O-Dispatch #10: A Response to President Isaias Afewerki’s Speech on Eritrea’s 34th Independence Anniversary

 By Bantii Qixxeessaa

🎧 Listen to the Audio Version (7 minutes)

President Isaias Afewerki’s address marking the 34th anniversary of Eritrean independence offers insight into Eritrea’s worldview—rooted in national resilience, suspicion of foreign powers, and a call for African self-reliance. Yet, as an Oromo nationalist, I find it necessary to address the distortions, omissions, and contradictions embedded in his remarks, particularly those directed—thinly veiled or otherwise—at the Oromo people and their just struggle.

On Oromummaa and the Oromo Question

Afewerki characterizes Oromummaa as an ideology manipulated by external actors, suggesting it neither reflects nor represents the Oromo people. This is an affront to history and to the lived reality of the Oromo nation. Oromummaa is not foreign; it is indigenous. It is the embodiment of our language, culture, values, political identity, and historical memory. It is a peaceful but firm assertion of who we are after generations of cultural erasure, economic marginalization, and political exclusion under successive Ethiopian regimes.

To deny the authenticity of Oromummaa is to perpetuate the very imperial assumptions that Eritrea once fought to escape. It is a betrayal of the pan-African ideal to recognize all peoples as equal and entitled to self-definition.

On Eritrea’s Claimed Neutrality in Ethiopia

The president laments the "dissipation" of reform prospects in Ethiopia, subtly blaming the Oromo resistance for unraveling peace. Let us recall: when Abiy Ahmed rose to power, it was the Oromo youth—Qeerroo and Qarree—who broke the chains of authoritarianism and opened the door to democratic transition. Yet the path was quickly diverted into a centralizing project, supported militarily and ideologically by Eritrea itself.

It is disingenuous for Eritrea to claim disappointment while having been complicit in the militarization of Ethiopian politics. Eritrean troops entered Ethiopian conflicts, not as neutral peacekeepers, but as enforcers of the very repression the Oromo people resist.

On the Right to Resistance and Self-Determination

Afewerki asserts Eritrea’s commitment to sovereignty and laments Africa’s economic and political subjugation. We agree. But let us also apply those principles consistently. Eritrea gained independence after a long and just armed struggle against imperial domination. The Oromo struggle is no different in essence. We too were conquered, our lands annexed, our institutions dismantled, our names and narratives erased.

Oromo nationalists should not forget Isaias Afwerki’s interview with One Ethiopia magazine on June 10, 2007—a publication produced by the Eritrean Ministry of Information in English, Amharic, and Tigrinya, and widely circulated in the diaspora through Eritrean embassies. At the time, his aim was to pander to the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUDP), commonly known as Kinijit, a party known for its retrograde, Amhara-centric political agenda.

In that interview, Afwerki stated: “Since they [TPLF] have no faith in the Ethiopian people as a whole, they divided them into the Amhara people, Tigre people, Oromo people, and many others. Because that is what their constitution asserts. The constitution allows the right to self-determination up to secession. We can say that the regime’s mental instability and dangerous political approach has taken a constitutional shape in the name of federalism and democracy. Ethiopia is thus exposed to a never-before-seen ethnic polarization, although it would take longer to discuss the dangerous consequences of such a situation.” (Oromo Affairs, Aug. 28, 2007)

As Oromo Affairs incisively asked in response: “If the unity and territorial integrity of the empire is truly to the benefit of the colonized nations and nationalities, then why did Eritrea fight for 30 years to decolonize itself?”

The principle that guided Eritrea to freedom—self-determination for colonized peoples—must be extended to the Oromo people. The world cannot selectively recognize struggles based on convenience or geopolitical alignment.

On Pan-Africanism and African Agency

President Afewerki speaks of African agency, dignity, and integration. These are noble goals. But African unity must not come at the expense of internal justice. True pan-Africanism cannot be built on the denial of the distinct identities and aspirations of African nations like the Oromo. The continent cannot rise while millions remain disenfranchised in their own lands.

Eritrea, of all nations, should know: dignity is not granted from above; it is reclaimed from below. We are reclaiming ours. Not in service of division, but in pursuit of justice, equity, and freedom.

Conclusion

To the Eritrean people: we recognize your sacrifices, your nation-building efforts, and your enduring resilience. Your independence stands as proof that colonized peoples can rise and chart their own path. But this lesson cannot be yours alone.

To President Afewerki: history will not be kind to those who claim the legacy of anti-colonial resistance while denying it to others. The Oromo struggle is not a footnote to be dismissed, nor a fabrication to be blamed on foreign hands. It is a movement as real and grounded as any Africa has known.

Our message is simple: the Oromo people are not seeking domination over others, but liberation from the domination of others. That is a cause no true African should oppose.

Victory to the Masses! Freedom to All Oppressed Nations!