Just like the French people, the German people, the Oromo people’s allegiance is allegiance to the Flag of the Oromo people – a symbol of freedom and the Oromo National Struggle for justice, Freedom, and ending economic and cultural domination by the Abyssinians not to an individual or an ideology.
Mr René Lafort , “Ethiopia: Climbing Mount Uncertainty”.
This article is full of unfounded allegations, dangerous, and bias. The source of some of the assertions are Facebook and Twitter gossips and some Oromo Phobia Media like ESAT. The valid points raised in the article are mired by the outright false allegations that makes one wonder what the goal of the article is.
Many Ethiopians believe that Mr. Rene Lafort has been in the pockets of TPLF for a very long time as an adviser. There are questions about his role in the so called “Addis Ababa Master Plan”.
Coming back to the article, Henry Kissinger once argued that Western powers can no longer control a country through strong man from the capital cities thanks to the information advance.
Mr. Rene Lefort is stuck in the same old school. His writings and analyses on Ethiopia are consistently come from Finfinnee, which is not a reflection of what goes outside the skirts of Finfinnee let alone deep into the country. Especially in the age of Qeerroo.
Below we point out some of the problematic in some cases outright false assertions that is made in Mr. Rene’s article:
- “The open conflict between ODP and the OLF over the latter’s disarmament, the “alleged operatives of the OLF” behind the grenade attack at the Abiy Ahmed meeting on June 23, are some cases in point. Dawud Ibsa went so far as to openly challenge the government: “no one will disarm, and no one is able to make [us] disarm.” To further complicate things, reliable sources in Mekelle report that discussions are under way between the “Tigrayan elite”, without further detail, and OLF. Despite being the pillar of the EPRDF, therefore, OPDO is unable to capitalize on all these Oromo forces.”
Sorry Mr. René Lafort,
There is no open conflict between ODP and OLF. No one said that OLF is behind the grenade attack! The allegation is that Oromo individuals allegedly took part in the assassination attempt and reported that they expressed their support for the OLF. End of story. They are NOT “OLF operatives”. This makes one wonder if your translator is a member of Ginbot 7 or ESAT. (They are one and the same for that matter). The Oromo people are approximately 45% of the Ethiopian population. That means there is a 45% chance that a random bad or good person in Ethiopia is an Oromo. Does that mean we call them “OLF operatives” in good or bad?
You should write an open apology letter to the OLF for your defamation. You have a long history of biased against the OLF and the Oromo people.
The Ethiopian people and the government knows who is behind the assassination attempt. The TPLF. It is a matter of time. Also, it makes perfect sense for TPLF and Ginbot 7 and others to hire disgruntled and deranged Oromo to carry out such attacks?
Also you mentioned that discussion is underway between Tigray elites and the OLF. This what I called Facebook and Twitter gossip that you took seriously and put out there without any evidence. The alleged evidence is that OLF newly trained soldiers came through Mekele and Sibhat Nega was seen waving OLF flag. This shows lack of any journalistic ethics. This is probably a calculated move by the TPLF and Dr. Abiy’s OPDO to push exactly what you are alleging. Unfortunate you are played by the likes of Sebhat Nega.
- “We have pardoned political parties who resided abroad…unfortunately they are working so hard… and exploiting this chance to topple the government (through) unlawful activities”, stated Debretsion during the last TPLF Congress. The “patriarch” Sebhat Nega insists: the “true political prisoners” should have been separated from the “criminals”. His opinion of the whole reform process: “not at that level and with wrong procedures”.[3]
Mr. René,
Sebehat Nega is the last person to be called to the witness table by Ethiopians to tell us who is criminal and who is not. Debretsion lacks a moral ground to stand on and tell us about “unlawful activities”. Debretion is a sex addict and was busy traveling to Asia in search of sex and billing tax payers’ when the Ethiopian peoples were rising up and paralyzing his regime. His regime is rendered fascist, criminal, and to his dismay, the Prime Minster unequivocally called it a terrorist organization! For you to travel to Mekele and tell us what TPLF criminals sitting on a record of genocides feel about the reform is laughable to say the least. It is their fascist regime that is being reformed.
Where is the mention of that admission by the Prime Minster in your analysis?
