Resolution of the OLF National Council

December 28, 2006 - The National Council of the Oromo Liberation Front held its 2nd regular meeting from December 23 –28, 2006. After conducting a thorough deliberation on all pertinent issues facing the organization and the just struggle of the Oromo as well as all other people in Ethiopia and the region, it concluded its meeting by passing the following resolution. 1. The Council noted the conspicuous and qualitative improvements in the performance of the organization witnessed over the last two years. It finds that our struggle has entered a new and decisive phase. The Council adopted new action plans to overcome discernable challenges that remain in a few key areas. 2. The peaceful resolution of the Oromo question has been our long-standing policy and the desire of our people. However, our genuine effort for peace has been blocked by the continuing intransigence of the TPLF regime. Rather than seeking a political solution to the just demands of the Oromo people and the worsening political crisis, the regime declared war on OLF and the Oromo people through its rubber stamp Parliament on its session of December, 2006. The OLF and the Oromo people are therefore left with no option but to defend against the TPLF aggression. Consequently, the Council calls on its members, supporters and the entire Oromo people to redouble their efforts and work tirelessly to mobilize and rally all material and human resources for their just struggle for freedom. In this regard, the Council would like to remind all concerned that the TPLF regime and it alone is responsible for the consequences.3. For more than a century the Oromo people have been subjected to political domination, social subjugation and economic exploitation by succeeding repressive Ethiopian regimes. For decades our people have been engaged in a protracted struggle against these injustices. The ongoing peaceful resistance all over Oromia have shaken the political basis of the TPLF regime and further demonstrated the unshakable commitment of our people to free itself from the tyranny. The Council noted the selfless and vanguard role of students, teachers, youth, farmers and business people in spearheading the nation-wide peaceful uprising. We call upon our people at home and abroad to stand in unison and rally behind the OLF and intensify the struggle in a coordinated and efficient manner until the right of the Oromo people for self-determination is realized.4. The TPLF regime is perpetrating gross violations of political and civil rights in Ethiopia today. Thousands are languishing in the prisons. Many have been detained for a long period of time without charge or trial. Some have been summarily executed. The rule of law and due process of law are routinely undermined. In sum, arbitrary and repressive rule have become the norm. The Council condemns these cruel and inhuman acts and calls on all the people in Ethiopia to intensify their struggle to win freedom for all political prisoners.5. In addition, the TPLF regime is instigating inter-communal and inter-religious conflict in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa. The Council calls up on the Oromo people and other peoples in Ethiopia and the region to continue to demonstrate peaceful co-existence and tolerance and not to be drawn into this malicious TPLF-instigated discord.6. Due to the worsening human rights situation and the suppression of political, civil and social rights, many judges, parliamentarians, diplomats and other high-ranking officials, have taken the bold step of dissociating themselves from the regime and joining the camp of the struggle for freedom after realizing the impossibility of advancing and guarding the interest of the people within the system. In particular the courageous action taken by hundreds of Oromos in the Ethiopian army organized under the heroic leadership of senior military officers to abandon the regime and join the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) is historic and unparalleled in the tortuous history of our people. Whilst applauding this historical undertaking, the Council calls upon Oromos who are serving in the TPLF regime to join the just struggle and defend their people.7. Since the collapse of the central Somali government in 1991, several attempts at national reconciliation have been made. However, these efforts to reconstruct the Somali state have yet to bear fruit. The continuous interference of the TPLF regime remains the major obstacle for reconciliation of the Somali people and the restoration of the Somali state. The Council believes the way out of the current deadlock is dialogue between Somali forces and the cessation of foreign interference in Somali affairs. 8. The Council commends the effort of the OLF leadership in forming a broad-based Alliance that coordinates and expedites the struggle for freedom and democracy in Ethiopia. It is the belief of the Council that the formation of the Alliance for Freedom and Democracy (AFD) is a milestone in the political developments in Ethiopia. The Alliance provides a viable alternative to the failed and disastrous policies of the TPLF regime that is taking the country and the region on a course of destruction. Accordingly while instructing the OLF Executive Committee to persevere in its commendable efforts in implementing the Founding Agreement and the action plans of the Alliance, we call on all political forces in Ethiopia to join the Alliance and bring about a speedy end to the suffering of the people in Ethiopia and the worsening political crisis. Victory to the Oromo People!National CouncilOromo Liberation FrontDecember 28, 2006