I left home before I knew who I was but home never really left me. Home is Oromia! #OromoProtests #QarreePower #JUSTICEFORHAACAALUU #FreeAllPoliticalPrisoners #FreeOromia

Senate Resolution of Minnesota condemning the atrocities happening in Ethiopia and calling for the release of Oromo Political prisoners! #OromoProtests #AbiyMustGo #FreeAllPoliticalPrisoners

 

#abiyMustGo#OromoProtest#Ethiopia

 Tigrayans are exercising their right to vote in defiance of the federal government which postponed the national elections scheduled to take place last month (August). Tigrayans are exercising the most important political rights guaranteed by the constitution at a time when the rights of citizens in other regions have been indefinitely deferred by the ruling regime through a dubious constitutional machination.

The Property Party postponed the elections mainly because the leadership knew that the party faced an electoral wipe out if it were to go into an election months after its establishment. A weird and uncanny construct created to serve an individual's desire for unlimited power, the Prosperity Party needed time to prepare for this election. As a party with no social basis and does not reflect the existing social cleavages or political fault lines in Ethiopia, PP needed to first purge its formidable opponents (especially in Oromia), establish patronage structures across the entire country, and institute divide and rule strategies (within ethnic groups and across groups) before it could muster the courage of going into an election of any sort - even if undemocratic.

Whatever the federal government and the House of Federation say about this election, the defiance by a regional state of a federal government in this country is unprecedented and cannot be written off as an ephemeral non-event. It would set an important precedent for Ethiopia's federation going forward

The statements and declarations by the federal government would have no constitutional or legal effect as far as regional and local elections are concerned. It is possible that the PP cabal might say that the Tigray regional state is illegitimate and withhold federal subsidies if PP remains in power whenever that deferred election is held, but that too would be too costly for any federal government and the Ethiopian state. If this election is seen as legitimate and credible by the Tigrayan people, any future action by the federal government would be seen as an attack as a democratic decision of the Tigray people, and could threaten the break up of the Ethiopian state.

#AbiyMustGo#OromoProtests#Ethiopia

This is happening in the country Nobel Peace Prize winner Abiy Ahmed leading. 

#AbiyMustGo#OromoProtests#Ethiopia

Salaams from Nairobi 

Allow me to extend my gratitude to all that supported the #FreeYassinJuma campaign throughout out my 49 days incarceration....I am back to my hometown Nairobi trying to take one step at a time.....post-detention adjustment comes with challenges...both mentally and physically.....InShaAllah I will get over this with time through professional help and prayers both

The list of those who advocated for my release is endless (Please dont feel left out am still gathering a final list) others prefer to remain anonymous for the assistance they offered to my children and co-parent while I was detained.   

Bloggers, Social Media influencers and Media Personalities 

Campaign  leaders Ebba Abbamurti Mohamed Hared Mohamed  Farrakhan Willis Nicholas Muyoti

Dr.Henok G. Gabisa Rashid Ronald Henry Njuguna  

Arap Doyo NL,  Mariamm Abeidi Mariamm, Prezo Nazlin Umar for taking the fight for my release to the doorsteps of the Ethiopian Embassy and Hirmoge Daud, Al-Amin Kimathi State House Spokesperson Kanze Dena Radio Maisha's Ali Hassan, Amina Dayano Sirayon Abdihakeem Jabarti Carbeed  ZamZam Hassan,  Issa Haji Abdullahi   Ahmed Asmali 

Behind them was a brigade of my Facebook friends and followers.......an endless list of loyalists Dorothy Melichar , Anney Peace Kenyajuu  Mamake Amin, Shunnee Abeid...... Batran Abdi wetu thanks for the support against all odds, Msichana wa Chief Hayati Mamake Amara

Hon. Aden Dualle for taking my case to the National Assembly. 

Foreign Correspondents Association East Africa, Committee For The Protection of Journalist (CPJ) . Haki Afrika,  BBC,  Media Council of Kenya's Victor Bwire, Amnesty International,  Human Rights Watch, Kenya Union of Journalists, Tv and radio stations in Ethiopia and Kenya for keeping the story alive.

