{"id":2253,"date":"2026-08-10T13:12:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T13:12:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/?p=2253"},"modified":"2026-08-10T13:12:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T13:12:12","slug":"armed-struggle-only-prolongs-public-suffering-says-former-rebel-chief-joining-ethiopian-national-dialogue-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/armed-struggle-only-prolongs-public-suffering-says-former-rebel-chief-joining-ethiopian-national-dialogue-conference\/","title":{"rendered":"Armed struggle only prolongs public suffering, says former rebel chief joining Ethiopian National Dialogue Conference"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-path-to-node=\"4\"><em>Addis Ababa (AMECO)<\/em> A former Ethiopian Air Force pilot who went on to lead rebel fighters during the conflict in the Amhara region has embraced peace negotiations and joined the National Dialogue Commission, declaring that armed struggle serves only to prolong public suffering.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"5\">Captain Masresha Sete, who negotiated a peace agreement with the government after acknowledging the destructive impact of war on local communities, said a lack of open national discourse had originally pushed his group into armed rebellion. <strong>&#8220;We took to the bush because there was no dialogue,&#8221;<\/strong> Masresha said, adding that his decision to take up arms stemmed from an inability to discuss collective national grievances. He urged Ethiopians to move past armed conflict, emphasizing that his group chose peace because their sole objective was to engage in meaningful dialogue.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"7\">Characterising the ongoing national consultation as inclusive, fair, and neutral, the former commander expressed optimism that the talks would bridge extreme ideological divides through open debate and the force of ideas.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"8\">Reflecting on Ethiopia\u2019s turbulent modern history, Masresha argued that had a similar national dialogue taken place in the 1960s [1970s Gregorian calendar], the mass casualties that accompanied successive regime changes could have been avoided, saving the lives of intellectuals and ordinary citizens alike. He warned that nation-building is impossible when society is divided into oppressors and oppressed, or beneficiaries and victims, noting that war merely destroys generations and sets back national development.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"9\">Masresha also cautioned against external interference, alleging that foreign adversaries seek to exploit domestic divisions and manipulate an emotionally driven younger generation. He claimed that some armed groups use popular demands as a cover for personal gain, reiterating that lasting state-building can only be achieved through consensus.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"10\">Born in Marto LeMariam, Masresha served as an air force captain before being imprisoned under the rule of the Tigray People&#8217;s Liberation Front (TPLF). He was released during the 2018 political reforms and later commanded armed forces in Amhara region before accepting the government&#8217;s peace option. He is now participating in the National Dialogue Commission to help chart the country&#8217;s future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Addis Ababa (AMECO) A former Ethiopian Air Force pilot who went on to lead rebel fighters during the conflict in the Amhara region has embraced peace negotiations and joined the National Dialogue Commission, declaring that armed struggle serves only to prolong public suffering. Captain Masresha Sete, who negotiated a peace agreement with the government after [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":2255,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,3],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[47,354,1437,731,1433,1117,84,1114,1112,696,364,717],"class_list":["post-2253","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-local","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2253","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2253"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2253\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2256,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2253\/revisions\/2256"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2253"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2253"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=2253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}