Yared Terfassa: Oh Finfinnee! May Reason & Justice Prevail! March 16, 2019
Posted by OromianEconomist in Uncategorized.trackback
The Oromo claim over Finfinnee has nothing to do with “social engineering,” or “special rights or preferences,” or “eviction of non-Oromo residents” as the radical and irresponsible groups would have us believe. Rather, the Oromo claim on Addis Ababa in essence is the recognition of the dynamic and necessary link between Addis Ababa and the Oromia Regional State in promoting democracy, justice and peace for the City and the Region. The Oromo people have an immediate and unwavering interest in the peace, development, and democratic governance of the City of Addis Ababa. The converse is also true for Addis Ababa.
This invites the question why there seems to be a dispute involving the “ownership” of Finfinnee at this time. The Oromo use the term “ownership rights” to emphasize the importance of coordinating administration of Finfinnee with Oromia for regional peace, development, and respect for citizenship rights. The Oromo never employ the term to demand exclusive residency or benefit from Finfinnee. Others deliberately distort the Oromo’s rights and interest on Finfinnee. They present the “ownership” issue as a dispute over the identity of residents of Addis Ababa and the Oromo people. They want to erect a divide, imaginary and actual, between the citizens of the City and Oromia. They manufacture stories and myths to radicalize a segment of the population. At the same time, they evoke “unity,” “one Ethiopia,” “post-tribalism,” “modernity,” and “politics based on citizenship” to confuse the gullible and to mask their true identity. A rose by any other name still has horns.
The so-called ‘unity forces’ have come up with a new phrase for an outdated phase in the political game. Their new catchword is ‘politics based on citizenship.’ It is an old dodgy idea that “cultural assimilation” is a perquisite for Ethiopian citizenship. It is a euphemism for cultural superiority, a disguise for contempt for other cultures, and a cover for denying peoples existence as people.
The primary agenda of these reactionary group is the Oromo civilization: what needs to be smashed, eradicated, obliterated is not injustice or indignity, but the revival of the Oromo culture. They accept the underpinnings of Classical Marxism: a belief in the superiority of modern societies over traditional ones – claiming their culture is more modern than the others’. History teaches us that such irrational prejudice is the incubator of fascism, racism, and war.
Citizenship is a political, legal status created and determined by a State and enforced by law. Participation in the political process is a manifestation of citizenship. The State transforms its subjects to citizenship status by recognizing their rights and obligations to participate in the legislation and execution of the rules governing them. Those without a citizenship status cannot formally participate in politics.
Citizenship is not a neutral concept; it is a contested one. Part of the contest involves the primacy or preference to be given to the basis of the citizenship status itself. Some countries accord citizenship status exclusively based on the individual whereas other countries bestow republican citizenship on the peoples that make up the State.
The choice between the varieties of citizenship statuses is or should be a function of the history of the country. Yet, the whims of political leaders and prevailing political sentiment of the times have influenced the choices countries have made. For example, citizenship status in the United States is based on the individual. This reflects the history of the country; the constituent peoples of the country have either been exterminated or reduced to a point of political insignificance; others have been subjected to racism and oppression for so long they have lost the will to assert themselves as a people. Even the victors themselves have come to recognize the evil committed and express the national and personal shame they feel about what has been done to the other peoples. The cost of standardizing identity is not just the generational pain and suffering it inflicts on the victims, but also the shame on the benefactors as well as the constant tension and uncertainty about the viability of the political union thus formed.
The situation in Ethiopia is a little different. Of course, there has been attempts to create a standardized “Ethiopian” by any means necessary. Violence, institutional racism, and shaming have been employed to standardize of the disparate peoples in the country into “one people.” Yet, due to the resiliency of the peoples, Ethiopia remains a multicultural country. Visit the history of Qimant; visit the history of Sidama; visit the history of Oromo; visit the history of Agaw; visit the history of all peoples in Ethiopia. Witness the human spirit for freedom and dignity first hand.
