Excerpt
This article unveils the Chilling Assimilation Blueprint of 1933 for the Oromo people, a calculatedly policy framework of Haile Selassie’s regime. Drawing from historical documents and translated accounts, it exposes how forced identity erasure was justified in the name of “national unity”. Far from being a relic of the past, the blueprint reveals patterns still echoed in today’s cultural and political dynamics. This is a call for reflection—not just for the oppressed, but for those who inherited denial.
#Aklilu Habteweld, #Aremawic, #Assimilation Blueprint, #Bahru Zewde, #Cultural Domination, #Destroy All Other Languages, #Forced Assimilation, #Haile Sellasie, #Missionaries' Education, #Oromo Identity, #Sahle Tsedalu, #Tedla Haile, #Verifiable History
A Note to the Reader
The following contains deeply distressing historical material, including references to cultural erasure and systemic oppression. Reader discretion is advised.
A Humble Plea
May this truth move you to transform your emotional energy into a constructive force for humanity’s sake. To those still in denial: the time has come to lay down unsustainable narratives and face the facts before us—with honesty, not hostility.
Introduction
Humans are capable of breathtaking creativity, love, and solidarity. But they are also capable of breathtaking cruelty—especially when fear of losing control clouds the conscience. Insecure leaders and empires often mask that fear through strategies of forced assimilation, cultural domination, or even the slow erasure of a people. The mere presence of “the other” becomes an unbearable mirror—reflecting their own fragility.
What you are about to read is not just historically chilling. It is a stark testament to how far systems of power can go when they are rooted in fear, dominance, and existential insecurity. That an entire ethnic identity—rich in culture, language, and worldview—could be deliberately targeted for erasure in the name of “unity” is a grotesque inversion of the word.
And yet, the fact that this truth is now being translated, told, and shared is powerful. Silence enables injustice. But courageously facing a crime—even one buried in the mist of time—plants the seeds of awareness that can grow into justice, healing, and renewal.
This article does not aim to inflame. It invites. It invites those resisting cultural erasure to stay steadfast and strong. But it also reaches out to those who may still be in denial, who carry inherited beliefs or national myths that cannot stand the weight of truth. To them we say: facing facts is not betrayal—it is liberation. Choosing truth over illusion is not weakness—it is moral strength.
Why Now?
The Information Age is upon us. What was once buried in dusty archives is being digitized. Information is instant. Literacy is rising. A new generation of inquiring minds is emerging—across all societies—and it is especially transformative for the Oromo nation, who have long been on a journey to reclaim their voice and restore their history.
The translation and public sharing of the document that follows is part of that journey. It is the result of tireless research, critical reflection, and the courage to confront uncomfortable truths.
History does not forget those who tried to silence it—it simply learns to speak louder.
Let facts and truth pave the path to justice, reconciliation, and lasting human harmony.
The Pervasive Identity Erasure That Followed
What is presented below is largely the preparatory phase in 1933—a chilling blueprint crafted by a foreign-educated mind upon returning home. But what followed was far more devastating: the plans took root and unfolded with ruthless efficiency, enforced through coercion and, where resistance held firm, through violence.
Identity erasure permeated every layer of life. The state religion was imposed as the default moral compass. Children were forced to adopt names whose meanings they did not know—often assigned as late as school registration. In some especially tragic cases, this absurdity extended all the way to graduation. There are accounts of announcers, in ceremonies where Emperor Haile Selassie was present, refusing to read out Oromo names—opting instead to replace them on the spot with random Amharic ones. That even a moment of personal achievement had to be filtered through the lens of identity suppression reveals the chilling depths to which this erasure campaign descended.
Even geography did not escape: indigenous place names were erased, rebranded with Christian holy names, then translated into Amharic as if to sanctify the loss.
