Friday, July 31, 2015
Thursday, July 30, 2015
Monday, July 27, 2015
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Ibsa Tarkaanfii Waraanaa ABO | የኦሮሞ ነጻነት ግንባር ወታደራዊ መግለጫ
Posted: Adoolessa/July 20, 2015 · Finfinne Tribune | Gadaa.com | Comments
Ibsa ABO … (the Amharic version is given below).
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Ibsa Tarkaanfii Waraanaa ABO
Waraanni Bilisummaa Oromoo (WBO)n Humna Diinaa Magaalaa Harar Irraa KM-20 Qofa Fagaatee Ona Fadis Naannoo Bokkoo Bakka Bobbaasaa Jedhamu Qubatee Ture Barbadeesse. Loltoota Diinaa 28 Olis Hojiin Ala Taasise.
Irree fi Gaachanni Ummata Oromoo WBOn, bilisummaa ummata Oromoo fi walabummaa Oromiyaa mirkaneessuuf tarkaanfii haleellaa diina irratti fudhatu babal’isuu fi jabeessuu irratti argama. Tarkaanfii boonsaa tibbana Baha Oromiyaa keessatti fudhateenis injifannoo cululuqaa galmeessee jira.
Akka kanaan Waraanni Bilisummaa Oromoo (WBO) Godina Baha Oromiyaa keessa sossohu Adoolessa 16, 2015 Baha Harargee Ona Fadis keessaa bakka Bobbaasaa jedhamu kan naannoo Bokkootti argamu mooraa qubsuma waraana Wayyaanee weeraruudhaan tarkaanfii rifachiisaa irratti fudhateen loltoota diinaa 28 ol hojiin ala gochuu fi meeshaalee waraanaa dabalatee qabeenya adda addaa booji’ee dantaa qabsoo bilisummaa Oromoof oolchuudhaan injifannoo cululuqaa galmeessuu Ajajni WBO Godina Baha Oromiyaa beeksisee jira.
Tarkaanfii laalessaa WBOn qubsuma waraana wayyaanee Bobbaasaa jiru irratti fudhate kanaan diina irraa loltootni 13 yeroo ajjeefaman, 15 ol ammoo haalaan madeeffamuu kan ibse Ajajni WBO Godina Bahaa, meeshaaleen waraanaa qawwee AK-47 17, rasaasota gosa gara garaa 4000 ol, Boombilee harkaa 23, Hidhannoolee mudhii 27, Raadiyoo Quunnamtii (icom) 2, Mobile (cell phone) 6, kuufama galaa fi mi’oota adda addaa diina irraa booji’uun dantaa qabsoo bilisummaa Oromoof oolchuu addeessee jira.
Waraanni Bilisummaa Oromoo Godina Bahaa Caamsaa 16, 2015 Oborraa Ona Malkaa Bal’oo bakka Jalloo jedhamutti qondaala tikaa sirna wayyaanee kan naannoo sanii Huseen Ahmed Mussaa jedhamu irratti tarkaanfii fudhateen ajjeesuun, akkasumas Caamsaa 23, 2015 Baha Harargee Ona Calanqoo araddaa ganda Goodii jedhamu keessatti poolisoota wayyaanee Mahaammad Abrahimii fi Umar Siyyoo jedhaman dhuunfatuun kan yaadatamuu dha. Kana malees Caamsaa 24, 2015ttis Humni Addaa WBO Baha Harargee magaalaa Harar bira naannoo Hundanee jedhamtutti ummatatti roorrisaa kan ture ajajaa humna poolisii naannoo kanaa Ajajaa 50 (Saajin) Abbabaa Asaffaa jedhamu irratti tarkaanfii maayyii fudhateen ajjeesuun gabaafame. Caamsaa 24, 2015ttis Harargee Bahaa Ona Haramaayaa bakka/araddaa Finqillee jedhamtee yaamamtu keessatti poolisoota Wayyaanee maqaa filannootiin lammiiwwan hiraarsaa turan 4 irratti lola baneen madeessuun ni yaadatama.
Waraanni Bilisummaa Oromoo Zoonii Kibbaas Caamsaa 30, 2015 magaalaa Moyyalee ganda 02 keessatti kan argamu mooraa Gumrukaa bakka waraanni Wayyaanee maadheffate haleeluun loltoota wayyaanee 12 ajjeesee, 15 ol madeessuun walii galatti loltoota 27 ol hojiin ala taasisuun ni yaadatama.
