A Call for Security, A Pledge for Protection: Oromia’s Leadership Outlines Commitment After Period of Unrest

In a direct address to mounting public concerns, a statement from Oromia’s leadership has acknowledged a sustained period of violence and insecurity, vowing to restore safety as the region’s fundamental priority. The message strikes a resonant chord with communities who have felt vulnerable, explicitly referencing the unresolved trauma of the 2016 Irreechaa tragedy as a pivotal moment of institutional failure.

“A safe nation is the foundation for everything else,” the statement declares, framing security not as a privilege but as the essential bedrock upon which economic prosperity, social development, and personal freedom are built. “Oromians cannot build their lives with confidence if they do not feel secure in their own communities.”

The frank acknowledgment of public anxiety comes after years of reported unrest involving various armed groups, inter-communal clashes, and allegations of state violence. This instability has disrupted livelihoods, deepened social fractures, and fueled a widespread demand for decisive action.

A Four-Pillar Pledge for Action

Moving beyond acknowledgment, the leadership has outlined a four-point action plan, presenting it as an unwavering commitment to its citizens:

• 🔵 Crack down on anti-Oromummaa: A pledge to confront ideologies and actions deemed hostile to Oromo identity, culture, and self-determination.
• 🔵 Tackle violent extremism: A commitment to address radicalization and violence from all sources that threaten civil order.
• 🔵 Take strong action to fight terrorism: A vow to combat groups officially designated as terrorist organizations operating within and across Oromia’s borders.
• 🔵 Secure our borders to protect Oromians: A promise to enhance control over regional boundaries to prevent cross-border incursions and the flow of weapons.

“Protecting Oromians and defending our way of life is a government’s first responsibility,” the statement concludes. “That is the standard we will uphold.”

The Shadow of Irreechaa and the Test of Trust

The explicit mention of the 2016 Irreechaa tragedy is particularly significant. During the annual Oromo thanksgiving festival that year, a deadly stampede and alleged security force actions led to hundreds of deaths, a profound national trauma that has become symbolic of a broken trust between the people and the state. By invoking it, the current statement directly ties its new security pledge to the healing of that historic wound.

The success of this pledge now rests on its translation from rhetoric into tangible, even-handed, and effective action on the ground. Observers and citizens alike will be watching closely to see if these commitments lead to a measurable decrease in violence, the protection of all communities, and the restoration of the confidence needed for Oromians to build their futures without fear. The ultimate test will be whether safety, promised as a foundation, can truly be rebuilt.

“Protecting Oromians and defending our way of life is a government’s first responsibility,” the statement concludes. “That is the standard we will uphold.”

Australia’s Untold Stories: New Project Celebrates the Lives and Legacies of Former Refugees

[Advocacy for Oromia] Today launched Australia’s Untold Stories, a powerful digital archive of oral histories from 12 former refugees who have rebuilt their lives and enriched the nation. The project spotlights individuals from diverse backgrounds—including Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Chile, Eritrea, Laos, South Sudan, and Vietnam—as a testament to the resilience and contributions of over a million refugees who have settled in Australia since World War II.

Body Content Structure:
You can structure the main body of your article to include the following sections:

1. The Heart of the Project: Briefly explain the “why” behind the project. Emphasize its goal to move beyond statistics and present personal, human narratives of courage, loss, hope, and new beginnings. Mention the format (e.g., video interviews, written narratives) and the goal of preserving these stories for a national audience.
2. Introducing the Storytellers: This is the core of your feature. Once you access the project site, select two or three compelling individuals to highlight. For each, provide:
   • Name and Origin: (e.g., “Amina, who fled Afghanistan…”).
   • A Glimpse of Their Journey: A brief, poignant detail from their story (e.g., the profession they left behind, a moment of danger or hope).
   • Their Contribution in Australia: How they rebuilt their life (e.g., founded a community organization, became a nurse, opened a restaurant sharing their culture, raised a family).
   • A Powerful Direct Quote: Pull a short, impactful line from their interview that summarizes their experience or perspective. This adds authenticity and emotional depth.
3. The Broader Tapestry: Connect these individual stories to the larger historical narrative mentioned in your prompt. Discuss how these 12 stories represent the wider contributions refugees have made to Australian society over eight decades in fields like medicine, cuisine, arts, business, and community life. Acknowledge the role of welcoming communities and settlement support.
4. Call to Action and Access: Direct readers clearly to where they can experience the stories. You can use the text you already have: “Through their stories, we reflect on the contributions refugees have made… Watch Australia’s Untold Stories: https://bit.ly/AustraliasUntoldStories“. Consider adding a final reflective sentence on the importance of listening and understanding.

