Initially published on 25th August 2008 in American Chronicle, AfroArticles and Buzzle Republished on 15th October 2008 here: http://oromiafororomo.blogspot.com/2008/10/call-for-all-oromo-constituent-assembly.html Excerpt: What is legitimacy for a political party? Public vote expressed and registered at all levels, internal and external. The latter level involves free elections for the parliament and the municipal and regional administrations. The former level concerns internal party elections that should not be limited to the elected parliamentary deputies only but engage all party members. 20th century parties were usually launched by a political leader risen under critical circumstances and evolved consequently around him. Then, criticism helped societies understand that an undemocratic party, used by a leader for undeclared policies (f. i. peremptorily decided entrance into alliances, like the NATO, and adhesion to international bodies, like the UN, OECD or EU, namely decisions which critically affects the nation’s destiny), can hardly promote the democratic organization of the society. Democracy in a country hinges on democracy within a party.

1. Call For an All-Oromo Constituent
Assembly (2008)
Prof. Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis
http://oromiafororomo.blogspot.com/2008/10/call-for-all-oromo-constituent-
assembly.html
http://oromiafororomo.blogspot.com/2008/=================================
Call For an All-Oromo Constituent Assembly
15 Oct 2008
Following the recent developments among the Oromo leadership,
the context of the Oromo National Struggle for Independence got
more confused and more disorientated. At the same time, it became
far clearer.
I will start my approach with the latter; clearer? How?
This situation made clear that the Oromos simply cannot afford to
continue multi-divided like that. This is the only way to guarantee
that Oromia will never be free, and as consequence, the existence
of the real Oromo Nation will be endangered by the false, forged
concept of the - absolutely inexistent - ‘Ethiopian’ pseudo-nation.
At the same time, many critical problems that are able to definitely
prevent the Oromos from achieving their objectives came to
surface. The nature of these problems is such that they contribute
to multi-division, communication interruption, and mutual
incomprehension - all constituting the principal hindrances in the
path to Free and Independent Oromia.
These critical problems can be easily noted in the arguments of the
two opposite parts (in the latest scission); those panegyrizing for

2. the ‘takeover’ accused the ‘Old Guard’ for inactivity, lethargy,
apathy. Those sticking to legitimacy reproached to the
aforementioned group their unconstitutional acts. The dialogue of
the deaf can continue for years. And Oromia will be an even
weaker, an even farther dream. A distant illusion.
The simplest answer to all these factions is this:
- If the problems of the other part are precisely as you describe
them, why don’t you meet the other guys and deliberate about all
these pending issues?
Of course, all these formations are not political parties properly
speaking. They are liberation fronts and movements. There is a big
difference in the source of legitimacy for either.
Issues of Legitimacy
What is legitimacy for a political party? Public vote expressed and
registered at all levels, internal and external. The latter level
involves free elections for the parliament and the municipal and
regional administrations. The former level concerns internal party
elections that should not be limited to the elected parliamentary
deputies only but engage all party members. 20th century parties
were usually launched by a political leader risen under critical
circumstances and evolved consequently around him. Then,
criticism helped societies understand that an undemocratic party,
used by a leader for undeclared policies (f. i. peremptorily decided
entrance into alliances, like the NATO, and adhesion to international
bodies, like the UN, OECD or EU, namely decisions which critically
affects the nation’s destiny), can hardly promote the democratic
organization of the society. Democracy in a country hinges on
democracy within a party.
One has to admit that the undeservedly evangelized as democratic

3. Western countries are an embodiment of fraud, corruption,
embezzlement of the people’s property, and political bias;
the foreign policy - in particular - has been conducted in a most
undemocratic, unapproved and disapproved manner. There cannot
be proper democracy, when the public opinion on a specific subject
is misguided, biased, cheated and disregarded. Democracy does not
mean mere election of an uncontrolled government. How many
English would have agreed with their country’s participation in the
2003 War against Iraq’s Saddam Hussein?
Liberation Fronts and Legitimacy
On the other hand, liberation fronts and movements are not the
property of some small groups that can uncontrolled pursue their
own policies; this concept would rather be closer to that of a Mafia
gang or a terrorist group - for which there are no legitimacy issues
as their existence is absolutely illegitimate (not because a tyrannical
or democratic regime decided so, but because they are morally
unacceptable as threat for the Humanity).
Legitimacy issues exist for liberation fronts and movements; they
are compelling indeed. Failure to understand this reality leads
leaderships to extinction for lack of (or disregard for) legitimacy
drives the liberation fronts and movements to national margin and
insignificance.
A liberation front dissolved or marginalized is a liberation front that
first lost its legitimacy; the real legitimacy of a liberation front or
movement hinges precisely on the political and moral consensus of
an oppressed, subjugated nation. The objectives set by a liberation
front or movement, which are relevant to the struggle for national
independence, freedom, national affirmation, self-determination,
and nation-building process, are the measure of its own legitimacy.

