Oromia: Ilmaan Oromoo Hundaaf, Artist Hawwii Tazarraa irraa January 18, 2016
Posted by OromianEconomist in Oromo Artist Hawwii Tazarraa, Uncategorized.Tags: Famous Oromo artist, Hawi Tazara, Hawi Tezera, Mother of all earth, Xalayaa Hawwii
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Akkami jirtu yaa ilmaan Oromoo, inuma jirtanii?
Anas Ayyanni Oromoo, Ayyanni saba cunqurfamaa osoo hin du`in har`aan na gaheera. Dararaa hundaa dandamadhee lubbuun koo osoo hin bahin har`a gaheera. Reebameera, akka dubartiitti osoo hin taane, akka sanyii namaatti osoo hin taane, akka bofaatti, ykn bineensa biraatti. Yakka tokkos hin dalagne. Waallee garaagaraa ummata oromoof weellise malee. Gaafa hiriiraa sana anis akka nama dhiiga Oromoo qabuutti baheen falme. Mirga koof falmadhe, gaafii abbaa biyyummaa gaafadhe. Yeroo muraas booda inni tokko dhufee sammuu keessa na rukute. Ergasi isaan wal qabanne, Qawwicha ofirraa dhoowwe. Booda jaha(6) tahanii akka dhala namaa osoo hin taane akka bofaa ykn akka bineensota birootti na reeban..Sadafii dhaan na reebaa karaa irra na harkisaa oolan.Hanga isaaniif bahutti erga na reebanii booda du`eera itti fakkaadhe.Takka turee yeroon dubbadhu hin duunee edaa jedhanii ammas hanga garaa isaanii na reeban. Achi booda gara Hospitaalaa na geessan. Amma Hospitaala dhuunfaa tokko keessa jira. Maatii kootis argee hin beeku..Mucaa kootis quba hin qabu. Bilbila koo narraa caccabsaniiru.Ammas lapheen koo na dhukkuba, hafuura baafachuu hin dandahu.Garuu Oromoota na gargaaran lakkawwee hin fixu, ulfaadhaa galatni keessan bilisummaa haata`u. Nuti biyya namaa hin dhaqne, biyya biraatifis hin falmatne, qabeenya keenyaaf biyya keenyaaf sababa falmatneef qofa biyyuma keenyatti kan reebamne, kan ajjeefamne, kan hidhamne. Garuu kan abdii natti hore yoo jiraate ummatni oromoo ammayyuu falmachaa jiraachuu isaati. Hiriirri guutuu Oromiyaatti itti fuufuu isaati. Fincilli ummata Oromoo hanga ammatti hin dhaabatne jennaan keessi koo baay`ee gammade.Yaa ilmaan Oromoo duguuggaa sanyiiti kan nurratti gaggeefamaa jiru.Yaa waaqayyoo ni bilisoomsi.Hanga ummatni keenya kan hidhame hundi hiikamutti,Barattootni hiikamaanitti, hanga mirgi abbaa biyyummaa nuu kabajamutti ni falmatna.Anis yoo du`e du`ee, yoo jiraadhe inuma falmadha.Yaa ummata Oromoo duubatti hin deebi`inaa, falmadhaan dhaamsa kooti.
Injifannoon Ummata Oromoof!
Mother of All Earth
https://oromianeconomist.wordpress.com/2015/12/31/mother-of-all-earth/
Continued Massacre in State of Oromia by the Tyrannical TPLF Government in Ethiopia: Appeal Letter Submitted to UN by OCO_NA, OCO of New York and OCO of Washington, DC January 18, 2016
Posted by OromianEconomist in Uncategorized.Tags: Africa, Continued Massacre in State of Oromia by the Tyrannical TPLF Government in Ethiopia: Appeal Letter Submitted to UN, Oromia, Oromo, Oromo demonstration in New York demands UN to take a firm stand against ethiopian government on 15 January, OromoProtests2016, the Oromo Community of New York, the Oromo Community Organization (OCO) of Washington DC Metropolitan Area and the Oromo Community Association in North America (OCO_NA)
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January 14, 2016
Mr. Ban Ki-moon
UN Secretary-General
First Avenue at 46th Street
New York, NY 10017
RE: Continued Massacre in Oromia Regional State by the Tyrannical TPLF Government in Ethiopia
Dear Mr. Secretary General,
We, the Oromo Community of New York, the Oromo Community Organization (OCO) of Washington DC Metropolitan Area and the Oromo Community Association in North America (OCO_NA) write this urgent letter to bring to your attention and express our deepest concerns about the violent crackdown on the peaceful student protesters in Oromia and other regional states of Ethiopia.
