Jawar Mohammed

Jawar Mohammed (Oromo: Jawaar Mahaammad; Amharic: ጃዋር መሃመድ; born 12 May 1986) is an Ethiopian-born American political analyst and activist.[2][3][4] One of the founders of the Oromia Media Network (OMN), Jawar was a leading organizer of the 2016 Ethiopian protests[4] and the key intellectual inspiration for the International Oromo Youth Association (National Youth Movement for Freedom and Democracy), popularly known as Qeerroo ("Youth").Jawar, an exiled activist in Minnesota helped spur big political changes in Ethiopia. he has credited to topple the previous government by organizing Qeerroo leading resignations of Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn in February 2018.[6][7][8]

Jawar Mohammed
Born
Jawar Siraj Mohammed

(1986-05-12) 12 May 1986
Dhumuga, Arsi Province, Ethiopia[1]
EducationStanford University (B.A.)
Columbia University (M.A.)
OccupationActivist[2][3][4]
Political partyOromo Federalist Congress[5]
MovementQeerroo
Spouse(s)
Arfasse Gemeda
(
m. 2009)
Children1

Early life and education

Jawar Mohammed was born on 12 May 1986[9] in the small town of Dhumuga, Arsi Province bordering Hararghe.[1][10] His father was Muslim Arsi Oromo while his mother was an Orthodox Christian Tulama Oromo; their inter-religious union was considered novel but was ultimately accepted by the community.[10]

Jawar began his formal education at a Catholic school in Asella former capital of the Arsi Province.[11] He then attended secondary school in Adama until 2003, when he was awarded a scholarship to study at the United World College of South East Asia in Singapore, from which he graduated in 2005. He described his experience at the UWC as awakening his consciousness to his own Oromo identity.[10] He then studied at Stanford University, graduating in 2009 with a degree in political science. He went on to pursue graduate studies in human rights at Columbia University, receiving a master's degree in 2012.[10]

Activism
A street was named after Jawar Mohammed in Asella in which he in surprise commenced the ceremony.
See also: Qeerroo

In 2006, while a student at Stanford, Jawar founded the International Oromo Youth Association (IOYA), intended to serve as an umbrella organization for Oromo youth groups around the world. The IOYA has engaged in advocacy in front of United Nations bodies in Geneva and held demonstrations to protest Ethiopian government policy.[12][13] Jawar first gained prominence as a writer and speaker on Oromo and Ethiopian politics, chiefly amongst the US-based diaspora.[14] He was a notable critic of the Oromo Liberation Front and their perceived failure to effect meaningful political change in Ethiopia or to advance Oromo interests.[10]

Jawar has been an important political coordinator for the Qeerroo youth movement, even in exile.[15] During the Oromo Protests, State security forces in Ethiopia have used excessive and lethal force against largely peaceful protests that have swept through Oromia, the country’s largest region, since November 2015. Over 400 people are estimated to have been killed, thousands injured, tens of thousands arrested, and hundreds, likely more, have been victims of enforced disappearances. The protests began on November 12, 2015, in Ginchi, a small town 80 kilometers southwest of Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, which is surrounded by the Oromia, home to most of Ethiopia’s estimated 35 million Oromo, the country’s largest ethnic group. The decision of authorities in Ginchi to clear a forest and football field for an investment project triggered protests in at least 400 different locations across all the 17 zones in Oromia. Security forces, according to witnesses, shot into crowds, summarily killing people during mass roundups, and torturing detained protesters. Because primary and secondary school students in Oromia were among the early protesters, many of those arrested or killed were children under the age of 18. It documents the most significant patterns of human rights violations during the Oromo protests from late 2015 until May 2016. Respected opposition leader Bekele Gerba is one of 23 senior members of the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), a legally registered political party, who have been charged under the counterterrorism law after spending four months in detention. The Ethiopian government has also increased its efforts to restrict media freedom – already dire in Ethiopia – and block access to information in Oromia. In March, the government began restricting access to social media sites in the region, apparently because Facebook and other social media platforms have been key avenues for the dissemination of information. The government has also jammed diaspora-run television stations, such as the US-based Oromia Media Network (OMN), and destroyed private satellite dishes at homes and businesses.[16] Students in Oromia, Ethiopia’s largest regional state, have been demonstrating against the government's so-called developmental “Master Plan” to expand the area of the capital, Addis Ababa, into Oromia. Students and other citizens, along with many Ethiopians living abroad, believe the move will result in direct persecution of the Oromo ethnic group, which has been systematically marginalized by the government over the last two decades, despite representing Ethiopia's largest ethnic group.[17] One of the rally is the Oromo grand protest across 200 cities in Oromia including its capital city Finfinne in August 2016.[18] Following the escalated protests, Ethiopian government censored internet, and satellite TV channels and accused him for leading the protest.[19][20][21] The government also carried out cyber-attack against him.[22]

