The Soweto (South African) Students Uprising for Freedom and Justice; Implications to the 2014 Oromo Students Uprising for Freedom and Justice
EDUCATION FOR FREEDOM
It is always desirable to get rid of suppression, but it is no not without pain and sacrifices to
achieve it and attain freedom, because the battle is between those with provisional power
to mobilise resources of the oppressed against the oppressed themselves and power less
but authentic majority without power. There cannot be resistance without prevalence of
suppression.
It goes without saying that human right is not decided by alien body, but it is a natural right
one deserves and upholds. Despite this, sometimes it is compromised by laws enacted by
governments in the interest of the public and against the interest of the public too. The
former is legitimate as far as it is justified by the partaking of the stakeholder while the
latter is a characteristic of suppression enacted by suppressors of different modes, the
major ones being political, racial and colour discrimination.
Racial and colour discrimination and apartheid prevailed in Africa especially in south Africa
since 18th century, but was supported by law enacted (1948)after world war II by white
minority Dutch and British South African Authorities. In any way it was nothing, but
colonising the indigenous majority people. This social and political suppression came to an
end in 1993/4 by the subsequent uprising of South African Students, the public and
diligence of black South African freedom fighters.
The Oromo are colonised by the Abyssinians since 19th century to date. Though the
phenomenon is similar with the rest of African countries, the major difference is that the
former is black‐black colonisation expedited by some Western countries. This suppression
persists in a very tantalizing way with analogous and fierce resistance, by the Oromo people,
students and freedom seekers. As resistance is a response to dissatisfaction of needs it may
continue until the needs are met.
It is a lived history that students and graduates are maneuverers of social change and
struggle for freedom in the society. In other words education is an essential instrument for
freedom without which ignorance and slavery persist. That is why Soweto and Oromo
students took to the street their resistance against subjugation of their people. Persistent
resistance of Soweto students uprising is tantamount important for emerging Oromo
students movement for freedom and democracy in Ethiopia.
In this article I will describe and analyse experience of Soweto students uprising along with
Oromo students uprising for freedom and justice. In doing so, I use qualitative descriptive
analysis approach informed by Gene (2000) protest strategies1 and Soweto students
experience. While acknowledging the significant role played by Oromo students’ movement
before 2014, I will deal with Oromo students uprisings of April 2014 and its aftermaths.
The Soweto Students Uprising
The Soweto students uprising came after a decade of relative calm in the resistance
movement in the wake of massive government repression in the 1960s. Yet during this
"silent decade,' a new sense of resistance had been brewing. In 1969, black students formed
the South African Student's Organization (SASO). Stressing black pride, self‐reliance,
psychological liberation, the Black Consciousness Movement in the 1970s became an
influential force in the townships, including Soweto.
The political context of the 1976 uprisings also takes into account the effects of workers'
strikes in Durban in 1973; the liberation of neighbouring Angola and Mozambique in 1975;
and increases in student enrolment in black schools, which led to the emergence of a new
collective youth identity forged by common experiences and grievances.
Consequently, on the morning of June 16, 1976, thousands of students from the African
township of Soweto, outside Johannesburg, gathered at their schools to participate in a
student‐organized protest demonstration. Many of them carried signs that read, 'Down with
Afrikaans’3 and 'Bantu Education – Hell with it;' others sang freedom songs as the unarmed
crowd of schoolchildren marched towards Orlando soccer stadium where a peaceful rally
had been planned.
The crowd swelled to more than 10,000 students. En route to the stadium, approximately
fifty policemen stopped the students and tried to turn them back. At first, the security
forces tried unsuccessfully to disperse the students with tear gas and warning shots. Then
policemen fired directly into the crowd of demonstrators. Many students responded by
running for shelter, while others retaliated by pelting the police with stones. That day, two
students died from police gunfire; hundreds more sustained injuries during the subsequent
chaos that engulfed Soweto. The shootings in Soweto sparked a massive uprising that soon
spread to more than 100 urban and rural areas throughout South Africa.
The initial demand of South Africa students was about suppression of the education system
on Black South Africans. Samuel ( 1990) observes that ,’the immediate cause for the June
16, 1976, march was student opposition to a decree issued by the Bantu Education
Department that imposed Afrikaans as the medium of instruction in half the subjects in
higher primary (middle school) and secondary school’ (P.21).
Since members of the ruling National Party spoke Afrikaans, black students viewed it as the
"language of the oppressor." Moreover, lacking fluency in Afrikaans, African teachers and
pupils experienced first‐hand the negative impact of the new policy in the classroom.
The Bantu Education Act, 1953 (Act No. 47 of 1953; later renamed the Black Education
Act, 1953) was a segregation law which legalised several aspects of
the apartheid system. Its major provision was enforcing racially separated educational
facilities. Even university were made "tribal", and all but three missionary schools
chose to close down when the government no longer would help support their
schools… It is often argued that the policy of Bantu (African) education was aimed to
direct black or non‐white youth to the unskilled labour market (
http://www.wikipedia.org;
visited 3 May, 2013).
According to this Act, the schools reserved for the country's white children were of Western
standards and the education was both mandatory and free. Considerable number of Black schools
did not have facilities and running water. The education for Blacks, Indians and Coloureds was not
free. In 1976, the Afrikaans Medium Decree of 1974, which forced all black schools to use
both Afrikaans and English as languages of instruction beginning with the last year of primary school, led to the Soweto in which more than 575 people died, at least 134 of them under the age of
eighteen. Teachers were also protesting by way of refusing to implement the policy and were made
redundant. Indlovu (1998) describes, ‘the firing of teachers in Soweto who refused to implement the
Afrikaans language policy exacerbated the frustration of middle school students, who then organized
small demonstrations and class boycotts as early as March, April and May.
