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Since the formation of the OLC, some member organizations have issued statements which of concern to their respective organizations. These statements were issued by IBSO (Statement 1), Union of Oromos in North America (UONA) on its transformation (Statement 2), Gurmu Saba (GS) on its dissolution (Statement 3) and a Joint statement from IBSO and DUULO (Statement 4).
| Statement 1: |
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August 10, 1999
Dear Oromo compatriots,
Few weeks ago, we were surprised to receive a “statement” labeled as "IBSO'S FIRST MAJOR HOUSE CLEANING". The statement accuses our dear members as antagonists and even calls for the Oromo public to “finish them off”. Such hidden agenda of some individuals has become a day-to-day activity that is yet to be identified.
We assume that some of you might have seen this statement, as certain groups who were engulfed in such a statement were busy duplicating and distributing in many cities of North America and Europe. While the interests of those, distributing such absurd and scandalous statement is clear, we opt to leave such judgment for the Oromo public. Yet, the fact of the matter is that:
neither the leaders nor the General members of IBSO were aware of such indictment, except seeing it circulating in North America and Europe. there was no such decision made by IBSO's leadership. Rather, all members of IBSO and concerned Oromo individuals were furious about the alleged statement, distributed in the name of IBSO.
Although we would have much to say and don't undermine the message the "statement" bears endangering the lives and the cause we stand for, we intend to look at a wider picture. At a time when the Oromo people find themselves in a much higher degree of insecurity and untold suffering, we chose not to dwell on such ill-conceived allegations and distortion of facts. We rather believe that the priority of the Oromo people and ours is the liberation of Oromiyaa. Therefore, our struggle must be aimed at the TPLF-government and the means of destroying the apparatus of Ethiopian colonialism.
With this statement, we are simply moved to outright reject the false statement being propagated as if it has been issued by IBSO. The statement is a pure fabrication and conspiracy that might have originated from an enemy camp. While the statement has nothing to do with our organization, IBSO will continue to fetch for its source and expose those behind the scene to the Oromo public. Until then, whoever has fabricated to issue such an immoral statement, we would like them to know that such engagement is contrary to our organizational ethics, discipline, and most importantly negate the Oromo value we treasure most.
In the mean time, it is no surprise and we are already used to such timid warnings and threatening of our lives since we joined the struggle. However, what makes the current approach different is that it camouflages our own organization to attack our comrades. Whatever the reason (s) may be, we don't have the slightest doubt that the statement was intended to serve the enemy of our organization and the Oromo people in general.
Regardless of the hideous statement and its malicious contents, we would like to assure the Oromo public that IBSO and the organizations we closely work with are committed to our goal- Bilisummaa. Together with all Oromo organizations and individuals who are determined to bring about the liberation of Oromiyaa, we are sure to achieve our cherished goal eventually.
Finally, we want it to be known that let alone such destitute propaganda, character assassination and life threatening; nothing can stop us short of our Bilisummaa.
Oromiyaa shall be free with the determination and collective efforts of its people!!!
Executive Committee of IBSO
| Statement 2: |
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The Union of Oromo in North America (UONA) has been engaged consistently in the Oromo national liberation struggle for the last 25 years. During its formative years, UONA had been primarily involved in raising the level of political consciousness of Oromo nationals in North America and in organizing them to take part in the struggle. Later, it had been mobilizing Oromos to rally behind the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) and to provide it unwavering moral, political and material supports for armed struggle it was waging to liberate Oromiyaa. Throughout its existence, it has served as a voice of the Oromo people and their struggle by publicizing their plight and their cause to the international community. In short, during the last 25 years UONA has made every effort for the enhancement of the liberation struggle and for the realization of the aspiration of the Oromo people for freedom, justice, and peace.
