If we read an honest history of the present and past Governments of Ethiopia, we would conclude that the present Government is truly facing a difficult dilemma. At the dawn of the 21^st century, we can neither run away from ourselves nor hide our realities. We have to face our generation and the historical realities of our time.

It is undeniable that today, people demand respect for their human and national rights. Above all, people will not rest until their identity and their sovereignty over what is theirs is ensured. These are the peoples' most burning issues. In Ethiopia, the diverse peoples, nations and nationalities want to live together willingly within the framework of a democratic and federal society. They realize that they have to make utmost effort of their own.

It is within the context of the above-mentioned framework that the Oromo people resolutely demand their rights and freedom. It is to those who want to deny the rights and freedoms of the people that we are most bitterly opposed. It is a crime to deny the national identity and sovereignty of a people no matter how sophisticated the tactics used to do so. It is equally wrong to see the national desire of a people from a selfish perspective. It is based on the above concepts and precepts that the Oromo people continue their unceasing and bitter struggle against being treated as second class citizens. We know that our struggle is just for it is motivated by our desire to preserve our dignity and identity as a people.

The Oromo people like all peoples around the world, shall not accept second class citizenship. The Oromo people knew yesterday and know today that its sense of equality and natural rights cannot be recognized under successive Ethiopian Governments until the rights and equality of all people are respected in reality.

We believe that any sane person knows that equality, liberty and coexistence are the basis of peace.

Today, our people are rising up with the motto of "Finfinnee shall be Oromia's Capital Forever" as its national battle cry along with its other national rights the regaining of which is the overriding demand of our generation. Our demand is just because it is rooted in the true history of our people.

The Oromo people, as the indigenous and original owner of the site of Finfinnee today cannot accept any proposition which in effect dispossess the Oromo people, nor will the Oromo people entertain any unjust rationalization.

The claim, which the Oromo people have on Finfinnee, is based on the right of ownership. It is not just political and economic interest. The very integrity of the Oromo people is in question. The right of collective ownership of Finfinnee by the Oromo by the Oromo people cannot be in question. Therefore, there is no just reason for denying the Oromo the economic benefits arising from Finfinnee or use it as the Oromo Capital. The Oromo say, "We also have the right to Finfinnee and we shall not negotiate away this particular right."

Their "Addis Ababa" which is built on the "Oromo Finfinnee" uses Oromo waters both for domestic use and for generating electric power. How blatant it is to say that Finfinne cannot be the capital of Oromia? Why, one may ask, is Finfinnee good to be the "capital of Africa" but not the capital of the indigenous people? If any body can conjure up some convoluted reason, surely they know that it is unjust, unconstitutional and anti-people.

At this time, to say that there are "reasons" for driving away the Oromo people from the heart of Oromo land (Finfinnee) cannot be in the interest of the Oromo people. Those Oromo who say that there are adequate reasons are simply deluding themselves.

At the present time, our peoples' human an and national rights are massively violated. Our people are also subjected to famine and pandemic diseases without normal public health services. We demand our legitimate right to health care and food emergency cases. We also demand not to be driven out of Finfinnee which we consider to be our home. If the Palestinians have international sympathy when they claim Jerusalem to be their ancestors' home, surely, the Oromos have the right to ownership to Finfinnee because it was taken away from them by force only one hundred years ago. The crocodile tear that "Oromo culture, language and history cannot be promoted in Finfinnee" is not in the interest of the Oromo people by an stretch of the imagination.

In the last nine years, we have heard of talks about opening an Oromo Academy of languages. The reason for the delay in establishing the academy should be sought elsewhere, not in the question of the location of the Oromo capital.

Our generation rejects to be an onlooker while our rulers exploit, use and abuse the ancestral land of our forefathers. It is unlikely that future generations will tolerate this dispossession of the Oromo people.

We, the Oromo people, condemn any act on the part of any body, which aims at altering the character of Finfinnee from Oromoness to something else. It may be relevant to remind our adversaries that the process of denaturalization of Finfinnee started a century ago when the Oromo were conquered. To intensify the propensity to retake Finfinnee is like poking an old wound. The deliberate decision to erase any sign of Oromo history from Finfinnee was started when the Oromo forcefully integrated into Ethiopia as second class citizens, and the process has continued into the 21^st century. This highly orchestrated conspiracy, the present Oromo generation shall not tolerate at any cost. It will steadfastly and resolutely resist the conspiracy.

