Culture is a way of life. A myriad of cultures and languages converged at Marsabit’s Kubi Gadamoji cultural site. The theme of the day was ‘ promoting peace and harmony through culture’. The event brought together all the tribes from Marsabit County, who listened to my speech as one.

by Yadesa Bojia

Sunday, January 10, 2016 was ordinary Sunday in Ethiopia. Most are resting from a long work week, visiting families, catching up with friends. For some, since this was a wedding season, they are preparing to attend wedding of family or friend. This same Sunday two grooms are preparing to wed their loved ones, hundreds of miles apart.

The first groom was Abel Tesfaye, he was preparing to merry his lover, Dr. Sosina HaileMariam at the Apostolic Church of Ethiopia in the capitol Addis Ababa. This wedding was all over the news since it was the first official wedding that will take place in the National Palace of Ethiopia. Since his soon to be wife was the daughter of the Prime Minster of Ethiopia Haile Mariam Desalegn and w/o Roman Tesfaye. I am sure the wedding was special to the PM and his family since there is nothing more important and moving than giving the hand of his daughter in marriage. The videos that was released from the church was very nice and moving. Congratulation is in order to the Prime Minster and his family. I am sure Groom number one, Abel Tesfaye, will continue to live happily ever after with his beloved wife Dr. Sosina HaileMariam. With God’s will they will have kids and make the PM a proud Grand father.

The second Groom was teacher Fitsum Abate of Gurissa, Illibabour at Oromia region. He was preparing to merry his lover Frehiwot Belete. According to the reports from different media outlets, the night before, Ethiopian Security forces show up in his place and knock on his door. He opened the door only to be met with a barrage of bullets which hit him in his head. The day that was suppose to be the happiest of his life, Fitsum spend the night in Metu hospital in life support. The day of his wedding he was taken to the capital to get a better treatment and as the reports show he is in critical condition at Tikur Anbessa Hospital.

Here is where the story meets. In early December, a protest started in a city of Ginchi, because of the government’s plan of expanding Addis Ababa’s territory into Oromia administered areas. In the effort to stop a private company’s bulldozers from destroying a Chilimo forest, residents of Ginchi started protesting and the government starting shooting innocent protesters. Most young students and some children laid dead in the streets. The protest erupted throughout Oromia and in an effort to squash the movement the Government set up command posts and dispatched a brutal Agazi brigade which escalates the number of dead quickly. As of today, 140 plus dead, 2000 plus injured and 35000 imprisoned.

At this point, the father of bride number one, the Prime Minster gave a TV interview and we all hoped for a comment of reason to stop the senseless killing and move the country to healthier atmosphere and we were shocked and disappointed to hear his angry comments and his regrets for the destruction of property before life. He said “For the people that involved in the protest in destruction of property, we will take action against them without any mercy”.  Most of us know really well what comments like this mean. The mass arrest of protesters and opposition political leaders like Bekele Gerba continued and the number of dead escalated right away. The PM’s comment meant the green light to hunt and kill what the government believes to be anti-government without any do-process. It meant a green light to harass one in his or her home and shoot them. It meant a green light to shoot groom number two, teacher Fitsum Abate just because the security forces suspected him or not. Don’t hold your breath to see if justice will be served for Fitsum, it is not. He just end up being another person without a voice in his own country.

From the wedding video of the PM’s daughter, I can’t help it but see the emotions of the Prime Minster while he was reading the scripture. He was wiping his eyes with emotions of happiness and I hope he know there are thousands of other parents wiping their eyes too but only in misery and sadness. I hope he knows he and his administrations actions unleashed misery on thousands of families and the only way they remember their kids is by small plot in a nameless graveyard due to the bullets of blood hungry butchers. I hope every time he cherish his family, he remembers, those mothers and fathers and their pain.

The story of the two grooms is a perfect face of today’s Ethiopia. The land of so many struggling families and few completely out-of-touch supporters. The land of the exiled, tortured, imprisoned masses and few greedy millionaires that can loot, steal, lie and prosper without consquences. The land of tens of millions starving and few living in their villas crying foul. 

This is the end of the tale of the two grooms and I hope we will have a country where the two grooms live happily ever after. Hope both families cry the tear of joy and be able to hug their kids and grand kids. I hope we will have a country where the rule of law prevails. I hope and pray!

