Abaa Biyya Highlights the Role of Students in the Oromo National Struggle

Discussing in various articles the preparatory work and the endeavours needed to be undertaken by Oromos in view of the liberation of Oromia and the institutionalization of an independent state for the Oromo Nation, I certainly imply that the Oromo youth, and more particularly the students, will be the main pioneers of the effort.

For every Oromo, becoming the leader of the struggle for National Independence is not a figure of speech; it is a down-to-earth reality that consists in an urgent need of the Oromo Nation. Instead of expecting everything (or almost everything) from leaders who are exposed to all sorts of pressure and blackmail, weaknesses and compromises, every Oromo should take the example of Oromo student activism and contribute – according to his/her possibilities – to the struggle for national independence.

I have just gone through a concise and informative article on the Role of Students in the Oromo National Struggle, written by a remarkable Oromo analyst, Abaa Biyaa. Astute commentator and knowledgeable author, Abaa Biyaa offers a splendid Critical Analysis (part no 6 of the article). I find this feature as an excellent presentation of the Oromo Students’ movement and I am sure that it will be beneficial for many, be they Oromos, Africans or other. More particularly, international readership will get an insightful understanding of the Modern History of the Horn of Africa through this focus on the Oromo youth. That’s why I republish it here integrally.

This is therefore an occasion for us to recall the struggle of students against the present Ethio-fascist regime of Meles Zenawi, Africa’s most loathed tyrant and most bloodthirsty butcher. Alemayehu Garba was one of these students.

"Alemayehu Garba was detained in October 2003 following the demonstrations against the removal of the Oromia Region capital to Adama. He was initially taken to Maikelawi CID (OSG Press Release 40, July 2004, p.11) were he was tortured. He was transferred to Kaliti prison in Akaki, possible via Karchale central prison in Addis Ababa. He was a very bright and ebullient Addis Ababa University student, despite being disabled and needing to use crutches when walking. He was otherwise healthy when initially detained (see photograph). However, it is obvious from later photographs, taken after he was shot, that he was severely malnourished following more than two and a half years detention. He was thus incapable of attempting to escape. Alemayehu did not die instantly. He was taken to hospital in Addis Ababa, and died in the Police Hospital on 9 December". (From: Human Right Abuses in Ethiopia http://oromo.org/osg/pr42.htm)

The Role of Students in the Oromo National Struggle
By Abaa Biyya

Amongst others:
http://oromooliberationfront.org/RoleofOromoStudents.html and
http://www.ayyaantuu.com/Oromiyaa/NewsBlog/tabid/36/EntryID/3254/Default.aspx

1. Introduction

Student activism is a worldwide phenomenon. Students which make up one of the most progressive and dynamic forces of society continuously played catalytic role for social transformation and progress throughout the world. They played indispensable role in addressing global peace, liberty, equality and freedom at different periods in recent years. Almost in every country students have fought exploitation, racial discrimination, dehumanization, fascism and xenophobia. To mention some of the specific events students played includes: protest against fascism on the streets of Prague, in what was then Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic), the fight for civil rights in the US, the opposition to the war in Vietnam, the demonstrations for democratic reform in Tiananmen Square, student movement against apartheid rule etc.

Students at the University of Prague had protested the occupation of their country by Nazi Germany which after their demonstration resulted in killings, the execution of nine student leaders, detention of over 1200 students in concentration camps, and the closing of all Czechoslovak universities and colleges in 1938.

During the American civil right movement (1954 – 1968) students have actively participated from the bus boycotts and the sit-in protests to the March on Washington -- the march that Reverend Martin Luther king made his famous speech ‘I have a dream’. Moreover, students from various college campuses and universities in the United States vehemently opposed the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War in 1964. This happened at a time of unprecedented student activism reinforced in numbers by incorporating a wide and varied cross-section of Americans from all walks of life. Similarly, the Chinese students in 1989 marched securing political rights and protesting the extensive corruption and abuse of power at the top levels of the Chinese party and government. In Tiananmen Square the Chinese students held aloft their own Statue of Liberty.

By and large, the South African student movement is also another inspiring 20th century student movement. Not only were involved in disseminating the idea of South Africa 's Black Consciousness Movement but also fought to eradicate apartheid from their country. Through propaganda campaign they played a vital role in planting the seeds of black pride in the minds of the people that resulted in arousing the masses against apartheid rule. Apparently the Oromo students are not an exception from this reality. Their grievance against dehumanizing Abyssinian rules motivated them to struggle for noble issues promoted by worldwide students--an inalienable right to freedom, self-government, liberty and democracy. In this article the contribution of students to Oromo national movement is assessed by examining the motivation, challenges and opportunities to realize the noble issues shared by international students elsewhere.

