Ayyaana Amajjii is a powerful story about the strength of the Oromo freedom struggle and the heroism of the few over the many.

The Oromo people have celebrated Ayyaana Amajjii for more than 40 years.

This year we will again join our Ayyaana Amajjii in celebrating this triumph over drone attacks, airs strikes, Fano militia mass murders and persecution and the power of hope in even the darkest times.

At a time of heavy persecution and oppression, the story of Ayyaana Amajjii becomes more important. It is an opportunity for us to redouble our efforts to reject and denounce any anti-Oromo movements, while we embrace our rightful place in the fabric of a harmonious society.

The story of Ayyaana Amajjii can be expressed in many ways in the culture of the Oromo liberation struggle.

Ayyaana Amajjii is a symbol of strength and determination to overcome all the difficulties of the struggle. The Amajjii festival is a journey of struggle to overcome all internal and external challenges; it is about the triumph of freedom that brought Oromo out of the darkness of oppression into the light. It marks a day to salute the valiant Oromo freedom fighters who sacrificed their lives to liberate and protect Oromia and its citizens.

As we light the Ayyaana Amajjii candle this year, we reiterate that we will continue to work to ensure Oromia is always a place where we can proudly practice our freedom and where Oromo nation are respected for their connectedness and devotion.

On the first day of Amajjii, the Amajjii candle is placed on a high hill for everyone to see. The Amajjii torches, the symbols of Oromo freedom, shine from the highest hills to remind us of the supreme message of freedom over oppression, hope over despair, light over darkness.

To the Oromo people of Oromia and around the world-HAPPY AYYAANA AMAJJII!

Advocacy for Oromia

1 January 2023

December 30, 2022, By Denboba Natie, Edinburgh- Scotland

The Tigray War, Its Human And Material Costs And The Pretoria Peace Deal

The Tigray’s war ended following the Pretoria’s November 02, 2022, peace deal between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray’s regional state. The Pretoria agreement followed on in Kenya on two occasions has, indeed silenced the guns of warring groups thereby ending over two years suffering of Tegarus. Since I saw the cessation of hostility, and the ending of agonising pain of the Tigray mothers, senior citizens, children, man and women; my soul has immensely rejoiced.

The Ethiopian government allied with the Eritrean regime’s 44 military divisions, several divisions of Amhara Fano and Militia, and various regional special forces multi-agency war has unleashed brutal forces on a single region of Tigray on November 03, 2020, to cause unimaginable level of sufferings to all people of Tigray. None of Tegaru’s were spared. Genetically identified, stereotyped, and increasingly vilified, Tegarus became the prime targets of elimination campaign not only in Tigray but also throughout Ethiopia. Between 1.5 to 1.8 million civilians and military personnel were feared dead since November 2020’s war to make it one of the world’s deadliest wars of 21st century.

The multiagency war according to the Ethiopia state media and the 2019’s Nobel Peace Prize laureate PM, colonel Abiy Ahmed, was officially claimed to be a campaign of restoring law and order by eliminating the Tigray’s ruling party, TPLF, simply because it has unprovoked attacked the Ethiopia’s northern military division stationed in Tigray. Therefore, the aim of the war was propagated as being only targeting Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). The claim didn’t stay longer than a month when the true face of the war revealed its hidden side. In fact, the war aimed at removing Tegaru from the face of earth and that war was state masterminded and stage managed. Tigray was kept under 360-degree siege to validate my argument. Between 800,000 and 1.1 million Tegaru’s were feared dead due to a genocidal war and the ensued blockage that caused unprecedented level of miseries to humanity and incalculable amount of material cost that turned Tigray to a baren land.

This was the war that came to an end since the Pretoria’s November 02, 2022, peace deal that slowly enabled the resumption of communication between the federal and rest part of Ethiopia and Tigray; slow restoration of services such as telecommunication and electricity including the supply of food and medicine- that were all denied since June 2021’s defeat and withdrawal of the Ethiopian forces from Tigray. The Eritrea’s army started withdrawing from Tigray as I write this piece of article on 30/12/2022.

