A couple of days back I learned that a National Peace and Reconciliation Conference will take place here in Addis Ababa and decided to express my expectation from this conference to be held from September 7 to 8.
As I said, the Ministry of Peace, National Peace and Reconciliation Commission and the steering committee could have their bigger expectation but as a citizen, I think I could think of some expectation that I have.
Before going into the details, I would like to define how I would use the three most important concepts including consensus, reconciliation and peace. These three concepts internally bisect each other but they also differ in their essence.
The consensus is interrelated with having common agreement or interest on major issues of local, regional and country-level issues. The consensus is about agreeing to implement some national agenda for the common good of all while it cannot be a total agreement by all on certain issues. When a consensus prevails, there are still some who decline to accept the point on which a consensus is reached but that does not mean that they would not abide by the issue charted out in consensus.
Reconciliation implies a process of resolving a problem by foregoing issues of difference and focusing on agreeing to tune down differences for the sake of the unity of purpose.
Peace has several meanings. Peace does not necessarily mean the absence of war or total tranquility. For instance, it could be difficult to expect peace from an individual who is hungry for justice on a certain personal issue. This person may not throw stones or get into a fight with someone who comes across him. However, he could be very rebellious in his heart while he seemingly keeps quiet and feels timid. This also applies to a larger social formation or the entire population in a country. There is no absolute peace or extreme level of war. Peace could be disrupted any time while conflicts and wars can never be infinitesimal.
Consensus building and reconciliation add up ensuring peace and stability in any country. This implies that peacemaking is a process and not an outcome of a single action.
Let me come to the main point I want to take up in this text. Ethiopia is now ridden with conflicts in an ebb and flow fashion. While new conflicts subside another conflict flares up in a different part of the country.
Why is this so? I think that no nation or nationality has oppressed the other one in this country. Oppressive leaders have employed a divide and rule policy and have tried to play one nation or nationality against the other. The same policy is being used by narrow nationalists and chauvinists of today to disrupt the peaceful development in this country. I think the upcoming conference will be an excellent opportunity to reverse this trend of balkanization and spreading of hatred and unfounded biases.
Peace, of course, cannot automatically spring only from conferences prepared with a genuine quest for peace. For peace to prevail in Ethiopia, every individual citizen should make peace with himself or herself. Peace needs to be ensured in a family than in a community and larger zone and regional settings. Peace in effect comes when the rule of law and human dignity is respected accordingly.
Yes, everyone talks about peace but committing oneself and the entire country for peace is a process and not just a single set of activity. Peace also comes as a product of the prevalence of equity in the distribution of resources generated in this country. Some think that some regions are far better served than others or some ethnic group has gained a lot from this and that but the ordinary Ethiopian anywhere in the country demands a better life, better service.
The government is indeed doing all it can to ensure peace and stability in this country but any government can ascertain peace only in the context of a constitutionally provided job description. I expect that this conference will be a good opportunity to create awareness on the role of all elements of the political system in ensuring a sustained peace that the peoples of Ethiopia are craving for. I also hope that it would be a forum for heartfelt forgiveness among the leaders at all levels in the country.
The other most important aspect of the National Peace and Reconciliation Conference is the solidarity to be expressed on the conference by leaders of Rwanda and Kenya. President Paul Kagame and President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya and other dignitaries who are expected to preside over the conference. The very presence of these leaders indicates the extent to which their government is supportive of peace and reconciliation in Ethiopia.
I feel that when African leaders come to us to share their experience on how they have managed to ascertain peace in their respective countries, they will certainly expect a meaningful practical response from the people and government of Ethiopia.
I also expect that persons with adequate knowledge on traditional peace and reconciliation mechanisms in Ethiopia will be able to deliver working papers that could be used to assist in beefing up the practical resolutions expected to be drawn at the end of the conference.
On the other hand, I believe that the international community is also indebted to Ethiopia mainly because this country has been fully engaged for ages in maintaining international peace and security under the auspices of the UN by deploying its peacekeeping forces in Africa and Korea.
I hope that the National Peace and Reconciliation Conference will not be limited at the federal level but would also be conducted at the regional, zone, district and village levels.
Although not expressively provided by the steering committee, I also expect that a national charter will be signed between all concerned stakeholders in the country by way of expressing their full commitment to contribute to lasting peace and reconciliation in the country.
Again, I would like to stress that the maintenance of peace is highly critical for Ethiopia. Everything depends on our commitment to our peace at all levels. For Ethiopia, the future is today and the country’s youth should not be made to inherit a chaotic and divided country in which hatred and animosity would prevail. The cornerstone for peace and reconciliation needs to be placed today to give a better life for the future generation. In my opinion, the maintenance of peace and security of this country certainly rests on the youth of the current generation.
The youth in Ethiopia, need to engage in a united action regardless of their ethnic identity. The democracy they call for can only come when peace is ensured and development is accelerated to meet their demands. Violence will only end up in destroying the future of the Ethiopian youth.
As I have stated earlier, I am personally expecting a lot from this conference which I assume will also create a favourable environment for another round of cultural exchange among the peoples of Ethiopia on the sidelines of the conference. I also wish that the event would attract international media outlets that would hopefully conduct full coverage of the event.
The Ethiopian Herald August 24/2019BY SOLOMON DIBABA