Adoolessa 6, 2015ttis waraana wayyaanee Ona Mi’oo ganda Meexxii qubatee jiru irratti tarkaanfii fudhateen 3 yeroo ajjeesu 4 ol madeessuun waliigalatti loltoota diinaa 7 ol hojiin ala taasisuun isaas kan yaadatamu dha.
Waraanni Bilisummaa Oromoo, mootummaa abbaa irree fi faashistii Wayyaanee humna afaan qawween ummata keenya irra qubatee mirga, bilisummaa fi biyya isaa sarbee cunqursaa dhala namaaf hin malle irraan gahaa jiru karaa irraa maqsee kaayyoo qabsoo bilisummaa Oromoo galmaan gahuu fi fedhii fi hawwii ummata Oromoo dhugoomsuuf falmaa godhu daran jabeessee kan itti fufu tahuu irra deebi’ee mirkaneessa.
Injifannoo Ummata Oromoof!
Adda Bilisummaa Oromoo
Adoolessa 20, 2015
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Thursday, July 16, 2015
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
Oromo Community in North America Urges Mr. Obama Not to Meet Ethiopian Govt Officials Outside of AU Headquarters to Avoid Misuse of His Visit for Domestic Propaganda by the Undemocratic, Tyrannical Ethiopian Govt
Posted: Adoolessa/July 13, 2015 · Finfinne Tribune | Gadaa.com | Comments
The following is a press release from the Oromo Communities’ Association in North America (OCA-NA).
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July 7, 2015
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
www.WhiteHouse.gov
Tel: (202) 395-2020
Subject: Your plan to Visit Ethiopia in July, 2015
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
www.WhiteHouse.gov
Tel: (202) 395-2020
Subject: Your plan to Visit Ethiopia in July, 2015
Dear President Obama,
On behalf of the Oromo Communities in the United States, we, the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of the Oromo Communities’ Association in North America (OCA-NA), are writing this urgent letter regarding your plan to visit Ethiopia in July 2015. OCA-NA is an umbrella organization of the Oromo communities, and represents thousands of citizen and legal residents of Oromo origin in the United States. It is organized to advocate for the human rights of the Oromo in Diaspora and those at home, in the Horn of Africa.
Like the majority of U.S. citizens and the global community, we were excited when you were elected as the president of the United States in 2008 and expected huge progress for all freedom loving people in the world. Your statement in Ghana, during your first visit to Africa in 2009, in which you promised your administration’s commitment to support “strong and sustainable democratic governments” in Africa and to deny assistance to corrupt and dictatorial regimes confirmed our hopes and widened our imaginations. Despite moments of frustration, over the last seven years, we have continued to hope for your strong support for democracy and freedom in Ethiopia. On several occasions, the Oromo communities have appealed to your administration and to you personally, regarding the repressive acts of the Ethiopian regime. Incidentally, the Oromo residents of Washington, DC Metropolitan Area and representatives of communities from many states were holding a peaceful rally in front of the White House when they learned the announcement of your planned visit to Ethiopia.
It is with shock and profound sadness that we received this message. We are afraid that your visit sends the wrong messages to both the government of Ethiopia and the people suffering from government’s repressive policies. First, your visit emboldens the dictatorial EPRDF regime and encourages it to implement even more destructive and undemocratic policies. Portraying your visit as an endorsement of its misguided actions, the regime intensifies the violence against innocent people, continues violation of human rights, further suppresses dissidents, stifles legitimate grievances of citizens, and displaces farmers, the youth and intellectuals. Your meeting and photo ops with Ethiopian government officials will be exploited to the maximum by the regime to subdue the people claiming that your administration fully supports its dictatorial practices and the unbelievable 100 percent victory in its sham elections. Second, the Oromo in particular, and the Ethiopian people in general, would lose hope. They would feel the most powerful nation and its president, whose speeches and actions they passionately follow and expect highly from his administration, have ignored their plight. Your meeting in Addis Ababa with Ethiopian officials, who torment innocent people daily, will deepen the people’s disillusionment and frustrations. Third, the Oromo communities in U.S. are extremely concerned that your visit will have negative implications for the policy objectives of your administration and the long term interests of United States in the region.
