Title of the Symposium:

Adversary Effects of Prison in Promoting Oromoo

Nationalism: A Critical Analysis
Address: [email protected]/[email protected]

0911996807

Fille Jalleta (PhD, Associate Professor of Folklore, AAU)

March , 2025
 Table of Contents
• Background
• Rationale
• Objectives
• Research Methodology & Methods
• Discussions
• Results
• Recommendations
 Background
• The Oromo, an African indigenous people started to live in Ethiopia
with dynamic national ideology, fertile land & favorable living
conditions since the 4th century B.C. (Feyisa, 1998).

• Even though Oromo is an indigenous & covers half of the population

of Ethiopia, deferent regimes & imported cultural elements were/are
imposed/imopsing on Oromo nationalism and nation building within
the community.

• Nationalism is the desire by a group of people who share the some

race, culture, language, etc. to form an independent country; it is a
feeling of love for and pride in your country, a feeling that your
country is better than any other (Joanna, 2015,p.982)
 Background .........

 Asefa 2010) classifies that the concept of Oromoo nationalism can be seen in
its National and Global concepts

 in its National Project Oromummaa enables Oromo to:

 retrieve their cultural memories,

 assess the consequences of Ethiopian colonialism,
 give voice to their collective grievances,
 assists in the development of Oromo-centric political strategies and tactics
that can mobilize the nation for collective action empowering the people for
liberation.

• In its Global Context, enables the Oromo people to form alliances with all
political forces and social movements that accept the principles of national
self-determination and multinational democracy in the promotion of a
global humanity that is free of all forms oppression and exploitation
 Background,...
• Since the collapse of the Oromo Gadaa institution the resistance to
conquest & oppression had been carried out both in scattered &
organized manner for almost a century (Mohammad (2013.
• Among theses:
 The resistance of Raya & Azebo of (1935) from Abyssinian rules
(Ezekel, 2014),
 the establishment of the Western Oromo Confederation (WOC) in
1936 to declare their independence from Abyssinian rule.
 The Hararge peasants uprising of 1950s, and uprisings in Wollegga,
Ilubabbor, Sidamo, Shoa & Jimma,

 The Bale peasants uprising of 1950s are among resistances

(Mohammad (2013).
 Background,...
• More importantly, in the past EPRDF regime, Fekade (2008, p.1)
directly quoted the headline of Mr. Seye Abraha, that the savagery
being committed against the Oromo people by the Meles Zenawi
regime is more than a little dirty secret.
• Seye was amazed to see a shockwave & a jolting moment in the
packed hall (January 5, 2008) when Seye spoke the four-word sentence: "Esir
betu Oromogna yinageral." To the stunned audience, Seye said “about
99% of the prisoners in Qaliti are Oromos." I saw many people
shaking their heads in disbelief”.
• However, as enshrined under article 21 of the EFDRE constitution
(1995) that are persons held in custody & persons imprisoned upon
conviction & sentencing have the right to treatments respecting their
human dignity.
• The enforcement of the enshrined article of the EFDRE constitution in
the above is therefore far from yes.
 Background,...
• Different pre-existing literatures showed that prison is known as an
institution where the physical, democratic, moral & psychological
rights of human beings are restricted or perhaps usurped & violated.
• Imprisonment in Its:
 Physical: detention in jail and/or in prison
 Psychological: mental detention (in custody or outside that)

• In general, it is an institution where criminal suspects are jailed for

unlimited period & criminals are arrested for limited period (Wild,
2006).

• However, different literatures confirm that most world powerful

political leaders come to power after the completion or release of
free political scholarship, called imprisonment.
 Rationale
• Jails and prisons are unwelcomed institutions; in principle, they are
institutions where the political, democratic, and economic rights of
criminals or suspects are fully or partially pull away. In the past three-
decades of Ethiopian context, it is the place where different inhuman
physical harassments, mental retardation as well as psychological
embarrassment are observed (Alston, 2008).

