Friday, September 28, 2007

Gantuun murna shaee-Qinijjit kana hojiin isaanii.


Olumaa Abarraa irraa

Maxxantoonni diinaa kann garaaf bitaman
Goontootti kaaleessaa nafxanyaaf fe’aman
Galtuun OPDO hiyyuu Tigree baatan
Gantuun qabsoo sabaa Qinijjit abdatan
Seenaa Oromoo irraa tasa hin baratan
Harree diinaa ta’uun fe’amuu hin mufatan.

Hambaa diinaa nyaachuuf hirmii hin lagatan
Dhiiga haadhoo isaanii foon isaa yoo nyaatan
Biyya abbaa gurguruuf safuu hin hedatan.
Mana abbaa ofii jigsu waan diinaan jedhaman.
Ayyoo ofii saamsisu Kan borii hin ilaalan
Harmee ofii boossisu kan irraa dhalatan.

Kana hojiin gantuu seenaa hin hubatan
Fiigi diinni jennaan takkaa hin dhaabbatan.
Ofi irra ilaaluun seenaa hin mildhatan
Akka wangoo baddee waa mara ciniinan
Odaa damee qoru waan Oromoof hoodaa
Gadaa afaaniin faarsaa dalagu waan badaa.

Halagaa faarsatu Qaanii Oromoof safuu
Diinaan fira jedhu kan bor biraa hafu.
Seera halagaan buluuf murtee ormaatti iyyu
Seraa fi heera gadaa hin beekan takkaayyuu.
Afaaanii ni waamuu gadaa bilisummaa
Faalla isaa dhaabbatu waayee Oromummaa.

Heeraa fi Seera gadaa hojiin hin bekanii
Gorsaa maanguddootaa tasa hin fudhatanii
“Mana Seeraa” jedhu Amerikaa dhaqanii
Abbaa isaanii yakkuu dantaan bitamanii.
Maqaa dhaaf iyyaatu maqaa dur gatanii
Oromootti as ba’uuf diina baadhatani.

Halaabaa Abbaa gadaa Halaabaa ABO
Kan goonni sarare Leenjistichi WBO
Gandatti gatanii moofaa Ormaa ufaatanii
Halaabaa Minilik mataatti xaxatanii
Sabatti muldhatu gola hin dhokatanii
Qabsaawonni dantaa diinaan firoomani.

Caayaa Odaa jalaa gananii bahanii
Halaabaa Minilik jala baqotanii
Waayee gadaa odeessu afaaniin taa’anii
Bilisummaa jedhu faallaa dhaabbatanii.
Ilmaan gabroomfattun lapheetta haammatani.
Gantuun murna shanee kana hojiin isaanii.

Bar soddomaa oliif qabsoo qucarsanii
Dabbaalluummaa diinaa utuu raawwatanii
Hardha as muldhatan xumurre se’anii
ABO diiguudhaaf dirqama isaanii
Garuu hin milkoofne akka abjuun hawwani
Jalaa fashalee jiraa abdii haa kutatani!!!!


Gantuun qabsoo sabaa Goobantoonni haaraan
Shanee-Qinijit faan egaa achi haa goran.
Itti qorree jiraa halabaa Minilik sammuutti haa xaxatan,
Iyyaa eegalanii jiruu amma ilee haa iyyan.
Garuu Oromoo biraa dirmata hin qaban
Kun seera Gadaatii kana haa hubatan.

Wabiin Oromiyaa Addi bilisummaa
Haqaan ijaarame kaanaafuu ni mo’a!!!
Abdiin isaa Oromoo dha kan irraa uumame
Keenyan dagaleen isaa ittiin utubame.

Itti fufa....

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

The Oromo Identity, a Major Welding Mechanism of National Unity

By Rundassa Eshete Chairman of the US-based Oromian National Academy.

Introduction

Following the collapse of the Oromian state, a large colonization effort was undertaken by Abyssinian settlers starting by 1860. This caused a fight for national identity, and down to our times, Oromia continues being a fertile ground for the Oromo struggle of National Identity. In this confrontation, the Oromos fight to retain their linguistic and cultural integrity, whereas the Amhara-Tigre Abyssinian settler groups are determined to assimilate the Oromo Nation into the mainstream Abyssinian religious beliefs and cultural values.

In this paper, I will examine the continuous effort of the Tigre-Amhara governments, and the use of various ideologies in order to support the assimilation efforts carried out against the Oromian for more than 150 years. In addition, I will also briefly assess the tactics pursued and the techniques used by the successive Abyssinian rulers before the current Tigre government that aimed at destroying the Oromian identity and outmaneuvering the Oromo effort to reassess the Oromo identity.

The Oromo Renaissance effort evolved around three axes, namely reclamation of the Oromo lost land (confiscated by the settlers), persistence on freely practicing Waqeffannaa, the traditional Oromo religion, unobstructed and unrestrained, and re-establishment of the Oromo traditional socio-behavioural and socio-political system. The latter, known in Afaan Oromo (language) as Gadaa, had been used, prior to the Abyssinian invasions, by the Oromos in order to deal with governmental matters as well.

Abyssinian Totalitarian Tactics of Forced Oromo Assimilation

One of the means used by the Abyssinians to destroy the Oromian identity was pure and simple Genocide, a cynical and merciless effort to reduce the number of Oromo population. To accomplish this task, the Abyssinians repeatedly perpetrated abhorrent massive massacres. To name but a few, Calanqo and Anole are toponymics turned to havoc memory that still haunts the young Oromo generations of the 21st century.

In this regard, it noteworthy to recall Menelik’s inhuman practice, namely the biological warfare that has stuck in the collective Oromo memory as " Fantaataa", an Amharic word signifying the extermination of no less than 5 million Oromos.

Fantataa alone reduced Oromia’s population from ten to five million. Following the Amhara invasions that ended up in the colonization of Oromia, the Abyssinians started building their Monophysitic Christian churches throughout Oromia, while massively changing Oromo toponymics by renaming them in Amharic. Oromo personal names were forcefully changed to Amharic personal names as well. Young kids, forced to join the Abyssinian educational apparatus, were required to rename themselves in Amharic. The same was dictatorially applied to Oromians who applied for professional occupation in the administration.

Most importantly, the Abyssinian government coined the term "Galla" which is absolutely derogatory and discriminating, equivalent to "nigger" or "pagan". All the Oromians, who refused to join the Monophysitic Christian church, were called like this, and in the long term the entire Oromo Nation was conditioned to this terminology.

Thus, the Abyssinians became not only the masters in Oromia but also the Galla-makers. Still unsatisfied, the ruling Abyssinian elites continued dehumanizing the Oromo Nation, as people deprived of culture and civilization; this was done intentionally in order to limit the creative potential of the Oromo consciousness.

As time went on, systems changed in Abyssinia from feudal system to semi-capitalist system and then to third world communist dictatorship. However, the Oromo identity assimilation tactics employed by the Abyssinians went through a complex process of deception, refashioning, and reconsideration; they progressively evolved around the following pillars: massive Abyssinian colonization (through waves of Amhara new-settlers), and deceitful localization of the Communist practice of collectivization (sovkhoz). In Amhara-ruled Abyssinia, Sovkhoz meant simply taking away the land from the indigenous Oromo owners and offering it to those the Communist rulers called as ‘oppressed’, namely the Amharas and the Tigrians.

In addition to the advantage of expropriating the Oromians from their lands through the trickery of the Communist Ideology, the Abyssinians benefited from the collectivization (sovkhoz) project in another way; they managed to efficiently control the indigenous Oromo population, by providing the Abyssinian settlers with guns and training them thereon.

Other practices involved the following:

- Forced learning of the Amharic by the Oromo members of the sovkhoz collectivity,

- Further expansion of the Abyssinian Monophysitic religion through continued erection of Abyssinian churches in every sovkhoz, and diffusion of the Monophysitic Christian Abyssinian belief and norms among indigenous Oromos

- Control of the physiological and emotional landcape of every village member

- Expansion of further mistrust among the sovkhoz collectivity members and the Oromo family members who were sovkhoz members as well, through use of the then appealing theory of socialist revolution as a tool to "shape Oromos’ minds to what ever direction they desired". In the meantime, all those who expressed concerns and reserves with respect to the immorality of the attempt, namely the forced assimilation of the Oromo Nation into the Abyssinian identity, were immediately arrested and subsequently executed – through extrajudicial procedures.

However, the Abyssinian rulers failed to understand the heart bit of the Oromo Nation who never accepted neither slavery nor assimilation. The Abyssinians, like any other occupying force, failed to admit that it has been impossible to make obedient slaves out of nations who, prior to the Abyssinian invasion, enjoyed freedom and independence, having their own culture and civilization, socio-behavioural and socio-political systems, religion and Weltanschauung. As a result, all the Abyssinian rulers refused to come to terms with the intellectual peculiarities of the various conquered nations, continuing their discriminatory attitude of stigmatizing the Oromo Nation.

Current tribal ruler Meles Zenawi’s practicesThe Tigre ethnic group leader Meles Zenawi who came to power in 1991 did not learn much either. Though he had been critical of his predecessors, when he was an ethnic opposition leader, it didn’t take him long time he started the repetition of discriminatory stereotypes with respect to the Oromos, such as the theory that the Oromos are narrow-minded nationalist people.

Zenawi maintained the statu quo, and tried to implant new cultural patterns and assumptions in the average mind of the Oromo people through use of modern capitalism in an effort to effectively disorient them from the National Independence Struggle. In an effort to exploit the capitalist system’s capacity to work at the subconscious level, he tried to place wealth, prosperity and individual satisfaction at the epicenter of the average Oromo’s concern.

Acting on this background, Melese Zenawi gave land to Oromos, because of the back thought that the concept of investment and investor would entice the entire nation to an individualistic way thinking and belief. How did Meles Zenawi draw this conclusion?

Well, he first convinced himself that down to earth reality is not an issue; he assumed that Oromos’ opinions, values, judgments, and opposition do not deserve any consideration; actually, if he does consider these facts or realities, there will be no more ‘Ethiopia’ to be ruled, no power to be exercised and no capital to be accumulated.

By doing so, Meles Zenawi kept the assimilation process started by his predecessors alive and fully functioning; simply the means changed, and the assimilation process evolves around the following axes: drugs, prostitution, and individualism. In this way, highly imaginative expectations of personal enrichment and prosperity are used by the state in order to go ahead with the ages old project of destruction of the Oromo National Identity. This is the point that dictator Zenawi failed to understand as regards his erroneous assumption that he could be able to assimilate the Oromo Nation and amalgamate it within the Abyssinian identity through misuse of the ideals of capitalism. In reality, what becomes very clear here is the fact that this fantasy world, which Mr. Zenawi is trying to create, is his own mere act of naming himself the ruler and the ruled.

