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What I find alarming even more so than the individual charges levelled against us is the state of the overall justice system in this country. Allow me to address this not just to the bench presiding over this case but also to the second-man in charge of the Attorney General’s Office who is present amongst us in this courtroom today. The justice system is under the total control of the ruling party and has utterly failed due to political interference by those in positions of power. I would like for you to understand this. It is evident from the prosecution’s request for the court to grant anonymity for witnesses so they can testify against us from behind-the-curtain that this is a political trial. And the fact one of the witnesses was dropped today and that four others were dropped the other day further demonstrates that the entire exercise is politically motivated. I am not saying this because I’m terrified of prison. When I made the decision to join politics, it’s with the full knowledge that such eventualities might arise and with the conviction to accept any consequences. Prison is an elementary challenge. I’m ready to die for my people and for the cause I believe in. If I die today, I go with a peace of mind and a smile on my face. I won’t have any regrets. I’m pleading with you not out of the personal desire to get a favourable ruling on this case but because I want the country’s judicial system to improve for the sake of future generations. This reminds me of the ordeals the earliest Oromo nationalist movement leaders had to go through inside the courtrooms of Imperial Ethiopia [and the death penalty they were given] 40 years ago; trailblazers such as Captain Mamo Mezemir who graduated with great honours from the then imperial military academy. What is happening to the current crop of leaders (potentially his grand children) today is no different. This is disgraceful. Political differences are resolved through dialogue, not in a litigation before a court of law. This exercise helps neither our politics nor the country’s judicial system. On the contrary, it will further worsen the political polarisation, courts will lose public trust and this will precipitate the disintegration of the country. All evidences indicate that that is where we’re heading. The current Prime Minister had apologised for putting freedom advocates through a reign of terror for 27 years in contravention of the constitution and the laws of the country, and had admitted that that was a wrong path to follow. However, what we’re witnessing is a continuation of the same old unlawful practice. I maintain that political differences cannot be resolved in a court of law and that no resolution will come out of such futile undertakings. I urge you to stop wasting the resources and energy of everyone involved. You can jail us as you please, free us as you please or hang us if you deem it necessary but I implore you to stop the blatant mockery of justice and the law. I thank you! –Translated from the Afaan Oromo version originally published by Oromo Political Prisoners Defence Team.
Eertiraanis idaa kanarraa ni qoodatti. Bilisummaan Eertiraa dhiigaa fi lubbuu Jawaariitiin ni dhufa. Jawaar Mohaammad nama idil-addunyaati. Muldhataadha. Toophiyaa keessatti Jawaariin kan gahu eennu?
Hidhamuun Jawaar Mohaammad Toophiyaatti injifannoo dachaa dachaa fida.Jawaar kan kaabaa, kan kibbaa, kan bahaa fi kan dhihaattu deeggara. Jawaar akka Koloneel Abiyyii osoo hatuu fi osoo ajjeesu hin dabarsine. Biyya alaa kan jiru ummanni biyya keenyaa fudhatama kenneeraaf. Kana ta’uusaatiin guddinna Jawaar ammumaan asumaa achi argaarra. Woytiin hanga Fulbaanaa jiru dhimmi Jawaar fi dhimmi biyyaa murtii xumuraa ni argata!”
4) Namni kun kan ari’ame sababa lammummaa isaatiin jedhan. Soba. Gaafa muudamus lammummaa biyya alaa akka qabu ni beekan; akka beekan ammoo warra muude waliin yeroo sanitti haasoyne waan turreef dubbiin tunis kaatee rakkoo hin qabu jedhameet godhame. Har’a sababa ittiin ari’an argachuuf gadi baasan ( lammummaan tun Oromootuma laallatti fakkaata malee masaraa kan guutee jiru warra passport biyya alaa baadhatee jiru bar).
5) Barruu isaa keessatti akka waan ormi shiraan isa ariisisee qofatti kaaye. Ormi isa dabalatee Oromoota biraa jibbuun dhoksaa miti. Garuu ormi nama hamma isaa beekkamtii qabu mariifi hayyama muummichaatiin alatti ni taasisuun hin fakkaatu. Murtiin isa muuduutuu ministeera haajaa alaatiin akka hin turin nan yaadadha. Har’as ministeera haajaa alaatu qofaatti godheen hin fakkaatu.
