Failure to Deliver: The Journey of the Oromo Liberation Front in the

Last Two Decades Part I

By Jawar Siraj Mohammed July 27, 2009

By writing this article, I understand that I am touching on one of the most closely guarded
taboos, the untouchability of the OLF. I also understand that, because so many precious
lives were sacrificed under the banner of this organization, emotions run very high at the
mention of criticism. But I have the right and the duty to share my views and ideas
regarding our movement. I have no intention to inflict any discomfort on any particular
individual or group, I have tried to be as impartial as possible but if anyone is personally
offended, I hope you will grant me forgiveness. The article touches on some of the most
controversial topics in our politics; therefore, I plead with my readers to patiently and
soberly look through the entire essay in order to get the overall message: Note: This is not
a research or scholarly paper, it is purely based on my understanding of the issue from
informal discussion I had with former and current members of the leadership, active and
retired members, ex-soldiers in Oromia and abroad, discussion forums, public gatherings
and what I observed in Oromia over the past years. In this article OLF refers to all the
three faction that are using the name, and the general criticism is fully applicable to all
Diaspora based political organizations.

Introduction

THINK BIG! Wrote one of my heroes, a man who suffered years of incarceration in the
notorious Ethiopian prison for the just cause of the Oromo people. That man is
honorable Ibsaa Guutamaa, whose book, “The Prisoner of Conscience” details the moral,
psychological and physical degradation inflicted upon Oromo nationalists in Mengistu’s
prison, is one of the most moving books I ever read. He recently, published an article
appealing to all OLF factions to overcome their division and forge a united front.
Although I totally respect his genuine call for unity, I must disagree with this hero of
mine by saying that the OLF has been damaged beyond repair. The beloved
organization of our people has outlived its purposefulness and continuing to cover up
the wounds would cause more harm to the movement than benefit.

It has been years since OLF has ceased to be the pride of the Oromo people and has
transformed itself to a source of shame and disappointment by facilitating
disintegration, growth of regionalist sentiment and retardation of the movement in
general. This essay is not a response to Obbo Ibsaa’s latest article; rather it is an attempt
to present a case against wasting time, energy and resources to resuscitate an
organization that will not likely benefit the Oromo anymore. I will argue that because of
weak, undisciplined and incompetent leadership, through exile politics and a cult-like
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outdated organizational tradition, the OLF could not produce any result over the past
decade, therefore brought its own demise. Furthermore, the destructive internal conflict
has intoxicated the organization beyond any repair that plastering it together will
further spread the poison into the Oromo public.

This essay is organized in four parts; the first part identifies the primary cause of the
problem, which is lack of action, and the second part deals with factors that exacerbated
the inefficiency of the front. The third part will make case why reforming the
organization may not be possible and the last part contains suggestions for the way
forward.

PART I : Misdiagnosing the Root Cause and Dealing with the

Symptoms

Lack of Action: Broken Promises, Fabricated Accomplishments and Its Consequence

It’s common to hear words such as “Oromo people and OLF are one in the same”, “OLF
is the vanguard of Oromo people” and “the Oromo struggle is unthinkable without
OLF”. These loaded words have been deeply engraved in our psyche that we do not
even see how erroneous and misleading they are both to the leaders and supporters of
the organization. If we just take away our emotional attachment to the organization and
assess its accomplishment vis-a-vis its stated goal, we can see how wrong these words
are. An organization, be it a business or political, must be evaluated based on it’s merit
and practical accomplishment not based on how articulate its mission statement is, or
whether it has taken up the right cause.

There is no question that OLF’s political program effectively reflects the just demand of
Oromo people. However, over the past two decades, OLF has been in a downward spiral,
despite the unparalleled financial and moral support it received from the Oromo public
both at home and abroad, the organization cannot show a single achievement under its
belt during this period of time. It has not freed an inch of land in Oromia, or had a single
victory against the enemy. But by repeatedly and falsely convincing ourselves about the
greatness of the organization, we supporters, failed to demand results from the
leadership. Leaders, using slogans and excuses, instead of showing results avoid fulfilling
their responsibility and taking accountability for their failures. The insignificant
achievement of the organization year after year has produced low expectations. A
nation that settles for mediocre gains ends up with no gain at all.

It’s a simple common sense that victory is instrumental in forging unity while lose and
underachievement brings shame and disunity. When a company reports gain,
stockholders are happy, and the CEO is rewarded a bonus. More investors will be

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attracted and the company grows. If the company does not make profit, investors
withdraw their share which weakens the company and eventually goes bankrupt. The
Oromo people heavily invested their property and the lives of their children into OLF,
but they have seen no dividend from the organization over the past two decades. Failing
to satisfy the public, instead of assessing their problem and coming out with solutions,
the leadership of the organization continued to fabricate excuses about the geopolitical
hardships, the changing of the international geopolitical dynamic and the uniqueness of
the enemy. Such excuses gradually became unacceptable to the new generation of
students who joined the organization in mass in the last decade but to find out that the
organization they once revered has been taken hostage by cunning authoritarian state,
Eritrea.

