The Depths of Corruption in Ethiopia

By Ed McKenna, IPS
September 25, 2013


ADDIS ABABA/LONDON (IPS) – Ethiopia may be one of the fastest-growing, non-oil producing economies in Africa in recent years, but corruption in this Horn of Africa nation is a deterrent to foreign investors looking for stable long-term partnerships in developing countries.

“Bankers, miners and developers presenting projects to investment committees in countries that fare badly in corruption rankings frequently struggle to get investment. Corruption raises red flags because it makes local markets uncompetitive, unpredictable and therefore largely hostile to these long-term players,” Ed Hobey, the East Africa analyst at the political risk firm Africa Risk Consulting, told IPS.

On May 11, in the biggest crackdown on corruption in Ethiopia in the last 10 years, authorities arrested more than 50 high profile people including government officials, businessmen and a minister.

Melaku Fanta, the director general of the Revenue and Customs Authority, which is the equivalent rank of a minister, his deputy, Gebrewahid Woldegiorgis, and other officials were apprehended on suspicion of tax evasion.

But the arrests have raised questions about the endemic corruption at the heart of the country’s political elite.
Berhanu Assefa of the Federal Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission of Ethiopia told IPS that these arrests highlighted how corruption has insinuated itself into the higher levels of officialdom.

“Corruption is a serious problem we are facing. We now see that corruption is occurring in higher places than we had previously expected. Areas vulnerable to corruption are land administration, tax and revenue, the justice system, telecommunications, land procurement, licensing areas and the finance sector,” he said.
Ethiopia ranks 113 out of 176 countries on the Corruption Perceptions Index of Transparency International, a global civil society coalition that encourages accountability. The country has also lost close to 12 billion dollars since 2000 to illicit financial outflows, according to Global Financial Integrity (GFI), whose statistics are based on official data provided by the Ethiopian government, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Dr. Getachew Begashaw, a professor of economics at Harper College in the United States, told IPS that there was a fear that the recent high profile arrests were merely political theatre designed to placate major donors such as the World Bank and the IMF, and to give credibility to the new regime’s fight against corruption. Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn took over leadership of the country after Prime Minister Meles Zenawi died in August 2012.

“They are using this as a PR stunt to appease not only the donors, but to also dupe the Ethiopian people. Because many non-party affiliated Ethiopians in the business community are complaining, and this complaint is trickling down to the average people on the streets,” he told IPS.

According to the World Bank, companies held by business group the Endowment Fund for the Rehabilitation of Tigray (EFFORT) account for roughly half of the country’s modern economy. The group is closely allied with the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPDRF), an alliance of four parties.

EFFORT is a conglomerate formed from assets collected in 1991 by the EPRDF to rehabilitate the Tigray region in northern Ethiopia after it had been decimated by poverty and conflict. The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) is the lead party in the EPDRF coalition.

Tigrayans, however, only account for eight percent of the country’s 90 million people. According to Abebe Gellaw, an exiled Ethiopian journalist and founder of Addis Voice, a web platform that provides news that is otherwise censored by the Ethiopian government, EFFORT has become a business racket for the Tigrayan elite who are monopolising major sources of the country’s wealth.

“The TPLF controls key government institutions and a significant portion of the economy. For over 15 years, EFFORT has been used by the TPLF to channel public resources and funds to the coffers of the TPLF through illegal deals, contracts, tax evasion, kick-backs and all sorts of illegal operations,” he told IPS.
Azeb Mesfin, Zenawi’s widow, currently manages the multi-billion-dollar business empire.

She claims her husband paid himself a modest salary of 250 dollars a month, yet the online website “the Richest.org”, which publishes the net worth of the richest people in the world, recently divulged that Meles was in fact one of Africa’s wealthiest leaders having amassed a personal fortune of three billion dollars. This has led many to question the provenance of the erstwhile leader’s wealth – when he had no known business engagements.

Illicit financial flows as a result of corruption are a major hindrance to a country’s development, undermining institutions, economies and societies. According to the Africa Progress Panel’s Africa Progress Report 2013, the continent is losing more through illicit financial outflows than it receives in aid and foreign direct investment.

A commitment to greater accountability and transparency to curtail illicit financial flows should occur on both the national and international levels, according to E. J. Fagan, deputy communications director at GFI.
“Reforms and policies are needed to strengthen customs enforcement and make governing apparatuses more transparent. The international community can create a multilateral system of automatic exchange of tax information that African countries like Ethiopia can access, so as to make it difficult for illicit actors to hide money and transfer large amounts of illicit money without detection,” he told IPS.

Begashaw added that corruption in the social sphere also breeds social inequality, disenfranchisement and a breakdown in national unity and civil society.

“The very existence of parastatals and TPLF-affiliated endowed business conglomerates like EFFORT is a major source of corruption. The Birr (Ethiopian currency) will depreciate and inflation will skyrocket. The capacity of the state to provide public goods and services will decline. Free market competition will be eroded. Government revenue will be reduced and the budget deficit will rise.
“If they are really serious about combating corruption, they should start doing so from the top,” he said.


