Three-State Solution for Peace, Freedom and Democracy

Opinion: Roadmap to Creating a Three-State Solution for Lasting Peace, Freedom and Democracy in the Horn of Africa

This article will propose the creation of a three-state solution to the political standoff in Ethiopia. The creation of a three-state solution will undoubtedly end Abyssinian colonialism and ethno-racism in Ethiopia and in the larger Horn of Africa. This, in turn, will contribute to enduring peace and development in the region

Abyssinians are known to have no or little civil and democratic culture by means of which rights of everyone can be respected. This has been the main reason that has caused wars, conflicts, economic depravity and environmental degradation in ‘Ethiopia’. Besides the endless strife, Abyssinian forces have eroded the possibility of peoples’ peaceful co-existence in the region.

The viable alternative solution to North Ethiopia’s (Amhara and Tigray) natural incapability for freedom, democratization and peace is to create a three-state solution by any means possible. Here are the tentatively proposed names and members of the three states – three states means three sovereign countries:

STATE ONE: The Federal Democratic State of South Ethiopia or South Ethiopia, in short, will be comprised of these states which share the same history of suffering colonialism, genocide and economic exclusion under the Abyssinian rulers ( Amhara and Tigre):

i. State of Oromia
ii. State of Afar
iii. State of Ogadenia (Somalia)
iv. State of Benishangul/ Gumuz
v. State of Gambella
vi. State of Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples

A national president, regional presidents and regional and capital cities of South Ethiopia (SE) will be democratically determined by the member states. The branches of government will be drawn from all member states through elections and voting systems.

STATE TWO: The State of Tigray. This state will be formed as a break-away state from Abyssinia because it is proven that Amharas and Tigres will never agree on power sharing and alliance forming issues. They are historical enemies. Since this state advances Tigrayan ethno-national supremacy, it won’t be accepted by the TWO STATES. It forms a state on its own as a result.

STATE THREE: The Republic of Amharia (Amhara). While the ordinary people of these nations are naïve and poor like all others, they have been manipulated for centuries by Amhara elites to wage wars against members of STATE ONE and STATE TWO. Amhara elites have been indoctrinating and preaching to the Amhara nation that they are the only people responsible to keep Ethiopia together. Being an Ethiopian in this sense is equated with being an ethno-national Amhara. For centuries, these elites have fomented wars and conflicts and underdeveloped the country on their watch. It has also been proven for over a century that former leaders from the Amhra ethno-nation were incapable of creating a country that is free and democratic for all. The Tigryans are also incapable of the same. Amhra emperors and the intellectuals from this group have proven track records of operating in the guise of the words “Ethiopia” and “Ethiopianism” by setting up preposterous political parties. The political parties with Ethiopian prefixes or suffixes have merely born the name of the country, but populated by purely Amhara or brainwashed and assimilated pro-Amhara supremacist groups and individuals. To create a lasting peace in the Horn of Africa, this nation must form the State of Amhara or Amharia on its own and revert to feudalism and creating secret societies.

For a long time, I have thought about how to end conflict, war, famine, injustice, colonialism and ethno-racism in Ethiopia; from experience, I always come to one conclusion that Abyssinians, who operate under the guise of ‘Ethiopia’ and ‘Ethiopianism’ and teach hatred, represent only the interests of Amhara or Tigire ethno-nations’ economic and power supremacy. Because these entrenched undemocratic and supremacist culture and views amongst Abyssinians, it is impossible for member states of South Ethiopia (SE) to be forcefully kept into the current colonialist and ethno-racist state of Ethiopia, which represents merely minority interests. Peace, democracy and freedom are impossible to attain as long as the Amhara and Tigre elites are in political and economic power in Ethiopia. National elections before the dissolution and recreation of the proposed new nations will continue to be sham as they will be won by the gun-wielding Abyssinian groups. South Ethiopians must not expect anything out of the 2010 National Election and elections beyond that as long as extremist Tigrians elites are not disarmed or as long as they stay in the guise of Ethiopia, propped up by their monopolized “national army”.

