros on the final day of the battle, who led a final advance in St George's Square, the attempt on the city failed.〔 Lastly, the remaining Ethiopian forces in the southeast were being run down. ''Ras'' Desta Damtew and ''Dejazmach'' Beyene Merid had remained in control of their provincial capitals at Irgalem and Goba through November. On 23 November a motorized column under Captain Tucci had penetrated into the region, sparking a revolt by the local Sidama people; Irgalem fell to the Italians on 1 December, and ''Ras'' Desta and ''Dejazmach'' Beyene Merid fell back into the mountains of Bale Province. A game of cat-and-mouse followed, until the last few thousand soldiers under their command were cornered near Lake Shala and annihilated by superior Italian numbers at the Battle of Gogetti 18 February 1937. ''Ras'' Desta managed to escape the battlefield alone, but was hunted down and executed a few days later. With ''Ras'' Desta Damtew's death, all organized Ethiopian resistance to the Italians was spent.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Yekatit 12」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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