Today, Ethiopia recognizes its peoples. Republican Citizenship is the law of the land. Individual Rights is an indispensable part and parcel of Republican Citizenship. It is the law of the land. This does not mean that Ethiopia is out of the shadows of yester years’ prejudice and violence against its own peoples. There are radical groups who would like to make standardized Ethiopian individuals. They have the audacity and project to manufacture “new Ethiopians” in the next few months or years. But, remember, they do not have the magic wand to do it peacefully and immediately without pain. Oh no! They don’t! They would have to do the old way.
This is an unacceptable proposition for the Oromo in the 21st century. The Oromo cannot be reduced to an arbitrary identity standard concocted by irrational and prejudiced political entrepreneurs. Oromo is sacred. Tens of millions Oromos live it, identify with it, find meaning and purpose in it. The Oromo civilization has existed since time immemorial and generations of Oromo have and will always defend its existence and ensure it revival.
The deliberately manufactured crisis about Finfinnee is proxy for challenging the federal arrangement and the Constitution. Finfinnee should be a factor of cooperation and not a bone of contention. Radical, opportunist political groups should not be allowed to cause unnecessary and unwarranted conflict both among citizens of Finfinnee and between citizens of Finfinnee and Oromia. The radical groups are testing the waters; they are testing the resolve and wisdom of the current government. Arrogant and ignorant as they are, it is wise for Dr. Abiy not to gamble on their weakness. Neither is it wise to discount the harm they would cause to the social cohesion in the city of Finfinnee and beyond.
OromianEconomist 
Desperation, Frustration and Violence against the Oromo: Ginbot-7, Ethsat and the Dawit Wolde Giorgis Factor http://ayyaantuu.org/desperation-frustration-and-violence-against-the-oromo-ginbot-7-ethsat-and-the-dawit-wolde-giorgis-factor/
በአዲስ አበባና ተያያዥ ጉዳዮች ላይ #ከኦዴፓ ማእከላዊ ኮሚቴ የተሰጠ መግለጫ::
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አዲስ አበባ የሁሉም ኢትዮጵያ ብሔር ብሔረሰቦች መኖሪያ፣የአፍሪካ መዲና፣የፌዴራሉ መንግስት መቀመጫና የኦሮሚያ ክልል ዋና ከተማ ናት።
የሁሉም ብሔር ብሔረሰብ መኖሪያ ነች ሲባል ደግሞ ጉራጌው፣ወላይታው፣ትግሬው፣ቡርጂው ፣አማራው እና ሁሉም በከተማው ላይ እኩል የነዋሪነት መብት አላቸው ማለት ነው።ከዚያ ውጪ አማራ ከሌሎች ብሔር ተለይቶ አዲስ አበባ ላይ የሚያነሳ የባለቤትነትም ሆነ ለሌሎች ጠበቃ ሆኖ ራሱን የሚያቀርብበት የታሪክ፣የህግና ስነ አመከኒዮ ዬለም።
የኦሮሚያ መንግስት አዲስ አበባ/ ፊንፊኔ ሁሉም ነዋሪዎቿ በእኩልነትና በነፃነት የሚኖሩባት እንደስሟ አዲስና ውብ ከተማ ለማድረግ እንዲሁም ፍትህ፣ሰላም፣የህግ የበላይነትና ዲሞክራሲ የሰፈነባት ከተማ እንድትሆንም በታሪክ አጋጣሚ መጪና አላፊ ስርዓቶች የፈጠሩትን ክፍተቶች ለመሙላትና በኢትዮጵያ የነበረውን የብሔር ጭኮና ላንዴና ለመጨረሻ ጊዜ እልባት እንዲያገኝ መሪ ድርጅታችን ኢህአዴግ በሽግግር መንግስቱ ወቅት ሁሉንም ባለድርሻ አካላት ያቀፈ ምክክር አድርጎ ባለርስቱ የሆነው የኦሮሞ ህዝብ ከአዲስ አበባ ጋር በተገናኘ ሲደርስበት ለነበረው የዘመናት መፈናቀል፣ ታሪኩ፣ ባህሉና ወጉ መጥፋት ሊካስ ይገባል ከሚለው ቀና አስተሳሰብ ያመነጨው ልዩ ጥቅም ባሁኑ ሰዓት ተግባራዊ የሚደረግበት ሁኔታ ላይ ዳግም ምክክር የሚያደርግ ሲሆን፣ድርጅታችን ኦዴፓ የሚታገልለትን ህዝብ የዘመናት ጥያቄ ለመመለስ እንዲሁም አዲስ አበባ ውስጥ የሚኖረው ሁሉም ብሔር ብሔረሰቦች እኩል ተጠቃሚነትን ለማረጋገጥ የሚከተሉት ውሳኔዎችን አስተላልፏል:-
