– From few captured soldiers to a ruling organization –
Berhanu Hundie
Even though it has been stablished to serve the interest of its masters, the Oromo Peoples Democratic Organization (OPDO) has gone through a significant evolution process. Thanks to the Oromo public uprising in general and Qeerroo bitter struggle in particular, the organization which was initially founded as a collection of few captured Derg soldiers by the TPLF aka Wayyaanee has been a key player in the current Ethiopian government. After its masters, the Wayyaanees, have been defeated by Qeerroo movements and sent back to Mekele, the OPDO has changed its name to a new brand, Oromo Democratic Party (ODP) and made many empty promises to the Oromo people who it has never represented and will never represent. In fact, OPDO was the TPLF representatives in Oromia but not an Oromo representing organization.
After it has consolidated its power in the government, it has dissolved the umbrella organization, the Ethiopian People Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) and replaced it by a new organization called Ethiopian Prosperity Party (EPP). Is this another evolution or maybe a revolution? Although the former OPDO/ODP used to talk about economic revolution, its move to the new organization PP cannot be considered as a revolution. Even the former revolutionary front EPRDF has been downgraded to a unitary type organization PP to directly or indirectly fight the federal system. Though it is not fully democratic, the ethnic based federation is actually the best political arrangement for Ethiopia to resolve the century old deep-rooted issues. Why does the PP work against the current ethnic federalism?
The answer is simple. The OPDO/ODP which is a key player in PP has a hidden political objective or/and agenda and this is again to serve the interest of its new masters, the Nafxanyaas. Basically, the agenda is not hidden as such; it clearly shows that the PP is working to fulfil the interest of certain class of the society. By implementing a new philosophy, the so called “maddamar”, the intention is to create a unitary system. That is why the leader of the newly stablished organization PP, Abiyyi Ahmad, has been praising the kings particularly Minilik since his inauguration as a PM. To come back to the question on the topic, OPDO’s move to PP is an evolution but in no way a revolution. However, neither of them served and will serve the Oromo national interest and therefore the so called “Badhaadhina” doesn’t represent the Oromo people.
However, if it really wants to learn from the past and present and be Oromo people’s party, it MUST do the following as a minimum.
- Lift the Command Post which it illegally put in place in certain parts of Oromia
- Release all political prisoners
- Start unconditional dialogue with Oromo Liberation Army aka WBO
- Restore peace and stability in Oromia
- Stop restricting the activities of other political organizations and their members
- Work honestly for a free, fair and democratic elections provided this would take place at all due to the current alarming situation created by Covid 19, which has been a global concern
