OROMIA MEDIA NETWORK STATUS REVIEW REPORT: Released by Board of Trustees

Introduction
On November 22, 2014, the Oromia Media Network (OMN) Board of Trustees unanimously approved the creation of a Status Review ad hoc Committee (SRC) composed of three Trustees to:

• Assess existing organizational problems,
• Identify the root causes of these problems,
• Propose a road map to help the organization overcome any challenges, and
• Build a more robust media organization with lessons from its recent experience.

The purpose of the OMN SRC is thus to prepare a draft report to be submitted to the Board in a timely manner for its approval.  The SRC set to interview all concerned members of the OMN by phone, Skype, in person, or any other means to understand the challenges OMN faced since its inception.  Particular attention was to be given to addressing the recent discontents among some OMN ranks.  Although this report is released to meet the urgency of the matter, we anticipate interviews will continue for weeks to come.

Summary of the Challenges

The Board is aware that there are some allegations by some ex-OMN members and non-members (not supporters of OMN) regarding financial misappropriations, circumstance of resignation of few OMN ranks from office, and commitment of the Board to its roles.  This report is not intended to answer to these wanton charges.  Some of these allegations unfortunately level to illegal defamation and the Board has instructed the executive committee to act swiftly and take a legal action where such illegal smear campaign against OMN occurred.  The Board hereby reaffirms to all OMN ranks and supporters that it serves as the ultimate decision-making body of OMN, and it will protect OMN as a public investment.  The Board selects and oversees management who are responsible for the operations of the organization without interfering in the day-to-day executive details.  We admit that as a young organization, OMN faces transitional issues in adjudicating power and responsibilities.  However, the Board, operating within the bounds of the law, has never compromised its ultimate authority nor failed to discharge its responsibilities when called for.  This report is a case in point.
This report is a condensed summary of the final report approved by OMN Board of Trustees at its meeting held on December 6, 2014.  The document presents the main challenges OMN faces as an organization and their likely solutions.  The report is based on conversations conducted with employees and non-employees.  The SRC tried in good faith to understand the underlying challenges OMN faces, taking a more realistic and probable scenario on issues that are often entangled with personal judgments of people who at times feel they have been wronged.

As a result of this review, we are led to believe that there is no cardinal problem that threatens the operation of OMN as of now, and to the best of our knowledge all the major issues have been identified below, and that the solution to these challenges are well within the OMN’s organizational capacity to be resolved.  This review process brought the Reviewers much closer to OMN.  We are impressed by the media soldiers of this historic institution, and we see in its current employees nothing less than highly determined men and women who stood for the service of their people against all odds.  They deserve recognition and honor, and we salute them for their fervent service.  We present below the main challenges not in any particular order.

1. Intervention and influence

Some employees complained that OMN has become dominated by few.  There is no evidence that one person influenced personnel related decisions.  However, there are evidences and testimonies that OMN’s fundraising and day-to-day operations are influenced by one or few men.  Even those who claim that OMN has become a show of very few admire and appreciate the role of such individual or individuals.  It is healthier for OMN to be a face of more than one person.  Nonetheless, there is a settled assumption and belief by some that even executive influence in OMN is too centralized.  It is difficult to fight perception; it is easier to solve it if it exists.  For this simple reason, despite the lack of proof of intervention in the executive decisions of personnel matter, we propose extra measures to address the perception.