While UONA takes pride in what the organization has accomplished so far and leave the judgment to history as to its genuine contribution to the Oromo struggle for independence, it realizes that the challenge ahead for the struggle is quite monumental and even more demanding. It strongly believes that the Oromo liberation struggle is now at a crucial junction: at a junction where all enemy forces, new and old brands of naftangas and their cohorts, make ever conceivable effort to strangulate it.
Understanding the gravity of this situation and being convinced that the success of the Oromo liberation struggle hinges on a more determined effort of every Oromo nationalist and Oromo political organization, UONA has been exploring for some time possibilities of preparing the organization for a higher level of commitment that commensurate with what the struggle demands. Following a preliminary assessment, it formulated and presented alternative proposals on the transformation of the organization to its 24th Congress held in August 1998. After thoroughly debating on all the alternatives, the Congress opted for one of the proposals that entailed the concept of reorganizing UONA and redefining the scope of its function.
Following this option and based on directives given by the Congress, the leadership of UONA has worked and completed the process of transforming the organization. Among others it prepared and presented a program and constitution to the 25th Congress of UONA that convened on July 8 and 9,1999, in Toronto, Canada. This Congress adopted the program and constitution, and officially transformed UONA to assume a higher role in the Oromo national liberation struggle. It also endorsed a change of name, effective immediately, to The Democratic Union for the Liberation of Oromiyaa or DUULO in Afaan Oromoo.
| Statement 3: |
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August 5, 1999
Gurmuu Sabaa was established as an ad hoc body by Oromo activists drawn from different Oromo political, social and community organizations but who shared similar deep concern for the state of the Oromo national liberation struggle that existed in the early 1990's. It began organizing itself around late 1993 and formally released its program in May 1994. Ever since it has been diligently working in accordance with its program. As a core agenda of its program, it had addressed political challenges surrounding the Oromo struggle and suggested a sense of direction that all political forces, leaders and the led alike ought to pursue to make the liberation of Oromiya a fait acompli.
Prior to mentioning what necessitated its dissolution, it would be quite indispensable to touch upon some background situations that brought about the birth of Gurmuu Sabaa in the first place in order to put it in some historical context. Although this has been very well elucidated in its program, for the interest of refreshing the memory of our readers, we find it important to recapitulate at least the factors at play for the emergence of Gurmuu Sabaa into the political arena of the Oromo national liberation struggle. Events in the world political scene that had been unfolding particularly from the beginning of the latter half of 1980's up until the turn of this decade ultimately resulted in the end of the two rival world political camps (West and East) and the emergence of the New World Order led by the winning West. This global political climate sent a reverberating wave of change that the Empire State of Ethiopia hardly resisted. As a client state of the eastern bloc, it couldn't insulate itself from such a wave of pressure of the westerly wind. This external pressure coupled with internal political turmoil brought about the demise of the Derg and ushered 'the hope for a democratic transition that possibly culminate in the changing of the imperial nature of Ethiopia'.
This global and regional political change in turn caught the Oromo national liberation struggle by surprise. Unprepared and ill equipped for such a change, it was swept by the steadfastly moving political avalanche and found itself in the quagmire of Abyssinan politics: the politics that appeared to have altered its forms but remained virtually the same in substance. The TPLF, which spearheaded the unseating of the Derge, expressing its token gesture of wishing to resolve the thorny issue of self-determination via peaceful and democratic means, signed a transitional charter of sharing government with political forces of its choice just to appear democratic in the eye of international community. Following some courtship and flirtation, most Oromo liberation forces happened to be its choices for partnership in leading the transitional government.
Under this circumstance, the Oromo national liberation struggle came to alternative routes. One was for the Oromo liberation forces to work from within the TPLF-led Government of Ethiopia, and the other one was for these forces to engage the government from without in order to get rid of colonial subjugation. The former soon proved very difficult for obvious reasons. On one hand the TPLF soon becoming the custodian of the imperial order sharpened its sword to nip at the bud any such moves geared to 'dismembering Ethiopia' while seating in one caffee. On the other hand there was at best minimal effort that either one front or several or all of them had made to become a serious threat to the TPLF from within. In fact, when they could have coordinated their efforts along this line and become a formidable force they unfortunately wasted their time and energy by directing it into inter and intra-organizational bickering and gave the TPLF a grace time to design its second move with a sober mind.