BBC, no media covered my story extensively and constantly like BBC ....respect to one Emmanuel Igunza Kinyaga), SABC (Coletta Wanjohi big up for the coverage , NMG's Daily Nation.

Last but not least Kenyan Ambassador to Ethiopia Amb. Catherine Mwangi, one consular official who wants to remain anonymous, Ministry of Foregn Affairs  Nairobi.

Kindly alert me on the comments of anyone I may have forgotten....the list is to be updated

#AbiyMustGo#Ethiopia

The Ethiopian court resumed Friday's trial of Johar Muhammad by listening to witness statements as usual behind the curtain without disclosing their identity.

The most prominent of what Johar Muhammad spoke in court today is about the judicial system quoted from his lawyer... He expressed his disappointment and stated the following:

′′ All demands or rights of popular movement must start reforming the judiciary by securing independence from politics and if the judiciary is corrupted, how do we protect people's dignity, honor, money and symptoms....

In Ethiopia, the politicization of the judiciary and the establishment of military courts to prosecute and prosecute political opponents, not the son of the moment, it is part of the corruption of the state... Even the same legal texts do not include and do not adopt any principle of immunization of the independence of the judiciary and separation of powers..

Keeping opponents for years in prison without being tried or tried military, these were the first letters of adapting the law, hacking the judiciary and re-installing the judiciary to suit his policies and subject him to the ruling authority of the country.

The real cleansing must be taken place within the judicial institution than it was in the light of the years of tyranny and corruption, so we achieve protection of rights and freedoms and social balance, as independent judiciary is an interest for the homeland and a necessary refuge for society and the whole country. The judicial crisis must also be addressed through fundamental constitutional amendments.. Johar Muhammad said that the integrity of the judiciary is a prerequisite for addressing corruption and achieving peace and stability... And by achieving it we reach a peaceful society that believes in the rule of law.. And I don't say this to push my innocence or your pleading, what is the value of the slogans of credibility and integrity and you lack it, but offend the justice system, fairness and flagrant violation of laws, sudden, waste of time and lack of appreciation for the defense authority and what They do it to push the wheel of the rule of law..... If you want, release us and if you want, kill us... It's not that important anymore.. We are more concerned for future generations about the form of the judicial system that doesn't work than Their time and not seeking justice and everything they do is providing legal cover for different power practices, especially in their accounts with opposition political forces..

What is the purpose of the judiciary if it is not to protect Ethiopian civil society and the interests and rights of people and secures proper justice?

Judicial function should not be recited according to governments change because the logic of justice stems from the logic of the judicial institution and not the disputes of individuals and authorities.

Dejene Gutema

#AbiyMustGo#Ethiopia

OMN: (September 4,2020) እኔ ምንም ዓይነት ወንጀል እንደሌለብኝ መቶ በመቶ አውቃለሁ፤ ከዚህ ቀደምም ሀሰተኛ መስካሪዎች ሀሰተኛ ስምና ማንነትነትን ተላብሰው አጠገቤ ቁጭ ብለው በሀሰት መስክረውብኝ ተፈርዶብኝ ነበር ፤ ዛሬም ያንኑን እየደገሙ ነው ሲሉ አቶ በቀለ ገርባ ለፍርድ ቤት ተናገሩ።

የአገሪቷ የፍትህ ስርዓቱ ተንኮተኩቷል፤ አቶ በቀለ ገርባ

እኔና ቤተሰቤ በአገሪቷ የፍትህ ስርዓት ክፉኛ ከተጎዱት ውስጥ አንዱ ነን፤ እኔ ደምበኛችሁ ሆኜአለሁ ያሉት በሚድያ እኛን ጭራቅ አድርጎ የማቅረብ ዘመቻ ቀጥሎበታል በማለት ተናግረዋል።

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በቀለ ገርባ በችሎት ከተናገራቸው:

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ለአገራችን ይጠቅማል ብለን ያሰብነውን ሁሉ ከመናገር ወደ ኋላ አንልም። የአገሪቷ የፍትህ ስርዓቱ ተንኮታኩአል። እኔና ቤተሰቤ በአገሪቷ የፍትህ ስርዓት ክፉኛ ከተጎዱት ውስጥ አንዱ ነን። እኔ ደምበኛችሁ ሆኜአለሁ። እውነት ነው፣ ከእኛ በፊት የኦሮሞ ትንታግ ምሁራን ከእኛ በላይ ተጎደተዋል። ግን አሁንም ያ በደል በልጆቻቸው በእኛም ላይ ቀጥሎአል።

