Midialeen addunyaa ijaaf guurra cufatani waggoota 25if dhiimma Oromoo irratti gabaasuu lagatan goota Oromoo kanaan lagaan isaani banamtee!! Dhumaatiin ijoollee keenyaa guurraa fi ija addunyaa biira gahe!!

‪#‎CNN‬ ‪#‎BBC‬#FoxNews
‪#‎OromoProtests‬ “It’s because of Lilesa’s actions that Olympic readers now know that more than 400 Oromo have been killed while protesting in Ethiopia since November, because of Lilesa that a few more nations are aware that the Oromo are poor and marginalized in a nation undergoing a rapid economic boom.” New York Daily News.

Ethiopia’s Feyisa Lilesa crosses his arms above his head at the finish line of the Men’s Marathon athletics event of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. (Olivier Morin/AFP/Getty Images)

(Daily Maverick) — In Ethiopia, long distance runners are heroes. But Feyisa Lilesa must be the most heroic of the lot. The marathon runner won a silver in Rio on Sunday, but it is what he did after he crossed the line that will be remembered. By SIMON ALLISON.

SEENAA  Y.G(2005)  kutaa  4ffaa fi xumuraa

Barreeffamoota kiyya kutaa 3n dhiheesse keessatti, Adeemsa siyaasaa fi sochii akkasumas, Muuxannoo Biyyoota adda addaa gama hundaan gaggabaabsee kaaseen jira. Xiyyffannaan kiyya, sadarkaan qabsoo Oromoo irra jiru kan nu akeeku, waan kana booda hojjannuf qormaataa fi qophii gama hundaa akka nu barbaachisuudha. Keessa keenyatti wanni umamaa jiraate, alaa waan nu eeggataa jiru nu dagee jira. Har’a garuu osoo hin jaalannee, keessa keenya tasgabbeessinee, gara alaatti waan iaaluu qabnuu nutti dhihaachaa dhufeera. Kana ammoo, bu’aa keenya waliin madaallee irratti hojajchuuf, tattaaaffii qaama tokko osoo hin taanee, hunduu akka beekumsaa fi dandeetti isaatiin waliif birmatu qabu irra geenye jirra. Kanaafan muuxannoo Biyyota adda addaa kaasee . waan isaan mudate irraa waa baranna. Hanqinaa fi jabiina isaanii irraa barnoota arganna. Waan nu eeggatu hedduu qabnaa. Yoo kanneen adda baafnee keewwannee, mooraan qabsoo Oromoo walii galaayyuu nagaa argata. Kan gara keessaatti ILAALUU QOFAA qabsoo taasifatee jiru ija banachuun dirqama isaatii. carraan wayyaanee umuriin dheerachuuf yaaltu irra, carraa nuuti wayyaanee kuffisuuf qabnuutu bal’aadhaa. Kana dhiiga ijoollee keenyaan dhugeessinee jirra. Qalbiin keenyas, kana booda waa’ee wayyaanee qofa osoo hin taanee, Oromiyaa fi addunyaa ilaaluutti tarkaanfatu qaba. haasaa golaa fi alaa adda baafachuun gaariidha.

Oromoon kan yeroo kamirrayyuu wal dhaggeeffachuun dirqama. Qabsoon Oromoo ammuma tarkaanfataa adeemu, hojiileen har’af, boriif, hegaree OROMOOf hojjannu hanguma sana baayyataa adeemaa jira. Har’a qabsoon Oromoo wareegamaa fi kutannoo qabsaa’ootaa irra taree, kan Ummataatti ce’eera. Har’a hundumtu akka beekumsaa fi dandeetti isaatti waan saba isaaf tolu bakka jirrutti haala hojjatamuun danda’amu irra geenyee jirra. Kanaaf qabsoo Oromoo gama hundaan wareegamni itti kafalaamaa jirutti firii gochuuf hojiilee hedduutu nu eeggata. Kanneen gadi fageenyaan osoo hin taanee, yaaduma ka’umsaan kaasuu barbaada.

1. Sochiileen Biyya keessatti gaggeeffamaa jiran injifannoo ol aanaa galmeesisaa jiru. Naannoon Amaaraa Naannoo isaatti falmii kaasee , Ilmaan Oromoof deeggarsa qaban haa ibsan malee, saboonni Oromiyaa keessa waggaa 150 oliif jiraatan waa tokkollee dubbachaa hin jiran . kana irratti hojjachuu barbaachisa. Ummata irratti ka’uu osoo hin taanee, deeggarsa isanii ibsuu qaban.
2. Oromiyaa keessatti mirga Oromoo kan dhiibuu warra Abbaa Biyyummaa OROMOO hin fudhannee hundaati. Wayyaaneen Afaan Oromoo Oromiyaa keessaa dhabamsiisuuf ykn laaffisuuf gama hundaan hojjacha jirti. Kanneen keessaa maqaa mootummaa Fedaraalaan waajjiraalee addaa addaa fi maqaa investimatiin waajjiraalee, kubbaaniyyoota fi arshaalee adda addaa Afaan Oromoon akka hin hojjannee fi beeksisi ykn maqaan waajjira isaanillee afaan biraan akka taasifamu, miidiyaaleen addatti dorgommiilee TV irratti dhihaatan irra jireessa OROMIYAA keessa akka socho’an taasisuun Amaarifaa fudhachiisuuf shiroota hedduu gaggeessaa jiran . kana hundaa dhalli OROMOO sochii gaggeffatu keessatti qindeessee of irraa dhaabuu qaba. Fedaraalli Afaan ykn qooqa naannooleef naannoo isaanitti dursa kennaa jedha.baankileen, koleejoonni, dhaabbileen adda addaa, Hospitaaloonni kkf , Afaan Naannoolee gonkumaa hin kabajan . kana kabachiifachuun warra wayyaaneef gabaasan rifaasisuu waan ta’uuf irratti hojjatamuu qaba.addatti maqaa Tiwuladda itoophiyaawwiin kanneen jiran, Afaan Oromoo irratti dhiibaa ol aanaa geesisaa kanneen jiran keessaa warra angafaati.
3. Kubbaaniyyoonni fi warshaaleen oromiyaa keessatti ijaaraman hundi aadaa fi safuu Naannoo keessa jiran kabajuu qaban. Hoteeloonni fi bakkoonni bashannannaa hundi aadaa fi safuu naannoolee ykn ummata naannichaa kabajuu qaban. Hawaasa burjaajessuu fi dhaloota kashalabbee taasisuuf wayyaanee irraa ajaja suduudaa fduhatanii hojjachaa jiran. Keessattu, Naannoo manneen barnootaatti hoteelootaa fi mana ciisichaa ijaaruun miihdaan dhaloota irraan ga’aa jiran salphaa miti. kanaaf kunis qaama qabsoo keessaa keessatti akka gaafileetti dhihaachuu qaban .
4. Qabsoon Oromoo deeggarsa ogummaa, beekumsa, dandeettii fi murannoo irra ga’ee jira. Kanaaf har’a dhala Oromoo eessallee jiru irraa kan barbaachisu , waamicha eeggachuu osoo hin taanee, kaka’umsa mataa ofiin birmannaadha. Kan dabree dhiisanii beekumsaa fi dandeettii qabaniin qabsoo kana finiinsuuf ofiin gaafatanii hojiitti bobba’uutu furmaata.
5. Har’a qabsoon OROMOO qabsaa’oota irratti gatanii taa’anii kan ilaalan osoo hin taanee, waan qabsoof barbaachisuu hundaa guutuuf hunduu bakka jirutti qooda lammummaa isaa ba’achuutu irraa eegama.
6. Dhalli Oromoo kamuu dandeetti waraanaa fi kkf kanneen qaban maaltu nurraa eegama jedhanii of gaafachuu fi qooda ofii ba’achuuf sochii eegalauu qaban.
7. Dhalli Oromoo beekumsaa fi dandeetti isaan gurmaa’ee ykn ijaaramee, qooda irraa eegamu gumaachuuf hunduu of qopheessuu qaba. fkn. Abootiin seeraa Oromoo ta’aan haalaan gurmaa’uu qaban. Jabaatanii waan ijoolleen itti dhumaa jirtu addunyaa fudhachiisuuf qophii mataa isaanii gochuu qaban. Dachee Oromiyaa fi daangaa OROMIYAA boruu murtiin ga’uuf, kanneen har’a biyya keessatti dhumanii fi hanga har’aatti dhumaa jiran gumaa ba’uu fi warra yakka kana raawwatee seeratti dhiheessuuf qophii barbaachisu taasisuu qaban. Haaluma kanaan hundi namaa akka beekumsaa fi ogummaatti gurmaa’ee waan irraa eegamuuf yoo socho’ee dirree siyaasaa irratti wal gufachiisuun hafee hunduu gama isa ilaallatuun dirqama isaa ba’uu irratti xiyyeeffata.
8. Warrii aadaa seenaa jedhanii macaafa maxxansiisuu irra hin tariin , addunyaa irratti Oromoon gama jireenya hawaasummaan maal qaba ? aadaan isaa maalii fi dhalooti ammaa akkamiin ittiin jiraachuu danda’aa ? jireenyi hawaasummmaa ummata OROMOO hin boorofnee isa kami ? Biyya keenya yoo dhuunfannee aadaa dhaallee ittin walmiinu kanumaan jiraachuu itti fufna moo kan keenya qoratamee jiru ummata barsiifnee dhaloota itti guddifna ? kkf qophaa’uu qaban.dhaabbilee siyaasaatu sirna gadaa keessa seena moo, Gadaatu dhaabbilee siyaasaa keessa seena ? akkamiin sirna gadaa ittin boonna jennu kana Oromiyaa keessatti gadi dhaabna ? kun ifatti adda ba’ee taa’uu isaatiif ragaan argadhee hin qabu. Kun garuu qophaa’uu barbaachisa.
9. Sirni barnootaa hordofnu maalii ? dhaloota Oromoof gama barnootaan maaltu yaadama ? gaaffiilee kkf. Ka’anii warra isa ilaallatuun mariin gaggeeffamee wixineen isaa taa’uu qaba. Biyya ega qabatanii ykn seenanii booda waan akkasiif fiiguun hedduu rakkisaadha. Dhaloota dhabuu ta’aa.
10. Dachee keenya Naannoolee biraa fi Biyyoota ollaatti fudhataman akkam ta’uu ? kun bal’inaan keessa ofitti toftaa akkataa itti deeffatanii fi akkaataa irratti hojjatamuu irratti warrii beekumsaa if dandeettii isaa itti qaban irratti hojjachun hedduu barbaachisaadhaa.
11. Wayyaaneen koree hojii raawwachiiftuu isheen ala , beektoota fi xiinxaltoota hegaree Tigiree , gama Biyya keessaan, Biyyoota olla waliin, Afriikaa irratti, addunyaa irratti waan gaggeffamu hundaa walitti qabatanii karoora yeroo dheeraa gabaabaa baasaniin gaggeeffamuu jedhama. Gama kanaan beektoota isaanii addunyaa irra jiran irratti hirmaachisu. Gama keenyaan waan akkasii qabnaa laata ? anoo hin beeku. garuu hedduu barbaachisaadha.
12. Mootummaan ertiraa fi mormitoonni isaanii ejjannoo jabaa irratti waliin dhaabbatan qabu. Ertiraan Biyya ta’uu fi Alaabaa ishee irratti. Kun jabiin isaaniiti.kun Biyyi Ertiraa jedhamti Itoophiyaa jalatti akka hin deebineef utubaa jabaadha. Gama keenyaan garuu qaawwaa guddaa qabna. Biyya Oromiyaa ijaarrachuuf ejjannoo tokko irra hin jirru. Kun miidhaa ol aanaa nurraan ga’uu danda’a. har’a nutti mul’achuu dhiisuu danda’a. garuu yeroon ija baasee nutti dhufuu fi wal dura nu dhaabu ni dhufa.kana irratti marii fi qorannoon gadi fageenyaa gaggeeffamuu qaba. rakkoo ilaalchaa jennee bira taruun nu hin barbaachisu.
13. Waggoota 25n dabran kana keessa Oromiyaa keessatti yakki gama hundaa raawwatamee lakkoofsa hin qabu. Saamicha lafaa, saamicha qabeenyaa, hattummaa , sanada sobaa , kkf yakkota tarrifamuu nama rakkisuutu jira. Waajjiraalee oromiyaa keessatti yakkoonni raawwataman lakkofsa hin qabn. Maqaa Investimantiin humnoota alaa waliin waan wal dura nu dhaabu hedduutu jira. Kana hundaa akka qabsiisuuf hojiin barbaachisuu eegalamuun barbaachisaadhaa. Waan har’aa jiru boruu hin jiru.

