Xalayaa Banaa Hoogganoota QBOf

Sadaasa 23, 2013

Gara:
 
J. Dhugaasaa Bakakkoo, Hayyuu Dure QC-ABO       

J. Daud Ibsaa, Hayyuu Duree Shanee ABO
J. Abarraa Tafarraa, Dura Taa’aa THBO
J. Ibsaa Naga’oo, Barreessaa Gurmuu Qabsaa’ota fi Miseensota ABO

Irraa: Miseensota Kutaa ABO – Ameerikaa Kaabaa

Jaallan hoogganoota dhaabota siyaasa Oromoo,

Baroota dheeraa dabraniif dhaabota siyaasaa Oromoo hooggantan tokkomsuun tokkummaa qabsaa’ota dhinsitanii QBO finiinsuuf yeroo addaddaatti saba Oromoo abdachiisttan. Yeroo addaddaattis “tumsa” “wal-hubannoo” fi kkf waliif mallatteessitanii “Internet” irratti facaafttan. Magaalota hawaasinni Oromoo jiru hedduu keessa bobbaatanii dhimma kana irratti ibsa kennitan.  Lama-lamaan (bi-laterally) “haasaa nagaatti jirra” osoo jettanii baroota hedduu dabarsitan. Ha ta’u malee, milkiin haga ammaatti  mul’ate hin jiru.

Milkaa’u illee yoo hanqattan, tokkumaa qaabsaa’ota QBO dhinsuuf yaalii gootan fi gochaa jirtan hundaaf galatni keessan guddaa dha. Ammallee abdii hin kutatinaa, itti fufaa, jenna.

Dhiiroo “milkaa’uu dadhabuun kun maaliif laataa? Fedhiitu hin jiru mo? Sirnnaani hin hojjettaminii? Yaaliilee hamma ammaatii godhamanii mil’kaa’uu dhaban irraa maal barannaa?” Gaaffiileen jedhanitti deebii barbaaduun yaalii ammaan booda godhamu milkeesuuf qooda guddaa qabaata jennee amanna. Qabsoo tokkummaa qabsaa’ota Oromoo dhinsuuf godhamu gufuu addaddaa irraa eeganii milkoomsuu fi firii itti gochuun gumaacha hunda keenyaa gaafata yaada jedhutti waan amannuuf irratti yaada kennachuuf dirqamnne.

Garuu, gaaffilee kanaaf “deebiin kan keenya qofaa dha” hin jennu. Deebiin gaaffiilee kanaaf kennamuu danda’aniis “isaan nuti tarreessine qofa” ilaalcha jedhu hin qabnnu. Obboleeyyan addaddaa iddoo addaddaa dhaabbatanii rakkoo kana ilaalan irraa ka’uun deebii kan keenyaa gadi ykn caalaa sirrii ta’e kennu danda’u. Xiyyeeffannaan keenya waan dabreef wal komachuu miti; Kan dabre xiinxallee, waan irraa barannee wal dura qabannee, fuula duratti qabsoo ummata keenyaa tarkaanfachiisuu dha.

Kanaaf jecha, qabxiilee yoo ilaalcha gahaa kennitaniif  sochii tokkumaa qabsaa’otaa dhinsuuf  godhamu fuula duratti tarkaanfachiisuun milkoomsuu danda’u jennu tokko-tokko akeeknna. Ha ta’u malee, beekumsi nuti waa’ee dhaabota kanaa qabnnu wal qixa waan hin taaneef, qabxilleen kaafnu hundi, wal-qixa dhaabota hundaa ilaala  jechuu hin dandeenyu. Kan isin ilaalu  keessaa filatanii dhimma itti ba’uun, kan isin hin ilaalle dhiisuun, kan  keessani.

Nu hofkalchaa!

 1.      Tokkummaan qabsaa’otaa kaayyoo ifaa irratti hundaa’uu qaba!

Sababoota qabsaa’ota Oromoo faca’iinsaaf saaxilan keessa inni guddaan kaayyo QBO irratti ilaalcha ititaa dhabuu dha. Gara tokkoon kanneen kaayyon QBO uummata bilisa fi biyya walaba ofiin bulu mirakaneessuuf  ta’uu qaba kan jedhantu jiru. Mooraan kun, wal-giddutti tokkummaa uummatee, dandeetti, beekumsa fi qabeenya isaa walitti kuusee sosso’uun qabsicha akka feesisutti geggeessuu hin dandeenye. Keessattu, baroota kurnan dabran keessa, yaada fi toofttaan isaanii faffaca’aa waan dhufeef, yeroo diinni qabsichaa jabaachaa deemuu, mooraan kun garuu laafaa dhufe. Jeequmsi ABO keessatti bara 2001 dhalatee, dhaabcha gargar baqaqsuun gahe, laafina kanaaf qooda guddaa akka gumaachee shakkiin hin jiru. Hundeen baqaqa kanaas hoogganoota dhaabichaa gidduutti kaayyoo qabsichaa irratti yaadin ititaan dhibuu dha. Kun hamilee saba Oromoo fi kan qabsaa’otaa cabsuun kaayyo kana “bakkaan gahuun kan danda’amu hin fakkaatu” shakkii jedhu uume. Caalaatti, shakkii kana kan hammeesse ammo, obboleeyyan yeroo dheeraaf moora kana keessa turan, abdii kutannoo argisiisuun “haalli addunyaa jijjiiramee jira; gaaffiin akkasii yeroo ammatti addunyaa keessatti fudhatama fi deggersa hin qabu” jechuun yaada moraa kanaa faffacaasuu isaanii ti.

Sababa kana irraan kan ka’e, moraa kana keessatti, jeequmsaa fi dadhabinatu mul’ata. Osoo ofii isaanii gidduutti yaada ititaa hin qabaatiin, jarmaa isaanii qaranii diinatti bobba’uu waan dadhabaniif, sabichaafis hamilee kennuu dadhaban. Gabaabaatti, haalli kun, miseensota dhaabota siyaasaa keesatti mamii fi afanfaajjii fide. Deggertoota kaayyo qabsichaa keessatti hamilee caba fidee, jaarmota siyaasaa gidduutti illee tokkummaa hamma turellee laaffise.

Gara biraan, kaayyoon qabsichaa, Impayericha dimookratessuun achi keessaan mirga Oromoo argamsisuu ta’uu qaba kan jedhantu jiru. Mooraan kun, jaarmota Oromoo walaba ta’an, kanneen heera Impaayerichaa fudhatanii biyya keessa sosso’aa jiran fi kanneen biyya alaa taa’anii ifatti ha ta’uu, dhoksaan ilaalcha kana babal’isan hammata. Isaaniis, tokkummaan sosso’anii, wayyoomina argisiisuu waan dadhabaniif, sabni Oromoo abdii akka irraa hin qabnne beekkamaa dha. Keesattuu, “project”iin saaanii kun yeroo hedduu yaalamee kan dadhabame ta’uun beekkamaa dha.

Gabaabatti, ilaalcha siyaasaa kana lameen irratti yaadni qabsaa’ota Oromoo bakka lamatti hiramuun tokkummaa qabsaa’otaa irratti dhiibbaa guddaa qabaachuu fi tokkummaaf gufuu ta’uun isaa beekkamaa dha.

Yoo gad-fageessinee ilaalle, dhimmi jaarmaa, kan diiplomaasii fi kan qabsoo hidhanno ykn nagaa kan irratti hundaa’u kaayyoo bakkaan gahuun fedhamu irratti. Kana irraa kan baramuu qabu, kaayyoo bakkaan gahuu fedhan irratti walii-galteen yoo hin jirraanne, tokkummaa qabaachuun hin dada’amu.

