National dialogue and reconciliation by far is the sacred idea that Ethiopia is trying to realize in order to achieve lasting peace and mend past rifts on major national issues. With all the grievances and ill-formed narratives, the country has been suffering from those age-old hurdles and could not find a way to bring every part of the society to the table and find lasting solutions.
The incumbent has been facing a number of challenges since assuming power. In addition to the backlogs of divisive issues, recent international and local flaws made the road to stability bumpy for all Ethiopians. Both longtime and recent predicaments all have contributed to Ethiopia’s current economic, political and social loopholes.
On top of that, the nation is trying to promote the essence of nationalism and patriotism in to the hearts of the people through putting the seeds of togetherness and common values as a nation. However, those marvelous ideas could be hard to practice due to the extensive acts of wrong narratives and old grievances that propagated among the people.
To end such division and dissemination in the country and among the people, the best idea is designing a platform that can incorporate all the parties to talk about their issues and find a common and national consensus. To this point the government, by law, has established the National Dialogue Commission. From the onset of its establishment of the commission, the people and political parties including the incumbent have put their trust in the institution to meet the sought after objectives for bringing the country together.
The National Dialogue commission, during the past few months, has been achieving some tangible and prominent actions towards its national goals. The commission has also shown its desire to work with all the entities that show their interest in getting involved in the process. Besides, the commission has also called upon all the armed groups in the country to put their ideas on the table rather than seeking power through guns and bloodshed.
Establishing an inclusive and transparent platform is believed to be the best way to solve problems and is also a way to developing common believes. This is also the goals of the National Dialogue Commission. It is the best talking platform happened in Ethiopia so far, having a gateway to national dialogue and conciliation towards a better tomorrow.
Ambassador Mohamoud Dirir, Commissioner of National Dialogue, has recently stayed with a local media for an exclusive interview discussing on the importance of the commission to solve national problems as it is the best opportunity to solve our problems and not to pass it to the next generations.
Regarding the inclusiveness of the process, the commissioner noted there have been calls from various sectors of the society including political parties, intellectuals, and renowned personalities to establish a national dialogue because of the crisis that the country has been passing through.
Addressing the dedication to establish such platforms of inclusive dialogue, as to the commission, the current government has brought the idea and established the Ethiopian National Dialogue Commission which is an independent body and not affiliated to any political party.
The commission is working to make inclusive dialogue a reality in Ethiopia, he said, adding that the task is a very daunting and recalled the many opportunities which have been squandered in Ethiopian modern history.
“We call upon all Ethiopians to seize this opportunity and only through dialogue solve the problems that we are facing currently and not to pass them to the future generations,” he said.
The country has enormous diversity, huge resources, but there are political issues that hinder the country from moving forward. The attempt of solving political issues by some quarters through armed struggle will not lead us to a solution, Mohamoud said.
“What we are saying is this method or this style of going to fight against this government or any future government would not lead us to a solution. It would lead to more bloodshed, displacement of people, poverty and disruption of lives of people,” he underlined.
Therefore, the commissioner underscored, “The only solution that we have in Ethiopia is to sit down sanely and solve our problems through dialogue.”
The Ethiopian National Dialogue is not an elite bargain; rather, it is a dialogue that is very inclusive and includes the entire spectrum of the society to participate in the dialogue process. This has to be an inclusive and transparent process and accepted by all, as it is legitimate and democratic process.
There is a very high expectation of the people of Ethiopia given there is the conflict, disruption of livelihoods, a displacement of people here and there as well as frustrations as well, he added.
“We have seen the huge expectation of our people which emanates from their desire for peace, stability and not to pass the current turbulence and differences to next generations.”
Hence, “the Commission believes and I should say that the only way up for Ethiopia is the national dialogue. Let us sit together, solve our problems through dialogue, which will enable us to solve our problems,” he stressed.
By the same token, as the national dialogue is meant to be inclusive and all parties should be represented, Commissioner Mohamoud has also called upon the armed groups to participate sanely in the national dialogue.
“There will be a safeguard process through which the armed groups, pending upon their will to participate in the process. We, as a commission, call upon all the armed groups to accept the peaceful dialogue that is taking place in Ethiopia and be part of the process, not against the process,” he said.
According to him, the belief in armed struggle has been tried several times in Ethiopian modern history and what we have reaped as Ethiopians from that is conflict, war, displacement of people, destruction of economies, and disruption of livelihoods. “Enough is enough. This is a time for us to sit and to face the realities of Ethiopia, through dialogue,” he underlined.
“I hope that this dialogue will succeed with the help of the entire population of Ethiopia, the political parties, the intellectuals, opinion makers, and the entire system of the government as well as the regional states.”
This is the only solution that we have, he said, stressing it is a process that should not be squandered as many opportunities of the past.
By the same token, Blen Gebremedhin, one of the 11 commissioners of the National Dialogue Commission, told the local media that the upcoming national dialogue is a huge hope for all Ethiopians to ensure sustainable peace which is a prerequisite to successfully prosperity.
Since its establishment, Blen indicated, the commission has made a lot of works that are vital for the successful conduct of the dialogue, it has so far carried out extensive activities on how the dialogue should be conducted through series of consultation with relevant stakeholders, she added.
According to Blen, identifying of participants has been conducted in 10 regional states and two city administrations and districts. Actions have been made to ensure the inclusivity of the dialogue by meticulously identifying participants with a view to bring national consensus on the most fundamental national issues among the people of Ethiopia.
The commissioner further elaborated, “We have been working communication activities not only through the mainstream media but also the digital media to reach the large population with respect to national dialogue.”
BY DANIEL ALEMAYEHU
The Ethiopian herald May 15/2024
