Gadaa.com

2012-02-01T03:49:00.001-05:00

History and the Current Situation Speak for Oromo Independence

A Response to Jijjiirama and the Drum-Beaters of the Anti-Oromia Camp

By Mekuria Bulcha*

The cultural, linguistic and political contours of a modern Oromo nation have taken concrete shapes including an Oromo state in the form of the Oromia regional state with a specific territory and officially demarcated geographically territory. For more than two decades the Oromo have been conducting their educational, administrative and judicial affairs in their own language. This was unthinkable just two decades ago. The contributions made by Oromo studies during the last thirty years have enabled the Oromo people to find pride in their own history and culture. In spite of all these achievements, the Oromo are still under an intolerable alien rule with the obvious implication that independence is the best option for consolidating what the Oromo have so far achieved and will achieve in the future. It is for this reason that the Oromo people are conducting both political and armed struggle. Regrettably, however, there are obstructionist forces which are poised not only to foil the struggle but also reverse and/or jeopardize the fruits of our people’s bitter struggle and ultimate sacrifices.

This article is a commentary on the much publicized claims of the Jijjiirama faction stating that “the question of Oromo independence is dropped by the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF)” and that such a question “was not part of the OLF political program” in the first place (ESAT January 1, 2012). The statements made by the group have stirred up strong feelings among both the anti- and pro-OLF groups and individuals.

Many observers in the “Ethiopian unity” or anti-OLF (anti-Oromia) camp have called the position taken by General Kamal’s group a heroic action in the service of their mother country. One of them has, in fact, argued in the Ethiopian Review (ER) that “There is nothing that the tiny minority of the old faction or anyone can do to change this reality.” By the “tiny minority” he means those Oromos who wrote the OLF political program, struggled for decades, and put in place the contours of the emerging Oromo nation and state which I have described above. Showering laudatory phrases on Jijjiirama another thrilled Ethiopian called the move of the faction the “return of the prodigal son” from a political “wilderness” after forty years. It is also stated that all Ethiopians owe Brigadier General Kamal Galchu “a debt of gratitude for his farsighted leadership” (ER January 8, 2012). A reporter in Finfinne Times (January 8, 2012) thanked him for putting back on track the Oromo movement that has been derailed by “confused and timid” OLF leaders for years. The euphoria, even if ephemeral as indicated by other observers, is understandable. The position taken by General Kamal Galchu has given the Amhara elite a hope of recapturing the political power they lost to their Tigrayan cousins twenty years ago. However, the decision of the Jijjiirama group is not only treacherous, but is also doomed to fail. Many Oromos accuse its leaders for being enemy agents who joined the OLF to “destroy” it and not to liberate our people in the first place.

However, in my opinion, condemning the stand taken by General Kamal Galchu’s group is not enough in itself. We must tell the members of the faction to stop the treason they are committing before it is too late, use the situation created as an opportunity to consolidate the national struggle for independence, and also inform all the drum-beaters who are supporting the concessions made by the Jijjiirama faction that the noises they are making cannot persuade the Oromo people to support General Kamal Galchu’s politics of “New Federal Republic of Ethiopia” which, in fact, already exists under the current dictatorial regime

The Right to Live under Laws of Our own Making

As stated by the American social philosopher and Harvard Professor, Martha Nussbaum, national sovereignty is about a people’s right to “their autonomy, their right to give themselves laws of their own making.” National sovereignty is a right for which tens of thousands of Oromos have sacrificed their lives during the last forty years. As the authors of the “Oromo Voice against Tyranny” wrote in 1971 “For an Oromo worthy of the name, there is one and only one way to dignity, security, liberty and freedom. That single sure way is to hold a common front against his oppressors and their instruments of subjugation.” What is more “An Oromo has no empire to build, but a mission to break an imperial yoke, that makes his mission sacred and his sacrifices never too dear.” The mission is to restore lost liberty and to live with dignity in our country under our own laws. The action of the Jijjiirama faction clearly obstructs this mission.

Historically our Oromo ancestors have lived in their homeland making and obeying their own laws. They were ruled by leaders they elected periodically. But during the last 130 years we have lived under laws that were made by those who conquered our land. These laws were/are made not to protect our rights, but to deny us justice and human dignity in the country of our birth. General Waaqo Guutuu was pointing out that when he, in one of his mobilizing speeches during the Bale Oromo uprising of the 1960s, reminded his compatriots: “Remember they have plundered [our property] and distorted our historical legacy…they have violated our dignity calling us filthy Galla. Do you realize how many times you have been denied justice in their court of law?” General Waaqo was describing the life of Oromo subjects in the Ethiopian empire of that time.

Denial of justice in Ethiopian courts of law was experienced at all levels of our society: ordinary peasants and workers, men and women in private business and public service were and are being affected. It also affected high-ranking military officers and distinguished civil servants because they were/are Oromo. That is why General Taddese Birru told the Ethiopian court which sentenced him to death in 1968: “I am denied equality before the law because of my nationality. Because of my nationality I am treated differently.” Comparing the outrageous treatment he received to the way the 1960 abortive coup makers led by the Neway brothers were treated (they were not tortured or dispossessed their ranks), General Taddese asked the court: “Why am I disgraced and severely tortured?” What the General was saying was that he was tortured and disgraced because he is an Oromo while the 1960 coup makers were not.

It is common knowledge that General Taddese spent six years in Haile Selassie’s prison and was assassinated by the Dergue in 1975. General Waaqo also spent his last days in exile and died in Kenya in 2006. What is not well known is that the two Oromo leaders struggled to improve the conditions of their people and not to do any harm to Ethiopia. Normally, governments listen to the grievances of citizens, accommodate the claims they make, and allow them to live in peace. That has never been the case with those who ruled and are still ruling Ethiopia. They exercised and are still exercising tyranny against all the peoples they ruled. However, their cruellest and crudest tyranny has been exercised against the Oromo because they hate and fear them most. The “Oromo Voice against Tyranny” mentioned above was written based on the experience the two organizations, namely Bale Oromo uprising and particularly of the leaders of the Macca-Tuulama Association. Since then, thousands of Oromo politicians have been jailed, tortured, and murdered without justice. Denied human rights and justice, thousands more are in Meles Zenawi’s prisons at the moment.

Jijjiirama’s New Political Program, Ginbot 7 and the Oromo Question

A survey conducted in 2003/4 by Edmond Keller indicates that the wish of 76 per cent of the Oromo respondents is to live in their own independent state. The survey included samples for each nationality in Ethiopia and was gathered, analyzed, and compared using statistical methods which ensure a degree of reliability of the information produced by Keller’s survey.

The findings of Keller’s survey contradict both the political program of the Jijjiirama faction and the policy of Ginbot 7 which is opposed to the division of the Ethiopian state along ethnic lines. Dr. Berhanu Nega, the leader of Ginbot 7, has remarked that it was the Oromo prisoners’ bitter feelings against Ethiopia he observed in Qallitti prison which made him to go into politics. He said what disturbed him most was that the prisoners were saying that they were colonial subjects and not Ethiopians. Dr. Berhanu went into politics to solve this problem among others. His solution to the Oromo problem is simple and his recommendations are the following: (a) convince the Oromo people that they are Ethiopians like anybody else, (b) discourage their talk about an independent Oromo state, and (c) reject the notion that there are differences that based on ethnicity or nationality in Ethiopia. These recommendations appeared in the Ginbot 7 political program (15 May 2008) which declared unambiguously: “We reject the notion that the various ethnic groups of Ethiopia are social units tied together with mechanical force as false and divisive.” The policy statement can be read as an indirect criticism of the policy of the current Ethiopian regime. In other words, they are saying that only individual rights and interests must be respected. According to Ginbot 7 it is wrong to speak about collective rights and interests.

Indeed, the behavior of the Tigrayan ruling elite has reinforced Oromo rejection of Ethiopian identity making their dissatisfaction with life under the Ethiopian law to boil over the brims. However, Ginbot 7’s liberal policy will not endear Ethiopia to the Oromo people. Dr. Berhanu’s recommendations for the solution of the Oromo question show a superficial understanding of the problem he will solve. He thinks that the colonial question which the Oromo have raised for over forty years will suddenly disappear if people are encouraged not to think or talk about national or ethnic differences. His party’s policy about the question of nationalities is ahistorical. It reduces the division of Ethiopia into regional states to a consequence of TPLF’s evil intention. That Meles Zenawi’s regime is misusing ethnicity does not mean it is the inventor of the conflict out of which the national liberation fronts that signed the Transitional Charter of 1991 were born. The Transitional Charter acknowledged and stipulated the division of Ethiopia into regional states based on ethnicity and language because the recognition of the ethno-national identities and territorial autonomy of the different peoples was the only solution to Ethiopia’s political problem which, in July 1991, was on the brink of disintegration. Ginbot 7’s politics ignores the cultural, linguistic, and territorial identity which the Oromo people have claimed as their birth right and which, as mentioned at the beginning of this paper, they won through bitter struggle. Needless to say that Dr. Berhanu’s solution is already on a collision course with the interest of the Oromo people even as an idea.

The political declarations and speeches which the Jijjiirama leaders and representatives have been making during the last four weeks suggest that they have listened to Dr. Berhanu’s advice and accepted his party’s political program without contemplating what that means in reality. That is why what they are promising the Oromo people is just the opposite of what Dr. Berhanu and his party advocate. They say the Oromo people will, under Jijjirama’s new political program, retain the fruits of their long struggle. The achievements to be retained include, among others, territorial autonomy in the shape of the regional state of Oromia. The question is: if the Jijjiirama are going to form a government in alliance with the Ginbot 7 party and the like how are they going to do that?

One-Man One-Vote Democracy to Protect Oromo Rights and Interests

The Jijjiirama leaders’ answer to the questions I have raised above is “one-man one-vote democracy”. We are told not to be afraid of democracy because “the Oromo constitute a good 40 per cent of the Ethiopia population” (on Ethio-Current Affairs Paltalk of January 7, 2012). Liberal democracy is also what the Ethiopian political organizations including Ginbot 7 claim they have in their political programs. The first question is, will they practice it in case they manage to come to power?

In an interview with a journalist (ESAT, January 5, 2012 ), the former US Under-Secretary of State for Africa, Ambassador Herman Cohen said that he asked an Ethiopian Professor in Addis Ababa why Mr. Meles Zenawi’s regime which came to power promising democracy became authoritarian and the Professor answer was “Ethiopia cannot be governed any other way. This is our culture; this is how we govern ourselves.” What the unnamed Ethiopian Professor says is, of course, plain truth. Autocracy was the rule for centuries in Abyssinia and has been the political tradition of Ethiopia since it was created as a colonial empire at the end of the nineteenth century. The Jijjiirama leaders ought to know that as Oromos we are not afraid of democracy. But, I do not think that the Abyssinian elite will abandon their political culture and adopt democracy as quick as the Jijiirama leaders and other Oromos who believe in the “democratization of Ethiopia” as an answer for the Oromo question wish. The idea of “one-man one-vote democracy” is appealing to Oromos, but its application to the Ethiopian situation is undoubtedly problematic.

The second question is: can a “one-man one-vote democracy” enable the Oromo to protect their collective interests such as linguistic rights and territorial autonomy? I can say certainly not. We know that the Oromo at most constitute about 40 per cent of the Ethiopian population. Obviously, even if all Oromos were to vote and cast their ballots for a single party that is not enough to put a majority rule in place that can protect their linguistic or territorial autonomy. In fact, Jijjiirama’s political program jeopardizes the achievements the Oromo have made in terms of territorial autonomy and linguistic identity through a bitter struggle. It gives chance to the Amhara political opposition who vow to replace the present regional states by old style provinces in which Ethiopia was divided before 1991. The Oromo have to stick to the goal of independence and not to be swayed by the rosy promise of one-man one-vote democracy; they can exercise democracy without interference only in an independent state of Oromia. The one-man one-vote model of democracy is feasible when Oromia is independent. I will even argue that free Oromia can become a model state and “export” genuine democracy and political stability to the neighboring states and peoples in the Horn of Africa.

The OLF must continue with its politics of cooperation with the political organizations of oppressed nations, nationalities, and peoples who share the brutal history of Abyssinian colonial rule with our people. But, the Oromo people should, under no circumstance, impose their will on any people or nationality big or small. They should approach the political organizations of the non-Abyssinian peoples and cooperate with them in the struggle against the present regime; they must be ready to enter into closer cooperation that will result in mutual benefit in every field now and in the future.

Failure to Learn from History: Looking for Relief in a Wrong Corner

Experiences from the last 20 years show that the general Oromo attitude is that of the proverbial Oromo woman who rebuked her wily adversaries with resolute skepticism saying, “lama nansuufani”—“I won’t be fooled anymore.” It seems that the Jijjiirama leaders have not listened to the Oromo people whose message is “enough is enough, this time our destination is blisummaa (freedom) how rough and tough the journey may be.” They are tired of Oromo organizations and individuals who ally with Amhara or Tigrayan political organizations, keeping them under the nightmare of endless dictatorship. As it is now, whether they are working with the present regime or opposed to it, pro-Ethiopia Oromo political parties and organizations are lacking the support of the Oromo people.

