Observers say the decision by TPLF to let OPDO come out and say, “the Master Plan has been cancelled” is a political decision, not a legal one – meant for a temporary gain to calm the Oromo Protests. In a legislative-based Federal arrangement, laws are promulgated (proclaimed) or reversed by the legislative body, not by a member party of that legislation. In the U.S., for instance, laws are proclaimed by the Congress; once a law is proclaimed by the Congress, a member party of the Congress, say the Democratic Party, does not have the legal grounds to come out and cancel any law on its own, not even at the party-level. Once proclaimed, it takes another law by the legislative body to cancel (or reverse) an existing law, the observers have added.
According to the latest report, Caffee Oromiyaa (the Oromia State Parliament) and the Addis Ababa City Council (the two legislative bodies responsible for the Master Plan law) have not reversed the Master Plan law. As far as the laws are concerned, the Master Plan law is still in effect.
Observers fear that, TPLF’s decision to let OPDO come out and declare “the Master Plan is cancelled” shows that the Master Plan will resume when and if the Oromo Protests calm down in the future. It is to be remembered that the “Master Plan has been cancelled” story has been circulating since May 2014; quite recently in December 2015, the EBC (the state-owned media) declared, not only the Master Plan, but the Master Plan Office had also closed down for many months. However, this story did not agree, at the time, with a report that, as early as November 2015, more than 600 farming families in Sululta were evicted from their farmlands to implement the Master Plan.
It is not clear why TPLF approached OPDO to have the Master Plan law “dismissed,” while it was the legislative bodies of Caffee Oromiyaa and the Addis Ababa City Council that had proclaimed the Master Plan law. Observers further add that, the problem with the Ethiopian political system is just this: lack of genuine federalism; the “Master Plan is cancelled” story just exposes the lack of federalism and the little regard TPLF bosses at the Federal level have for the State of Oromiyaa to decide on its own affairs.
Thousands of Oromo farmers have already been evicted off their properties in the vicinity around Sheger (Addis Ababa/Finfinne) for the Master Plan. Since Oromo protests broke out against the Master Plan in April 2014, more than 200 Oromo persons have been killed; more than 2,000 Oromo persons have been maimed; more than 35,000 Oromo persons have been put in inhumane detention centers across Oromia and Ethiopia; and the whereabouts of more than 800 Oromo persons are unknown. The so-called “Master Plan is cancelled” story does not mention how the already-evicted farmers will get their land back, or how those who died, got wounded, got arrested or disappeared will get justice and freedom, according to observers.