TAYE DENDEA: “Our unity and peace has been disrupted by…. the people who inherited the TPLF/Wayane mentality!”
In a lengthy Facebook post made on July 22nd, 2022, Prosperity Party official and State Minister of Peace Taye Dendea blasted the recent Oromia Regional State Council session for unconstitutionally breaking procedure and went on to make several claims implicating Oromia state officials of assassinations and embezzlement. (fully translated transcript below)
July 23rd, 2022 — State Minister Taye Dendea caused a stir on Ethiopian social media after he lambasted his fellow party officials and Oromia state administrators in a late Saturday afternoon Facebook post. The post touches on several issues including accusations of embezzlement by senior Oromia state officials and claims that that Office of the President of Oromia was meddling in Oromia Regional State Council affairs. Most noteable is the implication that elements within the ruling Prosperity Party were responsible for the assassination of Oromia Police Commissioner Solomon Tadasse and the attempted assassination of Oromia Police Commander Tasfaye Dinqu.
This is the second Ethiopian government official within a month that has made such claims on social media. Earlier this month, Member of Parliament and Prosperity Party member Hangaasa Ibrahim claimed that senior Oromia state officials were behind the recent massacres of civilians in western Ethiopia. Taye also echoed Hangaasa’s claims that several senior officials were responsible for ordering assassinations and engaging in embezzlement schemes.
Below is a faithful transcript translated with the help of native Afaan Oromo speakers.
“My Thoughts on the Caffee [Oromia Regional State Council] Session
Introduction
I became a member of the Council in the 6th round of elections. I represent the Kuyu constituency of North Shawa. I am a member of the Prosperity Party and the representative of 100,000 people. As stated by Article 48 of the Constitution of Oromia, I represent all of Oromia. I am in this Council to be a servant of the people. I am only responsible to the people who sent me here, the constitution and to my mind.
What we paid the heaviest sacrifices for is freedom. A fundamental freedom is the right of free speech. If there is no right of free speech, other rights cannot exist. Without the right of free speech, humanity is incomplete! The right to free expression is too precious for us to give away. You have to understand that the guardian of this right is the constitution. The Constitution of Ethiopia and the Constitution of Oromia guarantee these rights. Even if the truth is stretched thin, it will emerge victorious!
Regarding the Meetings Held Before the Council Session
In regular Council procedure, there is no discussion before the meeting. Council sessions can only occur in the Council Hall. However, members of the Council were divided into 6 groups and spent two days meeting with the executive branch and were given directions on what to do regarding the report submitted yesterday. Threats were involved. I believe this should not have happened. I have three reasons. First, this is not regular Council procedure. Doing something out of procedure only undermines credibility and effectiveness of the Party. Second, the mixing of the branches of government must be avoided. The branches of government were organised separately to maintain checks and balances and avoid wrongdoing. To ensure this, there needs to be separation of the branches. If this separation is not enforced, we will start seeing the executive branch determining the direction that the Council/legislative branch takes. This kind of mixing will not permit balance and will result in problems. It is supposed to be the Council that determines the direction that the executive branch takes. My third point is in regards to strengthening unity and understanding. The members of the Council holding discussions in one place will allow them to learn from one another. The members will learn the reality of the conditions in every zone and district. This will promote trust and understanding. This is how the unity of the people and the country is built.
Regarding the Topics Presented
The Honorable Speaker presented 9 proposals and asked for comments. Due to that, I raised my hand. I didn’t think the Honorable Speaker saw my hand. That is why I spoke up.. He told me speaking out of turn was not permitted but gave me an opportunity to speak. However, because they shut off my microphone, my words were not heard. The Honorable Speaker said “You could not use your opportunity.” and then moved on to voting on the proposals. Even though I raised my hand to vote against the proposals, they somehow did not see my hand and declared that “The proposals are approved unanimously”. Some hands were never raised yet they somehow saw them.
Oromummaa is a tradition. That tradition does not forbid speech. That is what it said “You can forbid words from coming in but not coming out”. Saying “We shall return to Oromummaa” and then proceeding to silence people is not right. They made suppressing me a goal. They did not expect their behavior to be exposed. How can these people talk about democracy anymore? How can a person who tried to silence a Prosperity Party official and a member of the Honorable Council be expected to safeguard anyone’s right of free speech? If there is no freedom of speech, how can we build a democracy? It is our justice to refuse this!
