Ethiopian students demand end to police crackdowns in rare protest

ADDIS ABABA (Aaron Maasho) – Dozens of university students protested in Ethiopia’s capital on Tuesday, demanding an end to police crackdowns that followed months of demonstrations over plans to requisition farmland in the country’s Oromiya region late last year.

The government wanted to develop farmland around the capital, Addis Ababa, and its plan triggered some of the worst civil unrest for a decade, with rights groups and U.S.-based dissidents saying as many as 200 people may have been killed.

Officials suggest the figure is far lower but have not given a specific number.

Ethiopia has long been one of the world’s poorest nations but has industrialized rapidly in the past decade and now boasts double-digit growth. However, reallocating land is a thorny issue for Ethiopians, many of whom are subsistence farmers.

Authorities scrapped the land scheme in January, but sporadic demonstrations persist and, on Tuesday, students from Addis Ababa University marched in two groups toward the embassy of the United States, a major donor, holding signs that read ”We are not terrorists. Stop killing Oromo people.”

Such protests are rare in a country where police are feared as heavy-handed and the government is seen as repressive.

A government spokesman did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn has promised to address grievances in the Oromiya region and says he blames rebel groups for stoking violence.

Opponents blame harsh police tactics.

”The aim was to highlight the abuses carried out in the region,” one student told Reuters, saying he did not want to be identified for fear of reprisals.

”We waved white cloth to indicate that we were peaceful protesters. But police started beating us up,” he said.

New York-based Human Rights Watch said last month that protesters it spoke to and who had been detained after the outbreak of demonstrations in November had been subjected to severe beatings and never appeared before a judge.

The group said women suffered sexual assaults and mistreatment. It said one 18-year-old student was ”given electric shocks to his feet”.

Officials dismissed the report as not worthy of comment.

Oppdatert reiseinformasjon Oromia

Oppdatert reiseinformasjon Oromia

#OromoProtests

‪#‎OromoProtests‬ ‪#‎SurmaProtests‬ "No surprises. The pattern is seen everywhere around us. The polity is yet to be born. Equal citizenship of the 'other' peoples is yet to be actualized. The racialized brutality is here because it is constitutive to the Ethiopian state form. The inaugural violence keeps on repeating and reproducing itself because it is the essence of the state form. The barbarity becomes spectacularly gross (and the perpetrators see no shame in it), as in this case, because the state was and is clearly defined against them as the constitutive 'others' of Ethiopia.

The violence itself is an enactment of the original project of othering. It's the operationalization of the logic of othering, the rule of violence, and the imperative of disciplining the 'savage'. This is what Ethiopia is. Much to the shock of many 'educated' urban dwellers, this barbarity is quotidian in our day to day life everywhere except that it is normalized, sanitized, and naturalized by mediation through the bureaucratic processes of detention centers, technologized tortures, prisons, land administration offices, urban planning, etc. It is in the institutions of 'rule of law' used as rule by law in Ethiopia. It is also meted out on us discursively in the everyday discourses of the dominant Ethiopian political class, even in these spaces. The ongoing violence in Oromia is an instantiation of this fundamental truth of the otherness of the Oromo and the wider south to the Ethiopian state. When a northerner or an urban dweller protests, he is arrested, tried, imprisoned, and released after sustaining some abuse and torture along the way. When an Oromo protests, he is shot dead on the spot. Or he will be injured. If he survives, he will be thrown in a concentration camp to be subjected to torture and abuse. If a southerner of darker complexion such as those in the Omo area, Gambella or Benishangul protests; or the people of the pastoralist peripheries protest, the treatment degenerates further and the acts become more barbaric. This is in line with the hierarchical structure of the foundation of the Ethiopian state: the habesha at the top, the Oromo in the middle, and the darker-faced people at the bottom. The muslim, the jew, and those with indigenous faiths also constitute the exterior of the state.

That's why I insist on the need for a double transformation in Ethiopia: transformation of the politics by democratization; and transformation of the state through people's right to self-determination.

Our ailment is deep. There are no easy, quick fixes. That's why the mechanics of electoral democracy (even in its freest and fairest form), liberal human rights, and the ideology of rule of law cannot capture, contain, prevent, or resolve the problem. That transforms the politics and changes regimes but it falls short of state transformation. It is only the latter that redefines the state-society relations in the country. It's only the latter that helps include the other peoples in the polity. It's the latter alone that ends the tragedy of the Oromo and the southern Ethiopians who are still standing outside looking in". By Tsegaye Ararssa

#OromoProtests

‪#‎OromoProtests‬ ‪#‎SurmaProtests‬ "No surprises. The pattern is seen everywhere around us. The polity is yet to be born. Equal citizenship of the 'other' peoples is yet to be actualized. The racialized brutality is here because it is constitutive to the Ethiopian state form. The inaugural violence keeps on repeating and reproducing itself because it is the essence of the state form. The barbarity becomes spectacularly gross (and the perpetrators see no shame in it), as in this case, because the state was and is clearly defined against them as the constitutive 'others' of Ethiopia.

