They became the shining exemplars of a new generation of Oromo nationalists, who had risen to high status among Ethiopians, yet chose to sacrifice everything, including their precious lives for the cause and in the interest of their people, who had actively resisted their subjugation throughout Oromia for decades. Like other leaders and members of the association, General Tadesse Birru, Haile Mariam Gamada and Mamo Mazamir, together with other prominent leaders raised the banner of Oromo resistance and mapped a path for the Oromo struggle with their sacrifice.
One value all shared, expressed in words and deeds, was the importance of unity. The main aims of the leaders of the association were to mobilize the Oromo and unite them with other oppressed peoples of Ethiopia for the purpose of ending the Amhara ruling elites’ domination of the Ethiopian political landscape and creating instead a democratic and just system in which all the people of that country would live together in peace and genuine equality. However, Haile Selassie’s government accused the association and its leaders of plotting to dismember the territorial integrity of Ethiopia, the pretext on which the regime banned the first Oromo civic association. Not a single leader of the association escaped excruciating torture and imprisonment. They all demonstrated enormous courage for the cause of their people. Among those whose horrific torture led to his death was Haile Mariam Gamada, the man accused by Emperor Haile Selassie as MTA’s organizing genius.[21]
HaileMariamGemedaOn his deathbed Haile Mariam Gamada said farewell to his friends with the following words of full of wisdom. “Whether we die or not, our ideas [about the freedom of the Oromo] will be realized by our children or grandchildren.”[22] The final words of Lieutenant Mamo Mazamir before he was cruelly hanged still resonate with the new generation of Oromo nationalists: “I do not die in vain. My blood will water the freedom struggle of the Oromo people… It may be delayed, but the inalienable rights of the Oromo people will be restored by the blood of their children.”[23] In 1975, the Ethiopian military regime that succeeded Emperor Haile Selassie executed without trial the following leading members of MTA: General Tadesse Birru, Colonel Hailu Regassa, Qanazmach Abdul Aziz Mohammed, and Zewga Bojia. These, along with several other members of the association, were buried in mass graves. The act demonstrated the continuing absence of the rule of law in Ethiopia and the profound disregard for Oromo status within Ethiopia. Since the creation of the empire-state in the 1880s, Ethiopia has failed to produce a single government that did not destroy independent Oromo organizations, such as the MTA, a single government that respected Oromo national dignity, a single government that treated the Oromo as full citizens of Ethiopia.[24]
Conclusion
The leaders of the Macha-Tulama Association challenged and defied the established Ethiopian political order in two major ways. First, they organized huge mass meetings at which the proscribed Oromo language was used very publicly as the medium for fiery oratory, dramas, poems and prayers, which moved the Oromo to tears of both inspiration to champion Oromuumma and anger against the oppressive Ethiopian system which suppressed their identity and denied their rights. A profound Oromo desire to be treated with respect and dignity began from that point to find expression in Afaan Oromo through written literature. That empowerment became the starting point for the birth of Oromo resistance literature.
Oromo nationalism was given its modern shape through an intellectual renaissance of the 1960s. Leaders such as Haile Mariam Gamada, Haji Robale Ture, Colonel Alemu Kietessa and many others, were nurtured both in the civilization of Oromo democratic heritage as the legacy of their peasant backgrounds.
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