The post #OromoProtests Hiriira Qeerroo Gujii, Aanaa Sabbaa Boruu aka Garrii Booroo, akka Booroo Harraageessaa appeared first on Bilisummaa.

#GrandOromiaRally in Finfinne. These were the cohorts of protesters detained/dispersed at around Ras Hotel even before making it to Meskel square. The way these settler TPLF security agents publicly torturing our sons & daughters is beyond our imagination, any way.

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The post Al Jazeera Stream – Ethiopia’s crackdown on protests | August 10, 2016 appeared first on Bilisummaa.

General Hussein Bune was the father of 4 sons, 3 brothers and 4 sisters; he was born in Bale Zone in 1922. In beginning 1962 Hussein Bune had been involved in the Oromo struggle to fight with Ethiopian oppressors after he considered himself why the Oromo people continued to be suffer under this the most backward and savage Ethiopian settler colonialism and he understood that the Oromo people were colonized by black Abyssinia and they treat the Oromo with utmost cruelty and he mentioned that the Oromo people historically are accorded prestige and have warrior history were to considered potential warriors as a result of culture of military readiness in the Gada system that flourished through the long history of foreign invasion, colonial occupation and the Oromo had domestic conflict of wars with the enemies  in the past and the Oromo must reorganized to establish their army to defeat the colonial regime and he seen that the Oromo have gained very little in the way of political, social and economic progress and the Oromo were colonized.

In 1962 he begins the activity to organize the people to making resistance against the government and refuse to pay the taxes to the Ethiopian regime. Instead to pay the government taxes oppressors he was started to search how to buy a fire guns and in the period of time he found the sell guns in the countryside and he bought two Rifles so called (Albeeni) and he advice to one of the his son and his brothers to prepare themselves to fight with settlers, if the enemies will come down to the areas they must shoot in the head that may show them they will die and then they started for preparing how to fight with enemy and also exercising with the gun training, after while the Ethiopian regime was announced that Hussein Bune is to failed to obeying the law and labeled him narrow nationalism and the enemy of the Ethiopian people they will eliminate him from the people of Ethiopia and he should leave from the country of Ethiopia look for somewhere else to live otherwise he will find the penalty of to put him in prison for ever.

At the same time the Ethiopian settlers they claiming that the sum of money was missing which Hussein Bune were collected the government money from the people and he refuse to pay taxes to the Ethiopian government that is not acceptable for them. The enemy was making a threat that there were going to do something against him. Immediately Hussein Bune had been moving his family into the mountains and decided that he will make defense his people from the enemy and told to his brother and his sons to get prepare themselves to test the fire gun to the enemy, if in case the enemy will come to the area.

In mean time the Ethiopian settlers came down right away to arrest Hussein Bune and the two family member, his son Aliyi Hussein and his brother Ahmed Bune was opening the fire and killed the two enemies at the time they came to arrest Hussein Bune and the two enemies was died immediately after the shooting taking place. The people was shocked how this happened to the Ethiopian soldiers and the Ethiopian government announced that this person must be arrest and fine the consequences, the regime was demanded that the people in that area should handed over to the government the person who trying to do this bad activities that against Ethiopian government. The Ethiopian army were then concentrated on attacking the Oromo civilian in engage the sabotage actions in which were looting the property.

There were a serious for the civilian populations of that area were taking place in which the mass  atrocities and genocide against the humanity, where intermittent violence threatens to boil over the civilians, the soldier start destroying the houses by burning their village, looting the property, and killing the innocent people, who were objected their rules even though they are the innocent and mounting punitive expeditions, the Ethiopian government also put pressure on an Oromo people in that area by incursions into the territory to investigate the conditions and making threats of a large scale invasion, they posed a serious military threat to the Oromo people in the area, the wars continually were infiltrating through the area and the situation was increased by widespread, but the situation were unsophisticated guerrilla tactic and the insurrection might spread through the different places some of the area that already exist, the treatment of Oromo civilian was markedly started to be worse than before in the case of were more brutalized, and Hussein Bune became impatient with slow progress that he made and argued the people to recall the struggle  against the Ethiopian fascist regime and all the Oromo people should provide to support for the cause of Oromo people from the Abyssinian black colonizers .He is the most Oromo potential with passionate, dynamic, energetic, devoted leader through the will and he takes active participation in Oromo struggle that he never give up.

At the time he involved in the Oromo movement he made up the movement activities from his immediate family members for awareness of Oromo political movements that will rise up the revolutionary resistances against the Ethiopian regime. Immediately he was taking the stage of active leadership that was emphasis to making every possible effort to do the struggle against the Ethiopian settlers while he mentioned that he said our children have no access to the modern education and there is no for Oromo to build schools, roads, clinics, hospitals that the regime has been denied and other infrastructure that the Oromo people should be needed except they given their resources to the Habasha settlers, nothing is more discourage able than seeing the Ethiopian regime being Victimized the Oromo people in their hand the Ethiopian government restricted the Oromo people from any opportunity. Mr. Bune understood at beginning of the movement there will be returning for more conscious and more assault and he informed to the people anything will happened, the people they were very worried particularly the people of Hawattu clan was very much concern by the fact that the Hussein Bune step was very critical issue and very complicated movements may a cause the problem. Some people from his clan told him that they probably worried that might he be killed or become a victim from the Ethiopian government and also they were afraid that some of them might be arrested because of unfortunately that movement was an unusually it was against the Ethiopian government.

General Hussein Bune has been making remark that the perfect way of explaining the revolutionary time that occurred in the year of 1963, he studied of the mobilization of lower class peasant and farmers population into a tactical guerrilla army, which will stand up against the Ethiopia regime, the activity was aims to identify the Oromo people they have own country and they own resources. In the meantime the wars was broke away and shortly thereafter the people came into conflict with Ethiopian regime and he well understood of the need for an independent of Oromo people within the national revolutionary movement and he became a rebel group leader in the movement that it were make-up resistance against the Ethiopian regime and he is the one of well-known in the Oromo movement and he is the one of the prominent figure in the Oromo national movement, and one of the founding Bale uprising revolutionary war against the Abyssinian regime, he fought with distinction at the battle in the east, since he join the Oromo movement in early 1963.

Since he has been started struggle that raise up the movement  against the Ethiopian oppressive regime during 1963 and 1978, with his other Oromo leaders like Haji Isaaq Daadhi,Aliyi Badhaaso,Johar Elemo,Tilmo Ali Rooba,Ismi Abbaa Washa,Haji Abdullahi Ganamo, Siraj H.Isaak, Mohamud Bune,Hassan Ciriqsa Bariso( Hassan Juure), Mohamed Hubbee Mohamed, Qasse Sh. Omar,Haji Abda Garado,Ibro shoonqe, Aliyi Jarso,Maamme Harqa Butte,Aliyi Daadhi, Sh.Mohamed Fato, Abbaa Xiiqo Tahiro,Haji Qaasim Tahiro, and Adam Jilo,Aliyi Omar Aga,Hussein badhane,kadir wako Shaaqe,Dubro wako.haji Usman Maamma,Haji gobana Yubo,Abdulla haji ali, ,Abdusabur Aliyi and so many others.

Under the civilian leadership and the government official groundwork groups

1.Awal Mohamed 2. Haji Adam Saaddo 3. General Taaddase Birru 4.Kolonel Alemu Qixxeesa 5.Mohamed Hussein 6..Awal Abda Garado 7.. Haji Tilmo Ali 8..Abba Jabala Tahiro 9.Haylemaryam Gammada 10.Maammu Muzamir, and others. In the beginning of his activities after he organized from one of his two brothers and his two sons to begin the dynamic wing that produced the revolutionary wars against the Ethiopian regime to raise up the political awareness of the Oromo people through the struggle. Hussein Bune had been dedicated to the Oromo National movement during this period and whole from his younger age and to his elderly age that disable him from his struggle to the final destination to the dream of Oromo freedom.

In 1968 he lost his own son Aliyi Hussein that was killed by the enemies in the fighting the area of Gololcha more 15 enemy soldiers was killed and 7 Oromo fighters including Aliyi Hussein Bune. General Hussein he had never scale back from his struggle against the regime and  is one of the founder the Oromo National Liberation Struggle for Oromiyaa in mountain of Bale that he fought in the defense of every inch of the Oromo territory with astonishing bravery that has left him a priceless legacy of heroism in the movement. There is deeply saddened by the Ethiopian regime took action that increased the cold-blooded murderers of unaccounted the number of Oromo people that were killed ,these acts of ethnic cleansing that directed to Oromo people in the area and the general Hussein was mentioned that the Abyssinian colonialism will led to the Oromo something that deeply arguably, cultural genocide on the Oromo society and they cannot stop us from our freedom it will be turmoil into the country of Ethiopia until the settlers leave from the Oromo nation.

In early 1964 the situation was in turmoil into the so many areas between the Hussein Bune followers and the Ethiopian army, the liberation armed killed 56 enemy soldiers and 18 Oromo armed was killed in the battle of Malkaa Dhaare led by General Hussein Bune and battle of Harawa 74 enemy was killed and 28 Oromo rebellion armed was lost their life. There were insurrection between the Oromo movement army and 36 Ethiopian soldiers were killed and 13 Oromo liberation armed was lost their life in the battle of Burqaa Dhaare it’s about 45 km from beeltu the city of kurkurru,the armed resistance were wide spread into the area.,Saweena,beelto,Raayitu,Odaa,Jaarra,Gololcha,Dhadacha,bal’aa,Goorobubbee,Gaara,bullaalla,hadaa dhaare, baalle,Gaasara,dharro,Soofumar

Dirree sh.hussein and daaro labuu,gadab Asaasa and Boqoji.

The battle of Saweena, the bloodies war in 1970 Leading by General Hussein Bune. The Oromo national movement that uprising against the Ethiopian regime, in the 1963 to 1970 Oromo revolt in Bale was presented the most serious challenge to the Ethiopian government.   

 At the same time, Bale Oromo Armed Struggle made its link with Macha Tulama Oromo movements in which both movements had been inspired by economic exploitation and political domination.

The aggressiveness of the Ethiopian empire against the Oromo people that always unprecedented in history, upon the foundation of our history the symbol and synthesis of the ideals, aspiration, history of the Oromo revolutions from the glorious days until the current generation . The Oromo people they must hold their guns to be free Oromia, there is no free lunch for their own land, the Oromo warriors bravery in combat was paramount with their enemies and they have histories of great warriors ,in which eventually led to their defeat the colonization of their land by the Abyssinians

The Oromo warrior army holding they arm with bravery undefeated

In the past –period 1963- 1978 there were a new challenges against to the Ethiopian regime that increasingly began to take the form of the Oromo national struggles.  Therefore since the Bale Oromo national movement has been began the championing the common struggle against the imperial Ethiopian regime, while the Oromo movements became the bearer of the national struggle. The period of 1963 to 1969 the Bale Oromo resistance against the regime was unbearable taxation served as for growth of Oromo nationalism. The Bale Oromo uprising against the Ethiopia that had further raised the spectra of the Oromo wide- armed movement that supported by the Somali government, in fact, the Bale uprising was a more sustains the Oromo struggle and had effect among the Oromo society in the Eastern part. The Ethiopian regime was as part of the new that the regime always response to the religious/ethnic in equality perpetuated under his imperial regime that mostly addressed the main historical grievance the varied ethnic groups particularly on the Oromo people. The long and bloody wars that uprising of the Oromo in 1963 led by General Wako Gutu and Hussein Bune with so many other Oromo leaders for those sacrificed their life in the cause of Oromo people and they achieved at least the eastern Oromo region autonomy for eight years.

