Ethiopia’s Badme decision labelled ‘undemocratic’

BBC

Ethiopia’s decision to fully accept and implement a peace deal which should see it hand disputed territories to Eritrea is “undemocratic”, a member party of the coalition has said.

The government announced its intention to accept the 2002 border commission ruling, which awarded disputed territories, including the town of Badme, to Eritrea, earlier this month, hoping to end a dispute with its neighbour which sparked Africa’s deadliest border war in 1998.

The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) said it endorsed the decision but accused the government of making it “without the involvement of ally organisations”.

The TPLF was for many years the dominant partner in Ethiopia’s ruling EPRDF coalition and Tigray has administered Badme since the war ended in 2000.

In a statement, the TPLF said the government was “wrong” to have made the public announcement.

And in an apparent reference to recent changes in the army and the government, the TPLF said the coalition’s rules had been flouted, and called for recognition of “veteran leaders”.

It also accused Ethiopia’s new Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of failing to “recognise our veteran leaders”.

Mr Abiy is from the Oromo Peoples’ Democratic Organization (OPDO), another of the four parties which make up the EPRDF.

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