Today marks the 50th anniversary of Lekatit 11 (February 18), a significant day in Tigray’s history that commemorates the initiation of the popular and revolutionary struggle that ultimately led to the downfall of the Derg regime after 17 years of armed resistance.
On February 18, 1975, a dozen Addis Ababa University students and others launched an armed resistance, which later evolved into the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in the rural parts of Tigray; just five months after Ethiopia’s communist military junta, the Derg, seized power by overthrowing Emperor Haile Selassie.
The popular struggle culminated in 1991 with the collapse of the Derg regime. The victorious TPLF, along with other sister political parties under the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), established a new government that fundamentally reshaped Ethiopia. The country transitioned to a multinational federal system with a constitutional democracy, where regional states were formed primarily along ethnolinguistic and cultural lines, with some geographic considerations for administrative convenience.
However, political centralization under the ruling party, grievances over human rights abuses, corruption, economic inequality, and long-standing opposition to federalism fuelled widespread discontent. These factors ultimately contributed to the downfall of the EPRDF in 2018, largely through an internal power struggle.
In the following years, anti-Tigrayan rhetoric, which had existed for decades, intensified amid tensions between the TPLF-led Tigray regional government and the new administration of Abiy Ahmed Ali in Addis Ababa. When conflicts escalated, external actors joined the fray. The Eritrean government, long at odds with the TPLF, along with Amhara expansionist forces, played a key role in what became a genocidal war against Tigray from 2020 to 2022.
The Fate of Lekatit 11 in a Changing Political Landscape
Historically, following the fall of the Derg regime, the anniversary of Gunbet 20 was commemorated at the federal level as a symbol of liberation, often framed in terms of cultural rights, freedom of expression, and the transition from dictatorship to democracy. However, after Abiy Ahmed’s rise to power, this national commemoration was slowly neglected and finally abolished. Now, similar uncertainty surrounds the future of Lekatit 11.
Officially recognized as the “Birth of the Tigray People’s Struggle,” Lekatit 11 is often referred to by nationalist political groups as the start of the “Second Tigray Uprising” or “Second Weyane.” The reference to a “Second Uprising” stems from the historical First Weyane rebellion, which Emperor Haile Selassie crushed in 1943 with the support of British Royal Air Force jets.
Although some opponents in Ethiopia’s political sphere use ”Weyane” pejoratively, for Tigrayans, it remains a symbol of pride, resilience and resistance against oppression ever since. It is not related to a single party, it is a collective spirit of resistance.
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Over the years, various slogans have been introduced to mark the occasion.
Traditionally, the TPLF has celebrated it as its founding day, this year using the slogan “50 Years of Struggle, Determination, and Victory.” However, a notable shift in rhetoric has emerged, with the party now branding it as “The Beginning of the Organized Popular Struggle of the People of Tigray.”
Meanwhile, the Tigray Interim Regional Administration (TIRA) led by Getachew Reda, TPLF’s faction within TIRA, is observing the anniversary with the slogan “Commemoration of Lekatit 11 for the Unity and Peace of Tigray.”
The TPLF faction, operating from its headquarters, and the other faction within the broader coalition of the Interim Administration both incorporated the number ’50’, indicating the years since the inception of the resistance and the Martyrs’ Monument, built after the victory against the Derg regime, into their event logos. The TPLF, under Debretsion Gebremichael (PhD), used its party emblem along with a yellow-themed monument design, while the Interim Administration adopted the official Tigray Regional State logo with a red-themed monument design.
A Struggle Over Political Ownership
The different narratives surrounding Lekatit 11 highlight deeper political divisions.
The Tigray Interim Regional Administration views the anniversary as a public and national commemoration, asserting its authority as the legitimate custodian of the event. Meanwhile, the TPLF claims ownership of the celebration, actively mobilizing support, raising funds, including through coercion and accuses the Interim Administration of “national treason” and attempting to steal the show.
Despite these competing claims, the anniversary is being commemorated widely across Tigray. However, concerns persist that, like Gunbet 20, Lekatit 11 may eventually cease to be celebrated as an official holiday due to the lack of a unified historical narrative, the exploitation of the occasion for political gain, and the declining of a national consensus on its significance.