Akka walii galaatti qophii gama hundaa nu barbaachisa. dubbachuun kan nama rakkisuu hedduudha. Taa’anii mari’achuu fi yaada waliif hiruun hedduu barbaachisaadhaa. Ummata keenya gam hundaan waan dhufuu maluu hubachiisuu fi barsiisuun barbaachisadhaa. Kun miidiyaa irratti miti. waan aadaa keenyaa hedduu qabnaa . garuuu har’aa borii kan jennuu miti. akka walii galaatti yaadi muuxannoo Biyyoota hedduu kanan kaaseef qophii gama hundaa dhala oromoo hundaa irraa eegamu akeekufii . kanarra haasa’uun hin taanuu haa jabaannu. Waan qabnee jirru gonkumaa gadi hin lakkifnuu . irree keenya diinatti argisiisuu eegallee , bifaa haala isaa geeddaranii itti bahuun barbaachisaadha. wayyaanee irraa soda hin qabnuu. Haqa keenyaaf dhaabbannee. Isaantu akan booda nu sodaachuu qaba. maaliif jennaan jireenyi hegaree isaanii OROMOO harka waan jiruuf. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GALATOOMAA !!!!!!!!!!!!

HORAA BULAA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

3. TOKKUMMAAN  HUMNA !!!!->->-> HUMNA TOKKUMMAA !!!! Kutaa 3ffaa
2. TOKKUMMAAN HUMNA !!!! ->->-> HUMNA TOKKUMMAA !!!! Kutaa 2ffaa
1. TOKKUMMAAN HUMNA !!!!->->->HUMNA TOKKUMMAA !!!! Kutaa 1ffaa

More than 1000 media outlets have covered and still covering what was the reason behind Feyisa Lelisa’s crossed arms in Rio Olympics. Before August 21, 2016 only few of the outlets had covered the #OromoProtests, a day later, thousands joined them because of one young man. Many more still joining the crowd. His image of crossed arms is in the history book, not only in the Oromo books, but the world.
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Hojiin boonsaan Fayyisaa Lilleesaa hojjate namooti biroo kan sirnicha keessa jiraniif fakkeenya guddaa ta’uu qaba. Hojii boonsaan Fayyisaan dalage miidiyaaleen addunyaa yoo xiqqaate kuma ol dubbachuutti jirani keessa isaanii armaan gadii muraasa. Via Eli Darash

‪#‎OromoProtests‬ These are Oromo students of Addis Ababa University who protested in front of the US embassy few months back shattering fear in the capital paving the way the successful Grand #OromoProtests. They remain in jail and keep going back to the Kangaroo court.
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Kun barattoota Oromoo Yunivarsitii Finfinnee kanneen ji’oota muraasa dura Imbaasii Ameerikaa duratti hiriira bahuun sodaa Finfinnee keessaa cabsanii hiriira guddicha Hagayya 6tiif daandii saaqaniidha.

The OLF believes the Oromo people are still being denied their fundamental rights by Ethiopian colonialism

By Kasembeli Albert, Nairobi, Kenya

These are Oromo University students, who protested at the US Embassy in Addis Ababa, being treated like terrorists in Guantanamo,Cuba. They did exactly what the Marathoner Feyisa Lilesa did, arms crossed.

Three years ago, in a stinging indictment of Kenya government’s involvement in the rendition of Oromo refugees, a paused a question: Oromo Liberation Front: Who is Fooling Who?

Then, Kenya authorities were accused of illegal rendition of Oromo refugees to Ethiopia   under the pretext of cracking down on the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) militias. While in Ethiopia, the individuals are allegedly arraigned before special courts where they are handed heavy jail sentences ranging from death to life in prison.

The Oromia have been isolated in the region. No single neighbour of Ethiopia,  IGAD and the AU has voiced concern over the treatment of the Oromo people. The fundamental objective of the Oromo liberation movement is to exercise the Oromo peoples’ right to national self-determination and end centuries of oppression and exploitation.

The OLF believes the Oromo people are still being denied their fundamental rights by Ethiopian colonialism.