As the mid‐year exams approached, boycotts took place in many Soweto schools. It was
around that time that the older students of the South African Students Movement (SASM)
decided to organize a mass protest in Soweto. The delegates decided that there should be a
mass demonstration from the Soweto students as a whole.
The government’s response to this peaceful demonstration was killing. The brutal killing of
the school children on June 16, 1976, shocked the international community. Newspapers
across the world published Sam Nzima's photograph of a dying Hector Peterson 4 on their
front page. In the meantime, South African security forces, equipped with armoured tanks
and live ammunition, poured into Soweto. Their instructions were to shoot to kill, for the
sake of "law and order." By nightfall another eleven more people had been shot dead.
Students in Soweto responded by pelting the police with stones and attacking what they
regarded to be symbols of the apartheid government. Across much of Soweto government
buildings and liquor stores were looted and burned.
On the second day of the uprising, the violence spread to African townships in the West
Rand and Johannesburg. At the University of Witwatersrand, police broke up a group of 400
white students who had been marching to express their solidarity with the pupils of Soweto.
On the third day, police began placing youth protestors in jail; students later testified to
being tortured while imprisoned. What began as a local demonstration against the Afrikaans
language decree quickly turned into a countrywide youth uprising against apartheid
oppression.
The police shootings and the defiant response of African students in Soweto emboldened
youth throughout the country to wage protests. Students in Port Elizabeth mobilized in their
schools, leading to a conflict between the police and a crowd of 4,000 high school students
and township residents en route to the local soccer stadium that left eight residents dead.
Hector P4. One of the victims
Protest Strategies
Protest was not limited to African students. In the Cape, Coloured and African high school
students expressed solidarity with students in Soweto, while black students at the University
of the Western Cape boycotted their classes for a week and clashed with police and
university authorities. Demonstrations also took place in rural boarding schools and black
University campuses all over the country. To sustain resistance, leaders of the Soweto
Students Representative Council (SSRC, founded in August 1976) decided to involve adults in
the protests in order to build inter‐generational unity and to strike an economic blow
against apartheid. From August through December 1976, SSRC leaders organized a number
of campaigns,
including stay‐at‐homes (short
strikes) for adult workers,
marches to Johannesburg,
anti‐drinking campaigns,
mass funerals (which became
politically charged and often
turned into protest rallies),
meat boycotts
and a Christmas consumer
boycott.
class attendance boycott
In preparation for the stay‐at‐homes, the SSRC printed flyers urging adults to participate.
One read, "...the scrapping of BANTU EDUCATION, the RELEASE of Prisoners detained during
the demos [demonstrations], and the overthrow of oppression, we the students call on our
parents to stay at home and not go to work from Monday". (Karis and Carter 1982.p 591).
Sporadic clashes between students and police continued into 1977; by the end of the year,
the government acknowledged that nearly 600 people had been killed, although recent
research showed that at least 3,000 people died. Thousands more were imprisoned and
many black South Africans fled into exile or joined the armed struggle.
Aftermath of the 1976 uprising
According to Samuel (1998), no significant steps were taken to demonstrate that the state
was moving away from the policies that had provoked the initial revolts. While the years
1978‐9 remained relatively quiet in the schools, the legacy of 1976 still lingered. On January
1, 1980, a new statute, the Education and Training Act replaced Bantu Education Act 1953.
The Act sought to do away with some of the worst aspects of the precious legislation. It
dropped the designation ‘Bantu’ and replaced it with ‘black’ and declared free and
compulsory education would be central aim of policy, involvement of the parents and
communities in the education system. Another important aspect of the Act was the
provision that the home language would be used as a medium of instruction up to
standard 2.
The 1980 also witnessed large scale student rejection of the state’s educational system. In
April of that year, ‘coloured’ students in schools in Cape Town protested against the inferior
quality of education and its generally inadequate provision, the rise of cost of schooling and
education. Protests spread rapidly through many parts of South Africa. In its early stage
over 2000000 secondary school students were involved. The movement also spread to the
universities.
Samuel (1990) describes the events of 1980 that it exposed the depth and extent of the
educational crisis in South Africa. Policies and legislations were imposed by the state
without any consultation. It also underlined the failure of the educational system to realise
its political objectives. ‘Resolving the inadequacies of the education system was seen as
short‐term demand, while the national struggle for liberation‐and therefore the linkages
with broader community and political issues‐became an important part of the educational
struggle’ (Samuel p.25). The government was not able to fully address students’ questions
and the revolt relapsed in 1983. In 1983 more than 10,000 students participated in school
boycotts where security forces shot and killed some bus boycotters. The largest student
organisation (Congress of South African Students) was banned from operating.
In 1984 the educational crisis was intensified and this was exposed by poor matric result
that evoked anger. Pupil started boycotting when their demand for the right to
democratically elect Student Representative Council was refused. The conflict was
heightened considerably when a 15 year old pupil was killed by a police Land rover in the
schoolground and spread through the South Africa.
By the end of 1984, it was estimated that 500 000 students had been involved in protest
against the system. The events of 1984 were to be repeated in 1985 but on a much larger
scale. The banning of COSAS by the state at the end of August ensured that a large number
of pupils would not go back to school for the rest of the year (ibid, p.27). The state
attempted to use the state of emergency to force pupil back into class. For example in the
middle of August 764 pupil from a single Soweto high school were arrested for meeting
outside the classroom. By the end of September the school boycott had become
nationwide. According to the Department of Education and Training, 174 schools were
deserted. In the Western Cape 454 coloured schools were closed by the Ministry of
education and culture. The end of the year saw a massive stay away from examination
throughout the country. The focus of the students’ protest in 1980 as in 1976 continued to
be the state’s education system, but in a significant way students related their educational
struggle to the broader political struggle of black communities. As Samuel asserts, the large
part of the student population at this time was captured by the slogan, “Liberation Now –
Education Later”. Pupils were prepared to scarify their schooling for broader political
struggle.
