O-Dispatch #19-G - Oromia Rising: Beyond Resistance (Unity Begins with Vision)

(Published as part of the “Oromia Rising: Essays on Freedom and the Future” series. Everyone is invited to contribute. Send your contributions to bantii.qixxeessaa@gmail.com.)

By Bantii Qixxeessaa

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	For decades, the Oromo struggle has been defined by its resilience. We have resisted emperors and juntas, autocrats and occupiers. We have marched, fought, mourned, and survived. But resistance alone, however heroic, is not enough to deliver liberation.  At some point, every movement must ask: What comes after resistance?

This dispatch continues the path laid out in Oromia Dispatch #16—a call for unity based on shared principles, not empty symbolism—and responds directly to the challenge posed in Dispatch #16-A: How do we move from critique to construction? From exposing the gaps to offering frameworks that can help close them.

The answer begins with vision.

A Welcome Step Toward Unity—But Is It Enough?

On July 19, 2025, a coalition of Oromo organizations, scholars, and activists met virtually to discuss how to unify the movement. Shortly after, many of the same voices gathered again in Seattle, Washington, issuing a public statement announcing the formation of a committee to unify the Oromo struggle.

This is music to every Oromo nationalist’s ears. The very act of coming together to talk unity is cause for hope—and should be celebrated.

But we must be honest: while unity around resisting the current regime is a critical achievement, the absence—or, if there is one, the lack of a publicly stated—post-Abiy vision is deeply troubling.

This moment echoes what Oromia Dispatch #16 warned us about: symbolic unity without strategic depth. A call for unity that does not define its destination is not a roadmap—it’s a mirage. Even more concerning, there is no clarity on whether the united effort seeks to preserve the current multinational federation, create a transitional government to draft a new social contract, or prepare the ground for full self-determination by each nation and nationality.

This vagueness is not neutral. It is a recipe for disaster.

From Protest to Purpose: The Cost of Directionless Resistance

Let us be clear: bringing down Abiy Ahmed and dismantling the Prosperity Party is necessary—but it is not a strategy. It is a tactic within a larger struggle. And unless the Oromo movement defines what replaces the current regime, others will define it for us—just as they did in 1991, in 2018, and countless times before.

In Dispatch #16-A, a reader rightly challenged us to move beyond critique and offer practical, structured proposals. This dispatch answers that call by asserting that the most urgent next step is not simply uniting resistance but unifying around a shared political vision.

What Does “Beyond Resistance” Require?

Following the roadmap introduced in Dispatch #16-A, the following elements must now become operational priorities for any serious Oromo unity project:

1.      Establish a Shared Destination

• Is our movement calling for federal reform, full independence, or a transitional governing process?
• The minimum program must affirm self-determination—including the option of independence—as a non-negotiable right.
• Avoiding this question for the sake of superficial consensus only delays inevitable fractures.

2.      Build Institutions in the Present

• Begin constructing self-governance structures in liberated zones.
• Promote community-led systems of justice, education, and security.
• Demonstrate now what a free Oromia would look like—not after the war, but during the struggle.

3.      Coordinate Across Legal and Armed Struggles

As Dispatch #16-A outlines, legal barriers in Ethiopia prevent open collaboration between parties and armed groups. Still, strategic unity is possible through:

• Role separation without vision disunity
• A diaspora-based coordination body that ensures narrative coherence, which I am glad to report has been announced in the press release of the newly formed coalition
• Shared messaging rooted in Article 39 of the Ethiopian Constitution, which guarantees the right to self-determination

4.      Launch Political Education Initiatives

• Prepare a generation of youth not just to oppose—but to govern.
• Use Gadaa principles to instill accountability, justice, and participatory leadership.
• Political education will inoculate the movement against internal manipulation and factionalism.

5.      Clarify Our Narrative Internationally

·         Advocate for the Oromo struggle as a decolonial, democratic movement, not a regional rebellion.

·         Position all wings of the movement—armed, political, civic—as aligned with internationally recognized rights frameworks.

Learning from Our Own Lessons

We are not short on examples. Oromia Dispatch #16 recounted how unity efforts like ULFO and "Gaaddisa Hoggansa Oromoo" failed—not due to lack of will, but lack of a shared strategic vision. We cannot afford to repeat this.

What would happen if the Abiy regime collapsed tomorrow? Do we know what comes next? Is there a transitional plan? Who will lead? How will power be shared? These are not academic questions—they are existential ones.

The Time for Symbolism Is Over

Resistance without vision leads to chaos. Unity without a common goal leads to fragmentation. The Oromo movement now stands at a historic juncture: either solidify its momentum into a system or repeat the cycle of collapse that has haunted us for decades.

Let unity not be something we announce in press releases—but something we build into our structures, messaging, and operations.

Let our resistance give birth not only to opposition—but to Oromo self-governance, justice, and dignity.

Conclusion: Vision Is Victory

This dispatch is not the end of the conversation—it is a continuation of a call:

• From critique to construction
• From symbolic unity to coordinated struggle
• From resistance to revolutionary vision

If Dispatch #16 was the call to ground unity in principles, and 16-A was the framework for action, then this dispatch is the bridge between them: the message that no unity effort will succeed without a clear, shared vision of the post-Abiy future.

We have resisted long enough.
Now we must build.
We must define.
We must unite—with purpose.

Let this be the moment Oromia rises not just in defiance, but in direction.