Ethiopia ‘ruthlessly targeting’ and torturing Oromo people, says Amnesty

Damning report says thousands of people from country’s largest ethnic group are subjected to abuse including rape and killings

Ethiopia has “ruthlessly targeted” and tortured its largest ethnic group owing to a perceived opposition to the government, Amnesty International has said.

Thousands of people from the Oromo ethnic group have been “regularly subjected to arbitrary arrest, prolonged detention without charge, enforced disappearance, repeated torture and unlawful state killings,” according to a damning report based on more than 200 testimonies. “Dozens of actual or suspected dissenters have been killed.”

Oromo Liberation Front (OLF).

At least 5,000 Oromos have been arrested since 2011 often for the “most tenuous of reasons”, for their opposition – real or simply assumed – to the government, the report added.

Many are accused of supporting the rebel Oromo Liberation Front (OLF).

Former detainees who have fled the country and were interviewed by Amnesty in neighbouring Kenya, Somaliland and Uganda described torture “including beatings, electric shocks, mock execution, burning with heated metal or molten plastic and rape, including gang-rape”, the report added.

One young girl said hot coals had been dropped on her stomach because her father was suspected of supporting the OLF, while a teacher described how he was stabbed in the eye with a bayonet after he refused to teach “propaganda about the ruling party” to students.

There was no immediate response from the government, which has previously dismissed such reports and denied any accusation of torture or arbitrary arrests.

“The Ethiopian government’s relentless crackdown on real or imagined dissent among the Oromo is sweeping in its scale and often shocking in its brutality,” the Amnesty researcher Claire Beston said.

“This is apparently intended to warn, control or silence all signs of ‘political disobedience’ in the region,” she added, describing how those she interviewed bore the signs of torture, including scars and burns, as well as missing fingers, ears and teeth.

With nearly 27 million people, Oromia is the most populated of the country’s federal states and has its own language, Oromo, which is distinct from Ethiopia’s official Amharic language.

Some of those who spoke to Amnesty said people had been arrested for organising a student cultural group. Another said she was arrested because she delivered the baby of the wife of a suspected OLF member.

Final Press Release: The Founding of Peoples’ Alliance oor Freedom and Democracy (PAFD)

Delegates of Benishangul People’s Liberation Movement (BPLM), Gambella People’s Liberation Movement (GPLM), Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) and Sidama National Liberation Front (SNLF) met in Oslo, Norway from 22 October to 23 October 2015 to lay the foundation of political alliance between the peoples in Ethiopia and have formed the Peoples Alliance for Freedom and Democracy (PAFD).

The PAFD will create an opportunity for all peoples in Ethiopia to co-create a transitional political order that is based on the consent of all peoples, where the outmoded hegemonic culture of a single group dominating the rest is dismantled and a new just political order is established, where the respect of the right to self-determination is genuinely granted to all.

PAFD will conduct diplomatic, advocacy, information and other campaigns to change the current undemocratic political culture and oppressive system in Ethiopia.

PAFD will have a Governing Council (GC) composed of representatives of the political leadership of the founding organisations and members representing the civil societies of the respective communities.

The Governing Council will elect an Executive Committee (EC), a chairperson and two vice-chairpersons that rotate yearly among the organization members. The Executive Committee will be the standing committee and will have the bureaus of diplomacy, organization, finance, information and others.

PAFD call upon all peoples in Ethiopia to join the alliance and support it in order to end the suffering and dehumanization of all peoples in Ethiopia by the current government. PAFD call upon the regional and international communities, to play a positive role in diffusing this looming danger by supporting the peoples in Ethiopia rather than the illegitimate government before it is too late.

Finally, PAFD call upon the current government in Ethiopia to refrain from all acts of violence, respect human rights, obey the rule of law, and commit to peaceful and democratic resolution of political conflicts.

