FOUNDATIONS OF A STATE IN OROMIA: APPLYING GADAA PRINCIPLES IN THE TWENTY FIRST CENTURY - Ayyaantuu - August 7, 2008

By Dr. Asafa Jalata

The challenges that the Oromo national struggle faces are rooted in the process of the development of the Oromo national movement and are a structural element of current Oromo politics rather than the result of the problems created by individuals. The development of this national movement occurred after a long period of resistance. The Oromo resisted slavery and colonization, and fought the status of colonial subject and second-class citizen to which they were relegated by the Ethiopian state. Various Oromo groups organized numerous local uprisings in different parts of Oromia aimed at regaining their freedom and independence. The Oromo's search for freedom and decolonization was clearly manifested in 1936 when thirty-three Oromo chiefs held a meeting and decided to establish the Western Oromo Confederacy. The document they signed to establish this confederacy expressed the desire of the people of Western Oromia to become a League of Nations protectorate with the help of the British government until the Oromo could achieve self-government. Scattered Oromo resistance and struggle continued until the 1960s, when the Oromo national movement emerged. Read More.