The Ethiopian government distorts facts, manipulates the reality, and represents itself as democratic. But human rights organizations including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Survival International, and the annual human rights reports of the State Department have attested to the massive human rights violations of the EPRDF regime. The well documented long list of imprisoned students, journalists, bloggers, and members of opposition political parties fully confirm the undemocratic nature of this regime. In a country like Ethiopia, with complicated and highly contested political issues, the recent 100 percent victory in the national elections is totally unbelievable, and leaves no doubt about EPRDF regime’s dictatorial rule. Finally, the Ethiopian government also exploits global and regional security issues. Declaring its support for the war on global terrorism and posing as an ally of the United States, the government uses resources it receives from big powers for suppressing dissent, terrorizing innocent people, and for subverting democratic processes. It should be clear that a regime that terrorizes its citizens cannot be a reliable ally to fight extremism.
Mr. President,
For these reasons, we are puzzled by your decision to visit Ethiopia and meet government officials who contradict your convictions and the principles of American democracy. First, we are strongly appealing to you to reconsider your planned trip to Ethiopia. Second, if your visit to the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa is absolutely necessary, we are strongly urging you not to meet Ethiopian government officials in public and not offer them the opportunity to use your visit for their domestic propaganda. Third, we also request you to make it clear to the people in public that the Ethiopian regime’s undemocratic practices are unacceptable. We believe the United States will not ignore the atrocities perpetrated against the 95 million people in favor of the oppressive regime in the name of alliance against global terrorism.
Sincerely,
Oromo Communities’ Association in North America (OCA-NA)
July 13: Finfinne Day | Guyyaa Finfinnee | Revisiting the Oromo Roots of Finfinne in Pictures
Posted: Adoolessa/July 13, 2015 · Finfinne Tribune | Gadaa.com | Comments
July 13 is marked every year by Oromo nationalists around the world to celebrate Finfinne, and to commemorate the heroines and heroes who had fallen while fighting against the removal of Oromia’s Capital from Finfinne in the early 2000’s.
Finfinne used to be the home of Oromo tribes/clans of Gullallee, Galaan and Ekaa, to name a few, before it fell under Abyssinia’s rule in the late 19th century, and got renamed as “Addis Ababa.” Before its fall, Afan Oromo used to be the official language of Finfinne to conduct political duties of the then Gullallee Gadaa government. Since the late 19th century, Afan Oromo has been banned as the official language of Finfinne. Currently, there is a campaign to reinstate Afan Oromo as the official Working Language of the Federal Government seated in Addis Ababa (Finfinne). Culturally, the inauguration of the Oromo Cultural Arts and National History Center in Finfinne earlier this year has been lauded as a historic milestone. The Center has already become the focal point of the resurgent Oromo culture and arts in Finfinne.
Saturday, July 11, 2015
Ethiopia politicizes courts to strangle dissent
The crackdown on Muslim activists is part of Addis Ababa’s crusade against independent voices and opposition leaders
On July 6, Ethiopia’s Federal High Court convicted leaders of the Ethiopian Muslims protest movement on charges of terrorism and conspiracy to create an Islamic state in Ethiopia. The verdict — against two Muslim journalists, 10 activists and six members of the Ethiopian Muslims Arbitration Committee — came after three years of a politically motivated trial whose outcome was long ago determined. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 3.
The trial and the verdict against the Muslim leaders is a political spectacle designed to conceal the regime’s reindoctrination campaign and silence long-standing grievances of the Muslim population. The crackdown on Muslim activists is part of the ruling party’s larger crusade against journalists, bloggers, activists and opposition leaders and supporters.
A peaceful movement
The Ethiopian Muslims movement was organized around the community’s three core demands: ending the government’s continued control of the Ethiopian Islamic Affairs Supreme Council, the official Islamic authority in Ethiopia; terminating the controversial reindoctrination of Ethiopian Muslims launched by the government in July 2011; and reopening the Awoliya College, the country’s only Muslim college. Authorities closed the institution in 2011, alleging it had become a breeding ground for radicals.
While the government has always controlled the council, it was Awoliya’s closure and the coercive reindoctrination campaign that triggered the confrontation. The government denies allegations of interference and control of religious institutions, but a leaked audio from the initial indoctrination sessions shows that it has invited preachers from Lebanon to introduce Al-Ahbash, a supposedly moderate sect of Sunni Islam, to Ethiopia.
Authorities arrested members of the Arbitration Committee in July 2012 after negotiations with the government failed, and they were charged with “intending to advance a political, religious or ideological cause” by force, signaling the impending criminalization of the peaceful movement.