Amma dubbii waliigalaatti haa deebinu. Ari’amuun Birhaanasqalis ta’ee nama biraa nu ajaa’ibuu hin qabu. Yoo waggaa dabre kana gara mootummaan kun itti deemaa jiru xiyyeeffannoon hin hordofin malee. Warra alaa itti makame dhiisii kan core ta’aniiyyuu haxaayamanii jiran. Lammaa Magarasaa, Warqinaa Gabayyoo, Warquu Gaachanaa, Birhaanuu Xaggaayee, Xayyibaa Hasan, Milkeessaa Miidhagaa, Baacaa Ginaa kkf heddu tarreessuun ni danda’ama. Damee waraanaafi tikaa keessaa dhibbaatamaan itti gaafatamummaa irraa mulqamaa jira. Warra dhiibamaa jiru kanaaf tokko tokkoon sababa adda addaa tarreeffamaa ture. Garuu walitti qabanii patern jiru xiinxalan malee hiikkaa guutuu ( full picture) argachuun hin danda’amu.
Akka kiyyatti, kaayyoofi tarsiimoon Bilxiginnaa ilaalcha, dantaafi eenyummaa Oromootiin fundamentally waan wal falleessuuf, namonni xiqqoma miira Oromummaa qaban, saba kanaaf naatoo qaban, himata seenaa Oromoo ( narrative) amanan, oolee bula malee sirna kana keessa hin turan. Takkaa ni ari’amu ykn ofiif keessaa bahu. Akeekni Bilxiginnaa utubalee ( pillars) lama qaba. Kan duraa unitary state ijaaruudha. Kan lammataa sirna diinaggee neoliberal uumuudha. Bilxiginnaan sirna federaalaafi parliamentary kana diiguun sirna unitary kan presidential ta’e jaaruu akka kaayyafatte yeroo himnu namni heddu hin amanne ture. Amma ifa ta’e natti fakkaata. Sirna federaalaa diiganii sirna unitary ta’een bakka buusuun olaantummaa hawaasummaa, aadaafi eenyummaa garee duraanuu sirnicha harkaa qabu jabeessa. Hiree saboonni akka Oromoo walqixxummaa horachuuf qaban cufa. Kanaafuu yaaliin sirna federaalaa diiguu ( jecha biraan Oromiyaa diiguu) Oromoota, kan miseensa paartiifi ilaalcha kamiiyyuu qaban biratti fudhatama hin argatu.
Ethiopia’s prominent activist Jawar Mohammed explained that he joined the opposition Oromo Federalist Congress party (OFC) because of its strong stand on federalism.
Jawar’s membership in OFC comes five months before general elections that will test the popularity of reformist Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in the east African nation of more than 100 million people.
“I have been working with the party as a supporter for a long time,” Jawar told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
I will use my influence, network, and experience to help strengthen the party.
“I am attracted to the party because of their clear and strong stand on federalism.”
Jawar and the party are expected to call for greater autonomy for Ethiopia’s regional states, including Oromia, which is the largest and most populous.
‘‘The Oromo objective is very clear. It boils down to self-rule, which can be translated into cultural, political and economic autonomy, having full ownership over the wealth God has given us…also being able to govern our home region by a government elected by the Oromo people.’‘
Bitter ethnic rivalries resulting in violent clashes are one of the most serious challenges to Abiy’s government. More than 1,200 people were killed and more than 1.2 million others displaced in clashes in the country within the past year, Ethiopia’s Attorney General Office disclosed in September. The clashes, most of which took place along ethnic lines, threaten Abiy’s reforms.
Falling out with Abiy
Until recently, Jawar was seen as an ally of the prime minister. When he was living in the U.S. many say Jawar played a key role on social media in mobilizing widespread protests that led the previous prime minister to resign and saw Abiy rise to power in April, 2018.