Additionally, the flight to Tigray’s capital, Mekele resumed since 27/12/2022 following the African Union’s negotiators’ arrival with the Joint Monitoring and Verification team (JMV) on 26th of December 2022. This writer genuinely hopes the silencing of gun, resumption of consistent humanitarian aid and restoration of services to war torn Tigray will last to bring an end to the agonising suffering of the people of Tigray.

Revamped War On Oromo Nation Under The Pretext Of Eliminating Oromo Liberation Army (OLA)

It is extremely unsettling to see the entire world ignoring the Oromia’s dangerously ravaging war that was started long before the indicated Tigray war. The Oromia’s war was in fact planned by the Abiy’s regime that was mentored by Eritrea’s ailing dictator ‘Isaias Afeworki’ and his Amhara allies since his assumption of power on April 02, 2018. The EPRDF’s Colonel PM, Abiy has made it clear from the very onset of his inaugural speech of April 02, 2018 that his regime ‘restores’ the former glory of the Ethiopian empire that was compromised by the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF); the regime that has recruited him whilst he was just 15 years old to mentor, and groom him to be where he was during his accusations of his bosses for destroying the Ethiopia’s former glory.

His promise during his inauguration was taken positively by the historic rulers of the empire who held strong grievances on and vehemently detested EPRDF’s regimes whose tenet of governance was ‘Ethnic based Federalism’ that has responded for the first time in 150 years- to the nations’ quests for rights to self-determination in addition to another historic grievances the colonised nations of Ethiopia had had since 1880s. Therefore, the indicated historic rulers held vindictive grievances on key players, mainly the Tigray and Oromo politicians and military leaders for creating such a constitutional order.

According to the unionists such an order has undermined their power and roles in dominating the Ethiopian politics, economy, cultures, and social statuses they enjoyed since the empire was created by their king, Menelik II’s following his colonial expansion of 1880s to create today’s empire that is erroneously asserted by the outside world as an independent and uncolonized state; diametrically opposing to the fact that lingers to this date wreaking havoc, endless conflicts and concomitant miseries of subjects.

The EPRDF, the coalition of four political parties including- Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), Amhara Democratic Party (ADP), Oromo Democratic Party (ODP) and Southern Ethiopian People’s Democratic Movement (SEPDM); in unison drafted and ratified the Ethiopia’s current constitution that guaranteed nations and nationalities rights to self-determination up to cessation.

The basis for unionists’ rejection of the constitution is that; their subjects became free since its introduction as they are constitutionally allowed to manage their own affairs, develop their cultures and languages; by ditching colonially inculcated and psychologically entrenched mantra of ‘Ethiopianness’ and its meaning. Doing so made the unionists grip onto power serious challenge as the Ethiopian empire becomes loose by allowing 84 nations of the empire to realise their cultures, religions and ways of lives.

Therefore, the targets of the empire’s old glory restorers including the current genocide committing PM and his unionist supporters are the peoples and politicians of Oromia and Tigray predominately and the entire federalist block of nations and nationalities generally. Therefore, the war in Oromia was started in early 2019 by the new PM and his unionist associates – both are remote managed by the Eritrean mentor – as part of their grand Oromia disabling project.

With such grand scale unionists’ projects in Oromia, the regime has deployed conventional weapons including helicopter gunships, fully mechanised brigades, fighter jets and full-scale ground attacks that involved several divisions of Ethiopian National Defences Forces (ENDF) in West Oromia and south Oromia for over a year before diverting its gun on Tigray since November 4, 2020.

As it has been the case in Tigray’s since November 2020’s multi-forces war, the Oromo civilians – blamed for having association with and to OLA and the wider civilians were brutally targeted and continually massacred. The Oromo’s political leaders and elites were targeted, vilified and extrajudicially arrested for no apparent reasons but for being an Oromo. Several Oromo singers, traditional leaders (Abaagada), politicians, professionals, intellectuals, human rights activists became the subjects of political assassinations prior to the Tigray invasion and throughout since 2019. Since the Tigray’s war however, the war in Oromia reduced to battalions’ led operations in several parts and the Oromo people had relative respite although Oromo terrorising campaign and killing had sporadically continued.

