Defected Ethiopian Major and a Captain Tell tales of Horror

By Ahmed Abdi

February 15, 2014 (Ogaden Today) — An Ethiopian paramilitary major, Shi’alaqe Faysal La’ag Adan Hirad and Captain Ahmed-Nour Abdikadir Abdisamed Abdi whom were the commanders of the 16th-regiment told the Ogadentoday that they killed any one that encountered them regardless men,women and Children.

The Commanders say that they committed wide-spread atrocities against the innocent civilians in the Occupied-Ogaden region during their counterinsurgency operations.

“Although the Regional President Abdi Mohamoud Omar ordered us the killing of the civilians to make them fear from us by intimidating, we are happy that we killed three Tigray officials that intentional killed a man when their car crushed by a hungry militiaman that waved them to stop”, said Major Adan Hared.

These Ethiopian defectors are very young and no-one reached the age of 20,they say most of the Liyu Police militias are under 20 while many of them are under the age of fifteen.
“What I will never forget is the women that my men killed with their bayonets And whenever I am alone the images of the demised women come in my mind”, said 17-year-old Captain Abdisamad Abdi

The Captain added that he survived from many army loses and once lied under corpses displaying as a dead while ONLF fighters were dancing and chanting around him for a victory.

The defectors say that they piled up the bodies of the demised to record and take images that could please their Tigray Masters.And that they would be very happy if any-one assists them financially to return to Jigjiga to find the materials that they put in a safe place.

The Major says that only three reasons are behind joining the Liyu Police,one is to revenge against a rival clan,the send is to be paid and the third is that they made them to believe that they are defend Ogaden territory from Ogaden National Liberation front.

If you don’t kill any one that suspected of being an ONLF-Sympathizer,you are dead. I myself was ordered to kill one of my relatives then I decided to kill the soldier that wanted me to kill my relative and I was detained a short time, said Captain Abdisamad

This is not the first time that the Liyu police defectors spoke out their experience.

Rights Groups believes that the Ethiopian security forces committed war crimes and crimes against Humanity in Ogaden region.

=>ayyaantuu

Ethiopia's Genzebe Dibaba sets third record of the month

Ethiopia's Genzebe Dibaba broke her third world best in 15 days by shattering the indoor two-mile record at the Birmingham Indoor Grand Prix.

The 23-year-old's time of nine minutes and 0.48 seconds eclipsed Meseret Defar's mark by almost six seconds.

Dibaba, sister of three-time Olympic champion Tirunesh, already owns the world 3,000m and 1500m  indoor records.

Elsewhere, British indoor champion James Dasaolu won the men's 60m despite suffering an injury during the race.

The 26-year-old Londoner posted the quickest time of the year in the heats, clocking 6.47 seconds, but his 6.50-second victory in the final was marred by an injury sustained in the final 10m.

Paula RadcliffeMarathon world record holder

"It was an outstanding run and a world record achieved almost totally on her own. She definitely did tire but you'd expect that at the pace she was running. It all bodes well for the outdoor season, we just need to see what distance she comes out and races over. We could see her do something special in anything from 1500m to 10,000m, but certainly the 5,000m."

Dasaolu, a medal hope for next month's World Indoor Championships, later said he suspected it was cramp after initially fearing a hamstring problem.

"My left leg felt tight at about 40-50m. I think it's cramp, but I'll go and see the doctors and see what they say," said Dasaolu, who was clutching his left left while crossing the line.

British Athletics medical staff said the sprinter would be assessed further on Monday.

It was the final race of the day, however, which drew a standing ovation from a sell-out crowd who applauded Dibaba's incredible feat.

The Ethiopian was expected to better compatriot Defar's time of 9:06.28, set in Prague in 2009, and did so convincingly, despite slowing towards the end.

Dibaba, who is also the sister of Olympic silver medallist Ejegayehu Dibaba, broke the 3,000m world indoor record by 13 seconds on 6 February. That record in Stockholm came just five days after she had set the 1500m world indoor mark in Karlsruhe, Germany.

It was a photo finish in the women's 60m, with Murielle Ahoure taking victory despite 100m world and Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce crossing the line in the same time of 7.10 seconds.

There was a personal best for Scotland's Laura Muir, who held off a late challenge from Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands to win a thrilling 1500m in 4:05.32.

"I'm so happy. I knew I was in good shape and that it was a matter of running a good race," said Muir, now second behind Dame Kelly Holmes on the UK all-time women's 1500m indoor list.

Olympic champion Greg Rutherford, who ruptured a hamstring in 2013 and failed to qualify for the World Championships final in Moscow, came third in the men's long jump.

His best of 8.00m was not enough to beat world champion Aleksandr Menkov (8.14m).

Olympic bronze medallist Robbie Grabarz (2.27m) could only finish third behind winner Erik Kynard (2.34m) in the men's long jump.

Holly Bleasdale, the European indoor champion, won the women's pole vault by 10cm. The 23-year-old from Preston could not improve on her winning height of 4.71m, despite three attempts at 4.77m.

=>bbc

The world is full of occupied territories- Ethiopia occupies the Ogaden region in its southeast,

Henry Srebrnik

What do most people think of when someone talks about “the Occupied Territories?” They assume the speaker means the West Bank of the Jordan, of course, which has been under Israeli control following a defensive war in 1967, though much of it is now internally governed by the Palestinian Authority.

It shows us the power of the long-term attempt to de-legitimize Israel — because, in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world, there are huge amounts of land occupied by various states or ethno-religious groups.

