Oromummaa as the Master Ideology of the Oromo National Movement

Oromummaa, as an element of culture, nationalism, and vision, has the power to serve as a manifestation of the collective identity of the Oromo national movement. The foundation of Oromummaa must be built on overarching principles that are embedded within Oromo traditions and culture and, at the same time, have universal relevance for all oppressed peoples. The main foundations of Oromummaa are individual and collective freedom, justice, popular democracy, and human liberation all of which are built on the concept of saffu (moral and ethical order) and are enshrined in gada principles. Although, in recent years, many Oromos have become adherents of Christianity and Islam, the concept of Waqaa (God) lies at the heart of Oromo tradition and culture. In Oromo tradition, Waqaa is the creator of the universe and the source of all life. The universe created by Waqaa contains within itself a sense of order and balance that is to be made manifest in human society. Although Oromummaa emerges from the Oromo cultural and historical foundations, it goes beyond culture and history in providing a liberative narrative for the future of the Oromo nation as well as the future of other oppressed peoples, particularly those who suffer under the Ethiopian Empire

Faces of Terrorism in the Age of Globalization: Terrorism from Above and Below

This paper explains how the intensification of globalization as the modern world system with its ideological intensity of racism and religious extremism and its concomitant advancement in technology and organizational skills has increased the danger of all forms of terrorism. In this world system, the contestation over economic resources and power and the resistance to domination and repression or religious and ideological extremism have increased the occurrence of terrorism from above (i.e. state actors) and from below (i.e. non-state actors). We cannot adequately grasp the essence and characteristics of modern terrorism without understanding the larger cultural, social, economic, and political contexts in which it takes place. Since terrorism has been conceptualized, defined, and theorized by those who have contradictory interests and objectives and since the subject matter of terrorism is complex, difficult, and elusive, there is a wide gap in establishing a common understanding among the scholars of terrorism studies. Most experts on the subject look at this issue from a narrow perspective by ignoring the reality that terrorism is a “social cancer” for all human groups affected by it. First, this paper defines the concept of terrorism in relation to different forms of terrorism, and explains how it has increased with the intensification of globalization. Second, taking the events of 9/11 and the case of Ethiopian state terrorism, the piece explores the general impacts of all forms of terrorism

Celebrating Oromo Heroism and Commemorating the Oromo Marytrs\u27 Day (Guyya Gootota Oromiyaa)

Oromo history demonstrates that the Oromo people had been heroic when they were organized under the gadaa system of government. Between the third and fourth gadaa grades (i.e., from 16 to 32 years), Oromo boys became adolescent and initiated into taking serious responsibilities, including protecting the security of the Oromo country. The ruling group had responsibility to assign senior leaders and experts to instruct and advise these young men in the importance of leadership, organization, and warfare

The Impacts of Terrorism and Capitalist Incorporation on Indigenous Americans

This article demonstrates the connections between terrorism , colonial state formation, and the development of the capitalist world system, or globalization, exploring theconsequences of colonial terrorism on indigenous American peoples. First, the piece introduces the central argument and conceptualizes and theorizes terrorism. Second, it examines the structural aspects of colonial terrorism by connecting it to specific colonial policies and practices. Third, it explain the ideological justifications tha Euro-American colonial settlers and their descendants used In committing crimes against humanity and dispossessing the homelands of indigenous Americans, as well as in amassing wealth/capital by ignoring moral, ethical ,and philosophical issues and human rights

Commemorating Falled Oromo Heroes and Heroines (Guuyyaa Gootota Oromoo)

Why do we commemorate this national day? What is the importance of having heroes and heroines in Oromo society? What criteria distinguish Oromo individuals who have sacrificed their lives for the liberation of their people and their country? There are five major reasons why we commemorate this day. First, this day allows us to remember those Oromo heroines and heroes who sacrificed their lives to restore Oromo culture, identity, and human dignity that were wounded by Ethiopian colonialism. Second, this commemoration day assists us to recognize the dialectical connection between martyrdom, bravery, patriotism and Oromummaa. Third, this day reminds us that we have historical obligations to continue the struggle that Oromo martyrs started until victory. Fourth, it causes us to recognize that Oromo heroes and heroines are still fighting in Oromia today. Fifth, this commemoration day reminds us that Oromo liberation requires heavy sacrifices, and those who have given their lives for our freedom are our revolutionary models which have created a dignified Oromo history

What is next for the Oromo people?

