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In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
May peace & blessing be on our Master, the Messenger of Allah
May peace, Mercy and blessing of Allah be on you
O'Children of Abadir who reside outside of Ethiopia
Descendants of Imam Ahmed
My greetings to you!
May Allah give you strength
I am now talking to you from Addis Ababa
I would like to inform you of the current condition that exists in Ethiopia briefly
Particularly, of the opportunity that has presented itself to Harar and the Harari people
If we look at Ethiopia's overall situation, we are at a very critical moment
Ethiopia's problem from the onset up to today has been the issue of the right of nations and nationalities
Wherein one nation (tribe) sat on top of all the others and claimed to be the only citizen
and claimed sole ownership of the country
I am the knot that binds the country together, and if I am not there it will be destroyed
Therefore, the system was such that one nation was the ruler or master, and the rest were the slaves
Such was the condition of the people in the South, as well as in our region in the East
There are no people who desire to be enslaved. Therefore all resisted the system to the best of their ability
There were major wars in Eritrea, Tigray, Oromia and all over the country
When the Federation system was abolished in Eritrea, and the people there demanded its reinstitution they refused and in their effort to rule them under the iron fist
For 30 years they bombarded them with *** bomb, for 30 years they sprayed them with poison gas, for 30 years they sprayed them with cluster bomb
They did to them what no human being has the right to do on another human being
Therefore, we can say that the (trampling on the) right of nations and nationalities in Ethiopia was like a poison for the unity of the country.
One cannot live in a place where there is no justice.
You cannot achieve unity without equality
Thus time lapsed until God has so willed, and critical time has arrived
The movements in Tigray and Eritrea both gained power and became the main cause for the destruction of the (old) government
When Eritrea liberated its side, the movement that originated in Tigray liberated all of Ethiopia
and placed the festering wound at the forefront of its charter, it was placed under the 2nd article
It stated that all nationalities have the right to rule themselves
When we come to the issue of Hararis, the previous regimes whether that of Haile Selasai or the Durg,
it (Harar) was a nation that they have made a primary target for death and burial
Along with its people
Many calamities have befallen us, and enumerable amount of blood have been spilled
What was the final objective? To expel us from our land,
and to destroy our country if possible or to populate it with their people if impossible.
This is what has befallen us.
The change that has come now is one that redresses these grievances -- you have the right to rule your region
With the help of God - they gave the Harari minorities, who have been scattered, a seat in the parliament
The Hararis then called on me, to come and represent them in the parliament
Up to then I use to live in London for 8 years, and I was established there.
Before I could give my reply, I read the Charter completely
When I realized that it was seeking to redress the fundamental problem of Ethiopia
I was convince that if we present our case with full force and God assists us, that we will manage to get the right of our people that have been buried
Thus, I left my children, gave up my career and came here.
We have done two things since we came. One is establishing a party that represent the Hararis, namely the (Harari National) League.
I will tell you more about it in short later on.
If you don't know, my educational background is Public Administration and Law.
I studied law in Canada at McGill University
I can say I worked in this field for 30 years.
Both were helpful in establishing the government in the parliament, and to argue for the cause of Harar.
Now let me start with the parliament
The 3rd day after I entered the parliament, a decision that has been taken prior to my arrival was presented
It said, the people of Harar and the Falasha do not have a nation of their own
When we look at the Hararis, they reasoned, the Harari people always live in cities
They lived dispersed in the city of Harar, Dire Dawa, and Addis Ababa
Therefore a decision was taken claiming that they (Hararis) do not have a nation of their own.
Even though that was the reason presented, the study itself did not emanate from the parliament
It was based on a study that took 8 years
It was done by the Institute of Nationalities
It was there that the intelligentsia from universities with the background of history, law, administration, and the like gathered
and after studying all the nationalities of Ethiopia thoroughly, they gave that decision.
This was the first thing, and one that truly startled me, when I arrived here
I shouted at them unconsciously
I said, first of all democracy means the rule of the majority and the right of the minority. Keep this in mind.
Second of all, who told you that the Harari people don't have a nation? It means that we have not agreed with the definition of a nation.
For one, you did not even ask us.
You admitted our existence and gave us a seat here (parliament)
When it comes to the issue of nation, in what basis can bureaucrats who do not know us judge in this issue. A debate ensued in this matter.
What we want is not a residency or a place to live, but rather a homeland
A nation that is ours and which fundamentally belongs to us
Harar is our homeland, no matter where we live, whether it is Canada, Addis Ababa, or England
Our proof for this is our Jagol, which counts thousands of years
Every single house inside the Jegol has a deed that counts hundreds of years. Do any of you have proof for your homes showing hundreds of years?
Harar is not just the Jegol. The people live inside the Jegol, and the surrounding area is their farm lands. They lived by farming in that area.
The first area around it includ trees such as coffee, chat, fruits and the like
Thereafter, there is grains, such as sorghum, barley, wheat, and the like
Thrid is the grazing areas
Therefore, the area surrounding Harar is vast.
The people of Harar lived by cultivating these land while living inside the Jegol
Thus how can you claim that one nationality to be Ethiopian, yet deny they have a land? Answer my question
We did not lose this right easily, we were massacred and our land was drenched with blood
Even then we were not dispersed willingly. It was the oppressive governments of the time that scattered us.
They brought their people and settled them in our midst.
If this change that has come now is a true change and truly stands for justice,
It must remove all such oppression.
it must remove all such oppression.
If it fails to remove such oppressions, Ethiopia has no future and there will be no unity and peace in it
This is the main danger
We argued a lot on this issue, and the next day they changed their view
They admitted that Harar belongs to the Harari people and that it is their land.
By Harar, it was not just meant the Jegol but rather includes the farming area as well
That has yet to be determined. I have passed along the information to Harar and it is being studied.