National Reconciliation Commission, and Identity and Administrative Boundary Commission to be established, seemingly as conflict mitigation measures but Parliament is yet to approve it.
Borkena
November 16,2017
The council of ministers discussed and approved draft bill to establish National Truth and Reconciliation Commission which is sent to House of Peoples Representatives for approval, according to information from the Office of the Prime Minister.
The draft is informed by the assumption that social and political conflicts Ethiopia experienced for many years has caused layers of grudges and tension. And the commission is intended to bring about reconciliation based on the ideals of “truth and justice.”
Although some scholars, like professor Al Mariam, support the idea, there are critics who tend to think that it does not make sense for they think that there has never been large scale social conflict that requires national reconciliation. “who are the reconciling parties?” is the question they often pose.
At the height of ethnic politics with TPLF in firm control of machinery of government, political accusations had been labelled against ethic Amhara as “neftegna” and as perpetrators of ethnic oppression in the history of the country, but the cloud of misconception and misrepresentation of ethnic Amhara is now clearing with the fall of TPLF.
Eritrean leaders including president Isayas Afeworki did seem to share a form of negativist view towards ethnic Amhara in the past only to learn through time that their view towards Amhara was baseless which President Isayas Afeworki reportedly spoke about during his latest visit to Ethiopia which focused on Amhara region.
Ethic based political parties in the country are also changing their conception of history of ethnic based oppression in the history of the country linked to Amhara supremacy.
Oromo Democratic Party (ODP), one of the largest ethic based party in the country that is governing Oromo region of Ethiopia, recently changed its long held political convictions in that regard when is said that oppression in the history of Ethiopia was class based, not ethnic based, which reflects the realities that that brought about the 1974 Ethiopian revolution many of whose leaders, including colonel Mengistu Hailemariam, where ethnic Oromos.
In a related development, the council of ministers has also agreed to establish Identity and Boundary Commission to resolve disputes over identity questions and administrative boundaries in different parts of the country.
The decision is informed by the idea that conflicts over identity questions and boundaries are becoming sources of instability. And the commission will be established on the principle of neutrality and professionalism.