Part I
1. Background
1.1. General
The Sidama nation lives in the horn of Africa, notably in the southern Ethiopia. Sidama is one of Cushitic language speaking nations such as the Oromo, Afar, Somali and numerous others- all indigenous to northeast Africa for several millennia. According to the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia, the Sidama nation had a total population of 4.2 million in 2017 making it the fifth largest nation in Ethiopia after Oromia, 35.4 million; Amhara, 21.1 million; Somali, 5.6 million; and Tigray, 5.2 million. An independent estimate puts the Sidama between 6.5 and 7 million. Besides, notwithstanding the ancient history of Abyssinia dating back to three millennia, the Sidama nation and other Cushitic language speaking nations of the Horn of Africa were indigenous nations to this region dating as far back as 15, 000 years. The Sidama nation was annexed into the Ethiopian Empire by the Abyssinian King Minelik II in 1891, who sought to expand his territory to fend off the threat of the European colonial expansion following the Berlin scramble for Africa Conference of 1884 to divide Africa among the then major powers.