Facing
the Challenge of Extreme Nationalism in Ethiopia
Abay Beneberu Qeneni
March
2002
PART II
I
concluded the first part of this article by calling attention to at
least five points when thinking about an independent Oromia. Here are
the five points:
Firstly,
to which ”pure” Oromo does Oromia belong? I remember an Ethiopian
man of literature, whose name I do not recall, replying in an interview
to the same question: ”How can we be sure as to who passed by the door
of our grand mothers?” As you know, even the star actors have not been
found to be ’pure’. If we hesitate until some one tells us such
details that the OLF’s Abiyou Geleta’s mother is Gojjam Amhara, the
AAPO’s Hailu Shawl’s mother is a Wollo Oromo, etc., we may be
forgiven for having sinned against Jesus Christ’s edict (which is also
venerated by the Prophet Mohamed) that commands us to ”believe without
seeing”.
Consider the racial-ethnic and
cultural-religious intermingling and social interaction that took place
during the north ward expansion (I will come back to why I do not call
it an invasion) of the Adal Sultanate’s Imam Ahmed ibn Ibrahim al
Ghazi- nicknamed Ahmed the Left handed or Gragn
Mohamed– starting in the early 16th Century (1520s),
without, of course, forgetting the era of Yekunu Amlak’s grand son,
Amde Tsion (1314-1344) whose territory extended to the southern, eastern
and western frontiers. Such famous emperors as Zere Ya’iqob, his heir
Be’edä Mariam and his grand son Libne Dengel, who began to call
themselves Solomonites in the second round (1270), were married to
princesses from the Royal family of the Hadiya Kingdom. The example set
by them was followed by the aristocracy and extended farther down to the
ordinary people. The Metcha-Tullema Oromos, who are believed to stem
from the Borena ethnic group, migrated north and west wards after the
death of Imam Ahmed (Mohamed Gragn)
in 1543 to control, through the use of force, the areas that are today
inhabited by Oromifa speakers. In the process, they mixed and
assimilated with the majority local population in such areas as Wollo,
Gonder, Gojjam, so much so that they are today known as Amharas for they
speak Amharic. The same goes for Oromos in other areas, too, where after
assimilating as minorities, they are known today by the name of the
community into which they integrated.
When Menelik’s army was expanding to the
south, east and west in the 19th century and establishing
state structures (1875-1900), it was also fulfilling the task of tying
the people closer through marriages and religious conversion, a task
made easier by the wide spread integration that took place earlier. This
project has never ceased until now, though slower at times and faster at
others. One can imagine the extent to which this uninterrupted centuries
old ‘tradition’ of migrating, as individuals or groups, (through
campaigns, hunting, trade, education, public or self-employment, etc.)
has contributed to integrating the population. One instructive example
in this regard are certain elements of the Oromo culture that have
facilitated the process of integration: [Gudifetcha] allows one to adopt a child, irrespective of its origin,
and bring it up as one’s own; Harmaa
hoppa has the socio-economic function of adopting one as de
facto father or mother; Konissa
or Sahibaa a mutual commitment /oath that brings one into the fold of
another as kinsfolk including the right to inherit land.
Such cultural and social interactions have
always been a feature of our entire society with only minor differences.
Therefore, despite the best efforts of the ethnic leaders and extremist
nationalists – themselves with a portion of Amhara, Guragé, Hadiya,
etc. blood in their veins – trying to present themselves as first
among equals representing the Amhara, Oromo, Tigré, Sidama, etc., they
have not achieved much more than mockery. That is why ethnic politics
lost its mystique and respectability.
Our extremists are so blinded by self-aggrandizement
that they cannot reply to their own conscience let alone to others, if
asked as to how they will deal with kinsmen and women of mixed marriages
who attach equal value to the heritages from both parents and therefore
are not prepared to choose between their fathers and mothers. I do not
believe that these mixed Ethiopians take lightly a recent communiqué
from former OLF leaders on the future of minority nationalities and
peoples in an independent Oromia that originated in the land of the
free, America, and dismiss it as a case of the cart coming before the
horse. I have a hunch that those to whom the communiqué is meant to be
a consolation will be amused. This is because the things that should
have been mentioned as a matter of priority were not, namely, that
would-be-minorities are kin to the Oromo; that they are one people; that
the objectives of the struggle are to ensure justice and secure a common
country where rights will be respected, as well as convince people of
this.