እኔ ምንም አይነት ወንጀል እንደሌለብኝ መቶ በመቶ አውቃለሁ። ከዚህ ቀደምም ሀሰተኛ መስካሪዎች ሀሰተኛ ስምና ማንነትነትን ተላብሰው አጠገቤ ቁጭ ብለው በሀሰት መስክረውብኝ ተፈርዶብኝ ነበር። ዛሬም ያንኑን እየደገሙ ነው። አንድ ግልጽ መሆን ያለበት ነገር አለ፣ እኔ በእውነተኛ ምስክር የተረጋገጠ ጥፋት ከተገኘብኝ ለመቀጣት ዝግጁ ነኝ። ደስም ይለኛል። ግን እየተካሄደብን ያለው ነገር እንደዚያ አይደለም።

በሚድያ እኛን ጭራቅ አድርጎ የማቅረብ ዘመቻ ቀጥሎበታል። ከዚሁ ዘመቻ የተነሳ እዚህ ያላችሁ ሰዎች ጭምር ስለ እኛ ምን አይነት አመለካከት እንዳላቸሁ ስጋት አለን።ስምና ምስሎቻችን የሌሉበት የለም: ዩቲዩብ፣ የህትመት ሚድያ፣ ማህበራዊ ሚድያዎች፣ ጋዜጦች ወዘተ የሌለበት የለም።

እኛ በአገር ውስጥም ሆነ በውጭ አገር ሰርተን ጥሩ ኑሮ ለመኖር እድሉም ብቃቱም ያለን ሰዎች ነን። የአገራችን ጉዳይ ቢያሳስበን የህዝባችንን ችግር እንፍታ ብለን ነው እንጂ ወደ ትግሉ የገባን። የተከሰስንበት ወንጀሎች ሙሉ በሙሉ አልፈጸምንም። እንዲያውም እኔና ጀዋር በተቃራኒው እርቅን ለማውረድ የምንችለውን አድርገናል፤ የህዝቦች ግንኙነት ለመመለስ ብዙ ሰርተናል፤ ቤተክርስቲያንና መስጂድ የኛው ንብረቶች ናቸው፣ ጉዳት እንዳይደርስባቸው ጠብቁ ብለን አስተምረናል። ያለ በደላችን ነው የተወነጀልነው።

ከቅርብ ዓመታት ወዲህ፣ የበላይነትን ለመቀዳጀት እየተውተረተረ ያለ አካል እየታየ መጥቷል። እኛ እኩልነት ብቻ ብለን ነው እነዚህን የተቃወምናቸው። ለዚህም ከሌሎች ጭቁን ብሄሮች ጎን ቆመናል። ለምሳሌ የዎላይታ ህዝብ ህገ መንግስታዊ መብቱን በመጠየቁ ለትልቅ ጉዳት መዳረጉን ተቃውመናል። አሁንም እንዲህ አይነት ግንኘነታችን ይቀጥላል። እኩልነትና ፍትሀዊነት ብቻ ነው መፍትሄው። የበላይነትን የሚፈልግ የመንግስት መዋቅር ውስጥ የተሰገሰገው አካልን በመቃወማችን ነው ኢላማ ተደርጎብን የታሰርነው።

ሌላው ነገር፣ ደሞዝ የሚገባበት የሁሉም ቤተሰቤ የባንክ የሂሳብ ደብተር ታግዶብናል። እኛ በዘረፋ አልተከሰስንም፤ የባንክ የሂሳብ ደብተራችንን አግደውብን እያስራቡን ነው። አዝናለሁ። ቤተሰባችንን የማገድና የማንገላታት ዘመቻ ይቁምልን።

በመጨረሻም፣ ሀቀኛ ምስክር ይቅረብብንና እንቀጣለን፤ ጥፋተኞች መሆናችን በትክክል ከተረጋገጠ በሞታችንም ቢሆን ይህች አገር ሰላም ታገኝ። ሀቀኛ በሆነው ነገር ላይ ከፍርድ ቤቱና ከአቃቤ ህግ ጎን እንቆማለን።

(Source: Oromo Political Prisoners Defence Team)

#AbiyMustGo#OromoProtests#Ethiopia

FULBAANA 3, 2020 | SEPTEMBER 3RD, 2020 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

We would like to highlight important points that the international community should know regarding the political situation in Ethiopia after October 10th, 2020.