Source:http://yadesabojia.com/2016/01/13/a-tale-of-two-grooms/

I was in Southwest and West Shewa zones of Oromia for two days last week. I drove the Addis-Woliso-Wenchi-Ambo-Addis loop that I last did on a tourist jaunt with my parents in early 2014. I intend to document the more interesting parts of what I found in a couple of pieces next week, so I’m not going to go into details here. Suffice to say there was considerable anger at the killing of unarmed Oromo protesters, fear over an ongoing extensive crackdown, and general dissatisfaction with an unresponsive government over poor public services and corruption.
The protests seemed to be focused on east Oromia last week. All we saw was a group of mostly teenagers running up and down Ambo town centre chanting at about 5pm on Christmas afternoon. They seemed to be generating quite a lot of excitement among onlookers, and I think the group had grown to over 100 by the time I last saw them. They were quickly tailed by a pick-up of armed Oromia regional forces, and then it started raining, so I think they gave up. The response of the authorities was to immediately dispatch a pick-up of Federal Police in riot gear and an EDF armored personnel carrier to patrol the same stretch of road. There were also dozens of Federal Police dotted along the side of the road. It was a way heavier security presence than we’d seen in Woliso, or any of the smaller towns.
We didn’t get detained over the two days and were only prevented from reporting by a pot-bellied kebele official in Dima next to Sebeta on our very first stop. It seemed like he’d been tipped off about our presence and so sidled over, pen in pocket, phone in hand, ignored the ferenjis, and started discussing the situation with out translator. I don’t think he looked at me once and definitely didn’t address me directly or engage in a conversation. I guess I saw him as a useful metaphor for a government that’s not very good at listening. His position seemed to be the usual claptrap about us needing specific permissions wherever we want to report, and the local authorities needing to be informed about our arrival as they are responsible for our security. (My stock response to that one these days is that, as I’m an adult, I’m responsible for my security – it doesn’t impress anyone.) The chap wanted us to stick around and presumably get acquainted with the local police commander, but we jumped in the car and drove off instead.

Source: https://www.facebook.com/william.davison.33?fref=nf&pnref=story

Dear All,

Bekele Nega (General Secretary, Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC)

This morning, on my way to work, 4 men in civilian clothes greeted me by my name; identified themselves as ‘police’ and asked me to get in a car parked next to where they stopped me. When I refused, they grabbed me by my arms left and right; forced me into the backseat of their car and started driving. Once the car started moving, they started to hit me: the two guys in my left and right continued to punch me while the one sitting in the front-seat kept touching my face with his gun.
While they were hitting me, they kept saying that they were doing this because I was talking to the media despite their warnings not to do so. After they stopped the beating, they took away my phone at gun point and threatened that I do as they say or they would come for me and my family. They told me that not only mine but also my family’s lives were in danger: “If you step out of your house or talk to any media, you will take responsibility for what may happen to you or your children” (“ከዛሬ ጀምሮ ከቤትህ ብትወጣ ወይ ሚዲያ ብታናግር በአንተም ሆነ በቤተሰቦችህ ላይ ለሚሆነው ነገር ሃላፊነቱ ያንተ ነው”). Before they let me go, they also made it clear that they would resort to killing if I don’t do as they say “we no longer have a place to keep you, if you don’t do as you’re told killing you or paralyzing you is what is left to do.” (“ከእንግዲህ ወዲህ እናንተን የምናስርበት ቦታ የለንም:: ወይ እንገድልሃለን ወይ በመኪና ገጭተን ፓራላይዝ እናደርግሃለን ”)

The Ethiopian government has turned deaf ears to the many peaceful pleas to stop the violent crackdown all over Oromia, and continues to intimidate, arrest and kill citizens with no accountability. More than 4,000 of our party’s members including Bekele Gerba, Dejene Tafa, Addisu Bulala, and Desta Dinka are currently imprisoned incommunicado. It is my hope that the government and those who are silently watching understand that arresting and killing of innocent individuals has never silenced Oromos and will never be a solution to a legitimate demand of millions, and move quickly to rectify this situation. Until then, I, as an individual and member of OFC, will continue to peacefully voice the concerns of the Oromo people, because the peaceful struggle for the freedom and dignity of our people is a cause that millions of Oromos including me are prepared to sacrifice our lives for.