The violence itself is an enactment of the original project of othering. It's the operationalization of the logic of othering, the rule of violence, and the imperative of disciplining the 'savage'. This is what Ethiopia is. Much to the shock of many 'educated' urban dwellers, this barbarity is quotidian in our day to day life everywhere except that it is normalized, sanitized, and naturalized by mediation through the bureaucratic processes of detention centers, technologized tortures, prisons, land administration offices, urban planning, etc. It is in the institutions of 'rule of law' used as rule by law in Ethiopia. It is also meted out on us discursively in the everyday discourses of the dominant Ethiopian political class, even in these spaces. The ongoing violence in Oromia is an instantiation of this fundamental truth of the otherness of the Oromo and the wider south to the Ethiopian state. When a northerner or an urban dweller protests, he is arrested, tried, imprisoned, and released after sustaining some abuse and torture along the way. When an Oromo protests, he is shot dead on the spot. Or he will be injured. If he survives, he will be thrown in a concentration camp to be subjected to torture and abuse. If a southerner of darker complexion such as those in the Omo area, Gambella or Benishangul protests; or the people of the pastoralist peripheries protest, the treatment degenerates further and the acts become more barbaric. This is in line with the hierarchical structure of the foundation of the Ethiopian state: the habesha at the top, the Oromo in the middle, and the darker-faced people at the bottom. The muslim, the jew, and those with indigenous faiths also constitute the exterior of the state.

That's why I insist on the need for a double transformation in Ethiopia: transformation of the politics by democratization; and transformation of the state through people's right to self-determination.

Our ailment is deep. There are no easy, quick fixes. That's why the mechanics of electoral democracy (even in its freest and fairest form), liberal human rights, and the ideology of rule of law cannot capture, contain, prevent, or resolve the problem. That transforms the politics and changes regimes but it falls short of state transformation. It is only the latter that redefines the state-society relations in the country. It's only the latter that helps include the other peoples in the polity. It's the latter alone that ends the tragedy of the Oromo and the southern Ethiopians who are still standing outside looking in". By Tsegaye Ararssa

#OromoProtest

The soldiers in this despicable photo that is reminiscent of slave ships are of Ethiopian physique and complexion. I am however unsure of where the people being chained and abused are exactly from as they can be from SNNP, Gambella or South Sudan. Can anyone shed some light on this please? Is the SNNP police/special police called 'Southern Police'? Does their uniform look like the ones on the photo? And the truck color?

http://gadaa.net/FinfinneTribune/2016/03/seife-nebelbal-amharic-interview-with-mr-dawud-ibsa-chairman-of-olf-oromo-liberation-front/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+gadaa%2FBiJG+%28Gadaa.com%29

Oromo Refugees in South Africa write letter to President Zuma of South Africa

March 3, 2016
President Jacob Zuma
President of South Africa
Union Buildings
Private Bag X1000, Pretoria 0001
South Africa
Dear Honorable President Zuma:

On behalf of many Oromo refugees in South Africa, Oromo refugees all over the world and Oromos in Ethiopia who are experiencing severe and violent oppression under the Ethiopian People Revolutionary Democratic Front, I congratulate the African National Congress, the People of South Africa and you on the 104th anniversary of the ANC.

Oromo is one of the largest and indigenous African groups on the continent and the largest single ethnic group in Ethiopia. During the nineteenth century, the country of Abyssinia was never colonized by any European power as happened to nations and regions across the rest of Africa. However, at that time, there was a struggle for power in Abyssinia. The King of Shewa (later Emperor Menelik II), in his pursuit of the imperial crown, saw an opportunity to augment his wealth, military power, and territorial domination by expropriating the lands of the Oromo people lying to the south of Abyssinia and directly or indirectly enslaving many Oromo children. He also imposed taxes on all Oromo slaves (almost all children) taken through his kingdom en route to the Arab slave markets across the Red Sea. In this way, Menelik II managed to bring the Oromo people to their knees by breaking their resistance, taking away their land, their livelihoods, and their children. The fall of the Oromo nation paved the way for the conquering of all the southern nations and nationalities including the expropriation of their lands to create the territory defined and known today as Ethiopia.

Since colonization by Menelik II, Oromo have suffered at the hands of successive Ethiopian rulers. A recent historical study has shown that a group of sixty-four liberated Oromo slave children arrived at Lovedale Institution in 1890 where they were cared for and educated. By 1910, one-third had returned home, one-third had died and one-third (23) chose to remain in South Africa. Among these was Bisho Jarsa, the grandmother of the late Dr. Alexander Neville, the renowned intellectual, educationalist, human rights activist and struggle hero.

When Menelik II was succeeded by Emperor Haile Selassie, conditions became even worse for the Oromo people and the other colonized nations and nationalities. It was under this regime that Oromos and others started to organize themselves clandestinely. The first Oromo civil organization called the Macha-Tullama Welfare Association was founded in 1960 by General Tadesse Biru and other Oromo nationals from a different part of the Oromia regions. The objective of the Macha-Tullama Welfare Association was to create awareness and lay the foundation for the Oromo liberation struggle. This civil organization was later banned by the regime of Hailie Selassie and General Tadesse Biru and others were jailed. Many members were killed and others forced to leave the country.

General Tadesse Biru was not only the founder of the Macha-Tullama Welfare Association but was also among the founding members of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). When the late President Nelson Mandela arrived in Ethiopia in 1962, General Tadesse Biru personally trained him in guerilla warfare.

