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10:24 a. M.
Tuesday 10 November 2020
I wrote – Rana Osama:
Pelin Seyoum, a spokesman for Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, confirmed Tuesday that the latter does not reject international calls for calm in the restless Tigray region, after growing fears of a civil war and hundreds of deaths.
Seyoum responded to a Reuters request for comment on a diplomatic claim that my father “does not listen to anyone”, saying: “The (Ethiopian) prime minister does not turn down anyone’s invitations, acknowledged and expressed gratitude for those concerns.”
He added: “However, Ethiopia is a sovereign state, and its government will ultimately make decisions in the long-term interest of the country and its people.”
Violence in the Northern Territory bordering Eritrea and Sudan threatens to destabilize the second most populous country in Africa. The ethnic conflict has escalated in Tigray since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power in April 2018.
Abe, the youngest African leader at the age of 44, won the Nobel Peace Prize last year for his democratic reforms and his success in establishing peace with Eritrea.
However, Abe of the Oromo, Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group, launched a campaign last week against forces loyal to the TPLF. He accused them of attacking a federal military base of the Ethiopian army. The Tigray president accused the Addis Ababa government weeks ago of trying to “invade the region.”
On Monday, Addis Ababa government sources said hundreds of people had died in the recent conflict in troubled Tigraya.
As the fighting in Tigray continued, Abe fired the army chief, the intelligence director and the foreign minister, without explanation.
Days ago, the Ethiopian Parliament voted to dissolve the local government in Tigray and appoint a new interim local government, after the Addis Ababa government launched a military operation in the region, raising fears of a civil war.
The elite of the Tigray region held power in Ethiopia from the 1991 overthrow of the junta leader, Mengistu Haile Myriam, until the rise to power of Abiy Ahmed.
But the TPLF’s influence has since waned, accusing Abe of excluding his candidates from the government and the military. Meanwhile, Addis Ababa was accused of launching a campaign against the state and against the Tigraya ethnic group.
Attempts to remove the Tigrayans from federal affairs increased their intransigence and threatened to separate from the country.
In a move to consolidate his powers, Abe dissolved the old ruling EPRDF coalition and established the Prosperity Party, which the TPLF opposed and refused to join.
Tensions escalated after the Tigray administration held elections in the region last September, defying the federal government’s decision to postpone nationwide elections due to the outbreak of the Corona epidemic, which was scheduled for August 29.
In response, the Ethiopian Parliament ordered the Treasury to stop regional government funding for Tigray.