=>ethiomedia

Libya: Thousands of Refugees in Life-Threatening

HRLHA Urgent Action

September 24, 2013

For Immediate Release

The Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa (HRLHA) has learnt through its correspondents that hundreds of thousands of refugees in Libya, most of whom were from the Horn of African countries such as Ethiopian and Eritrea, are in a very dangerous situation after they were evicted from their original refugee camps in Benghazi, Libya where they stayed for the past three years. The eviction took place following the infiltration and assault of the refugees by who were described as workers of the Libyan Red Crescent on the 13^th of September, 2013. The assault included beating and stabbings by knives. Those who broke out of the shelters to run away from the assaults were met with Libyan armed forces that were stationed around the camps prior to the starting of the assault. Then, the refugees were forced out of the camp on allegations that they attempted to instigate disturbances in the city, and taken to remote area known as Alshatti.

According to HRLHA correspondents, about 500 refugees are now held in what was known to be a private detention centre in Alshatti located on Sahara Desert border with no adequate supply of basic necessities. HRLHA has also learnt that the very adverse weather condition at Alshatti has worsened the situation to the refugees. Even two expecting women who delivered after arriving in Alshatti and their newly born infants were not treated differently. The fact that the refugees are now held in isolation where they are not visited by international agencies like the UN High Commission for Refugees and the ICRC until this Urgent Action is documented,  as they used to when they were sheltered in Benghazi, added to the very unfriendly living condition has raised their frustrations. The refugees who were contacted by HRLHA also mention that there have been detachments and disconnections among refugees who had acquaintances and/or relationships with each other. Most of the refugees who were taken to Alshatti are originally from Ethiopia and Eritrea, HRLHA correspondents have added.

The HRLHA managed to obtain the names of the following 33 refugees:

No	Name	Country of origin
1	Foad Kasim	Ethiopia, Oromo
2	Abdi Nagassa	Ethiopia, Oromo
3	Derje Gezahegn	Ethiopia, Amhara
4	Dereje Tefera	Ethiopia, Amhara
5	Abdulhamid Abdurahiman	Ethiopia, Oromo
6	Nuredin Haji	Ethiopia, Oromo
7	Mulatu Kassa	Ethiopia, Amhara
8	Abdurahiman Jailan	Ethiopia, Oromo
9	Aman Amid	Ethiopia, Oromo
10	Nahom Gebre Mariam	Eritrea
11	Hani Gebre Nugus	Ertrea
12	Umar Mohamed	Ertrea
13	Wubshet Tesfaye	Ethiopia, Amhara
14	Abdi Husein	Ethiopia, Oromo
15	Mohamed Lencho	Ethiopia, Oromo
16	Husein Abdulkadir	Ethiopia, Oromo
17	Wazir Awol	Ethiopia, Oromo
18	Husein Ahmed	Ethiopia, Oromo
19	Amadu Tesema	Ethiopia. Amhara
20	Tekie Girmay	Eritrea
21	Abdulmohamed Nur	Ertirea
22	Naigzi Goyitom	Eritrea
23	Nigusu Abriham	Eritrea
24	Saladin Mohamed	Eritrea
25	Mohamed Sale	Eritrea
26	Abel Tadesse	Ethiopia, Amhara
27	Gemed Fikadu	Ethiopia, Amhara
28	Yusuf Tahir	Ethiopia, Oromo
29	Abduzamed Mohamed	Ethiopia, Oromo
30	Aliyi Haji	Ethiopia, Oromo
31	Awol Adam	Ethiopia, Oromo
32	Selemon Desta	Ethiopia, Amhara
33	Kedir Mohamed	Ethiopia, Oromo

HRLHA is highly concerned about the safety and future fates of those asylum seekers and refugees in such an isolated and disconnected socio-political environment. Therefore, HRLHA calls up on the Libyan Government, first of all to ensure the safety and well being of the refugees and asylum seekers by providing full protection against any kind of attacks from any side or angle and allow access to the new location to the representatives of regional and international UN and humanitarian agencies as well as media organizations so that they could receive all the supports they need especially to bring their refugee lives to an end.

The HRLHA also urges all national, regional and international human rights groups, donor countries and organizations to join hands in putting pressure on the Libyan   government so that it abides by the international norms, the 1951 International Convention of the refugees and asylum seekers and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights article 14 (1) “ Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.”

Recommendation:

Please send appeals to the Libyan Government, concerned Libyan officials and to diplomatic representatives of Libya who are accredited to your country as swiftly as possible, in English, in Berber or Libyan Arabic Language, or in your own language expressing:

Your concern regarding the mistreatment of asylum seekers and refugees in Libya and they should be treated according to the 1951 International Convention of the refugees and asylum seekers and other international norms of refugee and asylum seekers rights.