For a week now, Ethiopia is facing a crisis of unprecedented magnitude, yet its government and Western enablers refuse to acknowledge and recognize the depth of the crisis.

The nationwide protests held by the Oromo people, the single largest ethnic group both in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa, is clear evidence of a crisis that is threatening to degenerate into a full-scale social explosion.

The protests are the most unprecedented and absolutely extraordinary display of defiance by the Oromo people and it is by far the most significant political developments in the country since the death of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, the strongman who ruled the country for over two decades.

The protests took place in more than 200 towns and villages across Oromia, Ethiopia’s largest region, and were attended by hundreds of thousands of people. According to Oromia media Network, security forces used live bullets against peaceful protestors, killing over 100 protestors.

Oromos have been staging protest rallies across the country since April of 2014 against systematic marginalization and persecution of ethnic Oromos. The immediate trigger of the protest was a development plan that sought to expand the territorial limits of Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, into neighbouring Oromo villages and towns.

Oromos saw the proposed master plan as a blueprint for annexation which would further accelerate the eviction of Oromo farmers from their ancestral lands.  When the protest resumed in November of 2015, the government dismissed the protestors as anti-peace elements and accused them of acting in unison with terrorist groups.

The government used overwhelming force to crush the protest, killing hundreds of protestors and arresting thousands. In its recent report titled “Such a Brutal Crack Down”, Human Rights Watch criticized the “excessive and lethal force” used by security forces against “largely peaceful protestors” and puts the number of deaths at over 400.  The figure from the activist group is considerably higher.

The Oromo make up well over a third of Ethiopia’s 100 million people. Historically, Oromos have been pushed to the margin of the country’s political and social life and rendered unworthy of respect and consideration.

Oromo culture and language have been banned and their identity stigmatized, becoming invisible and unnoticeable within mainstream perspectives.  When the current government came into power a quarter of a century ago, it pursued a strategy of divide and rule in which the Oromos and Amharas, the two largest ethnic groups in the country, are presented as eternal adversaries.

Oromos are blamed as secessionists to justify the continued monitoring, control, and policing of Oromo intellectuals, politicians, artists and activists.

By depicting Oromo demands for equal representation and autonomy as extremist and exclusionary, it tried to drive a wedge between them and other ethnic groups, particularly the Amharas.

This allowed the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front and Tigrayan elites to present themselves as the only political movement in the country that could provide the stability and continuity sought by regional and global powers with vested interest in the region.

Although these protests are triggered by more recent events, they are microcosms [of] a more enduring and deeper crisis of political representation and systematic marginalization suffered by the Oromo people.

The United States see the Ethiopian government as a critical partner on the Global War on Terror.  This led administration officials to go out of their way to create fantasy stories which cast Ethiopia as democratic and its leaders as progressive. In 2012, then US Ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, described Meles Zenawi, the architect of the current system, as “uncommonly wise” and someone “able to see the big picture and the long game, even when others would allow immediate pressures to overwhelm sound judgment.”

In 2015, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman praised Ethiopia as “a democracy that is moving forward in an election that we expect to be free, fair, credible, open and inclusive.” She further added, “”Every time there is an election, it gets better and better.” That election ended with the ruling party winning 100% of the seats in parliament by wiping out the one opposition in the previous parliament.

In 2016, President Obama became the first sitting American president to visit Ethiopia amid widespread opposition by human rights groups. Obama doubled down on previous endorsements by administration officials by describing the government as ‘democratically-elected.”

Reign of Terror

The US led ‘war on terror’, started by President George Bush, provided the government with a political and legal instrument with which the government justified severe restrictions on freedom of expression, assembly, and association.

The 2009 Anti-Terrorism Proclamation, one of the most draconian pieces of anti-terrorism legislations in the world, enabled the government to stretch its power of prosecution and punishment beyond what is permissible under standard criminal and constitutional law rules.

In recent years, terrorism trials have become the most significant legal instrument frequently used by the authorities to secure and consolidate the prevailing relationship of power between the ruling ethnic Tigrayan elites and other ethnic groups in the country.

Kasembeli Albert is the Editor, Business Journal Africa, a regional business and finance magazine

VOA Afaan Oromoo Interview with marathoner Feyisa Lileesa

Oromo TV interview Dr. Solomon Ungashe about fundraising activity

OMN: interviews marathoner Feyisa Lileesa

by: CHAUNCEY K. ROBINSON

USA (People’s World) — The Olympic games of 2016 held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil may have come to a close as of August 21st, but many of the triumphs and controversies will continue to be talked about long after the closing ceremony.  One such incident was that of Olympic marathon runner and silver medalist Feyisa Lilesa’s protest on Sunday against the government of his country of Ethiopia.  Lilesa defied the Olympics’ prohibition of political statements to shine a light for the world on what is happening in his home country. In doing so he may have also risked his life.

As Lilesa crossed the finish line in his marathon run this Sunday, he raised his arms and crossed them above his head in an X, a gesture of protest against his country’s government. He did so again at the awards ceremony after accepting his silver medal. In a press conference held after the ceremony, Lilesa explained that his protest came from his sense of his duty to his family and to his people. “The Ethiopian government are killing the Oromo people and taking their land and resources so the Oromo people are protesting and I support the protest as I am Oromo,” he explained. “I was protesting for my people,” Lilesa said, as reported by The Sydney Morning Herald. “It was for all my relatives in prison. I am worried to ask my relatives to talk in prison – if you talk you get killed.”

Unrest and brutal crackdowns

Lilesa’s bold statement comes in the midst of the growing political unrest in Ethiopia, a nation once regarded as Africa’s most stable nation of the last decade. Although the country has seen an economic boom in the last ten years, in recent months anti government protests have filled the streets. These demonstrations have been met with state violence, as videos have been shared around the world of police officers beating unarmed demonstrators. The videos show security officers whipping protesters with sticks as they are forced to perform handstands against a wall. The United Nations is now calling for a thorough investigation of these incidents.

According to a report by Human Rights Watch the government of Ethiopia has used “excessive and lethal force against largely peaceful protests” in Oromia, the country’s largest region, since November 2015. According to the organization “over 400 people are estimated to have been killed, thousands injured, tens of thousands arrested, and hundreds, likely more, have been victims of enforced disappearances.”

“The Ethiopian government is killing my people, so I stand with all protests anywhere, as Oromo is my tribe,”  Lilesa said, according to The Washington Post. “My relatives are in prison, and if they talk about democratic rights they are killed.” The Olympic marathon runner is referring to the Oromo people, Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group, who have a history of speaking out against being marginalized by the government. They, along with the Amhara people (another large ethnic group in the nation), feel Ethiopia is unfairly dominated by members of the Tigrayan ethnic group, which makes up 6 percent of the population yet dominates the military, the intelligence services, commerce, and politics.

In what was considered a controversial national election, the governing party, Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front, won all 547 parliamentary seats last May thus taking 100 percent control of parliament.

Along with this the Oromo people have been fighting against an urban plan, often referred to as the master plan, that would link infrastructure development in Addis Ababa (the capital of Ethiopia) with that of surrounding towns in Oromia, including Burayu. Activists say the plan threatens the sovereignty of Oromo communities.

Lilesa’s impact

Despite reports that Lilesa’s protest was not broadcast in Ethiopia it still quickly attracted supporters on social media as Twitter users chimed in on how the political gesture brought attention to the struggle of the Oromo people. Freelance journalist Mohammed Ademo stated, “#FeyisaLelisa‘s career with the Ethiopian Athletics Federation ended tonight. But his courageous act of protest is one for the history books.”

The silver medalist also called out other countries that support the Ethiopian government and their role in the repression of the people in the nation. “It is a very bad government. Now America, England, France support this government. When they give this support it buys machine guns, then they kill the people.”

The government of Ethiopia has played down the unrest of recent months, claiming that “the attempted demonstrations were orchestrated by foreign enemies from near and far in partnership with local forces.” Lilesa’s bold public gesture is in direct defiance to that claim as the world now has a face for the resistance in Ethiopia.

“If I go back to Ethiopia maybe they will kill me. If not kill me, they will put me in prison. I have not decided yet, but maybe I will move to another country,” the Olympic runner explained to the press as reported by USA Today. Whatever happens, the world is now watching as Lilesa risked his life and his career for a cause that he considers much bigger than himself or an Olympic medal.

