November 09, (THEWILL) – Former President Goodluck Jonathan has called for a ceasefire among combatants in the Ethiopian conflict.
The former president in a statement issued by his Special Assistant, Ikechukwu Eze, urged the warring parties to embrace dialogue.
Jonathan, the ECOWAS Special Envoy in Mali and chairman of the International Summit Council for Peace (Africa), stated that “Ethiopians should meet as brothers, not as combatants.”
He also described Ethiopia as a nation that “is strategically important to Africa, being at the heart of the continent”, adding that such a country should not be allowed to be consumed by an internal crisis.
The statement read in part, “The former President urged the warring parties to embrace dialogue and negotiations in the interest of the peace in their country and the entire continent.
“I call for an immediate cessation of hostilities in the conflict between the Ethiopian government and those opposed to it.
“Africa and the rest of the world cannot sit idly as this great nation, that has played a very pivotal and vital role in human civilisation, is at risk.
“I, therefore, call on all sides to look at the bigger picture. And that is what Ethiopia means to her people, to Africa and to the world.
“So much progress has come out of Ethiopia over the last few years, and this forward match ought not to be halted. I urge everyone in that blessed nation to recognise that they are all brothers and sisters of one motherland, Ethiopia.
“That being the case, it is certainly more profitable to meet as brothers than to meet as combatants. Thus, I make this urgent appeal for all to move from battleground to common ground.”