 Lately the war was widespread into the Harar, Borana, Sidamo and many more, after the liberation army they gave their precious lives in the defense of their country the cause of Oromo freedom. During  this period 1963 to 1969 period, General Hussein Bune is one of the Oromo national movement leader that step up the Oromo struggle in Bale, in the phase of the Oromo peasant movement against the Ethiopian occupier that took various forms. There were numerous and widespread peasant uprisings in various parts of in eastern Oromiyaa region. In 1963 to 1969, the Oromo rebelled uprising against Haile Selassie’s colonial government, Mr. Bune seen that the Oromo subjugated at the hands of the Abyssinian minority and the regime they cannot protect themselves without get support the weapons from European countries and placed loyal retainers as landlord over the Oromo resources-rich and productive Oromia land.

These retainers were given the right to extract tribute to build the capacity of the Ethiopian regime and the Oromo regions were given to Abyssinian administrators, court, school and other social services administration and then the Abyssinian land lords and administrators had been killed by Oromo were then replaced by a loyal Amharic-speaking Cadre. Mr. Bune always has been increasing the resistance against the Ethiopian regime and spread the Oromo nationalism and he had been the strongest wise man since he join the Oromo liberation movement in Bale upraising and he is the top of leader that make so many efforts in the Oromo struggle and he dedicated to the last for his whole life in the name of his people.                                                                                                                                   

In that effort Haile Selassie was unable to suppress the rebellion without to get assistance the European colonial powers. In 1965, the struggle was rose up in arms struggle that cause the enemy very much. The Ethiopian governments were called for assistance that the movement was upraising intensively against the Ethiopian regime. In 1968, once again the Bale and Eastern Oromiya rose up against the colonial government; hundreds were massacred and 100,000 livestock animals were killed.

In 1968, Oromos formed a confederation General Waqo Gutu and petitioned the British government for the establishment of an independent Oromo in the east. They also appealed to the League of Nations for membership that was rejected. In 1968 to 1969, the Bale Oromo National Struggle uprising against the colonial regime was put down with the help of the outside assistance with army and military experts Until about the end of 1968 and the beginning of 1969, the Oromo National struggle for Liberation they had been waged since their started the movement, however widespread was generally uncoordinated between the Oromo society also the Oromo was failed to form the united front liberation army that should be remain a strong position that rallied over against their common Abyssinian enemy and the segments of Oromo population they were adapted by changing their mode of political, economic and social life, the most Oromo in urban area were integrated into the Ethiopian Empire and feudal aristocracy were given the huge of Oromo land to plunder the peasantry, in such circumstances the Oromo were divided and they were disorganized at the level of political consciousness.

Many Oromo are mixed with the Amhara in particularly the Highlands area, eventually obtained a share in the Ethiopian government system and culturally adapted, in some cases the members of Oromo are become the loyalty of Ethiopian empire they do not believe the way of struggle and the situation was growth in towns some Oromo were changes the Oromo culture by learning Amharic and making achievement a place in the Ethiopia empire’s the political, social, and economic in order with the regime, some them are achieved significant political power in Amhara Kingdoms after adherence to Christianity that seemed to be motivated by nothing more than expediency.

In the Ethiopian principle all religion had equal status in relation to the Ethiopian state but through the country the large numbers of Oromo are Muslims those concentrations the areas do Bale, Hararghe, Wallo,Jimma, and the factors that might prevent them from exerting the political influence with their numbers in the Ethiopian empire.   In that case the Oromo was started to losing their identity by adapting Habasha identity and they became part of Ethiopian empire. In the early 60′ when Somalia gained its independence in 1960, there was agitating in the Ogden (Western Somalia) for independence or separation from Ethiopia to join the Somali State. The Somali government set up the Western Somali Liberation Front (WSLF) in that year to make the fronts against the Ethiopian regime.

In the late 1963 to 1968 is the time of a growth of an Oromo national movement so called Bale Oromo peasant national movement, this was the first expressed through the traditional style shifta rebellion in Bale mountain. Hussein Bune is the one of the top leaders among the Oromo movement groups that involved in the way of resistance against the Ethiopian regime the imposition of the hated land tenure and taxation system notably in Eastern Oromiyaa. In early 1965 to 1968 the rebellion in Bale was outcome of the systematically brutal subjugation of an indigenous Oromo population by the ruling class of armed settlers. In between 1963 to 1965 armed rebellion started in the Highland of Bale Zone that fanned by both encouragement from the newly–independent Somali government and the heavy handed response to the Oromo rebellion in Bale and the fighting gradually intensified until 1969 that called the “Soowra Dhoombir” upraising movement which is a profound the political crisis that shaking up the Ethiopian government.

There were ground assaults and aerial bombardment both lowland Bale the Wabe zone and Dallo Buna the area of Madda Walabu, assuming that both area 100,000 thousands of population was effected and as well as 200,000 head of livestock was confiscating. The Ethiopian army was intervened against the Oromo people and the Oromo civilian living in the eastern Oromiya had been experiencing very serious abuses and looming humanitarian crisis, the situation became very critical. Early 1963 to 1978 the wars have been fought continually in the eastern Oromiyaa, there were lasted large scale was begin when the Somali army invaded the country in 1977, and including when the Ethiopian army defeated the invasion in the early 1978. In back of 1969 when the assassination of Somali President taking place, this period is the time of confusion in which several different groups struggled for power in Somalia before Said Barre took over the government power in October 21, 1969 and the new regime Seized the power led by Said Barre and the new Somali government established itself in Mogadishu that immediately announced they will support all Liberation movements for those who under the Ethiopian colonial rule.

At the same time the Oromo movement upraising again after they received the equipment and supplies from the Somali government. In 1970’s the Oromo student publication expressed well the feelings of subjugation, many educated Oromo aspired to a similar “Liberation” there was the most prominent attempt by the Oromo to organize legally and the Mecha Tulama self-help Association was founded back of  1964. Over 100 leading Oromo community leaders were arrested and brought to the Ethiopian court. The brutality of the regime has begun to fail that to meet the needs of the Oromo people during the drought which effected the all country of Ethiopia in the early 1970’s and as well as the inability of Ethiopian army to fight with rebellion was down, the Emperor Haile Selassie was in frustration with his regime and the most his important supporter were all arrested and some of executed eventually when the power of Amhara Feudal landlords was crumbled.

The Oromo organization was continued an underground movement or existence for several years and the associated have contact with rebellion in Bale to make armed resistance against Ethiopian regime. There was also a small insurrection in the highlands of Hararge. This was leading by Abdulkarim Ibrahim (Jaarra Abbaa Gada), and some Oromo politicians like Haji Hussein Sura and the former associate of the Oromo politician General Taddese Birru, Mammu Muzamir was executed in the early 1973 and they founded the organization that it’s called (Oromo Liberation Front) and they carried out small-scale guerrilla activities. The later Haji Hussein Sura change the name of this organization to the Ethiopian National Liberation Front (ENLF), and incorporated with General Wako Gutu and General Hussein Bune followers, but thereby also split his movement. In 1974 the ENLF controlled significant areas of the Highlands of Bale and Harerghe. The revolution of 1974 split the movement; many of the members of Dergue were themselves Oromo including General Tafari Banti, the chairman until his execution by Mengistu in1974. In 1974 many Oromo went into the armed opposition and they joined defectors from ENLF (Ethiopian National Liberation front) and the first Oromo Liberation front), and founded the second Oromo Liberation Front (OLF).

This was initially active in Highlands of Bale and Harar, and it had been the first meeting to publish a Oromo political organization. In 1976 the Somali government has been infiltrating the regular Somali troops into the Ethiopia for deliberate purpose of committing aggression against the Ethiopia and launched a full scale conventional. The Ethiopian armed launched major offensive operations in the Eastern front by attacking inside and outside Ethiopian border; the Ethiopian counter offensive operations were supported by the Cuban and Russian army who had been flown from Somalia into the Ethiopia.                                

 The Ethiopian military offensive was the more specifically directed against the Oromo populations in the Eastern Oromo region, that means of survival, include poisoning ,bombing the water holes and gunning down the herds of cattle. The abuses had been connected to the movement operation in Oromiya region, Hararghe, Bale, Borana and Sidamo. The war left many Oromo displaced and caused a massive influx of the Oromo refugees in the region into the Somali border and the Ethiopia has been switch with Soviet Union to get support and the Somali government was disappointed that they have external pressure of political crisis with Ethiopia.

    1976- 1979 The Oromo national movement forces had been achieved several victory and won 50 percent of Bale, Borana, and Sidamo. The Ethiopian army inflicted the heavy losses, the Oromo armed force destroy some of the Ethiopian army vehicle that led by Colonel  Hussein Qaanqu that he was commanding the forces the two side, Bale and Sidamo with Hussein Bune Darara that they received a full army support from the Somali government.

    After the Oromo movement army had captured many Oromo area, the Somali government had sent their military army into the Ogden and some of the Oromo area to mechanize the infantry brigade supported by artillery unit and had invaded the Ogden and the Oromo territory to take advantage of the situation by supporting a Oromo guerrilla campaign. The purpose of the Somali government is to creating greater Somalia, when it tried to capture the two strategic areas, Bale, Borana, Sidamo, and Harar. In 1978  General Rooble the Somali military commander from the highs level of the Somali Government was arrived in Saweena the Oromia Bale zone to capture the City of Ginner, Gobba, and Dire Dawa that to be control under their military foot, but in the Oromo side was not acceptable to them the Somali military for interfering the Oromo territory after they seen that the Somali government had retreating beyond the strategic area which is already the Oromo national forces had been established control over a significant portion of the Eastern Oromo region.

After that Hussein Bune had taking command to his force and give the order to General Rooble the Somali army general to leave from the Oromo area in 24-hours as Diplomat because of interfering the sovereignty of Oromo State and Somali military invade the Oromo region that being motivated by the Somali government for self-interest to the area that was very concern at time. Moreover, these self –interest will be contradictory in the Somali political nature and General Hussein Bune said this will harm the relationship between the Oromo people and Somali and he mentioned that no need of an absolute authority to control over Oromo people by the Somali government, Mr. Bune argued that the Oromo people are peace lovers and told to general Roble that the self-interest will create of absolute new regime over Oromo people. The general Roble the Somali military commander was corrected himself and went back to the Ogden region while they have strong military base in that region.

The general Roble was surprise and unexpected matter that will happened, he was disappointed that he receive a warning to leave from the Oromo area and he seen that losing support from Oromo national movement army even though they have political crisis with Ethiopia. Meanwhile the Soviet Union started to withdraw their support from the Somali government and decided to support the Ethiopian Marxist Leninist regime and make decision to pull out their total support and to abandon Somalia in favor of Ethiopia eventually turned the tide of battle in the Somali and Ethiopian border.

By the beginning of the Carter Administration, the faction of the Dergue, led by Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam, had won the internal struggle within the Dergue following a bloody shootout in year of 1977. This new dominant faction supported the view that to ensure Ethiopian integrity and their own political survival, the Dergue should find an ideologically compatible arms patron, and this was the Soviet Union. Personally, Mengistu thought that the human rights rhetoric of the United States, combined with the perception that the American administration would eventually undermine the Drogue regime in Addis-Ababa, contributed to his establishment of a military relationship with the U.S.S.R.

At that time, the pursuit of the human rights agenda to terminate military aid to Ethiopia seemed to Addis-Ababa, as only a pretext rather than the true basis for U.S. Policy in the region.   In truth though, the factors attributed to the American decision was the decline of the base’s strategic importance, the struggle in Eritrea that threatened American personnel in Asmara, the lack of great economic interests in Ethiopia, and finally, Israel’s proven naval and military capability to protect its interests in Ethiopia

During the spring of 1977, the Carter administration discussed the possibility of forging closer ties with Somalia. One potential reason for this may be the Arab states’ policy toward to help Somalia, particularly by Saudi Arabia. The main Saudi goals at that time were to stabilize Numiere in Sudan and to eliminate pro-Russian influence in the Red Sea, fearing a Soviet expansion; Saudi Arabia promised extensive military and economic aid to Somalia to deter the Soviets. In fact, the U.S. was reluctant to foster relations with Somalia largely due to the Soviet presence in that country. The U.S. believed Somalia was not under threat, despite Soviet assistance to Ethiopia. The U.S. also feared increased that military supplies could lead to greater American involvement should border tensions between Ethiopia and Somalia erupt in a war. Finally, members of the National Security Council, including Paul Hence believed that, in the long term relationship with the Ethiopia, the United States should not break away from Ethiopia.

