For over four decades, the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) waged an armed struggle from the forests of southern Ethiopia. Today, its chairman Dawud Ibsa Ayana is preparing for a different kind of battle — one fought at polling stations rather than on frontlines. In a rare interview with Swedish journalist Martin Schibbye of The Blankspot, the OLF leader opens up about the challenges, compromises, and cautious hopes shaping his movement’s unprecedented entry into electoral politics.

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A Movement Transformed

The guerrilla group was allowed to return to Ethiopia in 2018 as part of newly-appointed Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s sweeping reforms. After decades of operating as an underground liberation army, the OLF now finds itself navigating the complex terrain of formal politics — registering as a political party, forming alliances, and preparing to contest elections it believes it can win.

The interview takes place at Scandic Hotel in Skärholmen, Sweden, where a wedding party’s music competes with the conversation. Dawud Ibsa Ayana, settling into a room with bookish wallpaper, appears eager to speak. For years, journalists had to venture into guerrilla-controlled territories to understand OLF’s positions — a reality that meant the movement’s struggle was either misunderstood or entirely unknown to the outside world.

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A Personal History Forged in Struggle

Dawud Ibsa Ayana’s story is inseparable from the organization he leads. He studied at Haile Selassie I University in the 1970s, where he became involved in the student movement and eventually rose to its leadership. In the late 1970s, he was elected to the OLF Central Committee and imprisoned shortly afterward by the Ethiopian regime.

After his release, he fled to Sudan, combining statistics studies with military training. Back in Ethiopia, he led the OLF platoon that initiated armed struggle in Welega province. Arrested again, he was poisoned, tortured, and imprisoned without trial until 1986, when he rejoined the rebel army and resumed his work on the Central Committee.

Throughout interviews from that era, he remained firmly convinced that once free elections were permitted, the OLF would win and form the backbone of Ethiopia’s next government.

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From Armed Struggle to Political Arena

The path to electoral politics has not been straightforward. “A few years ago I had not thought that we would prepare for such a situation,” Dawud admits. “What a choice!”

The Berlin Wall fell. The Soviet Union collapsed. But in the wooded parts of southern Ethiopia, Dawud and his comrades fought a war that, for many rebels, was older than themselves.

The historical context is profound. The Ethiopian emperor of the 20th century, from the Amhara people group, had colonized the Oromo people’s wealthy home territories during the same era European powers colonized the rest of Africa. While other countries eventually gained independence, the Oromo people — one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa — did not.

The popular revolution that swept away the Mengistu dictatorship in 1991 also failed to resolve the region’s fundamental conflict with central power.

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The Decision to “Play the Game”

When Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019, he was rewarded primarily for peace with Eritrea. More forgotten, but perhaps more important for Ethiopia’s future, was peace with local rebel groups — including the OLF.

Dawud believes the TPLF survived because the regime understood that growing protests were directed at their own party and that they had to “reform” the country to continue governing.

“I put ‘reforms’ in quotes because they were forced to release prisoners. It was nothing they wanted to do. There was no amnesty,” he says. “We are not completely happy about the situation, but we decided to ‘play the game.'”

Was it a difficult decision? “It was a tough decision absolutely, but we had no choice. The TPLF created confusion and the outside world thought this was a genuine change, so we were then forced to ‘play the game’ because the government said they would invite exile organizations and remove the stamp of terror. If we had not taken the chance, we would have been branded as those who ‘destroyed the peace’ or ‘nihilists.'”

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The Unresolved Question of the Disappeared

When the OLF and Ethiopian government settled down after decades of armed conflict, one major stumbling block was the OLF members who had disappeared over the years.

“We presented a list of 300-400 names and wanted answers: are these people living or are they dead?”

They did not receive a straight answer, but they agreed that criminals responsible for human rights violations on both sides should be tried. The OLF suggested a commission be appointed. The idea was not rejected but was postponed until after the election.

“If the choice goes well, this will be a priority for us,” Dawud says. “Whether we agree on a South African reconciliation model or a personal arrangement remains to be seen.”

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Obstacles and Harassment

The movement’s problematic relationship with state powers did not end when they laid down their weapons. Even registering their party was delayed — it took over a year after the peace agreement to formalize.

“Since we brought home our soldiers from Eritrea in September 2018, we have had a tough time. The government has obstructed and hampered our work, they have closed down our local offices which we have opened and over 20,000 of our members have been imprisoned for short or longer periods.”

The areas where the movement has encountered most difficulties are in Ambo and the southwestern parts of the Oromo region.

“Here are the large garrisons of the Ethiopian army and in these, several members have been detained for months without a trial, often under torture-like conditions. Not only former soldiers, but also farmers, young people and teachers have been taken from the entire Oromo region to these places.”

He believes the purpose is to weaken the party ahead of the August 2020 elections.

In mid-February 2020, Amnesty International issued a report showing that 75 members of OLF had been arrested at the beginning of the new year. The human rights organization noted it was “inadvertent that opposition politicians were so close to the impending election.” Amnesty warned that what was happening was a trend break that risked undermining both the newly won organization and freedom of expression in the country.

Amnesty also noted that several local offices opened by OLF were stormed by police, and several OLF members had been killed. Journalists working for the satellite TV channel Oromia News Network (OMN) had also had their vehicles and equipment broken.

The government itself believes it is fighting the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), an splinter group from the OLF that did not accept the peace agreement but continued the armed struggle.

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Electoral Hopes and Fears

Despite the difficulties, Dawud remains confident. The OLF has formed electoral alliances with other organizations such as the Oromo Federalist Congress and the Oromo National Party.

“We are confident that we will win a majority regionally and significantly with the seats in the national parliament,” he predicts.