From generation to generation, the Oromo clans such as the Gulale, Galan, Gimbichu and Eka, like other peoples of the southern territories and indeed those of other African societies, had their own system of government. The Oromo had their own Gada. This is well-known to the current Government of Ethiopia (according to the Magazine Effoyta, 7^th Year, Issue No. 4 of December 1999) Dr. Negaso Gidada, the President of the country, said that Finfinnee had always been Oromo center where they prayed to their God, where they met, debated and legislated. It was not an abandoned land.

Today, when the world is concerned about preserving ecology and wild life in their natural habitat, it is outrageous to deny to Oromia the right to have its Headquarters in the center of its natural habitat. There are foreign embassies and consultants in Finfinnee with huge tracts of land as their own. The city even has avenues, squares and boulevards named for foreign personalities. Some even has cultural centers. The Oromos have no objection to this state of affairs because they are based on international treaties. It is simply to highlight the extent to which the Oromo people have been alienated from their own ancestral land. To make it worse, there is a sinister plan to completely erase any sign of Oromo history from the face of Finfinnee. The Oromos shall always call Finfinnee, "Finfinnee."

Proclamation No. 7/1984, which was the Charter governing the Transitional Period, provides under its Article 49 sub-article 5, that Finfinnee being the center of Oromia, it shall have special interest in the city which clearly implied a stake for Oromia which is close to recognizing ownership of Finfinnee by the Oromo people. Further, the 5-year Development Guidelines published by Region 14 states the following and we quote from a rough translation of the Amharic version.

The above quote, perhaps, inadvertently, confirms the actual history of Finfinnee. Where did Oromo farmers go when Finfinnee became the property of a new force? What is happening to Finfinnee today is simply the continuation of a process, which had resulted in a massive displacement of a people. The recent decision of the Oromo Regional Council to move away from Finfinnee (although we believe it did not originate with the Council) is another assault on the ownership right of the Oromo people. Who can deny this?

We, the sons and daughters of the Oromo people, strenuously oppose the proposition to move the capital away from Finfinnee because we fully understand the historical development of the desire of other people to displace the Oromo people in order to benefit the non-Oromo new comers and their lackeys in this country.

The Matcha Tulema Development and Mutual Assistance Association (MTDMAA) has a number of missions and objectives in its constitution among which one is to challenge and help the Oromo people to pull itself out from the depth of ignorance and poverty by uniting their forces to work for development, forgetting regional and religious differences. Although imperceptible and unpublished, Matcha Tulema has scored meaningful achievements in this area. It is this high and noble objective enshrined in its 1996 constitution, that prompts the Matcha Tulema Association to voice Oromo opposition to a measure, which aims at literally taking away Finfinnee from the Oromo people and to call on those who have the power to change the decision to take a decisive and historical action without delay. Our people will forcefully express its opposition to this malicious decision through legal means in order to persuade those in position to avoid finalizing this historic misjudgment.

We call on the Federal Government of Ethiopia, House of Peoples' Representatives, the Federation Council, the Oromia Council with respect to the subject under discussion to review the Constitutional Provisions of Region 13 and 14 in which it is acknowledged that the Oromo people have special interest in Dire Dawa and Finfinnee and that to deny this would be violating the two constitutions. If an entity violates any constitution, why would wouldn't another? The notorious decision has to be reversed. We call on all those who are interested in the peace and harmony of this country to demand the reconsideration and the reversal of this potentially divisive decision of the Oromia Regional Council. In doing so, we would like to highlight the following specific actions to be taken:

1. The constitutional and other legislative provisions establishing Oromo interest in Finfinnee and Dire Dawa must be further elucidated in a regulation as indeed the Constitution provides.
2. Among those to be defined are:-

• Water used for domestic purposes or for the production of electric power generates income and Oromia should share in such income to finance its development.
• Sewage and other toxic material flowing out of Finfinnee to surrounding Oromo communities cause great damage to human health and environment. Health facilities should be built for such communities and the environment must be restored to its original state
• The right of ownership of the Oromo people of Finfinnee must be made concrete in terms of defining the organ in the Government of Region 14 where the role of Oromo Regional Government can be clearly delineated.

Finfinnee is not the capital city of the nation, but a commercial city where industry, trade and commerce are carried on. The Oromo people are convinced that economic interest means that Oromia must derive economic benefit from Finfinnee. The Federal Government and that of Finfinnee must proportionally share with Oromia tax revenues that they collect from leasing land, corporate tax and excise tax. The two Governments must issue regulations to that effect.

It is only when the notorious decision to remove Oromia Council from Finfinnee is reversed and Oromia shares in the income derived from Finfinnee that the Oromo people will cease its struggle.

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