If that had not been the case, Meles Zenawi would have never tried to convince the Oromo Nation to approach the current situation through an individualist standpoint rather than as a nation, especially when he has been ruling Oromia with the help of the Tigreans and the Amharas.

Furthermore, it is clear that the individuals are simple agents of societal groups who take responsibility for the rebuilding of the social and moral infrastructure of a nation. It is hypocritical for the Abyssinian ruling classes to assume that individual rights are incompatible with an act of social participation, only when it comes to the Oromos.

In addition, the thoughts and the attitudes of the individuals emanate out of their social, behavioural and cultural backgrounds; consequently, it is not a smart idea to try to destroy the Oromo identity by keeping individual Oromos in isolation when continuing at the same time to use the OPDO as political alibi for the killings of Oromo students, and to jail those who question the Abyssinian superiority over the Oromos. Simply, preventing the Oromos from being organized as a national group would mean that no one could have any parents, cousins, friends, personal heroes, or even neighbors! Yet, as indication of an existing policy of two measures and two weights, this happens at a time the Abyssinians are ruling the country as an ethnic group, not as individuals, and their attitudes, and approaches are influenced by their ethnocentric views.

In other words, this policy aims at first separating individual rights from collective group rights, and second introducing partials concepts and practices of justice whereby self-sufficiency of a man alone is the main principle for an Oromian, but group justice is a principle for the ruling Abyssinian-Tigrean in Oromia.

Basically, what Meles Zenawi is currently doing and what the all-Amhara party leaders wish to do in Oromia is an effort of keeping the Tigrean / Amhara dominance in both material and theoretical terms by virtue of the ‘right of conquest’ that the Tigreans /Amharas established long ago.

By doing so, Meles Zenawi and the Amhara leaders unilaterally assume a theoretical precedent, i.e. the appropriation of the right to define exclusively the meaning of colonization. Like this, the human experience, knowledge, truth, and the predominance of the Abyssinian colonization in Oromia mean that the majority of the country is reduced to Mr. Zenawi’s living room.

Conclusion

Dictators require strong control over the people they colonize because they expect to survive. However, organizing persons against other persons through the division of a small town population into 30 houses hold boundaries as a means of control is unique. The Gestapo had tremendous powers of search and seizure within Germany, and later throughout the occupied territories of other nations but never did Gestapo reach the level of organizing people at a 30-house hold level just for the sake of the most adequate control. It is true that Gestapo and the TPLF share one common practice that is eliminating their enemies through use of torture, killing, or imprisoning.

Nevertheless, with the advent of Oromo consciousness, the Oromo people are ready to get engaged purposefully and resolutely in the search for their true identity and nationhood, and define by themselves their own political identity in the Horn of Africa region. Hence, they are currently interrogating cultural symbols, re-examining History and re-configuring intellectual models of emulation. In a profound sense, the process of identity definition and formation is linked to the re-instatement of past Oromo values, socio-political systems and Oromo civilization. Oromos’ objective for the re-constitution of their identity becomes therefore an act of liberation, and this consists in the greatest concern and the utmost fear of the colonizing Abyssinian elites. However, for the Oromos, the National Identity can be used as a major welding mechanism of their unity and as an instrument for achieving social, economic and political ends, while carving a separate place for Oromos in this world.

Kinship and common origin are always crucial to the genesis of every nationalism. Though subject to alteration and development, these components form the web of the collective myth and the memories from which national identity is built over the centuries. There are nations who have undergone the harsh reality of colonialism, and yet were able to keep their distinctive ethnic and cultural patterns inherited from earlier eras. In this way, they were able to finally form their own free country. As a matter of fact, the crime perpetuated against the Oromo people by the Tigre-Amhara colonizing elites should not deter the Oromos from fighting hard to liberate their country, Oromia, and enjoy freedom.

Today, when nations around the world are determined to markedly present their identity and cultural particularity, the re-constitution of the Oromo identity and the emergence of Oromia are the objectives of the entire Oromo Nation.

The liberation of Oromia will provide the Oromians with an immense psychological and mental satisfaction that will also play a unifying role while enabling the Oromians to create their own space in which they will be able to present their narratives to the rest of the world. This demands absolute concentration on the Oromo theoretical foundations and behavioural principles that earned the Oromos an enviable reputation among the nations of this world; this concentration is the only way to build an Oromo identity and a free state.

On the other hand, the re-constitution of the Oromo identity will ensure for the Oromos the possibility to avoid eventual negative aspects of the globalization, and the ability to approach and interact with other independent nations. The project of searching for one’s national identity and fighting for national independence demands of us to go beyond the simple removal of the negative references to the Oromo Nation by Tigre-Amhara Abyssinian elites. At the same time, it will help us go beyond the Christian – Islamic predicament. It requires a thorough process of unmasking oneself from borrowed names, religion, tradition, Abyssinio-centric tendencies, and this is especially valid for those inclined to ‘‘neutral’’ and/or ‘‘universal’’ thinking. For sure then, the Oromos will be able to complete the unfinished business of cultural reclamation and psychological rehabilitation, and to form their own free government.

Monday, September 24, 2007

Maqaa qabsoo bilisummaa Oromootiin bu’aa dhuunfaa isaaniitiif kadhaan hin ta'u!


Maqaa qabsoo bilisummaa Oromootiin bu’aa dhuunfaa isaaniitiif oliif gadi kan jedhan, ayyaan lallattoonni murni shaee Qinijit guyyaa kaleessaa Fulbaana 23 2007 Swiss magaala Bern keessatti ilmaan Oromoo afaan faajjessuuf yaaliin godhan ijoo jalaa dhabee jedha maddi gaabaasa keenya.

“Walaga’ii ilmaan Oromoo” jedhamuun baatii tokkoo oliif xayaa, bilbilaa fi E-mailaan ilmaan Oromoo biyya Swiss jeran maratti caasaa Murna Shanee-Qinijitiin lallabamaa kan ture yaamichi murna shanee Qinijit kana irratti nami 23 qofa akka irratti argame hubatame jira.

Dabbaallee Olaanaa Shanee-Qinijit “itti gaafatamaa damee dantaa alaa Abo” ofiin kan jedheen kan geggeessan irratti; Oromoota dhibbaantamaan Swiss keessa jiraatan keessaa nami 23 qofaan irratti argamuufiin hangam yaamicha afaan faajjessa Muna kanaa Oromoon akka hubatee fi hangam Oromoon akka isaan mufate kan agarsiisuu fi yoo sammuu Oromummaa qabaatan kan barumsa kennuufii danda’u ta’ee jira.

Muraasuma Oromoota argaman kan irratti illee lallabni dabballee kanaa kan xiyyeeffate gumaacha horii kadhachuu irratti yoo ta’u; haala qaanesaan xumuramuu isaa gabaasinni Bern irraaa argame addeesse.

Ijoon yaamicha isaanii kadhaa horii qofa ta'uu kan hubatan Oromoonni achitti argaman 23 keessaayyuu; Sabboontonni Oromoo kadhaa murna kanaa “qoosaa“ jechuun taajjaba qaban itti himuun gaaffii wal fakkaataa dhaan deebii kennaanii jiru.

"Nugargaaraa jechuun achi as ba'uu keessaniin dura; Hoggantoota qabsoo bilsummaa Oromootiif gurra kennaatii, tokkummaa dhaabota Oromootti amanaatii as nutti kootta."

"Eenyummaa keessanuu isin hin beeknu! " kan jedhuu fi kan kana fafakkaatan gaaffii ciccimoon kan haqa jiru ergamoo murna kanaatti kan himan sabboontonni Oromoo.

“Deeggarsa nuuf hin gootan yoo ta’e bor biyyatti galuu akka hin dendeenye beekuu qabdu!!!” jechuun Oromoota muraasuma yaamicha isaanii kana irratti argaman illee doorsisuu ykn sodaachisuuf kan yaalan Obbo Gaashuu Lammeessaa gaaffii Oromoonni gaafatan adda addaaf doorsisa akkasii deebii gochuuf yaalaa akka turani dha. Gaaffii gaafatamaniif aarii fi dallansuun usuu kan filatan akka ture dha qooda fudhatoota irraa gabaasni dhiyaate.

“Uummata Oromoo irraa horii kadhaan argatan qabsoo Oromoo dura ittiin dhaabbachuuf himata “Mana Seeraa“ jettanii, halagaatti sabboontota Oromoo fi ABO yakkuuf kan oolchitu. Gargaarsa horii Oromoo irraa gaafachuun qaanessaa isinitti hin ta’uu?” Jechuun sabboontonni Oromoo gaaffii dhiheessaniif; murna shanee Qinijit kana bakka bu’uun kadhaaf kan dhufan Obbo Gashuu Lammeessaa deebii laachuu hin dandeenye.

Walaga’ii ilmaan Oromoo jedhamuun baatii tokkoo oliif xayaa, bilbilaa fi E-mailaan ilmaan Oromoo biyya Swiss jeran maratti lallabamaa kan ture yaamichi murna shanee Qinijit kun nami 23 qofa irratti argamuun; shanee Qinijjita ilmaan Oromoo afaan faajjessuuf dhama’a godhu hangam akka hubatanii fi bakka dhorkatan kan hubachiisu dha.

Guyyuma kana Magaala Swiss gurguddoo keessaa tokko kan taate Magaala Zürich keessatti wal ga’iin sabboontota ilmaan Oromoo kan deemisifame yoo ta’u; halaa fi deemsa, rakkoo fi gufuulee qabsoo bilisummaa Oromoo ilaalchisan irratti yaada wal jijjiiruun, diinaa fi fira ilmaan Oromoo hundee hanga ammaatti eenyuu fi maal akka ta’e gadi fageenyaan irratti ibsa walii kennuun maree guddaa guyyaa itti godhatan ture.

Maqaa "yaamicha wal ga’ii ilmaan Oromoo " jechuun gantoonnii qabsoo ergamtoonni Amaaraa haaraan, Oromoo of fakkeessuun afaan nu fajjessuuf yaalan oromoon dursee beekee jira jechuun, maree kana kan eegalan sabboontonni Oromo swiss, yaamicha akkasiif yeroos ta'ee gurra hin qabnu. jechuun ture haasaan kan eegalan.