Yaadni akkas wal-irraa fagoon lama wal-falmaa jiraachuun, qabsoo keenyaa keessatti afanfaajjii uumuu, nu laafiisuu fi tokkummaa qabsaa’otaaf gufuu ta’uun isaa ifaa dha. Kanaaf, tokkummaan isin fiddan kan dhugaan kaayyoo irratti hunda’ee ta’uu qaba!

2.      Tokkummaan qaabsaa’ota Oromoo ummata keenyaaf dhimma tarsimooti malee kan toofttaa miti!

Qabsoon tokkummaa qabsaa’ota Oromoo dhinsuu fi itichuuf godhamu ija toofttaatiin ilaalamuu hin qabu. Har’a, qabxiin ummata keenya dhimma kana caalaa yaaddessuu kan jiru nutti hin fakkaatu. Tokkummaan qabsaa’otaa ittiin diina injifatanii biyya keenya fi saba keenya bilisoomsuu qofaaf kan barbaadamu miti. Erga bilisa baanee boodallee, biyya keenya misoomsuu fi sirnna haqaa fi dimookrassii keessatti diriirsuun tokkumma qabsaa’otaa gaafata. Qabsaa’onni tokkummaa hin qabnne, yoo biyya qabaataniis, osoo wal jeeqanii ummataas jeeqanii, saba saanii “lola lammii” (civil war) saaxiluu danda’u. Qabxii kana hubachuu fi gad-fageessanii itti amanuun fardii dha.

Sochiin isin tokkummaa qabsaa’ota Oromoof gootan hubannaa fi amantii kana irratti hundaa’uu qaba. Tokkummaa qabaachuun  waan Oromoo hedduu gammachiisu ta’uu waan beektaniif jecha, ummata biratti jalala horachuuf ykn bu’aa biraa irraa buufachuuf  ykn “olola of irraa dhaabuuf” ykn “haasaa nagaatti jirra” jechuu qofaaf akka toofttaatti  dhimma itti hin ba’ina. Bakka gahuu dhabuu yalii hedduu ammaan dura gootaniif sababin tokko tokkummaa qabsaa’ota Oromoo akka toofttaatti malee akka tarsimootti ilaaluu dhabuu keessan. Kanaaf, fuula duratti irraa of qusadhaa!

 

3.      Dhaabni isin hoogantan kan miseensota isaa ti, malee kan dhuunfaa keessanii miti! Kana yeroo hunda yaadahdaa!

Dhaabni hoogganttan kan miseensota dhaabichaa ti. Hoogganni aangoo irra yeroo dheeraa turuu irraan kan ka’e dhaabin kan dhuunfaa saanii kan ta’e itti fakkaachuu danda’a. Dogoggora akkasii irraa of eeggachuu barbaachisa. Kan hooggana filee aangoo itti keenne miseensota dhaabichaa ta’uun irraafatamuu hin qabu! Deggersa fi qooda fudhannaa miseensotaa malee sochiin keessan milkaa’uu hin danda’u. Kanaaf, mirga miseensonni keessan imaammata, sochii fi murtiilee dhaaba saanii keessatti qooda fudhachuuf qaban kabajaa!

Sababoota sochii isin tokkummaa qabsaa’ota Oromoo dhinsuuf goona jettan gufachiisan keessaa inni tokko, sochii kana keessatti, miseensota keessan qooda dhorkachuu fi yaada saanii  kessumsiisuu diduu dha jennee amanna. Ilaalcha “Kan wal-dhabu hooggana, kan araaramus hooggana, miseensi maal keessaa qabaa?” jedhu irraa of qulqulleessuu dadhabuu keessan argina. Hamma ilaalcha kana irraa of qulqulleessittanitti, tokkummaa qabsaa’ota Oromoo dhinsuu hin dandeessan. Qabsaa’onni isin tokkoomsuuf hojjenna jettan kun eenyu isaanii? Miseensotuma dhaabota keessanii miti? Maree tokkummaa kanneen akka tokkooman berbaadamu keessatti qooda hin fudhane ykn irratti yaada hin kennanne milkaa’uu attamitti danda’aa?

Seena dabre irraa barachuu feesisa. Murtiilee gur-guddoon ammaan dura osoo miseensota qooda hin fudhachiisin godhaman jeequmsa fi badii guddaa fidan. Jecha kanaaf fakkeenyi irraa barachuu qabnu inni duraa bara 1991 keessa mootummaa cehumsa Itoophiyya keessaa qooda fudhachuu ABOn murteesse keessaa, miseensi dhaabicha qooda hin qabu ture. Murtii fardiin akkasii qooda fudhannaa fi maree miseensotaan alatti godhamee raabsameef. Bara 1992 keessa murtiin WBO mooraatti galchuu, beekumsa miseensotan alatti ta’e. Itti bahiin isaa lubbuu ilmaan Oromoo qisaasuu fi WBO hamma badinsaan gahuu ture. Fakkeenyi biraan, murtii bara 2000 keessa “Ajandaa Nagaa” labsuuf godhame, kan miseensonni dhaabichaa irratti hin mar’achiifaminii fi qooda keessaa hin fudhatini. Itti bahiinsi isaas ABO bakka lamatti baqaqsuun QBO gara boodaatti deebise jechuun ni dandaa’ama.

Qooda fudhannaa, deggersa fi fedhii miseensotaa keessanii malee, tokkumaa qabsaa’otaa qofaa keessan fiduu hin dandeessan. “Waliigaltte”, “tumsa”, “Walhubannoo” fi kkf mallatteessuu dura, miseensota keessaniin mar’adha. Yaada saanii gaafadhaa.  Dhimma kana akka gaariitti hubachuu fi deggeruu saanii hubadhaa. Addunyaatti facaasuu dura miseensota keessaniin gahaa.

Gabaabatti, mirga miseensota keessanii kabajaa! Qabsaa’onni isin tokkoomsuuf hojjenna jettan miseensotuma kana ta’uu yeroo hunda yaadadhaa! Dhaabichi kan dhuunfaa keessan osoo hin taane, kan miseensota ta’uu hubadhaa!

 

4.      Tokkoomuun qabsaa’otaa kan aadaan hojii saa hin jijjiiramnne QBOf faydaa hin qabu!

Hammam illee yoo tookkomttan, yoo hojii qabsoo hojjettanii  QBO achi hin buttan ta;e ummata Oromoof  bu’aa hin buufttan. Ummata Oromoo kan aria’atama fi hacuuccaa diinaa jalaa baasuu dandeessan hojii qabsoo hojjechuu qofaan. Hojii hojjechuun ammo aadaa hojii horachuu barbaada. Dhaabonni keenya hundi, hoogganoota fi miseensota dabalatee, aadaa hojii hin qaban. Kun jijjiiramuu qaba!

Akka barbaachisutti Oromoo ijaaranii bobbaasaa hin jiran. Waraana ijaaranii guddisaa fi lolchiisaa hin jiran. Alagaa Oromoof firoomsaa hin jiran.

Hedduun saanii karoora hojiillee hin qaban. Karoora humnna namaa oogummaa fi dandeetti qabu horachuu, karoora beeksisii (propaganda), karoora hojii diiplomaasii, karoora Oromoo biyya keessa fi alatti ijaaruu, karoora of-irratti hirkannoo, karoora tikaa fi qaruutee (security & intelligence) jaaruu, karoora waraana ijaaruu fi lakkobsa fi aynaasaa wayyeessuu fi kkf hin qaban. Karoora hojii malee hojiin hin jiru. Kan hin karoorffatin hojjetamee fi hin hojjetamnneesaa madaaluun hin danda’amu. Kanaaf, dhaabonni keenya waggaa dha waggaatti hojiisaanii hammam akka tarkaanfachisan madaaluu hin danda’an. Kaan saanii gaaffii kanallee of hin gaafatan. Kun dhaabota keenyaaf aadaa ta’ee jira.

Hojii Oromoo ijaaree bobbaasu, kan waraana ijaaree lolchiisu, kan alagaa Oromoof firoomsu hoojjettu yoo ta’e malee tokkummaan keessan qofaan ummata Oromoo waan gargaaru hin qabu. Aadaa hojii horadhaa!