Appeal to:

1. His Excellency Dr. Ali Zidan Prime Minster of Libya
Tel: +218(21) 444 3700, Fax: +218 (21) 360 0889

2. His Excellency Mr. Mohamed Abdul-Aziz
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Libya
Tel: 22 – 2921 340 21 218

Copied To:

UNHCR main office Geneva, Switzerland.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Case Postale 2500
CH-1211 Genève 2 Dépôt
Suisse.  telephone number: +41 22 739 8111

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
Palais Wilson , 52 rue des Pâquis
CH-1201 Geneva, Switzerland Telephone: +41 22 917 9656
Mail: civilsocietyunit@ohchr.org

African Commission on Human and Peoples‘ Rights (ACHPR) 
48 Kairaba Avenue, P.O.Box 673, Banjul, The Gambia.
Tel: (220) 4392 962 , 4372070, 4377721 – 23
Fax: (220) 4390 764
 E-mail: achpr@achpr.org

Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights Council of Europe
F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex, FRANCE
Tel: + 33 (0)3 88 41 34 21
Fax: + 33 (0)3 90 21 50 53

U.S. Department of State
Laura Hruby
Ethiopia Desk Officer
U.S. State Department
HrubyLP@state.gov
Tel: (202) 647-6473

Amnesty International Secretariat – London
Telephone: 44 20 74135500
Fax: 44 20 79561157
1Easton Street
London, WC1X0DW, UK

Human Rights Watch – New York, Tel: +1-212-290-4700
Fax:+1-212-736-1300
Email: hrwnyc@hrw.org

=>bilisummaa

WBOn Haleellaa Mootummaa Wayyaanee Irratti Fudhataa Jiru Itti Fufuu Beeksise

Madda Oduu ABO/MOA | Fulbaana 23,2013)

Humni addaa WBO Hararge Dhihaa keessa sosso’u tarkaanfii gara garaa fudhataa jiruun diina raasaa fi ummata gammachiisuu irratti argama. Akka kanaan Fulbaana 2, 2013 Harargee Dhihaa Ona Mi’eessoo karaa gara Gololchaa geessu irratti miseensa tikaa sirna Wayyaanee Alamayyoo jedhamu irratti tarkaanfii fudhateen akka hamaatti madeessuu irraa waldhaansaaf gara Finfinneetti dabarfamee jira.

Fulbaana 2, 2013 akkasuma Ona Mi’eessoo magaalaa Mi’eessoo cinaatti tika diinaa ummata hiraarsuun beekamu Fiqaaduu Fiqree jedhamu irratti tarkaanfii fudhateen du’aan adabe.

Kana malees humni addaa WBO Harargee Dhihaa keessa sosso’u Ona Xulloo Dabbasoo bakka Jaldoo jedhamutti humna diinaa paatroolii irra turetti haxxee hidhuun haleelee loltoota diinaa 7 konkolaataa ittiin sosso’aa turan waliin barbadeesse. Loltoota diinaa ajjeefaman keessatti gaafatamaan tikaa Olaanaa naannoo sanii Komander Lammaa jedhamu keessatti argama.

Humni addaa WBO tarkaanfii itti fufiinsaan fudhateen Ona Doobbasoo bakka Aynaagee jedhamuttis humna diinaa sakattaa irra ture haleeluun loltoota 8 ajjeesee 5 madeese. Lola kanaanis diina irraa meeshaa lolaa adda addaa hiikkatuu ajaji WBO Godinaa Harargee Dhihaa hubachiisa. Gama kaaniin Gootichi WBO Shawaa keessa sosso’u tarkaanfii gootummaa diina irratti fudhateen qondaala basaasaa diinaa tokko ajjeesee loltoota 2 isa waliin turan haalaan madeessuu beeksise. Tarkaanfii Fulbaana 19, 2013 galgala keessaa sa’aa 8:45 irratti Ona Boosat magaalaa Olancitii keessatti humni addaa WBO fudhateen qondaalli tikaa Wayyaanee Shambal G/Igzabeer jedhamu mana isaa keessatti oggaa ajjeefamu loltoota 2 fi namoota biro 3 isa waliin turan madaa’uu irraa gara hospitaala Adaamaatti geeffamuu ajajni WBO hubachiise. Basaasota diinaa kanneen wayta tarkaanfiin kun irratti fudhatame ummata Oromoo irratti karaa hojii basaasummaa itti jabeessaan irratti mari’ataa akka turan ajajni humna addaa WBO beeksise. Kana malees Qondaalli diinaa tarkaanfii WBOn ajjeefame kun Adaamaa hanga Dirree Dawaatti sosso’uun kan Oromoota hiisisaa fi ajjeesisaa ture tahuu kan hubachiise ibsi ajajaa WBO itti fufuun Shambal G/Igzaabeer dhiheenya kana sabboonaa Oromoo Taammiruu Alamuu ajjeesisu fi abbaa fi obboleeyyan isaa hidhuun irratti roorrisaa jiraachuu beeksise. Tarkaanfii diina irratti fudhatame kanaan ummatni naannoo gammachuu isaa WBOf ibseera.

=>ayyaantuu

Ayyaanni Kabajaa Guyyaa “Alaabaa Wayyaanee” Oromiyaa Godinotaa Gara Garaa Keessatti Diddaa Ummataan Fashale.

