By Leenjiso Horo* | May 2014
Over a century ago, during the campaign for the conquest of Oromiyaa, the Abyssinian emperors mutilated the limbs of Oromo men, women and children. Millions killed; hundreds of thousands sold into slavery; and remaining population lost their lands to the conqueror. With the conquest, the Abyssinians made the Oromo socio-economic and political system illegal, and the feudal system was imposed on the Oromo people. It was a socio-political system entrenched in hereditary privileges. The core of feudalism was that, only the divinely anointed ruler held the “natural” right to own land, and only he/she could assign title to it. Emperor Haile Selassie I was among such rulers. He claimed his rule as a gift from the God. To this effect, his full title reads as: “His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, King of Kings of Ethiopia and Elect of God, Emperor of Ethiopia.” He and his predecessors were the “owners” of the lands of the conquered countries, such as Oromiyaa. With this, millions of Oromo farmers were thrown off their land, and the land was assigned to the new settlers.
On the other hand, Emperor Haile Silassie’s successors, among whom TPLF regime is the one, claimed the right to the conquered land, and the right to rule not as a gift of God, but as a gift of gun. Its legitimacy is based on gun. Hence, it has been defending its need of evicting million of Oromo farmers from their land, grabbing of the lands and assigning them to the newly arriving setters, mutilating Oromiyaa, committing genocidal crimes on the Oromo people, and the legitimacy to rule the empire as a gift of gun. Gun is TPLF regime’s God. Ethiopian empire has seen many cruel, brutal and bloody regimes, but none of them was more barbaric, inhumane, savage, cruel and bloodthirsty regime than the fascist TPLF.
Ever since the conquest of Oromiyaa, successive Abyssinian colonial authorities systematically denied the Oromo people their own organization and leadership. Today, under the TPLF predatory anti-Oromo hostile regime, the killings, the disappearances, the arrests and tortures of the Oromo intellectuals, journalists, politicians, artists, and students, and youth are the longstanding policy of the Abyssinian rulers. Its goal is and has always been to deny the Oromo people any type of leadership. Leadership is a symbol of a nation; a legitimate voice of its people; it speaks on behalf of its nation; it inspires, motivates, mobilizes, organizes and leads its nation; it protects and defends its people and the territorial integrity of its country; it works for the best interest of and for well-being of its nation and for its glory. TPLF’s policy is to deny the Oromo people such a leadership. Without leadership, a nation stagnates and gradually declines, disintegrates, and eventually dies as a nation. It is to this end, TPLF has been steadily and consistently working towards denying the Oromo people the development of leadership. To achieve this goal, since it arrived in Finfinnee twenty three years ago, it has been systematically murdering Oromo leaders. The regime’s jailing and killings of Oromo leaders and students are part of this sinister plan.
The inception of the crises in the Oromo struggle commenced with the London “Peace” Conference of May 1991 in which the enemy’s army – the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) – was allowed to enter Oromiyaa. This was followed by the disarming and encamping of the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) – the defense force of Oromiyaa. This was a tragic mistake of historic proportion. It was at this point the Oromo political leadership failed to exercise its role of leadership by lacking foresight, and consequently, it exposed its country, its people and itself to the mercy of the vicious fascist TPLF. TPLF was able to swiftly take advantage of this condition and forced the whole leadership of all Oromo political organizations to leave Finfinnee. Then, the final blow came to the struggle with the leaving of the leadership for exile – that was followed with the “Agenda for Peace.” These conditions created moral, political, ideological, and organizational crises within the nationals. The consequences of these have been splits, desertions, neutrality, confusion, and hopelessness. With these, the Oromo struggle came to standstill, stagnated and weakened. Some Oromo nationals, who were on the political borderline and those who were the instrument in creating these conditions, have now left the organization to join the Abyssinian political camps.
Now, it seems the organization is re-covering; nationalists are coming together. Despite this, the leaderships of all Oromo political organizations are still in exile. It must be understood that, with this style of leadership, it is impossible to defeat the enemy, and to put an end to colonialism. This condition must be reversed and must be put to an end, immediately. All the Oromo organizations – those for the independence of Oromiyaa – must unite into a single whole. A unified central leadership of the liberation front must be immediately established. The struggle must pass beyond the mere radio interviews and press releases to real and visible armed struggle on the ground. This must be done sooner than later. What the enemy is doing to Oromiyaa and the Oromo people do not afford us to wait. The unified central Politico-Military leadership must be in the country. Unless these are done, it is impossible to foil the enemy’s sinister scheme of dismembering Oromiyaa in the name of the “Addis Ababa Master Plan” and its genocide of the Oromo people.
