THE MEPHISTOPHELES NEGEDE GOBEZE

By: Nestanet Tessema (Washington, D.C.)

People who say that there aren't that many wrongdoers in Ethiopia are sadly mistaken. There have been too many Hitler and Mussolini to be coincidental. Just because a person didn't strut his stuff in quite the same outrageous manner that Hitler did doesn't disqualify him. If he had the same peculiarities in his/her personality and did bad things, he's a bad guy. External particulars don't define the man's character. Evil people like Hitler and Mussolini are self-centered, willful, manipulative liars, but they do not have "I am an evil person" tattooed on their foreheads, after all, and they are not obviously evil in every word and gesture from beginning to end. Albert Speer, who was well acquainted with Hitler, said of him, "One seldom recognizes the wrongdoer when he is putting his hand on your shoulder." The devil's presence is something like an optical illusion: at first you can't see the other part of the picture, but once your eyes have made the adjustment, you can't miss it.

Within Ethiopia, dealing with how to recognize the devil's presence is a much more difficult proposition. Albert Speer was exactly right when he said that it's hard to recognize the fiend when he has his hand on your shoulder. When you look at the fiend from far away, you can ignore all the confusions - when it gets too confusing, you just say, "That figures," and move on. And, since charisma doesn't translate to paper, you don't have to deal with that, either. But up close, both those things are harder to contend with, and besides that, meeting the fiend in public place is not something you're really expecting. Consequently, the Ethiopian chief of devil Negede Gobeze's behavior is a classic example of the manifestation of the malevolence personality of an uncanny and inhuman power, like a demon. Negede did one of the devil's more outrageous attempts to get our attention. Having shown himself over and over and been almost totally ignored, with Negede the devil let us have it full blast with both barrels right in the kisser, and then probably laughed his ugly face off when we ignored him again.

Satan's nature is malicious. His efforts in opposing God, His people, and His truth are tireless (Job 1:7; 2:2; Matthew 13:28). He is always opposed to man's best interests (1 Chronicles 21:1; Zechariah 3:1-2). Through his role in introducing sin into the human family (Genesis 3), Satan has gained the power of death-- a power which Christ has broken through His crucifixion and resurrection (Hebrews 2:14-15).

Negede with his malicious, vindictive, and brutal character is one of the top Satan in the whole history of Ethiopia, went about his evil business within living memory so there's no question when it comes to "What was he really like," and hardly anybody wants to argue about or make excuses for his murderous behavior. He was an exceptionally evil man, caused an amazing amount of damage, deterioration, and acted so much like the devil that even the most fanatical nay-sayer would have to admit that if there were a devil, he couldn't do better than to act just like Negede Gobeze. Akin to Satan, he is always opposed to human-being’s best interest. He is an evil person who orchestrates “The Red Terror” which was an official orgy of bloodletting unleashed by the defunct Mengistu Haile Mariam regime against Ethiopians and cost the lives of many people all over Ethiopia.

Satan brings disorder into the physical world by afflicting human beings (Job 1--2; 2 Corinthians 12:7; Hebrews 2:14). Sometimes God allows him to afflict His people for purposes of correction (1 Timothy 1:20).

When Satan is in charge, the person he's in charge of likes the things the devil likes. As a result, Negede’s obsessions include an infatuation with death, and he enjoyed watching destructions by afflicting human-beings. His favorite form of death was mass murder using “Red Terror”. He was obsessed with the evil act of Oliver Cromwell, Henry VIII, Vladimir Lenin, Karl Marx, Mao Tse-tung and Joseph Stalin associated in his mind with decapitation. I don't know if that's the devil's favorite or not - he likes them all and seems fond of choking - but if you care to consider the late, unlamented Ayatollah's propensity for beheading as a form of chastisement in light of this possibility, go right ahead.

