What is new in the empire state of Ethiopia?
By Yaadasaa Dafaa
November 29, 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 Charter, Art. 2). The preamble of the charter
mentioned “the end of an era of subjugation and oppression”. But, time
proved that it was actually the beginning of subjugation and
oppression under ethnic Tigrean hegemony. The TPLF, operating under
the cover of surrogate parties, quickly consolidated its exclusive
control over the transitional government at all levels.
International assistance obtained during that period to undertake
legal and institutional reform was in fact nothing less than
assistance to the TPLF to consolidate its power by dismantling
Amhara-centric state apparatus and replacing it by Tigrean controlled
institutions. Today, there is no public institution — the military,
judiciary, civil service and regulatory agencies — outside the
control of the TPLF and its surrogates. Military assistance is among
major programs sponsored by the US for the TPLF regime. The program
helped to transform TPLF militia into a “professional” army and beyod.
Judicial independence is declared on paper; but it does not have a
functional existence. Let us look at the past practices of TPLF: The
judiciary is simply an appendage of the ruling party that exercises
exclusive control over its budget to manipulate the administration of
courts. The appointment, training, promotion, transfer, discipline,
and tenure of judges and prosecutors are subject to heavy-handed
manipulation by the regime to subvert the legal system to serve the
political and economic interests of those in power. There is no
safeguard against arbitrary decisions by government officials. In
effect, the regime has absolute power to pass any legislation, to
enforce or ignore any of its laws with impunity. For instances,
according to reports by private newspapers, in 1995 the regime purged
several judges who tried to assert judicial independence by resisting
political pressure. The most victims as usual include five Oromia
Supreme Court judges, including its president as reported in March
2000 ( 07/08/92 Ethiopian calendar) by a private newspaper called ”
Seyfanabalbal”. The usual false government alibi for dismissals is
corruption, incompetence or abuse of authority. A former president of
the Oromia state , Mr. Hassen Ali Ibrahim, has this to say in his
asylum request written on December 7, 1998 to the US Justice
Department: “I opposed the human rights abuses committed by the
Federal Government soldiers and secret service men in Oromia. Although
Oromia is autonomous in name, the government soldiers and secret
service agents have total power to do whatever they want to do in
Oromia. They imprison, torture, or kill anyone … without due process
of law. For example, my own nephew, Abdalla Adam Ibrahim, was accused
of supporting the OLF and has been for the past three years at Ginir
secret detention in Bale zone (south-east Oromia)…. Despite having
been President, and now Vice President of Oromia and a Central
Committee member of the ruling party, I have not been able to bring my
nephew’s case before court of law. This is because the Federal
Government soldiers, more appropriately the TPLF soldiers, are in
practice above law in Oromia”. It is a public secret to know that such
practices of TPLF have worsen as their grip on the power became more
tighter and tighter suffocating all constituencies.
In recognition of the role of civic societies to consolidate a
democratization process, international funds are made available to the
TPLF regime for the purpose of promoting the grass-roots democratic
institutions. However, mass organizations set up by the regime and
penetrated by its loyal members to manipulate the populace are
presented to the international donors as civic societies. It is common
knowledge that the Relief Society of Tigray (REST) was used by the
international donors to channel resources to the TPLF since the 1980s.
It now enjoys increased funding by international NGO and governmental
aid-organizations. Another NGO, the Tigray Development Association,
was formed to supplement the activities of REST by tapping the
economic resources of the Tigray diaspora for development activities
within Tigray. While NGOs affiliated with the TPLF regime are
encouraged and supported by the regime, indigenous NGOs not loyal to
the TPLF regime are harassed, intimidated, and prosecuted under false
charges. For instance, the Oromo Relief Association was falsely
accused and shutdown. Prominent leaders of the Mecha and Tulama
Self-help Association and the Human Rights League are incarcerated and
are being prosecuted on false charges.
