The Ethnic Rift

Before going into this particular subject it is important to commend CUD for their achievement simply because they have made it to the USA congress straight from the streets, and of course, the leaders came straight out of prison. That is very commendable although whether they know it or not what they accomplished is as good as reporting to the sheriff’s office. Moreover, because of the impression they made they have adjusted the limelight to shine at them directly, while they have taken their seat comfortably under the microscope, doing exactly what everyone wanted. The fact that the existing administration of TPLF/EPRDF is already in a hot water simply because the Americans are going to tighten their purse unless the human rights issue is undertaken properly will make their effort timely.

From what could be observed there is nothing TPLF/EPRDF have to be afraid of except CUD members who know how to make the right kind of noise and until an investigation uncovers the truth, they could cause a lot of damage. However, for the benefit of the doubt, CUD members have to be seen through favorable eyes because the chance that any kind of bad elements would surface while under the watchful eyes of the Americans is minimal. The fact that the existing regime is going to repeat the same kind of mistake Derg did by unnecessarily cozying up to the Chinese should also has to be scrutinized, because if they do that what they do is running away from reality. Instead, they have to meet the requirement, which is not only America’s demand, but the whole democratized world want them to do the right things and playing two powers against each other, which was atypical of the Cold War era might not be the best route to follow.

All the individuals who made the testimony, even if all of them were not from the minority ethnic groups, they were from those who were claiming to be oppressed and the reason why the Amharas have not given their testimony is questionable because, obviously if they want to turn up the table at some point they cannot be held responsible since among the important offices, in front of the USA congress, they did not give their testimony that could bind them at some point in the future. This was wrong simply because none of the individuals who gave their testimony were decision-makers and some still consider them to be either pawns or puppets for those who could be running things behind the scene. What this means is if one day the CUD party is elected, those who will be in charge are those who have a different agenda for the nation. They might not get away that easily if they intend to hijack the system, but since politics is not a decisive engagement where it is possible to make decisions quickly, before the right measures are implemented a lot of damage could be done. What this demonstrates is CUD, in spite of their earnest effort are not yet the best party to lead the nation into the future. Nevertheless, what they are doing is keeping TPLF/EPRDF on their toes to the point where it has become difficult for anyone to expose any kind of wrongdoing. Even if that does not entitle them to stay in power forever, for anyone that is vying to walk into their shoes, the standard had been set high.

To come to the ethnic rift in the nation, there are not many ethnic groups that are immune of ethnic rift if the issue is examined closely. If we start from the Amharas even if they could be from the same stock, there are at least four groups that do not see eye-to-eye and it is not difficult to name them as they reside in Gondar, Gojam, Wollo, and Shoa. These groups do not have much against each other, but they quietly compete to the point where each one of them has an ambition to play a leading role in the nation. The only reason that is holding them back is the two leading ones, the Gondar and Shoa Amharas have currently lost to the Tigreans as simply mentioning EPRP that was out in the field with TPLF is enough to attest to the kind strife that was in existence. The Tigreans themselves are not immune from the rift or the strife as there are various ethnic groups, as well as there is also a visible religious differences when the case of Eritrea is taken into consideration.

The Oromos also have the same rift where probably if there is a north and south Oromia it might be better for the overall Oromo community simply because none among the Oromos want to recognize or want to allow the Oromos form Shoa to play a leading role and want to have any serious interaction with them. The difference is it is not possible to put a wedge among the four Amhara groups since there are many elements that bind them together. The same applies to the Tigreans who are having small infighting among themselves that could be resolved easily in due course if there is a need for it. But that does not seem to be true among the Oromos and it is obviously hurting their forging ahead as one unified group into the future simply because everyone seems to shun away from having anything to do with the Oromos from the north. To make things worse the majority of Oromos are Muslim. It does not mean there is anything wrong with it, but how it is perceived and what kind of role the other Oromos are expected to play in a unified Oromia not on a map, but on the real ground should be visualized, because this issue had been touched on lightly recently.

The question this reality raises is when the topic of Oromia is on the table the first problem that would glare at least at some could be, even if it is desirable that there should be some kind of an Oromo unification, when it comes to power sharing if there is a religion rift on top of the existing ethnic rift that is created recently in the history of the Oromos, the choice of having a north and south Oromia might be the best way to go, because the cold shoulder that is prevalent in the south makes many people uncomfortable.

The only reason why the southern part of Oromoia is raising eyebrows might be because of the existence of OLF that everyone is saying is ill-prepared to render any kind of remedy for the existing Oromos’ problems and the reason understandably could be attributed to various shortcomings. However, the truth is it is obvious that it cannot accomplish a similar feat to what TPLF accomplished for its region. One of the reasons that is preventing such a strong drive could be the existence of the rift that is the outcome of a historical vagary that is preventing everyone from seeing eye-to-eye that should not be difficult to overcome if there is the will. If that is not going to be the case, it might be important to recognize the demarcation and take similar routes various peoples had taken. Some examples to cite are the Germans who had to live as west and east for a long time. The Koreans are even a better example since their case is the outcome of irreconcilable differences that is similar to what is in existence among the today Oromos in Ethiopia.

Therefore, it is time this issue comes out of the closet and be addressed properly as it was tried recently where a Muslim domination is feared in any action or measure a unified Oromo community would want to undertake. There is no simple solution other than maybe doing things independently and at some point in the future, there could be a justifiable unification. The northern dwellers of Oromia are capable of running their show as the southerners are. Consequently, why not start with two strong capable groups that would do things independently on the outset simply because the Oromos generally might not be having it as good as they were supposed to.