Kenya urges antagonists in Ethiopia to observe Olympic Truce » Capital News

NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 2 — Kenya has called for cessation of hostilities between warring parties in Ethiopia to pave way for a national dialogue. 

In a statement issued on Wednesday, just a day after the United Nations Secretary General António Guterres called for an all-inclusive national dialogue and deliberate steps to allow effective humanitarian access and relief, President Uhuru Kenyatta urged antagonists to observe an “Olympic Truce”.

“As President of the Republic of Kenya and friend of the brotherly people of Ethiopia, I join the Secretary General of the United Nations, H.E. António GUTERRES, in appealing to all parties to cease hostilities in the ongoing conflict in our neighbouring country of Ethiopia,” President Kenyatta said in a statement issued by the State House Press Office.

The war in Ethiopia began in November 2020 after regional forces in Tigray stormed a security installment of Ethiopia’s national defence force and challenged the government’s legitimacy to rule.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed responded by mounting a military offensive which led to tens of thousands of deaths with both sides accused of human rights violations.

Tigray forces retreated in December 2021 after approaching Addis Ababa where they vowed to topple the government and called for truce amid a sustained military offensive by Abiy’s forces.

In his statement on Wednesday, President Kenyatta, who met Abiy in November 2021 over the crisis, regretted that the conflict in Ethiopia “continues to rob and deprive the people of Ethiopia, the dignity and honour inherently interwoven in the culture and civilization of this great nation.”

The Head of State underscored the need for a peaceful, secure and stable Ethiopia which he noted could only be achieved if all parties overcome challenges impeding dialogue.

“Indeed, an all-inclusive national dialogue, conducted in the spirit of compromise and accommodation, will go a long way in easing the burden of conflict to all the affected communities throughout Ethiopia.”

“I call on the people of Ethiopia, in the spirit of the Olympic Truce, to embrace peace and pave the way for genuine reconciliation,” he said.

While speaking to journalists in New York on Tuesday, Guterres emphasized on the need to allow for effective humanitarian access and relief to affected populations in Ethiopia.

“And these actions will help pave the way to a much-needed inclusive national dialogue involving all Ethiopians,” Guterres said as he pitched for an Olympic Truce.

“For millennia, the tradition of the Olympic Truce has called on all parties, everywhere, to stop hostilities throughout the course of the Games,” the UN chief noted as he prepared to leave for the Winter Olympics.

Guterres’ comments came against the backdrop of a resolution adopted through consensus by the 193-member UN General Assembly in December calling for the observance of the Olympic Truce beginning a week before the Olympic games in Beijing to a week after Paralympics.

Olympic Truce, an ancient Greece dating back to 776 BC, seeks to encourage the safe passage for athletes and spectators participating in Olympic games.