Issued by PAFD

Caffee Oromiyaa Should Stop Handing Over Major Oromian Towns to TPLF

Caffee Oromiyaa Should Stop Handing Over Major Oromian Towns to TPLF

 A Statement of Qeerroo Bilisummaa Opposing the Addis Ababa Master Plan Approved by Caffee Oromiyaa Finfinnee (Addis Ababa)

Stop Handing Over Major Oromian Towns to TPLF

The so called “Parliament of the Oromia Regional State” aka Caffee Oromiyaa has currently rectified the so called Addis Ababa Integrated Developmental Master Plan which is prepared by the TPLF led federal government to evict Oromo farmers from their ancestral land and control several Oromo towns and eventually dismantle the state of Oromia. The National Youth Movemnet for Freedom and Democracy (NYMFD) aka Qeerroo Bilisummaa Oromoo strongly condemns this plan and hereby releases the following seven-point statement declaring to mobilize Oromo youth for an intensified resistance and protest to stop its implementation. This so called Master Plan is declared as an organized campaign by the minority Tigrean led federal government of Ethiopia to exterminate and assimilate the Oromo as an indigenous people and destroy and dismantle our homeland Oromia and control our natural resources. The so called proclamation is exclusively prepared by the TPLF elite circles and presented to the so called Caffee Oromia Parliament, which is composed of members of the so called Oromo People’s Democratic Organization (OPDO), an organization which is nominally considered as part of the ruling EPRDF party but in essence under the complete control of the Tigrean People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). As expected, the Caffee Oromian Parliament, on its conference of October 1 – 3, 2015, has approved a more extended plan not only to expand the capital Addis Ababa to include several neighboring Oromo towns but also to put several Oromian towns beyond the reach of the capital under the TPLF/EPRDF federal administration. Nothing more is expected from this parliament as its members are cherry-picked from some Oromo speaking dummies by TPLF elites through the so called 2015 sham election in which the EPRDF declared 100% victory. Qeerroo Bilisummaa Oromoo condemns this evil plan in the strongest possible terms and will wage a bitter and Oromia wide struggle to stop its This declaration of “Master Plan” can be seen as a declaration of war on the Oromo people. It is intended not only to take away Oromo land and resources but also to destroy the Oromo culture, language, and identity and dismantle our ancestral land Oromia and eradicate the Oromo people from the face of the earth. The organization of Qeerroo Bilisummaa Oromoo, Oromo youth, Oromo students and the Oromo people in general once again strongly denounce this plan and will do everything possible to stop its implementation. The Ethiopian Federal government had attempted to pass this so called Addis Ababa Master Plan in 2014 to control and to incorporate several big towns such as Ambo, Jimma, Mattu, Nekemte, Ghmbi, Waliso, Adama, Shashemene, Haromaya and others. At that time Qeerroo Bilisummaa and Oromo students submitted a nine-point appeal to all concerned government bodies. Since our appeal fell on deaf ears, we opposed the plan by igniting an Ormia-wide protest in which at least 280 Oromo students have been killed hundreds more wounded and tens of thousands jailed and tortured. The current declaration approved by Caffee Oromiyaa is done on the graves of the lives hundreds of Oromo school children killed in 2014 in opposition of the same plan. It is a declaration intended to be implemented through the barrel of the gun and by way of terrorizing the Oromo public. It is a historical crime against humanity and Caffee Oromiyaa and the TPLF government will be responsible for its consequences. It is imperative that the entire Oromo people throughout the world not only strongly condemn but also stand in unison and resist and prevent it from being implemented. Qeerroo Bilisummaa therefore is determined to stand on the way of this evil plan and fight for the right of our people and hereby declare the following seven-point resolutions. 1. We members of Oromo youth and Qeerroo hereby declare to wage and intensify an Oromia-wide protest of the Oromo people opposing the so called Master Plan of the TPLF led Ethiopian regime currently approved by the so called Caffee Oromiyaa who claims to represent the Oromo people. We will strongly support the voices of the Oromo youth recently manifested at Lake Arsadi (Bishoftu) Irreechaa festival and at Malkaa Ateetee Irreechaa event in Burayyuu through various traditional songs and slogans denouncing the Master Plan and uphold the resolutions informally passed by Oromo youth on those events. 2. We call upon the Oromian Regional Administration and Caffee Oromian Parliament to immediately nullify and stop the Master Plan and extended plan to give away and sell Oromian towns as approved on October 1 – 3, 2015. We hereby declare that the so called Caffee Oromian Parliament does not in any way represent the Oromo people and does not speak for the Oromo people. Therefore, any resolution passed, including the current master plan, is null and void. If Caffee Oromian Parliament doesn’t cancel this plan, the Oromo people should stand up and request for this body to be legally responsible for the historical crimes it committed on the Oromo generation. 3. We reiterate that Caffee Oromian Parliament will be solely responsible for the crimes of killing, abduction, arrest, torture that have been committed by the TPLF/EPRDF government on the Oromo people and other oppressed people of the Ethiopian Empire and that are yet to be committed as a consequence of the resistance of the Oromo public. 4. We call upon the Oromo youth, Oromo civil servants, Oromo farmers, Oromo students, Oromo health professionals, members of Oromian police, Oromos who serve in the military of the regime to hold members of Caffee Oromian Parliament represented in your area responsible for their actions of crimes in the name of being their “representatives”. 5. We cannot keep silent while our homeland Oromia is dismantled; our land is sold to transnational investors; our people are incarcerated, tortured and killed in mass on a daily basis; our students are dismissed from school, our farmers are evicted from their ancestral land; and the lives of millions of

