Indian Ocean Newsletter N° 1223 06/10/2007
The recent promotion of a number of officers to top ranks went largely to Tigrayans.
Four of the six generals promoted to the rank of major general and ten of the seventeen colonels promoted to brigadier general at the end of September are Tigrayans, members of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF, hard core of the governing coalition). Their promotion strengthens still further the control Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and the TPLF have on the armed forces. All the more so since on the same occasion, 400 officers in the Northern Command, overwhelmingly Tigrayans, were also promoted during a ceremony at Mekelle, the capital of the Tigray Regional State. The Ethiopian Army Chief of Staff, Samora Yunis, also a Tigrayan, was promoted to the rank of general even though he has not even had a modern military training.
One notable exception is Abebaw Tadesse Asres, an Amhara, who was raised to the rank of lieutenant general, no doubt to please the Amhara National Democratic Movement (ANDM, a component in the ruling coalition). Meanwhile, just two Oromo officers, General Birhanu Julla Gellelcha and Colonel Getachew Shiferaw Feyissa and one officer from the south of the country, Colonel Negussie Lemma Dibaro, benefitted from this wave of promotions.
These measures will aggravate tension between Tigrayan non-commissioned officers and their Oromo and Amhara colleagues. Such tension already put in an appearance in an officers' meeting of the 4th infantry division last week. Particularly as the Ethiopian army is still bogged down in Somalia where operations are led by the Tigrayan General Seyoum Hagos (one of those just promoted) and a resumption of fighting in Eritrea is still a possibility.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
The GWOT Effect of Arms for Dictators
October 3, 2007
The GWOT Effect of Arms for Dictators
"The GWOT Effect of Arms for Dictators" was first published by Foreign Policy in Focus on Oct. 3, 2007; the original is available by clicking here, and the text is reproduced below.
"The GWOT Effect of Arms for Dictators"
by Rachel Stohl
In July 2007 the General Accountability Office (GAO) found that nearly 200,000 U.S. weapons were unaccounted for in Iraq. The GAO blames poor accounting and distribution records for the missing weapons, and other reports have revealed that U.S. weapons have turned up in the hands of Iraqi insurgents and criminals. A month later, U.S. General David Petraeus urged the United States to increase U.S. weapons sales as soon as possible. For the Bush administration, this illogical policy makes sense as a piece of its larger strategy for the Global War on Terror (GWOT). Since Sept. 11, 2001, the administration has supplied billions of dollars worth of weapons and military assistance to countries it is calling its allies in the “war on terror.”
U.S. arms export policy, which is codified in the Arms Export Control Act and Foreign Assistance Act, is supposed to prohibit U.S. weapons exports and military assistance that would undermine long-term security and stability, weaken democratic movements, support military coups, escalate arms races, exacerbate ongoing conflicts, cause arms build-ups in unstable regions, or be used to commit human rights abuses. Yet since Sept. 11, 2001, the Bush administration has eagerly pushed those restrictions aside. It has provided billions of dollars of weapons and military training to countries the U.S. State Department repeatedly assesses as having weak and undemocratic governments, appalling human rights records, and in some cases having supported terrorism.
Using U.S. government data alone, I have analyzed military assistance data to 25 countries1 that have been identified by the United States as having a strategic role in the “war on terror.” Seventeen of the countries are also part of the 28 “front-line” states identified by the Bush administration as “countries that cooperate with the United States in the war on terrorism or face terrorist threats themselves”; others reflect new priorities for counter-terrorism operations around the world or are strategically located near Afghanistan and Iraq.
My analysis shows that in negotiating arms deals, the administration has elevated efforts to eradicate international terrorist networks and cooperation with operations in Iraq and Afghanistan above traditional arms export criteria. Military assistance to these countries is increasing despite the recipients’ documented human rights abuses and undemocratic governance. During the first five years after Sept. 11, 2001 the United States sold nearly five times more weapons (through Foreign Military Sales and Direct Commercial Sales ) to these 25 countries than during the five years before 9-11. Sales increased from $1,771,753,000 to $8,741,686,000. Total Direct Commercial Sales (DCS are sales directly between U.S. companies and recipients, including foreign governments) for the 25 countries since Sept. 11, 2001 have reached new highs, rising from $72 million between FY 97 and FY 01 to more than $3 billion between FY 02 and FY 06.
The remarkable increases in U.S. arms sales have come mainly from two factors. First, sanctions on sales to India, Pakistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Tajikistan were lifted immediately after Sept. 11. And second, these sanctions were removed from sales to Uzbekistan, Indonesia, and Thailand in the intervening years. In other words, multi-billion arms sales agreements have been reached with countries previously ineligible to receive any US military equipment. In addition to a $5 billion deal to Pakistan for F-16 fighter jets in 2006, the United States has also profited from major sales to other countries. In April 2006, the United States conducted a $246 million FMS sale to Thailand, which included 6 MH-60S helicopters. In 2005, the United States also sold Thailand two UH-60L Black Hawk helicopters and additional training and equipment in an FMS sale worth $46 million. At the time, Thailand was a newly declared Major Non-NATO U.S. ally. It is now only one year removed from a military coup and is experiencing significant political instability.