• However, the rationale of this research is therefore to critically

analyze the adversary effects of prison and imprisonment in
developing Oromo nationalism, identify whether Oromo political and
non-political prisons are regretting or becoming silent from questing
or strongly exercising their natural, democratic and economic rights
and are more strengthening and becoming active in their national
consciousness than before arrest.
• To identify the problems and fill the above gaps the following specific
objectives have been given due attetions.
 Objectives of the Paper

• To critically analyze the extent that prison affects the

national identity of the Oromoo political prisoners;

• To investigate the role of prison in maximizing and

promoting the national consciousness of the Oromoo;

• To identify the extent that prison and imprisonment promote

or affect self-consciousness of the non-political prisoners
of the Oromoo .
 Methodology and Methods

• This survey type of research is employed in mixed approach design &

descriptive in its analysis.

• Instruments: structured & semi-structured questionnaires, unstructured

individual interviews & observation are employed. This means, 12
structured questionnaires were disseminated to 34 political and 24 non-
political prisoners (32 males & 2 females).

• In addition, as ancillary data, historical background of the subjects are also

used & 10 unstructured interviews were produced to the non-political
prisoners for cross sectional investigation.

• In sum, both structured questionnaires & unstructured interviews were

produced for 34 respondents.

• Finally, participant observation made by the researcher & the exposure

that the researcher had in different prisons at different times also included
 Data analysis: Cases for Imprisonments
• Quest to respect the fundamental rights of the Oromo people
including the right to exercise article 39 of the Ethiopian constitution,
• To demand an immediate release of all Oromo political prisoners; &
reinstatement of Mecha-Tulama self help association,
• To demand the names of Oromia’s cities, universities, colleges,
schools, places & other institutions be reinstated to their original
Oromo names (OYA, WDO, 2005) .
• The destruction of Oromiyaa natural forests,
 Cases for Imprisonments cont’d

• the transfer of the capital of Oromiyaa from A.A to Adaamaa;

• the case of integrated Master plan of A.A. (west-East Oromiyaa),
and Koyyee Faccee
• Land grabbing, still unsolved problem in Finfinne area
• The Irreechaa Massacre & Qilinxoo cases
• Lagim (the disorder of the script of Latin Alphabet in writing and
reading Afaan Oromoo)
• Derogatory insults of Oromo students in different higher institutions
• The displacement of Oromo from their home land,…
 Data Analysis: Harassment and Embarrassment
 The extent of suspected or innocents political prisoners have faced while they
had been in jail & in prison.
 It is more explained the fact that 100% of the political prisoners have faced
inhuman physical & moral harassments.

 Among, Physical harassments:

 body burring & chaining,
 whipping,
 scandalous butchery,
 terrorizing by reptiles,
 sexual abuse,
 shaving dray hair with broken classes

 Among, Psychological embarrassments:

 derogatory ethnic related insult,
 not to produce to the concerned court within 48 hours as per set in the legislation
of the constitution & criminal procedures of the land

 Data Analysis: Adversary Effects.
 Prisoners (both) who have arrested in-group have the chance to
discuss & exchange ideas on Oromoness & their self identity, identify
causes of their arrest,...
 Accordingly, most of them (62.5 %) had very high chance to interact with
political prisoners, while some of them (20.8 %) have had high chance to
communicate with each other. The remaining of them had the chance
to communicate each other at a medium extent.
 In sum, the data analysis marked the fact that both political &
nonpolitical prisoners had high chance to discuss one another or in
a group on different Oromoo issues.
 Such interaction among the Oromo according to prisoners helped to
glue strong national bondage & creates further network even after
release.
 Likewise, unwelcomed connection can also be helped them as an
informal political training center with regard to their national identity
and political consciousness.
 Data Analysis: Adversary Effects Con’d.
 The motivation of Oromo political prisoners towards their
Oromummaa while their are in prison:
 Half (50%) of the respondents reacted that they have very high
motivation even if they have been under the state of suffer higher than
ever before. Similarly, (35 %) are still highly stronger, not to confess
from their being Oromoness,
 The pre existing literature clearly marks that there are Oromo
nationalists who have been sacrificing their lives and resources to
liberate their people.
 However, some of them have low motivation about their
Oromummaa