Human rights organization says Ethiopian govt paramilitary commits torture, rape in Oromia

HRLHA Urgent Action

October , 2015

TPLF govt paramilitary commits torture, rape in Oromia

Harassment and intimidation through arbitrary arrests, beatings, torture and rapes were committed in Ada’a Berga district, Western Showa Zone of Oromia Regional State against young Oromo nationals on September 24 and 25, 2015. More than 30 young Oromos were picked up from their homes at night by an Oromia Ethiopian government paramilitary force.

According to HRLHA informants in Ada’a Berga, the major targets of this most recent District Administration officials-sponsored violence were mostly young Oromos working in the Dangote Cement Factory and university students who were there to visit their families during the Summer break. HRLHA informants from the area confirmed that this particular operation against young Oromo nationals in Ada’a Barga was led by the local government official Obbo Tolera Anbasse.

In this incident, more than 30 young Oromos (16-25 ages) were arrested; more than 20 were severely beaten by the Oromia Ethiopian government Paramilitary and confined in the Ada’a Barga district Police station for three days in violation of the Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Article 19 (3) “Persons arrested have the right to be brought before a court within 48 hours of their arrest. Such time shall not include the time reasonably required for the journey from the place of arrest to the court. On appearing before a court, they have the right to be given prompt and specific explanation of the reasons for their arrest due to the alleged crime committed.”

Although it has been difficult to identify everyone by their names, HRLHA informants have confirmed that the following were among the arrestees:

1) Rabbirraa Gaarradoo
2) Fiqaaduu Amaaraa
3) Tasfaayee Dalasaa
4) Biraanuu siyyumee
5) Tolasaa Guutamaa
6) Muluu Balaachoo
7) Alamuu G/mariyam
8) Abbush Masfiin
9) Daniel Taarraqany
10) Fiqaaduu Tolasaa
11) Biraanuu Dabalaa
12) Katanga Baayyuu
13) Fayyisaa Raggaanee
14) Kaasahun Baqqalaa
15) Alamuu Ajjabii
16) Nuwaay Tasfaayee
17) Lataa Taaddasaa

All arrestees were accused of what the police referred to as “instigating the public against the government.”

When the arrestees were brought to court, one man explained to the court that he had been beaten severely in front of his family members and his wife and his sister age 16 were raped by one of the paramilitary members.

We and Them (Oromo and the Colonizer) | Nuu fi Isaan (Oromoo fi Koloneeffataa)

“You have no calf muscle; how can you kick the ground boy?