Funds generated from bilateral and multilateral international sources
were used to consolidate the TPLF home base under a plan known as the
Emergency Reconstruction and Rehabilitation of Tigray. Billions of
dollars raised from the international community through loans and aid
grants for the whole country have been diverted to develop Tigray in
the past years since the appearnces of TPLF on the power screen of the
country, while other areas are deliberately neglected. An impressive
number of schools, colleges, highways, airports, factories,
telecommunication networks and introduction of computers into schools,
and electrification of towns and districts are some of the development
projects carried out in Tigray. Meanwhile, Oromia and other areas are
suffering from famine, AIDS epidemics, abject poverty and social
stagnation. The regime tries to cover up this naked reality by touting
an achievement of over 5% rate of economic growth. The fact is that
the majority of the population has not benefited from the claimed
growth. Former growing towns of Oromia such as Mendi, and …. endless
list of vicinities are deliberately segregated from development. Once
flourishing futuristic small towns, at the present time, ended up
resembling the dying ghost towns.
Privatization of public enterprises was supposed to stimulate private
sector development as one of the primary objectives of the first phase
of SAP. Through manipulations of bidding processes, control of bank
credit facilities, corruptions, and related methods, non-Tigrean
investors were denied the opportunity to benefit from the program.
Parallel to privatization and ownership diversification of public
enterprises, there emerged a huge conglomerate of enterprises owned by
the TPLF through its prominent members and supporters fronting as
shareholders. They are now interlinked with the Endowment Fund for the
Rehabilitation of Tigray (EFFORT), which was formed in 1995 with an
envisaged total investment of 2.7 billion birr. TPLF companies formed
earlier include: MEGA Communication, SUN Construction, and GUNA
Trading. According to one study:”… [By] the end of 1996 most of the
companies set up by TPLF prior to the formation of EFFORT had been
restructured with EFFORT taking over most of the shares previously
held by the TPLF-front persons. Some other companies controlled by the
TPLF through EFFORT became minor shareholders and a few shares went to
high-ranking TPLF members (who are also sitting on the Board of
Directors of EFFORT) who became Chairpersons of the Board of Directors
of these restructured companies. …”
The point is that structural adjustment program is effectively used to
consolidate Tigray oligarchy which now dominates the entire political
life and all economic sectors of the country. This political,
economical and judiciary conspiracies are continued with more
arrogances by the TPLF with no end in sight. But the regime blindly
refuses to see that they are digging their own grave by adversely
robbing impoverishing other pat of the state.
The idea of Ethiopia as a Christian outpost has revived under a new
doctrine of stopping the spread of Muslim fundamentalism. Ethiopia
under the TPLF regime is accepted as pivotal state partner of the US
and its allies, despite well documented, systematic egregious
violations of human rights by the regime let alone in the
pretentiously colonized state of Somalia, but the main land of
Ethiopia itself. In a study sponsored by the USAID-Ethiopia in May
1993 to assist preparation of TPLF’s constitution for Ethiopia,
Harvard professor Samuel P. Huntington advised the regime that “a
dominant party democratic system” “might be possible and would be
desirable” to maintain the regime in power. A reminder included in the
Machiavellian advice by the professor was that “constitutions and the
institutions they create do make difference. They have a decisive
influence on the allocation of power and resources, who gets what,
when and how.” What the advice did not mention is that respect for
human rights and fundamental freedoms is an internationally recognized
duty of a government. Evidently, what USAID does in Ethiopia directly
serves US foreign policy goal. The Agency’s budget for one of the
last/previous FY was about US$50 million, out of which considerable
amount is to assist TPLF democratization effort. It should be
mentioned that, according to USAID sources, Harvard Institute (sic) of
International Development is a contractor for the project
implementation.
According to Article 1 of the two UN Covenants on human rights: “All
peoples have the right of self-determination”. The UN Conference on
Human Rights in Vienna, Austria , in 1993 declared: “All human rights
are universal, indivisible and interdependent and inter-related. The
international community must treat human rights globally in a fair and
equal manner, on the same footing and with the same emphasis.”