2. The Development and Early Stages of the Student Movement

After the Second World War, Haile Sellasie’s government became more powerful and highly centralized with the renewed assistance of Great Britain and latter United States of America and other western countries. The highly centralized imperial government staged the suppression of Oromo nation in a very intensive manner. It degraded among other things the livelihoods of millions of Oromos by evicting and making them landless as well as imposing heavy taxation on them. This repressive policy gave birth to student movement. The student opposed the imperial government, the inequalities of distribution of wealth and the social injustice. Besides their grievances the students were inspired by the global student movements against oppression. Scholarship grantees in Addis Ababa university who came from Kenya, Uganda, Cameroon, Malawi, and Nigeria helped by sharing their experiences in political organization, tactics and demands for resolution of issues in demonstrations and appeals to Oromo and other students. In 1965, students marched on the streets of Addis Ababa to demand land reform.

Oromo students after 1965 demonstration have cooperated with the Macha Tulama Association (MTA) and brought forth the issues of nationalities. The MTA leaders were accused of political involvement. Lieutenant Mamo Mazemir was executed in 1971. Brigadier General Tadessa Biru, Colonel Alemu Qixessa, General Dawit Abdi, Kagnazmach Mokonen Wasanu, Attorney Haile Mariam Gemeda and others were imprisoned. Moved by this atrocity, young elements of MTA and Oromo students founded Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) in 1974 to promote the question of self determination, up to and including secession.

3. During the Derge Regime (1974 - 1991)

During the initial period of the 1974 revolution, the Oromos expected a relief from oppression. Nonetheless, the only positive policy development gained from the revolution was the land proclamation which freed the farmers from the control of the landlords. However, the sacrifices of young Oromos during the revolution don’t payoff the land proclamation. On the other hand, the spread of nationalism, awareness creation and consciousness building have been well done during the 1970s and 1980s. The first Oromo student newspaper, Barisa, was established in 1976. For the first time in decades an all Oromo cultural committee was established. The committee mobilized and gathered various Oromos from all Oromo regions and held cultural shows in Finfine in 1976. This ever advanced the causes of the struggle. In the 1980s as the military government supported by Soviet Union it become able to crackdown on opposition particularly the youth in every sector of the society. Not only within the Oromo regions but also in all the other regions of the country, had thereby spreading extensively its fascist form of its punishment called ‘Red terror’. Security forces were given the authority to kill anybody particularly students whom they suspected as counter revolutionary. Hence the youth had no choice but to go underground. Many, however, moved into the rural areas to join the armed struggle, for instance in Ambo, Matahara, eastern Oromia. Some also managed to go to the neighboring countries like Sudan , Somalia and Djibouti. Those who work from underground in urban areas were engaged in raising funds and sending supplies to the warfront. To this effort, many were arrested including some of the founders of OLF and about 500 members and supporters of the movement. The fall of the communist junta in 1991 brought about the institutionalization of Afaan Oromo as a working language in government offices and became an instruction language in up to high school level in Oromia region and one of the major/specialization subjects in the higher education at (under)graduate level in collages and universities. This is one of the spectacular results of concerted Oromo struggle.

4. The Present (1992 - 2007)

I argue that the sacrifice paid by Oromos during and after the revolution is not over. Following the banning of OLF by the minority-led EPRDF regime, students staged their first anti-government demonstration. The main issue promoted by students was the genuine realization of the question of self determination of nations and nationalities. Since then, Oromo students at Addis Ababa University and in secondary and junior secondary schools throughout Oromia organized several public demonstrations against repressive government policies and actions. Security forces repeatedly responded to these demonstrations with mass arrests and killings. In 2000, EPRDF set fire haphazardly to all Oromia forests, including Bale forest which was recognized by UNESCO for its endemic fauna and flora. The Oromo students from elementary and high schools, and universities protested this atrocity referred to by conservationist as ‘ecological genocide’. The response to the student protest, as Human Rights Watch reported, was bloodshed. Similarly in 2001, police killed more than 30 people and wounded an estimated 400 more in putting down a student demonstration at the Addis Ababa University . In 2002, police opened machine-gun fire on protesters in Awassa, killing an estimated 38 people. Many students were kept in prison for months without ever being brought to court, a clear violation of human rights and the constitution of the regime itself in a manner described by Amnesty International as "excessive and indiscriminate".

