Oromos in London

This is a demonstration by patriotic Oromos in London against the bloodthirsty Abyssinian dictator meles zenawi. The tyrant left London embarrassed and i don’t expect him to visit the WEST ever again. 

More pictures at Gadaa.com

There are many examples of division and reactivism in our communities, especially ones we witness in the Diaspora. Instead of striking at the TPLF/OPDO enemy, we are reacting and complaining about the evil works of the enemy. Instead of assaulting the enemy machinery, we are on retreating guard, and always on defense instead of being on offense. But like the Bush policy on alQaiida in Iraq and Obama policy in Afghanistan, we have to be on the offense against the enemy, not on the defense.  These days OLF, especially of its website, is always complaining and crying about the misery of our people.  Such passiveness must stop! This is not the characteristics of a liberator but a complainer. Instead of upgrading its website with colorful pictures and articles, OLF should be upgrading its apparatus and struggle to achieve an offensive strategy. Reactionary politics and struggle must stop once and for all!

Breaking down the wall of division is less costly but time consuming and needs a broad or global movement. Tearing down the causes of divisions must be our main target. Some Oromos wonder why regionalism and religion have crippled us. Patriotic Oromos are always asking questions to the passive, traitor and Ethiopianist Oromos who bring diverse challenges to us.  

-           Is there a difference between Wallaga Oromo and Arusi Oromo?

-          Does Yajju Oromo Dynasty’s rule of parts of ancient “Ethiopia” delegitimize our liberation struggle?

-          Is there a reason why Muslim Oromos in the Diaspora are disconnected from Protestant Christian Oromos in their day-to-day activity for our struggle?

-          Should our massive Oromo people continue to become serfs and passive when the tiny Ogaden people are shaking the Ethiopian empire?

-          Is there a reason to accuse each other and create rival splinter OLFs?

The answer to all these questions is NO!

None of these causes and excuses should be allowed to divide us as well as to make us passive complainers.  Then the only option we have left is unity. To gradually heal the wounds of division between Oromo people and Oromo communities we must establish forums and associations both online and in our neighborhoods. Unity of Oromo communities and Oromo media outlets will progressively bring us closer to victory and liberation.  Oromia Daily (ODL) encourages Oromo activists to initiate unity and harmony in small scales in their neighborhoods.  Every one of YOU has a potential to contribute vastly to the liberation of our country. Nobody should feel that he/she is not strong or bold enough to contribute. ODL also encourages Oromos around the world to help the development of new organizations International Oromo Forum (IOF) and International Oromo Media Association (IOMA) which can bring reconciliation, unity and collaboration between our disconnected Oromo communities and media outlets.

Oromos worldwide must break down the walls of division. And our military should be on offense not on defense and our Diaspora should engage in activism not reactivism.

Those of us in the Diaspora have better access to information compared to our people in Oromia who are forced to live under primitive conditions with one of the most backward governments in the world. But we have so far failed to utilize our resources fully. What is the solution?

There are various obstacles in front of us, which we should analyze before we seek solutions. For example, with some rare exceptions, the Oromo Diaspora is very dis-connected from each other, geographically, ideologically, religiously and sadly even politically. We are also somewhat disconnected from the day-to-day situations in Oromia. Some of us have cultural and linguistic disconnection but sustain strong political connections. Others have financial connections but no political unity with other Oromos, especially on the ground back home. Such disconnections are the first part of our obstacles.

Secondly, we also have lack of material and political resources. Let alone making noise in the international political, economical and media arena, we are not even as powerful as the Amara/Tigre diaspora establishments. The Amara/Tigre/Gurage Diaspora communities aka “Ethiopian” or Habashas, have used their Diaspora presense and maximized it to the level that some American Congressmen and US politicians have become dependant on these “Ethiopian”/Habasha Diaspora communities to be elected. The day we reach this level of unity and power will be the day we finally see our country liberated from colonial Ethiopia. The Habasha Diaspora have used their Diaspora resources and network to challenge the TPLF regime. They failed because they have no anti-TPLF Habasha army on the ground. This means, if our Oromo Diaspora communities become as politically powerful in the Diaspora, we will gain victory because we already have our OLA military presense on the ground as well.

Unity is the key

If we are to make our Diaspora and international presense strong, we have to be united. It is very sad to see division and hatred between different OLF branches the last few years. OLF needs to get its act together and show its unity and strength once more. We have witnessed some OLF groups attacking other OLF groups or some OLF splinters filing lawsuit against other OLF branch. This must stop!! The second solution is uniting all Oromo media outlets and coordinating our presense in the international arena. Oromo media outlets can learn a lot from the Habasha and Somali media outlets. We have to establish a network or an association for Oromo-centered and/or Oromo-owned media outlets. Thirdly, our Diaspora communities have to become united by ending regional and religious divisions. We have to hold forums and frequent conferences to achieve such unity. Thanks to the 21st century information technology, worldwide Oromo conference can even be held electronically or online. If we take these three steps toward full unity, victory will become closer than we think.