After his interview with Aljazeera, in which he replied "I am Oromo first" for the question "Are you Oromo first or Ethiopian first?" Although his answer was a view of millions of Oromos, some Ethiopians have started campaign and requested Aljazeera to fire the journalist.[23] In August 2018, Jawar returned to Ethiopia as a hero. He had last been there in 2008. The government of Abiy Ahmed, an Oromo from the ruling coalition, dropped all terrorism charges against him, and Jawar transformed from an outside agitator, an activist, to a political figure with huge influence over the new government. Thousands of people lined the Addis Ababa streets, celebrating his return. Addis Ababa is in the heartland of the Oromia region and is one of the places where Jawar's theories about political activism came to life.[7]

In October 2019, he reported that, late at night, members of the police had attempted to force his security detail to vacate the grounds of his home in Addis Ababa; alleging they planned to later mobilize a mob and intimating they were doing so at the behest of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. The previous day, the prime minister gave a speech in parliament in which he accused "media owners who don’t have Ethiopian passports" of "playing it both ways," a thinly-veiled reference to Jawar, adding that "if this is going to undermine the peace and existence of Ethiopia... we will take measures."[24][25] The reports sparked nationwide clashes by the Qeerroo, leaving at least 67 people dead, including five police officers.[26][27] After weeks of clashes had ended, Abiy said the death toll had risen to 86.[28][29]

Arrest

On June 30 2020, Jawar was arrested by Ethiopian Federal police after an incident between Jawar's guards and police that resulted in the death of a police officer. [30] The incident happened when Jawar and his guards intercepted the transportation of the corpse of Hachalu Hundessa, a popular Oromo singer who was murdered, to his home town of Ambo, that lies 100 km west of Addis Ababa. Jawar wanted to have the funeral in Addis Ababa while Hachalu's parents and wife wanted to have the burial in Ambo.[31] 35 people, including Jawar, were apprehended along with eight Kalashnikovs, five pistols and nine radio transmitters. [31] Jawar was initially detained at Addis Ababa Police Commission premises and later found at an underground cell at an unofficial detention location near the Federal Police headquarters in Mexico Square on 14 July. [32]