When the blueprint declares:
The provinces or administrative divisions should also be reorganized in a way that is conducive to this campaign of destroying the identity,
—it is no exaggeration. The erasure was spatial as much as it was cultural. The cases of Oromo populations in Wollo in the north and Matakal in the west—whose identities today appear obscured beyond recognition—are tragic illustrations. Their geographic proximity to the imperial epicenter likely intensified the pressure to assimilate, while those farther from the core endured lesser, though still painful, levels of cultural dissolution.
In Conclusion…
Facts speak for themselves. What follows is drawn directly from historical documents—offered not to dictate your judgment, but to inform it. Unlike opinions or inherited narratives, facts and truths stand on their own, unshaken by belief or denial. They are not ours to bend.
Our duty is to recognize them, reckon with them, and, where needed, be transformed by them. We shall conclude with the following reminder:
What is called unity, when built on erased identities, is nothing but elegant violence.
A Chilling Assimilation Blueprint for the Oromo: The Document with Translation
A Note Regarding This Translation: The original Amharic text is reproduced verbatim, with all grammatical or typographical inconsistencies preserved. In the English translation, such errors have been gently corrected for readability—without altering the original meaning. The translation appears in alternating paragraphs to support transparency and allow readers to assess clarity and accuracy side by side.
በዚህች ሀገር ውስጥ የአባቶቹን ስርአት መልሶ ለማምጣት የሚፍገመገመው አሀዳዊ ሀይል ከጥንት እስከ ዛሬ ይገዳደረኛል (በመንገዴ ላይ ይቆማል) በማለት የሚያስበው ሰፋ ያለ የህዝብ ብዛት ያለውን የኦሮሞን ብሄረሰብ ነው።
A unified force that is trying to restore its traditional system in this country, and ever aware for this this challenge to be necessary, and one which has a large population is the Oromo nation.
ለዚህ ሲሉ በቤተእምነት የቅዳሴ መጽሀፍቶች ሳይቀር ኦሮሞን ከሰውነት ደረጃ በማውረድ አብዛኛው “ኦሮሞ አይደለሁም” እንዲል ተደረጎ ማንነቱን በመተው እነርሱን እንዲሆን አድርገውታል (ይህንን አባዜ በተለያዩ ብሄረሰቦች ላይ ፈጽመውታል) ይህ ለምን ሆነ ካልን መልሱ ኢትዮጵያ መቀጠል ካለባት “ኦሮሞ መጥፋት ስላለበት ነው። እንዴት ለሚለው መልሱን ቀጥሎ ባለው ገጽ ላይ እናገኛለን።
For this reason, even in church liturgies, Oromos have been reduced below human beings, and made them say that “I am not Oromo” by abandoning their identity and instead become “one of them”. (They have done this to various ethnic groups). If we ask why this happened, the answer is that if Ethiopia is to continue, “the Oromos must disappear.” We will find the answer to how, on the next page.
“..ለኢትዮጵያ .አንድነት ሲባል የኦሮሞን ማንነት ማጥፋት.”
“Erasing Oromo Identity for the Unity of Ethiopia”
ይህን ከላይ ያለውን ሀሳብ ለአጼ ሀይለስላሴ ያቀረበው በ1933 ከቤልጅግ አገር በማህበራዊ ሳይንስ በሁለተኛ ድግሪ ተመርቆ የመጣው አቶ ተድላ ኃይሌ ከውጪ ሀገር ትምህርቱ መልስ የትምህርቱ ዋና ጭብጥ አድርጎ ለኃይለስላሴ መንግስት ያቀረበው ምክረ ሀሳብ ነው።
The above idea was presented to Emperor Haile Selassie by Ato Tedla Haile, who graduated with a second degree in social sciences from Belgium in 1933, and presented it to the Haile Selassie government as the main theme of his study abroad.
አቶ ተድላ ኃይሌ በዘመኑ የኢትዮጵያ የትምህርት ሚኒስቴር ሚኒስትር የነበሩ በአቶ ሳህሌ ፀዳሉ እንዲሁም በጠቅላይ ሚንስትሩ አክሊሉ ሀብተወልድ በኩል ዓላማውን በስራ ላይ ለማዋል ተጠቅመዋል።
Ato Tedla Haile used the support of Ato Sahle Tsedalu, who was the then Minister of Education of Ethiopia, and Prime Minister Aklilu Habteweld to implement his plans.