However, it takes credible work and working
with credible people to achieve credibility- standing and being counted
among forces with an agenda for Ethiopia. Any thing short of this is
irrelevant. The slogan (“an independent Oromia or death… even for a
single day”) is music to Woyané
ears. The communiqué confirms that the OLF has not moved forward an
inch. In a nutshell, if secession were perforce to take place it is
those who issued the communiqué, not the Tigré, who should be worried.
The latter will not be alone in the event that such a development
occurs; in fact, it will be a moment of joy for them. The extent to
which the toiling masses of Tigray are under the tight control of Woyané
cadres and security networks is nevertheless becoming apparent. This
would mean that others, too, will be relieved of the need to count on a
daily basis the number of various language speaking neighbors to work
out the balance of forces, in their pursuit to escape from concerns
generated by the kind of public upheaval we witnessed in April 2001 (an
upheaval that particularly targeted Woyané interests).
TPLF appointees are challenging us to become
rebels á la Woyané and seek protection in the forests, not only because the
cities have turned into a forest as far as they are concerned due to
their lack of public support, but also for the tactical reason that it
becomes easier for them to identify their number one enemies. Whenever
you make a remark that angers Ethiopians, they breathe a sigh of relief
and are seized with a sense of victory, for that proves to them that you
are travelling on the road they have paved. It is apparent to them that
they prefer to form a united front to offer their condolences to all
those mentioned above in the event of a successful secession rather than
showing genuine empathy to the latter. This is certain to happen because
it is inevitable that every one will join in a common effort on the
issue. But so long as it can maintain their alliance, the Woyané
are the major beneficiary of a tumultuous situation, though temporarily.
Another soft point of our extremists is that
analyses of such complex social phenomena escape their imagination. In
their best propaganda efforts, meant to remind one of their presence,
they end up exposing their naked self. In the process, they complicate
the efforts of the people to rise in unison against injustice and
exploitation. They push the people into pit falls by sowing distrust and
hatred among them. They prolong the stay in power of the Woyané,
against whom they claim to fight.
Secondly,
both the benefits and dire consequences of secession are largish and
vivid to see, if we are prepared to face the truth. Put mildly, the
people and places of worship in Harar-Dire Dawa, Goba-Assela, Shashemené-Nazreth,
Ambo-Jimma-Neqemt, etc. “from within” and, those in Gonder, Meqelé,
Bahir Dar, Dessé, Jijiga, Gambella, Arba Mintch, Dila, etc. “from
without” cannot be kept away from one another and visits to Finfiné-Addis
Ababa-Sheger are a must at least once a year. Diré Skeik Hussén of Balé
celebrates the Moslem festival of Maulid with Wollo Duberti [the Virgin of Wollo] as does Abadir
of Harar with the Lady of Arsi [Ye
Arsiwa Emebét] and the Awlia
of Jimma with Sof Omar of Balé. The Church of Merry in Axum, Lasta
Lalibela in Wollo and the Church of St. Gabriel in Harar all collect
offerings from the four corners of the country. These are some of our
values that are indestructible by any force other than by the law of
development itself.
The people of Afar and Issa do not want to see
any restrictions barring them from moving with their flocks and herds
from the northern frontier to Awash Harba in south-central Ethiopia. The
Amhara, Tigré, Agäw, Shinasha, Benshangul, etc. have compelling
reasons to travel south, past Addis, to Awassa, Dilla, Arba Mintch, etc.
Wolayta, Kembata, Sidama, Gamo, etc. need to travel to Addis,
Wollo-Lalibela, Axum-Tigray for such social reasons and ceremonies as
weddings, deaths, offerings, etc. Then, what does one have to say to all
these masses of people? They cannot change their identity, nor can they
turn away from their beliefs. They have no wings to fly, or, are they
going to have to pay airport fees and require visas? Or are we expecting
them to say “passage through and including Oromia or Death”?
