1966: When Amharas threatened to take Djibouti by force?
''The Habashi King, who is the leader of the Amharas, told a press conference: We Amharas will take that land by force and occupy it by force. He gave as justification the fact that Jibuti is their gateway....
If the Habashis intend to... take by force the independence which these people, the people of Djibouti, have sought, the Somali Republic will not hold back. It is unthinkanle that it will withold anything that it possesses-anything-in order to oppose the Amharas. (Shouts by Somali crowds: Give us arms. Give us arms. We want to fight the Habashis!]
[Summary of World Broadcasts: Non-Arab Africa, Issues 2304-2355
Brother Waachis,
This quote you quoted if it's genuine and not concocted, is fundamentally flawed.
Firstly, In 1966 Ethiopia had Assab and Masawa ports and did use djibouti ports but not as much as Assab and Massawa.
Secondly, in 1966 Djibouti was a French territory and therefore the Amxaar-Oromo king of Ethiopia could not and would not have dared to threatened to invade, take by force and occupy a territory of powerfull colonial power, at the time one of the World's Super Powers.
The Amxaar-Oromo ruller was in all probability talking about the Issa clan and (not directly threatening Djibouti a French territory and which practically part of France), who In the Italian invasion of Ethiopia in 1935/36, supported and fought on the Italian side. And in 1963 during the first Ethio-Somali war the ethiopian leader perpetrated a terrible massacre in Aysha, Shiniile and other Issa populated lands in Ethiopia and those who succeeded in fleeing arrived at Dikhil and Ali Sabieh in Djibouti. He massacred the Issa (the clan that most suffered in the 1963 war, because of the support and siding with the Italian.
The Ethiopian ruller might have said Djibouti but he knew it belonged to France and couldnt do anything to it directly so his retrick was aimed at Somalia and all Somalis every where. And Somalia and Somalis understood it and so Somalia government started to supply weapons to the Issa, who had formed the Issa and Gurgure Liberation Front, which it upgraded as part of the West Somalia Liberation Front. And when the Issa repressed the Afar who fought for the Ethiopians from the area of today's Shinile zone.
The Ethiopians Army began a campaign of ethnic cleansing of the Issa in 1972/3/4 killing thousands and tens of thousands fleeing to Djibouti.
After the defeat of the Western Somali Liberation Front, the Issa Division remained under the name Issa and Gurgura Liberation Front .
These massacres and others the Amxaar-Oromo leader committed resulted in Uniting all Somalis every where on the planet for the first and last time in their entire history and the last time, when a single Somali was hurt all and every Somali felt the pain. Culminating to the 77 Invasion.
Lastly the Somalia governments response was not due to protecting land but protecting the lives of Somalis.
