Anti-Oromo sentiment
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Anti-Oromo sentiment or Oromophobia, is opposition, hatred, discrimination or prejudice against the Oromo ethnic group. Anti-Oromo sentiment has root its accusations during the rule of Ethiopian Empire, particularly in the reign of Emperor Menelik II in 1880s. Oromo nationalists argued that the Oromo have been subjugated and oppressed by dominant Amhara feudal rulers and its oppression persisted throughout 20th century. Under Haile Selassie, Oromos have been targeted to persecutions after long wave of resistance. Many Oromo revolutionaries like Mamo Mazamir, Haile Mariam Gamada and General Tadesse Birru faced execution by Selassie government and then the Derg regimes.
Oromo also faced persecutions and human rights violations under TPLF-led EPRDF period since 1991. Today, Oromo nationalists used the term to dismantle anti-Ethiopian and anti-Amhara sentiments which are used to justify ethnic violence. Such scenario can be understood during Abiy Ahmed leadership, where the term "Oromummaa" dominated through autocratic based political system.[1][2]
Historical perspectives[edit]
Nowadays, anti-Oromo sentiment is a complex topic. Oromo elites and nationalists accused the Ethiopian Empire rule of subjugating and oppressing the Oromos during the late 19th and early 20th century.[3] Notable among such assertions is the Aanolee massacre on 6 September 1886, in which the army of Emperor Menelik II massacred against Arsi Oromos in one day, cutting breasts and men's hands.[4] They claim the Amhara nationalists used his action correlating to Ethiopian independence against European colonial rule during the Scramble for Africa.[5][6] Such atrocities were documented during the Tewodros II reign, including hand amputations of 700 Oromos in revenge of the death of his British advisor.[7]
Menelik II expanded his realm by 1870s, completing the conquest of Tulama, and together with Emperor Yohannss IV, they devastated the lives of Wollo Oromo.[8] At the battle of Chelenqo in 1887, Menelik committed ethnic cleansing against Oromos. According to Harold Marcus (1995), Menelik commenced slave trade.[9] Sandra Shell wrote that Menelik exported Oromo slaves but intercepted by British navy into South Africa. There, Oromo descendants told their narratives about their origin, capture, enslavement and being sold into slavery by Menelik and his "neftenya" officials.[10][11]
Oromos were targeted persecution under Emperor Haile Selassie's regime.[12] In 1963, Haile Selassie used modern mechanized ground and air forces with the F-15s that resulted in killing hundreds of Oromos. The foundation of Macha Tulama Self-Help Association in 1960s was a major threat of Selassie's government, he labeled them as a "terrorist group" and its leaders were frequently put to death after being arrested. Oromo language has been outlawed on judicial, educational and official business institutions.[13][14] Notable Oromo resistant figures have been killed by the Selassie's government and then the Derg regime, such as Lieutenant Mamo Mazamir, Haile Mariam Gamada, and General Tadesse Birru.[15] In 1991 and 1992, Oromos have been targeted by TPLF-led EPRDF regime when it mobilized local Amhara inhabitants in Oromia supported by the Amhara National Democratic Movement (ANDM). In present times, Oromo nationalism is linked to anti-Ethiopian and anti-Amhara sentiment and used by Abiy Ahmed administration. The term "Oromummaa" applied through the Prosperity Party that encompasses elements of Oromization of Ethiopia.[16][17]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Account (2023-08-08). "The Oromo Must Save Its Legacy from Two Axis of Evil: The Abiy-Shimeles-Adanech Trio and the Oromummaa Cult". Borkena Ethiopian News. Retrieved 2023-08-27.
- ^ "Ethiopian opposition factions join forces to bring down Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed". France 24. 2021-11-06. Retrieved 2023-08-27.
- ^ Hassen, Mohammed (2002). "Conquest, Tyranny, and Ethnocide against the Oromo: A Historical Assessment of Human Rights Conditions in Ethiopia, ca. 1880s-2002". Northeast African Studies. 9 (3): 15–49. doi:10.1353/nas.2007.0013. ISSN 0740-9133. JSTOR 41931279. S2CID 143907644.
- ^ Gnamo, Abbas (2014-01-23). Conquest and Resistance in the Ethiopian Empire, 1880 - 1974: The Case of the Arsi Oromo. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-26548-6.
- ^ Tasfaye, Ermias (2022-06-01). "Oromo and Amhara militants battle on western frontier". Ethiopia Insight. Retrieved 2023-08-27.
- ^ Admin (2016-11-10). "The Amhara Nationalism and its Implication to the Political Dynamics of Ethiopia (Mastewal Dessalew)". Borkena Ethiopian News. Retrieved 2023-08-27.
- ^ "THE OROMO OF ETHIOPIA, 1500-1850 : WITH SPECIAL" (PDF). 27 August 2023.
- ^ Assefa, Tefera (2022). "The Imperial Regimes as a Root of Current Ethnic Based Conflicts in Ethiopia". Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Studies. 9 (1): 95–130. doi:10.29333/ejecs/919. ISSN 2149-1291. JSTOR 48710291.
- ^ Ahmad, Abdussamad H. (1999). "Trading in Slaves in Bela-Shangul and Gumuz, Ethiopia: Border Enclaves in History, 1897-1938". The Journal of African History. 40 (3): 433–446. doi:10.1017/S0021853799007458. ISSN 0021-8537. JSTOR 183622. S2CID 161799739.
- ^ "The story of Oromo slaves bound for Arabia who were taken to South Africa". Quartz. 2019-05-13. Retrieved 2023-08-27.
- ^ "How an Ethiopian slave became a South African teacher". BBC News. 2011-08-25. Retrieved 2023-08-27.
- ^ Refugees, United Nations High Commissioner for. "Refworld | Chronology for Oromo in Ethiopia". Refworld. Retrieved 2023-08-27.
- ^ Jalata, Asafa (1995). "The Emergence of Oromo Nationalism and Ethiopian Reaction". Social Justice. 22 (3 (61)): 165–189. ISSN 1043-1578. JSTOR 29766899.
- ^ Jalata, Asafa (1993). "Sociocultural Origins of the Oromo National Movement in Ethiopia". Journal of Political & Military Sociology. 21 (2): 267–286. ISSN 0047-2697. JSTOR 45293948.
- ^ Østebø, Terje, ed. (2020), "The Bale Insurgency, Islaama, and Oromo Ethno-nationalism", Islam, Ethnicity, and Conflict in Ethiopia: The Bale Insurgency, 1963-1970, African Studies, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 288–310, doi:10.1017/9781108884839.011, ISBN 978-1-108-83968-6, S2CID 234940262, retrieved 2023-08-27
- ^ "Critiquing the anti-Oromo nascent narrative of disgruntled Amhara elite in the diaspora: A rejoinder to the wrong manifesto". Addis Standard. 27 August 2023.
- ^ Moges, Zola (2022-08-24). "Oromo nationalism should cross the river of resentment". Ethiopia Insight. Retrieved 2023-08-27.