Akka Auropaatti sa’a 3:00-6:00 kan ture Wal ga’iin Sabboontota Oromoo kun ergamtoota diinaa ta’uun; mooraa qabsoo ilmaan Oromoo diiguuf oliif gadi kan jedhan muni shanee-Qinijjit gochaa isaanii farrummaa irraa deebi’anii; lammii isaanii cina akka dhaabbatan yaamicha gochuun barbaachisaa dha! kan jedhan ilmaan Oromoota kun; maree wal fakkaatu yeroo gabaabaa keessatti gochuun; gadi fageenyaan haalaa fi deemsa, adda addummaa fi tokkoommaa dhaabota ilmaan Oromoo fi cimina Qabsoo Oromoof qooda gumaacha jennee amannu irratti ibsaa fi ejjennoo baldhaa hatattamaan akka godhamu irratti walii galuun gammachuun xumuramee jira.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Neo-Nazi Methods in Use by Tigray Tyrant Zenawi of ‘Ethiopia’ in Ogaden


By Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis


According to a press release, issued today by the Ogaden Human Rights Committee, the tyrannical, tribal administration of ‘Ethiopia’ deployed the most appalling methods in order to hinder the UN Facts Finding Committee that would examine grave descriptions of Human Rights violations, and issue a report on the tragic situation in place at Ogaden.

The OHRC report gets reconfirmed by the personal narrations of hundreds of Ogadenis refugees, who have arrived recently at Djibouti and have described the prevailing situation in their country that is still occupied by the so-called ‘Ethiopia’ as deeply worsened.

Daily killings of innocent people walking in the streets, numerous cases of rape of women who happen to walk alone in isolated spots, and terrorizing methods involving mutilation and sadistic acts complete a picture that represents the Mankind’s most shameful moment in 2007.

Average people and democratic administrations, NGOs and intellectuals, activists and diplomats should read the following lines with great concern, and pressurize their representatives for immediate action against Africa’s most appalling tyrant. The various ways by which Tigray tyrant Zenawi’s thugs tried to prevent the UN mission represent a blow against the international body, and the International Law.

The International Community cannot further tolerate Africa’s most criminal dictator at a moment massive support to Islamic leaders gains momentum in neighboring Somalia; in addition, the UN must bear witness to impartial treatment of similar cases, namely Darfur and Ogaden.
In this article, we will publish only the first part of the OHRC report that provides full description of the ruthless dictator Zenawi’s methods of inhuman oppression and absolute terror practiced at Ogaden.
Press Release - Ref: OHRC/PRO6/0907.

Ethiopia: Attempts to render meaningless the UN Mission’s work in the Ogaden

On September 06th 2007, U.N. aid officials and human rights investigators ended a week-long mission to the Ogaden. United Nations mission, which visited some parts of the Ogaden, was not given unfettered access to many places and was accompanied and guided by Ethiopian officials as Mr. Abdi Mohamoud Omar the head of the Somali Regional State Security and Justice Bureau told BBC Somali Service in an interview during the visit of the UN mission.

Before the arrival of the UN mission Ethiopian government took the following steps in order to confuse and render meaningless the UN mission:

Ethiopian security forces rounded up and detained some outspoken critics of the Ethiopian government’s policies in the Ogaden. They are being held in harsh conditions without charges or trial in military underground detention in Jigjiga.

Ethiopian government emptied crowded jails and police stations in Jigjiga, Dhagaxbuur, Qabridaharre and Godey taking the inmates to secret detention centres until the UN team leaves the area.
Victims of human rights abuses and their relatives have been warned not to speak of their experiences to the UN mission, or else they would be severely punished.

Many important crime scenes were not included in the itinerary of the UN mission.

Prior the arrival of the UN team in Qabridaharre the Ethiopian chief officer declared his government’s intention to punish severely anyone who tells anything bad about the government. He ordered army units to put on civilian clothes during the visit of the UN team and keep an eye on those who may disobey his orders.

Among outspoken critics of the Ethiopian government who were arrested before the arrival of the UN fact-finding mission were the following clan elders and businessmen: Suldan Fowsi Mohamed Ali, Ahmednur Mohamed Tarah, Muhumed Ahmed Nur, Sheikh Nur Jama, Hussien Isse, Mohamed Burale, Faseh Abdi Ali, Abdullahi Nur Shukri, Abdullahi Ahmed Nur and Abdullahi Sheikh Ibrahim.
On August 28th 2007, in Jigjiga, Ethiopian security forces and the local police collected Suldan Fowsi Mohamed Ali from his residence in the dead of night. And then he was transferred to underground military detention in Jigjiga. He is being held incommunicado. Suldan Fowsi is in a poor state of health, and was denied adequate medical treatment.

The Ogaden Human Rights Committee believes that he and other detainees are detained for their political views, and are prisoners of conscience.( For other detainees’ background see Ogaden: Ethiopian government forces: massacre, displace and starve out the civilian population with impunity ref: OHRC/AR/07).

To the best of the Ogaden Human Rights Committee’s knowledge, Suldan Fowsi and other detainees were not involved in any illegal activity. The Ogaden Human Rights Committee calls for them to be either charged with recognizable criminal offences and be given fair trials or immediately and unconditionally released. The OHRC is also concerned about their safety and well being, particularly in view of constant reports about confessions made under duress.

As has been repeatedly documented by the Ogaden Human Rights Committee and international human rights organizations, the state of human rights in the Ogaden has gone from bad to worse in the recent past. The abysmal track record of the EPRDF/TPLF regime has been recently aggravated by natural calamities-mostly man made- and senseless wars, which had primarily been caused by the ill-devised policies of the current Ethiopian government.

The Ethiopian government’s policy in the Ogaden is based on
-deliberate economic strangulation,
-political marginalization and
-use of brutal military force to suppress all legitimate demands from the population, including the right to self-determination.

As a part of the Ethiopian government’s policy of starving out the civilian population in the Ogaden to submission, its army has imposed an economic blockade on many towns and villages in the region. This blockade has caused an enormous human suffering.

The most affected areas by the military siege are: the regions of Dhagaxbuur, Fiiq, Qabridaharre, Wardheer, Godey, Afdheer and some parts of Jigjiga, where many villages were depopulated and razed to the ground by the government troops.

Ethiopian government has coached its officials, members of security forces and collaborators and presented them to the UN mission as clan elders and victims of ONLF alleged wrongdoing.
The Ethiopian government’s scorched earth policy in the Ogaden was in place since early 1992 when the ONLF has called for referendum on self-determination and independence for the Ogaden. But both the New York Times’ article of June 18th and Human Rights Watch’s statement on the human rights violation in the Ogaden, on June 04th 2007, put the spotlight on the slow genocide, which is going on in the Ogaden without the knowledge of the international community.

United Nation’s fact-finding mission did not visit Fiiq region and Wardheer region where sites of mass graves and many torched towns, villages and hamlets are located.

For unknown reason to the OHRC the UN mission did not visit the following crime scenes:
Toon-Ceeley, Xodayo, Lan-Jaleelo, Xero-Bilcir, Garwaan, Lix-Irdood, Samo, Masaarre, Fooljeex, Galadiid, Farmadow, Geerigo’an, Gabagabo, Dalaad, Jiica, Farmadow, Shilaabo, Madax-Maroodi,
Karin-Bilcille, Gurdumi, Maraacaato, Daratoole, Laasoole, Higlalay, Labiga, Bulaale, Dawacaale, Dharkeenley, Ceelxaar, Qamuuda, Wacdi, Jinoole, Caado, Balli-Garabey Arraweelo, Xodayo,
Taaloole, Dundumo-Cad, Qoriile, Babaase and many other places.

The Ogaden Human Rights Committee, which has requested repeatedly the UN to send a fact-finding mission to the Ogaden welcomes wholeheartedly, the visit of the UN mission to some parts of the region and deplores its inability to visit real crime scenes where gross human rights violations took place.

The OHRC requests the UN mission to meet and interview survivors of Ethiopian government’s atrocities who are in neighbouring countries such as, Ridwaan Hassan Rage who survived Babaase massacre, which took place, on July 24th 2007.
Ogaden Human Rights Committee
http://www.ogadenrights.org/
E-mail: ohrc@ogadenrights.org

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

UN reports worsening humanitarian conditions in Ethiopia’s Somali region


The humanitarian situation in Ethiopia’s Somali regional state – one of the country’s poorest areas and home to some 4.5 million people – has deteriorated substantially over the past several months due to ongoing security operations, according to a United Nations assessment team that recently visited the region.

Fighting between the Ethiopian National Defence Forces and the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) has led to the doubling of food prices, inadequate access to clean drinking water and shortages of drugs and other medical supplies, according to a press release from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

The team observed that household food reserves are nearly exhausted among the communities it visited and food aid operations in the areas affected by fighting have been “seriously delayed.” In addition, Government restrictions on commercial and livestock trade have aggravated an already fragile food security and livelihood situation.

“Given the clear suffering of the families in these zones, and the probable deterioration in their lot, I hope that the Government of Ethiopia and the ONLF will do everything in their power to ensure immediate, safe and full access for humanitarian organizations into the region,” UN Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes said.

In its report, the team urged that emergency food aid be provided immediately for some 600,000 people for three months. It also called for the creation of conditions to allow a substantial increase in commercial food deliveries throughout the region as well as increased livestock trade. Drugs for health facilities and support to establish mobile health teams were also needed.

The team recommended that reports of a “worrying human rights and protection situation for the civilian population” be investigated and action taken to protect civilians, including women and children.

The report has been shared with the Ethiopian authorities and the UN stands ready to assist the Government in increasing the delivery of humanitarian assistance and in following up on the team’s recommendations.

The inter-agency team included staff from OCHA, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Food Programme (WFP), World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Department of Safety and Security and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

Oromo Orthodox Criticism of the Abyssinian Misuse of Orthodox Christianity in Politics


By Mr. Dirribaa Ejere


First and foremost, I would like to make clear right at the outset that I am not against any sort of religion, ethnic group and society in general. Respecting and accepting all human beings, irrespective of their geographical location, religion and race is my personal guiding principle inherited from Oromo ‘Safuu’.

Parallel with that principle is my inclination to thoroughly disapprove of those who engage in acts of moral turpitude, thus depreciating the entire Mankind. This attitude became the reason of composing the present article that I believe will shed light on several historical – sociological aspects of the Abyssinian tragedy that went unnoticed for too long.

