
Viewpoints | Aug 17,2019
Oct 10 , 2020
By Christian Tesfaye
The doom and gloom is becoming unbearable but there seems to be the attitude in Ethiopia that, however bad it is going to get, a last-minute turn around will deliver us out of the darkness.
Nothing better exemplifies this attitude than the relationship between the Tigray regional and federal governments. The former recently announced that it will no longer recognise the legitimacy of members of parliament. The House of Federation of the latter shortly after stated that it will no longer have formal relationships with the legislative and executive bodies of the regional government.
Supporters on each side of the political aisle are going to great lengths to delegitimise the other and express the sanctity of their positions. Blame is apportioned as far away from oneself as possible, and a sense of bravado seems to colour every single one of their positions.
Just as unfortunate is how both sides believe they can win the supporters of the other side to their team.
There does not seem to be any way of alleviating tensions at the moment. It seems to be a case of an unmovable object meeting an unstoppable force. We know how this could climax. Conflict is not unlikely. Peace and stability are not inevitable. We have seen around the world how, once the first trigger has been pulled, it becomes a violent and adversarial relationship that lasts years and costs too many lives.
How can such a scary predicament be avoided when both sides believe they can win and that they hold the higher moral ground? Is it just a matter of time before this engagement is handed over to the generals from the politicians?
Perhaps the Ethio-Eritrean conflict, which admittedly occurred under different circumstances, can serve as a lesson. It occurred between 1998 and 2000, half a decade after Eritrea formally broke away from Ethiopia.
Arguably, the roots of the war are partly economic and partly a function of political dysfunctions in both countries that allowed the war to occur. In the popular mind, it is also a disagreement over borders.
But how long-simmering political tensions manifest themselves through a conflict over areas of land that do not seem strategic can be understood from the Ethio-Eritrean conflict. Badme, a small border town, was simply an excuse to take matters to their military climax and stumble into a war that lasted two years.
Badme was used as an excuse to prove a point, advance political agendas by the respective ruling parties of the two countries and demonstrate superiority.
The conflict led to the loss of tens of thousands of lives, expenditure of resources in arms that could have been used for economic development, and almost two decades of tension between Ethiopia and Eritrea.
To this day, I have not read or heard any argument that demonstrates that the war and its consequences justified the loss of all those lives.
Indeed, what was the message to the loved ones of those that lost their lives during the 1998-2000 conflict when Isayas Afewerki, president of Eritrea, was greeted in Addis Abeba with such fanfare in 2018?
It was a senseless war, and it should weigh heavily on the conscience of those that were leaders at the time.
This conflict, and its consequences, should also inform how our leaders today are planning and calculating their chances in the current political impasse. They should be aware that the clock is ticking and all that large scale armed conflict requires is someone pulling the trigger at the wrong time at the wrong place. It should not have been the case, but the chances of stumbling into conflict are too high.
Are the current political problems that we have unassailable?
Not even close. We are not trying to find the Theory of Everything. We are not even trying to find a cure for cancer. We are just trying to get groups of elites with powerful political interests to sit for a discussion, and give in on some of their demands.
Politics is wholly a matter of human behaviour and actions. Sure there are some bad apples here and there that could cause major problems, but it has always been in the hands of the majority to realise stability.
If what they say is true, and if every country has a majority that is largely silent, decent, believes in diversity and values peace and stability, it is time to speak out.
PUBLISHED ON
Oct 10,2020 [ VOL
21 , NO
1067]
Viewpoints | Aug 17,2019
Radar | Sep 18,2022
Radar | Oct 19,2019
Advertorials | Apr 10,2023
Radar | Aug 10,2019
Photo Gallery | 155996 Views | May 06,2019
Photo Gallery | 146278 Views | Apr 26,2019
My Opinion | 135209 Views | Aug 14,2021
Photo Gallery | 134791 Views | Oct 06,2021
Dec 22 , 2024 . By TIZITA SHEWAFERAW
Charged with transforming colossal state-owned enterprises into modern and competitiv...
Aug 18 , 2024 . By AKSAH ITALO
Although predictable Yonas Zerihun's job in the ride-hailing service is not immune to...
Jul 28 , 2024 . By TIZITA SHEWAFERAW
Unhabitual, perhaps too many, Samuel Gebreyohannes, 38, used to occasionally enjoy a couple of beers at breakfast. However, he recently swit...
Jul 13 , 2024 . By AKSAH ITALO
Investors who rely on tractors, trucks, and field vehicles for commuting, transporting commodities, and f...
Sep 13 , 2025
At its launch in Nairobi two years ago, the Africa Climate Summit was billed as the f...
Sep 6 , 2025
The dawn of a new year is more than a simple turning of the calendar. It is a moment...
Aug 30 , 2025
For Germans, Otto von Bismarck is first remembered as the architect of a unified nati...
Aug 23 , 2025
Banks have a new obsession. After decades chasing deposits and, more recently, digita...
Sep 15 , 2025 . By AMANUEL BEKELE
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), Africa's largest hydroelectric power proj...
Sep 13 , 2025
The initial budget in 2011 was 80 billion Br, but this figure swelled to a revised cost of 240 billion Br by 2024, a challenge that was exac...
Sep 13 , 2025 . By BEZAWIT HULUAGER
Banks are facing growing pressure to make sustainability central to their operations as regulators and in...
Sep 15 , 2025 . By YITBAREK GETACHEW
The Addis Abeba City Cabinet has enacted a landmark reform to its long-contentious setback regulations, a...