Likewise, the second option of resorting to armed struggle was equally made very difficult. As part of its long-term strategy of thwarting any future endeavour of seeking the independence of Oromiyaa through armed struggle, the TPLF and its allies crafted the idea and plan of encampment of the Oromo liberation army. Soon enough the TPLF embarked on implementing this plan. Through intense negotiation and lobbying, it finally succeeded in having the army encamped. This meant the beginning of the end for the encamped army. No sooner than its encampment, the Oromo liberation army sustained a severe below in the hands of the TPLF. By extension, the Oromo national liberation struggle has experienced unprecedented setbacks.
With the failure of the Oromo liberation forces to effectively make use of either option and with the subsequent setbacks encountered as a result of the encampment of the Oromo liberation army, the Oromo national liberation struggle has entered a critical phase. Externally stifled by the TPLF pressure and internally embroiled by the national rage emanating from the setbacks experienced, the Oromo struggle found itself in a smelting political hotbed.
At this crucial juncture, what has often been observed and heard within Oromo community, and social and political organizations and within the general populace, both in the Diaspora and in Oromiyaa, was a state of mind besieged with anger, frustration, and dismay. Benighted with such a state of mind, be it Oromo political organizations or their supporters dissipated their energy in blaming and defaming one another and finger pointing at each other. This situation has exacerbated the already marred relationships between Oromo political forces, and their choices literally became retreating to their respective politically insulated cocoons. Thus, among such forces political discourse on the fate of our struggle has stalled.
The absence of political discussion on problems that gripped the nation meant ceasing to diagnose the ills of the Oromo national liberation struggle. At the time, this was the most perturbing situation for the Oromo people everywhere. Not so much the crisis that our struggle experienced that was painful, but it was the failure on the part of the Oromo liberation forces to collectively assess the crisis situation and pull through it quickly and resurface as forces to be reckoned with.
It is quite understandable that no liberation struggle emerges victorious without any setback. No one has expected that the Oromo struggle was unique to achieve its goal smoothly without running into any stumbling bocks. The Oromo people, especially those who are the backbone of our national liberation struggle, duly know that our struggle heads through the most tortuous path. They realize that it could encounter challenges at any time. They very well know that it would demand enormous sacrifice.
With all this too clear, it was the expectation of the Oromo people to learn from all forces leading our struggle what had transpired and led to the setbacks that our struggle encountered. However, hardly any organization attempted to provide the Oromo people any explanation. No one organization used the experiences of the setbacks as a stepping stones and provided a revitalized leadership and sought solutions for the impediments to our struggle by involving our people and then galvanizing them for further struggle. Instead all organizations resorted to their private quarters and took so much time treating their private wounds, out of site and out of mind of the public. This resulted in lack of a national leadership and thus a direction for our struggle.
Deeply concerned of this state of our struggle, Oromo elders coming from across Oromiyaa made repeated calls for all Oromo liberation forces to shade their differences, form a united front, and provide an effective leadership for the struggle. For this noble purpose, they also made every effort to bring them together but to no avail.
Similarly, ordinary Oromos from all walks of life became seriously concerned for the failure of Oromo political organizations to work in unison on common national agenda. It was from among these ordinary folks that the idea of Gurmuu Sabaa emerged. Like any one, members of Gurmuu Sabaa noted unhealthy environment in Oromo politics. They observed superficial political differences that stood on the way of political discourse on national issues, political tolerance and compromise that gave way to intransigence, loyalty for organizations (more of partisan tendencies) having precedence over that of common national goals, deep political fracture that permeated well into even our social and community organizations. They found such a political trend appalling. With no improvement in sight, Gurmuu Sabaa came into existence merely to through its idea for public discourse on exit strategy from the political impasse that shackled our struggle.