The death of Haile Selassie and the rise of Mengistu Haile Mariam failed to bring about desired change, the change that the oppressed people had hoped for. Instead, the Soviet-backed group proved even worse, creating a one-party Communist state in 1975 under the name of Derg.Opposition political parties and civil organizations came under attack. The “red terror” under the Mengistu regime crushed all organizations and people who sought freedom, peace and democracy. Many people were treated in the barbaric and brutal manner (including the jailed General Tadesse Biru). Many Oromo sons and daughters were mercilessly murdered, their bodies tied to cars and dragged on the streets of Addis Ababa and other cities. Parents were forced to buy the bodies of their loved ones bodies in order to bury them.

Under the regime’s program of villagization, Oromo land was once again taken from them and given to settlers from the northern part of the Ethiopian empire, especially to the Amharas and Tigreans. The regime tried to stamp out the identity, language and culture of the Oromo people, replacing these, through a National Literacy Campaign, with the language and culture of the Habesha (the Amhara, Tigray and Gurage people).

After 17 years of iron-fist rule, the Derg regime was overthrown by three organizations namely the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), the Ethiopian People Revolutionary Democratic Front (ERDF) and the Eritrean People Liberation Front (EPLF).The above mentioned three main organizations formed the Transitional Government of Ethiopia under a Transitional Charter.

There was great of hope for the people of Ethiopia in general and the Oromo nation and other colonized nationalities in particular. The oppressed people of the empire envisaged that they would soon enjoy full democracy and that all human rights would be safe-guarded in terms of the right to self-determination as recognized internationally and enshrined in the UN charter. Article 39 of the Ethiopian Constitution, adopted in 1991, clearly indicates the right of self-determination up to secession: “Every nation, nationality or people in Ethiopia shall have the unrestricted right to self-determination up to secession.”

The EPRDF is presently in power and has enjoyed the support of the USA and western governments since the collapse Mengistu regime. The idea of democracy, the rule of law and constitutionalism never materialized as promised. The Article only worked for Eritreans and Oromo and others again subjected to the same inhuman treatment under this new Abyssinian ruler. The subjugation, marginalization and all kinds of oppression have been perpetuated systematically. The suffering of the oppressed people increased more than ever before. The non-functioning, ethnic-based federal system was instituted to deceive both international communities and people of the country. The EPRDF-TPLF, led by the late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, dominated political and economic power in the empire. Eventually, the hopes of the oppressed people evaporated and peoples’ organizations like the OLF were forced to abandon their support for the Transitional Charter. With the support of western powers, the EPRDF cemented its domination. OLF members, sympathizers and Oromo people from all walks of life have been jailed, tortured, raped, dehumanized and killed. Even the lives of those who fled, seeking refuge in neighboring countries, were not spared. They have been hunted down by EPRDF agents with the co-operation of Ethiopian embassies in these territories. These embassies have played a huge role in assassinating Oromo refugees, as well as hijacking and secretly (or openly) taken back to Ethiopia. Those who were returned to Ethiopia in this way were either killed, are languishing in jail or have simply disappeared. This happened in Djibouti, Sudan, Somalia and especially Kenya. In Kenya, not only Oromo from Oromia were faced with cruelty but also, the indigenous Kenyan citizens of Oromo origin suffered equally. The co-operation between Ethiopian and Kenya security agencies has been very strong in destroying Oromo opposition and refugees. However, the above-mentioned inhumanities have never deterred the Oromo people from demanding their birth rights. On different occasions, the people have risen against the colonizers and have continued with their resistance.

Besides organized Oromo resistance and political activities among the Oromo in the diaspora, the people residing within the empire have risen against the brutal regime of Ethiopia since the 1995 election. The system imposed at that time was marred by irregularities and the people showed their dissatisfaction and disobedience to the TPLF regime.  The Ethiopian security forces and the military responded with brutality in their attempts to crush these popular uprisings.

Elections in Ethiopia are not free and fair; they are held just for formality. Post-election, many have been killed, maimed and jailed. The irregularities of these so-called elections in the empire have raised concern inside and outside the country. Many human right organizations like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have voiced their concern but these have only landed on deaf ears in the Ethiopian ruling party and among the international governments. Instead of pressuring the regime to desist from these irregularities, international donors have increased their material aid and support. Western funding has not been used for the purposes the donations were made. Instead of being used to support intended development programs, western aid has been used to crush opposition groups, inside the country and in the diaspora. Mostly, this external funding has been used to equip the regime’s security and military forces. The recent “election,” which reflected 100% support for the EPRDF, was another indication of dictatorship and undemocratic nature of TPLF regime. Currently, there is no one single elected opposition member of the Ethiopian Parliament. Surprisingly, this regime is enjoying legitimacy according to international countries and other African countries in general.

The most powerful tool that the EPRDF regime is using is self-crafted anti-terror law. This law overrides all laws in the country—including all human rights laws. The law is designed to silence all opposition parties, especially the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) and the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF).