Every Oromo knows that during the last four decades the Abyssinian ruling elite have won in all political games and grasped power using Oromo allies and making false promises. Once in power, all of them abused the Oromo and other peoples’ trust. The so-called revolutionary democracy of the TPLF is different from the “socialist democracy” of the Dergue, only in rhetoric. If not more, it is at least as brutal as the “socialism” of the Dergue. The Dergue intensified the cruelty that Haile Selassie’s regime exercised against the Oromo. It labeled those who were opposed to its politics as anti-revolutionary, killed them, read their names over the radio, displayed their corpses in public, and forced their families to pay the cost of the bullets the “state” used to kill them. The regime was ‘brutally frank’ about what it was doing. Its state-run radio program sang a deafening “fukera” called “yefiyel waxaxee” and the list of the executed was read for the nation and the families of the executed. Milan Kundera wrote that

Fascism was based on frank anti-humanism and created a moral situation which was perfectly clear and simple, black and white. … Fascism left humanist principles and virtues untouched, because it emerged as its antithesis. Stalinism was more dangerous for all its virtues and ideals, because it began as the advocate and gradually converted it into the opposite: love of humanity into cruelty, love of truth into denunciation, and so on.

The Dergue’s frank anti-humanism was a good example of fascism which Milan Kundera wrote about. The current regime kills its opponents without fanfare using methods that are even grimmer than those used by its predecessors. Its leaders are cynical: they preach democracy in public, but are maliciously tyrannical and sadistic in their secret political dealings. The evidence for that is overwhelming. TPLF tyranny against the Oromo is committed with impunity and complete disregard for human life. It began in 1992 when the TPLF put tens of thousands of Oromos in concentration camps all over the Oromo country. Since then its security forces have kidnapped thousands of men and women, killed them and dumped their corpses in the bushes to be devoured by wild beasts. The families and relatives of the “disappeared” did not (and do not) even have the chance to ‘ransom’ and bury their sons and daughters as was the case during the time of the Dergue.

TPLF atrocities against our people are not confined within Ethiopia’s territorial borders: they are not even allowed to live in peace in the neighboring countries as refugees. TPLF agents have been assassinating real and suspected opponents of Meles Zenawi’s regime in the neighboring countries since 1992.

During the last 20 years, thousands of Oromo children and women have died in refugee camps in Somalia; tens and thousands of them are suffering in shanty towns and refugee camps in Kenya, Sudan, and Yemen in thousands. Nobody knows how many are getting drowned and devoured while fleeing across the shark infested waters of the Gulf of Aden in rickety overloaded boats. Many more have been and are being forcibly deported back to their torturers in Ethiopia from Djibouti, Kenya, and Somaliland. That they carry UNHCR identity cards does not prevent their deportation. The deportations occur often in secret and involve agreements made between the Ethiopian security and those of the neighboring states. Back in Ethiopia the deportees are imprisoned, or killed without mercy.

As mentioned above, Menigitu’s regime was meaner than that of Haile Selassie; and Meles Zenawi is even more tyrannical than his predecessors. Given the magnitude of injustices our people are facing, anyone who has a humane heart will agree with the Jijjiirama leaders about the urgent call for getting rid of Meles Zenawi’s regime with whatever means. However, the predicament caused by the TPLF tyranny need not turn the leaders of Ethiopian political opposition parties including Ginbot 7 into saving angels in the eyes of the Oromo. Although what is in the liberal democracy kit with which Ginbot 7 says it is equipped only will be fully disclosed, if and, when they come to power, we know, at least, that its leaders are opposed to the present division of Ethiopia into regional states such as Oromia. In other words they will not recognize a structure that gives the Oromo people a territorial identity making them masters over their natural resources. Forming alliance with an organization that will not recognize the gains made so far by our people to overthrow the present government, is tantamount to jumping into a ‘deep sea’ to escape from the ‘devil’. In other words, the future which the Jijjiirama faction’s political program is promising our people is not going to shorten their misery. In fact, what the faction is inviting us to is a new cycle of conflict with a new batch of Abyssinian ruling elite. The misery the conflict can cause the Oromo and the other peoples of Ethiopia can be worse.

New guards of ‘the prison house of nations and nationalities’

Historically, no love is lost between the Abyssinian ruling elite and the Oromo people. As indicated above, the former have succeeded in dominating the latter using violent means while the latter have continued to resist. That is why Ethiopia’s “prisons speak the Oromo language” today. The prisons in Ethiopia will continue speaking Afaan Oromoo until Oromia breaks out of the “prison-house of nations”, to use the name given to Ethiopia by scholars. That is why the new political program of Jijjiirama is being vehemently opposed by Oromos everywhere; they will not be confined to the ‘prison-house of nations’ indefinitely.

If the Jijjiirama leaders have a vision at all as they claim, it is without doubt, a blurred one: they have failed to see clearly the reality on the ground and learn from the experiences of the OPDO to which they belonged in the past. They believe that democracy will rain on Ethiopia if the Oromo people forget the question of independence and TPLF disappears from the scene. They share their “vision” with the ex-President of Ethiopia, Dr. Nagaso Gidada who argues in his autobiography “Daandi: Ye Negaso Menged” (2011) that if the OLF and the TPLF disappear from the political arena Ethiopia will democratize and the Oromo will be satisfied. Such an argument misses the fact that Oromo dissatisfaction concerns not only the atrocities of the current regime but the treatment they have been receiving from the Abyssinian ruling elite during the last 130 years. Our people reject being a part of a state in which past atrocities are repeated endlessly and often with increasing ferocity against them. General Kamal Galchu and his associates know that the past did not die with Menelik, Haile Selassie, or Mengistu. The atrocities committed against our people did not cease with the demise of those ruthless rulers; it continued. The present suffering of our people is not going to stop with the demise of Meles Zenawi’s regime, or because of Jijjirama’s dream about a “New Federal Republic of Ethiopia.” I strongly believe that it will stop only when we regain the right of giving ourselves laws of our own making and elect our own leaders who obey our laws. That can only happen in the independent state of Oromia envisaged by the OLF political program.

It is important to recollect the fact that the Oromo struggle started in the 1960s with the aim to change their situation in Ethiopia. To use Edmond Keller’s words “what the Oromo wanted was their fair share.” However, that effort was defeated by the “zero-sum-game” that dominates Ethiopian politics. That was the case both under Emperor Haile Selassie and Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam. I do not think the reason for the failure of transition to democracy which was proposed by the 1991 Transitional Charter is unknown to Jijjiirama’s leaders. As members of the OPDO, they themselves were instruments of the authoritarian tyranny which derailed a democratic transition, thereby hindering a peaceful settlement of the Oromo-Ethiopian conflict. The irony is that the Jijjiirama officers who joined the OLF to “liberate” Oromia a few years ago are now telling the world that they have decided to join the next Ethiopian regime, replace the current OPDO members, and become the guards of “the prison house of nations and nationalities” once again.

Where is the Solidarity that ought to be between Citizens of the Same State?

The Abyssinian elite will keep Oromia at any cost not for the love of the Oromo people but for the sake of its resources. This is reflected in the views of some of the “progressive” non-Oromo supporters of the Jijjiirama group (Gadaa.com, January 5, 2012) who also claim to be sympathizers of Ginbot 7 and ask: “What will be the fate of the rest of Ethiopia after the independence of Oromia?”, and blame those who “dream” about Oromo independence for being “out of touch with reality”. These “progressive Ethiopians” do not reflect on why the Oromo want independence or what they think or how they feel about being under Abyssinian rule. Oromo opinion is irrelevant to them. Oromo suffering does not seem to move their hearts, or disturb their conscience. The fate of those Oromos who are made homeless and landless, the fate of uprooted and scattered families and dispersed communities does not worry them. These are hardly the concern of the Amhara elite. No protest was staged in solidarity with Oromo students who were dismissed from the Ethiopian universities, jailed, tortured and killed in their hundreds during the last ten years. The Amhara elite condemn Oromo nationalists but not the atrocities committed against the Oromo people. What matters to them is that Oromia and its natural resources remain in their control. Thus, while demanding that the Oromo should think about the fate of Ethiopia, they do not show any concern about the suffering of the Oromo people under the Ethiopian rulers.

The utter lack of fraternal solidarity with the Oromo people described above is reflected in a chilling Amharic poem placed on the website of Tensae Ethiopia in December 2011. The poet chants his wishes “Oromowoch yibatatanu, Itiophian sayabarkikuat” which means approximately: “May the Oromo scatter and disappear before they defeat Ethiopia.” Summarizing the atrocities committed against the Oromo and other peoples in Ethiopia as heroic deeds of her/his forefathers he/she says that groups such as “Galla Geday” will reappear and past atrocities repeated in order to maintain the territorial integrity of Ethiopia. What is remarkable here is that the views of the anonymous poet are not far from the views of politicians and scholars who are reluctant even to mention the word Oromo (they seem to prefer the pejorative “Galla”) and think it is blasphemous for an Ethiopian nationalist to utter the word OLF, let alone sitting at a table with its leaders and negotiate on the future of Oromo-Ethiopian relations (see a debate between representatives of Ginbot 7 and Andnet, ESAT August 9, 2011). Thus, when these politicians and scholars talk about “Ethiopian unity”, they mean keeping intact the territory that constitutes the Ethiopian state under Amhara control and not the equality of its constituent peoples.

We should not blame the Jijjiirama alone for promoting pro-Ethiopia politics that negates Oromo rights; there are even some Oromo scholars who talk about a “common Ethiopian home” suggesting that the Oromo must strive for that and not independence. While theoretically possible, such an arrangement must start with the acknowledgement of the grievances and recognition of every group’s rights in the country. This requires reciprocal recognition of collective identities by the parties involved, combined with the fraternal imagining of being citizen of the same state. Given the facts I have raised above, however, it is impossible to create such a situation in Ethiopia now or in the near future.

The cleavages between the major components of the Ethiopian polity, particularly between the Oromo and the Abyssinians, remain so deep that establishing a sense of solidarity that cuts across ethnic boundaries and which is a basis for the establishment a democratic state is a daunting task. Therefore, the on-going Oromo national struggle should continue by all means until independence is achieved and a democratic republic state of Oromia is established. There is no reason to believe that the leaders of Ginbot 7, or any other Ethiopian political organizations, who have already stated their stand on the national question will ever enter into even a meaningful federal arrangement recognizing Oromo claims for collective rights. That is why independence becomes the sole option to overcome the present predicament of our nation.

It is the right of every nation to live in its homeland in peace. The Oromo dream about own independent state is about freedom from the fascistic and Stalinist genocide that have been perpetrated against them generation after generation. Every human being has the right to life; that includes every Oromo. Every nation has the right to survive; that includes the Oromo people. As Howard Adelman suggests, the breakup of imperial states such as Ethiopia and the desire for nations such as the Oromo to realize the expression of their identities through a sovereign state, “is not the road to ruin, but the path to a new international order built on the rule of law and the protection of the freedom of individuals, the equality of groups.” The post-cold-war break-up of the Soviet Union and ex-Republic of Yugoslavian were recent example of such a process.

Should we call Jijjiirama’s Action a ‘Blessing in Disguise’?

Yes, but we must clear the air of a confusion that paralyzed the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) for the last ten years in order to make best use of the situation created by Jijjirama’s political game. Judging by the reaction it has ignited both at home and in the diaspora, it seems that the political program of the faction is already rejected by the Oromo people. The drums in the fake Ethiopian unity camp will stop making their noises soon. That does not mean the declaration made by the faction on January 1, 2012 is not without consequences. Its repercussions will stay with us for a while causing misunderstanding among Oromo groups in the diaspora. On the positive side, however, the bold declaration made by General Kamal Galchu’s faction will give us insights into the differences that existed between to two factions of the OLF which were led by Dhugaasaa Bakakkoo and Dawud Ibsaa, respectively.

For almost a decade, the argument was that there is no difference of vision between the two factions about the future of Oromia. Preoccupied by the quest for “tokkummaa” (unity), most Oromos have refused to see, or believe that there was a political difference between the two factions of the OLF. However, this did not bring the two groups together, or strengthen the struggle for national liberation. Now the truth is out in the open and staring at us in the shape of Jijjiirama’s politics.

Jijjiirama’s Politics did not develop in Isolation

We all know that as Shanee was one organization up to 2008, the members of what became the Dawud Ibsaa and Kamal Galchu groups in August 2008 were sharing the same program. It was a program which mixed Oromo politics with the politics of democratization of Ethiopia and engaged partners such as Qinjit forming the so-called Alliance for Freedom and Democracy (AFD). Even the present collaboration with Ginbot 7 has its roots in the rapprochements made with Ethiopian organizations while Dawud and Kamal were together as Chairman, and Commander of Shanee-forces, respectively.

The AFD rapprochement was defended as a tactical alliance to bring down the present regime, and nothing more. However, a closer examination of the behavior of known Shanee members and leaders indicates that there was more than that even from the start. One can discern three categories of members already under the joint leadership of these two men: These were/are (a) those who are strongly pro-Ethiopia; (b) those who are strongly pro-independence, and (c) those who were in-between, hesitatingly accepting the views of whichever group is influential at the moment.

Thus, in the first category we find those members of the Shanee faction who have declared their position such as Kamal Galchu, General Hailu Gonfa, and Colonel Abebe Geresu, Abba Biyya Abba Jobir and Licho Bukura. These were leaders within the faction before they left it and went in different directions but with the same destination, Ethiopia, in mind. Dima Nogo who argues that the question of independence was/is not in the political program of the OLF (ESAT September 19, 2011) belongs to this group also. There is no question that for many years, ‘members’ of the sub-group to which these men belonged were more influential than ‘members’ of the pro-liberation sub-group within the Shanee faction. The roles they have been playing in Oromo politics reflect clearly the difference between the Dawud Ibsaa and Dhugaasaa Bakakkoo groups. It is impossible to argue that the position of these ex-Shanee top figures on the Oromo question is similar to that of Galaasaa Dilbo, Ibsaa Guutama, Demissie Kebede, Mulugeta Mosisaa, Abiyu Galata and many other prominent Oromo nationalists in Dhugaasaa Bakakkoo’s group. Here the point I want to make is that, judged by the positions their prominent leaders hold on the Oromo question respectively, it is clear that there was/is a fundamental difference between the two factions. One faction is clearly for independence; the other is not. It was this difference which split the OLF in 2001 in the first place.

