One should believe that nobody in Ethiopia is against peace by nature because the survival of each Ethiopian obviously depends on the prevalence of peace. Therefore understanding the value of peace and nurturing it obviously begins with each Ethiopian individual.
Thinking that the Ethiopian armed forces, the security and the police are the only custodians of peace in this country is wrong. Peace is maintained and nurtured when every citizen contributes his/her part in preserving peace. Therefore the value chain of peace begins with each individual.
I say so because a single gun tottering individual on the street can disrupt a peaceful situation of a crowd of people. This implies that peace is in the first place nourished and ascertained by an Ethiopian individual with a solid peace of mind. This again is the first step in traditional Ethiopian civility with a greater value in all forms of social consciousness including religions.
One important factor is that idleness, unemployment and brains vilified by unreasonable violence are always vulnerable to outright rage and irrational thinking that could finally end up in hostile mentality against everything socially cherished and acceptable.
Peace in communities is cherished by peace loving families who mentor their children on the importance of peace and show the hopes they have beyond the horizon.
Any political struggle would preferably meets its objectives in a least human and material cost when it is conducted in a peaceful and civilized manner without affecting the right to peaceful life for all citizens in Ethiopia.
In Ethiopia, current political struggles are being conducted in the name of constitutionality without due respect for the rule of law and violations of human rights robbing the lives of hundreds of people who are mostly honest citizens on the way to the market or traveling to visit friends.
Surprisingly enough, even those who are part of the disruption of peace in the country are talking about peace in the most eloquent manner. It is to be stressed that while Ethiopians have sacrificed their lives for the peace of the neighboring countries, their own peace is now at stake not by foreigners as usual but by the citizens themselves.
Ethiopia cannot afford to be in a chaotic situation when the country is grappling with multiple socio-economic and political challenges. The ramifications in the political panorama in this country are further complicated by outstanding socio-economic problems that are to be resolved urgently.
Now back to the old question I have mentioned earlier on the first few lines of my note. What are the major sources of the current challenges in the country? The problems are partially historical in the sense that the peoples of Ethiopia have lived with them for ages.
The other issue is that the Ethiopian politicians are not used to engaging in a professional and genuine political dialogue for peace while the recent history of the country seem to justify that freedom springs only from a barrel of gun.
Many think that peace is dished out to the peoples of Ethiopia only by the government while the other sectors of the political order are either engaged in blame shifting while the real problem remained unsolved.
Indeed there is a lot of rhetoric on peace for Ethiopia but stakeholders on peace have always been indifferent spectators while peace is in danger. But the point is, the issue of peace in Ethiopia is not a single phased phenomenon.
There are other factors that contribute to the absence of peace in some parts of this country. Peace is unthinkable in the prevalence of illicit trade and contraband in firearms and precious stones including gold.
The value of peace is correctly perceived through the respect for and the rule of law by every citizen and when public servants carry out their duties honestly and with all sincerity on public business time.
Now, when and how did our political parties contribute to the prevalence of peace in this country? This is a question for each one of them to answer. I am referring to more than 90 political parties in this country. Yes, every political party needs a peaceful situation to mobilize its membership and compete for seats in the parliament but what have they done to the peace of this country still struggling with poverty.
It is therefore very important to cast aside the politics of smearing and focusing on the bigger picture of nation building by respecting and promoting the value of peace and tranquility for Ethiopia.
The Ethiopian Herald November21, 2019
BY SOLOMON DIBABA