Sharing personal experience and analyzing characters of the Abyssinian society will certainly help many understand the Abyssinian paradox. I will concentrate on the ways the successive Abyssinian ruling classes have misused my own religion, Orthodox Christianity, against myself and against the Oromo Nation in general.

The targets of these actions have been the justification of the Oromo subjugation, the termination of the Oromo massive resistance to the Amhara and Tigray rulers, and last but not least the obliteration of the Oromo Culture.

Having realized their targets and identified their means was a matter of great and persistent disappointment for me; I am seriously considering getting back to my original Oromo religion, as I have enough of the abuse made by the Orthodox Church, an ever ongoing process.

By the term ‘Abyssinian ruling classes’ I denote here the Abyssinian regimes that helped establish the still existing despotic system, and the Ethiopic Orthodox priests who are directly or indirectly affiliated with the Abyssinian governing body.

Before my presentation as to how Orthodox Christianity is misused at the hands of the Abyssinian ruling classes as a cultural – political tool against the Oromos and other Kushitic nations of the South, I would like to draw a brief portrait of the traditional Oromo religion.

Waaqeeffannaa

Prior to the adoption of Orthodox Christianity, the introduction of Islam, and the diffusion of other Christian denominations (example Pentecostal) among them, the Oromos practiced our original and traditional religion known as Waaqeeffannaa.

Waaqeeffannaa is the belief in One Waaqayoo/Waaqa (One God). For the Oromos, Waaqa is the Creator of everything, Ultimate Source of Life, Omnipresent, Infinite, and Incomprehensible.

Waaqa can do and undo anything; He is Pure, Intolerant of injustice, crime and all falsehood. The manifestation of the One Waaqa takes place through saints called Ayyaana (male) and/or Ayyaantuu (female).

An effective relationship between Ayyaana and Oromo is often maintained by means of Qaallu (male) and/or Qaalittii (female). Qaallu is equivalent to a bishop in the Christian religion and to Imam in the Muslim religion. The place of the worship of the Qaallu is Galma.

Amhara Tyranny

For many long years, the Abyssinian ruling classes have considered as of paramount importance for them to inculcate false ideas in the minds of the Oromos, Sidamas, and other oppressed peoples.

For an idea to serve the interests of the ruling classes, it must diffuse among the subjugated people the belief that it would be either impossible or wrong (or preferably both) for them to organize resistance and attempt to defeat their exploiters.

The real essence of this systematic approach to permanent subjugation evolves around ways to keep the Oromo masses passive and loyal, divide them against one another, and finally lead them to docile identification with the ruling class.

Political Misuse of the Ethiopic Orthodox religion by the Amhara tyrants

Consequently, the Ethiopic Orthodox religion is manipulated and misused by the Abyssinian ruling classes in order to serve such a political approach. At the onset of the invasion, the first phase of attack on Oromo Culture by the Abyssinian ruling classes was aimed at the traditional Oromo religion.

The Orthodox Church, as misused by the Abyssinians, has been instrumental in equating Waaqeeffannaa to Paganism and Satanism, thereby degrading the entire Oromo religion, and creating a false pretext for the Oromos to do away with their own – monotheistic and aniconic – religion and culture.

Quite indicatively, the Abyssinian ruling classes, by means of educators, administrators, etc. intentionally confused the Oromo word ‘Qaallu’ and the Amharic (Abyssinian) word ‘Qaallicha’ for being one and the same.

The Abyssinian ‘Qaallicha’ is a fraudulent person, who resorts to witchcraft and black magic as a means of living. He is socially despised for collecting remuneration by threats and other miserable means.

A lofty Qaallu and an unholy Qaallicha

On the other hand, and contrarily to the Abyssinian ruling classes’ effort to diffuse confusion and therefore negatively and deceitfully portray the Oromo word, ‘Qaallu’ is for the Oromos a religious and ritual expert, who has established a special spiritual relationship with an Ayyaana, who becomes the source of his illumination, opening for him every now and then new spiritual and transcendental paths.

By interpolating Christian Orthodox contextual terms confusingly and for their political purposes, the Abyssinian ruling class disparaged the Oromo term and concept ‘Qaallu’ as evil, therefore promulgating all kinds of castigation against the persons, and in parallel discrediting them socially and religiously.

This is a calculated political machination intended to debilitate the Oromo Qaallu institution and with that the entire Oromo religion and culture. Not only the term Qaallu has been purposely confused, but also its place of worship has been intentionally and fallaciously misrepresented.

Oromo Places of Worship

Besides Galma, places of Waaqa worship and Qaallu rituals involve space under huge trees, areas adjacent to large bodies of water, peaks and cliffs of high mountains, etc.

Further misusing Ethiopic Orthodox Christianity, the Abyssinian ruling classes disseminated volumes of malicious and fallacious propaganda purportedly concerning an eventual worship of trees, rivers, etc. by the Oromos.

Through extensive use of these misrepresentations and falsifications, the Oromo Qaallu ritual places have been ignominiously and inhumanly desecrated and almost completely eradicated, as Ethiopic Orthodox churches have been erected in complete replacement and effacement of the Oromo sacred places.

Irreecha – a Millennia long Kushitic Religious Ceremony prosecuted

Just before the beginning of the harvest season every year, the Oromos attend a prayer ceremony (thanksgiving festival) called Irreecha / Irreessa. Irreecha ceremonies have to take place alongside a lake and / or river meadows whereby now the Ethiopic Orthodox Church takes its holy Tabot (tablets) for the special yearly festival, the ‘Timqet’.

Under the communist regime of Mengistu Haile Mariam, the Qaallu and the Irreecha were proclaimed as absolutely illegal and those spotted practicing it risked imprisonment.

A conspicuous irony here is that the Abyssinian ruling classes denounce the Oromos intentionally for erroneously worshipping rivers, while they themselves take the holy Tabot to rivers at the spot where Oromos have been celebrating Irreecha for ages before the Abyssinian invasion.

This political choice is nothing but arrogating places that are not theirs, and depriving the Oromos of their ritual places; the entire process consists in an obvious misuse of the Ethiopic Orthodox Church.

Not only Oromo’s ritual places, but also the Oromo fertile lands and residential areas have been expropriated again through use of the same Ethiopic Orthodox Church unabashedly, and without an iota of remorse.

Unholy and unethical use of Orthodox sacred objects by the Amhara tyrants

The fertile Oromo lands and residential areas that the Abyssinians deemed as strategic place for their domination are first pried into, after which the Tabot is transported dissemblingly from one region to another in the direction of the land they had an eye on. Upon arrival at the fertile land and/or strategic residential area, they devise a shameful fib, saying that the Tabot refused to move.

Consequently a church has to be built there, implanting subsequently the Abyssinian ruling classes’ despotic system, and uprooting the Oromo residents.

During Ethiopic Orthodox Church ceremonies, some Abyssinian preachers resort to political discourse instead of teaching spirituality. Unimaginable but true, flags are waved inside the churches!

Furthermore, Oromo Qubee is despised publicly in the church, etc. Numerous other examples can be given that evince how Ethiopic Orthodox Christianity is misused by the Abyssinian ruling classes.

All these practices clearly demonstrate, beyond any peradventure of doubt, that the Abyssinian ruling classes have left no stone unturned, and have stopped at nothing to appropriate the Oromo land and eradicate the Oromo Culture.

The Ethiopic Orthodox Church has been extensively and repeatedly misused in order to create mitigating circumstances that militate against uprising and public revolt.

The oppressed nations have every right to resist this implacable injustice, and will come up against the stone wall of Abyssinian ruling class brutalism.

Especially the ordinary Abyssinians and others who are followers of Ethiopic Orthodox Christianity have to react and never tolerate anymore the unethical misuse of their religion.

Victory to the oppressed!

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Ibsa Adda Bilisummaa Oromoo irraa kenname "Miliyeenemii Abashaa" ilaalsisee

ADDA BILISUMMAA OROMOO
OROMO LIBERATION FRONT
Guyyaa: 3 Fulbana 2007
No. 12/ABO/07

Miliyeenemiin Abashaa Oromiyaaf mallattoo waanjoo koloneeffataati

Mootummaa koloneeffataan Itoophiyaa maqaa ‘miliyeenem’ ykn barkumlamee Itoophiyaa jedhamuun Fulbaana 12, bara 2007 ayyaana kabajachuuf dibbee rukutaa jira. Addunyaan ayyaana kana kan kabajate waggaa 8 dura yommuu ta’u Abashootni ammoo barana kabajachuu dhan biyyaa addaa tokko godhanii of ilaaluu barbaadu.

Barkumlamee ykn ‘miliyeenem’ Abashaan ayyaaneffachuuf qophii irra jiru kan ittiin koloneeffataan kun Oromiyaa golgoleessuuf dachee isaa ‘investerootatu’ barbaada maqaa jedhuun ummata Oromoo giddu galeessa Oromiyaa jiraatu duguugaa jiru dha. Wanti dinqisiisaa ta’ee jiru garuu, dhugumaan ‘investeroonni’(dureessotni) kun qondaalota ABT(Adda Bilisummaa Tigraay), miseensota isaa fi wakkiilota isaa kan qabeenyaa Oromoo saamanii ittiin bokokanii jirani dha. Gabaabaatti badiin giddu galeessa Oromiyaa keessatti raawwatamaa jiru dinagdee Oromiyaa bolquu fi ummata keessa jiraatu lafa irraa duguuguuf bara dhibba 21ffaa kana keessa illee mootummichi hammeenyahaan kun dureessota biyyoota addunyaa irraa gargaarsa argatuuni dha.

Akkuma mootummota isa dursanii mootummichi Itoophiyaa yeroo ammaa kunis Impaayera dulloomee fi mana hidhaa ummatoota koloneeffataman ta’e kana addunyaa irraa adda baasee tikfachuu ittifufuuf dhamahaa jira. Mootummichi ‘miliyeenem’ ayyaaneffachuuf buburaaqaa jiru kun badii ilmaan namootaa irratti ofiif dalagaa jiru ummatoota dagachisuuf eegumsa nagaa biyyaa maqaa jedhuun badii fi shororka ummata nagaa irratti geggeessuu itti fufuuf. Hayla Sillaaseen bara 1974 akkasumas Mangistuunis bara1984; lachuu ummatni otoo beelaan dhumaa jiruu isaan ammoo yommuu itti aangoorra bahan ayyaaneffataa turan waan ta’eef inni kunis jaraan kan walfakkaatu dha.