The student uprising of 1976 was recognized as a watershed by the previous generation of
activists. Ahmed Kathrada, convicted in the Rivonia Trial and imprisoned on Robben Island
since 1964 describes students’ uprising of 1976 as a watershed. He says “after our sentence
in 1964, the rest of the ‘60s was fear among the people… End of ’69, the Black
Consciousness movement came in, and the beginning of the ‘70s there was a revival of the
trade union movement, so that gave us hope that things are changing. But in 1976, when
massive students of Soweto came into the streets unarmed and they were killed in the
hundreds – nobody knows how many of them were killed – that changed history. Fear was
now driven out”. This headed to another chapter of struggle and system transformation.
Corroborating this, Karis and Carter say, “the politicization and activism of young South
Africans in Soweto and beyond galvanized the liberation movements and set in motion a
series of transformations that ultimately led to the demise of apartheid” (p.180‐84).
It is vivid from the above discussions that students protest was intensified and turned in to
the wider political struggle against apartheid. This is due to the consequences of number of
developments as identified by Samuel (1990). These are the political crisis of the state, the
growth and strengthening of black political initiatives (through the organisation of the
United Democratic Front and the National forum), the weakening economy, the increasing
strength of the organised labour movement, the lack of confidence expressed by the
private sector, and a growing internal resistance ( p.27) .
The state’s responses to the protests of 1980 were typical. Large numbers of schools were
shut down, and many students were detained and shot down.
The April 2014 Oromo Students Uprising
Prior 1991, Oromo students’ public protest against Ethiopian regimes could be viewed as a
complement to other nations and nationalities students’ movements in Ethiopia. There had
been a clandestine movement that advanced national consciousness among Oromo and
gave birth to Oromo national consciousness. Similar to Soweto students uprising, Oromo
students uprising after 1991 emerged after a calm and clandestine resistance against
suppression by successive Ethiopian regimes. There were sporadic movements especially in
the universities and secondary schools since 1992. These disguised demand and sporadic
movements came up with vivid and students mass uprising in April, 2014, which has never
ever have had equivalence neither at Oromia nor Ethiopian empire level in terms of
students mass upheaval.
The popular April 2014 Oromo students uprising takes into consideration of preceding
Oromo students’ movements and political backgrounds such as the UN International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Article 1, which reads ‘All peoples have the right of
self‐determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and
freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development’. It also takes into account the
recent liberation of Eritrea (1992) and South Sudan (2011) and Oromo struggle for freedom
by the Oromo Liberation Front and other Oromo political organisations, Ogadene, Sidama
and other national movements in Ethiopia. Also, the upsurge of Oromo pride and national
consciousness after 1991 is an influential instrument for the uprising.
The uprising
On 22nd of April 2014, Jimma university students protested against government decision and
action to incorporate nearby Oromia towns to Addis Abeba (Finfinne) under what the
government calls Addis Abeba Master Plan and in protest of amalgamation of other Oromia
cities in Federal administration. Their demand reads ‘EPRDF is doing trickery to the Oromo
people, Oromo’s right to its land should be respected’ Addis Abeba is the central city of
Oromia, Oromo is one!
On that day 10 students were arrested in allegation of organising demonstration and
chanting slogans against government. Yet, the rest of students continued the protest by
surrounding Jimma University police station and strongly demanding to free arrested
students as they reflected students’ demand in unison. Eventually some students were
released.
Subsequently on 24th of April, 2014‐Haromaya University students demonstrated in front of
the University and marched down town for the same purpose. They chanted slogans,
‘Finfinne is for Oromo, stop harassing Oromo; we do not let Burayyou, Legato, Lagadadhai,
Sululta, Sabbata be sold, stop evicting poor Oromo farmers, We need freedom, Oromia shall
be free, we do not give up struggle for Oromia, Afaan Oromo should be taught in schools in
Addis Abeba, Afaan Oromo should be federal language; we do not let down Oromo history,
free Oromo political prisoners’.
These demands echoed across universities in Oromia. Consequently Ambo University
students, in central Oromia, staged to the streets in several hundreds and protested the
master plan on 25th April, 2014. The students marched chanting slogans such as "Oromia
belongs to the Oromo people,” and "Finfinne is the central part of Oromia," highlighting a
long‐standing Oromo yearning for self‐government and free
from colonial oppression. Though the government believed 9 were killed, a witness told the
BBC6 that 47 were killed by government forces during the two day protests, where some
non‐student individuals also joined the protest. During the subsequent attempts to
crackdown the protest the government forces killed a 7 year girl in Guder town (12Km away
from Ambo). The following extract of chronicle of Peace Corps, Jen and Josh 7 (May 24,
2014) corroborates the situation in Ambo.
Barricade on main road in Ambo Disclaimer: Friday, April 25th, the protests began in Ambo.
We heard the sounds of a big crowd gathering at the university, walking east, yelling and
chanting… In other parts of Ethiopia, journalists and bloggers were arrested and thrown in
jail. Main road in Ambo, cars & buildings being burned Tuesday morning, the
protests resumed.