In late July 1977, Somali troops began to invade the Eastern Ethiopian Region and Ogden region, in early August, the border clashes between Somali and Ethiopian troops erupted into a full-scale war. During the same period, Secretary of State Cyrus Vance stated that the United States considered supplying military assistance to Somalia. Consequently, the Somali President, Said Barre, interpreted the intention of the United States to supply Somalia with defensive arms as a forthcoming attitude. besides that, the Somali invasion of Ogden rested on the collapse of Ethiopian relations with the United States, Ethiopian internal conflict with Eritrea, the support of Arab states, the fact that Moscow would remain neutral, and Said Barre personal opportunism. On the other hand, President Carter refused to support Somalia and instead he pushed for a peaceful resolution through the Organization for African Unity (OAU). Moreover, Carter insisted on his long-term policy towards Africa, which included African solutions for African problems.

However, the Carter administration policies underestimated the diplomatic pressure on Somalia in order to preempt Soviet and Cuban involvement, the willingness of the international community to resolve the conflict, and the OAU mediating efforts. Nevertheless, the Soviet Union decided to support Ethiopia largely due to the fact that The Ethiopian Government seemed more committed to Marxism Leninist ideology than did the Somalis who were more interested in Somali nationalism, Ethiopia strategic position, and its dependence upon Moscow, after their break up with the U.S. During Mengustu’s visit to Moscow in July 1988, the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev told him the arms deliveries would be substantially reduced and he argued that the peaceful resolve the war in Eritrea. But the Ethiopian government had very little though to beginning the peace negotiation with insurgents. By the beginning of 1989, the loss of armament had been reach so high and an alarming proportion

In February 1989 the Ethiopian army were suffered the major setback in war and lost many more weapons the Soviet Union are decided not to only to scale down arms deliveries to Ethiopia, but also to reduces the number of their military advisors. Those cutbacks the Ethiopian government started to peace talks with the insurgents and look elsewhere for the much needed arms. As the army continues to lose subsequent battle, the Ethiopian government held peace talks with the EPLF in September 1989 in Atlanta, Georgia. Jimmy Carter, the former American president, played role of mediator. Even though they turned out to be fruitless, and again the negotiations with EPLF were held in November 1989 in Nairobi Kenya, and in October 1990 and February 1990 and February 1991 in Washington D.C. and another peace talks held with the TPLF in Rome in November and December 1989 and March 1990 boring no fruit, mainly because as Bahru underlines, the insurgent were negotiating, from a position of strength while the government was doing so from a position of weakness.

The post A TRIBUTE TO THE FORMER OROMO MOVEMENT LEADER GENERAL HUSSEIN BUNE DARARA appeared first on Bilisummaa.

After Ethiopia Rebuffs Zeid’s For Oromo Access, ICP Asks If Ban’s Made Call

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, August 11  — Despite the UN having offices in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, it had nothing to say about the crackdown on the protests this month. Inner City Press asked UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s spokesman Farhan Haq about the protests on August 8, Vine here; Banning the Press film below.

Haq said the UN would “have to check;” he went on to say the UN, with its large offices in Addis Ababa, had nothing to say about restrictions on the Internet. UN transcript here and below. This is Ban Ki-moon’s UN.

On August 11, Inner City Press asked if Ban or his USg Feltman had made any calls. Beyond the Vine here; UN Transcript here:

Inner City Press:  I wanted to ask you, on Ethiopia, you’d come back with this statement of concern by the Secretary-General, and now the Minister of Information of Ethiopia has dismissed and rejected any of the requests for any UN access to these areas where people have been killed.  Again, you seem to say it doesn’t matter that the UN has an office there, but given that it’s a host country and you have a lot of operations there, what is the response to the host country denying access to these areas?

Deputy Spokesman:  Well, regarding that, this is… the need for access is something that has been called for, particularly by our human rights colleagues.  The Human Rights Office and the High Commissioner for Human Rights urged the Ethiopian Government to allow access for international observers into the affected regions to be able to establish what exactly transpired.  The Government must ensure that any use of excessive force by law enforcement officers is promptly and transparently investigated and those found responsible for human rights violations are brought to justice.  All those detained for exercising the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly should be promptly released.

ICP Question:  Has the Secretariat reached out… whether the Secretary-General or the… the elusive Mr. Feltman or anyone else, reached out to Ethiopia, given the relations between the two countries, to try to get such access?

Deputy Spokesman:  The UN remains in touch with its Ethiopian counterparts, but I’ve told what you the High Commissioner has just said on this.  Have a good afternoon, everyone.

In the time frame, Ban Ki-moon was in Los Angeles cavorting, with controversial hosts.

August 8 transcript:

Inner City Press: I was kind of expecting some statement by the UN about the protests and killings in Ethiopia over the weekend.  There was a large-scale protest in… in the rest of the country but even in the capital, where the UN has a big office.  How… what is the UN’s response to how many people does it think was killed?  Does the UN have any role in trying to… to resolve this tension on the Oromo protests?

Deputy Spokesman:  Well, as you know, we have concerns to make sure that all peaceful protests are allowed to proceed, and we would have concerns about any problems regarding that.  Regarding this specific protest, we’ll need further details, but… so we’re following up with our offices there.

ICP Question:  But what steps has the UN taken… I mean, given that, you know, it has these offices in Addis and there… by all… many accounts peaceful protesters shot and… you know, shot and killed in Ethiopia over the weekend.  What steps is the UN taking?

Deputy Spokesman:  Well, we’ll check about our response to this particular thing.  Like I said, we encourage peaceful protests to proceed everywhere in the world and would have concerns anywhere.  As you know, we have offices in many, many countries around the world.  That’s not a particular point of concern.  We are concerned, whether we have an office in a place or not.

Earlier this year the UN likewise had nothing to say about the crackdowns that has led to the killing, reportedly, of over 140 Oromo people, when Inner City Press on January 11 asked UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’ spokesman Stephane Dujarric. Video here.

On June 16, with now 400 reported killed, Inner City Press asked Ban’s Dujarric if Ban even raised the issue when he met Ethiopia’s Prime Minister, UN transcript here:

…in Ethiopia 400 people have been killed and tens of thousands detained during protests since November?

Spokesman:  No, I’ll be honest with you, I have not seen that report.  But, I’ll see if we can get some language on that.

Inner City Press: Is it fair to say that the Secretary-General, when he met with the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, did not raise this issue of the Oromo protests?  There had been big… it’s been raised to the UN a number of times…

Spokesman:  I will refer you to the readout, which will stand as the record of the meeting.

So, no.

On January 29, Inner City Press was thrown out of the UN Press Briefing Room on Dujarric’s orders; on February 19, Inner City Press was physically ousted from the UN compound, audio here, petition here.

On March 8, back in with a much restricted pass, Inner City Press asked the UN’s spokesman Dujarric, video here, UN transcript here (the UN didn’t even look up the name of the tribe, Suri – UNreal) Vine here.

Inner City Press: I’ve asked before about the Oromo protest, but I’m asking now, there are photos and it may or may not be, you know, somehow doctored.  But, there’s a pretty troubling evidence, pictures, circulating about in Ethiopia these tribesmen, [inaudible] tribesmen, also being part of this displacement, basically chained up, in a chain gang situation.  Given that the UN has a big office in Ethiopia and given some outcry about the actions of the Government of late, is the UN aware of this?  And what follow-up has been done since… since the Secretary-General went through there on trying to either defuse tensions or make sure that people are not chained up…

Spokesman Dujarric:  I think the Secretary-General had expressed his wish to see people being able to express themselves and demonstrate peacefully in a respectful manner, respect to their rights.  I will… on the particular case you mentioned, I haven’t seen it…  No, I haven’t seen it.

Worse, six days later when Inner City Press asked again, Dujarric said exactly the same thing, that he hadn’t seen it. He did not saw if he’d looked (away). Vine here; transcript here:

Inner City Press: I can’t remember if it was you or Farhan [Haq], because I didn’t get an answer from either, having to do with Ethiopia.  And there was a widely circulated photograph, not of the Oromo protest, but actually of the Surma tribesmen locked up as a… in a chain gang fashion.  And their land is being taken.  It’s a pretty disturbing photo.  Farhan, I think, said he would look into it.  I wanted to know, has your office looked into it, and what does the UN…?

Spokesman:  I haven’t seen anything, but I will try to get something.

When Ban was in Ethiopia for the African Union Summit, he gave a number of speeches but said NOTHING about the Oromo protests. On February 1 Inner City Press asked Dujarric about this silence, transcript here:

Inner City Press: When he was in Addis Ababa, I combed over the statements that the Secretary-General made, but I wanted to know whether he said, did anything or had any meetings about these Oromo protests in which more than 140 people have been killed as… you know, you’ve answered sort of within… with some statements here in the briefing room, but while he was there, did the issue come up?  Did he do anything on it?

Spokesman:  I would refer you to the readouts we’ve put out.

In which there was NOTHING about the Oromo protests and deaths. This is Ban’s UN. And this: Ban’s spokesman Dujarric made an implicit threat to Inner City Press on February 1, see here.

On January 18, Inner City Press asked Dujarric’s deputy Farhan Haq,video:

Inner City Press: on Friday I’d asked Stéphane [Dujarric] about this protest outside by Oromo people.  And he’d said… he had something, I guess, he read, saying the UN hopes for dialogue.  But, in hearing more about it, it seems… there were 140 people killed, according to Human Rights Watch, and there are many people still detained from those protests, and there’s been an attempt to close down communications from some of the areas that were subject to the protests.  Since the UN has this office in Addis, is there anything… do you have anything beyond asking for dialogue, is there any request that those detained be released, that there be an investigation of the deaths or a stopping of what people call censorship there?

Deputy Spokesman Haq:  Well, what I have to say is simply that the Secretary-General calls on the Government of Ethiopia and protesters to engage in a constructive dialogue to address the issues at hand, and the Secretary-General continues to stress the importance of respect for peaceful protest and freedom of assembly.  Have a good afternoon, everyone.

On January 15, there was a large Oromo demonstration across First Avenue from the UN. Inner City Press broadcast it live on Periscope, with interviews, putting it on YouTube, here.

Then Inner City Press went in and asked UN Spokesman Dujarric,video here, transcript here:

Inner City Press: it seems inevitable to ask you.  There’s a big protest in front of the building by Oromo people saying that more than 140 of them have been killed by Ethiopia.  So I’d asked you about it on Monday.  You said you don’t have anything but you’d check.  What does the UN know given that it has an office in Addis about these killings?

Spokesman Dujarric:  On the protests, we’re obviously very much aware of the protests not only going on outside but in Ethiopia itself.  I think the Secretary-General would call on the Government and the groups concerned to hold a constructive and peaceful dialogue and also to ensure that all those who want to protest are able to express themselves freely and free of harassment as it is their right.

Inner City Press: You just announced an Ethiopian general heading UNISFA-

Spokesman Dujarric: soldiers from any nationality, as you know, for serving in DPKO, in peacekeeping missions, they go through a screening policy to ensure that the individuals and the units themselves are free of any human rights violations.

We’ll have more on this. For now, note that the UNSC’s upcoming trip, from which Inner City Press was Banned, goes through Addis Ababa. Will anything be said about Oromo?

The UN report on rapes in the Central African Republic, released on December 17, found that UN Peacekeeping’s Under Secretary General Herve Ladsous “illustrate[s] the UN’s failure to respond to allegations of serious human rights violations in the meaningful way.”