’Miliyeenemiin’ Itoophiyaa addaan Oromoo irratti akkasumas ummatoota Abashaan koloneeffate irrattis godaannisa gadadoo itti bal’isuu irra dabree homaa waan fayyaduuf hinqabu. Barlakkooftuun Abashaa Oromoof bu’aa ka hinqabne; biyyummaan Oromiyaas ka itti mulqamee fi biyyoota addunyaarraa ka itti irraa citte dha.

Bara dhibba 19 dhumarratti Impaayerichi erga umamee asi Oromiyaa keessatti jijjiiramni tolaa ta’ee dhufe tokko illee hinjiru. Fakkeenyaaf, Minilikii fi shiftoonni isaa dachee Oromoo irra qubachuu dhan Oromoo gabrummaa jala galchani. Hayila Sillaaseenis kanuma itti fufuu dhan dachee Oromoo maatii isaa fi murnoota isa deggeraniif deebisee hire. Oromoon warraqsa bara 1974 godheen dachee isaa yommuu deebifatu Dargiin ammoo bara 1984 labsa baafateen deebisee qabeenya mootummaa Itoophiyaa godheera.

Yeroo ammaas Mallas Zeenaawwii Oromoo dachee akaakilee isaa iraa buqqisuu hojii isa godhatee yommuu itti jiru, ka isatti maxxananii fi ‘investeroota’ jedhamanitti gurguree jireenya ummata Oromoo mancaasaa jira. Akkasuma seerri dachee biyya Abashaas; kan Amaaraa fi Tigireen keessa jiraatani hin jijjiiramne; kanneen biraa irraas adda dha. Kaaba Itoophiyaatti seerri qabeenya dachee jabana Minilikii jalqabee otoo hinjijjiiramin abbaa irra jiraatuuf mirga ta’ee kabajamee jiraataa ture ammas akkasuma. Qabeenyi dachee kaaba Itoophiya(Biyya Amaaraa fi Tigiree) dhaalaan abbaa fi haadha irraa yommuu ijoollee isaanitti dabru dacheen Oromoo fi ka ummatoota kibba Itoophiyaa ammoo qabeenya koloneeffataan irra qubatee fi ka mootummaa ta’ee haga ammaatti jira.

Koloneeffatootni Abashaa karaa siyaasaas Oromoo fi ummatoota kibbaa moggaatti baasuu dhan biyyoota addunyaa irraa addaan kutaniiru. Seerri mootummota Abashaa kan itti jige akka irraa ka’uuf ummatoota sagalee isaanii ol kaasanii iyyataa turanii fi ammas itti jiran irra adaba hamaatu gahaa ture, ammas gahaa jira. Har’a maqaa ABOtiin Oromootni umuriin isaanii kudhanii haga sagaltamaatti jiran kumaatamatti lakkaawwaman mana hidhaatti darbamaa jiru.

Jarreen kun mirga ilmaan namootaf ka falman, hooggantootaa fi miseensota dhaabolii hawaasaa, akkasumas siyaasa keessatti qooda ka qabani dha. Kanneen biraa ammoo itti gaafatama kan hinqabne humna mootummichaa kanaan ka ajjeefamani ykn bakka gahani hinbeekamne dha.

Dhaaboliin adda addaa mirga ilmaan namootaatiif falman ajjeechaan, reebichaan, akkasumas waa’ee cabiinsa mirga ummataa mootummaan Itoophiyaa Oromiyaa keessatti bakka adda addaatti ummata Oromoo irraan gahaa jiru akka isaan dhiphise deddeebisanii himaa turaniiru. Garuu motummaa Itoophiyaas ta’e hawaasni addunyaa iyyannoo ummata Oromoo kanaaf mil’uu tokko illee hin kennine. Karaa biraa ammoo, mootummotni lixaa tokko tokko mirga ilmaan namootaa fi dimokraasiif dhaabbanna kan jedhani mootummaan Itoophiyaa mirga ilmaan namootaa cabsee daangaa qaxxaamuree shororka mootummaa akka geggeessuuf gargaarsa godhaafii jiru. Kana irraa ka madde, yeroo ammaa ummatni Somaalee akkasumas Oromootni ajjeechaa mootummichi Itoophiyaa irraan gahu baqatanii Somaaliyaa keessa jiraatan garmalee ajjeefamaa jiru.

Mootummaan Ameerikaa Itoophiyaa jajjabeessuu dhan gaanfaa Afiriikaa keessatti shororkeessitoota akka waraanuufiif yommuu shariika godhatu, mootummaan Mallas Zeenaawwii kana gaaddisa godhachuu dhan ummatoota Itoophiyaa irratis ta’e ummata Oromoo irratti irreeqabeessa ta’uu isaa argisiisaa jira.

Ummatni Oromoo fi ka biraa Impaayericha keessa jiraatan yommuu hiyyummaan, dhukkubaan, akkasumas beela, dhiphuu fi rakkoon adda addaa irra gahaa jirutti ‘miliyeenem’ ayyaaneffachuuf qophiin godhamaa jiru bu’aa waan qabuuf miti. Ayyaanicha kana akka kabajaniif dirqamaa kan jiran ummatootuma mootummaan ABT mirga ilmaan namummaa isaanii sarbaa jiru dha.

Mootummoota Abashaa garaagaraa jalatti waggaa dhibba tokkoo ol dinagdee ummatoota Oromiyaa fi kibba Itoophiyaa saamuu dhan kan bu’aa argatan murnootni tokko tokko injifannoo argatanitti gammaduu dhan yoo ayyaana kana kabajatan waan nama dinqisiisu miti. Haata’u malee jalqaba kann isaan yaadachiisuu feenu, ayyaani kun dhugumaan ‘miliyeenem’ kabajuu otoo hintaane qabannoo mootummaan ABT ittiin aangoo isaa cimsatu dha. Ittaansee, beekamuu ka qabu ayyaana kana kabajuuf horiin bahu jireenya ummata Impaayerichaa irratti, keessumaa qotee bulaa irratti mii’dhaa kan fidu dha.

Horiin kun sanduuqa qondaalota ABT ykn kittillaayyota isaa biraa ka argamus miti.
Mootummootni lixaa tokko tokko horii muraasa biyyattiin qabdu fi fedhii ummatichaa guutuu illee kann hindandeenye gargaarsi biyya alaarraa argamu ‘miliyeenem’ kabajuuf akka oolu yoo deggeran kunis waan nama dinqisiisuu miti. Garuu wanti nuti isaan yaadachiisuu feenu diplomaatotni isaan ayyaanichaaf Finfinneetti ergatanii milkooma siyaasaa fi humna waraanaa isaaf Mallasaa waliin geeba (waancaa) waliin kaasan keessa dhugaatiin jiru dhiiga Oromoo fi ummatoota biraa kumaatamatti lakkaawwamani kabaja mirga ilmaan namootaatiif, walabummaf, dimokiraasiif, walqixxummaaf, akkasumas seerri jallate akka qajeeluuf falmiirratti mootummicha kanaan ajjeefamaniin kan walmake dha. Barcumni qondaalotni kun irra taa’uuf deemanis kan irra dhaabbatu bakka foonii fi lafeen namoota ajjeefaman jiru, waa’een isaanii arman olitti ibsameeti.

Kanaafuu, ‘miliyeenemiin’ Itoophiyaa jedhamu kun guyyaa sobaa fi bakka itti ilmaan namootaa rakkoo cimaa keessa jiraatanitti kabajamuuf deema waan ta’eef caalaatti Oromoof bu’aa kan hinqabne; gadadoo, saamicha dinagdee fi dhiibbaan siyaasaa waggaa dhibba tokkoo ol irra turuu isaa kan ittiin yaadatu malee mirga koloneeffataan irratti argate deggeree waan waliin gammadu hinqabu.

Dhuma irratti, lakkofsi baraa Abashaa, Oromoo fi ummatoota biraa irratti yeroo koloneeffatamanii jalqabee humnaan waan fe’ameef ‘miliyeenem’ kabajuun isaan hin ilaalu. Oromoon aadaa isaa keessa ka jiru lakkoofsa baraa ka mataa isaa Gadaan walqabate waan qabuuf isa kabajachuu akka danda’uuf qabsoo bilisummaa isaa amma itti jiru finiinsuu qaba.

Oromiyaan ni bilisomti!
Adda Bilisummaa Oromoo

Thursday, September 06, 2007

Murtiilee fi Kutanoolee Kora Adda Bilissummaa Oromoo

Hoogganootni fi miseensotni ABO, bikka addaa addaatii dhufan Adoolessa 25, 26 fi 27, 2007, magaalaa Minneapolis MN keessatti Kora waggaa godhatanii injifatnoo guddaa fi milkii bareedaan xumuran. Kora kana seenaa Oromoo gara fuuladuraatti barreeffamu keessatti adda godhee kan jiraachisutu jira. Kunis, murni Shanee Gumii dhaaba keenya fi miseensota keenya kaayyoo ganamaa qabatanii sosso’an mana seeraatti geessuu isaaniiti. Iyyata isaanii keessatti maqaa ABOn sosso’uun keenya miseensota fi galii isaanii jalaa akka xiqqeesse tuquudhaan abukaattootti fayadamanii galmeessan. Yeroo itti abukaattoo bitannuuf illee akka nuti yeroo
hin arganneef jecha xalayaan hammeessaa isaanii Jimaata fi Sambataduraa nu gahee mana seeraatti immo Hojjaduree 8:30 WD akka dhi’aannuuf godhame.

Manni seeraas iyyata isaanii fudhatee maqaa ABOn walgahii hawaasaa gafaa Adoolessa 27, 2007 yaamaa turree akka nuti hin godhanneef yeroodhaaf nu dhaabee ture. Haata’u iyyuu malee, tarkaanfii bareedduu miseensotni dhaaba keenyaa yeroodhaan fudhatan irraa kan ka’e deebiin
gargaarsa abukaattootti fayyadamnee dh’eeffanne fudhatama argatee dhowwi nu irra kaa’ame nu irraa ka’ee walgahii hawaasaa fi kan miseensotaa akka saganteeffanneetti milkiin godhachuu fi xumurachuu dandeenyee jirra.

Deggersi miseensota fi lammiwwan Oromoo bilissummaa Oromiyaaf qabsaa’an dhaamsi deggersaa isaan dhaaba keenya fi miseensota maqaa dha’amanii hammeeffamaniif ergan hamilee kan nama kakaasu turan. Isaan hundumaanis galata qabsoo argadhaa ittiin jechuu jaallanna.

Haala akkanaa keessatti walgahiin fi korri tahe ejjenoolee fi kutannoolee armaan gadii baasuun raawwatame.