My Objection to the Report
In my view, the primary issue is security and accountability. There is no issue that comes before that. I believe that the reality of the conditions we have been in for a whole year and still find ourselves in makes it a necessity for us to focus on the security issue alone. The matter needs to be looked at carefully and there must be accountability for the damages and losses endured. Without doing this, it is not right to look at plans for the next year. Mixing the security issue with matters regarding water and grain can only be a joke.
The session that took place a few days ago addressed three agendas at the same time. The agendas were the report on the past year, the plan for the next year, and budget increases. I believe these three issues should be considered separately. Mixing these agendas and submitting them for approval only negatively affects transparency and integrity. Someone who opposes the budget increase may support the plan for the next year. One could also oppose next year’s plan and support the budget increase. There is no condition in which it is right to mix these three and hold a vote on them!
In my opinion, the report on the security issue falls short of the standards of the Honorable Council. Last year, it was said that “we will restore security in a few months”. But the report only states that a large number of people surrendered, various weapons were captured, closed roads were reopened, and that the few zones captured by the enemy have been freed. What does this mean? Why were they unable to give specific numbers? How does this report compare with the plans made last year? What was planned? What was achieved from that plan? Why are we unable to restore security in a year when we promised to restore it in a few months? Who is failing? Why shouldn’t a person who fails to fulfill his legal responsibilities be held accountable? What is keeping us from coming out of this problem? What will solve this for us now? From this perspective, the report is incomplete. It does not fulfill the Council’s standards!
Previously, we were able to hold elections everywhere except for some districts in the west. But this year, 8 zones have security issues and concerns. The people who trusted us and elected us have been humiliated as stated by the Honorable President. He stated the most shameful thing in our history by saying “Men were raped”. All this is occurring under his administration. It is the responsibility of the government to stop this pain and embarrassment. It is one thing to blame internal and external enemies. It is quite another thing to accept responsibility and hold yourself accountable. keep the word to yourself and ensure accountability. Cursing foreigners for our own problems will not be a solution.
Furthermore, the damage inflicted on our people is not reflected in the report. How many civilians have been killed in Oromia since September? How many were made disabled? How many are suffering after being displaced from their homes and livelihoods? How many poor people’s homes were burned? How many poor people’s cattle were slaughtered? How many people were raped? What is the number of government and private properties that have been destroyed? If you cannot restore security, why could you not at least report on the damage being done?
The evidence presented during the session is shocking. Mr Gammachis Dabala, administrator of East Walaga, told the Honorable Council that in his zone 1105 Oromo civilians have been killed, 28 government officials were martyred in one day, and property valued at 3 billion birr has been destroyed. I mean this to say that not only Amharas have been killed but Oromos too. But the killing of Oromos does not make the killing of Amharas right. The responsibility of the government is to protect the security of both people. In North Shawa, according to the evidence we have, since September 210 civilians have been killed, 109 have been made disabled, 526 homes have been burned, 410 cattle belonging to the poor were slaughtered, over 1.5 billion birr has been stolen, 195 schools have been closed, and 75,000 students have been left without an education. After we investigate more closely, these numbers could be even higher. But if this is the situation in North Shawa, what about Guji and Walaga? What about West and East Shawa, how much damage has been done? Only God knows! They could have asked for aid unless they purposely planned it this way. Why not submit a proposal through the existing procedure? There may be many reasons. But for me it seems there is no care and compassion. At the very least, how can someone born from this nation not even have a report on the damages? I promise you there is no care. A senior asked me “Why are you so worried about the people?”. This is akin to saying just leave it and dance!
I will not deny the work that has been done. It is especially important to appreciate the work that is being done in the midst of fire by the federal administration and administration of Finfinne. Something we can pass onto the next generation has been accomplished! Be it on a large or small scale, wheat has been harvested during the dry season. There have also been attempts to modernize the agricultural center. Schools have been built and inaugurated. These are all good. But in the last 2 years, the people I represent have gained nothing but rather experienced loss. Modernizing agriculture has been left behind and their oxen have all been stolen and slaughtered. They are unable to educate their children using the existing schools. They have lost the peace and respect they had before. Their homes have been burned down and they are roaming outside like animals. They will be hungry this year. Because they couldn’t plow their land, next year the problem will be worse. In Guji, the lives of our people are even more bitter. The situation in the 4 Walagas and West Shawa is the same. Those who spend their time eating raw meat and drinking whiskey consider this to be “comprehensive success”. But I will not make a joke out of the state of my people. It hurts me a lot. That is why I objected to the report.
