The Justice for All Center of Excellence Peace and Justice is hosting a peace dialogue forum on November 20–21, 2023, organized by Justice for All PF Ethiopia in partnership with the Ethiopian Elders Council, Ethiopian National Dialogue Commission, and the Ministry of Peace. The forum’s main goals are to improve people-to-people relations and settle disputes through dialogue.
Participants include elders from Tigray, Amhara, Afar, Oromia, Benshangul, Gambella, Harari, Southern Ethiopia Peoples, Central Ethiopia, and the Ethiopian Elders Council.
Pr. Daniel G/Selassie, President of Justice for All and Vice Chairperson of the Ethiopian Elders Council, stated, “The role of Ethiopian elders is to solve our current problems through discussion and listening to all of the diverse people of Ethiopia. This, I believe, will considerably aid the work of the National Dialogue Commission.”
Ambassador of the Kingdom of Netherlands, Henrik Jan Bakker
I want to share a quotation from President Sahlework’s opening remarks to Parliament. “Let’s not look at our past instead focus on building our future.” During this year’s historic Ethiopian great run, we witnessed the oneness and the unity of the Ethiopian people despite their differences. If Ethiopians can come together in this manner there is no reason, we cannot come together to resolve our problems.
Ayu Beyene Senbeto, the chairman of the Ethiopian Elders Association
“The Ethiopian elders have been traveling to different parts of Oromia, Tigray, Amhara, and the southern areas for the past three years in an attempt to promote peace and dialogue. There have been both successful and unsuccessful outcomes. We need to cultivate trust and honesty in order to apply the principles that conversation and dialogue may still be used to settle conflicts in the communities where we all reside.
H.E Taye Danda, State Minster of Peace
“We have a serious and agonizing issue. We are doing this to one another to our own people. All of this bloodshed is inflicted by brother on brother and not a foreign enemy. The Ethiopian people are still dying, mothers, infants, and the vulnerable are being uprooted and going hungry.
You all need to understand the enormity of the task that is ahead of you and bring people together through mediation.
Professor Mesfen Araya, Commission Commissioner of the Ethiopian National Dialogue Commission
“If we look back through history elders were not involved in the political upheavals that our country underwent, and they caused us problems. The youth movement amounted to nothing because it wasn’t’ supported by the experience and wisdom of elders. We should learn from our previous mistakes.
The Ethiopian National Dialogue Commission’s right hand are the country’s elders. I put a lot of trust in you to work hard as relative peace is prudent at all regions of Ethiopia to accomplish our task, and the elders play a major role in keeping the nation peaceful.”
The Ethiopian National Dialogue Commission’s Commissioner Ambaye Ogato, Ph.D., led a discussion on the idea of dialogue at the peace dialogue forum. Amhara and Oromia region representatives also gave presentations and had discussions about the issues and solutions that their respective regions are facing.