Repressive political ends
Since the disputed 2005 elections and the mass arrests of opposition leaders and journalists, the use of court proceedings for repressive political ends has become one of the signature traits of the Ethiopian government. The primary purpose of these administrative acts disguised as criminal proceedings is the elimination of political opposition and critical voices. These trials function not to adjudicate legal disputes but to remove actors from the democratic sphere. The judicial machinery is set in motion not to determine guilt or innocence but to sustain and consolidate the government’s authoritarian stranglehold on its people.
In order to build a coherent narrative, the government often recasts genuine grievances as a national security threat and reconfigures activism as criminal offenses. For example, it accused the jailed Muslim leaders of working in tandem with foreign terrorist groups to destabilize Ethiopia and undo its economic progress. By dramatizing the impending danger and alleged links to regional militant groups such as Somalia’s Al-Shabab and Nigeria’s Boko Haram, the defendants’ prolonged trial was used to create an alternative reality manufactured by the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF).
The accused Muslim leaders see their actions as a defense of the constitution and their trial as persecution — a dubious plot to delegitimize their peaceful protests against the injustices of the state.
The government presented various forms of evidence — including documents, audio and video of sermons and speeches by the defendants, witness testimonies and material obtained through surveillance. However, most of the evidence was presented in closed sessions, and the accused were not given adequate opportunities for cross-examination. The government has deployed stealth propaganda to incriminate the defendants. Since the committee members’ arrests, authorities have produced two fake documentaries intended to generate images and narratives of terrorism to scare Christian Ethiopians and Western observers, in flagrant violation of the presumption of defendants’ innocence until proven guilty.
The verdict of history
The accused Muslim leaders see their actions as a defense of the constitution and their trial as persecution — a dubious plot to delegitimize their peaceful protests against the injustices of the state. The government misrepresented their cause in a desperate attempt to suppress their aspiration and consolidate its control over religious institutions and doctrines.
As the judge read out the verdict, one of the committee members accused the judge of being complicit in the perversion of justice and reading a judgment “written by the security establishment,” according to defense lawyers. “We appear before this court not because we thought that this court is an institution of truth and justice that judges without fear of favor but to clarify the historical record,” another defendant said.
The trial has been an occasion for the defendants to mount their objection to the government’s oppressive narratives and expose its abuse of institutions of truth and justice. As part of their struggle over the historical record, the committee members petitioned Africa’s top human rights watchdog, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, to intervene in the matter. Given the justice system’s lack of independence, the defendants are seeking to present their version of events before an independent international institution, contesting the allegations and images the government created in a trial in which it is both prosecutor and judge. In February 2015 the commission granted a provisional measure, asking Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn to undertake a full investigation into allegations of torture and other violations of due process rights.
The EPRDF is using counterterrorism as carte blanche to consolidate its authoritarian control over the country. Meanwhile, the United States, Ethiopia’s close ally in the global war on terrorism, has turned a blind eye to the misuse and abuse of its counterterrorism funding. President Barack Obama’s upcoming trip to Addis Ababa would be seen as yet another seal of approval for the regime’s repressive practices and the ruling party’s landslide victory in the recent elections. Ethiopia’s sudden and unexplained release of journalists and bloggers ahead of Obama’s visit later this month is a strategic move meant to assuage Washington’s concerns and to minimize the bad publicity around their continued incarceration.
Regardless of the outcome of these trials, history’s judgment will be different. In the verdict of history and the archives and repertoires of the oppressed, these individuals, like many who came before them, will be seen as victims of a grotesque system of justice.
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera America's editorial policy.
Friday, July 10, 2015
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
Monday, July 6, 2015
Daaw’annaan Obaamaa Gara Itoophiyaatti Saganteeffame Imaammata Sirna Dimokraasii Faallessa
Ibsa Adda Bilisummaa Oromoo
ABOn daaw’annaan Prezidant Obaamaan dhuma baatii Adoolessaa 2015-tti Itophiyaatti adeemsisuuf karoorfate, abbootii irree kan jajjabeessu, bittootni hacuuccaa fi saaminsa ummatoota irratti gaggeessan akka itti fufaniif kan hamilchiisu waan taheef jabeessee morma. Bara 1991 Itoophiyaa keessatti oggaa mootummaan Abbaa Irree Dargii qabsoo ummatootaan aangoo irraa darbamee Mootummaan Cehumsaa kan yeroo hundeeffamu waadaan U.S. irraa dhagahamaa ture yoo sirni dimokiraatawaan mirkanaawe malee gargaarsi gama Ameerikaa irraa hin jiraatu (“No dimokraasii, no cooperation,”) kan jedhu ture. Waadaa U.S. kana ifatti kan dubbatan I/A Gaafatamaa Haajaa Alaa U.S. oggasii Herman J. Cohen turan.