The exit strategy was nothing but the culmination of unity of purpose among political forces. The Oromo people have been repeatedly calling for such unity. Even some political organizations have made unity calls. However, no one has spelled out how political unity crystallizes among Oromo forces. It was Gurmuu Sabaa, which took on itself the challenge of addressing the question of how to bring about this unity.
Gurmuu Sabaa framed and presented its idea in its program mainly for Oromo political organizations and the public at large to discuss and expound on it. It has laid out series of steps that need to be taken in order to ultimately establish Oromiyaa Liberation Council (OLC), an institution that can create a conducive political environment for Oromo liberation forces to provide a united national leadership and engage in an effectively coordinated struggle. To this end, Gurmuu Sabaa has extended its call to almost all independent Oromo political and community organizations both at home and in the diaspora. As a result, it has received positive and encouraging responses from most of them with the exception of the OLF and its mass organizations. By closely working with those Oromo organizations that saw some merit in its program, Gurmuu Sabaa has managed to implement its program, and as a result Oromiyaa Liberation Council has become a reality.
In accordance with its program, Gurmuu Sabaa has indicated that it would phase out following the formation of the OLC. Therefore, honoring its commitment it hereby ceases to exist as a political entity of any kind.
In conclusion, members of Gurmuu Sabaa would like to express their high regard and respect for all our people who gave us the benefit of the doubt for what we stood for and made considereble suggestions and comment that enriched and promoted our idea to be embraced by the broader Oromo people. To our critics who were fanning so much that Gurmuu Sabaa was just another camouflaged political organization, rest assured that neither did it intend to be one as we have all along said and nor will it be one any time in the future. We reiterate that it hereby wraps up its mission, effective to date, and wishes the Oromiyaa Liberation Council (Gumii Bilisummaa Oromiyaa) all the success in its endeavour of coordinating the Oromo struggle and leading our people to bilisummaa.
Victory to the Oromo people!!!
Oromiyaa Shall Be Free!!!!!
| Statement 4: |
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The historic conference on National Unity and Self-determination that took place in August of 1997 in Washington, D.C. has allowed Oromo liberation forces to come together in order to lay a groundwork for the formation of a united front under one umbrella organization. In this memorable year, forces that were at the conference managed to form a Task Force. This Task Force was mandated to organize a convention whereby all forces of liberation get invited and fully participate in discussion pertaining to issues of national unity and unity of purpose among Oromo political organizations. Accordingly, the Task Force launched invitation letters to most independent Oromo political organizations and prominent Oromo nationalists in order to attend and contribute to the success of the 1998 Convention. Many organizations and individuals participated in and immensely contributed to the Convention that took place at the University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. This Convention in many ways opened an eye brow for all Oromo forces to realize that the only option left for them was to put aside their petty differences and solidify their forces to liberate our country, Oromiyaa.
The convention was well received and thoroughly discussed matters of importance for liberation of Oromiyaa and finally decided to form a Transitional Liberation Council. The Transitional Liberation Council in turn organized the 1999 Convention where member organizations of the Council:
This sequence of events and generally the political environments within the GBO have encouraged and led IBSO and DUULO to consider working even closely towards our common goals. We believe, we both have the same objectives and goals. We both envision and struggle towards a realization of a liberated and independent Oromiyaa where its people live in freedom, justice, and peace. We both understand our cooperative efforts better contribute to our struggle to de-colonize Oromiyaa. We both have accepted Gumii Bilisummaa Oromiyaa as an institution that coordinates our material and human resources to better serve our national liberation struggle.
Therefore, after assessing and having a good understanding of the above realities, we have agreed to implement the following:
Victory to the Oromo People!!
Oromiyaa Shall Be Free!!