Last year, Abiy relaxed restrictions on political activists which allowed Jawar and others to return to Ethiopia without fear of arrest.
But recently frictions emerged between Abiy and Jawar. In October Abiy criticized “media personalities with foreign passports” for causing troubles in Ethiopia, a comment widely seen as criticism of Jawar.
A day later, Jawar alleged there were attempts to remove his government-provided security guards and hundreds of his supporters flocked to his residence to offer him protection. Unrest that followed in some parts of the country, mainly Oromia, resulted in the deaths of several dozen people.
Jawar’s plan for 2020
Jawar, owner of the Oromo Media Network which has a television station, website and magazine, has more than 1.7 million followers on Facebook and a large support base in the Oromia region.
“I will use my influence, network, and experience to help strengthen the party,” he said, adding that the party will decide what office he will run for in the upcoming elections in May, 2020.
One last hurdle remains before he can launch a political career, however. Jawar holds U.S. citizenship, which prevents him from being a candidate for office in Ethiopia. He said he has started the process of relinquishing his U.S. passport and regaining his Ethiopian citizenship. He said “it will be completed soon.”
Jawar is seen by many as a polarizing figure. While many in Oromia consider him a hero who pushed hard for change in Ethiopia, others call him an opportunist who is waiting for the right time to assume power.
“Jawar joining the opposition party’s leadership would convert the party into a major political force, as he is popular among Oromo and has considerable ability to influence and mobilize Oromo voters using his various media platforms,” William Davison, International Crisis Group’s Senior Analyst for Ethiopia, told the AP.
Jawar Mohammed, an influential pro-democracy activist in Ethiopia is leaving the country 15 months after he returned to the country following years in exile in the United States.
In a Facebook post, Jawar said he was on a mission to go and engage the diaspora on events back home and how to chart a political future.
He specifically mentioned engaging Ethiopians in North America and Europe stressing that it was “ to reengage the diaspora then return the homeland for full scale ground work.”
Jawar’s security was at the center of recent violence across the Oromia region, which incidents led to deaths of 86 people and injuries to scores. Authorities also confirmed the arrest of hundreds in connection to the violence.
Despite being influential in the mass protests that brought Abiy to power in 2018, Jawar and Abiy engaged in public spats around political and security issues.
Abiy’s comments in parliament on media people formenting trouble despite not having Ethiopian citizenship was interpreted by Jawar as a a dig at him. An attempt to withdraw his security detail led to the protests that claimed lives.
Jawar’s full post
After tumultuous past weeks, now I am headed to the diaspora to consult and converse with our communities about whats happening in our homeland and what awaits us ahead.
In towns hall meetings in selected cities in North America and Europe we will be reviewing the course we have traveled thus far, our mistakes and accomplishments. We will brainstorm, debate, plan and strategize our nations path towards the future, election 2020 and beyond.
Since the ‘Oromo First’ campaign days, town-hall discussions have been instrumental settings to draw inspiration, enrich our thoughts with unfiltered feedbacks and energize our base.
We have had continued these tradition of town-hall conversations in Oromia in the last year and half and have been very rewarding in helping us understand the aspirations and views of our communities.
Now its time to reengage the diaspora then return the homeland for full scale ground work. See you in one of the towns.
Jawar Mohammed, an influential activist in Ethiopia has taken a swipe at the country’s human rights chief and sent a word of caution to the president to prove her impartiality.
“Ladies and gentlemen, meet your new, supposedly impartial, human rights commission commissioner who already diagnosed what’s failing Ethiopia before establishing his office,” Jawar’s post read in part.
Bekele’s post was in reference to a news publication in which he explained how Ethiopia’s federal arrangement continually exposed citizens to rights abuses. It has elicited harsh responses on Twitter.
In the case of Jawar’s message to President Sahle-Work Zewde, he wrote a letter which he wrote with reference to late October response by the president to the violent cases of violence in Oromia regional state.
A translation of the president’s two-part tweet of October 30 read: “1/2 When race and religion are used for political purposes, when our innocent citizens are brutally murdered, displaced and wandering, words shorten to express their sadness: Their mourning is the grief of many.