The Oromo People constitute 40 percent of the Ethiopian population. But they are subjugated to political oppression, economic exploitation, human rights violation by the dictatorial minority regime of the Tigrian People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) which usurped power in 1991. The regime expropriated the total land of the nation, all economic resources, monopolized political power and subjected the whole nation to tenancy and denied all economic rights. When the degree of oppression and exploitation became unbearable the whole nation has begun to resist the excesses of the government.
In 2014, the Oromo society in general and students at different levels (Elementary, High School, and University) in particular protested the land grab policy. The land grab policy not only displaces millions of Oromo farmers from their ancestral land but also causes loss of Oromo culture, history and identity. The response by the dictatorial bloodthirsty minority government of the TPLF is shooting to kill, beating, imprisoning and torturing of the peaceful protestors .As it is to be recalled, in 2014 more than 70 students were gunned down for peacefully demanding to stop the implementation of the land grab plan. Despite the firm opposition to this plan from all Oromos, internal and external, and many losses of life and causalities, the government moved ahead in 2015 with its proposed plan, which was paused due to people’s resistance to the policy.
As a result during the last two months, Oromo students again came out to express their opposition peacefully to the Addis Ababa master plan and land grab policy implementation of the TPLF regime. However, again More than 150 Oromo nationals were shot dead, thousands wounded, beaten, more than 5000 were rounded up and thrown into jail. As the protests and killings are still on going, more causality is reported every day. Given the history of brutality of the current regime in Ethiopia, those in jail are feared to be tortured or even secretly murdered in the prison cells and others disappeared. Many corps of disappeared students is being recovered in forests, ponds, and rivers, deliberately dumped to hide traces of genocide. Mr. Bekele Gerba, vice chairman of the Oromo Federalist congress Party (OFC) is among the detained, and Mr. Bekele Naga, Secretary General of OFC is under house arrest. In General, a war of Genocide is being waged by the TPLF government against the Oromo people. The Oromia Region is now under military Command Post where all civil rights are violated, the army beats, arrests, tortures, kills at will. The army imposes curfew at any time and place. Normal life has been disrupted. Marshall Law is exercised in Oromia Region now
What is being perpetrated against peaceful demand and protest is the concern of the 40 million Oromos not students only. Accordingly, the Oromo community Organization of NY, the Oromo Community Organization (OCO) of the Washington DC Metropolitan Area and the Oromo Community Association in North America (OCO_NA) are writing this joint appeal letter to Your Excellency to express our deep concern and outrage about the current massacre of the Oromo people all over Oromia by the federal police and army of the TPLF/EPRDF Ethiopian government
The continued massacre of students and civilians is part of the grand scheme to annihilate the Oromo people and expropriate their land and resources. The late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said a couple of years ago, while he was alive,” the majority will be diminished into a minority.” That remark reflects deep rooted objective of annihilating the Oromo, which the current TPLF leaders are bent to implement. Currently, about 90% of political prisoners in Ethiopia are Oromos. The former Defense minister stated that all prisoners speak Afaan Oromo (Oromo language) after released from prison indicating the huge number of Oromo prisoners. It is puzzling to fathom the strategy of reducing 40% of the Ethiopian population to minority unless one thinks of genocide. Generally, a war of attrition is being waged by the TPLF government against the Oromo people. The trend is dangerous. The Oromo demand deserves timely and appropriate response. Oppression leads to violent response.
