Mereja Forum

[OPFist]

Consensus of Dr. Abiy and Gn. Marro on Three Points: Finfinne Under Oromia, Afaan Oromo be Federal Language and Wallo Back to Oromia!

It is good news to hear that Dr. Abiy and General Marro are going to negotiate for third time. Surely, they will agree on at least three main Oromo issues: 1. putting Finfinne under administration of Oromia, 2. promote Afaan Oromo to primary working language of the federation, replacing Amarigna and 3. bring back Wallo including Rayya to Oromia. Thanks to Waaqa, finally there is consensus among all Oromo political forces regarding our destination (Kayyo). There is no more quarell between “Ethiopianists” and Oromianists. I contributed my part in this process of forging consensus. I consistently tried to show that Ethiopia in Oromo terms is tantamount to Oropia (Oromumma led Ethiopia). This democratic Oropia will fullfil three important things: Aango Oromo (power at Oromo hand ), Gadaa Oromo (a modernized Gadaa system adopted in the whole country) and Afaan Oromo (being promoted to primary working language of the federation). We need to primarly own this democratic country, i.e de facto Oropia. Thus, the best approach for the Oromo is to take power in Finfinne palace and transform Ethiopia to Oropia. If other nations far away from Finfinne want to have their own self-determination and decide for independence, secondarly we will have an independent Oromia as the rest territory. The Oromo as majority nation at center of the country will be a giver rather than reciever of self-determination. Especially, the two dominant Habesha nations can be separated from Oromia as Tigrai with capital Meqele and Amharai with capital Bahrdar, if they want. The Oromo having centeral power can allow them to leave the union, in case they prefer so. I worked on this approach for several years and now all Oromo forces seem to have consensus to move in this way. We want primarly an integrative Oropia and we will accept secondarly an independent Oromia, based on the decision of other nations to separate from us or stay with us. Surely, such consensus will be that of Dr. Abiy and Gn. Marro in Tanzania.
Read more: https://fayyisoromia.wordpress.com/2023 ... to-oromia/

[OPFist]

As far as Oromo nation is concerned, and putting it metaphorically, Oropia is same as gross salary, while Oromia is similar to net salary of certain professional. In case other nations reject the offer of Oropia from Oromo people and go their way to be our neighbour states, we will have an independent Oromia with its capital city Finfinne, just like Russia with its Moscow was left behind as other states of the Soviet Union decided for their independence as well as like Serbia and its Belgrade had same fate during the disintegration of Yugoslavia.

[OPFist]

We all have once followed the sad news of Ethiopians suffering in Saud Arabia. Some Oromo nationalists reacted to those assaults on the immigrants in the Gulf states: “we must take back our homeland to end the Oromo national homelessness.” The concervative Abyssinian forces, on the other hand, tried to capitalize on that situation, as usual, and started their Ethiopiawinet propaganda – of course, again, attacking Oromo nationalists. That event persuaded us to shortly formulate the Oromo people’s goal and look if it contradicts with genuine unity of nations or peoples. The Oromo people’s political objective, regarding the type of Oromia’s sovereignty we want to have after achieving national freedom from any sort of alien rule, can be summarized in short as ‘an independent Oromia or an integrative Oropia.’ This is a goal of the people in general, but Oromo individuals and organizations can specify their aim by choosing one of these post-freedom sovereingty of Oromia. For instance, the OFC wants to realize ‘a union masked with the name Ethiopia, whereas some nationals suggest a change of the name Ethiopia to Oromia‘ and the OLF wanted to achieve ‘an independent Oromia state within the United Nations’. The two goals are not as such disadvantageous for the Oromo, as long as the future rule of political game will be freedom and democracy. That is why Oromo organizations can confidently forge any sort of alliance against the tormenting Bitsigina regime. The whole move of the Oromo organizations should be with a purpose to corner the regime at Caffee Araara (CA) – the power center of the dictatorial Prime Minister office, so that it will never have a peaceful life. In short, regarding the post-freedom sovereignty, there are the following possible two types:

– an independent Oromia in a form of Gadaa republic

– an integrative Oropia (transformation of the present fake ethnic federation to a genuine union LED by Oromumma)

[OPFist]

Given the public will or popular sovereignty as the highest value, the Oromo nation can have full right to choose one of the alternatives during a process of excercising our self-determination. The common denominator for the two positions is the struggle for freedom from the Prosperitans’ system of domination and capture state power. That is why the pro Oromia OLF and the pro Oropia OFC can now work together against the Biltsigina’s system of domination and struggle for freedom in unison to capture CA by any means necessary. But, the question yet to be answered is: how can we achieve either of these types of sovereignty? How can we capture CA, so that we can have a right to self-determination? By mere means of being part of the ritual “election”? By means of only non-violent resistance or through only armed struggle? Of course, the best means, which can lead us to CA, is the combination of both. On the process of preparation to chart the way to freedom, we did observe that Ethiopia’s repeated fraudulent “elections” did confirm the necessity of decolonization before democratization – the goal which we can never achieve per ballot under the rule of the present oppressive regime.