Next door to Israel, a civil war has been raging for the last three years in Syria, as the Sunni Arab majority is trying to wrest control of much of the country from the Alawite Shia minority, only 12 per cent of the population and centred in the country’s northwest. They have “occupied” the rest of Syria since the 1970s.

In next-door Iraq, the Shia-dominated regime of Nouri al-Maliki now “occupies” the “Sunni Triangle” in the mid-third of the country. Here too an insurgency in underway. The Kurdish entity in the north is now self-governing, but Kurds in southeastern Turkey, across the border, remain “occupied” by the Ankara-based Turkish state founded by Kemal Ataturk.

Kurds also live under occupation in Syria and Iran. Persians constitute just 61 per cent of the population in the Islamic Republic, followed by Azeris at 16 per cent and Kurds at 10 per cent. In 1945, Azeris in Iran’s northwest, where they form a majority, were defeated in their attempt to set up their own state.

India is effectively an occupying power in Muslim-majority Kashmir, while to its north, China occupies Tibet and Xinjiang, with its large Uyghur and other Muslim populations. In Myanmar, the Burman-majority state occupies large swaths of the country inhabited by various ethnic groups, including the Shan, Kayin, Mon and Kachin. They have been fighting for independence for decades.

Most African states are artificial entities, often dominated by one group to the exclusion of others. Ethiopia, for example, occupies the Ogaden region in its southeast, populated by Somalis. Until South Sudan gained its independence in 2011, it was occupied by Arab-majority Sudan. East Timor freed itself from Indonesian occupation in 2002. The Ibo of southeastern Nigeria failed to gain an independent state of Biafra in the 1960s.

The Russian Federation is a colonial occupier in the north Caucasus region, where Chechnya, Dagestan, and Ingushetia are populated by Muslim peoples.

As far as many people in Ireland are concerned, Great Britain’s control of Northern Ireland is also little more than an occupation, following the partition of the island in 1922. In Spain, many Basques and Catalans feel

the same way about rule from Madrid.

And, of course, the settler states in the western hemisphere, in particular Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay in South America, and Canada and the United States in North America, were all wrested away from indigenous populations. The same holds true for Australia and New Zealand.

So the next time someone refers, without further elaboration, to “the occupied territories,” you might wish to respond, “which ones?”

Henry Srebrnik is a professor of political science at the University of Prince Edward Island.

=>theguardian

Where is the ODF these days?

By Rundassa Asheetee 

Few weeks ago, I wrote about the standoff between the ODF, the Amhara groups, the OPDO and the TPLF. Since then a lot has happened. Though many people had been unprecedentedly cynical about obbo Lenco’s return to Oromia, the man had been in Finfinnee for five days and left the country after talking to TPLF’s prime minister. According to the news from Finfinnee, the OPDO refused to talk to him even though abba Duulaa has come to America since then and may be is talking. 

As I stated in my last writing, the Amhara political groups overwhelmingly view ODF’s return to Finfinnee as something that must not simply be accepted, because they the return of the ODF will bring the Oromo cause to the light once again. On the other hand, the OPDO members resent ODF’s return to protect their power. When it comes to the Tigrains, the TPLF conservatives think that they should not share the power that they have earned via their sheer struggle and made themselves and the Tigreans the superior tribe of empire Ethiopia. Nonetheless, the some cunning TPLF members argue that allowing the ODF will bring more benefit than harm. They argue that by allowing the ODF to join the election process, they will be able to convince the western world that they are democratic and receive the hard currency they need to develop Tigrai.

The wing knows that the Oromias and the southern people are not disciplined to use their state budget and are poorer economically and organizationally compared to Tigrai. Fact shows that the Tigrai region that has been comparable to Asalla before 1991 is now better than Finfinnee. This, they argue makes it so clear to the western embassies in Finfinnee and recognize Tigrai as a hidden capital city of empire Ethiopia, not because they robbed southern people’s resources but they properly utilized the budget that they were given. In general, all TPLF members know that the TPLF is favored over the Amhara groups by the West, and the OLF is despised because of TPLF’s propaganda work that they have spent so much money and time on to portray the it as separatist group who would also take away their investment should it come to power.

As to the Amharas, they rarely pay attention to their corrupt prospectives and they careless about democracy, development and fairness. They rather believe that hiding the Oromo cause by simply ignoring it will work for them just like in the past. However, they don’t know how to remove the TPLF from power since they are trapped between their desire to protect their Amhara identity and wealth in Oromia, on one hand, and their overwhelmingly conservative view that Ethiopia must survive for their identity to survive on the other. If there is any meaningful achievement by the Amharas, it will be the establishment of certain TV station known as ESAT and the few Oromo hater individuals such as Fiqre Tolasa and Haile Larebo whom they found and let them echo their usual insult against the Oromo people.

From the ODF front, the group has taken advantage of the current anti Minilik sentiment and attracted few individuals from minority ethnic groups whom they are allowing to talk on their anti Minilik Pal-talk network. Though the Paltalk membership have gone down from a 1000 to 500 over two weeks time, the situation seem to steal a momentum from the paltalk based OLF members. Looking at the way the ODF cadres operate on Pal talk, they seem to be much more disciplined than the Amhara paltalk groups.

The truth about the future

The ODF members look at obbo Lenco’s vision with a mixture of dread and hope. It has been tough for many of them especially when they hear people talking about the doom and gloom days ahead of the ODF. However, what will really happen in 2014 and beyond is not going to be surprising at all for many reasons.

