BY ADDISALEM MULAT
Over the last years, conflicts have been breaking out in different parts of Ethiopia due to extremist and polarized views on major socioeconomic and political agendas. The seeds of hatred and discord sown for decades by some entities among the people of Ethiopia along ethnic and religious lines have led to recurrent conflicts making the country’s path towards peace bumpy. The conflict in northern part of the country and other pocket areas resulted in serious economic, political repercussions.
After ending the conflict in Tigray, the country has sustained striving to ensure peace and tranquility working in close collaboration with pertinent bodies. Suffice it to mention the planned national dialogue. Regardless of the fact that the people of Ethiopia possess deep-seated home-grown cultural and religious principles that enable them to coexist peacefully and harmoniously, the nation has been grappling with instability unfolding in its different areas.
For centuries, the age-old conflict resolution mechanisms have been helping Ethiopians to resolve disagreements and bring about peace under Ethiopia’s skies. As things currently stand appropriate authorities have been actively playing a part in making peace happen in all regions of the country by restoring harmony. The peace implementation has been bearing fruits and producing results despite some remains to be done. Other than that the National Dialogue which is going to take place in the country in the not-too-distant future is expected to ensure peace and tranquility throughout the national territory. If all actors are involved in the national dialogue, it will play a paramount role in addressing the daunting challenges of the people of Ethiopia.
The good thing is as nothing can be achieved in the absence of peace throughout the entire world, each and every one has been attaching importance to ensuring sustainable peace working in close collaboration with all relevant stakeholders and all parties concerned. Besides, as taking the entire nation to a higher standard devoid of peace is an impossible task, people from all walks of life have been contributing their share for the realization of the peace efforts which is currently moving in the right direction.
As peace is the pillar and backbone of Ethiopia’s growth and development each and every one has been placing emphasis on making peace happen in every region of the country by putting their differences aside and placing emphasis on living in unity and harmony. As a matter of fact, in the course of the war that broke out in the northern part of the country, Ethiopians have gone to the ends of the earth to restore peace and tranquility and strong social cohesion among the various Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples of Ethiopia.
The other thing is that the peace accord signed between the Federal government and Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF) has been restoring stable political environment and getting the northern part of the country back to normalcy. As everyone has been actively partaking in the peace implementation, the whole thing has embarked on producing results. In addition to creating unity among people, the peace accord plays an extremely important role in paving the way for national peace.
At this moment in time, the federal government has been bringing various bodies together intending to resolve the existing predicaments and bring to fruition sustainable peace all over the country. In the spirit of oneness, pertinent bodies have been struggling to have a nonviolent, united, and affluent Ethiopia. If the people of Ethiopia fail to address the prevailing challenges by working in close collaboration, the entire circumstances all over the country would go from the frying pan into the fire and move into uncharted waters.
As the role of religious fathers in ensuring peace and tranquility and maintaining peaceful coexistence is unquestionable, they have been moving heaven and earth to convince the youth about the crucial role of peace. What’s more, political parties are very important in making peace happen and ensuring peaceful coexistence, and taking the country to the next level of growth and development. As some scaremongers hate to see a peaceful Ethiopia, they have continued adding fuel to the existing situation with their usual bogus stories. No matter how hard they tried to break the social fabric of the entire population, Ethiopians have been resilient to preserve the unity and peace of the country.
Conflict has different impact on different groups of population. The direct impact of conflicts usually falls primarily on young males, as they are involved in fighting forces, suffering from battle deaths, detaining, and injury. However, women and children often suffer disproportionately from indirect consequences, as they are facing high risk of becoming victims of sexual and gender-based violence, abuse, and displacement, according to information obtained from a document.
“More generally, people in the conflict-affected countries are deprived of their rights to live in dignity and their opportunities to develop: they are more likely to be impoverished, unable to attend schools, and denied of access to basic health services and other public goods. ”The wider international community and other pertinent bodies should work hand-in-glove with the people of Ethiopia for the realization of peace in every corner of the country. The collaboration of all stakeholders both local and international partners is crucial to successfully accomplish the peace efforts being carried out in Ethiopia, Ministry of Peace underscored, according to information obtained from Ethiopian News Agency.
A High-Level Multi-Stakeholders Conference on Peace Building, National Dialogue, and Togetherness in Ethiopia was held in Addis Ababa. The conference was organized by Inspired Ethiopian Youth Association in partnership with the Initiative Concerned Generation Movement, Ministry of Peace and Ministry of Women and Social Affairs. Addressing the conference, State Minister of Peace, Taye Dendea said the government is working to ensure peace across country; “we aspire peace as a human family regardless of our social, political and religious back grounds.’’ He stated that “peace can’t be enforced but realized in dialogue,” noting that togetherness can be ensured through understanding while understanding comes through dialogue.
Ensuring peace demands collective and coordinated efforts with mutual understanding among stakeholders including international partners, he underlined.In these regard individuals, families, communities, civil societies, different governmental institutions and international partners have their own role, the state minister added. Taye has also mentioned about the importance of unity to a sustainable peace stating that “Unity is not an option particularly for nations like Ethiopia. It is a must. We can’t achieve unity without dialogue as it is best tool to create togetherness and social integration among the diverse sectors of our society.”
Ambassador of the Netherlands to Ethiopia, Henk Jan Bakker said we are very pleased to see positive signs of the peace process in the Northern Ethiopia expressing his confidence that the efforts will continue. He also mentioned about the importance of inclusive dialogue to ensure sustainable peace pointing out that the National Dialogue, which Ethiopia is about to conduct, will contribute to ensure sustainable, legitimate and inclusive peace in Ethiopia.
The ambassador stated that the successful conduct of Ethiopia’s national dialogue demands the concerted collaboration and efforts of all stakeholders affirming the continued support of the government of Netherlands in this regard. Executive Director of Inspired Ethiopian Youth Association (IEYA) Liyuneh Tamirat said the conference aims at exploring the need for determined action to promote dialogue and understanding between generations in Ethiopia.
THE ETHIOPIAN SATURDAY 11 MARCH 2023