“2/2 A red line that we must flag and honor for the benefit of the nation and the people is violated.”
In what seemed a belated but direct response on the part of Jawar, he listed a number of “red lines” that had been crossed in the past before incidents in Oromia.
Whiles agreeing that the incidents were condemnable, Jawar called on the president to maintain the impartiality that her office is expected of. He also asked that the president should call for independent investigations into the episode.
Jawar’s letter to Ethiopia president Sahle-Work Zewde
Your Excellency President Sahlework,
Thank you for speaking up about this latest tragedy and for stating that a red line was crossed. I agree.
In fact, I believe the red line was crossed multiple times since you came to your office. How come you did not see it when armed militia in Amhara regional state massacred more than 250 minority Gumuz women, men and children just a few months ago? A red line is still being crossed in central Gonder against minority Qimant women, men and children as we speak. Where did this red line go when we have been reporting about both day and night? Does it only exist in Oromia? And should I add what’s happening in the Omo valley?
As head of state, who is occupying an office which is apolitical. The people of Ethiopia hold you at higher standards and expect you to be impartial and non-partisan. What took place in recent days is abhorrent and must be condemned in the strongest terms possible, but it certainly isn’t right for you to engage in selective empathy/selective outrage for political ends.
To that end, myself and I believe millions of Ethiopians expect you and your nonpartisan office to call for independent investigation into all these violence under your presidency where the red line has been crossed time and again. It is long overdue we learnt the hard truth about ourselves.
Further more, it could be helpful for the office of the presidency, as a nonpartisan entity, to organize a national convention to seek lasting solutions for the multitude of crisis we are facing today.
Massive Protests held Oromia wide including in the state’s capital, Finfinnee (Addis Ababa) against Ethiopia’s government’s security forces attempts to assassinate Jawar Mohammed, a prominent political analyst and the director of the Oromia Media Network, independent media. #IstandwithJawarMohammed
‘A military force came to the residence of Oromo rights activist Jawar Mohammed in the middle of a night and asked his security details to leave their post. The security That suspected a foul play, replied to his commanders order “I will not leave my brother to the animals, if you force me, you have to kill me first” the conversation was captured in the video and shared on Facebook by Jawar himself. There is a lot to unpack here and lot will discussed in the coming days. Yet, the night raids that took many out of their house not to return back, like my dad, will never ever produce anything positive. I am glad he is ok for now and I pray that this will not lead to any blood shed like we witnessed in Amhara region that took the life’s of the president and army chief of staff. I am glad qerro arrived to protect the area but I ask them and the government to exercise restraint and independent body to investigate what happen. it seems this might make some happy but for some that can forecast what it intel, there is nothing good that come out of this derg era foolishness.’ Yadesa Bojia
Hundreds gather outside house of Oromia Media Network founder in support after police surrounded his residence following warning by Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed https://t.co/7gXvP2JEZqpic.twitter.com/exVQ2ZZM48
In a Facebook post, Jawar said police had surrounded his house late on Tuesday and ordered his bodyguards to leave. He added that he did not know who had ordered the deployment of the security officers.
Addis Standard: Protests erupted in several cities and towns across Oromia regional state and various spots surrounding Addis Abeba after Jawar Mohammed, executive director Oromo Media Network (OMN) and prominent activist posted information in his Facebook page that his security detail were told “to pack their stuff and leave the compound quietly without alerting me.” Jawar has been posting several messages throughout the night including an audio/video purportedly carrying a conversation between his security detail and a third person who Jawar said was a security official. In it, Jawar’s security can be heard saying they will not leave their post in the middle of the night without replacements.
I have been informed that innocent unarmed civilians have been killed by Ethiopian security forces during a peaceful protest that erupted across Oromia today. I have also been informed that security forces are carrying out targeted arrests & killings.