… Apparently there were protests at the preparatory school and the federal police were in
town. We stayed home all day, listening to the sounds of the protests, denying to ourselves
that the ‘pop, pop, pop’ we heard in the afternoon was gunfire….Wednesday morning, the
protests resumed…. This time, we heard sirens…. Again, we heard the ‘pop, pop, pop,’ every
few minutes. We poked our heads out of the compound gate and talked to our neighbour...
Neighbour’s said the federal police had already shot and killed demonstrators who were
participating in the protest…. Ironically, as we sat at home, listening to gunshots all day
long, John Kerry was visiting Ethiopia, a mere 2 hours away from Addis Ababa, to encourage
democratic development.
Around 3pm…we heard gunshots so close to our house that we both lucked reflexively. An
hour later, we talked to a young man who said, numbly, “I carried their bodies from their
compound to the clinic.” Our two young neighbour university students – had been hunted
down by the federal police and killed in their home while the protest was on the opposite
side of town.… Not being armed with weapons, protesters retaliated against the shooter by
hanging him. Another friend told us about 2 students who were shot and killed by the federal
police in front of a primary school, again far away from the protest …
While waiting at the station, we saw at least 50 people brought into the station at gunpoint,
some from the backs of military trucks and many from a bus. Inside the police compound,
there were hundreds of demonstrators overflowing the capacity of the prison, many of them
visibly beaten and injured. After the U.S. Embassy requested our release, we headed out of
town. The entire east side of town, starting from the bus station, was damaged. A bank,
hotel, café, and many cars were damaged or burned…. We couldn't help but shed tears at
the sight of our beloved, damaged town. One of several vehicles burned during the protest
our favourite restaurant/gym (Jen and Josh, May 24, 2014).
This chronicle depicts that the government forces’ response to the students’ peaceful
demonstration was inappropriate, despite the latter is human and constitutional right in
principle. The yelling over a bullhorn in Amharic by armed forces warning to stay at home
indicates that they are external forces or invaders from other region like Agazi. As many
local people cannot speak the language the forces speak and understand what they are
yelling about, they may be tempted to do otherwise. The observation also tells that vehicles
and buildings were burned. It goes without saying that the instrument students hold was
their pen and may be stone to defend at distance if things go worst. On the other hand,
armed force hold armament that dribble fire and kill people and burn things around.
Therefore, at this point it could be concluded that the government forces are responsible for
the lost life and properties. On the same day when gunshots were going on all day along,
John Kerry, the State Secretary of US was in Addis Ababa. Even though he had first‐hand
evidence, he uttered no word about the incidents and reckless action of the Ethiopian
forces. On top of this were pervasive demonstrations across the world including USA by
the Oromo in Diaspora against government actions and support of students’ demand. John
Kerry and his government did not regard these atrocities, even as a death of a single human
being. They did no attempt to denounce or condemn Ethiopian government action either on
the spot. By doing so they confirm that the democracy they chant is hypocrisy when it
challenges their ally. However, some US senators like that of Minneapolis expressed their
concerns about the situation in Oromia and passed over to the higher authority for
discussion.
In 7 days, the protest spread in all universities in Oromia, namely, Wollega, Metu, Bolu
Hora, Adama , Madda Walabu and Addis Ababa universities participated in the city wide
demonstration demanding an immediate halt to the city’s deceitful plan. The protest on
April 26 and 27 by Wollega University students was one of the gargantuan demonstrations.
Thousands were involved. The federal police and Agazi forces turned guns to the students
and killed three students on the first day. Others were wounded and the only public hospital
was banned from treating them. The police denied first aid access to students resulting in
conflict between police and medical professionals. Despite this, medical professionals’ put
pressure and the students were offered medical treatment by these ethical professionals.
Other students fled to the bush, and their whereabouts was not yet known. The protest
continued on 27 April. Students were hunted from their dormitory and put in prison, where
the victims were hanged up‐side down and beaten ruthlessly.
Wollega University Students' rally, day two, April, 27, 2014; Picture by Qeerroo
After 8 days some secondary and middle secondary school students joined the uprising. At
some places like Ambo, Gimbi, Nedjo and Gulliso, parents, civil servants and adults
supported and joined the revolt. In fact in some places of Western Oromia purposive
intruders attempted to alter the momentum by manoeuvring clashes among ethnic groups,
and this was halted by local wise people.
As discussed earlier, the initial question of Soweto students was about Bantu Education
system, which its major provision was enforcing racially separated educational facilities
aimed to direct black or non‐white youth to the unskilled labour market. By the same token
though schools in Oromia and some universities provide Afaan Oromo, educational facilities
and the quality of resources provided is poor when compared to Tigray region education
institutions. At the same time the policy made a systematic blockade to the graduates who
learned in Afaan Oromo by legalising Amharic as working language and outlawing Afaan
Oromo as working language of the country. The implication of this conditions us low
employment of Oromo and high employment of Abyssinian graduates at the federal level
which is 12.79 % and 56.52 % respectively.
The main strategy of Oromo students uprising across venues was demonstration followed
by chanting slogans and placards.
Government Reactions
As mentioned earlier, students demonstrated barehanded and chanting to let their voices
heard. Conversely, government’s reaction was with ammunition and not proportional.
Numerous reports from witnesses, local residents and other sources indicate that the
security forces have responded with excessive force against peaceful protesters. For
instance Amnesty International1 reported that, forces comprised of the federal police and
military Special Forces known as ‘Agazi’ have fired live ammunition at unarmed protesters in
a number of locations including in Wollega and Madda Walabu universities and Ambo and
Guder towns, resulting in deaths in each location.al.