Ladsous has yet to take any questions about the report.  Now the Office of the UN Spokesperson refuses Press questions on reports that “peacekeepers” from Burundi, France, Gabon and Morocco paid fifty cents for sex with children in CAR. On the morning of January 12, Inner City Press asked three separate UN spokespeople, in writing:

“In light of the Jan 11-12 Washington Post report that “ in interviews, U.N. officials said the peacekeepers were from Gabon, Morocco, Burundi and France. The prostitution ring they allegedly used was run by boys and young men who offered up girls ‘for anywhere from 50 cents to three dollars,’ according to one official,” please state the current status of these ‘peacekeepers’ from Morocco, Gabon, France and Burundi – and the status of the waiver USG Ladsous gave to the Burundian contingent.

By the morning of January 15, no answer, nothing…

The post After Ethiopia Rebuffs Zeid’s For Oromo Access, ICP Asks If Ban’s Made Call appeared first on Bilisummaa.

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Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
Oromo Democratic Front (ODF) and Patriotic Ginbot 7 (PG7)

August 11, 2016

After several candid discussions and careful considerations of the current political, social, economic and humanitarian situations in Ethiopia, and all the damages caused by successive regimes and the TPLF/EPRDF regime in particular on the welfare and national interests of the peoples of Ethiopia and the security and sovereignty of our country, the ODF and PG7 have made important observations and conclusions. The longer the current regime is allowed to stay in power, the harsher will be the pain, suffering and humiliation endured by the peoples of Ethiopia. Therefore, both parties are fully convinced that a transition from the current TPLF regime towards a new and genuinely federal and democratic state is of utmost urgency.

Both organizations take note of the fact that millions of people in Oromia for the last nine months, and now in the Amhara regions, as well as in the south, coming out and protesting in massive show of defiance, just a few months after the regime claimed a 100 percent victory in the sham elections it conducted in May 2015, and the manner of its reaction to the legitimate popular protests, demonstrate beyond doubt that the regime has lost any semblance of legitimacy. We believe that the mass killings, brutality, and inhuman treatment perpetrated by the TPLF regime against the peaceful protesters are enough indications that the Woyyane clique is determined to control all spheres of life in Ethiopia by sheer use of force and cling to power at all costs. The regime’s unwillingness to function in a multi-party political environment, provided for in its own tailor made constitution, and unabated repression and brutal killings in all parts of Ethiopia, harassment and persecution of the legal opposition, civil society and journalists, as well as gross abuse of power, looting of public and state resources demonstrate that the regime has closed all political space and avenues for reform. Therefore, ODF and PG7 firmly believe that the people have no other choice to end this tyranny and humiliation, but to engage in a concerted and coordinated mass democratic movement, popular uprisings, and rebellion to bring an end to repression, economic exploitation, national humiliation, tyranny, and dictatorship.

ODF and PG7 are mindful of the long standing call of the Ethiopian peoples for unity of all opposition political organizations and their strong desire to see that the different political and civic organizations coordinate their efforts and resources to bring an end to the illegitimate and tyrannical regime. Towards this end, the two organizations pledge to work jointly to bring all credible opposition political groups together into a broad democratic coalition.

Therefore, believing that a coalition of the Ethiopian democratic and liberation forces is the only alternative to get rid of the dictatorial regime and to create a truly united and genuinely democratic federation in Ethiopia, where justice, peace, equality, freedom, and economic prosperity prevail, ODF and PG7 have agreed on this day, August 11, 2016, to form an alliance on the basis of the following three cardinal principles.

1. Ethiopia being a multinational, multilingual and multi religious country, the state should
respect and equitably reflect all its identities. The two organizations shall strive to build a
truly democratic federal state, which promotes and guarantees the equality and unity of
its peoples on the basis of social justice, equality, citizenship, economic prosperity, and
protects and safeguards the sovereignty of the country.

2. Bring an end to tyranny, dictatorship, and exclusive monopoly of political and economic
power in Ethiopia, and lay the foundation for a democratic system where political power
at all levels of government is subject to the free will of the people. All member
organizations of the alliance and future coalition shall agree that genuinely free and fair
elections are the only path to power. The primary objective of the alliance shall be
bringing an end to tyranny and paving the way and laying the ground work for a
democratic transition of power.

3. The paramount purpose of the alliance is to achieve the prevalence of freedom, justice,
equality and democracy in Ethiopia, and the empowerment of the people. Hence alliance
and future coalition members shall not use minor policy differences to hinder these noble
goals. Once they are empowered, the people shall be the ones who decide on alternative
political, economic and social policies. The alliance and coalition members shall promote
a culture of tolerance and dialogue and resolution of differences through frank and open
discussions.

Both organizations, ODF and PG7, have agreed to form a joint working group, composed of
representatives from each organization, to undertake all duties of coordinating different tasks as
assigned by the agreements between the leaderships of the two organizations.

Justice and Freedom for all!

Click here for the signed document (PDF)

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Abdii Boruutiin

Addi Dimookraatawa Oromoo – ADOn (Oromo Democratic Front-ODF) jaarmayaa Patriotic Ginbot 7 (PG7) jedhamu waliin waliigaltee akka mallatteesse bakkee adda addaatti mul’achaa jira. Xalayaa mallatteeffame sanas argee jira; garuu wanti irratti waliigalame sun bal’inaa fi gadifageenyaan hin mul’atu. Akka yaada fi ilaalcha kiyyaatittti want ifa hin taane fi namaa hin galle hedduu dha. Kanaaf jedheen barreeffama gabaabbaa kana dhiyeessu barbaade. Kaayyoon barreeffama kanaa, waliigaltee sana qeequufis ta’ee deeggaruuf otuu hin taane, wanti dalagamaa jiru ifa ta’uu akka qabu hubachiisuufi.

Gara ijoo dubbiitti otuu hin seenin dura, wanti ifa ta’uu qabu tokko, qaamota garagaraa waliin waliigaltee uumuun waan badaa miti. Waliigaltee uumuun diinummaa hir’isuu dha. Diina waloo tokko kuffisuuf waliin hojjechuu barbaaduunis akkasuma waan gaarii dha. Haa ta’u malee, wanti gaafii guddaa natti ta’e waa lama dha.

Tokkoffaa fi inni hangafti, jaarmayaan PG7 jedhamu kun akkan ofii kiyyaa hubadhutti warra federaalisimii naannoleerratti hundaa’an hin fudhanne dha. Jaarmayaan tokko tooftaa siyaasaatiif jedhees haa ta’u haala yeroo hubachuudhaan ofjijjiiruu mala. Sochiin warraaqsaa uummata Oromoo isaan sodaachisee akka yaada ykn kaayyoo isaanii irra deebi’anii hubatan isaan taasiisees ta’uu mala. Waliigalteen kun yoo jijjiirama kanarratti hundaayee hin taane, jara kana amananii waliin tumsa uumuun boodarra gaaga’ama fiduu akka danda’us hubachuun barbaachisaa dha. Seenaa fi dogoggora dabrerraa barachuun hedduu murteessaa dha.

Lammaffaa, jaarmayichi PG7 kun humni isaanii hangam akka ta’e beekuun rakkisaa ta’ullee, qabsoo hidhannoos gaggeessaa akka jiran beekamaa dha. Karaa biraatiin ammoo, ADOn qabsoo hidhannoo lagachuuf sagantaa baafatee akka ijaarame waan hubatamuu dha. Maarree, gama tokkoon qabsoo hidhannootti amanuu dhiisaa; gama birootiin ammoo warra qabsoo hidhannoo gaggeessan, kan mooraa ofii keessaa dhiisanii, kan alagaa waliin hiriiruun bu’aa maal akka fiduuf jedhaniiti? Yoo qabsoo hidhannooti amanan maaliif ABO irraa gargarbahanii jaarmayaa haaraa ijaarratan? Lakkii qabsoo karaa nagaatu filannoo caalaa (preferred option) dha kan jedhan yoo ta’e, warri karaa nagaatiin biyya keessatti qabsoo gaggeessaa jiranuu maalirra akka jiran waan Addunyaan beektu dha. Kanaaf, murtiin waliigaltee kanarra isaan geessise maalii? kan jedhu gaafii biraa ti.

Akkuma beekamu, jaarmayootni keenya kan ABOrraa fottoqanii, gara garatti bibixxilamnii jiran, dhiyoo kana gadi bahanii walhubannoo fi waliigalteerra geenye jedhanii dubbatanii turan. Sana boodas akka himamaa jirutti koree tokko dhaabanii waayee waliigaltee kanarratti hojjechaa akka jiranis ni beekama. Jaarmayoota kana keessaa ADOn isa tokko. Gaafiin biraa kan asirratti ka’u, waliigalteen mooraa keenyaa sun irratti hojjetamaa otuu jiruu?? karaa biraatiin jaarmayaa alagaa waliin waliigaltee fi tumsa mallatteessuun miila tokkoon mooraa QBO keessa dhaabbachaa; miila biraatiin mooraa alagaa keessa seenuu hin ta’uu? Yoo karaa kana kan deemamu ta’e, waliigaltee mooraa keenyaa sanarratti dhiibbaa hin qabaatuu? Moo tooftaaf jedhamee; otuma beekamuu karaa lama deemuuf irratti waliigalame? Jaarmayootni mooraa keenyaa waliigaltee ADO fi PG7 kana akkamitti ilaalu?

Galannii murattoota fi kutattoota sabboontota keenyaatiif kan biyya keessatti wareegama ulfaataa kaffalaa jiraniif haa ta’uu, yeroo ammaa Wayyaanee hanga funyaaniitti hidhatte jilibiiffachiisaa jiru. Sababa kanaan, jijjiirama siyaasaa tokko argamsiisuudhaaf, mootummootni warra dhihaa keessumaayyuu kan akka USA humna siyaasaa biraa kan filannoo ta’uu danda’u (alternative political forces) barbaadaa akka jiran ni himama. Tarii fedhii jara kanaa guutuuf jecha; humna caalaa fakkaatanii gadi bahuuf ta’inaa laata waliigalteen jaarmayoota kana lamaanii? Want hunduu hubachuu qaban garuu, har’a (yeroo ammaa) fedhii warra dhiyaa guutuuf yookaanis ammoo fedhii fi kaayyoo mataa ofii bakkaan gahuuf yoo ta’e malee, tooftaaf jedhanii fedhii uummata Oromoo bal’aa jijjiiruu yaaluun eessanuu nama hin gahu. Jalqaba dhuma yaalii (experiment) hin milkoofnee ta’a jedheen amana.

Ani akka nama (ilma Oromoo) tokkootti, jijjiiramni fedhii uummata Oromoo gutumaa guututti bakkaan gahuu danda’u bifuma fedheenuu yoo argame, isa kanarra rakkoo hin qabu. Uummatni keenya bu’aalee fi injifannoolee hanga ammaatti galmeeffaman tikfatee; kan caalus argachuu kan danda’u yoo ta’e; abbaa fedhe waliin waliigaltee fi tumsi yoo ijaarame; karaa kanaan Wayyaanee hiddaan buqqisuun yoo danda’ame kun gammachuu kiyya dha. Haa ta’u malee, akkuman kanaan duras irradeddeebi’ee barreessaa ture,

http://gadaa.com/oduu/5136/2010/08/04/tumsa-hunda-hammataa-alaa-dura-tokkummaan-ykn-tumsi-mooraa-qbo-keessatti-ijaaramuu-qaba/ ammas taanan ejjannoon kiyya, mooraan ofii yoo jabaate malee; tokkummaan ykn tumsi mooraa QBO yoo cime malee, kuni otuu hin milkaayin tumsa alaa barbaaduun bu’aa waan qabu fakkatee natti hin mul’atu.  

