Oromo nationalism

Oromo nationalism is an et hnic nat ionalism advocat ing t he self-int erest of Oromo people in
Et hiopia and Kenya. Many Oromo elit es, int ellect uals and polit ical leaders st ruggled t o creat e an
independent Oromia st at e t hroughout 19t h and 20t h cent ury, since t he st art of Abyssinian
colonialism under Emperor Menelik II. No consensus has been reached yet regarding t he mot ives
of t his t ype of nat ionalism, whet her t he Oromos librat e t hemselves t o form a nat ion-st at e or
offer self-det erminat ion in federal Et hiopia.

Flag of the Oromo Liberation Front

Oromo nat ionalism is viewed as opposit e of t he Et hiopian nat ionalism like ot her form of et hnic
nat ionalism, which support civil nat ionalism and pan-Et hiopianism. It also accused of foment ing
various conflict s wit hin Et hiopia and increasing ant i-Amhara sent iment s.[1]
Concept
The rise of Oromo nat ionalism began following resist ance against t he conqueror Abyssinian force
under Emperor Menelik II in t he lat e 19t h cent ury, where many Oromo int ellect uals and
revolut ionaries t ried t o st ruggle for cent ralized leadership. Oromo nat ionalism posit ed t he
opposit e of t he Et hiopian nat ionalism, by claiming t he Et hiopians considered people neit her
civilizat ion nor hist ory. They falsefully claim t hat bot h Amhara and Tigrayans were living in t he
hand of Oromo economic act ivit ies and are host ile t o Oromo civilizat ion.[2] Oromo is t he largest
et hnic group in Et hiopia comprising about 40% of Et hiopia's populat ion.[3] Hist orically, t hey were
called "galla" in various Et hiopian lit erat ure and beginning t o Oromo migrat ions, t he Oromo
civilizat ion st rived t o t he Et hiopian dominance, by int roducing adopt ion syst em (guddifachaa) t he
democrat ic rule (t he gadaa syst em).[4]

Oromo nat ionalism viewed as a recent phenomenon and has been cont roversial subject among
t he Oromo elit es. This fluct uat es bet ween Oromo self-det erminat ion and creat ion of
independent Oromia st at e wit hin t he federal law of Et hiopia. The Oromo elit es and nat ionalist
always perceive t he Oromo people as "oppressed people" by Et hiopian colonial rule, t hey
suggest ed in t heir t hesis t hat Oromia and Et hiopia are mut ually exclusive, believing one should be
dest royed while t he ot her grow. Gemechu Megersa said t hat "t here is only one big problem for
Et hiopia and t hat is Oromia, and t here is one big problem for Oromia and t hat is Et hiopia".[5]

History
During t he It alian invasion of Et hiopia, t he Oromo nobilit y sided t o It aly hoping t o exercise t heir
power and t aking advant age t o ret urn t heir lands. The It alian appoint ed t hem as governors of
t heir former lands. In 1935, Raya Azeboos Oromos at t acked t he Abyssinian armies during t he
Bat t le of Maychew. Also, in 1936, Oromos in Jimma expelled Amharas officials t o defy t he
colonial rule. Hence, t he Oromo nobilit y in west ern Et hiopia declared an independent Oromia
st at e called West ern Oromo Confederat ion (WOC), expressing a mandat ory st at e t o t he League
of Nat ions. Aft er t he end of It alian rule in 1941 and Emperor Haile Selassie ret urn, t he Oromos
broadly cont est ed t he Abyssinian rule and st art ed rebellion against t he Shewa Amharan nobilit y.
However, such event s were not ment ioned in t he Et hiopian hist oriography.[6][7]