Going back to Jijjiirama’s “new” political program, it should be stated that the division in the OLF started long before the ex-OPDO officers marched to Asmara and joined the Shanee faction. The idea of solving the Oromo problem within the framework of a “democratic” Ethiopia state was present within the OLF since the beginning (Dima Nogo on ESAT, September 20, 2011) and found its expression in the Shanee faction. Leenco Laata’s book which entertained the idea in detail was already published in 1999. In public, the idea was expressed, albeit somewhat ambiguously, with the formation of the AFD in May 2006, a few months before General Kamal and his men marched into Eritrea and joined the Shanee faction. What makes Jijjiirama’s case different is the attempt to hijack the OLF, pose as representative of the Oromo nation, and “drop” the question of independence—which is the fundamental objective of the OLF. In reality Jijjiirama’s “new political program” is a frank version of Shanee’s AFD policy. It is boldly declared, but is not new.

As stated above, the common ideology which underpinned the politics of both faction—the Dawud Ibsaa and Kamal Galchu groups—has now crystalized in Jijjiirama’s clumsily formulated political program of the “New Federal Republic of Ethiopia”. Anybody who has listened to speeches made by Jijjiirama representatives on public forums and communications with mass media will understand that the basis of their political program has its genesis in the political orientations they were given while in the Shanee group. For example General Kamal in his interview with the VOA argued that his group’s political program is not different from what Dr. Dima Nogo was saying in an interview with ESAT mentioned above or from views expressed in a book authored by one of the leaders of the OLF.

Although that the Jijjiirama political program had its origins in Shanee politics shows differences that exist/ed between the Dawud Ibsaa and Dhugaasaa Bakakkoo OLF factions, ironically, there are still those who argue there was no difference between them, and who say that, if it exists, it is nothing but a battle over words or a struggle for power. That kind of self-deception is not useful in terms of Oromo unity. It is, in fact, harmful.

Doubletalk Harms: Truth Heals

One may ask why it important to talk about the differences that existed between the OLF factions now. My answer is: because honesty matters. Let us use the opportunity created by Jijjiirama’s bold betrayal of the national cause and speak the truth. Reconciliation requires speaking the truth. Acknowledgement of past mistakes is vitally important to take a new step forward together. We criticize the Abyssinian elite because they have distorted our history. We have a moral obligation not only to stand against external distortion of our history, but also against distortions that come from inside.

With the departure of Jijjiirama, I believe that the majority of the pro-Ethiopia ex-members of Shanee faction have now abandoned the Oromo liberation camp for Ethiopia, and that the differences between the Dhugaasaa Bakakkoo and Dawud Ibsaa groups have diminished significantly. It is the obligation of the two groups to consolidate their forces, and work in unison for liberation. The creation of a strong united OLF requires that the Shanee faction stops once for all its doubletalk of democratizing Ethiopia and liberating Oromia at the same time and join hands with all Oromo organizations that uphold “bilisummaa”.

In a speech he delivered at the Congress of Black African Writers in 1959, Frantz Fanon said that "Each generation must discover its mission, fulfill it or betray it, in relative opacity." Many in my generation found the liberation of Oromia from alien rule as their mission forty years ago and founded the OLF; and many have paid with their lives while fulfilling the mission. I do not have any doubt that the Oromo masses have now discovered their mission too, which is independence or “Bilisummaa” in Oromo parlance. However, many of us have been betrayers of the national mission in one way or another rather than working for its fulfillment. Many in the diaspora have taken the comfortable “neutral” position of sitting on the fence blaming the OLF leaders, or criticizing the “bickering” factions for “lack of achievement”. It is sad to read what these fence-sitters are writing on Oromo websites or hear what they are saying in Pal Talk rooms, asking without any reflection or shame: “Warri qabsoo irra jirra jettu maal fidde?” “Did those who are in the struggle achieve anything?” This has been an excuse for not making contributions to the struggle. As I have indicated at the beginning of this article, the Oromo people have achieved a lot during the last 40 years. Instead of making phony excuses like the above, it is now the time to climb down from the comfortable seats on the fence and contribute to the struggle. It is time that these “neutral” commentators come out from behind their pseudo-names and join the struggle, or at least stop making mockery of the Oromo cause for which thousands of Oromos laid down their lives. It does not work to sit on the fence and complain about Ginbot 7’s involvement in Oromo affairs; in short, it is the obligation of all OLF members and non-members to make use of the opportunity created by recent events and rise up in unity to liberate our people from the tyranny of Meles Zenawi’s regime. This is a common mission; it concerns every Oromo.

· Mekuria Bulcha, PhD and Professor of Sociology, is an author of widely read books and articles. His new book—Contours of the Emergent and Ancient Oromo Nation—is published by CASAS (Centre for Advanced Studies of African Society), Cape Town, South Africa in 2011. He was also the founder and publisher of The Oromo Commentary (1990-1999). He is an active member of the OLF and has served in the different branches of the national movement since the 1970s.

2012-01-16T00:25:00.003-05:00

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Finfinnee University Students Demand Oromo Rights in Finfinnee

Finfinnee University students have demanded Oromo rights in Finfinnee,
including statues for Oromo nationalist martyrs, according a report by SBO.
Listen to the report.

A continued Demonstration in Naqamte, Oromia

VOA Reports on the Wollega University Incident:

New Afan Oromo Book: "Galaa Ogeettii" by Bahru Bayisa

Bahru Bayisa: Dhugaa Lammii Cilee Dibde!

Ayyaana Guyyaa WBO, Minnesota tti Kabajame

Kabajaa guyyaa WBOf Ibsa Ejjennoo - Magaala Munshin

Violence engulfed the City of Naqamte in a continued Students Peaceful Demonstration

Call for Papers: Oromo Studies Association (OSA) 2012 Mid Year Conference

Oromo Author Read Event in Seattle – Dhoksaa Jireenyaa, A Novel by Abdi Fixe

Zalaalam Abarra: Lakkii!

Taammanaa Bitimaa: NU DHIISAA

GadaaTube.com:

Land-Grab in Oromia Leaves Farmers With Less Food to Eat

Ayyaana WBO Ammajjii 1 2012 - Kaampii Shhushaa Tuniziyaa

René Lefort: The great Ethiopian land-grab: feudalism, leninism, neo-liberalism ... plus ça change

Washington Times: Somali militants gather, recruit at border town

The First Afan-Oromo/English Bi-lingual Folktale Picture Book, Sheekko Sheekko

Cultural Show in Rochester a Success

Interview: Abduljelil Abdella with Mohammed Raayyaa and Danno Namara

Oromo Silverster Party in Munich, Germany, on December 31, 2011

Qeerransoo Biyyaa Sirba Tokkee "Qabsoo Qabatamaa", Jedhu Baasee

Addi Bilisummaa Oromoo Walqixxummaa fi Kabajaa Amantiilee Hundumaa Ni tiksa (Ibsa ABO)

Geresu Tufa: ESAT's interview of OSG's Dr. Trueman and Ethiopia's politics of denial

Documentary: Land-Grab in Oromia

Land-Grab, Green-Revolution & the North-South Divide

Mohammed Ademo: The rites and rituals of Sheik Hussein Bale, and Wahhabism

The Rites and Rituals of Sheik Hussein Bale, Oromia

In famine-stricken Ethiopia, a Saudi company leases land to grow and export rice

Troubled Ethiopia-Somalia history haunts Horn of Africa

SPECIAL COVERAGE:

"The 'G7' Betrayal at Kelly Inn"

Asafa Jalata: Can Oromummaa and Ethiopianism Be Reconciled?

Bilisummaan Ummata Oromoo fi Walabummaan Oromiyaa Warraaqsa ummata Oromootin galma ni gaha!

Ibsa Ijjennoo JTBO fi M/ABO, Yaman

Ibsa ejjennoo M/ABO konya Nederland

O.A. - Kemal Gelchu and Co.: "OLF" Trojan Horse? ALL PARTS

Abdii Boruu: Haala yeroo ammaa deemaa jiru kanarraa maal hubachuu fi barachuu dandeenya?

Gadaa Govt for Oromia in Ethiopia: Kemal Gelchu's OLF

Testimonies on the wide popular support, which the OLF-led Oromo's struggle for the right to self-determination enjoys among the Oromo

Abbas Qoro and Dabala Dimbo: The OLF: Turning the Current Crisis Into Opportunity

The Ongoing G7 Euphoria: The Rapture - End of Oromia

Click Here for FULL COVERAGE

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Qeerransoo Biyyaa: Beyond Human Rights Violations: Oromia-Ethiopia at Highest Risks of Instability, Genocide, Politicide

Amane Bedaso: Silenced Genocide in Ethiopia

OSA's Appeal Letter to President Obama on the Growing Repression and Human Rights Violations by the Ethiopian Government

National Youth Movement of Qeerroo - Detention and Mistreatment Can Never Stop Our Struggle

Oromo community in Worthington, MN, celebrates New Year’s With Abdi Nuressa

New Year's Message from Leaders of the Oromo Liberation Front

Obbo Dhugaasaa Bakakkoo

Obbo Daawud Ibsaa

Oromia Support Group: Refoulement of refugees from Somaliland to Ethiopia

Dismantling Dissent - Intensified Crackdown in Atse Zenawi's Ethiopia, Amnesty International Report

Macha-Tulama Self-Help Association Meeting (from 2000's)

The Current Banning of the Macha-Tulama Self-Help Association

Banning the Macha-Tulama Association Will Not Reverse the Oromo Struggle: SBO

OLF: The Ethiopian Regimes Have Changed, but Their Policies on the Oromo People Remained the Same

Gaaffii Oromoo irratti Ejjennoon Mootummoti Itophiyaa Duris Har'as Tokko Cufamuu WMT ilaalchisee ibsa ABO

Burqaa Dhaabaa: Barreessaa Waldaa Macaa-Tuulamaa (WMT) Duraanii Kan Turan Obbo Laggasaa Deettii Marsaa Sadaffaaf Hidhaa Seenan

More News, Analyses, Opinions ...

OLF Info Desk:

On the Current Mass Detentions Across Oromia

Renaissance of the Serfdom in Oromia - Alarming Rate of Land Grabbing

The Terrorizing Regime of Meles Zenawi

'Itoophiyaa Keessa Hongee Malee Beelli Hin jiru' Jechuun Lubbuu Ummatootaatti Qoosuu Dha

The Hidden Famine in Oromia & Ogaden (Amharic)

Political Anguish in Ethiopia Should Come to an End

The Crackdowns in Oromia

Rarely Implemented Commitments

Qeerroo: Email from Finfinnee

HRLHA: Persistent Perpetrations to Maintain Grip on Power

HRW | AI | OSGA | VOA

Prominent Oromo Artist Abandons Zenawi's Regime

Prominent Oromo Prosecutor Abandons Zenawi's Regime

UN Grants HRLHA a Special Consultative Status

Asafa Jalata: Oromia - A National Crisis, Open Dialogue, and Building National Consensus

Toltu Tufa: OROMIA at Federation Square - AOCAV

Dr. Trevor Trueman Discusses Human Rights in Atse Zenawi's Ethiopia

Ibsaa Guutama:

- Afan Oromo: Akeldama Wayaaneee

- English: Wayyaanee's Akeldama

Abdii Boruu: Habashaas ta'ee kan sammuun habashoome, lamaanuu farra qabsoo bilisummaa Oromoo ti

Yaadasaa Dafa: Great Oromos Will Never Be Forgotten - A Brief Biography of Obbo Ali Siraj Ali

Finfinne Bombings the Works of Ethiopian Security Forces

Sirna Abbaa-Irreetirraa Gara Dimokraasii

Articles by Authors ...

A group of no more than seven individuals (Group-7 or 'G7'), known as the BG Kemal Gelchu's Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), are accused of betraying the
Kaayyoo (The Objectives) of the Oromo national liberation
struggle at a meeting convened at Kelly Inn in St. Paul, MN, on January 1, 2012.
This page chronicles the incident,
which has become to be known as "The 'G7' Betrayal at Kelly Inn" in some Oromo
discussion forums, and its aftermath.

Qeerroo News

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Oromo Persons of the Year 2011

Obbo Garoma Wakessa - Gadaa.com's Oromo Person of the Year 2011

OPride's Oromo Persons of the Year 2011: Obbo Said Mohammed Ali and Obbo Mardaasa Addisu Tolesa

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Oromo Community and Civic Radio

2011-11-29T02:45:00.000-05:00

Attend Live Broadcast of OACC Panel Discussion

2010-03-08T19:20:00.006-05:00

Gadaa.com's Live Broadcast Page: http://www.gadaa.com/OACC2010.html

On March 13, the Oromo-American Citizens Council (OACC) will hold a panel discussion on the topic: "What's Next for the Oromo People?" in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Gadaa.com and OPride.com will be bringing this historic panel discussion to Oromos and friends of Oromos across the globe via a live stream at Gadaa.com and OPride.com beginning at 1:00 p.m. CST (19:00 UTC).

The OACC meeting comes at the dawn of the new decade and will have far-reaching implications for Oromo politics. Panelists at the 2010 OACC Conference include Dr. Fido Ebba, Mr. Hassan Hussein, Mr. Abrahim Abaye, Mr. Abduljelil Abdalla, Mr. Bekele Jirata, Dr. Merera Gudina, Dr. Gemechis Buba, Dr. Asafa Jalatta and Dr. Ezekiel Gebissa.

Gadaa.com and OPride.com are honored to partner with OACC in this groundbreaking and historic venture.

