Oromo people
Criticism of the OLF and its ideology has been routinely countered by the organization and many Oromo intellectuals as being Ethiopian propaganda designed to delegitimize the movement. Ethiopians, mainly from the Amhara ethnic group, have termed Oromo nationalism and self-awareness as counter to the Ethiopian state. As a result, Oromo people and organizations that associated themselves with Oromos were targeted as anti-unity and subject to oppression. The OLF was created as a defence against this type of targeted subjugation of the Oromo people.