Qeerroo protesters, denouncing threat leveled against Oromo activist Jawar by PM Abiy, have burnt MEDEMER books. 'MEDEMER' is said to be a Neo-Neftegna ideology book. The Neftegna system was a violent assimilation system; the PM & his Neo-Neftegna supporters want to bring it back pic.twitter.com/xIKMSzLNm4
Two years ago, the state branded him a terrorist. Now, after years in exile, activist Jawar Mohammed is back – and determined to see democracy in his country
Global development is supported by
A man holds an Oromo Liberation Front flag as people in Addis Ababa celebrate the triumphant return of Oromo activist Jawar Mohammed. Photograph: Tiksa Negeri/Reuters
Jawar Mohammed never travels alone. When the US-based Ethiopian activist returned to his home country on 5 August, he was treated like royalty. A posse of sharply suited young men hovered by him at all times. Jeeps carrying security guards patrolled his hotel in central Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital. Supporters from the provinces arrived in droves to pay their respects. Over the course of a two-week visit he held about 25 to 30 meetings a day, according to an exhausted aide.
After meeting with the Guardian in his hotel suite he rushed off to give a lecture at the capital’s main university, entourage in tow.
Nothing demonstrated the breathtaking transformation in Ethiopian politics over the past four months quite like the red-carpeted return of a figure who was once the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front’s (EPRDF) most wanted man.
From a studio in Minneapolis, where he founded the controversial Oromia Media Network, Jawar has spent the past decade agitating over social media for political change back home in Ethiopia, which he left as a scholarship student in 2003. This was his first time in Ethiopia since 2008.
Jawar Mohammed addresses a news conference upon arriving in Addis Ababa in August. Photograph: Tiksa Negeri/Reuters
So effective was he as an activist that by late 2016, as anti-government protests billowed across the country compelling the EPRDF to impose a state of emergency, the Oromia Media Network was labelled a terrorist organisation and Jawar accused of crimes against the constitution.
By early 2018 the revolutionary fervour had grown so loud that Hailemariam Desalegn was forced to resign as prime minister, paving the way for his enormously popular successor Abiy Ahmed, a young reformist from Oromia, Jawar’s home and the country’s largest and most populous region.
The Oromia Media Network, along with some smaller outlets and activists, has used social media to devastating effect over the past few years, coordinating boycotts and demonstrations and bringing Ethiopia’s large and often brutal security apparatus close to its knees.
“We used social media and formal media so effectively that the state was completely overwhelmed,” Jawar says. “The only option they had was to face reform or accept full revolution.”
During the course of a triumphant homecoming, the former terrorist (charges were dropped in May) toured the country, mostly around Oromia, where he was welcomed by vast and jubilant crowds. On his first day he led a tub-thumping rally in the capital’s main concert hall.
Later he travelled to Ambo, the epicentre of the Oromo protest movement – a struggle for political freedom and for greater ethnic representation in federal structures, which Jawar played a main role in orchestrating. Tens of thousands arrived to greet him, more than when Abiy visited the town shortly after his inauguration in April.
As Jawar had promised his supporters – mostly young, politically active Oromo men known as the Qeerroo – he took off his shoes and walked prophet-like through the streets of the city. He then planted a tree at the site where a young man was killed by security forces nearly 15 years ago, long before the rise of the movement that threw him into the national spotlight.
“They used to make me so happy and proud with what they did,” he said of Ambo’s Qeerroo. “So I told them: ‘One day I will come to your city and show my respect by walking barefoot.’ That day came and I had to deliver.”
Few doubt the importance of Jawar in recent Ethiopian history. Perhaps more than any other single individual, he took the once-marginal politics of Oromo nationalism and made it mainstream. Today, Oromos – the country’s largest ethnic group – dominate the highest offices of state, and Jawar enjoys significant personal influence over the country’s new leaders, including Abiy himself.
In a recent interview with local media he claimed – to the dismay of many Ethiopians – that the country now effectively has two governments: one led by Abiy, the other by the Qeerroo. This puts him in a position of extraordinary responsibility, since he is “one of the Qeerroo” and “a significant portion of the country listens to me”, he admits.
Many are uncomfortable with the whiff of demagoguery that accompanies Jawar. One Ethiopian journalist (who asked to remain anonymous) notes his “Trumpian sense of truth when inconvenient facts surface”.