1/ አዲስ አበባ/ፊንፊኔ በታሪክም በህግም የኦሮሞ ህዝብ ርስት የኦሮሚያ እምብርት በመሆኗ ባለፉት 27 አመታት እንደ ክልልና ሙሉ በሙሉ ራሷን የምታስተዳድር ነፃ ከተማ ሆና በመታየት እንዲሁም የፌዴራል መንግስት በተሳሳተ መልኩ የአዲስ አበባ ጉዳይ ላይ እንደ አስተዳደር አካሉ ሲወስን የኖረ በመሆኑ ይህ ተስተካክሎ የአዲስ አበባ ከተማ አስተዳደር ሙሉ በሙሉ በኦሮሚያ ክልል ስር እንድትተዳደር፣
2/ አዲስ አበባ ከሌሎች ከተሞች የተለየች የአፍሪካ መዲና፣የሁሉም ኢትዮጵያዊያን መኖሪያ፣የፌዴራሉ መንግስት መቀመጫ፣የኦሮሚያ ክልልም ዋና ከተማ ስለ ሆነች ይህንን ደረጃዋን የሚመጥን ሁሉም መሰረተ ልማት በደረጃዋ እንዲሟሉላት ከአከባቢያዋ ከተሞችና ገጠር ቀበሌዎች ጋር ያላት ድንበር ተለይቶ እንዲወሰን፣ይሀውም ላሁኑ የለውጥ መንግስት ምክንያት የሆነው የኦሮሞ ህዝብ ትግል ጥያቄ የአዲስ አበባ ለባለፉት 27 አመታት ህገወጥ በሆነ መልኩ መስፋፋት ስለሆነ ይሀውን ጥያቄ ከግምት በማስገባት የአዲስ አበባ ድንበር በ1987 ዓ/ም የነበረ እንዲሆን፣
3/ ኦዴፓ/ኢህአዴግ የሁሉንም የኢትዮጵያ ብሔር ብሔረሰቦች መብት ለማስከበርና ለውጡ የሁላችን አሻራ ያረፈባት፣ሰላም፣ዲሞክራሲ ፣ ፍትህ፣የህግ የበላይነት የሰፈነባት የዜጎች ነፃነትና እኩልነት የተረጋገጠባት አዲሲቷን ኢትዮጵያ እውን የማድረግ ስራ ላይ ባለንበት በዚህ ጊዜ በማይመለከታቸው የሌሎች ክልሎች ጉዳይ ላይ ጣልቃ እየገቡ የሀገራችን ህዝቦች አብሮ የመቀጠልና የሀገራችን እንደ ሀገር የመቀጠል ዋስትና የሆነውን ህግ መንግስት፣የፌደራል ስርዓታችንና የብሔር ብሔረሰቦች እኩልነትን በሚንድ መልኩ ከመሪ ድርጅታችን ውስጥም ሆነ ለሀገራዊ ግምባታ ሀገር ውስጥ የነበሩ፣ውጪ የገቡ እና አጠቃላይ የጠቅላይ ዛር ይዟቸው ሀገሪቷን ሰላም እየነሱ ያሉ ኃይሎች፣በተለይም በነፃ ያገኙትን ነፃነት መሸከም አቅቶዋቸው የለውጥ አመራሩን፣ሁሉን አቃፊና ለለውጡ ዋጋ የከፈለውን የኦሮሞን ህዝብ በሚዲያና ባደባባይ መሳደብ፣ማንቋሸሽ፣ማዋረድ፣ስም ማጠልሸት የጀመሩ ወገኖች ከድርጊታቸው እንዲቆጠቡ፣ በአፅንኦት ያሳስባል።
በማጠቃለያም የኦሮሞ ህዝብ በለመወደው አቃፊነቱ መላውን የሀገራችንን ብሔር ብሔረሰቦችን በማቀፍ የሌለውን ስም እየሰጡት፣ ታሪካዊ ጠላትነታቸው አገርሽቶባቸው ስሙን የሚያጠፉ፣የሚሰድቡት፣የሚንቁት፣የሚያብጠለጥሉት፣ላለፉት 150 አመታት ስርዓት ዘርግተው ከርስቱ አፈናቅለውት ታሪኩን፣ባህሉን፣ወጉን፣ማንነቱን በፈጠራ ታሪክና ተረክት የተኩ አሁን ይህ ስለቀረባቸው የሚርበተበቱ ኃይሎች ስለሆኑ፣እንዲታገላቸው የለውጥ መሪውን መንግስት በመደገፍ ከጎኑ እንዲቆም ጥሪ እናቀርባለን።
መላው የሀገራችን ህዝቦች የለውጡ አመራርነት ያለው ኦዴፓ/ኢህአዴግ ባለፉት 10 ወራት እንደታየው ለሁሉም የምትሆን አዲሲቷን ኢትዮጵያ እውን ከማድረግ ውጪ ሌላ ድብቅ አጀንዳ የሌለው መሆኑን በመገንዘብ አሁን ለውጡ ከጥቅማቸው ተፃራሪ የሆነ ኃይላት በሚዲያና በየአደባባዩ እያሰሙ ያሉትን ሀሰትና የማደናገሪያ ወሬዎችን ሳትሰሙ፣በተለይም ኢትዮጵያን የግል ርስታቸው አድርገው በአንደኛ ደረጃ ዜግነት ለመኖር የሚፈልጉ በስመ አንድነትና ኢትዮጵያዊነት የሚንቀሳቀሱ ኃይሎችን እንድትጠነቀቁ ለማሳሰብ እንወዳለን።
ሰላም፣ ፍትህ፣ ነፃነትና ዲሞክራሲ ለሀገራችን ህዝቦች!
በደም ያገኘነውን ነፃነት በደም እንጠብቃለን!
መጋቢት 8 ቀን 2011 ዓ/ም አዲስ አበባ /ፊንፊኔ #ኦዴፓ
Oromo elites are shunning initial Kaayyoo of the nation as articulated by OLF without replacing it with any viable alternative. This raises a question, if they are accepting that Oromo were and will be self-reliant independent nation? So far it is only struggle under that kaayyoo, that could enable them to reach the level from where they could hit their goal. Without reaching that level it will be difficult for nation and country to get attention and respect for one’s rights and interest. It is because of that initial kaayyoo that the enemy is campaigning against OLF even without doing any thing and continuously keep on cursing any Oromo alleging for being OLF. Therefore getting together of organizations carrying Oromo names to discuss on how to take the Oromo to that level could contribute to their common strength. For those with different outlook realizing the right of nations to national self-determination can give them to follow their