Chauncey K. Robinson believes that writing, in any capacity, should help to reflect the world around us, and be one of the tools to help bring about progressive change. Born and raised in Newark, New Jersey, she has a strong belief in people power and working class strength. As a social media content creator and writer for People’s World she seeks to make sure that topics that affect working class people, peoples of color, and women are constantly in the spotlight and part of the discussion.

By: Laalo Guduru

Nothing more vividly depicts the life contrast in today’s Ethiopia than the condition of the two 2016 Olympians, Robel and Feyisa.

On the one hand you have Robel, who is a Tigrian, whose father is the chairman of the Ethiopian swimming federation, and who may have got that position because of this ethnicity.  The son Robel, who looks very well-fed, and very un-athletic, by virtue of being his father’s son, became an Olympian representing his country. Above all, just because he is a Tigrean and well connected, he was chosen from among stellar Ethiopian world class athletes to be the flag bearer of this country. The choosing of this so-called athlete who is born with silver spoon in his mouth by virtue of his ethnicity to be a flag bearer, represents what is wrong in today’s Ethiopia.

You listen to Robel’s interview, you see a jovial personality who is even likable. You can see that he is not burdened by any worries or responsibilities. You can see that he is one of those Addis guys who paint the town red in the night. He can go anywhere, he can talk to the police as he wish without raising suspicion. Due to his ethnicity he is not a suspect and the wrath of anti-terrorism law is mostly inapplicable to him. He can go to any government bureaucracy and be treated with dignity and be given preferential treatment due to his ethnicity. If the low level bureaucrat gives him hard time, he can go up the echelon because it’s manned by his fellow Tigreans, who will look after the interest of their kin and kith.

On the other hand you find the skinny Feyisa Lelisa.  An Oromo, born in rural Oromia to a peasant family. By virtue of his Oromoness, he is a suspect until proven innocent. To be accepted he has to prove his allegiance to the country and government regularly, more often by being forced into joining the ruling party. If not, he will be a person who will have to function day and night under the prying eyes of the Ethiopian security forces. He is a person who lives with a sword of Damocles hanging over his head every day. He is a person who lives under a heavy burden of his people’s misery on his shoulder.  Because he is an Oromo in Ethiopia, he cannot be himself; he has to pretend in order to fit in.

By virtue of being an Oromo from rural Ethiopia, most probably, he has no city connections, that would have made his life just a little easier to navigate.  Unlike Robel, he cannot go to the government offices with confidence.  If a low-level bureaucrat gives him hard time, he has nowhere to go in a Tigre dominated bureaucracy. At most what he can do is give a bribe.  There is no question, compared to Robel, Feyisa had to endure overwhelming obstacles that life and the political system had to throw his way.  Feyisa, unlike Robel, is essentially a hardened, self-made, talented athlete who worked hard to reach this stage by training day and night.

There is at least a silver lining out of this. All the hurdles, challenges and the life experience that Feyisa faced as an Oromo in Ethiopia, made him an iron man, helped him achieve what he accomplished in Rio both in the athletic field and as a defiant activist. He truly deserves the epithet, “The Most Courageous Olympian” that some commentator have started to call him with. On the other hand, the EPRDF should be worried, because the corruption, nepotism and cronyism that they created in Ethiopian is producing spoiled second generation Tigrean the likes of Robel.

Ethiopia today is a country ruled by elites from Tigrean minority group that run the country like a private syndicate. The condition of the Oromo that has historically been a marginalized group is getting worse by the day. The Oromos who are close to 40% of the Ethiopian population are totally dominated by an ethnic group that comprises only 6% of the population. This shameful situation is unsustainable and something has got to give!

SBO: Hagayya 24 bara 2016. Oduu, Tarkaanfii boonsaa Atleet Fayyisaa Leellisaa fudhate irratti ibsa ABO fi Gaaffii fi deebii dargaggoo Abdii Bilisummaa waliinii kuta Xumuraa Akkasumas SBO Sagantaa Afaan Amaaraa

By Guluma Gemeda*

Gada system is the Oromo traditional institution involving political process, economical, cultural, ritual, spiritual, social and administrational system based on holistic ideas of participatory and representative democracy, principles in which power is both vertically and horizontally distributed, balanced, checked, controlled and limited among its three institutional pillars known as Yaa’a Gada Sadeenii (Gada Arboora, Medhicha and Garba institutions). Term limitation for every leader is eight years.

Current widespread protests, particularly in Oromia, and lately in Amhara and other regions, have highlighted the weaknesses of the ruling Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front’s (EPRDF) regime. Opposition groups are predicting possible collapse of the regime in the near future. Even some former members and supporters of the EPRDF are waking up to the possibility of regime change, and have started criticizing it for its excesses. Joining the opposition, some are now calling for reform and more inclusive political process. But they also argue that the current constitution, drafted and implemented by the EPRDF and its supporters, should remain the basis of political discussion on the future of the country.

Welcoming such proposal, other Ethiopianists believe at least some parts of the constitution, specifically article 39 which allows decentralization and ethnic-based autonomy, had to be removed before accepting it as a basis for discussion on future political arrangements. For all Ethiopianist opponents of the ERDF regime, the territorial integrity and the national unity of Ethiopia is sacrosanct that they would not accept any loophole that may infringe upon this principle. For them, session is anathema. On the other hand, ethnonationalist groups such the Oromo, Sidama and Ogaden liberation fronts may not even consider any political discussion that forecloses the option of session. Given the autocratic nature of Ethiopian political culture, even some parties representing historically oppressed ethnic groups but favoring a genuine multiethnic federal state could be uncomfortable or unable to accept a unitary state agenda as a precondition for discussion on the future of Ethiopia. Thus, due to the complex historical circumstances and contemporary political experiences, any discussion on the future of Ethiopia is fraught with thorny issues.

Why are Ethiopian political groups so divided? Why is forming alliances against the incumbent regime so difficult for opposition political parties? What does each group want to achieve and how? What are the common goals around which political leaders can form alliances? To answer these questions, it is necessary to examine the underlying problems that complicate any discussion on Ethiopian politics. To begin with, modern Ethiopia, as it is constituted today, exhibits contradictory political traditions and governing principles. The contradictory approaches to politics and the aspirations of the peoples make it difficult to design a common agenda for the future of the country without recognizing and reconciling the historical differences and the contradictory governing principles. I call these traditions the atse and gadaa governing principles. The first is fully recognized and considered to be the official political tradition of the Ethiopian state. The second, although well known, has been ignored; and until recently, even suppressed.  The dominant Ethiopian atse culture has rendered the gadaa tradition as illegitimate to be of any use as a governing philosophy. The first two Ethiopian constitutions (1931, revised 1955) were anchored on monarchical mythology and the monarchy as central political institution. They re-enforced and codified the power of the king and his royal family more than defending the rights of the ordinary people. The third constitution (1987) relied and based on borrowed socialist principles while the internal history and political cultures of the society were given little attention. The fourth constitution (1995) instituted ethnic federalism but neglected the rich indigenous law-making traditions in the country. For example, the gadaa system which could have provided ample resources in drafting the constitution was totally ignored.  The document made no reference to this indigenous concept of law and governance. But the lawyers who drafted the constitution sought the advice of expatriate experts and consulted foreign constitutional models.

It is apparent that past or present Ethiopian leaders have not fully abandoned the mentality and practice of the atse political culture. Although the Ethiopian monarchy has been dissolved as of 1975, many Ethiopians still entertain special affinity to the historical image of what the institution represented. The effigies of modern Ethiopian emperors—Tewodros, Yohannes IV, Menilek II, and Haile Selassie—are still held high at homes and apparently in the hearts of many Ethiopianists. Those in the diaspora in particular are deeply attached to these anachronistic images; and their adorations of these kings sometimes parallels the Ras Tafarian religious view of Emperor Haile Selassie. Still, they nostalgically hold on to the myth of the ‘Solomonic Dynasty’ and decorate their homes with the old Ethiopian flag with the Lion of Judah, and paintings depicting the mythical stories of the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon. They still attempt to project the Orthodox Church as an official church of Ethiopia (not as historically significant church in Ethiopia); they insist that all Ethiopian languages should be written in Geez (Ethiopic) alphabet, and that Amharic should not only be the working language but the official language of Ethiopia. As one writer recently said “Amharic, and in the future Geez, should not only be national languages but also be developed as (languages of) instruction for science and philosophy” in Ethiopia (Fekadu Bekele, Ethiomedia, August 10, 2016). No doubt, these Ethiopianists are committed to the unity and territorial integrity of the country, which is understandable, but their failure to embrace diversity hinders any meaningful conversation with those coming from outside the core Abyssinian atse tradition and undermines the cause they indefatigably defend.  For this reason, political integration has remained very difficult and resistance to the ruling regime became inevitable at every generation in Ethiopian history.