5.      Wal-tuffachuu dhiisaa!

Wal caalmaan dhaabota bilisummaa ummata tokkoo  kan maadalamu, kaayyoo ummatichaa bakkaan gahuuf hojii isaan hojjetan irratti. Hojii kana keessaa kanneen gurguddoon, kan diiplomasii, kan waraanaa fi kan siyaasaa ti. Isin keessaa kan qabso diiplomaasii Oromoo boonsu “hojjechaan jira” jechuu danda’u  eenyuu? Kan waraana diina haleelaa jiru qabu isin keessaa eenyuu? Kan biyya keessatti ummata ijaaree qabsootti bobbaasaa jiru hoo eenyu? Isin keessaa kan hojii kana “kanneen hafan caalaan hojjechaa jira; Oromoo boonsaan jira!” jedhee dubbachuu danda’u jiraa? Mee dhaabbadhaa of ilaalaa! Ebelu waraana hin qabu, ebelu nama sadituu dha fi kkf jechuun keessan of gammachissuuf yoo ta’e malee dhugaa qabatamaa  keessa jirttan hin calaqqisu. Kannen wal-cabsan fi wal-tuffatan tokkummaa ummachuu hin danda’an. Yoo ummataniis, waaruu hin danda’u. Kanaaf, wal-tuffachuu dhiisaa! Walitti dhufttanii wal jabeessuu fi QBO achi butuuf carraaqaa malee wal cabsuu fi wal-tuffachuu irratti yeroo keessan hin balleessinaa.

6.      Hoogganni seera dhaabni isaa tumateen hin bulle, tokkummaa qabsaa’ota Oromoo dhinsuu hin danda’u!

Hoogganni sirnna dhaaba saatiin hin bulle, amantaa (credibility) hin qabaatu. Keesattuu, hoogganni sirnnummaa (legitimacy) hin qabnne, bakka dhaabichaa bu’ee haasa’uuf illee mirga hin qabu. Hedduun keessan dhaaba bakka buuna jettan keessatti, gadaan keessan erga dhume bubbulee jira. Ha ta’u malee, qaanii tokko malee aangootti rarraatanii jirttu.  Hoogganni har’a heera dhaaba isaa cabsee humnnaan aangotti rarra’u, osoo bilisummaa baanee aangoo qabaate, sirnna dimookraasii fi kan haqaa diriirsa jedhamee akkamitti abdatamaa? Erga gadaan keessan dhumee booda akka heera dhaaba keessanitti filannoo haaraa osoo hin geggeessin ykn miseensota keessanitti deebitanii gadaa keessan dheeressuuf  hayyama osoo irraa hin argatin, akkasumatti baroota dheera aangoorra teessan, hooggana isin booda dhufuuf fakkeenya akkamii taatuu? Heera fi seera ofii keessanii hin kabajin, miseensota keessan akkamiin kabajchiisuu dandeessuu?

Tokkummaa qabsaa’ota Oromoo dhinsuu kan danda’an hoogganoota amantaa (credibility) ummata biraa qaban, hoogganoota sirnnaa (legitimate leaders) fi hoogganoota seera fi heera dhaaba saaniin bulanii bulchan qofa. Kanaaf, heera fi seera dhaabota keessanii kabajaa; yoo gadaan keessan dhumee jiraate, dura hoogganummaa keessan sirneessa!  

Oromiyaan Ni Bilisoomitti!

 

Abraahim Abbayyee

D/T Kutaa ABO Ameerikaa Kaabaa (KABO-AK)
www.oromoliberationfront.info
KABO-AK@oromoliberationfront.info

Isin maal jattuu?  Have your say!

Ethiopian government outlaws Voice over IP (VOIP): 15-year prison sentences possible

By Patrick Roanhouse

Troubling news is coming out of East Africa this week. International media site Al Jazeera has just picked up that on May 24th 2012, Ethiopia ratified new legislation called the 'Ethiopian Telecom Service Infringement Law'. The Legislation criminalizes any third-party Internet services not run by the state controlled telecom monopoly, Ethio Telecom, with Skype being a focus. However, the ban affects other services, such as Google Talk.

The new telecom law is meant to impede Internet telephony, with reported punishments of heavy fines and 8 to 15 years in prison if caught. The legislation prohibits all network telephony traffic, along with audio and video data traffic via social media, reports the The Africa Review.
In order to catch people, Ethio Telecom has implemented brand new "deep packet" inspecting services to filter its citizens' Net access to political opposition blogs and other news outlets.

Reporters Without Boarders was first to report about the new Internet censorship tools going in to country that are specifically designed to also catch people using the popular Internet proxy anonoymizer tool TOR, the onion router.

According to watchdog group OpenNet Initiative, Ethiopia currently has the second-lowest Internet penetration rate in sub-Saharan Africa and just around 700,000 of the country’s 84 million citizens had Internet access in 2010. The average Internet speed in Ethiopia, says Akamai, is currently 622 kbps.

When questioned about the reason for the ban and criminalization of outside VOIP services, particularly Skype, Ethiopian officials reportedly said at first it was for national security. They later let slip about concerns that Skype hurt the state-owned telecommunications company; the legislation also helps to squash independent journalism and bloggers over social media.

A recent ruling political party media workshop titled "Internet Management", supported by China's Communist Party, was held in Ethiopia's capital city of Addis Ababa. The workshop was headed up by Professor Gao Hongeim of the Chinese Leadership Academy. The head topic of the talk was about the experience of China regarding "mass media capacity building", "mass media institution management" and "Internet management".

This was reported by Ethiopia’s own ruling party, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front. A quick 'sanitized language' to layman translation of the topics basically states China is teaching other countries how to censor and shut down its citizen right to free speech.

Source: http://betanews.com/2012/06/15/ethiopian-government-outlaws-voip-15-year-prison-sentences-possible/

Have your say!

The struggle for independence of Oromiya vs. the struggle to maintain the Ethiopian empire: Which side are you on?

      By Leenjiso Horo

Every Abyssinian emperor or imperial president, or imperial prime minister has flown Abyssinian flag over Oromiya: still flying it. This flag represents a symbol of a national history and pride for Abyssinians.  For Oromo, it is a symbol of colonial occupation; a symbol of injustice and humiliation. Consequently, the Oromo are waging a war of national independence to replace the colonial flag with the flag of independent state of Oromiya - the flag that represents Oromo values, culture, pride, history, aspiration, hope, dream, and unity.

In the past 20 years, Meles Zenawi has increased his violence in Oromiya many folds over.  Today, more Oromo are killed than any time before; more Oromo are arrested than any time in memory.  Under this colonial fascist regime large number of men, women, youths and elders have been kidnapped and disappeared. In political parlance, disappearance is euphemism for politically motivated secrete kidnappings. The arrests, tortures, and killings have been justified in the name of fighting "terrorism."  Indeed, Meles Zenawi's regime has waged a total war on the whole Oromo population.

The reign of fascism of Meles Zenawi's Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) has choked the peoples of the empire.  Since it was put in the saddle of power in the empire by foreign powers, this tiny minority has gripped economic, political and military power. Ever since, the TPLF has engaged in the persecution of journalists, artists, academia, students, elders, and members of civil society. As a colonized people, the Oromo have been subjected more than ever before to this regime's strangulation in their own country, in their own backyards. Since it set foot in Oromiya, TPLF has been dangerously undertaking economic persecution and strangulation of the Oromo people in order to destroy their ability to survive as a people, as a nation, as a community, and individuals.  In addition, in Oromiya, it has strangulated freedom of expression, of the press, of belief, of association, of assembly, and of movement. It has restricted and made them illegal. This fascistic action is defended and justified in the name of "state security".  It is time to defend ourselves and our country. This time is gold not to be wasted.