heart after popular decision. For all purposes, it is essential to assure the people that its life and property will never again be affected without its direct or through representatives expressed will. Finfinnee was captured during the time of Emperors. Its boundary line with country side and little villages should not go beyond what was then during the last Emperor. That regime came to an end by revolution for which Oromo suffering was the major cause. Therefore boundary change after Oromo struggle that was born from that revolution is not acceptable. Boundaries are set for towns and villages for administrative convenience.It is not necessary for any town including Finfinnee to expand beyond its border line by swallowing peasants’ holdings. Let us take Washington DC as an example for it is mentioned frequently. Initially Washington DC was 100 square miles. Later it was reduced to 68.34 after Alexandria refused and receded. It was formed on land ceded by Mary Land and Virginia to create a neutral ground for the nations capital. Otherwise it could have been left in Philadelphia. Workers originating from neighboring states go to DC and it is not necessary for DC to expand into them. Even building in DC should not be higher than Washington Monument. For this reason except for supporting each other with service and man power it is not necessary to be combined. Therefore it cannot serve as example for Finfinnee “Baldaras Hall Putsch”. Oromiyaa government is administration of an Oromo institution. The constitution and the law does not allow it to serve others before it serves its own people’s interest. It can stand with its neighbors in distress. Is it ignorance or contempt to blame it on Finfinnee question, for not standing with aliens by betraying its own people? New Ethiopia is supposed to be formed with the colonies based on their willingness. It will not be reinstating old Ethiopia and even the name can be different. Standing in old Ethiopia and trying to impose conditions cannot answer the Oromo question and produce results desired by all, unity. Elites among the Amaaraa ethnic group, which are “non-Amaaraa Amaaraa” are belittling themselves by them selves. Are they expecting the Oromo will stop abandoning span of land to them from its bellybutton, Finfinnee? The land of Gullallee, Galaan and Eekkaa clans are still exist under those names. Though they were denied the land the tribesmen are still around. Now they are saying we will take back our land and administer it according to our laws. What is the cacophony about by nafxanyaa remnants, when the nafxanyaa system had been broken? The sovereign is Oromo, residents are different peoples and institutions in the empire and from all over the world. It was Finfinnee that their grandfathers first occupied with weapons of mass destruction and bounced from there to put free countries under itself. Their children retried