When fabrication and exaggeration was not enough to quell the anger and frustration
of the members and soldiers the leaders turned into labeling them as regionalists in
order to isolate the dissenters and destroy the reformist push. In turn the sidelined and
frustrated officers also began grouping those from their own region as others shunned
them under the propaganda of the establishment. Primordial (preexisting) regional and
clan affinities provide fertile ground for this kind of clique formation. Outsiders (Oromos
who do not know the inner working of OLF), often make wrong generalization by
looking at such clique formation by confusing the symptom, regional grouping, with the
cause, lack of action. They fail to understand that to cover his own failure to deliver
result, the top leader resorts to surrounding himself with “yes-men”, who often happens
to be from his own area but whose view by no means can represent the general
sentiment of that particular region. The dissenters, who are the underdogs of the game,
play in the hand of such leaders by creating their own regional power base. The
establishment leader often wins the battle of propaganda because not only does he
have the first strike advantage but also because he uses the entire backing of the
institution, particularly the media. The end is obvious; the opposition leaves and forms
its own faction.

For instance, it was quite common few years back to hear people complaining about
Wallagaa’s sabotaging the struggle. Such sentiment, in addition to misidentifying the
cause of the failure, misses one critical issue. Those leaders who failed the struggle
might happen to be from that region, but they do not represent the people of Wallagaa
who never voted to elect them in the first place. In the organization, they represent
themselves, but they form cliques to relieve themselves of taking responsibility for their
action and inaction. Even if they were true representatives of that region, individuals not
the people who voted bears responsibility for failing to fulfill their duty.
The following diagram is an attempt to summarize the life cycle of the crisis within OLF,
especially over the past two decades.

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The diagram shows the wave of problems that develop within an inefficient organization
that lacks action. Leaders of such organization often have to fabricate excuses or
achievements in order to stay in power. But some members who reject the fabrication
begin demanding tangible action from the leaders who respond by suppressing the
dissent. As openly airing of dissatisfaction is no longer an option, secret cliques of
dissent form. So far, the problem brews only within active members. However the
dissenters, overpowered by institutionally backed establishment, leak the information in
order to expose the leaders. They do so to gain support and sympathy for their side. The
establishment also leaks information aimed at defaming the dissenters. The public, who
usually do not have the full picture of the problem, begin to contemplate conspiracy
theories about the problem. Such often unsubstantiated rumors are always taken
advantage of by the competing factions to strengthen regional/clan power base
bringing the organization into turmoil.

Eventually, the organization splits into factions, followed by intensified competition to

dominate the outcome. Although one dominant group finally will emerge, the chaos
paves a way for raise of an illegitimate, unelected and polarizing leadership. Pushed out
by the leadership, worn out by infighting and being fed up of nasty politics, supporters
and members abandon the organization. This, coupled with wasted resources and

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destroyed lives, weaken the organization making it even more inefficient which brings
the beginning of a new cycle.

As the two-way arrow shows in the diagram, lack of action and each state of the crisis
are mutually interdependent. For instance, as lack of action leads to dissention, presence
of dissension also prolongs inaction because of the time and resources wasted to quell
such revolt and because the division weakens performance. Thus, if the leadership
brings action, for example, a successful attack on enemy, not only will they satisfy the
dissenters; they can also make formation of cliques unattractive and unnecessary. That is
why I believe lack of action is the primary cause of the OLF’s perpetual internal turmoil,
because action at any stage could prevent the problem from exacerbating. Once the
cycle is completed, it is irreversible because the factional climate is so intense and
personalized, plus members and supporters so polarized that rational, logical and
conciliatory efforts do not have any space. The best that can be done at that stage is, for
either of the faction to realize the root cause, lack of action, and produce real, visible
and tangible result to prevent another cycle.

However, when this cycle is repeated, the damage to the organization grows
exponentially. The OLF has gone through such cycles at least three times (IFLO crisis, the
Transitional Authority split, the Change coup), and therefore one has to imagine how
much damage and destruction it has suffered. After these three cycles, I do not see any
of the factions understanding and addressing the root cause. Even if they do, it is too
late to revive the front, because the organization is so weak, its reputation highly
tarnished and its credibility heavily damaged, that it will be impossible to engage in any
meaningful action.

Therefore, before we move to cure a disease we must identify the cause, which in the
case of OLF’s deterioration is lack of tangible result. Dealing with the symptom could
lead us to subscribing the wrong medicine that can worsen the situation. Inaction is the
primary cause of OLF’s demise, while regionalism, disintegration and factions are
symptoms.