But those obstacles notwithstanding, the fact that the TPLF controls intelligence, military and the economy suggest that the Amhara political chant and the ODF’s dream that the state department of America will eventually force the TPLF to open up a venue for democratic process underestimates the level of American lobbyists power to corrupt all those involved in the political process at global stage. This is to say that ignoring Tigreans willingness to sell the entire empire in exchange to stay in power is the same as ignoring the fact that the sun rise in east. In short, the TPLF will not step down for the following reasons.

1. The TPLF team is not ready to step down because there is no military or political pressure that it fears. It is only the OLF and the Ogadenia Liberation Fronts that are fighting the TPLF right now and they have barely dented it’s military power

2. There are no political obstacles that the TPLF faces except the overt prejudice the Tigreans use to face in Finfinnee but that is not there now. In fact, the Tigreans feel that they are the most powerful people in empire Ethiopia and they feel that a significant number of voters already accept them thanks to the micro financing they have provided to the majority hooligan class of the Finfinnee city dwellers.

3. There are a huge barrier that the TPLF can cite about the Amharas to attract the Oromo and other minority groups attention and vote

4. Ever since the TPLF came to power in 1991, the only force that challenged it was the OLF, and now the TPLF has successfully divided the OLF into the Lenco, the Lichoo, the Galchu and many other groups

5. Polarization;. The major obstacle to Oromo and the Amharas is the Amharas fear and hatred toward the Oromo people and Oromos relentless struggle to brake the Amhara racism.

6. Another polarizing factor is TPLF’s gift of free land to the diaspora who rushed home and started building homes by evicting the Oromo people from Finfinnee’s surrounding areas. By doing so, the TPLF confused many individuals not to know wether to love or to hate the TPLF. These opportunist individuals who took free land from the Oromo people seem to be neutral because they have generated feelings on all sides and are ambivalent. This gives the TPLF a sense that they have strong base of support.

4. The democratic process; The logic of election validates TPLF’s arguments that other organizations do not have a good vision for the country. This has been challenging for Dr. Marara and obbo Bulcha’s party and that was true for all the Amhara party, including Qinijit. This makes it difficult for the ODF or for other groups to win against the TPLF even if they participate in the election process.

5. The ODF leaders and members background as the OLF leaders will be a huge reason for the Amharas not to vote for the ODF and the same thing is true for the Gurage, the Kambata and the Walyita groups who have strong anti-Oromo sentiments.

6. The reasons cited above will lead many Oromians to believe that the ODF has little shot at wining via democratic process. Obviously, these political polarization that the ODF generates makes it very difficult to win empire wide election if it was given free and fair chance.

7. The Religious groups whose sentiments matches the intensity to have a monopoly on values and morality of the empire at large will be afraid to vote for certain group such as the ODF giving a whole spectrum of reasons regardless of Hasan Husen and the like false impression of religiosity.

With many questions surrounding the ODF from every corner, I do not see any overriding reason why the TPLF has to step down from power or even allow any opposition to take it’s power. For that reason, the TPLF will not show a desire to leave Minilik’s palace, lose it’s investments in Oromia and return to Tigrai. The only way the TPLF could have been isolated was if the Amharas are able to overcome their racist views against the Oromo people. As it stands now, both the Oromo and the Amhara are happy to have a strong TPLF in the middle because both groups have the memories of the killer and the killed against each other.

Most importantly, the Amharas lack a knowledge of democracy and civility, and wish to take their empire back into the deep darkness of Minilik era once again. Interestingly, “Ethiopia” means many things to many people in that empire and it takes a century to understand what “country” really means. For example, the Amharas limit the concept of “Ethiopia” to the hierarchical relationship between them as lords and their serfs. If that is not the concept, “Ethiopia”, for them is the rivers, the mountains, the flat fields and valleys than the people who live on it. The Ethiopian history was also written from this perspective being limited to their narrow conception spearheaded by the arrogant church clergies who only recognized “country” as “land or territory”. The current Habasha generation now dances to the same rhythm and, above all, they describe “Ethiopia” as land which it’s social order should fall under their domination.

For the rest, Ethiopia is a land upon which people of different languages and cultures live and oppose the Habasha influence and perspective. That means, the Habasha’s Ethiopia is entirely irrelevant to the non Habasha groups because it’s origin is not originated in their social values.

All these things considered, it is clear that who will be the winner. Like the Muslims who felt it was time to regroup and replace the Orthodox church but lost, the Amhara ultra nationalists have tried to take over the power but they failed time and again. That means they are not going to try the 2005 means of struggle this time around. They rather will be well organized and continue to challenge the TPLF to accept them as equal partners and guard their business interests and help their Amhara identity to flourish for centuries to come. Though helping Amharic and the Amhara identity to grow is not their top priority, the TPLF and the OPDO have no choice but promote Amharic and whatever comes with it. That means, the two cousins mutual identity will continue to run in all directions across the empire only to ignite the ultra Amharas confidence and help them remain influential in the history of empire Ethiopia politics. This is because Amharic is rooted not only in the minds of all ethnic groups of the empire but in the governing policies of the empire. In fact, that is the reason why the Amharas can not afford to be progressive. If they do, they know that they will slowly lose control to democracy as they slowly surrendered their century and half supremacy in the empire that their immiyyee Minilk built for them.