You have no cooperation; how can you hurt others boy?” *

Unbearable colonial abuse that included attempt to erase history, culture, language and tradition of the Oromo made people to rise in struggle. That is why while continuing the struggle for birth right, to adopt relevant principles from the Gadaa system should not be overlooked. When the Oromo youth rose for the national liberation struggle, their people’skaayyoo and who enemies and friends are, were clear to them. That has been put down in the political program of their vanguard organization, the OLF. Then, there was visible cairn between enemy and friends. Leadership prerogatives were also set. With time, everything started to get murkier and jumbled up. Now, there is hesitation to distinguish between friends and enemies; leadership term and power limit, functionaries and members rights and duties became beyond definition. We are losing common understanding to whom to say “We” and “They”. Therefore, it is incumbent on the youth that feels concerned about affairs of their people to start debating seriously. In olden days, a Gadaa never outstays its term. Each incoming Gadaa proclaims new laws or proclaim the existing ones as its own. No one was above the law. That is a principle to be emulated. Now, that the Gadaa legally and culturally belong to the youth, the duty to pull the nation out of the confusion rests with them. Those who can do this are those who are part of the process and are contributing to people’s struggle. How the Oromo struggle is being handled by different quarters these days is worrisome. Hence, everyone has to self-examine in good faith and come up with suggestions on how to find a solution. All Oromo leading personalities have duty and responsibility to help in leading towards that end.

Those who considered themselves as “We” in Oromummaa can be seen as concentric circles. The small circle near to the center can be considered as the family. After that, it develops to “balbala”, clan, tribe and nation. It means, the nation is the outer circle that embraces all. In each circle, there could be points that refer to each other as “we” and “they”. In all circles, there could be different points of character, faiths, counties and regions. Those differences are adopted after birth and can also be changed. For the wise, the differences can benefit in overall strengthening of the circles, but in the hands of the evil, they could bring catastrophe. At any level, if points in a circle demand higher loyalty than the circle or the concentric circles, it means something is wrong; it has to be fixed fast. If difference outweighs unity of the nation, it will have a disastrous consequence.

One is born with Oromummaa and it is not something one can wash away; its gene passes from generation to generation. Even with this truth Oromummaa is not surging forward to be the guiding outlook for all. Confusion and temptations spread by enemy propaganda is creating new version of legendary “Ladder of Arroojii” or The Tower of Babel where failed to the same language. Among activists there are those who are not self-conscious and also lack self-confidence. The people are great people that had share in pre-Christian civilizations. They had democratic culture if not the greatest, not inferior to any known so far. They are the biggest in numbers among those in the region. They have significant natural resources. No one will blame them for knowledge, skill, love of peace and bravery. No one preceded them in monotheism. But those that move in their name do not reflect all those qualities. Rather they humiliate Oromummaa by being despised rather than feared; be led rather than leading; show meanness rather than humility; rather than appearing graceful by coordinating own people, to replace it, they prefer gathering around them trifles that reperesent no one. For these reason visible and potential capabilities of this people is not utilized. What is to be done? How can it be possible to pull out from this humiliation? Those whose conscience cannot bear such humiliation have to think over. There is no alternative to putting ones house in order before stretching hands yonder.

Oromummaa embraces the circles of regionalism, faith, tribalism etc. For this reason it means loyalty to it has priority over all others for Oromo individuals. Any relation with all those referred to as, “They” should not contradict such loyalty. Otherwise it could result in separating from the hoard and favoring the enemy. Our colonizer is our enemy. For us enemy means one that puts individuals or nations under control or helps to put under control without their consent and orders on their body and resources at will and also denies their human and national rights and identity by forcing them to live under one with cruelty. Our enemy defiled our boundary. We are different in origin, language; country, vision, interest and objective. We are the invaded and they the invaders. We are the oppressed and they are the oppressors. We are kin they are aliens.

That is why it is said, if our being “We” is not guarded airtight we can never avoid abuse. This is the way Oromo view themselves. For the Habasha elites, present day Oromiyaa is their own territory from time immemorial; Oromo are invaders that came to this area in 16th century from uncertain origin that include rivers etc. Oromo had never had central authority so should not be considered as one nation. The do not deserve more than respect for their individual rights. These are ideas their ideologue daftaraa (clerics) inculcated in them for centuries and reinforced by chauvinist Nafxanyaa cadres of the present day. As a result they do not recognize the rights Oromo claim. This package is what Oromo in cahoots with them have accepted and abandoned the national question whose response could empower Oromo as an independent nation. That is why people say their move is doomed to failure.

