APC Conference from an Oromo angle

APC Conference from an Oromo angle

By Abba Magaal
July 26, 2003

---

Who was it who said, “history is not dead, it’s not even past”? How true it is. Today, some Ethiopians from certain sectors try to counsel us that, we, the Oromos, should forget about the past. They proclaim to us that the past is dead, it is marginal.

They tell us to just ignore what happened to us as a nation some hundred and plus years ago. They implore us to disremember about our subjugation and our fight for freedom to end it. They urge us not to honor our heroes who fought and died struggling against the Ethiopian imperial expansion. In the same vein they tell us this, they also say that we should celebrate their heroes, Menilik, Yohanes, Tewodros, etc, who massacred our people in millions. What an affront to our national sensibility and pride? They are adding insult to the injury that they have already caused. Mind-bogglingly they say this, in the same chapter they invite us to a dialogue.

Those who do not learn from history are apt to repeat it. Those who tell us to forget about the past do not want us to learn from the past. They want us to have a blank memory about the past because that will make it easier for them to take us back to status quo ante 1991. Thanks to the gallant Oromo sons and daughters our struggle has come a very long way. However piecemeal it had been, the Oromo people as a nation have reclaimed a lot of what had been taken away from us in the last hundred plus years. And there is no ways that we will relinquish at will these rights we grabbed back from them through our blood and toil. We do not want history to repeat again. And we do not want the past and current ugly history of domination and subjugation to be deleted from our memory. It is only by reminding ourselves about them that we can stand guard against the reemergence of such rule, and can proudly say, “never again” once we have done away with them.

As Oromos we do not want to be obsessed with the past to the extent of becoming oblivious of the present, and we do not want the past to be obstacle from finding solutions to chart our future. And we also understand that our common past history with Ethiopia cannot be an inspiration for future unity. But this does not mean we should forget the past. This is impossible and undesirable for the reason stated above. What we can do is only forgive, but forget, we cannot, and forgive we should. It should be understood that in any history and in history of nations more so, the present is intimately linked to the past. Today has no meaning if not based on yesterday or if not seen in connection with the past. There is no clean slate in history, and today is not cleanly cut and separated from yesteryears. Both are interwoven together. Thus, any political solution that would not take into account the way that this empire was formed and devise solutions accordingly is doomed to fail. For this purpose also the past becomes important and relevant to the present.

The attention of all political animals from Ethiopia this week is focused on Washington D.C., where All Party Conference will be held this weekend. And many Ethiopian web sites as a prologue to this new political chapter have carried different articles about it. And many, directly or indirectly, have invited the OLF to be part of this Conference. But except asking the OLF to shear off all its principles and join the crowd, non-of the writers have indicated what the other opposition forces should do in order for the OLF to join them and become part of this process. It is true that the OLF also like many Ethiopian opposition parties and organizations want the demise of this fascistic government that had killed many Oromos than any recent governments in Ethiopia. And, in fact, arguably, no other group is committed to bring about the downfall of this government as much as the OLF. But the common hatred that we have against this government is not adequate reason to be the basis for building coalition. And therefore, the OLF should fight the temptation of joining such a coalition driven by hatred it has for the EPRDF/TPLF.

Coalition that is based on mere hatred, or coalition that is formed just as an opposition to something, does not have a solid basis to thrive. For any type of coalition to flourish or bring any fruit it should be formed around some type of ideal or at least should have a short-term common program. The major common denomination that I currently see between OLF and the other Ethiopian opposition forces is largely their opposition to EPRDF. And when we scratch deeper to see why both groups oppose the EPRDF, we see that sometimes they are for diametrically opposite reasons. The Ethiopia groups oppose the EPRDF because it introduced what they call ethnic federalism, because of Artilce 39 of the Constitution, because of its land policy, because it allowed Qube (the Latin alphabet) for Oromo writing, because it did not pursue the war with Eritrea, and because it monopolized state power and did not allow the exercise of democratic rights. Except the last two, the rest is not in the interest of the Oromo. For example, contrary to the others, the OLF, not only supports the idea of the so-called ethnic federalism, in fact, it wants it to be perfected. It wants the present sham federalism to be replaced with true federalism where the power of the central government should be minimized, and the Oromo and other have true self-government. The criticism that the OLF has against EPRDF/TPLF’s federalism is not against the principle per se, but it’s against the way and who is implementing it. OLF does not believe that genuine federalism exists today in Ethiopia, and does not believe the minority government like TPLF can bring it about. The Ethiopian opposition on the other hand wants to get rid of federalism, or if they accept it, they want to implement it on provincial levels. This is a fundamental difference between other Ethiopian opposition forces and OLF that is difficult to bridge. And without bridging this gap or addressing this fundamental difference no meaningful coalition or talk could be conducted.

The above is given as one example of the fundamental difference that exists between the Ethiopian opposition force and OLF. There are also other basic issues where the oppositions and the OLF do not see eye to eye. Therefore, the OLF should outrightly reject the invitation extended to it to join the All Party Conference because it is basically rallying around the idea of reversing the gains that the Oromo people had acquired through their struggle at the downfall of the Dergue. Does this mean that the OLF should be against the formation of coalition with any of the Ethiopian opposition forces? The answer is No. On the contrary OLF should be more active than in the past and try to find or cultivate a force with which to ally against the EPRDF force. A new rapprochement should be initiated in earnest. And if finally an alliance becomes possible, such an alliance should be based on firm principle. It should be an alliance of forces which in the minimum accept the principle of self-determination, and should be an alliance of democratic forces which have the vision of solving the national question in Ethiopian through loose federation. As a gesture of compromise, and to enhance its credibility among non-Oromo forces, and to show that it is serious about solving our problem, the OLF should also boldly declare that it would suspend its total independence agenda, (notwithstanding that the Oromos have this right) and would accept the arrangement of loose federation for Oromia within Ethiopian context. This would be one giant step of compromise for the OLF, and non-extremist Ethiopian forces are also expected to reciprocate this in kind by accepting loose federation for Oromia. If after giving such concession, its bold initiative is rejected, the OLF will be justified to go with more radical ideas. Politics is an art of compromise, it is give and take, and it is not only the Oromos who should be expected to give compromise, this is expected from every side.

Any political initiative that does not have the support of the Oromo people, which is led by the OLF, is doomed from start or would eventually collapse. The All Party Conference even though could be a good first start to rally the Ethiopian opposition forces, would fail as a mechanism of finding lasting solution to the Ethiopia’s problem if it does not have the support of the OLF. It is high time that the Ethiopian forces realize that having some Oromo individuals or organization as members does not fool the Oromo people any long. Having Yilma Dheresa, or Dabala Dhinsa or OPDO did and will not save past and present regimes, and having Merera Gudina will also not be successful this time around. It is a time we leave behind such kind of political machination done for short-term political gain a la EPRDF, and engage in earnest in finding lasting solutions to our intricate political problems that have eluded us for the last hundred years.

Please send comments to [email protected]