The problem, however, is not only personal belief and sentimental attachment to some historical relics. Of course, many Abyssinians denounced the monarchy and joined the revolutionary camp in the 1970s either as supporters or opponents of the Derg regime. The TPLF leaders participated in the destruction of the monarchy and spearheaded the struggle for the downfall of the Derg. But despite the radical changes introduced by the Derg and the EPRDF regimes, and the different ruling ideologies of the last three Ethiopian rulers—monarchical, socialist and ‘federal democracy,’—the Abyssinian political culture has changed very little. Ethiopian intellectuals and politicians are still committed to the atse cultural tradition. This is probably because neither the Ethiopian state nor the Orthodox Church and the Abyssinian society in general had experienced any fundamental transformation from the atse tradition to modernity. Ethiopia entered the modern era without undergoing any transformation such as the Reformation and the Enlightenment that Western societies passed through as they built modern political institutions.  Instead, without any fundamental and organic changes, Ethiopia remained suspicious of Western culture but selectively adapted some ideas and technologies to build a modern state system. In the nineteenth century, Ethiopian leaders were particularly eager to receive the tools and technologies of violence that suited their interests rather than democratic ideas that facilitated political dialogue and peaceful transition of power. Since the mid-nineteenth century, Abyssinian leaders imported Western firearms that facilitated their territorial expansion and consolidation.

Thus, due to lack of genuine political reform and societal transformation as opposed to violent regime changes, the atse political culture remained unchanged. This political culture is characterized by autocratic practices, idolization of an individual leader (the atse, in earlier times), secrecy and conspiracies, court intrigues and betrayals, violence, humiliation and physical elimination of political opponents. Until the 1931 constitution under Emperor Haile Selassie (r. 1930-36, 1941-74), Ethiopian ruling dynasties never had written rules for an orderly transfer of power. The Kibre Negast, a document written in the fourteenth century, excludes from the throne all those who did not share the ‘Solomonic’ blood in their veins. Thus, succession and transfer of power always involved tensions and often bloody crises.

The atse or the ruling group in power sought safety by locking up or exiling all political rivals for life. The most celebrated periods in Ethiopian history were characterized by notorious royal prisons. In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries Amba Gishen served as a concentration camp of princes and all male relatives of the ruling monarchs. Similarly, during the Gondar period from the mid-seventeenth to the late eighteenth century, Wehni served as royal prison. It also became synonymous with modern Amharic term for prison. Now Ma’akalawi, the current equally notorious prison and torture house for the opponents of the Derg and EPRDF regimes, is serving the same purpose. In the past, kings coopted the clergy of the Orthodox Church who threatened the peasants and the whole Christian population with excommunication and expulsion from the Church if they disobeyed the monarch. In return, the clergy received generous land grants and free labor of the Christian peasantry. Now, the security forces and ruling party operatives accomplish the same job of coercion, locking up and terrorization of the citizenry. Earlier, the atse was portrayed as representative of God on earth. His (rarely her) person was sacred, his words were laws, and his judgements were final. Of course, he was also portrayed as a father figure and occasionally showed calculated sense of justice and generosity. When a vanquished leader submitted to the atse he carried piece of stone on his head and begged for mercy. The king occasionally commuted his sentence of death to life imprisonment to show his magnanimity. Emperor Haile Selassie used this tactic several times. The idea of dignity of a person and fair treatment of ‘worthy opponents’ did not yet enter into the Ethiopian political lexicon.

Under the atse political culture the leader is worshiped; although a human being, he is allowed to do anything he wished. This practice survived even after the monarchy ended. In this context, it is easy to understand why and how the Derg leader, Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam, emerged as a very powerful man, knowing everything and capable of doing anything, within a very short time. At the beginning of the revolution he was just one of those middle ranking officers, but he quickly emerged out of the collective leadership as a brutal and decisive leader. Then, all his colleagues obeyed his orders without any question while a few who dared to challenge him were eliminated mercilessly. Similarly, his successor Prime Minister Meles Zenawi became undisputable leader of the EPRDF and the country shortly after he occupied Menilek’s palace. His subordinates looked up to him for his ‘vision’ to lead them and the country out of poverty. Four years after his death, loyalists are still committed to his vision. Both Mengistu and Meles acted as ‘uncrowned kings’ and received enormous power and reverence while they were in power. Both leaders gained such respect and loyalty only because the people are accustomed to the atse tradition according to which a leader is considered anointed by God and obeyed religiously. While in power, the ruler is ‘beloved’, all-knowing, and infallible. So the Amharic saying goes: ‘The sky cannot be cultivated and the king (atse) cannot be criticized or accused.’  The first two Ethiopian constitutions (1931, 1955) make this point crystal clear. They state: “By virtue of his imperial blood, as well as by the anointing which he has received, the person of the Emperor is sacred, his dignity is inviolable and his power indisputable.”

Thus, as the cases of the last three rulers—Haile Selassie, Mengistu and Meles—show, even when the constitution guarantees individual rights, in practice, the power of the king is unbounded. Instead, their words were laws onto themselves. In the case of Meles and the EPRDF regime, the façade of autonomy and ethnic federalism in the constitution are tricks to deceive the public and the international community. Despite a lip service to modernity and modern democratic governance, the EPRDF leaders—the Tigrayan People Liberation Front (TPLF) in particular— practice undemocratic political culture in the best atse tradition. For this reason, it is irrelevant whether the constitution as whole, or some parts of it, is accepted as precondition for a discussion on the future of Ethiopia.  Unless the autocratic political culture changes, it is futile to put too much confidence in a constitution in the Ethiopian context. When there is no culture of democracy and no commitment to implement the document, it is difficult to expect anything better.

Yet, nor is it all the fault of political elite and rulers. If the constitutional contract has to be respected and the rights enshrined in it are to be enjoyed, the governed should boldly demand from the leaders that they abide by it and implement it faithfully. If they do not, the citizens should be prepared to make the necessary sacrifices needed to defend the constitutional contract. But the dilemma is, under the atse tradition, rulers are not supposed to be questioned, criticized or accused. That is how the Derg manipulated the land proclamation and dispossessed the farmers who thought they had earned the right to the ownership of the land they cultivated at the beginning revolution.

The 1995 EPRDF constitution was drafted by legal experts who consulted modern constitutions and legal experts. It incorporated ideas from previous Ethiopian constitutions. As a legal document, the constitution is reasonably well written. It is, however, defective on several grounds. It was written primarily for external consumption, to give the regime a democratic image and an aura of modernity. But the spirit of the law was not meant to be implemented because the leaders who sponsored it lacked neither the commitment nor the tradition to do so. For this reason, basic democratic freedoms enshrined in the constitution were routinely violated. The crucial article on land ownership was written in an ambiguous language to allow the government to manipulate it, as revealed in subsequent practice.  Farmers were once again cheated. Although the constitution is the supreme law of the land, several other laws, enacted after the constitution was approved, gradually eroded its effectiveness and made it hollow. Then, what is the value of a constitution if the atse (the ruling group) is regarded above the law? To be a stable progressive modern state, Ethiopia should get rid of its atse political culture.

In the final analysis, the root problem of Ethiopia’s political crises is the failure of its leaders to shed their atse ruling mentality and recognize that it is unfit to usher in modern democratic governance for the country. If Ethiopia had followed a genuine democratic path that incorporates alternative indigenous governing models such as the gadaa system, there would have been greater national integration and less ethnic groups yearning to get out of the empire now. Although, Western democratic model is always available to borrow, Ethiopian leaders could have adopted an alternative governing tradition—the gadaa system—long time ago and probably may have saved the country from its current impasse.

Besides the Oromo, the gadaa democratic system was widely practiced by several communities such as the Sidama, Burji, and Konso in the Horn of Africa before they were annexed by the Abyssinian state in the late nineteenth century. Gadaa is a democratic system which evolved over several centuries among the Oromo and their neighbors.  In an open public forum, the Oromo gadaa system involved all members of the society in decision making process. From birth to death, all male members were organized into ten gadaa grades. At each stage, the grades were assigned specific tasks appropriate to their age level, including warfare, governing and advising roles. Leadership was both collective and individual. Talented and tested individuals assumed positions of leadership, such as war leader (abbaa duula), leader of the gadaa assembly (abbaa gadaa) and advisors (haayyuu), every eight years. Collectively, each grade assumed leadership responsibility when its turn came. Transfers of power took place regularly and peacefully every eight years because the system was backed by rituals and religious practices presided over by the qaalluu (the high priest) and the abba muudaa (the anointer) and respected by all people.

