When Ethiopians Choose Unity, the Hand That Binds Them Weakens

By Gezmu Edicha

Addis Ababa, December 11, 2025 (ENA) —As Ethiopia’s government resolutely advances comprehensive reform and national reconciliation, armed groups in some parts of the country have continued to embrace peace.

This development signals a promising path toward lasting stability in Ethiopia, a nation of strategic importance in Africa.

 Nowhere is this transformation more striking than in the recent landmark agreement between the Amhara Regional State and the Amhara Fano Popular Organization (AFPO). Far more than a negotiated settlement, this breakthrough represents a significant stride toward national cohesion.

Just last week, Arega Kebede, Chief Administrator of the Amhara Regional State, and Captain Masresha Sete, representing the AFPO, signed an agreement brokered by officials from the African Union (AU) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), who had been mediating to resolve the differences between the two parties.

This development carries implications that extend far beyond the conference room, reaching into the very heart of Ethiopia’s future.

Indeed, this is not the first time the Ethiopian government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, has demonstrated extraordinary patience, urging armed forces to lay down arms and engage at the negotiating table. It stands as a clear testament to the government’s steadfast commitment to dialogue over conflict.

In this context, the Pretoria peace deal in 2022 that ended the northern Ethiopian conflict, stands out as a unique feature in Ethiopia’s body politics.

Historically, Ethiopia has rarely succeeded in resolving internal conflicts through negotiations, making this achievement particularly noteworthy. Significantly, the agreement underscores Ethiopia’s contemporary shift toward resolving internal disputes through dialogue rather than force.

Building on Ethiopia’s ongoing commitment to peaceful approaches, the recent accord between the Amhara Regional State and the Amhara Fano Popular Organization therefore represents yet another significant step in a series of landmark peace deals across the regions.

It is worth noting another significant peace breakthrough last year: the agreement reached between the Oromia Regional Government and a senior leader of the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), which has helped solidify peace efforts in the region and represents a crucial step toward ensuring durable peace in Ethiopia.

Similarly, other armed groups that once operated in regions such as Benishangul-Gumuz and Gambella have also reached peace agreements with their respective regional governments in recent years.  Evidently, this dynamics is further reinforcing Ethiopia’s broader momentum toward reconciliation.

As former militants reintegrate into peaceful civilian life, Ethiopia’s nationwide push to curb armed conflict has gathered remarkable momentum. The remaining armed groups in few areas are likewise anticipated to follow suit.

Ethiopia’s Journey: Dialogue as a Path to Peace and Democracy

Ethiopia has embarked on a historic journey toward national dialogue and reconciliation, addressing both longstanding and contemporary challenges in this ancient African nation. This effort reflects the government’s strong commitment and bold initiative to fortify democratic institutions and foster a thriving, civilized political culture.

Amid the country’s complex political landscape, the inclusive national dialogue brings together all segments of society to resolve deep-rooted conflicts and grievances. The initiative seeks to heal wounds left by past political systems and establish a platform for building consensus on fundamental national issues. With full government support, participants are empowered to voice the concerns and aspirations of the Ethiopian people, paving the way for a more united, democratic, and resilient future.

In this process, the Ethiopian National Dialogue Commission has played an unmatched role in fostering dialogue and promoting civilized political discourse across the nation.

A Decisive Blow to Foreign Actors Exploiting Ethiopia’s Internal Divisions

Uniquely, in this recent landmark deal to achieve lasting peace in the Amhara region, Ethiopia’s deliberate and wise handling of the process has dealt a decisive blow to the lingering hopes of foreign actors who profit from the nation’s internal divisions.

At the same time, the agreement underscores a recurring truth in Ethiopian history: whenever the nation chooses unity over conflict, its strength multiplies, and its path forward becomes unshakable.

There is a familiar rhythm in Ethiopian history. Even in times of internal quarrel, deep wounds when a shadow from outside stretches toward the homeland, Ethiopians have always known how to quiet their disputes, close ranks and stand shoulder to shoulder. This instinct for survival, older than modern borders and deeper than politics, is what has kept the country standing through storms of centuries.