- “If questioned about their real allegiance, most would confess proximity to the other Oromo ethno-nationalist forces, which are irrefutably “confederacies”: Dawud Ibsa’s OLF, Merera Gudina/Bekele Gerba’s OFC, Leenco Lata’s ODF and, last but not least, the Queerroo and Jawar Mohammed.”
Mr. René,
I believe that you are delusional or lack understanding of the Qeerroo movement. A little due diligence would have helped you to put together a fact based analysis than relying on Facebook comics and gossips.
Perhaps you can spend a couple of weeks in East, West, North, South, and Central Oromia and educate yourself about the allegiance of the Oromo Qeerroo. Their allegiance is to the Flag of the Oromo people and the Oromo National Struggle for justice and Freedom, ending economic and cultural domination by the Abyssinians!
- The nightmare scenario of an intensification and exacerbation of the “ethnic clashes” obsesses everybody. However, up to now at least, they have remained localized. Could they coalesce? The memory of the civil war of the 70s and 80s haunts the middle-aged generation. Young Oromo were accused of a pogrom against Southerners in Burayu, in the outskirts of Addis Ababa. Young Southerners in Arba Minch wanted to take revenge on the local Oromo. It was the middle-aged who managed to stop them. This kind of intervention is not unusual. It could be the ultimate lifeline for avoidance of a Yugoslavian scenario. It could be the ultimate lifeline for avoidance of a Yugoslavian scenario.
Mr. René, this is blatantly false and dangerous! WHO “accused young Oromo” for the Burayumassacre? Did you get your information from ESAT, an Oromo Phobia Media? A media that goes as far as editing a gruesome video from West Africa and accuse Oromo Youth (See ESAT Enweyay July 18, 2018 episode).
For your information Burayu’s massacre is an organized massacre by TPLF criminals and Ginbot 7 supporters. Their wish was for Arba Minch to revenge and to destabilize to claim inability of Dr. Abiy’s government to secure peace and call for transitional government. Qeerroo’s peaceful resistance and demonstration has been taking place for years, more intensively between 2014 and beginning of 2018, nothing in the likes of Burayu happened throughout Oromia even toward Tigray people as the TPLF Agazian shot and killed hundreds of Qeerroo. Why all of a sudden we have this following the homecoming of the Oromo Liberation Front? Qeerroo took care of the weak, the homeless, and the sick as they strike. Arguably the Qeerroo movement is one of the most organized and highly disciplined youth movement in recent memory anywhere in the world! The fact that it is highly organized and disciplined should tell you that there is a clear organizational structure and organizing Organization with a long history of organization and resistance behind it. I leave it to you to figure out who this could be. Hint: You know it but you don’t want to say it.
- “The Oromo nationalist forces are now convinced that Ethiopia’s destiny is in their hands. But are they capable of shouldering the necessary historical responsibility? In other words, can they overcome their historical, cultural, religious and material divisions? The different movements, or more precisely their different leaders – Merera Gudina and Bekele Gerba, Leenco Lata, Dawud Ibsa – have their respective sub-regional strongholds, not to mention Jawar Mohammed, who reaches a much more dispersed public.”
Mr. René Lafort,
Every Abyssinian rulers use divide and rule, a proven tactics, to divide the Oromo people. I am suspicious where you got your data here. No one dare to say that Leenco Lata has a sub-regional strong hold. If you know one let us know. Again ESAT is failing you here!
As a way to understand what is going on in the Oromo Nation, I suggest to you again to travel in Oromia and find out for yourself what the Oromo people think and want at this point of time. From what we see after the homecoming of the Oromo Liberation Front, after more than 6 million people descending to Finfinnee to welcome them, the largest political rally in the history of organized politics, the Oromo People in the East, West, North, South, and Central Oromia are welcoming the OLF with open arms and still going on. Tell a single political or religious organization that has this much support from its people.
In conclusion, what you did is not bad for someone who does not know the fabrics of the country, someone who does not speak the language of the people, but it is far from the reality!
Next time, go outside your pals and talk to the real people, talk to the people who are in the thick of the revolution. Do not go to your old criminal friends in Mekele and tell us what they think and how they feel.
I hope your next analysis is more factual and unbiased!
Cheers!
No comments:
Post a Comment