Gadaa democracy was an open and participatory system. Governing laws were enacted through transparent and exhaustive processes. No disagreement was left to fester until it reached a crisis level. There was no physical coercion of dissenters because differences were settled through persuasion and consensus building discussions. The governing laws included the protection of all members of the society—men, women and children—and nature, including domestic and wild animals and plants. Of course, as all institutions of human societies, gadaa was not perfect. But it had mechanisms for reform and improvement. Such mechanisms allowed it to survive and flourish for centuries. It only started to decline in some parts of Oromia since the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as a result of some internal and external factors. Finally, it was totally suppressed when Oromo territories were annexed by the Abyssinian state in the late nineteenth century. In Borana and Gujii areas, however, it survived the challenges of the Ethiopian empire and continued to this day. Even with the current EPRDF coercion, the gadaa system has shown remarkable resilience; and it is swinging back to life. Oromo elders are trying their best to reconstruct this tradition and make it usable for Oromo democratic governance. But could it function well as a governing principle within the Ethiopian system dominated by the atse culture?  Are Abyssinian political leaders willing to accommodate an indigenous democratic institution which is antithetical to the atse tradition?  Or are the Oromo willing to sacrifice the gadaa system for the sake of Ethiopian unity?

Ultimately, Ethiopian politicians must make a decision. They have the option of living in the past with the autocratic atse tradition while claiming to be federalist democrats. But the country can’t be transformed into a modern democratic society while being led by politicians who pretend to adhere to democratic principles while practicing autocracy. To get to a democratic path, the mentality, the governance practices and political structures that sustain the atse culture should be totally revamped and replaced by open consensual democratic institutions. However, the mentality is so entrenched and the idea of integration seriously damaged, the chances of keeping the empire together is slipping away every day. On the other hand, Oromo political leaders have a hard choice to make as well. They can either continue to beg, cajole, and pressure Ethiopianist politicians hoping that they would change their behavior, reform and adopt a genuine democracy to save Ethiopia from disintegration, which may not happen at all, or they can boldly go forward with a project of rebuilding a democratic Oromia based on its rich gadaa traditions. At any rate, there is not much time left for all to ponder endlessly.

*Guluma Gemed is Associate Professor of Africana Studies at the University of Michigan-Flint. He can be reached at ggemeda@umflint.edu

By William Davison, August 23, 2016

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (Bloomberg News) — When Ethiopian marathoner Feyisa Lilesa neared the finish line in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday and crossed his hands above his head, it wasn’t to celebrate the Olympic medal he was about to win. It was to protest his government’s violent crackdown on ethnic Oromos, who have died by the hundreds at the hands of Ethiopian security forces in recent months.

“The Ethiopian government is killing my people, so I stand with all protests anywhere, as Oromo is my tribe,” Lilesa said later at a news conference. “My relatives are in prison, and if they talk about democratic rights they are killed.”

Lilesa’s statement, which was applauded widely in activist circles online, was true: Ethiopian security services have, for months, been running roughshod over protesters. But the analysis was also incomplete. The Ethiopian government, an important U.S. ally, is far more fragile than the ongoing crackdowns suggest. Indeed, the crackdowns themselves are exposing ethnic fault lines in the ruling coalition that could ultimately bring it down.

Since November 2015, Africa’s second-most populous nation has been buffeted by an unprecedented wave of protests. They began as a rebuke of the government’s plan to integrate the development of the capital, Addis Ababa, with parts of the surrounding Oromia region. But they have since spread to the neighboring Amhara region, highlighting a range of grievances, including ethnic marginalization and dictatorial rule.

The government has responded with deadly force, killing as many as 500 demonstrators in the past 10 months, according to rights groups. But even before Lilesa’s brave show of solidarity at the finish line the demonstrations appeared to be gathering steam. They also seem to be taking on a worrying ethnic tinge.

Both trends were on display on Aug. 7, when the normally placid, palm-lined city of Bahir Dar in northern Ethiopia became the scene of unspeakable horror. A peaceful anti-government demonstration there turned violent after a security guard at a government building opened fire on the crowds, provoking an angry backlash from protesters, according to witnesses. Security forces then gunned down dozens of demonstrators, killing at least 30.

“I’m just speechless to express it. It’s horrible.  The Agazi soldiers, they are just wild beasts. They killed our brothers, our sisters, without any mercy,” said Tsedale Akale, a 28-year-old demonstrator, referring to members of an elite military commando unit that the government has regularly deployed to quash protests and restore order in recent months.

A spokesman for the regional government in Bahir Dar, Nigusu Tilahun, said the response was justified. “When there is looting, when things go out of order, when people throw stones and try to take over the gun from the military and the police, then the police has to protect,” he said.

The Agazi unit, which activists hold responsible for the killings in Bahir Dar, is seen by many Ethiopians as a tool of the Tigrayan ethnic group (though it is in factmultiethnic). Tigrayans make up about 6 percent of the population, but they have played a prominent role in government, and especially the security services, since the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) led a rebel alliance that overthrew the communist-backed military regime of Mengistu Haile Mariam in 1991. (Oromos account for 34 percent of the population and Amharas account for 27 percent, but neither ethnic group is seen to rival the Tigrayans’ influence in government.)

For decades, members of the opposition and international donors have been urging the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), a coalition of four regional parties founded by the TPLF, to make the system more democratic and ethnically inclusive. Instead, it has politicized state institutions, jailed opponents, shot protesters, forced critical journalists into exile, and passed repressive legislation that has muted civil society.

The result has been overwhelming electoral dominance for the EPRDF — in last year’s parliamentary elections, the coalition and its allies won every single seat — enabling it to use the state’s muscle to strong-arm a traditionally agrarian society into becoming an industrialized nation. Its record has been impressive from a purely development perspective: It has built much-needed infrastructure and dramatically improved public services.

Presiding over the coalition and government is Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, who assumed power when Meles Zenawi, the influential Tigrayan rebel-leader-turned-strongman, passed away in 2012. Hailemariam, who hails from a southern ethnic group, is seen as an able technocrat and a neutral political figure capable of balancing the nation’s fragile ethnic politics.

Yet the EPRDF has also sowed the seeds of the current unrest by suffocating the opposition and doing little to address perceived ethnic marginalization. In Oromia and Amhara, the two regions at the heart of current protests, anti-Tigrayan sentiment has festered for decades among those who believe the group controls the repressive government. Now it has burst into the open amid growing ethnic nationalism.

One of the chief demands of the protesters in Bahir Dar, the capital of the Amhara region, is the return of an area of Amhara that was incorporated into Tigray in the 1995 constitution that divided the country into ethnically defined administrative units. The TPLF claims that residents of the Wolkait district, as the area is known, are almost all Tigrayan; some ethnic Amhara protesters say the ruling coalition manipulated the census that preceded the 1995 constitution. (Amhara groups dominated Ethiopia for centuries before 1991.)

Before the Aug. 7 violence, the Amhara region saw a large peaceful demonstration in Gondar city on July 31 — a contrast with the increasingly violent unrest in Oromia. But earlier this month, angry crowds of demonstrators attacked Tigrayan-owned businesses and, in some cases, told ethnic Tigrayans to leave the region after checking their identity cards, according to two witnesses. There were also unconfirmed reports of targeted killings of Tigrayans and a mass evacuation of Tigrayans from the city.

TPLF supporters have accused Amhara officials who are EPRDF members of supporting the protests, raising the prospect of a major schism within the ruling coalition. (The Amhara are currently represented within the EPRDF by the Amhara National Democratic Movement, but an escalation of violence could cause the coalition to come unglued.) The dispute over the Wolkait district is especially dangerous for the government, according Harry Verhoeven, who teaches African politics at the Qatar branch of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, because it reinforces the view that Tigrayans have rigged the federal system. “When you have perception that northern part of Amhara is essentially annexed by Tigray it is quite explosive,” he said.