2. Inherited issues of pre-OMN

It is widely known, and it has been echoed again by some during the interviews, that the OMN had a somewhat turbulent beginning full of enthusiasms and unmapped expectations, far from calculated work of careful planning.   The beginning of air transmission was marked by haphazardly assembled and inexperienced but passionate volunteers.  Relocation of a key member of the OMN starters to Minneapolis was viewed as a move to manipulate and dominate OMN by some and as a selfless dedication to the project by others.  There was an apparent talk of boot-camping to design a master plan for OMN, but this was undermined by an opposing majority side that eventually took over all the planning and starting of OMN.  Some in the minority expected more shared governance and consensus during and preceding the time of the launch, but yet didn’t have the opportunity to shape the outcome and exert their wishes.  Those who supported the launching of OMN swiftly argue that it was essential to satisfy the demand and expectation of donors, to establish financial accountability promptly, and also make use of the political climax.  At the time, this disagreement between those who want to move slower and those who favored an expeditious action was not resolved by consensus.  The impetus favored those who owned the political momentum as the majority.  Some individuals who left the OMN at that time remained outside of the OMN with a subdued confidence, but still wished all the best for OMN.  Very few however adopted a harsh stance of negating all about OMN which is carried to this day, several months after the issue seems to have been overpowered by fait accompli, i.e., the key personnel whose move to MN was objected has since moved back to the east coast and the starting of OMN cannot be undone now.  There is no reason why this initial dispute should culminate to total negation today if one has the good of OMN and Oromo in mind.

3. On embracing nationalism

This issue was raised directly or indirectly by some OMN staff.  They shared a concern, that Oromo nationalism is suppressed through editorship.  On the other hand, concerns were aired that OMN should not be a partisan forum, and that OMN should be a fact-based media, not catering to unchecked emotions that fuel anarchy and chaos eventually drawing disrepute.  This line of thought promoted a belief that OMN’s commitment to serious media will support maturity of Oromo nationalism that will stand better on a firm ground.  Board members would like to stress that OMN was established for promoting Oromo interests.

4. Avoiding controversies, – religion and politics

Many are unaware that guideline for covering religious events have been developed.  Several misunderstandings and criticisms were aired, that OMN failed to cover religious events simply because it wanted to avoid controversies.  While avoiding such controversies where religion and politics overlap is temporarily a prudent measure, the avoidance, if it exists, however makes OMN less relevant among its target audience by failing to transmit these important international events shared by our people.  A controversy provoked by including some radical fora may be more useful than a deafening silence in correctness.

5. Leadership, discipline, and transparency

The issue of leadership is a subject extending far beyond OMN.  Patience and tolerance are the hallmark of leadership.  But the other side of the coin is that insubordination cannot be tolerated and discipline cannot be unheeded.  OMN had some samples of both leadership weaknesses and employee insubordination that are probably consequences of simple passion or naiveté, not resulting from mean intents.  Furthermore, patience is desirable, but an unruly employee cannot be tolerated until he/she has planted a seed of anarchy and poor discipline that affects the performance and behavior of others – lack of discipline is contagious.
A more troubling issue in the organizational performance of OMN is that at times obligations and duties are viewed and taken loosely.  There may be a clash of discipline and commotion, the first as a result of misunderstanding the bounds of employees, and the later as a consequence of easiness resulting from a mindset of volunteerism.  This cultural inertia must be disconnected from OMN for it to perform normally with raised expectations.  The concept of efficiency needs to be redefined in the context of the mature nationalism that didn’t embrace high expectations.

6. Training, responsibilities, expertise, and manpower

Most OMN employees need tutoring in several areas including the process of editing, roles and responsibilities, and role of the editor in chief, preferably by an expert who knows the business.

7. Resources, space, and outsourcing

OMN started with humble resources, computers with poor capacity that cannot manage large video data, poor quality – amateurish cameras, uninsulated walls, inferior lighting, etc.  Funds are needed to transform the Center to a high quality studio.  OMN leadership seems eager to alleviate some of these problems by outsourcing the entire production line of some of the programs to other OMN studio branches outside Minneapolis.  This may indeed be a good idea to ease some of the local pressure, but new challenges of outsourcing and its impact on central chief editor must be studied in advance.  The resources critically needed to run or maintain quality must be prioritized, and capital should not be invested on less critical acquisitions without thorough research.  This priority of purchasing costly equipment must be established in consultation with employees, the media soldiers.