4. When a liberation front or movement fails to carry out the promised
struggle, it automatically loses its legitimacy; it represents a name,
a title, a past, a stamp, a memory, having no real face value
anymore.
Public support certainly attributes legitimacy to a liberation front or
movement; but this cannot be demonstrated or corroborated easily
as there are no elections or other confirmed ways to prove it. Public
support is what I mentioned earlier as ‘political and moral
consensus of an oppressed, subjugated nation’.
But for a disoriented liberation front or movement, public support
matters truly little; sooner or later, the distance from the originally
set objectives will be felt and the legitimacy will be removed from
the disoriented liberation front or movement - and this will be
shown to all.
What happens if disoriented liberation front or movement continues
influencing the largest part of (or the entire) subjugated nation?
This situation reaches the level of national tragedy and extinction.
Extinction of nations is a common phenomenon in the History of the
Mankind.
At the present stage of the Oromo Nation’s struggle for National
Independence, the legitimacy issue - which is key to the final
success - hinges firstly on dialogue.
Unbiased Dialogue among All Oromos
Dialogue will give to a specific liberation front or movement the
much needed legitimacy because it will highlight among the
oppressed Oromos its potentiality to represent their passionate
desire for liberation, self-affirmation, independence, and self-
determination successfully.

5. How can a liberation front or movement possibly suggest that it can
represent an entire nation - which is subjugated and tyrannized -
when it fails to be in speaking terms with any other opponent of the
oppressive regime?
When a liberation struggle is carried out, the effort is by definition
unanimous and all-inclusive. There cannot be exclusions,
distinctions, segregations, efforts to bar and ban other voices which
may reflect a different viewpoint; there cannot be any personal
interests, prevarication, animosity.
Eliminating the Berlin Wall among the various OLF factions would
consist in a first great step for Oromo Unity and Struggle for
Independence.
There have recently been published many illuminating articles about
the possible way Oromos should act while engaging themselves in a
liberation movement; there can be no doubt that the traditions and
the principles derived from the Gadaa system can help
tremendously the Oromo liberation fronts and movements function
successfully. Above all the rest, there is one clear point: all-
inclusiveness is a prerequisite for an open dialogue, wide analysis,
innovative approaches, discussion of plans of action, and
subsequent conclusion and decision-making.
The past concerns only the past; what happened - happened. As I
said in the beginning, there will always be those ready to say “this
is not the correct method” and the others who will refuse the
statement by saying “and you did nothing for the objectives set by
all of us”.
Were the former guys essentially un-Oromo in their rush?

6. Were the latter guys nonchalant sleepers instead of being vigorous
fighters?
There can be no other way to offer all the Oromos the chance to
judge who is right and who is wrong than an All-Oromo Constituent
Assembly.
A Meeting to setup the All-Oromo Constituent Assembly
A venue must be found, the correct time must be selected, and the
first to extend the invitation to all the rest will have the advantage.
The organization of a meeting to setup the All-Oromo Constituent
Assembly is the only urgent, imperative and substantive need of the
Oromo Nation in August 2008.
No one can know what the exit will be; perhaps they will all unite,
and re-launch the liberation struggle. It is also possible that they
were depart divided and in dispute. But this is their right; every
leadership has the right to demonstrate in public their inaptness and
unsuitability. The Oromo Nation will sort it out.
But the Oromo Nation deserves to know who their leaders are, what
they think about one another, and what they believe about the
Oromos’ chances to ever be liberated and honored as one of the
most ancient and most noble nations of the world.
Rejection to organize a meeting to setup the All-Oromo Constituent
Assembly would mean total disregard for the Oromo Nation, proven
inability to lead the tyrannized nation, and seclusion due to bribery
by any element alien to the Oromo Nation.

7. Rejection to invite all, properly speaking all, all the prominent
Oromo statesmen and politicians, liberation front leaders, eminent
academia and intellectuals, leading activists and visionaries will
simply reconfirm the factionist attitude of the organizers.
Little matters whether some will not come. A meeting with historical
significance must be attended by all; by overtly dodging it, one
would only demonstrate untrustworthiness, bias and guilt.
And those who can lead the Oromo Nation will go ahead; the
Oromoness, the openness and the frankness they will exhibit will
qualify them to go ahead. They will then have to address the
problems that came to surface during the recent developments; the
worst among them is a sort of tribalism that jeopardizes the Oromo
Nation’s future. About this we will focus in a forthcoming article.
For the time being, I want to underscore the gravity of the current
situation; those in a position to convene this meeting must act
immediately. The time wasted since the recent developments has
been very critical for the Oromo Nation.
To some, it has been just a period of 25 days. This is so because
they are blind.
To others, it has been a span of 25 centuries; this is so because
they are farsighted.
Prof. Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis
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