A similar dynamic is in play in the central Oromia region, which surrounds Addis Ababa, where as many as 86 demonstrators were killed by security forces the day before the Bahir Dar protests. At the root of the Oromos’ grievances is the desire for greater autonomy after centuries of exploitation by northern rulers and feudal landowners. The region is represented within the ruling EPRDF by the Oromo People’s Democratic Organization, a party that activists accuse of being little more than a corrupt clique of Oromo politicians who are subservient to the TPLF. They point to the thousands of Oromo farmers who have been evicted from their land in recent years to make room for developers with links to ruling elites.

The stability of the EPRDF — and of the nation — will turn on the coalition’s response to a protest movement that shows little sign of abating. Of increasing concern for the EPRDF is the fact that protesters in Amhara have displayed newfound solidarity with their Oromo compatriots, while the two major exiled political parties drawn from those communities have formed an alliance.

The EPRDF has spent decades amassing the unrestrained power to implement its statist development strategy. Even if they are of a mind to compromise, Hailemariam and other EPRDF leaders may find it difficult to pacify the demonstrators while opening up political space for the opposition. The surging anti-Tigrayan sentiment among protesters, coupled with the fact that many seek regime change, suggests that EPRDF leaders fearing for their survival will double down on their heavy-handed approach rather than risk opening the floodgates. To the extent that they attempt to defuse the situation, they are likely to focus on job creation, improving public services, and rooting out corruption.

“Political liberalization comes with some risk for those that benefit from the current political monopoly, but it is necessary for Ethiopia’s stability going forward,” said Michael Woldemariam, an assistant professor at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University. “But I can’t say that I am seeing compelling evidence of the government moving in that direction.”
 

By Rundassa Asheetee Hundee

The basic principles outlined by the pioneer of the Oromo liberation movement says “Yoo dandeenyee, gabrummaa hundeen buqifnna!  Yoo dadhabnnee Ijoollee itti gudifnna!” (Gen. Waaqoo Guutuu).

Few year later after gen. Waaqoo Guutuu fired the first liberation bullet, educated Oromo sons wrote the Oromo liberation manifesto describing the evil of the Habasha colonialism that was responsible for the conversion of Shaggar into Shawaa. Since Haylamariyam Gamada wrote the Maccaa & Tulama constitution, another Oromo genius Dr. Haile Fida articulated the process through which the Oromo people can reach the goal set forth by the pioneers before him. Mean time, in the up and down of the Oromo political jungle, tens of thousands have lost their lives and yet, Gen. Waaqoo’s prophesy became the reality of our era.  The kids whom Gen. Waaqoo envisioned were born in late 1990s and they are about to uproot the Habasha colonialism out Oromia.

Interestingly, even though our great heroes such as Muli’s abba Gadaa, Hselemoo Qilxuu, Mammo Mazamir, Baroo Tumsaa and Badhoo Dachaasaa got killed by the lovers of Shawaa and Ethiopia, multitude of thousands heroes have risen and took up the liberation torch and they are marching forward today.  If there is a bad news in all these, it will be the birth and death of few low Oromo social class that are always susceptible to the sickness that forces them wanting to wash the feet of their Habasha Masters and leak the Habasha bloody hands.

What is essential for us to understand therefore, is that the enemies of the Oromo liberation movement are not the real Habashas but our own mentally ill men who can never redeem themselves from the evil of Shawaa identity crisis.

These types of men always seek certain political position under their Habasha masters because they feel they are incapable of standing on their own as an Oromo and enjoy life.  If only they are able to think independently, they could make a difference, but their ability to surpass their master’s influence is none existent.  For these weak minded creatures, what is most important is not learning how showa came into being but the political position they get under their masters.  There is no doubt that these weak minded men would work very hard under their masters command than on their own as an Oromo.

When it comes to serve the Oromo nation, these weak minded people would recoil in horror at the thought of becoming free from their inferiority but don’t give a second thought to stealing their Habasha masters mind and implement it.

What these mentally inferior little men can’t imagine is what Minilik’s army congregation boastful dance would sound like after it was done with raping the Tulamaa Oromo of Shaggar, burn the houses down with little children and old people in it.  But I wish to ask these inferiors how would they like to wake up some morning and find that several thousand soldiers, together with over 3,000 horse men, 10,000 donkeys  and 12,000 mules, had moved into Shaggar and started killing all Oromos who lived in Birbirssaa, Dhakaa Araraaraa, Qaban’aa, Laga Harree etc.  For me, the challenges that our people faced that fateful day were immediate. From our oral family history, and from the books eye witnesses wrote, we learn that hundreds of thousands of homes were set a blaze and all the people in it were burned down.

Instead of looking back to the horror our people have suffered back then, our inferior slaves end up developing a good relationship with the rapist and murderers of their own great grand parents and now they are trying to undermine all the gains the Oromo people have made over the years.  What is true though is that these inferiors don’t understand that they are stepping over the line and they will be sorry some day for their evil actions.

It is true that having an inferior few amongst us is not new, nor is it unique to us.  But those who doubt the importance of having freedom must understand that they are not only seek to diminish their own self worth but the liberty of 50 million people.  That means, their feeble attempt to justify such conduct only brings more forcibly to mind those explosive actions where one will be forced to get rid of the enemy  before the enemy itself.

Oromia will be free!

Rundassa Asheetee Hundee

The following is the document circulated Via Gemechu Tadesse Jufar

(The Guardian) — Runner was not on board team plane despite assurances he would not be punished for taking a stand over political repression in his country.

The Olympic marathon silver medalist Feyisa Lilesa has failed to return to Ethiopia despite assurances he would not be punished for his Rio protest over political repression in his country.

An AFP journalist at the airport in Addis Ababa said Lilesa was not on board the plane that landed on Monday night carrying Ethiopia’s Olympics team.

On Sunday, Lilesa, who came second to Kenyan favourite Eliud Kipchoge in Rio, crossed his arms as he finished the marathon in a symbolic protest against the repressive Ethiopian regime.

The 26-year-old repeated the gesture during the race’s medal ceremony, saying he was afraid to go back to his homeland.

Lilesa’s agent Federico Rosa had earlier told AFP that the runner would not be returning home after staging his protest, despite Ethiopian government assurances he would not face any issued if he went back.

“I don’t think that there is any way that he will [go back to Ethiopia],” Rosa told AFP earlier on Monday. “There are many people who say that it would not be good for him to go back.”

Rosa, who is based in Italy and has been the athlete’s agent for three years, said he did not know exactly what his client was planning to do next, having stayed on in Rio at the end of the games.

“I cannot say for sure because I have not spoken to him since just after the race, when we had a very short conversation,” Rosa said.

Reports have suggested that the runner may seek political asylum in the United States.

Flash floods displaced nearly 120,000 in Ethiopia only in May 2016 alone: aid agencies (Stuff)

NAIROBI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – More than 600,000 Ethiopians have fled their homes since March, largely due to flooding, the United Nations said on Wednesday, with more rain predicted up to December.

Ethiopia was hit in 2015 by one of the worst droughts in decades, with 10 million requiring emergency aid, which ended when the spring rains arrived in March.

Almost 300,000 people were displaced between March and June due to floods, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in its latest update.

Others were displaced by inter-communal conflict in Ethiopia’s southern Oromia and Somali regions.

Many of the people who fled the floods have since returned home but more than 10,000 families are still displaced and need emergency shelter and household basics, it said.

Heavy rains have delayed emergency food aid deliveries to 85,000 flood affected people in Somali region, it said.

The La Nina weather phenomenon is likely to bring further rain and flooding, the United Nations said.

La Nina, which tends to occur unpredictably every two to seven years, is characterized by unusually cold temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean.

“If the La Niña event begins in late August, this may entail heavier than normal rainfall in the El Niño-affected highland areas, which may result in intensified flooding,” the United Nations said.

La Nina’s impact is likely to be felt in Oromia and Somali regions up to December, it said.

To paraphrase Winston Churchill, never was so much owned by so many to one individual. By his unprecedented selfless and courageous act, the Oromo athlete Feyisa Lelisa, single handedly put the hitherto invisible Oromo protest on a world map. There are only few examples in history, when individual heroism and defiance have changed the world and galvanized movements. Lelisa’s symbolic defiance of August 21, 2016, on a world stage, will go in history as one of those rare moments of defiance that changed the world. There is no doubt that he has earned his place in history in the company of Rosa Parks, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, the unknown Rebel at the Tiananmen Square protests, and others. Lelisa’s crossing his arms in X fashion in solidarity with the #Oromo Protest has seared indelible image in the memory of millions.