Gadaa.com and OPride.com call upon Oromo Community Centers and Oromo citizens around the world to hold "OACC Panel Discussion" watch events at the same time as the live broadcast. The group settings will benefit the ongoing discourse on "What's Next for the Oromo People?"

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Dr. Merera Gudina to Address the Oromo Community in Washington, DC

2009-11-05T01:58:00.003-05:00

Dr. Merera Gudina, the current Chairman of the newly formed coalition of opposition parties known as the Forum for Democratic Dialogue (FDD), and member of the recently merged Oromo Federalist Congress (OPC + OFDM), is coming to town to update the Oromo Community on:

1. The State of the Oromo Struggle for Freedom

2. What role should Oromos play in the forthcoming election

We urge you not to miss Dr. Merera’s in depth analysis about the current situation in Oromia and other parts of Ethiopia. Come and show your support and express your concern.

Location: Unification Church, 1610 Columbia Rd. NW, Washington, DC 20009

Date: Saturday, November 14, 2009

Time: 1:00PM to 5:00PM (PLEASE BE PROMPT)

Info Call: 571-218-5991 or 202-409-7454 or 202-344-0036

Also visit: www.WAFIDO.org

Sponsored By: The Oromo Federalist Congress Support Group

- Ethiopia: Birtukan Mideksa re-arrested by federal police

2009-01-04T03:23:00.002-05:00

Ethiopia: Birtukan Mideksa re-arrested by federal police

Jimma Times - Dec 29, 2008 - Ethiopian federal police rearrested opposition leader Birtukan Mideksa a year after she was released on a pardon following her arrest during the country's disputed 2005 elections.

Mideksa, a leader of the now-dissolved Coalition for Unity and Democracy, was taken into custody today, said Temesgen Zewde, a lawmaker, who is a member of Mideksa's new party, Unity for Democracy and Justice.

"She has been arrested," Zewde said in an interview in the capital, Addis Ababa. "No charges have been made public yet. We don't know exactly where she is being held."

Mideksa was arrested after refusing to acknowledge that she had requested a pardon that led to her release from jail in July 2007, said Bereket Simon, a spokesman for PM Meles Zenawi. She and dozens of other opposition leaders were initially jailed following the 2005 elections and sentenced to life in prison following a May 2007 trial on treason charges. Read More.

- Athletics: 2008 - End of Year Review

2009-01-03T20:16:00.000-05:00

Athletics: 2008 - End of Year Review

IAAF - Dec 27, 2008 - In Beijing, Bekele won in rampant style sprinting away from Eliud Kipchoge early before fully enjoying the final straight and won the Olympic gold in 12:57.82, his first over 5000m distance. In doing so he completed a 5000m/10,000m double, the first time since countryman Miruts Yifter did it in Moscow 1980 following Lasse Viren (FIN) who had done so both in 1972 and 1976.

Just one year ago Meseret Defar lowered her 5000m World record by almost eight seconds to 14:16 at the Oslo Golden League meet. However, rather than a milestone kind of record Defar's mark turned out quickly to be just a passing episode in the history of the event.

Defar herself ran almost four seconds faster this year at the DN Galan in Stockholm – but still didn't claim another World record! The reason being her fellow Ethiopian rival Tirunesh Dibaba had run 14:11.15 in Bislett, Oslo some seven weeks earlier! Read More.

- Opinion: Why BBC Hammers Zimbabwe over Cholera, Ever Silent on Oromia Repression?

2008-12-31T14:45:00.001-05:00

Opinion: Why BBC Hammers Zimbabwe over Cholera, Ever Silent on Oromia Repression?

By Qeerransoo Biyyaa

Dec 25, 2008 - Media such as the BBC and CNN were prohibited from filming in Zimbabwe, but they use their financial power to pay for locals to smuggle footages into South Africa, and then they report it from the other side of the border. Why did these media fail to expose the Darfur-like violence perpetrated by the Ethiopian government in Oromia?

Mugabe is foolish! If Mugabe had been wise, he would have just sent some troops to Somalia in the year 2006 to fight the Union of Islamic Forces, which could have ultimately won him a free pass in these troubled cholera and hyperinflation times. His nation is mocked as a country of poor billionaires and he is held responsible for the doom. But 'wise' dictators like Zenawi, who went down to Somalia and made friends in high places, always escape the scrutiny of the western media, although the scale of the problem is worse in Oromia, Ogadenia and other oppressed regions in Ethiopia. Read More.

- Happy Holidays: Refugee's Christmas reunion

2008-12-31T00:28:00.000-05:00

Happy Holidays: Refugee's Christmas reunion

Manchester Evening News - Dec 24, 2008 - A REFUGEE forced to flee his homeland after being battered and tortured has enjoyed a tearful reunion with his wife and son in time for Christmas.

Gazahng Bekele Gonfa, 34, had not seen his family for more than two years before they met up again at Manchester Airport. Now, he is planning his first family Christmas in Ashton under Lyne with wife Alimaze, 30, and 11-year-old son Robera.

Gazahng, from the persecuted Oromo tribe [nation], stood for government office in the May 2005 elections in Ethiopia and won a parliamentary seat.

Eight months later he was accused of inciting students to demonstrate, detained twice and tortured which left him with a dislocated arm. Forced to go into hiding he eventually fled to Nairobi, Kenya, an area often attacked by Ethiopian agents. Read More.

- News Briefs

2008-12-30T03:15:00.007-05:00

ONLF Accuses Government of Killing 48 Civilians (Bloomberg)

Bush to meet south Sudan president next week (Reuters)

Waggaa Haraan, 2009, Kan Tokkummaa, Bilisummaafi Gammachuu Nuuf Haa Ta'u! (OP)

Will Obama Make Africa a Priority? (VOA)

Kenya a year after the deadly election (AP)

Kerry urges caution on Somalia (AP)

Sudanese opposition leader detained (IHT)

Sudan, Ethiopia sign agreement to prevent double taxation (ST)

104-Year-Old Woman Makes Inauguration Plans (MSNBC)

Somalis held in Addis (BBC - Dec 26, 2008)

B. Mideksa faces fresh challenges (JT - Dec 26, 08)

NGO head: Ethiopia's government is itself foreign funded (JT - Dec 25, 08)

Dec 1st - World AIDS Day
UNAIDS Estimates of HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia

News Briefs ( Dec 21st and 24th, 2008)

2008-12-30T00:03:00.000-05:00

Minnesota: St. Paul Schools/District funnels school choice process (TwinCities - Dec 24, 2008)

Dibaba to run indoors in Birmingham (Daily Mail - Dec 24, 2008)

Adere to defend Dubai title (IAAF - Dec 21, 2008)

Yemen: The struggle between youth and qat

2008-12-29T21:59:00.001-05:00

Yemen: The struggle between youth and qat

Yemen Times - Dec 25, 2008 - A Yemeni-youth gathering at the Al-Afeef Cultural Foundation provided some interesting insights into young people's perception of this social phenomenon. During this discussion, experiences were shared and awareness raised about the hazardous physical and psychological side-effects of qat.

In a bid to further combat the spread of this habit, the symposium held earlier this month revealed some creative new ways to help Yemeni youths stop consuming their time, money and minds with qat. Read More.

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Somalia: Major foreign policy test awaits Obama

2008-12-29T03:26:00.000-05:00

Somalia: Major foreign policy test awaits Obama

The Christian Science Monitor - Dec 24, 2008 - African nations this week failed to act in unison to ensure stability in troubled Somalia. Amid their disagreements, the country risks becoming another Afghanistan for President-elect Barack Obama's upcoming administration, experts warn, as Islamist militants threaten to topple the government and pirates continue wreak economic havoc. Read More.

- Sen. Feingold Calls for a New Strategy for Somalia and the Horn of Africa (Ayyaantuu).

MSF: Top 10 humanitarian crises

2008-12-27T14:20:00.001-05:00

MSF: Top 10 humanitarian crises

Reuters - Dec 22, 2008 - Doctors Without Borders issued a top 10 list of humanitarian crises on Monday that included Congo, Somalia, Iraq and Sudan as well as what it called "neglected medical emergencies" in Myanmar and Zimbabwe.

The international medical aid group said its list underscored the difficulties in bringing assistance to people affected by violence, especially highly politicized conflicts such as those in Pakistan, Iraq, Sudan and Somalia.

The eighth country on the list was Ethiopia, where Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF, said violence and harsh climactic conditions made living a struggle for people in the Somali region of the country. Read More.

Related: The Failed State in Ethiopia

Kenya: Councilors to sue over Qatar land plan

2008-12-27T04:25:00.001-05:00

Kenya: Councilors to sue over Qatar land plan

Daily Nation - Dec 20, 2008 - Plans by the Government to lease out 40,000 hectares in the Tana Delta to Qatar continued to draw angry reactions, with area councilors threatening to sue.

The Tana River councilors have said they will go to court to block the Government's plans to lease the land to Qatar to grow food.

County council vice-chairman Gure Golo said the councilors opposed the project because local communities used the delta for livestock and farming.

Mr. Golo told the Nation by telephone that during drought, livestock owners from as far as Garissa, Wajir, Marsabit and other arid regions went to the delta for pastures and water.

More than 10,000 livestock farmers in Tana Delta District would be robbed of a livelihood if the Government went ahead with its plans, said the councilors.

"Since time immemorial the delta has been our lifeline because millions of our cattle and those from neighboring district use the wetland as a grazing zone as well as for watering of animals," said Mr. Golo. Read More.

Kemer's Interview

2008-12-26T17:18:00.001-05:00

Oromo Community Festival in Australia - Dec 21, 2008

2008-12-26T14:33:00.003-05:00

More events from the Oromo Community in Australia

News Briefs ( Dec 18th and 19th, 2008)

2008-12-26T14:09:00.000-05:00

Govt troops murdered 2 Oromo civilians - OLF (JT - Dec 18, 2008)

HRW urges Arab states to act to protect housemaids (France24 - Dec 18, 2008)

Ex-PM freed from prison (BBC - Dec 19, 2008)

Threat on Agriculture: Horticulture industry is devastating honeybee in Central Oromia

2008-12-25T23:38:00.001-05:00

Threat on Agriculture: Horticulture industry is devastating honeybee in Central Oromia

OromooLiberationFront.org - Dec 20, 2008 - The new floriculture industry in Ethiopia requires the use of chemicals, which is devastating to the bee farms and bee communities in the wild in central Oromia. Bees, by their very nature, are migratory insects whose disastrous result is the spread of toxic chemicals nationwide and eventually all over Ethiopia.

An Oromo beekeeper for more than 20 years one day opened his hive and with bafflement utter, "I just didn't know what has happened," he said, "I did never see any thing like that. There was plenty of honey, so I knew they didn't starve to death, but they were all dead." Another farmer, who wants to remain anonymous, opened his hives after the winter and to his shock discovers that most of his hives were empty and full of dead bees. Read More.

News Briefs (Dec 14th and 15th, 2008)

2008-12-25T15:35:00.000-05:00

Tola and Urgessa triumph in inaugural Bahir Dar Cross Country (IAAF - Dec 15, 2008)

Somali parliament backs PM (AFP - Dec 15, 2008)
Somali Pres.: I've fired PM VS. PM: President can't fire me (CNN - Dec 14, 2008)

Opinion: The U.S. & Ethiopia's blunder in Somalia

2008-12-25T02:46:00.001-05:00

Opinion: The U.S. & Ethiopia's blunder in Somalia

Straight.com - Dec 20, 2008 - Statesmen ought to have a special prize just for themselves, like fools have the Darwin Awards. The Darwin Awards commemorate very stupid people who did a service to human evolution by accidentally removing themselves from the gene pool. The statesman's equivalent could be called something like the Cheney-Zenawi Award.

I mention this because the shining stupidity of the US Vice-President and the Ethiopian Prime Minister are on special display this week, as the Ethiopian army prepares to withdraw from Somalia two years after its foredoomed invasion, leaving the country in the hands of precisely the people whom they wanted to eliminate. We need negative role models too, and you couldn't ask for worse than this pair. Read More.

Ethiopia: Endless Famine

2008-12-24T17:16:00.001-05:00

Ethiopia: Endless Famine ABC/Australia

News Briefs (Dec 13th, 2008)

2008-12-23T21:07:00.001-05:00

Remembering December 13th: Let us take this day of sorrow and make it a day of reconciliation and healing among all peace-loving Ethiopians (AJC - Dec 13, 2008)

Meles Denies Talks with OLF (TheReporter - Dec 13, 08)

Can Foreign-Owned Farms Solve Food Crisis? (IPS - Dec 13, 2008)

Bulcha Demeksa Rejects the New Census as "Political" (CapitalEthio - Dec 13, 08)

Sheikh Al-Amoudi: Top Clinton Foundation Donor

2008-12-22T17:30:00.001-05:00

Sheikh Al-Amoudi: Top Clinton Foundation Donor

EthioPolitics - Dec 18, 2008 - Ethiopian born tycoon Sheikh Mohammed Ali Al-Amoudi, ranked the 77th richest person in the world by Forbes magazine, is one of the top donors to the Clinton Foundation, according to records released Thursday. The records were released to lay bare any financial entanglements that could affect Clinton's wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, as the next Secretary of State.

Al-Amoudi is listed as donating between $1,000,001 to $5,000,000 to the Foundation. The Foundation disclosed the names of its 205,000 donors on its Web site Thursday and the range of their contributions.

The records account for at least $492 million in contributions to the William J. Clinton Foundation, a nonprofit created by the former president to finance his library in Little Rock, Ark., and charitable efforts in dozens of countries, including Ethiopia, to reduce poverty and treat AIDS.

President-elect Barack Obama made Hillary Clinton's nomination as secretary of state contingent on her husband revealing the Foundation's contributors, to address questions about potential conflicts of interest. Read More.