Failure to Deliver: The Journey of the Oromo Liberation Front in the

Last Two Decades Part II

PART II: SOURCES OF INEFFICIENCY

In the first part, I have discussed how lack of action perpetuated the crisis within OLF
and damaged it beyond repair. I have suggested that growth of regionalism and
incompetent leadership are mitigating factors that are the by-product of the chaotic life

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cycle of an organization that lack action. Now I must answer the legitimate question.
Why did the organization lack such necessary action to avoid the problem in the first
place? In this part, I present three major factors that hindered the organization from
delivering the much needed action. The first factor, forces us to look back into the
history of the organization and understand that the front inherited deep and
complicated political tradition that prevented the leadership from dealing the root
cause. The second and third factors are new phenomenons that the organization faced
during the last decade or so.

a) Inherited Destructive Organizational Traditions

OLF is a foster child of the student movement that brought the revolution; as such it
shares some common organizational behaviors and characteristics with all other
organizations that came out that era, such as the EPRP, TPLF and EPLF. Some of these
characteristics are lack of political civility, sense of entitlement and the desire to control
everything and everyone within the society they claim to represent. These behaviors are
the result of the situation they came out of, therefore we must look at the social and
political climate under which the student movement was created, formed and developed
into political parties.

After the 1960’s coup attempt blew off the lid of “untouchability” from Harresillassie,
students began debating and discussing politics, breaking the taboo of “ zim bala af
zimb aygebam”- a mouth that remains shut has no worry for flies. However, the absence
of any culture of political dialogue prior to that era means the young students had to
deal with the highly charged communist theory without any prior knowledge about
political civility that is essential for constructive debates to take place. Thus, it was
common for discussions and debates to heat-up and name calling and fighting to
ensue. Policy and ideological debates were assumed to be ways of differentiating the
winner from the looser which usually led to jubilation and humiliation. Arguments were
taken so personally that it usually resulted in the formation of cliques. Character
assassination politics that have been too common among Ethiopian politicians has its
origin to that era.

The situation got worse when the regime moved to suppress the student movement. To
overcome the persecution of the security forces, the discussions and debates went
underground, through formation of small cells, where secrecy was crucial. Those
underground cells were the breeding ground for the already rife Abyssinian debtera
culture of suspicion and conspiracy. The debtera tradition is one that is full of secrecy,
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conspiracy and backstabbing. In that world, there are clear winners and losers. Concepts
such agreeing to disagree and power sharing are unknown. If a group member
disagrees with a view held by the majority, he was excluded from the cell and begins his
own defamation campaign against his former friends often by creating new cliques. The
underground world made it difficult to differentiate credible information from fabricated
vengeful accusations. This created a favorable condition for individuals to falsely accuse
those who disagree with them.

Thus, the two political parties that came out of the student movement, MEISON and
EPRP, and the later ones such as OLF, were built by individuals who had their first
political training on the chaotic campus and the underground world. The revolutionaries
were known for fighting over nothing and suspecting everything. It is now clear MEISON
and EPRP, although lead by some of the brightest individuals, destroyed each other
practically over insignificant differences.

Founders of OLF brought good share of that political tradition with them, that one
should not be surprised to find out that the leaders spend most of their time chasing
rumors than developing fact based strategy. When the first power struggle broke out,
Jaarraa was accused of conspiring with Somalia to spread Islam, and his team in return
hit back by labeling OLF as a Protestant organization. If a leader disagrees with a person
from Shawa, the accepted tactic was to tie him with the dead Gobana - a sellout,
regardless of that person’s merits and records. This has contributed to insignificant
participation and representation of Shawa in OLF - despite its numerical and strategic
importance.

How people like Lencho Leta were dealt with is another example. Although he was one
of the founding members of the organization who played critical role, mostly good but
some unforgettable mistakes, after 1993, so many rumors, conspiracy theories and
accusations were orchestrated about him. Some called him a sleeper agent, other
accused of selling the cause to TPLF, and some swore that he is not even an Oromo.
Here is what is interesting, those ridiculous rumors were mostly fabricated by individuals
who know the man from childhood, and never raised such issues while working with him
for decades. There is no doubt that Lencho’s mistakes have played critical role in the
disastrous encampment of the OLA, but he was not solely responsible. The remaining
leadership embarked on the defamation campaign in order to paint Lencho as a sellout
and enemy infiltrator, then blame him for everything that went wrong--so that they can
be relieved of accountability. This tradition is so widespread within the organization that
it has become the most preferred method of covering up issues and discrediting one
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another. It has also contributed to the infamous extreme negative reaction against critics
and the common practice of outsourcing cause of failure by fabricating excuses. Never
admitting mistakes and blame-game is a shared characteristic of all those organizations
and individuals that came out of the student movement.

Before falling under subjugation, the Oromo had no hierarchical social structure, that all
men regardless of their wealth or political role were considered equal. The poor and rich
dined together, even the Abba Gada never received a bow from a layman. The
Abyssinians were different; strict hierarchical division based on wealth, family and power
were enforced. Sense of entitlement was so strong amongst those rich and powerful.
The youth who established our movement was by large trained under such system that,
although they rose against it, they could not completely free themselves from this
culture of entitlement. This was clear from the very beginning as the educated were so
elitist that they staged a coup against Jaarra Abbagadaa simply because they felt that he
was not good enough since he had no “modern” education.