In Nekempte, Wollega Province in western Oromia, there have been cases of tortures of
varying levels as well as detainees being taken away in the middle of the night to unknown
destinations for unknown reasons. Fifty (50) detainees, including thirteen females, were
taken away at one time alone; and their whereabouts were not known. (Human Rights
League for Horn of Africa, 24May, 2014).
On top of this, 21 students from Adama, Haromaya, Wollega and Ambo universities and 40
civil and other students were arrested on May 16 only. Other 7 students from Wallaga
University were kidnapped the next day. Reports indicate that some of the detainees are
isolated from others and held in separate rooms handcuffed and legs tied together with
their hands on their backs. There were ten students subjected to this particular situation.
Among these were Tesfaye Tuffa (male) and Bontu Hailu (female).
One witness told Amnesty International that on the third day of protest in Guder town, near
Ambo, the security forces were waiting for the protesters and opened fire when they
arrived. She said five people were killed in front of her. A source in Robe town, the location
of Madda Walabu University, told Amnesty International that 11 bodies had been seen in a
hospital in the town. Another witness said they had seen five bodies in Ambo hospital.
The government on its part acknowledged that three students had died at Madda Walabu
University, and five persons had died in Ambo town, but did not state the cause of death.
Numbers of deaths reported by witnesses and residents within Oromia are significantly
higher.
According to eye‐witness reports received by Amnesty International, of those who were
killed some people, including students and children, died instantly during protests, while
some died subsequently in hospitals as a result of their injuries. Children as young as 11
years old were among the dead. Students and teachers constitute the majority of those
killed and injured. Protesters were also reportedly beaten up during and after protests,
resulting in scores of injuries in locations including Ambo, Jimma, Nekempte, Dembi Dollo,
Robe town, Madda Walabu, and Haromaya.
The blackout on internal media, independent journalism and human rights monitoring
organizations in Ethiopia as well as on exchange of information, the number of incidents
that occurred in the first two weeks of uprising was not possible to establish the exact
number of those who have been killed. (BBC TV news May 2, 2014).
Earlier Al Jazeera news revealed that “at least 20 protesters have been killed and many
others wounded in Ambo and Robe towns” alone. As the protest escalates, the numbers of
killings of innocent civilians is likely to increase. The latest BBC report has increased the
dead to 47 (BBC TV news May 2, 2014,
http://youtu.be/ndJ1NE0qV_M
)
Gunned down by government forces in Ambo, Ethiopia ‐ 30 April 20146
Amnesty international on its public statement 13 May 2014 expressed its concern and
actions to be taken by the Ethiopian government as follows.
Amnesty International condemns the use of excessive force by security forces
against peaceful protesters in a number of locations across the Oromia region
during the last two weeks, which has resulted in the deaths and injuries of
dozens of people including students and children. Many hundreds of protesters
are reported to have been arbitrarily arrested, and are being detained
incommunicado and without charge. Detainees are at risk of torture. The
Ethiopian government must immediately instruct the security forces to cease
using deadly force against peaceful protesters, and to release any person who
has been arrested solely because of their involvement in peaceful protests. These
incidents must be urgently and properly INVESTIGATED, and suspected
perpetrators should be prosecuted in effective trial proceedings.
Despite this international concern and advice, the government action was contrary. Reports
indicated that kidnappings and/or extra‐judicial arrests and detentions, have continued in
different parts of the regional state of Oromia, particularly in Hararge/Haromaya, West
Showa, and Wollega until the issuance of this article as accounted in the next section.
Aftermath of the uprising.
On May 2, 2014 the office of government communication released a statement through
government media‐ TV. The statement revealed that in some universities in Oromia,
students violently protested against government Master Plan to expand Addis Ababa. It
adds that students were misguided by anti‐peace forces and staged the protest. It further
states that the office has discovered the protest was backed and organised by anti‐peaceful
forces. The statement disclosed that 3 students of Madda Walabu and 7 from Ambo were
killed on the first day of the protest.
Government officials, who were deemed to persuade the demonstrators and the people,
were sent to the areas where the uprising was vigorous. Abba Dula Gammada, the
Parliament spokesman, made number of discussions, by systematically organising people,
who were preoccupied to speak in favour of the government. Though it was unblemished
from the act of the participants of the discussion that their need was not yet met,
government media TV broadcasted opinions of already prejudiced ones.
The government forces continued to undertake door to door hunting. This persecution went
on to the extent of rural areas, and there were incidents where one student was killed in
Gulliso‐Western Oromia. As the protest was towards the closure of academic institutions
there was no as such group protest. However, government forces did not stop persecuting
and imprisonment of students and other civil servants. For example 150 civil servants and
students were put in custody in Nedjo‐western Oromia in July, 2014 after schools closure.
Reports tell that Oromia state of unrest became intensified as in 1992/3 and even more.
Schools and universities resumed their academic task in September. The government came
up with political training package and conducted this at every education institution, with
special emphasis on the universities. The package includes hard warning to those protesters
and the other one a propaganda agenda for the forthcoming quasi election of May 2015 and
pin‐pointing students with hard questions. However, students’ forehand question was about
their existing demand and its outcome. They vented, we need answer to our question about
Finfinne, Where are our friends? Why are they killed and put in prison? What action is
taken to the perpetrators? We need our friends released. Those students who forwarded
these questions were imprisoned and released after a while to intimidate others and
suppress stiff questions. On 4th Nov, 2014, the Oromia court passed verdict on 21 Haramaya
university students 10 months in prison. In addition to those killed during the
demonstration, on 6th Nov, 2014 the government lodged file against 64 protesters of Ambo
residents in allegation of terrorism and waving up Oromo Liberation Front flag during the
protest (OMN news 6th Nov, 2014). Whether this government action and ways of handling
students and Oromo people question could be a remedy is inconceivable.