[OPFist]

Few years ago, there was a discussion going on regarding Ethiopian democratization vs. Oromian decolonization, which was firstly initiated by Addis Neger Online. The author of the article demanded that a certain Oromo Obama or Oromo Mandela take the responsibility to democratize the whole country and give a lasting solution to the problems of that cursed region. What a nice wish and a good demand! But is this the main objective of the Oromo? The author wrote his piece few days before “election”. He seemed to be optimistic about the “ongoing democratization and repeated elections in the country.” Can such game of “election” lead us to ‘an independent Oromia or an integrative Oropia?’ To answer such questions, let me leave the oppression history of the country for historians and talk about the present situation under the Biltsigina’s rule. No question that Biltsigina is ruling all nations with iron fist since 2018. What a pity for all, who died for the cause of freedom and democracy during their rebellion and struggled against the fascist Woyane! Who of them thought that Biltsigina would be transformed into such a worse organization than the regime they had fought against? Unfortunately, Biltsigina is not only transformed into such a fascist force, but it also used to be the instrument for the only one dictatorial psychopath till now. He is as brutal as Hitler and Stalin to rule citizens and nations in the country with a brute force and malicious manipulation. The tyrannt gathered very submissive individuals with slave mentality from each nation in the country to use them as “representatives” of their respective nations. The PM from this party is doing a bidding, while APP (Amhara) leaders are manipulating him behind the screen. Is this better condition than the previous situation for the Oromo to capture CA and achieve our mentioned objective – ‘an independent Oromia or an integrative Oropia’? Is taking part in regularly repeated “elections” good way to accomplish this objective?

[Noble Amhara]

you thought ENDF would make the sun shine on oromo and that you can use ENDF to disarm Amhara people while hypocritically you remain more armed than ever.... such injustice is why Fano through divine intervention has reached 1st year anniversary of law enforcement instead of Fano having less weapons... Fano gained more weapons because you miscalculated the Spirit of Amhara!

are you talking about Khemise?

you were given your own separate ethno zone in Eastern Wollo which you oromo settled on which belongs to the Argoba tribe of Amhara Region (Shonke Mosque a Argobba historical site located in today's fake Oromia zone in Amhara region) and some Afar areas in Jile Timuga! in Khemise you have all language rights but of course you were not happy you tried to genocide Shuwa Amharas of Ataye for 5 years straight even burning ataye in 2021... Amhara did not burn oromo towns like Senbete or Kemise still to this date.. so revenge has not tooken place. turning the area into an eternal warzone. You also fought the Afar tribe in Bati... so Afar and Amhara do not trust Wolo Oromos at all. Wolo Oromos are native to Arsi and can live with Karayu after all. any use of violence and supremacy on Afar and Amhara will not work.

If you say, Lakomelza Dessie, Yejju Weldia, Kalu Kombolcha, Angot Kobo... then the answer is violence, rebellion, resistance armed struggle and the uprising of 8 million Bete Amhara! Dessie is the Bethlehem of Amhara!

[OPFist]

As we know, the last “election” was one of the situations where Biltsigina could show two bad methods (force and manipulation) for the sake of perpetuating its rule further. Individual citizens and national groups have been intimidated by force, and manipulated by fraud in order to make the dictatorial regime “win” the election. It could “win” almost 100% of the federal and regional parliamentary seats. This election was similar to the elections which took place under dictators like Stalin, Sadam Hussen, Mengistu and Meles. So, there was no surprise about the result. Elections in multinational countries like Ethiopia are the competitions not only among political parties, but also among nations in the country for power and profit. In this country, the contest for power takes place particularly between the two Habesha nations (Amhara, Tigirai) and the other oppressed nations – specifically the Oromo. The relationship between the Habesha ruling class and the Oromo nation is that of the colonizers and the colonized, whereas the relationship between the two Habesha nations is a competition between two colonizers, which is similar to the fight between Britain and France over Africa during their Scramble.