Dear Mr. Secretary General,
It is so sad that such heinous crimes are repeatedly happening to the Oromo students and civilians in the 21st century without reaction from international organizations and Western democracies. Even the investigative reporters of big media are silent on the genocidal killings on going in Oromia. It was only the BBC that exposed the genocidal killings of 2014. The Oromo Diaspora has been alerting the world of the crimes of TPLF against the citizens. But nothing has been done. No member of the criminal regime has been brought to court of justice. We are observing criminal governments being brought to ICC from former Yugoslavia, Kenya, Congo Democratic Republic, Rwanda, Liberia and others. We don’t understand why the criminal TPLF government is allowed to move with impunity. Why double standard is applied when it comes to the Ethiopian dictators? Because of unrestrained criminal activity, the government has continued to massacre the Oromo people, grab their lands, plunder resources, harass and imprison. The consequence of the unabated killing of citizens with impunity by tyrannical governments will be regrettable as we can see in many countries facing similar situations today. Stitch in time avoids big crack. Oromo life matters!!
In response to the protests, the Ethiopian government has unleashed its armed forces throughout Oromia on unarmed students and citizens who are protesting peacefully against the Master Plan. Armed forces are firing live ammunition against unarmed people, killing and maiming them. Children as young as 8 year olds, pregnant women and elderly parents are among the murdered victims. Over 140 people have been killed so far and the number of casualties is rising. Thousands are being mercilessly beaten and herded into prisons. Federal armed forces are raiding university dormitories and private homes, and savagely beating and killing unarmed people. The Ethiopian government and its armed and security forces are committing the most heinous crimes against defenseless school children in all parts of Oromia and beyond. The peaceful protests involve elementary, high school and university students. Parents of the students—farmers, workers, elementary and school teachers, and university lecturers have joined youth protesters. The people are facing violent government crackdown every day. The heavy-handed, excessive use of force has resulted in the death of more than 140 victims and critical injuries of thousands of peaceful people. Thousands of students are taken into custody and facing torture and death. Because of the government’s draconian press laws and criminalization of independent media, it is difficult to account for all victims of this brutal crackdown at this moment.
The Oromo, peaceful and generous people—the creators of the gadaa system, a genuinely democratic system of government, a remarkable contribution to humanity—are dying in the hands of a brutal regime. These defenseless people need and deserve the support of the international community. We understand that what happens to the Oromo people in Ethiopia does not make the headline news in anywhere and in UN. But the Oromo are very important people. They occupy the largest region in Ethiopia, both in terms of population size and land mass. Their land is endowed with rich natural and mineral resources and serves as the backbone of the Ethiopian economy. The well-being of the Oromo society guarantees the stability and peace in the Horn of Africa. We humbly warn that there is a substantial risk in ignoring the sufferings of such a large population in the Horn of Africa, and its growing Diaspora communities. The situation in Ethiopia is getting worse every day. Neglecting them and destruction of the Oromo society will definitely contribute to larger political, economic, social and security crises that will threaten regional and global peace. Saving them saving peace in the region.
The TPLF minority regime is hoodwinking the West and international organizations including the UN, by wearing the veil of progress and development. But, the reality is the dirt under the veil. While the TPLF regime is boasting of 12% annual economic growth, 18 million Ethiopians are exposed to hunger as Your Excellency is aware, and yearning for handouts. This shows the growth propaganda is commercial. But they blame climate change. Climate change is not earthquake that happens abruptly and cause hunger and famine. The main cause of the famine is land policy and mal administration. Land is expropriated by the TPLF government which they distribute to the Chinese, Indians, Saudis, Turks, and others freely for hidden quad pro quo. TPLF is sole land lord in the country. We recall the infamous hanger of 1973 which dethroned Emperor Haile Selassie and abolished feudalism. The 2015 hunger also should have consequences.
The regime speaks of democratic process while rigging election and declaring 100% victory. In the absence of freedom of expression, press, gathering, protesting they speak of democratic prevalence. They accuse dissenters of corruption and rent seeking, while they stash billions of dollars in foreign banks by snatching from the hunger stricken Ethiopians. They snatch people’s houses and farmers land in the name of development by paying minimum or no compensation and stash away the market value. There is no guarantee of property ownership. Generally, government accountability is nil. Anger against this government is simmering. The tyrannical activity of the government is leading to volatile vent. They should be denied support unless they respect human rights, democratic principles and show transparency.