Protest against the so called Addis Abeba Master plan is not concern of students only, but all
Oromo. In addition to the ultimate goal of cutting Oromia in to halves, this is because
Oromo have no big city to develop their language and culture without having to learn a
foreign language as others enjoy these privileges. For example, in Bahirdar City over 96.23
are Amharas and Mekelle over 96.2% are Tigre and speak their respective language. But
Oromia does not have any big city with majority Oromo population and language. For
example among Oromia cities, Finfinne is only 19.5% Oromo and 76.2% speak Amharic,
Adama 39.02% Oromo and Amharic is spoken as a first language by 59.25%, , Bishoftu is
39.4% Oromo and Amharic is spoken as a first language by 71.95% (CSA 2007). Therefore,
nowhere can the businessmen, well‐off and educated Oromo advance their language and
culture, and no option for rural Oromos who want to make the same and business in the big
city, without having to learn a non‐Oromo language as well. In fact the long‐range intention
of the so called Master plan is to cut‐off Oromia in to two by evicting the natives as they
learned from their predecessors and their former Western allies.
Synthesis
In this section I will comment on the two students’ uprisings for freedom and justice
presented above. I use Synthetic analysis where I compose and examine the strategies
applied and protest issues raised during the uprisings.
Soweto students and Oromo students’ non‐violence movements were instigated by similar
cause, and that cause is suppression. Their ultimate demand was to get rid of suppression
and regain freedom. However their demand and the considerations they took is similar, the
time and international politics they ensued vary. For instance, beginning from the early 20s
until the beginning of 1990s the world had capitalist and socialist political ideology which
divided the world in to two major categories. At the same time it was a time where
apartheid was condemned widely, though the colonisers and oppressors lingered to power
to sustain colonisation in South Africa. These situations contributed to the South African
students’ movement and the national movement for freedom, though were not decisive.
Unlike this international state of affairs, the Oromo students non‐violence uprising occurred
where the brink of capitalism reached to the new paradigm of globalisation, which I
consider is a nomenclature replacement for imperialism. As this paradigm is a socio‐political
monopoly, there is little or no international competitive ideological threat that keeps the
balance of interior or exterior political force. Despite this, the UN International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights , which gives people the right of self‐determination, determine
their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development and
the rhetoric of Ethiopian constitution support the April 2014 Oromo students non‐violence
uprising. Therefore the uprising was authentic and the demands were legitimate.
Historically students movements have had contributed and still making headway to get rid
of dictatorship and bring about justice and freedom. The movement is a brawl between
authorities with enough facilities and ammunition and the barehanded populous and
therefore it is a violence and non‐violence struggle respectively. Therefore the later
circumstance requires solid organisational planning and critical consideration of
strategies/methods that might work to attain the goals. Gene (2000) identifies 198
nonviolence protest methods and categorises them in to three; protest and persuasion,
non‐cooperation, and intervention. Let us scrutinize how these were applied during the
above two students’ uprisings.
Methods of nonviolent protest and persuasion involve various strategies. One of the major
tasks is planning. As explained earlier, SASO had number of meetings to plan and set protest
strategies. Presumably it was possible for SASO to conduct this meeting as it was a
legitimate body established before the protest to represent South African students. Despite
this they were prosecuted by government authorities.
On the other hand, it is not clear whether Oromo students had a meeting for similar activity.
They might have had camouflaged, virtual or cyber meetings of protest that helped them to
take the demonstration to the street and different parts of Oromia, but showed sporadic
and inconsistent protest strategies/questions. For example some university students
requested about disappeared, killed and academically dismissed students, justice and
freedom; while others chanted language policy, Addis Ababa master plan, the quality of
food in their respective campus. It is comprehensible that protest issues may be contextual
and address specific circumstance. Common issues should be built on the specific issues
students raise based on their university’s circumstance. In a situation where overarching
issues prevail like in Oromia, the demand should be unprecedented, cross‐cutting and
intelligible. Otherwise it damages more particular protesters and the response also becomes
piecemeal. This circumstance also elucidates incoherence and organisational deficiency and
enhances the power of persecutors. Here it should be noted that this is not to deny the
presence of a gist of coordination during the April 2014 Oromo students uprising. Though it
is not yet known at this juncture about its role of coordinating, the work of National Youth
Movement for Freedom and Democracy (NYMFD, aka Qerro) in reporting, updating and
recording the protest and causalities is worth mentioning.
Another strategy of protest and persuasion is designing effective communication. This
begins from within protesters themselves, supporters and goes on in a multiplier effect
within a shorter time. The same is true for genuine organisations external to students such
as teachers, workers, farmers, parents and unemployed citizens etc. This is possible by
preparing and distributing leaflets, pamphlets and texts etc. For example, using Facebook
and other internet social networking sites in 2011 Egyptian young people helped to carefully
organise demonstrations and protest marches trying to keep them as peaceful as possible.
In 1976 Soweto Students Representative Council prepared and distributed leaflets to adults
and workers to join the protest by stay‐in, farmers not to bring their products to market for
five days and workers union to strike. Thus many teachers and head teachers as well as
workers joined the protest. By the same token, few primary/secondary school teachers and
civilians joined the April 2014 Oromo students. Considerable number of workers and higher
education teachers, however did not take part may be due to lack of proper communication
or meekness. In fact this is not without understanding how this would be difficult under
EPRDF government, but there are many ways they could have cooperated. For example
higher education teachers may influence maladministration decisions of their respective
university.
