Press Release of the Orome Democratic Front (ODF)

On organization
The Central Committee of the Oromo Democratic Front (ODF) held an historical meeting from July 29 to August 4, 2016. The meeting was held at a time when people from all over Oromia were intensifying their uprising to demand democratic rights and genuine self-government in unison. The meeting recognized that the peaceful political struggle the Oromo people are waging inside the country is entering a new phase, gaining resilience and continuity.

After listening to the organizational report presented by the Executive Committee, the Central Committee thoroughly discussed and reflected on the report. The Central Committee commended the Executive Committee’s effort and performance in implementing policies and carrying out day-to-day operations of the organization. The leadership took note of the strengths and weaknesses confronting the organization. A unified direction and steps were formulated to build on our strengths and also lessons were drawn from our weaknesses.
On Oromo protest
The meeting also assessed the political development in the Oromia region, and other regions, in Ethiopia.  Twenty-five years after it came to power, the Ethiopian People’s Democratic Front (EPRDF) neither democratized the country nor tackled developmental challenges facing our people. Massive violations of human rights and the prevalence of abject poverty continued to be features of EPRDF rule. Frustrated by the lack of democratic rights, good governance, and basic services, the protests instigated by the Oromo protest is now evolving into a country-wide mass uprising to demand fundamental democratic change.  Instead of addressing the legitimate demands of the various peoples, the regime chose to savagely attack its own citizens by killing, torturing, and incarcerating thousands of people. These desperate and cruel reactions by the regime against peaceful protesters proved to be futile as the yearning for change ignited in Oromia by the Oromo people is expanding to the other parts of the country, confirming the inevitability of change.
On the Gonder protest
The protest that started nine months ago in Oromia put the Oromo people in the front of the struggle for democratic change in Ethiopia. Now the movement has started to spread throughout the country. This week, a massive and spectacular nonviolent demonstration was held in Gonder. One of the historical significances of the protest in Gonder is the expression of unwavering solidarity with the struggle of the Oromo people and condemning the atrocities perpetrated against the Oromo by the cruel regime run by the EPRDF and dominated by the Tigrean People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), who have perpetrated extreme violations of human rights in the region. The demonstration of solidarity through nonviolent protests not only strengthens our peoples’ unbreakable bond but also speeds up and steers the country-wide movement, kindling the beginning of democratic change to be realized by consigning dictatorship in Ethiopia to dust bin of history. On this occasion, we call upon all the peoples of Ethiopia to defy the divide and rule policy of the regime and stand shoulder to shoulder in their struggle for democratic change and peaceful coexistence.
Call for the formation of Ethiopia-wide alliance
The Central Committee discussed in detail various initiatives the ODF has undertaken to reach out to various Ethiopian opposition groups and leaders. Recognizing that the relationship that has been cultivated with these groups is encouraging, the Central Committee instructed the Executive Committee to further strengthen the ties established in order to work toward the realization of an Ethiopia-wide coalition that can spearhead the nonviolent resistance engulfing the country. The coming together of various opposition groups not only speeds up the struggle by providing the most needed leadership, it also lays down the transition to democracy and peace. The ODF is happy to announce that it is working hard to materialize the Ethiopia-wide alliance and hopes to make public the end result of this effort in the near future. We also call upon all political organizations to be vigilant of the current political development in our country and come together to avoid any gap that the crumbling of the incumbent regime may create. United we will win, divided we will fail. The down fall of the EPRDF regime is certain. The question is not about if, but when. We need to play a constructive role by leading our peoples to democratic change. We cannot squander this opportunity as we have missed many of them in the past.
Call to international communities
The Central Committee calls upon international community to withdraw its financial and military support to the autocratic regime dominated by the TPLF in Ethiopia for a number of reasons. First and foremost, the regime is internally illegitimate, drawing support for its leadership only from external foreign powers rather than internal forces within Ethiopia. The United States and other members of the international community who are fighting extremism are undermining their own democratic values and long term security interests by continuing to support the incumbent regime. The United States is only compromising its long-term security interests by continuing to support an illegitimate and autocratic dictatorship in Ethiopia. Pressure must be put upon the TPLF/EPRDF to heed the demands of the people within the country they seek to rule, and the most effective way to influence the regime is pressure from external influential powers.