As the organization moved on, education as a source of entitlement was replaced by the
years one has spent with organization. Although hundreds of highly skilled soldiers and
well qualified intellectuals joined the organization, they were denied the opportunity to
utilize their skills and knowledge to benefit the front. This has immensely contributed to
the lack of effective leaders the movement desperately needed.

One of the main characteristics of the leftist organizations was their obsession to control
every aspect of their society. They are so obsessed with controlling the mind. Such
organization, who always claim to be the “vanguard” of the cause regardless of their
popularity and strength, work so hard to make sure that their constituency falls under
their absolute monopoly. The youth, the women, the elders, the religious institution and
business are expected to be organized under the vanguard party. Information flows
through tightly controlled, top-to-bottom structure.

The political forces that emerged from the student movement were led by individuals
who worshiped Mao Zedong and Stalin , so they embraced such undemocratic, rigid
and control freak organizational model. The TPLF today controls the youth, women and
farmers associations, the church, the mosque, the media, businesses and almost every
aspect of the Ethiopian people. OLF, which claims to oppose such totalitarianism, wastes
so much time and resource to control the Oromo community association, the scholarly
organization, Maccaa Tuulamaa, Waaqeffannaa, churches, mosques, and the media
including the Internet if they can. Unfortunately for OLF, the time when people accepted

8
such control in the name of satisfying the vanguard, has passed as citizens are sick and
tired of any kind of dictatorships, be it individual, party or a state. Unlike Woyane and
Shyabia, it had no state power to enforce its desire, therefore every attempt it makes to
control civic associations has backfired.

In general, as the product of the 1970’s student movement, OLF has done so much for
the Oromo people by challenging and destroying the Abyssinian cultural and political
colonialism. Unfortunately it has also inherited all the evils of the Abyssinian hierarchical
culture and the totalitarian leftist organizational tradition. As time changed, these
inherited organizational and structural norms have contributed to the slow death of the
front.

b) Exile Politics: The Reality Gap and Sucking the Energy Out of the Grassroots
When they left the charter in 1992, the OLF leaders abandoned their soldiers and
supporters without any notice or guidance. The chaos and confusion that followed
caused general breakdown of the command structure where rules and discipline were
ignored, and some rogue soldiers committed unspeakable crimes against their own
people, especially in Hararge. The disorganized and leaderless soldiers fell pray for the
well financed and effectively commanded Shabiya-Woyane coalition that, despite the
heroic defense by the field commanders, effectively removed OLA from its liberated
zones. The organization that was believed to have some forty thousand soldiers was left
with a small fraction of that, as many perished and the majority were rounded up and
thrown to jail or just gave up. The blame-game that flared up amongst the leadership,
soon after, further disabled the front from regrouping and hitting back.

Although OLF claims to be led by a National Assembly comprised of some forty or so

people, since late 1990s, there is no single individual who resides within the Oromian
soil. The vast majority of the leadership reside in the Western countries where they wage
cyber politics while the remaining few have taken comfortable refuge under the wing of
the Eritrean dictator.

An organization that has its leadership in exile cannot lead a struggle because of two
simple realities. First, presence of a leader amongst his supporters and soldiers has
significant symbolic role both in strengthening party cohesion as well as boosting moral.
It is morally indefensible for a leader of any movement, let alone, an armed front, to sit
in a safe and comfortable place and urge oppressed and poor people to die. Soldiers
and followers need a leader who can command them by example, by starving and

9
surviving with them. The presence of a leader amongst fighters boosts their confidence,
loyalty and commitment. OLF leaders betrayed their members and the Oromo people by
running away when the time got tougher, as a result not only did they lose respect but
also numerous conspiracy theories were developed about the true desire of the
leadership. Second, an exiled leader faces serious reality gap. Policies and strategies that
are developed based on second-hand and heresy information are sure to fail. The
political, social, environmental and economic realities of today’s Oromia are dramatically
different than they were when OLF leaders left Oromia over a decade ago.

Departure of the leadership moved the center of the struggle from Oromia to the
Diaspora. The more the leadership stayed away from the homeland, the more
dependent they became on the Diaspora for support, which forced them to cater to
their views and demands. Leaders prioritized the satisfaction of the Diaspora base so the
dollar would continue to flow that, they ignored the burning plight of the peasants in
Oromia. An interesting evidence of this can be observed from the annual display of
pictures of soldiers to arouse emotions and convince supporters about victories it had
never accomplished.

A rebels’ success depends on how well its structures are intertwined with the people and
land it fights to liberate. A rebel that is dependent on its mass has to continue to
improve its performance both in expanding its control, and defend the peasant from
enemy attack. Thus, the necessity of gaining material and tactical support from the
peasants necessitates an insurgent movement to continue delivering tangible results.
Since OLF leadership, in the past decade or so, did not really rely on the Oromo
peasants, they did not have to fulfill their duty in order to survive. The Diaspora, who do
not deal with daily abuse by the oppressive system, do not truly see the fierce urgency
someone in Oromia feels. That is why, leaders and supporters of OLF who live outside
Oromia rather derail the struggle forever than see their perspective views and faction
lose this endless war of words. It is also important to note that even if all Oromo political
factions in the Diaspora reconcile and united by some miracle, they cannot produce any
result as long as the leadership remains in exile.