In 1973, t he Oromo nat ionalist founded t he Oromo Liberat ion Front (OLF) and it s wing, t he Oromo
Liberat ion Army (OLA) in order t o count er oppression during Haile Selassie's rule.[8] During t he
Derg rule, OLF had fought against t he Derg administ rat ion t o creat e Oromia st at e. Alt hough OLF
marginalized wit h ot her rebel group such as Islamic Front for t he Liberat ion of Oromia (IFLO) and
t he Oromo People's Liberat ion Front (OPLF), t hey were able organizing int o smaller unit s like
clans and villages.[9][10] The Oromo resist ance cont inued t hrough t he end of Et hiopian Civil War
and t he rise of EPRDF government in 1991.[11] They somet imes coordinat ed wit h but rebelled
against t he EPRDF t o gain aut onomy.[12] For inst ance, t he OLF fought small guerella war in t he
sout hern Et hiopian region in order t o liberat e Oromo et hnicit y in t hat area from t he cent ral
government , while IFLO and OPDO resort ed t o t he government alliance. This result ed in an
int ragroup conflict bet ween t hose fact ions, not ably t he OLF and IFLO. In July 2000, bot h groups
reached a peace agreement , but t his could not allevat e t he clashes t hereaft er, most not ably
bet ween members of OPDO and Oromo Federalist Democrat ic Movement (OFDM), and
numerous Oromo polit ical organizat ions.The Oromos t ook small demonst rat ions t o show t heir
represent at ion in all Et hiopian universit ies.[13] The Tigrayan-dominat ed government perceived t he
Oromos as t he major t hreat t o t heir power and persecut ed t hem in various occasions.[14]

Since Abiy Ahmed t ook power in 2018, many radical Oromo react ionaries at t acked him for his
working as "neft enya agent " and eroding Oromia const it uency.[15] Polit icians like Jawar
Mohammed st at ed t hat only EPRDF could save Et hiopia from disint egrat ion because it
exercising a st rong milit ary, police and bureaucracy st ruct ure. He argued opposit ion groups had no
wielding power during t he t ransit ion. On ot her hands, act ivist Eskinder Negga and Bekele Gerba
have anot her out look. Eskinder, a pan-Et hiopianist , support ed a t ransit ion government , t hough
Bekele would prefer t ransit ional administ rat ion led by Lemma Megesa.

Oromummaa
Oromummaa is an Oromo nat ionalist and et hnocent eric t erm.[16] It is t hought t o define t he
Oromo int egrit y, and cult ural expression. Comment at ors cit ed example of Oromummaa t enure t o
Prime Minist er Abiy Ahmed administ rat ion since 2018 and has been linked t o Nazism.[17] In t erms
of explanat ion, Oromummaa has a cannonat ion of many social norms associat ing t he Oromo
ident it y: worldview, philosophy, art s, beliefs, t radit ions, t errit ory, democrat ic rules, symbolism and
social int egrat ion derivat ed from moggasa/guddifacha (adopt ion by consent ). Oromummaa is
linked t o ant i-Christ ianit y, Islamophobic violence, and t reat ed as an example of et hnic violence of
from it s ext remist element s, such as Oromizat ion of Et hiopia, which seeks Oromo dominat ion of
t he count ry in every aspect s.[18][19][20][21]

References

1. "Ethiopia is treading a political tightrope as

its unresolved ethnic tensions erupt in
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1323/ethiopias-oromo-tensions-erupt-in-vio
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2. Jalata, Asafa (1995). "The Emergence of
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(https://www.jstor.org/stable/29766899) .
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ETHIOPIAN DISCOURSE" (http://www.sscn
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4. Baxter, Paul Trevor William; Hultin, Jan;
Triulzi, Alessandro (1996). Being and
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5. Moges, Zola (2022-08-24). "Oromo
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6. Gebissa, Ezekiel (2002). "The Italian
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8. Jalata, Asafa (2022-07-20). " 'Ethiopia's
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10. Tronvoll, Kjetil (2022). "The Anatomy of
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edu/currenthistory/article/121/835/163/12
4577/The-Anatomy-of-Ethiopia-s-Civil-Wa
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11. Jalata, Asafa (1993). "Ethiopia and Ethnic
Politics: The Case of Oromo Nationalism"
(https://www.jstor.org/stable/29790544) .
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(https://www.jstor.org/stable/29790544) .
12. Refugees, United Nations High
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14. Magana, Professor Tony (2022-01-31). "The
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16. Wight, Patrick (2022-06-14). "Abiy Ahmed's
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18. "The rise of Abiy and the state of
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is a Low-Grade Nazification Movement" (htt
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 20. Account (2023-06-03). "Oromummaa's
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