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Ethiopia’s peace pacts with the Oromo Liberation Front have failed: here’s what was missing

Ethiopia’s peace pacts with the Oromo Liberation Front have failed: here’s what was missing

TWO attempts have been made over the past six years to broker peace between the Ethiopian government and the armed rebel group Oromo Liberation Front. The armed group was formed half a century ago to carve out an independent state for Oromia, the country’s largest regional state. MAREW ABEBE SALEMOT, Lecturer of Federalism, Debark University Both attempts at brokering peace – in 2018 and again in 2023 – ended in failure and a return to violence. Oromia is Ethiopia’s largest and most populous region. The Oromo Liberation Front has sought autonomy for the region since the group emerged in 1973.…
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Ethiopian protest music: the songs of Hachalu Hundessa reveal the struggles of the Oromo people

Ethiopian protest music: the songs of Hachalu Hundessa reveal the struggles of the Oromo people

THE Oromo are the largest ethno-national group in Ethiopia, accounting for over 40 million people or more than one-third of the population. However, they have been politically oppressed, economically exploited and culturally marginalised under successive Ethiopian regimes. Since the 1960s, the Oromo have sought self-determination through various forms of resistance, such as armed struggle under the banner of the Oromo Liberation Front. ASEBE REGASSA DEBELO, Senior research and teaching fellow, Department of Geography, University of Zurich Music has played a key role in the Oromo resistance movement. As is the case in many other societies – especially those where open…
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Ethiopia charges 2,000 over violence after singer’s killing – attorney general

Ethiopia charges 2,000 over violence after singer’s killing – attorney general

DAWIT ENDESHAW ABOUT 2,000 people in Ethiopia have been charged over deadly violence that followed the killing of a popular singer in June and charges against more prisoners are likely to follow, the attorney general has announced. At least 166 people were killed following the murder of Haacaaluu Hundeessaa, some in protests against authorities and some in ethnically-targeted attacks. More than 9,000 people were arrested in the wake of the violence, including some politicians from Oromiya, Ethiopia's most populous province and the home of the deceased singer. "Some the suspects and some of the accused complained that they are being…
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