Looking at all these realities therefore, the losers are going to be the oppressed ethnic groups,the Oromians included. It is no secret that the Amharas want to abolish afaan Oromo and Oromia and the only reason why the Tigreans do not follow the Amharas is because they need to allow afaan Oromo to grow for the sake of protecting afaan Tigre. Similarly, the TPLF will fight for charter 39 more than any ethnic group in empire Ethiopia because they will need it incase the already semi independent Tigrai had to become totally independent. At this point, they already have three international airports, a well developed city, international standard university and their own port of Kasala. The TPLF has moved large army bases to Tigrai and they have great engineering firms such as the Mesfin Engineering.

If the TPLF is willing to return the lands it took away from Gondar, the Amharas will appreciate their shared values and culture. For now though, the TPLF team has chosen to work with the sprit that they have learned during their struggle against the Dargue regime and don’t want to lose control of power by bringing anyone in as a trusted partner. As a minority, the only tool by which they could impose their agenda and legitimize themselves as the true democratic party is the military control they have over the population though logic has been fundamentally distorted already.

As to the Amharas goes, to keep their image of being the defenders of the Ethiopia unity is the only political leverage they have to help their settler relatives who live all over the towns and the cities of the Ethiopian empire. In other words, if they don’t claim the position of the defenders of the Ethiopia’s unity, their settler relatives will be labeled as outsiders and lose all what they have robed from the native people for century and half now. If they failed to support their settler relatives, their language, their culture and their economic interest will go away in no time.

The awkward things in all this is that obbo Leencoo Lata’s team would look real weird if and when it acts as the defender of the unity of empire Ethiopia since the empire was never built by obboo Lenco’s grand father. The defenders of empire Ethiopia are clear on that and there should be no misconception about it.

The outcome

Because of the above reasons, both the Amharas, the OPDO and the TPLF will simply refuse to allow the ODF, if not by saying “NO” but by finding reasons. The reasons may range from accusing the ODF members and leadership with the Badano and Arbaa Guguguu mass killing to the delaying of the process. One way of crippling ODF’s ambition of participating in the election process is by simply delaying the implementation of the negotiated term, whatever obbo Lonco had negotiated with Malasa when he was alive.

As to the defenders of the empire’s unity, as much they will be pleased to acknowledge those who are willing to be absorbed into the Ethiopian identity, they will never spare all those who questioned their Ethiopian citizenship from their lopsided opprobrium. As to the ODF, the team has already charted it’s own political course, wether it is prudent or not and there is no going back to the nationalist camp.

In the past, the OPDO disdained the ONC and destroyed it and there is no reason why it is not going to engage in confrontation with the ODF and hold it in a very dangerous position especially when their Tigrean masters start seeing an apocalyptic vision that the ODF is the OLF if it gets pilled off. In general, the doomsday for the TPLF bosses has passed since the Siye group has been crashed and they were accepted as a legitimate rulers of the empire.

Similarly, the Amhara nationalism that has been limping have recovered now and it is walking again if it has not started running yet. The ODF, on it’s part been already dumped by the Oromo people and it can’t win when the political shoot-out starts. But the respectable mainstream Oromians are still willing to help the OLF as long as it is willing to listen to the people and change the way it conducts the liberation struggle.

Rundassa Asheetee

=>ayyaantuu

Ethiopia uses Italian surveillance to hack their own journalists in US and Europe - report

Photo: EPA

The Ethiopian government used a new Italian surveillance program to hack into computers of their own journalists located in the US and Europe. A new report by Citizen Lab have confirmed the speculations regarding the Ethiopian government hacking into the computers of Ethiopian journalists in the US and Europe.

According to the report, all journalists belonged to the Ethiopian Satellite Television (ESAT).

ESAT is a news organization, which consists of mainly Ethiopian expats. In order to get access to their files the authorities used a program, developed in Italy, by Italian company Hacking Team.

This update is just another example of various government organizations around the world using local surveillance companies for espionage.

According to Morgan Marquis-Boire, a security researcher: "This stuff is sold widely, and as such it is also used widely. This type of targeted surveillance is a common method for tracking journalist in the in the diaspora."

Marquis-Boire, who worked on the project with his colleagues from Citizen Lab, Bill Marczak, Claudio Guarnieri and John Scott-Railton, found proof of tracking two ESAT employees: one located in Brussels and one who is in northern Virginia.

The attacks took place on December, 20, 2013 in two hour period.

The first attack took place in the Brussels office, when a journalist received a file through Skype from someone named Yalfalkenu Meches. The name of the file was "An Article for ESAT", which looked like a PDF format file but contained a spyware. The program once opened tries to communicate with the server, using a special encryption system.

However, the journalist who has received the file didn't open it but contacted the sender and said that the file is corrupted and might contain the malware. In response to that, Meches stated that file worked fine for him and instead sent another one, this time in a doc. format. This new file managed to trigger and download another one, which was spying software, known as Remote Control System (RCS). 

The aim of RCS is to monitor upcoming and outgoing files on the computer as well as steal them along with intercepting the Skype calls and other chat communications.

After an hour and a half, the same person who sent files in Brussels, did the same thing to another journalist in Virginia. For now, the main suspects of the hacking are unclear but according to Citizen Lab, the Ethiopian government is on the top of the most suspected. 

"Hacking Team's spyware is sold only to governments and it's hard to imagine that a different government besides the Ethiopian government would target ESAT," stated Marczak.

However, Wahide Baley, head of public policy and communications of the Ethiopian embassy in Washington DC has already announced that his government "did not use and has no reason at all to use any spyware or other products provided by Hacking Team or any other vendor inside or outside of Ethiopia." 

Despite the contradiction, it is not the first time that the Ethiopian government was accused of spying. Back in March 2013, the same company found proof of another program, FinSpy, developed by Gamma International being used by Ethiopia.

