Oromsis, Where Opinion Matters!

By Tola Biya

Today, Negasso Gidada, a former titular president of Ethiopia, and Siye Abraha, former Defense Minister of the Tigre Liberation Front (TPLF) fascist army, announced their intent to join the Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ) Party of Burtikan Mideksa. Burtikan Mideksa is a 36 year old lawyer, Ethiopia’s prominent opposition leader and a single mother of 3 years old daughter who is serving life sentence for organizing opposition political party in Ethnic Apartheid Ethiopia.

Negasso Gidada and Siye Abraha are two prominent EPRDF leaders who oversaw the establishment of Ethiopia’s minority Tigre dominated ethnic apartheid and fascist regime of Meles Zenawi since 1991.

Siye and Negasso are jointly and exclusively responsible for countless extra judicial executions, torture and disappearance of over 100,000 Oromo and Amhara intellectuals, leaders, Journalists, Artists, students and farmers that took place under ethnic apartheid TPLF regime of Meles Zenawi. While these two individuals were in power and on their watch, thousands of prominent Oromo and Amhara leaders were assassinated, disappeared and sent to concentration camps and TPLF killing fields.

These two individuals have personally oversaw the assassination of Darara Kefani,  a prominent Oromo Leader and Businessman from Ambo, Central Ethiopia, and Asefa Maru, Secretary General of Ethiopian Human Rights Council; and countless other heroes and heroines who resisted fascism and apartheid rule.

From 1991 to 1998, Siye Abraha, as a head of the TPLF tribal militia force, have personally ordered the extra judicial execution of thousands of Oromo political and community leaders, and detained more than eighty thousand Oromo intellectuals, business people, teachers, students and farmers in Ma’ikalawi and Kaliti torture chamber camps in Addis Ababa, Ambo, Zewai, Arsi, Sidamo, Bale, Harrar, Wello and other TPLF concentration camps around the country.

Siye Abraha and Negasso Gidada are also responsible for the creation of TPLF apartheid bureaucracy, military, security structure, and above all TPLF apartheid economy where all sectors of Ethiopian economy from farming to trade, from export to import and from banking to insurance, from Tourism to education and healthcare are all dominated by the Tigre ethnic group, which represents less than 10% of the Ethiopian population.

As the result of Gidada and Abraha’s effort and dedicated contribution, today, TPLF owned oligarchies such as the Endowment Fund For the Rehabilitation of Tigray (EFFORT), Relief Society of Tigray (REST), Tigray Development Association (TDA) and other TPLF run apartheid companies and their foreign collaborators from China, United States, Germany, and United Kingdom controls 90% of Ethiopian economy as over 20 million Oromo and Amharas, who jointly constitute over 80% of the Ethiopian population, are dying of TPLF apartheid and fascist regime created famine.

Interestingly, both Siye Abraha and Negasso Gidada, have admitted their crimes after they fallout with Fascist and Apartheid regime of Meles Zenawi; although they are yet to apologize openly to the Ethiopian people particularly to the Oromo and Amhara mass. In 2007, Negasso Gidada coldly admitted that he personally knew about the more than 25,000 Oromo intellectuals, business people, teachers and students who are unlawfully held and tortured at killing centers of Tigre Liberation Front; Meakelawi and Kaliti in Addis Ababa, Hurso, Ambo, Zewai and Dark Bush in Wello. At A Human Rights Conference organized by Oromo American Citizens Council at the University of Minnesota, he stated that these innocent sons and daughters of the Oromo people have never been charged with any crime, as there is none against them, and have never appeared before the TPLF kangaroo court in the last 20 years.

After his release from TPLF prison, Siye Abraha also admitted that Tigre Liberation Front concentration and killing camps are filled with sons and daughters, fathers and mothers of the Oromo people. He stated that 99% of TPLF regime’s victims are the Oromo people, and famously described the situation by saying the “entire Ethiopian prisons speak Afaan Oromo”, the Oromo language--- a language the TPLF banned from National TV and print media.

In this hopeless country, today, these two culpable individuals are self proclaimed leaders. As they join UDJ and by proxy Medrek (Forum for Democracy and Dialogue), the duo claim, they will champion the release of Oromo and Amhara political prisoners. They hope that these promises will help them get the support of the poverty stricken Ethiopian people who are suffering under the fascist and apartheid TPLF rule. Unfortunately, the TPLF racist and apartheid regime is slated by its Western and Chinese financiers to win the coming May 23, 2010 fake election with 99.9% of the vote.

However, Ethiopians still hope against hope to see their loved ones get released from TPLF concentration and killing camps, if they are alive, as these two individuals aspire to get power in their name. It seems that the TPLF is unlikely to release any Oromo and Amhara politically prisoners alive unless the Ethiopian people get united and remove the TPLF from power. As the Editor of Ethiomedia.com accurately described, “TPLF is a mercenary group that cannot be reformed. Like apartheid it should be dismantled.”

As for the UDJ and Medrek--- the addition of these two individuals to their ranks could cut both ways. On a  positive note: Foreigners may see through these two individuals the evils of the TPLF regime and support the opposition; and Ethiopians may support them for lack of option and hoping that they may speed up the demise of TPLF Apartheid regime.

Update : Since the Tigre People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) regime of Meles Zenawi turned into an outright Ethnic Apartheid and Fascist rule, hundreds of high ranking Ethiopian government civilian and military officials have abandoned the racist regime, and joined the Ethiopian Opposition camps.

The level and magnitude of the abandonment are threatening the very existence of the minority ethnic apartheid regime. It is now certain that the demise of the hated and cruel TPLF regime is in sight like most of its forerunners such as the minority apartheid regime in South Africa, Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany.

Since the tide is shifting fast, it is important to note few out of thousands of high-ranking Ethiopian government civilian and military officials who joined the Ethiopian Opposition Parties. The following are some of the most prominent ones:

- President Negasso Gidada and Defense Minister Siye Abraha who joined the opposition Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ) party and Forum for Democracy and Dialogue(FDD)-- umbrella for eight opposition parties including the leading opposition parties like Oromo People’s Congress(OPC) and Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement(OFDM) and UDJ;

- Brigadier General Kamal Gelchu and General Hailu Gonfa who joined the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) with 500+ soldiers;

- Brigadier General Tefera Mamo and Brigadier General Aseminaw Tsige whom the TPLF regime is torturing and ready to impose death penalty for allegedly supporting Genbot Seven Movement for Justice and Democracy(G-7); and

- Hundreds of high-ranking Diplomats, Parliamentarians, Government Ministers and Party leaders who left the fascist and ethnic apartheid TPLF regime and joined the Oppositions.

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