By: Amleset Abraar
HARGEISA (Somalilandsun) – Somalilandsun – The General Consulate and resident Ethiopians in Somaliland celebrate on Sunday, December 7, celebrated the 9th Ethiopian Nations, Nationalities and Peoples day in Hargeisa with a theme of “Our Constitutionally Accentuated National Tie for our Renaissance”. Jointly organized by the Ethiopian Consulate General office and Ethiopian community associations in Hargeisa and Boram, the day was celebrated colorfully in the attendance of several hundreds of resident Ethiopians in different cities of Somaliland including Hargeisa and Borama. Many Invited Somaliland officials including the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation also attended the colourful event. The event was mainly held in the form of a panel discussion preceded by a salute to the National Anthem, cultural unity songs, short opening briefings by the Ethiopian Consul General, representatives of Ethiopian communities and invited Somaliland officials.
Opening the celebration, Consul General of the Ethiopian mission in Somaliland, Brigadier Berhe Tesfay, pointed out key issues being addressed in the FDRE Constitution which have helped Ethiopia and its people to join hands and usher their renaissance. These include the significant emphasis given in the current Ethiopian Constitution on the equality of all Nations, Nationalities and Peoples of Ethiopia and of language, religion, culture and history.
He also emphasized the attention being given to the full respect of human and democratic rights which constitutes two-third of the total volume of the current Constitution as well as the constitutional provisions pertaining to decentralization of power, self-governance and equitable utilization of national resources and revenues, equitable job opportunities to all and proportional basic services and infrastructure in all regions. These, General Berhe said, were the key issues that all the Ethiopian Nations, Nationalities and Peoples had been deprived of in the previous political eras of Ethiopia and led them to tragic culminations and initiate the birth of EPRDF which had fought for the Ethiopian Peoples’ cause of equality in every aspects and ended the Dergue era of repression and brutality.
He said the principles of equality, self-governance, respect to human and democratic rights as well as equitable utilization of resources has become the miraculous manifestations of the FDRE Constitution following the coming to power of EPRDF and these have galvanized and continues to galvanize all the Nations, Nationalities and Peoples of Ethiopia to opt for building their common country’s peace and stability, categorize poverty as the “sole common national enemy”, stand in unity with diversity, and continues to march together to fight and beat it to a point of no return.
He explained about the rapid double digit growth being registered for the last consecutive ten years, the mega hydro-power projects, the massive infrastructural developments throughout the whole country such as railway and roads, the basic education and service coverage, the proportional and growing budget allocations to all regions, progresses seen in human resource development and institutional building as well as the witnessing by our people of choosing their own leaders in five consecutive democratic elections which he said were all made possible because of the fact that the Constitution has properly addressed the will of the Ethiopian Nations, Nationalities and Peoples.
General Berhe Tesfay who provided a brief example account of progresses being made on the education sector as nationwide attendance to primary and secondary level education reached to 25 million students and higher level students to half a million also noted the Ethiopian Government’s determination of making Ethiopia a middle income economy in less than the next ten years. This, he said, is achievable as all Nations, Nationalities and Peoples of Ethiopia has continued marching in unity and diversity to sustain the rapid economic growth and make their own democratic system based on equality, mutual respect and understanding. He concluded his briefing by recalling the recent visit of an Ethiopian high-level Ministerial delegation to Somaliland and the signing of an MoU with the Somaliland side on trade, infrastructure and transit cooperation which he said were a manifestation of the Ethiopian Government’s and people’s desire to ensure shared growth, not only of its societies at home, but also with neighbors.
Hundreds of Ethiopians who attended the panel discussion also reflected their views on the progresses being registered in Ethiopia in the political, economic, security and social conditions which they described them as “fruits of the Ethiopian peoples’ choice to live in Unity with diversity as enshrined in the FDRE Constitution crafted and adopted through the participation of tens of millions of peoples direct representatives from all corners of the country as well as via their”. Representatives of the Hargeisa and Borama Ethiopian Community associations as well as of the Ethiopian Somali and Oromo community sub-associations also shared these sentiments.