  Since 1991, Oromiya has been robbed by Meles Zenawi and his associates.  They have amassed more wealth, power, and privileges than their predecessors ever had.  They robbed Oromo of their lands and resources.  The robbery, stealing and plundering of Oromiya's wealth have been justified in the name of "democracy".  Furthermore, forcible removal or eviction of civilian population from their lands and destruction of the environment and natural habitats have been justified in the name of “development".  With Meles Zenawi's regime, everything, including democracy, has lost its proper meaning as the right of colonial nations to self-determination has lost its true meaning with some Oromo nationals. 

Jijjjiiramaa re-named itself as "Oromo Dialogue Forum"

In moving forward, the Oromo struggle has challenges: one is the internal and the other is the external.  In any struggle the major obstacle is, and has always been the internal one. It is a major obstacle, because it allies with and supports the external enemy against its own people and their struggle. The support can be direct or indirect, open or secret.  For that reason, it would difficult, if not impossible, to effectively fight the external enemy without overcoming the internal challenge. In the Oromo struggle, the external enemy is the colonizer and it is the primary enemy of the Oromo people and their struggle. The internal challenge to the Oromo struggle has been posed by persons of Oromo soul or of Oromo blood but who carry two flags. In one hand, they carry liberation flag and, in the other, they carry the Ethiopian colonial flag. When they see Oromo, they raise the Oromo liberation flag.   And when they see Abyssinians, they raise Abyssinian colonial flag.

Moreover, when asked about the Oromo struggle for independence of Oromiya, they resort to a vague talk about the right of nation to self-determination and then they go on giving a vague, imprecise, deceptive, false, and misleading meanings and interpretations to the right of nation to self-determination and to the purpose of the Oromo struggle and to its causes, to its nature and to the solution of this struggle.  For quite a while, they have been trying to change the meaning of self-determination, liberation, freedom, and independence.  They say the OLF political program does not call for independence of Oromiya.  They claim it only calls for self-determination. They say self-determination is different from independence. Hence, they say the Oromo nation struggles for self-determination not for independence. But they do not dare say for a colonial question, self-determination and independence have one and the same meaning. According to the OLF political program, the Oromo question is a colonial question and Oromiya a colony. Therefore, the meaning of self-determination is the same with the meaning of independence in the Oromo situation. It is only Oromo Ethiopianists - such as those in "Oromo Dialogue Forum" - who are entertaining the false picture of difference in the meaning between these terms.  These are the Oromo nationals who have been working for a long time to make alliance with Abyssinian political forces either with colonial government or with its opposition forces.

As mentioned in the preceding paragraph, it is important that one has a clear picture as to the meaning of self-determination; that it does not mean autonomy or self-rule, or self-government within the existing colonial empire. It only means total separation of a colonized people from a colonizing state and establishing their own free, independent, and sovereign state. It is with this aim that the OLF Political Program of 1974 and its amended versions of 1976 and of 1998 declared the establishment of  democratic republic of Oromiya as the objective of the Oromo struggle.

Here the irony and tragedy is that there are some of our own fellow nationals who were in the struggle for the liberation of Oromia for a long time and now turned their backs against it.   They have replaced the meanings of the struggle for the liberation of Oromiya and the meaning of independence of Oromiya with "democratization of Ethiopia" and "New Democratic Republic of Ethiopia."  In this way, they confused many Oromo nationals.   Out of this confusion, some have totally abandoned the struggle and joined the enemy.  Some have been and are still trying to revise the meanings of liberation, independence, and freedom.  Others have been trying to uproot or abandon all the meanings, altogether.  And to others, the idea of liberation, freedom, and independence sounds a denunciation of peace and democracy. These are the former cadres of Dergue's party and its Youth League members who joined OPDO (Oromo people's Democratic Organization), upon the demise of Dergue.  Then, they transmigrated from OPDO to OLF in large numbers.  They are the forces that were instrumental in the split of the OLF in 2001. With the split, they joined Shanee in mass, overwhelmed it and finally controlled it.  Then they wrapped themselves around Shanee, suffocated it, and misled it by influencing it to take a wrong political line.  Thereafter, they split from Shanee in 2008 under the name of Jijjjiiramaa.  In 2011, they re-joined Shanee, again.  However, before the ink of their signature of agreement that was put on paper dry they left Shanee, once again.  Having left Shanee, Jijjjiiramaa fractured itself into pieces.  It collapsed on itself; on its own feet and with this its political line.

Prior to its collapse, its political slogans 'democratization of Ethiopia' and new democratic Republic of Ethiopia were overwhelmingly rejected by the Oromo people and their nationalists. Now, following its collapse, Jijjjiiramaa re-appeared wearing a new lipstick and singing new political slogans "democratization of Horn of Africa" and “democratization of Africa" as complementary to the "democratization of Ethiopia" and as an alternative option to independence of Oromiya.  With this, they abandoned the name Jijjjiiramaa, altogether and re-named or re-created themselves as "Oromo Dialogue Forum/Waltajii Marii Oromoo."  This is the new lipstick Jijjjiiramaa is wearing now.  It is under this new name that Jijjjiiramaa is now hoping to fulfill its old mission.  The mission being to turn the clock of Oromo nationalism back and reverse it in order to help  perpetuate Abyssinian colonialism over Oromiya. It is this mission that has motivated and encouraged the group to try everything possible in order to politically and organizationally undermine the OLF.  Hence, the "Oromo Dialogue Forum/Waltajii Marii Oromoo" is a camouflaged Ethiopian colonial agent. Dialogue/Marii is simply a masquerade skin of Jijjjiiramaa.

Moreover, the key leaders of the then Jijjjiiramaa, and the now of the "Oromo Dialogue Forum" are one and the same.  They are the same well known individuals with a clear political position.  The political position is to maintain the territorial integrity of the Ethiopian empire.  For instance, some of its key leaders were members of the OLF who surrendered the Oromo cause to TPLF at London Conference of May, 1991.  It was at that Conference that the now leaders of "Oromo Dialogue Forum", then the leaders of the OLF, handed Oromiya over to TPLF.  That Conference was a victory for Tigrayans and Eritreans but it was a loss for the Oromo. The delegates of EPLF negotiated for independence and delegates of the TPLF negotiated to occupy the rest of the empire-Oromiya included.  The delegates of the OLF negotiated to hand Oromiya over to TPLF. This is a plain fact. The rest of the leaders and members of "Oromo Dialogue Forum" were the members of the former Dergue party and its Youth League who have been socially, ideologically and politically Abyssinianised. These are individuals who joined the OLF after the fall of Dergue regime.   They are Ethiopianist in their political core.

 

Furthermore, the "Oromo Dialogue Forum" is an embodiment of "Ethiopian democratization" and "New Democratic Republic of Ethiopia" wrapped into a single whole. As its predecessors, its political campaign is also based on lies, deceit, and fraudulent propaganda in order to mislead Oromo nationals to turn away from the Oromo struggle for independence and from national unity.  The slogan “democratization of Horn of Africa" is simply the group's political figment, deceit and delusion.  The political goal of the "Oromo Dialogue Forum/Waltajii Marii Oromoo" is to replace the OLF, to disarm it, and finally to do away with it as a liberation front for independence.  With this, its long aim is to politically disarm and organizationally incapacitate the Oromo national movement and finally to abandon the Oromo struggle for independence.

