Gumii Paarlaamaa Oromoo (GPO)

Oromo Parliamentarians Council (OPC)

Dr. Trevor, Mr. Jundi and the Habesha Debteras

After the posting of Dr. Trevor Trueman’s interview with ESAT on ONA, some one on this network casually asked if there is a difference on what  Dr. Trevor Trueman and Mr. Amin Jundi say about the Oromo national struggle. Though the inquirer was not clear on what he was asking, I had difficulty relating Dr. Trevor and Mr. Jundi, particularly on how the two see Habesha elites  from the Oromo point of view.

The enlightened one

 Dr. Treuvor through out his interview with ESAT rejected the  Habesha rhetoric that both Habesha and Oromo are/were equal victims of the Abyssinian system of governance. He emphasized through examples how Abyssinians ( elite or common citizen) are  intrinsically racist and  how their hatreds are/ were deliberately targeted towards Oromo nationals in an attempt to dispossess Oromos of their resources and rights. Dr. Trevor further stressed that it is difficult to have meaningful political discourse with  Habesh political leaders unless they grow out of their racist mentality that still want to kill the Oromo consciousness. Dr. Trevor showed no hesitation to tell the Habesh that they had been abusing the Oromo nation and nationals for the past century and the century old subjection  is sure to end by the strong Oromo consciousness that the OLF have created among the Oromos.  Dr. Trevor dis not tell Habesh what they want to hear, but  he forced down their throat the bitter truth that they hate to hear.

Submissive?

   Jundi’s stand for me is the opposite. I listened to his acceptance speech. It was horrible. It is like seeking acceptance form Dr. Brehanu. He told them what they want to hear, not the truth. I think he thought he was playing it smart. In my opinion he did not play it smart. Speak the truth, truth alone, and that will help us liberate the Habesh from their denial of other peoples’ right. Jundi failed to do that. It is politically naive to try to cheat Habesh elites like Dr. Brehanu Nega by dancing to their tune. It is only by subduing them, by using truth as our weapon, that we can bring them to understand our rights in Ethiopia or without Abyssinia. Jundi was subdued by the Habesh rhetoric. He surrendered to their will.

  Through out his acceptance speech, Jundi did not mention what the past Hanbesh generation did to the Oromo nation. He tried his best not to rattle the Habesha elites. He avoided mentioning how Habesh elites , including those sharing stage with him , like Berehanu Nega, are still living with the nostalgia of Menelik era.  For Oromo nation, Menelik is a war criminal who committed savage mass massacre of Oromo civilian. Breahnu and other Habesh elites glorify Menelik as sate builder,  a role model, a visionary and a superhero who subdued savages to their knee.        

Glorifying criminals, denial of history

    Breahnu still believes and he strongly argues that there is nothing wrong with using gun, fire and blood to build an Empire. In his argument he draw a parallel between Ethiopia and Europe. In his more than 20 page essay which he read on the meeting attended by Jundi and his group, Brhanu argued what Menelik did was legitimate in the context of its time. Jundi’s group listened Dr. Brehanu’s 20 page justification of genocide and crime against humanity  , and said nothing to refute it.

  Crime is still crime  whether it is committed in 12th century or today  and it can never be justified. Some one must be held accountable for it.

 In Australia and Canada, Anglo- Saxons recently apologized for the crime their ancestors did against native Indians centuries ago.The crime perpetrated against the natives were in the name of building an Empire.  Current generation of Anglo-Saxon apologized for a crime some one did in the past because they share the legacy. They apologized to bring some peace to those who still live with memory and pain of the past. Habesha elites on the other hand utterly deny existence of such crime at all, let alone make formal apology to the Oromo nation

Therefore, politicians such as  Dr. Brehanu Nega who glorify past leaders who committed genocide and crime against humanity must be taken seriously. They must be taken seriously because  they are only one step away from repeating the same crime. Given the chance they could do same thing that their mentor Menelik did.

