|
Date |
Event |
| 1945 |
The
Jile, pastoral Oromo communities, were
evicted from their lands in the upper and middle Hawas (Awash) valley,
around Qoqaa (present Qoqaa Dam) and Wanji. Their land was given to
Handels Vereniging Amsterdam (HVA), a Dutch firm, with sugar plantations
and processing. Those who survived the onslaught of the Ethiopian
army among the Jile community of Karrayyu disintegrated and
disappeared. The surviving Karrayyu communities moved further south
and joined their kin in the middle Hawas valley. |
| 1946 |
At a place called Waleenso near Bookee in Harbo
province, Oromo nationalists in the surrounding area organized themselves
and fought the colonial regime. The movement was a continuation of
that of the previous year and was also in opposition to the restoration of
tenancy that had been abolished by the Italians. Among the leaders
were Mohammed Jilo and M. Jawwe, who had gained experience in the use of
modern arms and fighting during the Italian occupation. The fighters
laid down their arms only after they were assured they could continue to
administer their area without the interference of the colonial
administration. |
| 1950s |
A peasant revolt broke out in the Dawwe
area. The continuous harassment and unwarranted confiscation of
Oromo property by the settlers was the immediate cause of the
revolt. The Oromo organized themselves into guerrilla forces and
forced the colonial settlers and administrators out of the area.
Soon the revolt spread and covered a wider area. The guerrilla
defeated the government troops, who were sent to quell the revolt, several
times and captured arms and ammunition. After several attempts to
subdue them with a regular army failed, a detachment of the Imperial Body
Guard with combat experience in Korea, led by one of Haile Selassie's
generals, in an act of barbarism massacred more than 700 of those who gave
themselves up peacefully. Previously, one of the local leaders, Ali
Dullatti, slipped out of the war area secretly and traveled to Addis Ababa
to appeal to the Emperor, who agreed on amnesty to the fighters.
|
| 1955 |
Alaqa
Taye, an Abyssinian court historian,
alleged that in the 14th and 15th centuries the Oromo migrated from Asia
and Madagascar.
Haile Sellasie revised his constitution.
|
| 1956 |
An Oromo scholar, Sheikh Bakri
Saphalo,
discovered a script for writing Oromiffa; the script gained popularity in
some parts of eastern Oromia, before it was discovered by the Abyssinian
colonial authorities and suppressed. |
| Dec 1960 |
The United Nations passed
Resolution 1514 XV, which defined colonialism as "the subjection of
peoples to alien subjugation, domination and exploitation." The
establishment of the Ethiopian rule in Oromia and the subsequent all-out
attempts at destroying Oromo culture, norms, values and beliefs and its
replacement by that of Abyssinians has fitted the UN's definition of
"colonialism." |
| 1960s |
A few Oromo youth organized themselves, with
the encouragement and financial support of some Oromo nationalists, into
an Oromo cultural troupe called Afran Qallo, after the four major Oromo
clans of the region, in Dire Dawa town. In addition to the regular
show in Dire Dawa, the group traveled to other towns in the regions and
staged musical shows and enjoyed tremendous popularity. The popular
singer, Ali Birraa, was a member of this group. |
|
