An Overview of the Sidama Resistance Movements

...Various armed groups began to wage armed struggle to uproot the remnants of the Abyssinian regime from the Sidama land. Notable among these fighters and Sidama freedom leaders were: Yetera Bole, Wena Hankarso, Hushsula Xaadisso, Mangistu Hamesso and Lanqamo Naare and Fiisa Fichcho...

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The Sidama people had never accepted the Abyssinian conquest peacefully. They made various attempts to repulse the invading army. The first group of intruders led by Menelik's general Beshah Aboye were annihilated by the Sidama army and civilians led by the ingenious King of Sidama called Baalichcha Worawo. The army of Beshah was totally defeated and left in disarray until the second wave of attack was launched on by Leulseged, another general of Minelik, with superior military force on the Eastern front of Sidama. It was Leulseged's army which was able to establish full Abyssinian domination in the Sidama land and assassinate Baalichcha Worawo, the last king of Sidama.

The pattern of brutal subjugation of the Sidama people continued in a relative calm until the Italian occupation of the country prior to the second World War. The Sidama resistance movement gained momentum during and after the Italian occupation. It was the brutal nature of the feudal system that robbed Sidamas of their complete freedom that forced them to take up arms at the historic opportunity of the Italian occupation. Various armed groups began to wage armed struggle to uproot the remnants of the Abyssinian regime from the Sidama land. Notable among these fighters and Sidama freedom leaders were: Yetera Bole, Wena Hankarso, Hushsula Xaadisso, Mangistu Hamesso and Lanqamo Naare and Fiisa Fichcho. However after Italy was driven out of the country by the allied forces during the second World War, the Abyssinian rulers got an upper hand and were able to temporarily silence the struggle of the Sidama people for freedom. As a revenge to the resistance movement waged during and after the second World War, the Abyssinian rulers massacred over 120,000 Sidamas during and after the war.

It was during the last decade of Haile Selassie's rule that the Sidamas were able to regroup and wage another relentless resistance struggle against the Abyssinian regime. The heroic resistance movement led by the well known Sidama patriot Takilu Yota, in the northern parts of Sidama, had shaken the foundation of Abyssinian rule in Sidama until the end of 1960s.

At the beginning of 1970s notable Sidama heroes and resistance leaders formed the first organized Sidama Liberation Struggle which mobilized Sidamas in the scale unknown before to wage an overt armed struggle against the military government. The founders of the first organized freedom fighting in Sidama were: (1) Amare Gunsa, (2) Yetera Bole, (3) Roda Utala, (4) Gawiwa Siriqa, (5) Fiisa Fichcho and (6) Teklehaymanot Simano. Amare Gunsa was the first Sidama to be beheaded by the military government while fighting for the liberation of Sidama. His head was taken to Addis Ababa to verify his death to the authorities. Yetera Bole and Roda Utala and most others also sacrificed their lives fighting for the liberation of the Sidama people.

Although the six heroes mentioned above played a fundamental role in founding the Sidama Liberation Organization there were many other notable Sidama freedom fighters who took the banner of the founders and continued to fight for the liberation of their people. This second group of Sidama heroes were: (1) Tumato Tula Bankuriso, (2)Ashe Hujawa, (3) Barassa Gosoma, (4) Dadafo, (Mote of Malga), (5) Gasara Sodo, (6) Kumo Gada , (7) Ginbo Basha, (8) Kafale Kinbichcha, and (9) Barasa Jofe. All of these people sacrificed their lives fighting for the freedom of their nation.

The Sidama National Liberation Organization, is the continuation of such heroic struggle of the Sidama people and as such works to ensure that past historic legacies of the heroes are never forgotten or hijacked by any individual or individuals who are power and benefit mongers.

The Sidama liberation struggle which was later named the Sidama Liberation Movement waged an armed struggle against the military regime for 7 years between 1977-1983 and fully liberated 3 high lands districts of Arbegona, Bansa and Aroressa in the South Eastern Sidama land from the Abyssinian yoke. In this struggle over 30,000 Sidamas perished. The name Sidama Liberatin Movement was given under the leadership of Woldeamanuel Dubale who led the movement's activities during this period.

In Northern Sidama the liberation uprisings of Borrichcha and Wotara Rassa gave another shock to the military leadership. In Borrichcha uprising the Sidama denounced the brutal military regime and its policies and took up arms to liberate themselves. However, due to its military superiority the derg was able to crush the uprising in August 1978. Over 500 people were killed during the one day intense fighting on the mountain of Borrichcha and its vicinities. The leaders of the Borrichcha uprising were: (1) Barasa Wotiye, (2) Bitre Gamada, and (3) Yetera Koome.

The same heroic resistance was met by the derg in the Wotara Rassa where the Sidama had shown stiff resistance against the military regime. Over 100 people were killed in Wotara Rassa fighting in 1978. The leaders of Wotara Rassa uprising were: (1) Dadafo, (2) Agana Jobisa.

The Sidama people had made tremendous and historic contribution to the weakening and the final down fall of the military regime. However, the fruits of the struggle of the Ethiopian peoples was hijacked by the Tigrean People's Liberation Front (TPLF) which imposed the monopoly of political domination over various peoples of the country. Once again the Sidamas and other Ethiopian peoples were robbed of their human and democratic rights and subjected to untolled injustice and economic plunder and exploitation.

Although the regime tries to deceive the international community by fabricating a radical constitution that "guarantees" the right to self determination and human and democratic rights of all peoples in the country and by producing various liberal policy documents on papers , none of them are put in to practice on the ground. Instead at present the regime is suppressing the basic human and democratic rights of oppressed peoples like Sidama, Oromo, ... with an open and violent means. The Awassa massacre of May 24, 2002 of innocent and peaceful Sidama demonstrators who demanded their basic rights of living and working in their own land, the Awassa town, is the clear demonstration of anti peace and anti democratic nature of the TPLF/ EPRDF's regime.

Thus the Sidama people are once again determined to continue to fight for their freedom. They can no longer tolerate the vicious Abyssinian rule whose salient feature is subjugation, denial of any basic human and democratic rights and economic plunder to deliberately impoverish and undermine oppressed peoples to tame them for eternal domination. Accordingly, the Sidama National Liberation Organization has devised a political program to strengthen and guide an age old Sidama Liberation struggle.

Source: http://www.sidamanational-liberation.org/history.htm