We, members of Oromia Global Forum – a global alliance of 45 Oromo civic, professional and faith-based Organizations – would like to call up on all peace-loving peoples of the world to unequivocally condemn the visionless “Vision Ethiopia”, that has issued one of the most racist, hateful and genocidal declaration of war against anything Oromo (Oromummaa), in recent history of mankind.
On April 22, 2021, “Vision Ethiopia,” a visionless hate group claiming to be “a non-partisan association of Ethiopian scholars and professionals,” published a “statement on the current crises in Ethiopia.” The group accuses the Oromo people of engaging in violence and extremism with the support of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. Additionally, it accused the prime minister of only appointing Oromos to top government positions and controlling the army, security, and economy. Furthermore, it preposterously accuses the Oromo of committing crimes of historic proportion compared to German Nazis, Italian Fascists, and the Rwandan Interhwame. It vilifies the very foundation of Oromo identity (Oromummaa) and attacks the Oromo people for their efforts to nurture their identity and culture. It uses disinformation, misinformation, deceptions and fabrications of unparalleled magnitude to blame the victims of the Ethiopian empire, the Oromo nation as terrorists.
We would like to alert the international community, human rights organizations, United Nations agencies, and governments worldwide that the statement by the hate group that calls itself “Vision Ethiopia” is capable of causing genocidal destruction of immense proportions. This visionless hate group has clearly demonstrated that it stood to spread and promote hatred among the Amhara people, mobilizing them to attack anything Oromo (Oromummaa) and other peoples of Ethiopia.
Earlier, on October 27, 2020, the visionless “Vision Ethiopia” issued a press release supporting the extremist Amhara vigilante groups that destroy the people of Kimant, the people of Agaw, who are also destabilizing Oromia and Benishangul states.
In another press release on November 5, the visionless hate group did express its full support for the genocidal war that was unleashed by the Amhara militia on the people of Tigray. It called on Abiy Ahmed to “apply the same yardstick [that he used on Tigray] to punish the people of Oromia and Benishangul-Gumuz, including their regional government officials and leaders…”
In its December 19, 2020 conference on post-TPLF Ethiopia, the visionless hate group “Vision Ethiopia”, acted as an advisory body to the Abiy Ahmed’s government, calling upon him to label the Oromo Liberation Army as terrorist organization. They unequivocally support the massacre of the Tigray people that was being committed by the Amhara militia. In fact, it unashamedly accused the massacred Tigrayans, blaming the Tigrayan victims of committing “atrocious crimes against Amharas and other ethnic groups in Mai-Kadra and neighboring villages.” This wild accusations and white lies of blaming the victim Tigrayans are meant to defend the brutal and cruel Amhara militia, who did not only engage in gang rapping of women but also ethnic cleaning of the Tigrayan people. The European Union, the United States, G-7 countries, the Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission and major media outlets such as the New York Times, Washington Post, BBC, CNN, Aljazeera confirmed that it was the barbaric Amhara militia who committed the acts of genocide in Tigray, against whom the international community stood and called for its immediate withdrawal from Tigray. The visionless hate group “vision Ethiopia” is the only force that praises the wild, barbaric Amhara militias and calls on Abiy Ahmed to deploy the same criminals and Eritreans troops into Oromia, Benishangul-Gumuz and other regions, while blaming the victims.
In its statement of April 22, 2021, the visionless hate group “Vision Ethiopia” stated that the Prime Minister is “an enabler of [what it called] the Oromumma aggression against the rest of Ethiopia” and requested the Ethiopian people to “boycott the upcoming elections” in retaliation. And yet, the Oromo people are victims of the Prime Minister’s military aggression under an illegally imposed Command Post. For the last three years, Abiy Ahmed’s forces have been unleashing a reign of terror on the Oromo people in Guji, Borana and Wallaga through indiscriminate killings, looting and burning of property and gang-raping Oromo women. Credible evidences and continuous reports by international human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International, human rights watch and others, substantiate this fact.
Today, the barbaric, the wild, the cruelest and brutal Amhara militia are deployed with Ethiopian Defense forces and Eritrean troops to kill Oromos in Wollo, Wallaga and many parts of central Oromia. They are receiving command from Abiy Ahmed and commit the same war crimes and ethnic cleanings that they did commit in Tigray, against the Oromo people in Wollo, Wallaga and many parts of central Oromia. Almost daily, they are bragging of killing and uprooting thousands of Oromo civilians, the Kimant, the Agaw, Benishangul-Gumuz, like they did to the people of Tigray.
The visionless hate group “Vision Ethiopia” supports the invasion of Tigray by the Eritrean dictator, Isayas Afeworki. It staged series of demonstrations in Washington, D.C. and other world capitals in support of the barbaric Amhara militia, praising its acts of war crimes and ethnic cleansing as heroic/patriotic deeds.