Oromos must learn from the experience of the Tibetan people, that despite being the
most internationally supported independence movement and led by one of the most
famous individuals on earth ( Dalai Lama) , today they are not any closer to
independence than they were fifty years ago. By establishing an exiled government, the
Dalai Lama effectively took life out of the movement, because running away, not
fighting at homeland became the norm. In our case the exile- centered movement also
10
made Oromians to wait for the Diaspora to bring freedom, which negatively prevents
strong grassroots movements from emerging which could nurture potential future
leaders. I strongly believe that he who is truly prepared to sacrifice for the cause must
move to Oromian soil before promising any change. The Diaspora plays important role
as supporters of the struggle, but must not be allowed to become center of the
movement and suck out the energy.

c) Eritrea: A Safe Haven for Incompetent Leadership and The

Movement that Became Hostage

It is a public secret that Shabia played critical role in forcing the OLF out of the
transitional government in 1992. After coercing the organization to encamp its soldiers,
Shabia joined hand with TPLF to wipe out OLF. The egomaniac Eritrean leader
miscalculated the prospect of using Meles Zenawi as a puppet to build his war wretched
state by exploiting Oromian resources. He mistakenly thought that eliminating OLF from
the scene would allow him unconstrained access to the resources of the South. His
ambitions began to fade away in front of his eyes, because his supposed puppets in
Finfinnee turned against him after they consolidated their grip on the empire. Facing a
certain defeat at the hand of the supposed puppet, which was using the entire human
and material resources of the empire, Eritrea began to look for proxies, and at the same
time OLF leaders happen to be in deep disillusionment that they welcomed the
invitation to settle in Asmara.

Eritrea’s role in destroying OLA withstanding, there was no strategic benefit gained by
moving to Eritrea, as there was no landmass or water body that connect Oromia and
Eritrea. It is common for an insurgent movement to establish a base in a neighboring
country across the border but moving to Eritrea is like moving to Uganda. It’s
unthinkable to provide supply and reinforcement for the fighters across the unfriendly
state of Sudan as it was proved to be when SPLA and Khartoum sabotaged almost all
efforts. Therefore, I argue that there was only one factor that determined the decision to
move to Eritrea, the safety of the leaders.

In addition to the strategic difficulty, moving to Eritrea created three major problems to
the movement. First, it created disconnect between the leadership and the soldiers at
the front. One has to be under constant eminent danger in order to fiercely fight and
such quest for survival forces him to develop effective tactics and strategies not only to
defend himself but also to expand his strong hold and move to the offensive. When a
11
rebel leader is on the field thus he is permanently alert and has to be engaged in
commanding and coordinating his force using strategies and tactics that were
developed based on real time situations. The OLF leaders who reside in Asmara were
not under such threat, and hence their survival did not depend on the success of their
army but rather on the Eritrean government. The strategies and policies they devise
were based on outdated information that it was often difficult to implement by the
commanders in the field. This greatly contributed to the failure of few attempts to
engage the enemy, that resulted unnecessary loss of life and deterioration of morale
amongst commanders and soldiers who finally abandoned the field.

The second obstacle OLF faced by being in Eritrea was the fact that it provided the
corrupted leaders institutions to suppress their dissenters. It is no secret that several
Oromo students, journalists and soldiers who were critical of the leadership were thrown
to the Eritrean jail or prevented from leaving the country for years. This was done to
prevent such critics from exposing the corruption and inaction of the leadership. The
third yet most crucial effect of locating in Eritrea is that, it made OLF and the Oromo
movement hostage to Shabia-Woyane conflict. The Eritrean regime’s wants to use the
OLF as a proxy, therefore it had to effectively control the organization in order to
manipulate any outcome of OLF-TPLF engagement as it was evidenced when it vetoed
almost all of the negotiations, even those where OLF apparently accepted. A strong,
effective and active OLF that has its leaders outside Eritrea would have not allowed
Shabia to undermine the organizations interest. However, OLF’s chairman who needed
Shabia's protection even from his own dissatisfied soldiers was too happy to serve the
former in order to survive and remain at the head of the organization.

Therefore, I strongly believe that relocating the headquarters of OLF to Eritrea was the
worst strategic blunder committed by OLF leadership, and being in Eritrea heavily
contributed towards weakening the front. I do not believe Eritrea will ever allow OLF to
leave, and as long as it remains there, it will not serve the interest of the Oromo people.

Failure to Deliver: The Journey of the Oromo Liberation Front in the

Last Two Decades Part III

PART III: THE WAY AHEAD, Is Reform Possible? Can the Damage be
Undone?

Several Oromos I have spoken to believe that there is still hope for reforming the OLF.
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But as I will show next, one needs to assess why past efforts aimed at reforming and
changing the organization failed. By using the last two breakups as examples of
impossibility of reforming the OLF , I will demonstrate that the organization has been
damaged beyond repair.