8. Codes, guidelines, and ethics

The Board must interact with the Ex. C. more closely than in the past.  The Board’s guidance in developing codes for dress, employment and interview procedures are needed.  Inputs are also needed on embracing Oromo nationalism that nurtures the ideal for which our people are struggling.

9. Personality clashes and remote supervision

OMN must have an interim strategy to consolidate its leadership in one location.  Personality clashes, hiring, and firing are often packaged with political, religious, and regional issues, and this eventual repackaging is issues must be recognized in the processes.  It is important to understand that one manifestation of positive Oromo nationalism is guarding OMN from individual weaknesses and personal agendas.

1. Communication

The distance among leadership of OMN is not helping communication which has been weak both between Ex. C. and the Board, as well as among Ex. C. members.  The Board did not know about some problems faced within Ex. C., and the role and task of some staff was not communicated to other staff members clearly.  At least one employee believed he was a manager, but staff members were not informed about his role clearly.  The SRC committee found out about important events that took place in OMN during this review process, and these are developments that SRC members should have known as Board members.
Conclusion (suggestion)

• OMN Board and its leadership must design a strategy to make OMN independent of one or few individuals.
• Communicate with original members of OMN who may have disagreements with individuals within OMN, with a message that OMN has become a national resource that should be protected – far bigger than any individual. OMN must be viewed as a cherished child of the Oromo movement that must be nurtured and protected.
• OMN must strike a balance between embracing some level of unexpurgated views of Oromo nationalism and maintaining solid media integrity that is not dominated by emotions. A session may be designed to accommodate partisan feelings however emotive they may seem for media integrity, at least once in few weeks, with a pronounced recognition that the net value of such program may be limited.  Oromo nationalism is too strong to completely ignore activism at this stage of our society.  However, it is better not to entertain activism at all than see it dominating OMN.
• The guideline on covering religious events should be implemented, and people who complain about not covering these events should be told that OMN is moving towards covering all major religious events in a balanced manner. Religious elders should be asked to provide some joint parameters and feedback for the future.
• OMN leadership should take swift decisions to demonstrate its seriousness when it comes to maintaining discipline, even if the short term consequences of the decision may seem negative.
• Training of OMN staff is critically needed. This should cover technical expertise and optimum organizational structures.  Roles and responsibilities, editing software, management skills, etc. are all areas that need training.
• The current hardware shortages can be eased by creating dedicated and technically capable branch offices. However, new challenges may emerge and the impact of outsourcing on the editor in chief’s time must be researched in advance.
• The resources of OMN are modest, and capital should not be invested on less critical acquisitions without thorough research. The priority of purchasing costly equipment must be established in consultation with employees.
• The Board’s guidance in developing codes and guidelines is needed urgently. Dress codes, employment and interview procedures, inputs on embracing Oromo nationalism without promoting anarchy are needed.  Interview and employment should be done at least at the screening level by a personnel committee.
• More ways of handling and managing communications among leaders located in different cities and countries must be sought. Ideally OMN leadership should be consolidated to one focal place, say MN.
• OMN should assign or hire a permanent PR person to combat negative propaganda waged against OMN in various public fora including Facebook. Where appropriate legal action must be taken to contain illegal activities that defame OMN.
• There should be a planned gradual transition from voluntary activism of the leadership to paid employees, especially for key and more relevant offices.
• OMN programs must be more creative to diversify programs. This requires resource mobilization, outreach to several cities with large Oromo population.
• Personality clashes should be rejected when camouflaged and presented as OMN problems, especially when they look for allies in regional, religious, and political groups.
• The Board should create a “ways and means” committee to prioritize these suggested solutions, strategize their implementation, and help execute with a preset timetable. To this end, during its December 6, 2014 meeting the Board unanimously elected Dr. Ahmed Gelchu as its President and Obbo Kitaba Megersa as Board’s Secretary.