Lelisa’s defiance in Rio Olympic is a human rights cry. It is a clarion call to action in defense of liberty and justice. It is a call for help to avert Syria from happening in Ethiopia. Since the Oromo protest started in November 2015, close to 1000 people, mostly young, have been massacred by the Ethiopian government and tens of thousands have been imprisoned. Some of those in prison are his family members. Seen against such backdrop, even though he personally could lead a relatively comfortable life, he instead chose to side with the people against a tyrannical system that has systematically repressed and disenfranchised his people.

While all this is happening, the relationship between the Ethiopian government and the western world, especially the US government, is business as usual. Emboldened by the deafening silence of the international community, the ruling EPRDF government has after a prolonged meeting reconfirmed to continue its discredited policy and crush the opposition with vigor. Therefore, realizing that the international community will not put strong pressure on this government to change, and realizing that the EPRDF government will not and cannot change, we have no other option but to double our effort to unite and continue the struggle to the end.

With this statement we want to covey our admiration and support to the Bravest Olympian in Rio, who has electrified the #Oromo and Ethiopian Protest. We also take this opportunity, and rededicate ourselves to the cause of justice and liberty for which our hero Feyisa Lelisa has risked his career, family and life. And realizing that “those who make a revolution half way, only dig their own graves” we commit ourselves to bring the uprising to its logical conclusion, until democracy, freedom and human rights are instituted in Ethiopia.

OACC is a Minnesota non-profit organization established and functioning since 2002

Locking of powers, land grabbing, youth despair … The regime is trying to silence the protests that multiply eight months at a cost of hundreds of lives.

By Célian Mace, BIG, August 19, 2016  – Google translation from French

Areas of Ethiopia and protest of August 2016 – infographics BiG BiG

Paris (Liberation) — Cracks have appeared on the beautiful facade of Ethiopia, long touted as a model of economic development and a pillar of regional stability. Despite fierce repression – Human Rights Watch has documented over 400 deaths and tens of thousands of arrests since the beginning of the dispute, in November – the regime in Addis Ababa is unable to prevent riots burst at irregular intervals in the Oromia and Amhara regions. The weekend of August 6 and 7, nearly 100 more people died under the bullets of the police, according to Amnesty International. But nothing seems to calm the anger of the protesters, who reached a level not seen for twenty-five years and the fall of the military-Marxist dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam. Most of those who marched, week after week, raising their fists crossed a sign of pacifism, are young people fed up with the authoritarian regime, which was never released, in two decades, his iron hand stifling Ethiopian society .

“Ethnic exclusivity”
The spark in November, was a land dispute. “As often in Ethiopia, the land issue is central. This is a subject on which one scarf for centuries, explains Alain Gascon, geographer, professor emeritus at the University of geopolitical French Institute of Paris-VIII. Population pressure is such that the pieces of land decrease. In 2008, the average farm size was 0.8 hectares. “The extension project of the capital and the expulsion of tens of thousands of Oromo farmers set fire to the powder. “An Ethiopian farmer who are taking his land, he is always ready to fight, continues the researcher. Especially when he sees build on the buildings in which he can never live, or when the land is sold to large investors. “Given the scale of the uprising, the government of Prime Minister Haile Mariam Dessalegna announced in January, the cancellation of the expansion plan of Addis Ababa. A rare back, but did not end so far the protests.

The movement’s claims are now much wider. “Ethiopia is experiencing a crisis of regime. The revolt is directed against the authoritarianism of the State, against the oligarchy that has benefited from the economic, ethnic exclusivity against key positions of power, explains René Lefort, independent researcher, specialist in Horn of Africa . This is actually quite comparable at the beginning of the revolution in Syria. ”

Since the overthrow of Mengistu in 1991, the levers of power, especially security, military and economic, are in the hands Tigrayans. For it is this ethnic minority (6% of the population) who, through the People’s Liberation Front Tigray (TPLF), ousted the dictator. Since then, this organization dominates the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), the ruling party who holds … 100% of the seats in Parliament. Protests nurtures resentment of the Oromo people (35% of the population) and Amhara (27%) against the Tigray caste who fiercely cling to their privileges.

“In this crisis, ethnic reading of the grid is not enough, however, warns Jean-Nicolas Bach, a political scientist at the Laboratory of Africas in the world, at Sciences-Po Bordeaux. Even if the stairs are built, of course, depending on the identity links. This is not the ethno-federal framework peculiar to Ethiopia which is challenged. Protesters are also often referred to the Constitution and demand that it be applied. The extension plan Addis Ababa is considered unconstitutional by the Oromos, because it calls into question the territorial balances provided for in the basic text. ”

As for Amhara, “their claims were originally on a piece of their territory that was annexed in 1991 to the Tigray region,” explains historian Ezekiel Gebissa of the Kettering University, Michigan (United States ). “Again, it is at the intersection of two crucial themes for Ethiopia: Land and regional identity. It is impossible to separate the two issues. ”

“Huge market”

For the first time this summer, the Oromos historically oppressed, and the Amhara, old elite of Ethiopia, therefore manifested simultaneously in their respective regions, the two largest in the country. This show of solidarity is unprecedented. “Clearing the Amhara-Oromo antagonism is something fundamental, insists René Lefort. That is why the regime is so afraid. He is well aware that the revolt is moving beyond the simple regional context and threaten its foundations. ”

The repression was particularly brutal. Not only the security forces opened fire on the crowd, but they hunt down Oromo students’ home, in schools and even in hospitals, “noted Human Rights Watch in a report published in June. “I’ve lived here all my life and I’ve never seen that. Every family has at least one of her children who was arrested, testified in this document an Oromo farmer of 52 years. This generation is being decimated. My four son disappeared, my 12 year old daughter is too afraid to go to school. Myself, I am afraid of being arrested at any time. “Many cases of extrajudicial arrests, torture and forced disappearances have been documented by the NGO.

Last week, the Office of the United Nations for Human Rights said he was “very worried” about the situation and asked Addis Ababa to allow access for international observers to Oromia and Amhara regions. But Paris, Washington and Brussels have not bothered to condemn the brutality of the regime unleashed. “There is an extraordinary blindness to Ethiopia, advanced René Lefort. Everyone is obsessed with growth [officially 10% in ten years, but certainly closer to 7%, note] and its development at a rapid pace. “This is real. The construction of the gigantic Renaissance Dam, the largest in the continent, on the Blue Nile, is the most famous national symbol of this appetite for modern infrastructure. But the expansion of the transport network – with a brand new metro in Addis Ababa, a railway line to Djibouti renovated, a new highway, one of the strongest airlines in Africa – is also shown. “The path is impressive, recalls Alain Gascon. Today there are 30 universities in Ethiopia, buildings permanently out of the ground, progress is still undeniable. ”

“The risk is that the crisis stopped the investments that the regime needs to continue the development, analysis Jean-Nicolas Bach. Ethiopia is a huge market of 100 million people. Repressing so hard, the government made a bad economic and political calculation. It will soon no longer have a choice: it urgently needs to share power and establish an economic redistribution system. ”

The boom did not however accompanied by a liberalization of the country, which remains highly interventionist, according to a model “Chinese.” The hegemonic party remains inescapable, omnipresent at all levels of the Ethiopian society. An unbearable situation for a party of youth, increasingly educated and connected, and strongly affected by unemployment.

The failure of power

The second reason for the silence of Western governments on the current repression is sacrosanct regional stability. To the west, Somalia plunged into an endless conflict; to the east, South Sudan torn by civil war; north, rival Eritrea which regularly rekindled the fires of the war of independence … The powerful Ethiopian army is useful when it comes to expel the Union of Islamic Courts of Somalia (2006) or troop mission peace of the African Union (of which it is the largest contributor). This strategic partnership in the fight against jihad in East Africa explains the indulgence of the international community towards Addis Ababa.

The event-repression cycle gripping the country for eight months could yet worsen. “The opposition movements do not control the rebellion. It feeds on the violence of the ruling party now openly challenged in slogans, singing, public speaking, describes Ezekiel Gebissa. The government’s plan, which is to lead the country through a totally locked out, no power-sharing between ethnic and political groups, has definitely failed. The problem is that there is not, for now, an alternative to this system in Ethiopia. “Because the regime has been careful to prepare a transition. He even carefully prevented any possibility. At the risk of turning rebellion into revolution.