So far we are continuing being persecuted for failing to show commitment and determination for cause of Oromummaa in unison. We had never seen when those that abandoned us in misery and run to those we call “They” flourished. It is only when the similar are put together that they become adorable. We are told that peoples of the world have become interdependent more than ever. However we are not told that every one of them gives priority to their own people’s interest. To amass more power and profit all advance by crushing the weak and never say “Oh my!” and help them up to walk them. Be it to get upper hand or to scape being stampeded those that have advantage are those that have strong unity and are well prepared. Now no one has to tell us how we organize ourselves and methods we use for our struggle that is our own part. We started our struggle because we believed that Oromo should first be liberated before entering competition with the world. It is only one that dares to distinguish between “We” and “They” that can get ready for it.

Instead of raising their own people’s level of consciousness so that they get their proper place there are many that chose to align with the enemy and improve own profile. So far many nationalists have tried in earnest to reveal the existing truth. Even them they tried to whisper through conspiratorial gagging and could not thunder as they were expected. The rest instead of magnifying and passing this frail voice preferred to murmur to themselves. Many Oromo worry about public opinion despite losing their country, honor and their identity. They do not realize that the public has no opinion for one who has nothing. That does not mean they are not angry, rather they are living with suppressed rage. Unless they release that, they will continue being played upon by a minority.

Therefore their solution is to rise from where they have fallen and shake off the parasitic enemy. Unless all roar and shout together for the abuse they are suffering from and deny others quite sleep no one will pay attention to their suffering. Only those that feel the pain of contempt and humiliation are outraged. There are those that ducked saying “You bend and make time and missiles to pass over you.” But missiles were sent down from above. It is only by actively standing against missiles that one can fend it off. To shit on oneself for inescapable death is to live with shame. The nation’s shame is honor for the enemy. It will continue shaming Oromo by dismantling, dispersing, impoverishing and dehumanizing them unless they awake in time and counter it. .

The Oromo Concept of Reality or Dhugaa-Ganama

The first condition necessary in order to understand about “the” Dhugaa-Ganama (i.e. “the” Absolute Truth) is to refer to the Oromo concept of jireenya, that is, existence or the fact that things exist. (Note that the Afaan Oromo terms, le’ii and leetoo, are roughly equivalent to jireenya both in meaning and content). In the Oromo system of knowledge, the understanding and interpretation of the world, of oneself, and other people essentially take as their starting point the concept of jireenya— existence — with reference to jiruu-fi-jireenya-nama — ontological characteristic of human being. As such, the Oromo concept of Reality can best be subsumed under three broad concepts (a) Uumaa (Cosmology); (b) Waaqa (Undifferentiated-Being); and (c) Saffu (Human Ontology).

(A) The Concept of Uumaa — Cosmology

Uumaa is the totality of the created universe. The very term Uumaa, which derives from the verbuumuu, literally meaning “to create”, refers to all that is created — non-living things, living entities, and spiritual beings. Yet, the Oromo notion of Uumaa is not something static, but a continuous process. In order to understand, one needs first to grasp the way the concept of Waaqa has an inextricable link to the dynamic notion of Uumaa.

(B) The Concept of Waaqa — Undifferentiated-Being

The Oromo concept of Waaqa is crystal clear: The first Being was Waaqa. It must be noted that the very term Waaqa, with a capital W, should not be mistaken for waaqa, with a small w. As opposed to the former, which is under discussion, the latter simply means sky or heaven. Unlike Waaqa,waaqa is necessarily synonymous with samii, that is, heaven. (Bartles, 1990, pp. 89-111; Knutson, 1967, pp. 47-48; Geleta Koro, 2008, pp. 407, 449, 925) He continues to exist and is absolute, eternal, and infinite. Waaqa is the sustaining power of all that is. However, although Waaqa is often conceived of as the absolute unity, He is also many. (Bartles, 1990, p. 114) This is due to the notion of Ayyaanaa — the immaterial principle which determines the essence of all individual entities. In Oromo philosophical thought, everything emanates from Waaqa in the form of Ayyaanaa.Ayyaanaa can loosely be defined as an immaterial principle that underlies Uumaa and determines the essence of all individual entities as well as their common properties. As G. Dahl argues, as immaterial principle, Ayyaanaa “is decisive for the character and fate of … [every]entity.” (Dahl, 1996, p. 167) Therefore, Bartle’s critical observation is correct in that “Mountains and trees, days, months and seasons, every man and his lineage –all have their own ayana. These ayana rule our lives; they make us what we are – ayana are conceived of as beings.” (Bartles, 1990, p. 113) Joseph van de Loo also affirms this depiction when he defines Ayyaanaa as the “invisible part of being, the spirit.” (Joseph van de, 1991, p. 141).

