Oromos were not only denied of speaking their language and practice their culture. They were denied to declare that they are Oromo; they were forced to take a false identity of Amharaness by the ruling clique and intelligentsia.This has been the case mainly from Menelik II to the end of the dergue Oromo parents were often under duress to give their children Amharic-sounding names to give them better opportunities in their professional lives. Nevertheless, do you know what happened to King Mohammed Ali of Wollo? How about the numerous Oromo figures in history from Wellega who had to change their names in order to advance self interests in the face of Abyssinian domination in all areas of their lives?
It should be known that the attempt cultural domination had begun with the forced assimilation of the Oromo subjects of the empire pretty much as soon as the defeat of the Oromos was established. There was no political process or participation on the part of Oromos, other than those who had chosen to promote self interests and their own wealth from serving the crown in slave-like submission. There was no excuse for the monarchy to subjugate the Oromo culture & language other than achieving the aspirations of Emperors who had dreamed of destroying the 'uncivilized' Oromo culture, long before the reign of Menelik II. The nature of the rule of Haile Sellasie, for Oromos as well as others was that there was no opportunity for political criticism of policies by political opponents other than by operating via violent means. There is NO excuse for the suppression of an entire culture, no matter what the reason- this goes beyond the border of justification or even sanity.
The next step would be to justify ethnic cleansing to curb political opponents. There was an ethnic cleansing and resettlement campaign by Menelik II in the Arsi province, is that justifiable according to your logic? Were there even any 'political opponents' as such, in Arsi? Certainly not. The only opponents he had were those Oromos fighting for freedom and those who were a threat to his throne.
You see, the OLF has bent over backwards for peace, even willing to propose the possibility of reconciliation between the oppressed peoples of the south and those who served the interest of the northern rulers (primarily Amhara) in the past. The OLF has proposed this reconciliation, despite the vast and immeasurable amount of previous injustices perpetrated on the Oromo people- they are prepared to go forward on the basis of building an Ethiopia that respects the rights of the largest ethnic group in the horn of Africa. What you should pay special attention to here, is the fact that a united, peaceful Ethiopia is not maintainable if the rights of the Oromo and others are ignored.
You see, the OLF has bent over backwards for peace, even willing to propose the possibility of reconciliation between the oppressed peoples of the south and those who served the interest of the northern rulers (primarily Amhara) in the past. The OLF has proposed this reconciliation, despite the vast and immeasurable amount of previous injustices perpetrated on the Oromo people- they are prepared to go forward on the basis of building an Ethiopia that respects the rights of the largest ethnic group in the horn of Africa. What you should pay special attention to here, is the fact that a united, peaceful Ethiopia is not maintainable if the rights of the Oromo and others are ignored.

Those who say there must be united Ethiopia "at all costs" without caring about the cost in human rights and liberties, are only fooling themselves.
The OLF has tried many times over the last 14 years to bridge gaps between it and the government but nothing has worked, mainly because the Woyane did not agree to comply with the OLF's main policy- giving the Oromo people the right to self determination and the right to rule their lands without outside interference. Armed struggle is what brought to an end the previous injustces toward the Oromo people and is what won many of the rights the Oromo people have now, that they didn't have before.

Using language publicly and officially are intricately related and mutually inalienable. The repression of non Amharic culture (including language) and its effects on the non Amhara subjects of the empire state are evident and is the main proponent of the fact that Amharic culture & language is as dominant as it is today. You say we should be done about talking about oppression by now? News flash for you: Ethiopia with it's current borders was crafted only after a bloodbath and brutal subjugation of many different ethnic groups by an Abyssinian leader. Oppression has since shaped the relationship between the ruling minority and the majority who belong to non Abyssinian ethnic groups. The Tigre people, although related to the Amhara people, have also experienced oppression and a lowering of satus of their language also which had consequences in Eritrea and Tigray throughout the last century which I don't think I need to elaborate on.

The unequal relationship that successive governments have sought to maintain, at the expense of justice, have included efforts that begun on a large scale mainly with the reign of Haile Sellasie: Assimilation and by default, Amharanization. Kids were taught in schools that there are no such things as Oromos, or in other cases, that the four letter word beginning with 'G' do not belong to their lands but must have come from somewhere such as India or madagascar. You see, this was part of a major campaign to eradicate the Oromo language from the masses and in some cases this was successful- particularly in regions like Wollo and areas inhabited by the Tulama Oromo in central Oromia, and the Oromos in the locality of Addis Abeba specifically. The lack of success of the Amharanization campaign in educational and other public institutions such as hospitals and others, was largely due to the fact they were low in supply in rural areas- not because they were all of a sudden graciously given the liberty to speak their language openly in public. If the governments could have eradicated Oromos with their language and culture, they would have.