ምን ነበር ዓላማው?
What Was the Purpose?
ፕሮፌሰር ባህሩ ዘውዴ “Pioneer of change in Ethiopia.” በሚለው መፅሀፋቸው እንዳስቀመጡት እንደወረደ ተቀራራቢ ትርጉሙ እነሆ:-
Here is the approximate translation as stated by Professor Bahru Zewde, in his book “Pioneer of Change in Ethiopia.”:
“የኢትዮጵያ ነገስታት ኦሮሞዎችን በተመለከተ ሶስት ዓማራጮች አሏቸው:-
Ethiopian monarchs have three options regarding the Oromo:
1ኛ ሁሉንም ኦሮሞ ሀብት አልባ ባሮች ማድረግ
1st. Turn all Oromos into propertyless slaves;
2ኛ ኦሮሞን ወደ አማራነት በመቀየር (Assimilation) ማንነቱን ማጥፋት
2nd. Destroy their identity by changing (assimilating) them into Amharas;
3ኛ እኛ በምንመድበውና ለእኛ ዓላማ የሚሰሩ ኦሮሞዎችን መርጠን በመሾም በእጅ አዙር እናስተዳድራቸው:
የሚል ሲሆን አንደኛውንና ሶስተኛውን አማራጮች መጠቀም ለአውሮፓ ቅኝ ገዢዎች ጠቃሚ ቢሆንም በእኛ ሁኔታ ጠቃሚ አይደለም። ስለሆነም የእኛ ዋና ዓላማ ሁለተኛው ምርጫ የኦሮሞን ማንነት ወደ አማራነት መቀየር (Assimilate) ማድረግ ይሁን “
3rd. We will appoint and manage Oromos who we select and work for our purposes:
while using the 1st and 3rd options were beneficial for European colonialists, it is not beneficial in our situation. Therefore, our main objective should be to change the Oromo identity to Amhara (assimilation), the second option.
እንዴት ሆኖ ስራ ላይ ይውላል ለተባለው ጥያቄ የአቶ ተድላ መልስ
Ato Tedla’s answer to the question of how this works:
1ኛ በስርዓተ ትምህርት በኩል የአማርኛ ቋንቋና የአማራ ባህል ኣንዲስፋፋ ማድረግ።
1st. Promote the Amharic language and Amhara culture through the school curriculum.
2ኛ አማርኛ የሚናገሩ ወታደሮችን በኦሮሞዎች ውስጥ ማስፈርና ከኦሮሞዎች ውስጥ የሚመለመሉ ወታደሮችም አማርኛ ብቻ እንዲናገሩ ማድረግ።
2nd. Stationing Amharic-speaking soldiers among the Oromos and ensuring that soldiers recruited from among the Oromos speak only Amharic.
3ኛ በኦሮሞ ምድር የሰፈሩ ወታደሮች የኦሮሞ ሴቶችን እንዲያገቡና አማርኛ መናገር እንዲያስተምሩ ማድረግ ሲሆን ከዚህም ጋር ማናቸውም የመንግስት መስሪያ ቤቶች ማለትም የአስተዳደር ፣ የዳኝነት፣ የምጣኔ ሀብት ድርጅቶች ሁሉ የኦሮሞን ማንነትን በማጥፋት ላይ እንዲያተኩሩ ማድረግ፣ ጠቅላይ ግዛቶች ወይም የአስተዳደር ክፍሎችም ለዚህ ማንነት የማጥፋት ዘመቻ በሚያመች መንገድ እንደገና እንዲሸነሸኑ ይደረግ ከዚህም በተጨማሪ የኦሮሞዎችን ብዛት ለመበረዝ አማራዎችን በተለያዩ የኦሮሞ ክፍሎች ውስጥ ማስፈር፣ ያስፈልጋል።
3rd. The soldiers stationed in Oromo lands should be forced to marry Oromo women and teach them to speak Amharic. In addition, all government departments, including administrative, judicial, and economic organizations, should be focused on destroying the Oromo identity. The provinces or administrative divisions should also be reorganized in a way that is conducive to this campaign of destroying the identity. In addition, it is necessary to settle Amharas in various Oromo areas to reduce the number of Oromos.
