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The aim of most champions of democracy in Ethiopia among the Abyssinian Amhara – Tigray political elites and their servants and imitators among us Oromos is mainly to mislead ordinary people for demagogic, selfish reasons. Since the first signs of the death of the dictator Meles Zenawi and the appointment of Hailemariam Desalegn in his place, the chorus of democratization and ‘peaceful’ national reconciliation with the TPLF government has grown louder than ever. |
 by Hadi Kanku |
Even OLF veterans such as Lenco Lata, Lenco Bati, Beyan Asoba and, ironically, Dima Nagawo, who had , not long ago, exposed their hidden agenda, rushed to issue statements together on a new rapprochement with the Ethiopian regime. Other ridiculous Oromo celebrities, such as Merera Gudina, Bulcha Demeksa, Kamal Galchu and Nagaso Gidada are, I assume, bustling about in the Abyssinian dance choreography eager to play some secondary roles in the Abyssinian agenda for the ‘democratisation’ of the Ethiopian empire. Medrek seems to be in an upbeat.
What is really interesting is all of them know that TPLF and other Abyssinian political cliques are absolutely incapable of making any meaningful political concessions no matter what their rhetoric may be. Their aims are clear as ever to all those who have eyes to see: to preserve the Abyssinian supremacy and advance more of the same politics of land grabbing. In this sense the mass Mardo, the wailing and the cry in grief for Meles Zenawi, is not only the result of manipulation by the TPLF cadres. It is real. Many ordinary Abyssinians and their Oromo hangers-on especially in the OPDO do believe in him as a protector of Ethiopia. Deep down they admire his determination to dismantle Somalia altogether and dream even of annexing it ultimately if they can. The process of empire building has not come as yet to an end.
By the way I am amazed at how some Eritreans who post articles in awate.com regularly went mourning the death of the Tigrayan dictator praising many of his imaginary achievements. Emulating one dictator to bring down another! More dangerously, some among the so-called Tigrinyas (the Tigrayans of Eritrea) are said to be raising the question of unity with mother Ethiopia again! They seem not to be interested in the so-called democratization of Ethiopia!
In general most of the Abyssinian political elites are having good times ever since the invention of al-Qaeda by the Anglo-American imperialism to justify their aggressions against the weak to achieve world domination and divert the attention of ordinary peoples in the West from the economic and ecological crisis caused by global capitalism, especially the ever widening gap between the super rich and the poor.
It saddens me to see many Oromo intellectuals in the Diaspora who think that the US is interested in democracy. I think the ideal regimes for the United States government are, in fact, contrary to the propaganda, the ones which can, being friends, control their peoples with iron fists: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain Qatar, and Ethiopia to mention only some. China is the most ideal government if it is not an uncontrollable competitor and does not aspire for military supremacy. Just think of its skilled working people forced to serve corporate global capitalism with cheapest labour. All of this constitutes a feast for the Abyssinian political elites and their servants. No wonder that Hailemariam Desalegn is talking of upgrading Ethiopia’s relation with China. How long the TPLF will use a non Tigrayan as a leading figure? There is no reason why he cannot stay as long as he is a diligent servant of its winning faction.
It also saddens me to see some Oromos who talk of something similar to the Arab spring coming to the Ethiopian empire. Those who are quick to draw parallels with the uprisings against Asad and Qaddafi regimes miss the point completely. Ethiopia is made up of conquered and conquering nations, of the colonialists and the colonized. The kind of solidarity that the Arabs showed in their uprising is unthinkable in Ethiopia today. The real problem is most of us, Oromos, do not mean what we say and do not say what we mean.
Some of my readers think that when I talk of Oromo revolution I mean only armed struggle. Actually more important for me is the revolution in our thoughts, in our minds. We are a divided nation made to be afraid of itself more than of its real torturers. Besides, most of us lack the culture and integrity to tell ourselves and our people the simple truth.
Let us face the problems that confront us from within. If you do not like my assessment, please stop reading immediately and go to other Oromo websites which cater to your wishes. I am not here to entertain anybody.
Of all the internal problems that impede our struggle for liberation from the imperialist backed Abyssinian colonialism, I want to mention the most intractable ones. There are two types of Oromos who are determined to sabotage our struggle from within. They can do so in ways that our Abyssinan enemies cannot. The first type is made of the Oromized Amharas. The second is the Amharized Oromo. Because both have many things in common it is not easy to distinguish between them. Some of them are less harmful than others. Take for example Gaddisa, a regular guest of Qale Paltalk room. He says openly something that goes like this: all Oromos who think that the Oromo people are oppressed by the Abyssinians are ignorant. Among the Oromo celebrities who occupied high positions in the Ethiopia governments, he mentions also a one time bloody governor of Bale as being half an Oromo. I have no problem with such a person like Gaddisa. He speaks his mind openly. There is no problem of identifying him as such.