Folks, let us distinguish between reason and
folly. No one in his or her right mind throws away their wealth and
honour unless dictated by circumstances. The resources of the nation
starting with power production (and including the indemnity Italy was
made to pay to us) were invested in this region by all the governments
that came and went before the TPLF regime. This would not be an easy
complication to deal with were we to settle accounts. It is a grave
mistake to regard the interrelationship among the people of Ethiopia as
a house of cards. Breaking this chain of unity is by no means as simple
as paying lip service to one’s politics or as arbitrarily changing
names of individuals and places. One should really take this issue into
one’s head!!
Thirdly, the religious ramifications of secession are
likely to take us as, they say, from the frying pan into the fire,
unless caution is exercised. We have to stop and think several times if
we mean what we say about genuinely fighting for the interests of the
people. The first task in this regard is to know our people better. I
would prefer no to exaggerate religious issues. With a view to
counselling our extremists and because fear of the worst does not
prevent the inevitable from happening, I will point out for reasons of
circumspection our soft spot with regard to religions in Oromia, where
there are three: Christianity, Islam and Waqéfätcha. The first two have about equal number of followers and
-bear in mind- conservative, liberal and extremist elements within them.
Waqéfätcha, like the Gedda
system, is dying. And celebrations of the Gedda system are totally
forbidden in Islam as are Islamic festivities in Gedda.
In
1992, at a conference organised by shrewd OLF cadres and attended by
several people ‘representing’ the Oromo, diplomats and government
functionaries in Déraa-Hurutaa, Arsi, to celebrate Gedda
ceremonies, Oromo Moslems had to be barred due to protests from
respectable elders knowledgeable about the Gedda system. So much so that
a 92 year-old elder invited for his expertise in the Gedda system
protested as a ceremony involving the killing of a bull was underway. He
fumed: “What is killing the
Gedda system is this Arabic import of yours, so-called Islam. If you
mean business and celebrate Gedda, if you really want the Oromo to
unite, please get rid of Islam which is destroying Gedda and is divisive
to the Oromo!”
That
was an unpleasant surprise to the organisers of the conference, to say
the least. It was a rude awakening to the fact that one was ignorant of
one’s history. Moslem Oromos were dumb-founded, after contributing
their share to making the conference a success, to learn that they were
barred. I do not think that opponents of the OLF were ever as delighted
as on that day. The main victor of the day was the Islamic Front for the
Liberation of Oromia (IFLO) of Aba Jarra and co. This organisation
muttered ‘I told you so’ and thereafter began to swell its ranks
with new members.
Another
organisation based in Harar and Balé and used to calling itself Somali-Abbo under Haile Selassé and Sowra during the era of the Dergue had to go through a
soul-searching exercise after the Déraa-Hurutaa conference. It
is particularly after this conference that the leader of the Balé Oromo
movement, Gen. Waqo Gutuu, began to frequent trips to Moqadishu and
Saudi Arabia, thereby abandoning his traditional Borena Waqéfätcha
for Islam of Mecca-Medina, to which he converted later.
“These people are simply acting. They may
speak our language, albeit with difficulty, but they do not know our
people. I felt out of place.” [Ber
jeri tuni ifumaa if fekesitee, afaan kegnaa humnumaan cecebsite tubeti
mele oumeta kegnaa hinbektu. Ijollen hintebettiin mukkaan siwerantii
jechun kenaa! Annimaatu if selpissie!] The General meant that he
humiliated himself. Respected as he was for his military exploits even
by Haile Selassé’s defence Minister Gen. Kebede Gebré and loathe to
bowing to Woyané– some thing
he did not even do for Haile Selassé- he returned to his traditional
bastion of the Dello-Menaa jungle via Borena, leaving behind at Hotel
D’Afrique the young lady to whom the Woyané
had married him. Six years later while scouring for news about the
Badme-Shiraro war, though, I heard him on the VOA say: “Every thing Obbo Gelasaa Dilbo says is fine by me for I do not speak Amharic.”
Time will tell how long this friendship lasts.
The second time Islam and the Gedda System had
a confrontation was in 1994 in Shewa (at Debre Zeit or Ambo?), where the
Oromo wing of the TPLF (OPDO), on its part, organised a similar meeting
to the one held in Arsi. Proponents of Gedda were angered to see Obbo Hassen Ali on national television grease his forehead with
blood from a bull and wag the sword with which he slaughtered the
bull.