that episode with tricks but are craying when s exposed, why? The misguided poor that broke the law can go and ask compensation from those guiding them with remote control. The Oromo culturally take law as superior to all things. Those that break the law cannot be their friends and they cannot have compassion for them. In Oromiyaa all can have home and develop property according to law of Oromiyaa. Town hooligans are bragging “We will exterminate each other”. No one responds to them, they only wish to exterminate people but cannot do it. It is cultural for Oromo youth to carry sticks and for old men “dhabata” (long stick to lean on). They drive dogs away with them not people. Those that claimed to be progressives and had been roaming the mountains in the name of revolution are now exposed discriminating people based on religion. In a time when even the Orthodox church is infested with “Tahaaddisoo” (Reformers) they are trying to divide the Oromo by their religion. The Oromo are enemy with the class that spread over them the nafxanyaa system in the name of the Amaaraa and have no conflict with the Amaaraa people. Now, ones who do not know history and do not consider tomorrow are provoking them for their identity and faith in name of Amaaraa. Oromo are neither naïve nor cowards but are tolerant and patient. We declared supporting change and accepted the leadership of Dr. Abiy and supremacy of the law. For Oromo transition means going across from Nafxanyaa system to democracy and rule of law. For those shouting in the name of Amaaraa it means restoring autocratic rule built on nafxanyaa system and sabotage the revolution that has been going on for half a century. That will never happen for much has been spent on it. The existing Ethiopian constitution is the supreme law we have at present. We are neither in the drafting or proclaiming.They are rejecting their own while we have accepted it without qualification. Accepting supremacy of the law is accepting it. And breaking it is committing crime. Let them cool down and device a way to bring about peace. Oromo respects Amaaraa not because of intermarriages and interbreeding but because they are human beings. As for intermarriage, they have that relation even with over seas whites. Individuals are intermarrying believing in love, justice, equality and human dignity and are not marrying the nations. Therefore nations create coalitions if they respect each other’s equality and interests and if they have common vision alone. We have said Oromo love peace and tranquility. Do not approach them with conflicts. Do not humiliate their leaders that respected you. Had Oromummaa not put rein on them they could have sat above all our heads and pounded us down like your past rulers. Let Waaq save us! Oromiyaan haa jiraattu! https://www.facebook.com/gubirmans/posts/2142035405890337
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