Currently, the Ethiopian regime is busy changing its system of oppression. In the long and arduous struggle for freedom and democracy, Oromos and other colonized nations and nationalities have regained certain rights. These rights include the development of their culture and the right to use their languages, regaining of their geographical boundaries etc. When people try to hang on to the fragments of rights(which are the fruits of many sacrifices and struggling for more to the extent of self-determination), the EPRDF regime, on the contrary, is busy reversing these hard-won rights. This pull and push situation make Ethiopia hell on earth and the situation is worst of all in the Oromia region. Current action by the brutal EPRDF regime in the Oromia region includes:

1. From the period of Transition, Oromos have been locked out of any powerful political positions, including surrogate organizations like the Oromo Peoples’ Democratic Organization (OPDO). Under the EPRDF, no Oromo nationals are allowed to hold any important portfolio. All key political positions are deliberately reserved for members of the TPLF.
2. After war after devastating war with Mengistu H. Mariam, all regions ought to have experienced programs of rebuilding and development. However, development programs mainly focused on the Tigray region while other regions remained to suffer.
3. Business opportunities have been given 100% to Tigray nationals. Other businessmen and women were totally illegalized, and imports and exports were reserved to Tigray son and daughters at the expense of others.
4. The education system was modified to accommodate the children of the current regime, scholarships being based on proven loyalty to the regime. When it comes to job opportunities, getting a decent job is not done on merit but dependent on loyalty to the EPRDF. In order for one to get a job, he or she must be a member of the EPRDF. Oromo nationals must be members of the surrogate organization, the OPDO, to be considered for a position.
5. In addition, to the above-mentioned marginalization and exploitation, basic human rights—like freedom of speech, freedom of association, freedom of assembly and freedom of expression—of all the colonized peoples were nullified. The ruling regime will not tolerate any individual or group of individuals speaking out against the regime unless these individuals or organizations support the mighty EPRDF forces. The only speech allowed is praise of the ruling regime and of the individuals within these circles. Those fundamental freedoms put on paper only to deceive western donor countries and international communities.
6. Land-grabbing had its roots under Menelik II. The current regime is even more brutal. EPRDF is openly putting Oromo land on sale. Under the pretext of land for investors, land-grabbing reached an alarming level. Oromo farmers are losing their lands to the so-called investors, EPRDF officials are busy selling and sharing Oromo land. The farmers have not only lost their land but also their livelihood and have been reduced to begging on the streets of Addis Ababa.
7. As if the already existing marginalization and exploitation were not enough, the current Addis Ababa Master Plan was introduced to expropriate more Oromo land and, once and for all, to disintegrate Oromia regional boundaries. The intention was not to develop Addis Ababa but to break Oromo national unity and put down the claim of Oromo to Addis Ababa (Finfinne)—the cities surrounded by the Oromia Region—as their capital.
8. The current wave of Oromo resistance is to stop these unacceptable moves by Ethiopian colonizers which have targeted the very existence of the Oromo people and the Oromia Region. Many students (from primary school to university level), farmers and Oromo from all other walks of life in Oromia and in the diaspora have been openly objecting and demanding the cancelation of the Addis Ababa Master Plan. The ultimate goal is for the total freedom of Oromia from all kinds of subjugation. Oromos will continue to face unimaginable, inhumane, violent suppression and death at the hands of these colonizers unless some peace loving international communities act in time. Our nation is bleeding.

At this darkest moment, we humbly request you and your government to take timely action to save the Oromo nation and the other colonized nations and nationalities:

1. The Oromo people stood by the ANC and the people of South Africa during your long and difficult struggle against the illegal and unjust apartheid regime.
2. The Oromo people were part and parcel in fighting against the apartheid regime by giving material and technical support. In 1962, when Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela fled to Ethiopia, his personal trainer was patriot-martyr General Tadesse Biru. General Biru was the founding father of Oromo Liberation Front. While the late President Mandela lived to realize some of his dreams, General Tadesse was killed by the brutal Derg regime without seeing a free Oromia. Our humble request to you and your ANC-led government is to give attention to ending the suffering of the Oromo people.
3. The ANC and the South African government have significant power and influence on the African political economy. Utilizing these influences through an organization like the African Union (AU), you and your government can put pressure on the current Ethiopian regime to stop all the atrocities they are currently committing against the unarmed Oromo masses. For the sake of peace, the Article 2 of AU charter should be by-passed. According to this particular article another African country cannot interfere in another country internal matter. What is happening in Ethiopia transcends being simply an internal matter.
4. The current uprising of Oromo students is very similar to the 1976 Soweto Uprising. Unarmed Oromo students are falling like leaves by bullets fired by the EPRDF security forces. Primary school children as young as 8 years old have been killed. Mass arrest, torture, disappearance and rape have become daily occurrences. The current death toll has reached 178. This figure only indicates a smaller portion of the actual number of deaths. The number can be tripled but the absence of media freedom prevents such reporting. All educational institutions have become military camps and the teaching and learning process have been interrupted. While children of colonizers enjoy a normal learning environment, Oromo educational institutions have become a war front. We fear the Oromo people will be forced to produce an ignorant generation in the 21st Not only the Oromo people but the entire African continent cannot afford this. Your government can save us from this happening.
5. It seems the international communities have turned their backs on the African continent in generally, and on the Oromo nation in particular. The west acts according to their own interest and we have many instances indicating how their self-interest comes first rather than human suffering. Many civil wars result from neglect such as this. If the current situation Ethiopia is neglected it will lead to fully-fledged civil war which will not only destabilize the empire but the entire region as well. We have no doubt that you and your government have the power to stop this from happening.
6. You and the ANC-led government have experienced how failed governments eventually become the breeding ground for extremist groups and make life hell for all residents of that particular region. Refugees from these failed nations have fled as far as Europe and South Africa and have become a burden on the limited economic system. The stress on the economic system has brought about many xenophobic attacks. Solving the problem at source is preferable. This can only happen when a powerful government like South Africa can act.
7. There are, at long last, some signs that the international community is beginning to listen and is taking note of the ongoing human rights violations being perpetrated by the Ethiopian authorities. For example, the mainstream international media are beginning to report on the most recent uprisings starting in November in which at 178 Oromo people have been killed.
8. In addition, the US Department of State issued a statement on 14 January 2016 calling on the Ethiopian Government “to refrain from silencing dissent and to protect the constitutionally enshrined rights of all citizens, including the right to gather peacefully, to write, and to speak freely as voices of a diverse nation. We call for the release of those imprisoned for exercising their rights, such as political party leaders and journalists.”
9. And, as recently as21 January 2016, the European Parliament approved an Official Resolution of the EU on the Situation in Ethiopia which “Strongly condemns the recent use of excessive force by the security forces in Oromia and in all Ethiopian regions and the increased number of cases of human rights violations; expresses its condolences to the families of the victims and urges the immediate release of all those jailed for exercising their rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression …The EU, as the single largest donor, should ensure that EU development assistance is not contributing to human rights violations in Ethiopia.”