Military assistance programs – that is, training and grants rather than sales – have also been significantly expanded since Sept. 11. The 25 countries of my study received 19 times more U.S. military assistance (Foreign Military Financing and International Military Education and Training) after Sept. 11 than they had in the five years before, increasing from $103,122,000 to $1,983,714,000. These countries are also receiving an even greater percentage of total U.S. funding allocated for all U.S. military training. In 2001, they received 15 percent of total International Military Education and Training (IMET) funds. By 2006, IMET funds for these 25 countries had jumped to nearly 25 percent. Perhaps even more shocking, 18 of the 25 countries in this series received more military assistance and 16 conducted more arms sales with the United States during the five years after Sept. 11 than they had in over a decade following the end of the Cold War (FY 90-01).
U.S. arms sales and military assistance were increasing even as the U.S. State Department was revealing in its annual human rights reports that “serious,” “grave,” or “significant” abuses were committed by the government or state security forces in more than half of the 25 countries in 2006. In many cases, U.S. military assistance to these countries has been ratcheted up at the same time as human rights conditions have worsened. For example, Ethiopia’s government took part in a full-scale ground invasion of Somalia in late 2006 and early 2007, which caused the deaths of numerous Somali civilians. Chad, whose national army employs child soldiers in its ranks, is at least tacitly involved in the on going conflicts in the Central Africa Republic and Darfur, two of the most calamitous human rights situations in the world.
Political turmoil and instability have also plagued many of the countries profiled. During the last year, Nepal, Thailand, and Chad suffered from widespread political upheaval: in Nepal police and soldiers fired on civilians engaging in peaceful strikes and anti-government demonstrations; in Thailand the government was overthrown by a “peaceful” military coup; and Chad’s government survived an attempted coup and continues to participated in armed border skirmishes with Sudanese soldiers, militia groups, and rebels.
The United States is not only using existing programs to increase aid to human rights abusers and unstable regimes. It is also creating new programs within the Defense Department to provide training and weapons for counter-terrorism operations that is largely shielded from scrutiny and oversight. Unlike traditional arms and training programs that are funded out of the Foreign Operations budget, these new programs are funded by the Pentagon. Thus, the programs are not bound by the restrictions that govern traditional military sales and assistance under the State Department’s oversight.
For example, the Regional Defense Counterterrorism Fellowship Program (CTFP) was originally created in FY 02 to provide non-lethal anti-terrorism training to U.S. allies, a mandate similar to State Department’s International Military Education and Training (IMET) program. CTFP began offering lethal training in FY 04, a program now run without the prohibitions on training of human rights abusers as contained in the State Department programs. Similarly, the “train and equip” authority in Section 1206 of the defense authorization bill – which originated in FY 06 and gives congressional authorization to DOD to use $200 million of its Operation and Maintenance funds to equip and train foreign militaries for counterterrorism operations – serves to bypass existing restrictions on training or arming human rights abusers that apply to all State Department run programs. All but four of the countries examined have benefited from one or both of these two new programs, as well as enjoying thousands or millions of through the five traditional major military assistance programs. For example, Yemen received over $4 million in 1206 funding in FY 06 and an additional $200,000 in CTFP in FY 05, in addition to $19,591,000 of assistance in the five major categories in FY 06 and $14,617,000 in FY 05.
These trends in U.S. arms trade policy threaten to exacerbate instability and conflict around the world. The United States continues to send significant amounts of military assistance to countries that are weak or failing or that have despicable human rights records, in clear violation of long-standing U.S. commitments to peace and democracy. These transfers pose risks to our long-term security. It is hard to see how sending arms to unstable governments is consistent with the stated U.S. goal of spreading peace and democracy throughout the world. Once these weapons and specialized training leaves the United States, we relinquish control of how, by whom, or for what they are used. These countries’ pledges of support are limited to our war on terror. But the past actions and instability of many of them draws their future allegiance and stability into question.
The United States may again face our own weapons down the road as weak alliances crumble. Such a scenario is one that can be avoided. As the United States fights wars to spread democracy and encourages good governance, arms sales should not be the reward for cooperation.
Notes
1These countries were chosen for analysis based on U.S. policy statements and their strategic locations after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 and are: Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Chad, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Mali, Mauritainia, Nepal, Niger, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Yemen.
Rachel Stohl is senior analyst at the Center for Defense Information at the World Security Institute in Washington, DC
The GWOT Effect of Arms for Dictators
"The GWOT Effect of Arms for Dictators" was first published by Foreign Policy in Focus on Oct. 3, 2007; the original is available by clicking here, and the text is reproduced below.
"The GWOT Effect of Arms for Dictators"
by Rachel Stohl
In July 2007 the General Accountability Office (GAO) found that nearly 200,000 U.S. weapons were unaccounted for in Iraq. The GAO blames poor accounting and distribution records for the missing weapons, and other reports have revealed that U.S. weapons have turned up in the hands of Iraqi insurgents and criminals. A month later, U.S. General David Petraeus urged the United States to increase U.S. weapons sales as soon as possible. For the Bush administration, this illogical policy makes sense as a piece of its larger strategy for the Global War on Terror (GWOT). Since Sept. 11, 2001, the administration has supplied billions of dollars worth of weapons and military assistance to countries it is calling its allies in the “war on terror.”
