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.

Dambalii Kutaa 1ffaa

Ethiopia politicizes courts to strangle dissent

The crackdown on Muslim activists is part of Addis Ababa’s crusade against independent voices and opposition leaders

July 10, 2015 2:00AM ET

by Awol Allo   @awol_allo

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. 

Awol Allo is a fellow in human rights at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera America's editorial policy.

AOA Waxabajjii 3 2015

Kabaja waggaa 1ffaa fi Tumsa gargaarsa OMN Biyya Jiddah waxabajjii 3 2015

OMN: Daaw'annaa Obaamaan Itoophiyaatti Gochuuf Jiruu Irratti Marii Taasi...

OMN: Oduu Adooleessa 9, 2015

http://www.oromiapress.com/us-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices-for-2014-in-ethiopia/#sthash.GnesccE4.hpvt

Oduu Adooleessaa 7,2015

Oromo Voice Radio (OVR) Broadcast- 4 July 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

OMN LONDON: Oduu Adooleessa 5, 2015