The National Dialogue Commission has reported the progress it has made during the past three months to the House of Peoples Representatives to which it is accountable during its 5th regular session. The report was presented by the Chief Commissioner Professor Mesfin Araya stating that agenda-gathering consultations in 615 districts across nine regional states and two city administrations have been completed. He said preparations for the upcoming National Dialogue Conference are underway including the selection of representatives to participate in it. Consultations with regional leaders and academic institutions have also begun to initiate the dialogue process. The challenges the Commission had to surmount have not been easy.
The next focus of the Commission according to the Chairman will be gathering agenda from federal parties, federal institutions, religious institutions and the diaspora. It is worth noting here that the National Dialogue Commission has been formed to contribute to ending the lack of consensus on how to go about leading this country away from past narratives that serve no one’s exclusive agenda or ambition and try to build a platform where all voices from every corner of the country are heard. This would contribute to creating a new practical culture of democracy focusing on national issues.
According to the Government’s Chief Whip at the House Tesfaye Beljige, the government has strong feelings and belief in resolving the major outstanding issues of the country through peaceful dialogue adding that support would continue.
Similarly, Speaker Tagesse Chafo also stressed the importance of the National Dialogue because it can address the causes of differences, misunderstands, and disputes contributing to the strong foundation of the country. He said the government pledged to strongly support the process.
The main challenge that dragged the operations of the Commission has been the security situation of certain parts of the country. Such uncertainty has affected the frank and protracted exchange of ideas and views. Such discussions need to be held in a totally peaceful atmosphere insulated from any kind of anxiety. That is why the Commission reported that it had to delay some of its planned activities to finish the job within the three years of the mandate accorded it.
In all other areas, the process of gathering the representatives of the people and identifying the agenda has been a success. According to the Commission, very fruitful views have been expressed and their words have been noted by the panelists. People have expressed their confidence in the works of the Commission and are anxious to see the final results of the operation. The Commission focused on national issues rather than affairs that can be taken care of locally.
At present, the Commission has said that the final operations of its activities will focus on the major regions of Amhara, Oromia and Tigray. Regarding the Oromia region many activities have been completed regarding the identification of the representatives supposed to take part in the agenda setting and selection while in the Amhara region, the first phase of the activities of the Commission is to begin soon.
During the presentation of the three-month report, the MPs posed questions regarding the time frame and the need to ask for a prolongation of the mandate as the work that remains seems to need more time than what is left. They suggested that a prolongation of the time may be advisable. An extension of the mandate would comfortably allow the Commission to wrap up its mission with full success.
The Commission has been urging all groups of people who still have reservations about its activities to openly take part in the discussions and find out the truth. The Commissioner has repeatedly reassured them of the peaceful atmosphere in which they can take part. He has excluded any intervention by the members of law enforcement due to their past records. They only need to disarm and come with peaceful intentions. They have the chance to present all their points of disagreement so that they will be considered and deliberated upon.
The Commission has also invited all civic organizations that have not been a party to the discussions held up to now as well as opposition parties that have expressed their reservations on the neutrality of the Commission. Some were expressing their opposition to the way the members of the Commission were selecting the participants of the discussions that are supposed to present ideas on the agenda selection.
They were alleging that most of the members selected were from the groups that have been supporters of the party in power and hence the risks of supporting whatever the government may direct them to do. However, members of the Commission have reiterated their neutrality and assured them that they were taking part in the Commission not for gain or political ambitions. Their aim is to contribute their share to the resolution of the perennial problems of the country such as the lack of democratic and free discussions that would eventually lead the nation to a consensus on fundamental issues thus taking out the country from the cycle of vicious and uninterrupted hostilities.
The basic aim of the National Dialogue Commission is to embrace all the views and ideas of the people bring them to the center and conduct deep discussions and deliberations with certain narratives cleared and done away with once and for all. This would help face the future with confidence instead of engaging in useless disputes about the past. This is a golden opportunity for all parties of the country to take part in national discussion forums and make their voice heard instead of staying on the margins of the discussions and then accusing the government of neglecting them.
