The Defense Chief of Staff disclosed the government’s readiness on Thursday during the closing ceremony of the “peace conference” in Bahir Dar, capital of the Amhara region.
Two months ago, Jula said the Fano forces had lost its core and that the remaining force is weak, cannot stand its ground and is roving from “mountain to mountain.”
This week, he is talking about a different story. According to the Ethiopian Media Service (EMS) report, on Thursday, the Defense Chief attended the closing ceremony of the “peace conference” in Bahir Dar.
“The government wants to negotiate with Fano Forces at a place of their choice and in the presence of the mediator of their choice in the country or abroad,” Jula said during his speech to the participants of the peace conference.
He said “if the Amhara people want Zemene Kassie (one of the prominent Fano leaders in Gojam) to be his leader, the Defense Force has no problem,” he is quoted as saying. He also said that Fano forces have many leaders and that made negotiating with Fano difficult.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed two months ago expressed his government’s readiness to negotiate with the Fano forces which he referred to as extremists groups in the Amhara region, warning that otherwise the people of Amhara will suffer the worst.
MG/abj/APA