Regards,
Bekele Nega
General Secretary, Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC)

By Oromia Youth Association

To: Members of the Diplomatic Community:

We, the Executive Committee Members of the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), a legally registered political party, make an urgent appeal to members of the diplomatic community on behalf of the Oromo students and the larger Oromo population.
The Ethiopian government is committing an atrocious act of brutality against Oromo students and the larger population, who are peacefully protesting across Oromia for their rights. Consequently, most universities, colleges, high schools as well as elementary sections across Oromia are also closed. Far worse, for the last four weeks, over 85 students and ordinary citizens have been mercilessly killed; thousands have been wounded while several thousands have been detained. Moreover, the government security personnel have targeted our members who were candidates and observers during the 2015 elections. None of the imprisoned persons are charged with any crime and brought to the court of law as the Ethiopian law requires. We think, the arrogance of the Ethiopian regime comes partly from the lack of serious pressure from the international community, especially from countries such as the US and the African Union, which watches the senseless drama silently.
As you might aware, the Oromo youth and the larger Oromo population are demonstrating against the so-called Addis Ababa and the surrounding Oromia towns Integrated Development Plan (Master Plan), which was done without the consultation of the local population whose livelihood, depends on land. Similar opposition to the same plan in 2014 claimed not less than 78 students’lives in Ambo town and other Oromo areas. No one was made accountable for that vicious act.
The Ethiopian government that shelved the plan for one year arrogantly revived it recently, provoking a fresh unrest. During this interregnum, except in few limited areas, at that under a controlled environment, the government did not conduct any discussion with the Oromo population on the Master Plan and its effect on poor Oromo farmers. Furthermore, none of the opposition parties and independent civil organizations was consulted as stakeholders. Sadly, for its brutal killing of students in 2014, the Ethiopian regime did not face any condemnation from the donor governments which prop up the regime except the western-based human right organizations, which did a good job. Thus, encouraged by the silence from the diplomatic corps and their foreign governments, it is now repeating the same act with a new vigor and sense of impunity.
Contrary to the claim of the Ethiopia government, the Oromo students and population are not against development per se. The Oromo students are protesting against massive land grabbing and the displacement of Oromo farmers from their ancestral land under the guise of development in several places. For your information, we have evidence that shows – after the 2005 elections alone more than 150,000 farmers were displaced with their families from the environs of Addis Ababa and nobody knows as to where about of these farmers and their children. Land is not just a material possession for the Oromo. It is intimately tied to their way of life and who they are. Thus, the Oromo students are also protesting against the systematic destruction of their traditions, values, language and other distinct Oromo traits that follow the loss of their ancestral land. Moreover, students are protesting the de facto annexation of Oromian territory that follows the implementation of the Master Plan that envisages encompassing nearly 3 times the current boundaries of the city. This is not only land grab, but also power grab, dismantling of the federal system and an existential threat for the Oromo.
Even before the implementation of the Master Plan, the City of Addis Ababa had exponentially grown horizontally into the peripheral Oromia territory. As a result of this, hundred thousands of farmers have continued to be disposed of their land, the only basis of their livelihoods. As indicated above, thousands who were disposed of their land at a nominal compensation have left their ancestral land and some of them moved to the harsh and unforgiving city life in Addis Ababa where they have become either homeless, daily laborers or beggars. The Master Plan is the continuation of the massive land grabbing across the country in such places like Gambella, Beni-Shangul, Afar and Oromia. Far worse, the corrupt government officials and cadres are recklessly displacing poor farmers for their own personal enrichment.
We strongly believe that looking away from the crimes of the Ethiopian regime and allowing it to terrorize millions of its citizens under the guise of fighting international terrorism is both morally as well as politically wrong. And partnership in fighting international terrorism should not be taken as a license to kill innocent citizens by authoritarian regimes such as that of Ethiopia. As we write this appeal to you, the Oromia region is under a practical state of emergency where the army, the federal police and other armed units of the regime have become the law of the land by themselves. Therefore, we urge you to put an utmost pressure on the Ethiopia government to stop its senseless killings and cease to use excessive force. We further request you to support the legitimate question of the Oromo students and ask the Ethiopian government to immediately stop the implementation of the Master Plan, release imprisoned students and other citizens as well as bring to justice those who have used excessive force against the peaceful demonstrators. As this is also a delayed reaction to the total robbery of the May 2015 elections by the EPRDF regime, we urge you to advise the regime to engage the country’s democratic forces by opening up the political space for all the concerned stakeholders so as to find a durable solution through a national dialogue.
Regards,
For the OFC Executive Committee, Merera Gudina (PhD) & Associate Professor of Political Science and International Relations,
Chairman, Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC)
Vice – Chairman & Head of Foreign Affairs of MEDREK