Justice and freedom for all!!
The Oromo Democratic Front Central Committee
August 5, 2016

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ታንከ በሕዝባዊ ቁጣ ላይ አይሰራም

ከዘነበ ታምራት

የፊታችን ቅዳሜ ባሕርዳር ሊደረግ የታቀደውን ሕዝባዊ ስብስባ ለማኮላሸት የትግራይ ነጻ አውጭ ግንባር ባዶ እጁን የሚወጣውን ሰላማዊ ሰልፈኛን በታንክ ለመበተን እየተዘጋጀ መሆኑን ፌስቡክ ላይ አነበብኩ። ወያኔ በ 1997 አዲስ አበባ ላይ በተደረገ ሕዝባዊ አመጽ ታንክ አውጥቶ ሕዝብን ለመፍጀት መቃጣቱ የሚታወስ ነው።

የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ አገሪቱን ከጠላት ለመከላከል በገዛው ከባድ የጦር መሳሪያ ራሱ ሊደመሰስበት አፈ ሙዝ የዞረበት ለመጀመሪያ ጊዜ በወያኔ ነው። አሁንም በባሕርዳር ሕዝባዊ ስብሰባ ወያኔ እንደለመደው እንኳን ታንከ ኒውክሌር ቢያወጣ ጀግናው የአማራ ሕዝብ የሚበገር እንደማይሆን ወያኔ ተረድቶ ከድርጊቱ መቆጠብ አለበት። ይህ ባይሆን ግን ጸረ ሕዝብ የሆነውን ትእዛዝ የሰጠው ባለ ስልጣን ወየውለት። ማርያምን፤ የአማራው ሕዝብ አይምረውም！ በ 1997ቱም ጊዜ ለወጣው ታንክ ትእዛዝ የስጠው ራሱ መለስ ዜናዊ እንደነበር ታውቋል። ይህም ወንጀለኛ ከእግዚአብሄር ፍርዱን አግኝቷል። ተባባሪዎቹም የታወቁ ስለሆኑ ፍርዳቸውን ለመቀበል ጊዜያቸውን እየጠበቁ ናቸው። እነዚህ ልባቸው የተደፈነ ወያኔዎች ሕዝብን ከመጤፍ ባለመቁጠር የፈጸሙት ግፍ የሁዋላ ኋላ ራሳቸው ላይ እንደሚጠመጠም ልብ አይሉም።

በሰላማዊ ሰልፍ ላይ በተገኙ ዜጎች ላይ ታንክ በመደገንና በመግደል እስከ ዛሬ የሚታወቁ የለየላቸው ጸረ ሕዝብ መንግስታት ቻይና፤ ሶርያና በትግራይ ወያኔ ግንባር የሚመራው የኢትዮጵያ መንግሰት ናቸው።  የ 1989ኙ የቴናነም አደባባዩ እልቂት በስልጣን ሽኩቻ  የተወጠሩት የቻይና አምባገነኖች መሪዎች ውጤት ነው። በቻይና ኮሚኒስት ፓርቲ ወሰን የለሽ ስልጣን ሲረገጥ የነበረው የቻይና ሕዝብ በተለይም ወጣቱ ክፍል የዲሞክራሲ አመራርን በመጠየቅ ለአሰርተ አመታት ስላማዊ ሰልፍ በመውጣት አያሌ አቤቱታዎችን ቢያቀርብም ከመታሰርና በየምክንያቱ እየታፈነ ከመገደል አልዳነም። በተለይም በ 1987 /ም የቴይናነም አደባባይን ባጥለቀለቀው ሰልፍ 24 ወጣቶች በመታሰራቸው ወዲያውንም ነጻነተኛ /ሊበራል ናቸው ተብለው ይታሰቡ የነበሩትና የተማሪውን ንቅናቄ ይደግፉ የነበሩት የፓርቲው ዋና ጸሃፊ ሁ ያቦንግ ስልጣናቸውን ቢለቁም በፓርቲው ባለስልጣናት መካክል በነበረው ሽኩቻ ሸር በመገደላቸው የሕዝብ ቁጣ አገንፍሎ ቴያናምነን አደባባይ እንደገና በሕዝብ ቁጥጥር ሰር ዋለ። ሕዝብ ተማማለ።  የኮሚኒስት ፓርቲው ሰልጣኑን ዲሞክራሲያዊ ካላደረገ ቤቴ አልመለስም አለ።የኮሚኒስቱ ፓርቲውም ይፈርሳል ተብሎ ተፈራ።