Enjoyment of individual human rights presupposes the realization of
self-determination, which is the synthesis of individual human rights.
While the right of their people is violated, individuals cannot be
really free to exercise their basic rights and freedoms. Under the
circumstance, denial of the right of self-determination becomes the
root-cause of violations of rights of individual members of the
society. Those who have responsibility under International Bill of
Rights to “strive for protection and observance” of human rights
violate their international duty when they maintain a client
relationship with the repressive Ethiopian regime at the expense of
the Oromo and other oppressed peoples. There is currently an
international trend to define a precise scope of the legal and moral
responsibility arising out of such violations.
HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF
The Nation of Oromoo is subjected to all the above systematic and
inhumane exploitations by successive Ethiopian regimes under the
pretexts of keeping a united “One Ethiopia”. In the Western and other
democratic Nations of the world, it is always the duty of all the
citizens to execute and protect the will of the people. If their best
of interest is not adhered to by the governing body the people do have
an absolute right to pursue the appropriate and the lawful
action/solutions according to their constitution to resolve their
grievances. But in Ethiopia where the rights of the citizens are not
respected and often abused, where the majority of the Nation’s
language, history, culture and all social aspects of the colonized
people are categorically suppressed with the worst brutality, one can
only expect prisons, and unlawful search and seizure, torture, and
even death when the colonized people try to raise their voices against
the perpetrators, the governing dictators.
It is a public secret to know that the TPLF regime of Ethiopia
continues to harass, imprison, and torture the Oromo citizens to the
point that it makes the life most miserable and intolerable for them.
When the degrees of torture, and the inhumane treatment by the
governing entity becomes practically unbearable, those who are
fortunate enough may chose to flee from these atrocities. Therefore,
it is imperative and factual evidence for all ages of the people of
Oromo and other colonized people in Ethiopia to escape and seek a
refugee status in the neighboring African States. But a refugee from
Oromo Nation often faces enormous difficulties including lack of
shelter, and basic human needs, protections when they arrive at the
refugee camps in the host neighboring State. Besides, these Ormoo
refugees usually are the easiest target of the hired Ethiopian murders
as evidenced in Somalia, Kenya, and Sudan.
Even if World Nation such as USA, Canada, Australia, Germany, other
European, and Scandinavians Nations are accepting these desperate
immigrants from Oromiyya, they need immediate humanistic support of
survival when they reach the foreign neighboring countries. These
Oromoo refugees often and most likely to arrive the land where they
happen to seek the refugee status at, with nothing in their
possession. Good examples for these facts are the daily witness of
Oromo Refugee arriving and living in Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, and
Eritrea. A Very few of these refugees may have relatives living in
other counties, and may receive simple basic assistances which may
support them till they are able to process the resettlement programs.
Yet others or the majority of these Oromo refugees may end up
malnourished, unsheltered, and even starve beyond human imaginations.
Therefore, the Oromo people calls upon all Nations of the World to
reach out for them in such a hard time when their lives are threatened
and on the crossroads of survival and death.
But it remains ironic when certain Oromos who may have been considered
highly and respected for their past dedications to the true causes of
the Oromoo Nation’s subjugation and colonization, turn back and
abandon the struggle they upheld so far. Even if it could be futile
presumptions for me to speculate on the reasons behind their
surrender, it would be suffice to conclude for me, that those of Ali
Birraa, Abbaa Biyyaa, Qamar Yusuf, and the Asmara group entourage
finally revealed their true colors. This could be a blessing in
disguise as the pretenders are coming out of their shadows and bow
down the twisted meanings of Democracy of TPLF. Yes, they have to bow
down to TPLF, because there is no “Democracy” if any one questions the
supremacy of the TPLF!!!. Yes, they have to bow down to TPLF, because
they will be called “Terrorists” if any one of them questions even in
the so called “Ethiopian legal means” the supremacy of the TPLF!!!.
