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Elders intervene to mediate Abiy gov’t, de facto state in the north

Religious leaders to head to Mekelle, north Ethiopia, as part of effort to mediate TPLF and Federal government

Ethiopian Interfaith Council leaders. Photo credit : DW Amharic (resized)

borkena
June 15, 2020

Apart from external challenges that mainly emanates from Egypt’s position to continue to monopolize the Nile water by maintaining a colonial-era water resource arrangement agreement, Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPFL) has been standing between Abiy Ahmed’s administration and his reform measures.

Tigray in North Ethiopia is not intact by any means. Yet, no reform measures have been implemented in the region. For leaders governing it at the moment resistance to the reform is the cause.

The trend jeopardized the Federal government’s duty to enforce the rule of law.  The latest string of confrontation is over the sixth general election which the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) canceled due to the coronavirus situation in the country.

The upper and lower houses of the government established a legal procedure to “constitutionally” extend the election. The Upper house decided for election to take place anywhere between 9 to 12 months once the Coronavirus is declared to be no more a public health emergency. The terms of the Federal and regional house of representatives are temporarily extended after September 2020 which was supposedly the end of the terms.

On the other hand, Tigray regional state council took a different path but in the direction of the resistance to the reform measures. It endorsed executive and central committee members’ decision to go ahead with an election in the region – a decision which is against the National Electoral Board and the Federal government of Ethiopia.

There has been a rumor that TPLF leaders wanted a face-saving u-turn from their decision to conduct an election in the region.  They wanted a mediator to be sent to them. It is not established if that is really the case.

However, it is not confirmed that religious leaders from Ethiopia’s Inter-Faith Council have started an effort to mediate Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government and TPLF leaders who are now based in Mekelle after they lost dominance in Federal government power.  Public Relations head of the council, Hadji Mesud Adem, is cited as saying that the situation in Ethiopia requires intervention from mediators.

According to Deutsche Welle Radio Amharic service, senior leaders in Tigray regional state have nodded to the mediation effort via the Ethiopian Interfaith Council, and they have agreed to attend discussions.

It is also confirmed that the religious leaders will be heading to Mekelle, Tigray, for the mediation although it is undisclosed as to when they are traveling north.

No speculation at his point as to what TPLF regional state in the north would demand in return for accepting the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia’s decision and the House of Federation decision.

In a way, traditional mediation has become customary, since Abiy Ahmed became prime minister in April 2018, wherever the rule of law is endangered. Based on experience in the Oromo region of Ethiopia, mediation with radical forces did not work, and the government is engaging militarily armed ethnic nationalist groups in the region.

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7 COMMENTS

  1. Above all, there is no legitmate government in Ethiopia. Tigrai is independent. We do no want to be part of the Emperial Ethiopia.
    And this is a biased and one sided report.

    • You’re right. When there was a family-run govt which took over by force and killed thousands of Oromo and Amhara people, it was legitimate.

      And the imperial country you talk about was ruled by highland Christians (not only Amhara). That means Tigaru included.

  2. One thing Eritreans and Tigrayans are good at is to dominate public forums. How do they do it? By talking loud, by ambushing the public, and if and when they don’t get their way by going into untidy temper tantrum. Hey guys, let us not waste our precious life endlessly listening to this crap. Let us move on to better things. By picking them up every time they turn moody we block chances of their growing to adulthood. In 1974 Eritreans run for Eritrea in droves. Does anyone remember how belligerent they acted? Well, it did not work. So many returned to Addis as if nothing had happened. Came 1991. Once again they turned into strange beings. Go back and visit what they wrote and what they said in public. Now they are back having failed in every way imaginable. This time the strategy is to create a new narrative in the hope that we don’t remember and that they are the intelligent ones in the room. Guess what I would advise Ethiopians? LEAVE ERITREANS AND TIGRAYANS ALONE! Tigray wants to break away. Leave them alone. None of them could survive or remain together without an imaginary enemy . Ethiopia has always been that enemy–either as ‘colonialist’ (Eritrea) or naftanya (Tigray who are themselves naftanyas!).

    Just read religious community leaders have gone over to Tigray to pacify Tplf. That is waste of time and may in fact paint Tplf as indispensable. That of course is what Tplf wants us and Tigrayans to believe. LEAVE TPLF ALONE so a day of reckoning would begin with Tigrayan public. Remember it is Tplf that murdered thousands of Tigrayan youth, more than Derg and the 1984 famine combined!

    PM Abiy should NOT confer with Isaias or Tplf without sharing the broad outline of his activities with Ethiopian public. Isaias is the same cold, deadly menace he was in the beginning. Tplf is the same terrorizing group it was 45 years ago. No one in their right mind would expect olives from a snake. LEAVE THEM ALONE.

    • What do you Tigrayans and Eritreans shout and dominate public forums?? For 27 years Amhara and Oromo have been creating chaos to meetings, holding protests, and disruption discuss. How can you say that Tigrayans and Eritreans talk loud and ambush the public with an untidy temper tantrum.

      Leave us Alone and we will show you!!

      We built Abay dam, most of the people that even bought bonds are from Tigray, but we don’t shout it’s my dam!!! Blah! Blah! We do the work, buy bonds, and actually conduct ‘good’ and beneficial diplomacy for Ethiopia. Something that Abiy can’t do. We built Ethiopians airlines, the only profitable airline in Africa. We built Addis Ababa for all of Ethiopia.

      TPLF has done so much for Ethiopia, with the lives of 60,000 people that died in the fight. It left its own, and fed the whole Ethiopia.

      Regardless, leave us alone and we’ll develop way further than you!

  3. Praying for turning this moment to not only create respect and understanding but really le enrage Tigrai’s 27 years knowledge to deal with the challenges of inability to exploit own source of water and Egypt. Tigrai should lead this effort to resolve and mitigate the issue

  4. surprisingly non sense issue!u z digital woyane groups surly never represent z Tigraway farmer and z Tigraway mother who r still under z eyes of z mercenary tplf.And u know it tigray is nothing without its motherland Ethiopia.don even think it,u cant afford a 6 month salary to the civil servant even. the lands of raya and wolkait do u think take with the defacto?I hope u don even think that.so what..? advice u to live calm to the sake of the beloved tigraway bros & sisters.

  5. This article is ONE-SIDED. Please stop reporting bias information and do your job right. Focus on the FACTS. For example, what did Abiy do on June 7th before sending the elders and the whole conflict? Can you tell me? HE REMOVED ALL TIGRAY REPRSENTATION FROM HIS CABINET, WHICH IS A SIGN THAT HE IS MARGINALIZING THE REGION AND ITS PEOPLE.

    He is a coward because he is using others to destroy “his own” people.

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