ይሁን እንጂ በዚህ መሃል አክራሪው ኮሚኒስት ዜንግ ዚኦፒንግ ሽኩቻውን ጥስው ወጥተው የፓርቲው ዋና ጸሃፊ ሆነው አድፍጠው ቁጭ ብለው ኖሯል። አምባገነኑ ኮሚኒስት ፓርቲው ሕዝባዊ አመጹን በሃይል ከመደምሰስ ሌላ አማራጭ የለም ሲል አወጀ። ቀጥሎም በቀላል ብረት ለበስ የታገዘ ሃይል ወደ አስፈሪው ቲያናምነን አደባባይ ላከ። ሆኖም ይሄ ኃይል ሕዝቡን የፈራ መስሎ ምንም ጉዳት ሳያደርስ ተመለሰ። ይህም ለአንዴና ለመጨረሻው ሕዝባዊ አመጹን ለመጨፍለቅ ሆን ተብሎ የታቀደ ነው ይባላል። እንደተባለውም ኮሚኒስት ፓርቲው ለሕዝቡ ጥያቄ ዲሞክራሲያዊ መፍትሄ ከመስጠት ይልቅ በከባድ ብረት  ለበስ የታገዘ ጦር ልኮ በገዛ ወገኑ ላይ ዘመተ። በቲይናምነን አደባባይ መሬት ሲኦል ሆነች። ለጠላት የተመረቱ ታንኮችና ብረት ለበስ የጦር መሳሪያዎች አፈ ሙዛቸውን ወደ ወገን አዞሩ። ለአምባገነን መሪዎች ቆሙ። የሕዝብ ልጆች በጥይት ተጨፈጨፉ፤ በታንክ ተጨፈለቁ።

በሌላ በኩል ታጋዮች ዝም ብለው አልተሰውም። ከዘላለም ባርነት የአንድ ቀን ነጻነትን መርጠው ጠላትን እየጣሉ ወደቁ። አያሌ ታንኮችንና ብረት ለበስ ተሽካሪዎችን አቃጠሉ። አያሌ ወታደሮችን እያነቁ ወደቁ። እስካሁንም ድረስ አርማቸውን አንስተው በቻይና ለዲሞክራሲ የሚታገሉ አሉ።  ቻይናም በነዚህ ታጋዮች ደም ተገነባች። የዓለም ታላቅ የኢኮኖሚ ኃይልም ለመሆን በቃች።“ታጋይ ይሞታል እንጅ  ትግል አይሞትም።” የሚባለው ለዚህ ነው። ካለ ሞት ስርየት የለም። ጥቂት ልጆቿ ሞቱ፤ ቻይና ግን ዳነች።

የትግራይ ነጻ አውጭ ግንባርና አሽከሮቻቸው የአማራ፤ የኦሮሞና የደቡብ አሳፋሪ አሰካሪዎች የቻይና ኮሚኒስት ፓርቲን ልምድ ይወስዱ ይሆናል። ጎንደር ላይ የፈሩ መስለው መመለሳቸው የቲያናምነን አደባባዩን ሕዝባዊ አመጽ ለማክሸፍ ከተላከው የቻይና ኃይል አሰራር ጋር ይመሳሰላል። የባሕርዳሩ በታንክ የተጠናከረ ከሆነ ከፍተኛ መስዋእትነት ሊጠይቅ ስለሚችል ከወዲሁ መታጠቅና ለፍልሚያው መዘጋጀት ያስፈልጋል። በተለይም አማራ የሆንክ በማንኛውም ጊዜ አገርህን ያገለገልክ ወይንም አሁንም በመከላከያ ሰራዊት ያለህ ትግሬ ያልሆንክ የሰራዊቱ አባል ሁሉ የወያኔን ጭፍጨፋ ለማክሸፍና ወገንን ለመታደግ ቆርጠህ ተነሳ። ታንክ ማስፈራሪያ ሊሆን ይችል ይሆናል እንጂ በሕዝባዊ ቁጣ ላይ አይሰራም።

