Faisel A. Roble
April 1992

There are enough indications to suggest that Ethiopia is once again headed towards a civil war. A recent article in the Los Angeles Times which painted a bleak picture of the possibility of peace disturbed many Ethiopians in America. A civil war involving the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) and the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) will have far-reaching effects on the entire country since the Oromo regions are the bread basket of Ethiopia.

Despite the Charter’s explicit endorsement of the concept of regional autonomy or even a federal system, Ethiopia’s ethnic rivalry still remains to be a source of unrest.

The root cause of this animosity is a deep rooted mistrust between the OLF and the EPRDF. The OLF claims that the EPRDF is, like its predecessors, an organization of Amhara-Tigrean coalition seeking to dominate and exploit the fertile Oromo lands. An Oromo friend recently told me that Oromos, who make up 40% of the entire population, are fighting for control of their territory.

The issue of territorial control surfaced when in 1989 the EPRDF captured from the Derg several garrisons and towns in the rich western province of Wellega where most of the OLF leadership comes from. This move angered Oromo leaders and ultimately resulted in a bitter confrontation between the two. A prominent Oromo intellectual, Dr. Nukria Bulcha of the University of Upsala, Sweden blasted the EPRDF as an arrogant organization with an Amhara-Tigrean ideology. Again, a conference which the two held in Europe in 1990 resulted in nothing but further confrontation.

As far as the EPRDF is concerned, all the Oromo organizations, including the OLF–a major partner in the transitional government–are poorly organized to run the administration of their regions. Also, the EPRDF claims that the Charter empowers it to ensure the stability of the country and safety of non-Oromos in Oromo regions. To accomplish this, the EPRDF, with the collaboration of Oromo People’s Democratic Organization (OPDO), a member of its coalition, has established its presence in Oromo regions within the last nine months.

Any keen observer of Ethiopian affairs would see some merit in the competing positions. For example, it is no secret that the EPRDF would like to see Ethiopia minus Eritrea as a united states with the EPRDF coalition at the helm of power. Recent arrests of Somalis in Jijiga, Dirdaba, Kabridahar and Godie was a brazen effort by the government to establish its authority in this chaotic region. On the other hand, its move to reconcile warring Somali clans in the region is seen by many as a positive step. But Oromo organizations seem to resent any similar intervention from the EPRDF, even when non-Oromos, like Amharas, Hararis and Somalis are facing life threatening dangers from Oromo groups.

A case in point is the recent massacres by Oromos in Dirdaba, Arsi, and Harer which targeted innocent non-Oromo civilians in these Oromo regions. Although the OLF officially renounced these acts, such massacres are understood by many as the implicit policy of Oromo organizations which seek to drive non-Oromos out of the land the OLF calls the state of “Biya Oromia.”

Most Oromo organizations are discomforted by the idea that the EPRDF is a national organization. Nonetheless, Oromo organizations, far from being an alternative to the claim of the EPRDF, proved to be incapable of guaranteeing the security of citizens in their regions. Furthermore, the destruction of badly needed infrastructures upon which the food aid supply for over a million Somali returnees in the Ogaden and Bale is a repugnant act of terrorism.

As to resolving the contradiction between these two giants, there are only two roads to follow — war or peace. To know which road is best for the peoples of the region, one needs to speak to Khadija Said, a distant relative of mine whom I do not recognize but managed to call me collect from the border town of Moyale in Kenya and explained to me how she and her four sons are starving after her husband died in one of the regional wars. In a desperate and fading voice, she told me that she is in a position to cook a dead donkey for her kids if she can find one. With tears in my eyes, I promised her to send money through Nairobi. Concepts such as “national freedom” or “democracy”, as inalienable as they may be, are at the moment elusive to Khadija and thousands of people in the region. Bread and peace are not.

If the OLF leaders think that by disrupting the food aid supply to these people, particularly to the Ogaden, will hurt the EPRDF, well, they are dead wrong and their actions are unforgivable. Neither would the EPRDF be exonerated if it behaves like its predecessors and uses fire power to quell Oromo or any other insurgency. If both parties are interested in establishing a democratic system, they should do it peacefully. To resolve their differences through another civil war is certainly inexcusable.
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Faisal Roble is a City Planner for the City of Los Angeles.