U.S. arms export policy, which is codified in the Arms Export Control Act and Foreign Assistance Act, is supposed to prohibit U.S. weapons exports and military assistance that would undermine long-term security and stability, weaken democratic movements, support military coups, escalate arms races, exacerbate ongoing conflicts, cause arms build-ups in unstable regions, or be used to commit human rights abuses. Yet since Sept. 11, 2001, the Bush administration has eagerly pushed those restrictions aside. It has provided billions of dollars of weapons and military training to countries the U.S. State Department repeatedly assesses as having weak and undemocratic governments, appalling human rights records, and in some cases having supported terrorism.
Using U.S. government data alone, I have analyzed military assistance data to 25 countries1 that have been identified by the United States as having a strategic role in the “war on terror.” Seventeen of the countries are also part of the 28 “front-line” states identified by the Bush administration as “countries that cooperate with the United States in the war on terrorism or face terrorist threats themselves”; others reflect new priorities for counter-terrorism operations around the world or are strategically located near Afghanistan and Iraq.
My analysis shows that in negotiating arms deals, the administration has elevated efforts to eradicate international terrorist networks and cooperation with operations in Iraq and Afghanistan above traditional arms export criteria. Military assistance to these countries is increasing despite the recipients’ documented human rights abuses and undemocratic governance. During the first five years after Sept. 11, 2001 the United States sold nearly five times more weapons (through Foreign Military Sales and Direct Commercial Sales ) to these 25 countries than during the five years before 9-11. Sales increased from $1,771,753,000 to $8,741,686,000. Total Direct Commercial Sales (DCS are sales directly between U.S. companies and recipients, including foreign governments) for the 25 countries since Sept. 11, 2001 have reached new highs, rising from $72 million between FY 97 and FY 01 to more than $3 billion between FY 02 and FY 06.
The remarkable increases in U.S. arms sales have come mainly from two factors. First, sanctions on sales to India, Pakistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Tajikistan were lifted immediately after Sept. 11. And second, these sanctions were removed from sales to Uzbekistan, Indonesia, and Thailand in the intervening years. In other words, multi-billion arms sales agreements have been reached with countries previously ineligible to receive any US military equipment. In addition to a $5 billion deal to Pakistan for F-16 fighter jets in 2006, the United States has also profited from major sales to other countries. In April 2006, the United States conducted a $246 million FMS sale to Thailand, which included 6 MH-60S helicopters. In 2005, the United States also sold Thailand two UH-60L Black Hawk helicopters and additional training and equipment in an FMS sale worth $46 million. At the time, Thailand was a newly declared Major Non-NATO U.S. ally. It is now only one year removed from a military coup and is experiencing significant political instability.
Military assistance programs – that is, training and grants rather than sales – have also been significantly expanded since Sept. 11. The 25 countries of my study received 19 times more U.S. military assistance (Foreign Military Financing and International Military Education and Training) after Sept. 11 than they had in the five years before, increasing from $103,122,000 to $1,983,714,000. These countries are also receiving an even greater percentage of total U.S. funding allocated for all U.S. military training. In 2001, they received 15 percent of total International Military Education and Training (IMET) funds. By 2006, IMET funds for these 25 countries had jumped to nearly 25 percent. Perhaps even more shocking, 18 of the 25 countries in this series received more military assistance and 16 conducted more arms sales with the United States during the five years after Sept. 11 than they had in over a decade following the end of the Cold War (FY 90-01).
U.S. arms sales and military assistance were increasing even as the U.S. State Department was revealing in its annual human rights reports that “serious,” “grave,” or “significant” abuses were committed by the government or state security forces in more than half of the 25 countries in 2006. In many cases, U.S. military assistance to these countries has been ratcheted up at the same time as human rights conditions have worsened. For example, Ethiopia’s government took part in a full-scale ground invasion of Somalia in late 2006 and early 2007, which caused the deaths of numerous Somali civilians. Chad, whose national army employs child soldiers in its ranks, is at least tacitly involved in the on going conflicts in the Central Africa Republic and Darfur, two of the most calamitous human rights situations in the world.
Political turmoil and instability have also plagued many of the countries profiled. During the last year, Nepal, Thailand, and Chad suffered from widespread political upheaval: in Nepal police and soldiers fired on civilians engaging in peaceful strikes and anti-government demonstrations; in Thailand the government was overthrown by a “peaceful” military coup; and Chad’s government survived an attempted coup and continues to participated in armed border skirmishes with Sudanese soldiers, militia groups, and rebels.
The United States is not only using existing programs to increase aid to human rights abusers and unstable regimes. It is also creating new programs within the Defense Department to provide training and weapons for counter-terrorism operations that is largely shielded from scrutiny and oversight. Unlike traditional arms and training programs that are funded out of the Foreign Operations budget, these new programs are funded by the Pentagon. Thus, the programs are not bound by the restrictions that govern traditional military sales and assistance under the State Department’s oversight.
