OSA Challenges Exclusion of Oromo from State Department's Upcoming Seminar on Ethiopia
The following is a letter addressed to the Assistant Secretary Johnnie Carson of the Bureau of African Affairs of the U.S. Department of State and written by the President of the Oromo Studies Association (OSA), Dr. Haile Hirpa. Dr. Hirpa challenges the State Department’s upcoming seminar on Ethiopia behind closed doors – especially, without the involvement of Ethiopia’s largest nation – the Oromo. OSA calls upon Oromo-Americans & American friends of the Oromo to call/contact the State Department and other elected officials (given below) until the decision to exclude Oromo from the Seminar is reversed.
P.O Box 32391 – Fridley, MN 55432
www.OromoStudies.org
March 19, 2010
Mr. Johnnie Carson
Assistant Secretary – Bureau of African Affairs,
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW – Washington, DC 20520
202-647-4000 – carsonj@state.gov
Dear Assistant Secretary Carson:
I am writing this letter on behalf of the Oromo Studies Association (OSA), a scholarly, multi-disciplinary, non-profit international organization, established to promote studies on and relevant to the Oromo people residing in East Africa, mainly in Ethiopia with a population close to 50 million. The Executive Committee of OSA is very excited to learn that the Bureau of African Affairs in the US State Department is organizing a seminar/ conference on Ethiopia on April 5, 2010. OSA is following the issue of this conference with a great deal of interest, because Ethiopia is at the crossroads due to the upcoming election in May of 2010.
We were even more excited when we learned that Professor Asafa Jalata, a renowned Oromo-American scholar, was invited to participate on this historic seminar and make a presentation on the current Ethiopian situation from the Oromo perspective. However, our excitement had soon changed to sadness and depression when we learned that he was later on told that he could not participate in this seminar because he was an Oromo. We further learned that some of the peace-loving organizers of the April 5, 2010 seminar walked out from the process, protesting that debarring Oromo experts from participating in this seminar was a discriminatory action by itself. To make the situation even worse, when asked why Professor Jalata was prevented from participating on the conference, the lead organizer of this seminar declared that “the seminar has been canceled.” But then we learned that, this was in fact not true and the preparation for the planned conference was proceeding as scheduled. We believe that this is a clear indication of making undemocratic decisions behind closed doors, because the assertion that “the seminar was canceled” was simply a cover-up. Change and transparency are the motto of our current President Barack Obama, and it is our strong conviction that the State Department should function under the same motto.
Dear Sir,
The Oromos, who constitute about 50% of the current population of Ethiopia, have lived under discriminatory and minority rule for over a century now. First, by the Amhara minority ruling class (from Menelik II (1889) to Mengistu Hailemariam (1991)), and now, by another minority Tigrean ruling class led by Meles Zenawi and his TPLF (Tigrean People’s Liberation Front) party, all this time by strong support and endorsement of Western powers, mainly the United States. The current minority TPLF leadership has received support and endorsement in 1991 at the so called “London Conference” by the then US Assistant Secretary of African Affairs Herman Cohen. The regime continues enjoying US support since then at the expense of marginalization, discrimination, and humiliation of the entire non-Tigrean population of Ethiopia, mainly the Oromo population.
We Oromos believe that we are (and have been) seen as second class citizens by the successive Ethiopian regimes and their cliques and our brothers and sisters at home continue to live under humanitarian harassment, economic exploitation, discrimination and humiliation. It truly hurts our feelings when we learn that, the same discrimination is, not only endorsed on us (Oromos), but in deed applied to us by the leadership of this great country of ours, the United States of America.
Dear Sir,
If justice were to be served, because majority of the Ethiopian population are Oromos, it goes without saying that most of the participants of the seminar should be Oromo experts based on majority democratic principles. We believe that such an important conference will be successful when and only when all the stakeholders are proportionally represented and when all voices are heard. Therefore, we ask your genuine interaction with the lead organizer of the seminar to enable them to welcome Oromo experts to participate in the April 5, 2010, seminar/conference on Ethiopia. OSA believes that democracy, human rights, security, stability, and development in Oromia and in Ethiopia cannot be promoted without the free participation of the Oromo people, the largest ethnonational group in Ethiopia.
Thank you for your democratic leadership, and we hope to hear from you soon.