He has been accused of inflating the numbers of protesters killed by security forces and, infamously, telling his followers (73,000 on Twitter and more than 1.4m on Facebook) that army helicopters fired live bullets at civilians during the tragic stampede that occurred during an Oromo cultural festival in October 2016. Independent journalists present confirmed this did not happen. He has a history of smearing journalists he disagrees with as government “agents”.
He has also been accused of inciting ethnic and religious violence. In a 2013 video, for example, he is heard saying: “My village is 99% Muslim. If someone speaks against us, we cut his throat with a machete.” Jawar says the clip was doctored, adding that he would not say such a thing because his father was a Muslim and his mother a Christian.
In recent years, he has whipped up his supporters against the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front, the once dominant ethnic Tigrayan wing of the ruling coalition, which critics argue led to attacks against Tigrayan civilians as well as those of other ethnic groups. Jawar says that he has long sought to steer his supporters towards “non-violent resistance”, and adds that “even when TPLF was in power and actively killing our civilians we ensured Tigrayan civilians were not subject to attacks”.
These days, Jawar comes across as a more moderate and conciliatory figure. He says he plans for the Oromia Media Network to set up offices across Ethiopia and become a professionalised outfit. He points to the BBC and NPR as models. He insists he has no intention to enter formal politics, preferring to remain an activist.
“I want to help us in the next couple of years transition to democracy. And for that I want to use my influence over the population so that they can calm down, contain themselves, and ensure peace while the political leadership works out arrangements for transition,” Jawar says.
The last point is especially significant. In recent weeks instability across Ethiopia has escalated sharply, especially in his own region. The day after his interview with the Guardian a rally in the town of Shashamene turned violent, as a crowd of Jawar followers publicly hung a man they suspected of carrying a bomb. Two more died in the carnage that followed. Many Ethiopians blame him for the unrest, and he was compelled to cancel the rest of his tour.
Jawar nonetheless remains optimistic about the country’s future, and about the prospect of a peaceful politics free from violent expressions of ethnic identity. “I do believe if we democratise the Ethiopian state – allowing people of all ethnicities to participate in the political process and to get a fair share of power and wealth – there is a possibility the next generation will be proud Oromo and proud Ethiopian at the same time. I think that is possible.”
This story was amended on 21 August to include a response from Jawar Mohammed and to clarify claims against his organisation.
Two years ago, the state branded him a terrorist. Now, after years in exile, activist Jawar Mohammed is back – and determined to see democracy in his country
Global development is supported by
A man holds an Oromo Liberation Front flag as people in Addis Ababa celebrate the triumphant return of Oromo activist Jawar Mohammed. Photograph: Tiksa Negeri/Reuters
Jawar Mohammed never travels alone. When the US-based Ethiopian activist returned to his home country on 5 August, he was treated like royalty. A posse of sharply suited young men hovered by him at all times. Jeeps carrying security guards patrolled his hotel in central Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital. Supporters from the provinces arrived in droves to pay their respects. Over the course of a two-week visit he held about 25 to 30 meetings a day, according to an exhausted aide.
After meeting with the Guardian in his hotel suite he rushed off to give a lecture at the capital’s main university, entourage in tow.
Nothing demonstrated the breathtaking transformation in Ethiopian politics over the past four months quite like the red-carpeted return of a figure who was once the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front’s (EPRDF) most wanted man.
From a studio in Minneapolis, where he founded the controversial Oromia Media Network, Jawar has spent the past decade agitating over social media for political change back home in Ethiopia, which he left as a scholarship student in 2003. This was his first time in Ethiopia since 2008.
Jawar Mohammed addresses a news conference upon arriving in Addis Ababa in August. Photograph: Tiksa Negeri/Reuters
So effective was he as an activist that by late 2016, as anti-government protests billowed across the country compelling the EPRDF to impose a state of emergency, the Oromia Media Network was banned and Mohammed declared a terrorist.
By early 2018 the revolutionary fervour had grown so loud that Hailemariam Desalegn was forced to resign as prime minister, paving the way for his enormously popular successor Abiy Ahmed, a young reformist from Oromia, Jawar’s home and the country’s largest and most populous region.