Although the motive behind the OPDO cadre
instigated massacre in Arba Gugu was to harm the Amhara, we know from
the list of names contained in the report issued at the time by the
Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRC) that half of the victims were
Christian Oromos. Hundreds of credible eyewitnesses are also alive and
can confirm the story. What does this say to us? Who is to side with
whom when the crunch comes? My intention here is to point out the danger
that is looming due to an incorrect handling by individuals and cliques
(and to the destructive competition among them) of the contradictions in
our society. Is it not more constructive instead to embrace the
Ethiopianness of the majority and the idea of a common country by
leaving religious choices to the individual?
Fourthly,
there is another problem we have to face when it comes to internal
rivalry. Though not on the scale practiced unscrupulously by our
northern (Tigrean) brothers, there is a time bomb we have to bear in
mind – the problem of provincialism – in Oromia, too, and this is a
further point that disqualifies the argument for secession. Those born
in Harar, Balé and Arsi are not particularly keen on things Wollega.
Squabbles and mutual indifference are observable even between such neighbors
as Fitché and Gebre Guratcha and Ambo-Gintchi in West Shewa, between
Gujji-Borena and Jima to the east, etc. Such behavior is apparent even
among immigrant Ethiopians who often yearn for compatriots, let alone
back home where several factors aggravate the situation. Minnesota can
be a case in point. According to a document obtained from the
Immigration Office of that State, 97% of 11, 300 applicants (who
identified their nationality by the rather marathon name of Oromia-East
Africa-Ethiopia) for residence permit were born in Balé, Arsi and Harar
regions of Ethiopia. This concourse did not take place without a reason.
In imitating the Woyané who
give precedence to thier Tigrean identity over Ethiopianness, these ones
have become more Catholic than the Pope and give precedence to their
regional roots of Balé, Arsi, Wollega, Jimma, etc; their Oromo identity
plays second fiddle. That Oromos of Western Oromia lost control of the
new OLF leadership has more to do with provincialism than with
democracy, and that is an open secret.
Experience shows that a Balé Oromo, for
instance, feels closer to a Neftegna
of the same region or of Harar than to a Wollega Oromo for reasons of
social psychology. The big question here is as to where we are going. It
is because of all these reasons that the magic of secessionism will not
make us into what we are not, that is why it is neither easy nor
credible as a threat, contrary to what the extremists tell us. If you
think it works, I urge us all not to leave a legacy of continued misery
to our children.
I would like us to be the last to go through
the present ordeal. This is implausible, though, and can only lead to
derision. The future of our children is at stake here and it worries me
that we are forcing them to go through the confusion and torments of
identity crisis. Do you feel the pain of children deprived of the right
to mention the fact of them coming from mixed marriages while at the
same time stating their country /nationality as being Ethiopia /
Ethiopian? How cruel and daring are we to impose the sickness of
identity crisis on our own children? When faced with such pointed
questions, you are used to countering by proposing a precondition in the
form of the cliché that the Neftegnas
must first apologise for the cruelty they committed during the reign of
Menelik. I do not think you really mean that, but use it for evading the
issue. Apology is deserved when appropriate, but meaningless when taken
out of context and can even be regarded as a crime.
What have we achieved as a result of the 1991
so-called apology to Isayas Afewerki, extended by elders said to
represent Ethiopians south of the Mereb River, on the orders of Meles
Zenawi and with the assistance of professor Andreas Esheté? They may,
on the one hand, believe that they have exacted revenge by annoying and
humiliating an entire people. And, on the other, they have used the
occasion to give the impression that enmity exists between the peoples
of Ethiopia and Eritrea. However, the intrigue has not succeeded; we
hear grievances from all sides about complex and endless suffering, of
which – relative to the conspiracy- we have only seen the tip of the
iceberg. I think it is only about three of those delegates sent to
humiliate Ethiopians, including professor Andreas, who are alive today –
and that under conditions of lost clout and respect. The others passed
away without even having time enough to tell us about the hospitality
Isayas Afewerki extended to them.