Godina Lixaa Shawaa Magaalaa Amboo irraatti guyyaa kaleessaa Fulbaana 23,2013 Guyyaa Ayyaanaa Alaabaa Ethiopia ykn kabachiifachuuf jecha  baatii tokkoo fulduraa uummataa dirqiin akka bahee kabajuuf ololaa kan ture guyyaa kalleessaa diddaa uummataa Amboo fi nannoo ishee kanneen akka Anotaa Gudar, Xiiqur Inciinnii, Dannoo, Calliyaa Geedoo, Midaa Qanyii Ballaammii, Iluu Galaan Ijaajjii, Gincii, Jalduu, Adaa’aa Bargaa, Meettaa Roobii fi Gindabarat fa’itti utuu hin kabajatiin hafuun Caasaan wayyaanee illee bakkotaa adda addaatti qoodaa irraa fudhachuu kan didaan ta’uun Wayyaanee rifaasisee jira.

Haala kanaan Mootummaan Wayyaaneen hidhatootaa fi poolisotaa of harkaa qabdu bobbaasuun uummataa akka dirqiin ummmata baasaniif ajaja dabarsanis uummaannii ajaja wayyaanee kanaa hin fudhannuu, ayyaannii alaabaa kun kan saboota Habashotaa waan ta’eef nu hin ilaallaatu, nuti alaabaa mataa keenyaa kan Oromiyaa ni qabna gaafaa Oromiyaan bilisomtuu faajjii keenyaa ol kaasuun kabajannaa malee fajjii diinaaf hin jilbeeffaannuu jechuun mana gadii ba’uu diduun wamichaa wayyaanotaa lagachuun jibbinsaa fi mormii sirna nama nyaataa wayyaaneef qabuu ifatti mul’isuun guyyaa kabaja wayyaanee kana salphisee jira.

Haaluma walfakkatuun Godinotaa akka Kibbaa Lixaa Shawaa, Jimmaa, fi Iluu Abbaa Booraa, Aanotaa garaagara godinotaa kanaa keessaatti uummaannii guyyaan kabajaa ayyaanaa alaabaa abashotaa ilmaan Oromoo fi Oromiyaa hin ilaallatuu jechuun ajaja dirqiin
guutamee Wayyaaneen dabarsituu hin fudhannuu jechuun walga’ii kabajaa ayyaana isheef wayyaaneen godinotaa fi aanotaa irraatti waamtee ummataa waraabuun karaa foddaa TV EPRDF ummaanni na jaalataa alaabaa keenyaa kabajaa jira, alaabaan keenyaa alaabaa bilisummaati jechuuf qophooftee ummataan duraa fashalaa’e. Qeerroon Bilisummaa Oromoo Alaabaan Wayyaanee kun alaabaa
gabroomsaaa kan mirgi dhala namummaa ittin sarbamee, kan mirgii amantaawwaanii itti sarbamee, kan bilisummaan Ummataa Oromoo fi ummatotaa biyyaattii ittin sarbamee fajjii garboomsaa ta’uu ummaannii keenyaa fi dargaggoonnii Oromoo kana hubatuun bakka hundaattii kabaja fajjii garboomsaa kana akka balaaleffaannuuf duraa dhaabbannuu, jechuun dhaamsaa uummataa Oromoo hundaaf bifa garaagaraan dabarsa.

=>qeerroo

Irreechaa bara 2013 Kana’ratti Hundi Keenyaa Harka Wal-Qabannee Wayyaanee Haa Balaaleffannu

Baarentuu Gadaa | Fulbaana 24, 2013

Irreechaa bara 2013 Kana’ratti Hundi Keenyaa Bakka Itti Ayyaaneeffannutti Harka Wal-Qabannee Dhiittaa Mirga Namoomaa fi Ukkaamsaa Wayyaaneen Nurraan Gahaa Jirtu Haa Balaaleffannu, Adduunyaattis Sagalee Keenya Haa Dhageessifannu!

Impaayera Itiyoophiyaa keessa ayyaanoonni fi qophiileen sabaa fi sablammoonni biyyatti heeddumminaan irratti hirmaatan danuu dha. Ayyaanoonnii fi qophiileen kun baay’een isaanii kan amantiidhaan walitti hidhaman yoo tahan kaan isaanii ammoo kan mootummoonni abbootiin irree Impaayerittii bulchaa turanii fi jiran dirqiidhaan akka uummattoonni biyyattii irratti hirmaatan taasifamanii dha. Qophiilee fi sirni kabaja ayyaanota uummattoonni biyyattii keessattuu uummanni Oromoo heddumminaan fedhiidhaanis ta’ee dirqiidhaan irratti hirmaachaa ture heddu kaasun ni danda’ama. Kanneen uummanni Oromoos ta’ee saboonni Impaayera Itiyoophiyaa keessa jiran fedhiidhan irratti hirmaatan keessaa ; kan akka guyyaa Irreechaa/Waaqeeffannaa, Iida, fi guyyaa Dhaloota Kiristoosii fi kanneen biroo kaasuun ni danda’ama.

