Sidama Crisis Monitor

28 October 2024

Sidama Crisis Monitor Editorial

Speaking on the Fano affiliated media in October 2024, one of the leaders of the International Fano Coordination Committee, Professor Habtamu Tegegn, took their usual hate-filled right wing stance on the historically oppressed nations in Ethiopia to a new height. He spewed poisonous statements lamenting that the Oromo and the Amhara nations cannot possibly coexist in one country and that the Oromos must be eliminated for Amhara (Ethiopia) to be saved. He narrated a usual false claim that Oromos were alien to Ethiopia and occupied the land that belonged to Amhara during the so-called Oromo expansion 400 years ago.

On the contrary, the indigenous dwellers of the Horn of Africa from Southern Egypt to northern Tanzania for the past 13000 years were the Cushitic language speaking peoples which included, Nubia, Beja, Agew, Qimant, Sao, Afar, Somali, Oromo, Sidama, Hadiya, Halaba, Rendile, Sakuye, Iraqwe, Burunge, Gorowa, among others.

Amhara was a hybrid Agew and Aksumite language speaking group that emerged in the Agew land only after the beginning of the Aksumite civilization in the first century AD, 2000 years ago through intermarriage between the Aksumite soldiers and the Agew women. There was no distinct ethnic identity called Amhara in the present day Ethiopia before the Aksumite civilization. None. Amhara had no land of its own. It usurped all the land the current Amharic language speakers most of whom are Cushitic Agews, dwell today through a relentless expansion and massacre of the Agews and other indigenous nations in the north of the country.

Habtamu Tegeng’s campaign for the extermination of the 40 million Oromo people to save Amhara is an alarming developnent and a grave warning to all historically oppressed nations of Ethiopia. Habtamu Tegegn’s statement is not a private commentary. He was echoeing the policy of Fano which he coordinates. By implication, therefore, the goal of Fano is not only to liberate Amhara from the rule of an equally fascist dictator, Abiy Ahmed, but to exterminate the Oromo, Sidama, Somali, Afar, Hadiya and other oppressed nations.

This is a wakeup call to all oppressed nations in Ethiopia. You are faced with existential threats from two unitarist fascist forces: fascis prosperity party led by dictator Abiy Ahmed and Fascist Fano movement led by the likes of Habtamu Tegegn.

The Sidama Federalist Forces call on all historically oppressed nations in Ethiopia to unite and fight fascist Abiy Ahmed to secure your unalienable rights to self determination and to defend your rights to self rule from a possible Fano expanssion and threats of extermination.