For example, the Regional Defense Counterterrorism Fellowship Program (CTFP) was originally created in FY 02 to provide non-lethal anti-terrorism training to U.S. allies, a mandate similar to State Department’s International Military Education and Training (IMET) program. CTFP began offering lethal training in FY 04, a program now run without the prohibitions on training of human rights abusers as contained in the State Department programs. Similarly, the “train and equip” authority in Section 1206 of the defense authorization bill – which originated in FY 06 and gives congressional authorization to DOD to use $200 million of its Operation and Maintenance funds to equip and train foreign militaries for counterterrorism operations – serves to bypass existing restrictions on training or arming human rights abusers that apply to all State Department run programs. All but four of the countries examined have benefited from one or both of these two new programs, as well as enjoying thousands or millions of through the five traditional major military assistance programs. For example, Yemen received over $4 million in 1206 funding in FY 06 and an additional $200,000 in CTFP in FY 05, in addition to $19,591,000 of assistance in the five major categories in FY 06 and $14,617,000 in FY 05.
These trends in U.S. arms trade policy threaten to exacerbate instability and conflict around the world. The United States continues to send significant amounts of military assistance to countries that are weak or failing or that have despicable human rights records, in clear violation of long-standing U.S. commitments to peace and democracy. These transfers pose risks to our long-term security. It is hard to see how sending arms to unstable governments is consistent with the stated U.S. goal of spreading peace and democracy throughout the world. Once these weapons and specialized training leaves the United States, we relinquish control of how, by whom, or for what they are used. These countries’ pledges of support are limited to our war on terror. But the past actions and instability of many of them draws their future allegiance and stability into question.
The United States may again face our own weapons down the road as weak alliances crumble. Such a scenario is one that can be avoided. As the United States fights wars to spread democracy and encourages good governance, arms sales should not be the reward for cooperation.
Notes
1These countries were chosen for analysis based on U.S. policy statements and their strategic locations after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 and are: Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Chad, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Mali, Mauritainia, Nepal, Niger, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Yemen.
Rachel Stohl is senior analyst at the Center for Defense Information at the World Security Institute in Washington, DC
US legislators tell Ethiopia to reform or lose aid
US legislators tell Ethiopia to reform or lose aid
Wed 3 Oct 2007
NAIROBI, Oct 3 (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill that would force Ethiopia, one of Washington's strongest military partners in Africa, to make democratic reforms or else lose security aid.
The bill, passed on Tuesday, would also deny U.S. entry visas to Ethiopian government officials involved in what it calls human rights violations, unless the president authorises a waiver, according to a copy obtained from a congressional Web site.
But the bill exempts counter-terrorism and peacekeeping operations from any funding restrictions, both roles that Ethiopia is playing in the aftermath of a war to install a U.S.-backed government in neighbouring Somalia.
The vote came nearly two years after two violent protests over May 2005 election results left nearly 200 dead when protesters claiming vote-rigging clashed with security forces.
That, and a subsequent trial of opposition members including those who won seats in parliament and other positions, led to criticism from rights groups and the withholding of certain aid by the European Union and Britain.
The bill would withhold aid unless Ethiopia accepts outside human rights monitoring, fosters an independent judiciary and media, and permits U.S.-funded assistance to those ends.
The bill passed on Tuesday in Washington, D.C., still needs U.S. Senate approval and a presidential signature before it becomes a law.
Reuters
Wed 3 Oct 2007
NAIROBI, Oct 3 (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill that would force Ethiopia, one of Washington's strongest military partners in Africa, to make democratic reforms or else lose security aid.
The bill, passed on Tuesday, would also deny U.S. entry visas to Ethiopian government officials involved in what it calls human rights violations, unless the president authorises a waiver, according to a copy obtained from a congressional Web site.
But the bill exempts counter-terrorism and peacekeeping operations from any funding restrictions, both roles that Ethiopia is playing in the aftermath of a war to install a U.S.-backed government in neighbouring Somalia.
The vote came nearly two years after two violent protests over May 2005 election results left nearly 200 dead when protesters claiming vote-rigging clashed with security forces.
That, and a subsequent trial of opposition members including those who won seats in parliament and other positions, led to criticism from rights groups and the withholding of certain aid by the European Union and Britain.
The bill would withhold aid unless Ethiopia accepts outside human rights monitoring, fosters an independent judiciary and media, and permits U.S.-funded assistance to those ends.
The bill passed on Tuesday in Washington, D.C., still needs U.S. Senate approval and a presidential signature before it becomes a law.
Reuters
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Somali Fighting Intensifies; Hundreds Are Arrested, Police Say
Somali Fighting Intensifies; Hundreds Are Arrested, Police Say
By Ahmed Barre Ibrahem
Sept. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Fighting between government forces and Islamic insurgents intensified overnight in the Somali capital Mogadishu with attacks on police stations and Ethiopian army bases, a police spokesman said.
At least 100 insurgents were slain and 45 Somali soldiers killed or injured after insurgents attacked three police stations and two Ethiopian army bases, deputy police spokesman Abdullahi Nur Omar said in an interview today in the city. About 700 people suspected of assisting the insurgents have been arrested, he said.
Violence in the capital of the Horn of Africa nation has escalated since Ethiopian troops helped the United Nations- backed Transitional Federal Government, or TFG, oust the Islamic Courts militia from southern and central Somalia in January. Somalia has been without a central government since Mohammed Siad Barre's administration collapsed in 1991.
By yesterday, at least 2,000 Somali families had fled their homes in the northern parts of Mogadishu following the skirmishes, Nur Omar said yesterday. More families are leaving the capital today.
About 11,000 people have fled the fighting in Mogadishu this month alone, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, or UNHCR, said today. Since February, 40,000 people have moved to Afgooye, about 30 kilometers (18 miles) west of the capital.