Interview: Aba-Biya Aba-Jobir

2008-12-22T14:30:00.001-05:00

Interview: Aba-Biya Aba-Jobir

The Reporter - Dec 13, 2008

What do you think of secession and OLF?

The issue of secession is an academic question. First, the idea was conceived. By the time OLF was established, EPLF was fighting to secede from Ethiopia.

In 1991, the idea of secession was put on hold and we opted for building a democratic order in the country. Many OLF officials were appointed as ministers and ambassadors. It opened branch offices in many parts of the country. The party has two parallel objectives. One is to establish an independent State of Oromia. The other is to build a democratic order in the country together with adjacent peoples.

Was there a time when Oromo people favoured secession more than equal rights?

Back in the old days, when OLF was first established, socialism was the fashion, and people believed that the right of nationalities to self-determination should be respected. But after seeing the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the idea was dropped. Read More.

- Ababiya returns to Ethiopia; Leenco & Dima to follow?

Aduu Joba: Oromo Local Heroine in London

2008-12-22T11:27:00.001-05:00

Aduu Joba: Oromo Local Heroine in London

VOA - Dec 13, 2008 - The British government honored Aduu Joba, a graduate of Kingston University in London recently for her efforts to teach Oromo children and youth in London how to read, write and speak Afan Oromo.

Aduu was named "a local heroine" in London and on the nation's Volunteer Day was invited to No. 10 Downing Street to meet Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

She has lived in London since she was five and her parents emigrated to London from Ethiopia. "I felt that the younger generations who were born and raised in London were failing to grasp the language," she told Dhaba Wayessa of the Afan Oromo service. "My mission was to start a language class for them." The class began with instruction in the ABCs for beginners aged four to 14. The project was funded by Junction49. "I also organized lots of other things for people to take part in, such as singing, art and craft activities, as well as games that are common to the Oromo culture," said Aduu Joba. Read More.

News Briefs (Dec 12th, 2008)

2008-12-21T17:08:00.000-05:00

Waamicha QBO Jabeessuu - Abba-tokkoota Miseensota ABO Turan fi Murnoota Maqaa ABOn Sosso'an Hundaaf (OLF.info - Dec 12, 2008)

Witnesses: Ethiopians troops pouring into Somalia (Guardian - Dec 12, 2008)

Eritrea: US officials attempt to prevent good relations with Obama team (ST - Dec 12, 2008)

Proposal: Consolidate Oromo Forces

2008-12-20T18:46:00.001-05:00

Proposal: Consolidate Oromo Forces

A Proposal for the Consolidation of Oromo Forces for Liberation, Peace and Prosperity in the Horn of Africa

Ayyaantuu - Dec 12, 2008 - The OFDR believes that all Oromo organizations namely the Oromo Liberation Front (the three groups who use the name of OLF), Front for Independent Democratic Oromia (FIDO), United Oromo Peoples Liberation Front (UOPLF), Front for Independence of Oromia (FIO) and Council for Oromia Peoples Liberation Front (COPLF) have the interest of liberating the Oromo people in their hearts but individually lack the strategy, strength and image to mobilize the Oromo people for this task. Read More.

Horn of Africa: 20 Million People at Risk of Famine

2008-12-20T18:21:00.001-05:00

HOA: 20 Million People at Risk of Famine

VOA News - Dec 12, 2008 - The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies warns that 20 million people in the Horn of Africa are at risk of famine and that urgent action must be taken to avert a humanitarian catastrophe. The Federation is launching an emergency appeal for more than $80 million to help 3.5 million people during the next five years.

The Red Cross Federation says there is no major famine yet in the Horn of Africa. But it warns that millions of people are on the brink of starvation. And, if the world turns a blind eye, it says the same distressing skeletal images that appeared on nightly television in 1984 could reappear. Read More.

Ethiopia: Oromo Face Increased Repression

2008-12-20T00:12:00.001-05:00

Ethiopia: Oromo Face Increased Repression

World Politics Review - Dec 11, 2008 - Ethiopia's ethnic Oromo people have been in conflict with the state since they were forcibly integrated into the Amhara-dominated Ethiopian empire at the end of the 19th century. However, the arrests of at least 100 Oromos since Oct. 29, including the secretary general of the Oromo Federalist Democratic Party (OFDM), without warrant or charge is an indication that the conflict is intensifying.

The 53 Oromos still being detained by the authorities also include three human rights workers, teachers, students and successful businessmen. They have all appeared in court three times since their arrest on allegations of supporting the outlawed militant group, the Oromo Liberation Front, but have yet to be formally charged. As is common practice in Ethiopia, the court keeps extending their illegal incarceration to give the Ethiopian police and intelligence services more time to gather evidence.

News Briefs (Dec 10th and Dec 11th)

2008-12-19T01:24:00.000-05:00

Gootota Oromiyaa Kan Oromiyaa Dhugaa Ijaaruuf Kufanii Kuffisaa Jiran, Lugnootafi Gantoota Itoophiyaa Ijaaruuf Ofiin Harka Kennatan Irraa Maaliin Adda Baaffanna? (OromoPress - Dec 11, 08)

Uganda: Oromos Celebrate Culture With Food, Dance (allAfrica - Dec 10, 2008)

HRLHA Press Release: Human Rights Violations Against the Oromo People

2008-12-18T21:45:00.001-05:00

HRLHA Press Release: Human Rights Violations Against the Oromo People

HRLHA - Dec 9, 2008 - The year 2008 has been one of the years in which widespread extrajudicial house searches, arrests and imprisonments of innocent Oromo civilians from various walks of life have taken place. Targeted in the most recent wave of political harassments and intimidations, which has been going on for the last two months, were, among others, public servants, university and high school teachers as well as students, businessmen, private company workers, and peasants.

This newly launched campaign is also taking place under the usual allegation that the victims were either harbouring, financially supporting or simply sympathizing with the armed Oromo opposition group, OLF. Read More.

Ogina: On Hip-Hop Genre in Oromo Music

2008-12-18T12:54:00.000-05:00

Ogina: On Hip-Hop Genre in Oromo Music

Ogina - Dec 8, 2008 - In this issue of Ogina, we ask some of those questions as well as explore different means to tell our stories. We'll have examples of hip-hop music with pieces by Boonaa Mohammed and his group Kings of Kush, as well as Epidemic the Virus along his collective, O'z Up, and a spoken word piece by Meymuna Hussein. In our interview with Boonaa and Epidemic, we discuss some of those questions as well as many others. And, finally, Qeerransoo Biyyaa's essay analyses how the dissemination of hip hop creates a transnational Oromo youth. Finally, this issue also contains the visual art of Lennsa Yadata, poetry from Ayantu Gemeda and a photo-article about this summer's MegaFest by Steven Thomas. Read More.

News Briefs (Dec 7th to Dec 9th)

2008-12-15T14:25:00.000-05:00

Joyous homecoming for Kemer in Ethiopia (TheStar - Dec 9, 2008)

Goal of halving hunger by 2015 ever more elusive: UN (AFP - Dec 9, 2008)

Somalia: War Crimes Devastate Population (HRW - Dec 8, 2008)

Ethiopia's Kebede wins Fukuoka marathon (AFP - Dec 7, 2008)

News Briefs (Dec 6th, 2008)

2008-12-13T16:53:00.001-05:00

Guinea worm 'almost eradicated' (BBC - Dec 6, 2008)

Results of AGOA (CFR)

"We are deeply touched by the support" (GulfNews)

60: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

2008-12-13T14:46:00.000-05:00

60: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

UNPO - Dec 10, 2008 - A year ago, the United Nations launched a campaign entitled "Dignity and Justice for All of Us" to lead up to the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This anniversary will be celebrated on Wednesday 10th December 2008. The UNPO joins the celebrations that mark the Declaration's achievements but issue a reminder that for many of our members, dignity, justice and the freedoms laid down in the Declaration remain little more than a pipe dream.

The Oromo Diaspora in conjunction with the UNPO have been active in trying to highlight the human rights violations experienced by their communities at the hands of the Ethiopian government. As a result of demonstrations in June, the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific group of States voiced support for the need for a fully functioning civil society in the region. This is especially pertinent following the news that the Ethiopia government intends to limit the reach of non-governmental organizations in the near future. Read More.

Also: Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Afan Oromo

Ababiya: Oromo questions get adequate answer

2008-12-12T23:20:00.000-05:00

Ababiya: Oromo questions get adequate answer

Ababiya Abajobir (the Prince of Jimma) weighs in on the state of the Oromo struggle: peaceful means is the only option to move forward the cause.

WaltaInfo/Ayyaantuu - Dec 6, 2008 - The questions of the Oromo people, which the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) claims to struggle for, are getting adequate response, former member of OLF leadership said.

He also said that armed struggle is no more an effective option in the present world that gives precedence for peace and democracy. Ababiya Abajobir, who was a founding-member of the OLF and served at various positions in the organization, told WIC that the age-long questions of the Oromo people are now getting appropriate answer.

Ababiya, who served as Head of OLF's Foreign Affairs in Washington from 2000 to 2003, resigned form his position in 2003 to join the peaceful direction as he recognized the political reality in today's world.

Ababiya, who came to Ethiopia some two and half months ago, expressed his satisfaction and deep excitement over what he saw in various parts of Oromia State. Read More.

Related: Ababiya Abajobir Returns to Ethiopia; Leenco Lata & Dima Nego to follow soon? (OromoAffairs - Oct 08)

Opinion: Double Standards and a Faulty Problem Diagnosis

2008-12-12T00:11:00.001-05:00

Opinion: Double Standards and a Faulty Problem Diagnosis

Response to Dr. Asafa Jalata's Paper: Building an Oromo Agency and Capacity for Liberation

Hawaas - Dec 6, 2008 - Political consciousness would not come only through education; one can develop political consciousness through the hard school of experience. The writer failed to analyze the political consciousness of Oromos in the pre 1991 era. How did patriots like General Wako Gutu come to boldly challenge and shaken the foundations of the imperial regime without "education"?

The underlying cause of the problem is 17 long years of paralysis, organizational ineffectiveness, and lack of a coherent strategy. The leadership simply could not lift the organization out of the doldrums. It could not inspire and lead the people to wage a robust resistance. It could not resolve conflict properly. It failed to make effective use of the human, material and intellectual resources entrusted to it. Dr. Asafa should, therefore, not talk about mobilization for the Shane camp when it was in fact the very group which arrogantly chose to demobilize its own members and supporters by failing to listen to the overwhelming desire for renewal and progress. Rather than adopting change it rather became reactionary. By closing all the high roads for change, it brought upon itself a revolution, from which it could not and will survive (the organization will not only survive but will thrive, prosper and lead the Oromo to victory). Read More.

Opinion: Oromo Separatism on the Decline

2008-12-11T20:35:00.000-05:00

Opinion: Oromo Separatism on the Decline

Enset - Dec 4, 2008 - So, "what is the point of this story about an obscure separatist named Makobili?", you may be asking yourself. Well, the point is that the separatist ideas that Makobili has been propagandizing all these years seem to be coming apart at the seams in the last few months as evidenced by the unraveling of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), where Makobili is a behind-the-scene power player.

The Woyane regime has taken a note of this development and it is working hard to take advantage of the situation by employing a multi-pronged strategy to decapitate the OLF by: 1) stepping up its harassment of independent-minded Oromo political activists, 2) increasing its military and propaganda efforts against the OLF, and 3) luring older and perhaps disillusioned former leaders of the OLF to its den to neutralize their influence.

While the decline of Oromo separatism is, in my view, a positive development, the fact that the Woyane regime is using this opportunity to intensify its persecution of innocent Oromos is extremely troubling and, unfortunately, it may end up strengthening the separatists within the OLF. People like Makobili probably want to see this happen and they will not, for sure, admit that their own misadventure is contributing to the suffering of innocent Oromos. Read More.

Paper: Increasing Political Activism and Mobilization: Building an Oromo Agency and Capacity for Liberation

2008-12-10T21:09:00.001-05:00

Paper: Increasing Political Activism and Mobilization: Building an Oromo Agency and Capacity for Liberation

Ayyaantuu - Dec 1, 2008 - People like the Oromo who do not have personal and public safety in their homes and communities, and also who are denied the freedom of expression, association, and organization, do not have a good quality of life. In the 21st century, when the world is changing fast because of the intensification of globalization, social revolutions, and revolutions in technology, information, communication, and transportation, the Oromo people are in the darkness of ignorance and poverty. When a community or a society lacks independence or autonomy to determine its political destiny through self-determination and democracy, it is confronted with the problems of underdevelopment, which is characterized as powerlessness, victimization, illiteracy, poverty, and other forms of socioeconomic crises.

Read More.

News Briefs (Dec 4th, 2008)

2008-12-10T03:07:00.002-05:00

Obama's Victory Shames Africa (HP - Dec 4, 2008)

More online than print journalists behind bars: CPJ Eritrea: Top Jailer in Africa (AFP - Dec 4, 2008)

Red Cross warns of Horn of Africa famine risk (Reuters - Dec 4, 2008)

Tensions high after slayings of Nuer in Ethiopia (ST - Dec 4, 2008)

Barren Qatar aims to grow its crops in Kenya (WA Today - Dec 4, 2008)

Humans 80,000 Years Older Than Previously Thought? (National Geo - Dec 4, 08)

Bulcha: OFDM and OPC Agree to Merge

2008-12-10T03:04:00.001-05:00

Bulcha: OFDM and OPC Agree to Merge

Ayyaantuu - Dec 4, 2008 - Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM) and Oromo People's Congress (OPC) have reached an agreement to merge the two political parties. The report quoted Bulcha Demeksa, OFDM Chairman, as saying that, at the general assembly meeting last Sunday, OFDM passed a decision to merge with OPC.