Itiyoophiyaa keessatti qophiilee dirqamaan mootummoonni abbootiin irree humnaan akka uummattoonni biyyattii bahanii kabajan taasisaa turanis heeddu tarreessuu dandeenya. Akka fakkeenyaatti bara mootii H/Sillaasee “guyyaa dhaloota isaa fi hangoo itti qabate” uummanni bahee kabajuun, hiriiruun, isaaf sagaduun dirqama ture. Bara Dargii ammoo guyyaa” Abiyootii” bahanii hiriiraan kabajuu diduun nama adabisiisa, farra warraaqisaatiis nama taasiisa. Bara ammaa; bara wayyaaneen uummattoota Impaayera Itiyoophiyaa keessa jiran humnaan dhiittee saamaa bulchaa jirtu kana keessa ammoo wanti hunduu caalaatti cimee guyyaan hiriiraa fi ayyaanaa mootumichaa dachaa heedduun dabaleera. Kan akka “Ginboot 20, ye higga mangisti qan, ye biheerasabooch qan, Ye baandiraa qan”, fi kanneen kana fafakkaatan hedduu dha. Irratti argamuuniis dirqama.

Qophiilee fi ayyaanoota mootummoota abbaa irreetiin qophaawan kana hundumaa yoo walitti qabnee laallu garuu kan faayidaa uumataatiif qophaawan osoo hin taane; sirnoota abbootii irree kana dheereessuuf kan akka waltajjii holoolaatti tajaajilanii dha. Mootummaan wayyaanee / IHDG ammoo sirumaawuu hiriiraa fi ayyaanoota ofii qopheessee uummattoota biyyattii humnaan irratti hirmaachisu itti hanqannaan yeroo ammaa kana akkuma argaa fi dhagahaa jirru sirna Irreechaa/waqeeffannaa, Guyyaa ayyaana amantaa Musliimaa, Kiristaanaa fi kanneen biroo waltajjii sanarratti argamuun keessas galuudhan akkan ani isin qajeelcheetti deemaa, akkan ani fedhuu fi hawwutti tarkaafadhaa jechaat jira. Guyyaa ayyaanni akka Irreechaa, Iidaa, kiristaanaa fi kanneen biroo kabajaman dabbaloota isaa bobbaasuun amantii gara dirree siyaasa wayyaanee/IHDGtti jijjirat jira. Oggantoonni amntoolee kanaa akka isa faarsan, akka isa deeggaranii fi isaaf sagadan taasisaat jira. Haala kanaanis uummattootaa fi Ordooftoota amntii gar-gar keennaa fi gurshaa adda addaatin qooduun wal dura dhaabbachiisuuf amma danda’e wixxirfachurratti argama. Yoo dafee itti yaadamee deemsi isaa kun gabaabatti cite malee gochaan wayyaanee kun uummata gabrummaa jala jiruf, uummata bilisummaa dheebootee jiruuf balaa guddaa qaba. Oolee bulee rakkina wal-xaxaa uumuu danda’a.

Uummattoonni biyyattii yeroo sirna waaqeeffannaaf, adaa isaanii agarsiisuudhaaf, ykn dirqiisiisa mootummaa wayyaaneetin iddoo tokkootti wal argan/dhufan ykn hiriira adda addaarratti hirmaatan waa heddu dalaguu danda’u. uummattoonni cunqurfamoonni biyyattii keessa jiran shira wayyaaneetiin wal-dura dhaabbachuu dhiisanii iddoo waaqeeffachuuf walitti qabamniittis haa tahu iddoo hiriira adda addaatiif walitti dhufanitti humna isaanii iddoo tokkootti walitti dhufe sana faayidaa walootiif, kabajamuu mirga isaaniitii fi bilisummaa isaanitiif oolfachuu danda’u. Keessattuu uummanni Oromoo yoo itti yaadee, karoorfatee ka’ee mirga isaa kabachiifachuuf iddoon akka Irreechaa, masijiidaa fi mana amantaa kiristaanaa bakka olaanaa qaba. Madda jijjiramaa fi sirreefama sirnaa ta’uu danda’a. Kanaaf fakkeenya guddaa tahuu kan danda’u qabsaawaa mirga gurraachoota Ameerikaa kan ture DR. Maartine Lutter King 2ffaa dha. Ka’uumsi nama kabajamaa fi jaalatamaa kanaa fi Ordoftoota isaa mana amantaa Kiristaanaa ture waan ta’eef.

Har’a Impaayera Itiyoophiyaa keessatti fedhii fi dirqiidhaan Ayaanaa fi qophiilee gara garaa sababeeffachuun walgahii fi hiriirri hedduumaatee jira. Keessattuu ayyaanootaa fi qophiilee fedhii uummataatiin qophaawanirratti kan hirmaatan lakkoofsaanis haata’u fudhatamummaadhan iddoo olaanaa qabu. Sabaa fi sablammoonni hedduuniis ayyaanoota kanarratti ni hirmaatu. Carraan akkasii ammoo uummatoota cunqursaa fi gabrummaa jala jiraniif keessattu uummata akka Oromootiif carraa faayidaa guddaa qabuudha. Kan yeroo ammaa kana biyyoota gara garaa keessatti argaa fi dhagahaa jirus kanuma. Uummanni ayyaanoota adda addaa kana kabajuuf walitti dhufes haa tahu inni dirqamaan mootummaaan baafame eennaa mirga isaa fi bilisummaa isaaf falamatu argaina. Qaanqeen iddoolee sirni amanataa fi aadaa itti gaggeefamuu kaate yoo biyya heedduu keechatti laboobdee abbootii irree waaddituu fi hangoo humnaan qabatanirraa buuftu argaat jira.