 

The recent secrete meetings of the group in Oslo, Norway and Mankato, MN, USA  were for charting of a secret campaign plan against the OLF and the Oromo struggle. According to attendants of the Mankato meeting, the discussion was centered on what to do, how to do, when to do, and where to do to shift the Diaspora based Oromo nationals' support away from the idea of struggle for independence and in favor of the idea of the reform of Ethiopia. The Mankato meeting was setup as a follow up to the Oslo meeting.  Mankato is 85 miles away from the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area, where the Oromo population is estimated to be 20 to 25 thousand.  This meeting was held in secret.  The names of attendants were held in secret.  The place and time of the meeting were kept in secret. In addition to charting the plan for their campaign, the purpose of secrecy was to avoid exposition of the attendants to the public and to keep new local recruits and local collaborators secretly implanted among the community to foster the liquidation of the Oromo national liberation struggle in the name of "Oromo Dialogue Forum."  It is time for all Oromo liberation organizations and Oromo nationalists across Oromiya and beyond to unite in a joint struggle against Abyssinian colonial occupation and its local collaborators among which the so-called Oromo Dialogue Forum is one.  This is among the internal challenges posed to the Oromo struggle.

The relationship between Oromiya and Ethiopia, between Oromo and Abyssinians, is a colonial one. This relationship was established by a bloody colonial conquest, occupation and colonization. And ever since, this relationship has been maintained on the basis of crude use of force.  That is, the occupation of Oromiya began with violence.  As all its predecessors, Tigrayan People's Liberation Front (TPLF) also entered Oromiya by violent means and it is administering Oromiya by violence and by shedding the Oromo blood. This colonial regime is not going to leave Oromiya voluntarily.  It has to be forced out.  Thus, the Oromo people can realize their freedom and independence only through a bitter struggle, including political and armed struggle.  And so the armed struggle must continue of necessity. This is a war of independence; it is a war of liberation; and so it is a sacred war. Hence any resistance against TPLF's violence must also be of a violent nature: the armed struggle.  It is only the language of violence that the TPLF can hear, listen, understand, and speak. The TPLF colonial occupation as it came to Oromiya in violence, so it will end in violence.  Whoever thinks to the contrary is certainly a utopian.

Oromiya has the right to be free and independent. This is its inalienable right.  The Oromo people have already decided to be free and independent.  To be free and independent is their natural right; their inalienable right.  That is why they send their sons and daughters to fight the occupying force.  That is why their sons and daughters are fighting the colonial occupation.  That is why the Ethiopian prison cells are filled with Oromo language speakers.  All in all, the Oromo national liberation struggle for independence is the road to peace, to freedom and justice that those nations who are and have been beleaguered by the colonial occupation must take. There is a great centeredness and joy and freedom to be found in doing what is historically necessary, just, and right, in taking up the tasks that history hands us.

Oromo nationalists love their country and people. It is the love felt by these nationalists who sacrificed their precious lives and those who are still willing to risk their lives for freedom that generations, including yet unborn, cherish. It is the love the nationalists feel for all who are resisting colonial tyranny, its injustices, its violence because they know which side they are on that sustains the struggle.  We know that many of nationalists will find each other as they take this struggle to the mountains, plains, and valleys of Oromiya demanding independence. Millions of our people in Oromiya and thousands in the diaspora will continue to fight until the war for independence of Oromiya is won. They are committed to this cause as their predecessors did. They are committed to organize and fight to the end and to dismantle the Abyssinian colonial occupation of Oromiya and with it, its institutions and its violence.  This needs patience and perseverance.  The struggle is to build a society in which each community and individual living in Oromiya lives free and in democracy, liberty and in peace, enjoying happiness and human dignity.  These cannot be achieved without struggle and cannot be realized with only wishes or without being part of the struggle. As Frederick Douglass, an American abolitionist has put it: “If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom and yet avoid confrontation are people who want crops without plowing up the ground; they want rain with­out thunder and lightning; they want the ocean without the roar of its waters.” 

In this struggle, on the one side, the Oromo people are fighting for independence, justice, liberty, peace and democracy. And on the other, there is simply Tigrayan colonial barbarism and its supporters fighting to maintain the colonial empire and its injustices.  For this, it is incumbent upon the Oromo nationals to ring the bell for the independence, write for it, speak for it, fight for it, die for it, and live for it rather than lending ears to the so-called "Oromo Dialogue Forum" -the group that is recently preaching the political insanity of "democratization of Horn of Africa," and "African democratization."  Here the friends and foes of Oromo struggle should understand that the Oromo struggle will continue until colonial occupation ends and its new and old local agents and collaborators bow to the will of the Oromo people and to those heroes and heroines who have sacrificed their lives for the independence of their people.  This note is for everyone who loves Oromiya, for everyone who loves his or her people, for everyone who opposes colonial occupation, and for everyone who opposes Meles Zenawi's regime war on Oromiya, on its people, and their institutions.  This is the time to fight. We have to fight to fulfill the dreams, the hopes, the wishes, and the aspiration of the Oromo people.  For this, we must find our voice, the voice of unity, and the voice of fighting in unity.

In the end, the Oromo struggle is against Abyssinian colonization and occupation of Oromiya. The political goal of the struggle is to restore independence to Oromiya.  The time has come for all us Oromos to get up and be counted; to stand together and fight in unison to defend our country and our people against all enemies: internal and external. In this struggle, as Oromo nationals you have to make a clear and unambiguous choice. The choices are whether you stand on the side of the violent colonialist force and its local collaborators or on the side of the truly Oromo national liberation struggle for the total independence of Oromiya. 

So the question is: Which side are you on?

Oromiya Shall be free!

Have your say!

By Leenjiso Horo

Kemal Gelchu & Co.: “OLF” Trojan horse? Part IV

By Observer

Continued from Part III (Read Here)

Kemal Gelchu & Co.'s Next Steps?

If you think Kemal Gelchu & Co.’s mission is limited to spying on, taking over and sabotaging the Oromo struggle led by the OLF and killing the organization, please think again. Their mission is much bigger than that. It is all part of the widely known and much talked about TPLF diaspora policy. Targeted for destruction by that policy is not only the Oromo struggle. Abyssinian (Habasha, Amhara & others) diaspora opposition groups, including Ginbot 7 (G7), are among those marked for infiltration and sabotage by various TPLF spies. Kemal Gelchu & Co. is but one such group deployed by TPLF.

The overall goal is to have diaspora opposition groups and liberation fronts silenced and surrender to TPLF where possible or saw discord among them to disrupt and frustrate their activities.

To that end, the Oromo struggle was chosen both as an end and a means - as an end, in that the effort targets the Oromo struggle for destruction; as a means, in that the effort includes using the Oromo struggle as a gateway to Abyssinian opposition groups marked for infiltration. The plan, which Kemal Gelchu & Co. is entrusted with executing, is killing two birds with one stone. The two birds are the OLF & diaspora Abyssinian opposition groups; the proverbial single stone to be used to kill both of them would be the OLF political program.

How?

If there is one thing Abyssinians (Habashas) hate even more than they hate the TPLF, it is the OLF political program which calls for Oromo self-determination with the option of forming an independent state of Oromioa. This is a fact beyond dispute. For the Habasha, to defeat TPLF only to lose Oromia, the most fertile and richest part of the empire, would be to win the battle but lose the war. This is something no Habasha is willing to contemplate much less accept or compromise on. One way in which the Habshaa believe they would be able to achieve both of their objectives (defeating TPLF and keeping Oromia under the yoke of colonialism) would be to have the Oromo drop their demand for self-determination, and statehood, and join them in the struggle to depose TPLF from the Imperial throne.

TPLF is keenly aware of this state of affairs just as we all are. Of course, it is working hard to infiltrate Abyssinian diaspora opposition groups directly as well. But, that is a pretty obvious strategy which the Abyssinians are aware of and are vigilantly guarding against. An even better strategy, however, would be to blindside them. The Abyssinian blindside, in this case, would be their obsession with having the Oromo drop their demand for self-determination. Any Oromo group willing to offer them “unity and sovereignty of Ethiopia” would be invited to alliances and even mergers. Within the country, MEDREK – which now includes Oromo People’s Congress (OPC) and Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDN) - is a case in point. Abyssinian diaspora organizations have not been as lucky. Having searched for such a group in the diaspora for many years to no avail, they think they have found one now. They are now beating the drum for Kemal Gelchu & Co – the Trojan horse approaching them with the promise of “unity and sovereignty of Ethiopia”. Little do they know that they are dancing to TPLF tune.