Sincerely,
Haile Hirpa, PhD
OSA President
CC:
President Barack Obama
White House
info@barackobama.com
Madam Secretary Hilary Clinton
U.S. Department of State
websitecomments@state.org
2201 C Street NW – Washington DC 20520
Telephones: (202) 647-4000/ (202) 647-6575
Rep. Donald M. Payne
Elected Board Chair of the Board of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation
2310 Rayburn House Office Building – Washington DC 20515
Fax: (202) 225-4160 – Phone: (202) 225-3436
Senator Russ Feingold
wcontact@feingold.senate.gov
Fax: (202) 224-2725 – Phone: (202) 224-5323
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Lammii said,
March 22, 2010 @ 12:54 am
Sad to learn that! Where does the US’s moral responsibility lie then? They might have been persuaded by chauvinists. Keep on calling!
Abdiibiyyaa11 said,
March 22, 2010 @ 1:45 am
please somebody post the tel number to call and whom we call. We too paid federal and state tax. We too vote for congressional and senate race including presidentail race. Therefore, we deserve to be heard and we need to organize and protest the decision. After all, this is the free land and nothing to free of to express your feeling.
many thanks
Daandii Qajeelaa said,
March 22, 2010 @ 4:30 am
Hi everybody!
Please, please pick up the phone and call! Please, please! I called all places once. I’m going to try again tomorrow.
When you call, tell them that you are an OSA member or affiliate, or you know Professor Asafa very well. And challenge them why Oromo has to be discriminated. This is a real QABSOO. Forgive me if I have been rude, but if you afraid to make a telephone call, please don’t talk about “Oromo cause”. It will simply be hypocrisy.
Daandii
Abebe Belaye, PHD SE, PE said,
March 22, 2010 @ 5:17 am
Let us help to modify this and send.
Mr. Johnnie Carson
Assistant Secretary – Bureau of African Affairs,
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW – Washington, DC 20520
202-647-4000 – carsonj@state.gov
Dear Assistant Secretary Carson:
I am excited and encouraged to learn that the Bureau of African Affairs in the US State Department is organizing a seminar/ conference on Ethiopia that is scheduled to be held on April 5, 2010.
Unfortunately, I came to know that renowned Oromo and Oromo-American scholars were not invited to participate. Moreover, to my surprise even one Oromo-American scholar, who was invited at the beginning, was told later that he could not participate in this seminar because he was an Oromo. It is the belief of most of the experts on the Horn of Africa, this historic seminar will not be complete and cannot achieve its goal without the Oromo scholars participating and making a presentation on the current Ethiopian situation from the Oromo perspective.
The Oromo people constitute about 50% of the current population of Ethiopia. Democracy, human rights, security, stability, and development in Ethiopia cannot be promoted without the participation of the Oromo people that are the majority in Ethiopia. It is also immoral and unjust for the United States of America to organize a conference on Ethiopia without inviting the Oromo scholars. America being the world’s leading superpower and the largest democracy has the moral obligation to help the people of Ethiopia and bring the misery to end. We, the fortunate ones, who came to the United States of America from Africa understand more than anybody, how human rights and democracy are vital to development. I hereby kindly ask your help to make sure that the Oromo scholars are invited and welcomed to make presentations on April 5, 2010.
Thank you very much for your leadership and your effort to make Africa a peaceful continent to live in.
Abdulkadir Gumi said,
March 22, 2010 @ 8:21 am
It is actually Sad Sad to hear this, The fight for our right is on, its right for Justice, and peace for Oromo people…“Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.”
- Dale Carnegie
Assefa Kuru said,
March 22, 2010 @ 8:30 am
This blutant exclusion of professionals not to participate on seminars because of their ethnic backgrounds is not only undemocratic, but also inhumane.
dhufuu said,
March 22, 2010 @ 9:39 pm
It is time to do something. I think oromos in USA should know how thier voice is shut down by few neftenyas. I do support any type of cordination from so called oromo organisation who bark on eachother otherwise.
Duresso said,
March 23, 2010 @ 2:21 am
This is injustice its self to exclude majority people based on their ethnicity for any reasons, so we protest it to the strongest term. We are just asking for just right equal representation to express our view if this seminar intended to help this country move forward interms of human rights, democracy, devlopment, and justice for all. We must call and protest this exclusion. Also this is some of the reasons we need to come together regardless of idiologies and organizational differences.
