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'Back to square zero': Ethiopia's Oromos rebuke Abiy at festival
Scores of people died in the October 2016 stampede that marred the celebration of Irreecha, a thanksgiving festival for Ethiopia's largest ethnic group, the Oromos.
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Oromo youngsters sing anti-government slogans during the celebration of Irreechaa, the Oromo people thanksgiving holiday, on the shore of a lake near the city of Bishoftu, Ethiopia, on October 3, 2021. (AFP/Eduardo Soteras)
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t the first sound of gunfire, Lelise Abdissa leapt into a ditch for cover, only to be crushed by other panicked revellers as Ethiopian troops clashed with protesters during a religious festival five years ago.
She awoke hours later in a hospital with a broken arm, but she was lucky: Scores of people died in the October 2016 stampede that marred the celebration of Irreecha, a thanksgiving festival for Ethiopia's largest ethnic group, the Oromos.
The carnage, triggered by soldiers using tear gas and live rounds to control anti-government protesters, was a major flashpoint in the years-long movement that swept Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Ethiopia's first Oromo ruler, to power.
But with Abiy now set to be sworn in for a new five-year term, the enthusiasm surrounding his appointment has long faded for some Oromos.
This weekend they made their frustrations known during two days of Irreecha festivities: on Saturday in Addis Ababa and on Sunday in the town of Bishoftu, traditionally home to the largest Irreecha gatherings.
Chanting "Down, down Abiy", they complained about the same issues that drove them into the streets in 2016: killings of Oromo civilians, mass arrests of Oromo youths and the incarceration of Oromo opposition politicians.
"Unfortunately we are back to square zero," Eyasped Tesfaye, a prominent Oromo activist and government critic, told AFP.