We call on you, your South African government, African heads of states and the international community, local and international right organizations that can play positive roles to act before it is too late.

Thank you

Denge Garse (Oromo People Association)

Copies to:

1. Amnesty International (South Africa)
   3 Glenhove Street
   Rosebank
   2196  JOHANNESBURG
   Phone: +27 011 2836000
   Fax:     +27 011 4471734
2. ACTION SUPPORT CENTRE
   Physical Address:
   12 Clamart Street Corner Menton Street
   Clamart House Lower Level 4,
   Richmond, JohannesburgPostal Address:
   Postnet Suite #145,
   Private Bag X9, Melville, 2109
   South Africa
   Tel :011 482 2453/7442
   Fax:011 482 2484
   Blog: www.actionsupportcentre.co.za
3. Consortium For Refugees And Migrants In South Africa (CORMSA)
   For all general information, please contact us: info@cormsa.org.za
   501 Heerengracht
   87 De Korte Street
   Braamfontein
   Johanneburg 2001
   2001, South Africa.Tel: +27 11 403 7560
   Fax: +27 11 403 7559
   Email address:  info@fhr.org.za
   Telephone numbers: + 27 (0) 11-484-0390
4. Foundation for Human Rights
   Physical Address:
   Old Trafford 3 Building
   Isle of Houghton
   36 Boundary Road
   Parktown, JohannesburgPostal Address:
   Private Bag X124
   Braamfontein 2017
   Johannesburg
   South Africa
5. Human Rights Information and Documentation Systems
   Email: info@huridocs.org
   Phone: +41 22 755 52 52
   Address: 3, rue de Varembé, 1202 Geneva (4th floor)
6. Pan African Parliament
   19 Richards Drive, Gallagher Estate
   Midrand, Johannesburg
   South Africa
   T: +27 (011)5455000
   E: info@panafricanparliament.org
7. Muslim Judicial Council
   Headquarters
   20 Cashel Ave, Zwartdam, Cape Town, 7760Postal Address
   P.O.  BOX 38311, Gatesville, 7766
   Republic of South Africa
   Tel:      + 27 (21) 684 4600
   Fax:     + 27 (21) 696 5154
   E-mail:             idaarah@mjc.org.za
8. South African Council of Churches
   Contact details
   Telephone: +27 (0) 11 241 7800
   Fax: +27 (0)11 492 1448
   Email: support@sacc.org.za
   National Head Office
   Khotso House
   62 Marshall Street
   Johannesburg
   South Africa
9. South Africa Forum for International Solidarity
   CONTACT US
   4th floor Elephant House,
   105 Market Street,
   Johannesburg
   Tel: 011 333 1730
   Fax: 011 333 1735
   Website: www.safis.org.za
10. South African Catholic Bishops Conference
    Contact:
    Fr Grant Emmanuel
    SACBC
    399 Paul Kruger Street
    PO BOX 941
    Pretoria
    0001
    Tel: +27 12 323 6458
    Fax: +27 12 326 6218
11. South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC)
    Contacts 
    Ramadimeja Legodi: rlegodi@sahrc.org.za
    Nomfundo Khulu: nkhulu@sahrc.org.za
    Mpho Tshimane: mtshimane@sahrc.org.za
    Private Bag X2700
    Houghton
    2041
    Tel: 011 877 3803
    Fax: 011 403 0625
12. The Human Rights Institute of South Africa (HURISA)
    Contact Us
    Head Office:
    31 Quinn Street,
    Newtown,
    Johannesburg, 2001
    SOUTH AFRICA
    Tel: 011 492 1103
    Fax: 011 492 0552
    Website: www.hurisa.org.za
13. The Thabo Mbeki Foundation
    6-10 Riviera office park
    Riviera Road
    Block D
    Killarney
    2193, Gauteng
14. Economic Freedom Fighters
    78 De Korte,
    Braamfontein,
    Johannesburg
    Name: Godrich Gardee
    Cell: 082 370 8402
    Email: ggardee@effighters.org.za
    Rank: Secretary General
15. DA Leader’s Office
    Tel: +27 (0) 21 465 1431
    Fax: +27 (0) 21 466 8394
    Email: leader@da.org.za Postal Address:
    The Democratic Alliance
    P.O. Box 15
    Cape Town
    8000Physical Address:
    Marks Building (2nd and 3rd Floor)
    Parliament
    Plein Street
    Cape Town
16. Institute For Security Studies (ISS)
    ISS Pretoria
    Block C, Brooklyn Court
    361 Veale Street
    New Muckleneuk
    Pretoria 0181P.O. Box 1787
    Brooklyn Square
    Pretoria 0075
    Tel       +27 12 346 9500/2
    Fax       +27 12 460 0998
    Email:  pretoria@issafrica.org

