Back in 1991, soon after the rebel forces in Eritrea and Ethiopia took power in Asmara and Addis Ababa respectively, there was widespread speculation as to whetherthe two respective leaders of the rebel movements, Meles Zenawi and Issayas Afewerki might share that year’s Nobel Peace Prize for ending the 30 year-long war in Ethiopia. Yet, hopes were soon dashed as the two would-be candidates turned from best friends to worst enemies in a record time. And between 1998-2000, the two countries fought a trench war that brought to mind the atrocities and horrors of the trench wars in Europe during the First World War.
Estimates varied but most of them agree that close to 100,000 soldiers were killed on both sides and the devastations were equally terrible and required years of efforts on the Ethiopian side to overcome while Eritrea remained in limbo as its internal politics went into a 20 year hibernation that continues to this day. As a matter of historical surprise or comic denouement, depending from which perspective one may look at this event, the young man who fought at the Badme front in that infamous war in the border town of Tigray at that time found himself winning this year’s Nobel Peace Prize mainly for engineering and executing the peace process with the one time arch-enemy Eritrea.
History sometimes manifests itself either as a tragedy or as a farce and rarely as a welcome surprise.
Last week’s Nobel Peace Prize went to Ethiopia PM Dr. Abiy Ahmed by virtue of his contribution to the peace process and more particularly for brokering and realizingመ the historic peace with neighboring Eritrea. The honor is well-deserved not only for the premier but also for the people of the two countries who suffered most and overcame the pasychology of mutual hostility that was deliberately nurtured for two decades.
They are the real heroes for enduring untold miseries. The peoples of the two countries showed not only enthusiasm and cooperation for the peace process but also a rededication to never commit the same mistake in the future. So, greatest appreciation should go to the peoples of the two countries for helping make possible what was once thought not only impossible but also beyond the reach of any politician even at the regional and international levels.
There were a series of steps taken by the US, Rwanda, the former OAU and the international community to prevent that devastating and senseless war. Yet, all of them failed to preserve peace.
In the early phase of the Ethio-Eritrean conflcit, mediation efforts by the then OAU, the UN, the Western Powers and by prominent international perosnalities all failed not only to avert the disaster but also achieve peace after the debacle. Barely a year ago, PM Abiy succeeded where everyone failed. One may attribute this to luck, personal insight, history, time or conjecture; but Dr. Abiy has proved how something apparently unattainable can be turned into a success story if you give enough focus and determination. He seized the right time to take the right step and everything clicked into its proper place.
The Algiers Agreement that followed the catastrophe came at a high price and remained in limbo as the two sides created untenable pretexts not to abide by its terms. And then, two decades passed without a single step being taken by either side. And then as if by miracle, came the 2018 breakthrough that caught the two countries and the world by surprise. Nobody expected the leaders of the two countries to see eye to eye once again unless a new generation
of leaders emerged and took power in
both countries. The world looked at what happened with stunning disbelief and what happened next has already become history. The progess on the peace front between Eritrea and Ethiopia might be slow or far from its logical culmination. Yet, the peace process has so far held and the details of the final agreement are being written in order to regulate relations between the two countries in the future. Events have indeed proceeded with breakneck speed because the people of the two countries had already embraced one another despite the immense sufferings that followed the carnage. Deep down they know they are not responsible for the bloodshed and that tomorrow held hopes whatever the depth of tragedy yesterday witnessed.
The Nobel prize is well-deserved for another reason. When former US president Barack Obama won the prize as he was barely coming to power following the Democratic Party victory at the 2016 elections, he had no peace program to offer. His winning the Prize was apparently symbolic, reflecting the hopes and expectations off world that
the first black president in the White House might find a solution to the deep divisions within American society between blacks and whites, rich and poor, and carefully handle regional conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere. Well, whether Obama lived up to the hopes of the Nobel committee might be debatable.