Irrespective of the persecution students continued their demand for the autonomy of Oromia. In 2004 between 330 and 350 Addis Ababa University students were arrested for participating in a peaceful demonstration protesting government’s decision to move its capital from Addis Ababa to Adama. When many of the students were subsequently dismissed from the University, secondary school students in towns throughout Oromia reacted by staging public protests. Security forces responded with force and arrested hundreds of students in towns throughout the region. Many students, teachers and parents were beaten as police and military personnel moved in to crush demonstrations in Ambo, Nekemte, Jimma, Dembi Dollo, Assella, Kofale, Adama and other towns.

In 2005, students demanded again national self-determination in connection with the on-going national election. But the response was the usual arbitrary arrest, detention, torture and indiscriminate killing through out Oromia. In June 2005, Amnesty International reported its concern about 1,500 students and other demonstrators who were detained and who were at risk of having tortured. A female student, Shebray Delelegne, was shot dead and six others wounded when police opened fire on a group trying to block police vehicles carrying arrested students. The students intensified their coordinated protest against the government from November 2005 to the end of March 2006 across Oromia Region. They demanded among other things respect for human rights, the rule of law, release of political prisoners, reinstatement of the MTA and Oromo Relief Association and self-determination for the Oromo people. They shouted slogans in support of the OLF and distributed leaflets to that effect. During this period more than fifty students were shot dead and hundreds of thousands detained by security forces from almost all schools in Oromia (Ambo, Jaldu, Kofale, Qore, Kuyara, Nagele, Ginbi, Tikur- Inchini, Guduru, Galamso, Horro Guduru etc.).

In other cases, the minority led EPRDF government used various tactics to provoke Oromo students. In August 2006, security forces attacked Oromo students at Haromaya University , E. Hararge following student protest against non Oromo students wearing a ‘T-shirt’ carrying a derogatory anti-Oromo slogan. The offenders were not touched, instead only peaceful Oromo students were held for two months and 42 others dismissed from the university. In a similar manner students were dismissed from Adama University , Jima University , Ambo College and many other schools in Oromia. In addition, schools, colleges and universities were closed for several months to silence students.

5. The Contribution of Oromo Students to the Oromo National Movement

As we have seen, Oromo students contributed to the declaration of land proclamation and the formation of OLF-- the vanguard of the Oromo nation. They also fought the Derge and actively contributed to its downfall in 1991. In 1991 with former student activists represented in OLF co-authored the Ethiopian transitional charter. Oromo students were the first in the contemporary Ethiopian regime to protest openly and publicly carry their opinion on to the streets and the first to protest against the government with demonstrations, protests and riots. While it seems naïve now a days it was absolutely new and challenging in earlier years; and it contributed indeed to the overthrow of the regime.

The consciousness attained by Oromos in all walks of life concerning their liberty, rights and self governance is one of the fruits of Oromo student movement. Through their political campaign the Oromo students were able to alert Oromos to be conscious of their oppression, subjugation and dehumanization committed by the successive Abyssinian regimes and that they were and still are able to change the oppression. The well known Oromo artists who contributed to the mobilization of Oromo causes through music, poetry, and arts were also from the student body. These changes and their huge influence on culture and art were probably the most important results of the student movement.

The slogan ‘land to the tiller’ pronounced by student activists contributed to the land decree which was passed in 1974. A number of high level officials in the main Oromo political movements had their roots in student movements back in the 1960s and early 1970s. The promotion of Oromo causes to the world community was pioneered by Oromo students who went to the west and east for academic education. The culmination of the communist junta regime in 1991 which brought about the institutionalization of Afaan Oromo as a working language and as a language of instruction in Oromia state and one of the major subjects in the higher learning education at (under) graduate level can be viewed as major contributions of Oromo student movement.

6. Critical analysis

The student movement as we have seen commenced in the 1960s with two basic issues: the question of land reform and the issue of nations and nationalities question. During the revolution although the communist junta took over lands from the landlords and distributed to peasants, the government evicted the indigenous Oromo and settled immigrants from the North including clearing virgin Oromo forests. This show the peasants were not granted property right over the land. This phenomenon is also peculiar of the current minority-led EPRDF government. The Oromo people suffered from neo-settler colonial expansion extended by the communist junta as well as the minority-led EPRDF government. The recurrent drought and famine, including the catastrophic episode of 1984–85 that resulted in the loss of the lives of millions of Oromo people is the manifestation of poor policies of the government. In the 1970s and 1980s the Oromo students managed to plant the idea of Oromo nationalism through their publications in the minds of Oromo students and beyond. The recognition of the right to self-determination was an attempt to preserve the unity of the student movement. In particular, it was supposed to be appealing to those students who were coming from highly aggrieved ethnic groups, such as Eritrean, Tigrean, and Gurage students to collaborate with their Oromo students. The mutual sacrifice crafted a new "nationalist" deal based on the common interests of the working masses. This common interest won the general publics’ heart manifested through strong sympathies with the students’ calls for liberation. By and large, the degree of poverty and the economic crisis that the country has faced and the liquidation of Soviet Socialist ideology contributed to the finalization of the Communist junta regime.