Yeroo ammaa kana biyya arbaatti, salaata jimu’aan booda, biyya kiristaanaatti kadhannaa sanbataatiin booda, hawaasni iddichatti argame gaafii mootuummoota abbaa irreerratti kaase yoo jabeessee itti fufu argaa jirra. Kan bilisoomees kan bilisummaaf karaa gahees argaa fi dhagaat jirra. Gama uummattoota cunqurfamoo Itiyoophiyaa keessa jiraniitti yoo deebine ammoo carraan fi iddoon gaafilee akkasii; gaafii mirgaa , dimookiraasii fi bilisummaa itti kaasan hedduu dha. Inni tokko hiriira mootummaan koottaa na deegaraa jedhee humnaan isaan baasurratti isuma mootumaa wayyaaneetti gargaluudhaan jibbaa fi diddaa qaban agarsiisuu fi ofirraa fonqolchuuf gamtaan sochoo’uu yoo tahu; inni lammataa ammoo manneen amantaa adda addaa fi bakka akka Irreechii itti kabajamuuutti gaafii fi jabba mootummaa abbaa irreef qaban sagalee tokkoon ol-fuudhanii adduunyaaf dhageesifachuu dha.

Muuxannoo fi dhugaa adduunyaa kanarratti argaa jirruun abbootiin irree keessattuu kanneen akka wayyaanee uummanni gocha isaanii hiriira bahee akka balaaleffattuf hin heyyaman. Mootummaa akka wayyaanee kan hiriiraa hin heyyamne kana ofirraa buusuuf ammoo carraan jiru uummanni cunqurfamaan akka Oromoo wayitii ayyaanootaa fi sababa adda addaatiin walitti dhufu mormii fi jibba mootummaa abbaa irreef qabu tokkummaan dhaabbatee adduunyaaf agarsiisudha. Isa aksiitiif ammoo sirni akka ayyaanaa Irreecha Bishooftuu fi Oromiyaa Iddoo gara garaatti kabajamuu iddoo olaanaa qaba.

Uummanni Oromoo mootummaa abbaa iirree fi saamichaa wayyaanee ofirraa buusuu fi gocha isaa gara jabinaa kana adduunyaatti muldhiisuuf carraalee qabu hundattuu fayyadamuu qaba. keessattuu dargaggeessi/Qeerroon/ Oromoo karaa saaquudhaan adda duree tahuun fardii dha. Uummanni Oromoo Qabsoo hidhannoo dhaaba ijoolleen isaa ijaaran ABOdhan gaggeeffamu cinaatti bakka jirutti gurmaawee murna isa saamaa , ajjeesaa fi hidhaa jirtu wayyaaneerratti sagalee diddaa gabrummaa dhageessiisuu qaba. wayyaanee ofirraa buusuuf lafa amantaa isaa, aadaa fi duudhaa isaa itti gaggeessuu hundattuu sagalee diddaa dhageessifachuun murteessa dha.

Akkuma beekamu dhuma fulbaanaa kanarra ayyaanni Irreechaa uummata Oromoo guutuu biyyatiiraa dhufu fi jaalattoota aadaa isaatiin sirna hoo’aadhaan ni kabajama. Sirni kabaja Ayyana Irreechaa Oromoon miliyoona hedduun lakkaawwamu irratti argamu kun ammoo sirna achumatti wal arginee Irreeffannee sirbinee, dhiichifnee gallu qofaaf oolu tahuu hin qabu. Akkuma biyyoota Arabaa fi biyyatoo amantiilee biraa hordofan keessatti argine iddoon akkasii madda jijjiramaa fi mirga ofii itti kabachiisuuf socho’an ta’uu qaba. Ummanni Oromootis kana hubachuun sochii isaa cimsee irree tokkoon sirna Irreechaa booda mirga isaa wayyaaneedhaan sarbame gaafatachuu qaba. Kanarratti dargaggeessi Oromoo /Qeerroon/, sabboontoonnii fi jaalattoonni bilisummaa Oromoo uumata cinaa goruun gaafii uummataichaa adduunyaaf calaqqisiisuudhaaf of qopheessuu qabu. uumata sochoosuudhaan, ijaaranii iddoolee akkasii baayyee murteessaa tahanitti akka sagalee tokoon rakkina isaa beeksifatu gahee guddaa taphachuu qabu. Iddoo mirgii fi bilisummaan isaa wayyaaneedhaan sarbamee, ijoolleen isaa ajjeefamaa fi hidhamaa jirtutti dhiichisee, Irreefatee galuu qofti Oromoof Gammachuu hin kennu.

