Statement of the OLF Regarding the Banning of the MTA

The practices and actions of the successive Ethiopian regimes, including the incumbent, substantiate that,as far as the Oromo people and their rights are concerned, their policies and positions are the same and remained unchanged. The repeated actions of the successive Ethiopian regimes against the Mecha Tulama Self-Help Association (MTA) prove these unchanged policies of the successive Ethiopian regimes relevant to the Oromo people and their rights.

From the very beginning, the MTA was established in accordance with and operated within the bounds of Ethiopian regime’s laws and regulations. All the time, the MTA was registered and was issued a license to operate by a dully authorized Office of the regime. The MTA, like all self-help, non-for profit associations in the country, conducted its activities within the bounds of the regime’s laws and regulations.

Nonetheless, the regime of Emperor Haile Sillassie I, in an utter disregard and violations of its own laws and regulations, banned the MTA, killed or imprisoned its leaders and confiscated its properties. The MTA violated no law or regulation of the regime. The accusation for banning the MTA has never been proven in a court of law. The Emperor’s regime banned the MTA because it hated and feared the conscious, organized and self-helping Oromo.

In 1974, the Emperor Haile Sillassie’s regime was overthrown by a Military Junta known as Dargue. The Dergue followed and practiced the totalitarian socialist ideology and, therefore, during the Junta’s rule the repeal of the ban on MTA was unthinkable.  

The progress of history continued and in 1991, the Military Junta was thrown out of office and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) controlled the Ethiopian State. After it controlled the Ethiopian State, the TPLF leaders pretended to be different from their predecessors, and declared, among others, "the equality of the nations and people in Ethiopia and the rights of nations and peoples to selfdetermination”. The MTA seized the newly created situation and was again legally registered as a nonfor profit association. It was issued a certificate of registration and a license to operate and immediately resumed its operations. However, the imprisonment and harassment of the MTA leaders by the new rulers of Ethiopia continued.

Due to the contradictions between the its declarations and its anti-democracy and anti-human rights practices, the tyrannical TPLF regime recently banned MTA for the second time and arbitrarily confiscated its properties. By banning the MTA, the TPLF led regime again proved that, as far as the Oromo people, their rights and interests are concerned, there are no fundamental differences between the TPLF led Ethiopian regime and the defunct Emperor Haile Sillassie’s regime. The Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) vehemently condemns the banning of the MTA.

We call up on the Oromo people to not forget that as far as we, the Oromo people are concerned, the policies and positions of the successive Ethiopian regimes have not been  changed. The Objectives of all the Ethiopian regimes have been and are to exploit the Oromo people’s resources, to enrich themselves and keep the Oromo people in an abject poverty and suppress and prohibit us, the Oromo people, from asserting our human rights and being proud of ourselves and our identities. They do not want to see us walk our heads up. They deprived us our fundamental rights to association and prevented us from improving our social and economic lives. Most importantly, all the Ethiopian regimes intimidated and terrorized the Oromo people in order to stop the people from participating in the national liberation struggle. They work day and night to make sure that we, the Oromo people live in terror and fear. The successive actions of the TPLF regime have proved beyond any doubt the hatred and fear it has for the Oromo people.

Therefore, the OLF calls on the Oromo people not succumb to the TPLF regime’s campaigns and actions aimed at terrorizing and intimidating you. The Oromo people need to understand that the banning of MTA, a precursor and historical association of the Oromo, is due to the fear and nightmare the TPLF leaders have for the politically conscious and organized Oromo. The message of the OLF to the Oromo people is not to bow down to the actions and wishes of enemies and rather to strengthen the resistance and national liberation struggle of all forms in all corners of Oromia against the tyrannical minority regime of the TPLF. The Oromo people must resist and frustrate the enemies’ machinations to divide and deprive them of independent organizations and leaders. The Oromo people need to unite, cooperate and continue the struggle until the final victory of the national liberation struggle. History and justice is on our side and the Oromo national liberation struggle shall prevail over the unjust and dictatorial minority rule of the TPLF.