BY FITSUM GETACHEW
A sigh of relief has been experienced by all parties when the peace deal of Pretoria was announced on November 2, 2022 almost two years to the day the hostilities had broken out between the TPLF forces and the Ethiopian National Defense Forces. It was hailed as a breakthrough by all those who were following closely the Horn of Africa affairs because Ethiopia is a key country in the affairs of the Horn besides being a key player of international affairs in general and African affairs in particular. It should not be forgotten that Ethiopia is seat to many international organizations including the AU and the UN ECA among others. For the last two years it was engaged in a conflict that drained its human and material resources inflicting a huge damage to the economy.
No doubts the cost of the war was immense calculated roughly up to 20 billion dollars by some experts’ estimate.
Ethiopia’s place as one of the most stable countries in Africa was put in serious jeopardy with its image tarnished in many ways. Many people were referring to Ethiopia as an unsafe country and hence investors were hesitant to come to Ethiopia and engage in huge long term investments. Investors it is known do not like uncertainties and in that sense the country has lost a lot.
What is more, Ethiopia had to withstand the pressure of international media, a massive negative propaganda campaign and the threats of various sorts of economic sanctions that have deeply affected the economic programs such as the exclusion from the list of African countries who benefited from free trade to the US in the AGOA program, African Growth and Opportunity Act.
They were really tough times for Ethiopia because the historical enemies of Ethiopia were making prophesies that the country would crumble to pieces once the federal government was toppled. Several other insurgencies were taking place in the country with forces such as the Shane group and the jihadist militants of Al Shabaab mostly based in neighboring Somalia. And yet the country has withstood all these challenges because it has a solid history of resistance and resilience. Its people are ready to fight all those who try to dominate it by force or belittle it. It is owner of a long and glorious history of rejection and overcoming of forceful acts coming beyond the frontiers.
Other African countries were anxious about what was going on in Ethiopia which they saw as pioneers of independence, sovereignty and freedom. Hence, the conflict in the north had multiple implications and now that a deal has been reached to stop it, all Ethiopians must feel to have won. It is not time to incriminate this side or that one and what is now important is putting the deal on the ground and make it practical.
Implementing the Pretoria peace deal will now be the first priority of both parties, TPLF and the Federal government, because unless there is full cooperation with good faith on both parties the deal will remain on paper only. It is not like some who would like to say that given the government is now totally on the drivers’ seat it is up to it to implement the deal. But this cannot be plausible because it takes two to a tango, as the saying goes.
We have seen in the past that peace deals have not always succeeded because they have various uncertainties and loss of confidence on both sides due to what has been happening for a long time. Coming from protracted hostilities and violence there are still remnants of people who barely trust the other side and this needs a lot of psychological work using all means available. It must be understood by all that things have now changed diametrically and people have to adapt to it wholeheartedly.
The various propaganda campaign that was carried out during the conflict need to totally stop and adopt a new friendly and reconciliatory approach. We need to insist that it is all about a united and compact Ethiopia and not the one that our enemies or adversaries tell us from abroad. We need to re-educate all those who are or were engaged in the actual battles to change attitude and consider the other party as brothers and sisters. The usage of words to communicate messages becomes fundamental so that a change of mind occurs. It is a difficult task but without it no peace deal can have a chance to come down to the ground to be successfully implemented. That is why many said it needs a lot of patience, dexterity and commitment on all sides.
Now that a deal has been reached, everything that happened during the hostilities or before them need to be addressed differently. We need to look forward and not backward as Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said. We need all the focus on the future helping all those affected by the conflict to rehabilitate and get back to their pre-conflict days. We need to show to others that as we are capable of fighting to win the war, we are also capable of winning the peace by adhering to the terms and conditions of the deal.
We need to honor our words because it is about reputation and credibility and what happens next will largely determine what kind of country we are destined to be. Ethiopians must now run fast to recover the time lost in conflicts and controversies and open a new chapter of peace and total stability, avoid anxieties of hostilities and finally people can sleep in peace without the nightmares of guns roaring day and night, tanks rolling down the villages and towns, missiles being launched here and there.
Implementing the terms of the Pretoria peace deal totally will take a long time and a lot of patience because we must not forget that there are still elements who want to sabotage the deal and contribute to re-ignite the war because their mission has failed. Ethiopians must be smart and resilient to change the previous reality that the peace deal has introduced and attention must be taken not to regress in our mind.
Trust and confidence in one another is fundamental to lead to the strict implementation of the deal using the processes and terms contained in the document. Ethiopia now needs the contribution of international bodies to accompany it in this difficult transition including a huge support in financial means because the country is in dire straits economically with not only what this conflict in the north has caused but also what has happened with the conflict in other parts of the world as well as the consequences of climate change.
It is true that the Pretoria deal has opened a new chapter to Ethiopia’s modern history but if it is not strictly implemented using the laws of the country there could still be the interference of foreign elements and that is not what Ethiopia has been fighting for. The principle ‘African solutions for African problems’ implies that foreign powers’ intervention can only be accepted to the extent it does not affect the sovereignty and independence of the country.
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD THURSDAY 10 NOVEMBER 2022
