BY MENGISTEAB TESHOME
In most cases, political solutions to armed conflicts are professed by a plethora of local, regional and international actors. In practice, however, durable political solutions – typically symbolized through peace agreements – are scarce.
While peace agreements may be signed, political willingness, as well as the ability to implement them, is often in short supply. Hence, many peace agreements remain words on paper, rather than being actions in the field.
Though many conflict areas see peace agreements being signed, violated and forgotten, the case in Ethiopia is creating a new hope for the community and beyond because it has helped to end the conflict; and activities are implemented as per the agreement.
As part of this, off late members of the Federal Government and Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF) peace negotiation committee had conducted their first meeting at Halala Kela to evaluate and assess the implementation of the Pretoria Peace Agreement in attendance of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) and other senior officials.
The Ethiopia Herald approached academicians to comment on the engagement and efforts of the peace negotiation committee. Journalism and Communication Lecturer at Hawassa University Belew Anley said that the exhibited effort at Halala Kela is commendable and it should be further strengthened. It must be also implemented at the grass root level to strengthen the social fabrics of the communities.
Ethiopia has seen repeated cycles of violence that ravaged the economy and the social fabrics of the society. “In my view, practical efforts should be applied to heal the trauma of the communities affected by the conflict through strengthening people to people dialogue, and building institutions that promote the spirit of togetherness and forgiveness.”
To this effect, as to him, pertinent stakeholders should play a constructive role in translating the peace accord at the grassroots level and help to shape Ethiopia’s political culture.
“Inclusive representation at the national level allows all groups affected by conflict to jointly determine the future of their country. As the conflict affected many people in different ways, each stakeholder has distinctive contributions gleaned from their lived experiences and identities which are important in determining how to construct and implement a successful peace process. International communities must also invest in peace building efforts and support government’s restoration activities of damaged facilities, he further remarked.
After taking part at the evaluation session of Pretoria peace accord at Halala Kela, Prosperity Party Vice President, Adam Farah said that the session was a very historic juncture and; a forum which has created more confidence and helped to step up the implementation of the agreement to a higher level.
“We discussed the work we can do together to build a fair and just Ethiopia that is suitable for all of us by putting the interest of the people at the center and to ensuring lasting peace in the country. We have seen positive moves related to the implementation of the peace agreement and issues that need to be addressed in the future,” he stated.
According to Adam, issues that need to be addressed from the government side have been identified to bring the agreement into full implementation and similar things are underway on the side of TPLF.
“The government has shown huge commitment to the implementation of the agreement so far. As a government, we have been doing what we should do in accordance with the agreement. We will continue to strengthen this.”
He added that the initiation is good. “It shows how the level of trust is growing. In terms of content, an agreement is reached to quickly attain the goal of the good beginnings seen after the Pretoria Peace Agreement; and perform the delayed works.”
According to the Wondimu, the main point here is the problem is our own problem (Ethiopians) and the solution should come from us [Ethiopian solutions for Ethiopian Problems]. “At the current level, we have high hope and it shows us that most of our problems are solved by ourselves.”
The Ethiopian Herald February 9/2023