What Right do the Oromo people have to Finfinne?

march 3, 2016 in articles, oromia

Begna F. Dugassa[1], Ph.D

Since November 2015 to today (March 3, 2016), Oromia has been engulfed by massive political protests. The protest is the biggest ever recorded in Oromia region. As of today about 400 people have been killed, hundreds wounded and thousands imprisoned.  Initially, the
protesters have been demanding the following:

1. Return confiscated Oromo land to the Oromo farmers.
2. “No!” to the Addis Ababa master plan (a plan intended to evict Oromo farmers and expand the cityinto Oromia).
3. Bring Finfinne (Addis Ababa) back under Oromia’s jurisdiction as it belongs to the Oromo people both geographically and historically.
4. Make the Oromo language one of the federal government’s working languages.
5. End the structural, socio-economic marginalization of the Oromo people.
6. Ensure true representation of the Oromo people in a genuine federation structure in the Ethiopian state.

As the Ethiopian government simply intensified the killing and the imprisonment of the protesters, the protestors added more political slogans:

7. Stop the killings, torture, mass imprisonments and detentions in Oromia.
8. Release political prisoners and bring the perpetrators to justice.
9. Pay compensation to the victims of the killings, torture and
   unlawful imprisonments.

As the protests continued, the protesters noticed that privately and publicly owned
corporations were siding with the Ethiopian government. This created more slogans.

10. The Oromo natural resources belong to the Oromo people.
11. Bring Dire Dawa & Awaday back under Oromia’s jurisdiction.
12. We need to have self-rule
13. No military rule
14. “No! “to TPLF/OPDO rule

In response to the political demand “No to the Addis Ababa master plan”, the Oromo Peoples Democratic Organization (OPDO), believed to have been formed by the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF) and controlled by the TPLF led Ethiopian government, declared that they would stop the master plan. They also said they would form a study group that would identify the right of the Oromo people to Finfinne. In this paper, I intend to provoke discussion around this point.
Before I identify what constitutes the right of the Oromo people to Finfinne, I want to briefly explore the history and the processes of the making of Finfinne as the Ethiopian capital. In addition, I will explore the wrongs that flowed from making the capital and the discriminatory social policies of consecutive Ethiopian regimes.

Oromia was conquered by the Abyssinian king Menelik II, supported by the European empire builders in 1880s. Soon after the conquest, the wife of the king visited Finfinne then a village and she liked the place and named it Addis Ababa = New Flower.  As a result, the name of the Oromo village Finfinne was changed to Addis Ababa and made the Ethiopian capital.  The Abyssinian invasion was brutal; many Oromos were killed and some of them were sold into slavery.  In addition, from Finfinne and surrounding areas thousands of people were evicted from their homes and until quite recently- they were not allowed to resettle.

This means resulting from the conquest five major wrongs occurred, in Oromia and Finfinne in particular. The first wrong is that Oromo social institutions were banned and their social support systems were delegitimized. The second wrong is that the Oromo people were evicted from their lands with no compensation and forced to flee in different directions.  Those who stayed behind became serfs and were forced to provide free labor and give three-quarters of their harvests to the Abyssinians.

Third, Oromo political institutions such as Gadaa were banned and policy making and decision-making powers were left for Abyssinians. Fourth, the Oromo culture, language and religious institutions i.e. Qaalu were banned and replaced with the Abyssinian culture and institutions. The fifth wrong is that the natural forests of Oromia were destroyed and this damaged the natural environment of Oromia.  In summary, in the colonial conquest, the social, economic, political, cultural and environmental rights of the Oromo people were violated. This means the rights of the Oromo people to live dignified lives were disregarded.

