Document #1345523
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Author)
According to Human Rights Watch, due to the
relatively small size of the forces of the Oromo Liberation Front
(OLF) and the other rebel fronts, there is very little available
information concerning their recruitment practices (1991, 315).
While the following information may not directly answer your
request, it might be useful.
The Ethiopian government has alleged that
the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) forced children, some
as young as nine years old, to participate in anti-government
activities (Xinhua 29 Sept. 1990).
According to Africa South of the Sahara
1990, support for the OLF comes from Oromo peasants who oppose
government efforts to turn their associations into cooperatives
(1990, 455). Government arrests and harassment of Oromos in Addis
Abeba have brought the OLF greater support and more recruits
(Ibid.; Amnesty International 6 Jan. 1993). The OLF also increased
its membership with Oromo deserters from the Ethiopian National
Liberation Front (ENLF) (Human Rights Watch 1991, 70). According to
a report of the proceedings of the 3rd International Conference On
the Horn of Africa, the OLF leadership broadcast to Oromo soldiers
exhorting them to defect to the OLF (Centre for the Study of the
Horn of Africa 1988, 100). Oromos from the disbanded Mengistu army
joined the OLF and other Oromo armed-organizations ( Africa
Confidential 20 Mar. 1992; La Presse 22 Apr. 1992).
According to a report entitled
Evaluation of the June 21, 1992 Elections in Ethiopia, the
growth of "ethnicity-based armed groups" mushroomed after the fall
of Mengistu (National Democratic Institute 1992, 15). The OLF
benefited from this growth and increased the number of its fighters
by "three-fold". These recruits came mostly from areas with large
Oromo populations (Ibid.). While our sources consulted did not
mention any forced recruitment by the armed groups, one source
indicated that armed cadres of the OLF and the Islamic Front for
the Liberation of Oromia (IFLO) have forced people to demonstrate
against government soldiers (BBC 2 Apr. 1992).
The Voice of Oromo Liberation in Oromifa
also reported that the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) disarmed Oromos
who were fighting on the government side against the OLF (BBC 25
Sept. 1990). While this source did not state directly that the
disarmed Oromos were recruited into the OLF, it mentioned that the
OLA was "turning the guns against the anti-Oromo government"
(Ibid.). Additional and/or corroborative information on the
requested subject could not be found among the sources currently
available to the DIRB in Ottawa.
Africa Confidential [London].
20 March 1992. Vol. 33, No. 6. "Ethiopia: Power-struggles and the
Ethnic Weapon."
Africa South of the Sahara 1990.
1990. 19th ed. London: Europa Publications Ltd.
Amnesty International, Toronto. 6
January 1993. Letter.
BBC Summary of World Broadcasts. 2 April
1992. "Ethiopia EPRDF Accuses OLF of Inciting Peasants to Attack
Its Forces." (NEXIS)
. 25 September 1990. "Ethiopia's Oromo
Rebels's Military Claims." (NEXIS)
Centre for the Study of the Horn of
Africa. 1989. Proceedings (3rd International Conference on the
Horn of Africa. New York: University of New York.
Human Rights Watch. 1991. Evil
DayThirty Years of War and Famine in Ethiopia. New York: Human
Rights Watch.
La Presse [Montréal]. 22
April 1992. "Le gouvernement éthiopien a du mal à
maîtriser la situation intérieure."
National Democratic Institute for
International Affairs. 1992. An Evaluation of the June 21, 1992
Elections in Ethiopia. 1991. Washington: National Democratic
Institute for International Affairs.
The Xinhua General Overseas News
Service. 29 September 1990. "Ethiopian Rebels Accused of Abducting
Children." (NEXIS)
Attachments
Africa Confidential [London]. 20
March 1992. Vol. 33, No. 6. "Ethiopia: Power-struggles and the
Ethnic Weapon."
Africa South of the Sahara 1990.
1990. 19th ed. London: Europa Publications Ltd.
Amnesty International, Toronto. 6
January 1993. Letter. BBC Summary of World Broadcasts. 2 April
1992. "Ethiopia EPRDF Accuses OLF of Inciting Peasants to Attack
its Forces." (NEXIS)
. 25 September 1990. "Ethiopia's Oromo
Rebels's Military Claims." (NEXIS)
Centre for the Study of the Horn of
Africa. 1989. Proceedings (3rd International Conference on the
Horn of Africa. New York: University of New York.
Horn Reports [Ottawa]. 26 May
1993. Vol. 2. No. 5. Rest Bulletin. "Opposition at Home and
Abroad," pp.22-24.
[Ottawa]. 21 November 1992. Vol. 1. No.
1. Collin Legum. "Ethiopia: What About the Oromos?," pp.7-8.
Human Rights Watch. 1991. Evil
DayThirty Years of War and Famine in Ethiopia. New York: Human
Rights Watch.
The Indian Ocean Newsletter
[Paris]. 1 February 1992. No. 512. "Ethiopia: No Simple Solution in
Eastern Region," p.5.
La Presse [Montréal]. 22
April 1992. "Le gouvernement éthiopien a du mal à
maîtriser la situation intérieure."
National Democratic Institute for
International Affairs. 1992. An Evaluation of the June 21, 1992
Elections in Ethiopia. Washington: National Democratic
Institute for International Affairs.
The Xinhua General Overseas News
Service. 29 September 1990. "Ethiopian Rebels Accused of Abducting
Children." (NEXIS)