[OPFist]

Ethiopia is a conglomerate of different neighboring nations, which actually deserve their own independence, and it is only after freedom of nations from alien rulers that democratization of nation-states can be easier and possible as already practically seen in Europe. The question we need to answer is why do European regimes want us to do, what they actually don’t for themselves and to their nations? How can they repeatedly come to observe such almost an impossible election in the country or the futile attempt of democratization in the colonized nations? Why is the Oromo nation, in particular, and all oppressed nations, in general, suffering under the looting, subjugation and lording of Biltsigina oligarchs be expected to get our right per sham election orchestrated under the colonizers? The independent and democratic nation-states, with their own self-rule, are today part and parcel of the European union. If this method of achieving a national freedom and multinational democracy is right for Europe, why do European regimes want us, Africans, move another way which didn’t work for them? The legacy of colonialism in the Horn of Africa, in particular, and in Africa in general, is artificial division of nations by colonial borders. The colonialists either divided one nation to be included into more than two countries or clamped many nations together into one state (country). For instance, the only one nation, Somalia, was divided to be included into five countries as well as many nations in the Horn like Tegaru, Amhara, Oromo, Afar, Sidama, etc. are put together in only one country under protection of the Western regimes.

[OPFist]

Almost all African countries are suffering under consequences of such arrangement, and yet Africans are accused and blamed by Western regimes for lack of democracy and development. For African nations to be really democratic, they should first get rid of these artificial colonial borders; nation-states based on free-will must be established. Only such relatively monolithic nation-states can vote freely during elections in a possible multiparty democracy of the respective nations free from unhealthy competitions among different nations for domination. Otherwise, in the multinational countries, where nations are put together by force like in our country, there will always be a competition of nations for dominance, not necessarily only competition of political parties for power. There can be certain arguments against such suggestion to have nation-states as a prerequisite for genuine democratization, because of the presence of many small nationalities in Africa, which may not be in a position to foster a viable independent state. For such smaller nations, a genuine ethnic federalism, which is formally tried in the present Ethiopia, is a good arrangement. It needs only to be genuine, not so fake as it is now. Each nationality can have its own autonomous province (state), zone, district or county within a voluntarily formed multi-nation-country, based on its size.

[OPFist]

Coming back to the circumstances in Oropia, it is just a pipe dream to expect democratization as long as the Abyssinian colonial system of domination is intact. This system of domination is now under absolute control of Biltsiginas with minor support. Genuine and free democratization means loss of power at CA for them, which further means lose of economical advantage they do enjoy now. It is simply a naivety to expect these elites allow genuine democratization of the country, while they do know what the consequence of losing this power is for them. Taking part in elections under such regime is good only to use the process as means of struggle against tyranny. The participation of Ezema and others in “elections” has got only this purpose. If there was anyone who expected Biltsigina to give up power per ballot, that was unrealistic. I personally have expected that a sort of peaceful public uprising had to follow the already programmed vote riggings. Unfortunately, neither Ezema nor any other political organization, be it “legal” or “illegal”, was ready to call for such an uprising. This made me to ask, what is then the purpose of taking part in elections? Was boycotting not better? Some would say, “it was better to expose the undemocratic nature of the Biltsigina.” Didn’t we already do this job during the Hitherto elections; for instance in 1992 and 2005? Is such anti-democratic nature of the regime not known? Can it be different in the coming “elections”? If not different, then how can the Oromo materalize our objective – ‘an independent Oromia or an integrated Oropia‘?

[OPFist]

Actually, the best approach against dictators is only to fight them without any compromise. Beside the “legal parties,” which are accompanying the regime in sham elections, there should be underground organizations and armed forces, which are ready to force such a regime to give up the grip of power it has at CA. I had an expectation that the underground movements and the rebel forces could make public uprising possible following the already known vote riggings. Now it seems, this was just a wishful thinking of the few, including me. Where we know that Biltsigina oligarchs never allow the democratization of the country and even the reactionary assimilationists are not ready to see the domination system of the country destroyed, what should be our future approach? The few Habesha democrats should be determined to make an alliance covertly or overtly with the Oromo liberation forces in order to dismantle the domination system in the country. Let me hope that very few from the conservative parties also follow the same procedure. Now, it is not right time for the opposition forces to talk about democratization, but for all to struggle for decolonization of the oppressed nations together. Interestingly, many Amhara nationals are starting to sense what a life under national oppression means. Most Tigrean elites actually know it very well, that is why they fought against it until their struggle has been hijacked by the TPLF. Now, it is time for such forces of decolonization from all nations in the country to come together and fight for freedom in unison.