Quotes to Incorporate (add from the videos once you watch them):

• Look for a quote from a project organizer on the vision for the archive.
• Look for 2-3 moving quotes from the featured individuals about their past, their journey, or their life in Australia.
• You could also consider including a brief quote from a historian or community leader on the national significance of such projects (if available on the site or from your own research).

Practical Next Steps:

1. Visit the Direct Link: Go to https://bit.ly/AustraliasUntoldStories in your web browser to watch the videos and read the full profiles.
2. Take Detailed Notes: As you watch, note down the names, key life events, professions, and the most powerful statements from the interviewees.
3. Fill in the Template: Use the notes to populate the article structure above with specific, vivid details.
4. Add a Relevant Image: If the project page provides promotional images or video stills you have permission to use, include one with your article to make it more engaging.

Subtitle: Ethiopia’s towering playwright, poet laureate, and pan-African visionary left a legacy that bridged tradition, revolution, and human dignity.

On a February day in 2006, in a Manhattan hospital room far from the highlands of Boda where he was born, the heart of Ethiopian letters ceased to beat. Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin – playwright, poet, pan-Africanist, and keeper of his nation’s conscience – passed away at 69, physically separated from the land he immortalized but spiritually never departed from it.

Tsegaye’s life was a testament to the power of art to shape national identity and awaken continental consciousness. Educated in the wake of Ethiopia’s liberation from Italian occupation, his genius was recognized early. While still a schoolboy, he wrote a play performed before Emperor Haile Selassie—a prophetic beginning for a writer who would spend a lifetime wrestling with the myths, heroes, and soul of his nation.

The Playwright as Patriot and Teacher
Rejecting careers in law and commerce, which he saw as “soul-destroying,” Tsegaye devoted himself to the stage. As a director of Ethiopia’s National Theatre, he became a deliberate pedagogue. He believed his country needed heroes, and through historical dramas like Tewodros and Petros at the Hour, he taught Ethiopians to respect the martyrdom, reform, and resistance that defined their past. Yet his vision was never parochial. His celebrated play The Oda Oak Oracle, a comedy of Ethiopian country life, was performed across eight nations, proving the universal appeal of locally-rooted storytelling.

The Poet as Pan-African Visionary
Tsegaye’s patriotism was expansive, firmly rooted in an Africanist worldview. A friend of Senegal’s President Léopold Sédar Senghor, he engaged deeply with the Négritude movement. His scholarship led him to trace the linguistic and cultural threads linking the Nile Valley civilizations, asserting Ethiopia’s place within a broader African continuum. This vision culminated in 2002 when his poem, calling to “make Africa the tree of life,” was adopted as the anthem of the newly-formed African Union.

The Advocate as Unyielding Conscience
Beyond the stage and page, Tsegaye was a formidable advocate for justice. He campaigned tirelessly for the return of Ethiopia’s looted heritage—the Aksum Obelisk taken by Mussolini and the priceless manuscripts pillaged from Emperor Tewodros’s fortress at Magdala. For him, these were not mere artifacts but fragments of the national soul.

In his later years, his focus broadened to the universal themes of peace and human dignity, earning him international recognition and a place in the United Poets Laureate International.

A Legacy of Unbroken Spirit
Confined to exile by the medical necessity of dialysis, Tsegaye became a spiritual anchor for the diaspora, affectionately known as Blattengetta—the great scholar. His seminal poem, “Prologue to African Conscience,” remains a piercing critique of post-colonial malaise, warning of “luxury and golden chains that free the body and enslave the mind.”

Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin taught us that to look forward, a people must first learn to look deeply into their own past and see themselves within the grand tapestry of their continent. He was not just Ethiopia’s poet laureate; he was Africa’s scribe, a visionary who understood that true freedom lives in the stories we tell, the history we reclaim, and the conscience we dare to awaken.