Dhiichisanii sirbanii “kan baranaa kan bara egareetiin nu gahii” jedhanii irreefatanii galuun yoo mana nagahaa, tasgabaahaa fi kan ofii qabaatanii dha. Kan Oromoon keessa jiru gabrummaa dha. Gabrummaa kana jalaa baanee abbaa biyyaa fi abbaa malkaa ta’uuf ammoo hundii keenyaa carraa aragannee fi qabnuun mirga keenyaaf falmachuutu nurraa eegama. Birraan kunis yoos; birraa jijjiramaa, birraa bilisumma taha. Kanaafuu ayyaana Irreechaa bara 2013 kan akka walii galaatti magaalaa Bishooftuu Hora Arsadiitti kabajamurrattis ta’ee Malkaa Oromoon qabu maraarratti mirgaa fi bilisummaa keenyaaf sagalee keenya tokko goonee ol kaafnee yaa iyyinu, Adduunyaatti haa dhageechifannu! Yoo Abbaan iyyate Ollaan namaaf mirmata waan ta’eef!

–Baarentuu Gadaa, Gessogeda@gmail.com

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Maal Dhaammate Gootnii?/Musaa D.Ibraahimiin

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Irreecha: From Thanksgiving Ritual to Strong Symbol of Oromo Identity

By Asebe Regassa*

Introduction

It has become evident since recently that the Oromo across religious, political and geographical boundaries have converged together in celebrating an annual ritual/festival called Irreecha. Historically, Irreecha has been understood and practiced within the context of the Oromo religion, Waaqeffannaa – a belief in one supernatural power called Waaqa (God). However, as I will discuss shortly in this piece, Irreecha has undergone some transformations in accommodating non-religious aspects of the Oromo culture, and thus has played significant role in building the Oromo identity and sense of unity. In the contemporary context, where the ritual brings Oromos across different walks of life, Irreecha should be understood more as an arena where the Oromo identity is articulated, reconstructed, built and practiced, rather than as a religious-oriented or a mere thanksgiving celebration. Before delving into some historical trajectories that shaped Irreecha to be the way it is practiced today, I will briefly clarify on some conceptual understandings of the ritual itself.

Traditionally, the Oromo practiced Irreecha ritual as a thanksgiving celebration twice a year (in autumn and spring) to praise Waaqa (God) for peace, health, fertility and abundance they were given with regards to the people, livestock, harvest and the entire Oromo land. Irreecha is celebrated as a sign of reciprocating Waaqa in the form of providing praise for what they got in the past, and is also a forum of prayer for the future. In such rituals, the Oromo gather in places with symbolic meanings, such as hilltops, river side and shades of big sacred trees. Here, I would like to make clear that the Oromo people never worship any of these physical landscapes though some outsiders and detractors of the Oromo culture and religion represent it as such. Rather, these physical landscapes are chosen for their representations in the Oromo worldview, for example, green is symbolized with fertility, peace, abundance and rain.

In Oromia, the core center of Irreecha celebration has been around Hora Arsadi in Bishoftu town, some 25kms to the south of Finfinne, the capital city. Annually, particularly during the Irreecha birraa (the Autumn Irreecha) in September or October, the Oromo from different parts of the country come together and celebrate the ritual. In the past few decades, Irreecha celebrations have been expanded both in content as well as geographical and demographic representations. This short commentary deals with such historical trajectories by contextualizing the changes within political discourses in Ethiopia vis-à-vis Oromo nationalism.

Irreecha in Pre-1991 Periods

Any analysis of the rights of the Oromo people to exercise its culture, religion, economy, governance, language and identity within the Ethiopian state should be positioned within the historical trajectories that brought the birth of the modern Ethiopian state, and the subsequent political, economic and cultural domination unfolded upon the subjugated peoples of the South, in which the Oromo people were a part. Following the military conquest of the different hitherto autonomous states of the South by the army of Menelik II in the late 19th century, the Amhara ruling group imposed its culture, language, religion and political dominance over the subjugated nations and nationalities. Menelik’s soldiers dispossessed the land of the conquered people and reduced them to the status of tenancy. In areas of religion, Orthodox Christianity was installed as the only legitimate religion while other religious practices were denigrated, discouraged, and at times, banned. For instance, Orthodox priests took the place of the Oromo Qaalluu and other religious leaders. The Oromo religious and cultural practices became targets of state repression during those times. Irreecha rituals were very restricted and were portrayed by state backed Orthodox Christian church as a practice of devilish worship.

The military regime, that overthrew the imperial regime in 1974, initially seemed to have tolerated traditional cultural practices, language diversity and religion, but its communist orientation and ‘modernist’ discourse had placed the regime at odds with these fundamental rights of the peoples of the country – the right to cultural and religious practices. While it outlawed ‘religion’ – though Orthodox Christianity did not face state persecution as other religious sects – it labeled traditional cultural practices, such as Irreecha, as ‘backward’ and obstacles to development and revolutionary ethos of the regime. As a result, Irreecha and other Oromo religious and cultural practices were banned by the government.

It is imperative to mention two fundamental motives behind state suppression of Irreecha (as common to other Oromo cultural practices) during those eras. First, successive Ethiopian regimes had subtle and overt policies of establishing culturally, linguistically and religiously ‘homogenized’ Ethiopia in their quest to build Ethiopian nationalism as a replica of Amhara, and to some extent Tigrayan identities. Secondly, the Ethiopian state was built on a cultural and political identity that depicted Amhara/Tigrayan cultural/political superiorities. The myth of ‘great tradition’ that portrays the North as cradle of ‘civilization’ and conversely demotes the South to the opposite was in the center of Ethiopian state identity. This myth has been used to legitimize exclusionary policies of the state against the people in the conquered region in the process of political, economic and cultural representations. In the process, denigrating the culture or religion of the ‘Others’ as ‘backward’ was used as strong instrument to place one’s own on the privileged position.