The student movement in the 1960s was the precursor of the current student movement in Oromia. Unlike the older students which used Marxist philosophy as political entry and institutions, the current students seems to use globalization theory; globalization in the sense that the spread and advancement of production, communication and technologies across the world. The young are amplifying their participation in unfinished project for freedom and democracy to freely make use of globalization. Students geared their question mainly to the realization of Oromo demand for self determination, to safeguard Oromos against arbitrary arrest, detention, torture and killings by minority-led EPRDF. The Oromo youth are now well-equipped with Oromo nationalism due to unparalleled attempt of planting Oromo cause among the Oromo people by the students and the globalization which simplified communication worldwide.

Unlike the student movements in the 1960s the current student movement galvanizes the jobless youths and other segment of the society who voice into the student riots as manifestation of their frustration with the minority-led EPRDF suppressive policies. Such mobilizations of students however are not achieved without heavy sacrifices. The minority-led EPRDF governments committed crimes equivalent to Nazi Germany during the Second World War. The storming of schools in Oromia by tyrant Meles Zenawi regime is quite similar to the crushing of University of Prague by Nazi Germany in 1938. The different was that the Meles Zenawi government alleged that the act was committed by OLF. Oromo civil society and community leaders testified for years that allegations of OLF involvement in such activity were used as pretext to detain government critics and intimidate others into silence. Various human rights organizations including Amnesty International shared the above testimony. For instance, Human Rights Watch interviewed forty-one individuals who were detained and released since 2001 by local or security officials who accused them of conspiring against the government. Most were accused of providing support to the OLF or conspiring with it. Many were individuals who had been outspokenly critical of government policies. In all forty-one cases investigated by Human Rights Watch, courts or police investigators ultimately found the allegations against these detainees were not supported by any sort of evidence. In fact, the allegation was implausible by any standard as supported by human right organizations indicated above. More over, the OLF political program which clearly indicated that they did not target civilians except military installations of TPLF/EPRDF regime reinforces the above findings.

Despite heavy price paid by few university students for a number of years, the student movement has achieved something much more significant in the present times. The student movements have mobilized the youth in the countries which have previously been relatively apathetic towards politics. Students from high schools all over Oromia cities as well as in many of the smaller towns took to the street in support of university students. However, compared to the solidarity of student movements in other parts of the world, we find ourselves saddened by Ethiopian students' lack of interest when Oromo students were brutally killed while peacefully demanding liberty and freedom for Oromia and people of Ethiopia . While students have taken to the streets on behalf of Oromo and Ethiopian people and opposed the suppression and subjugation of peasants and the mass or arbitrary arrests, killings, torture and disappearance of Oromos, they hardly recognized that the ultimate cause of such suffering was a lack of democratic government until 2005 election fraud. I am not claiming that there is no cooperation but the cooperation for the same goal was not yet significant and encouraging. I argue that still it is not too late for cooperation with devoted heart and soul to promote democracy for the people of Ethiopia. American students who in solidarity opposed the US war against Vietnam were good lessons for the Ethiopian students. The American students disregard their internal differences when they chant in solidarity to oppose the US government Vietnam War. Similarly the Ethiopian students must chant to end the individual and collective sufferings perpetuated by the minority led tyrant Ethiopian government to replace them with democratic multinational governments.

7. Conclusion

In conclusion I would like to state that the role played by the Oromo students for the advancement of the Oromo cause is quite remarkable, because they participated in the activities of MTA which signified a major opposition to the Haile Silasse’s government for the first time in the history. Second they also participated in activities during the Derge regime that resulted in the proclamation of the land reform which was the first of its kind to date in the whole continent. Third, by paying heavy price they opposed the present Woyane regime from the very beginning up to now which resulted in the advancement of the consciousness of Oromo nationalism, the use of Oromo languages in government offices and schools and to a great degree the promotion of the Oromo culture by denying the neo-cultural domination to promote Tigrean hegemony. These however, do not mean by all standard the struggle is over. Oromo students are still being arrested, tortured, executed and in every respect persecuted indiscriminately. Ethiopian prisons are still full of Oromo students, peasants and workers. Finally, I would like to sum up my thought by repeating the slogan of the Latin American revolutionaries, ‘La Lotta Continua’.

The author of this article can be reached via abaabiyya@yahoo.com

Note
Picture: Alemayehu Garba