Kebele
Encyclopedia
A kebele is the smallest administrative unit of Ethiopia
similar to ward, a neighbourhood or a localized and delimited group of people. It is part of a woreda
, or district, itself usually part of a Zone
, which in turn are grouped into one of the Regions based on ethno-linguistic communities (or kililoch) that comprise the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Each kebele consists of at least five hundred families, or the equivalent of 3,500 to 4,000 persons. There is at least one in every town with more than 2,000 population. A keftanya, or representative, had jurisdiction over six to twelve kebeles.
The kebele, also referred to as a peasant association, was created by the Derg
in 1975 to promote development and to manage land reform
; they became a key element that the rival Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party
and MEISON fought each other, and the ruling Derg, to control during the Ethiopian Red Terror
. These armed members, formed into neighborhood defense squads, were responsible for many of the brutal excesses of the Red Terror. Upon the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front
assuming power at the end of the Ethiopian Civil War
in 1991, it retained the peasant associations, or kebeles, but exploited their function for providing services and transformed them into a useful method of control and repression. As Human Rights Watch
noted, "Kebele officials determine eligibility for food assistance, recommend referrals to secondary health care and schools, and help provide access to state-distributed resources such as seeds, fertilizers, credit, and other essential agricultural inputs. They also run the community social courts (kebele-level courts that deal with minor claims and disputes), local prisons, and, in some places, local militia that are used to maintain law and order." As a result, the 2008 local elections are commonly seen as "the nail in the coffin of any independent social and economic activities—now nearly all enterprises are party controlled at some level. The control is now total. The party and the state have become totally fused—they are one."
name for Sânişor village, Livezeni
Commune, Mureş County, Romania.
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
similar to ward, a neighbourhood or a localized and delimited group of people. It is part of a woreda
Woreda
Woreda is an administrative division of Ethiopia , equivalent to a district . Woredas are composed of a number of Kebele, or neighborhood associations, which are the smallest unit of local government in Ethiopia...
, or district, itself usually part of a Zone
Zones of Ethiopia
||The regions of Ethiopia are divided into 68 or more zones . The exact number of zones is unclear, as the names and number of zones given in documents by Ethiopia's Central Statistical Agency differ between 2005...
, which in turn are grouped into one of the Regions based on ethno-linguistic communities (or kililoch) that comprise the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Each kebele consists of at least five hundred families, or the equivalent of 3,500 to 4,000 persons. There is at least one in every town with more than 2,000 population. A keftanya, or representative, had jurisdiction over six to twelve kebeles.
The kebele, also referred to as a peasant association, was created by the Derg
Derg
The Derg or Dergue was a Communist military junta that came to power in Ethiopia following the ousting of Haile Selassie I. Derg, which means "committee" or "council" in Ge'ez, is the short name of the Coordinating Committee of the Armed Forces, Police, and Territorial Army, a committee of...
in 1975 to promote development and to manage land reform
Land reform in Ethiopia
The problem of Land reform in Ethiopia has hampered that country's economic development throughout the late 19th and 20th centuries. Attempts to modernize land ownership by giving title either to the peasants who till the soil, or to large-scale farming programs, have been tried under imperial...
; they became a key element that the rival Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party
Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party
Founded in April 1972, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party was a prominent Marxist-Leninist organization in Ethiopia during the 1970s. It is also known as "Ihapa" from the acronym in Amharic...
and MEISON fought each other, and the ruling Derg, to control during the Ethiopian Red Terror
Red Terror (Ethiopia)
The Ethiopian Red Terror, or Qey Shibir , was a violent political campaign in Ethiopia that most visibly took place once Communist Mengistu Haile Mariam achieved control of the Derg, the military junta, 3 February 1977...
. These armed members, formed into neighborhood defense squads, were responsible for many of the brutal excesses of the Red Terror. Upon the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front
Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front
The Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front is the ruling political coalition in Ethiopia. It is an alliance of four other groups: the Oromo Peoples' Democratic Organization , the Amhara National Democratic Movement , the South Ethiopian Peoples' Democratic Front The Ethiopian People's...
assuming power at the end of the Ethiopian Civil War
Ethiopian Civil War
The Ethiopian Civil War began on September 12, 1974 when the Marxist Derg staged a coup d'état against Emperor Haile Selassie, and lasted until the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front , a coalition of rebel groups, overthrew the government in 1991. The war overlapped other Cold War...
in 1991, it retained the peasant associations, or kebeles, but exploited their function for providing services and transformed them into a useful method of control and repression. As Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
noted, "Kebele officials determine eligibility for food assistance, recommend referrals to secondary health care and schools, and help provide access to state-distributed resources such as seeds, fertilizers, credit, and other essential agricultural inputs. They also run the community social courts (kebele-level courts that deal with minor claims and disputes), local prisons, and, in some places, local militia that are used to maintain law and order." As a result, the 2008 local elections are commonly seen as "the nail in the coffin of any independent social and economic activities—now nearly all enterprises are party controlled at some level. The control is now total. The party and the state have become totally fused—they are one."
Other uses
The name is also used for a long-standing Anarchist social centre in Bristol, UK, 'The Kebele'. Additionally, it is the HungarianHungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
name for Sânişor village, Livezeni
Livezeni
Livezeni is a commune in Mureş County, Romania composed of four villages:*Ivăneşti / Kebeleszentiván*Livezeni*Poieniţa / Marosagárd*Sânişor / Kebele...
Commune, Mureş County, Romania.