As is now publicly known, the political situation in Ethiopia, particularly in Oromia, is fast approaching the brink. The self-described “reformist” government led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power in 2018 as the result of a relentless, dedicated pro-democracy protest movement spearheaded by Oromo youth, more than five-thousand of whom were slain by Ethiopian security forces for daring to ask that their rights be respected. Abiy Ahmed’s government promised change and yet, tragically, it has instead wasted all the goodwill afforded to it by the people by choosing to prolong its time in power by any means necessary, including committing the very same mass human rights abuses that the previous regime was responsible for.

These human rights abuses have been occurring for the last two years and have been well documented by organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. However, for most of the world, it is the horrific events of the last month that exposed just how little has changed in Ethiopia in respect to the barbaric conduct of security forces, the clear bias of the justice system, and the government’s tendency to deny all wrongdoing in the face of indisputable evidence. Its misgovernance has led to immense suffering across the country.

The Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), as stated in our May 30th, 2020 Statement, is engaged in continued armed struggle precisely to end the cycle of dictatorship that has plagued Oromia and Ethiopia for much too long. We observed from our early dealings with Abiy Ahmed’s regime that little had changed in regards to the government’s lack of commitment to the democratic principles enshrined in the country’s constitution.

Instead, Abiy Ahmed’s government showed itself to be particularly skillful in maintaining a positive public image through the use of a public relations network that was able to prop the Prime Minister, whose forces are responsible for a litany of human rights abuses, as someone deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Today, Abiy Ahmed has used the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse to indefinitely postpone the much anticipated general elections, a transparently unconstitutional act. It is worth noting that the regime has never won a single free and fair election and, hence, even its current mandate to rule is questionable.

However, upon the advent of October 10th, 2020, it will lose all legitimacy as the Parliament’s constitutionally allotted term will end. It is in regards to this that the OLA would like to bring to the attention of international community the following critical issues:

1) As Abiy Ahmed’s regime will lose legal mandate on October 10th, 2020, in accordance to the country’s constitution, it will no longer have the authority to approve or receive any loan, grant, or credit from multinational financial institutions such as the World Bank, the AfDB, European Investment bank, etc. or from other governments. Any entity that does engage in a financial agreement with Abiy Ahmed’s regime after October 10th, 2020, must understand that the people will be legally absolved of any liability regarding the repayment of any loan or credit.

Moreover, we have legitimate concerns that the regime will use these financial resources to stifle democratic dispensations and support its massive army and security apparatus. Therefore, we strongly advise that financial institutions closely monitor the disbursement of existing loans and credits to ensure that they are used for the intended purposes as per the financing agreement signed between them and the Ethiopian government.

2) For the same reason stated above, we would like to warn local and foreign investors that any investment deal reached with Abiy Ahmed’s regime after October 10th, 2020, in particular those involving land transactions, will be illegal.

3) We advise that any humanitarian assistance, be it financial or material, should be handled by credible local and international NGOs and not through the government apparatus. We have reason to believe these resources will not reach the intended segment of the population if left to government institutions.

4) Lastly, as it is clear that the security situation of Oromia and the country as a whole will most likely further deteriorate, we strongly advise foreign nationals to refrain from traveling to Ethiopia as the soon to be illegitimate regime of Abiy Ahmed will not be able to guarantee the security of foreign nationals. Therefore, travel to Ethiopia should be very selective.

The OLA will continue in its efforts to secure peace, safety, and constitutional rule for the Oromo people and the other nations and nationalities of Ethiopia. As we have stated before, and as time has proven repeatedly, the Ethiopian government’s various political negotiations and deals that purposefully exclude the OLA have only resulted in complete failures that have further postponed the attainment of peace and stability in the country.