The main implication of these contentions is that everything that exists, whether as material entity or as abstract value, has its own Ayyaanaa. Accordingly, in the Oromo concept of Reality, it would be absurd to make a complete distinction between a thing and its character. Every existent being, whether actual or abstract, cannot be conceptualized without Ayyaanaa. Whatever exists has this property called Ayyaanaa. Ayyaanaa is inherent in every created individual entity. All created things are distinguished from each other by means of Ayyaanaa. From what Dahl points out it is thus justifiable that:

The traditional [sic] cosmology of the Oromo is built around a “quasi-platonic” division between the real world and the world of ideas or principles. Everything that exists in the material world as well as in the form of abstract values, has its correspondence in the form of an immaterial principle (ayaana) which is decisive for the character and fate of that entity. (Dahl, 1996, p. 167)

Yet, the philosophical question is: How can one explain the problem of one-many or the question of change-permanence, especially as this relates to the philosophical question of existence-freedom, if Ayyaanaa is conceived of as some-thing that determines the essence of every individual entity? To properly answer this question, we need to have a clear understanding of the Oromo concepts of Waaqa and Saffu, respectively.

Waaqa is the ultimate source of all that is. It is essential to note, as Bartles suggests, that the very term Waaqa would better be rendered as Divinityrather than what is meant by the English word ‘Supreme Being,’ ‘God,’ or ‘Creator.’ The main reason, he argues:

It comprises more, since it includes countless particular manifestations of Waqa in this world, particularizations of his creative work which are conceived as beings. Hence the word ‘divinity’ will often be a better translation than ‘God’. “Divinity … can be used to convey to the mind at once a being, a kind of nature or existence, and a quality of that kind of being; it can be made to appear more substantive or qualitative, more personal or general, in connotation, according to the context … (Bartles, 1990, p. 89)

In a similar vein, Knutsson himself points out the epistemological difficulty inherent in the Oromo concept of Waaqa. “It is inadvisable to translate waka by the word God, which in most western theological traditions connotes ideas of unity and independence.” (Knutsson, 1967, p. 49) Thus, he also suggests the use of the term Divinity instead of God.

Without demeaning Bartles and Knutsson’s respected contentions, however, I would like to offer a philosophical explanation of the reason why the term Undifferentiated-Being conveys a better translation than the term Divinity. First, what must be borne in mind is that the way the very termWaaqa itself is often qualified by the adjective guraacha, literally meaning “black”. In the Oromo view, the term “black” adds the notion of originality. It shows the unknown origin of Waaqa. As Dahl affirms, Waaqa “is black, gura’acha, an expression that essentially summarizes the notions of uninterferedness, originality and lack of distinction. ‘Everything flows out of this undifferentiated state in the form of ayaana.’” (Dhal, 1996, p. 169) Therefore, unlike other thinkers, I am forced to render the word Waaqa as Undifferentiated-Being instead of Divinity. (In the works of Knutsson, Bartles, and Dahl, there is a tendency to render the term Waaqa as Divinity. This is due to the influence of G. Lienhardt’s work, Divinity and Experience, on the Dinka religion and in which Lienhardt “met with similar difficulties in translation” for the word nihalic. For more detail, see Bartles, 1990, p. 89; Knutson, 1967, pp. 47-53; Dahl, 1996, p. 170)

Second, it would be absurd to separate the notion of Ayyaanaa from the concept of Undifferentiated-Being. This is mainly due to the Oromo’s concept of creation. As Dahl argues, the Oromo view of “cosmology, ecology and human ontology is one of the flow of life emanating from Divinity [i.e. Undifferentiated-Being].” (Dahl, 1996, p. 167) This contention has one important implication: The Dynamic aspect of Oromo’s view of creation. As I have stated above, the Oromo notion of creation is that it is not static, but a continuous process. “It would be wrong to regard creation as something which for Oromo was a matter of once and for all. With their conception of time, the act of creation (umaa) is still there: it continues as characteristic of the agent of creation.” (Dahl, 1996, p. 167)

