Regarding two statments from OLF

12/2/2006

Hagerfiker,

Thank you for the article you posted about OLF. I want you to know you almost hit the nail on the head. I am a proud Oromo from Ethiopia. I believe in the integrity of Ethiopia. Of course there are some who want to see an independent Oromia. That can not be denied. However it should be known by all Ethiopians that a few months ago in a meeting held in Minnesota by Oromo parties it became obvious that some Oromos were not happy about the soft position taken by OLF to accommodate the AFD. Some of the hard core OLF elements did not like the softening of the language employed by OLF. The OLF leadership explained that it was something that was needed in order to gain acceptance by the CUD. Some saw value in this approach while others rejected that position.

This explains the two OLF statements you spoke about in your commentary. The first one was designed to accommodate the anti softening of the OLF hardliners while the second was meant to keep the CUD’ites happy. This clumsy approach was by design and was meant to make everybody happy.

Thanks

Kumela K