Twenty Three

Isala was on air that morning for an official announcement for the end of the war. Every ear was on the radio. Children and their fathers huddled close to listen to one word' war has ended'. That would just be the beginning of anything said further. He was on his best outfit; a smaller, lighter, more delicate in build and facial outline, boyish yet with a purposeful military moustache and a soldierly bearing. He stood up, looked around and took some pause, then breathed heavily. Everyone looked up to him with pride. He was the last standing military man to be trusted.

"Dear country men and women. We are witnesses to tears that have lasted for three years.  A stop must be put to the bloodshed which is going on as a result of the war.  These cries and tears by our loved ones must come to an end.  Our people are now disillusioned and those elements of the old regime who have made negotiations and reconciliation impossible have voluntarily removed themselves from our midst. Some are dead, while many others are in hiding. We are all tired of the war. this hawkish step we took was indecently painful That is a true confession. We could hardly make up for the many losses.  I have put a stop to some more tricks and putting on an orderly disengagement of troops. Since we have killed without conscience thereby disengaging ourselves from the very image of God which we are made I plead in the name of humanity that even those in hiding who are still ready for this battle in a way to seek revenge to pause while an armistice is negotiated in order to avoid the mass suffering caused by the movement of population. We have always believed that our differences should be settled by peaceful negotiation by those whom we have known and taken as brothers.  Let us be forgiven. It is with a heart full of gratitude to God that I announce to you that today marks the formal end of this war. The world knows how hard we strove to avoid the civil war. The tragic chapter of violence is just ended. Just like many other countries with similar problems of ours we have the opportunity to build a new nation.  On our side, we fought the war with great reckless abandon, in anger in hatred and conscienceless, but always in the hope that common sense would prevail.    We therefore mourn the dead heroes, our comrades and close friends whom we killed because of selfishness and hardheartedness.  For those of us who survived, we thank God for sparing us and our children to see this glorious dawn of national reconciliation. We say we are sorry children for bequeathing this war to you. It was not deliberate. We shall work to make many amends.  We are on the verge to build a new kingdom, a brand new administration and strong empire who would tell the coming generation how diligently we fought and how bad it turned out to be.  A nation never to return to the fractious, sterile and selfish debates that led to the tragic conflict just ending.  We have overcome a lot over the past years and we will put a force to make many corrections as soon as possible. The lessons of the many wars fought, where it was found that a

permanent settlement could only emerge from an

honorable peace. We want to admit in your honor that we have no looser in this war, only that the battlefield has changed. We are not enemies but friends. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. It is not our desire to see this continue. For those who want it that way, let them in their different hidings continue licking their blood. As for us we think fundamentally that it is over and over and over. We are at the dawn of national reconciliation.  Once again we have the opportunity to build a new nation in the interest of humanity.  On our side, we fought the war with great caution, not in anger or hatred, but always in the hope that common sense would prevail.  Many times we sought a negotiated settlement, not out of wickedness, but in order to minimize the problems of reintegration, reconciliation and reconstruction.  We knew that however the war ended, in the battlefield or in the conference room, our brothers fighting under other colors must rejoin us and that we must together rebuild the nation anew.  The silencing of guns allowed the milk of brotherhood, love, understanding and sympathy to flow from its source again. We say sorry to our many African brothers who huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of the world to watch and say their sorry. We have come to take peace.  That moment is coming and it is now when we are able to prove through hard work and commitment that we are going to be one. Days we officers openly rejoiced at each other's misfortune are over. Days we could not believe in the sanctity of life and blood is over. Days we never knew we could be one is over. Today mark a new day for history, new page of history. We must henceforth learn to be one, to remain united like a broom, to become in instrument working in a common plan. In addition to many things we are putting in place to help out, several ambulances will be on duty until midnight for the next three months to convey war victims to their destinations and to offer any help deemed necessary. This statement will remain alive to our children and children children, a written document would be prepared as an apologia for the war".