“ኦሮሞነትን ማጥፋት ዘመቻ በምንም ምክንያት የማይታለፍ (imperative) የመጀመሪያው አጀንዳችን ካልሆነና ማንነታቸውን ይዘው እንዲቆዩ ከተፈቀደ አማራና ኦሮሞ ወደፊት ሁለት የተለያዩና የሚቀናቀኑ መንግስቶች ሊመሰርቱ ይችላሉ” ካሉ ቦሀላ አቶ ተድላ በመቀጠል “ኦሮሞዎችን ዘመናዊ ትምህርትና የውጪ ቋንቋ ማስተማር የኦሮሞን ብሄረኝነት ስለሚያሳድግ ኦሮሞዎች እንግሊዘኛ ፣ ጣሊያንኛ ወይም ፈረንሳይኛ እንዳይማሩ ጥንቃቄ ያስፈልጋል”
“If the campaign to eradicate Oromo identity is not our first imperative and if they are allowed to retain their identity, Amhara and Oromo can form two separate and competing governments in the future,” he said. Ato Tedla continued, “Since teaching Oromos modern education and foreign languages will increase Oromo nationalism, care must be taken to ensure that Oromos do not learn English, Italian or French.”
የአቶ ተድላ ኃይሌ ምክር በምን መልኩ ወደ ተግባር ተቀየረ?
How was Ato Tedla Haile’s advice turned into action?
አቶ ተድላ ኃይሌ እንዲህ ይላል “ይህንን የኦሮሞ ማንነት (Assimilate) መለወጥ ደግሞ ንጉሳችን ዳግማዊ ምንሊክ ለእነ ራስ ጎበና፣ ለእነ ፊታውራሪ ኃብተ ጊዮርጊስና ….ለእነ ደጃዝማች ገ/ እግዜብሔር ሞሮዳ ስልጣን በመስጠትና ኦሮሞነታቸውን በመለወጥ አሳይተውናል”
Ato Tedla Haile says, “This transformation of Oromo identity (assimilation) was also demonstrated by our King Menelik II by giving power to Ras Gobena, Fitawrari Habte Giorgis, and… Dejazmach Gebre Egzabiher Moroda and changing their Oromo identity.”
ከፕሮፌሰር ባህሩ ዘውዴ ጋር እንቀጥላለን።
We’ll continue with Professor Bahru Zewde.
“Entrusting the education of the Oromo to the English, the Italian or the French could therefore only end up in nurturing Oromo nationalism.” (2005 :page 132-140).
“Entrusting the education of the Oromo to the English, the Italian or the French could therefore only end up in nurturing Oromo nationalism.” (2005 :page 132-140).