Menilik: Hero for Hebesh, Hitler for Oromo

   Menilik is looked upon as a role model by millions of Habesh. He is a visionary, for these elites who share his legacy. Most Habesh elites brag “ Menelik completed what Tewodrose envisioned.” The grand vision was to clean the “ Holy land” from heathens, the Gallas,  in the name of God, as explicitly stated by Tweodros in his letter to queen Victoria of England. Modern Habesha elites drive their inspiration from the inhuman act of  Menilik and Tewodros. They deify and glorify these monsters who planned and lived to their plan to massacre Oromo.    

Flashback on the massacre of Oromos and the shame that followed it.

Between the reign of Tewodros and Menilik, the size of Oromo population was estimated to have  been reduced by half, from eight million to four million. Most died at their home and were non combatant civilians. Survivors of expedition of the northerners were sold to Arab slave merchants. After all Menelik was described as a slave trade entrepreneur by European of the time. Those who survived the slave merchants were reduced to subhuman status and were made serfs on their own lands.

  To complete the destruction of Oromo spirit and conscience, the invaders army shamed Oromo men ( young and adult)  in front of their women. The right hands of  men were cut, while their woman watched. The breasts of their mothers, sisters  and their wives were slashed while the men watched. Fear and shame was instilled in those Oromos who were defeated. The goal was to weaken  spirits  Oromos and take their minds.

  After the crushing defeat, Habesha strategists invented racist epithets that  were intended to completely dehumanize Oromos and keep alive  the inferiority and subservience mentality so that it goes on from generation to generation. Here I mention two of these racist epithets. In the order of creation of universe, the Habesha debtera put Oromo next to beasts of burden such as donkey.They joke, God created heaven on the first day, …..Amahara as first human being,....donkey on seventh day and last Galla. Speaking about the right of Oromo peolple to life, Meilik was quoted saying “ dont kill wild animals, even when it is a Galla.” Every thing Oromo was then categorized as uncivilized; from our cultural foods to speaking our language.  These hate crimes were not isolated crimes that were committed just by few people in the Habasha society. It was/is wide spread  and it was/is an integral part of Habesha culture. In addition to widespread  epithets in Amahara language and culture, laws enacted by Habasha colonial governments to deprive Oromos of their birth rights had been strictly applied under each successive regime until  the downfall of Mengistu. Some continued until today.

Classical logic fallacy

  Habesha elites like the one who interviewed Dr. Trevor Trueman on ESAT tell us not to take such racist epithets seriously.Not only that they categorically deny existence of such crimes, but they  work to cover up their crimes. It is not out of ignorance but it is a willful denial. Habesha elites are making relentless effort to hide their hate crimes from history books and from the face of the world.  When corned by scholars  and researchers like Dr. Trevor true man they use classical fallacy to deny the existence any wrong doing during the past Abyssinian regimes except during the TPLF. Most of them  transform themselves to an Oromo in  denying  presence racism and hatred toward Oromo. Their arguments go like this. I am an Oromo myself. I haven't seen any sort of racism in Ethiopia. I dont feel I was abused.Therefore Oromos were not subjected to any racial hatred and should not feel abused.This constitutes  classical logic fallacy.

Conclusion

As long as Habesha elites refuse to grow out of such  racist mentality and denial of history, there will be no fruitful cooperation between Oromo political groups and Habesha political groups.In the light of what I have discussed, it is not only fruit less  but also wrong for Jundi and his group to share stage  with  such collection of people with no human feeling and conscience. Oromo nationals who negotiate with such bigots, charlatans, and hypocrites who are deprives of any moral sense are only making the pain of Oromo people worse. They are only intensifying our grievance. They are only shaming us. They are helping perpetrators of genocide justify killing in the name of building an Empire is a just act.  They are helping in senseless justification that there is nothing wrong with the killing innocent of civilians(children, women and elders) to build an empire.

 Dabal.

Gadaan Gabbina.

 Source: ONA