In its recent statement, the visionless hate group “Vision Ethiopia”, also made a baseless claim that Abiy Ahmed and the Oromo colluded against Amhara interests, which has no merit whatsoever. In fact, the collusion is between the visionless “Vision Ethiopia” and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
In July 2018, when Abiy Ahmed visited Washington, D.C., it was not the Oromo, but the visionless “Vision Ethiopia” who coordinated Abiy’s schedule, dined, wined and danced with Abiy. At the events hosted by the visionless ‘Vision Ethiopia”, Oromos who were dressed in Oromo traditional attires were harassed and prevented from entering the hall where Abiy was scheduled to make a speech. The visionless hate group “Vision Ethiopia” was proudly boasting of organizing the banquet, which the poor Ethiopians weren’t allowed to join, but covered the expenses. One after another, the hate group’s leaders praised Abiy Ahmed as their hero, as the Ethiopian Moses, the same person they now accuse of colluding with the Oromo.
Furthermore, the visionless hate group “Vision Ethiopia” in its recent statement exposed its contempt and unparalleled hatred for the Oromo people when it attacked anything Oromo, the cherished Oromo identity (Oromummaa).
Let it be crystal clear to the visionless “Vision Ethiopia” and their foot soldiers that Oromummaa is Oromo culture, identity, history, and nationalism rooted in the democratic Gadaa system of governance that the Oromo people developed and lived under for centuries. Oromummaa promotes peace, freedom, equality, love, and respect, not only for fellow human beings but also for all things natural. Unfortunately, this indigenous and radiant African culture and identity was attacked, when the barbaric, backward Amhara warlords were supported by and obtained firearms and military advices of European colonizers to the kill and conquer African populations in the horn of Africa. We will leave the brutal consequences of the conquest on the Oromo and other peoples of Ethiopia to historians. However, we would like to expose the hypocrisy of Amhara supremacists and their visionless hate group called “Vision Ethiopia”.
We have been closely watching “Vision Ethiopia” activities for quite some time, hoping against all odds that they are scholars and professionals who can potentially contribute to developing a democratic system in Ethiopia. Regrettably, we were proven wrong time and again. Their latest statement falsely blames Oromummaa (Oromo identity) for the alleged “ethnically targeted Orthodox Christian Amhara” in Ethiopia.
As Oromo civic, professional and faith-based Organizations – adherents of the Orthodox, Protestant, Evangelical, Catholic, the Islam and Traditional Oromo religion (Waaqeffanana), we unequivocally denounce any action by any group that targets civilians for their ethnic identity and belief system. In the Ethiopian Empire, Oromia is the only sate, where peoples of diverse ethnic origin, language, culture, history and religious orientations live together in peace and harmony. All the atrocities against civilians in Kimant, in Agaw, Benishangul-Gumuz, Tigray and Oromo zone of Wollo are perpetrated by the barbaric Amhara militia, special forces, Fano and other vigilante groups who call themselves “Rest Asmelesh”.
All the pieces of evidence on the ground clearly demonstrate that the visionless hate group “Vision Ethiopia”, which claims to be of the scholarly institution, carrying the trademark “Ethiopia” is nothing but a collection of homeless politicians who are dying of the nostalgia, the old days of ‘Amhara supremacy’ in Ethiopia. This visionless hate group is trying to “skillfully” set its plan of terrorizing the Oromo population for two reasons;
1) to remain beneficiaries of the looted resources of Oromia, the southern peoples, Benishangul-Gumuz, Tigray and all other regions in the name of “Rest Asmelesh” (restoration of all the lands in Ethiopia only to the Amhara warlords), by grabbing the land of other peoples.
2) to buttress an Amhara-dominated Ethiopia, a country of one culture, one language, one religion, one nation, and one history, where the economic dominance of the Amhara political elites will be used to finance such a project forever.
To accomplish these objectives, the visionless hate group “Vision Ethiopia”, blinded by over century-old racism and greed, is willing to go any distance, including committing genocide on all peoples of Ethiopia, who oppose their unholy project of ethnic cleansing.
Neither their tactic of blaming the victims in Tigray, in Benishangul-Gumuz, in Kimant, in Agaw… nor their hatred against all peoples in Ethiopia shall ever hinder the ultimate victory of freedom-seeking humanity. The just cause and the struggle of Oromo nation for freedom, justice, peace, equality, democracy, restoration of human dignity in Oromia and beyond shall prevail all the machinations, the deceptions, the lies, the fabrications, the misinformation, the disinformation by the visionless hate group ‘Vision Ethiopia” and similar groups.
We would like to put the world on notice that the visionless hate group “Vision Ethiopia”, its enablers within the Ethiopian government, including prime minister Abiy Ahmed, who are cooking lies after lies, spreading hate and false propaganda against the Oromo nation, and all other oppressed peoples in Ethiopia are responsible for driving Ethiopia to the brink of collapse.
All the trends and the patterns of the last three years are setting obvious indicators that Ethiopia is facing violent disintegration, with worst consequences than the genocide in Rwanda, Yugoslavia and currently in Syria. To save millions of lives, Ethiopia needs immediate physical intervention of the international community, an urgent deployment of United Nations Peace Keeping Forces.
Last but not least, we would like to reiterate our call to the Secretary-general of the United Nations and governments around the world to use their good offices and conscience, and act before it is too late.
Oromia Global Forum
Yes we need peace keeper for Ethiopian