In fact TPLF has warned them to keep their mouths shut by massive
arrest and imprisonment of other innocent Oromoos on the eve of those
individual former icons of Oromo going home, which symbolizes classic
act of tiresome against the Nation of Oromia.
The author is based in the USA. He can be reached at [email protected]
References
Yaadasaa Dafaa
What is new in the empire state of Ethiopia?
Thank you all those who contacted me and reminded me that my “References” failed to appear at the end of my article.
Therefore, here are the sources of the article:
References
1)Gadaa Malbaa, Oromia (1988).
2)Abiyu Geleta, Former Representative of
OLF Foreign Affairs Department.
3)John Sorenson, Imagining Ethiopia :
Struggles for History and Identity in the Horn of Africa (1993).
4)Borg G. Steffenson and Ronald K. Starrett (eds), Documentary Publications: Documents on Ethiopian Politics 1910 – 1929 Vol. I The Decline of Menelik II (1976) .Vol. II Consolidation of Haile Selassie’s Power
(1977)
5)Ibsaa Guutama, August 2007
6)Kumerra Gemechi: Reconciliation: a hallmark of the Oromos, October 04, 2007
Mohammad100
What is new in the empire state of Ethiopia?
Greetings Mr. Yaadasaa,
Your writing sounds like Leenjiso Horo. Enjoy what he says:
By Leenjiso Horo:
The mistake that was committed by some Oromo leaders over a century ago is
still persists; still with us; still hurting us. Why it persists is the
question we should ask ourselves. As the old saying goes, those who do not
learn from the mistakes of history are condemned to repeat it. And it goes
without saying, even those who learnt from the mistakes of history, but failed
to understand the danger of those mistakes are too condemned to repeat the
same mistakes. As this heading suggests, there is persistence of problem
within the Oromo nationals. Consequently, that problem keeps on re-appearing
time and time again. The reason is simply some Oromo nationals still failed
to learn from the tragic mistakes of our past. Some of those who claimed to
have learned the mistakes have failed to understand its danger. For instance,
some Oromo nationals failed to learn from the tragic division of Oromo leaders
into local or regional chieftains, over a century
ago and thereafter. As a consequence of this failure, some Oromo nationals
are once again repeating the same mistakes of that of our tragic historical
past. The tragic irony is: this is more so today in the Oromo national
movement, than any time before.
A Careful observation tells us that it is our unwillingness to learn from the
tragic mistakes of our people’s history that led us today into multiples of
divisions. We willfully chose to forget what had happened to Oromiyaa and its
National Caffee in over a century ago. We willfully chose to forget that it
was the formation of independent local or regional chieftains, or monarchies,
or lordships that weakened the Oromo unity and undermined their collective
leadership under the Gadaa system and the system itself. This weakness gave
rise to the decline of Oromo power. Consequently, this wide opened the door
for the colonization of Oromiyaa. Having failed to learn from this tragic
history of ours, we are once again repeating it. So as a century ago, we are
divided into local groupings. So as a century ago, some Oromo groups allied
with the colonizer. And as a century ago, these new groups, too, abandoned
Oromiyaa and embraced imperial Ethiopia and
its democratization platform. Quiet for years now, these groups have been
mouthing the slogan for the democratization of Ethiopia, a faded slogan.
As in the past, these groups, the defeatists, are in the service of the
empire. Hence ever since Oromiyaa’s occupation to-date, every successive
Ethiopian empire state’s rulers have been luring, bribing, and
instrumentalizing the Oromo nationals to help defend the empire and to
suppress Oromo national movement for liberation and to help the colonizer in
exploiting Oromiyaa resources. And again, as in the past, a new configuration
of alliances has been made in the name of democratizing imperial Ethiopia.
This new group, in the name of “democratization” of the imperial Ethiopia
has been working tirelessly, day and night, to redefine and reverse Oromo
history and struggle according to its own political whims. With its acceptance
of Ethiopian democratization, Kaayyoo bilisummaa was abandoned. This has
brought upon some Oromo nationals a moral and political meltdown.
