It is quite recognized that Ethiopia has been baffled by the calculatingly or unknowingly orchestrated cunning approaches and distorted narrations, elements who wished to rule the nation creating sustainable skirmish among citizens, deliberately crafted before. Such a thorny move has to be done away with using a domestic weapon that will last for centuries and even millennia. Yes, if a given country has encountered some sorts of disagreements, rivalry or disparity, they have to device possible solutions locally without the interference of other countries as locally made solutions are highly likely fruitful, all-encompassing and long-lasting, too.
The role of all citizens, concerned bodies, and civil society organizations is untold in this regard. This incomparable role can be accompanied with a playground that can potentially provide all citizens with ample opportunities to express ideas and feelings to be a feasible input for meaning. Close talks, wider public discussions, and even national dialogue can be regarded as playgrounds to do so.
Particularly the latter is of significantly useful in raising the awareness of the general public and other actors and helping them actively engage in this invaluable national process. All right, the need for a national dialogue and procedures passed before the passing of the proclamation and establishment of the commission is unquestionable. Prior to the formation of the National Dialogue Commission (NDC), a number of preparatory works such as review of legal documents, historical narratives, organizational structures and best international experiences were thoroughly examined and attested.
Even in due course of conducting public dialogue and consultation, a number of crucial questions were raised by the participants regarding the independence of the commission; about the selection process of the commission’s members; approaches to conduct the national dialogue, the constitutional reform, and the impacts of active conflicts occur in different parts of the country. The aforesaid and the not yet queries have been properly dealt with by the concerned bodies and the process continues towards its end making stable Ethiopia via peacefully addressing problems emanated from various reasons. This National dialogue is of significantly useful in coming up with a viable remedy to heal long-heaped grudge, enmity among/ between citizens.
Accordingly, the concerns cited by the public representatives and/or participants have been well addressed, indeed. Besides, some of the ideas raised during the discussion would be taken as inputs and incorporated to further strengthen the effort geared towards creating a stable and peaceful nation. The application of National Dialogue in every nook and cranny of Ethiopia would bear fruits if handled properly and run inclusively. No doubt, support of elites, Support of the public, Support of regional and international actors can be the key factors that affect the success or failure of National Dialogue efforts.
Public discussions are really part of a series of awareness creation moves on the national inclusive dialogue. In a bid to support the National Dialogue Process, with particular attention of enhancing CSOs’ understanding around the issue by organizing various awareness creation platforms has played a paramount role in meeting that target.
In fact, supporting the National Dialogue process is in the best interest of the nation particularly now more than ever where peace building is essential and becomes a matter of life and death. Hence, collaboration between/among all actors to support the National Dialogue is commendable and should pave the way for similar collaborations in all parts of the society to support the process and to overcome challenges and to achieve sustainable peace in the country. Here it is obvious that together, making a difference would be as easy as talking about so the saying goes, “Unity is strength”.
The Ethiopian Civil Society Organizations Council (ECSOC) is also scaling up the pace to help civil societies play a constructive role in the upcoming national dialogue. Various measures have been taken for a successful national dialogue to take place in a manner it said to be ‘all-inclusive, convenient and knowledge-based. This is really a promising step, indeed!
A lot is expected of the Commission, and civil societies have a huge role to play in the national dialogue. In order for the national dialogue to be successful, the Commission has many responsibilities and ethics is very important in carrying out such a delicate process. Reinvigorating regular dialogue and consultations with Civil Society (CS) is one of the principles as it is used for ensuring consistency and transparency of public discussions and promoting the comprehensive and progressive participation of Civil Society and the general public too.
As promoting the exchange of information and experiences on the commission’s main policies and initiatives, as well as on-going institutional reforms in the country, the dialogue would come to the forefront, of course. It is believed that coordination of many activities will greatly enhance the effectiveness, relevance and impact of the engagement and contribute to the realization of the overall objectives of the commission.
The national dialogues would be instrumental in bringing together all relevant national stakeholders and actors based on a broad mandate to foster nation-wide consensus with respect to key conflict issues.