There is no time when one has not paid a price
– no matter how – for crimes committed against people. You may remember
that most of Woyané’s
marionette actors we saw dancing on national TV on the day they told us
that article 39 of the Constitution (allowing self-determination up to
secession) was adopted by a majority vote, have died. The so-called
representative of Harar died in a car accident at Miésso on his way
back while that from Balé was killed at his home in Goba-Homma that
very day by what Woyané
called anti-peace forces. We also know that one of the survivors and a
defector from the EPRP, Ambassador Abdul Mejid Hussén – who we saw
dance and jump that day in the traditional costume of Jelebiya
– has health problems after he was shot six times; we do not know
whether the incident resulted from his Ogadeni kin regarding him a
renegade or from Isayas Afewrki getting a hunch from Abdul Mejid Hussén’s
display on that day that he could be a danger. The lady from the north
who was spinning on the dance floor, with a qunna
[a traditional tray made of grass] on her head, is today seriously
troubled by the recent campaign against corruption and accusations of
Bonapartism.
You also know the fate of the person who was
leading the work of approving the Constitution, former President Negasso
Gidada, and his honorable deputy at that time in the execution of that
historic task, Ato Abate Kisho. It is as though political crimes do not
go unpunished for too long. No sooner had we expressed surprise at what
happened to former Prime Minister Tamirat Layné than the saga involving
Siyé Abraha and co. started. The honorable Secretary General of the
TPLF, Meles Zenawi, informed us that the front known for producing
‘generations that were moving mountains’ had ‘rotten from top to
bottom’. And TPLF satellites hardly knew how to react to that
development and were groping in darkness. The OLF was unashamedly the
first to try to capitalize on the situation, though that may not
necessarily be wrong so long as it is done with caution. The main point
here is that the chaos in which Woyané
marionettes find themselves is just beginning. The respectable Tobia
columnist, Ahmed Abdella, flatteringly characterized the latter’s and
President Meles’ attempts to criticize the political crimes they say
were committed against them as the “satellites’ declaration of a
movement for independence”.
Turning
back to those who ask us to apologize, I would like to warn them to keep away from
political crimes that in no time come back to haunt them. Mean time,
here is food for thought for them: Putting aside such moot questions as
to whether independent observers or partisans wrote our history and
accepting both written sources and oral literature, let us ponder over
whether it is appropriate to demand apology. Emperor Tewodros burnt
people alive and severed the limbs of those aristocrats and ordinary men
and women who refused to submit to him (in Gonder, Gojjam, Shewa, Tigray
and Wollo). Angered with the refusal of King Tekle Haymanot of Gojjam to
surrender to him, Emperor Yohaness IV massacred the people of that
region and also committed cruelty against Moslems who refused to convert
to Christianity. Aba Jiffar of Jimma enslaved or sold to slavery
hundreds of thousands of our people. It was an edict of Aba Jiffar’s
that one who was suspected of escaping from efforts to sale one into
slavery should be amputated at the calf. With the request of Ras
Seyoum Mengesha, Menelik did allow the amputation of the limbs of
Eritreans who committed treason and fought on the side of Italy. The
Arsi Oromo suffered the amputation of hands and breasts, with the
knowledge of Menelik, for repeatedly resisting the latter’s army
during its expansion into the region. It is not impossible that similar
unrecorded cruelties were committed. Irrespective of such reasons as the
low consciousness of the society at that time, the people were
victimised. It is saddening that that, too, is part of our history.