Mootummaa Wayyaanee ilaalchisee:

1. Koloneeffataan Mootummaan Wayyanee maqaa diimookraasiin ijaaramee harka lafa jalaan garuu sirna fokkataa faashistummaatti fayyadamee ummata Oromoo mirga dhabamsiisaa, qabeenyaa saamaa fi lubbuu isaanii galaafataa jiraatuun isaa har’a firaafii fi diinaafiis ifaa ta’ee jira. Gochaa faashistummaa isaa kana guddifnee balaalleeffanna. Gocha kana akka ammuma ariitiin dhaabu ni gaafanna.

2. Ummata keenya kan sarbamee bittaa habashaa dhufee-darbaa jalatti hacuucamaa jiru, bilisa bahee akka kaayyoo dhaaba keenyaa ABOtti Republikii Dimookraatoftuu Oromiyaa dhaabbatuuf qabsoo jalqabne hama dhumaatti ittuma fufna.

3. Mootummootni fi dhaabboleen biyyotaa ollaa fi fagoo kan hacuucaa fi sirna gabroomfataa ummata keenya irratti akka lubbuun dheeratuuf karaa garaa garaan mootummaa Wayyaanee utubaa jirtan hundumtuu, tarkaanfii fudhachaa jirtan akka dhaabdan maqaa ummata keenyaa Miliyoona afurtamaatti heregamaniin isin gaafanna.

4. Lammiiwwan keenya waggoota dheeraadhaa jalqabee bittaa habashaa jalaa miliquuf qee’eesaa fi dachii isaa dhiisee, biyyoota ollaatti baqatee jiraachaa jiru, mootummaan Wayyaanee isaan faana bu’ee adamsee ajjeessaa akka jiru argina. Hojjii fokkataa kana osoo ilaalanii mirga baqataa eeguu hanqachuun, loltuun Wayyaanee akka saree maraatuu asi fi
achi lixxee baqataa Oromoo cicciniinaa jiraachuu ishee akka dhaabduufi dhaabboleen akka UNHCR dhiibbaa akka irratti godhanii fi hawaasa baqataa Oromoo iddoo kamittu akka golgan ni gaafanna.

5. Ilamaan Oromoo kan biyya ambaa jiraattan, maqaa lafa arganna jedhuun diinaaf irree taatanii Oromoo lafa isaa irraa buqqisiiftanii lafa fudhataa jirtan hammeenna kana saba keessan irratti hojachuu akka dhaabdan isin hubachiifna. Seenaa hamtuu dhimma mataa keessaniif jettanii,
ofii keessan jaalachuudhaan saba keessan irratti yakka seenaa kan keessaa hin hojataa jirtu. Gocha kana irra akka deebitan isin gaafanna.

Murna Shanee Ilaalchisee:

1) Oromiyyaa irraa biyya hiixuu tahe keessatti of ijaaree tarkaanfii uummata keenyaaf bilissummaa isa dhugaa fidu osoo hin tahin hawwii jaraa guutuudhaaf uummata Oromoo afaanfajjeessuu irraa akka dhaabatu gaafanna.

2) Ummata keenya uummata Oromoof daandiin siyaasaa kam akka bu’aa fiduuf isaan fuuldura dhaabbannee wal falmuu osoo hin tahin, maallaqa hawaasni Oromoo qabsoo bilissummaaf gummaache gaaga’uu kan danda’u mana seeraa biyya ambaa filachuu murna shanee jabeessinee balaaleffanna. Kun tahee osoo jiruu daandii dhugaa fi haqaa kan uummata keenya bilissummaa isaatiin gahu qabannee adeemaa akka jirru waan amannuuf shira nu irratti xaxamu mara ciccirree gatuuf boodatti akka hin deebine irbuu seennee ni haaressina.

3) Qabsaa’onni dhuga murna kana jalatti akka miseensaatti galmaa’anii kan fi deggertoota Shanee Gumii, osoo gad fageessanii hin hubatiin umirii jara kanaa dheeressa jiraniin, qabsoon keenya isin irratti osoo hin tahin bilissummaa Oromoo dura kan dhaabatu irratti tahuu isaa isin yaadachiifna.

4) “Tooftaaf”, maqaa jedhuun uummatni keenya haga har’aatti Qabsoo isaatiin mirga tokko tokko inni galmeeffate illee dachaasuuf qophaa’uu isaanii kan hin dhoksine oftuultota habashaaf daandii isaan ittiin deebi’anii aangootti ol bahanii hawwii isaanii ittiin guuttatan tahaa jiraachuu isaa, murni shanee akka hin daganne yaadachiifna.

Tumsa Kaayoo Qabsoo Oromoo (TKO) Ilaalchisee:

Tumsi Kaayoo Qabsoo Oromoo gaafa utubame irraa jalqabee waldhaansi inni kaayoo bilisummaa saba Oromoo akka karaa irraa hin maqne godhe guddifnee dinqisiifanna. Tumsa kana hundaanuu bira dhaabachuu murteefanne.Tumsi kun akka seminaara naannoo akka
Washington, DC, Minneapolis, MN, fi Torontoo, Kanada fa’atti godhu ni gaafanna.

WBO ilaalchisee:

WBOn abdii bilisummaa ti; abdii Oromoo ti; irree saba Oromoo ti. Qabsoo bilisummaa Oromoo jabeessuu fi Oromoo bilisummaa gonfachiisuuf murteessaan WBO ta’uun isaa amanamee, isa jabeessuuf murteeffanne.

Kora ABO Adoleessa 2007.

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

OLF Press Release regarding the so called Abyssinian millennium celebration.

ADDA BILISUMMAA OROMOO
OROMO LIBERATION FRONT


Date: 3 September 2007 No. 11/ABO/07

Press Release

Abyssinian millennium celebration is an austere reminder of colonial devastation of Oromia

The arrogant dictatorial regime of Ethiopia has been busy drumming up a lavish celebration to be held on 12th September 2007 in the name of “Ethiopian Millennium”. Ethiopia is the only country to celebrate the millennium 8 years after the rest of the world, claiming to be a “unique country with its own calendar”. This is notwithstanding the fact that all other countries of the world that follow the Gregorian calendar or otherwise celebrated the new millennium in unison 8 years ago, an event which united the entire world except Ethiopia. Like its predecessors, the current Ethiopian regime is also keeping the dying Empire and the people imprisoned in it in complete isolation from the rest of the world. The regime orchestrates this so called millennium celebration to divert attention from its appalling human rights abuses and take advantage of the occasion to commit further acts of violence and terror on innocent civilians in the name of safeguarding security. It is also reminiscent of Hailesilasse’s jubilee celebration during 1974 and Mengistu’s 10th year anniversary of victory in 1984, both being at the height of critical times of famine in the Empire.

This “Ethiopian Millennium” in particular has a painful symbolic meaning for the Oromo as well as other people colonized by Abyssinia. The Abyssinian calendar has brought nothing for the Oromo but isolation from progress the world has made since Oromia had lost her sovereignty.

There has been no meaningful positive change in the way people live in Oromia since the creation of the Ethiopian Empire at the end of the 19th century. For instance, it is to be recalled that Minillik and his bandits settled on Oromo land and reduced the Oromo people to servitude. Then, Haile Selasse continued the same policy and redistributed the rest of Oromo land among his family members and cliques. The military Derg regime also reversed the 1974 revolutionary gains of the Oromo people and passed a decree that made land the property of the Ethiopian state in 1984 and reduced the Oromo people to the status of landlessness once again. What is more, now Meles Zenawi’s regime is busy uprooting the Oromo people from their ancestral land and selling it off to his cronies and the so called investors with a devastating effect on the welfare of the Oromo people. In doing so, the current Ethiopian regime has effectively cleansed the Oromo people from the entire central Oromia region under the pretext that “the land is required for investors”. The irony is that most of these so called investors, which in reality are looters, are the Tigrean People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) officials and members or their agents who have already fattened their coffers by looting the Oromo properties. In short, the actions that are taking place in central Oromia are the combinations of economic exploitation and ethnic cleansing in the 21st century by a brutal regime supported by the
world’s richest countries.

Notwithstanding this, the land policy in Abyssinia proper, where the Tigre and Amhara people live, also remains unchanged and different from the rest. There, as always, land ownership remains to be a matter of citizenship right.

Land ownership in the north has never changed since the time of Menillik. Families inherit land to their children and land is referred to as the family land whereas the colonizers refer to the land in Oromia and other nations in the south as property of the colonial settlers or the state. Politically, the Oromo and the southern people are marginalized and isolated from the rest of the world by the Abyssinian colonizers. Those who raise their voices against these injustices face brutal punishment by the successive Abyssinian regimes. Today, tens of thousands of Oromo, ranging from the age of ten to ninety, are thrown into the Ethiopian prisons under the pretext of supporters of the OLF. These prisoners include human rights activists, leaders and members of civic-organisations, political activists and civil rights advocates. Most of them have been tortured both physically and mentally in the prisons. Others are killed or have been made to disappear by the government forces that are not held responsible for their brutalities.

Different human rights organisations have repeatedly reiterated their concerns about gross human rights abuses, particularly on extra judicial killings, tortures, and other inhuman treatments of the Oromo people in the hands of the government forces in different parts of Oromia. But neither the Ethiopian state nor the international community has paid due attention to the plights of the Oromo people.

On the contrary, some Western governments who claim to be champions of human rights and democracy have sponsored the Ethiopian government to expand its state terrorism and human rights violations beyond the Ethiopian borders. As a result its forces are indiscriminately killing Somali civilians and Oromo refugees that fled Ethiopia to escape persecutions by the Ethiopian state.

Emboldened by the US which has considered the Ethiopian regime as one of its major allies in the fight against terrorism in the Horn of Africa, Mr. Meles Zenawi’s regime is committing untold atrocities against the peoples in Ethiopia in general and the Oromo people in particular, to assert its dictatorial power.

The current preparation to celebrate the so called “Ethiopian Millennium” in the midst of such human sufferings and tragedies, in the country engulfed by poverty, disease, and famine, has nothing to do with the majority of the peoples in the Empire in general and the Oromo people in particular. These people have already become the major targets for the TPLF led government’s human rights abuses.

There is no wonder, however, if some groups who benefited from over a century long economic plunders of Oromia and the South under different Abyssinian governments would joyfully take part in this celebration believing that this is their victorious history over the rest of the people.

