TUESDAY JUNE 14 2022
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. PHOTO | FILE
By TESFA-ALEM TEKLE
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has, for the first time, said his government is open to negotiations with the northern Tigray rebels.
Dr Abiy, responding to queries from members of the House of Representatives on Tuesday, said his administration has set up a committee to spearhead the talks.
“Regarding the peace, a committee has been established,” he told parliament. “Negotiation needs a lot of work,” he added, saying that the team “will study how we will conduct talks.”
Read: Ethiopia wants end to war: official
The committee, headed by his deputy Demeke Mekonnen, has 10 to 15 days to work out on details of agendas for negotiations.
Fighting erupted in Tigray in November 2020 and spilled to neighbouring Afar and Amhara regions last year. Thousands have died and many more fled their homes, triggering a humanitarian crisis.
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The war has since eased after Dr Abiy’s government declared a unilateral humanitarian ceasefire in March.
Read: Tigray rebels agree to ceasefire
Moment of laughter
During the session in Parliament, MPs were left in stitches with laughter following a suggestion from a lawmaker from Amhara, Desalegn Chane, that Eritreans be included in the peace talks.
“Both Amhara people and our Eritrean brothers need to be part of the negotiations since they were part of the war,” the former chairperson of the National Movement of Amhara said.
His remarks, however, were criticised by Tigrayan activists and Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) supporters.
Key issues
On Monday, a government source had told The EastAfrican that direct talks between the two warring parties would begin by the end of this month.
“Peace talks will start in about two weeks. There will be a team of five representatives from each party in the talks,” the source said.
The negotiations will address key issues, among them the security arrangement and whether the Tigray Defence Forces would remain armed. Other matters, the source said, are about the prisoners, humanitarian issues and the disputed territories in western Tigray, which Amhara occupied following the conflict.
Last Sunday, a senior TPLF official intimated knowledge of the direct talks with the Addis Ababa government. “We know there are plans, but you cannot be sure. Addis has been dragging it. It [the direct talks] might even be earlier than two weeks. We are ready from our side,” the official told The EastAfrican.
“The government of Tigray has always been ready for a peaceful political resolution of the ongoing conflict in Tigray.”
AFRICA Published June 14, 2022 1:33pm EDT
Ethiopia forms body to negotiate with Tigray rebels amid deadly civil war
Ethiopia’s near-two-years-long civil war has put millions on the brink of famine
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Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced on Tuesday that his government had formed a committee to negotiate for peace with Tigrayan regional forces amid Ethiopia’s deadly civil war.
Roughly 5.5 million people have been displaced during Ethiopia’s 19-month-long civil war after fighting first broke out in Ethiopia’s most northern region in November 2020.
The Ethiopian government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) have since engaged in a deadly conflict that expanded into the neighboring regions of Afar and Amhara last year.
“Regarding the peace, a committee has been established,” Abiy reportedly told Ethiopian parliament members Tuesday according to Al Jazeera. “Negotiation needs a lot of work. A committee has been established and it will study how we will conduct talks.”
ETHIOPIA’S AMHARA ETHNIC GROUP ACCUSES BIDEN OF IGNORING ATROCITIES
TOPSHOT – Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) fighters arrive after eight hours of walking in Mekele, the capital of Tigray region, Ethiopia, on June 29, 2021. (Photo by YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images)
Ethiopia called a ceasefire in March 2022, but unrest throughout the country continued.
Abiy has been criticized for not only his failure to staunch the war but for policies he enacted that have contributed to further human rights abuses.
On May 20 he launched a “law enforcement operation” that was allegedly intended to “protect citizens and ensure the survival of the nation.”
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA – JUNE 13: Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed attends the inauguration of the newly remodeled Meskel Square on June 13, 2021 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images)
THOUSANDS VICTIMIZED BY SEXUAL VIOLENCE AS WAR IN NORTHERN ETHIOPIA PERSISTS
But by May 23 security officials in the Amhara region announced that over 4,500 individuals had been arrested in the region alone, including journalists and activists.
Abiy has reportedly granted the newly established committee 10-15 days to establish negotiations with the TPLF to end the fighting.
But the Ethiopian president’s timely demand could prove difficult given the nation’s decades-long history of regional and ethnic conflict.
The TPLF became a leading political party in Ethiopia after it helped to overthrow a military regime in the early 90s, ruling until Abiy became president in 2018.
The Tigrayan political group has accused Abiy of attempting to centralize power over regional leadership.
TOPSHOT – Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) fighters prepare to leave for another field at Tigray Martyr’s Memorial Monument Center in Mekele, the capital of Tigray region, Ethiopia, on June 30, 2021. (Photo by YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images)
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Abiy, in turn, has accused the TPLF of attempting to regain power.
With more than 4.5 million Ethiopians internally displaced, global officials have been sounding the alarm that Ethiopia could face one of the worst cases of famine on the planet.