Yonas Biru, PhD
Prior to 2013, Jawar was more of an Ethiopianist Oromo who was campaigning to overhaul the political system within the Ethiopian framework. His 2010 paper obliterated a “closely guarded taboo” about “the untouchability of the OLF.” His paper damned the front as an irredeemable failure. This put him on collision course with militant Oromos.
The Oromummaa militant camp that is led by Asafa Jalata uses two litmus tests for a true Oromummaa warrior. He or she must accept the narrative Oromo is a victim of:
(1) “Externally imposed cultural and religious identities.” More specifically, from Islam and Christianity whom Asafa calls “colonialist institutions.”
(2) “[Ethiopia is a colony of] “Ethio-Amhara colonialists who have imposed Ethiopianism ideology on the Oromo via physical coercion, including terrorism, mental genocide …”
The Oromummaa theology regards Oromos who do not subscribe to these claims and use them as rallying cries as “Ethiopianists and collaborationists.” They are labeled as “assimilated former Oromos, [who] like their Habasha hate the Oromo history, culture, institutions.”
In 2013, Jawar accepted both conditions. He fully embraced the Oromummaa doctrine, and he was, in turn, embraced by its adherents.
Fast forward to 2023, Abiy beat the crap out of extremist Oromos and Asafa Jalata lost his muster. The opportunist Jawar started retreating from his position. While maintaining his Oromo nationalist position, he left the Jalata camp. He went as far as calling for a constitutional reform to rein in the distractive impulses of tribal politics. Jalata remained stuck to ultra-tribal Oromo nationalism.
Milkessa is using this rift and trying to emerge as the new play-maker in the Oromo politics. The recent Oromo conference he organized shows he remained loyal to Oromummaa while paying a lip service to the suffering of Amhara under Abiy. Unlike Jalata who cannot find himself to say anything positive about the Amhara, Milkessa anointed himself as a feigned voice for the Amhara.
He appears to take the middle ground between Jalata and Jawar, presenting himself to the right of Jawar and left of Jalata. The truth is he is the epitome of Oromummaa without Asafa’s fang.
WHO IS MILKESAA?
During the Qeerroo movement led by Jawar, Milkessa was one of Jawar’s leading stealth operators inside Ethiopia. Under the tutelage of Jawar, he organized Aba Torbe (a group that targeted OPDO members and civilians working with OPDO). As part of this operation, he formed a team that cooperated with some OPDO members against the TPLF.
Most notably, he recruited Dereje Garafa (currently working with the Shewa economic team under Shimelis), Hailu Adugna (current Oromia Region Communication Head), and Kebede Dissas (current State Minister at the Ethiopian Communication Service). This team worked tirelessly with Jawar to organize and mobilize the Qeerroo movement.
After the incident at the Irrecha festival in Debre Zeit, Getachew Asefa’s office received security information about Milikessa’s team. They severely beat him and arrested him, but he was released out of fear that Jawar would use his arrest to further mobilize Qeerroo.
When Abay Weldu sent TPLF forces to Gonder to arrest Colonel Demeke, Demeke shot them dead and Gedu refused to hand over Colonel Demeke to the federal or TPLF forces.
This triggered the formation of Amhara Fano that started resisting the TPLF. The Fano escalated the resistance and protested in Gonder. During that protest, Fano declared, “የሚፈሰው የኦሮሞ ደም ደሜ ነው” (“The Oromo blood that is being spilled is my own blood”).
As soon as the Oromo movement heard this, Milikesa and his team went to the Amhara region under the slogan “የጣና እምቦጭ ማጥፋት” and made a tactical alliance with Fano.
Gradually, Adisu Arega and Nigusu Tilahun started working with Milikesa’s team to struggle against the TPLF. Lemma Megersa joined Milikesa’s team from OPDO. They teamed up with Abadula Gemeda and worked to overthrow Muktar Kedir. Lemma then became president of Oromia region. TPLF released Taye Danda, who also joined Milikesa’s team. In the end, except for Dereje Garafa, the entire Milikesa team joined OPDO as members and secured positions within the party.
The relationship between Adisu Arega and Nigusu Tilahun developed into the Lemma-Gedu alliance, later known as “Team Lemma.”
After overthrowing the TPLF and bringing Abiy to power, Milikesa’s team started working with Jawar to further strengthen the Oromummaa group with the aim to prevent Abiy from publicly promoting Ethiopian unity and to force him under Jawar’s influence to serve Oromo supremacy.
Jawar, Lema and Milikessa’s team tried to create a new center of political gravity under the Gaddisa Hogansa Oromo (የኦሮሞ አስተዳደር ህብረት) which included the OFC, OLF, and Kemal Galechu’s party.
Though their objective was to rein in Abiy’s one person dominance, they have different objectives. Some were hardcore tribalists while other’s such as Lemma were moderates.
Abiy took a decisive action. He removed Lemma from the Oromia presidency and appointed Shimelis instead. Once Shimelis came to power, Abiy organized a team (Shimelis, Adanech, Adisu, Taye, Alemu) to attack Jawar and dismantle Team Milikessa. They imprisoned Jawar, removed Milikessa from his position and promoted Hailu as well as Kebede to higher position.
Milikessa is an ultra-Oromo nationalist. While he worked with team Shimeles Abdissa, he was the one who spearheaded the Oromo taskforce that was organized to demolish non-Oromo especially Amhara houses in Sululta and Laga Tafo, among other places.
He is now accusing the Abiy government of all wrong doings against the Amhara to win the confidence and support of gullible Amhara and Ethiopianist forces. Oromo tribal ultra-nationalists are stupid, but Amhara nationalists and hermitized Ethiopianists are far more stupider.
Any Oromo tribalist, including Jawar, who is not acknowledging and repenting past transgressions and redeeming himself should be rejected outright. Doing otherwise is tantamount to helping sustain the Oromummaa camp.
Ethiopianists must stop giving Milkessa audience. If they do, they should confront him. He should understand his hate for Abiy and his ኦሮሞ ሰገጤ sophistry will not be enough to win the support of Ethiopians.