Slogans, caricatures, and symbols are good tools communicating and conveying message to
the public and dictators as well. It is esteemed that Oromo students continuously chanted
slogans without fear on street. But these were not supported by pictures that show the
cynical and reckless acts of the dictators, which are readily available.
Another strategy of protest is symbolic demonstration supported by persuasive symbols.
This was effectively applied in Egypt in 2011 when protestors marched on Pearl Square to
attempt to re‐occupy it after security forces had violently cleared it, they wore white sheets
symbolising their readiness for martyrdom; others carried the national flag of Bahrain;
others carried flowers and signs that stated they were peaceful. Teenage girls bravely risked
being shot by entering no go zones in front of armed security forces. They waved flowers
above their heads before laying them gently down on the ground in front of the on‐looking
security forces as a symbolic peace offering. Because the protest was demonstrated at the
Pearl Square where national gathering usually takes place, it attracted international
attention and the media. With the eyes of the world watching a short time later the security
forces were ordered to leave the area, allowing the protestors to retake Pearl Square
without any blood being shed.
In fact we may not compare Egypt military structure and professional ethics with that of
Ethiopia. The former is a military with professional ethics, safeguarding its own people and
international war experience established in the early 19th century, while the later was
formed in the early 1990s and mainly known by indoors war reflecting that it is not for the
people but protect the governors. Therefore it might be difficult to influence TPLF armed
force as Egyptians did for the sake of peace, justice and freedom. But it is likely to influence
genuine armed democrats and Oromo nationals out there.
Though protests in South Africa and Oromia sustained they did not get enough international
media attention as in the Arab world because of the venues where they were
demonstrated.
Another strategy of protest is non‐cooperation. Non‐cooperation and defiance reduce and
remove the sources of the regime’s power. These campaigns also provide important
experience in how to refuse cooperation and how to offer political defiance. That
experience will be of great assistance when the time comes for non‐cooperation and
defiance on a mass scale.
Both Oromo and Soweto students uprising defied government policies enacted against the
interest of their people, therefore are non‐cooperation. Particularly Soweto students’
movement is of good lesson in that the defiance started from classroom instruction
(language policy) and then to the question of national freedom. The lesson is not necessarily
its range, but that it influenced others through struggle where they finally joined them. At
some Oromo protesters demanded Afaan Oromo should be national working language, but
was not well addressed across.
Probably selective social boycott, excommunication with government supports are not well
addressed in the straggles which contributed to leakage of information and round‐up
students in their campus and restrict them to discuss and demonstrate at later stage of the
demonstrations in Oromia. Stay‐at‐home was completely a missed strategy during Oromo
students uprising while this was one of influential strategy Soweto students applied and
tumbledown the government.
Non‐consumption of boycotted goods and food stuff is one of the strategies to weaken the
power of dictators. It is a lived memory that this strategy was applied in Oromia when Minilk
II (Abyssinia coloniser) was acclaimed by an Abyssinian singer to incite Oromo in 2013. The
Oromos boycotted Beddele Beer and Coca‐Cola and the response was favourable. Oromo
diaspora supported this simply through social media, but could have taken further actions
like what South Africans exiles did in 1959.
On June 26th, 1959, a group of South African exiles and their British supporters met in
London`s Holborn Hall to call for a boycott of fruit, cigarettes and other goods imported
from South Africa. The boycott got off to a slow start, but by the following March
shopkeepers were being asked to stop selling South African products, the Trade Union
Centre(TUC), Labour, Liberal and Communist parties were backing the campaign, and
twenty‐two local authorities had banned South African fruit from their schools and
canteens. On March 9th, 1960, Labour Party leader Hugh Gaitskell went on television to ask
viewers not to buy South African goods. (Christabel Gurney 1999,).
Other indispensable strategies are boycotting government or government supporter’s
transport services including city bus, national/cross country buses, airplane etc. These
strategies were not applied or made any impact either during the protests. Especially
Oromo in the diaspora who showed their sympathy to homeland protests by
demonstrations and influencing their MPs could have contributed more to this by
boycotting anything that contributes to the revenue the Ethiopian government, like
Ethiopian airlines. Unlikely, this was underscored anywhere during their demonstration.
Other missing strategy is traders and others to refrain from or curb using other government
services that contribute to the power of government like withdrawal of bank deposits. It
should be underscored that ‘any penny matters’ either to boost power of the oppressor or
empower the oppressed.
Another strategy of non‐cooperation is political. This is usually manifested by boycott of
elections. For example on councillors election of 2006 in South Africa The majority of Black
electorates followed the repeated call of anti‐apartheid forces and largely boycotted the
elections, with only an estimated 10 ‐ 14 per cent of 'eligible' Black voters participating.
Soweto, Alexandra and Lenasia high schools staged an almost total stay‐away of pupils,
although most workers on the Reef went to work. The UN General Assembly
overwhelmingly rejected the municipal elections as a manoeuvre to further entrench White
minority rule and apartheid, which would increase conflict in southern Africa7.In intricate
and highly centralised, but quasi decentralised government system like Ethiopia, it is
unlikely to democratically contest and gain parliament representation in the government as
history tells us. The past election trends under the EPRDF government has left thousands
dead and enhanced TPLF veiled tactics of deception. On the other hand, boycotting election
reverberated in South Africa with minimum scarification and gained international attention
as shown above.
Strategies of intervention like hunger strike, Sit‐in, Pray‐in, alternative social institutions
alternative communication system, stay‐in strike, alternative markets, alternative
transportation systems, alternative economic institutions, disclosing identities of secret
agents etc. seem not have been widely applied, though are important.