Thank you for inviting me to give a talk on the future of the Oromo people. To try to speculate on the future of the Oromo people is a very challenging task. Nevertheless, I try my best depending on my knowledge of the Oromo colonial history and national struggle in relation to the Ethiopian colonial state. Currently, the Oromo people and their national struggle are at a crossroads because of three major reasons. First, since the Oromo people are engaged in national struggle for self-determination, statehood, sovereignty, and democracy, the Tigrayan-led Ethiopian government is systematically attacking and terrorizing them. Second, at the same time, the Oromo elites who suppose to provide guidance and leadership for the Oromo national movement are fragmented, ideologically confused, and have failed to understand the lethal danger the Oromo people are facing from the Habasha colonizing elites. Third, the Oromo people are suffering from absolute poverty, recurrent famines, and malnutrition because the Meles regime and its supporters loot their economic resources. In addressing these three complex problems, I focus on five central issues. First, I explore the past and current status of the Oromo nation under Ethiopian colonialism. Second, I identity and explain the strengths and weaknesses of the Oromo elites in organizing and leading the Oromo national movement. Third, I explain the main characteristics of Oromo society. Fourth, I briefly identify the major opportunities and obstacles of the Oromo struggle. Finally, I suggest some urgent and practical measures that the Oromo elites and society should take to ensure the survival Oromia and to achieve national victory

The Struggle of the Oromo to Preserve an Indigenous Democracy

This paper explores the essence of the gadaa system (Oromo democracy) and how and why the Oromo people are struggling to preserve and develop this indigenous democracy, written records of which go back to the sixteenth century. It also explains the essence and the main characteristics of Oromo democracy that can be adapted to the current condition of Oromo society in order to revitalize the Oromo national movement for national self-determination and democracy and to build a sovereign Oromia state in a multinational context. The paper also demonstrates that this kind of struggle is an uphill battle because the Oromo people are the colonial subjects of the Ethiopian state, and they do not have the freedom of association, organization, and expression. Furthermore, it asserts that this struggle is truly a difficult one in the twentieth first century as the process of globalization is intensified and regional and local cultures are being suppressed under the pressure of dominating cultures

Increasing Political Activism and Mobilization: Building an Oromo Agency and Capacity for Liberation

Without increasing our political activism, mobilizing and organizing our people, we cannot effectively challenge and defeat our external and internal enemies that are attempting to strangulate the development of Oromummaa and the progress of the Oromo national struggle. Our external enemies have been using Oromo clienteles to achieve their political and economic objectives in Oromia. Some Oromos have been used as raw materials in building other nations. Such Oromos have lacked political and national consciousness or lacked self-respect and attacked the Oromo nation for money and other interests. As the Said Bare government created and used the Somali Abo group against the Oromo national interest, the Tigrayan colonial elites have created and used the OPDO. As a result, the Tigrayan colonial class has blurred the political boundary between the external and internal enemies of Oromo society

The Ethiopian State: Authoritarianism, Violence and Clandestine Genocide

“Modern” Ethiopia has been created and maintained through the achievement of external legitimacy. As the European colonial powers such as Great Britain, France, and Italy enabled the Abyssinian (Amhara-­Tigray) warlords to create the modern Ethiopian Empire during the last decades of the nineteenth century, successive hegemonic world powers, namely England, the former USSR, and the United States, has maintained the existence of various Ethiopian government until now. At the same time, the successive Amhara-­Tigray regimes have failed to achieve internal legitimacy among the more colonized peoples while maintaining some degree of legitimacy among the minority Abyssinian population. While authoritarian rule has been sufficient to maintain semblance of public order among the Abyssinian population, state terrorism and massive human rights violations have been widely used in an attempt to control the colonized peoples, particularly the largest national group, the Oromo, creating political instability, conflict and war, recurrent famines, poverty, and underdevelopment. The achievement of stability, peace, and development in Ethiopia requires a genuine democratic paradigm that includes decolonization, self-­determination, and popular sovereignty