This question might also be divisive. It is up to historians to decide. Anyways, the Noble Peace Prize gave a boost to the first black American president in US history and might have also influenced his policies on war and peace right after he took office. One example might be his endorsement of the nuclear agreement between Iran and the Western powers that he accepted and worked hard for. Any comparison between past winners of the prestigious Prize would be farfetched and all Prizes are meritorious in the sense that they served some causes that range to regional or world peace, environmental protection or gender equity to some other global agenda. Dr. Abiy Ahmed won the prize for making possible something that many world leaders had failed to achieve, namely bringing peace between Eritrea and Ethiopia.
In this volatile region of ours, peace is always precarious and many fingers are itching to start this or that conflict on the meagerest pretext. South Sudan is agood example. Kirr and Machar could not agree on a unified program for lasting peace simply because of their rival egos. Maybe they will soon learn one or two lessons from this years Nobel Peace Prize that might also inspire the two rival leaders to work hard for peace so that they might be designated candidates, why not, for the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize.
You are awareded the Nobel Prize not only for discovering a planet, inventing a smarty machine or a drug against a deadly virus or for writing the best book. The Nobel Peace Prize is most important because peace is most important in the order of priorities. New inventions in medecine,physics or chemistry or new books in literature pale by comparison to the opportunities peace provides as a precondition for human survival. Without peace, no book, no discovery or no breakthrough in science is
possible. That is why that the prize is looked at with covetous eyes. Many aspirants might agree or disagree with the Nobel Committee but there is only one winner while other aspirants have to wait some other time, doing their excellent works in the protection of the environment, in gender equality, and protecting minority rights.
Nobel Peace Prizes are not only granted to extraordinary personalities who do extraordinary thngs. They are also granted to ordinary individuals who do extraordinary things. The teenage girl Malala Yusufzide from Afghanistan was the best example. A frail girl shot by the Taliban in her home country who survived fatal wounds to become champoins of girls’ education. Wasn’t that a simple yet beautiful story by a simple girl who had not even attained secondary edaction at that time?
How about Mother Tereza? The frail old woman who had an almost saintly predisposition even before she went to Culcutta to deliver her miracles to the poor, the ailing and the downtrodden of the Indian city. If there was a Nobel Prize for Love, the Albanian-born Mother Tereza deserved one.
Coming back to this year’s Nobel Peace Prize we are told that there were hundreds of individual candidates and dozens of organizations that were short-listed for this once-a lifetime honor. Dr. Abiy Ahmed’s victory should be seen as the victory of all the peaceloving peoples of Eritrea and Ethiopia because the dream came true by virtue of their suffering and their patience and hopes.
There is an apparent mismatch between Dr. Abiy’s domestic and regional achievements. His peace initiatives have delivered more at regional level than at the domestic level. Yet, the Prize was apparently given to him for encouraging him to tackle the domestic challenges by using his regional experiences as inspiration. So, it is a Prize for hope and great expectations in the few months to come when the national elections in Ethiopia are anticipated to usher in a new era of lasting peace, stability and progress. In this sense his biggest test is yet to come when he would overcome internal divisions, transcend ethnic loyalties and prove that he is indeed a leader of all Ethiopians.
He is expected to end the the conflcits that have escalated since he came to power and normalize the country with lasting peace. His greates challenge will probably be his ability to deliver his promises as far as free elections and democracy are concerned. If he delivers a peaceful, clean, plausible, and democratic outcome, he will certainly write another chapter in the country’s modern history worthy of something more prestigious than even the Nobel Prize.
He has already made possible what looked impossible a couple of years back. He is now facing the greatest challenge of his transitional mandate. The greatest surpirise will certainly come the day a peaceful and clean election will either corroborate his leadership or somebody else from some other party will enter the prime minister’s office. And if this happens, it would indeed be more valuable than a Nobel Prize and more breathtaking than a miracle.
The Ethiopian Herald Sunday edition October 20, 2019
BY MULUGETA GUDETA