Implications
At its early stage, Soweto students protest and demand was about the education system
and sub system (medium of instruction and quality of education etc.). But later on, it turned
political question (freedom), which was the ultimate goal of the students and oppressed
black South Africans. The protesters continued with better and engaging strategies
through time until the protest turned demanding freedom and eventually gained it. The
Oromo people and Oromo students’ question is also unanswered business looking forward.
In order to keep momentum of the Oromo students protest, the Soweto students up rings
and similar practices elsewhere have some implications, to which I turn now.
Soweto/South African students’ protest was led by South African Students Organisation,
departed from South African Students Association, which included white and colour
Africans. The departure was because of white students’ imposition of their apartheid
ideology and the snowballing of Black consciousness movement by Black Africans. The
organisation planned and coordinated protests along other national movements. The
strategies or actions during the protest were implemented in line with agreed upon
organisational intentions and people’s support. The following are some implications Oromo
students’ movement and Oromo nationalists may consider for such kind of national
struggle for freedom.
- The Oromo students’ movement need to have a strong organisational capacity
whose objectives, strategies and activities are implemented dutifully and in
discipline by supporters. In order to achieve the objectives, it is wise to have
strategic planning or how to do it. This increases the likelihood that all available
resources will be mobilized and employed coherently and most effectively.
- The Oromo movement in general and Oromo students’ movement in particular
should be aware that one‐off and sporadic protests enable dictators to plan erudite
methods to halt subsequent protests. Therefore the protest should get ready to
plan series of protest strategies until the demands are addressed.
- Unequivocally, what is going on in the classroom greatly influences destiny of any
country. Hence the demand for quality of education, Afaan Oromo as a medium of
teaching at all levels in Oromia, Afaan Oromo as a working language of the country
and free Oromia should be a vigorous and the centre of demand.
- The fact that the Ethiopian government is supported by some countries shows that
Oromo diaspora can play significant role to support the protest and weaken the
power of the dictators in Ethiopia. To this end, showing sympathy by demonstration
and sending letters to the MPs is good but inadequate. The Oromo diaspora could
invite MPs to their respective community discussion forums, register as a party
member and lobby them to publically condemn the atrocities and support the
protests, as was done in the UK by the Trade Union Centre (TUC), Labour, Liberal and
Communist parties Labour party in support of boycott of the then South African
products organised by Black South Africans in 1960.
- The Oromo diaspora should also arrange international legal service to urge
international organisations investigate genocide committed by the Ethiopian
government, and this should be ready at all time when such act takes place.
- Another simple, but very important is boycotting any service that contributes to the
governments power and buy ammunition against innocent people, the easiest being
boycotting Ethiopian Airlines. Note that ‘every penny matters’.
- Oromo students’ union and youth associations in diaspora should establish
international links with their respective organisations and inform and influence
international community about reckless actions by the Ethiopian government.
- The current situation in Ethiopia depicts political crisis of the Ethiopian government,
the growth and strengthening of Oromo political initiatives (through independent
Oromo political organisations), the increasing number of poor people and starvation,
student movement, the lack of confidence expressed by the private sector, diaspora
and foreign investors, and a growing resistance within the ruling party itself.
Therefore, with the understanding that amoebic style of reproduction cannot be a
remedy to Oromo political and Oromo students’ demands, though relevant after
sovereignty, it is timely and unprecedented for Oromo political organisations to
stand in unison and make the concealed history upsurge without which their
ambition remains, as my fellow Oromo says ‘taa’ani urjii lakkaa’udha’; that is to say
‘indolent and counting stars in the sky’.
- As the demonstration and protest should be against the system not individuals,
groups or other nationalities, it is wise to seriously watch out purposeful intruders
who try to avert the intention of the protest and defame it.
- Gaining cooperation of different social groups or civic society is paramount .No
oppressive regime can function and maintain power without the co‐operation of the
people it rules over. Therefore rigorous, continuously and collective struggle for
freedom is inevitable. However the struggle for freedom is sour, its fruit is so sweet
that everybody can taste and enjoy it.
I would recap by what M. Luther said regarding the perseverance for freedom:'
Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle.
And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom. A man can't ride you unless
your back is bent.' - Martin Luther King Jr.
Notes
1 Gene Sharp 2000: Gene provides 198 peaceful protest methods and strategies and
categorises them in to protest and persuasion, non‐cooperation, and intervention.
2.
http://overcomingapartheid.msu.edu/sidebar.php?id=65
‐258‐3 (Dec 12, 2014)
3. Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia, and to a lesser extent in Botswana and Zimbabwe. It is an offshoot of several Dutch dialects spoken by the mainly. Dutch settlers of what is now South Africa, where it gradually began to develop independently in the course of the 18th century. Hence, historically, it is a daughter language of Dutch, and was previously referred to as "Cape Dutch" (a term also used to refer collectively to the early Cape) or "kitchen Dutch" (a derogatory term used to refer to Afrikaans in its earlier days).
4. Hector Pieterson (1964 – June 16, 1976) became the iconic image of the 1976 Soweto Uprising in apartheid South Africa when a news photograph by Sam Mzima of the dying Hector being carried by a fellow student, was published around the world. He was killed at the age of 12 when the police opened fire on protesting students.
By Sam Mzima: November 16, 1976, National Archive of South Africa. Permission granted in terms of Section 1(xiv) of the National Archives of South Africa Act, 1996 (Act No.43 of 1996).
5.
http://overcomingapartheid.msu.edu/sidebar.php?id=65
‐258‐3&page=3
6.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world
‐africa‐27251331
7. Jen and Josh were American Peace Corps, Serving in Ethiopia from October 2012 ‐ December 2014 and were working with schools and Ambo University.
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