Galatoomaa, Blattengetta. Your footprints in time are indelible.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

URGENT PETITION: HUMANITARIAN GROUPS PLEA FOR LAST-MINUTE HALT TO ETHIOPIA TPS TERMINATION

With just 48 hours remaining before a critical deportation protection expires, the Oromia Support Group (OSG) is issuing a global call to action. A petition on Change.org, directed at Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, demands the immediate rescission of the decision to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for nationals of Ethiopia, including the Oromo people.

The termination, set for February 13, will revoke the legal right of approximately 2,200 Ethiopians to live and work in the United States. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) decision, announced last year, concludes that conditions in Ethiopia—a country grappling with recent conflict, severe drought, and ongoing human rights concerns—no longer warrant temporary humanitarian protection.

“This decision implies Ethiopia is now a safe place to deport people to, which contradicts the reality on the ground,” said Dr. Trevor Trueman, Chair of the Oromia Support Group. “We are in a race against time to prevent the return of individuals to a situation of extreme peril.”

The petition explicitly holds Secretary Noem, who oversees U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), accountable. It references controversial ICE actions, alleging the agency has “detained thousands of immigrants, including children, in hostile detention centres many hundreds of miles from their homes, families, and legal representatives.” The petition frames the appeal as a chance for the public to “register disapproval of the actions of the DHS, including ICE.”

Dr. Trueman specifically addressed potential concerns about the petition’s organizer, the Ethiopian American Association. He emphasized it is a young, non-partisan organization with no nationalistic bias within Ethiopia. “Unlike other similarly-named organisations, it does not exhibit an anti-Oromo bias,” he stated, noting that its President, Aga Ambissa Ayana, is a former Oromo refugee himself, whom Trueman met in Nairobi in 2010 prior to his resettlement in the U.S.

Advocates warn that without TPS, beneficiaries will face imminent deportation to a country still recovering from a devastating civil war and facing severe humanitarian crises in several regions, including Oromia. The termination affects those who have built lives, families, and careers in the U.S., often for several years.

The Petition can be found here: https://www.change.org/…/protect-tps-holders-of…

About the Oromia Support Group:

The OSG is a UK-based advocacy organization focused on human rights and political issues concerning the Oromo people of Ethiopia.

Contact: Dr. Trevor Trueman, Chair, Oromia Support Group.

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Note to Editors: The DHS has stated the termination is based on a thorough assessment of country conditions. Requests for comment from the Department of Homeland Security on this specific petition were not immediately returned.

5 February 2026 – Across the globe, from the halls of academia to the living rooms of the diaspora, the Oromo community is united in a chorus of grief and profound gratitude. The passing of Professor Asmerom Legesse at the age of 94 is not merely the loss of a preeminent scholar; it is, as countless tributes attest, the departure of a cherished friend, a fearless intellectual warrior, and an adopted son whose life’s work became the definitive voice for Oromo history and democratic heritage.

The outpouring of personal reflections paints a vivid portrait of a man whose impact was both global and deeply intimate. Olaansaa Waaqumaa recalls a brief conversation seven years ago, where the professor’s conviction was unwavering. “Yes! It is absolutely possible,” he declared when asked if the Gadaa system could serve as a modern administrative framework. “The scholars and new generation must take this mantle, think critically about it, and bridge it with modern governance,” he advised, passing the torch to future generations.

This personal mentorship extended through his work. Scholar Luba Cheru notes how Professor Legesse’s 1973 seminal text, Gada: Three Approaches to the Study of African Society, became an indispensable guide for her own decade-long research on the Irreecha festival. She reflects, “I never met him in person, but his work filled my mind.”

Ituu T. Soorii frames his legacy as an act of courageous resistance against historical erasure. “When the Ethiopian empire tried to erase Oromo existence, Professor Asmarom rose with courage to proclaim the undeniable truth,” they write, adding a poignant vision: “One day, in a free Oromiyaa, his statues will rise—not out of charity, but out of eternal gratitude.” Similarly, Habtamu Tesfaye Gemechu had earlier praised him as the scholar who shattered the conspiracy to obscure Oromo history, “revealing the naked truth of the Oromo to the world.”

