Because I am Oromo : What to Learn from the Tigreans, the Kurds and the Jews? ***************************************************************************************** I read the chronicle of pain and suffering Amnesty International compiled and reported on the Oromo people. The report titled Because I am Oromo gives detailed accounts of the repression and attacks targeting the Oromo people purely on the bases of ones nationality(ethnicity) and race as an Oromo by a ruthlessly institutionalized and systematically organized “Ethiopian state institutions. The report raises more questions than an answer. The question of who is the “Ethiopian state “and why it is targeting only the Oromo people is not answered in the report. The report also conveniently leaves aside the motives and the ultimate goal of the project of targeting the Oromo people. The project of “Ethiopian state formation” started about 100 years ago with the project of taking the land and the resources of the Oromo people based on twin policies of annihilating, exterminating, and excluding the Oromo from the Ethiopia state structure and establishment where possible and assimilating them where not. Why is the Ethiopian State attacking the Oromo people now? Is that the continuation of the old policy or did the past catch up with the present despite the rhetoric of ethnic equality? The Report does not give an answer. The Amnesty International report also made bare the ethnic racism against the Oromos in Ethiopia. The silence of all “Ethiopian” media outlets and their affiliates on Amnesty International report is deafening. None of the so called “Ethiopian oppositions” said a word. The “Amharic speaking” Diaspora websites and media outlets, they prefer to call themselves ‘Ethiopian something’, were covering the “Black Revolution” in Burkina Faso not the repression and killings of the Oromo people in Ethiopia: almost 50% of the Ethiopian population. It appears these groups are not considering the Oromos as “Ethiopians” despite their rhetoric of “Ethiopian Unity.” Their writers and propagandist relish writing and talking about anything but the Oromo people. There is one apparent lesson the Oromos could learn from the Tigreans, the Kurds and the Jewish people though. The late Ethiopian Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi, in his conversation with Paul Henze in April 1990 said “No more than 10% of our people are Muslims and our Muslims are Tigreans first and Muslims only second.” The Kurds, the majority of whom are Sunni Muslims by religion, are Kurdish first and Muslims only second in defending their land and people from extremists and repressive regimes that targeted them. The same holds true of the Jewish People. They are Jewish first while all other acquired identities like political opinion and religious identities come distant second. The Oromo people have no other option but to follow the organizing and self-defense models of the Tigreans, the Kurdish and the Jewish people by putting their being Oromo first, and other acquired identities distant second (identities like religious, region and political affilations) to fend off those attacks from without and from within and keep their land, language, culture and values as a people. Amnesty International Report clearly establishes that Oromos are not attacked and targeted because of their religious persuasion or political opinion or the region they come from but because they are Oromos. The Oromo youth and the Oromo people as whole should stop expecting some mysterious international body or outside group to come to their risqué to give them justice. There is none coming. The short term and the long term focus should rather be on building Oromo economic, social, cultural, educational, and religious power bases within every sector of the Oromo society by inculcating the principle of mutual self-defense and mutual self-help by each and every Oromo irrespective of their religion, region or political persuasion with the goal of creating a political community that is able to govern, promote and defend its interests. That is how others in Ethiopia are promoting and protecting their interests. A closer look at the experiences of the Jewish, and that of the Kurdish people as we observe also shows similar model of mutual self defense, mutual self help and self support models of organizing and mobilizing to defend themselves and their country from hell-bent groups and repressive regimes. The organizing and mobilizing models of the Oromo people cannot be any different. On Amnesty International report itself, the Oromo youth and artists should produce documentaries and artworks under the title “Because I am Oromo!” Oromo writers should write articles, books and fictional works on the plight of the Oromo people. Oromo intellectuals should hold public conferences and seminars to raise awareness about the causes of the Oromo people among the international community and chart a way forward. Oromo activists should reach out to companies and countries who fund and support such repression to stop their practices, and make them either the supporters of the Oromo people or target them as subject of divestment campaigns. amnesty.org/en/library/asset/AFR25/006/2014/en/539616af-0dc6-43dd-8a4f-34e77ffb461c/afr250062014en.pdf
Posted on: Sun, 02 Nov 2014 17:53:17 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015