Dear Mr. Secretary General,
We earnestly request Your Excellency to use your office influence to urge the Ethiopian government to respect the right of the Oromo people, rule of law and stop killing and arresting Oromo students, implement democratic governance. If the regime doesn’t cooperate we request the UN to stop its support and impose sanctions. We specifically request that the UN:
- Stop the Genocidal war being waged by the TPLF government against the Oromo people;
- Stop the arbitrary arrests, kidnappings, tortures and killings of Oromo students and other civilians;
- Establish a commission of inquiry to investigate the current violent crackdown and extrajudicial killings;
- Bring those who committed extrajudicial killings to ICC court;
- Demand an immediate stop to the unlawful so called “Integrated development master plan” implementation and the unlawful eviction of Oromo farmers and the illegal selling of Oromo land under the disguise of such “development”;
- Demand the cancellation of the establishment of centralized Urban Development Corporation to be implemented by the federal government;
- Demand that an independent commission be appointed to investigate the mass killing in Oromia regional state and look at the prison demography;
- Demand the unconditional and immediate release of Oromo students who are jailed for exercising their constitutional right and all political prisoners;
- Demand that the regime to commit itself to the respect of human rights and allow freedom of expression and assembly and making a peaceful protest;
- Demand Ethiopian perpetrators of mass killing be brought to ICC similar to criminals in other countries;
- Demand the Oromo plight be given equal weight to that of other nations under the yoke of dictatorial regimes.
Sincerely,
Mr. Demisse Wayessa,
Chairman, Oromo Community of NY
http://www.oromocomunityny.org
Desta Yebassa, Ph.D.
Board President, Oromo Community Organization (OCO) of Washington D.C. area
6212 3rd ST NW Washington, DC 20011
Dr. Guluma Gemeda, PhD
Chair, Board of Directors of Oromo Communities’ Association in North America (OCA-NA)
465 Mackubin St N, St. Paul, MN, 55103, USA
ggemeda@umflint.edu
CC:
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Tel: (202) 395-2020
Mr. John Kerry
Secretary of State
US Department of State
2201 C St NW Washington, DC 2052;
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland;
The World Bank
1225 Connecticut Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20433 U.S.A.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF)
700 19th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20431
Oromia: In Ethiopia, anger over corruption and farmland development runs deep. #OromoProtests January 18, 2016
Posted by OromianEconomist in Uncategorized.Tags: Africa, anger over corruption and farmland development runs deep Despite the government ending plans to build on Oromo land around the capital, Chitu, Cittuu, In Ethiopia, Land Grabs, Oromia, Oromo, OromoProtests2016, The corruption of Ethiopia, The Guardian
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In Ethiopia, anger over corruption and farmland development runs deep
Despite the government ending plans to build on Oromo land around the capital, clashes continue, as lack of transparency and maladministration fuel dissent
William Davison, The Guardian, Global Development, 18 January 2016
Protesters block the road in Wolenkomi, in the Oromia region of Ethiopia
Protesters block the road in Wolenkomi, in the Oromia region of Ethiopia. All photographs by William Davison
Two years ago, on the edge of Chitu in Ethiopia’s unsettled Oromia region, local officials told Chamara Mamoye his farmland might be developed when the small town expanded. He hasn’t heard anything since.
“Losing the land would be a big problem for me, but if the government forces us, we can’t do anything,” the father-of-five says outside his compound.
Last month, Chamara, 45, saw the bodies of two protesters lying on the road after demonstrations rocked Chito. The dead were among up to 140 people killed by security forces during region-wide protests triggered by claims of injustice and marginalisation from the nation’s largest ethnic group, the Oromo.
Bolstered by US-based social media activists, the protest movement coalesced around opposition to a government plan to integrate the capital, Addis Ababa, with surrounding Oromo towns. After weeks of protests, the ruling coalition in the Oromia region said last week that it was cancelling the planned expansion.
Protests, however, go on, and the roots of popular unease and anger in Oromia run much deeper.
Dissatisfaction with corruption, maladministration and inadequate consultations on investments are fuelling dissent. This patchwork of grievances presents a fundamental challenge to an authoritarian government aiming to rapidly transform Ethiopia from an agrarian society to an industrial powerhouse. And the discontent is a national issue.