The National Dialogue has, thus, gained considerable importance as a platform for peaceful transformation. It further reflects the belief that conflict resolution processes must be as inclusive as possible, involving a broad range of political actors and extending beyond a limited set of political players to include society at large.
The onus of conflict resolution has therefore recently shifted from the national to international level. If a process excludes important stakeholders or is perceived to serve the short-term political goals of the government, constitutional reform proposals are unlikely to gain impetus. Thus, it has to be made inclusive and participatory.
Unequivocally, a constitution established under law and designed to be inclusive of all citizens and civil society or the general public can secure legal legitimacy. This in turn can make such a process be more likely than a National Dialogue to comply with generally accepted understandings of fair representation and the expectations of a democratic process across the nation. Often, for a dialogue to be taken seriously and for participants to honor its outcomes, parties will need to have provided some concrete revelation of their intentions in advance.
Interestingly, Ethiopia has attempted, and even is relentlessly trying, to hold the first of its kind, a national dialogue in response to historical economic, social, political and other related quests. It is also known that Ethiopia formed the first-ever, national dialogue in 2022 so as to examine the challenges and prospects of the national discourse. True, national dialogue is a public political cycle pointed toward many public entertainers amid profound political emergencies, post-struggle circumstances, or during significant political changes.
National dialogue in Ethiopia is thus being utilized as an equivalent for formal discussions between/among citizens to device possible solutions to the problems occurred across the nation. The process keeps on standing out as truly newsworthy all over Ethiopia and has as of late been proposed or gathered in citizens confronting raising a range of questions regarding peace, security and social well being.
It is really a nationally owned political processes aiming at establishing agreement among a broad variety of national stakeholders in times of significant political crisis and during major political transitions. Likewise, National Dialogue fosters ownership within new political, economic, and social systems, intending to establish new institutions and negotiate a new or revised social compact between the state and its population. Developing socio-political procedures that may serve as containers for peacefully resolving these issues is critical, and serves as the experience foundation for further institutional transformation and nation-building.
It should be noted that the inspirations for participating in a national dialogue differ and rely vigorously upon whether the exchange is pointed toward advancing grasping, changing the personalities and interests of partners, or essentially pointing towards keeping away from heightening and falling back on savagery.
More importantly, in an increasingly polarized and already tense political landscape, the government needs to create a platform that truly opens the way for a negotiated political solution to break the current impasse and for peace.
The nationwide dialogue forum should be convened with the participation of political leaders, traditional and religious leaders, youth representatives, women, the general public; bodies provoked armed conflicts, and other stakeholders. Yes, it is this time the fruitfulness of the dialogue could be accurately measured. The National Dialogue Committee needs to promptly translate promises into practical actions.
Thus, Ethiopia will survive if leaders and elites unite to forge a new countrywide consensus and build a new political order that guarantees the honor, coexistence, and solidarity of the people. To this end, the country is on the verge of an inclusive national dialogue procedure in which all stakeholders can come together and speak about vital national troubles to attain a common and lasting political answer.
True, the process could allow rival ideologies and communities in Ethiopia to redefine their relationships and promote higher expertise on the troubles that divide and polarize. A national dialogue ought to help bridge the rift between different actors and foster a culture of communication and collaboration, and agree. Ethiopian domestic politics has been producing consistent violence and anxiety for years due to political reforms and demands for a negotiated political solution have been rejected for many years. Now it is time to adders all these irregularities.
In sum, the National Dialogue in Ethiopia has provided a broad range of stakeholders such as government ministries and agencies, non-governmental/civil society organizations, communities, academic and research institutions and the private sector, as well as partners and donors within a country with a means for working together learn, discuss and agree, or take steps toward agreement against skirmishes, conflicts, be they are intermittent or sporadic and recurrent, across the board.
Principally, as national dialogue is an opportunity to settle accounts with the ghosts of the beyond and renegotiate destiny, it will not be without challenges. Hence, the government needs to device possible solutions to the many problems and multifaceted defies rampant in the country.
Editor’s Note: The views entertained in this article do not necessarily reflect the stance of The Ethiopian Herald
BY MENGESHA AMARE
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD TUESDAY 21 MAY 2024
