One of the many crimes of EPRDF, is that it forced those like me to spend way too much energy defending at all costs the ideas that a nation exists, that a nation has been imagined and achieved, that Ethiopia is larger than its ethnic components; when in fact, those like myself should not have wasted this much time on it at all.
After Mussolini’s revenge invasion in 1936, Ethiopians were tormented for five years by aggressive fascist Italy. The city of Addis Ababa still shows memorial landmarks of several massacres, executions of national patriots, religious leaders, imprisonment and exile of aristocrats and citizens.
As Ethiopia hopes for peaceful days ahead, everyone should contribute towards constructive engagement.
Thus, it is also high time that the ethno-nationalist camp stop the divisive rhetoric and replace it with calls for dialogue, forward looking reconciliation, and peaceful co-existence.
For Ethiopia to be at peace and prosper and for Ethiopians to co-exist in peace and harmony, a closer look at the current constitution, attempt to understand the perennial challenges or questions concerning the citizenry of the country and an effort to address the Eritrean territorial demand for once and for all is important.
Today’s Ethiopian generations must also take up these challenges, help the government and all stakeholders that work to stabilize the Tigray and other violence prone regions and work to make Ethiopia a peaceful and prosperous country. Then, this generation will be remembered for its role in the transformation of Ethiopia for good.
A political settlement through dialogue and negotiation could be a solution to the conflict. However, at this point, the likelihood of a negotiated settlement seems unlikely given the fact that the Tigray People’s Liberation Front admitted to firing rockets into the neighboring Amhara region, further enraging federal authorities.
Tsigereda Meleskachew (BA, MPH) TPLF’s attack against ENDF’s Northern Command, which overwhelming majority of Ethiopians considered an act of betrayal,
The challenge for Abiy now is to ensure that there are no losers and winners at the end of the conflict. That is to say, the Tigrayan people must not feel they “lost.” So far, the government has done a commendable job of separating the TPLF leaders from the people in Tigray.
By: Neamin Zeleke There is a need to inform the world about the true nature of the conflict in Tigray
Aderru Janni aderru.janni.w1800@gmail.com (Independent writer and consultant in Water and Environment Issues), 1. Nile and the GERD in Context Ethiopia
