FEATURE STORY: This Day in Oromo History - July 12
The special interest of the State of Oromia in Addis Ababa (Finfinne) was recognized and guaranteed in the 1994 Ethiopian Constitution. Contrary to this, the Oromia Council (also called Caffee Oromiyaa), which was entirely composed of members of the ruling party, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), passed an order to move all Oromo institutions out of Finfinne on July 12, 2000.
For several years following this eviction bill, the Oromo people voiced their strong opposition to the order through peaceful means under the leadership of the Macha and Tullama Association. In the aftermath, there were large-scale arrests and deaths, particularly of students at all levels, that were reported by human rights watchdog organizations. The leaders of the Macha and Tullama Association, Obbo Diribi Demissie & Obbo Gemechu Feyera, were among those arrested together with other prominent members of the Association in May 2004.
Nearly 5 years after the eviction bill first passed and a few months after the relocation of the Oromo institutions away from Finfinne, the Executive Committee of the Oromo People's Democratic Organization (OPDO), a member of EPRDF, passed a decision to move the Oromo institutions back to Finfinne on Jun 10, 2005. This decision was only seen as a political maneuver by the ruling party to court Oromo support during the stand-off between the ruling party and the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) after the 2005 Election.
Other resources: VoiceFinfinne.org, Gadaa.com Human Rights Section, Oromia Online