Making predictions is always hazardous. It would have been nice to have a crystal ball in which to look and see the future. Having no such tool at my disposal, what follows is not a set-in-stone declaration of what will happen-- but rather what very well could happen based on Kemal Gelchu & Co.’s journey thus far as well as current trends. With that disclaimer, I will be looking out for the following scenarios to materialize in the near future.

Having promised everything Ginbot 7 &. Co. would like to hear, including acceptance of a federal Ethiopia, Kemal Gelchu & Co. would propose some sort of alliance or a merger. It would be difficult for Ginbot 7 to turn down such a proposal for a couple of reasons. First, Kemal Gelchu & Co. has declared that the Oromo have no demand or question different and separate from that of other Abyssinians. That is exactly what Ginbot 7 has been preaching to whoever cared to listen. They have also accepted a struggle for “a functional and vibrant federal political structure” which Ginbot 7’s political program calls for. What reason would there be for Ginbot 7 to refuse a merger? Secondly, as an aspiring “multi-ethnic” organization, Ginbot 7 would love to have as many Oromos as possible associated with it to get a foot hold in Oromia which it is currently lacking. Why would Ginbot 7 not take this opportunity to extend its activities into Oromia region?

Before such a merger can take place, however, Kemal Gelchu & Co. would insist on the future merged organization renouncing raising arms to achieve a political end and declaring “non-violence” as its method of struggle. This is necessary because Ginbot 7 has not done so explicitly. In fact, it refused to disavow raising arms in its political program by “emphasiz[ing] that “peaceful struggle” works in a society where the government respects the rights of its citizens to dissent.” No one can tell if Kemal Gelchu & Co. will succeed in this endeavor but given that Ginbot 7 is currently not engaged in one any way, it would not be farfetched to opine Ginbot 7 may be open to the idea.

If they succeed, such a merger would give them opportunity to do more harm to the opposition group by spying for TPLF and sabotaging the merged organization’s work from within. Claiming representation for the Oromo people, they would occupy high leadership positions from where they can influence decisions detrimental to the organization and beneficial to TPLF. From such positions, they would gather information on the organization’s plans and activities to be transmitted to TPLF.

At the same time, they would argue that “peaceful” struggle cannot be waged from afar and would work hard on convincing the merged organization to return home to lead the struggle from inside the country. The only way to do so would be to negotiate their return with TPLF who would provide them with a face saving concession which Kemal Gelchu & Co. – now part of the merged organization leadership - would accept after some feigned negotiations effort.

If other members of the leadership of the merged organization formerly from G7 agree with the concession and decide to head home, then, this would be Kemal Gelchu & Co.’s ticket back home to a hero’s welcome from TPLF. Otherwise, this would lead to a split of the merged organization along Oromo/Abyssinia line enabling Kemal Gelchu & Co. to continue to cause confusion and turmoil in diaspora opposition organizations until such time that they are exposed and “defect” back to TPLF.

Ginbot 7 would be well advised to beware of TPLF agents bearing the promise of “unity and sovereignty of Ethiopia”!

Conclusions

Having failed to succeed in recruiting from within the OLF and having failed to convince any faction of the OLF to join its government, TPLF had to come up with a crafty plot similar to what the Greeks did to defeat Trojans. It recruited Kemal Gelchu & Co. to infiltrate the OLF, take it over and wreak havoc among diaspora opposition groups.

As anyone with the slightest understanding of politics can see, it does not make sense for generals who purportedly left the employ of TPLF to challenge it by force to disband their army, renounce armed struggle before they fire their first bullet and adopt “peaceful struggle.” Nor does it make sense for their much loved and respected political organization to alter its political program which gained them public love and support and adopt one that is shown to have been rejected by the nation they claim to work for. On top of that, those who execute these changes are new comers to the organization – to the OLF. Where were they before joining this organization whose program and strategy they are changing? They were working for the enemy – the TPLF. Only an enemy agent would do what Kemal Gelchu & Co. did with the “OLF” faction they claim to lead. Only a Trojan horse would do such a thing!

The Eritrean government is aware of Kemal Gelchu & Co.’s mission from TPLF. However, as is common practice in the intelligence world, it is using the enemy agents for its own ends (more on this at a later date) while monitoring and controlling their activities. Kemal Gelchu & Co.’s request for travel permits outside Eritrea has been consistently turned down by the Eritrean government regardless of the purported purpose for travel request. Even within Eritrea, their movement is very much restricted. Since their arrival, they have been under special surveillance 24 hours a day and are followed everywhere by Eritrean HUMINT agents. Their communication with everyone and anyone, inside and outside Eritrea, is being monitored and reported every day. That is how the Eritreans found out the plot (in or around 2007) by Kemal Gelchu and diaspora supporters to force out Dawud Ibsaa and alerted the later who was able to thwart the plot easily. Even every interview Kemal Gelchu & Co. give is scrutinized by Eritrean intelligence officers for code words or code phrases meant to convey messages to TPLF.

Eritreans are very vigilant against infiltration. Are we, Oromos?

Will Kemal Gelchu & Co., "OLF" Trojan Horse, accomplish its mission and go back to TPLF to a hero’s welcome? That is their plan but only time will tell!

Have your say.

Kemal Gelchu & Co.: “OLF” Trojan horse? Part III

By Observer

Continued from Part II (Read Here)

On Changing the OLF Political program

No serious observer of the Oromo people and their struggle for liberation over the last twenty years would doubt their abiding love and support for the OLF. That much, I argue, is beyond dispute. One cannot find a stronger evidence of the truth of this statement than pointing to the fact that the Oromo people stuck with it over the last twenty years even when it is at its weakest. Even Melles Zenawi, the arch enemy of the OLF, is said to have quipped “if you scratch every Oromo, you will expose the OLF in them” or something to that effect. This quip is one of the most telling testaments of Oromo love for the OLF.

So, why is it that the Oromo people love this organization so much and refuse to abandon it even when it seems weak and ineffective? Why is it that no Oromo organization created since has been able to garner as much support as the OLF from the Oromo people? What has it done for them in the past and what has it promised them for the future?

Most importantly, to tie it to the Kemal Gelchu & Co. story, how can one kill the OLF which seems to have nine lives and would not die regardless of uncountable attempts on its life or the number of obituaries written about its death?

Follow me, please!

The Oromo people’s deepest love is not for the leaders or members of the day; Although they love and hold them in high regard too. They know that leaders and members come and go. Their love is for something constant, something persisting in the OLF regardless of who leads the organization or holds membership in it. That, my friends, is the ideals the organization represents; the fears, hopes and aspirations it is connected to. The ideals, the fears and hopes, and the aspirations it represents and stands for are the same as those that the Oromo people hold very dear. In fact, the OLF was formed for exactly that purpose – to represent and reflect Oromo hopes and aspirations. This is manifested in its political program. It is specified as dismantling the Ethiopian empire, freeing the Oromo people from colonial subjugation and enabling them to determine their fate with no external interference or undue pressure. Without dismantling the empire the Oromo will never see freedom and without freedom they won’t be able to determine their fate freely. When that opportunity comes around, while it advocates for independent state of Oromia, the OLF has promised them that it will respect and abide by their choice. That is what gained it so much love and support from them.

Not only has the OLF reflected Oromo hopes and aspirations for liberation, it has also achieved for them, in a few decades, part of what they had lost for over a century. Paramount among them, it has helped lift Oromo identity, history and culture from the dust bin to which it was relegated by the Habasha colonizers and located it in its rightful place among the respected ones on the planet. I say helped because it is the Oromo people that did much of the lifting work through their organized and unorganized resistance. The OLF, however, gave that resistance and renaissance shape and direction. It organized and led it. The implication of that achievement alone on the Oromo psyche is incalculable. A book can be written about the impacts of this achievement. However, for the purpose of this piece, suffice to say that we would not have Qubee, or recognized as a nation without this achievement.

