By Jawar Mohammed | The Gulele Post
Tigrean Chauvinism
Few months ago, in an interview with journalist Befekadu Moroda of Oromia Media Network (OMN), I asserted that TPLF and the Tigrean ruling class have transformed into Neftegna. Abay Tsehaye’s recent words and behavior testament to that. Remember the Neftegna system that gave monopoly over the means of violence and the sources of wealth produced chauvinistic agents who exploited and disrespected oppressed groups in Ethiopia. The system also engineered social behaviors that justified the actions of those agents and popularized myths of the dominant groups socio-cultural superiority. Overtime, the ruling class and its base began rationalizing and institutionalizing prejudice and extreme form of violent responses towards those who dissented.
Few months ago, in an interview with journalist Befekadu Moroda of Oromia Media Network (OMN), I asserted that TPLF and the Tigrean ruling class have transformed into Neftegna. Abay Tsehaye’s recent words and behavior testament to that. Remember the Neftegna system that gave monopoly over the means of violence and the sources of wealth produced chauvinistic agents who exploited and disrespected oppressed groups in Ethiopia. The system also engineered social behaviors that justified the actions of those agents and popularized myths of the dominant groups socio-cultural superiority. Overtime, the ruling class and its base began rationalizing and institutionalizing prejudice and extreme form of violent responses towards those who dissented.
During the early years of their rule, as violent and oppressive they were, TPLF differentiated themselves from their predecessors by being sensitive and showing reasonable respect for groups they subjected. However, they began abandoning such sensitivity as they consolidated power and began amassing wealth, and they have started adopting the ugly behaviors of their predecessors. Nowadays, emboldened by the absolute monopoly of the means of violence, intoxicated with abundance of wealth at their disposal and facing no so significant threat to their rule, the TPLF Tigrean rulers’ rudeness, arrogance and disrespect for other cultures have become their norm. Just like their predecessors, they have the false sense of inherent superiority which had made them feel invincible. This behavior is even worse among their rising generation – which was born into wealth and power and grew up being drugged with post-victory (post-1991) bravado of TPLF.
This is good and bad news. It’s ‘bad’ because such collective behaviors increase and justify violence and repression against the subjected populations. However, on the ‘good’ side, it makes the system intolerable – expanding the base of resistance, and, consequently, speeding up the downfall of the system.
Abay Tsehaye’s Bravado Exposes the TPLF Master Plan
Abay Tsehaye’s threat, its tone and spirit, is very revealing of TPLF’s contempt and disrespect for Oromos, even for those who are serving them as puppets. What is the story behind such an outburst? After the completion of the the ‘Addis Ababa Master Plan’ without any involvement from the Oromia side, Abay Tsehaye gathered senior OPDO leaders and ordered them to implement the Plan. They expressed their concerns that they were not involved in the process of drafting the Plan, and that it would be hard to convince the rank and file. They were told that EPRDF/TPLF would not take NO for answer. The OPDO leaders could not even agree on the matter and when they took the issue to the mid-level leadership, they were met with fierce resistance and hostility. While the Oromia State leaders were planning to bring the issue to the Caffee(Parliament of the State of Oromia) for deliberation, Abay/TPLF could not wait so they bypassed them, gathered administrators of cities surrounding Finfinne and told them to begin the implementation. At this meeting, the city administrators raised several procedural and policy objections and said they could not take this Plan without further study and deliberation at Caffee (at the Oromian State’s Parliament level.) The administrators said they could not convince the public about a plan even they themselves neither understand nor accept. In their typical manner, Abay Tsehaye and TPLF leaders rejected the request for further discussion at the leadership level and gave them strict orders to begin the implementation phase. This conflict reached the public leading to the mass protest and massacre of April/May 2014.
Abay Tsehaye’s threat, its tone and spirit, is very revealing of TPLF’s contempt and disrespect for Oromos, even for those who are serving them as puppets. What is the story behind such an outburst? After the completion of the the ‘Addis Ababa Master Plan’ without any involvement from the Oromia side, Abay Tsehaye gathered senior OPDO leaders and ordered them to implement the Plan. They expressed their concerns that they were not involved in the process of drafting the Plan, and that it would be hard to convince the rank and file. They were told that EPRDF/TPLF would not take NO for answer. The OPDO leaders could not even agree on the matter and when they took the issue to the mid-level leadership, they were met with fierce resistance and hostility. While the Oromia State leaders were planning to bring the issue to the Caffee(Parliament of the State of Oromia) for deliberation, Abay/TPLF could not wait so they bypassed them, gathered administrators of cities surrounding Finfinne and told them to begin the implementation. At this meeting, the city administrators raised several procedural and policy objections and said they could not take this Plan without further study and deliberation at Caffee (at the Oromian State’s Parliament level.) The administrators said they could not convince the public about a plan even they themselves neither understand nor accept. In their typical manner, Abay Tsehaye and TPLF leaders rejected the request for further discussion at the leadership level and gave them strict orders to begin the implementation phase. This conflict reached the public leading to the mass protest and massacre of April/May 2014.
During and in the aftermath of the protest, OPDO leaders agreed on the need to postpone the Master Plan as a way of containing the situation. This idea was initially accepted by the official EPRDF – including the Prime Minister. However, Abay Tsehaye summoned the OPDO leaders and accused them of sabotage and threatened to eliminate them from the top down – and anyone who stands in the way of the Master Plan. Terrified, the puppet leaders went home and began hibernating avoiding the subject altogether.
Therefore, what is heard in this leaked audio of Abay Tsehaye threatening over a thousand urban planners and administrators is nothing new. His contempt towards Oromo and insidious plan to rob them of their land must be confronted. They have already began implementing the Master Plan, and Abay Tsehaye had made it abundantly clear that they would go ahead by any means necessary. Well, this needs to be met with the same spirit – the plan must be stopped by any means necessary.
Lets remember that the Finfinne issue is not isolated. TPLF’s real Master Plan is to establish Tigrean economic monopoly by depriving Oromos of any real source of economy across the country, including fertile land, mineral sites, manufacturing and trade. Therefore, the target of Oromo resistance needs to focus on fighting back against this real Master Plan. The resistance needs to identify businesses of TPLF and its affiliates across Oromia and take them on to ensure they don’t succeed.
Arrogant TPLF leaders should realize that their power is more vulnerable than their fortified headquarters lead them to believe. The roots and branches of their domination extend deep into the remotest part of our homeland.
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