UNSUNG NATION Of SIDAMA

The Sidama people fought hard to achieve self-determination. The struggle claimed thousands of lives during armed struggle in the Derg Marxist regime and beyond, including the non-violent struggle. The larger and more well-organized part of the Sidama people's freedom struggle was the armed struggle under the umbrella of the Sidama Liberation Movement (SLM). The Sidama people contributed the lion's portion to remove the fascist suppressive regime of Derg that committed war crimes and mass murder in Ethiopia. The Sidama people's heroism was unsung, though fought in a furious armed struggle under SLM against the military regime until its fall in 1991. Thus, thousands of SLM freedom fighters sacrificed their lives and blood during that armed struggle to regain the self-administration for the Sidama people. That decisive sacrificial struggle helped the Sidama nation to decide by referendum in 2019 to become the regional state. The Sidama history, culture, and language were neglected and underdeveloped. The new generation may need to maintain and watch closely the dearly begotten state of Sidama to prevent bias and corruption.