This data on the one hand, uncovers that there are some Oromos
who consciously or unconsciously betrayed their people for
personal gains by joining the enemy camp to fight against the
Oromo national interest and national struggle (Asafa, 2002)
 Data Analysis: Adversary Effects Con’d.
 The value added for the non-Oromoo political prisoners on
Oromummaa:
 41% of non-political prisoners have added very high values
 11.7% of them have high values than they had before arrest.
 29.4% at medium and 14.7% are low levels.
 In sum, more than half of the non-political prisoners of the Oromo
have added better national values and Oromo national consciousness
after their arrest with the Oromo political prisoners,

 In the observation, most of them were describing that “I am chance

full in joining such a large number of Oromo people at one plate
& I learnt more & I have recognizeed more about my national
identity & culture than ever,
 Adversary Effects Con’d

 This is more attested by Asafa (2002) that the development of

Oromumma is absolutely necessary to empower the Oromo people.

 The observation made by the researcher while he was in prison at

different times in different prisons clear that the prisoners were
more alert than the senior political arrestees in exchanging
telephone addresses of Oromo political prisoners who joined them
in prison
 Data Analysis: Adversary Effects Con’d.
 Political prisoners who joined other political prisoners who have
arrested in different prisons and jails at different times have joined
from different education backgrounds, different age groups &
humanitarian backgrounds.
• An interview made with a non-political prisoner I have encountered
after release from Jato prison described that most of political
prisoners were well educated & conscious in Oromoo political
discourses, political psychology & political history, thus I am
chanceful to learn much more about Oromo politics from them.

• The above data marked the fact that these days in our country, prisons
can be seen as uncharged institutions or the center of Oromo political
scholarship where uneducated prisoner become educated.
 Data Analysis: Adversary Effects Con’d.
 The degree to which Oromoo political prisoners discomforted
being arrested after release:

 Analysis:, most (73.5%) of Oromo prisoners are not discomforted

after release. An other informant has strengthened the issue that, my
harassment & derogatory words in prison made me as strong as
nailing nail.
In other words, there are determinant Oromo politicians still strong,
who are tested by d/t inhuman harassments equal to gold is tested by
fire.

• However, there are some Oromo prisoners who have felt discomfort
at medium & low levels (respectively). It is natural that such
opportunists are inevitable in the world politics. The Oromo
politics cannot be free from such opportunists..
 Results
 As repeatedly described in the research background & discussion,
prison in principle, it is an institution where the political, democratic,
and economic rights of criminals or suspects are fully or partially pull
away & where general & specific deterrence are expected to give
lesson for the community.
 Likewise, it is the center of plead guilty and entering to oath not to
say something once again after release.

 However, both the secondary & primary data have uncovered that
prison is an unwelcomed institution where the unconscious political
minds are promoted to conscious political mined without tuition fee.
Likewise, it is where the strategies of questing for political,
economic & social justices are designed, learnt, glued, cemented than
before arrest.
 Result cont’d
• Regardless of physical & psychological harassment are practiced in,
Prison is seen as school of literary works of the Oromo written,
edited, & open for critical comments given.
• In brief, imprisonment does not make regret determinant Oromo
nationalists, Oromo elites & Oromo youth from questing & securing
political, economic & social justices in the country in general & the
Oromo nation in particular.

• This does not mean that prison is an acknowledged institution for

human beings. However, harassment in prison is less heavier than
shouldering slavery, because imprisonment may teach, create
stronn political network and lead to liberation & independency.
 Recommendations
• In Ethiopian context, prisons & jails are places where different
physical harassments: chaining, flogging, burning, human butchering,
castration & other psychological embarrassments are observed.

• In fear of psychological & physical harassments, both political & non-

political prisons of the Oromo are not expected to regret from
questing justice for their political, social, economic & natural rights,
seeking fair trial & fair law, equality before the law, equal utilization
of natural resources, fair & federated distribution of political power
(both at HPRE & house of federation).
 To do so, ask democratically, act bureaucratically

• Actually, prison is not a grave where some one has never come once
again; thus, all Oromoo do not be repentant from questing their
political, social, economic & natural rights,
Thank You!!!!!

Baatuu!!!!!