OLF’s work is not completed by any stretch of the imagination. But, knowing what it has accomplished for them to date, the Oromo maintain confidence that it will deliver on its promises in the future as well. That is because they are mindful of the fact that past behavior is the best indicator of future behavior. The OLF has gone, and will go, through ups and downs, rainy and sunny days, disappointments and successes but at the end of the day, they believe, it will come through for them and will deliver on its promises as it has done before. Yes, it will stumble from time to time, it will even fall down now and then, but they are confident that it will pick itself up, dust itself off, and walk, even run and fly, again. Whether it is strong or weak at any particular time is not as important as what it stands for. Its point in time strength or weakness may be most important for opportunists among them but not for the vast majority of the Oromo people.

Simply put, what the Oromo love is not OLF the organization per se. Their love affair is with OLF’s political program which is the embodiment of their hopes and aspirations. Without its political program, the OLF may exist as an organization, in name only, but without doubt will forgo the love and support of the Oromo people it has enjoyed since its inception.

In order to kill the OLF, it is not enough to murder, to “disappear” or to torture its leaders or members. Nor is it enough to delegalize it or label it as a terrorist organization. Twenty years of such practices have not borne fruit for TPLF. The secret to killing the OLF is to deprive it of the love and support it enjoys from its people. That is the only sure way of burying the OLF six feet under. What better way is there to accomplish that than by decoupling and disassociating it from its political program? None at all!

The sure way to kill the OLF, once and for all, would be to cajole, coerce or force it to abandon its missions and objectives as they are enshrined in its political program.

Enemies of the OLF know this very well. After years of attempts at cajoling and coercing it to change its mission, and having failed miserably at it, they have devised a crafty scheme they hoped the Oromo would be unable to uncover. It is to infiltrate the organization, take it over and force it to abandon its political program so as to deprive it of Oromo love and support. But they needed an Oromo tool, a “Trojan Horse” to accomplish this mission for them.

Say hi to Kemal Gelchu & Co., the lethal tool charged with this mission by the TPLF.

That is exactly what Kemal Gelchu & Co. announced on January 1, 2012. (Read Here) Under the guise of “a new vision with clear goals” they have changed the goal of the Oromo struggle led by their faction of the OLF from freeing the Oromo people from colonial subjugation and determining their fate freely to achievement of “New Federal Republic of Ethiopia.”

What is more, they accomplished their mission by trampling upon the due process procedure enshrined in the OLF constitution which calls for the organizations general assembly to make such a major change. Usurping the general assembly’s power and circumventing that due process was necessary to achieve their mission. Without such illegal act, they were certain that their mission cannot be accomplished for they would be opposed by the vast majority of nationalist Oromos who had joined their faction duped by their sugar coated mantra of “change”.

If the Oromo people’s aspiration were life in a “Federal” empire, they have had many organizations to choose from. First, there have been independent and “legal” Oromo organizations in the country that they could have supported and helped grow. These organizations have accepted a federal Ethiopia. The Oromo people, however, did not flock to join them and strengthen them. Secondly, the Oromo people have had the option of joining what Habasha’s call “multi-ethnic” organizations in the country. These are also “legal” and are working to remove TPLF from power. Twenty years after the OLF left the country, the Oromo people have refused to join these organizations.

Why? Why have they decided to stick to an “illegal” organization labeled a terrorist and face assured harsh treatment at the hands of TPLF?

The answer is simple. After twenty years of their refusal to join these other “legal” organizations in droves, it is fair to say that these organizations, although some of them seem independent and work for some Oromo interests, they do not represent the whole gamut of Oromo hopes and aspirations. The TPLF is very much mindful of this fact. According to TPLF even the few Oromos holding membership in “legal” opposition organizations, when scratched reveal the OLF in them.

So what is the purpose of changing the OLF political program to realizing “New Federal Republic of Ethiopia.” knowing fully that other Oromo organizations who are working for the same ideal have not gained their people’s love and support after twenty years of existence?

The purpose is to kill the OLF; deprive it of the love and support of the Oromo people it enjoys by changing its political program to one the Oromo don’t particularly care for. A “Trojan Horse” in the form of Kemal Gelchu & Co. was constructed and sent on this mission. Will they succeed? Only time and how the Oromo will react to these enemy spies’ actions will tell.

This is the third evidence of Kemal Gelchu & Co.’s clandestine work for TPLF from within the Oromo movement for freedom.

Continued in Part IV (Read Here).

Have your say!

Kemal Gelchu & Co.: “OLF” Trojan horse? Part II

By Observer

Continued from Part I (Read Here)

On Challenging TPLF by Force

Today, five years after they joined the Asmara group of OLF and three years after claiming leadership of an OLF faction, Kemal Gelchu & Co, are generals without armies much less challenge TPLF by force. Not only have they no army to speak of but have surrendered to TPLF whatever army there was before their arrival and sided with them during their split with the Asmara Group of OLF.

Under Hailu Gonfa’s command, in Aug. 2009, they allowed the filming, and airing on a Kenyan TV station, of the Oromo liberation Army (OLA), “in southern Ethiopia near the border town of Moyale” there by pin pointing OLA location for TPLF. A few months later, in Jan 2010, the vast majority of the army surrendered to TPLF under mysterious circumstances. Even before that, it was widely rumored that the OLA under their command was full of TPLF spies.

Furthermore, before they even fire their first shot and having surrendered their army to TPLF, Kemal Gelchu & Co. abandoned armed struggle and declared “non-violence” (Read Here) as their method of struggle there by revealing their lack of intention to challenge TPLF by force. It is unheard of for army generals to renounce armed struggle and declare “non-violence” to challenge an adversary they have asserted does not understand dialogue. The purpose, from the beginning, I submit to you the reader, was to disband OLA (Oromo Liberation Army) to deny the OLF a fighting chance against TPLF. Had Kemal Gelchu & Co. succeeded in taking total control of the OLF (including the two other factions), there is no doubt that this group would have made the OLF a toothless liberation front without a liberation army for that is one of the objectives they were sent to accomplish.

But that is exactly what TPLF wanted all along and has been demanding from the OLF to no avail until Kemal Gelchu & Co. showed up on the scene. Kemal Gelchu & Co. partly achieved by infiltration what TPLF failed to accomplish by force and through negotiations. What force and negotiations failed to yield, infiltration delivered.

But why did Kemal Gelchu & Co. choose non-violence, a method they declared ineffective when they left TPLF? What has changed since to make “non-violence” appealing to them at this point? Nothing has changed for the better form what we know! Has TPLF become more democratic and tolerant of “non-violent” methods of struggle? No! In fact, TPLF became more tyrannical wining 99.6% in its last “elections”. It continues to “disappear”, torture, imprison and kill our people. It continues to fire live ammunitions against peaceful demonstrators. One can find no rational reason for such decision under such conditions. In order to make sense of their adoption of “non-violence”, one would have to assume they were sent on a mission by TPLF to pacify the OLF. But this is not a wild assumption. It is one supported by evidence of their actions and one widely held belief in Oromia.

If peaceful struggle is what they had in mind, why did they leave the country in the first place? Wouldn’t it make sense to join Oromo organizations who have adopted that method - the likes of Dr. Merera Gudina’s OPC (Oromo People’s Congress) and Obbo Bulcha Demeksa’s WAFIDO? How do they plan to conduct peaceful struggle from afar - from Asmara? In the successful peaceful struggles with which we are familiar, the leaders remained among their peoples and led the struggle. Dr. Martin Luther King walked at the head of freedom marches in his country and with his people. Gandhi was among his people when he took on the English empire and tasted the brutality of the colonizers with his brethren. What are we to make of their advocacy for “non-violent” struggle from outside the country?