An opposition alliance of more than 400 Somali clan leaders, Islamists, and other political figures met in Eritrea this month and called for the overthrow of the interim government. The alliance has vowed to drive Ethiopian troops and 1,600 Ugandan peacekeepers, who were sent by the African Union, from Mogadishu.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ahmed Barre Ibrahem in Mogadishu via Johannesburg at asguazzin@bloomberg.net
By Ahmed Barre Ibrahem
Sept. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Fighting between government forces and Islamic insurgents intensified overnight in the Somali capital Mogadishu with attacks on police stations and Ethiopian army bases, a police spokesman said.
At least 100 insurgents were slain and 45 Somali soldiers killed or injured after insurgents attacked three police stations and two Ethiopian army bases, deputy police spokesman Abdullahi Nur Omar said in an interview today in the city. About 700 people suspected of assisting the insurgents have been arrested, he said.
Violence in the capital of the Horn of Africa nation has escalated since Ethiopian troops helped the United Nations- backed Transitional Federal Government, or TFG, oust the Islamic Courts militia from southern and central Somalia in January. Somalia has been without a central government since Mohammed Siad Barre's administration collapsed in 1991.
By yesterday, at least 2,000 Somali families had fled their homes in the northern parts of Mogadishu following the skirmishes, Nur Omar said yesterday. More families are leaving the capital today.
About 11,000 people have fled the fighting in Mogadishu this month alone, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, or UNHCR, said today. Since February, 40,000 people have moved to Afgooye, about 30 kilometers (18 miles) west of the capital.
An opposition alliance of more than 400 Somali clan leaders, Islamists, and other political figures met in Eritrea this month and called for the overthrow of the interim government. The alliance has vowed to drive Ethiopian troops and 1,600 Ugandan peacekeepers, who were sent by the African Union, from Mogadishu.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ahmed Barre Ibrahem in Mogadishu via Johannesburg at asguazzin@bloomberg.net
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Eessa irraa garam?
Qabsoo ummata Oromoo Adda Bilisummaa Oromoon gaggeeffamu jireenya Saba Oromoo keessatti injiffannoo guddaa galmeessee jira. Qaanqeen warraaqsaa gootota Oromoon bar kudhan sadi dura qabsiifamtee golee Oromiyaa hedduu keessa faca'uun ara'a ummatni keenya akka mirga isaaf itti himiinsa malee falmatu taasiftee jirti. Ummatni keenya Bara 1992 booda fincilla didddaa gabrummaa guututti dhaabaan osoo hin dhuunfatamin bakka addaa addaatti gaggeessa turee fi jiru; qabsoon kabajaa mulqamnee fi bilisummaa sarbamne deebifachuuf godhaa jirru kan murnoota maqaa Oromoon ijaaraman qofa irratti dhiifamu osoo hin taane dhimma isaa akka tahe tolchee hubachuu agarsiisa. Haa tahu malee sochiin ummataa hundi galii akeekatte gahuuf bifa ijaarsatiin qindeeffamuu fi gaggeeffamuu barbaachifti. Milkii sochii ummata tokkoof dammaqiinsi ummata sanaa akkuma murteessaa tahe, jaarmaya isa hoogganu qara, baranee fi kan haala ummataa isaa, naannoo fi addunyaa hubatee tooftaa fi tarsiimoo qabsoo qiyaasu isa feesisa. Addi bilisummaa Oromoo akka jaarmayaa fi murna isaa hoogganuttis warreegama guddaa kan baasee fi qabsoo ummata Oromoo bakka jalqabe irraa tarkaanfii tokko fuula dura kan fudhachiiise tahus yeroo ar,aa kana hoogganni jiru haala qabsoo keenyaa, haala naannoo fi addunyaa waliin tarkaanfachiisuu, irratt tarkaanfachuun hafnaan daaddee dadhabee waan gangalataa ykn konkolaataa jiru fakkaata. Sababni isaas;
1. Bara 1998 irraa kaasee baratootni Oromoo bifaa hoo'aa taheen qabsoo irraa qooda fudhachuun gaaffii sabaa fi miidhaa isa irraa gahu ifa baasuu fi ummatni keenya qabsoo isaa akka finiinsu kakasuuf warraagama guddaa baasuu fi qaamaanis qabsoo hidhaannootti dabalamanii diina irratti duuluuf bakka hundaan bobba'uun ni yaadanna. Hedduun isaanii dhaabatti dabalamuuf biyya keessatti naannoo WBOn jirutti bobbaa'uu fi kan carraa kana hin argatin yookan daandiin hin qajeeliniif biyya ollaatti bahuu dhaan dhaaba qunnamanis dhadhabii hoogganni kun agarsiiseen humni, dandeettiin fi lubbuun isaan qabsoon saba Oromoo ittiin gabbisuuf warreegamaaf qopheessan, qabsoof ooluu dadhabdee, ijoolleen Oromoo qabsoo dhaaf biyyaa maatii, hojii fi barnoota dhiisanii bahan biyyoota ollaa keessatti beelaa fi dhukkubaan dararamaa turan, jiran. Kanneen danda'ameefii dirree leenjisaa dhaqan dhaabni ykn hoogganni ABO qabsoo saba keenyaa gara humnaatti jijjiiruuf ilaalcha guddaa laachuu hanqachuu irraa bu'aa buusuu hanqatan, hedduun isaanii ammoo hojii ofirraa baasuu ykn hojii bilchinaa fi qaraannoo gahaa malee hogganni kun raawwatuun gammoojii biyyoota ollaa keessatti humna diinaatiin akaayaman.