The National Dialogue Commission intends to be the real representative of the nation and every group of people is embraced including those who are armed and still believe that they can achieve their political objectives with force. The Chief Commissioner Professor Mesfin Araya has noted several times that Ethiopians have experienced that this idea has only hurt us by causing incalculable suffering and loss of lives. The staggering cost in terms of resources has also been repeatedly underlined. The devastation that violence causes is in front of our eyes because we constantly see what happens when there are wars instead of sitting around a table and engaging in peaceful discussions as the entire civilized world is used to doing.
The experience that we have gone through over the past several decades has not made us progress even an inch. Rather it has been the cause of perennial regress keeping us among the least developed countries.
Democracy cannot be achieved in a day as academics in the field say, and we have had the chance to study the history of the modern world and see with our own eyes how wars and conflicts ravage countries and how peaceful discussions and fair and free elections move ahead countries to the desired and planned ends. Unfortunately, in many areas in Africa, people believe that democracy can be fully achieved instantly.
Scholars in the field say democracy is a combination of many things including a culture that grows to maturity through time and the commitment to respecting the law and avoiding the belief that objectives cannot be attained through the use of force. The idea of fulfilling one’s dreams through warfare has become outdated showing that peaceful struggle pays better by avoiding unnecessary sacrifice.
In the long run, the Commission believes that such discussions among the population contribute to building up a new tradition of ironing out differences through moderate and calm discussions. These discussions should be governed by certain rules such as respecting the ideas of others even without necessarily always agreeing with them. Disagreements can only be addressed through discussions in an atmosphere of peace and order. In this regard, such an experience should be welcome because it is a new beginning to do away with resorting to armed conflict on any issue without exhausting every available peaceful means in search of compromises and concessions. Undoubtedly, peace is a priceless item and should be protected and conserved and communities should not suffer due to the uncompromising stances of certain extremist groups.
Learning from our past mistakes and observing what other nations have done to come out of similar circumstances would be a huge step forward. We must realize that any attempts to resolve our differences using force or inviting insurrections and armed conflicts have not got us any remedy or solution to our problems except finding ourselves in deeper trouble and suffering untold losses and pain. The cycles of violence that we have been involved in even recently must teach us that the final result has been only more damage and more losses and no definitive final solutions to our long-standing issues.
This would be a huge burden for any country let alone for a country such as Ethiopia which avails limited resources and struggles to be economically independent. It is easy to guess that with total peace and stability in the country, there are conditions under which the country would go ahead and fulfill its development targets. Needing to divert the limited resources we have to fight conflicts here and there and waste much of the capital we manage to raise is a huge challenge. There are already several challenges in the country and having to face extra issues would just be unimaginable because it becomes a huge obstacle to overcome. That is why initiatives such as the National Dialogue Commission have been launched and here the entire population is urged to contribute to the discussions with its representatives by presenting what they consider are critical issues that affect their day-to-day livelihoods.
On the other hand, putting in doubt the credibility of the process will be an obstacle so that people would struggle to trust the process and many issues may remain unexpressed. This has been proved unfounded and the Commissioner has repeatedly invited every citizen to present their case to the body and note it as an agenda believing that the process is inclusive and all-embracing including those who are currently in the bush in opposition to the established order alleging that their interests have not been addressed.
For decades Ethiopians have not been able to agree on certain issues that have been continuously raised by certain sectors of the society alleging that they were neglected and sidelined. Especially now in the digital revolution period, many falsehoods have been very easily disseminated and such narratives have only bred more unfounded mistrust and more suspicion among communities.
There are indications that the current state of Ethiopia is becoming difficult for settling differences peacefully because of certain die-hard extremist views sustained by certain groups. Many political forces seem to have preferred to continue to adopt the way of armed struggle to claim and assert their legitimate rights. But this has been proved that it is not a viable method of settling differences.
According to the Commissioner of the National Dialogue Commission, every political force is reassured of having the opportunity to present their case candidly and discuss them without any threats of use of force or violence.
BY FITSUM GETACHEW
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD SATURDAY 23 NOVEMBER 2024
