By Getachew Mekasha
The 4 point plan calls for the following:
1. A council of elders will be elected by the people from every region and they will be authorized to appoint a trusteeship government under their control.
2. The first duty of the trusteeship government under the control of the council of elders will be to sign an agreement with the present government on matters relating to the safety and security of party members, functionaries and officials. This is a practical necessity not only for the sake of those involved, but also for the country and the nation which cannot afford another occasion for losing its trained manpower in one way or another.
3. The other duty of the trusteeship government will be to ensure that the sovereignty of the Ethiopian people and not the possession of guns that will be the source of power. Thereafter, all groups who have different and opposing ideas, no matter how unfashionable they may be, will debate freely and publicly with a view to winning the support of the Ethiopian people.
4. After ratifying the constitution that will be fully and freely debated by the whole population, and after legislating the functions, operations and the standards for contest between partied, both the council of elders and the trusteeship government will hand over authority to the winning parties and leave. Their roles will be terminal, that is, neither the members of the council of elders nor the members of the trusteeship government will seek any position in the succeeding administration.
Thus, the plan calls for the Mengistu government to step down and give way to an interim transitional administration.
In a statement accompanying the proposal the professors said:
“It is hoped that the world community that has shown so much concern with the plight of the Ethiopian people in a variety of ways would give it the necessary support so that sanity can be restored and the Ethiopian people can gain access to the kind of peace that will enable them to pursue much needed developmental goals.”
According to the reports from Addis Ababa, the latest report from Addis Ababa indicates that Mengistu has rejected the initiative. However, the fact that an appeal was made to world leaders over his head has greatly agitated Mengistu and, judging by his past behavior, the professors now stand in real danger of losing their lives.
The participants appointed a committee for peace and reconciliation in Ethiopia, consisting of eleven persons, to pursue this matter:
Professor Mesfin Wolde-Mariam
Dr. Fisseha Haile Meskal
Dr. Seyoum Gebre Selassie
Dr. Azeb Desta
Dr. Assefa Desta
Dr. Mekonnen Bishaw
Ato Issac Kifle
Dr. Aminu Hussein
Dr. Sebhat Mersiahazen
Dr. Solomon Terfa
Dr. Taye Woldesemiate
In introducing the idea, Professor Mesfin even sounded somewhat sanctimonious by invoking the name of God, and called the peace initiative “simple”, in that it only asked for the traditional Ethiopian style reconciliation through the process known as “irq” and “yikir legziab her.”
While applauding the professors for the courage they have shown in taking this step, many observers think the approach is just too simple, bordering almost on the naive and the half-baked. For one thing, the Mengistu government is beyond redemption, and has gone far beyond the point of no return to be amenable to such an approach at this late
stage.
Secondly, even in traditional style “shimagille” reconciliation there are heavy prices to be paid, and compensations to be awarded to those who are aggrieved in the form of “Blood Price” or “Gumma” or “Kassa” by the offending party, in order to make the reconciliation worth while, firm and lasting. This plan makes no mention of that. In fact, it seems to be bending over backwards to mollify the offenders in both its tone and substance, while at the same time asking the victims (i.e., the entire Ethiopian people) to forgive and forget all the wrongs done to them in the last 17 years.
In this connection, a more comprehensive plan put out earlier by a much larger political groups, organizations and individuals at their meeting in Toronto, Canada, August, 1990, addressed the issues in volved more fully. With some effort on all sides, the “shimagille” concept should not be difficult to combine with the ideas contained in the Toronto Resolution, and be turned into a practical working proposition.