Consequently, as the century ago, domestic factions have been on the rise;
none
of which can stand the slaughter of the colonial army; none of which can
defend itself, much less the nation.
In due course, the Abyssinian became scapegoats for our failures and
shortcomings. We have been addicted in laying blames on others, outside of
ourselves. The time for blaming the external forces for our problem is way
past. To blame outside force for ones failures, and to lament and grieve
about problems one faces is a sign of weakness. These must be stopped. As it
is pointed out, since the late nineteenth century to-date the Oromo struggle
has faced greater threats from inside than from outside. The old problems keep
on reappearing as a new, again and again. With every change of colonial
regimes, new alliances of Oromo capitulationists appear with it. At every
historical junction, what was old becomes new again. And the old continues as
new but most Oromo are confused and baffled with this. They failed to figure
out as to what is new, or what is old, or what is old but reconstituting and
reappearing as new.
In this struggle of ours, we have seen things no nationalists had seen
before. That is, we have been seeing the politically bankrupt opportunists,
the deserters, the self-doubters, and the pseudo-nationalists Oromo
individuals and groups posing themselves as spokespersons of the OLF, the
organization that earned the trust of its people; the organization in the
hearts and minds of the Oromo people, the organization that paid unparallel
heavy sacrifice in this Oromo struggle. These individuals have been roaming
through Western capitals presenting themselves as delegates of peace and
reconciliation with the colonial regime and as advocators for democratizing
the colonial empire. As such, they have been begging those governments to be
arbitrators, mediators or negotiators. As has shown in other sections, every
international treaties, and declarations, and resolutions support the Oromo
case, contrary to what the Asmara Group (a.k.a. Shanee) and its naïve
and amateur cohorts’ wish us believe. For instance, the declarations and
resolutions of the United Nations, its Covenants, and international treaties
clearly affirm that nations subject to foreign colonial occupation have
unilateral right to full and complete independence. Every historical epoch
presented opportunities to us, to help us to liberate our country, as it
presented the same opportunities to those other colonized nations. But
because of our internal problems, because of the lack of cohesive political
line among Oromo nationals, and because of the passion for regional
tendencies, we were and are unable to have a unified nationalist political
position to take advantage of these opportunities. Hence these opportunities
slipped away, long before we put our house in order. On the other hand, the
opportunist Oromo nationals grabbed every opportunities and made use of them
to hinder the liberation of Oromiyaa. And since 2001, these
opportunists have been actively campaigning in misrepresenting the Oromo
question to the world community as a struggle for democratization of imperial
Ethiopia.
Conclusion
This article has gone through a plethora of topics, issues, and concepts
concerning national struggle. It touched upon the natures of opportunists in
the national struggle. Concomitantly, it laid out problems the Oromo people
have been facing since sixteenth-century to-date. In this regard, the article
looked at the roots and causes of the problems and traced their historic
evolutions. As it has shown, those problems are our own creation. And so now,
we are facing the problems of our own making. These problems have been eating
the nation body politics from inside out. Hence, we have been seeing unending
cycle of split, repetitive divisions, never-ending weakness and never-ending
ineffectual struggle. As a result, the nation is bleeding. Now the question
we face is as to who can save us from us.
In this struggle ours, there are Oromo individuals and groups who have failed
to understand the essence of Oromo national struggle and its purpose and its
direction. They have failed to differentiate between what is good and bad;
what is right and wrong; what is real and false; and what is fact and fiction.
And also they have failed to differentiate between friends and foes.
