Before the start of the current harvesting season, Dechasa, a father of five, was preparing his land for planting crops to provide for his family.
However, events did not unfold as he had hoped.
One day, while returning from the local market with other vendors, he was stopped by the police for an identification check.
Dechasa recounted, “Out of the seven of us, the police detained five, leaving two women behind. We were then taken to Kombosha, a city in the Guduru district.”
He continued, “After three days there, we were transported to Shambu City, located in the Horro Guduru Wollega zone. Upon our arrival, we were informed that we had been conscripted for militia training.”
According to the farmer, the police initially claimed the training would last only a few weeks.
“However, that training was unexpectedly extended to two months,” he emphasized. “This entire ordeal occurred without my consent.”
Due to the prolonged time Dechasa was forced to remain in training, he highlighted that the land he had plowed and prepared for planting remained barren, with no crops sown.
A human rights lawyer and researcher working for a local non-governmental organization that investigates human rights violations in the Horro Guduru Wollega Zone provided details about the implementation of Gachana Sirna at the grassroots level.
However, its correlation with human rights violations is particularly pronounced in Western Oromia, especially in the Horro Guduru Wollega Zone.
The human rights lawyer reported that farmers and youth who refuse to participate in Gachana Sirna and militia training face imprisonment, coercive training, denial of access to fertilizers and pesticides, torture while incarcerated, and exclusion from other government services.However, it is unlawful to coerce individuals into undergoing military training or to defend the ruling party. Those farmers who refuse to participate are denied access to fertilizers, pesticides, and other essential resources for their farming activities,
However, the lawyer emphasized that serious human rights violations are being committed in the Horo Guduru Wollega Zone under the pretext of implementing Gachana Sirna.
The lawyer urged the Oromia government to address issues of maladministration and to protect the rights of farmers who are being coerced into militia training without their consent and pressured to exchange training for agricultural inputs such as fertilizers and seeds.