The violation of the social, economic, political, cultural and environmental rights are known to increase exposure to biological, chemical, physical, psycho-chemical and ergonomic hazards. It is responsible to poverty, diseases higher illiteracy, and lack of clean water. Indeed, the Oromo oral story suggests that evictions from their homeland of Finfinne were not pleasant experiences. Oromos expressed their feelings in phrases such as Garaa nugubatee = Gut-wrenching, Dhukubaa Onee Nuti Ta’e = Heart rending, Boquu Nucabee = Emotionally shattering,  Ilkaan Nyaataa Nuhambisse = made us life time grit our teeth. For these reasons, Finfinne (Addis Ababa) also known as Shagari. The word Shagar is derived from the Amharic word ችግር = chigiri, which means hardship. The name Shagari came after the conquest and it is referring to the place where the Oromo people faced extreme hardship.

Ethiopia is one of the founders of the United Nations (UN). However, consecutive Ethiopian regimes never respected the human rights principles on which the UN was formed.  The UN promotes the member states respect the inherent dignity of the human person.  This necessitates the TPLF leadership to move away from the old colonial and racist mindset, driven to benefit one ethnic group into inclusive politics and guarantee the fair distribution of privileges and risks.  To regard the rights of the Oromo people to Finfinne, the wrongs done to them should be recognized and corrected.  Recognizing the wrongs and correcting them creates healthy social conditions in which Oromo people and others can live dignified lives.

What are the Rights of Oromo people to Finfinne?
Understanding the problem is halfway in finding the solution; the first step is recognizing the wrongs of the past and present.  The second step is respecting the social, economic, political, cultural and environmental rights and allowing the Oromo people to freely exercise their rights and freely rejuvenate their institutions. The third step is correcting those wrongs.

In recognizing the wrongs of the past and present, it is important to recognize that certain sectors of society have benefited/ing from the wrongs perpetuated against the Oromo people. For example, when Oromo social institutions were banned and their social support systems suppressed, they lost the systems that have maintained their social fabric for centuries. By that, as the Oromo people lose their social capital and Abyssinians got better opportunity to build their own. When Oromos are evicted from their homes and farms their economic well-being is negatively affected. Those who benefit from the eviction are Abyssinians who settled on the Oromo land. When Oromo cultural rights are violated, many Abyssinian elites benefited from this also.  It is for this reason, the Ethiopian government has been subsidizing the Abyssinian culture and knowledge. This made mastering the Abyssinian culture a rewarding profession. This allowed as the Abyssinian culture thrives the Oromo culture to decline. There are cases where Oromo individuals have contributed major roles to the development of Abyssinian art and culture. Those Oromo nationals, who have contributed to the development of Abyssinian art and culture, would have rather contributed to the development of Oromo art and culture if the rights of Oromo people had been respected.

As Oromo political rights were violated, Oromo political institutions such as Gada and Siiqee were banned or their importance has reduced. As a result, the Oromo people have been denied the right to decide on their affairs, develop their own policies, identify their social problems and make efforts to solve these problems. As Oromo political rights were violated, the Abyssinians imposed their monarchial and dictatorial rule of law, a law designed to benefit the Abyssinian elites. For example, Siiqee is an Oromo women’s institution, organized to bring checks and balances into gender relations. Banning the Siiqee institution and imposing Abyssinian culture and institution on the Oromo people has deepened male domination.

Recognizing the wrongs of the past and present with regard to the environment means accepting differences in the ways the Oromo people and Abyssinians see and care the environment.  The Oromo worldview about the environment is more sustainable. Correcting entails allowing the development of environmental policies based on the Oromo world views. The next questions are: How can these wrongs corrected? What are the theoretical foundations or the moral reasoning on which these rights should be corrected? Before I suggest the ways those wrongs should be corrected, I want to briefly discuss the theoretical foundation on which my argument is based.

The Oromo people in general and the Tulama clan and the Galaan sub-clan in particular are indigenous to Finfinne and surrounding area.  No moral or legal theories can deny that Oromos are indigenous to Finfinne.  Regarding the right of Oromo people to Finfinne is to undo the possible wrongful damages. Therefore, we need to apply the indigenous rights theory and practices to understand the political demands of the Oromo people and work to undo the wrongful damages. This implies that all the social, economic, political, cultural and environmental wrongs should be corrected or repaired and from now onward all policies should be framed in consistency with the views, perspectives and aspirations of the Oromo people. All the development projects should be geared to first benefit the Oromo people. Job opportunities should give priority to employing the Oromo people. Bring Finfinne back under Oromia’s jurisdiction as it belongs to the Oromo people both geographically and historically. Enough seats should be allocated in the political policy making positions to Oromo nationals.

The population of the Oromo people in Finfinne constitutes about twenty percent. In their own city the Oromos are the second largest ethno/national group. The evictions and the discriminatory policies of the Ethiopian government policies are responsible for the fewer number of Oromos in Finfinne. Therefore, correcting the wrong should include subsidizing the resettlement of Oromo people in Finfinne.
When it comes to the violation of cultural rights, correcting the wrong should include making the Oromo language the second official language and guaranteeing the Oromo people the right to educate their children in school in their language so they can transfer their knowledge and wisdom.  Given that the Oromo language and Oromo religion (Waqefaata) has been banned, many Oromos today who were born and raised in Finfinne do not speak the Oromo language and practice their ancestral religion.   Hence, correcting the wrong should include funding adult education and creating favorable conditions for many Oromos who do not speak Oromo language to be able to learn their own native tongue. This includes subsidizing the building of Galma (the place where Waqefaatas meet for prayer) and creating favorable conditions for the teaching of Waqefaata to freely flourish.

