The Oromo of Ethiopia: Africa's nation manque

bibliographic database
Line

Periodical article

Title:	The Oromo of Ethiopia: Africa's nation manque
Author:	Cappelli, Vanni
Year:	1997
Periodical:	Horn of Africa
Volume:	15
Issue:	1-4
Pages:	81-91
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Ethiopia
Subjects:	Oromo separatism
Abstract:	With twenty million people, the Oromo, who have frequently been known as 'the Galla', are the most numerous ethnic group in Ethiopia, where they comprise some forty percent of the population. In acknowledgement of what was a political reality, the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) was actually included in the coalition government after the fall of Mengistu in May 1991. However, it subsequently withdrew from the Tigrayan-dominated regime, which shows just how tenuous the future of Ethiopia is. The author sketches the history of this group of Cushitic-speaking people who dominate the southern part of the country, largely the area south of the Blue Nile. In the 19th century they were conquered and subjugated by Menilek II and became the most downtrodden and exploited part of the population. In recent years the OLF has struggled to set up the 'People's Democratic Republic of Oromia'. Their task has been made easier by the growing resentment against 'the Amhara', seen as the source of all the suffering they had to endure under the Mengistu regime. Ref.