References
  1. Gebissa, Ezekiel (Nov 9, 2019). "In defense of Jawar, a brilliant and dedicated agent of change". Retrieved Jul 6, 2020.
  2. "Report: Ethiopia continues malware attacks on dissidents in other countries". africatimes.com.
  3. "Prominent activist may challenge Ethiopian PM in 2020 election". aljazeera.com.
  4. Gardiner, Tom (20 August 2018). "Jawar Mohammed's red-carpet return signals Ethiopia's political sea change". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 September 2018. Few doubt the importance of Jawar in recent Ethiopian history. Perhaps more than any other single individual, he took the once-marginal politics of Oromo nationalism and made it mainstream.
  5. "I did it for Oromo: Jawar Mohammed explains decision to join Ethiopia opposition party". africanews.com.
  6. Borago, Teshome (19 August 2018). "JAWAR: from Oromo radical to Ethiopia's leader". Ethiomedia. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  7. Peralta, Eyder (December 6, 2018). "How An Exiled Activist In Minnesota Helped Spur Big Political Changes In Ethiopia". NPR News. Retrieved 18 October 2019. At 32, with a mischievous smile and a round, boyish face, he keeps the air of a startup CEO, but Jawar is without a doubt the most controversial man in Ethiopia.
  8. "Ethnic violence threatens to tear Ethiopia apart". The Economist. 2 November 2019.
  9. Mohammed, Jawar (12 May 2018). "Jawar Mohammed on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 25 September 2018. Today is my birthday.
  10. "Jawar Mohammed Biography: The Interesting Profile of an Influential Man". allaboutETHIO.com. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  11. "Oromo | Oromia | Gadaa.com-FinfinneTribune". Retrieved Jul 6, 2020.
  12. "Rally in D.C. for Oromo rights". April 3, 2007. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  13. "IOYA shines spotlight on child rights abuses in Ethiopia". OPride. 1 October 2014. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  14. Abichu, Siban (May 21, 2010). "Where is the Oromo Youth?". OPride. Retrieved 26 September 2018. However, I believe that youth like Jawar Siraj Mohammed, might be a hope in the future. Certainly, Jawar is a rising star Oromo young man of this time.
  15. Gardiner, Tom (13 March 2018). "'Freedom!': the mysterious movement that brought Ethiopia to a standstill". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 September 2018. He highlights, in particular, the work of Jawar Mohammed, the controversial founder of the Minnesota-based Oromia Media Network (which is banned in Ethiopia), in amplifying the voice of the Qeerroo even when the internet is down. '[Jawar] gives us political analyses and advice,' Haile explains. 'He can get access to information even from inside the government, which he shares with the Qeerroos. We evaluate it and then decide whether to act on it.'
  16. ""Such a Brutal Crackdown" Killings and Arrests in Response to Ethiopia's Oromo Protests". hrw.org.
  17. "Ethiopia Protest Videos Show State Brutality, Despite Tech Barriers". Jan 6, 2016. Retrieved Jul 6, 2020.
  18. "Data Analysis: The Roots of Popular Mobilization in Ethiopia". theglobalovservatory.org.
  19. "Ethiopia drops charges against prominent activists and media organisations". africanews.com.
  20. "Ethiopia". freedomhouse.org.
  21. "Global Voices Advox - Ethiopia Censors Satellite TV Channels as Student Protests Draw Global Media Attention". Dec 29, 2015. Retrieved Jul 6, 2020.
  22. "Ethiopia: New Spate of Abusive Surveillance Spyware Industry Needs Regulation". hrw.org.
  23. "Jawaar Mohammad maaliif biyyatti deebi'a?" [Why Jawar back to the country?]. bbc.com.
  24. Dahir, Abdi Latif (24 October 2019). "Protests in Ethiopia Threaten to Mar Image of Its Nobel-Winning Leader". New York Times. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  25. Tiksa, Negeri (24 October 2019). "Ethiopia activist calls for calm after 16 killed in clashes". Reuters. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  26. Peralta, Eyder; Dwyer, Colin (24 October 2019). "Nobel Peace Prize Winner Faces Protests After Activist's Late-Night Standoff". NPR. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  27. "Anti-government protests leave 67 dead in Ethiopia - police". TRT World. 25 October 2019. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  28. "Ibsa MM Itoophiyaa Abiy Ahimad: Lakkoofsi namoota lubbuu dhabanii 86 gahe". bbcafaanoromoo.com.
  29. "Ethiopia PM Abiy says death toll from recent protests rises to 86". reuters.com.
  30. "Ethiopia police confirm arrest of leading opposition politician". Ethiopia police confirm arrest of leading opposition politician. Retrieved Jul 6, 2020.
  31. "Protests over Ethiopian singer's death 'kill 81'". Jul 1, 2020. Retrieved Jul 6, 2020 – via www.bbc.com.
  32. "Ethiopia: Account for all people arrested after Hachalu Hundesa's killing". amnesty.org.
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