The above has changed since the Pretoria’s November 02, 2022, peace deal that has ended the Tigray’s nation debilitated war. In the contrary, the war on Oromo nation was revamped and intensified by diverting military resources including dozens of ENDF divisions, fighter jets and drones, Amhara Fano and Special Militias to ensure the total eradication of the OLA that is fighting for Oromo’s rights to self-determination. Unionist forces have officially declared war on Oromo nation and their army (Fano and Liyu Militias) started decapitating dead bodies, beheading and alive persons’ skinning of Oromo civilians to show their vindictive barbarism. The unionists reiterated the War on Oromo to intensify whilst appreciating the end of war in Tigray to reveal their inconsistency in addressing deeply growing differences and rapidly eroding social fabrics.

The Oromo civilians in entire Wolaga’s and Shewa’s 8 zones, Arusi, Harar and Hararge, Balle and elsewhere in the vast Oromia become the subjects of extrajudicial execution and arrests, blacking out of communications and electricity, and burning and decimating of their properties including their farms and houses in an exact manner they have destroyed in Tigray. Currently, the Ethiopia’s war on Oromia is causing untold sufferings to Oromo civilians in the face of global silence to cause the death of tens of thousands and displacement of millions.

The Objective Of The Ethiopian War On Tigray and Oromia.

The grand objective of war on Tigray is the War on Nations and Nationalities simply because the outcome will be the destruction of constitutional order and federal arrangement- according to the unionist forces to be able to restore the Ethiopia’s old glory. The Ethiopia’s old glory according to the subjugated nations and nationalities in the contrary is, enslavement, subjugation, depersonalisation and dehumanisation of nations and nationalities.

Unionists believe the biggest threats that may hinder their strides towards the restoration of their old glory is the Oromo and Tigray nations as their beliefs in nations rights to self-determination are unwavering. Therefore, unionists’ must remove the obstacles before restoring their old glory by silencing the rest nations of the empire.

Conclusion And Recommendations For Nations And Nationalities

Since the Abiy’s regime that was redecorated as a Prosperity Party (PP) has assumed power, the subjects of the empire saw unprecedented level of human sufferings, deep rooted deprivations and abject poverty unseen before in empire’s history simply because all resources were channelled to the mass scale war waged on own citizens. The empire sow for the first time, the invited foreign forces committing genocides on own citizens. The empire saw own government inviting foreign forces to take over its territory whilst claiming it is fighting own citizens to restore law and order and defend the empire and its territorial integrity; diametrically opposing to its own treasonous actions.

Nations and nationalities of the empire are witnessing the brutality of own defence forces that has allied with the foreign invaders to inflict suffering on own citizens. In the faces of such brutalities, the subjects of the empire are silently and cooperatively observing as own government wages war deploying conventional war methods and strategies in Oromia as we speak- to commit crimes against humanity and genocide.

This very regime and its supporters have committed the same crimes and genocides in Tigray. The same Amhara Fano and special forces collaborators have committed genocide in Tigray are now committing the same genocide in Oromia’s Wolaga, Agaw, Benishangul, Kemant and elsewhere in Ethiopia as part of their anti-nations’ projects. This must be clear to all nations and nationalities.

The war in Tigray, in Oromia and elsewhere in Ethiopia is the war being waged on nations and nationalities. Nations and nationalities have only one choice, untie with the Oromo, Tigray, and the other federalist forces to defend their rights to self-determination and socio-cultural identity. Nations of Ethiopia must understand unionists’ growing preparation to totally dismantle federal structures and constitutional arrangements that is already in the making by the criminal unionist, the infamous Berhanu Nega- is already changing the Ethiopia’s education structures. Nations are tasting the bitter truth that is earnestly begging for their urgent attentions.

