Of late, taking accounts its irreplaceable role in addressing the
public discord and grievances , The Council of Ministers proposed the
establishment of National Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC)
By the same token, having discussed the draft bill of this commission
thoroughly, the House of Peoples’ Representatives recently referred the
bill to the pertinent standing committee for further scrutiny.
The commission is believed to be more similar to the South African
and Rwandan’s TRC that came to exist after the end of apartheid and
genocide respectively.
The proposed commission will be under the auspices of the Prime
Minister and it lasts for three years.
Many fellow citizens may wonder why such commission needs to
be set up in the first place at this particular period of time.
It is crystal clear that Ethiopia is right-now at the stage of deep
political reforms and so there should be no excuses that derail the
ongoing reform pace by any means.
Moreover, establishing the TRC will give impetus to the reforms
as it cures the wounds of the victims of the political and economic
misdeeds as well as human right abuses. This is because the offender will
publicly ask forgiveness for the crimes he/she committed unknowingly
or knowingly against the victims .
The same is also true that the offender has to receive clemency
once he/she admits his/her wrongdoings.
But, one must not forget that those who are proven guilty of grave
human right abuses and grand corruption won’t be entitled to such
rights.
Yes, the commission will be the boon of stability to Ethiopia so long as
it fulfills its responsibilities free from political biases and consists elders,
religious leaders, public figures and the like.
Truly speaking , some irresponsible individuals have joined the cliques
that are working on reversing the irreversible reforms on a daily basis.
Once these individuals know the establishment of TRC , hopefully they
will restrain from the destructive acts and begin to expose the masterminds
of the unrest in some parts of the country.
In truth, TRC will offer a big lesson to the posterity and the public at
large as it makes vengeance worthless and brings lasting peace to countries
that passed through enormous injustices.
As the Prime Minister Dr. Abiy recently told the parliament that the
mastermind of evil acts should be held accountable by law, but there are
many thousand individuals that have been directly and indirectly involving
in various criminal activities.
Thus, the establishment of the TRC will help
this segment of society to come out publicly in a bid to ask forgiveness.
Apparently, TRC is the only way out for Ethiopians that have been
suffering from ethnic tensions,favoritism ,social disorders,corruption and
so forth for over two and a half decades.
It is also worth nothing that the members of the TRC need to share the
best experiences of those countries which have formed successful TRC in
reducing grudge among the peoples.
In a nutshell, the establishment of the national TRC will for sure end
the existing popular discontent , develop trust among the general public
and bring lasting peace to Ethiopia. Above all it gives mental relief for
both the victims and the offenders apart from ensuring national consensus.
The Ethiopian Herald, December 4/2018