"The Ethiopian government is so interested in surveilling and spying that has apparently resorted to purchasing two different systems for this purpose," Marczak says.

Meanwhile, Eric Rabe, Hacking Team's Chief Communications Executive, has already officially declined in his statement to reveal whether spying enquiry came from the Ethiopian government. He stated that his company's software "is used in confidential law enforcement investigations."

=>voiceofrussia

Obboo Baqqalaa Nadhii Shillim Jedhe Malee Hin Duune

Taammanaa Bitimaa irraa****

Kunoo, nu dhiisee dabruu Obboo Baqqalaa Nadhii ammuman dhagaye. Gadda cimaatu natti dhagayame. Maatiin isaa, firoottan isaa, hiriyoonni isaa, aantee fi lammiin isaa, uummannii fi sabni isaa gadda jabaa isinitti dhagayame kanaaf, mee WAAQNI obsaa fi jajjabina isinii haa kennu! Ekeraan isaa qabbanaa fi gaaddisa haa argattu! Lubbuun isaa jannata haa seentu!

Yaa Oromoo yaa uummata koo, kunoo tokkum tokkoon jagnootaa fi gamnoota keenya duuti nu irraa fudhachaa jirti. Eekaa, erga jagna keenya Jaarraa Abbaa Gadaa dhabnee, kunoo waggaa tokko tahuufi. Inni isa nuti gara boodanaa dhabne jechuu kiyya malee, san dura jagnootaa fi gamnoota keenya hedduu dhabne. Inni amma dhabne kun, Obboo Baqqalaa Nadhii jagnootaa fi gamnoota jaarmaa saba Oromoo fi Oromiyaa guutuu isa: “Waldaa Maccaa-Tuulamaa” jedhamuu, nuuf bu’ureessan keessatti kan argamu. Obboo Baqqalaa Nadhii akkuma obboleessi keenya Obboo Tasfaayee Kennaa jedhe san: “Obboo Baqqalaa Nadhii Dhiira gaafa giitii, nama gaafa lafee turan. Dhaabbanni isaanii magaala dheeraa  gaaltama qoma babal’aa, korma OROMOOn gaafa xiiqiif abdattu turan Obboo Baqqalaan.“*

Inni yeroo roorroo fi rakkoon waldaa seena-qabeessicha kana irra gaye hunda, nama waan qabuu fi waan qabatu hundaan cinaa dhaabatu ture. Bara mootummaan Habashaa kan mootii moototaa Hayila-Sillaaseen gaggeeffamu waldaa kana cufsiisee, dureewwan waldichaa akka bineensa daggalaatti adamsiisee, kaan akka gaararraatti mijjiriitti baasee rarraasisee, kaan ajjeesisee, kaan manneen hidhaatti naqsiise sana warra lubbuun jaarmaa kanaa akka gonkumaan hin cichine taasise keessaa, Obboo Baqalaa Nadhii isa tokkoo fi isa duraasaa-ti. Namni uummataaf dhalatee uummataaf jiraate kun, yeroo hamtuu akkanaa waan qabu maraan: humna, horii, yeroo, malaa fi beekumsa faan kan homaayyuu of hin qusanne ture.

Obboo Baqqalaa Nadhii nama bara dukkanaa sana Mabba (Unibarsiitii) Shaggar seenuun barumsa seeratiin eebbifame ture. Inni tajaajilaa kan ture Waldaa Maccaa-Tuulamaa qofa otoo hin taane, Oromoota mootummoota Habashaa sadeeninuu: mootummaa Hayila-Sillaasee, mootummaa Dargii fi mootummaa warra Wayyaaanee-tiin rakkoon isaan mudate, karaa ogummaa seeratiin bira dhaabachuun isaaniif falmaa ture. Obboo Baqqalaa Nadhii uummata Oromoo keessaa bayee: uummata Oromoo tajaajilee, uummata Oromootiif jiraatee, uummata Oromootiif du’e. Obboo Baqqalaan kan dhalateetoo guddate magaalmataa Oromiyaa fi Afrikaa, Finfinnee Shaggar keessatti. Akka namni seenaa dureewwan keenyaa, kan Waldaa Maccaa-Tuulamaa akka gaariitti qoratee, akka gaariitti baldhinaan nuuf barreesse, Obboo Olaanaa Zoogaa ibsetti Obboo Baqqalaa Nadhii barumsa isaa itti-fufuun,  baargama ceyee Biyya Kanaadaa-ttii digirii isaa kan lammaffaa argate.**  Sana durallee Shaggarum keessatti manneen barumsaa: durayyaa (“Elementary School“) fi jidduyyaa (“Junior Secondary School“) Shimallis Habtee-tti, isa oliyyaa immoo (“Senior Secondary School“) Tafarii Mokonnini-tti barate.

Bara inni Mabba Shaggar seenee baratu sana ilmaan Oromoo kan akkuma isaa carraa barumsaa argatan qubaan lakkaawamu ture. Mootummaan Habashaa inni qawween cabsee biyya keenya harkatti galfate sun, uummataa fi saba keenya roorroo hamaa, hacuuccaa hamaa fi dukkana hamaa keessa galchuun ukkaamsee bitaa ture. Oromiyaa fi biyyoota Kibbaa keessatti manneen barumsaa kan ijaaraman warreen abbootii biyyaa: Oromoo, Afar, Soomalee, Sidaamaa, Gede’oo, Guraagee, Hadiyyaa, Kambaataa, Koonsoo, Walaayitaa, Gaamoo, Kuulloo-Kontaa, Gimiraa, Kafichoo, Moochaa, Nuweeri fi Anyuwaak, Beenshangulii fi Gumus faaf otoo hin taane, ilmaan nafxanyootatiif ture. Bara Obboo Baqqalaa Nadhii faa baratan sana dhiisitii bara nuti manneen barumsaa galluuyyuu Oromoonni barumsi unibarsiitii haa hafuutii kan oliyyaatuu lakkoofsi isaanii baay’ee, baay’ee xiqqaa dha. Manneen barumsaatti barsiisotaa fi barsiiftoota Oromoo arguun kan nama maalalu (dinqu) ture.

