by Mohammed Ademo
(OPride) – The history of the Oromo people, Ethiopia’s single largest ethnic group, is marked by socio-political oppression and a continuous resistance against it.
Every Ethiopian ruler, especially starting with emperor Menelik II, has devised systematic campaigns aimed at making the Oromo aliens in their own homeland, impoverishing millions by expropriating their land, and denying them the most basic human rights.
The Oromo, in various locales of Oromia – the Oromo country –have also put up powerful resistance at different times. The modern Oromo movement evolved from loosely organized local resistance(s) such as the Bale Oromo movement, the Macha Tulama Association, and the Afran Qallo musical group to name just three – culminating with the formation of a pan-Oromo movement, the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). However, there were also several other popular movements against imperial Ethiopia and its social injustices, albeit less known even among the Oromo or sometimes erroneously misconstrued as economic or social banditry (shifta).
In undated segment of Maaliin Beekkaman, a program on the state-run Oromiya Radio, journalist Ababa Magra profiled one of those lesser known movements: Agarii Tullu’s fierce resistance against Haile Selassie’s monarchical rule.
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