The members of the Australian Oromo Community Association in Victoria (AOCAV) have shown a great sense of commitment to help their fellow Australians affected by the bushfire by making financial contributions to the fund established to assist with the rehabilitation of the victims of the Black Saturday bushfires. The current difficult economic circumstances and the burden of financially maintaining their families, relatives and friends in their homeland, Oromia (east Africa, Ethiopia), and various refugee camps across the Horn of Africa could not deter the members of AOCAV from digging deep into their pockets and donating to this worthy cause.

It was also very interesting to witness the desire of the members of this community, including the very young and new arrivals, to stand with the bushfire victims and show that they are not only part of the mainstream Australia, but also good citizens of this great nation. A number of the community members also volunteered and participated in various projects undertaken by the Red Cross and SES (the State Emergency Services) in the bushfire-affected areas. The AOCAV is proud of its members and confident that its members will continue to show such a strong spirit of compassion during difficult times and to enjoy the freedom and opportunity afforded to them by Australia and its people.

The Australian Oromo Community Association of Victoria

http://gadaa.com/oduu/?p=585

Historically, Amharas/Tigres took the Somali word Gaal and used it as a derogatory label Galla to insult Oromo people and threat them as sub-human. But outside Ethiopia, the best way to see their racism is to observe their interaction with non-habesha  people from Ethiopians like Oromos, Somalis, Sidamas etc.  Instead of embracing our empowerments in the Western countries, the racist Amharas/Tigres label us as tribalists for forming our organizations and communities without the word “Ethiopia.” And knowing well that the label habesha is not Oromo, the habeshas (amharas/tigres) ask us if we are habeshas (are you habesha?) instead of asking if we are Ethiopians.

We are left to wonder if the habeshas expect us to assimilate into their culture and way-of-life and change our names to habesha all of the sudden. Ignorant of the fact that Oromo people do not want to call themselves with amhara/tigre labels, they sigh in surprise at our rejection of the habesha label. Then ofcourse, the habeshas startup a bunch of restaurants using the label “habesha” and “abyssinia” and expect us to treat it as an “Ethiopian restaurant”!! That is like claiming an  Italian restaurant is Mexican!!

The ignorant and racist amharas/tigres have no limit. Some of the Diaspora amharas/Tigres who run diaspora websites are even more racists. They always show about the suffering of amhara/tigre politicians,journalists and people but they ignore the suffering of Oromo people and other colonized people of Ethiopia. Even this week when the news about the famous VOA Oromo journalist Nuamine Biqilaaa broke, none of the Amhara/tigre websites reported the news.  Her sad story under the anti-democracy regime in Finfinne has touched the hearts of millions of Oromos worldwide. She was already known for her bravery and steadfastness for the truth. Now she has escaped the prison nation that they call Ethiopia and found a new life in Europe. Her story is reported on Oromo news websites like Gadaa, Ayyaantuu, Jimma Times and Bilisummaa. But not even a single non-Oromo Ethiopian website reported about her suffering during the last two days!! Even those amhara websites that are in opposition against the Tigre dictatorship ignored her story. The racist habashes never learn from history. What is clear is that the racist Ethiopian state will soon disappear from the face of this earth because the minority racist two ethnicities can not forever rule the majority.  The racist regimes since the creation of Ethiopia 130 years ago have always tried to hide their tyranny. The racists menalk/haile selase/mengistu/meles who banned Afaan Oromo and imposed the minority language as the official language while destroying our identity and humiliating our children for not being able to speak their habasha language correctly is all carved in the minds of every Oromo in history. The Amhara/tigre ugly racism has had no boundaries in history and the world will soon recognize it as the worst colonialism in history of the universe when Oromia gains its freedom & Independence.

http://gadaa.com/oduu/?p=582

http://bilisummaa.com/index.php?mod=article&cat=Seenaa&article=921

http://www.jimmatimes.com/article.cfm?articleID=32030

http://ayyaantuu.com/oromiyaa/NewsBlog/tabid/36/EntryId/4521/The-Life-of-former-VOA-Afaan-Oromoo-Service-Correspondent.aspx

Less than two centuries ago, most of the world was as motivated by religious and economic interests, which fueled their political ambitions. The Abyssinian colonizers, for example, used their Christianity to get much of the weapons they used to colonize Oromos and acquire economic advantages from their new land capital, much like the Europeans. The Adal easterners also used their Islam religion to get weapons from the Arab/Islam world during their invasion of the Abyssinians and Oromo territories. The two invaders, most of all the Abyssinians, began to slowly conquer Oromo land until they took over almost full territory (except the Oromo territories now falling under the British made Kenya). During their conquest, they broke various rules of war and committed war crimes, long time before the world even set up the regulations and conventions about war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Following the era of the conquest of Oromo people, the next focus of international politics was the AXIS POWERs vs. the ALLIED POWERs, in which Ethiopia joined the Allies to continue benefitting from financial, techonological and weaponry assistance from the west.