Ani mataan kiyya gaafan kutaa tokkoffaa seene galgala mana barumsaatii oggaan deebiyu, warri kiyya maqaalee barsiisota kiyya na gaafatani. “Shawaan Gizaaw Kabbadaa, Laggasaa Tafarraa, — faa” jechuun dhuma irratti “Xilaahuun Guutamaa” ennaan jedhu, gammachuun mirqaananii “inni mee Oromoo keenyaa!” jedhani. “Ee Oromoo dha, anuu wajjin dubbaddheen jira. Ispoortii nu barsiisa; magaala dheeraa akka fitaarii Daammasaa Gameessaa-tin” jedheeni. Wasiillan kiyya keessaa inni tokko: “akkamitti isa dabarsanii as gaye? Inni Oromoo keenya nama Wallaggaa ta’a!“, jedhe. Bara sana warri Habashaa Amaaraa Oromoon barsiisaa, abbaa murtii, bulchaa biyyaa faa akka hin taaneef, nafxanyoonni isa hin dabarsan jechaa dha. Hubaddhaa, manni barumsaa innin ani barumsa darayyaa-tiif seene sun, magaalaa yookaan ganda moggaa impaayerittii irratti argamu wayii hin turre. Handhuura Oromiyaa fi handhuura Jahan Bachoo irratti kan argamu magaalaa Tullu Boolloo, isa Finfinnee Shaggar irraa kiilomeetira 80 callaa fagaatee jiru sana.

Kunuu Oromiyaa Waltajjii, Iluu Abbaabbooraa fi Wallaggatti malee, ijoolleen Oromoo ishiin; Barentuu (Harargee), Arsii, Baale, Gujii fi Booranaa faa carraadhuma nuti arganne saniiyyuu hin arganne. Naannolee Oromiyaa himaman kanneen keessa nafxanyootaa fi malkanyoota isaan hamoo, kanneen sa’aa-nama nyaatantu ture. Ani mana barumsaa isa oliyyaa ergan xumure, biyya kiyya ilaaluufan olii-gadi deddeemaa ture. Dursee dachee qeerransoota Oromoo Arsii gaafan dhaqe, Gaara Cilaaloo koreen biyya abbaa kootii hamma ijji tiyya agartutti ilaaluu fedhe. Mana barumsaa magaalaa Asallaa keessa jiru, kan maqaa Raas Daargee harma muraa fi harka muraa sanaatiin waamamu dhaqeen, ijoollee Oromoo sadii yookaan shan kan na waliin deemtee karaa natti agarsiisuun Cilaalootti olbaatu barbaade. Ijoolleen argaddhe shanan kan mana barumsaa sana keessatti barumsa oliyyaa barachaa jiran keessaa, namni tokkollee kan Oromoo  keenya isa Arsii tahe hin turre. Ijoolleen sadii kan warri isaanii naannoo Oromiyaa Waltajjii irraa, lamammoo Wallagga irraa achi dhufan turani.

Yaa Oromoo argitanii? Bara akkanaa kana keessa Mabba Shaggarii fi Biyya Faranjii dhaquun kan barate, beekaan keenya Obboo Baqqalaa Nadhii! Barattoota oliyyaa taanee oggaa Shaggar jiruuyyu, nu keessaa namni tokko kan gaazexaa: “Addis Zaman“, “Yazaareyituu Itoopphiyaa” faa keessatti nama maqaan isaa maqaa Oromoo tahe yoo arge, fiigaa dhufee nutti agarsiisa. Nutis nama sana marsineetoo akka waan raajii wayiitti: “kun Oromoo keenya isa barate, anaa nyaatu!” faa jenna. Kunoo, hardha warri barate dhaloota Obboo Baqqalaa Nadhii fi Obboo Guutaa Sirneessaa faa qofa otoo hin taane, dhaloota keenya bira kunneeyyuu Dhaloota Qubee impaayerittii raasaa jiru kanaa dhaqqabnee jirra

Obboo Baqqalaa Nadhii nama aadaa Oromoo fi Afaan Oromoo akka lubbuu ofiitti jaalatu ture. Dheebuun inni aadaa Oromoo boonsisaa kanaaf qabu, dubbii obboleessi keenya Obboo Lubee Birruu kan sirriitti isa beeku addeesseen ifa taha: “According to Oromo elder Lube Birru, Bekele treasured Oromo culture so much so that each time he left the city he would join wedding parties uninvited to learn about traditional Oromo wedding ceremonies.“*** Ani Obboo Baqqalaa Nadhii gurbummaa kiyya irraa kaaseen beeka. Kanan isa bares bara Waldaan Maccaa-Tuulaaa dachee Oromoota Kurnan Gullallee, qeyee jagnicha durii, qeyee Tufaa Munaatti walgawu sani. Anaa kutaa 10-ffaa keessa barachaa jiruu, waldaan kun mana barumsaa isan keessa jirutti karaa lafa jalaatiin akka ijaaramnu godhe. Kan lafa jala deemee akka lafa jalaan ijaaramnu nu taasise, hiriyaa Obboo Baqqalaa Nadhii, barsiisaa keenya Oromticha dhugumatti barsiisaa seenaa tahe, isattis biyyeen haa salphattuu Guutaa Sirneessaa ture.