But we would like to remind them that, first, this celebration is not in reality about “Ethiopian Millennium,” but it is a celebration to strengthen the grip of the TPLF to political power. Second, one has to know that the financial cost these celebrations would bring will severely affect the livelihood of all the peoples in the Empire, particularly the farmers. It does not come from the coffers of the TPLF officials or their cronies.

Again, it would not be surprising if some Western governments endorse this celebration which diverts the highly scarce resources of the country and foreign donations from basic needs of the population to finance this pompous celebration. But we would like to remind them that when they send their diplomats to Finfinne to raise a toast to Mr. Meles Zenawi’s political and military successes the toast they drink is mixed with the bloods of thousands of Oromo and other peoples in Ethiopia who were killed by the regime for advocating respect for human rights, freedom, democracy, equality and justice for all. Their diplomats should also know that the beautiful chairs they are going to sit on are standing on the fleshes and bones of the human rights activists, innocent school teenagers, political activists who had advocated the inherent democratic rights of their peoples, leaders of civic organisation whom Mr. Meles Zenawi have considered as threats to his monopoly of political power and eliminated as a result.

Therefore, the so called Ethiopian Millennium is a sham date in the midst of human sufferings, that has no value to the Oromo except a painful reminder of a century old economic exploitations and political suppressions that has already extended 8 years into the new millennium.

Finally, we would like to call upon the Oromo people and others concrened to ignore the “Ethiopian Millennium” celebration imposed on them, but instead promote their own authentic Oromo Gada Calendar, which is deeply rooted in Oromo culture and way of life and in need of revival from the century old neglect by the colonizers.

Oromia shall be free!
The Oromo Liberation Front

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

The taking to court of the Oromo nationalists is not only wrong, but it is contemptible, it is a taboo and unOromo way

The taking to court of the Oromo nationalists is not only wrong, but it is contemptible, it is a
In the height of its conspiracy to undo the Oromo Liberation struggle for independence, the Asmara Group (aka Shanee) took officials and members of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) to the Fourth Judicial District Court of Minnesota, USA, on 19th of July 2007. As one well knows, since its split from the OLF in 2001, Shanee has made every effort to savagely undermine and destroy the OLF, its principle and the objectives it wants to achieve. After its attempts to undermine the OLF had failed and after its hostile ideas toward the Liberation of Oromia were soundly defeated, Shanee begun seeking the alliance of colonialist organizations. Having found them, it made peace, agreements and alliance with them and named the alliance the AFD (Alliance for Freedom and Democracy) to jointly fight the OLF. Again, having failed to achieve its intended goal in the fight, it sought the aid, guidance and advice of its alliance. The alliance advised Shanee to take another channel, the legal action, to incapacitate the OLF and stop its mission of liberating Oromia. That channel is to take the OLF to court. And so Shanee did. In taking the OLF to the courts, Shanee has attempted to change the forms of the Oromo struggle from armed, political and diplomatic to legal form in the courts. Here Shanee’s attempt is to legally restrict and curtail the movements of OLF officials and members in the U.S. and beyond so as to preclude them from informing the American public about the Oromo plight, their cause and their struggle. This is the highest form of betrayal. However, that also turned out a political kiss of death for Shanee.

Well, history is not short of men who are willing and able to betray their country. And it has already registered many such men who by treachery and disloyalty exposed their country to its enemies. If one glances a generation or even a millennia back, one can come across the names of those men who betrayed their country. Of course, one may betray ones friend or ones country. Here are a few such betrayals.

For instance, as individual Julius Caesar had Marcus Brutus; The Holy Man Jesus Christ had Judas Iscariot; and as a country Norway had Vidkun Quisling who surrendered Norway to Nazis; France had Philippe Pertain who surrendered France to Nazis; America had Benedict Arnold who fought on the side of British to keep America in the fold of British Empire during American Revolutionary war for independence and the Oromia had Gobana Daacee who surrendered Oromia to Abyssinia in bloody wars, the wars in which he aided and abetted Abyssinians. Today in the twenty-first-century, Oromia once again have Shanee (the Asmara group), the crop of ideological offspring of Gobana Daacee, who joined Abyssinians to fight to maintain Oromia in the fold of the Ethiopian Empire, in the name of the democratization of the Ethiopian Empire against the wishes and aspiration of our people- - their independence. Today the names of such men are synonymous with traitors and collaborationists. They are traitors, since they betray and surrender their people, their people’s cause and the wishes, aspiration and the trust of their people and they are collaborationists, since they collaborate, cooperate, join and ally with the enemy occupying their country. Hence if these are measures for one to be a traitor and a collaborationist, then Shanee qualifies as traitor as well as collaborationist. Hence, as a collaborationist, and as a traitor, the Asmara group (aka Shanee) stands as the epitome of the shameful betrayal of Oromia, of its people and of its people’s causes, and of its people’s freedom fighters.

Needless to say, what makes Shanee unique in this case is that, to my knowledge, it is the first group in the history of national liberation struggle that took its country’s, liberation front to court to fight it, so as to legally delegitimize it. In the recorded history of liberation movements, no liberation front has ever been taken to a court. Furthermore, no liberation front has ever been presented as a business firm; as a company for profit as Shanee (Asmara group) has portrayed the OLF. Again, no liberation front’s name has ever been presented as a “trade name”- as this group presented the OLF name. And no refugees have ever tried to overtake a legitimate Liberation Front that operates inside its country, as Fido Taddasa Ebba and his coteries have attempted. Fido T. Ebba has done this not without reasons. Fido Taddasa Ebb has been in the inner ring of the conspiratorial group. In the conspiracy of 1998, he signed an agreement with TPLF, accepting the disarming of the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA,) _ the renunciation of armed struggle or the use of force in Oromo national self defense and accepting Ethiopian empire’s colonial constitution in an attempt to undermine the OLF and thwart its struggle. It is ironic; therefore, that Dr. Fido Taddasa Ebba now turned around and claimed to be a representative of the OLF, the OLF that he worked hard to undermine. Dr. Fido Taddasa Ebba, sitting in his echo chamber intriguing along with the former Ethiopian Military Junta’s “communist” party members and cadres as Obbo Bayan Asoba and the Mesfin Abdi and with other Oromo Ethiopianist elements- those elements with Ethiopianist ideological orientation and political persuasion of “one Ethiopia” as Obbo Leenco Baati, Hassen Hussein, Kassim A. Hussein and Tuko Taha who had been hunting down the OLF members and its sympathizers in Oromia as a narrow nationalists, brutalizing, painfully agonizing and traumatizing them in prison cells of the “communist” regime. And now, in a twist of history, they are claiming to represent the OLF, as it guardian - the very OLF they condemned with raising their left-hands making into fists saying “Down with narrow nationalists”; “down with separatists”; “down with secessionists”. The twist is that the collaborators, those who have betrayed and abandoned the core principle and the objective of the OLF- - the independence of Oromia- - presented themselves at the court as the legitimate representative of the OLF, without having any legitimacy.

It was not long ago; Obbo Leenco Baati went on Habasha’s radio in Washington, DC, echoing bravadoes, blustering and boasting to democratize the Ethiopian Empire, the empire that the OLF has been fighting to dismantle and liberate Oromia from. Among many of his statements you find, “OLF will work with Kinijit and other opposition parties to build a democratic, united Ethiopia.” Again few months later, Obbo Hassen Hussein, as the head of AFD, declared in Boston, MA in addressing the Abyssinian gathering in Amharic saying, Man naw kaman natsah yemiwota? Inya andi hizb nan. Yeminifaligow dimokrasi naw.” This literally means “who is to be liberated from whom? We are one and the same people and we only need democracy.” The Abyssinians gave him a warm standing ovation chanting “patriotic Oromo Ethiopian members” in the _“Onag”_, luring him into saying more and more. He smilingly obliged. The gentleman’s statements neither surprise nor shock the Oromo nationalists. The question one may ask is why Amharas called Shanee a “patriotic Oromo Ethiopians.” This is the jest of the question. In the American political humorist Will Rogers’ word, such “praise” is the art of saying ‘Nice Doggie’ until one can find a rock. For the Amharas, it is a tactical move. It is a tactic of buying time by luring Shanee into their supportive role until they strengthen themselves and weaken the TPLF. Then once TPLF is undoubtedly weakened, Amharas will turn around and eat Shanee up as all Abyssinian rulers before them had done to those Oromo who allied with them. Again the alliance for the Amharas means a tactic of farther creating contradictions and conflicts between Shanee and the nationalists and particularly between Shanee and the OLF and also to foster farther division to the point that Shanee cannot return to the camp of nationalists. They indeed succeeded in that. That is, they influenced Shanee to file lawsuit against the OLF officials and members. And so Shanee did.

Furthermore, one must also understand that Abyssinians are fighting the OLF through Shanee to weaken the Oromo struggle. Again one must clearly understand that national struggle cannot be defeated from without, but from within. Because of this, we must be keenly aware that the enemies the OLF is fighting, the Abyssinian colonial occupation armies are at the gate, meaning not within Oromo socio-cultural and political setup, and so by themselves they are less formidable, for they are known to the Oromo; for their purposes are known and clear and for they carry their banners, their flag, their ideologies and political slogans very openly.
That is, they are visible. And it is easy to defeat them. The invisible are the internal enemies, the traitors that move among the people within the gate freely and openly, in the like of Oromo political defeatists. In this case, the Oromo political defeatist is the Asmara Group that infiltrated the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). Its purpose has been and is to instill a political defeatism in the name of the OLF in the minds, in the souls and in the hearts of those less informed Oromo nationals to belittle and darken the name of the OLF, in their activities and in their deeds so as to dismantle the OLF and to undermine the Oromo national liberation struggle. The lawsuit filed by the Asmara Group against the officials and members of the OLF is an integral part of this sinister scheming in coordination with its Abyssinian alliance.

Having failed to achieve anything in its collaboration with Abyssinia and ended in failures, complete hopelessness, despair and disappointment, Shanee (Asmara group) finally falsely posed itself as the OLF and so turned to foreign court and filed a lawsuit against the OLF and its members for using the OLF name, its emblems, and its flag. Not only this, Shanee claimed that the Defendants (read as the OLF) are causing the “plaintiff to suffer damages in the form
of lost goodwill, loss of members, loss of potential members and loss of donations.” Shanee went on to claim that Defendants exposed them and inflicted up on them “immediate and irreparable harm” and that these actions by Defendants are in violation of the Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act, and constitute interference with Plaintiff’s prospective economic advantage, and are enjoinable by injunctive relief. Claiming irreparable damage, Shanee asked the court to compensate it “for actual and compensatory damages”, it said it suffered, “in an amount in excess of $50,000” and in addition to attorney’s fees and other future costs it may incur.