IUOf

OROMO LIBERATION ARMY- CENTRAL COMMAND

WARAANA BILISUMMAA OROMOO- AJAJAA OLAANAA

Oromia Media Network Oromia News Network – ONN Kush Media Network – KMN Kello Media Media Ko BBC News Afaan Oromoo BBS: Bultum Broadcasting Services

#AbiyMustGo#OromoProtests#Ethiopia

Human Rights Watch

Amnesty International

UN Human Rights Council

Three years ago when Bekelle Gerba walked out free from chamber of torture said that " Prison is not were one appreciates to be ....unfortunately it has become the fate of many our people. " 

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This endless tragedy has never end today. It has continued Bekelle Gerba, Jawar Mohammed ,Abdi Regassa, Lammii Beenyaa and many more Oromo freedom fighters are suffering in prison now a days for speaking their mind and being Oromo. 

#Oromo_Protests

#Free_all_political_prisoners

#AbiyMustGo#OromoProtests#Ethiopia

መፍረስ?

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ለመሆኑ 150 ዓመት ሙሉ አገር እየፈረሰብን፣ ሕግና ሥርዓት እየፈረሰብን፣ ዕምነትና ልማድ እየተናደብን፣ ታሪክና ማንነት እየተሻረብን፣ ቤትና ቤተሰብ እየፈረሰብን፣ ሕዝብና ማህበረሰብ እየተደረመሰብን፣ ሕይወትና አካል እየጎደለብን፣ ዕለት ዕለት እየተገደልን ለኖርን ለእኛ፣ መብት ሲጠየቅ "ትፈርሳለች" የምትባለዋ አገር እንደምን ያለች ናት? 

ወንድሜ፣ ያንተዋ ኢትዮጵያ የፈረሰችውስ፣ እኛ መብትና ፍትህ ስለጠየቅን ሳይሆን፣ የእኛን መብት በመግፋት፣ የእኛን የሕዝቦቿን ሰብዓዊ ክብር በመርገጥ፣ እኛን ለማፍረስ ተማምላ ከቤት የወጣች ዕለት ነው።

አብይና የወንጀለኛ ስብስብ የሆነው የብልጥግና 'መንግሥቱም' የፈረሱት፣ እኛን በማፍረስ "ኢትዮጵያን [ከእኛ ከሕዝቦቿ፣ በተለይ ከኦሮሞ] ለመታደግ" በሚል የእብድ መፈክር ዙሪያ መማማል የጀመረ ዕለት ነው።

እና መብት ስለተጠየቀ የሚፈርስ አገር የለም።

የመብትና የፍትህ ጥያቄ የሚያፈርሰው 'አገር' ከሆነም፣ ድሮም አገር አልነበረም ማለት ነው። የመብትና የፍትህ ጥያቄን የማይቋቋምና የማይመልስ፣ አልፎም የሚፈራ አገር፣ አገር ሊባል የተገባ አይደለምና መኖርም የለበትም።

አገር ምድር አይደለም። አገር ፖለቲካዊ ማህበረሰብ ነው። መብቶችንና ጥቅሞችን አሰባስቦ፣ አስማምቶ፣ አቻችሎ በጋራ የሚተዳደር፣ ሥርዓትና ተቋማት ያለው ነገር (entity) ነው። ለዚህ ነው "አገር ማለት ሕዝብ ነው፣ አገር ማለት ሰዉ ነው" የሚባለው።

ሰው እያፈረስክ የምትገነባውም ሆነ የምታድነው አገር የለም።

አንድ ሰው ስትገድል፣ የአንድ ዜጋን መብት አላግባብ ስትጥስ፣ አገራዊ መርሆዎችንና እሴቶችን ስታንኳስስ፣ ያኔ ነው አገር ማፍረስ የጀመርከው።

ሕዝብን ስታፈርስ፣ ወይም ለማፍረስ አቅደህ ላይ ታች እያልክ ስትንከላወስ፣ ያኔ ነው እንደ አገር የፈረስከው።

የሕዝብን ሰብዓዊ ክብር ስታዋርድ፣ ሕዝብን እንደ ሕዝብ ለመስደብ ተደራጅተህ በሚዲያ ደቦ ተቧድነህ ለፕሮፓጋንዳ የሚሆን የሥራ ክፍፍል አድርገህ ስትዘምት፣ ያኔ ነው እንደ አንድ ፖለቲካዊ ማሕበረሰብ አገራዊ ቁመናህን ያጣኸው።

That's why we say #Abiy_is_the_past, and Ethiopia is the home that never was for us. And that's why we say...