Guutaa Sirneessaa nama naannoo Torban Kuttaayee (Amboo), kan Xuqur Incinnii irraa dhufe yoo tahu, barumsa seenaa kan barate Mabba Shaggaritti. Boodallee innis akkuma Obboo Baqqalaa Nadhii digirii isaa kan lammaffaa ardii Ameerikaa Kaabaa, Biyya USAa-tti argate. Isa, Obboo Baqqalaa Nadhii fi hiriyoota isaanii kanneen biroo wajjini,  kan manneen barumsaa oliyyaa (sadarkaa lammaffaa) kanneen oggas Shaggar keessatti argaman, 14 fi kolleejota cufa keessatti karaa lafa jalaatiin barattoota Oromoo ijaarani. Obboo Baqqalaa Nadhii kana irrattis shoora (qooda) guddaa tahe qaba. Gaafa dhoksaan walgeenyee akka koree hojii gaggeessituu filannu Obboo Guutaa Sirneessaa nutti himee, nu gorsetti dhoksaan mana barumsaa keenya keessatti walgawuun koree hojii gaggeessituu nama sadii filanne. Manni barumsaa sun Oromoota kutaalee impaayerittii kanneen addaddaa irraa dhufanis ni qaba ture. Nama Baale irraa dhufe akka abbaa marcumaatti, nama Horroo-Guduruu irraa dhufe immoo akka barreessaatti filanne. Anammoo akka abbaa horiitti na filani. Namoonni lamaan kun waan ammallee Oromiyaa keessa jiraniif beekatuma maqaaleen isaanii hin kennamne.

Akkuma seenaa jagnicha keenyaa, kan Jeneraal Taaddasaa Birruu irraa hubatamutti Waldaan Maccaa-Tuulamaa uummata ABC (aa-baa-caa) Afaan Amaaratiin barsiisa ture. Afaan Oromootiin barsiisuun sonaan dhoowwamaa, kan nama hiisisuu fi kan nama ajjeechisu waan tureef, afaanuma jaraatiin barsiifamaayyu. Barumsa galgala-galgala kennamu waajjira waldichaa, kan Gullallee jiru keessatti akka nuti dhaqnee barsiifnuuf nu keessaa nama filani. Ani galgala galgala torbanitti gaafa lama: Lammaffoo fi Kamisan dhaqee barsiisayyu. Waldaan kun horii otobusii ittiin-yaabbannu kan dhaqaa-galaa tamunii takka nuuf kenna ture. Maal godhuree otoo baay’ee hin turin, waldaan sun akka waa tokkollee hin hojjanne seeraan, ee seera Habashaatiin dhoorkame.

Obboo Baqqalaa Nadhii faa, Obboo Hayila-Maaram Gammadaa faa, Obboo Dhinsaa Leepphisaa faa abbootii seeraa fi ogeeyyii seeraa beekamoo tahanillee seerri Habashaa seera abbootii irree fi abbootii qorkee waan taheef, waldaa kana seeraan dhoowwamuu jalaa oolchuu hin dandeenye. Ammallee sirriittan yaadaddhaa koodeen Obboo Baqqalaa Nadhii, Obboo Guutaa Sirneessaa gaafa waldaan kun dhoowwamee cufamu, mana barumsaa keenya keessa warra jirru walitti nu qabee: “seeraan dhoowwamnee jirraa, hardhaa kaaftanii walgayii keessan hin waaminaa! Isintu ija keenyaa, isintu ija Oromootii nu jalaayyi isin kichuuwwan kana galaafatuu, yeroof waayee waldaa kana dhiisaa! Garuu, waldaa kana nu jalaa dhoowwan malee, Oromummaa keenya nu dhoowwuu matumaa hin danda’anii, isinis waayee Oromoo adaraa hin dhiisinaa!”, nuun jedhe. Innis waayee Oromoo hin dhiifnee, bara Dargii bulchaa magaalaa Shaggar tahuuf, otoo dorgommii filmaataa irra jiruu Dargiin nu jaala isa nyaate.

Otoo Waldaan Maccaa-Tuulamaa hin dhoowwamin Obboo Baqqalaa Nadhii fi Obboo Guutaa Sirneessaa faa nuti ijoolleen Oromoo kanneen mana barumsaa oliyyaa Shaggar keessaa 14-nii, kolleejotaa fi Mabba Shaggar keessa jiranii karaa lafa jalaatiin akka walgeenyu godhani. Caakkaa baargamoo (“baarzaafii“) Gullallee, Gooroo Sulultaa jalatti dhoksaan yaanee, dhoksaan walgeenye. Akkuman bara 1999 keessa “Raadiyoo Waldaa Oromoota Waashingitan Diisii” irratti gaggaafatamnaan ibse sana: gaafa walgeenye sana hirqiffaneeti walitti boonye. Eekaa, bara dukkana hamaa san nuti Oromoonni wal hin beeknu turre.