በአቶ ተድላ ምሁራዊ ምክር :- የተጠናከሩት በዘመኑ የኢትዮጵያ የትምህርት ሚኒስቴር የነበሩት የአቶ ሳህሌ ፀዳሉ ደግሞ በ1933 የሚኒስተርነት ስልጣናቸውን ተጠቅመው የሚከተለውን አዋጅ አወጁ።
The intellectual advice of Mr. Tedla: Strengthened by Mr. Sahle Tsedalu, who was the Minister of Education of Ethiopia at the time, in 1933, he used his ministerial power to issue the following proclamation:
” ያገር ጉልበት አንድነት ነው አንድነትንም የሚወልደው ቋንቋ ልማድና ሃይማኖት ነው። ስለዚህ ኢትዮጵያ ቀዳማዊ መሆኗን ለማስመስከር አንድነቷንም ለማፅናት እስከ አሁን በቆየው ልማዳችን ተማሪ ቤቶቻችንን አስፍተን ቋንቋችንንና ሃይማኖታችንን በመላው በኢትዮጵያ ግዛትበአዋጅ እንዘርጋው ይህ ካልሆነ እስከመቼውም ድረስ አንድነት አይገኝም ።
“The strength of a country is unity, and the language, customs, and religion that give birth to unity are its language. Therefore, to prove that Ethiopia is the first and to strengthen its unity, let us expand our schools and spread our language and religion throughout the Ethiopian territory by proclamation, in accordance with our tradition. Otherwise, unity will never be achieved.”
በመላው በኢትዮጵያ ግዛት ለስጋዊና ለመንፈሳዊ ስራ ያማርኛና የግዕዝ ቋንቋ ብቻ በህግ ፀንተው እንዲኖሩ ሌላው ማናቸውም የአረማውያን ቋንቋ ሁሉ እንዲደመሰስ ማድረግ ያስፈልጋል” በማለት አቶ ሳህሌ ፀዳሉ በመቀጠል ” ሚሲዎኖች ትምህርት ቤቶች እና ሆስፒታሎችንም ቢሆን እንዳይከፍቱ መከልከል ያስፈልጋል ከከፈቱም የውጭ ቋንቋ መማርም ቢሆን እድሉ ለኢትዮጵያዊያን መሰጠት አለበት”ይላሉ።
“It is necessary to erase all other Aremawic [primitive] languages [includes Afan Oromo] so that only Amharic and Ge’ez languages can be legally used throughout the Ethiopian territory for both secular and spiritual purposes,” said Ato Sahle Tsedalu, adding, “Missions should be prohibited from opening schools and hospitals. If they do open schools, they would insist “learning a foreign language should be given to Ethiopians.”
Related References
- Richard Pankhurst, Tedla Haile and the Problem of Multi-Ethnicity in Ethiopia, 1998, Northeast African Studies Periodicals.
- Olii Boran, How a False Unity of Mythical Ethiopia Was Manufactured Through Annexation and Assimilation, April 9, 2025, OROMIA TODAY.
- Kumaa Daadhii, When Language Colonizes: The Amharic Illusion of Progress, April 13, 2025, OROMIA TODAY.
- Olii Boran & Ed Chapman, The Systematic Dispossession of Oromia: Language Status Denied, Lands Mythologized and Engineered, Names Rewritten, and a Mountain Nearly Claimed, April 1, 2025, OROMIA TODAY.
- Elemoo Qilxuu, When Falsehoods Wear Fancy Fonts: The Absurdity of Manufactured Maps, April 17, 2005, OROMIA TODAY.
- Olii Boran, The Myth of Ethiopia’s Historical Continuity: A Political Invention Disguised as Legacy, March 17, 2025, OROMIA TODAY.
- Yadessa Guma, Why Is No One Talking About the Dissolution of the Ethiopian Empire?, February 20, 2025, OROMIA TODAY.
- Editorial, Armed Struggle Is the Only Path to Emancipation for the Oromo People, January 18, 2025, OROMIA TODAY.
- Elemoo Qilxuu, ETHIOPIA WILL NEVER BE AT PEACE WITHOUT RESOLVING THE OROMO QUESTIONS, December 2, 2024, OROMIA TODAY.
- Elemoo Qilxuu, How the Educated Elites Lost the Plot as the Tide is Turning: Using Education to Inflame Rather Than Heal, November 13, 2024, OROMIA TODAY.
- Elemoo Qilxuu, ETHIOPIA’S 6 BIG LIES FUELING ITS IMPENDING COLLAPSE, March 13. 2024.
- Roobaa Hawwaas, A Missed Opportunity for Peace in Oromia, November 23, 2023, OROMIA TODAY.
