The following is a
summary of the author Gadaa Melbaa,"During the process of colonisation,
between 1870 and 1900, the Oromo population was reduced from ten to five
millions. This period coincides with the occupation of Oromo land by
the Abyssinian emperors Yohannes and Menilek. After colonisation, these
emperors and their successors continued to treat Oromo with utmost
cruelty. Many were killed by the colonial army and settlers, others died
of famine and epidemics of various diseases or were sold off as slaves.
Those who remained on the land were reduced to the status of gabbar (a
peasant from whom labour and produce is exacted and is a crude form of
serfdom).
Haile Selassie consolidated
Yohannes and Meniiek's gains and with the use of violence, obstructed
the process of natural and historical development of the Oromo society -
political, economic and social. In all spheres of life, discrimination,
subjugation, repression and exploitation of all forms were applied.
Everything possible was done to destroy Oromo identity - culture,
language, custom, tradition, name and origin. In short Haile Selassie
maintained the general policy of genocide against the Oromo.
The
1974 revolution was brought about by the relentless struggle over
several years by, among others, the Oromo peasants. The military junta,
headed by Mengistu Haile-Mariam, usurped power and took over the
revolution. This regime has continued on the path of emperors Yohannes,
Menilek and Haile Selassie in the oppression, subjugation and
exploitation of Oromo, the settlement of Abyssinians on Oromo land and
the policy of genocide.
Forced to fight
against Eritreans, the Somalis and others, many Oromo have fallen in
battle. Many others have died on the streets of cities and towns during
the so-called "Red Terror" period and in a similar programme that has
been expanded in the countryside since then. Massacres in towns and
villages coupled with bombing and search and destroy programmes have
caused the destruction of human lives, crops, animals and property, have
driven Oromo from their land and forced them to seek refuge in
neighbouring countries. Not surprisingly, this ruthless oppression and
persecution of peoples has resulted in the largest flight of refugees in
Africa. A very large proportion of the refugees in the Horn of Africa
are Oromo.
In its attempt to oppress and
eliminate the essential elements of Oromo culture, the present regime
has used cover-up words such as 'development, relief, settlement,
villagization and literacy campaign' to mislead the world. In fact most
of these programmes and projects have been aimed at displacing Oromo
people and denying them freedom, justice, human dignity and peace,
thereby hastening the process of Amharization or de-Oromization.
The
struggle of the Oromo people, then, is nothing more than an attempt to
affirm their own place in history. It seeks equality, human dignity,
democracy, freedom and peace. It is not directed against the masses of a
particular nation or nationality, nor against individuals, but rather
against Ethiopian colonialism led by the Amhara ruling class and the
naftanyas (Amhara colonial settlers) and against feudalism and
imperialism. Thus it is the Ethiopian colonial system and not the Amhara
masses or individuals which is under critical consideration.
Today
when nearly all of the African peoples have won independence, the Oromo
continue to suffer under the most backward and savage Ethiopian settler
colonialism. All genuinely democratic and progressive individuals and
groups, including members of the oppressor nation, Amhara, who believe
in peace, human dignity and liberty should support the Oromo struggle
for liberation.
Although the Oromo
nation is one of the largest in Africa, it is forgotten by or still
unknown to the majority of the world today. Unfortunately even the name
Oromo is unknown to many, and this should not be allowed to continue."
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