The Oromia Media Network, along with some smaller outlets and activists, has used social media to devastating effect over the past few years, coordinating boycotts and demonstrations and bringing Ethiopia’s large and often brutal security apparatus close to its knees.
“We used social media and formal media so effectively that the state was completely overwhelmed,” Jawar says. “The only option they had was to face reform or accept full revolution.”
During the course of a triumphant homecoming, the former terrorist (charges were dropped in May) toured the country, mostly around Oromia, where he was welcomed by vast and jubilant crowds. On his first day he led a tub-thumping rally in the capital’s main concert hall.
Later he travelled to Ambo, the epicentre of the Oromo protest movement – a struggle for political freedom and for greater ethnic representation in federal structures, which Jawar played a main role in orchestrating. Tens of thousands arrived to greet him, more than when Abiy visited the town shortly after his inauguration in April.
As Jawar had promised his supporters – mostly young, politically active Oromo men known as the Qeerroo – he took off his shoes and walked prophet-like through the streets of the city. He then planted a tree at the site where a young man was killed by security forces nearly 15 years ago, long before the rise of the movement that threw him into the national spotlight.
“They used to make me so happy and proud with what they did,” he said of Ambo’s Qeerroo. “So I told them: ‘One day I will come to your city and show my respect by walking barefoot.’ That day came and I had to deliver.”
Few doubt the importance of Jawar in recent Ethiopian history. Perhaps more than any other single individual, he took the once-marginal politics of Oromo nationalism and made it mainstream. Today, Oromos – the country’s largest ethnic group – dominate the highest offices of state, and Jawar enjoys significant personal influence over the country’s new leaders, including Abiy himself.
In a recent interview with local media he claimed – to the dismay of many Ethiopians – that the country now effectively has two governments: one led by Abiy, the other by the Qeerroo. This puts him in a position of extraordinary responsibility, since he is “one of the Qeerroo” and “a significant portion of the country listens to me”, he admits.
Many are uncomfortable with the whiff of demagoguery that accompanies Jawar. One Ethiopian journalist (who asked to remain anonymous) notes his “Trumpian sense of truth when inconvenient facts surface”.
He has been accused of inflating the numbers of protesters killed by security forces and, infamously, telling his followers (73,000 on Twitter and more than 1.4m on Facebook) that army helicopters fired live bullets at civilians during the tragic stampede that occurred during an Oromo cultural festival in October 2016. Independent journalists present confirmed this did not happen. He has a history of smearing journalists he disagrees with as government “agents”.
He has also been accused of inciting ethnic and religious violence. In a 2013 video, for example, he is heard saying: “My village is 99% Muslim. If someone speaks against us, we cut his throat with a machete.”
In recent years, he has whipped up his supporters against the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front, the once dominant ethnic Tigrayan wing of the ruling coalition, which critics argue led to attacks against Tigrayan civilians as well as those of other ethnic groups. Jawar says that he has long sought to steer his supporters towards “non-violent resistance”, and adds that “even when TPLF was in power and actively killing our civilians we ensured Tigrayan civilians were not subject to attacks”.
These days, Jawar comes across as a more moderate and conciliatory figure. He says he plans for the Oromia Media Network to set up offices across Ethiopia and become a professionalised outfit. He points to the BBC and NPR as models. He insists he has no intention to enter formal politics, preferring to remain an activist.
“I want to help us in the next couple of years transition to democracy. And for that I want to use my influence over the population so that they can calm down, contain themselves, and ensure peace while the political leadership works out arrangements for transition,” Jawar says.
The last point is especially significant. In recent weeks instability across Ethiopia has escalated sharply, especially in his own region. The day after his interview with the Guardian a rally in the town of Shashamene turned violent, as a crowd of Jawar followers publicly hung a man they suspected of carrying a bomb. Two more died in the carnage that followed. Many Ethiopians blame him for the unrest, and he was compelled to cancel the rest of his tour.