1) Endless Transition: The Ideological Difference that Never Was

About eight years ago OLF split into two factions that became known as Transitional
Authority ( TA) and Central Committee ( Shanee Gumii) -which kept the existing
organizational structure. Although ideological differences were cited as the cause for the
split, we now know that was not the case. As mentioned above, the organization
suffered devastating defeat at the hand of the enemy during the prior decade because
of absent, disorganized and sometimes abortive leadership, who wanting to clear their
name from wrong doing began blaming each other. It was this attempt to avoid
responsibility by painting the other that developed into factions.

In attempt to defend their record and maintain dominance within the organization, the
top two leaders began surrounding themselves with loyal cadres. Therefore, ideological
difference, independent Oromia vis-a-vis Democratizing Ethiopia” was never really big
enough to split the organization, it was simply manufactured to give the conflict an
ideological face. By their own admission the TA faction know that from the very
beginning Lencho Leta believed in democratizing Ethiopia and hence this issue could
not have become a reason for split decades later. They even followed him into the
transitional government without any hesitation. The TA group took ideology as a major
issue not because they truly believed in it but rather because they assumed that the OLA
and the public at large supports the idea of independent Oromia, therefore they wanted
to use it to consolidate support.

The fact that, although independent Oromia was a more popular position, the TA lost
the battle to the other faction, confirms my believe that the internal conflict was a result
of lack of success rather than ideology. Frustrated by a decade of defeat and
humiliation, the burning demand of the soldiers and the public, who blamed the old
leaders for all the mess, there was a change in leadership. Dawud Ibsa, although a
veteran within the organization was a new face, so the members and the public chose to
take a chance with him rather than the TA that was dominated by the old guard.
Therefore, the TA , despite its populist ideology and highly respected and recognized
individuals, failed to gain significant support and eventually died out. Therefore, there is
no doubt that the cause of the 2001 split was neither ideological nor regional but rather
a failure of the organization to deliver any results.

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2) The Last Chance: The Leader that took life out of the Front

The victorious Dawud group clearly did not understand neither the cause of the split nor
reason why, despite their unpopular ideology, they won the public support over their
formidable foes. Hence they kept repeating the same mistake as their predecessors.
Thus OLF under Dawud Ibssa’s leadership continued to fade away without any notable
accomplishment. As leaders and cadres channeled their energy into destroying the TA,
the true mission of the organization was ignored. However, the group came under
pressure from the influx of young students who were eager to fight the enemy that
forced them out of schools, but they were dismayed to find out that the front had
neither the structural capability, nor a willing leadership that can channel the energy of
the youth towards constructive role. Once they were shipped to Eritrea and completed
training their fate was to engage in hard labor at Mr Afeworki’s farm. This was
unacceptable to the restless youth who dreamed of joining the vanguard in order to
liberate their people. Those who demanded action were systematically silenced by
labeling them as enemy infiltrators and then making them disappear by throwing them
to jail.

Nevertheless, the pressure on the leadership dramatically increased when hundreds of

Oromo soldiers defected from the Ethiopian military and joined them. This had two
major effects on the leadership. First, it increased expectation of better performance
because, members and supporters hoped that, addition of such skilled and decorated
officers would reinforce and re-energize the organization. Second, the soldiers who
came in hundreds have a deeply held personal grudge against the regime in Finfinnee
that they came to immediately engage in a struggle of payback. Contrary to their
statement, about their sympathy for the Oromo mass, and the accusations labeling
them as Woyane agents, the primary cause of defect for those soldiers and other OPDO
members were the deep and personal humiliation they suffered under Tigrean
domination. Therefore, for them the need for immediate re-engagement was not
negotiable.

This fierce urgency of the soldiers strengthened those who were demanding more
action. Unfortunately once again, the leadership took this as an offense to their
authority. Here I would like to stress that, it is not that the leadership does not want to
fight but rather they did not appreciate the fact that “outsiders and newcomers” who do
not have years of “jungle credit” within the organization could dare to tell them what to
do. The result as we know is that, a new split occurred slicing the already deteriorating
organization.

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Although this last split was framed and did happen across regional basis, it is wrong to
assume that regionalism was the cause of the split. As that of 2001, the 2008 breakup
was caused due to lack of any concrete action since the then cabinet took power. The
entire leadership was responsible for the failure as each of them were engaged in
vilifying the TA group day and night instead of doing the job they were entrusted with.
When blaming the TA leadership for all misdeeds was no longer an option, they had to
turn against each other and resorted to the good old OLF tradition of using regional
affiliation to strengthen factional power-base and accuse the opposite.

3) Show me the Change! A Timely Slogan, Business As Usual

Last year this time, a grouping calling itself, Change! emerged and promised to bring
tangible result within short period of time. So far they have showed absolutely nothing
that resembles change. In fact they continue the same old OLF tradition of fabricating
victories, exaggerating reforms and most importantly engaging in a nasty war of words
against their former colleagues. Their cadres who spend twenty-four hour on pal talk
have been spreading the poison of regionalism just like the group they broke away
accusing of domination.