The two most dangerous types I am talking about do identify with the struggle of the Oromo people not only for justice within the framework of the empire, but many of them even with our struggle for independence, all this to sabotage it from inside effectively, sometimes, from within the leadership of a liberation movement.
The only way we can defeat these internal enemies is to base our struggle on the masses of the Oromo people. In each of the Oromo region the local people know best who is who even though this is not as easy in the towns and cities, which are basically Abyssinian garrisons. The dangers of regionalism are always there. But committed political and organizational work, both clandestine and open, can deal with them if we regain our self-confidence. My vision of future is one of a democratically federated Oromo Land so that there will be no one clan or dogma dominating others to suffocate and silence human freedom. We have to come clear off the Abyssinian political culture.
All this seems utopian at present where everybody seems running for himself under Woyane fascism. Let me be clear: the revolution I am talking about is not an abstraction. But it can happen only if we fully accept without hesitation the idea of independence from Abyssinia. This is not a matter of nationalism and national pride. It is a necessity. We have no other choice even if we want. It is the question of our survival as self respecting men and women, as human beings. There had been a time when, for idealistic reasons, I entertained the possibility of a democratic Ethiopia where all its constituents would live together in harmony and peace. But the reality is neither the Abyssinian people nor their political elite accept democratization. They firmly believe the empire is their property and the result of the ‘hard ‘work’ of their fathers and forefathers. For them it is also basically a religious issue.
What I say here of the struggle of the Oromo people applies with equal force to the struggle of other peoples oppressed by the Amhara -Tigray domination, the Somalis, the Afar, the Sidama etc.
When and how to achieve our aims is a secondary question now, in my opinion. Clarity and determination come first. We have to stick to our rights for self-determination. Or do you think, like some, this is an old fashioned leftist slogan? Make up your mind, before it is too late. Deep down I am an optimist. We live in a multi polar world. And it is changing in ways that the Anglo- American imperialism cannot control. Most Europeans are fed up with the politics of the super rich in America running their politics and involving them in imperial agenda of war against the weak, now that there is no fear of the soviet Russia. The world is changing more rapidly than most of us think.
The ideology of conflict between cultures and religions will come very soon to its deserved end. Fanaticism and those who exploit it to erect greedy empires will never succeed. Nowadays even most ordinary people are not gullible as in the past. Am I saying all this only to cheer up demoralized Oromos? I hope not. I have a premonition that a change of perspective will take place in the minds of the majority of ordinary peoples of the world sooner or later. Most of them are fed up with the endless manipulations of their politicians and generals, manipulations which produce merciless competitions and stress threatening also the ecosystem. They are fed up of open armed conflicts and indiscriminate violence against innocent civilians. They see the systematic misuse of religions to divide them and make global human solidarity impossible.
As a human being born of a kind, peaceful and descent Moslem Oromo family, I would like to appeal to all sensible Moslems not to react violently to intentionally well orchestrated provocations abusing the prophet in the name of freedom of expression. Nor do we need to sympathize with those Moslems who misuse the concept of Jihad to target innocent civilians. But I would like also to remind Christians that no matter how angry a Moslem may be, it just does not occur to him/her to denigrate Jesus Christ in person. In Qur’an he is said to be God’s soul, spirit.
Human yearning for peace and justice cannot be indefinitely ignored. I hope the American people will realize soon the dangers that face them from within rather than from outside: the widening gap between the super rich and the poor, for example.
For us a radical change of perspective can create a situation where the Amhara -Tigray dominated Ethiopian empire can be dismantled relatively peacefully to the horror of the Abyssinian chauvinists. But such a change of perspective will not happen by itself automatically. It needs our active involvement in positive action at different levels of solidarity.
I cannot repeat enough that for us Oromos in particular, the most important question is how to overcome intimidation, despair and lethargy. The attempts by the TPLF fascist regime to divert attention from the real issues by pretending to focus on the so-called economic development, is part of a gimmick that cannot not stand serious scrutiny.
Some among the Somali Diaspora seem cheerful these days since the election of the new Somali president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud by representatives selected by clan leaders. Will the war lords and opportunist intellectuals entrenched in Mogadishu, in the so-called transitional government, both under Abdullah Yussuf and sheik Sherif, who invited, among others, Ethiopian intervention, relinquish power to the people so easily? The new president seems either totally powerless or just another figurehead in the service of foreign powers playing for high stakes at the expense of the Somali nation. How do you read the attempt on his life? He had promised to start a dialogue with the moderate elements within al Shebab. But as he was trying to form a new government, the Kenyan army assisted by the British units, mounted an attack on Kismayo and extended the war to other parts of Somalia with the full involvement of the so-called Somali army.
There is no need in this situation to be too cheerful about the prospects of peace here. The presence of Hailemariam Desalegn in the inauguration ceremony was not only part of a diplomatic formality. The Abyssinian ruling elite are not as yet ready to count the costs of their failures at home and abroad. They will never leave Somalis in peace unless forced. The mere potential for even a partial Oromo-Somali solidarity is their greatest nightmare.