[OPFist]

What can be common ground for freedom fighters from these different nations in the country to forge a sort of alliance by default against Biltsigina oligarchs? The common ground can not be either “unconditional independent state,” which is propagated by certain liberation fronts or “unconditional integrated state,” which is promoted by some patriotic forces. The way forward as a common purpose can be a sort of consensus on the necessary union of free peoples in Oropia, which is the goal of some democratic forces like OFC. Hopefully, many of those from liberation fronts and democratic forces will give up their ultra-left and ultra-right positions, respectively, and come together at this middle position of federal union. Unfortunately, Biltsigina is still instrumentalizing both the left and right poles to persuade them fight and neutralize each other. This makes them not to be a challenge for Biltsigina, so it could balance power in the country for its own benefit. I hope, at end of the day, when anti-Biltsigina forces agree on the mentioned middle position, it will be very easy for such an alliance of all oppositions to challenge Biltsigina with appropriate methods to compel it to give up power, without unrealistically expecting that it may give up power per ballot box. In case such consensus on the middle ground is impossible, then to pursue one’s program and leave the final decision for public verdict of each nation is an alternative. For the Oromo, it is better to agree on an integrative Oropia; other nations can decide to join this union or choose their own independence. An independent Oromia can be a result, when all other neighbouring nations reject the union; so the two alternative goals continue to be ‘an independent Oromia or an integrative Oropia’.

[OPFist]

Such cooperated forces can easily start a coordinated struggle using three best methods against the regime – i.e civil disobedience, armed struggle and public uprising. Combining these three ways of struggle can be taken as an efficient means leading Oromo freedom fighters to CA. Taking part in elections should only be for the sake of facilitating these methods, not necessarily as effective way by itself to take state power per ballot box. It can not be otherwise in the coming “election.” Democratization of the country consisting colonized nations is practically impossible. Let’s first decolonize nations, which are still suffering under the system of domination and then we can talk about democratization of each nation in a possible integrative Oropia, if all voluntarily name the union as such. Trying to persuade us now to talk again about democratization process is simply one of the ways used by Biltsigina oligarchs just in their attempt to divert our attention. So, we had enough election processes to expose Woyane in front of the international community. The OLF already exposed the undemocratic nature of TPLF in 1992, just a year after its takeover of power at CA. CUD did the same job of exposing TPLF in 2005; Medrek repeated it in 2010; OFC did the same in 2015 and 2021. From now on, we don’t need this job of exposing any more. This can not be the purpose of taking part in the coming “elections”. What we need is to come together, forge a necessary unity of purpose based on the above mentioned common ground, and then fight against the regime specially by using the above mentioned effective three methods.

[OPFist]

Let’s first decolonize the oppressed nations and then democratize all national areas of Oropia in the form of multiparty competition. Yes, democratization of an empire is impossible, decolonization should precede democratization, i.e. citizens’ and nations’ freedom should be achieved in order to exercise democracy. After decolonization, we can democratize all the decolonized nations in the region, which can have a possibility to foster a union on the grave of the existing system. Even if it is necessary, trying to democratize an empire is only a means to dismantle it, but not the end by itself. As a summary, the fact on the ground shows us that there are two lines of Oromo national liberation movement against the regime: 1. the line of an independent Oromia, who persue an armed fighting and 2. the line of an integrative Oropia, which opted for a non-violent struggle. If the two lines fail to foster a consensus in order to pursue one common line, they can agree to complement each other and push for freedom from Biltsigina and for democracy after Biltsigina. Both routes and their results are not as such disadvantageous for the Oromo people. A common denominator for both lines is to capture state power at CA, after which we can decide on the possible end: an independent Oromia or an integrative Oropia. Can the two camps agree on these common factors (freedom from Biltsigina and democracy after Biltsigina) and cooperate to remove the worst evil we ever faced in the country? Time will show us, but Oromo polity must do every thing under the sun to coordinate the necessary cooperation of the two lines for there is nothing Oromo people will lose if we follow both lines of freedom movements. At the end of the day, after achieving freedom, one of the components of Oromo’s summarized objective regarding the type of sovereignty – ‘an independent Oromia or an integrative Oropia‘ – can be fulfilled. Fortunately, now we are in a position, where we reached at the consensus to seek primarly Oropia and secondarly Oromia. May Waaqa help us see these two alternative possibilities!