2. Bifa fakkaataan kanneen barootaaf diina waliin dalagaa turan waggoota jahan dabran keessa dhaaba keenyaatti harka laachuu fi ummata isaanii badii irratti dalaganiif hojjachuuf qaphii tahanii dhihaatanis, muuxannoo diinaa keessatti isaan qabanitti gargaaramuun hojii raawwatamuu male raawwatuun hin danda'amne.
3. Beekomsa ykn odeessa an qabu irraa addi bilisummaa Oromoo takkayyuu ogeessota waraanaa sadarkaa ammaa qabuu argatee hin beeku, seenaa waggaa 30 olii keessatti. Humni waraanaa jeneraalotaan durfamu mooraa diina oneessee dhaaba kanatti gale maal irra akka jiru namni beekaa? Waan irra jiran hunda beekuu hin qabnu, garuu dhimma Oromoo wanni ilaalu gaariin raawwatame xinnatu kanneen halkaniif fi guyyaa gurra baasanii sochii qabsoo hordofan jalaa dhokata jedhee hin yaadu. Sodaan ture akkuma kanneen asiin dura dhaaba kannatti dabalamanii ukkaamsamuu dha. Akka natti mul'atutti sodaan kun dhugaa tahuu irraa fagaata hin jedhu. Seenaa dhaaba kanaa keessatti hoogganni turee fi amma jirus ofii dandeetti qabuun hooggana hojii waraanaas tahe siyaasaa akkasumas diplomasii raawwatan leenjise hin qabu. Yoo tolchinee ilaalle ganna 40 booda sammuu fi nammootni qabsoo kana hoogganan hin jijjiiramne, bakkuma 1974 sana jirra. Akkuma namni dhalate guddatee, jaaree dabru yoo kan biraa bakka hin buune sanyiin isaa dhabamu, murni kamuu kan of jijiiruu hin dandeenye ni dhabame. Beekkomsaa fi dandeettiin akka qabeenya lakkaawamuu kaayanii guyyaa du'an wal hin dhaalchisan, osoo jiran wal barsiisanii nama biraa bakka buusan. Gabaabamatti akka adeemsa irraa agarrutti haalli amma jiru dhaaba kana mataa irraa gadi haala ajjeesaa deemuu dha.
4. Qabxiin biroo, kan bira dabruu hin dandeenye, dhalootni itti aanu akka dhibdee kana keessaa bahee jaarmaya kana muuxachiisee as hin baane rakkoon guddaan furamuuf ulfaatu, beekkan, ykn ir'ina hunbannootatiin uumamaa. Ir'ina dandeettii dhaabni kun qabu amanuu diddaa rakkoo amma jirtu faallaatti akka hubatamu godhamaa jira. akka jaarmayaatti ir'ina jiru furuu ykn sabani Oromoo akka furatu haala aanjessuu irra, dhiibdee jiru namootatti haqatuu, caasaa gandummaa gubbaa irraa hanga gadiitii diririisuun humnaa fi yeroo waan bu'aa hin qabne irratti hooggannii ofii isaatiif dabarsuu irra dabree akka miseensotni dhaabaas yeroo isaan qisaanan gochaa jiru. Kun ammoo akka fuula duras furmaata hin arganne ilmaan Oromoo giddutti shakkii ummuu irra dabree jibbaa hin barbaachifne akka uumu godha. Kaleessa akka Galaasaa Dilboo wal dorgomii aangoo fi dadhabii isaa haguuguuf qabsaawota dhaalootaan naannoo bahaa gama kaaniin ammoo giddu galeessa bahaa fi kibbaa bahaatti dhalatan walitti naqee ofii manguddoo araaraa tahee gidduu taa'aa turee fi yoo inni bakka sana hin jiraanne qabsoon Oromoo akka killee lafa dooftee kan caccapxu fakkeessaa turee, fi dadhaabbii dhugaa irratti akka hin haasayamne godhaa turetti, ar,as sabboontatni Oromoo haala jiru bifaa dhugaatiin akka hubatuu hanqatan godhamaa jira.
5. Gidduu kana "congressinal hearing" dhimma Itoophiyaa irratti godhamuuf deemu keessa Addi Bilisummaa Oromoo bahee, kanneen ganna sadi maqaan isaanii hin dhagahamne kan akka ONLF, CUD, fi nammotni dhuumfaan afeeraman dhaabni keenya nama miliyoona 40 bakka bahu, madaala kaasuu hanqatee keessa hambifame waan jedhu yoo dhageenyu maaltuu nutti dhagahama? Diplomacy wanni jedhu nuuf hin barbaachifne moo lakki hojjatuu dadhabne, yookn ammoo ONLF irra jibbamne?
Akkuma armaa olitti tuqe haalli qabsoon keenya keessa jirtu heeduu gaaga'aa dha. Kana keessaa bahuuf tokkummaa feesisa. Dhaabni nuti jaalanu, wareegama bifa hedduu itti baafnee fi lammiin keenya itti cilee tahe yoo dhibdee ykn summii shakkii gubbaa irraa gadi facaatu kana faccisuu hin dandeenya maqaa qofatti hafuuf deema.
