
BY YOHANES JEMANEH
ADDIS ABABA – The law enforcement operation undertaking in Tigray against junta will pave the way for regional integration since the junta has been a critical hindrance in the process, said Former Deputy Speaker of Kenyan Parliament.
In his conversation on the Horn of Africa TV streamed on 4 December 2020, Former Deputy Speaker of Kenyan Parliament Farah Maalim said that the vanquish of the junta by the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) is an important stride to the regional integration of the Horn as the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF) junta has been hindering the course through disrupting discussions at home and abroad.
The TPLF has made a stratified society divided by ethnics at home and even abroad. “These guys are basically cannibals they are people who only know how to destroy a nation and unarmed civilians,” he stated.
They [TPLF] divided Somalia along some small clan families. People who speak the same language became divided one to five by the junta, he noted.
The junta has been doing this in Somalia by the name of stabilizing the country through fighting against Al-Shabaab, as to the ex-Deputy Speaker.
Fortunately, the vanquish gained over the junta has created a sense of relief to Ethiopia and the Horn, the region that has been seeking for peace utmost, he pointed out.
He believed that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed will bring a genuine federalism that prevail peace to the country. And then, strong mutual cooperation is a crucial mechanism to gather the horn for regional integration, he indicated.
As to him, the integration should be inclusive with participation of all countries including Sudan and Kenya.
The boundary between Eritrea and Ethiopia also has got to be done in a manner that maintains the free movement of goods and people, he said.
The Horn has a possibility of time page, he stated. “We are here together in this part of world and we will always be together since we live as brothers and sisters. And we will turn a new page the same way Europe did after the Westphalia.”
Mentioning the Second World War experience in Europe, Maalim said, whoever imagined the formation of the European Union that embraced French and Germany together after that whole mess has happened.
Abiy has acted in the best possible way as a nationalist to enforce the law, he expressed. “And I think he’s going to do big things not only for Ethiopia but for the region.”
Maalim percepted that the prime minister will continue doing what needs to be done to stabilize the country and the region by removing all bottlenecks and therapying mind fields that were created by the TPLF.
“I’m actually amazed how he survived from the TPLF that held all the instruments. They were there as the security of the prime minister’s resident and even they sent a contingent military to kill him though the ‘smart man’ wisely sent the military back after few pushups,” according to him.
He can achieve peace through prosecuting criminals and facilitating reconciliation, the former Deputy Speaker underlined.
The Ethiopian Herald December 6/2020