From the outset their overtly hateful campaign against the great people of Wallagaa,
whom they do not even know, has undermined their rather appealing call for change.
Through their narrow and childish behaviors such ill-mannered cadres have shamed the
glorious people of Arsi, whose unforgettable battle against colonizers at Aanolee is a
source of pride for all Oromos. Those cadres understand nothing about the “waadaa
and hoodaa” of Sikkoo Mandoo. If they do, they would have known that the Arsi are
waiting, praying and crying for that day when they would join their brothers to celebrate
the end of subjugation and the return of Kaawoo Oromo. Their counterparts are no
better as they shamelessly speak of Arsi without knowing that that generous and
respectful people, who would never allow even a stranger drink water but milk in their
house, let alone engage in a nasty low blow. Therefore, the Change group has failed to
bring the much needed shift in political culture and continue to make the same mistake
as their foes.

The vast majority, if not all, of the leadership of the Change group, just like the other
two faction, still live in exile. Hence, their faction is as dependent on the Diaspora as
before. Therefore, their best accomplishment so far is having larger public meetings and
a one-time flow of hard earned dollars. They clearly did not learn any lesson because the
large crowd was there as spectator to see the new faces of the old organization, and it
was the momentary hope and anger at the old guard that helped them generate such
large sum of money. Neither the crowed nor the money will continue as the faction will
not be able to deliver what they promised.

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As mentioned above Eritrea plays critical role in sabotaging OLF and the Oromo
struggle at large. OLF will not be able to effectively engage in fighting the enemy as
long as it remains in Eritrea. If the change group was serious about transforming the
dormant organization into an active insurgent movement, the first thing to do would
have been to leave Eritrea for the jungle of Oromia. Now their faction is as a prisoner as
the faction they broke away from. Their actions, policies and strategies will be subjected
to the approval of Eritrea, and from the experience of OLF under Mr Dawud Ibsa, we
know what a leadership that is controlled by Issaias can produce. Therefore, I conclude
that the change group can bring neither political nor practical change to the Oromo
cause. They are as destructive and useless as their opponents if not worse.

4) Unity as a Slogan? Is Reconciliation Possible?

Unity is the most abused and deeply misunderstood word by Oromo politicians such
that it has developed a negative connotation. I am always amazed when people who
spend so much time spreading false allegations, conspiracy theories and prejudicial
assumptions preach about unity. It is wrongly assumed that unity of the larger Oromo
people is dependent up on the unity of political factions. Such believe comes from the
deeply held dogma about the indivisibility of the front from the people. While
consolidations of Oromo forces help strengthen the movement,

their fractionalization does not necessarily dismantle the Oromo.

I have no doubt that the internal conflict within the front has traumatized our people
especially those who reside abroad. I have heard of numerous stories about families,
relatives and lifelong friends, who withstood together the suffering of Sudanese and
Somalia refugee camps, whom the 2001 split had broken apart. Our women who once
consoled and gave each other the strength of caring for their family while their spouse
were in the field have abandoned each other due to such highly charged, deeply
personal and painful split. It’s such a traumatizing experience for children to be told , all
of the sudden, that they could not visit childhood friends. It is shameful that
disagreement over politics could destroy the bonding that was formed by blood and
sweat and stood firm through thick and thin. The sad thing is that OLF leaders either
never understood the magnitude of the damage they caused to the Oromo community,
or they just did not care as long as their selfish and narrow interest were fulfilled. Hence,
it was no surprised they repeated the same crime again in 2008.

I have noticed that those families and relationships that were destroyed in 2001 have
gradually healed, often because individuals understood how unnecessary it was to
choose factional politics over precious relationships. Many people just gave up politics

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in favor of family and friends, while others completely stopped discussing political
issues. Thus, I am optimistic that relationships that were ruined in 2008 will be eventually
repaired as people realize how wrong it is to shun a dear friend in favor of some useless
factional politics.

But, one crucial issue that must be raised here is that it was the incompetence of the
leadership to deliver victory that led to the formation of factions, who spread their
organizational poison to the larger public. Therefore, there is no doubt that OLF as an
organization has been the biggest source of regionalism and other societal poisons. Any
attempt to resurrect OLF will further worsen the damage as these leaders will have
another chance to split again and fracture our people.

I do not understand why individuals who know very well how the effort of the “shanacha
Jaarsummaa” and formation of ULFO could not solve the OLF crisis now call for another
round of phony and even distractive reconciliation effort. I am opposed to the idea of
wasting time trying to reconcile OLF because 1) It will be impossible to bring genuine
reconciliation due to the deeply held organizational culture, lack of a single concrete
issue of disagreement and because Eritrea will never allow a move that makes the
organization less reliant on it. 2) What will bring Oromos together, heal the wound and
strengthen our unity is action and victory, and this cannot be expected from the very
people who made it impossible. Therefore, anyone who truly wants to unite the Oromo,
must make the crucial decision and move to Oromia; be it through Bole or Bale. Fight
the enemy either in the jungle or streets of Oromia, and I will bet my life that it will take
no conference before all Oromos rally behind such movement..