ነጻነትክን እንደዋዛ የተቀማህ ወገኔ ሆይ！ ተነስ！ ማን ይፈራል ሞት？ማን ይፈራል？ ለአገር ለወገን ሲባል፤ ሁሉም ሰው ይሞታል！እያልክ ዘምር！

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የኢሜይል አድራሻቸው ztamira@yahoo.com ነው

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 [ZT1]

Public Anger Blazing in Gondar

 Public Protest raged Gonder yesterday, Sunday, July 31, 2016 demanding democratic change in the nation in general and the release of prisoners, the return of Gondar provinces illegally annexed into Tigray State Administration and respect to Amhara People in particular.

The provinces the demonstrators request to return to the legitimate owners were formerly administered by the administrative region of Gondar which is a homeland to Amharas but added to Tigray when the Tigray Liberation Front (TPLF) seized power by the muzzle of the Gun in 1992.  “We are Amharas, and the proud children of Ethiopia” the crowd shouted. “Amharas are Ethiopians; they deserve respect as member of the nation,” they Added. The demonstrators also shouted that the unity and integrity of the Amhara people is still intact that the TPLF propaganda will not obstruct their oneness. "Amharas are one and indivisible wherever they may live." they insisted.

The Amharas have been a target of devastating subjugation and oppression ever since the TPLF took power by the muzzle of the Gun. The TPLF led government misappropriated fertile lands of Wollo and Gonder to add to Tigray Administrative region. Some taken from Gonder include Setit Humera, a province most known for its production of the cash crop "Sesame seed," that obtains a huge foreign currency to the nation next to "Coffee."   Another is Wolqaait Tegedie, a hot spot

at the border of Ethiopia and the Sudan. The inhabitants of the region complain that they are forced to be Tigreans while they are actually Amharas. “We are Amharas who lived for a time immemorial here as Amharas. Our language is Amharic, our culture is Amhara. We speak Amharic, express our sorrows and pleasures in the Amharic language and Amhara culture,” a candid speaker said in a Protest gathering in Wolqaait a few weeks ago.   But the TPLF needs this border town as an access to the Sudan via land transportation. This is an important route that links the future Republic of Tigray to a foreign land. The TPLF is also reserving Assab Port for the future Republic which would serve as an access to the sea. It will gain it either through an exchange to Badimie in a negotiation with a friendly Eritrean leadership yet to come or by invading Eritrea when the time comes. It is for this reason they don't fight for Assab today. 

Wollo is another Amhara region with which the TPLF would be deep in trouble soon. In addition to the high valued sesame seed farming land of Setit Humera of Gondar, the TPLF has taken over the fertile agricultural lands of Wollo, such as Rayana Azbo Zone, Seqota, Kobo and the like that would staunchly support its people in becoming self-sufficient in food production.   Obviously Wollo will turn on the TPLF with similar demand to Gondar. It will follow the foot step of Gondar in the demand to reinstating its territories back to the legitimate owners. The movement has already started and with the coordination and support from Gondar in the North and the patriotic North Shoa compatriots in the South, the issue will become a headache to the TPLF.

Observers comment that the TPLF had better not mess with the Amhara or will pass away as a mist in a hot zone. However, the billionaires at the TPLF palace are not satisfied yet. Their bellies are tight but still want to eat more, their hands are stained with enough blood and yet they want to kill more. They have become like the idols described in the book of John, they have eyes, they don’t see. They have ears, they don’t hear. They don’t even listen to their loyal friends, the Chinese! They are waiting for the fire that glowed in Gondar to end up in the waters of North Shoa, as predicted!