Satan is permitted to afflict God's people (Luke 13:16; 1 Thessalonians 2:18; Hebrews 2:14). But he is never permitted to win an ultimate victory over them (John 14:30-31; 16:33). A part of Satan's continuing ambition to replace God is his passionate yearning to have others worship him (Matthew 4:8-9; Revelation 13:4, 12). Since God has frustrated this desire and put down Satan's rebellion, he has become God's exact opposite. He is "the wicked one” (Matthew 13:19, 38), while God is "the Holy One” (Isaiah 1:4).

By the same token to Satan, Negede is extremely interested in atrocity. He used the slaughter word often in describing his rise to power. He promised that his opponents would drown in a bloodbath. He established a special “Bloodbath Order” for those who had marched against the Military Government of Ethiopia. He also introduced the idea of “Red Terror” to kill million of innocuous Ethiopians. Alike Devil, horror and vileness also played a very important role in Negede’s private life. Apparently he thought a great deal about killing naive people and he enjoyed telling us what fun it was to watch people dying. No less striking was his constant need of praise. However, his desire to subjugate the people was failed and forced to call off his evil act until recently re-joined by his former Satan Empire.  

Satan tempted Christ directly, trying to lead Him into compromise by promising Him worldly authority and power (Luke 4:5-8). Along with his work of tempting mankind, Satan also delights in deception (1 Timothy 3:6-7; 2 Timothy 2:26). His lying nature stands in bold contrast to the truth for which Christ stands (John 8:32, 44). The great falsehood which he uses so frequently is that good can be attained by doing wrong. This lie is apparent in practically all his temptations (Genesis 3:4-5). As the great deceiver, Satan is an expert at falsifying truth (2 Corinthians 11:13-15).

As the devil says my will be done because it is my will and for no other reason, Negede impose the same perspective to stay in power and destroy his competitors. The most basic single characteristic of both Negede’s personal life and his system of military government can be reduced to one overriding need: to force others to do his will. Each Meison members around and under him were all under his spell, blindly obedient to him, and with no will of their own. Since the devil insists that his will must be done, it follows that he'd want to have his own way in absolutely everything: Negede Gobeze probably exerted more direct personal power than any ruler in Ethiopia. He created both his own political theory and a government he thought could not exist without him. It was he who set the standards for being a true citizen. His whim became national law. He dictated statutes which set forth the religion of the proletariats, the red color artists could use in paintings, the way chicken were to be cooked, and how physics would be taught in universities. He decided whom Ethiopians might marry, what they should name their children, where they could be buried.

Remember, after the devil put the Electric Squeeze on you, you are afraid to ask any questions or even think anything out of line about what was going on. If you leave out the word "politically," this next piece is an excellent description of how you felt: Negede had a remarkably keen understanding of the psychological mechanism of terror and realized that it was politically effective when it evoked insecurity, fear, and anxiety. These politically desirable feelings could be achieved by making terror indiscriminate and irrational. Uncertainty was essential. Victims should not be able to tell whether they had done something wrong, might have done something wrong, or failed to do something they should have done."

Like the devil, Negede can never stand to have good people around him. He doesn't like honest people, competent people, or even normal people anywhere close. Negede’s evil eccentric never allowed him to trust anyone; he never committed himself to anyone, never admitted any loyalty. His lack of scruples later took by surprise, even those who prided themselves on their unscrupulousness. He learned to lie with conviction and dissemble with candour. To the end he refused to admit defeat and still held to the belief that by the power of will alone he could transform events.

 I don't know whether Negede ever actually killed anybody personally, but it hardly matters: he was directly responsible for the deaths of millions of people, because Red Terror was his fault. It would have been bad enough if the only people who died were anti-government forces who were prepared and willing to fight and die, but he murdered millions of innocent people with his attempt to annihilate EPRP, and millions of anti-communism women and children included - died defending their country from his stupid doomed philosophy. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world--he was thrown down to hell, and his angels were thrown down with him Revelation 12:9. Though, Negede, the Lucifer, Diablo, the Devil, Satan, Mephistopheles, the Diekens, Hades, Prince of Darkness, and Ruler of Hell certainly deserved to go to hell, and I hope hell is every bit as bad as its reputation says it is.

Sep 12, 2007