BY SOLOMON DIBABA
The Ethiopian government has earlier declared that a three weeks long campaign conducted to enforce the rule of law in Tigray is now over. The government has noted that relief and rehabilitation programs for IDPs and those affected by the barbaric activities of TPLF have gained momentum. This, among other things will also include restoration of infrastructural services damaged by TPLF militias and so called Special Forces.
Now, it would be very important to ponder on the basic lessons that the peoples of Ethiopia and the government could draw from this disastrous situation which resulted in loss of thousands of lives and unfathomable public and private property.
The first important lesson is the imperative of strong, coordinated and fast-moving leadership to swart any level of conspiracy that would jeopardize the sovereignty of the peoples of Ethiopia and the country. It took only three weeks for the peoples of Ethiopia, the leadership and the armed forces to effectively quell the imminent danger on the territorial integrity of the country.
The impressive solidarity of the peoples of Ethiopia with the armed forces, the financial and professional support provided by private and government institutions and CSO added up to the victory on 27 years of tyranny. This spirit of unity needs to skillfully replicated into other sectors of public life including socio-economic development.
TPLF used the Ethiopian federal system as bait for ensuring massive financial benefits for small group of selfish leaders. The group used federalism as a means of controlling, manipulating and sowing discord and animosity among nations and nationalities in the country by pausing as a mediator on conflicts it deliberately created.
This clearly indicates the need for revising the constitution to ascertain mutually beneficial federal system in which the legal and operational relations between the federal government and the regional states are clearly defined with no ambiguities.
For over 27 years, TPLF dramatized on what it called revolutionary democracy by using it as a buzz word to justify its own political operatives. To the dismay of all Ethiopians, throughout all these years there was no revolution but ethnic based fratricidal operations masterminded by TPLF.
There was no democracy but tyranny and torture in secret and official dungeons was the order of the day. Therefore, the present and future governments in this country should de-ideologies functions of the state by detaching party politics from government delivery of basic services for citizens.
Although the reform is progressing in a relatively fair pace, government institutions and media are still infested with the ideology of revolutionary democracy that is outdated and irrelevant for Ethiopia demanding a nationwide indoctrination on scaling down on the subjective effects of this ideology.
The other lesson to be drawn is the degree of legal synchronization between federal and regional constitutions. It is very essential to clearly indicate the technical-legal fallacies that exist between the federal and regional constitutions and resolve the issue through a rigorous revision of the federal constitution.
After being defeated on the ground, TPLF members and sympathizers have continued to spread false news trying to misinform international organizations including the UN systems and other international corridors of power. Having violated the rule of law in Ethiopia to a scale that is no secret at global level, TPLF is fabricating make-believe propaganda to rally international partners against Ethiopia.
It is therefore necessary to counter such misinformation by taking permanent measures through joint actions of public and private media and all local and international forums to disseminate timely and truthful information to international community of nations.
Ethiopian media outlets and all concerned government institutions need to establish a forum to facilitate for strategic cooperation in this regard.
The event that occurred in Tigray tolls the bell for introducing deep seated reform program in the intelligence and security apparatus of the government which still needs to be carefully studied and restructured.
The defeat of TPLF also amplifies the need for care, support and honor that is to be accorded to the members of the armed forces. Public positive attitude on the armed forces and the police had been scaled up in the event of the government’s actions for ascertaining the rule of law in Tigray.
It is very important to exploit favorable public attitude on the armed forces to continuously cultivate the spirit of unity and solidarity among the public and the armed forces.
More lessons drawn from the campaign for maintaining the rule of law should also be used to make the upcoming national election the first of its kind in the history of this country. The election is extremely detrimental to pave the way for a genuine federal system and democracy in Ethiopia creating a situation of make or break.
Formation of democratic and prosperous Ethiopia demands the participation of all citizens. The valor and relentless sprit of unity and patriotism demonstrated by the Ethiopian army, Amhara, Afar and Oromia Special Forces is a lesson to be heeded and replicated among the entire citizens here and abroad.
The Ethiopian Herald January 26/2021