Lammiin Oromoo baroota dheeraaf qabsoo isaa dhimma murna tokkoo godhee irratti ilaaluu, badduu fi toltu isaanuma dhageeffatuu aadaa godhatee jira. Akka gubbaa irratti tuqeetti biyya keessatti jijjiiramni hedduun jiraatus, hedduun keenya hanga ar'aatti "yoo dhaabni keenya akkas jedhe jechuu malee" dhimmi qabsoo Oromoo akkuma murna dhaaba kana gaggeessuu kan nu ilaalu tahuu hubachaa hin jirru. Yoo dhaabni ijaa ykn qarayyoo saba keenyaa tahe osoo ijaan ilaalu dadhabbii hooggana kanaa ykn itti gaafatamu Oromummaa akka lammiitti fuchachuu dhabuu keenyaa rasasuma keenyaan madaa'ee haala du'aa fi jireenyaa keessatti argamu harka marannee ilaaluun yakka guddaadha.
Hubachiisa
Kanneen qabsoo saba isaaniif waggaa soddomaa ol jireenya isaanii wareegan hafnaan ilma Oromoo guyyaa tokkoof mirga saba isaatiif jireenya guyyaa tokkoo wareegeefuu kabajaa guddaan qaba. Kanneen ar'a dhaaba kana hoogganan wareegama daangaa hin qabne akka baasan nan beeka. Yoo gama dhimma sana keenyaatti deebinee garuu jireenyaa fi wareegama namoota irra kan sabaa fi biyyaa waan caaluuf, wareegamni isaan baasan ija keenya haguugee dhugaa awwaaluu waan hin qabneef kana yaada kiyya akka ibsashe, kanneen akka tasaa barruu kana dubbiftan akka naaf hubatan gaafadha
HGW
1. Bara 1998 irraa kaasee baratootni Oromoo bifaa hoo'aa taheen qabsoo irraa qooda fudhachuun gaaffii sabaa fi miidhaa isa irraa gahu ifa baasuu fi ummatni keenya qabsoo isaa akka finiinsu kakasuuf warraagama guddaa baasuu fi qaamaanis qabsoo hidhaannootti dabalamanii diina irratti duuluuf bakka hundaan bobba'uun ni yaadanna. Hedduun isaanii dhaabatti dabalamuuf biyya keessatti naannoo WBOn jirutti bobbaa'uu fi kan carraa kana hin argatin yookan daandiin hin qajeeliniif biyya ollaatti bahuu dhaan dhaaba qunnamanis dhadhabii hoogganni kun agarsiiseen humni, dandeettiin fi lubbuun isaan qabsoon saba Oromoo ittiin gabbisuuf warreegamaaf qopheessan, qabsoof ooluu dadhabdee, ijoolleen Oromoo qabsoo dhaaf biyyaa maatii, hojii fi barnoota dhiisanii bahan biyyoota ollaa keessatti beelaa fi dhukkubaan dararamaa turan, jiran. Kanneen danda'ameefii dirree leenjisaa dhaqan dhaabni ykn hoogganni ABO qabsoo saba keenyaa gara humnaatti jijjiiruuf ilaalcha guddaa laachuu hanqachuu irraa bu'aa buusuu hanqatan, hedduun isaanii ammoo hojii ofirraa baasuu ykn hojii bilchinaa fi qaraannoo gahaa malee hogganni kun raawwatuun gammoojii biyyoota ollaa keessatti humna diinaatiin akaayaman.
2. Bifa fakkaataan kanneen barootaaf diina waliin dalagaa turan waggoota jahan dabran keessa dhaaba keenyaatti harka laachuu fi ummata isaanii badii irratti dalaganiif hojjachuuf qaphii tahanii dhihaatanis, muuxannoo diinaa keessatti isaan qabanitti gargaaramuun hojii raawwatamuu male raawwatuun hin danda'amne.
3. Beekomsa ykn odeessa an qabu irraa addi bilisummaa Oromoo takkayyuu ogeessota waraanaa sadarkaa ammaa qabuu argatee hin beeku, seenaa waggaa 30 olii keessatti. Humni waraanaa jeneraalotaan durfamu mooraa diina oneessee dhaaba kanatti gale maal irra akka jiru namni beekaa? Waan irra jiran hunda beekuu hin qabnu, garuu dhimma Oromoo wanni ilaalu gaariin raawwatame xinnatu kanneen halkaniif fi guyyaa gurra baasanii sochii qabsoo hordofan jalaa dhokata jedhee hin yaadu. Sodaan ture akkuma kanneen asiin dura dhaaba kannatti dabalamanii ukkaamsamuu dha. Akka natti mul'atutti sodaan kun dhugaa tahuu irraa fagaata hin jedhu. Seenaa dhaaba kanaa keessatti hoogganni turee fi amma jirus ofii dandeetti qabuun hooggana hojii waraanaas tahe siyaasaa akkasumas diplomasii raawwatan leenjise hin qabu. Yoo tolchinee ilaalle ganna 40 booda sammuu fi nammootni qabsoo kana hoogganan hin jijjiiramne, bakkuma 1974 sana jirra. Akkuma namni dhalate guddatee, jaaree dabru yoo kan biraa bakka hin buune sanyiin isaa dhabamu, murni kamuu kan of jijiiruu hin dandeenye ni dhabame. Beekkomsaa fi dandeettiin akka qabeenya lakkaawamuu kaayanii guyyaa du'an wal hin dhaalchisan, osoo jiran wal barsiisanii nama biraa bakka buusan. Gabaabamatti akka adeemsa irraa agarrutti haalli amma jiru dhaaba kana mataa irraa gadi haala ajjeesaa deemuu dha.