Warri Habashaa Oromoo akka uummata xiqqaa wayiitti dhiyeessuun nu barsiisuyyu. “Arusii“, “Qottuu“, “Gunjii” faa jechuun waan nutti himaniif hedduun keenya Oromoon: “Gaallaa Shawaa“, “Gaallaa Wallaggaa“, ”Gaallaa Jimmaa” fi “Gaallaa Ilubbaaboor” qofa seena turre. “Yaa Taammanaa nu mee akka keeysan Gaallaa sanillee nu dhoorkataniiti Qottuu nuun jedhanii“, naan jedhe sabboontichi Oromoo, Bakar Yuusuuf yommuu baqataa taanee Biyya Sudaan, Kaartum jirruuyyu.

Maarree, nuti kutaalee ennas Toopphiyaan nan qaba jettu 14-n keessaa kan: Tigraay, Gondor (Beegamdir), Ertiraa fi Goojjam malee, hundumaa irraayyi kan dhufnee achitti walgeenyeyyu. Addaan nu qoqqoodanii, addaan nu babbaasanii, addaan nu faffacaasanii wal nu wallaalchisanii waan turaniif, gaafas Oromiyaa guutuu irraa walitti yaanee, fuula walii arguutu nu gammachiisee nu boochise. Eeyyen imimmaan waljaalaa, imimman waldharraa, imimmaan Oromummaatu walitti nu boochiseeyyu. “Taammee ka’iitii dubbaddhu malee!“, naan jedhe T. W. kan mana barumsaa keenya sanitti piresidaantii barattootaa tayee, filamuun walaloo Afaan Amaaraa, kan Hayila-Sillaasee fi mootummaa isaa, abbootii lafaa nafxanyyoota: dhiiga, imimmaanii fi dafqa uummata Oromoo fi uummatoota Kibbaa xuuxxachaa jiran sana ifumatti kan balaaleffatu; nuuf dubbisuun kan nu boochisuuyyu. Walaloota isaa keessaa kan: “Haadha Tiyyaafan Booya - Lannaatee Aalaqsaallahu” jadhu, “Oromiyaa” yookaan “Biyyoromoo” maqaa hin dhoofne malee, akkuma jirutti waayee ishii akka daawwitiitti nama fuuldura qabee kan nama doowwachiisu ture! Ee, Oromtichi sun nuuf Waalillinyi Mokonninii fi Obboo Ibsaa Guutamaa ture. Nuti isa Amaara seenayyu; Oromticha kutataa kutaa kutataa, godina Arsii irraa dhufe sana. Ilaamee, kanneen mara lafa jalaan walitti fiduun kan walbarsiisanii karaa Oromummaa isa irraa hin maqamne (hin goramne) nu qabachiisan Obboo Baqqalaa Nadhii fayi!

Kan kana hundumaa nu dhaqqabsiise jagnootaa fi gamnoota amma biyyeen nu jalaa nyaatte, Obboo Baqalaa Nadhii fi hiriyoota isaa turani. Hundee Oromummaa isaan nuu buusantu cimee, booda keessa akka ABO nuuf ijaaramu taasise. Dammaqiinsa sabaa isaan nu habbuuqqachiisan sanatu karaa bilisummaa fi walabummaa Oromiyaa qabannee, garuma fuulduraatti akka harka walqabannee tarkaanfannu nu taasise. Bu’urri tokkummaa Oromoo isaan nuuf buusan kun ammas waltanee alaa-manaa oljechuun, akka harqoota gabrummaa Habashaa ofirraa darbannee Republika Gadaa Oromiyaa ijaarrannu nu godha!

Kunoo, ammaan tana Oromummaan daran cimee, Dhaloota Qubee diina ollachiisoo kana nuuf horee jira. Kanaaf, Obboo Baqalaa Nadhii akkuma jagnootaa fi gamnoota Oromoo isaan kaanii akka: Taaddoo Birruu, Hayila-Maaram Gammadaa, Alamuu Qixxeessaa, Maammoo Mazammir, Zawugaa Booji’aa, Dhinsaa Leepphisaa, Guutaa Sirneessaa, Mokonnin Wasanuu, Kabbadaa Buzunash, Baqqalaa Bantii, Agarii Tulluu, Sisaay Ibsaa, Guddinaa Tumsaa, Baaroo Tumsaa, Abboomaa Mitikkuu, Elemoo Qilxuu, Jaarraa Abbaa Gadaa, Muldhis Abbaa Gadaa, Waaqoo Guutuu, Adam Saaddoo, Adam Jiloo, Roobalee Turee, Ahimad Bunaa, Muhee Abdoo, Magarsaa Barii, Jaatanii Alii, Nadhii Gammadaa, Guutamaa Awaas, Ibsituu Margaa fi Saartuu Yuusuuf faa meeqaa meeqa tarreessinee dandeenyaa mitii, shillim jedhan malee hin duunee, barumbaraan maqaan isaanii kaafamaa jiraata!

______ Hubachiisa Miiljalee ______

* Obboo Tasfaayee Kennaa gaafa 13. 02. 14, mandhee ONA keessatti waayee boqata Obboo Baqqalaa Nadhii miseensotaaf laallee dabarse keessatti kan akkana jedhee ture.

** Barroo Seenaa Waldaa Maccaa-Tuulamaa fi dureewwan isaa qorannoo tujuba-qabeessa tayeen sirriitti nuu ibsu, kan akka lakkoofsa warra Gi’iiziitti bara 1985 keessa Shagarumatti Afaan Amaaratiin maxxanfamee baye, kan fuuleewwan 465 qabu, mee dubbisaa! Tarii yoona Afaan Oromoo fi Afaan Ingiliziitti hiikame taha.

=>gadaa