Egaa, barreeffama kiyya xumuruudhaaf, akka natti fakkaatutti, ADOn waayee kana uummata keenyaaf bal’inaan ifa godhuu qaba. Akkuma dur barame sana balbala cufatanii waan tokko murteessuu irra, waan deemaa jiru uummataaf ifa godhuun waa hundaa qulqulleessaa deema; dogoggorri akka hin godhamneef gargaara. Yoo uummatni keenya yaada kanatti amane, akka isa kana duuba hiriiranii fi deeggaran taasisa; shakkii qulqulleessaa deema; rakkoon akka hin uumamne taasisuu danda’a. Gadi bahanii uummatatti dubbachuun yeroo ammaa baay’ee murteessaa dha. Yoo kana hin taane, dogoggora seenaa hojjechuu ta’a.

Jaarmayootni Habashootaas, kan Oromoo waliin tumsa dhugaa uumuu barbaadan, akkasuma gadi bahanii kaayyoo isaanii ifa godhuu qabu. Kana booda duubaan shira biraa dalagaa; gamnummaa siyaasaa taphachuun eessanuu nama akka hin geenye hubachuu qabu. Dhalootni Oromoo ammaa duubatti isaaniif deebi’uu akka hin dandeenye isaaniif dhiisii Addunyaafuu mirkaneessee jira. Tapha siyaasaa taphachuun yeroon isaa irraa dabree jira. Injifannoon kana boodaa kan uummata Oromoo akka ta’u shakkiin tokkollee hin jiru. Dhugaan kun firaafis ta’ee diinaaf ifa ta’uu qaba.

Galatoomaa!

Abdii Boruu: aboruu@gmail.com

The post Waliigaltee ODF fi PG7 ilaalchisee gaafiilee deebii argachuu qaban appeared first on Bilisummaa.

ANALYSISBy Asafa Jalata, University of Tennessee

Country-wide demonstrations by the Oromo in Ethiopia have flared up again. Ethiopia’s authorities reacted with heavy force, resulting in the death of 100 civilians. The Conversation Africa’s Samantha Spooner asked Professor Asafa Jalata about the country-wide protests.

Who are the Oromo people?

The Oromo are the single largest ethno-national group in northeast Africa. In Ethiopia alone they are estimated to be 50 million strong out of a total population of 100 million. There are also Oromo communities living in Kenya and Somalia.

Ethiopia is said to have about 80 ethno-national groups. The Oromo represent 34.4% while the Amhara (Amara) 27%. The rest are all less than 7% each.

The Oromo call themselves a nation. They have named their homeland “Oromia“, an area covering 284,538 square kms. It is considered to be the richest area of northeast Africa because of its agricultural and natural resources. It is often referred to as the “breadbasket” of the region. 60% of Ethiopian economic resources aregenerated from Oromia.

The capital city of Ethiopia is located in the heart of Oromia. What the world knows as Addis Ababa is also known to the Oromo as their capital, “Finfinnee”. When the Abyssinian warlord, Menelik, colonised the Oromo during the last decades of the 19th century he established his main garrison city in Oromia and called it Addis Ababa.

Despite being the largest ethno-national group in Ethiopia, the Oromoconsider themselves to be colonial subjects. This is because they have been denied equal access to their country’s political, economic and cultural resources. It all started with their colonisation by, and incorporation into, Abyssinia (the former Ethiopian empire) during theScramble for Africa.

Today, comprising just 6% of the population, Tigrayans dominate andcontrol the political economy of Ethiopia with the help of the West, particularly the US. This relationship is strategic to the US who usethe Tigrayan-led government’s army as their proxy to fight terrorism in the Horn of Africa and beyond.

The Oromo community has been demonstrating since November last year. What triggered the protests?

The Oromo demonstrations have been underway for over eight months, first surfacing in Ginchi (about 80 kms southwest of the capital) in November 2015. It began when elementary and secondary school students in the small town began protesting the privatisation and confiscation of a small soccer field and the selling of the nearbyChilimoo forest.

The sentiment quickly spread across Oromia. The entire Oromo community then joined the protests, highlighting other complaints such as the so-called Integrated Addis Ababa Master Plan and associated land grabbing. The master plan was intended to expand Addis Ababa by 1.5 million hectares onto surrounding Oromo land, evicting Oromo farmers.

Last year’s demonstrations were the product of over 25 years of accumulated grievances. These grievances arose as a result of the domination by the minority Tigrayan ethno-national group. Because of this dominance the Oromo people have become aliens in their own country, lost ownership of their land and have become impoverished.

What was different about these demonstrations was that, for the first time, all Oromo branches came together in coordinated action to fight for their national self-determination and democracy.

Which part of the Oromo community is organising the rallies?

It is believed that underground activist networks, known as Qeerroo, are organising the Oromo community. The Qeerroo, also called the Qubee generation, first emerged in 1991 with the participation of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) in the transitional government of Ethiopia. In 1992 the Tigrayan-led minority regime pushed the OLF out of government and the activist networks of Qeerroo gradually blossomed as a form of Oromummaa or Oromo nationalism.

Today the Qeerroo are made up of Oromo youth. These are predominantly students from elementary school to university, organising collective action through social media. It is not clear what kind of relationship exists between the group and the OLF. But the Qeerroo clearly articulate that the OLF should replace the Tigrayan-led regime and recognise the Front as the origin of Oromo nationalism.

What are their demands?

Their immediate demands are for the Ethiopian government to halt the so-called Addis Ababa Master Plan, land grabbing, corruption, and the violation of human rights.

Their extended demands are about achieving self-determination and sovereignty by replacing the Tigrayan-led regime with a multi-ethno-national democratic government. These demands gradually emerged to create solidarity with other ethno-national groups, such as the Amharas, who also have grievances with the regime.

How has the government reacted to the protests?

The government reaction has been violent and suppressive. Despite Oromia being the largest regional state in Ethiopia, it has been undermartial law since the protests began. The government has been able to use this law to detain thousands of Oromos, holding them in prisonsand concentration camps.

Security structures called tokkoo-shane (one-to-five), garee and gott have also been implemented. Their responsibilities include spying, identifying, exposing, imprisoning, torturing and killing Oromos who are not interested in serving the regime.

There have also been deaths and reports of thousands of Oromos who have been maimed as a result of torture, beatings or during the suppression of protests. For example, during the Oromia-wide day of peaceful protest on July 6 the regime army, known as Agazi, massacred nearly 100 Oromos. According to Amnesty International, 400 Oromos were killed before July 6. But in reality nobody knows exactly how many Oromos have been victims of violence.

What impact have these protests had on the country?

The Oromo protest movement has started to change the political landscape of Ethiopia and shaken the regime’s foundations. Eruptinglike “a social volcano”, it has sent ripples through the country with different groups changing their attitudes and standing in solidarity with the Oromo. The support of the Ahmaras has been particularly significant as they are the second largest ethno-national group in Ethiopia.

For the first time in history, the plight of the Oromo people has also received worldwide attention. International media outlets have reported on the peaceful protests and subsequent government repression.

This has brought about diplomatic repercussions. In January the European Parliament condemned the Ethiopian government’s violent crackdown. It also called for the establishment of a credible, transparent and independent body to investigate the murder and imprisonment of thousands of protesters. Similarly, the UN Human Rights Experts demanded that Ethiopian authorities stop the violent crackdown.

Not all global actors are taking a strong stance. Some are concerned about maintaining good relations with the incumbent government. For example, the US State Department expressed vague concern about the violence associated with the protest movement. In sharp contrast they signed a security partnership with the Ethiopian government.

Nevertheless, the momentum of the Oromo movement looks set to continue. The protests, and subsequent support, have seen the further development of activist networks and Oromo leadership, doubling their efforts to build their organisational capacity.

Is this the first time that the Oromo have demonstrated their grievances in this way?

No. The Oromo have engaged in scattered instances of resistance since the late 19th century when they were colonised.

In the 1970s the Oromo started to engage in a national movement under the leadership of OLF. The front was born out of the Macha-Tulama Self-Help Association, which was banned in the early 1960s and other forms of resistance such as the Bale Oromo armed resistance of the 1960s. Successive Ethiopian regimes have killed or sent Oromo political and cultural leaders into exile.

How do you believe their grievances can be resolved?

Critics believe the Tigrayan-led minority regime is unlikely to resolve the Oromo grievances. Oromo activists believe that their national struggle for self-determination and egalitarian democracy must intensify.

I am sure that, sooner or later, the regime will be overthrown and replaced with a genuine egalitarian democratic system. This is because of the size of the Oromo population, abundant economic resource, oppression and repression by the Tigrayan-led government, the blossoming of Oromo political consciousness and willingness to pay the necessary sacrifices.

Disclosure statement

Asafa Jalata does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond the academic appointment above.

The post Ethiopia: Why the Oromo Protests Mark a Change in Ethiopia’s Political Landscape appeared first on Bilisummaa.

Who are the Oromo people?

The Oromo are the single largest ethno-national group in northeast Africa. In Ethiopia alone they are estimated to be 50 million strong out of a total population of 100 million. There are also Oromo communities living in Kenya and Somalia.

Ethiopia is said to have about 80 ethno-national groups. The Oromo represent 34.4% while the Amhara (Amara) 27%. The rest are all less than 7% each.

The Oromo call themselves a nation. They have named their homeland “Oromia”, an area covering 284,538 square kms. It is considered to be the richest area of northeast Africa because of its agricultural and natural resources. It is often referred to as the “breadbasket” of the region. 60% of Ethiopian economic resources are generated from Oromia.

The capital city of Ethiopia is located in the heart of Oromia. What the world knows as Addis Ababa is also known to the Oromo as their capital, “Finfinnee”. When the Abyssinian warlord, Menelik, colonised the Oromo during the last decades of the 19th century he established his main garrison city in Oromia and called it Addis Ababa.

Despite being the largest ethno-national group in Ethiopia, the Oromo consider themselves to becolonial subjects. This is because they have been denied equal access to their country’s political, economic and cultural resources. It all started with their colonisation by, and incorporation into, Abyssinia (the former Ethiopian empire) during the Scramble for Africa.

Today, comprising just 6% of the population, Tigrayans dominate and control the political economy of Ethiopia with the help of the West, particularly the US. This relationship is strategic to the US who use the Tigrayan-led government’s army as their proxy to fight terrorism in the Horn of Africa and beyond.

The Oromo community has been demonstrating since November last year. What triggered the protests?

The Oromo demonstrations have been underway for over eight months, first surfacing in Ginchi (about 80 kms southwest of the capital) in November 2015. It began when elementary and secondary school students in the small town began protesting the privatisation and confiscation of a small soccer field and the selling of the nearby Chilimoo forest.

The sentiment quickly spread across Oromia. The entire Oromo community then joined the protests, highlighting other complaints such as the so-called Integrated Addis Ababa Master Plan and associated land grabbing.

The master plan was intended to expand Addis Ababa by 1.5 million hectares onto surrounding Oromo land, evicting Oromo farmers.

Last year’s demonstrations were the product of over 25 years of accumulated grievances.

These grievances arose as a result of the domination by the minority Tigrayan ethno-national group. Because of this dominance the Oromo people have become aliens in their own country, lost ownership of their land and have become impoverished.

What was different about these demonstrations was that, for the first time, all Oromo branches came together in coordinated action to fight for their national self-determination and democracy.

Which part of the Oromo community is organising the rallies?

It is believed that underground activist networks, known as Qeerroo, are organising the Oromo community. The Qeerroo, also called the Qubee generation, first emerged in 1991 with the participation of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) in the transitional government of Ethiopia.

In 1992 the Tigrayan-led minority regime pushed the OLF out of government and the activist networks of Qeerroo gradually blossomed as a form of Oromummaa or Oromo nationalism.

Today the Qeerroo are made up of Oromo youth. These are predominantly students from elementary school to university, organising collective action through social media. It is not clear what kind of relationship exists between the group and the OLF.

