Several attempts by Ethiopian opposition groups to forge a viable alliance during the past two decades have failed with disastrous result for Ethiopia. The alliances start to unravel soon after they are formed. The main cause of such failure has been lack of advance preparation, according to Ato Sioum Gebeyehou, a senior nuclear power generation engineer and management consultant. The opposition parties also fail to involve all stake holders, such as civic groups.
Ato Sioum comes up with a 4-step process that calls for fractious opposition groups to be united behind common issues and shared interests if there is to be any chance of bringing about regime change in Ethiopia. The 4-steps include: 1) Prepare to dialogue, 2) Dialogue to dialogue, 3) Dialogue for a common goal, and 4) Achieve the goal.
Click the image below to read the full presentation on the Process of Dialoguing:
By Sioum Gebeyehou
Fighting Evil with Evil Breeds more Evil
Change Your Behavior from Adversarial to Cooperative for a Transformative Reconciliation.
If you act like their adversary– they will respond in kind by being hostile to you.
If you behave in a cooperative manner– if you show them that you respect their interests– then they will respond by respecting yours.
If we redirect the energy that fuels our thoughts, feelings, and actions from adversarial to cooperative we will achieve a win-win satisfaction with the outcome.
The choice is ours.
Solutions lie in wanting solutions.
The exhibits below show the solutions / strategies to change our behavior from adversarial to cooperative. (Click here or on the image below to start the slideshow)
By Sioum Gebeyehou
There is no one-size-fits-all global reconciliation program
The end goal of the various reconciliation programs is the promotion of national unity and transformation, and the healing of a traumatized, divided, wounded and polarized people by searching the truth, accountability, justice, forgiveness and healing.
However. the implementation strategy, tactic and process is not a one-size-fits-all that is easily understood across cultures, identities, nations and societies. Hence, different people, from different parts of the globe, having been affected in distinct ways, by different conflicts, have a different and peculiar understanding of the concept of reconciliation and how the process should be engaged to influence the outcome.
This is aptly captured by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who noted that: “As our experience has taught us, each society must discover its own route to reconciliation. Reconciliation cannot be imposed from outside, nor can someone else’s map get us to our destination: it must be our own solution. This involves a very long and painful journey, addressing the pain and suffering of the victims, understanding the motivation of the offenders, bringing together estranged communities, trying to find a path to justice, truth and ultimately peace. Faced with each new instance of violent conflict, new solutions must be devised that are appropriate to the particular context, history and culture in question.”
Reconciliation is, therefore, always a dynamic and adaptive process aimed at building and healing interpersonal and community lives and relationships.
While the overall theoretical overview shown below is similar to the reconciliation programs of the victims of the genocide in Rwanda; persistent violent conflict in Darfur, Sudan; of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia; of apartheid in South Africa; of the civil wars in Northern Ireland, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Nepal, Chad, Chile, El Salvador, Guatemala, The Balkans… the implementation strategies, tactics, processes and action plans need to be specific to local conditions.
The slideshow below show the Overview – Understanding and Reconciliation: (Click on slide below and full screen icon on the page.)
(The author can be reached at [email protected])
By Sioum Gebeyehou
The Problem: The “Kilil” politics kept the peoples of Ethiopia residentially, occupationally, and culturally apart. A body of shared values did not emerge to weld the disparate peoples into any sort of coherent community. Indeed, the ethnic elements grew to distrust each other and were systematically manipulated by the ruling party into antagonistic relationships.
The Solution: The best way to deal with aggravated ethnic tensions is to build inter-ethnic coalitions through the recognition of the legitimate concerns of each ethnic group. This approach removes the fear that after the fall of the current divisive regime, change would result in another form of ethnic domination. Inter-ethnic coalitions are better established through people to people UNDERSTANDING and RECONCILIATION.”
The presentation below shows the Principles of Understanding and Reconciliation: (click on image enlarge)