Accordingly, the Undifferentiated-Being is not only the Uumaa’s ratio d’être, but also that ofAyyaanaa’s; despite the fact that the character and fate of everything is determined by the latter ― Ayyaanaa. Therefore, it would be wrong to mistake the reality conceived of the author is calling theUndifferentiated-Being for Ayyaanaa, although the two concepts are not mutually exclusive. It must be remembered that the latter is always conceived of as some-thing of the former. As Bartles points out, Ayyaanaa is Undifferentiated-Being, but it cannot be said that the reverse is true. He argues:

The crucial difference is that Waqa is invoked by everyone universally since he is concerned with all, while an ayana, linked as it is to a particular person, animal or plant, is only invoked and feared by those who linked to it either by nature or free choice. It is ‘something of Waqa’ in a person, an animal or plant making them the way they are: a particular manifestation of the divine, of Waqa as creator and as source of all life.We see the ayana as flowing out of Waqa in a way, filling the whole of creation, filling every creature whose ayana they are, making them the way they are, both inside and outside. But the ayana remain invisible to human eyes. What is visible in man is not his ayana. This visible aspect of man is rather formed and conditioned by his ayana: his ayana manifests itself in it. (Bartles, 1990, pp. 115, 118-19; Also see Sumner, 1995, p. 33)

In a similar vein, Knutson argues that “waka is the most comprehensive … It Includes ayana.” (Knutson, 1967, p. 48)

Suspension of the Executives of the Cooperative Bank of Oromia | Open Letter to the Policymakers at the National Bank of Ethiopia

Teferi Mergo (Prof.)

A Few Questions to the Policymakers at the National Bank of Ethiopia

Re: Suspension of the Executives of the Cooperative Bank of Oromia

In a baffling decision, you have suspended the top officials of the Cooperative Bank of Oromia (CBO) for reasons that have not yet been made clear to the public. The news that they were sacked “due to alleged mishandling of foreign exchange trade” cannot be taken seriously until further evidences emerge. During one of my recent trips to Ethiopia, I had the opportunity once to meet the President of the bank – Obbo Wondimagegnehu Nagaraa – who, by many accounts, is credited with rescuing an ailing institution headed in the wrong direction, and making it the fastest growing bank in the country, by all indicators.

I realize that supervising and regulating banks and other financial institutions are some of your core responsibilities, although judging by how rampant inflation has been in the country, you have failed in the most important function for which you were established – devising and implementing sound monetary policies. Your regulatory role would, I hope, aim mainly to ensure (I’m copying here from a certain publicly available document of the US Federal Reserve for the sake of brevity), “the safety and soundness of financial institutions, stability in the financial markets, and fair and equitable treatment of consumers in their financial transactions.” In order to meet these objectives, you are empowered by appropriate laws to undertake a number of specific functions, including: an assessment of the regulated banks’ financial conditions, riskiness of their business activities, accounting and auditing practices, compliance with consumer protection laws, compliance in matters pertaining to their fiduciary activities and information technology, and others.

The CBO is a bank par excellence by any standard, impressively contributing to the economic and social development of the country, despite being established much later than Awash, Dashen, Abyssinia, Wegagen, United, and Nib. It is the third most-profitable privately-owned bank in the country next only to Dashen and Awash, creating enormous value for its shareholders. The robust expansion of its branch network is also another indicator of how brilliantly the bank has been performing in its short span of existence – it has 146 branches and counting – a network that only Awash and Dashen could match and exceed. Abyssinia and Wegagen have about 130 and 120 branches respectively, even though they started their operations nearly ten years before the CBO was launched.

What makes these achievements even more remarkable is CBO’s choice of its branch locations and the type of customers it is serving. Whereas all the other privately owned financial institutions are concentrated in urban areas, the CBO is providing crucial financial services in the rural parts of the country, reaching communities that have been largely severely underserved, successfully adopting a business model that ought to be encouraged and emulated, not discouraged. The bank has less than a quarter of all its branches operating in the capital, where over 50% of all the branches of the remaining private banks are located. The bulk of CBO’s customers are thus small