But the Qeerroo clearly articulate that the OLF should replace the Tigrayan-led regime and recognise the Front as the origin of Oromo nationalism.

What are their demands?

Their immediate demands are for the Ethiopian government to halt the so-called Addis Ababa Master Plan, land grabbing, corruption, and the violation of human rights.

Their extended demands are about achieving self-determination and sovereignty by replacing the Tigrayan-led regime with a multi-ethno-national democratic government.

These demands gradually emerged to create solidarity with other ethno-national groups, such as the Amharas, who also have grievances with the regime.

How has the government reacted to the protests?

The government reaction has been violent and suppressive. Despite Oromia being the largest regional state in Ethiopia, it has been under martial law since the protests began.

The government has been able to use this law to detain thousands of Oromos, holding them inprisons and concentration camps.

Security structures called tokkoo-shane (one-to-five), garee and gott have also been implemented.

Their responsibilities include spying, identifying, exposing, imprisoning, torturing and killing Oromos who are not interested in serving the regime.

There have also been deaths and reports of thousands of Oromos who have been maimed as a result of torture, beatings or during the suppression of protests.

For example, during the Oromia-wide day of peaceful protest on July 6 the regime army, known as Agazi, massacred nearly 100 Oromos. According to Amnesty International, 400 Oromos were killedbefore July 6. But in reality nobody knows exactly how many Oromos have been victims of violence.

What impact have these protests had on the country?

The Oromo protest movement has started to change the political landscape of Ethiopia and shaken the regime’s foundations. Erupting like “a social volcano”, it has sent ripples through the country with different groups changing their attitudes and standing in solidarity with the Oromo.

The support of the Ahmaras has been particularly significant as they are the second largest ethno-national group in Ethiopia.

For the first time in history, the plight of the Oromo people has also received worldwide attention. International media outlets have reported on the peaceful protests and subsequent government repression.

This has brought about diplomatic repercussions. In January the European Parliament condemnedthe Ethiopian government’s violent crackdown.

It also called for the establishment of a credible, transparent and independent body to investigate the murder and imprisonment of thousands of protesters. Similarly, the UN Human Rights Expertsdemanded that Ethiopian authorities stop the violent crackdown.

Not all global actors are taking a strong stance. Some are concerned about maintaining good relations with the incumbent government.

For example, the US State Department expressed vague concern about the violence associated with the protest movement. In sharp contrast they signed a security partnership with the Ethiopian government.

Nevertheless, the momentum of the Oromo movement looks set to continue. The protests, and subsequent support, have seen the further development of activist networks and Oromo leadership, doubling their efforts to build their organisational capacity.

Is this the first time that the Oromo have demonstrated their grievances in this way?

No. The Oromo have engaged in scattered instances of resistance since the late 19th century when they were colonised.

In the 1970s the Oromo started to engage in a national movement under the leadership of OLF.

The front was born out of the Macha-Tulama Self-Help Association, which was banned in the early 1960s and other forms of resistance such as the Bale Oromo armed resistance of the 1960s. Successive Ethiopian regimes have killed or sent Oromo political and cultural leaders into exile.

How do you believe their grievances can be resolved?

Critics believe the Tigrayan-led minority regime is unlikely to resolve the Oromo grievances. Oromo activists believe that their national struggle for self-determination and egalitarian democracy must intensify.

I am sure that, sooner or later, the regime will be overthrown and replaced with a genuine egalitarian democratic system.

This is because of the size of the Oromo population, abundant economic resource, oppression and repression by the Tigrayan-led government, the blossoming of Oromo political consciousness and willingness to pay the necessary sacrifices.

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obbo ‪#‎Kamaal_Qalbeessaa‬ Ganna 25 Dura waa’ee Obbo‪#‎Leencoo_Lataa‬ Maal jedhu Laata.
‪#‎Dhugaan_Dirree‬ jirti.

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Kalkidan Yibeltal &Tesfalem Waldyes

(Addis Standard) — Less than a year after the Oromo People’s Democratic Party (OPDO), part of the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), celebrated its 25^th founding anniversary the Oromo protests took the region OPDO is seemingly in charge of by a sheer storm. The protests, which broke out on November 12, 2015 in Ginchi, a small town 82 km west of Addis Abeba, were originally against a proposed integrated master plan for the capital Addis Abeba, which was, at the very least, unconstitutional.

Officials of the Oromia regional state looked helplessly, and at times totally disoriented, as protests gradually morphed into an expression of political discontent and frustration accumulated over the 25 years of OPDO’s presence as a party.

Picking up pace and spreading throughout the entire regional state, the Oromo protests persisted in various shapes and differing magnitudes; but unlike several protests in the past, they have accentuated an issue that had been a subject of heated debates (albeit on and off) among the Oromo nation for 25 years: the legitimacy of OPDO as the only party that is representing a region of more than 35 million people.

The current Oromo protests have, more than any time in the past, wide opened the doors for sincere reflections on the legitimacy and relevance of the party that constitutes the larger share to the coalition of the ruling EPRDF.

In the beginning there was no OPDO

Together with three parties, – the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the Amhara National Democratic Movement (ANDM) and the Southern Ethiopian People’s Democratic Movement (SEPDM), OPDO makes up the ruling EPRDF. But its critics have long criticized it as illegitimate, weak and ineffective.

Such criticisms do not exist in a vacuum.

When EPRDF assumed power in 1991 after overthrowing the Marxist Derg regime, a new federated Ethiopia came into being. Carrying the burden of righting the wrong the Oromo people have suffered under previous regimes was the OPDO, which, unlike TPLF and ANDM, was just about two years old. Compared to TPLF, which had been engaged in armed struggles since the mid-1970s and ANDM, which metamorphosed from its precursor, the Ethiopian People’s Democratic Movement (ENDM), the OPDO came to the coalition with no significant military background of its own as a freedom fighter.

“The OPDO was formed towards the demise of the Derg. Although many of its founders were not new to the armed struggle (some of them were part of the ENDM while others have served in the Derg army and were even held as prisoners of war), as an organized party, the OPDO had not been in the scene [of the armed struggle] as long as the TPLF. In fact its existence was needed to fill a void.” says a political analyst based in Addis Abeba who wishes to remain anonymous.

“The void” our interviewee referred to was a void left by the Oromo Liberation Front, (OLF), an armed group which spent decades fighting for the independence of the Oromo people, but which was eventually rendered unlawful by the Ethiopian Parliament. “When the OLF, which, strictly speaking is a deceased entity now, walked out of the coalition in 1991 for one reason or other, the Oromo people were left with no representative; there was no plan B than strengthening the existence of the newly created OPDO,” says the analyst, who closely watches  political events within the OPDO.

A statement by the OPDO published to commemorate its 25^thfounding anniversary underscores this point. Under the subtopic “On the Effort to Work with the OLF Ending in Vain,” the publication maintains that early founders of the EPRDF travelled to Khartoum, the Sudan, and sat down with the then leaders of the OLF to arrive at a consensus that would help them work together. The attempt failed because the OLF “lacked political commitment and had a deficit at its base,” the publication claims.

For our interviewee, therefore, OPDO’s problem began at its inception as a party. “It has a top-down formation. It was created because there was a missing puzzle to make EPRDF full. And we will not be wrong if we call this a birth defect,” he says.

Dr. Negasso wants an objective answer from those who claim that the OPDO is created to decimate the OLF

But Dr. Negasso Gidada, a former president and a senior member of the OPDO during the first 10 years, strongly disagrees with the assertion that OPDO suffers from a political ‘birth defect’. According to him1980 was the time when TPLF had to work hard to create Coalitions/Fronts of Organization to join it to fight against the militaryDerg. “Around mid ‘80s an agreement was signed between TPLF and OLFmembers to jointly fight against the Derg and the Soviet intervention…while continuing to discuss on their differences,” Dr. Negasso told this magazine.

According to him“one of the practical implementations was the agreement to send [TPLF] personnel to train OLF fighters.” But the deal collapsed and the trainers went back to TPLF’s base. Dr. Negasso admits “there is still conflicting explanations” on why this agreement collapsed. Since then, according to him, there was no sign of the two groups working together until the 1991 collapse of the militarist Derge.

In the meantime, “some Oromo members of the Ethiopian People’s Democratic Movement (EPDM), [the predecessor of today’s ANDM], began to organize themselves in line with the TPLF experience. [These include] OPDO heavy-weights (both former and current) such as Kumaa Damaksaa, Ibrahim Malkaa, Abba Duulaa Gammadaa, Bachaa Dabalee, Getachew Bedhaane, and Ynatan Dhibbisaa. Some of them were freed Prisoners of War (PoWs) sent to Tigray by [their liberators] the TPLF. It was this group that finally organized itself as OPDO and joined the EPRDF (a front of two organizations: TPLF and ENDM) in 1989/90.

Dismissing as baseless the argument that OPDO lacks the political legitimacy to represent the Oromo because it was created, among others,as theOLF antithesis, Dr. Negasso refers to a historic incident in which, in 1991, members of OLF and EPRDF had jointly fought against the military Derg and Sudan’s SPLM armies in Asosa and Wallagga in western Ethiopia. “In fact it is said that it was Abbaa Duulaa of EPRDF and Abbaa Chaalaa of the OLF who led the armies of the two organizations which liberated Dembi Dollo [now in western Wallagga of the Oromia region]. It was then agreed that the OLF takes over the administration of western Wallagga while the OPDO could open offices in the major towns of the area,” Dr. Negasso said, adding, “I want an objective answer from those who claim that the OPDO is created to decimate the OLF.”

A ‘disparaging lack of narrative’

Critical of the ‘birth defect’ theory, Dr. Negasso says that from the very inception of OPDO, its members, although few in number, actively participated in the final battles against theDerg.

However, for our anonymous interviewee, apart from the political ‘birth defect’ the other problem which keep on haunting OPDO in the face of the EPRDF coalition – and perhaps in the eyes of its own constituency – is its “disparaging lack of narrative.”

“If you take a look at TPLF or ANDM you are met with a narrative so well-structured, a historical journey so prideful. You can find a romanticized, tantalizing story of a bunch of youngsters who, against all odds, managed to defy an atrocious regime. You find stories of defiance, commitment, and triumph. You can’t find that within OPDO.” OPDO, for him, is “a rootless organization with no attachment to the conscious of the constituency it claims to represent; it is a party that couldn’t even settle where it was conceived.”By this he is referring to last year’s controversial decision senior OPDO officials took to celebrate the 25^th founding anniversary of the party in Adet, a small village in Tigray, northern Ethiopia, as the birth place of the party. This came after OPDO was celebrating the previous anniversaries in North Shewa, Darra Woreda of the Oromia regional state, in a village called Harbu Meskele.

For many political analysts, it was a decision that signified the bottomless exploitation of the OPDO by “their masters” within the EPRDF coalition, another reason why OPDO keeps on struggling to win the hearts and minds of its constituency.

Similar manipulations have eventually created an extraordinary asymmetry within the ruling EPRDF, which further robbed the OPDO of the much needed legitimacy in the eyes of its  constituency, according to Solomon Seyoum, who has written extensively on the genesis of the OPDO. “OPDO has no historical, intellectual and moral background to compete neck and neck with [the rest of the parities within the ruling EPRDF]”, he told this magazine.

Solomon has another theory to add: “Ethiopian heroism narrative is yet in its version of military adventure. Civil adventure is at its infancy. Regarding the military adventure, OPDO is far more behind TPLF,” he said, adding that in the eyes of the other members of the coalition, “this robs OPDO of the freedom fighter heroism status,” which in turn significantly affects its relations with the people of Oromia.