Jawar nonetheless remains optimistic about the country’s future, and about the prospect of a peaceful politics free from violent expressions of ethnic identity. “I do believe if we democratise the Ethiopian state – allowing people of all ethnicities to participate in the political process and to get a fair share of power and wealth – there is a possibility the next generation will be proud Oromo and proud Ethiopian at the same time. I think that is possible.”
People are demanding a new democratic government elected by the people. To really meet protesters’ demands, the government should release political prisoners, they should remove the military from villages, towns and universities and start a dialogue on a transition to a more democratic government.
IB Times Exclusive interview with executive director of Oromia Media Network
The Ethiopian government recently reshuffled its cabinet in a move seen by some as a result of months of anti-government protests. The parliament approved the list of 21 ministers proposed by Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, who said the appointments were based on people’s skills rather than their political affiliations.
As some key posts were given to ethnic Oromo, some claimed the reshuffle was part of measures the government said it would take to reduce grievances expressed by some ethnic groups.
In October, Ethiopia declared a six-month-long state of emergency following unrest in Oromia, and occasionally in Amhara.
The response to the protests, labelled as the biggest anti-government unrest Ethiopia has witnessed in recent history, has resulted in the death of more than 500 people since November 2015, a figure the government later confirmed.
In Oromia, people demonstrated against perceived disenfranchisement and lack of inclusion in the political process as the government is dominated by the Tigray minority. They also called for an end to land grabbing, claiming Oromo farmers are forcibly evicted from their farms.
Government reshuffle ‘no meaning for Oromos’
Jawar Mohammed, executive director of Oromia Media Network (OMN), banned under the state of emergency, explained Oromo people are calling for a radical regime change, not a government reshuffle.
“People are demanding a new democratic government elected by the people. To really meet protesters’ demands, the government should release political prisoners, they should remove the military from villages, towns and universities and start a dialogue on a transition to a more democratic government,” he told IBTimes UK.
Mohammed, who lives in the US, also claimed Ethiopians have not been affected by the state of emergency , with the exception of a restriction on internet access.
“Oromia has been under a state of emergency for the last 12 months, the military is there, all the civil and political rights have been suspended, people have been arrested,” he alleged.
“Yes, some media outlets have been banned, but this is nothing new. OMN has been jammed some 20 times since March 2014. Even before the state of emergency, they were already arresting people, breaking down satellite dishes and jamming our transmission, what they did now was to officially admit what they were already doing and reassure investors that they are taking measures, beefing up security.”
People walk near a burnt-out truck in the compound of a textile factory in the town of SebetaTiksa Negeri/Reuters
Attacks on foreign-owned companies
During anti-government protests, Oromo people attacked foreign-owned factories in Oromia, acts of violence that could result in a reduction in investments in the country.
Ethiopia strongly condemned the attacks, which it blamed on “anti-peace forces who aim to destabilise the country.” The government also claimed the situation in the country has gone back to normal since the state of emergency was implemented.
However, Mohammed claimed protests have halted only because it is harvesting season and rallies are bound to restart. He also said people will, once again, attack foreign-owned factories as they were allegedly “built on lands that were illegally taken from farmers or lands owned by the ruling party.”
“These are not xenophobic attacks. In fact, protesters have not touched a single investor physically,” he said. “The targets are strategically chosen because people need to now that investments in Ethiopia, until a democratic system is in place, is not safe. Click here to read more….
Gaafin garaa nama hundaa keessa yeroo ammaa jiru kanaan booda ‘maaltu itti aana’ kan jedhu akka ta’e shakkin hin jiru. Yaadni amma booda qabsoon nagayaa hin deemsisuu gara hidhannootti dabruu qabna jedhu jabaatee dhufaa jira. Kun yaada sirriiti. Garuu ummata hanqina hidhannoo qabu, kan tarsiimoofi caasaa waraanaatin hin ijaaraminiin al tokkoon ol ka’aatii mootummaadhaan walwaraanaa jechuun gaaga’ama bu’aa hin qabneef saba saaxiluu ta’a. Kanaafu cehuumsa tarsiimoo hanga ammaa irraa gara kan biraatti godhamuuf akka ka’uumsaatti yaadota armaan gadii kana dhiheessina;
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