Bulcha said after series of discussions on basic issues, the two parties had agreed to merge. For example, Bulcha indicated OFDM and OPC both struggled to institute a presidential system of government, to make Oromiffa one of official languages of the country. The Chairman added that he public repeatedly asked for merger of Oromo opposition political parties working in Ethiopia. Accordingly, last year OFDM and OPC signed cooperation agreement. Read More.

Ethiopia: Population soars to near 77 million

2008-12-09T02:54:00.001-05:00

Ethiopia: Population soars to near 77 million

Population Soars by ~30% in 14 Years

AFP - Dec 4, 2008 - Ethiopia's population has risen by a staggering 23.4 million people over the past 14 years, to its current 76.9 million, according to a census approved by parliament Thursday.

The census dates from May 2007 and includes a projected annual growth rate of 2.6 million people, after delays in the verification process. "We carried out a census in May 2007 and it shows that there were 73,918,505 people at that time," Central Statistics Agency chief Samya Zakarya told AFP. "But based on a projection of an annual growth rate of 2.6 percent, Ethiopia's population up to this month is 76,947,760."

UN estimations of Ethiopia's population are higher, at more than 81 million. Ethiopia's population stood at 53.4 million when the last census was conducted in 1994. Read More.

What is new in the empire state of Ethiopia?

2008-12-08T02:19:00.000-05:00

What is new in the empire state of Ethiopia?

The preamble of the July 1991 Charter mentioned "the end of an era of subjugation and oppression." But, time proved that it was actually the beginning of subjugation and oppression.

Sudan Tribune - Nov 30, 2008 - Just as Haile Selassie's regime used modernization as a code word for consolidation of Menelik's empire, and the Dergue regime tried to use Marxism-Leninism to maintain Abyssinian domination, the TPLF regime found democratization to have a useful currency as a code word for its agenda of domination. The TPLF regime, by signing the July 1991 Charter, recognized the fact that "nations, nationalities, and peoples" in Ethiopia have the right to self-determination, including independence (July 1991 Charter, Article 2). Read More.

- Qamar: "I never thought this day would come"

2008-12-06T12:36:00.001-05:00

Qamar: "I never thought this day would come"

The Star - Dec 2, 2008 - Toronto singer Kemer Yousef buried his head deep in his father's neck and smelled him again for the first time in 24 years.

After a long embrace, he crossed the room to likewise smother himself against his mother, emerging with a broad smile and a face wet with tears.

"I never thought this day would come," he said of the highlight so far in an emotional homecoming as one of Ethiopia's top pop stars, part of a week otherwise crammed with radio, television and magazine interviews.

Kemer (Yousef is his father's name) is living out an almost surreal immigrant dream: returning as a celebrity to a country he once fled in terror ...

Kemer's first homecoming concert is planned for Sunday. He headlines an invitation-only celebration for the country's annual Nations and Nationalities Day at Addis Ababa's 20,000-seat Millennium Hall. Read More.

- News Briefs (Dec 3rd, 2008)

2008-12-04T17:28:00.000-05:00

Teddy "guilty" over death
(Tadias - Dec 3, 2008)

Mogadishu gets ambulance service after two decades
(BBC - Dec 3, 2008)

Branded Coffee Yet To Boost Farmers' Incomes
(IPS - Dec 3, 2008)

- Ethiopia: 2008 Crop Assessment Travel Report

2008-12-04T16:43:00.001-05:00

Ethiopia: 2008 Crop Assessment Travel Report

USDA - Dec 1, 2008 - The crop conditions for the 2008 crop season are summarized as follows:

* Belg crops failed in the north due to failed belg rains.

* For many northern zones, meher crop yields are expected to be below last year’s record crop, due to early cessation of meher rains from September to October. Soil moisture reserves were depleted in mid-October and crops were under water stress while in the grain-filling stages. The November rains were above-average in the north but these rains may have been too late to save the crops from October's dryness.

* Meher crop yields are expected to be worse than last year for Wollo, southern Tigray, and eastern Shewa zones.

* Yields in the Arsi/Bale region of eastern Oromiya could be reduced by 10-20 percent compared to last year because most Arsi/Bale farmers applied less fertilizers compared to last year due to exorbitant fertilizer costs. Read More.

- T. Bekele wins in style in Llodio, Spain

2008-12-03T23:15:00.001-05:00

T. Bekele wins in style in Llodio, Spain

IAAF - Nov 30, 2008 - Ethiopia's Tariku Bekele and Kenya's Linet Masai captured top spots in style at the 25th 'Cross Internacional Valle de Llodio' held today on a cold and rainy day for weather.

In doing so, Bekele became the first athlete to win the event three times, while the manner of Masai's victory - she built a full minute advantage over her closest opponent - suggests Llodio's spectators have just witnessed an athlete born to challenge for world distance running honours in the years to come.

At the finish line, the reigning World Indoor 3km champion, Bekele had a seven-second margin over Chepkor, himself 100m clear of Bezabeh, who at least kept Kiptoo at bay and made the minor podium position. As for a tired Komon, he had to be satisfied with a 8th place over one minute behind Bekele in his fourth consecutive appearance on Spanish soil in November. Read More.

Related: T. Bekele vs Komon clash in Llodio, Spain (IAAF)

- Parties blast intelligence service, federal police

2008-12-03T21:20:00.001-05:00

Parties blast intelligence service, federal police

EthioPolitics - Dec 1, 2008 - The Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM) and Oromo People's Congress (OPC) said in a joint statement that the National Information Security Service (NISS) and the Federal Police have no right to engage in a defamatory campaign against them by implicating them in subversive activities.

The joint statement says that both parties are legally registered parties with many elected MP's. They said that their means of achieving their political goals is only through a peaceful and legal way.

The parties questioned whether the two institutions have the right to engage in an act of defamation against parties which respect the constitutional order and strive towards building a democratic order. They said that these two national institutions should stay out of party politics.

OFDM & OPC also accused the Ethiopian Television of airing NISS & Federal Police's joint statement without considering the legal ramifications since it violates provisions in the political parties proclamation as well as the constitution which protects people from defamation. Read More.

- News Briefs (Dec 1st, 2008)

2008-12-03T21:17:00.002-05:00

Financial crisis may worsen food crunch it eclipsed (CS Monitor - Dec 1, 2008)

Positive, hopeful & thankful (Star Valley - Dec 1, 2008)

A New Kenyan Port for Ethiopia and South Sudan (Daily Nation - Dec 1, 2008)

Gebru Asrat, an ex-TPLF exec: "Ethiopia has failed to learn from its past." (ABC - Dec 1, 2008)

- Washington DC: Call to End Suppression of Oromo People in Ethiopia

2008-12-03T20:43:00.001-05:00

Washington DC: Call to End Suppression of Oromo People in Ethiopia

American Chronicle - Nov 28, 2008 - The past weekend, the Oromo community in Washington DC deliberated on a number of issues: gross human rights violation of the Oromo people in Ethiopia and in East African countries, internal affairs of strengthening the coalition amongst Oromo opposition parties to challenge the regime and lobbying western governments to discontinue supporting the Ethiopian regime.

In connection with human rights, economic and political freedoms, Dr Asfaw Beyene, a dedicated Oromo scholar and activist, spoke of the importance of the role of individual in pressing for justice and freedom in repressive countries. "The individual is the most valuable resource that commands all other resources and individual must be respected," said Beyene. Beyene's keyword was for all humans to have "passion" for humanity that currently seems to be lost or misplaced. Read More.

Related: Waves of arrests continue in Ethiopia as the authorities accuse their critics of membership of the Oromo Liberation Front (Article by UOSE/TBOA. Source: UNPO)

- FULL COVERAGE

- News Briefs (Nov 30th, 2008)

2008-12-02T22:45:00.003-05:00

Rebels slam government probe into abuses (Reuters - Nov 30, 2008)

'I was in agony but my employers did nothing' (GulfNews - Nov 30, 2008)

Sudan politicians claim stake in Obama heritage (Reuters - Nov 30, 2008) - 'New Sudan Yes We Can'

Khartoum & Juba connected by road after decades (ST - Nov 30, 2008)

Rabies Barrier To Save World's Rarest Wolf (Science Daily - Nov 30, 08)

Abebe Dinkesa Wins Obudu Race and Habtamu Awash Finishes Third (ThisDay - Nov 30, 2008)

Related: Gebrselassie wins Great Australian Run (Brisbane Times)

- Charge or Free Ethnic Oromo Suspects

2008-12-02T15:49:00.001-05:00

Charge or Free Ethnic Oromo Suspects

Human Rights Watch - Nov 27, 2008 - Police investigators have not charged any of the recent detainees with a criminal offense. Courts have ordered some detainees released after police failed to provide any legal basis to justify their detention. Five detainees were released in Addis Ababa along with others who were detained in Nekemte, Dembi Dollo and other parts of Oromia. But 53 remain in custody in Addis Ababa after police officials obtained a court order to allow them to keep the detainees in custody for two weeks while they gathered evidence against them. When the two-week deadline expired on November 24, the police returned to court empty-handed but obtained a one-week extension, until December 1, to find evidence that might substantiate criminal charges.

This pattern of prolonged detention without charge is routine practice ... Read More. - FULL COVERAGE

- Not a drop to drink

2008-12-01T23:31:00.001-05:00

Not a drop to drink*

Guardian - Nov 26, 2008 - Akaki has turned from a sprightly fresh stream into a toxic sludge, poisoning not only the residents of Addis Ababa, but also the communities further downstream.

It's the end of the rainy season, and Alemu Mengesha (pictured above) ventures out into his fields outside the Ethiopian town of Akaki to prepare his next crop. But he won't be ploughing or sowing just yet, because in the coming three months he will have to clear the fields of the carpet of plastic bags, shoes, tires and other rubbish the floods have deposited on his land. Read More.

* A "Professional Finalist" of the Guardian International Development Journalism Competition.

Related Stories:

- The long and winding road ahead

- Farmers at the mercy of a city

- The menace of urban sprawl

- News Briefs (Nov 28th, 2008)

2008-12-01T01:53:00.000-05:00

Bekele hit by injury
(Yahoo! - Nov 28, 08) Ethiopia's Olympic 5,000 and 10,000 metre champion Kenenisa Bekele could be out for up to four months with a stress fracture.

Ethiopia Halts Coffee Auctions, Moves to Exchange (Bloomberg - Nov 28, 2008)

Africa Worried Over China Slowdown - AU Official (Alibaba.com - Nov 28, 08)

For Immigrants, a Ripple Effect (Washington Post - Nov 28, 2008)

- 44 Oromo Prisoners of Conscience Released from Woyane Prison

2008-12-01T01:30:00.002-05:00

44 Oromo Prisoners of Conscience Released from Woyane Prison

- Ethiopia's PM says ready for talks with OLF

2008-11-30T21:13:00.000-05:00

Ethiopia's PM says ready for talks with OLF

ST - Nov 24, 2008 - A mediation team said that the government of Ethiopia has agreed to hold talks with the rebel Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) without any pre-conditions.

"Ethiopian PM, Meles Zenawi called us and told us in person that his country is ready to hold talks with OLF," Amb. Birhanu Dinka, one of the elders and also former UN envoy to the Great Lakes region said. Read More.

Related:

- Statement of the OLF Provisional Committee On TPLF's Peace Gimmick (OromooLiberationFront.org)

- To Set the Record Straight Statement of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) Regarding VOA Interview on Negotiations with the TPLF Regime
(OromoLiberationFront.org)

- UN Security Council to Sanction Obstructers of Somali Peace Process

2008-11-30T04:54:00.001-05:00

UN Security Council to Sanction Obstructers of Somali Peace Process

VOA - Nov 21, 2008 - The Security Council unanimously adopted a British resolution calling for targeted sanctions such as asset freezes and travel bans against anyone blocking the political process, violating the arms embargo or obstructing the delivery of humanitarian aid. Read More.

- Somalia: Another Seyoum Mesfin Fiasco (Dagmawi)

- The 2008 Performance of the Year Award: Tirunesh Breaking the 5km World Record

2008-11-30T00:48:00.001-05:00

The 2008 Performance of the Year Award: Tirunesh Breaking the 5km World Record

This year's IAAF Performance of the Year Award went to Tirunesh Dibaba for improving the 5km World Record by 5 seconds to 14:11.5 in Oslo, Norway on June 6, 2008. Tirunesh also shared the Special Olympic Award with five others for being the first woman ever to get double gold in 5km & 10km at the Olympic Games. Jamaica's Usain Bolt & Russia's Yelena Isinbayeva won the 2008 World Athlete of the Year titles. Read More.

- News Briefs (Nov 27th, 2008)

2008-11-30T00:20:00.001-05:00

Unseasonable rain damages year's harvest in Ethiopia
(Jimma Times - Nov 27, 08)

Related: Drought intensifies in Tigray (ReliefWeb)

Study: Twin Cities charter schools promote segregation, perform worse than traditional schools
(MPR - Nov 27, 2008)

HRW: Ethiopia should open Ogaden to independent investigation
(ReliefWeb - Nov 27, 2008)

Ethiopia fears over aid clampdown
(BBC - Nov 27, 2008)

- Lawyers in Ethiopia training course

2008-11-29T23:50:00.001-05:00

Lawyers in Ethiopia training course

Press Association - Nov 23, 2008 - The legal eagles will pass on their knowledge, skills and expertise to 70 of the country's judges, prosecutors and lawyers as part of the first-ever Rule of Law project. Read More.