Galatoomaa
This report is available in Oromo language.
Oromia Media Network, Board of Trustees,

December 6, 2014


=>oromiatimes

Audio Reveals TPLF Plans to Increase Attacks on Wakefena Under Pretext of connection with OLF...

Audio
evidence acquired by FinfinneTribune/Gadaa.com reveals the TPLF
Ethiopian Regime planning to increase attacks on Wakefena
(Waaqeffannaa), the indigenous Oromo religion and one of the religions
in Oromia, under the pretext of connection with the Oromo Liberation
Front (OLF)

Saudi Billionaire to Invest $100 Million in Ethiopian Farm

Employees of Saudi Star rice farm work in a paddy in Gambella. Photographer: Jenny Vaughan/AFP via Getty Images

Saudi Star Agricultural Development Plc, an Ethiopian company owned by billionaire Mohamed al-Amoudi, said it plans to invest $100 million in a rice farm in western Ethiopia next year to kick-start the stalled project.

The company leased 10,000 hectares (24,711 acres) in the Abobo district in the Gambella region, where it’s based, in 2008 and bought the 4,000-hectare Abobo Agricultural Development Enterprise from the government 18 months ago for 80 million birr ($4 million). After delays caused by unsuitable irrigation design and contractor performance issues, Saudi Star wants to accelerate work in 2015 after a change of management, a redesign of the farm and a successful trial of rain-fed rice on 2,000 hectares at the formerly government-owned operation, Chief Executive Officer Jemal Ahmed said by phone.

“We have a very aggressive plan,” he said on Nov. 26 from Jimma, about 260 kilometers (162 miles) southwest of the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. “If we’re able to do that we’ll be able to produce more.”

STORY: At OPEC Meeting, Saudi Arabia Stares Down Texas and North Dakota

The project is part of a government plan formalized in 2010 to establish commercial farms on 3.3 million hectares of fertile land in sparsely populated parts of the country such as Gambella. Ethiopia expected to earn $6.6 billion a year from agriculture exports in 2015, according to a five-year economic plan published in 2010, though total goods exports last fiscal year brought in $3.3 billion.

Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said in October 2013 that progress on the program had been “very slow.”

Billionaire Investor

Ethiopia-born al-Amoudi is worth $8.1 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which ranks him as the world’s 157th richest person. His company built underground oil-storage facilities in Saudi Arabia and he owns Preem AB, Sweden’s largest crude oil refiner. Al-Amoudi is increasingly investing in formerly government-owned farms in Ethiopia, a nation where companies under his Midroc group operate the only commercial gold mine and built the largest cement plant in 2011.

VIDEO: Can Iran and the West Strike a Nuclear Deal?

Saudi Star’s $100 million investment will focus primarily on building irrigation infrastructure, including finishing the main canal from the more than 25-year-old Alwero Dam built by Soviet engineers, as well as a rice de-husking plant, storage silos and land clearing, according to Jemal.

An initial plan to have the farm divided into 3.75-hectare plots to produce rice from submerged paddy fields has been shelved as unworkable, he said. Only 350 hectares has been developed since 2008 on the land leased for 300,000 Ethiopian birr ($14,908) a year.

Economically Unviable

“It was not environmentally and economically viable, that’s why they were struggling, so we stopped that,” Jemal said. “We want to make it large-scale flood irrigation, not small ponds.”

STORY: The American Oil Boom Won't Last Long at $65 Per Barrel

Saudi Star’s revenue is forecast to be about $60 million in 2016 once the irrigation system is developed, with 60 percent of the aromatic rice exported mainly to Arab nations on the Persian Gulf, Jemal said.

Hampering current harvesting are late rains and, for two days in October, unrest in Abobo town after violence between ethnic Anuak, who are indigenous to Gambella, and other Ethiopians. The company has Ethiopian soldiers guarding its compound and about 100 stationed nearby. Two Pakistanis and three Ethiopians employed by Ghulam Rasool & Co., a closely held Pakistani engineering company building the irrigation canal, died in April 2012 after an attack by a group of gunmen.