The international community is ignoring the Oromia’s raging war that is inflicting pains and damages on tens of millions of Oromo people. We have repeatedly advised the peace process to include OLA and the entire political and social stakeholders in Ethiopia. We reiterate once again that, the only way forward to ascertain lasting peace and stability in Ethiopia will be achieved through all-inclusive round table political dialogue. The OLA is also consistently calling for such a dialogue. Unfortunately, the Ethiopia’s brutal regime emboldened by the support of the international community and the AU is hell being on resolving a political difference with military might.

Therefore, I urge the Ethiopia’s brutal regime, its supporters, and the international community and the AU to carefully consider urging it to stop its war on Oromo nation instead facilitate a means for all-inclusive round-table political dialogue that could be the only and best solution for lingering malignancy of the empire.

Left unresolved or partially investigated, the Oromia’s current conflict can easily spread to the rest of the horn of Africa to destabilize the entire horn’s geopolitical dimensions beyond the expectation of the West’s Ethiopia supporters and its partial peace agreement promoter – an inapt AU that is filled with extremely corrupt rogues who are not only failing Ethiopia but also the entire continent.

By Denboba Natie, 30 December 2022,

Can be reached on ‘denbobanatie@yahoo.co.uk

Advocacy for Oromia unequivocally condemn the ongoing state-sponsored violence, deployment of an armed militia that has committed crimes against humanity in Ethiopia, and drone bombardments and air strikes targeting civilians in the Oromia. This action has caused mass causalities, displacement, and a humanitarian emergency impacting millions.

Oromia has been under Ethiopian slavery since the breakdown of the 1900s. The Oromo people have been waging a continuous struggle to regain their violated human rights. During this period, the good fortunes of 1974, 1990 and 2018 failed due to the stubbornness of the Ethiopian governments.

Although the Oromo love peace and have a great desire to live in peace and freedom, these desires have not been fulfilled. Instead, the situation is getting worse in many ways. Currently, the Ethiopian government is carrying out drone and air strikes against the unarmed Oromo people and destroying many properties. The states-sponsored insurgent forces of the Amhara militia (Fanno) are also entering various places of Oromia and cutting off the foreheads of the people and singing to them; continues to loot and burn public property.

Millions of Oromo people have been displaced from their homes and properties; students are being suspended from school and their time is being wasted. The continuous violence and conflict in Oromia are destroying the lives and livelihoods of the Oromo people; it is breaking up Oromo families; it is creating a terrible trauma that is passed down from generation to generation.

Oromia is facing unprecedented lawlessness and huge humanitarian crisis almost in all parts of the region. Suffering, torture, and death of citizens are not brought to justice since there is no efficient court system in many parts of the country. Dozens of political prisoners have been languishing in prisons for without getting proper attention by the concerned bodies. It is also very worrying that the recent Prosperity Party Congress meeting has decided to resolve the conflict in Oromia by military force; it will only make matters worse, and it is important to press for a peaceful negotiation.

Currently, there is a strong protest at home and abroad for a lasting solution to the attacks and tragedies in Oromia. With all your voices and talents:

1. We respectfully urge you to pressure the Ethiopian government to resolve the conflict and fighting in Oromia through peaceful negotiations.

2. We urge the Australian Government to use all its voices to pressure the Ethiopian government to respect and enforce human rights.

3. We urge the Australian Government to play its role in ensuring an independent investigation into the beheading, killings and lootings in Oromia.

4. We urge the international community to provide humanitarian assistance to our communities who have been displaced from their homes and properties.

5. We kindly request you to call the international governments in any way to provide a safe settlement for the Oromo refugees residing in neighboring countries.

Advocacy for Oromia

10 December 2022

The Oromo community leaders said the rally aimed to condemn the massacre, drone strikes and forceful displacement of the Oromo people throughout Oromia by the Ethiopian government forces.

The community representatives urged the Oromo community and all Oromo community associations in Victoria to come together and be a voice for the Oromo people.

Melbourne’s Oromo community rally of December 15 will be a part of a world-wide action in solidarity with the Oromo protesters currently leading the ‪#‎OromoProtests‬ movement in Oromia, Ethiopia.

Background

Over the past few weeks, there have also been multiple reports of drone attacks and Fano attacks throughout western Oromia.