#Abiy_must_be_removed!

#ለእነ_መፍረስ_ብርቁ #ለእነ_አፍራሽ!

#AbiyMustGo#OromoProtests#Ethiopia

Modest Proposals ( Tsegaye Ararsa )

===============

Do you want peace? Do these simple things:

1. Release all the political prisoners.

2. Stop the house arrest on Oromo leaders.

3. Stop the protracted state terror across Oromia.

4. Stop your divisive propaganda among religions, regions, and factions.

5. Free OMN.

6. Hands off Oromo media outlets.

7. Stop hate propaganda on Government media outlets and its affiliates.

8. Stop war-mongering on Tigray just because they are conducting elections.

9. Stop inciting violence and arming local vigilantes to perpetrate hate crimes.

10. Stop arming criminals and thugs against Oromos in cities such as Finfinnee. Stop terrorizing Oromos in Finfinnee and all the (garrison) towns. In particular, expose the ኢዜማ-ባልደራስ-ብልጥግና thugs who are organizing themselves "to launch urban guerrilla war" (የፈረንሳይ ሌጋሲዮን ሽምቅ ተዋጊዎች) and hold them to account.

11. Stop weaponizing the law to attack dissidents.

12. Arrest the land theft and the protracted invasion (through illegal settlements, or in the name of building churches). 

13. Punish the assassins of #Haacaaluu_Hundeessaa, or take full responsibility for the assassination. Establish truth, render justice.

14. Remove the army from all civilian sites in Oromia.

15. Set up a provisional administration of Abbaa Gadaa Council in Oromia.

16. Address the demands of the numerous southern nations to self-rule. Stop the violence against the Wolaita people. Stop divisive politics to pit one against the other in the SNNPRS. Stop the near imperial (re)mapping procedure to cram groups into your arbitrary clusters

17. Remove senile generals who have overstayed their service long after their retirement age. (This includes the likes of Berhanu Julaa who are turning a segment of the military into a private attack squad of Abiy Ahmed.) Stop undermining the constitutional status, tasks, and responsibilities of the military by dragging them into your dirty (and insane) Bilxiginna politics.

18. Establish law and order in the ANRS. Stop the politics of banditry and brigandage.

19. Put institutional sanity to the organization, training, and operations of the police, the proliferating 'Special Forces," and other armed bodies. Secure peace and safety of the citizenry.

20. Remove Abiy Ahmed (and take him to a mental care institution to prevent self-harm as he is repeatedly vowing to commit suicide unless he has his way).

21. Launch an all-inclusive deliberation towards a comprehensive roadmap for democratic transition.

-----

Anything else, or anything less, is a joke. 

The struggle continues.

#Hanga_abbaa_biyyummaatti.

#AbiyMustGo#OromoProtests#Ethiopia

. "It seems more than 50% COVID report by Oromia region is from prison.

- Arsi zone, from total of 300 cases 166 were from prisons

 -Zuway dugda-133

 -Diksis-33

Even TB is becoming the other deadlier disease. In Ejere prison (west shewa), 80 prisoners screened 16 were diagnosed with TB including 1 multi drug resistance TB (MDR-TB).”

Akka maddeen qorannoo godhan ibsaa jiranitti, Oromiyaa keessatti dhibamtoota COVID19 keessaa 50% kan tahan hidhamtoota. Fakkeenyaaf Arsii keessatti namoota 300 dhibee kanaan qabaman keessaa 166 hidhamtoota mana hidhaa jiranii dha. Zuwaay Dugdaatti 133, Kana malees dhibeen sombaas (TB) hidhamtoota keessatti babal'atee jiraachuutu himama. Fakkeenyaaf Shawaa Dhihaa Mana Hidhaa Ejeree keessatti namoota dhibee kana qorataman 80 keessaa 16 dhibee kanaan qabamuun beekameera. Namoonni kun baay'inaan kutaa tokkotti hidhamu waan taheef salphaadhumatti akka dhibee walitti dabarsanis beekamaa dha. Mootummaan kun yeroo dhibeen daddarbaan hammaate kanatti fayyaa ummatootaaf yaaduu mannaa dantaa siyaasaa isaaf qofa jecha warri sodaatu hunda hidhaatti naqee dhibeedhaan ficcisiisuutti akka jiru beekamuu qaba.