Kan yeroo sanatti caalmaa humna waraanaa qabutti gargaaramee aangoo mootummaa kan dhuunfate Wayyaaneen (EPRDF) yeroo waggaa tokko hin caalle keessatti farra dimokraasii tahuu isaa hojiidhaan mirkaneesse. Dhaabotni siyaasaa kanneen bilisummaa ummataa fi sirna dimokraasii dhugoomsuuf qabsaawan kanneen akka Adda Bilisummaa Oromoo oggasuma adeemsa farra dimokraasii Wayyaanee mormuudhaan irraa adda bahan.
Erga sanaa jalqabee waggoota 24 dabraniif sababaa adeemsa farra dimokraasii Wayyaaneen filateen hacuuccaan gama siyaasaa, dinagdee fi hawaasummaa ummatoota irra gahaa turee fi gahaa jiru kan salphaatti tarrifamee keessaa bahamu miti. Gabaasaan Dhaabbattootni mirga dhala namaa kanneen akka Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa, Country Report U.S. State Department mataan isaa … fi kkf. hedduun yeroo adda addaatti baasan, roorroo Wayyaaneen (EPRDF) ummatoota irraan gahu hundas tahuu baatu hanga tokko ni mul’isu. Haa tahu malee sunuu miidhaa suukanneessaa Wayyaaneen dhoksaadhaan goleelee biyyattii iddoo caasaan miidiyaa kamuu hin dhaqqabnetti (keessattuu goleelee Oromiyaa hunda keessatti) raaw’atu hedduu isaa kan hin dabalannee dha.
Walumaa gala warreen maalummaa Itoophiyaa isa dhugaa hin beekne yookaan osoo beekanii haalan, miidhaa mootummaa Itoophiyaatiin ummatoota irra gahu akka cabiinsa mirgoota murtaawootti dhiheessuu yaalan iyyuu, dhugaan jiru garuu, Itoophiyaa keessa hundeedhumaan bilisummaa Ummatootaatu guutuutti sarbamee jira. Waggoota 24 dabaraniif (akkuma sana duras godhamaa turetti) Ummatootni biyyattii dirqama murna aangoo irra jiru deggeruu fi filuu qawweedhaan irratti fe’ame baadhachuu malee mirga abbaa barbaadan deggeruu fi filachuu gonfachuun hafnaan yaaduunuu yakka guddaa itti tahee gidiraa hedduuf kan saaxilu akka tahe “Filannoo” Wayyaaneen dhiheenya kana gaggeesseetin 100% mohadhe jedhe caalaa ragaa biraa dhiheessuun hin feesisu.
Osoo imaammatni sirna dimokraasii jajjabeessuu kan U.S. nin hordofa jettu dhugaa tahee, yeroo ammaatti kan mootummaa U.S. irraa eegamu President Obaamaan akka Itoophiyaa daaw’atan saganteessuu osoo hin taane, murna Wayyaanee kan bilisummaa Ummatootaa guutuutti sarbee afaan qawweetiin ummatootatti akka fedhe roorrisaa turee fi jiru yoo xiqqaate ifatti balaaleffachuudhaan akka inni karaa badii kana irraa deebi’u gaafachuufaa tahuu male. Faallaa kanaa garuu U.S. dantaa yeroo kan mootummaa America qofa ilaaluudhaan gochaa Wayyaanee karaa badii inni hordofaa jiru irratti jajjabeessu raaw’achuu itti fufuun hedduu gaddisiisaa dha. Mootummaa akka poolisa addunyaatti of herreguu fi sirna dimokraatawaa hordofa ofiin jedhu irraa kan eegamus miti.
