Alemu Aga decided to give up his teaching post in 1980, when the Derg military junta came to power in Ethiopia in 1972.
In 1974, however, the Derg military junta came to power in Ethiopia; their anti-religious policies also included the banning of the begena from radio broadcasts, and the closing down of the Yared School's teaching of the instrument. 
The Derg (also spelled Dergue; from Ge'ez: , "committee" or "council"; Oromo: Dergii), officially the Provisional Military Government of Ethiopia, refers to the military junta that ruled Ethiopia from 1974 to 1987, when the military leadership formally civilianized the administration but stayed in power until 1991. 