#AbiyMustGo#OromoProtests#Ethiopia

TWO MONTHS AGO TODAY: 

WE LOST HAACAALUU HUNDEESSAA! 

On June 29th, 2020, the Oromo nation lost one of its finest musical giant, whose indomitability surpasses fear of any kind. 

He always shows up with a marvelously gifted voice and organically minted melody! Undeniably talented and bitingly expressive, he sang existence and hope into the oromo and friends of the Oromo for the last decade! 

The forms and contents of his works are phenomenal! Stellar! Revolutionary! He and his works are sealed for an imperishable eternal legacy! 

That was HAACAALUU HUNDEESSAA ! A 34 years old man- a father of three beautiful souls! An Oromo, who loved, lived and left his life for the Oromo! He gave his ALL! To the Oromo! 

The twist of fate that ended Haacaaluu’s life wasn’t just an incidentally hate-filled act of private assassination! It is one that is hegemonic, deeply embedded, unreadable, undetectable structural violence of Ethiopian State and it’s militant culture against the Oromo nation and it’s sons and daughters! 

We lost Haacaaluu to that kind of assassination! On June 29, 2020! 

One week before he was gunned down, Haacaaluu spoke to the Oromia Media Network. Live viewership of the fateful interview of Haacaaluu was one with an all time high-24k live viewers. 

In the interview, as he always do, Haacaaluu fearlessly and unflinchingly summarized the state of political perplexity and national uncertainty in Ethiopia. 

Two major problem he articulated: First, he pointed out the questionable political willingness and interest of PM Ato Abiy Ahmed in resolving Oromo demand for equality and justice; second, he unblinkingly told the OMN journalist that he “walks and lives with death everyday in the City of Finfinnee”- not knowing when he gets killed. 

In the interview, Haacaaluu characterized his enemy and the enemy of the Oromo as the repressive political system that fetches it’s ideology from the historical Neftegna system. It is the system that has its roots in the emperial System of the country known for its asymmetrical land governance and flagrant injustices. 

With the Prime Minister Ato Abiy Ahmed coming to power with a preponderant political vision of restoring Imperial Ethiopia, the system seems to have regained a considerable grace in the country’s political practice. 

Maddened with the turn of events in the country, Haacaaluu said word by word in interview: “Diinni uummata Oromoo kaleessas, har’aas, boruus nafxanyaa dha.” Meaning: “Neftegna was yesterday, today, and tomorrow the enemy of the Oromo people.” The link to his OMN interview  is available everywhere on social media and on Internet. 

Haacaaluu also told the journalist the story of an Oromo peasant called Siidaa Dabalee and how Menilik (the emperor who started the repressive Neftegna system a century ago) stole his brave Horse (Farda Siidaa Dabalee). The Oromo peasant was from the nearby sub-city of Galaan. 

Haacaaluu had referred to this historical facts in one of his mellifluent revolutionary songs in the past. 

Haacaaluu was assassinated exactly a week ago after he gave the interview. He was gunned down in Galaan area, where the Oromo historical figure Siidaa Dabalee hailed from. 

Two months into his assasination, the Oromo people are yet to see some sort of semblance of justice. No crime scene had been preserved. No autopsy was conducted. No independent investigation was set up! 

He was rushed to a burial ground by the government forces with no formal send-off! 

Would we be lucky one day to see the real killers of Haacaaluu stand justice? 

We haven’t only lost a magnificent singer and songwriter; we also lost a musical dexter and masterful, and an Oromo national character whose revolutionary songs  will continue to serve as songs  of redemption for a web of an interconnected oromo social and political consciousness! 

REST IN ETERNAL GLORY AND ETERNAL POWER! 

Henok Gabisa

New York

August 2020