Today, we are seeing history repeating itself. That is, the second wave of genocide of the Oromo people is underway. Furthermore, Oromiyaa itself is also a target for mutilation. Oromiyaa is losing its limbs to the new fascist Tigrayan colonial regime through mutilation. The mutilation of Oromiyaa’s limb, i.e. Finfinnee, was accomplished in 2004 as the OPDO accepted it, allowed it and approved of it. Today, a new project is on the making to cut off more limbs of Oromiyaa. For this, the colonial regime has devised the “Addis Ababa Master Plan” for mutilation of more limbs of Oromiyaa, such as Ambo, Holeta, Sululta, Buraayu, Mojo, Bonsa, Galan, Lagatafo, Sandafa, Bishoftu, Dukem, Sebata, etc. from the body of Oromiyaa. Hence, the “Addis Ababa Master Plan” is a euphemism for the uprooting of the Oromo population from these areas and populating them with non-Oromo. It is an alien agenda set up by the alien rulers to evict Oromo. Again, the OPDO is in compliance with this alien agenda. This would be its kiss of death. To achieve this, TPLF has resorted to trickery, bribery, deceits, extortion, intimidation, bulling and other means, such as using some Oromo mercenaries to promote its dominance, its capture of Oromiyaa and plundering of Oromo resources. TPLF is an arch-enemy of the Oromo people, and hence, it has to be exterminated from Oromiyaa. As Emperor Menelik II has been known as the mutilator of the breasts of Oromo women and girls so has the fascist Tigrayan regime of TPLF become to be known as the most vicious and barbaric killer of Oromo infants, children, and youth, and the mutilator of Oromiyaa. It is a terrorist and a robber organization that encrusted itself with the name government. It is time to drive out this enemy from Oromiyaa. For this, the Oromo people must rise up against it and fight it in unison, and bring an end to the TPLF colonial occupation of Oromiyaa and its genocide of the Oromo people.
The driving passion behind TPLF’s Master Plan of bringing these areas and towns under the administration of Addis Ababa is primarily for dismembering, or for splitting Oromiyaa into East and West. Its first step is to evict Oromo from Central Oromiyaa – i.e. East Shawa, Southwest Shawa, and North Shawa, and populated these areas with non-Oromo nationals making Oromo a minority in these areas. After having assured itself that the Oromo are a minority, the regime’s second plan is to give referendum to this area to decide whether it wants to be within Oromiyaa or become an autonomous state. This was the method used by the United States in its Southwestward expansion from its first thirteen colonies. Certainly, a non-Oromo majority will choose to be an autonomous state. This will make the end of Oromiyaa as we know it. Therefore, this colonial scheme must be opposed, fought, and stopped.
We should never forget that TPLF came to Oromiyaa with a full license of OPDO in 1991. With the help of OPDO, TPLF raped Oromiyaa; evicted millions of Oromo from their farmlands in the vicinity of Finfinnee, and brought Oromiyaa under the Tigrayan dominance. With occupation, TPLF found Oromiyaa, a land of superlative fertility and blessing. Then, it announced the proprietary right to Finfinne, and chased OPDO out of it. OPDO accepted and left it for Adama. With this, OPDO “legitimized” TPLF’s claim to Finfinnee. Since then, in Finfinnee and in Oromiyaa, only what TPLF says and what it wants is implemented. Hence, OPDO shamefully and wickedly allowed the fascist TPLF regime to trample over the right of the Oromo people. Having accomplished this, TPLF turned to infiltrating Oromo political and social organizations in the Diaspora in the name of “investment.” Many fell to this and rushed to Oromiyaa to grab the Oromo land from Oromo.
Finfinnee is the political capital of Oromiyaa. It is the social, cultural, political, economic, educational, and historical center of the Oromo people. It is the home of Odaa Nabee, the symbol of political power and cultural institutions of the Oromo people. The name Finfinnee itself is our national identity asOromiyaa is. Hence, Finfinnee’s soil, the Oromiyaa’s soil and Oromo soul are inextricably interlinked and interweaved, and so it is impossible to separate one from another. For this, Finfinnee’s language must be Oromo language. Furthermore, the Oromo land is a common land to the benefit of the entire Oromo nation – not for the profit or advantage of any special or private interest or multinational Corporations. It is the sacred land of our birth. It cannot be leased or bought or sold. The attack on one is an attack on all. Hence, the occupation of Finfinnee by alien forces should not be allowed, and its separation from body of Oromiyaa and removal of administration from the Oromo people means death to the Oromo body politic and to the Oromiyaa itself. This must to be stopped by any means.
The Oromo struggle has counted nearly a century and half. In this struggle, millions have sacrificed their lives, and many are still sacrificing. In their sacrifices, the new independent sovereign State of Oromiyaa is in the process of re-birth. In defense of Oromiyaa and its people, many brave men and women, living and dead, had fought and paid heavy sacrifice. Still today, we have patriotic men and women of action, but we have to organize them in millions into armed militants. In this struggle of ours, the expulsion of TPLF from Oromiyaa is the first requirement. This cannot be done without a formidable fighting force. We cannot achieve this by mere talks, slogans, and writing letters. “An empty sack,” remarked Benjamin Franklin “cannot stand upright.” This is to suggest that one cannot liberate one’s country by mere words alone – political sloganeering and political speeches at meeting and rallies. Speeches and slogans, though important, in and by themselves, cannot be the sources of defeating the enemy. We need to do more than talk. In order to defeat the enemy, we must organize a superior fighting force of armed militant nationalists, a strong political organization, and a strong mass movement. The enemy’s violence has to be met by the revolutionary national liberation armed struggle. It is vitally important to undertake a well organized military action across the country. It is important to force the enemy’s army to fight everywhere in Oromiyaa so as to make it physically exhausted and morally broken down until it losses the will to fight, and the economy of the empire cripples. The Oromo organizations have to earn the name liberators by such actions, not by mere names.