The Revitalization of Irreecha in post-1991 Period

In 1991 Ethiopia underwent remarkable political reconfiguration following the overthrow of the military regime. The analysis of the political ideologies of the new regime is not the objective and scope of this piece. Rather, it suffices to mention that the new political arrangement along [linguistic] federalism fundamentally deconstructed the old illusion of nation building along one dominant cultural path. Ethnic groups (nations and nationalities) were for the first time given a constitutional right to exercise, preserve and promote their religion, culture, language and history. Although the translation of these constitutional rights into practice has faced inconsistencies and flaws all through the last twenty years, it was a breakthrough in providing a political space for cultural revitalization.

Under the initiative and organizational leadership of the Macha-Tulama Association, Irreecha celebrations were restarted in Hora Arsadi in mid 1990s. As the period was the heyday of the Oromo nationalism and self-conscious, Irreecha became not only a religious practice as in the past; rather it served as an arena where the Oromo people across religious boundaries could meet and share their common identity. However, it maintained its fundamental element of Oromo’s connection to Waaqa (God). The thanksgiving ceremonies, prayers and blessings by elders have put Waaqa in the center of the ritual while songs and material culture the youth decorated themselves with brought into the scene political and emerging Oromo national identity. In both cases however, two fundamental principles of the ritual were consistent across different time spans. Firstly, Irreecha served and still serves as a medium or symbol of connection between the Oromo and Waaqa through thanksgivings, prayers and blessings. Secondly, Irreecha rituals reflect how emotional, cultural, psychological, spiritual and identity issues are embedded and embodied within the Oromo, and thus one cannot dissociate one of these elements from another.

Another major feature of the post-1991 Irreecha celebration was that it attracted more of the youth and the educated class than before. This should be contextualized within the broader Oromo consciousness and the rise in Oromo nationalism. University students, government civil servants, businessmen/women and people in different professions were highly involved in the celebrations. It became at times an arena where people could meet, discuss and demonstrate their common issues – political and cultural to a larger extent.

However, it soon became a contested space between different actors, mainly between political parties (the ruling party and opposition political parties and movements). The ruling party was confronted by two ambivalent developments on its side with regard to Irreecha and other Oromo cultural revitalization movements. Firstly, the constitutional provisions it enacted grants, in theory, the right of nations and nationalities to exercise their culture, religion, language and history. On the other hand, people’s exercise of such rights – like the case of Irreecha, music, language, etc. – would inevitably raise the level of self-consciousness of the people that would in the long run challenge the status quo. For example, using the constitutional right as a legal protection, many participants on Irreecha used to decorate themselves with material culture and costumes that reflect the flags of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) rather than that of the Oromo People’s Democratic Organization (OPDO). Around the year 2003/04, the government of Ethiopia heavily scrutinized Irreecha festival and tried to manipulate it for its own advantage. Since then, Irreecha in Oromia fell under the full control of the government. While such intervention gave Irreecha more publicity on the one hand, as the celebration was at times given huge coverage on state media, it has added a political dimension on the other hand. It should be noted, however, that the contestability of this cultural field still persists despite strong state intervention.

Irreecha in Exile

Irreecha is not only practiced among the Oromo in Oromia. As hundreds of the Oromo are in exile for different reasons, their culture, religion, language and identity had also exiled with them. Because Irreecha has a cultural ambiance in connecting the people to the Oromo land and the creator, Waaqa, it still remained as strong element of connection between the Oromo in diaspora and home – Oromia. In the past ten years or so, the Oromo across different parts of the world (from Toronto to Melbourne, and Bergen to Johannesburg) have come together and celebrated Irreecha as a common icon of their identity. If anything could be mentioned in bridging the differences (political and religious) within the Oromo in the diaspora, Irreecha has become the major binding force not as a mere cultural or religious practice, but for its conjoint constitution of culture and identity. Currently, Irreecha has got publicity among the non-Oromos (Ethiopians and non-Ethiopians alike) to the extent that city administrations in different countries recognized the celebration and granted the Oromo with the spaces for the ritual.

To sum up, Irreecha as one of the Oromo cultural practices has responded to different forms of internal and external influences, but persisted across history in binding the Oromo across religious, political and geographical boundaries together. Today, it is considered as the major unifying emblem of the Oromo identity. Despite relentless attempts by different actors (interest groups) to appropriate Irreecha for their interests or to demote it altogether, it continued to be a marker of Oromo’s embedded cultural identity. Among the diaspora in particular, where political rift is more apparent, Irreecha is believed to converge differences, and in the future, investing on how Oromo common markers of identity would contribute to common visions of the people should be the core agenda of all Oromo.

* The author, Asebe Regassa, is a PhD Candidate, Bayreuth University.

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