But the party’s concern is now about the time leading up to the election, and it is not only the OLF that is worried about developments in the region.

Dawud is concerned about how local militias and “soldiers taking orders from political parties” will act during the upcoming election movement.

“Will they continue to harass and arrest our members or will the government discipline them?” he asks.

Another test is the upcoming staffing of polling stations and the question of voters’ sympathies. During the TPLF era, many organizations that called themselves “civil society” were in fact fronts for the ruling party.

“We will closely monitor the election authority’s staffing at village level so that they recruit independent administrators and volunteers.”

If the situation continues to escalate, the question arises as to whether it is possible to hold elections at all.

“No, today it is not possible to hold free elections in the areas that are under emergency conditions and are controlled by the military’s command post,” Dawud says.

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The Question of Minority Rights

When asked about activist and journalist Eskinder Nega’s claims of ethnic cleansing in the Oromo region aimed at expelling non-Oromos, Dawud is dismissive.

“It is not surprising that Eskinder exploits this and travels around the world, warning the UN that Oromo’s youth, querroos, are terrorists, but it must stand for him. But if you are going to talk about the matter: the situation of Amharas in the Oromo region he is wrong, that they would be forced to flee is nonsense.”

According to him, recent reports of attacks on civilian students are not something for which his organization has responsibility.

“OLF operated in the region for 40 years while tens of thousands of civilians from the Amharic region lived in the area, but they were not attacked by OLF. We fought against the Ethiopian army, never against the Amharas people, their houses or homes.”

He points out that in several of the region’s largest cities there have always been 100,000 Amharas and that there are also officers and generals from the Amharan region within OLF’s ranks.

“Why would any of us attack innocent young students? To say that is an attack on us.”

So in a future Oromo region, where they own a majority of the seats, will the rights of minorities be guaranteed?

“Undoubtedly! It has been black and white in our political program since 1976: OLF respects the rights of minorities. They have the right to choose and to candidate and run their own affairs in Parliament. Why after 27 years would we have changed now? We are crystal clear in this regard.”

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The Path Forward

Although OLF now faces a roadmap, its struggle has always been about two things: creating political consciousness among the population and pursuing independence.

When the OLF was formed, the aim was to fight against oppression in all its forms and to give the inhabitants of the region the political confidence to stand up for themselves. The main issues were also that the region and its inhabitants had the right to self-determination and to their own country.

When the Ethiopian Constitution was written after Mengistu was overthrown in 1991, a section on the right to self-determination was enrolled. The movement chose to participate in the transitional government with the goal of creating a democratic Ethiopia and not pushing the issue of independence.

But shortly thereafter, the transitional government collapsed and OLF chose — or was forced, depending on how one looks at it — into the forest again.

So how does OLF today view the demand for an independent state?

“It was OLF’s position previously to work for it. But at present we understand that it is not something we can demand from the Ethiopian state because it is not capable of giving it to us,” Dawud replies.

Just as in 1991-1992, people have been chosen to participate in the democratization process with the goal of seeing a democratic Ethiopia.

“We have chosen to play down our own historic demand for independence and prioritized the democratization of Ethiopia as a federation, a country with several states, several nations, living in peace. We wanted to and then we want to give this a chance again.”

According to him, it is a “pragmatic move” based on the analysis that today’s Ethiopian state formation would not respect a fully independent Oromo.

“What happens in the future, it lies in the future, there are of course several Eritrea-like opportunities to jump off, if they were so rigid that they do not accept self-determination, under this Ethiopian umbrella.”

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Land Reform and Economic Vision

If everything goes the way of the election, a priority issue will be land reform in the region.

“Land ownership is the central political issue for us. Land that was formerly owned by feudal lords in the region is now owned by the government and because the people do not own the land they use, they also have no control over their lives.”

The goal is a land reform where users take over ownership. But Dawud emphasizes that previous owners should be compensated.

“Such a process is complex and in order for no one to be deceived by banks or investors, we also want to set up a control authority to monitor how land is sold and bought in the region.”

Areas that are now agricultural areas may also be considered for future industrial areas.

“Industrialization will be a ‘game changer’ for the area and mean that we are moving from an agrarian economy to a more mixed one. In this upcoming development, we welcome private companies and investors, but we have a social democratic view of society and want central functions such as communications, education, infrastructure, healthcare to be taken care of by the general public.”

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A Question of Acceptance

Political self-confidence is high, and despite harassment and imprisoned party members, Dawud believes they will soon be the victors of the election.

But the question he ponders a lot is whether the ruling party will hand over power.

“Will the election be peaceful? Will the result be accepted? We don’t know that yet – but we want to show the outside world that we are for peace and for free elections. Then it becomes clear who is breaking this. We have our fears that the result will not be accepted.”

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The Role of International Observers

In his work on the formal elections, Dawud believes countries such as Sweden have a big role to play — both with independent election observers and knowledge. He also points out that foreign states that have supported Abiy Ahmed’s reforms have a responsibility for the process and for pushing the government so that the military stays away during the electoral movement.

“We expect that Sweden does not accept that anyone abuses power, but ensures that it becomes a free, genuine choice in which the people can choose their representatives.”

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Conclusion

The OLF’s journey from armed insurgency to electoral politics represents one of the most significant political transformations in contemporary Ethiopia. Whether that transformation succeeds — and whether the movement’s hopes for democratic change are realized — remains to be seen. What is clear is that the coming months will be decisive, not only for the OLF but for the future of Ethiopia’s fragile democratic experiment.

For a movement that fought for over 40 years, the ballot box may prove to be the most challenging battlefield of all.

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This article is based on an interview by Martin Schibbye, originally published by The Blankspot on February 20, 2020.