Akkuma beekamu jal-bultii “Filannoo” 5ffaa Wayyaanee dhiheenya adeemsifamee irratti aangawaan mootummaa Ameerikaa Wendy Sherman jedhamtu Finfinneetti argamuudhaan Itoophiyaa keessatti filmaatni adeemsifamu yeroo irraa gara yerootti wayyoomina argsiisaa deemuutti jira jettee ragaa bahuufiidhaan inni ammaa kunis dimokraatawaa akka tahu, iftummaa qabaatu, hunda hirmaachisuu fi nagaan kan gaggeeffamu akka tahu abdii qabna jechuudhaan filannoo doorsisa, hidhaa, dinniinaa fi hannaan geggeessuuf Wayyaaneen itti qophaa’aa ture eebbisteefii deebi’uun kan yaadatamuu dha. Kana irrattis dhaabbattoota mirga namoomaa hedduu fi jaarmayoota gara garaa irraa mormiin guddaan mudatee ture. Eebbi Wayyaaneen aangaawaa Ameerikaa kana irraa argates gochaa farrummaa filannoo irratti raawwatuuf karoorfate akka itti fufu onnachiisee haala addunyaa irratti mul’atee fi dhaga’amee hin beekneen dhibbaa-dhibbatti mo’atuu labsate. Daaw’annaan Prezidant Obbaamaa kan ammaa kunis kana eebbisuufiin alatti fayidaan biraa ummatoota Itophiyaa fi naannoo keenyaaf fidu hin jiru.
Daaw’annaan dhuma baatii Adoolessaatti saganteeffame kun, murna abbaa irree aangoo irra jiru caalaatti jajjabeessee, dhiittaan mirga namoomaa, preesii walaba ukkaamsuun, saamichaa fi roorroon ummatoota irra geessifamu biyyattii keessatti akka daran babal’atu kan taasisu dha. Hidhamtootaa Oromoo fi kanneen mirga falamatan biroo kuma kudhaniin lakkaawaman mana hidhaa keessatti akka tortoran irratti murtii gadi jabeessuu dha. Kana malees imaammatni Ameerikaan hordoftu kan dantaa ummatootaa fi mirga namoomaa herrega keessa galchu osoo hin taane dantaa Ameerikaa qofa kan dursu tahuu caalaatti hubachiisa.
ABOn daaw’annaan akkanaa abbootii irree kan jajjabeessu, bittootni hacuuccaa fi saaminsa ummatoota irratti gaggeessan akka itti fufaniif kan hamilchiisu waan taheef jabeessee morma. Hiree kanaanis mootummaan Ameerikaa karoora isaa kana akka irra deebi’ee ilaalu deddeebisee gaafata. Kanuma waliin dantaan Ameerikaas kan caalaatti tikfamuu fi iggitii qabaatu abbootii irree jajjabeessuudhaan osoo hin taane qabsoo haqaa ummatootni bilisummaa fi sirna dimokiraasii dhugoomsuuf gaggeessan deggeruu fi jajjabeessuudhaan akka tahe hubachiisa. Hundaan olitti ammoo daaw’annaan akkanaa abbootii irreef yeroof kan fayyadu tahus qabsoo ummatootaa kan boodatti deebisuu hin dandeenye tahuu hubachiisa. Seenaan qabsoo ummatootaa kan dhiheenyatti naannoo kanatti tahaa tures, ummatoota mirga isaaniif falmatuuf murteeffatan humni dhaabuu danda’u kan hin jirre tahuu mirkaneessan.
Injifatnoo Ummata Oromoof!
Adda Bilisummaa Oromoo
Adoolessa 4, 2015
Obama’s Planned Visit to Ethiopia is Incompatible with Claims of Democratic Principles of the U.S. Government
Statement from the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF)
The Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) strongly opposes the planned visit to Ethiopia of the U.S. President Barack Obama on the end of July 2015. As Ethiopia is one of the most brutal regimes of the world, OLF believes that such a visit will result in strengthening the dictatorial minority regime, will boost the regime’s confidence to strengthen its ruthless human rights violations, will give a green light to the regime to continue its repression, economic exploitation, and marginalization of various nations and nationalities of the country under its usual pretense of democracy. OLF also believes that a lasting national and security interest of the U.S. is better protected not by blessing and supporting such a well-known ruthless regime, but by being on the side of the people, supporting the struggle of the peoples of the country for freedom, democracy and justice by using its leverage through exerting the necessary pressure on the regime on power.
In 1991, when the dictatorial military regime of Mengistu Hailemariam was overthrown by the combined struggle of the oppressed peoples of Ethiopia and a Transitional Government was about to be established, a commitment given from the U.S. government to the Ethiopian people was an assurance of “no democracy, no cooperation.” It was the then U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Herman Cohen, who gave such assurance in public. However, the TPLF/EPRDF group, which took over the government not only by using the military upper hand it had, but also using the blessing of the U.S. official Herman Cohen, demonstrated its anti-democratic nature in practice in a matter of less than one year. Several organizations which struggle for the right of their people, including the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), opposed the tyrannical and authoritarian practices of the TPLF/EPRDF party as the dominant force and left the then Transitional Government of Ethiopia.
