Following the
publication of Sidama National Liberation Organization Chairman Kambata Xoola’s
interview, a great interest has been expressed among readers as regards this
long tyrannized and most forgotten nation of Abyssinia, the Sidamas. We believe
the quadripartite interview of Chairman Xoola will help highlight the Sidamas’
most marked aspects of culture, life and endeavors, sending therefore an alert
to the world’s democratic and humanistic people about the incredible tyranny and
oppression that for more than 100 years has undeservedly befallen on this Great
African nation.
As every tyranny’s targets encompass the lawless extirpation of the occupied
land’s natural resources and the criminal deprivation of the legitimate
proprietary, namely the tyrannized people of the land in question, we first
focalize on economic and socioeconomic issues in the interview’s second part. We
then shift our interest to politics, exploring the infinite ways of tyranny that
the abhorrent and inhuman Amhara / Tigray dictatorial administrations applied in
Sidama land.
Sidamas’ Impoverishment Due to Abyssinian Robbery of Sidama land’s Natural
Resources
- How would you describe the current economic conditions in Sidama land?
- Currently, the economic condition in Sidama land remains pathetic!! Sidama is
a potentially rich nation that is deliberately impoverished by the successive
Abyssinian regimes. All of them adopted similar policies against the will of the
Sidama people.
The regime deliberately marginalizes Sidama nationals from the economic game and
let its companies freely operate in Sidama land. Most of the public sectors are
sold for TPLF’s companies primarily, Tigrean origin businessmen, and their few
local loyalists. From Awassa city to the district towns most of the main
businesses are run by the regime and / or their loyalists. The Development Bank
that operates in Sidama land, and whose managers are almost entirely Tigreans,
systematically exploits all the Sidama nationals.
As the coffee is the main commodity for the regime’s hard currency export
earnings (about 40% of the washed coffee comes from Sidama land), the said Bank
lends some of Sidama people millions of Ethiopian birr without any business
plans, appropriate information and guarantee, while holding the borrowers
properties as a deposit. Before too long, they sabotage the money they lent and
sell the property of the Sidama people to foreign, Abyssinian settlers.
Sometimes, they sabotage washed coffee from the central market where Tigreans
play upper roles. As a result, Sidama nationals are systematically excluded from
any business games, being therefore left frustrated and destitute.
Additionally, the Sidama people don’t have any means to compete with the
incumbent’s companies and the Amhara / Tigray Abyssinian ever expanding
businesses that engulfed the entire country in a socioeconomic disaster. These
foreign invaders have bought all the hotels in Sidama land, which used to be
public asset. The money goes to the pockets of federal, regional and zonal
politicians.
Since Sidamas have no real political representation, no one cares about the
development of private businesses in Sidama land. Lack of appropriate and
substantial social services such as Health, Transportation and Education makes
the situation serious. There are also no policies and projects in place to help
the nation diversify its economy and keep up with the ever-changing technology.
The farming system remains entirely traditional and people farm for subsistence.
A Rich Land Stripped of everything by the Alien Amhara / Tigray dictators
Therefore, the Sidama nation lives under ultra poverty and the region become an
exemplary case study for places where green famine takes place. The Sidama land
has all potentials; but it seriously lacks visionary and courageous leadership
with sets of objectives and achievable goals, strategy and implementation
mechanisms, as well as the necessary determination to achieve them. Above all,
there is a need for positive political will from the part of a Sidama
government, freedom of expression, and decision making power offered to the
people in order to achieve basic socioeconomic objectives. As all this doesn’t
exist in Sidama land, the entire nation consists in an unprecedented human
tragedy.
- What are the basic natural resources of the Sidama land?
- A Sidama economist convincingly describes the following about the natural
resources in Sidama land: ‘Mining is virtually non existent. Although Sidama
land is said to have a good potential of mineral resources particularly in the
Great East African Rift Valley and the eastern highlands of the Sidama land,
nothing has been done to exploit these resources’. To my knowledge, there are
several places in Sidama land where people traditionally dig and get gold and
other precious metals that haven’t been exploited to this date. However, Tigrean
companies are planning to buy such areas with potential minerals for their own
advantage. This is to be forcefully opposed and ultimately avaerted.
Furthermore, Sidama land is rich in water resources. Lakes Awassa and Abaya are
found in the northern and southwestern parts of Sidama land. They can be great
tourist attractions if properly developed. Sidama land is also the source of
Ganale (Wabeshebele) river that feeds part of Somalia. But nothing has been done
to develop the nation’s water resources for irrigation in order to improve
agricultural productivity.
A merciless, absolute tyranny
- The present Tigray-led government pretends that the country is democratic and
federal; what degree of political representatives have the Sidamas achieved thus
far? Are there Sidamas elected in the Parliament?
- In principle, there is a paper oriented policy which is among the worst cases
as far as the poorest nations of the planet are concerned; furthermore, it is
the problem of economic superpowers of the West and their leaders who claim to
stand for the basic rights of the global community. No wonder, if Abyssinian
regime - led by the minority Tigreans - pretends to be democrat whilst
slaughtering innocent civilians in broad day lights. We can consequently
conclude that their claim is completely false and undeniably pathetic!
In the light of their continued brutality, we can’t expect from them any sort of
democratic governance and respect for the basic rights for the citizens of the
country. They don’t allow people to exercise their basic rights and decide on
their destination. Contrarily, the successive regimes of Abyssinians compromise
the identity of their subjects by systematically intimidating them in order to
have them confirm an eternal subservience to the Abyssinian brutal rules. That
is the case in Sidama land, as well as in Oromia, Ogaden and other
non-Abyssinian occupied lands that have been annexed in the ‘Ethiopian’ empire.
There are no Sidamas who are democratically elected in the ‘parliament’. They
are all appointed under the pretext of election. None of them has ever spoken on
Sidama issues in the ‘parliament’, as they all are EPRDF’s party members and
they are not allowed to speak on a given nation’s issues.
During the May 15, 2005’s election, no one elected TPLF/EPRDF cadres in Sidama
region. They all have been appointed under the pretext of forcibly collected
ballot papers during the rigged election. There are no independent candidates in
Sidama region. This has so, simply because it would never be tolerated by the
TPLF’s cadres if there happens to be any. No viable opposition Sidama party
exists in the region, and other non-Sidama parties, such as CUD members who
tried to operate in Sidama region, were totally silenced.
Abyssinian Rule in
Sidama Land:
Absolutely Illegal
- Are the Sidamas sufficiently and correctly represented at the level of local
administration?
- The Sidama nation is not represented at any level. The problem is twofold. One
dimension is that the few Sidamas who claim to represent Sidama nation in most
of the cases don’t have wider knowledge about what they are doing. Such cadres
have been handpicked based on their loyalty to the regime and inability to raise
the Sidama issues. They publicly claim that they are given the opportunity by
the government to serve the government, not the people. Therefore, even if there
are Sidama people at any level, they fear to talk about Sidama issues for fear
of losing their posts, not for the principal value they hold.
Secondly, most appointees are fabricated at the civil service college that was
purposely designed and masterminded by Meles Zenawi’s regime to fabricate those
who breath by TPLF’s lungs. Such people don’t hold any principle, but live for
their own benefit, instead of servicing the wider society that needs to be
represented by conscious and moral persons willing to sacrifice themselves for
the Sidama Cause.
Some Sidama intellectuals who felt responsible and deployed an early commitment
– back in
Sidama
Land – have already been sacked, arrested or constrained to flee the country.
Therefore, there is no genuine representation for the Sidama people at all
levels.
Picture-shore of Lake Hawassa also called (Awassa) Sidama land