Thank you/ Galatooma
Erko said,
March 23, 2010 @ 3:11 pm
Please Oromo wake up and say, we have to involve in every decisions that is made on behalf of Ethiopia should include Oromo, becuase no one can talk about Ethiopia without mensioning about Oromo people. Remember what happened in 1991 landen conferencess. Don’t mke a mistake don’t sleep Oromo. Rise your voice from around the world.
abbaa Biiftuu said,
March 23, 2010 @ 6:32 pm
please someone prepare pettition and let us sign if they listen if they don’t we will go to next step. we are not going see our familly’s sefuring anymore ***
boona said,
March 23, 2010 @ 10:46 pm
My fellow brothers and sisters,
There is something fishy here. It is very difficult for me to accept the fact that a career diplomat will stae people belonging to a ceratin ethnic group are denied attendance to a meeting of such significance. In the first place how were the people who nominated the guests approached? Secondly what was the criteria( if there was any) for nomination of particpants? It just doesn’t feel right particularly considering diplomatic protocols. If what is said is true then we should raise issue to a higher level and we muct contact the State Department.
AbdiibiyyaaII said,
March 23, 2010 @ 11:05 pm
Dear Fellow Oromo,
Here is what I have done, I have copied sample letter which was posted by one of fellow oromo and modified.
I have addressed my letter to the person OSA addressed to and made CC : To: US President, OBAMA, Secretary of US, Hillary Clinton and to US senators of my home state.
I think the rest of you could have done the same way I did. Hope every one is acting than talking to no avail.
Many thanks
Jilo said,
March 23, 2010 @ 11:41 pm
i wrote email with modified one may be if it helps
Jaabeessaa said,
March 24, 2010 @ 1:06 am
Dear Bona,
According to Obbo Lenco Baati, Senator Feingold and Congressman Payne have already wrote a letter to President Obama disapproving the action of Mr. Johnnie Carson for debarring Oromos from the April 5, 2010 Conference. Now you can take the action you were planning to take.
Duresso said,
March 24, 2010 @ 2:34 am
We must unite to in form the state department fully about Ethiopia’s problem related to Oromoo struggle and without Oromoo and other oppressed people’s right and justice any seninar or conference doe not bring any long term solution to this region. Its mostly common it take long struggle for voiveless to be heard their v. Oppressed people have no choice, but to struggle for justice and at the sametime, oppressed people need to work tirelessly to exposse the oppressor to get help from the world, this is what is expected of us. We do not have to agree on everything to respectfully work together. We are not working together when we disagree, so that is why this large nation’s voice cannot be heard. Most of the the time, we react to negative events instead of creating or making our own events to move our strugle forward. We do not tolerate and respect our own divercity of opinions, so we are wasting so much time to discredit among each others instead of uniting and tolerating each others for the sake of our struggle. We expect others to do more while most of us just complaining among ourselves. We need to do more together on the some of the things we can do together: we demonstrate in support of Oromoo prisoners, we protest about land grab, we should make much noise about any injustice against us, then other people respect us and feel our grief, let us protest even this exclusion together loudly and if we really care, as the weather warms up, let us come together to support our people to be their voice. We could do so much if we work together on some of the things we can do together and maybe we learn more from each others to do more by allowing ourselves to work together even with those we disagreeing most on the issue we agreeing on. Its our issue, its our struggle, its our problem, we also power of this region, so please let plan and work together. Thank you/ Galatoomaa
ejerssa said,
March 24, 2010 @ 5:43 am
Considering it is the tax season, when I pay up to uncle Sam, it is doubly pisses me off that “they” try to silence the Oromo voice from a seminar sponsored by an arm of government. What is the fear? Who is behind such a move? How is peace, security and stability possible with out involving the single largest stake holder in the whole process – the Oromos? It is beyond frustrating, to say the least.
DLO said,
March 26, 2010 @ 6:01 am
Dear OSA,
The Oromos are with you in fighting such discrimination and unjustice against the Oromo.
The USA government should show its sympathy to democracy and justice to human beings. USA Government should respect its words of respecting democracy.
Sincerely,
DLO
Nahema said,
May 17, 2010 @ 3:13 am
The exclusion of Oromo from Ethiopia’s affairs is obvious. The message is clear; Oromos are not Ethiopia and they want to talk about their country Abssinia. I do not think we oromos need to worried about the activities Abssinians are involved when ever they gother and talk about something immpossible. Because we know for sure they can not get any where by excluding Oromo if they want to bring a long lasting peace in that country. We Oromos need to work on our unity and concer for our freedom and selfdetermination. One day these Abissinians may regrate for the mistake they have done and run after Ormomos to get attention but then it may be too late.