From Resistance to Independence

Sixty-four years ago, on September 1, 1961, the course of Eritrea’s history changed forever. On that day, Hamid Idris Awate and a small band of determined fighters, armed with little more than outdated rifles and immense courage, fired the first shots of what would become one of Africa’s longest and most arduous wars of liberation. Their action marked a decisive break from decades of peaceful protest, civil resistance, and diplomatic appeals that had been systematically ignored, silenced, and brutally crushed.

Remembering this historical moment is not only about honouring the past but also about recognizing its enduring significance for the present. Eritrea’s armed struggle stands as a testament to the power of resilience, unity, and determination in the face of overwhelming odds. Yet commemoration today carries added weight, as recent years have seen frenzied attempts to revise, distort, or downplay Eritrea’s history for ulterior political motives. These efforts are not simply academic exercises in interpretation – they are part of a deliberate strategy to cast doubt on the very foundations of Eritrea’s independence and to delegitimize its hard-won sovereignty. Preserving the truth of how independence was achieved is therefore vital, not only for safeguarding Eritrea’s identity and nationhood, but also for affirming the principle that peoples’ rights to decolonisation and self-determination cannot be erased by propaganda or political expediency.

To fully grasp why September 1, 1961, matters, one must return to the post–World War II period, when the fate of Eritrea became entangled in the calculations of global powers navigating the Cold War.

On 20 September 1949, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) dispatched a second commission of inquiry to study a potential “solution [to] the problem of Eritrea.” After listening to representatives of Eritrean society, it became clear that the majority of Eritreans favoured independence. Sir Muhammad Zafrulla Khan, the Pakistani delegate, issued a prophetic warning in the commission’s report:

“An independent Eritrea would obviously be better able to contribute to the maintenance of peace (and security) than an Eritrea federated with Ethiopia against the true wishes of the people. To deny the people of Eritrea their elementary right to independence would be to sow the seeds of discord and create a threat in that sensitive area of the Middle East.”

Despite this recognition, Eritrean aspirations were sidelined. On 2 December 1950, UN Resolution 390 (V) instead federated Eritrea with Ethiopia, designating it as “an autonomous unit … under the sovereignty of the Ethiopian Crown.” The resolution was largely conceived and driven by US sponsorship. Within the Cold War’s strategic framework, Washington judged its interests in the Red Sea basin and its alliance with Ethiopia more valuable than Eritrea’s right to decolonization. This cold calculus was made explicit by US Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, who bluntly told the UN Security Council in 1952:

“From the point of justice, the opinions of the Eritrean people must receive consideration. Nevertheless, the strategic interest of the United States in the Red Sea basin and considerations of security and world peace make it necessary that the country be linked with our ally, Ethiopia.”

For Eritreans, these words – granting primacy to power politics over inalienable rights and justice – became seared into memory as a symbol of betrayal.

Although Resolution 390 (V) guaranteed Eritrea legislative, executive, and judicial autonomy in domestic affairs, Emperor Haile Selassie’s regime immediately set about dismantling the federation. Barely weeks after its implementation, Ethiopia violated its terms by subordinating Eritrea’s judiciary to Addis Ababa. Over the next decade, the regime steadily eroded Eritrea’s constitutional framework: the Eritrean flag was replaced with Ethiopia’s tricolour, Amharic was imposed as the official language, political parties and trade unions were banned, press freedoms abolished, and industries stripped from Asmara to enrich Addis Ababa. Eritrean leaders were forced to resign, while revenues from Eritrea’s prosperous industries were siphoned to Ethiopia.

Unsurprisingly, this repression bred resistance. Student demonstrations in 1957 and 1962, and a nationwide strike in 1958, were violently crushed by Ethiopian troops. Peaceful protestors were shot, imprisoned, or driven into exile. Nationalist leaders such as Woldeab Woldemariam, Ibrahim Sultan, and Idris Mohammed Adem were relentlessly targeted, forcing them to continue their struggle from abroad.

Eritrean appeals to the UN, citing Ethiopia’s violations, were met with total silence. Faith in international institutions evaporated as it became clear that the world would not defend Eritrea’s rights. Finally, in November 1962, Emperor Haile Selassie unilaterally dissolved the Eritrean parliament at gunpoint and annexed Eritrea as his empire’s “14th province.” Western officials that witnessed the abolition of the federation called it a “putsch” and described the imperial regime’s conduct as “a brutal and arbitrary act.” Eritreans were shocked and dismayed, refusing to participate in staged celebrations organized by the Ethiopian regime.

It was against this backdrop of repression, betrayal, and impending annexation that Hamid Idris Awate and his small band of fighters launched the armed resistance in the rugged hills of Gash Barka on 1 September 1961. A decorated soldier and skilled marksman, Awate had long resisted domination – first under Italians, then the British, and finally Ethiopia. His decision to take up arms was not born of choice but of necessity, an inevitable response to the systematic denial of Eritrea’s rights.

A few months later, the movement’s first martyr, Abdu Mohamed Fayed, fell in battle near Adal, becoming a symbol of sacrifice for a cause larger than himself. Though Awate himself died within a year, the struggle he ignited spread like wildfire, growing from skirmishes to a full-scale national liberation war that would last three decades. For the peace-loving Eritrean people, the armed struggle was nothing less than “the expression of the indignation of a people whose rights [were] flagrantly and ruthlessly suppressed.”

Even before the annexation, some observers foresaw the dangers. British official G.K.N. Trevaskis, in his 1960 book Eritrea: A Colony in Transition, 1941–1952, cautioned Ethiopia that undermining the federation risked “Eritrean discontent and eventual revolt, which, with foreign sympathy and support, might well disrupt both Eritrea and Ethiopia herself.” His words proved prophetic.

Eritrea’s independence struggle endured for thirty years, waged against overwhelming odds. Ethiopia received vast military, political, and economic backing from both Cold War superpowers – the US and the Soviet Union – as well as from allies including Israel, East Germany, Cuba, and Yemen. Eritrea, by contrast, fought largely in isolation, with little external support. Despite this, the movement grew into one of Africa’s most formidable liberation struggles. After immense sacrifice – tens of thousands of lives lost, countless wounded, and widespread devastation – Eritrea finally achieved victory in 1991, securing its independence after one of the longest wars for liberation in modern history.

Eritrea’s victory, achieved against overwhelming odds, carries with it lessons that remain vital today. The long struggle demonstrated the power of resilience – that persistence and determination, even when the balance of forces appears impossible, can ultimately deliver freedom. It also underscored the centrality of unity: Eritrea’s diverse fighters and communities, with the EPLF in the lead and bound together by a shared purpose, overcame the efforts of external forces to divide them. Finally, the struggle instilled a deep sense of confidence. Having triumphed against the odds once before, Eritrea knows it has the capacity to withstand and overcome challenges in the present and future. The sacrifices of the independence movement were immense, but its legacy is more than sovereignty – it is a living reminder of what can be achieved when a people remain steadfast, united, and guided by justice.

The Eritrean armed struggle was not an impulsive act of rebellion but the inevitable outcome of betrayal, denial, and repression. It was the last recourse for a people whose peaceful appeals for justice were ignored, whose inalienable rights to decolonization were trampled, and whose future was bartered away on the chessboard of global geopolitics. Today, as Eritreans remember 1 September 1961, they honour not only Hamid Idris Awate and the over 60,000 martyrs who followed, but also the enduring spirit of resistance that transformed a small spark into a flame powerful enough to secure national independence.