Today, 24 years have passed under the totalitarian TPLF/EPRDF regime erected and protected by the West, mainly the United States of America. It is impossible to enumerate the widespread political repression, economic exploitation, and monopoly of a minority regime in all sectors political, economic and social life. Among many other reports, the repeated reports of human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa, and including the Country Report U.S. State Department all shed light to the atrocities of the current Ethiopian regime committed on the peoples of the country, mainly on the Oromo people. Nonetheless, it has to be noted that all these and many other reports show only a small fraction of the repression and brutalities perpetrated by the regime. Most of the political killings, barbaric acts of torture, politically charged arrests, abductions and disappearances carried out by the regime are hidden and remain unreported. The OLF has ample evidence that most acts of ruthlessness committed on the Oromo nationals in several parts of Oromia are not reported at all.
Overall, although some knowingly or unknowingly deny or diminish the repressive nature of the current Ethiopian regime, the truth is that the basic democratic and human rights and freedom of peoples of the country is denied in Ethiopia. While Ethiopia has never seen democratic election in its history, the undemocratic and fake nature of so called “election” carried by the current regime has no parallel even in the Ethiopian standard. Over the last 24 years, the Ethiopian people have been forced to “elect” the TPLF/EPRDF party under the barrel of the gun. The 2015 so called “election” is a clear evidence that, for the people of the country, let alone electing whoever they want, any suspicion about electing the opposition parties the government conveniently put in the election drama has been a crime subjecting citizens to severe punishment. While the so called election drama and its result in which the TPLF/EPRDF declared 100% victory are officially over, as we speak, thousands of Oromo and other nationals are being hunted down and thrown into jail for suspicion of “electing” the few opposition who didn’t even win a single seat in the parliament.
If the U.S.’s claims of strengthening democratic process were true, what is expected of President Obama at the moment was not to plan an official visit to Ethiopia, but to use his leverage to put pressure on the minority Woyane (TPLF) regime to stop terrorizing its citizens, and hold democratic election by openly condemning the process and rejecting the results of the current sham election. It is disturbing that, to the contrary, the U.S. government, looking at the temporary benefit it may or may not get from alliance with the brutal regime and ignoring the suffering of the peoples of the country, is encouraging the regime towards committing more crimes and rewarding the regime for the endless atrocities it has already committed. This is not what is expected of a country which claims to be democratic and acts as the “police” of our planet.
It is to be recalled that, the U.S. Under Secretary for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman, appeared in Finfinnee (Addis Ababa) on one of the days leading to the regime’s “election” drama of 2015, and endorsed the election by suggesting that “Ethiopia had made great strides toward an open and inclusive electoral process.” She went on saying that the U.S. hopes the then upcoming election would be “free, fair, inclusive, and peaceful.” Her endorsement and blessing of the so called “election” as an official U.S. position came at a time when the regime was completing its preparation to run a sham election marred with harassment, arrests, intimidation, and several schemes of vote rigging. The irresponsible blessing and approval by Wendy Sherman of an election which is universally well-known to be full of fraud was condemned by many human rights and other international organizations. Clearly, the endorsement and blessing of this U.S. official has bolstered the confidence of the government to continue its crackdown on dissenting voices, blatantly harass the entire public, and finally, committed naked election fraud and now shamelessly declared 100% victory. The current planned visit of President Obama has no benefit to the peoples of Ethiopia or the region. To the contrary, it is another endorsement and blessing of an election which is very well known by the Ethiopian people and the entire world to be bogus.
The Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) earnestly appeals to the U.S. government to reconsider its position and cancel the planned visit to Ethiopia of President Barack Obama. The OLF would like to reiterate that, although such a visit of a U.S. President could temporarily seem to reinforce the confidence of the brutal regime on power, it will never reverse or pull back the struggle the oppressed peoples of the country are waging to gain their freedom. The history of the struggle of the peoples of the region confirms that no external force can reverse the just fight of people against dictators. Sooner or later, brutal regimes will disappear like a dust. It is only a matter of time.
Oromo Liberation Front
July 4, 2015
Saturday, July 4, 2015
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