Let it be clear to everyone. I have no other mission. I only speak for the truth. I have the same feeling I had during that time in Moyale. The network that was mentioned is real. There is a structure that is based on regionalism and theft. It does not apply to me and those who care about the nation. It was established by those who consider politics to be a gambling game and they used it to push out capable leaders and silence the people’s truth. I don’t want any network. I believe that struggle requires truth, not conspiracy! Everyone stands with the truth! It is not for the sake of appearances, I truly struggle for the country and people. I did not join the struggle because I was advised to. Article 48 of the Constitution of Oromia states I am only accountable to the constitution, the people, and my conscience!
Regarding the Bill to Increase the Budget
I refused to vote for the bill to increase the budget. The reason is because it had both good and bad issues. Many districts are in serious trouble. Therefore, it is appropriate to increase the budget for them. But while our people were in a dire situation and the initial budget was insufficient, it was not right to tear up the constitution and support our neighbors. The budget allocated to this is not correct. I did not want to support this. That’s why I denied it my vote. I know it won’t change anything. But make sure to record this. The next generation will learn from it!
Regarding the 2015 Budget Bill
I refused to vote here as well. Right and wrong were mixed together. Overall, the budget was insufficient for Oromia. Increasing the budget is a good thing. The way it is allocated is somewhat correct. It is especially fair to allocate 9.5 billion Birr for the Oromia Police. The ones who pay by blood and bone for the security of the people should receive an appropriate budget. They are being paid wages that are not even enough for food. This needs to change. Increasing the agricultural budget is also appropriate. But it should not exceed 28 billion birr. Considering the displacement, it would not be wrong to allocate 12 billion birr for the Social Affairs Bureau.
There are three problems. First is the education budget. Our Honorable President has said that half of the workforce in Oromia is teachers. He has said many times that education is the main agenda of Oromia. That is good. But that is not achieved by merely being grateful to teachers. While gratitude is good, it does not change the life of teachers. To truly express gratitude would be to improve the education sector’s budget. It requires improving the lives and morale of the teachers! 3 billion birr won’t do that. At least 4 billion birr needs to be added. Secondly, it is the budget for the Council. Only 133 million birr was allocated for the Honorable Council. This seems to have been done deliberately to weaken the Council. 1.6 billion birr has been allocated for the Office of the President. That is good. But how can the Council’s budget be less than this? According to the Constitution of Oromia, the supreme powerbelongs to the Council (Article 49(2)). The Council has the power to investigate and correct any and all members of the executive branch. But now it doesn’t have the budget. What can it do with 133 million birr? Power that is not supported by a budget is useless. This was done to make the Council dependent. That is why it was important for them to make the Council’s budget smaller than the budget of the President’s Office. Even if the Council’s budget is small, it is important for it to be more than the budget for the President. Third, regarding the budget for the Security and Administration Bureau. We all know the security issues in Oromia. To resolve it, it requires accurate and timely information. But only a 399 million Birr budget was allocated. What will this do? I believe at least 1 billion birr must be added. That is why I refused to give my vote.
Regarding Experiences with Conspiracy
For me, medemer/integration is correct. The principles of medemer/integration are brotherhood, diversity, and freedom. I believe that for every Prosperity Party member, politics means using these principles to build the country and serve the people. Conspiracy is the foremost of the illnesses affecting Ethiopian politics. That is why it is considered an obstacle to medemer/integration alongside embezzlement and extremism. Some, however, boast of the conspiracy and oppression they learned from the TPLF/Wayane! They proudly state that “Politics is a gambling game to confuse the people”! They think that knowledge is being fake and confusing people. It is shocking! They boast about something that should be an embarrassment to them. How can someone call themselves “Prosperity” while being proud of carrying the mentality of TPLF/Wayane? Our unity and peace has been disrupted by the seizure of government power by the people who inherited the TPLF/Wayane mentality! TPLF/Wayane’s conspiratorial mentality led to their downfall so where will it take these people? The tumor that has grown on the Prosperity Party is trying to cut us off.