Being OPDO is never easy

Ever since its emergence as a partyOPDO has been known as, among others, “the sick child”and “the troubled kid” within the ruling EPRDF.Some of the reasons associated with this are the fact that unlike the other three major parties, OPDO has been hit by high presidential turnover;suffers from lackof a political seat where it can solidify its power. Although officially Addis Abeba is the seat of the Oromia regional state, OPDO has failed to secure even some of the constitutionally guaranteed provisions under the special interest of Oromia on Addis Abeba. OPDO is also a party that lost to exile the highest numbers of former senior party members including two former presidents – Hassen Ali and Junadin Sado. “These contribute to the unhealthy state the OPDO is in,” our anonymous interviewee says.

But for Dr. Negasso isolating OPDO as “a sick child” or “the troubled kid” is an outrageous claim. “What about the situations in the other members of the EPRDF or the EPRDF [as a whole]? If OPDO is not healthy, does it not mean that EPRDF is not healthy as well?” he asks.

In the ten years (1991-2001) “I worked in the organization I know that only Almaz Makko, former speaker of the House of People Representatives, and Hassen Ali, former president of the region, left OPDO and now live in exile.[Other senior members such as] Yonatan Dhibbisa, Diriba Harqo, and General Kamal Galchu defected. Ibrahim Malka and Hailu […] were expelled from the organization, but live in the country. Asfaw Tune and I resigned and live in the country,” he says. “Compare this with the endless number of senior TPLF members who were expelled from the TPLF in early 2000. Do not forget the rank and file of thousands of TPLF members who were expelled or left the organization earlier (around 1991/1992 and in 1994).”

According to an official document published by the OPDO in 2015, in the first ten years since 1991, there had been at least four occasions in which the OPDO had to evaluate itself. On each of those occasions some officials, including high level officials, were expelled while some were simply demoted from their positions.

Solomon Seyoum believes more often than not OPDO had to struggle to assert its legitimacy and relevance

Solomon Seyoum doesn’t bite his tongue when discussing about the endless purges OPDO is often “forced to execute”, which plays a significant role in disorienting the party from its core. He also adds that OPDO central committee does not only suffer from perpetual purges but mysterious killings and disappearances of its members such as Mekonnen Fite and Bayu Gurmu who, according to Solomon, were killed by “government security agents in Sept. 1997”. “Hassan Ali, the then president of Oromia, and other OPDO central committee members were discussing the death of Mekonnen and Bayu when Alemayehu Desalegn, another OPDO central committee member and head of the Oromia finance bureau, was mysteriously gunned down and explained away as a suicide.”

Solomon further referred to an August 2001 statement given by Almaz Meko, the former house speaker who is now in exile: “The EPRDF government has brought untold miseries and sufferings on the Oromo people. [The] OPDO is … reduced to a rubber stamp for TPLF’s rule in Oromia.”

But Dr. Negasso disagrees and says “it is too simplistic to conclude that the OPDO is not healthy because few of its senior members left and live in exile or defected,” he says, “rather, other symptoms must be shown and the root causes must be looked for. Besides, root cause of the illness should not only pile upon the OPDO and [we should] not forget to investigate on whether EPRDF itself, from top to the lowest level, is healthy or not. OPDO cannot be sick if the EPRDF is not sick. If the OPDO is not healthy, EPRDF is not healthy.”

Our anonymous interviewee agrees that there are problems within other members of the EPRDF and the front itself.The problem of corruption, for example, is deeply rooted within the OPDO, but it is also rampant within the EPRDF in general. But there are some problems that can only be attributed uniquely to OPDO, he says. “When we evaluate OPDO as a sister party to the coalition, especially in light of TPLF’s strength, the differences between the two members of the same front become crystal clear,” he says. “For instance, TPLF has a firm base within the Tigray elites; a heavy presence within the intelligence, the army, the diaspora and business people. OPDO can’t boast of such level of acceptance. It doesn’t have the Oromo elite with it.”

This, according to Solomon, often sends the party off balance, costing it the little faith its constituency want to entrust in it, if for lack of choice. Every now and then, therefore, “OPDO had to struggle to assert its legitimacy and relevance back from square one”, Solomon told this magazine during an interview.

But in addition to its political weakness, being OPDO in itself comes with a price tag on it. On the one hand OPDO as a party is a subject of constant scrutiny from the mother party for harboring Oromo nationalist members who sympathize with the long outlawed OLF. On the other hand, the party comes under constant attack by nationalist Oromos who accuse it of being the OLF antithesis. For our anonymous interviewee, “being OPDO is never easy.” “OPDO, for some is narrow nationalist, while for others it is not nationalist enough,” he says, adding: “many Ethiopianist political observers see OPDO as a threat, as a haven for narrow, and possibly secessionist, nationalists. But for many radical nationalists who want more self-autonomy for the Oromo people or generally for the Oromia State, OPDO is a deserter. It is very difficult to reconcile these two diametrically opposing demands.”

 But is there anything OPDO canhold on to?

Solomon Seyoum sees nothing in a form of political redemption for OPDO. According to him, the current Oromo Protests show that the party has long “crossed the Rubicon.” OPDO is irredeemable mostly because its founders remained ardent political loyalists to the all too powerful TPLF. Although the new generation of OPDO members have shown time and again that the party can indeed be redeemable and can become the people’s party, its founders and the “patron-client” relationship they maintain with the dominant TPLF has made them become the “Achilles heels.”

However, despite the enormous challenges, Dr. Negasso and our anonymous interviewee insist on the pragmatic outlook. Under the OPDO, “services of communication have expanded much in Oromia region”, Dr. Negasso says, listing the party’s accomplishments. Although the quality needs a serious reflection, the same holds true for roads, health posts, schools, higher education, and vocational training institutes.

But if OPDO wants to regain the much needed trust from its constituency, the work ahead is monumental. To this end, according to Dr. Negasso, even if some of the problems the region faces can be attributed to the country in general, OPDO has failed to even implement the rights of the Oromo people which are guaranteed in the constitution. A case in point is the “Oromia State’s special interest in Addis Abeba”, which, twenty years after it was written, is not supported by guiding proclamations. “There is problem in the justice system, too. And our election system and the absence of constitutional court have led to the situation that only OPDO dominates in Oromia.”

For our anonymous interviewee, apart from the administrative achievements, OPDO has registered successful accomplishments in making up to historical injustices and opening up opportunities for an entire generation of self-assertive youth who are proud of their identity. And for all its problems, OPDO remains “the largest, strongest and most structured Oromo organization ever,” he says.The problems that have tangled the OPDO should not therefore be diagnosed as OPDO problems only. “OPDO’s health and sickness has a wider ramification to the EPRDF as a ruling party, as well as to the country. That is why it is important for the party to tidy up its house.”

According to him “Ethiopian politics is predictably unpredictable.” But from where things stand today OPDO has two choices to make: putting all the focus in the past and getting lost in the maze or looking ahead and assume leadership.“If OPDO keeps undermining itself by playing the role of the little kid in the house, if it continues to be burdened by its own, or for that matter the country’s past, I don’t see a way of [redemption]. I’d recommend for it to focus on the future and get closer to the demands of the people it leads.”

In what came for many as the latest weave of purge, in an emergency meeting of the Oromia Regional Parliament(Caffe Oromia) held in the first week of June, OPDO announced it removed DemozeMame and Boja Tadesse, President and vice President of the region’s Supreme Court, and stripped the immunity from Zelalem Jemaneh, former OPDO executive committee member andhead of the region’s bureau of agriculture. While the former two were replaced by Addisu Kebenessa and Hussien Adam respectively, Zelalem was detained by the police suspected of corruption just a day after he lost his immunity.

The second round of high level purging since the beginning of Oromo Protests in November last year, this latest act of purge has left critics guessing whether itwas the long awaited road to redemption or just another political maneuver that will leave the party in yet anotherround of disarray.

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The Oromo people were colonized during the last quarter of the nineteenth century by a black African nation – Abyssinia – with the help of the European colonial powers of the day. During the same period, of course, the Somalis, Kenyans, Sudanese and others were colonized by European powers. The fact that  the Oromo were colonized by another black African nation makes their case quite special.

For more than 100 years, the Oromo people has been at war with enemies sworn to its destruction. Oromo people has done and still is doing all kinds of struggle in order to eradicate all those injustices and to regain his own god given freedom, full right to live as human being and rebuild his own country Oromia. The Oromo’s paid a heavy price to build Ethiopia but when it comes to power and money they are the last to touch the desk and when it comes to the human-right and equality they are the first to be victim of the system.  None of us on the earth choose to be born where we are born but once born, for example in my case, as an Oromo, there is no way I can change it. Unlike religion, behavior and attitudes towards nature, ethnic belongingness cannot be changed. That is why I cannot stop reminding at every chance I got the international community, TPLF elite and their puppet collaborators that as an Oromo, I am oppressed and I want my freedom and equality.

I am asking myself day to day, month to month and year to year why 50million of Oromo nation is languishing for so long time, so badly and inhumanly under minority rule ( previous one 25million and current TPLF rule 5 million) and while most of the Oromo’s are confronting our enemies with bare hands gallantly, why some of Oromo individuals and groups are working for our enemies TPLF junta. Like OPDO and individuals working in the embassies like ambassador Dina Mufti…etc and individuals in foreign business companies.???

Many Oromo intellectuals try to give diverse explanation to this humiliation namely:

• Effects of colonial injustices and oppression on both individuals and collectivities (Destruction, dependency or assimilation): In all spheres of life, discrimination, subjugation, repression and exploitation of all forms were applied. Everything possible was done to destroy Oromo identity – culture, language, custom, tradition, name and origin.
• Passivity of the Oromo’s sided with colonial state: One explanation for passivity is that precisely the power and pervasiveness of the colonial state has created deep fear, especially among people with family obligations, vulnerable employment and with moderate commitments to democratic freedoms. This group of citizens is aware of cases where colonial powers have affected other citizens who were involved in critical activities, causing job loss and broad suffering and are not willing to sacrifice their security and the welfare of their families.
• Ignorance: those peoples or groups who are not aware of the size, scope and activities of the colonial state. Their practical behavior speaks to the notion that ‘since I am not directly affected it must not exist’. Embedded in everyday life, making a living, enjoying leisure time, entertainment, sports, family and concerned only about household budgets. This mass is so embedded in their personal ‘micro-world’ that it considers the macro-economic and political issues raised by the colonial state as ‘distant’, outside of their experience or interest: ‘I don’t have time’, ‘I don’t know enough’, ‘It’s all ‘politics’. The widespread apoliticism of the public plays into its ignoring the monster that has grown in its midst.

My answer to this question is as follows. It is Stockholm syndrome, is a psychological phenomenon described in 1973 in which hostages express empathy and sympathy and have positive feelings toward their captors, sometimes to the point of defending and identifying with the captors. These feelings are generally considered irrational in light of the danger or risk endured by the victims, who essentially mistake a lack of abuse from their captors for an act of kindness. Stockholm syndrome can be seen as a form of traumatic bonding, which does not necessarily require a hostage scenario, but which describes “strong emotional ties that develop between two persons where one person intermittently harasses, beats, threatens, abuses, or intimidates the other. The FBI’s Hostage Barricade Database System shows that roughly eight percent of victims show evidence of Stockholm syndrome (FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin July 1999).

Today Oromo peoples (approximately 50 million) are kept hostage by Tigrian mafia organization called TPLF(Tigray people’s revolutionary Front). The new document reveals that the hostages are beside the standard atrocities like humiliation, torture, killings and harassment they are building underground diverse building for future civilized Tigray nations, namely (modern military equipment depo’s, fully organized hospitals, tunnels..;etc). The most horrific acts of this mafia groups TPLF junta are their act of wildness (killing of those peoples who builds the underground buildings to keep the facilities secret). Normally when your brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers and injustices against human being you have to raise up against those atrocities, but those Oromo organization of individuals who works for them is suffering from Stockholm syndrome (traumatic bonding). That explains also the historic background of the OPDO leaders they are all hostages. My message to the Oromo people, Write down every missed/disappeared family member of you. One day we will bring them to justice those mafia TPLF leaders or we will bring justice to them in front of those secret buildings.

