The Revival of a New Social Movement Across the Oromia Region
(OLF-OLA Press Release)
Following a relative respite in the north over the past few weeks, considerable number of the regime’s army and miliary assets are being relocated to continue the ongoing genocide in Oromia. Two main flanks of the military operation have rapidly emerged: scorched-earth campaign and horizontal communal violence. As we indicated in our previous presser, Abiy has heightened the scorched earth crusade that mainly targets civilians and entire populations that are believed to be supporters of the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA).
In parallel, there is a resurgence of a new horizontal and communal violence wholly engineered by the Abiy regime in Western Oromia between communities who otherwise lived peacefully for generations. The communal violence now is of late being institutionalized and expanded into the rest of the country. It’s being institutionalized by, inter alia, (a) establishing Fanno militia training centers in western Oromia and (b) formally arming ethnic minority civilians as currently dictated by, among others, political parties such as EZEMA. The communal violence is also no longer limited to few Woredas in Western Oromia. 4-kilo has set the stage for a nation-wide inter-communal violence of a purely ethnic nature. It has put in place the infrastructures of inter-ethnic conflict to help it instigate horizontal communal conflicts at ease, anytime it so desired.
Three main actors directly participate in coordination and actualization of this mayhem: the ideologues, middle men and actuators.
First, the ideologues birthed the raw ideological basis that undergirds the genocidal campaign in Oromia. These are veiled “pan-Ethiopian” chauvinists that currently occupy much of the ‘advisory’ spaces around 4-kilo, together referred to as the Naftagna camp.
Second, the middle men are Abiy Ahmed himself and other senior leadership of the prosperity party who collectively serve the ideologues as unofficial spokespersons. They normalize, legitimize and package the ideals of imperial Ethiopia in a manner palatable to a broader public consumption. Being in government, these group also makes state resources available for the realization of this “vision.”
Thirdly, the actuators are the Fanno militia, Amhara Special Forces and the ENDF who execute orders including through ISIS-style beheadings. The three have formed a lethal symbiosis. Resource-based expansionism derives the Naftagna elite and its foot soldiers; the Abiy regime stands to benefit from the conflict becoming communal and horizontal.
These organized all-out war of destruction of Oromia led by Abiy’s Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF), Amhara Special Forces (ASF), Fanno militia, and unprecedented daily aerial attacks on civilians has led to a renaissance of a new non- violent social movement in direct support of the ideals of the OLA. Social movements are not new in the recent history of the Oromo struggle. Since 2005 several such movements have been launched: Student Revolt Against Subjugation (Fincila Diddaa Garbummaa, FDG), Rebellion to End Conquest (Fincila Xumura Garbummaa, FXG), the famous Qeerroo Movement that brought down the EPRDF dictatorship, Mass Popular Revolution (Warraaqsa Galaana Ummataa) launched on 8 June 2020, and now The Save Oromia Movement (Oromiyaa Baraaruu #OB). The current Save Oromia movement emerged on the back of works done following OLA’s call for popular revolution made on 8 June 2020.
The OLA calls upon all segments of our community to continue to standing shoulder to shoulder with the OLA and our revolutionaries in the Save Oromia Movement. In particular, we call upon our intellectual class to provide the necessary knowledge- based guidance; the cultural community to cheer on and energize our fighters with art and songs; the trading community to fill whatever logistical gaps exist in the planning and execution of non-violent mass movements around you.
To our Qeerroo and Qarree revolutionaries currently sprearheading in the Oromia Bararuu (Save Oromia #OB) movement:
1) Our war is not with any population group. We are at war with a budding totalitarian in 4-kilo and, the regime he leads with the Naftagna elite. They are our primary targets.
2) The regime is doing everything in its power to horizontalize the conflict to emerge unscathed. We should, therefore, arrest horizontalization of the crisis by, among other things, avoiding confrontations with our brothers and sisters from different communities.
3) Protect members of ethnic minorities amongst you. Infiltrators from the regime will attack members of other communities and agitate you to join in. Identify infiltrators, and do not cooperate with them.
4) Protect and preserve public and private property. No material resource should be destroyed. All property is yours to preserve.
5) Organize and protect yourselves from all attacks. Do not act alone. Do not exceed the limits of self-defense.
6) Further and detailed instructions will be issued in the coming days.
To the Regime and the International Community:
If the past four years are any lesson, the military adventurism in Oromia has not worked. Repeated “final offensive” operations launched by the Prosperity government have all concluded in utter failure. “Traditional mediations” through the regime’s cadres would also not work simply because they call themselves ‘Aba Gadaas’ or ‘cultural elders.’ Only formalized international mediations have a chance, if at all.
The international community should play its part. On the moral side of the equation, it should work towards preventing genocide and other international crimes against the Oromo people. It should also work towards prevention of regime-sponsored inter- ethnic violence. More importantly on the political side of the equation, the international community should work towards preventing unmanaged state-collapse for without peace and stability in Oromia the center will not hold for a long time. There should not be normalization of relationships with the regime until it seeks genuine resolution through dialogue.
The Oromo Liberation Army on its part reiterates its call for proper mediations through internationally sanctioned neutral third states that are able to:
- Meaningfully conduct mediations with the required skills, logistics, and other facilities. Provide the necessary logistics and security guarantees to move commanders and negotiators in and out of conflict zones.
- Neutrally observe and facilitate formalized mediations
- Serve as guarantors for the enforcement of the outcomes of mediations
OLF-OLA High Command
Dec 10, 2022