No matter what, we are the children of Prosperity. Our principles are respect for citizens, freedom, diversity, and brotherhood. We have heroism, health, and patriotism; not conspiracy and oppression! We will never wish for the TPLF/Wayane mentality! If that was the case, we would not have dismantled TPLF/Wayane in the first place. Now we are not going to accept the carriers of the TPLF/Wayane mentality! TPLF/Wayane used conspiracy to imprison and make us suffer for an era. But the student always wants to become better than the teacher and so those who learned conspiracy from TPLF/Wayane might go as far as killing us. For mankind, death is inevitable so I will speak the people’s truth without fear. Those who killed Commissioner Solomon Tadasse and wounded Commander Tasfayee Dinqu and denied him treatment will not think twice about us. If we die, we have no doubt that our nation will raise our children!
In this era, the definition of “being clever” has changed. Conspirators and thieves are considered clever. They measure us by these standards and call us “Fools! I don’t think it’s a crime to be a “Fool” for now. But one day they may say “Foolishness is a crime” just like they once said “The poor and ignorant are not Oromo”. The main thing is that the blood of people is not on our hands. I have never stolen; I have never lied. We never knowingly stood alongside the lies and sin. If we are “Fools” for the sake of this truth, let us love this Foolishness too!
Regarding Our Support of the Administration
This administration was not built with games. It cost a heavy price. The lives and livelihoods of many heroes were sacrificed. Our men and women were tortured for that! Our youth numbering in the thousands stood up against the enemy and lost their lives at a young age! I played a role in that. I sacrificed 10 years of my life in prison. Therefore, I care about this administration. I will not allow the fall of this country and the pain of the people! That is why I am speaking the truth! I cannot mock the victory of the people like those who move from throne to throne, from theft to theft! Some do not know the value of popular victory. Rather than reality, their eyes only see bottles of whiskey. When there are issues, they get drunk and forget about the problems and miseries of the people. Then he reports peace and development! When I see and hear this, my heart aches! I don’t think the country will survive if we stay on this course! And when my country falls, not only me but my friends and family will fall! I don’t have a house in Dubai or Atlanta! I don’t want to run away!
You judge leaders based on the state of the country. Therefore, my only desire is to take this country out of the monster’s mouth. I speak to save the country and the people. We have a serious problem. And the problem is from inside. There is a serious tumor that is leading this country and people into misery. We have to speak and deal with it.
It is terribly stupid to tear your house down on yourself. The advice “Don’t tear your house down on yourself” is right! Intelligence means adding on to the house you already have. Integration/Medemer says the same thing. But what is destroying the house? There is no need to go far for this! It is enough to understand our parents’ traditions. It is conspiracy and oppression that is destroying the house. Our internal unity has been weakened by conspiracy! Brotherhood and diversity were confused by conspiracy and lies! But when a jug of milk rolls over, you save as much as you can from spilling. Now the destroyed house must be repaired. But that requires truth. No matter what, experience in conspiracy will always lead to destruction and not development.
Building a strong system will be a pillar for the country. But a system cannot be built out of jokes. It will require one to follow principles and procedure. Hoping to build the system while breaking the principles of the Prosperity Party and the procedures of the Council is daydreaming!
The rule of law is also right. Rights have limits. Anyone who goes past those limits and violates human rights needs to be held accountable. But not all crimes are equal. The manner and conditions distinguish them. IThose who laughed at the assassination of the Gadaa leaders cannot be angry with words today! It requires balance!
Perhaps the concerned citizen will ask, “Why didn’t you speak inside?”. That’s a good question. If we could have discussed it behind closed doors, we would not be in this situation today. We would have become strong and stabilized the country a while back. We begged a lot for there to be discussion! We were advised by many elders. But it didn’t work. The door is closed for internal discussion!
Peace is Wealth.
Peace be upon Oromia!
Peace be upon Ethiopia!
Peace be upon Africa!
Peace be upon the world!
Prosper!# For the Oromia Regional State Council
# For the Media