Could “non-violence” be their ticket back to TPLF once they accomplish the mission they were sent to execute? I will address this a few paragraphs later in “What would the Logical next steps be for Kemal Gelchu & Co.?”

The answer to the question about whether they have challenged TPLF by force as they promised they would do when they “defected”, should be obvious by now – NOT AT ALL! In fact, they surrendered to TPLF part of the OLA that sided with them. Before they fired a single shot, they disavowed armed struggle and adopted “non-violence”. They have no intention or plan to challenge TPLF in any way much less by force because they were sent to do TPLF work. Kemal Gelchu & Co. bears the sole responsibility for dismantling the OLA under their command.

This is the second evidence of their clandestine work for TPLF from within the Oromo movement for freedom.

Continued on Part III (Read Here).

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Kemal Gelchu & Co.: “OLF” Trojan horse? Part I

By Observer

On August 10, 2006, Oromo nationalist all over the world woke up to the news of Gen. Kemal Gelchu’s (a TPLF army general) defection to Eritrea and joining the Asmara Group of OLF (AKA the Dawud Ibsaa Group). Kemal Gelchu had been a very loyal soldier of the Ethiopian empire for many years both under the DERG and TPLF regimes. At the time of his defection to Eritrea, he was the commander of the TPLF 18th army division.

According to media reports, Kemal Gelchu simply walked across the border to Eritrea under cover of darkness from where he was stationed on Ethio-Eritrea border. What is more, he brought along 150 fully armed soldiers and, by some accounts, “tens of commanders” including Col. Abebe Geresu.

TPLF explained away the general’s defection as a disgruntled soldier who was denied promotion and chose to engage in “divisive activities”. Ethiopian TV reported: “Although his [Kemal Gelchu’s] colleagues repeatedly tried to correct the commander from his anti-government and inappropriate activities, the commander was not willing to change".

Regardless of his alleged “divisive activities” and notwithstanding TPLF’s knowledge of it, Kemal was allowed to command TPLF’s 18th army division stationed at the border with Eritrea – Ethiopia’s arch enemy. By any standard, the border between the two states was highly guarded and monitored at the time he crossed over. Regardless, the general was able to walk across the border with 150 other soldiers in tow and with a minor shooting incident.

How he accomplished such a feat was never explained, much less in sufficient detail. Hard to believe? Read on!

Gen. Hailu Gonfa and Col. Gemechu Ayana, two other long time soldiers of the empire, followed suite a few weeks later. How they arrived in Asmara was never explained to my knowledge.

Their defection generated euphoria in some corners owing to the belief that these generals would re-organize and re-build a guerrilla force that would match, surpass and defeat the TPLF army.

The two generals fanned the euphoria by informing the public that peaceful struggle against TPLF is futile and that they had exhausted the possibility of bringing TPLF to its senses through dialogues. In an interview he gave to BBC soon after arriving in Asmara, Kemal Galchuu said “The language they (the Ethiopian government) understand is force and we're going to challenge them by force." (Read Here). Hailu Gonfa, on his part, told Eritrean Television, that their demands for democracy “fell on deaf ears, [as a result] they were compelled to raise arms against the [TPLF] regime and thus join the popular struggle.”

Five years after they joined the Asmara Group of OLF and given that they now lead an OLF faction and their announcement on new year 2012 of having changed the OLF political program (Read Here) , it is about time, and fair, to assess their performance.

Have they challenged TPLF by force as they promised they would do when they defected? Has the Oromo struggle fared better as a result of their defection? Has the Oromo struggle become stronger or weaker – militarily, politically, socially, etc - as a result of them joining it?. Most importantly, did they defect to the Asmara Group of OLF to help the struggle or to do TPLF work? How about the faction that Kemal Gelchu is leading – is it advancing the Oromo struggle or is it a TPLF tool – a Trojan horse for TPLF spies and saboteurs? Where they sent to infiltrate the Asmara Group of OLF, take control of the organization and ensure that faction accepts TPLF conditions of surrender: Accepting the TPLF constitution and renouncing armed struggle?

In the following paragraphs, I will search for answers to these questions in their actions over the last five years.

But, first, what is a “Trojan Horse?”

The term “Trojan Horse” comes from the legendary ancient war story between Greeks and Trojans (People of Troy). In this epic story, having given up on confronting the Trojans in face-to-face combats, the Greeks came up with a crafty plot. They built a wooden horse, hid Greek soldiers in its belly and left it at the gate of the heavily fortified and defended Trojan city. Believing that this was a parting gift to the gods from the Greeks, Trojans opened their gate, wheeled the wooden horse in and went about celebrating their “victory”. Unbeknownst to them, the Greeks had hidden their soldiers in the wooden horse, whom in the middle of the night came out of the horse’s belly and opened the gate to the Trojan city. Once the gate was thrown open, more Greek soldiers streamed in to the city and decimated the Trojans thereby winning the war. That wooden horse became known as “Trojan Horse” and the term itself has since been used to describe enemy operatives in one’s midst conducting espionage and sabotage to undermine the opponent from within.

So, is Kemal Gelchu & Co. a Trojan horse? Let the facts speak for themselves.

On Strengthening the Oromo Struggle

In a couple of years after their arrival, the Kemal Gelchu group split the Asmara Group of OLF. The reason given for the split depends on which side of the divide would be doing the explaining. However, there is one glaring fact that is undeniable about how they split the organization and the consequences accompanying the split on Oromo struggle.

The first, and the most damaging one to the Oromo struggle and Oromummaa (Oromo identity), is the fact that when they parted company with the Dawud Ibsaa Group, their constituency consisted entirely of Oromo nationals of Arsi birth. Not a single known Oromo personality from other regions of Oromia appeared in their list. They exploited the latent regionalist tendencies espoused by some in the organization. They purposefully promoted regional differences and suspicions to gain support. They presented the split as one caused by the organization’s refusal to allow an able leader from Arsi to take his rightful place at the head of the organization. “The time is ours”, they told their fellow Oromos from Arsi. “Arsi Oromos are discrimintaed against in the organization” they preached to them. They succeeded in taking their divisive activity to the Oromo public and worked hard to destroy Oromimmaa (Oromo identity) which had been built with the blood and flesh of heroes and heroines of the struggle. They sprayed this venom in every Oromo institution in diaspora including community associations, political and religious organizations. By doing so, they saw the seeds of mistrust even among former comrades and personal friends from Arsi and other parts of Oromia. The purpose was to destroy Oromummaa and Oromo unity without which they know the struggle cannot progress.

Without the slightest exaggeration, no action of anyone, including that of the enemy, has rolled back what was gained by the Oromo struggle to the extent they did by this action. This is a major setback Oromummaa suffered from which it is yet to recuperate. Insha Allah, it will!

“Divide and conquer” strategy against the Oromo has been a tried and true way utilized by successive Ethiopian regimes to keep Oromos from uniting. It is also a strategy employed extensively by TPLF against other nations and religious groups in the empire. Their fear is that a united group of people will be able to pool their resources together to build enough capacity to one day defeat them. Consequently, they leave no stone unturned to frustrate their effort to unite through their agents particularly within the group they fear. One of the missions Kemal Gelchu & Co. is charged with by TPLF was to execute this policy within the Oromo and other diaspora oppositions.

Today, the Oromo diaspora is socially more divided than when they arrived. Politically, it is more fragmented and disunited than when they defected. Militarily, the Oromo struggle is in a worse position than it was when they joined it to purportedly re-energize OLA and challenge TPLF by force. While they are not responsible for everything that transpired since their arrival, Kemal Gelchu & Co. have contributed purposefully and immensely to weakening the Oromo struggle over the last five years.

This is the first evidence of their clendestine work for TPLF from within the Oromo movement for freedom.

Continued in Part II - (Read Here).

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