Security Addressed

The government has “taken care” of security issues, farm manager Bedilu Abera said while seated in one of the air-conditioned trailers that are now Saudi Star’s headquarters after they were moved from Addis Ababa.

STORY: Crowdsourcing Comes to the Booming World of 'Litigation Finance'

Anywaa Survival Organization, a Reading, U.K.-based rights group, said in an Oct. 14 statement that land leases in Gambella have fueled conflict.

“The rush for land, water and other essential natural resources has become a curse for indigenous and minority peoples who barely have legal protection and redress,” it said.

Saudi Star says only two Anuak villages of huts with sweeping grass roofs lie just outside the project’s boundaries in deep forest. Some local residents complain they’ve not benefited from the investment and that they suffer collective punishment by the military.

VIDEO: Branson’s Virgin Money Climbs in London on Trading Debut

“They used to kill people from the village,” Akea Ojullo, a 27-year old teacher, said in a Nov. 23 interview in Perbong village. “It got worse after the attack on Saudi Star,” he said.

‘Wrong Project’

The company plans to work with local residents by investing in workers, distributing rice and plowing land for them. “We know we’re creating job opportunities, transforming skills, training local indigenous Anuak, but there’s a campaign to have people perceive it as a wrong project,” Jemal said.

The farm still has the backing of officials, even though progress has been slow, Jemal said.

“The government wants the project to be a success and see more Gambella people be able to work and produce more,” he said. “That’s the big hope.”

Large, complex projects like Saudi Star’s need many years to produce results, Gambella President Gatluak Tut Khot said in an interview in Gambella town.

“We are not disappointed about the operation because we know that agricultural operations are very difficult,” he said. “We are giving them time in order to correct every mistake, overcome every obstacle, every challenge they face.”

To contact the reporter on this story: William Davison in Addis Ababa at wdavison3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin at asguazzin@bloomberg.net Paul Richardson, Michael Gunn, Sarah McGregor

NOV 25 Professor Gudrun Dahl Returns to Oromo Scholarship After 20 Years Break: Interview

Meet Swedish Professor Gudrun Dahl who returned to the field of Oromo studies after a 20 years break and spoke at the 57th conference of the African Studies Association on the Oromo philophy of "nagaa" (peace) and environmental issues. She loves the Oromo unconditionally. She has important reflections to offer after two decades of absence. Although she is not in a position to do fieldwork as she did in the 1970s among Orma and in Isiolo in northern Kenya, she is monitoring websites to get updates and critiques online resources. She proposed how important it is to put together online repository of publications in a form of bibliogrpahy or database accessible to researchers of Oromo past and present. 




=>oromopress

        

Oromo studies scholars bring important topics to the table at ASA meeting in Indianapolis