There have recently been reports of an escalation of violent attacks being carried out by the Amhara militia group known as Fano throughout Western Oromia, including in Anger Gutin, and Kiremu, in the East Wollega zone, the East Showa zone, and in Horo Guduru Wollega zone, where a video showing several members of Fano speaking in front of the decapitated heads of individuals from Jardega Jarte began circulating online.

These drone attacks have been reported most frequently in the West Wollega, West Shewa, and North Shewa zones, leading to the death of civilians. In one of these attacks, which took place on November 2, 2022, a witness told AP News that dozens of people had died, and hundreds were injured in Bila. West Wollega zone.

Most recently, we have heard reports of a drone attack in Wara Jarso, North Shewa zone on December 2nd, leading to the death of 80 civilians, and airstrikes in Sassiga, East Wollega zone on December 4th.

Social media reports have also been circulating of airstrikes in the Begi, Gidami, and Togo districts of West Wollega and Kellem Wollega zones on December 5th.

According to various reports, by beginning of December more than 350 people had died and 400,000 had been displaced due to drone sticks and Fano attacks throughout western Oromia.

Rights groups say the Oromo have been systematically marginalised and persecuted for the last 30 years. Some estimates put the number of Oromo political prisoners in Ethiopia as high as 50,000 as of December 2022.

Multiple conflicts combined with historic drought and other shocks have severely impacted millions of Ethiopians, jeopardizing the economic and social development progress the country has achieved in recent years.

Consistent with our strategy to remain engaged in situations of conflict and fragility and to support greater resilience of Ethiopia’s people, the World Bank Group (WBG) remains committed to continuing its partnership with Ethiopia for the benefit of all Ethiopians. Accordingly, the WBG is supporting Ethiopia to address its citizens’ demands for basic human services such as education, food security, health, clean water, livelihood support, women’s empowerment, and social and environmental protection across the country.

Over the past decade, our support has helped Ethiopia make significant progress in key human development indicators: primary school enrollments have quadrupled, child mortality has been cut in half, and the number of people with access to clean water has more than doubled.

The WBG seeks to ensure that activities it supports are responsive to the needs of all people in Ethiopia. In particular, our Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) is applied to all Bank-financed operations.  Among key ESF principles are requirements for nondiscrimination, meaningful consultation, effective public participation, property rights, accountability, transparency, and good governance.

We continue to monitor the situation on the ground across the entire country, and we sincerely hope for stability and a permanent cessation of hostilities in order to facilitate accelerated, inclusive development.

Source: https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/statement/2022/12/01/world-bank-group-statement-on-current-situation-in-ethiopia?fbclid=IwAR1r128wEUjpMPJkzQhrnhsaAA4XcKkdYE8O0RpbYac9elIzP7qS8xrPuig#

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has been under increasing global pressure to negotiate with Tigrayan officials to stop the carnage in the region, says the writer. Picture: Eduardo Soteras/AFP

By Asafa Jalata

In November 2020 an outbreak of violence in Ethiopia’s Tigray region captured worldwide attention. The conflict was between Tigrayan forces and the forces of the Ethiopian government and its allies.

Since then, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has been under increasing global pressure to negotiate with Tigrayan officials to stop the carnage in the region. Even before fighting broke out in Tigray, though, the government had established military command posts in Oromia, Ethiopia’s largest state. Oromo people were protesting and calling for self-determination.

In Oromia’s latest wave of violence in June, Al Jazeera, the New York Times and Reuters reported that hundreds of people were killed by the Oromo Liberation Army in Wallaga. These news reports labelled all the victims Amharas, members of Ethiopia’s second-largest ethno-national group. The Oromo are the largest.

As a scholar of Ethiopian politics and society, I’ve researched and written extensively on the Oromo movement and identified the historical forces that have shaped its current politics. My understanding – taking into account the history of oppression of the Oromo in Ethiopia and numerous reports by rights groups of attacks against the community – is that the violence in Oromia is mainly driven by the federal government and its agents.

