The horn of Africa is a region that hasn’t been able to enjoy for years the fruits of the benefits it should have gotten from peace, development and economic ties as a result of various internal and external reasons. Currently, as an agenda that enables the countries of the region to enjoy from mutual benefit is formulated and being implemented through our country, the pivot of the region, East Africa region is for the most part entering into a path of development and worth.
The FDRE government in last few years alone has been doing wide-ranging works to bring peace and strengthen economical ties between the regional countries. And when it is doing this, the government follows two things, as clearly out on the country’s foreign policy – internal and external situations.
As its known, the government has been working by believing that guaranteeing the country’s security will only be successful if it’s based on both internal and external matters. On the first place, there were efforts made to pull our country out of backwardness and poverty understanding the fact that saving our country from disintegration can only be achieved through economic development, successful democratic order building and of course through guaranteeing peace. And works have been done in this regard.
Also, understanding that the peace and security and development of our neighborhood has either direct or indirect correlation to our country’s rapid development and democratic order building; and also understanding the fact that lack of peace and development in the region will inevitably hinder our country’s developmental path, the government is working tirelessly by giving attention to the external situation.
This is why the FDRE government was able to successfully mobilize a popular movement that will enable it to execute a Foreign Affairs and National Security Policy and strategy that focuses on realizing a democratic order setup and rapid economic growth that benefits the people at every level and reach to the level we are at today. As it’s known previous government’s Foreign Affairs Policy focused on veering the outside (world). And this approach has left us to poverty by failing to benefit the public – and we are the evidence of that. As the previous policies had a ‘siege’ mentality that forced the previous governments to a spectator role (with regards to Foreign Affairs), we have seen their foreign policies creating a negative impact on our country’s security by increasing our vulnerability and internal problems.
The government of the new Ethiopia, which knows about this limitation, understood that a Foreign Affairs and National Security policy that gives attention to internal problems is essential to our country’s security and works towards it with huge focus. As the government of our country puts a huge effort and works tirelessly towards our country’s peace and development, it also has the same intention with regards to the region’s countries peace and development mutual development is the governments’ primary choice. Why? Because our government has a deep (committed) belief that the peace and development of neighboring has a positive impact on our own country and vice-versa.
The rapid economic and social development and the good governance and democratic order still under construction are bent on guaranteeing our country’s security; and it cannot be argued the positive impact it’s exerting towards bringing peace to our country and the region as a whole. In addition to this, the government has been able to record positive results on securing national and regional peace. Out of the achievement of the FDRE government diplomatic efforts, the one that stands out is the efforts made to resolve the crisis that brewed in our big neighbor Sudan.
Sudan is the largest state in Africa; and despite its fertile land and huge natural wealth and potential for grand development, the country has been forced to live through years of civil war. And there have been tireless effort to peacefully resolve the chaos, which was responsible for huge human and material loss.
Ethiopia stood out of the horn of Africa countries, which all played a lion-share on the efforts to resolve the crisis in Sudan. The role Ethiopia played in solving the problem between Sudan and South Sudan, in solving the problem that occurred in Darfur and Abeyei and in dispatching its peacekeeping troops into the areas is immense.
I think it is obvious for everyone that the effort of our government to bring peace in Sudan is driven by the positive impact it has on our country’s peace, development and democratic order. It has nothing to do with other reasons as some people are claiming. The struggle against poverty can only be won when our neighbors are on peace – and it is obvious for anyone. It’s evident the direct or indicted positive impact our neighbors being peaceful has on the strengthening of our own country peace.
And our government’s tireless effort to solve Sudanese problems (that has a close influence on our own peace) stems from its objective of guaranteeing our country’s security. Ethiopia’s peace can only be sustained by winning the fight against poverty and backwardness. And the fight against poverty and backwardness can only be won by eradicating our vulnerability. Notwithstanding these facts, if crisis and havoc that erupts on our neighbors are not resolved peacefully, the heat will burn us too.
The conflict created by the Murile militants and the South Sudan refugees our country accepted puts light on the situation. The new country that has entered the cannon of the region after South Sudan and Sudan separated through referendum hasn’t been able to be successful in protecting its peace as it has been in gaining its independence. The problem that is being created by the warring sides of that country has created a hindrance on the people from getting the fruits of their freedom.
The conflicts that are erupting in relation to South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir and his Deputy Dr. Riek Machar has costed the live of thousands of people and forced hundreds of thousand people to leave their homes and country. And this is becoming a concern to our country and the international community. And the huge effort our country is undertaking until now to be strengthened further.
Although the FDRE government has made huge effort into ensuring peace in South Sudan since the beginning, I think it is in a position that it needs to continue its effort strongly. As it’s known, as the cease fire agreement was violated recently and took away the lives of hundreds of people, the peacekeeping force was given support in the assembly held by the African Union.
It was also said that the peacekeeping force will be comprised from Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Uganda and Rwanda. And this peacekeeping force aims at enforcing peace by supporting the already present 1200 peacekeeping troops. And it is believed that it will have huge role in stopping the misery of the people that is taking place in that country. As it’s known, peace enforcement is stipulated on the United Nations Security Council procedure chapter seven. The United Nations has the responsibility to trigger this clause at situations where UN cease fire is violated. And in order to do this, it demands sanctioning additional soldiers on top of the troops involved in the peacekeeping operations. With regards to this, the instance where the United Nations was able to employ peace enforcing mission successfully was when Saddam Hussein’s army invaded Kuwait during the gulf war.
In my belief, such kind of mission is important to relive the pain of the South Sudanese people. As information show, there are those that don’t accept the peace enforcing mission that is sanctioned by the Africa Union. And such contradiction can happen in any country. And considering the fact that our country has the responsibility to change the thinking on this and ensure lasting peace in South Sudan, I think it should up its effort on the situation like always.