- News Briefs (Nov 26th, 2008)

2008-11-28T16:21:00.001-05:00

South Sudan's women warriors struggle in peace

(AFP - Nov 26, 2008)

Kenya readies for oil spill scenario from pirate-seized tanker (AFP - Nov 26, 2008)

Power-sharing faces obstacles at Somalia peace talks (Garowe - Nov 26, 08)

- Starbucks signs Fairtrade deal

2008-11-28T15:35:00.001-05:00

Starbucks signs Fairtrade deal

OneWorld.net - Nov 26, 2008 - Starbucks UK and Fairtrade Foundation Announce Industry Leading Support for Small-Scale Coffee Farmers 100% of Starbucks Espresso in the UK to be Starbucks™ Shared Planet™ and Fairtrade Certified Starbucks to become the largest purchaser of Fairtrade Certified coffee in the world. Read More.

- US policy on the Horn of Africa under Obama

2008-11-27T13:22:00.001-05:00

US policy on the Horn of Africa under Obama

Sudan Tribune - Nov 22, 2008 - With direct impact on US-Ethiopian relations, one personality to keep watching is a former congressional librarian and a Donald Payne assistant named Ted Dange, an Ethiopian-American married to a Somali-American, with a special affinity towards ONLF. Ted Dange is being sponsored by his close friends Donald Payne and Susan Rice for some post in the Obama's State Department African Affairs camp. Ted Dange's handlers are working hard to make sure that he is on a list of not only for a job at the State Department but also at several other agencies dealing with African policy. Some sources close to him say that he is no more interested in the African politics but rather in the trade and commerce aspect of Africa. Read More.

- News Briefs (Nov 25th, 2008)

2008-11-26T22:59:00.002-05:00

Kenyan firms cash in on Obamamania

(Reuters - Nov 25, 2008)

Protecting Africa's Children: The case of Eritrea

(ST - Nov 25, 2008)

AU urges Sudan's rival north-south groups to fulfill peace deal

(AFP - Nov 25, 2008)

Ethiopian troops remain in Somali capital

(CNN - Nov 23, 2008)

Related: Ethiopia hints about troop withdrawal from Somalia (APA - Nov 23, 08)

- News Briefs (Nov 21st, 2008)

2008-11-25T23:52:00.001-05:00

Disappointed But Not Defeated

(IPS - Nov 21, 2008)

Spreading weeds and vanishing hope

(Reuters - Nov 21, 2008)

Sudan rebels wanted over Darfur war crimes

(CNN - Nov 21, 2008)

- Mass Arrest And Killings In Oromia

2008-11-25T21:59:00.000-05:00

Mass Arrest And Killings In Oromia

Statement of OMRHO - Oromia Times - Nov 21, 2008

The Oromo Human Right and Relief Organization (OMRHO) received yesterday alarming and shocking news that at least 13 Oromos have been killed in cold blood by the TPLF regime in Northern Oromia, Wallo, at a district known as Sambatee. The reason given for the killing was their political affiliation with the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). The precise date and their circumstance of death remain yet unknown. What is certain is that they were killed by government security forces. Read More. FULL COVERAGE

- News Briefs (Nov 20th, 2008)

2008-11-24T23:14:00.001-05:00

Off Africa's coast, pirates 'out of control'

(USA Today - Nov 20, 2008)

Kenya jail beating to be probed

(BBC - Nov 20, 2008)

Journalists Protest Sudanese Government's Arrest of Reporters

(BBC - Nov 20, 2008)

- Amnesty International Appeal for Oromo prisoners

2008-11-24T01:01:00.002-05:00

Amnesty International Appeal: UA 315/08 Arbitrary detention/torture or other ill-treatment of Oromo prisoners

AI - Nov 18, 2008 - At least 15 members of the Oromo ethnic group, including those named above have been arrested in the capital Addis Ababa and also reportedly in eastern and western parts of the Oromia region of Ethiopia, since around 30 October 2008. Most are reportedly held incommunicado in detention facilities in Addis Ababa, including Maikelawi, where torture and ill-treatment of political prisoners has been reported in the past. Read More. - FULL COVERAGE

- Foreign adoptions drop sharply in U.S.

2008-11-22T04:09:00.001-05:00

Foreign adoptions drop sharply in U.S.

Ethiopia is the #1 in adoptions in Africa & provides 590% more adoptees than any other African country.

MSNBC - Nov 18, 2008 - The number of foreign children adopted by Americans fell 12 percent in the past year, reaching the lowest level since 1999 as some countries clamped down on the process and others battled with allegations of adoption fraud ...

The biggest increase was in adoptions from Ethiopia — they rose from 1,255 to 1,725, moving the Horn of Africa nation into fourth place on the State Department's list, just behind Russia. No other African country provided more than 250 adoptees last year, although the continent is viewed as one of the few potential growth regions for international adoption. Read More.

- AU troops replace Ethiopians

2008-11-22T04:08:00.000-05:00

AU troops replace Ethiopians

News24.com - Nov 18, 2008 - African Union (AU) peacekeepers have started moving into positions usually manned by Ethiopian troops in the capital Mogadishu, witnesses and an AU mission source said on Monday.

The rotation of the AU mission in Somalia (AMISOM) is a key part of the ongoing Djibouti peace process, which provides for a gradual pullback of Ethiopian troops from the war-torn country. Read More.

- EPRP: Stop the Harassment of Oromos

2008-11-21T00:46:00.000-05:00

EPRP: Stop the Harassment of Oromos

Abugida - Nov 17, 2008 - The repressive regime of Meles Zenawi has been jailing, killing and disappearing several thousands of Oromos and their local leaders for many years. In fact, reports coming out of the region have been indicating to us that imprisonments, extrajudicial killings and harassments have intensified in the last several weeks. Many reports have also been indicating that the ethnocentric regime has put many thousands of our Oromo compatriots in concentration camps for several years.

The dictatorial regime of Meles Zenawi has yet to desist from perceiving political opposition as a danger to its political survival. While it proclaims, largely to its foreign audience and backers, to be ushering in a democratic chapter in the country, in actual fact, it is has been harassing the people it rules and hounding its political opponents around the clock. Its current attack of the Oromos, mainly suspected members of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), the Oromo National Congress (ONC) and the Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM), are continuations of its past practices. Read More.

- Somali Leaders Locked In Internal Dispute While Rebels Advance On Mogadishu

2008-11-20T22:46:00.001-05:00

Somali Leaders Locked In Internal Dispute While Rebels Advance On Mogadishu

VOA - Nov 15, 2008 - Sources said neither President Yusuf or PM Hussein was willing to yield. Both men left later in the day for Nairobi, where discussions are said to be continuing on formation of a new government of national unity to replace the embattled Transitional Government, which holds power mostly in name only. Read More.

- Once Again, A Political Stunt: TPLF Style

2008-11-20T22:30:00.001-05:00

Once Again, A Political Stunt: TPLF Style

AFRO-O.org - Nov 13, 2008 - Sensing that it would be held responsible for committing War Crimes in Somalia and Ethiopia itself, the TPLF gang now wants to hoodwink the new US administration into believing that it has to continue to be financed and equipped since it alone is democratic government that is a trusted partner to fight terrorism. To get the attention of the new US administration, the clique has already started to "cry wolf". A case in point: all of a sudden, out of the blue, the regime first announced that there would be "an imminent terrorist attack" and then, before too long, concocted that it "lured an OLF commander and killed him and captured his accomplices". In addition, in the past two weeks, the TPLF regime of Meles Zenawi has been rounding up innocent and peace loving Oromo people. These include members of its own so called parliament, business people, teachers, students, journalists, farmers. Read More.

Ayyaantuu - Nov 12, 2008 - According to reports we received from Finfinnee (Addis Ababa) several innocent Oromo nationalists, especially students of West Shoa Zone, Ambo town and its vicinity, have been apprehended. Among the arrested Oromo students of Ambo Secondary School are: Shumi Dandana, Baayisaa, Hinseenee, and Jaarraa Eebbisaa. Read More.

- FULL COVERAGE

- This Month in Oromo History - November

2008-11-20T22:05:00.000-05:00

This Month in Oromo History

November 3 - About five months after the collapse of Mengistu's regime in May 1991, the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) convened a meeting of Oromo intellectuals on November 3, 1991. The purpose of the meeting was to adopt the Latin script OLF had been using for almost two decades or suggest an alternative - for writing Afaan Oromoo. Over 1000 Oromo intellectuals met in the Parliament Building at Arat Kilo, Finfinne (Addis Ababa). After a six-hour deliberation, it was unanimously decided that the Latin script be adopted. More Oromo History @ Gadaa.com/chronology

- Artist Zerihun Arrested & Disappeared!

2008-11-20T21:26:00.001-05:00

Artist Zerihun Arrested & Disappeared!

OLF News - Nov 12, 2008 Sources of OLF News from Finfinnee (Addis Ababa) reported that the famous and celebrated Oromo Artist Zerihun Wadajoo was detained on November 7, 2008 by the Wayyaanee TPLF "security" forces and his whereabout is unknown. Artist Zerihun Wadaajoo, a father of four children, is one of the pioneers, who revived, shaped, and modernized the Oromo music and culture, which were about to be abolished from the face of the earth during the successive oppressive Ethiopian regimes. He spent several years in prison during the military junta of Mengistu Hailemariam.

- FULL COVERAGE

- Ethiopia's Gender Gap Widens in 2008

2008-11-20T12:02:00.001-05:00

Ethiopia's Gender Gap Widens in 2008

FOX News - Nov 15, 2008 - Nordic countries again topped this year's scorecard measuring equality between women and men in 130 countries.

The gap between men and women was widest in Yemen, with Chad, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Benin, Morocco, Egypt, Turkey, Ethiopia and Bahrain near the bottom of the list.

The report released this week at a press conference by the Swiss-based World Economic Forum again found that no country closed the gap between men and women when it comes to economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, political empowerment, and health and survival.

Woyane's Ethiopia ranking dropped by 2 rankings from 2007 to 2008 to 122nd. Ethiopia has the second widest gender gap in the sub-Saharan Africa - Chad has the first widest gap. Read More.

- The 2008 World Economic Forum's Gender Gap Index

- Letter from the Oromo Parliamentarians Council

2008-11-20T11:57:00.001-05:00

Letter from the Oromo Parliamentarians Council

It is the high time for all concerned bodies to interfere in the gross human rights violations against Oromo from all walks of life and secure their constitutional freedom. As of 30/10/2008, the iopian government has put under unlawful detentions more than 100 Oromos of different backgrounds in different cities of Oromiya, including in the capital city under the notorious pretext of supporting the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). Read More.

- News Briefs (Nov 17th, 2008)

2008-11-18T04:31:00.000-05:00

A free Southern Sudan would be good for Kenya

Daily Nation - Nov 18, 2008

It would be in Kenya's strategic interest to ensure a free and independent Southern Sudan.

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Leenco Lata Vindicates Gobana Dache's Participation in Building Ethiopia - Finfinne Times - Nov 17, 2008

By joining the struggle against the rule of Emperor Haile Selassie I, Leenco and other students of the time might have jumped in the struggle against the ruling class with fervor to bring about a change in the feudalistic ideology at that time. Yet he hasn't escaped from being the victim of extrapolating that fervor to fighting the country, and by extension, the people.

Ethiopian authorities arbitrarily arrested 94 opposition members and Oromo nationals in different towns of Oromiya region but mainly in the capital Addis Ababa, confirmed two oppositions parties today.

Related:

- O.S.G. Press Release

- OMRHO Press Release

- FULL COVERAGE

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Darfur rebels accuse Sudan of bombing despite truce
Reuters - Nov 15, 2008

Darfur rebels accused Sudan government forces on Saturday of bombing their territory, just days after the president announced a ceasefire in the region.

But Sudan's armed forces denied the reports, saying they were sticking to the ceasefire. They said they had made no maneuvers in the area.

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The Suffering Of Somalia
TIME - Nov 14, 2008

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US knocks Russian sale of MiGs to Sudan
AFP - Nov 14, 2008

- Yeroo Interview with EU MP Ana Gomes

2008-11-18T01:45:00.001-05:00

Yeroo Interview with EU MP Ana Gomes

Jimma Times - Nov 12, 2008 - Hon. Ana Gomes, member of the Socialist Group in the European Parliament and the Head of the EU Observation Mission at the Ethiopian Elections in May 2005, has been praised by many activists and opposition supporters in Ethiopia, but denounced by Ethiopia's ruling party. She spoke with Yeroo newspaper (Jimma Times) about the state of democracy in Ethiopia, OLF, stability in the region and about Ginbot 7 organization established by her close friend Berhanu Nega living in exile.

Yeroo: In general, has the state of – or perhaps the transition to – democracy in Ethiopia improved or worsened during the last 3 years? Read More.

- Court dispute between factions of OLF over

2008-11-18T01:26:00.001-05:00

Court dispute between factions of OLF over

OLF.info - Nov 12, 2008 - We are very pleased that the senseless Asmara Group's lawsuit against the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) is dismissed by the District Court of the Fourth Judicial District of the state of Minnesota, United States of America (USA), on 8th September 2008 (Court File No. 27 CV 07-20487).

The Asmara Group had claimed exclusive right to the name "Oromo Liberation Front" ("OLF") and logo and had brought lawsuit against the OLF for "violation of the deceptive trade practices act, interfering with prospective economic advantage, false statement in advertisement and declaratory judgment". Read More.

- News Briefs (Nov 13th, 2008)

2008-11-18T00:34:00.002-05:00

Capitulators' surrender agreement and its nemesis - Oromo Affairs - Nov 13, 2008

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New Forms of Oromo Popular Culture on the Internet - American Chronicle - Nov 13, 2008

Young artists Boonaa Mohammed, Epidemic and O´Z UP keep Oromummaa/ Oromo identity as their primary identity, while also simultaneously occupying the terrain of the broader hip hop tradition.