The Defendants clearly presented the true nature of the dispute to the court. First and foremost, the Defendants reaffirmed that the OLF is one and the only one organization, not two. And that Oromia is a colony of Ethiopia. The OLF was formed in 1973 to struggle for the liberation of Oromia from Ethiopian colonial rule and to establish Democratic Republic of
Oromia. It was under this political platform that the OLF registered as “Agent of a foreign principal” in 1992. This is well known to the U.S Department of Justice. In 2001, a faction formed within the OLF. In the same year, this faction split from the OLF adopting a new political platform. Its new political platform is the democratization of Ethiopia. That faction is now presenting itself as the plaintiff, in this lawsuit. In its split from the OLF (the Defendants), Plaintiff’s (Asmara group) did not adopt a new name that befits its new political platform, but it held onto the name OLF. Here again in its lawsuit, the Asmara group failed to disclose to the court the existence of two groups within the OLF: one with the original political program and the other with a newly adopted political program, a program contrary to the spirit and the letter of the former program and that both group are vying on political and ideological fronts since the split in 2001. In this respect, the Asmara group (plaintiff) failed to tell the court that its political platform is the democratization of Ethiopia and that of the Defendants’ political platform is the original OLF political platform as stated in its political Program of 1973 and amended in 1998, that says the OLF struggles for the independence of Oromia and the formation of the Democratic Republic of Oromia. It also failed to tell the court that the Defendants (the OLF) held its national congress in 2006 and replaced all the leaderships of the Plaintiffs, those who went against the original political program of the OLF. Furthermore, the Plaintiff (Shanee) members and leadership solely live in the diaspora. And that its leadership home base is in Asmara, Eritrea and the Defendants (reads as OLF) operating in Oromia against Ethiopian colonial administration. The Asmara group did not present all these relevant facts to the court. However, the Defendants educated the court on these issues by bringing to light the facts and long-standing truth that the Plaintiffs hide from it. Upon learning these, the court threw out the plaintiff’s case. In going to court Shanee has no legitimate case to present; it has no facts and no truth in what it presented to the court. It only concocted unfounded stories, the stories that are not relevant to our differences. The Shanee’s falsely fabricated stories did not go well with the court. And so when the ruling came down, the plaintiff or Shanee became a walking dead and so it crushed under its own lies and eaten by its own cancer- - its cancer being its fabrications, make-believes, bogus information and its deceptions.

Furthermore, the court was also told that OLF is a political organization, not a business entity for profit as the Plaintiffs’ (Asmara group) portrayed it and want the court to believe. The Defendants explained to the Court that whoever supports the democratization of Ethiopia supports the plaintiff (read as Shanee-Qinijjit). And whoever supports the independence of Oromia and the formation of Democratic Republic of Oromia supports the Defendants (read the OLF). This is logical and clear, no ambiguity. However, Shanee lost this fact; this logic. So one may raise question as to whether the Asmara group betrayed the logic or the logic betrayed it or both. For the court the logical difference between the plaintiff and Defendant was very clear to understand when American Revolutionary war is presented as model for the argument. In American Revolutionary war for independence from British Empire, two political platforms emerged. One was to remain within the British Empire and have representatives in the British parliament, judiciary and other organs of the empire. This position was represented by Benedict Arnold and associates and it was opposed by the independentists. The other position was the position of independence of America from British Empire. This was the position of independentists a la George Washington and associates. The Americans supported this position. The difference was not taken to a court, but taken to public opinion. The public won and America got ist independence. But Benedict Arnold and his associates lost. Finally, they allied with British Empire and fought against the independentist group. Had Shanee done its homework; had it learned historical precedence and historical facts, it would not have gone to Court.

As one may know the former spokesperson of Shanee-Qinijjit, Leenco Baati except dancing in bravado to the drums of Abyssinia on his knees and boasting to democratize Ethiopia to make the Abyssinians happy, he did not opt to go to court and file lawsuit against the officials and members of the OLF. This is, notwithstanding his an unmitigated opportunistic nature, he however, did not harbor to take the OLF to court during his tenure. At least to his credit, it seems he knew it is wrong. The taking to court of the Oromo nationalists is not only wrong,
but it is contemptible, it is a taboo and unOromo way. The interesting turn of event took place with the replacement of Leenco Baati, by Bayan Asoba as spokesperson. Being a new spokesperson of Shanee and a lawyer, Bayan Asoba sought to bring lawsuit against the OLF, laying out his reasons for going to court. He thought court is his best chance where to bring down the OLF. Hence, at his advice and directive Shanee was encouraged to bring a lawsuit against the OLF and its members. Hence he became the architect of this lawsuit against the OLF. He has a long history of working against the OLF, including becoming instrumental for the 2001 split. He has propensity to create factionalism, division and discord within a group. As a matter of fact, he was even very close to bring OSA (Oromo Studies Association) to the verge of split through his illegal activities from 2005 to 2006.

The purpose of taking the OLF to court and bringing lawsuit against it and its members is, to suffocate and cripple the OLF and to stifle its struggle for independence of Oromia and to exact financial benefit from it. The intent and purpose of this lawsuit is to darken the deeds of those Oromo heroes and heroines who had fought and fallen in the fields of Oromia and in the prison cells of Ethiopia and those who preferred to die a glorious death in dignity and pride fighting for their country and people as nationalists and as patriots, than to live on ones knees in disgrace and humiliation as traitors, as collaborationists and as sellouts of ones country, ones nation and ones freedom fighters. The purpose and intention of this lawsuit was also to deligitimize, to intimidate, to disparage the Oromo nationalists and patriots who had immensely suffered mental and physical torture in the prison cell of the Dergue and the EPDRF regimes. It is these nationalists and patriots who made the OLF, what it is and what it has been. The OLF was born and cemented with the blood of the nationalists and patriots, in their sacrifices and in their torture. It is not Johnny Come Latelys’ a la Nuro Dedefo and associates who can use the name the OLF, its emblem and its flag. Nuro Dedefo has no long history as the OLF member and supporter and hence in the Oromo struggle. He was the member of the Dergue regime. As the Dergue collapsed in 1991, he migrated to EPDRF and then from EPDRF a few years later to the OLF. He is a political and ideological migrant; keeps on migrating and changing his political position at his convenience, as he sees it suits his interest. Hence, he lacks moral, legal and political judgment to ask, the long-standing members of the OLF, those who established it, those who were imprisoned and tortured in its name and those who are still fighting in the hills, mountains, valley and villages of Oromia, not to use their name the OLF, their emblem and their flag. It is, therefore, those Oromo nationals who established the OLF, who died, bled and suffered in its name and remain true to its objectives that legitimately own and use the name OLF, its emblem and its Flag. It is they who raised the banner of freedom and rekindled the Oromo nationalism, the love for freedom, justice and independence in the minds, hearts and souls of this Oromo generation. Nuro Dedefo’s attempt is to delegitimize, to insult and belittle the legitimate officials and members of the OLF. One must understand that the collaborators with the enemy of their country, with the occupying forces cannot use the name of the OLF, its emblems and its flag. The Asmara Group is such a collaborationist. Nuro Dedefo in his statement of support for the collaborationists and the traitors turned the truth, the facts, and the logic of argument on their heads. Hence one may wonder as to what political logic and what political facts influenced Nuro Dedefo to go on public radio to give unreserved political support to the political defeatist, Shanee. Though Nuro Dedefo is a lawyer, he appears apolitical and naive from his argument and hence no one can take him for seriousness. One must understand the issues under discussion before passing a judgment or taking a position. In this regard, Shanee filed a lawsuit against the legitimate officials and members of the OLF who have been struggling for the independence of Oromia. Again in this regard, the Oromo people have also spoken in a collective, unified and strong voice for independence. And the OLF has long spoken that the core political demand of the struggle of the Oromo people, the independence of Oromia, is nonnegotiable. Shanee stands in a polar opposite to the core political demand of the Oromo people and therefore of the OLF.

The end of Shanee’s road

Shanee’s democratization of Ethiopian empire is dead. The alliance of Shanee and Kinijit is dead, even before it begun. It is fair to say that Shanee is now on a road to nowhere. And so in a humiliating way, Shanee has come to the end of the road it has begun. It began its ignominious journey on that road in 1998, with the sellout of Oromia. Since then, its journey
took it through many turns and twists. Among these turns and twists through which it
journeyed are: ist split from the OLF in 2001, then the Berger Conference of 2004, and its formation Ethiopian political party with Coalition for Freedom and Democracy (CUD) in 2006, a party known as Alliance for Freedom and Democracy (AFD) to jointly undertake military, diplomatic and political campaign against the OLF to thwart the struggle for the independence of Oromia. In this case, it made deal with the enemy of our people with foreign army which has been ruining our country and people in order to crush the struggle for the liberation of Oromia. Having failed in all these attempts, now as a last resort, it turned to the
courts and brought a lawsuit against our freedom fighter - - the OLF, to stop its activities and to exact financial benefit from it. Again in this too, it has failed. Its lawsuit is thrown out of the court. What is clear is, finally Shanee has come to the dead end of the road, both politically and legally. So, Shanee is on the road to nowhere. That is, it has lost in its political and legal challenge to the Defendants, the OLF. All in all, it has lost the case, in all counts. And in its defeat, Shanee has now turned itself into a walking empty suit. And so, it is now going the way dinosaurs had gone. In order to save itself from that fate, the only option Shanee is now left with is the total abandonment of the idea of democratization of the moribund and obsolescent Ethiopian empire, the dying empire and to get out of AFD and to apologize to the Oromo people and the OLF and to those heroes and heroines who had fallen in this struggle.

In the end, one must recognize that the lawsuit is not a solution to the political and ideological
difference within the Oromo liberation struggle. The OLF did not and will not seek permission from alien courts for the legitimacy of its name – the OLF, for its emblems, and for its flag. The court is the opinion of the Oromo people, not the opinion of alien court. And no liberation front has ever stood in foreign court in front of a judge to defend its legitimacy. Its legitimacy emanates from its people. Time to wake up. It is time to stand for freedom, justice and independence of our country and people. It is time not to be indifferent. And so it is time to defend the fatherland - -Oromia, against all enemies, foreign or domestic. The enemy comes in different forms and disguises with sugarcoated poison words and phrases to confuse the uninformed and wearing sheep’s clothing. Beware!

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