The war for liberation must be fought by huge army of peasants, farmers, intellectuals, workers, and students. Hence, every Oromo must be a soldier. Such army has to be raised from among the population. Without such an army, it is impossible to bring the enemy to its knees. Without large army, it is impossible to take a complete control of the country, towns and cities and cut off access to roads and highways to the enemy. We must take the advantage of our country – its vastness. The number of Oromo freedom fighters must correspond to the size of our country and population to be defended.
It is time to learn from our past great military leaders, such as Roba Bultum and Leenjisoo Diigaa. These military leaders had raised a fighting army of hundred thousand to a million against Menelik II’s campaign of conquest, from one region of Oromiyaa alone, according to historian Prof. Abbas Haji Gnamo. Those fighters fought for seven years with spears and shields against the enemy that was armed by the European powers of the time with modern military weapons of destruction, trained and assisted by the European military advisors. What are today’s Oromo leaderships missing? The answers lie in the lack of unity – unity of purpose, of goal and objective of the struggle. Today, forty-five million to fifty million Oromo people are united, willing, and ready to fight. And yet, the leaderships are unable to organize themselves. National Liberation struggle needs decisive leadership with a clear political goal to mobilize, organize and lead the nation. It is time for the Oromo leadership to raise the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) qualitatively and quantitatively at least to a million fighting force. Oromiyaa is a vast country, and the struggle needs a large army to cover its territory. For this, first and foremost, the Oromo nationalists must unite and commit themselves unconditionally for the independence of Oromiyaa.
The Oromo nationalists must take decisive action. It is time to go eye-for-an-eye. If we fail to effectively respond immediately to this genocide of the Oromo people and mutilation of Oromiyaa, we are doing to ourselves and to our country an immense long-term damage. And the time is long over due to take revolutionary action against those perpetrators, the architects and implementers of the Oromo genocide and the mutilation of Oromiyaa. TPLF came to Oromiyaa with the sole purpose of killing Oromo men, women, and children; to eliminate Oromo leadership; to split Oromiyaa; to own it and to plunder its resources. TPLF is a foreign organization; an alien in Oromiyaa. It has no right to decide as to what Finfinnee looks like. The purpose of the “Master Plan” is to drive the Oromo people in the vicinity of Finfinnee from their land. TPLF is a regime that is not governed by the dictates of conscience and the principle of justice. It is a violent and criminal regime. It has been using violence to take our rights. It has desperately resorted to force and violence to silence the Oromo school children who voiced opposition to its “Master Plan.” Oromo youth in universities, in high schools, children in elementary schools, and residents in towns, cities, villages, and rural areas have been and are the constant victims of the Tigrayan barbaric, cruel and brutal attacks. This fascist regime and its accomplice have now turned Oromyiaa universities, high schools, elementary schools, villages, towns and cities into killing fields. Indeed, the fascist regime has now turned Oromiyaa into graveyards and rivers of blood of the Oromo people. Now is an urgent time for us to unite against this fascist regime and fight it out. We do not, and will not, condone the taking of our rights. It is preposterous, an outright abuse and usurpation of the basic rights of the Oromo people. We do not, and will not, condone the killings of Oromo children and youth, whom are the future of our nation. We have to fight to stop it. We have every right to fight it back on our land. We have every right to liquidate the enemy from our country. It is our right to use any means available to us to fight it, to liquidate it and bring its rule to an end on our soil, to defend our country and our home – Oromiyaa. It is our inalienable right to defend and protect our people and our country. To this end, we must unite and rise up to defend our people’s rights, our people’s dignity, our people’s honor, our country, and our people in a patriotic fight against the TPLF fascist regime and its Agazi fascist army. This is a war of national liberation, the war of freedom, liberty and justice against the TPLF fascist regime. We are a colonized people. For this, we have an inalienable right to complete independence; we have an inalienable right to the exercise of our sovereignty; and we have an inalienable right to the integrity of our national territory. Hence, let the rapid mobilization begin. It is time for Oromo nationalists and the Oromo people to rise up; to stand up and fight back; it is time to take an active action, including armed struggle and nonviolent/peaceful protests, against the fascist TPLF regime so as to stop its “Addis Ababa Master Plan” of splitting Oromiyaa.
Oromiyaa Shall Be Free!
More than 400 Oromo across Victoria, NSW, QLD, TAS, SA and WA will be gathering at Canberra’s Parliament house in a bid to expose the Ethiopian government’s recent human rights violations dubbed “Oromo Protests”. Since April 25, leaked photographs and videos show Ethiopian security forces shooting live ammunition at unarmed students in universities across Oromia. Reports of 85 students are confirmed as dead, 500 protestors wounded and over 5000 people detained in unknown camp locations as the Ethiopian government restriction of public media is in full force.