The second topic of my concern is today about our struggle against colonialism with multi faces and stability of our future nations (post-colonial era):

Before I am going to enter the core issues: Let us look two African countries with fundamental characteristics Botswana and Somalia. Both have: (1) one large dominant ethnic group divided into clans; (2) both are sparsely populated in semi-arid conditions; (3) at independence, both depended on livestock for the livelihood of a majority of the population.  While the Botswana leadership was collectively focused and had a vision of what it wanted to do with the country, the leadership in Somalia was divided against itself.  As a result, Botswana learnt to harness its limited resources for generally agreed objectives.  It learned to survive under the shadow of apartheid South Africa.  And it learned to manage its diamond resources well when those resources started flowing in. Somalia, on the other hand had a divided leadership, some of whom wanted to build Greater Somalia by military means, while others simply wanted to get on with running the country they inherited from colonialism.  As a result, the Somali leadership lacked focus and vision, and often fought itself through conspiracies and military coups.  Somalia also went to war with its neighbors.

Currently our leaders are dealing with rapidly changing tactics of struggle(peaceful solution and militarily) namely

• Education, persuasion
• Legal politics: lobbying, lawsuits
• Demonstrations: show numbers or intensity of  concern (marches, rallies, petitions)
• Economic pressure (Boycotts, selective buying)
• Confrontation, disruption, civil disobedience
• Property damage
• Military confrontation

In such kinds of condition as organization and leaders we have to be:

• Clever and creative enough to be competent,
• determined, wise and intelligent to keep our question or our goal moving forward,
• flexible and transparent for accepting critics and ideas of your people.

In today’s world, skills, industriousness, productivity, and competitiveness are the determinant factors of national greatness. Not even the possession of the nuclear bomb is enough to make a nation great without reference to the industriousness and creativity of its citizens.  

The Oromo people have many natural and God gifted chances in order to be great nations and prevent crisis like Somalia, Libya and Syria. Let us look some facts:

1. Nation of peace: we have God given gifts and character of solving all problems peacefully.
2. Nation of heroes: Heroes are fighting the enemy and protecting the family and friends (so we are never kill each other).
3. All province of Oromo’s are rich in natural resources, so there is no need of creating conflict among ourselves. Contrary, our unity is necessary to form powerful force in order to keep the greatness of our nation and utilize our resources adequately.
4. Our peoples are wise, intelligent and nation of love, so we have a cocktail of problem approaching way of life    

The worst and the destructive entity of our struggle and the obstacle of our unity are the dormant political organization and weak leaders. Their characteristics are non-productive, invisible in the public, non-creative and absence in the international arena of advocacy.

Weak leaders of Oromo organization especially living in diaspora: At this crucial moment when your mothers and fathers are humiliated in their home, when your brothers and sisters are hunted down like fox and gun down without any criminal activities, when millions of Oromo peoples are bleeding, when Oromo doctors and peasants are paying great sacrifices, when our peoples are crying for help you are doing nothing and calling yourself a leader it is shameful and disgracing.  My proposition is as follows:

• stop making business in the name of our peoples blood
• stop laughing and playing cards on their graves
• Stop calling yourself leader of political organization and go work or study to learn how to help yourself in order to help further your people.
• If you remain to be leader come to the public, tell your history, show your action, organize your community and advocate in the international arena.

Safe yourself from historic national responsibility, you can choose between distractors or unifiers. If you are continuing as now with dormant and non-productive ways you will be remembered as distractors and if you are halting your distractive activities and start to work towards the most essential value of our time empowering our peoples struggle, you will be remembered as unifiers and  hero.   

Conclusion: To overcome the atrocities of our enemy, to eradicate the colonization, to expose the open and hidden genocide of TPLF junta, to regain our freedom and our country we have to redouble our duties:

1. We have to elevate our support to OLF and Qeerroo movement in order to empower and strengthen them to crash our enemies. They are ready as always to build mechanized fighters and special commando’s to eliminate the barbaric act and state terrorism.  I would like to salute Mr. Daawud Ibsa The chairman of OLF and his comrades for their sacrifices, determination and persistence in order to eradicate the colonial rule under very difficult and complex geopolitical situation, rare resources and time of uncertainty.   
2. Our intellectuals, if you are afraid to participate in the confrontational ways wake up to empower your nations in many ways. Namely, communication technology  teaching of your people in order to create another form of knowledge to suffocate our enemies,  inventing healthy and agricultural policies and technology in order to treat our peoples, soldiers and commandos.
3. Diplomacy: Towards everybody we have to work day and night. To rich and poor countries, to powerful and powerless countries, to individual and groups, to international and local organizations , to colleges and universities we have to advocate and elevate Oromo nations and our goal.
4. In my previous article on May 24, 2016 I have proposed:  “Our leaders has pursued various strategies to solve all kinds of injustice peacefully with our enemies. But their reaction was/is humiliation, destruction and hopelessness. So i am proposing one day, one victory with enormous sacrifice. My proposition as follows, instead of dying a shameful death in the hands of TPLF militia’s, instead of end up in the torture chamber of TPLF, instead of end up building underground building in Tigray and assassination, instead of living unhuman and humiliating life in our birth place, instead of watching powerlessly gang rapes of our mothers, wives, and sister it is time to empower ourselves in order to enhance our freedom and regain our God-given right and true peace.  So my proposition is we are around 50 million peoples, if we are determine to sacrifice ourselves with a big number in one day the remaining of Oromo’s are living free and safe.  Today I will ask our political leaders and Qeerroo movement to organize this issue creatively and consciously together with WBO in order eradicate colonization and to finish ones and for all the TPLF atrocities against Oromo people and all oppressed nations. The co-ordination of this eradication process has to include the exposition of underground buildings complex in Tigray where our brothers and sisters were assassinated.

Dear brothers and sisters, we must find the resources and knowing how in ourselves if we are to succeed in our struggle in order to liberate our nation; otherwise, to paraphrase Shakespeare, “default would be not in our styles but in ourselves”.

Victory to the Oromo people!

Dr. B.K.DERESSA, Medical degree in internal medicine, specialized in Gastro-Hepatology diseases. University Hospital of Brussels-Belgium

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Summary

Ethiopia’s government, led by Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, has contended with protests for nearly a year. The government’s efforts to quell the unrest have made headlines and drawn international criticism of late, but its problems go well beyond humanitarian concerns. Since the mid-1970s, Ethiopia underwent several periods of upheaval that changed not just the leaders of the country but also the political system and institutions that govern it. Now, with ethnic discontent reaching a new high and the tendrils of insurgency starting to re-emerge, Desalegn’s administration faces the greatest challenge to its rule yet.

Analysis

The protests erupted over a land reform measure, but the roots of discontent go much deeper. Ethiopia’s Tigray ethnic population makes up just 6 percent of the country’s population, yet it enjoys disproportionate influence and representation in government institutions. When the Tigray-dominated government proposed to develop farmland predominantly used by the Oromo people, who make up 34 percent of the population, protests broke out across Oromo regions from November 2015 onward.

Eventually, the government decided against the planned reform, hoping that the protests would dissipate. Instead, protesters continued to turn out, driven by the imprisonment of demonstrators. Then, in recent weeks, the Amhara people — another large ethnic group, accounting for 29 percent of the population — joined in, and the focus of the protests shifted to demands for political equality and an end to the Tigray-dominated ruling coalition’s reign. The protests have now surpassed any grievances about specific legislation, or any specific law enforcement action. Instead, there is a rising resistance to the Tigray’s outsize power and enough pent-up discontent to challenge Ethiopia’s current government.

Together, the Oromo and Amhara are a more serious threat to Ethiopia’s leadership than the Oromo on their own. Furthermore, the Amhara people are more concentrated in urban areas than the Oromo, which has led to protests in population centers. Facing mounting dissent from two of the country’s largest ethnic groups, the government has attempted to suppress the unrest through force. During the weekend of Aug. 7, reports emerged that over 100 civilians had been killed in protests, which led to outcry over the Ethiopian security services’ brutal methods to control the demonstrations. Because the Ethiopian government exercises strict control over media activity in the country and restricts internet access, reports of what exactly happened are slow to emerge. But information from local hospitals suggests that another 100 civilians have been killed since that weekend; at least 55 of these deaths have been confirmed. The rise of urban protests has also led to greater media coverage of the turmoil, despite the government’s attempts to control information.

A History of Upheaval

Ethiopia is no stranger to political unrest. For many centuries the country was run by a monarchy, the Solomonic dynasty, whose rule ended with emperor Haile Selassie. In 1974, a military council brought the first regime change, installing a communist-inspired military council, the Dergue, to lead the country. Eventually, popular support for the new administration began to erode, leading to civil war. The Dergue’s most prominent officer, Mengistu Haile Mariam, tried to reform the Dergue into the People’s Democratic Republic of Ethiopia in 1987, but just four years later, several ethnic rebel groups overthrew the government. The Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front, led by Meles Zenawi, eventually gained control of Ethiopia and installed the element that rules to this day.

The government in Addis Ababa has been challenged before. Unlike the ongoing protests, however, previous uprisings such as the Ogaden rebellion were isolated to smaller ethnic groups acting alone, and the government dealt with them decisively and successfully. By joining forces across ethnic lines to oppose the ruling powers, the Oromo and Amhara present a more formidable problem for Ethiopia’s leadership. Additionally, under Desalegn’s rule, the government has faced internal unrest and may not be as strong as it was during Zenawi’s rule, which lasted until 2012. As the chairman of the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front — the dominant party in the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front coalition — Zenawi led the fight against the communist government that preceded it and installed the Tigray-dominated government in Addis Ababa. His parliament consisted of fellow rebel veterans who had all fought and won together in the war against the Dergue, while Desalegn’s administration lacks the same unity and solidarity. The Oromo and Amhara protests will test whether the Tigrayan administration can endure without Zenawi.

A Budding Insurrection

At this point, the protests and limited rebel activity do not even approach the situation Ethiopia faced in the 1970s and 1980s, when the Dergue countered multiple severe rebellions. Nonetheless, given the size of the Amhara and Oromo populations in Ethiopia, the threat they present should not be taken lightly. As strong as they appear, the Tigray-dominated institutions in Ethiopia are not monolithic. And, because of their small number, the Tigray have had to co-opt members of smaller ethnicities (such as the Wolayta, from which Desalegn hails), and even the Amhara and Oromo, to serve in government and man the security forces. If opposition to the government increases along ethnic lines, the ruling elite or even Ethiopia’s security forces could fracture.

Since the bloody Aug. 7 weekend, protesters in some areas have turned to less violent forms of civil disobedience. For instance, in the Amhara city of Gondar — once the capital of an ancient Ethiopian empire — civilians have gone on a general strike, turning the city into a ghost town despite calls from the government to resume business as usual. Some reports even claim that local militia or rebel groups near Gondar have attacked convoys and bases belonging to the security forces. Though these incidents seem to be few and far between at this point, several latent insurgencies linger in Ethiopia, and growing ethnic dissent could rejuvenate and galvanize support for these simmering rebellions. In the past week, two rebel groups announced their alliance. If these groups increase their attacks, or if other groups join the movement opposing the government, the current administration could face a similar fate to the one it brought upon its predecessors.

The Oromo and Amhara protest movements could change the course of Ethiopia’s future, but it is not yet clear what the result of their uprising will be. A change of leadership could bring greater political freedoms, such as allowing outlawed opposition groups to take part in free and fair elections. On the other hand, it could also lead to prolonged conflict and instability. If the resistance against the government reaches critical levels, Desalegn could decide against an armed struggle and instead take political measures to liberalize or transfer power. Regardless of how this situation develops, Ethiopia’s Tigray-dominated government may not be able to sustain its hold on power for much longer. And though the current protests may be Desalegn’s first major challenge, they will likely not be his last.

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