Professors Commend Unilateral Humanitarian Ceasefire Declared in Tigray

Declaration of the unilateral humanitarian ceasefire in Tigray to address the challenges the country faces is appropriate, professors Getachew Metaferia said.
Political Science and International Relations professor at Morgan State University, USA, Getachew Metaferia said the unilateral declaration must, however, be reciprocated by the other side.
“The rationale behind the unilateral humanitarian ceasefire in Tigray is convincing as farmers must start working on the field this season. This will avert a forthcoming period of hunger and starvation in the coming year,” he elaborated.
According to the professor, the decision will help Ethiopia because it has taken the decision in good faith and will ease the flow of humanitarian assistance in the region.
Moreover, “the decision will expose TPLF whether it really wants food assistance to reach the people in order to avoid hunger or not. It will also help the government to demonstrate that it is not using hunger as a weapon of war, which unfortunately is alleged by the outside world. Using food as a weapon is a grave humanitarian crime.”
Professor Getachew said the ceasefire will help to reveal the true color of TPLF, the misinformation and deceptive propaganda. Now the world will witness how the TPLF behaves as there will not be federal troops who allegedly killed and raped citizens.
According to him, the TPLF, in its current position, might not be an existential threat to Ethiopia. “But it has the potential to be one as it will be supported by the historical enemies of Ethiopia, such as Egypt whose goal is to control the source of the Blue Nile directly or through its proxy. The TPLF can easily serve the proxy role.”
Chair of Science and Technology Department at National Research Foundation in South Africa, Professor Mammo Muchie said on his part the decision to withdraw the federal army from Tigray has generated debates on whether it is appropriate or not for the government to take this action when the conflict is still not closed.
However, the ceasefire is much needed if all the stakeholder politicians are on board, he stated.
The action taken by the government to withdraw Ethiopian National Defence Force can only bring about humanitarian outcome, the professor said, adding that if the terrorist TPLF also stops the conflict a peaceful condition will be created in all parts of Tigray and the rest of Ethiopia.
Noting the commitment of some countries in welcoming the ceasefire, he said “the international community must support the security of all the people but not interfere and side with the TPLF.”
Professor Mammo urged the TPLF leaders to learn from the past and immediately stop and declare not only ceasefire in Tigray but also stop fomenting unrest and conflict in other parts of the country.
“They should now learn from the big mistake they made last year and stop going to war and open the opportunity for the people of Tigray to vale above all their Ethiopian citizenship,” he underlined.
Professor Mammo concluded by saying, “I look for the earliest possible time for all to enter a peaceful and stable era to create a fully developed Ethiopia where innovation, knowledge, creativity and imagination flourish by removing the gravity burden of ethnicity and all the conflicts based on language, religion, age, gender and all other difference.”

Source: Ethiopia News agency