Urban expansion is causing clashes across the country as investors, officials and farmers protect their interests, says Seyoum Teshome, a lecturer at Ambo University.
“The villagers who have been asking for basic services and infrastructure rush to sell their farmland at market rate before it is expropriated at low rates of compensation,” he says.
As all land is state-owned in Ethiopia, houses are rapidly built on the edge of towns without official permission, to give plots value, Seyoum says. Investors may bribe corrupt officials to formalise illegal transfers, causing anger among dispossessed farmers, he adds.
Workers near Chitu in the Oromia region
Chamara was not among the mostly youthful protesters who took to the streets in Chitu, but he shares their concerns about an unresponsive ruling system. He’s frustrated by repeatedly broken official promises to tarmac the main road that runs through Chitu. Although the area has electricity and a mobile-phone signal, he is disappointed with the rate of progress since the government came to power 25 years ago. “There is no big development considering the time they had,” he says.
He is also upset by a lack of information and consultation over land policies, as well as concerned by suspicions of corruption – though officials do not flaunt ill-gotten gains. “The corruption is done in a secret way. It’s a silent killer,” he said.
In elections last May, Ethiopia’s ruling coalition and allied parties won all 547 seats in the federal parliament and 100% of legislative positions in nine regional councils. Despite the result, the government acknowledged widespread dissatisfaction with the quality of public administration and levels of corruption.
“In many areas, personnel said to be involved in massive corruption that led to sudden outbursts of anger are being dismissed,” government spokesman Getachew Reda said in an interview last week.
One of the deadliest incidents last month took place in Woliso town, about113km south-west of Addis Ababa. Six protesters were killed by security forces after thousands of people from surrounding villages took to the streets to protest over planned expansion of the town.
A group of young Oromo, who had gathered next to the Walga river a few miles from Woliso, spoke of community fears of evictions and poor compensation. But nobody seemed to know anything specific about government plans. “The government does not discuss in detail. They do not have consent,” one said.
Ethiopia has long been a darling of the international donor community, which has appeared willing to ignore its poor record on human rights because high growth rates over the past decade have delivered some development goals. But the Oromo protests illustrate the vulnerabilities of this strategy.
To the north of Chitu, at Wenchi, which boasts a spectacular crater lake popular with tourists, grievances are almost tangible. Soldiers are still in town and, as elsewhere, the authorities have arrested people suspected of involvement in the protests. While some seem cowed by the crackdown, Rabuma Terefa is not.
His friend was shot in the leg on the edge of Chitu as he marched with other protesters from Wenchi.
When an elite military unit told elders the protesters must turn back, the group refused, arguing they had a constitutional right to peacefully demonstrate, said Rabuma. Within minutes, soldiers opened fire, killing people, including Birhanu Dinka, who was leading the crowd at that moment.
“They did not say anything, they just pointed the guns at us. We were begging them not to kill us,” Rabuma, 27, says. While abuses may have occurred, security forces are told to protect civilian lives, according to Getachew.
It is not only lives at stake: around the time of the protests in Wenchi, the property of a Dutch agricultural company, Solagrow, was torched by hundreds of people. Rabuma says the investment angered locals as it fenced off 100 hectares of prime communal grazing land, leased by the government. Solagrow says community relations were healthy and the valley was waterlogged until they drained it.
A cow on Solagrow land near property burnt down in a protest in Chitu
The project was collateral damage of the political dispute, according to manager Jan van de Haar. “[The protesters] became angry and they said there was only one way to continue, and that’s our farm, because we’re the only investment in that place,” he says. The attack destroyed $300,000-worth of machinery and potato seeds.
Rabuma had no sympathy for Solagrow, which he says was complicit in the government’s oppression of the Oromo. He is instead focused on the struggle ahead.
In Chitu, Chamara speaks for many Oromo as he implores the government to better manage investments and urban sprawl. “No one is opposing the development of the city, but it should not be at the expense of farmers’ lives,” he says.
This article was amended on 18 January 2016 to correct the spelling of Chitu.
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