- Mass Arrest and Imprisonment of Oromos

2008-11-18T00:34:00.001-05:00

Mass Arrest and Imprisonment of Oromos

HRLHA - Nov 12, 2008 - According to documents obtained by the HRLHA from its informants in Addis Ababa, a wave of mass arrest and imprisonment that has targeted prominent Oromo intellectuals and businessmen is going on in different parts of the regional state of Oromia, including the Capital Addis Ababa. The arbitrary arrest and detention, which is being carried out by an armed force brought together from regional and federal police that is particularly set up and deployed for this purpose, started following the usual allegation that the local residents harbour and/or support the opposition armed group – Oromo Liberation Front. This most recent mass arrest and imprisonment includes Mrs. Lelise Wodajo, a mother and guardian of three dependant children and wife of former ETV journalist Dhabasa Waqjira, who fled the country to escape further persecutions after three years in prison without trial. The fate of the three children of Mrs Wodajo and Mr. Waqjira, who are said to be very young, is not known. HRLHA is highly concerned about their current situation as well as their future. Read More. - FULL COVERAGE

- Nov. 4th 2008 is a landmark in modern world history

2008-11-18T00:09:00.001-05:00

Nov. 4th 2008 is a landmark in modern world history

By Ibsaa Guutama
Work hard to get your own Abboomaa and be free! Bilisummaa is just a pace away! Yes, We Can!

Gubirmans - Nov 12, 2008 - As an Oromo refugee, I have enjoyed American hospitality and a life free from fear and threat for many years. My dream has always been the independence of my country Oromiyaa, and peace and stability for its neighbors. November 4, 2008 has strengthened this hope of mine. It is a landmark in modern world history. It is a day that stunned people of all races, creeds and walks of life. It was enough to witness how much emotion were aroused when tears were involuntarily flowing from the eyes of civil right veteran leaders like Jessie Jackson. Their struggle has reached beyond the right to equal treatment and the right to vote for which they paid heavy sacrifices. This was only yesterday. Now it became possible to be elected to the highest office of the land - breaking all taboos. They could not control their tears for it was phenomenal. "Yes, We Can" was the slogan of the elected from his campaign to victory speech. It echoed their hopes as expressed in the song "We shall overcome". Read More.

- News Briefs (Nov 12th, 2008)

2008-11-17T00:12:00.001-05:00

Credit crisis threatens Africa's development

Reuters - Nov 12, 2008

The global credit crisis has come just as African economies were turning the corner, forcing governments to delay or scale back projects to stimulate growth and fight poverty, government officials and economists said at a gathering in Tunis.

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Africans In America, Abroad Welcome Obama Win NPR Nov 12, 2008

What most Africans want from the next US administration includes: a change of the US foreign policy towards the Horn of Africa.

- News Briefs (Nov 10th, 2008)

2008-11-17T00:05:00.000-05:00

2008 WORLD ATHLETES OF THE YEAR - AND THE FINALISTS ARE...
IAAF - Nov 10, 2008

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Hasooba vs. Baatii
Burqaa - Nov 10, 2008

KNOCK IT OFF! WILL YOU?

- Martyrdom of Oromo Liberation Fighter is Honorable and Propels the Struggle

2008-11-13T22:12:00.000-05:00

Martyrdom of Oromo Liberation Fighter is Honorable and Propels the Struggle
Statement of OLF

On November 5, 2008, Comrade Laggasaa Wagii, Member of the OLF Central Committee and Commander of the Oromo Liberation Army Western Command, lost his precious life in the liberation war. He participated in and/or led the Oromo liberation struggle in Western Oromia for the last seventeen years. During those years, Laggasaa registered proud heritage of shining victories in the battles against the TPLF occupation army. He is a hero, whose sacrifice inspires us to double and triple the sacred struggle for liberation of Oromia.

- News Briefs (Nov 10th, 2008)

2008-11-13T22:10:00.000-05:00

Going Green Carter
TIME - Nov 10, 2008

"I'm famous in Ethiopia for being the No. 1 latrine builder." - Mr. Jimmy Carter

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Some in Africa expect miracles from Obama
USA Today - Nov 10, 2008

- Race to save world's rarest wolf

2008-11-13T21:14:00.001-05:00

Race to save world's rarest wolf

BBC - Nov 11, 2008 - Scientists in the remote Bale mountains of southern Ethiopia are in a race against time to save the world's rarest wolf.

Rabies passed from domestic dogs is threatening to kill up to two-thirds of all Ethiopian wolves.

Scientists from the UK and Ethiopia are currently vaccinating wolf packs to prevent the spread of the disease.

The population has dwindled to as few as 500, as a result of human encroachment into their habitat. Read More.

- "Building a Bridge to a New Ethiopia"

2008-11-13T21:13:00.001-05:00

"Building a Bridge to a New Ethiopia"

Jimma Times - Nov 10, 2008 - A Minnesota Ethiopian Dialogue, Building a Bridge to a New Ethiopia - Do We Do it Alone or in Solidarity?

Sunday, November 16, 2008 from 2PM to 7PM @ 350 Anderson Hall at the University of Minnesota

Ogadeni, Oromo, Amhara, Anuak and other Ethiopians live in the Twin Cities and in greater Minnesota, but usually do not interact with each other, yet they share many things in common, including their love of their families and their motherland and their deep concern for these loved ones back home in Ethiopia who continue to face hardship, oppression and suffering.

The Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia has called on leaders among the Minnesota Ethiopian communities and ethnic organizations to hold "A Minnesota Ethiopian Dialogue" in order to build new bridges of solidarity not only to Ethiopia, but between isolated ethnic groups so that all groups might be empowered to work together on some of the most pressing issues facing, affecting and threatening the lives of all Ethiopians. Read More.

- ETHIOPIAN GOVERNMENT IMPLICATES OFDM IN CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES

2008-11-12T23:16:00.001-05:00

ETHIOPIAN GOVERNMENT IMPLICATES OFDM IN CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES

The Government has announced on TV this evening that it has arrested many OROMOS in connection with terrorist activities. OFDM can never cooperate with OLF because OFDM is openly and legally carrying on political activities within the framework of the Ethiopian Constitution. We have evidence that the government is preparing the ground to massively arrest and detain peaceful Oromos including law-abiding OFDM members. We do not understand the purpose of such a move because we know that the Government is fully aware of our activities, which are entirely legal and political in nature.

The government wants to intimidate and silence OFDM. OFDM has been speaking in Parliament on national issues such as famine, inflation, ethnic conflicts, etc.. and has even called on the government to invite the opposition to meet it at a round table discussion to find solutions for national problems. Read More. - FULL COVERAGE

- News Briefs (Nov 9th, 2008)

2008-11-12T15:41:00.001-05:00

Deriba and Aselefech win the Delhi Half Marathon The Hindu - Nov 9, 2008

Ethiopia's Deriba Merga won the men's race with a new course record of 59.14 minutes, while his compatriot Aselefech Mergia became the women's champion of the fourth Airtel Delhi Half Marathon.

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Franken sees boost in nail-biter election
CNN - Nov 9, 2008

- Mass Arrest of Oromo Women Intensified

2008-11-11T23:28:00.001-05:00

Mass Arrest of Oromo Women Intensified

A 3-year-old child detained with his mother & father

OLF News - Nov 9, 2008 - Widespread arrest of Oromos in Finfinnee (Addis Ababa) and other parts of Oromia continued, this time targeting women, including a 3-year-old child, OLF News correspondent reported from Finfinnee.

Among several women who were apprehended from their homes and work places in Finfinnee on November 4 and 5, 2008, by the government "security" forces that wear plain cloth are: 1. Mrs. Asaadaa Imaanaa, 2. Mrs. Caaltuu Taakkalaa, 3. Mrs. Urgee Abbabaa fi 4. Mrs. Dirribee (Boontuu) Ittaanaa.

Particularly, Mrs. Urgee Abbabaa is reported to have been arrested with all her family: her brother Darguu, her husband Girmaa and more shockingly, with her three-year-old child. It is clear that the above named women and many others are now being tortured and brutalized by the inhuman TPLF forces in detention centers. This is a continuation of the current wave of arrest of the Oromo people by the regime in power, as reported by OLF News and many other media outlets, including TPLF government controlled media. Read More. - FULL COVERAGE

- The Hague Meeting: Continuation of Trial to Surrender

2008-11-11T22:13:00.000-05:00

The Hague Meeting: Continuation of Trial to Surrender

By Ibsaa Guutama
The unwillingness of Wayyaanee to tolerate any peaceful approach was seen now and again.

Gubirmans - Nov 9, 2008 - In the process quitter comrades have stepped into quagmire from which they are finding difficulty to extract themselves. Now they have devised a different tactic, a socio-political approach. Jarsummaa (elderliness) is an old Oromo institution for conflict resolution. Jaarsa (Elders) have great role in making peace and reconciling parties in conflict. Quitters of kaayyoo are trying to form a committee of Jaarsa under the pretext of resolving assumed conflicts. They are free to quit if they have no more guts left to fight it out. But these are not ordinary persons. They are still considered by so many as among leaders of the nation because of their roles in the OLF. Read More.

- Ethiopian Government Hides 19,000 People Starving to Death in Western Oromia

2008-11-11T22:01:00.001-05:00

Ethiopian Government Hides 19,000 People Starving to Death in Western Oromia

OLF News - Nov 8, 2008 - Our reporters in Western Oromia, Illu-Abba Boora zone, reported that over 19,000 people are on the verge of death as a result of starvation . In Boorachaa district of this zone several children, women, and elderly people are widely affected and dying every day, our reporters added.

It is reported that the current TPLF/EPRDF regime of Meles Zenawi is hiding the rampant starvation of the Oromo population just as the Haile Sillasie regime of the "King of kings" hide the famine of 1972-1974. It is well documented that the current regime not only hides the widespread famine in the country in general and that of Oromia in particular, but also uses the famine for political purposes; namely, distributing the donated supply only to those who agree or pledge political support for his rule. Read More.

- News Briefs (Nov 8th, 2008)

2008-11-11T21:51:00.000-05:00

Darfur rebels shun conference, seek direct talks Reuters - Nov 8, 2008

One of Darfur's strongest rebel groups on Friday said it had refused to take part in a planned peace conference in Qatar and demanded instead one-to-one negotiations with Sudan's government.

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Kenya slams Egypt and Sudan over Nile agreement
The Standard - Nov 8, 2008

A fresh dispute has erupted over an agreement on the Nile waters after Egypt and Sudan declined to sign the agreement for the Nile Water Basin Cooperative Framework.

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Obama Sparks 'Barack Baby' Boom
SkyNews - Nov 8, 2008

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A turbulent year ahead for the Horn of Africa
Reuters - Nov 8, 2008

The region "will continue to see some of the world's worst humanitarian, political and security crises".

- Should the United States deny political asylum to a man who, out of fear for his own life, stood by as others were tortured?

2008-11-11T21:34:00.001-05:00

Should the United States deny political asylum to a man who, out of fear for his own life, stood by as others were tortured?

Law.com - Nov 8, 2008 - That's the question at the heart of the case Mayer Brown's Andrew Pincus argued before the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday. Pincus describes the case of Eritrean national Daniel Negusie as an "extremely interesting" one that, depending on how the Court rules, could help develop a unified standard for certain kinds of immigration cases: those of asylum-seekers who claim they committed torture or other abuses in their native countries only to save their own lives ...

Government lawyers have taken the position that any asylum candidate who participates in torture can be denied that status -- and that the candidate's willingness to do so is irrelevant. The key precedent is a 1981 case in which the high court revoked the citizenship of a former Nazi prison guard who said his service was involuntary, the New York Times reports. At least one federal appeals court -- the Eighth Circuit -- has ruled otherwise in a separate case, and Pincus says the U.S. needs a unified standard for these cases to address the issue so civilians drafted into civil wars against their will. Read More.

- Ethiopia says rebel leader killed in west

2008-11-10T01:36:00.001-05:00

Ethiopia says rebel leader killed in west

Reuters - Nov 7, 2008 - "Legesse Wegi, military commander and central committee member of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), and some of his followers were killed on Wednesday in Kelem district of the western Wellega region," police said in a statement.

"Some of his followers were also killed, while some others surrendered to security forces, appealing for mercy," the statement added, without giving more details.

There was no immediate confirmation from the OLF.

Earlier this week, Ethiopian authorities paraded on TV more than a dozen people they said were captured OLF leaders. Read More. - FULL COVERAGE

- Obama win injects a Cool America factor

2008-11-09T13:12:00.001-05:00

Obama win injects a Cool America factor

AFP - Nov 6, 2008 - Barack Obama's victory in the US election has given Americans an almost overnight excuse to stop hiding their passports.

Americans around the world have reported being congratulated by strangers in the street. Obama t-shirts are on sale in stores in Paris and London, and after years of criticism over Iraq, climate change and other disputes, newspaper headlines have proclaimed that the United States is cool again.

"YES, WE CAN be friends!" splashed Germany's top selling Bild daily on its front page Thursday. "We have fallen in love with the new, the different, the good America. 'Obamerica'." Read More.

- News Briefs (Nov 7th, 2008)

2008-11-09T12:39:00.002-05:00

Somali MPs stranded after summit BBC - Nov 7, 2008

IGAD did not pay expenses and allowances after inviting the MPs to a Nairobi summit.

Ethiopia to see sharp rise in orphans running households

AFP - Nov 7, 2008

Eritrea hopes Obama will change US policy in Horn of Africa AFP - Nov 7, 2008

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Official Groundbreaking Ceremony of the Construction of the African Union Conference Centre AU - Nov 7, 2008