Not-knowing the purpose of struggle and its direction is a major problem in
national struggle. If we do not know who we fight, for whom we fight, and for
what we fight, we will get confused and mislead our people and the World
community. It is for this we must clearly understand the Oromo struggle and
equip ourselves with its clear ideas and clear concepts so as to ward
ourselves of misconception of it. As oftentimes told, Oromiyaa is a colony of
Ethiopia. The purpose of the Oromo struggle is to liberate it. The Oromo
Liberation Front’s (OLF) struggle, its goals, and aims
are and have been the liberation (bilisummaa) of the Oromo people and their
country, Oromiyaa from Ethiopian colonial occupation. Hence our struggle is
to fulfill the promise of the OLF’s political program: the establishment of
the People’s Democratic Republic of Oromiyaa. To effectuate this promise,
it is time for all Oromo nationals to reinvigorate and energize the national
liberation struggle for national independence and sovereignty. On the
contrary, the purpose of the political platform of Ethiopian democratization,
as it is already noted, is simply to strangulate and choke Oromo nationalism
so as to arrest national struggle to hinder the independence of Oromiyaa.
This means the Asmara Group’s campaign for this platform since the year 2001
is to deny the Oromo people any independent existence of their own as a people
and as a nation and to deny Oromiyaa its independent existence as a country.
It wants Oromiyaa to live under the shadow of
Ethiopian empire, under its image. But Ethiopian empire, like all empires
before it, has to cease to exist; it has to be dismantled. It is, therefore,
time for this group and its likes to return to Kaayyoo and hence to the fold
of the Oromo national struggle for independence, rather than singing song of
democratization of Ethiopia.
Above all, to lead this national struggle and to take it to its final
conclusion, we have to be faithful to the original meaning, to its intent and
purpose and understanding of the OLF political program with knowledge of our
past strength and weakness, the present weakness and strength and with
resolution, determination and unity. With this, we have to understand that
colonialism is international phenomenon and so it cannot be an integral issue
to the colonizing state. Coupled with these, we need a broad national united
front of Oromo nationalist organizations. Those nationalist organizations
have to be well-organized, well-disciplined, and well-integrated with the
Oromo masses and with clarity of political line. This is the plain truth
without which no national struggle can be successful. And the right to
self-determination of the Oromo is only Oromo people’s unilateral right to
decide on their political status and their place in the
international community in relation to others states. This right is the right
of the Oromo people alone, the right to set up their independent political
sovereignty and establish themselves as a member of international community.
This right is inherent and an inalienable right of the Oromo people, the right
that no one can limit or abridge.
Hence the solution to the Oromo problem is simple, if one pays a heed to it.
That is, Oromo nationals need a unity, a unity of purpose, and goal. This
unity must be based on Kaayyoo, on the love of country, on share of sense of
nation, and on value of tolerance to each other. The unity on these elements
alone is not enough; they are just simply a necessary condition, but not a
sufficient one. The sufficient condition to be fulfilled is militancy and
revolutionary nationalism. Hence to establish a viable unity, both necessary
and sufficient conditions must meet. A unity that lacks these conditions
cannot survive for long.
It goes without saying that to liberate a country a viable unity has to be
established and with it strong and viable organization has to be formed. As
an integral part of this, politico-revolutionary situation needs to be
created; environment of struggle must be changed and enhanced. And
self-reliance must be implemented. To put it differently, without
revolutionary nationalism, without clear political line to follow, without
militancy, without care about ones historic past, without learning and
understanding ones history, and without cherishing ones unity, ones oneness,
and ones Kaayyoo, and without creating politico-revolutionary situation in
the country, nationals will degenerate and collapse into localism,
regionalism, and village politics. Once this happen, they will abandon
national ethos. Then for such nationals, egoism will become their centerpiece
of struggle within themselves. If the true Oromo nationalists allow
themselves to slide into
this tragic situation, then Oromiyaa will be stripped of its rightful future
and its historic destiny by its own citizens. This will be a national
suicide. In the end, however, despite the pro-Ethiopian Empire Oromo
opportunists’ and their supporters’ attempt to throw Oromo nationals into
this situation so as to maintain status quo of the empire by bring darkness
upon Oromiyaa, Oromiyaa has a future; it has a bright future; the future
belongs to it, not the empire; and that future is ahead of it.
Leenjiso Horo