4. Qabxiin biroo, kan bira dabruu hin dandeenye, dhalootni itti aanu akka dhibdee kana keessaa bahee jaarmaya kana muuxachiisee as hin baane rakkoon guddaan furamuuf ulfaatu, beekkan, ykn ir'ina hunbannootatiin uumamaa. Ir'ina dandeettii dhaabni kun qabu amanuu diddaa rakkoo amma jirtu faallaatti akka hubatamu godhamaa jira. akka jaarmayaatti ir'ina jiru furuu ykn sabani Oromoo akka furatu haala aanjessuu irra, dhiibdee jiru namootatti haqatuu, caasaa gandummaa gubbaa irraa hanga gadiitii diririisuun humnaa fi yeroo waan bu'aa hin qabne irratti hooggannii ofii isaatiif dabarsuu irra dabree akka miseensotni dhaabaas yeroo isaan qisaanan gochaa jiru. Kun ammoo akka fuula duras furmaata hin arganne ilmaan Oromoo giddutti shakkii ummuu irra dabree jibbaa hin barbaachifne akka uumu godha. Kaleessa akka Galaasaa Dilboo wal dorgomii aangoo fi dadhabii isaa haguuguuf qabsaawota dhaalootaan naannoo bahaa gama kaaniin ammoo giddu galeessa bahaa fi kibbaa bahaatti dhalatan walitti naqee ofii manguddoo araaraa tahee gidduu taa'aa turee fi yoo inni bakka sana hin jiraanne qabsoon Oromoo akka killee lafa dooftee kan caccapxu fakkeessaa turee, fi dadhaabbii dhugaa irratti akka hin haasayamne godhaa turetti, ar,as sabboontatni Oromoo haala jiru bifaa dhugaatiin akka hubatuu hanqatan godhamaa jira.
5. Gidduu kana "congressinal hearing" dhimma Itoophiyaa irratti godhamuuf deemu keessa Addi Bilisummaa Oromoo bahee, kanneen ganna sadi maqaan isaanii hin dhagahamne kan akka ONLF, CUD, fi nammotni dhuumfaan afeeraman dhaabni keenya nama miliyoona 40 bakka bahu, madaala kaasuu hanqatee keessa hambifame waan jedhu yoo dhageenyu maaltuu nutti dhagahama? Diplomacy wanni jedhu nuuf hin barbaachifne moo lakki hojjatuu dadhabne, yookn ammoo ONLF irra jibbamne?
Akkuma armaa olitti tuqe haalli qabsoon keenya keessa jirtu heeduu gaaga'aa dha. Kana keessaa bahuuf tokkummaa feesisa. Dhaabni nuti jaalanu, wareegama bifa hedduu itti baafnee fi lammiin keenya itti cilee tahe yoo dhibdee ykn summii shakkii gubbaa irraa gadi facaatu kana faccisuu hin dandeenya maqaa qofatti hafuuf deema.
Lammiin Oromoo baroota dheeraaf qabsoo isaa dhimma murna tokkoo godhee irratti ilaaluu, badduu fi toltu isaanuma dhageeffatuu aadaa godhatee jira. Akka gubbaa irratti tuqeetti biyya keessatti jijjiiramni hedduun jiraatus, hedduun keenya hanga ar'aatti "yoo dhaabni keenya akkas jedhe jechuu malee" dhimmi qabsoo Oromoo akkuma murna dhaaba kana gaggeessuu kan nu ilaalu tahuu hubachaa hin jirru. Yoo dhaabni ijaa ykn qarayyoo saba keenyaa tahe osoo ijaan ilaalu dadhabbii hooggana kanaa ykn itti gaafatamu Oromummaa akka lammiitti fuchachuu dhabuu keenyaa rasasuma keenyaan madaa'ee haala du'aa fi jireenyaa keessatti argamu harka marannee ilaaluun yakka guddaadha.
Hubachiisa
Kanneen qabsoo saba isaaniif waggaa soddomaa ol jireenya isaanii wareegan hafnaan ilma Oromoo guyyaa tokkoof mirga saba isaatiif jireenya guyyaa tokkoo wareegeefuu kabajaa guddaan qaba. Kanneen ar'a dhaaba kana hoogganan wareegama daangaa hin qabne akka baasan nan beeka. Yoo gama dhimma sana keenyaatti deebinee garuu jireenyaa fi wareegama namoota irra kan sabaa fi biyyaa waan caaluuf, wareegamni isaan baasan ija keenya haguugee dhugaa awwaaluu waan hin qabneef kana yaada kiyya akka ibsashe, kanneen akka tasaa barruu kana dubbiftan akka naaf hubatan gaafadha
HGW
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