Failure to Deliver: The Journey of the Oromo Liberation Front in the

Last Two Decades Part IV

PART IV: The So What Question: My Ten-Cent Recommendations

In this essay I believe I have shown the cause and extent of the OLF’s deterioration, and
how futile any attempt to resurrect it would be. I am sure that even those who agree
with me will ask what I might suggest for a solution. There is no simple and right answer
that can be detailed in this piece. However, for a starter, I would like to suggest few.

For those who live abroad, the first step is to understand that their role in the movement
is limited to the crucial role of supporting the struggle back home. This could be either
in the form of material contribution or by being the voice for their suppressed brethren.
But they must refrain from overstepping their duty and sucking out the energy from the
home front.

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The politics and resources of the Diaspora have been effectively monopolized by the
OLF over the past two decades. Despite its failure to deliver any meaningful result, the
OLF has used the emotions and aspirations of the people to collect millions of dollars.
It’s quite common to see a taxi driver or a janitor give a thousand dollar without any
hesitation. Oromos have to stop investing their hard earned dollar to organizations that
bring them no return. Such investment must be conditional on results, excellence,
progress and accountability.

Furthermore, the Diaspora, by funding competing faction, has been fueling forces of
disintegration. If the Diaspora is serious about helping the Oromo movement, they must
channel their support towards organizations and individuals who are operating at the
homeland. In addition to systematic problem, the two Oromo parties in Oromia, remain
weak because they have no access to the Diaspora resources that their counterparts
heavily benefit from. By monopolizing the Diaspora, the OLF has systematically
prevented those parties from tapping into the resources abroad. Who should be
supported, one that actually is facing the hardship with the people, and doing
something no matter how small it might be , or those who have shown nothing positive
but destruction? If one does not agree with the politics and methods of those
organizations, why not finance the education of one Oromo student rather than throw
his money into the fire that is destroying the fabrics of his people?

Similarly, those at home must realize that, there is nothing coming from outside to save
them from the jaws of the oppressive regime. No country or people have ever won their
freedom by an exiled organization and leadership. The youth have to realize that they
must write their own destiny. No organization holds the key to the future. Organizations
come, organizations die, and it is a matter of fact. They must face this reality head-on,
and mobilize the public through grassroots movements to defeat the exploitive and
ethno-racist regime.

The OLF has sucked in and destroyed the best and the brightest of Oromo student
leaders in the past decade, this got to stop. Each young Oromo, both at home and
abroad, needs to build him or herself economically and intellectually. This will help avoid
the dependency trap many Oromos within OPDO fallen into. Economic security is
essential for free thinkers and independent organizations, to this end entrepreneurship
must be nurtured to facilitate the emergence of the Oromo middle class that is lacking
today. We must get over the one-formula-fits-all thinking as our struggle requires
multifaceted approach.

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Conclusion

“Man has no property in man; neither has any generation a property in the generations
which are to follow.” Said the forgotten founding father of the United States. Our elders,
the generation that drew the program of the OLF, the generation that produced Qubee,
the glorious youth of the 70’s who paid the ultimate price to free us from mental and
physical bondage deserves our utmost respect. They will forever be remembered as the
generation that saved the beautiful Oromo nation from complete destruction. We are
their product, we are proud of being their successors. But it is a serious mistake for our
elders to expect us to adhere to the same old ways of doing business, to not challenge
and disregard what is inapplicable and unacceptable to the world of our time. The OLF is
clearly an organization of the past, its model, organizational structure and dogma is
outdated. The front has outlived its purposefulness and it has been allowed to derail
and distract the movement for too long.

My generation must write its own destiny. We can learn from our elders’ wisdom and
experience, but this generation shall not be held hostage to the old days. This
generation must free our people from dependency on exiled politics, a hostage
organization, and incompetent leadership. Our enemy is weak, morally bankrupt, uses
the most fractured military and bureaucratic structures. It’s life is dependent on the
cooperation of our people. We must make such cooperation impossible, one way or the
other. Most importantly, our people today expects nothing less than excellence from
their organizations, in this fast moving world, we must make our movement compatible,
flexible and efficient as to utilize all opportunities to satisfy the expectations of the mass.
Our people’s pride has been deeply injured by the incompetency of leaders who
exposed the nation to laughs and ridicules. We will and we can change that, because
today, Oromos from all angles of the land have been fully alert and ready to retake their
rights back. Today, Oromos are sending their kids to school in millions and are leaving
none behind. We, Oromos, have the culture, resources and determination not only to
solve our problem, but also we can and we shall play the leading role in democratizing,
stabilizing and developing the entire East Africa. We must believe in ourselves, be true
to our conscious and loyal to our people nothing and no one else!

Jawar Siraj Mohammed

Stanford University
July 27, 2009
jawarmd@gmail.com

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