Qeerroo
| Qeerroo | |
|---|---|
| Other name | Oromo National Youth Movement for Freedom and Democracy (ONYMFD) |
Leader | Jawar Mohammed |
| Founded | April 2011 |
| Country | |
| Allegiance | Political allies: |
| Ideology | Oromo nationalism |
| Status | Active |
| Website | qeerroo |
Oromo National Youth Movement for Freedom and Democracy (ONYMFD), popularly known as Qeerroo, is a social movement organized with ideology of Oromo nationalism in Ethiopia.[2] In traditional Oromo culture the term means "bachelor" or youth[3][4] but within the political movement that shares the same name, it symbolizes the Oromo struggle for increased political freedom, greater ethnic representation in government, "... an entire generation of newly assertive Ethiopian youth,".[5]
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The BBC has described Qeerroo as being Ethiopia's National Youth Movement for Freedom and Democracy,[2] which calls itself Qeerroo Bilisummaa Oromoo.[6]
Background and emergence
[edit]The Qeerroo movement emerged in the early 2010s against a backdrop of land rights disputes and political marginalization reported by Oromo activists.[citation needed] Analysts link the growth of Qeerroo to student protests in Oromia beginning in April 2014 over the Addis Ababa Integrated Master Plan.[citation needed] The protests expanded to wider grievances regarding political representation, language rights, and detentions of opposition
History
[edit]The Qeerroo, also known as the Qubee generation,[7] "first emerged in 1991 with the participation of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) in the transitional government of Ethiopia."[8] Qeerroos also played a key role in the 2014–2016 Oromo protests.[9] Jawar Mohammed, a qeerroo,[10] played a key role in founding the ONYMFD.[2]
The Qeerroo movement inspired many marginalized ethnic to create youth movements, such as Ejjetto, Barbaarta and Zarma. The Somali Barbaarta's demand to end Abdi Illey's presidency of the Somali Region and the Sidama Ejjatto's demand of statehood for the Sidama Region succeeded.[11][12][13] They staged nationwide protest rallies in July 2020 following the assassination of Oromo musician Hachalu Hundessa.[5][9]
References
[edit]- ^ "I did it for Oromo: Jawar Mohammed explains decision to join Ethiopia opposition party". africanews.com.
- ^ a b c "How did US and Ethiopia become so close?". BBC News. 8 April 2019. Archived from the original on 3 May 2019. Retrieved 2019-10-31.
- ^ "Violence during Ethiopian protests was ethnically and religiously tinged, say eyewitnesses". Reuters. 26 October 2019. Archived from the original on 26 October 2019. Retrieved 2019-10-31.
- ^ "Ethiopia: Youth gather at Jawar Mohammed's house to show support". Al Jazeera. 24 October 2019. Archived from the original on 30 October 2019. Retrieved 2019-10-31.
- ^ a b Gardner, Tom (13 March 2018). "'Freedom!': the mysterious movement that brought Ethiopia to a standstill". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 29 October 2019. Retrieved 2019-10-31.
- ^ "Qeerroo". qeerroo.org. Archived from the original on 2019-09-05. Retrieved 2019-10-31.
- ^ Why Ethiopia's 'alphabet generation' feel betrayed by Abiy, 19 June 2021
- ^ Jalata, Asafa (14 August 2016). "Why the Oromo protests mark a change in Ethiopia's political landscape". The Conversation. Archived from the original on 30 October 2019. Retrieved 2019-10-31.
- ^ a b Peralta, Eyder (6 December 2018). "How An Exiled Activist In Minnesota Helped Spur Big Political Changes In Ethiopia". NPR. Archived from the original on 29 October 2019. Retrieved 2019-10-31.
- ^ Gardner, Tom (20 August 2018). "Jawar Mohammed's red-carpet return signals Ethiopia's political sea change". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 30 October 2019. Retrieved 2019-10-31.
- ^ "Ethiopia's Sidama vote for new federal region: Electoral board". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 2019-12-07. Retrieved 2019-12-09.
- ^ Zelalem, Zecharias (1 June 2018). "The Rise of the Barbaarta: Somali protesters demand an end to Abdi Illey's reign of terror". OPride. Archived from the original on 9 December 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
- ^ Mulugeta, Melat (15 March 2019). "Ejjetto calls for workers strike in Hawassa". Mereja. Archived from the original on 9 December 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2019.