Echoing this sentiment, Dejene Bikila calls him a “monumental figure” who served as a “bridge connecting the ancient wisdom of the Oromo people to the modern world.” This notion of the professor as a bridge is powerfully affirmed by Yadesa Bojia, who poses a defining question: “Did you ever meet an anthropologist… whose integrity was so deeply shaped by the culture and heritage he studied that the people he wrote about came to see him as one of their own? That is the story of Professor Asmerom Legesse.”

Formal institutions have also affirmed his unparalleled role. The Oromo Studies Association (OSA), which hosted him as a keynote speaker, stated his work “fundamentally reshaped the global understanding of African democracy.” Advocacy for Oromia and The Oromia Culture and Tourism Bureau hailed him as a “steadfast guardian” of Oromo culture, whose research was vital for UNESCO’s 2016 inscription of the Gadaa system as Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Binimos Shemalis reiterates that his “groundbreaking and foundational work… moved [Oromo studies] beyond colonial-era misrepresentations.” Scholar Tokuma Chala Sarbesa details how his book Oromo Democracy: An Indigenous African Political System proved the Gadaa system was a sophisticated framework of law, power, and public participation, providing a “strong foundation for the Oromo people’s struggle for identity, freedom, and democracy.”

The most recent and significant political tribute came from Shimelis Abdisa, President of the Oromia Regional State, who stated, “The loss of a scholar like Prof. Asmarom Legesse is a great damage to our people. His voice has been a lasting institution among our people.” He affirmed that the professor’s seminal work proved democratic governance originated within the Oromo people long before it was sought from elsewhere.

Amidst the grief, voices like Leencoo Miidhaqsaa Badhaadhaa offer a philosophical perspective, noting the professor lived a full 94 years and achieved greatness in life. “He died a good death,” they write, suggesting the community should honor him not just with sorrow, but by learning from and adopting his teachings.

As Seenaa G-D Jimjimo eloquently summarizes, “His scholarship leaves behind not just a legacy for one community, but a gift to humanity.” While the physical presence of this “real giant,” as Anwar Kelil calls him, is gone, the consensus is clear: the intellectual and moral bridge he built is unshakable. His legacy, as Barii Milkeessaa simply states, ensures that while “the world has lost a great scholar… the Oromo people have lost a great sibling.”

An Oromia Peace Institute is necessary to provide a permanent, professional, Oromo‑centered hub for conflict analysis, dialogue, and peace education that can guide political and community actors out of the current cycles of violence. It would connect Gadaa/Waaqeffannaa-based peace values, community experience, and modern peace-research methods into one institution that serves all of Oromia and contributes to Ethiopia-wide settlement efforts.

Current gaps in Oromia

Studies on Oromia’s security show there is no clear, comprehensive regional peacebuilding framework, and indigenous Oromo mechanisms like Gadaa, Abba Gadaa, and Siinqee are not systematically used in present peace processes. Existing initiatives are often short-term projects run by NGOs or ad‑hoc committees, so lessons are lost, coordination is weak, and there is no single reference body for evidence-based advice on the Oromia conflict.

What such an institute would do

An Oromia Peace Institute could systematically collect data on conflicts across zones and woredas, produce regular trend analyses, and advise government, parties, elders, and civic groups using rigorous and locally grounded research. It could design and support community-led dialogue processes that elevate elders, women, and youth, similar to participatory action research and dialogue models already piloted in Oromia by partner organisations.

Linking tradition and modern peacebuilding

Research highlights the relevance of Gadaa peace principles and Oromo customary institutions for conflict transformation, but these are not yet meaningfully integrated into formal policy and security structures. A dedicated institute could document Gadaa and Siinqee peace norms, train mediators and local officials in their use, and translate them into practical tools for modern governance and inter-ethnic conflict management.

Supporting political dialogue and long-term settlement

Recent calls for inclusive dialogue on Oromia’s crisis by Oromo political forces underline the need for neutral, credible technical support: mapping stakeholders, designing dialogue processes, and monitoring agreements. An Oromia Peace Institute can play this technical and moral support role, helping transform elite bargains into people-driven processes that include displaced communities, victims, women, and youth, and feeding Oromia’s experience into any broader Ethiopian peace architecture.