1. Hassan Ibrahim, better known by his nom de guerre Elemo Qiltu, was an Ethiopian guerrilla commander and businessman, a prominent member of the Oromo nationalist movement and one of the first leaders of the Oromo Liberation Army.
17 Facts About Elemo Qiltu
1. 2.
Elemo Qiltu changed his name to Elemo Qiltu shortly after arriving in Aden.
3.
Elemo Qiltu never cared much about politics but his house became an occasional meeting place for Oromo nationalists and by 1966, this began to attract the attention of the local Ethiopian Consulate.
4.
Elemo Qiltu was suspected of financing enemies of the Ethiopian government.
5.
In 1967, a Harari businessman working for the Ethiopian government, visited Aden from Ethiopia and borrowed goods from Elemo Qiltu and promised to pay him back if he came with him to Addis Abeba, Ethiopia.
6.
Shortly after arriving in the city, Elemo Qiltu was arrested and accused of involvement in anti-Ethiopian terrorist activities.
7.
Elemo Qiltu underwent intensive interrogation, severe beatings and psychological torture which all led him to becoming more and more politicised.
8.
Elemo Qiltu was only let go after his friends raised money and bribed a prominent Ethiopian security chief.
9.
In 1968, Elemo Qiltu secretly went into Mogadishu, Somalia and attended a meeting of Oromo nationalists in which he was tasked with promoting Oromo nationalism to the Arab world.
10.
Elemo Qiltu moved back to Aden and formed an Oromo community association and managed to convince the city government of Aden to allow him to open a political office.
11.
Elemo Qiltu sought support from different Arab governments as well as the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Eritrean Liberation Front.
12.
Elemo Qiltu dispatched the force under the leadership of his friend, Abdul Karim Hajji Ibrahim, more commonly known as Jaarraa Abbaa Gadaa.
13.
Early in 1973, Elemo Qiltu was invited to attend a clandestine meeting of all major Oromo underground movement leaders in Addis Abeba.
14.
Elemo Qiltu began to secretly organize an armed force in the city and Hundee's father suggested he base the guerrilla force in an area called Guba Koricha in the Chercher Mountains.
15.
In May 1974, Elemo Qiltu took twenty men and made a base camp in the mountains.
16.
Elemo Qiltu surrendered but then blew himself up with a grenade when the government soldiers came to arrest him.
17.
Elemo Qiltu is considered a martyr by the Oromo people and he is immortalized in many poems by Sheikh Bakhri Sapalo and many Oromo nationalist songs.