Critical voice of the Oromos

Dear All,

The following report regards the fire raging in the forest lands of Oromia.
The Oromo are being burned and vanished, not only their natural resources.
Will the international community believe that?  The Following is the Oromos 
appeal.

Regards,
Thomas
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Critical voice of the Oromos


Oromiyaa, the land of Oromos was endowed with natural resources. The
natural high forest, wildlife resources, minerals, rivers, lakes etc
signifies that Oromiyaa was really gifted with natural resources. But these
natural resources of Oromiyaa are facing the unprecedented war in the same
way as Oromo people from the TPLF government.

Oromiyaa, which was at one time free and had egalitarian governance, Gadaa
political system, failed under the colonial empire of abyssinian, which
deprived Oromos from their political and economic rights. In a true sense
Oromos are victimized because of the Oromiyaa's endowment in natural
resources. Oromos are killed, imprisoned, vanished, tortured, dislocated
and the environment that the Oromos are living in is devastated 
deliberately.
>
>The natural resources of Oromiyaa are disappearing with dramatic speed.
>Minerals are exploited unsustainably, forests and wildlife habitats are
>destructed and set on fire deliberately by Tigre People Liberation Front
>(TPLF) government agents and companies by the name of investment.
>
>The recent forest fires in all of Oromiyaa high forests and Parks are good
>examples that the government is deliberately destroying the natural
>resource basis of the Oromos. These natural resources were intact for
>centuries, because of the traditional environmental stewardship of the
>Oromo people. It is Oromo's tradition to balance production need and
>environmental values. Because of the traditional attachments of the Oromos
>to the nature, they managed to maintain the sustainable use of natural
>resources, including the use of forests and trees for social-political
>(Gadaa meetings) gathering, ritual ceremonies (Ayyantuu, Qalluu sacramental
>celebrations).
>
>More than 90% of the Ethiopia's forest product needs and consumption are
coming from the Forest and forestlands of Oromiyaa, which was conserved by
the Oromoos traditional environmental management positive roles unlike the
abyssinians.  The environmentally degraded parts of Ethiopia that are
unable to sustain them-selves are benefiting from Oromiyaa's green land.
Despite of all the Oromiyaa's natural resources values and services to all
>humankind in the empire, no one besides the Oromo individuals and Oromo
University students asked the government to give more attention to the
deliberate set fire disaster. Why only Oromo students in the Universities
and colleges? Why only Oromos? These are the critical questions to be
asked. The implications are clear, TPLF is here in Oromiyaa to milk the
existing resources and create unusable desert land for the Oromos. It is
now becoming evident that this greenness and generosity to feed the food
>insufficient regions out side Oromiyaa and the supplying of wood and wood
>products to big towns and cities in the empire are becoming enemy to the
>Oromos and their natural resources. The fight over the piece of rocky land
>between Tigray and Eritrea has mobilized the bulk resources of the empire,
>while the destruction of natural resources that has Regional and
>international/global values had given no attention by the TPLF government
>and its henchmen in Oromiyaa.
>
>It is now more than one month since the forest fires are started in almost
>all Oromiyaa major forests. The attention and publicity given for the fire
>disaster in Oromiyaa is much less than the publicity usually given to the
>earth dam construction inauguration in Tigray. No TPLF government official,
>Priminister, President, line minister nor the TPLF stooge, Oromo People
>Democratic Organization (OPDO, the puppet organization that controls
>Oromos) has given public statement on the fire disasters in Oromiyaa so
>far.  Even though their contributions to the Oromo's issues are clear from
>the beginnings,(nothing is expected from OPDO any way) OPDOs never said a
>word on the fire disasters and to the contrary they continued to force
>Oromos for war contribution between Tigray and Eritrea.  Obviously the
>burning socio-political and environmental issues of the Oromos are not
>their concern. They are there simply to serve their masters, TPLF leaders.
>
>The forest fires in Oromiyaa was started at the beginning of February 2000
>and destroyed about 500000ha of forests and forestlands and wildlife parks
in Oromiyaa up to March 3/2000.  The fire is still causing greater damages
>in southern, western and eastern parts of Oromiyaa. Farmers' houses,
>agricultural crops, livestock, industrial woods, beehives, honey, forest
>and farmland coffee crops, medicinal plants, wildlife, etc have been
>destroyed by these fires in entire Oromiyaa. This is a serious disaster for
>all humankind. The government of TPLF is waiting for the June rain to come
>and put off the fire, as it was reported officially through government mass
>media. In addition to the deliberate destruction from the TPLF, the stooge
>(OPDO) is there to control the Oromos not to get organized to voices about
their resources and rights and, Oromos have no power and resources to
>mobilize at this stage to put-off the fire. Hence, Oromos decided to send
>ear- splitting voices to the world communities.
>
>The Oromos have no doubt that the causes of the forest fires are human
>made and preventable. The major causes are the results of the TPLF
>government direct and policy actions. Oromos know that the following are
>the major causative agents and the sources are summarized as below:

i. Fire set as a result of wrong policy and mismanagement- the TPLF
>government has abolished the forestry institutions at all levels from above
>down to the forest level with no reason. The forests of Oromiyaa used to
>have offices, patrolling systems and facilities, budgets etc. and used to
>take preventive measures. TPLF invalidated all these. Hence, since 1994/95
>there is no responsible organization for natural resources in Oromiyaa. As
>a result, there is no care taking of natural resources in Oromiyaa. This
>was done deliberately by TPLF to achieve the points mentioned under ii-iv
below.

ii. The fires are the results of the growing conflicts between the Oromo
>farming communities and TPLF investment companies over the land property
and use right in Oromiyaa from which the Oromo are evicted politically

iii. The deliberate fires set by the TPLF occupation army in Oromiyaa  by
>the name of clearing the area to control the Oromo insurgence
>iv. The deliberate fires set by the illegal immigrants settlers from
>Tigray, Amhara and other areas to settle in fertile Oromiyaa forests and
>forestland which is said to be headed and guided by the higher officials
>from TPLF government. The fully armed immigrant settlers in western
>Oromiyaa forests are now ranging from 200000-500000 in five western zones
of Oromiyaa. In similar manner about 200,000 illegal immigrants were
settled in the southern Oromiyaa's forests and forestlands. All settlers
>were settled for the political objectives of the TPLF government. These
>settlers are setting the fires for three reasons, first, to clear the land
>for more people to come and settle from their respective areas for
>agriculture and, secondly, the immigrants set fire on behave of the TPLF
>government to control the Oromo insurgencies, third, the immigrants set
>fire to ruin the environment in Oromiyaa to make the land unsuitable to
>live on and in the mean time the long term political objective of the TPLF
>behind the illegal settlement is to contaminate the homogeneity of the
>Oromos to claim that Oromiyaa is not for the Oromos. This savagery
>project has been going on for the last 7-8 years by increasing the number
of immigrant settlers from other areas in strategic geo-political areas in
all Oromiyaa corners.

v. The deliberate fires set by the investors to clear for coffee and mining
development, for instance companies like Midroc-Gold of Sheik al Amudin,
Midroc coffee and Tea development company of the same man are the major
destructive agents in Oromiyaa natural resources. The camouflaged
(Politically organized) investment companies of Sheik al Amudin and TPLF
are the main agents of forest fires in Walaggaa and Booranaa (west and
southern Oromiyaa).
>
>It is clearly becoming evident in recent few days that the fires are
>deliberate and act of the government. The public opinion in many areas in
the empire, private newspapers etc. are convincingly clearing the doubts
>and supporting the Oromos believe that the forest fires in Oromiyaa are
>deliberate act by the TPLF government for multi-purposes as mentioned 
>above.
Now, the socio-political, economical and environmental implications of
this trend will have far reaching consequences. The fires are not Savannah
woodland fires. They are high forest fires with significant economic and
>environmental consequences. Never happened in forest fires history in
>Oromiyaa. Oromos in Diaspora, Oromo friends in the world, and friends of
the nature should stand-up and say No! to TPLF devastating direct and
>policy actions. The international institutions that are responsible for the
>international environmental conventions (conservation of biodiversity,
>desertification, climate etc) should stand with us not only for the sake of
>the environmental war waged on Oromiyaa, but because we believe that this 
>should be the global issue and concern.

>The Oromos
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