This week in Ethiopian history

• 2 December 1950 - United Nations General Assembly decided that Eritrea should be federated with Ethiopia.

• 3 December 1927 - Richard K. Pankhurst, the prominent scholar and authority on Ethiopian studies who dedicated his life for studying the history & culture of his adopted country—Ethiopia was born to famous suffragette & anti-Fascist activist Ms. Sylvia Pankhurst.

• 5 December 1934 - An armed conflict between Ethiopian & Italian troops in the Ogaden desert known as The Walwal Incident took place. Mussolini used this incident as a pretext to invade Ethiopia.

• 6 December 2003 - Haddis Alemayehu, writer of Ethiopia's classic novel 'Fiqir eske Meqabir' ("Love unto Grave"), patriot of the resistance war and long-serving diplomat & public servant died in Addis Ababa. Read his biographical profile from Ethiopian Calendar with biographies 2003 edition at: www.ethioheritage.com

• 8 December 1935 - The Hoare-Laval plan, to resolve Italo-Ethiopian dispute was signed by British Foreign Secretary Samuel Hoare and French Premiere Pierre Laval. Though presented as "compromise" it was literally British & French attempt to appease Mussolini. It proposed among other things Ethiopia to cede much of Eastern Tigray as well as large part of Ogaden to colonial territories of Italy.