The Oromo Liberation Army is responding to state terrorism and gross human rights violations. Oromo voices are not represented in the Ethiopian government, the global system or the media. The federal government and its allies, particularly Amhara elites and forces, blame the Oromo movement for the violence.

This is a strategy to delegitimise the Oromo struggle for self-determination. The Oromo consider themselves a nation. They are estimated to make up between 35% and 50% of Ethiopia’s 115 million people. An exact figure is difficult to come by as the government doesn’t provide this data.

Ethiopia has about 80 ethnonational groups. The Amhara make up about 27% of the population. Their language, culture, history and religion have dominated other ethno-national groups. Their warlords and leaders have dominated Ethiopia’s political economy for almost 150 years.

Despite their numbers, the Oromo consider themselves colonial subjects. This is because, like other subjugated ethno-national groups, they have been denied access to their country’s political, economic and cultural resources. Habasha (Amhara-Tigray) warlords colonised Oromia.

The region was then incorporated into Abyssinia (the Ethiopian Empire) in the late 19th century. Menelik II, the Ethiopian emperor, established a form of colonialism that settled Amhara, Tigrayan and other ethnic soldiers in Oromia. Most Oromos were reduced to serfs, providing free labour and tax revenue.

The colonial government claimed about three-quarters of Oromo lands for its officials and soldiers. It granted the remaining quarter to Oromo collaborators. In the 1970s, to oppose political, economic and cultural marginalisation, Oromo nationalists created the Oromo Liberation Front.

Its military wing is the Oromo Liberation Army. They wanted national democracy and self-determination, and participated in the failed revolutions of 1974, 1991 and 2018.

The Ethiopian state has continued to subject the Oromo people to violence and human rights violations. Successive Ethiopian governments have caused deep social, political, cultural and economic crises in Oromo society.

The government and the Oromo Liberation Front have blamed each other for the latest outbreak of violence in Oromia, particularly in Wallaga. A sub-group of the Oromo, the Macha, live in Wallaga. They have been targets of the Ethiopian government and expansionist Amharas, who claim to be the original owners of the region.

During the famine of the 1970s, desperate Tigrayans, Amharas and Oromos from elsewhere settled in Wallaga. Amhara expansionists began to call all these people Amharas to justify their claim to the territory. Prime Minister Ahmed has taken the side of Amhara expansionists.

Ahmed came to power in 2018 mainly because of the Oromo struggle but later turned against the movement. His vision is of a centralised state rather than self-determination for Ethiopia’s different groups.

The state’s ideology of “Ethiopianism” has been used to justify the subordination of the Oromo and other colonised peoples. It has empowered the class that dominates the bureaucracy, army, culture, Orthodox Christianity and Ethiopian colonial-political economy.

The Oromo Liberation Army, which has been outlawed and labelled a terror group, asserts that the government has created a clandestine security structure that masquerades as the Oromo army. It says this structure is responsible for the latest attack and those before it.

Between December 2018 and December 2019, in southern Oromia, government soldiers displaced 80 000 Oromos and detained more than 10000. An Amnesty International report found that state soldiers executed 52 people over this period on suspicion that they supported the Oromo Liberation Army.

The government additionally took incarcerated Oromos through mandatory training for several months. These detainees were trained on the constitution and the history of the Oromo people. These “lessons” were intended to get the detainees to abandon the quest for nationalism.

A July 2022 Human Rights Watch report termed the government’s actions in western Oromia “abusive”. It documented communication shutdowns, executions and arbitrary detentions. The global community must pressure the Ethiopian government to reach peace with the Oromo Liberation Army. However, this will only be successful if a neutral body mediates on behalf of the UN.

Ahmed’s government is willing to negotiate with the Tigrayan defence forces mainly because of the pressure from global powers. However, it refuses to reconcile with the Oromo Liberation Front and is determined to solve a political problem militarily.

Ethiopia cannot be at peace without an independent reconciliation body that solves the Oromo political problem fairly and democratically.

* Jalata is professor of sociology and global and Africana studies at the University of Tennessee.

The article was first published in The Conversation.