http://www.sabc.co.za/news/a/7ca4a9804ddf489c8e4ebe1caade0c3d/Why-Oromo-protests-mark-a-change-in-Ethiopias-political-landscape--20160815
Why Oromo protests mark a change in Ethiopia’s political landscape?
Monday 15 August 2016 09:31
The Conversation
Who are the Oromo people?
The Oromo are the single largest ethno-national group in northeast
Africa. In Ethiopia alone they are estimated to be 50 million strong
out of a total population of 100 million. There are also Oromo
communities living in Kenya and Somalia.
Ethiopia is said to have about 80 ethno-national groups. The Oromo
represent 34.4% while the Amhara (Amara) 27%. The rest are all less
than 7% each.
The Oromo call themselves a nation. They have named their homeland
“Oromia”, an area covering 284,538 square kms. It is considered to be
the richest area of northeast Africa because of its agricultural and
natural resources. It is often referred to as the “breadbasket” of the
region. 60% of Ethiopian economic resources are generated from Oromia.
The capital city of Ethiopia is located in the heart of Oromia. What
the world knows as Addis Ababa is also known to the Oromo as their
capital, “Finfinnee”. When the Abyssinian warlord, Menelik, colonised
the Oromo during the last decades of the 19th century he established
his main garrison city in Oromia and called it Addis Ababa.
Despite being the largest ethno-national group in Ethiopia, the Oromo
consider themselves to be colonial subjects. This is because they have
been denied equal access to their country’s political, economic and
cultural resources. It all started with their colonisation by, and
incorporation into, Abyssinia (the former Ethiopian empire) during the
Scramble for Africa.
Today, comprising just 6% of the population, Tigrayans dominate and
control the political economy of Ethiopia with the help of the West,
particularly the US. This relationship is strategic to the US who use
the Tigrayan-led government’s army as their proxy to fight terrorism
in the Horn of Africa and beyond.
The Oromo community has been demonstrating since November last year.
What triggered the protests?
The Oromo demonstrations have been underway for over eight months,
first surfacing in Ginchi (about 80 kms southwest of the capital) in
November 2015. It began when elementary and secondary school students
in the small town began protesting the privatisation and confiscation
of a small soccer field and the selling of the nearby Chilimoo forest.
The sentiment quickly spread across Oromia. The entire Oromo community
then joined the protests, highlighting other complaints such as the
so-called Integrated Addis Ababa Master Plan and associated land
grabbing.
The master plan was intended to expand Addis Ababa by 1.5 million
hectares onto surrounding Oromo land, evicting Oromo farmers.
Last year’s demonstrations were the product of over 25 years of
accumulated grievances.
These grievances arose as a result of the domination by the minority
Tigrayan ethno-national group. Because of this dominance the Oromo
people have become aliens in their own country, lost ownership of
their land and have become impoverished.
What was different about these demonstrations was that, for the first
time, all Oromo branches came together in coordinated action to fight
for their national self-determination and democracy.
Which part of the Oromo community is organising the rallies?
It is believed that underground activist networks, known as Qeerroo,
are organising the Oromo community. The Qeerroo, also called the Qubee
generation, first emerged in 1991 with the participation of the Oromo
Liberation Front (OLF) in the transitional government of Ethiopia.
In 1992 the Tigrayan-led minority regime pushed the OLF out of
government and the activist networks of Qeerroo gradually blossomed as
a form of Oromummaa or Oromo nationalism.
Today the Qeerroo are made up of Oromo youth. These are predominantly
students from elementary school to university, organising collective
action through social media. It is not clear what kind of relationship
exists between the group and the OLF.
But the Qeerroo clearly articulate that the OLF should replace the
Tigrayan-led regime and recognise the Front as the origin of Oromo
nationalism.
What are their demands?
Their immediate demands are for the Ethiopian government to halt the
so-called Addis Ababa Master Plan, land grabbing, corruption, and the
violation of human rights.
Their extended demands are about achieving self-determination and
sovereignty by replacing the Tigrayan-led regime with a
multi-ethno-national democratic government.
These demands gradually emerged to create solidarity with other
ethno-national groups, such as the Amharas, who also have grievances
with the regime.
How has the government reacted to the protests?
The government reaction has been violent and suppressive. Despite
Oromia being the largest regional state in Ethiopia, it has been under
martial law since the protests began.
The government has been able to use this law to detain thousands of
Oromos, holding them in prisons and concentration camps.
Security structures called tokkoo-shane (one-to-five), garee and gott
have also been implemented.
Their responsibilities include spying, identifying, exposing,
imprisoning, torturing and killing Oromos who are not interested in
serving the regime.
There have also been deaths and reports of thousands of Oromos who
have been maimed as a result of torture, beatings or during the
suppression of protests.
For example, during the Oromia-wide day of peaceful protest on July 6
the regime army, known as Agazi, massacred nearly 100 Oromos.
According to Amnesty International, 400 Oromos were killed before July
6. But in reality nobody knows exactly how many Oromos have been
victims of violence.
What impact have these protests had on the country?
The Oromo protest movement has started to change the political
landscape of Ethiopia and shaken the regime’s foundations. Erupting
like "a social volcano", it has sent ripples through the country with
different groups changing their attitudes and standing in solidarity
with the Oromo.
The support of the Ahmaras has been particularly significant as they
are the second largest ethno-national group in Ethiopia.
For the first time in history, the plight of the Oromo people has also
received worldwide attention. International media outlets have
reported on the peaceful protests and subsequent government
repression.
This has brought about diplomatic repercussions. In January the
European Parliament condemned the Ethiopian government’s violent
crackdown.
It also called for the establishment of a credible, transparent and
independent body to investigate the murder and imprisonment of
thousands of protesters. Similarly, the UN Human Rights Experts
demanded that Ethiopian authorities stop the violent crackdown.
Not all global actors are taking a strong stance. Some are concerned
about maintaining good relations with the incumbent government.
For example, the US State Department expressed vague concern about the
violence associated with the protest movement. In sharp contrast they
signed a security partnership with the Ethiopian government.
Nevertheless, the momentum of the Oromo movement looks set to
continue. The protests, and subsequent support, have seen the further
development of activist networks and Oromo leadership, doubling their
efforts to build their organisational capacity.
Is this the first time that the Oromo have demonstrated their
grievances in this way?
No. The Oromo have engaged in scattered instances of resistance since
the late 19th century when they were colonised.
In the 1970s the Oromo started to engage in a national movement under
the leadership of OLF.
The front was born out of the Macha-Tulama Self-Help Association,
which was banned in the early 1960s and other forms of resistance such
as the Bale Oromo armed resistance of the 1960s. Successive Ethiopian
regimes have killed or sent Oromo political and cultural leaders into
exile.
How do you believe their grievances can be resolved?
Critics believe the Tigrayan-led minority regime is unlikely to
resolve the Oromo grievances. Oromo activists believe that their
national struggle for self-determination and egalitarian democracy
must intensify.
I am sure that, sooner or later, the regime will be overthrown and
replaced with a genuine egalitarian democratic system.
This is because of the size of the Oromo population, abundant economic
resource, oppression and repression by the Tigrayan-led government,
the blossoming of Oromo political consciousness and willingness to pay
the necessary sacrifices.
Received on Mon Aug 15 2016 - 09:14:04 EDT