Then came the Cold War. The two world superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union. At that time, the West pursued a policy of arming and financing any government that opposed communism, no matter how dictatorial the country is. In fact, many of the African states that the WEST supported were so cruel that the West was often considered indirectly responsible for the millions of people who died in Africa, Asia, South America and other places where numerous people died under genocidal regimes. And recently the last two dozen years, the international context was Free market economy and democracy in words, but in reality the West was allied with anyone that backed or anyone who did not contest its financial, econo-cultural and economical imperialistic domination and expansion. The Corporate world became as powerful as any western government and it shaped the destiny of many African regimes. Together with the Western desire to empower pro-Israel nations and for its “War On Terror,” the Corporate world has influenced much of international politics the last few years. So the question is why haven’t our leaders analyzed the changing international political trends to maximize the Oromo struggle and to achieve our liberation from the Ethiopian colony? Though it is not incompetence, it has much to do with underestimating the importance and role of international politics in our struggle.

Everytime new trends appears, the oppressors have adjusted fast enough to be its beneficiaries. Two rare cases of the trend being used effectively by oppressed people are the Kosovo and soon to be the Darfur Republic human rights/corporate world interests. In both cases, liberation forces benefit from gaining independence while Corporate worlds get the business deals. In fact, Financial Times media earlier this year reported about Western corporations already investing in the most violent and devastated parts of Africa. As soon as the civil wars in Africa end and new countries are born, the corporations will be twice as rich from their business deals and contracts.  Though no one wants violence, it is important that Oromo people/forces take advantage of the trend instead of watching dictatorships like the Meles Zenaw regime take advantage of the international game. It is either the Abyssinians or us. It is either the colonizers or the colonized. One side has to win in the game of benefiting from the international trend. Both African players get dirty as the west referees.  Is OLF ready to step up and liberate our people, our nation? Many Oromos in Oromia have had enough of the slogans and poor leadership. It is time for Oromia to finally be FREE!!!

On this incident, the following Oromo farmers have been abducted by these armed Gumuz fighters:

1. Mr. Garramuu Ayyaanaa
2. Mr. Damusoo Waaqjiraa
3. Mr. Jaallataa Buraayyuu

and their where about are unknown. Considering the atrocities the Gumuz fighters have made on the Oromos during the first such conflict in 2008, it is very unlikely that these abducted individuals will be returned to their homes alive. To avoid more damage and bloodshed, the Oromo nationalists in the area warned that the Oromo people in that vicinity should take extra care, organize themselves and support and protect each other. More over, the Oromo nationalist also cautioned the Gumuz people not to fall into the trap of the current Wayyaanee regime who will definitely fall down one way or another, and choose the enmity of the great Oromo nation who have been living in harmony with the Gumuz people for generations.

It is to be recalled that about 400 Oromo civilians were killed and over 12, 0000 left their homes when armed forces of Benishangul Gumuz suddenly attacked unprepared civilian Oromos in the same area of Western Oromia, Eastern Wallaggaa zone in May of 2008.

The massacre of 2008 was reported to have started when a well trained and armed neighboring Gumuz tribe militia crossed over from their regional state of Benishangul Gumuz state to Oromia state and attacked villages before day break leaving hundreds of farmers dead and thousands more internally displaced.

It is an unforgettable incident that many of the reports of the 2008 massacre were shockingly and incredibly barbaric. For instance an appeal from the Oromo Parliamentarians Council to the UN General Secretary states:

“The invaders’ actions include mutilation of body parts (arms, legs, other organs of children, breasts of women, male genitals), throat cutting and slaughtering, burning down of housings and other properties, looting of properties including animals, raping of women and children, and burning of dead bodies in masses, to make access to information impossible. Very disturbingly, the invaders seriously target the male section of the society. They also snatch infant babies from mothers’ backs and kill, only to force the mothers to eat the flesh of their own babies.”

OLF News

http://oromoliberationfront.org/News/2009/Conflict%20Concocted%20by%20the%20TPLF%20Regime.html