In The center of Magellan, the capital of Tigris Highlands, is a complex of monuments and museums. Under the scorching heat, old armored vehicles, jets and helicopters rust quietly. On the city’s main thoroughfare, statues “martyrs” and a small group of rebels who have become guerrillas celebrate the victory of the Tigre People’s Liberation Front (TPL), which launched a successful uprising and eventually became Africa’s second most populous country. Ruled the country. 30 years.
The final phase of the bloody offensive launched by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiya Ahmed earlier this month aimed at eliminating the TPLF as a political force by federal Ethiopian troops this week has come to a halt.
The TPLF took 16 years to rise, and its dominance in Ethiopian politics lasted almost twice as long, but if Abiya’s “law enforcement operation” succeeds, its downfall will take less than 30 months. “It’s really shocking. The decline is dramatic, “said Johns Voldemrium, a U.S. citizen who specializes in horns in Africa. Located educational.
The TPLF was formed in 1975 at a time when millions of people across Africa and the Middle East were demanding revolution and liberation. Among the two callers in Ethiopia were a dozen young men from the mountainous northern region of Tigre. Inspired by Marxist-Leninism, a deep understanding of national identity and the utopian slogans of the time, they envisioned a new brave world for their country.
Just over a year ago, Ethiopia’s last emperor, Hale Selesi, was ousted and assassinated by hardline Marxist military officials who were preparing to impose a strict authoritarian regime immediately. In Tigre, there was a long-standing resentment over the power of the centralized Ethiopian state. Many remember the 1943 Tigrayan armed uprising, which was brutally crushed. This time, the TPLF leaders promised victory.
In the late 1970s, the TPLF continued to grow. At the time, the CIA estimated that by 1978, the party had about 2,000 fighters. It could double in speed in two years, the agency said.
Of these, Debretsian was Ge Bremaikel, a wireless operator and propagandist for the rebels at the time and is now the group’s leader.
There is no chance of TPLF success. Its leaders were ruthless and Kenya. They fought and destroyed rival rebel groups in Tigre and were careful not to reject their own Marxist views, which would be unusual with the hard-line, devout Christian rural population that formed the basis of the TPLF’s initial support. Instead, they emphasized the threat posed to local traditions and territorial autonomy by the regime’s socialist policies in Addis Ababa.
The alliance with the like-minded left-wing nationalist rebels of the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) in the neighboring province provided the organization with the decisive training and experience to resist the overwhelming power of the Soviet-backed regime.
“Large-scale military operation to crush Ethiopians [the insurgency] Failed with heavy loss of men and equipment, “the CIA noted in a 1983 assessment. “The government has paid the political and economic price of politics.”
But there was a lot of grief in Tigre, and the brutal counter-insurgency campaign played a significant role in the terrible drought of 1984. TV reports that the global concern and live aid concert were filmed in McLean.
By the late 1980s, the TPLF was the largest and most effective of the coalition of Ethiopian armed rebel groups, united under the banner of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) to fight the ailing Ethiopian regime. On 28 May 1991, TPLF troops, backed by the Eritrean army, took control of the capital, Addis Ababa.
The fall of the regime left the TPLF leader, 36-year-old Males Xenavi, in power and the military and intelligence services dominated by the Tigris, who quickly moved to consolidate their control over other areas. Jobs were found for former colleagues. Debretton, a one-time wireless operator and now a close associate of Xenavi, was appointed deputy head of the National Intelligence Agency, and later Minister of Communications and Information Technology.
Debrecen’s career has spanned both sides of Ethiopia since 1991 under a TPLF-dominated coalition government. There was the construction of a carefully balanced ethnic-based federal state, rapid development progress, large-scale infrastructure investment, and spectacular economic success, which led to deportation. The hunger that once made the country infamous.
McCall nodded, its neat streets and power lines are a testament to the channel resources in the TPLF.
But the repression there was so remorseful that it also worried the U.S., which saw Ethiopia as the foundation of its security strategy in the region and was willing to endure much of the TPLF leadership’s excesses.
Males died suddenly in 2012, and his handpicked successor, Hallerium Desalegan, proved too weak to handle the growing stress.
Dissatisfaction, especially among the two largest ethnic groups – the Oromo and Amhara – threatened a fragile compromise of the 1994 constitution, and representatives of both communities joined the TPL in the ruling coalition. -Amharik Parents, appointed as Prime Minister in 2018.
Abijah hurried away. Top TPLF officers were removed from key security outposts, generals were arrested on Article charges, and changes were made to counter the Tigris domination of the armed forces. Political prisoners were released from secret prisons, deported dissidents were welcomed home, burdensome state-owned enterprises were privatized, and restrictions on the media were eased.
Abini’s peace deal with Eritrea, which won him the Nobel Peace Prize, set him apart from the TPLF. By this summer, the simmering stress had increased further. The TPLF refused to join the new political party formed by Abi to hand over wanted fugitives or change the old ruling coalition, and despite nationwide voting being postponed due to the coronavirus epidemic, it went ahead with local elections in Tigre.
Observers said the decision was “provocative”, even though supporters claimed it was an essential protection of federal rights. Abiyani says Fis is saying that the Prime Minister should not be allowed to join the TPLF. Tried to work with but rebuked them.
Spark highlighting in Tinder was alleged by TPLF units at federal military bases in Tigre in early November, killing several national army officers and seizing significant amounts of hardware. Abi immediately began his attack.
It has taken the federal military three weeks to fight its way into McKelley’s artillery range. It is not clear whether Debrecen and other TPLF leaders are now in the city. Analysts believe they are probably scattered, looking for remote hiding places from which they could run a long and costly insurgency.
Voldemriam said they are looking at the long term and trying to make Tigre a cemetery for Abijah’s soldiers. “It simply came to our notice then. Many people will suffer. ”
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