(OromoPress) – Fifteen fellow Oromo studies scholars from around the world presented papers on a wide range of topics under six panels, making this the largest presence of any panels from the Horn of Africa in the program as well as actually in the conference rooms of JW Marriot hotel in the beautiful and cold city of November – Indianapolis.
A few scholars were new entrants into the field of Oromo Studies with brand new focuses, such as gender issues, nagaa, Oromo ecotheology, the state of religions in Oromia and Ethiopia, genocide and land grabbing, among others. Well established topics in social sciences, such as the conquest and domination of Oromia by Abyssinian northerners, were part of the panels. Veteran Oromo studies scholars reinforced their previous works and introduced some newer developments in their fields.
In contrast, there was not a single Ethiopianist panel at this year’s African Studies Association conference. A few angry Habesha walked into one panel and resorted to ad hominem attacks and vented – instead of engaging in rational discussions on historical and ongoing issues, including the fact that Menelik II committed genocide and mutilated limbs and breasts in Annoolee and Chelenko in Oromia of the last quarter of 19th century when the Oromo lost half its population to that genocide. The extremist Abyssinians in the room denied that Menelik II chopped of breasts of women, and limbs of men, commonly rendered in Afan Oromo as “Harma Muraa Aannolee and Harka Muraa Calanqoo.”
Despite the desperate hecklers, Oromo Studies scholars enthusiastically brought to the table many of the important issues relevant to the Oromo people and the broader Horn of Africa region.
The quality and the originality of the papers delivered at these conferences opened the eyes of curious ASA conference participants who were non-Oromos. Some African Americans in Indianapolis who did not hear of the Oromo or Oromia state before expressed their surprises that the stories of a people as large as the Oromo have been systematically cleansed from international attention.
Marit Ostebo from the University of Florida is a new entrant into the field of Oromo studies with her research titled “Can Respect Be Key to the Gender Justice? The Case of Wayyu and Women’s Rights among the Arsi-Oromo of Ethiopia.”
Swedish Professor Gudrun Dahl returned to the Oromo studies after twenty years hiatus, and gave very inspiring talk and reflections on the Oromo philosophy of “nagaa” [peace], and online resources. Gudrun’s work was titled “Morality, Peace, and Environment in Representation of Boran Oromo Culture.” Gudrun told us that she was among the very few expatriate researchers who began working on the Oromo since the early 1970s. That makes her one of the pioneers in Oromo studies. Her contemporary pioneer Oromo studies scholar, Bonnie Holcomb joined Gudrun on the stage to present a paper on “Oromo perspectives on peace and conflict,” which was received very well.


Scholars of Oromo Studies made their presence felt at the 57th congress of the African Studies Association, speaking directly to the theme of the conference, “Rethinking violence, reconstruction, and reconciliation.” Oromo scholars had a lot to offer not only to Oromo Studies, but to research on the African continent. As scholars representing the Oromo nation facing extreme violence in the Ethiopian state, it was only fitting that Oromo studies scholars participated in the conference, unveiled new topics and mapped future research topics to place the Oromo on the continental African and world maps.


=>gadaa

OLOLA OMN IRRATTI OOFAMAA JIRU ILAALCHISEE IBSA HOOGGANSA OMN IRRAA KENNAME.

Guyyoota muraasa dabre kana ololli hogganootaafi jaarmaya OMN maqaa xureessuu irratti fuulleffate gama adda addaan oofama akka jiru ni beekna. Hamma ammaatti dhimma kanarratti qaamni hoggansa OMN waan tokkollee hin dubbanne. Sababni isaas maddi dubbii kanaa hariiroo hojjataafi jaarmayaa kan seera ilaallatu waan ta’eefi. Hamiifi komiilee deddeemaa jiran hoggansi sadarkaan jiru sirritti erga ilaaleen booda qabxiilee armaan gadii kana ummataaf ifa godhuun barbaachiseera.

OMN hojjataas ta’ee hoggansa sadarkaan jiru heeraafi seera lafa kaayateen adabuu, hojirraa kaasuu ykn olguddisuuf mirga guutuu qaba. Akkasumas hojjataan ykn hogganaan tokko yeroo fedhetti caasaa jaarmaya beeksisuun hojii gadi lakkisuuf mirga guutuu qaba.

