Oromo press | October 13/2012
In recent months, the activities of Oromo Dialogue Forum have been looming large in the Diasporas. The group has transformed itself from holding small and secret house meetings, where the founders would Skype in from Germany, Norway and Minnesota to holding public meetings in cities such as Minneapolis and Washington DC, among others. The questions many ask is: How was this organization formed and where is it headed? Does what ODF do qualify as "dialogue"? Is it a neutral body to carry out dialogue? In this, piece we will present a simple chronology of the formation and evolution of ODF to help the public understand the organization.
August 2006 Brig Gen Kemal Gelchu along with two other officers and 100 soldiers defects
from Ethiopian Army and joins OLF in Eritrea
2008 Brig Gen Kemal Gelchu breaks away from OLF and forms Jijiirama Koree Yeroo
with the goal of struggling for Ethiopia's unity.
July 2008 Dima Noggo misses OLF meeting, but attends Jijjiirama meeting expecting to rise to
power
July 2008 Lenco Lata declares that he is neither in OLF nor in Jijjiirama
2010 Lico Bukura, Abdata Basire and Kanu Jirmo conspire and handover Jijjiirama armed
troops to Ethiopia and declare OLF is no longer at war with the Ethiopian regime
2010 Brig Gen Gelchu and Col. Hailu Gonfa declare they struggle not for Oromo, but Ethiopia
2011 Jijjiirama splits into more than two factions--Gelchu/Amin Jundi joined Ginbot7
2011 Mediation between Jijjiirama and OLF fails
2011 Ibrahim Mummee faction leaves the Ethiopianist Kemal Gelchu group
due to internal power struggle
2011 Lenco Lata gets fired for disciplinary issues from the OLF takes with him some OLF members
2012 Oromo Dialogue Forum (ODF) formed with tens of unhappy OLF dropouts and
dropouts from Birg Gen Kamal Gelchu's faction
2012 Lenco Lata, Lenco Bati, Dima Noggo and Hassen Hussein became important
ODF officials
2012 ODF leaders lecture the general public always on a singe topic "The Oromo Struggle
Under the Leadership of the OLF: From Where to Where?"
2012 Obbo Lube Birru appears on radio and says ODF is part of the problem, not a neutral
third-party, to hold anything resembling cross-faction dialogue
2012 Oromo Affairs concludes Jijjiirama renamed itself "Oromo Dialogue Forum"
ODF proposes that it wants to liberate the peoples of Ethiopia, but not the Oromo people specifically. The ODF disowns the Oromo and calls on Oromos to abandon calling themselves Oromos. ODF asks people "why do you call yourselves Oromos?" The ODF leadership believes disowning Oromo is the main selling point of their programs to Ethiopians and the international community. The leaders also deny that they are Oromos--an example is when Dima Noggo said "inde agatami hono Ilu Ababor Gore akebabi new yetweledkut" [by chance I was born in Ilu Ababa Bor around Gore] on Amaharic Esat TV.
So, does Oromo Dialogue Forum stand for Oromo interests or not? The above are the facts, you decide for yourself.
---Background video material
oromo press
In recent months, the activities of Oromo Dialogue Forum have been looming large in the Diasporas. The group has transformed itself from holding small and secret house meetings, where the founders would Skype in from Germany, Norway and Minnesota to holding public meetings in cities such as Minneapolis and Washington DC, among others. The questions many ask is: How was this organization formed and where is it headed? Does what ODF do qualify as "dialogue"? Is it a neutral body to carry out dialogue? In this, piece we will present a simple chronology of the formation and evolution of ODF to help the public understand the organization.
August 2006 Brig Gen Kemal Gelchu along with two other officers and 100 soldiers defects
from Ethiopian Army and joins OLF in Eritrea
2008 Brig Gen Kemal Gelchu breaks away from OLF and forms Jijiirama Koree Yeroo
with the goal of struggling for Ethiopia's unity.
July 2008 Dima Noggo misses OLF meeting, but attends Jijjiirama meeting expecting to rise to
power
July 2008 Lenco Lata declares that he is neither in OLF nor in Jijjiirama
2010 Lico Bukura, Abdata Basire and Kanu Jirmo conspire and handover Jijjiirama armed
troops to Ethiopia and declare OLF is no longer at war with the Ethiopian regime
2010 Brig Gen Gelchu and Col. Hailu Gonfa declare they struggle not for Oromo, but Ethiopia
2011 Jijjiirama splits into more than two factions--Gelchu/Amin Jundi joined Ginbot7
2011 Mediation between Jijjiirama and OLF fails
2011 Ibrahim Mummee faction leaves the Ethiopianist Kemal Gelchu group
due to internal power struggle
2011 Lenco Lata gets fired for disciplinary issues from the OLF takes with him some OLF members
2012 Oromo Dialogue Forum (ODF) formed with tens of unhappy OLF dropouts and
dropouts from Birg Gen Kamal Gelchu's faction
2012 Lenco Lata, Lenco Bati, Dima Noggo and Hassen Hussein became important
ODF officials
2012 ODF leaders lecture the general public always on a singe topic "The Oromo Struggle
Under the Leadership of the OLF: From Where to Where?"
2012 Obbo Lube Birru appears on radio and says ODF is part of the problem, not a neutral
third-party, to hold anything resembling cross-faction dialogue
2012 Oromo Affairs concludes Jijjiirama renamed itself "Oromo Dialogue Forum"
ODF proposes that it wants to liberate the peoples of Ethiopia, but not the Oromo people specifically. The ODF disowns the Oromo and calls on Oromos to abandon calling themselves Oromos. ODF asks people "why do you call yourselves Oromos?" The ODF leadership believes disowning Oromo is the main selling point of their programs to Ethiopians and the international community. The leaders also deny that they are Oromos--an example is when Dima Noggo said "inde agatami hono Ilu Ababor Gore akebabi new yetweledkut" [by chance I was born in Ilu Ababa Bor around Gore] on Amaharic Esat TV.
So, does Oromo Dialogue Forum stand for Oromo interests or not? The above are the facts, you decide for yourself.
---Background video material
Dear all
ReplyDeleteI am very much sorry reading such low class information and rubbish that destroy Oromummaa. I wonder why the media people also post such articles which drag Oromo struggle back and demoralize those who try to contribute for our struggle by their ideology or way they think. To lead Oromo struggle to its end, our strategy should be very diverse and include all individuals, parties or interested groups. There is no one simple ideology that is perfect and that everything should follow. We should look everything in different directions and understandings. The OFD may or may not be the perfect ideology for liberation of Oromo and Oromia. However in one way or another, it for sure contributes for Oromo struggle. We have to explore all possibilities and methods that could be beneficial for Oromo struggle. I see these diverse ideologies in Oromo struggle as a resource for our struggle. But the problem is how we design a system which accommodates all those varieties. All have one thing in common, Oromo and Oromummaa. As a result, as far as we have this in common it should be possible directly or indirectly to work hand in hand. So why we demoralize each other than giving moral, go ahead wish you success? Such type of information are old fashion, no one tolerate now onwards, especially we young Oromos. It is better to keep quit if you don’t have something good for Oromo struggle than doing such foolish work. Also possible to be positive to each other and encourage one another.
We have to think everything respect to suffering Oromo people, not respect to our positions in OLF, personal or group advantages!!