I end my arguments asking my readers to think the ways we can correct the wrongs of the past and present and then develop transformative policies and guarantee Finfinne to be multi-cultural and equitable city.

Begna F. Dugassa

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[1] Begna Dugassa, Ph.D., promotes human rights and health. He researches and writes in human rights and public health.  His recent work is published in the Journal of Preventive Medicine in February 2016. The title of the article: Free Media as the Social Determinants of Health: The Case of Oromia Regional State in Ethiopia.

Regjeringen lyver om stabilitet i Etiopia

KARL ELDAR EVANG TALSMANN FOR FORENINGEN AV TOLVTE JANUAR

OPPDATERT: 03.MAR. 2016 15:28

 PUBLISERT: 03.MAR. 2016 15:29

Den siste tiden har jeg daglig fått forferdelige bilder sendt til meg i privat postkasse på Facebook. Det er bilder av etiopiske studenter og barn og som er skutt og drept av myndighetens sikkerhetsstyrker.

Jeg har lagt ut et annet bilde på veggen min, av tidligere statssekretær i Justisdepartementet, Jøran Kallmyr, som stolt og smilende står hånd i hånd med den etiopiske utenriksministeren, Dr. Tedros Adhanom. Etiopiske myndigheter siterer den norske regjeringen på sine sider etter besøket 9. februar: «Joran Kallmyr said Norway recognizes the fact that Ethiopia is a country with economic and political stability… » (Ethiopian Government).

Men Kallmyr lyver, og det gjør de etiopiske myndighetene også. Det er ikke politisk stabilitet i Etiopia, det er krise. Siden begynnelsen av november har det vært store demonstrasjoner, og myndighetenes styrker har svart med å skyte direkte inn i folkemengder og å foreta massearrestasjoner. 22. februar offentliggjorde Human Rights Service en rapport hvor de skriver at det har vært daglige drap (anslag samlet over 200) i Oromo-regionen i Etiopia de siste månedene.

Og myndighetenes jakt på demonstranter fortsetter.

Etter besøket i Etiopia tidlig i februar er den norske regjeringen tilsynelatende ikke opptatt av drap på studenter. Regjeringen er opptatt av en eneste ting. Å tvangssende etiopiere i Norge til Etiopia! Det er grunn til å spørre: for enhver pris?

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December 7, 2015
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”Finfinnee/Addis Abeba Master Plan” is annexation of Oromo land and annihilation of Oromo identity in Finfinnee and its environs

We members of the Oromoo community in Sweden, Gurmuu Oromoo, would like to bring to the attention of international community the suffering of Oromo people who are continuously being deprived of their internationally recognized human rights by the tyranny regime in Ethiopia.

Violating its own constitution, the TPLF regime is trying to maneuver and implement “Finfinnee Master Plan” despite of the overwhelming rejection by the Oromo people. The forced eviction of Oromos from their ancestral land such as Finfinnee started by the Emperor Menelik II is now underway at a high rate by TPLF, the current successor of Abbysinian oppressive regimes. More and more Oromo villages, towns and farmland surrounding Finfinnee are being taken away by TPLF government and sold to new comers leading to complete destruction of the livelihood of the evicted Oromos.

The TPLF regime is working day and night to fundamentally change the demography in these targeted Oromo areas and facilitate its evil plan of destroying Oromo villages, cultures, and livelihood. What happens to those evicted Oromos is no concern for the TPLF regime.  Moreover, this tranny regime has set preconditions to change the original Oromo names of these villages and towns and erase any trace of Oromo connection to these areas. This is what has been practiced by previous Abbysinian regimes.

The TPLF regime is trying to misguide the international community as if the government has achieved high economic development while most of the people suffer from extreme poverty and hunger. In reality, the main sources of this claimed development is obtained by selling out the confiscated Oromo land surrounding Finfinnee and other places at extremely high prices while Oromo farmers are suffering of poverty and exposed to hunger. Oromo people all over the world, especially Oromo school children in Ethiopia, are protesting peacefully against such harassment. However, the regime is killing and torturing these protesters and terrorizing the Oromo people all over Oromia. The current protest since end of November 2015 is the continuation of protest against ‘Finfinnee Master Plan’ started in April 2014, when more than 79 Oromos, mostly youths, were killed and several hundred Oromos were arrested and mistreated. The persecution continues unabated and getting more and more sophisticated, brutal and widespread as we write this paper.

We express our deep concern and anger regarding this unacceptable suffering of Oromo people in general and killing of peaceful school children. The Regime must refrain from this barbaric act, immediately cancel the implementation of unaccepted ‘Finfinnee Master Plan’ and stop evicting Oromo farmers from their land.

We appeal to the international community, international organizations, non-governmental organizations and governments to deliver appropriate leverage on the Ethiopian/TPLF regime to heed to the democratic and humanitarian request of the Oromo people as well as other oppressed people in Ethiopia and refrain from the heinous scheme of reducing the Oromo population to minority in order to have easy control over Oromo resources and force Oromo youths to migrate or remain in poverty.

We demand all-round liberation to the Oromo people and all oppressed people in Ethiopia!

Gurmuu-Oromo Community in Sweden (December 4, 2015)