The Final Call for Oromos

It is apparent that every concerned Oromo has been following recent events in Oromia. We heard the horrible things that happened to Oromo students. The racist and fascist TPLF regime indiscriminately killed Oromo students as young as 9 year old kids. It has been reported that hundreds of Oromo students were killed in different parts of Oromia. Just in a single day, over 50 student demonstrators were killed in Ambo town. Thousands have been beaten and detained in different detention centers in Oromia.

The deaths of innocent Oromo students have been a rallying point for Oromos around the world. Thousands of Oromos have been protesting in unison to denounce the killings and mass detentions of Oromo students. The blood of Oromo students that was shed in Ambo, Guder, Adama, Jimma, Neqemte, Gimbi, Robe, Haro Maaya, Dire Dawa and other Oromia villages have united the Oromo people. The cause for which the students sacrificed their young lives is a just cause. The so called “Master Plan” is a master genocidal plan that has to be stopped at any cost. Every single Oromo should recognize that the situation is a final call for all of us to fight for our existence and survival as a nation. All of us have a role to play in the struggle for justice and freedom. Our struggle has to be multifaceted. In this regard, we have to focus on four major fronts:

1. Diplomacy and Advocacy

The recent gains made through the advocacy of concerned Oromos is very encouraging. We have to keep on advocating for our people who are being terrorized by the TPLF regime. We need to continue protesting and writing letters to our representatives and senators. We have to redouble our effort to raise awareness about our cause by contacting local as well international news agencies.

We need to convince western nations and major financial institutions that bankrolling genocide will be against their long term interest. Their “national interests” should not be at the expense of the very existence and survival of our nation. Any nation that supports the TPLF brutal regime should understand that the actions of TPLF are tantamount to genocide and ethnic cleansing. We must not be discouraged by negative encounters in our struggle. World powers may ignore us today but they will not be able to do that if we persevere.

2. Building our Economic Base

It is evident that any group that controls vital economic sectors of a society has a tremendous mandate to advance its causes. This is the reason why the minority TPLF regime has been weakening the economic base of the Oromo people. TPLF has been intentionally targeting Oromo business men and women by shutting down their businesses, denying them line of credits and imposing burdensome taxes. These actions have substantially weakened the economic power of the Oromo people.

Every Oromo has the duty to reverse this trend. Whether we live in Oromia or in the diaspora, we have to do our best to strengthen our economic power. Oromos should support Oromo businesses and boycott TPLF owned businesses. We have to instill a spirit of entrepreneurship in our people. We need to learn how to create businesses and make them profitable. Successful Oromo entrepreneurs need to mentor fellow Oromos and show them how to succeed in business.

3. Armed Struggle

In this world filled with hypocrisy, armed struggle is becoming a taboo subject. However, it is a fact that no nation in the world has gained its independence from colonialism and occupation without some form of armed resistance. Even the USA became free from the British Empire through an armed struggle. Our armed struggle is a struggle to defeat a brutal regime and secure our survival as a nation. The Oromo struggle is waged for justice and equality but not for any extremist cause. It is not a terrorist attempt to disrupt civilian life.

We have to work hard to debunk the myth created by TPLF to hoodwink the world. TPLF lobbied with some success to label Oromo armed struggle as terrorism. However, after the end of the Bush administration, even the USA is noticing the fabrications and lies of the TPLF regime. Indeed, it is the TPLF regime that is a sponsor of state terrorism. We have to clearly state this fact with the support of numerous evidences we have collected. A regime whose sole purpose is corruption, ethnic cleansing and state terrorism cannot label the just struggle of the Oromo people as terrorism.

4. Cooperation with Other Ethiopians

It is not a secret that the TPLF regime has so far effectively used the “divide and conquer” policy of colonialists. TPLF is known for inciting intra and inter-ethnic conflicts. The past two decades have shown us that TPLF is becoming an expert in sowing discord and conflicts between the different nationalities in Ethiopia. It has instigated conflict between Oromos and other ethnic groups. It is even responsible for masterminding conflicts among the different clans of the Oromo people. All Oromos should recognize this TPLF trick and fight back.

We have to cooperate with other progressive forces in Ethiopia who are struggling for a regime change. We also need to assure minorities in Oromia that our struggle is for justice and equality but not for subjugating others. We need to redouble our efforts to have more allies in the struggle to get rid of TPLF. However, this does not mean that we will abandon the Oromo quest for freedom and liberation. It just means that instead of multiplying enemies we have to multiply our allies.

In conclusion, it is the writer’s view that Oromia has made a final call to all Oromos to mobilize our human and material capital to defeat the fascist regime of the TPLF. TPLF has to be defeated at any cost. The choice is ours, to live as free men and women or to continue being slaves in our own land.