However, we have to be careful not to repeat it. Beyond this, who is to
apologise for whom? If it is the nominal ceremony of apology one is
interested in, one has to research into the genealogy of the Emperors
who committed the crimes – Tewodros’ in Gonder, Yohaness’ in
Tigray and Menelik’s in Ankober (or in Wolayta-Sodo
if the rumours are true) and Aba Jiffar’s in Jimma – and look for volunteers
to perform it. Other wise, it is a crime to try to punish an entire
people, especially today’s generation, for crimes committed a century
ago by men-at-arms. By so doing not only does one show one’s ignorance
about the essence of apology but turns one self into a problem child. It
is possible, either through due process of law or reconciliation, to
deal with the crimes and intrigues committed under Haile-Silasse´, the
killings under the Dergue and the oppression and acts of treason being
committed by the Woyané
regime, as the perpetrators and the victims as well as the evidence and
the times when the crimes were carried out are clearly known. But one
wonders as to what the proponents of apology want us to do with regard
to crimes committed in the murky history of the past, i.e. before the
reign of Haile-Silassé. Which comes first: Directing our common efforts
towards putting an end to the ongoing suffering and devastation our
people are currently going through or crying foul about the past where
both perpetrators and victims have left the scene for good? Brothers,
the beneficiaries of the mindless preaching of hatred among the people
and of threatening with secession are not the Oromo people, who are
being urged to secede, but the Woyané
and political opportunists. Inciting the people, who for so long lived
together and intermarried, and turning them into sworn enemies under
such ill thought out pretexts and throwing the young generation into
identity crisis by depriving it of its sense of patriotism, has to stop
immediately, as it does no good to any one; on the contrary, we have to
realise that not only is it is a criminal act but also a dark spot on
our history.
Fifthly,
regarding neighbors, Somalia would not have annexed not only the Ogadén
which it claims is represented by one of the five stars on its flag (the
others being Moqadishu, Hargeyssa, Djibouti& Mandèr)
but also Harar, Balé, Borena and Arsi, had it not itself gotten
into hot water. Such annexation would have of course included all the
Ethiopians who inhabit those regions, namely, the Ethiopian Somalis in
El Kerré and the Ogadén, Geremeros (Aduns), Girirras, Guralés (Guras),
Oromos and Amharas (whom it calls Arus & Sidama), Hararis (who are
nick-named the ‘Woyanés of
the East’ due to the activities of their extremists) and others who
are not considered Ethiopian by Somalia. The latter has maintained since
before its inception as an independent state that it has unfinished
business regarding its territorial claims. It is inevitable that it will
extend its claim as far into Ethiopia as Awash, as it did shortly before
and during its 1977-78 invasion of Ethiopia, and even demand indemnity
if Ethiopia is found wanting in the task of defending itself.
Those who have a vested interest in the
Nile River and in spreading a fundamentalist version of Islam feel that
they have the historic duty of assisting in the fulfillment of such a
project. In other words, Somalia will not be alone in striving towards
achieving its territorial ambitions. We recall that interim President
Jaalé Abdulqassim Salat Hassen was Minister of Home Affairs under Siad
Baré’s regime that invaded Ethiopia in the late 1970s. Home Minister
Abdulqassim Salat Hassen meant more than merely weakening the Dergue
when he and his office were hosting Isayas Afewerki and 6 of his
lieutenants as well as Meles Zenawi and 3 of his assistants (including
Sibehat Nega) by accommodating them with 11 villas and adequate monthly
payments, in addition to providing them with passports and licenses
necessary for purchasing arms, not to mention the diplomatic lobbying
they conducted on behalf of their guests in the Middle East and
introducing them to Arab leaders such as Col. Gadafi in an effort to
solicit assistance.
It is the 60 year-old Interim President
Abdulqassim Salat, who once lived in Egypt as a refugee (and speaks
Somali, Arabic, Italian, English & Russian), that once told us:
“The main reason why we assisted Eritrean and Tigrian rebels was that
they did accept Awash as the boundary between Somalia and Ethiopia”.
The point is not that the table is now turned on him or that he is a
poor messenger of Isayas’ or even that Meles ignored his former
mentor’s favors. It is Somalia’s agenda that should be kept in
mind. Jumping here and there and forming alliances with Sha’abiya, Somalia, the Ogaden Liberation Front, etc., often in
response to Woyané policies,
is nothing more than a marriage of convenience. One has to take note of
this; it is not enough that one decides to travel unless one knows why
one travels, the condition of the road and the destination, as well as
ensure the adequacy of provisions and munitions, necessary medical
supplies and, lest it be necessary, find out the way back home – these
are minimum requirements for the planned journey. It is my conviction
that one has to abandon the unnecessary political journey and head home
and invest on it, for that is an honorable step to take both in the eyes
of the people and in the annals of history.
Comments to A.
B. Qeneni