Hanga ammaatti hojjataan OMN irraa ari’ame tokkolleen hin jiru. Ji’a darbe kana keessa hojjattoota lama irratti tarkaanfin bulchiinsaa (disciplinary action) fudhatamuun dhugaadha. Erga adabbii kennameef fudhatanii booda fedhii isaanitiin hojii gadi lakkisanii jiran. Hojjattoota kana dhabuun keenya nu gaddisiisus kun mirga akka hojjataa tokkootti heerri bulchiinsa OMN fi seerri Ameerikaa isaanif kenne waan ta’eef ni kabajna. Gumaata hamma ammaatti jaarmaya kanaaf godhaniif ni galateeffanna. Gara fuulduraas jaramaya kanaan waliin bifa adda addaatiin akka hojjatan abdii qabna.
Haa ta’uutii, erga hojjattoonni kun bahanii booda hamiin bifa gara garaatiin ummata keessatti facaafamaa jiru, imaammata, adeemsa hojii fi kaayyoo OMN gaggeessaa jiru wajjin kan wal-faalleessudha.OMN dhaabbata walabaa fi karaa dhugaa qabatee haqa ummata Oromotiif kan dhaabbatee hojjataa jirudha. Kanas, qabtamaan hojiidhaan agarsiisaa jira. Imaammata editoriyaalii keenya, Qophiilee fi Oduu OMN tamsaasaa ture www.oromiamedia.org irraa hordofuun ni danda’ama. Ammallee, OMN dheebuu odeeffannoo ummata keenyaa baasuuf halkaniif guyyaa tattaafachaa jira. Yeroon kan hojiiti.

Daaw’attoonnifi deeggartoonni OMNis kana hubatanii bifa tasgabbaa’een OMN sadarkaa guddaatti ceesisuuf tattaaffii godhamaa jiru bira akka dhaabattan asumaan dhaamsa keenya dabarsina.

OMN sagalee ummata keenyaa ta’ee hojiisaa daraan cimee ittifufa.

Dr. Hamzaa Abdurazzaaq, Dura Taa’aa Boordii OMN
Girma Tadesse, Daareektara Koree Hojii Raawwachiiftuu

Dr Birhaanuu Dirbabaa, Gulaalaa Muummee


=>bilisummaa

In Defense of the Latest Amnesty International (AI) report Repression in the Oromia

Begna Dugassa, Ph.D | November 14, 2014

Dear the Secretary General & the Minsters of the Ethiopian Federal Government:

I am writing this letter to defend the latest Amnesty International (AI) report BECAUSE I AM OROMO’ Sweeping Repression in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia1 from the attacks and mischaracterizations of the Ethiopian government presented on BBC Radio and other media outlets. I believe I am entitled to do this for four reasons.

The first reason is, I was born and raised in Oromia among the followers of the Oromo indigenous religion– Waqefaata. I have witnessed human violations perpetuated by consecutive Ethiopian regimes. During the Haile Selassie regime, I witnessed my family members giving a quarter of their harvests to the Abyssinians and paying taxation without representation in the government. I witnessed many Oromo family members tried not to allow baptizing their children in the Abyssinian Orthodox Church. In the belief that if someone first goes through the Waqefaata ceremony known as Amachisa, the person will remain Waqefaata, my community members developed strategy to take their children through the indigenous ceremony first. Accordingly, in the Amachisa ceremony I got the name Tolera = things are good. After that, they had me baptized because the Oromo people were forced to baptize their children in the Orthodox Church. In the ceremony of baptism they gave me a name Gebre Giyorgis = the slave of George. I leave it to the readers to compare the differences in meaning between the two names.

I heard many stories about many innocent Oromo persons being charged with the crimes they did not commit. In most cases it was to free the Abyssinians from crimes they had committed. There is a case that I well knew- about an Oromo person being penalized for referring to the Supreme Court judge as (አንች=anchi) ‘you’, a term used in Amharic in reference to women,-instead of (እርስዎ=irswo) ‘you’ used in reference to the higher officials. The person did not use the term አንች (anchi) to undermine the Supreme Court. The reason was that he did not fully understand the Amharic language. This means that the Oromo people’s cultural rights are regularly violated and such violations are legal. As the UN document clearly states “human rights are indivisible, interrelated and interdependent”; the rights of the Oromo people to social, economic, political and cultural rights are being violated and this is clearly demonstrated in this case of a person being penalized for making a grammar mistake.


— Full Document in PDF


=>ayyaantuu