Time and again, forces that never wished Ethiopia well have tried to stretch those storms from within, feeding suspicion, widening internal cracks, and hoping that brothers would weaken each other while others quietly advanced their interests. This has been a painful lesson in Ethiopia’s long journey. Yet history also shows something stronger than manipulation, the Ethiopian capacity to return to dialogue, to re-embrace one another, and to close every door through which outsiders attempt to enter.

That spirit was on full display with the signing of a permanent peace agreement between the Amhara Regional State and the Amhara Fano Popular Organization (AFPO), marking a turning point not only for the region but for the nation as a whole. But beyond signatures and protocols, what unfolded was something deeper, a public declaration that Ethiopians will no longer allow conflict to drain their strength while others quietly benefit.

“There are no winners in war,” Arega Kebede, the regional chief administrator reminded at the ceremony. “But with peace, everyone emerges victorious.” His words carried the weight of a people that have paid too many prices for disunity. He stressed that the door of the regional government remains open to all who choose dialogue over destruction, adding that it is never too late to return to peaceful and democratic solutions.

From the other side of the table, Captain Masresha Sete echoed the same truth in plain language. Conflict, he said, only multiplies suffering, while dialogue restores dignity. He warned that any path that compromises Ethiopia’s national interest by aligning, directly or indirectly, with long-standing adversaries is unacceptable. Choosing peace, he emphasized, is not surrender, it is wisdom.

For many ordinary citizens, this agreement is not just political news. It is relief. It is the sound of gunfire fading from memory. It is farmers returning to fields, traders reopening shops, children walking to school without fear. It is the restoration of daily life.

But it also carries a deeper national meaning.

Every internal peace agreement cuts invisible hands that have long tried to pull Ethiopia apart. Each group that returns to dialogue narrows the space for foreign designs that thrive on Ethiopian division. And every handshake between Ethiopians weakens those who once believed the country could be eternally restrained, not only from within but also from fully using the blessings nature placed in its hands.

For generations, Ethiopia’s hands were tied from accessing one of its most natural endowments, the Nile River and Red Sea. The story of that loss is well known, shaped by pressure, manipulation, and a regional order that served some while denying others. For decades, Ethiopians were told that this reality could not change. That the door was permanently shut.

Today, that language has changed.

With GERD fait a comply now with blood and sweat, scholars, policymakers, and the highest leadership of the country now speak with clarity that Ethiopia’s quest for access to the sea is not a matter of ambition, but of survival, dignity, and justice. It is anchored in history, geography, international law, and the economic reality of a nation of over 130 million people.

In addition to charting a consolidated path to peace for the East African nation, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, in a recent address to parliament, reaffirmed that Ethiopia’s maritime claim is legally, historically, geographically, and economically grounded. He emphasized that the pursuit of this right will continue peacefully, guided by principle and patience, not through confrontation but through lawful dialogue and mutual benefit.

Researchers at national institutions echo the same view. They describe the loss of sea access as a historical fracture created through a combination of internal weakness and external pressure. Yet they also emphasize that fractures can heal when a nation rises with unity of purpose and clarity of vision.

What connects peace agreement Amhara and other regions of   Ethiopia and the nation’s maritime quest is not coincidence. It is cause and effect. A country at peace with itself cannot be permanently blocked from its natural future. A nation that resolves its internal disputes weakens every external attempt to restrain it.

As conflicts fade and dialogue expands, Ethiopia speaks with one voice. And when Ethiopia speaks with one voice, even the strongest pressures must eventually listen.

The message is now consistent from Addis Ababa to the regions, from government offices to community gatherings, from scholars to farmers, the age of tying Ethiopian hands has passed. Cooperation is preferred. Peace is extended. Dialogue is offered. But the country will no longer accept a future defined by historical injustice.

All in all, as internal reconciliation takes root, Ethiopia’s path to lasting peace opens new doors, heals old wounds, and reinforces its standing in the world.