Six years ago, they hijacked our revolution and tried to deceive the people into believing that the hard-fought freedom they sacrificed so much for had been achieved. The Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) stood as one of the first—and perhaps the only—organizations to see through Abiy Ahmed’s facade. Refusing to veer off course until genuine and tangible results were secured for our people. This unwavering commitment made the OLA the regime’s primary target from the outset.
In 2019, the regime escalated its assault, declaring war on the OLA with arrogant claims of achieving victory within weeks. That delusion quickly unravelled into a spectacular failure. Over the years, the regime has repeatedly set new deadlines, vowing to bring the Oromo people to their knees. Yet, time after time, they have failed miserably, unable to extinguish the flames of resistance or break the spirit of a determined people.
In 2023, after exhausting their arsenal of repression through brutal scorched-earth military campaign with no tangible results, the regime was forced to begrudgingly approach the negotiation table, with observers from the United States and Norway present. However, old habits die hard. The regime’s so-called peace effort was nothing more than Orwellian doublespeak—a thinly veiled ploy to co-opt the OLA leadership with hollow promises of power while continuing to undermine the legitimate demands of our people. The OLA, seeing through this charade, refused to compromise its principles for empty gestures. Unsurprisingly, the regime’s attempts to subvert the struggle failed again.
When co-optation under the guise of peace proved futile, the regime resorted to a new, sinister strategy: sowing the seeds of new horizontal interethnic bloodshed to divert attention from the growing vertical struggle against the power holders in 4-Kilo. A calculated atrocity in Dharraa of North Shewa—where they orchestrated the horrific slaughter of a human being—was designed to ignite an endless cycle of interethnic conflict between the country’s two largest communities. This cruel attempt to horizontalize violence and deflect from the regime’s failures was as transparent as it was reprehensible. Once again, we all saw through their divisive tactics, and the regime’s plans were foiled. The Oromo Liberation Army, alongside the resilient spirit of the people, continues to dismantle these efforts at manipulation and division.
Currently, the regime’s focus in Oromia revolves around three dangerous strategies:
- Playing the Religion Card
After the sinister strategy in Dharraa was foiled, the regime is brazenly pressing ahead exploiting religious differences in an attempt to incite a new horizontal bloodbath and fracture the unity of people standing against its rule. A prime example is the killing of Orthodox Christians in Arsi by Shimelis-led “Shene” operatives a few days ago—an act of calculated brutality aimed at sowing discord.
Such divisive tactics reveal the regime’s moral and political bankruptcy. Instead of addressing the root causes of the country`s crises—economic mismanagement, oppressive policies, autocratic rule, and political marginalization—the regime fans every flame of discord to cling to power. These manipulations must be unequivocally rejected by the people, and the international community must condemn the regime’s reckless weaponization of religion for political survival.
- Openly Declaring Itself an Oromo Government
The regime is doubling down on this farcical claim, wherever it gathers the people. Devoid of a genuine constituency anywhere, the regime openly claims to be an Oromogovernment in an effort to secure their backing for military logistics and recruitment for its genocidal campaigns. The so-called “Oromos in government” paraded by regime are merely the same old coopted functionaries who once served Ethiopia’s past regimes in similar roles of subjugation and suppressing our people.
This desperate ploy to secure legitimacy among Oromos will inevitably fail, as the people recognize the regime’s true nature: an oppressor devoid of sincerity or accountability. No façade of ethnic allegiance can conceal its atrocities against the very people it claims to represent.
- Repackaging Disgraced Figures as New Defections
The regime is attempting to rehabilitate irrelevant individuals who were expelled months ago from the OLA for sabotage, presenting them as supposed “defectors.” This manoeuvre is neither new nor a defection. These individuals were dismissed by our leadership for actively undermining the organization and have no influence over anything OLA.
Months ago, when they were dismissed, the regime orchestrated interviews with these individuals through media outlets such as VOA and BBC, but their claims failed to gain traction. Efforts to use military force to extract rank and file fighters or lure others from OLA leadership have also failed.
After months of futile investment, the regime has now declared these individuals as signatories to a “peace deal.”
By recycling irrelevant figures and touting fabricated “peace deals,” Abiy hopes to manipulate public perception and distract from his mounting failures. This desperate attempt to create the illusion of progress in the region is not only insults the intelligence of the Oromo people but also highlights the regime’s inability to confront the realities on the ground. Ironically, this announcement has brought relief to OLA fighters and supporters further afield, as it clears away those who lacked the depth, discipline, and dedication needed for the struggle. Their removal from the arena of struggle also eliminates a lingering obstacle—false pretenders whose commitment to the cause was always in question.
Using this opportunity, the OLF-OLA calls upon our brothers and sisters at home and in the diaspora who may have been misled by these individuals to rejoin the struggle for justice and freedom. We will welcome you back with open arms, united in the shared vision of a liberated and equitable future. This generation of the diaspora, in particular, is uniquely positioned to elevate public diplomacy on behalf of our people to unprecedented heights.
The regime’s increasingly hollow and desperate tactics only strengthen the resolve of those dedicated to the cause. True freedom cannot be hijacked, coerced, or compromised. The struggle continues, unshaken and unyielding.
OLF-OLA High Command
December 01, 2024