Addis Abeba– The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) has stated that “the foremost choice of the people of Tigray and its leadership is peace,” following Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s call for Tigrayan elites to resolve their differences peacefully, emphasizing that this should be done “in a way that ensures the unity of the Tigrayan people.”
In a statement issued on February 5, the TPLF, led by Debretsion Gebremichael (PhD), called on all parties to play a “constructive role” in realizing the aspirations of the people of Tigray and expressed its willingness to work with any force that seeks peace. “We want to confirm,” the statement said, “that we have been, are, and will be ready to work with all peace-seeking forces.”
The statement follows remarks by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who, in a speech on February 3, urged Tigrayan elites to resolve their differences through “peace, dialogue, and understanding.” He stated that the people of Tigray are still “living in war rhetoric, fear, and terror.”
Prime Minister Abiy noted that for centuries, Tigray has repeatedly been engaged in conflicts with the central government. “The land of Tigray has become a battlefield; the people of Tigray have also become instruments of war,” he said, calling on Tigrayan elites to “declare that the price the people have paid so far is enough and that there is no gain from war.”
In its statement, the TPLF said that conflicts involving the people of Tigray over the past century were fought “to ensure their survival and not to give in to oppression.”
The party asserted that “the struggles waged by the people of Tigray make them proud, not regretful,” adding that these struggles were for “sovereignty, freedom, and dignity” and were “crucial moments that determined the state of their existence as a nation and a people.” However, it insisted that this does not mean that “the people of Tigray have a culture of war.”
The TPLF reaffirmed that the people of Tigray “have a strong desire for peace,” stating that they “accepted the Pretoria Agreement, which stopped the genocidal war against them” and are calling on “all concerned parties to fully implement it.”
However, the party stated that “the Pretoria Peace Agreement has not been implemented, it has not been implemented on the ground,” adding that “the people of Tigray want and support peace to be accompanied by action.”
The statement from the party comes amid a deepening rift within the TPLF, particularly between factions led by Debretsion Gebremichael and Interim Administration President Getachew Reda, with tensions escalating since the TPLF’s 14th Congress.
This internal split previously led to Debretsion’s group removing Getachew and others from their roles, while the interim administration under Getachew repeatedly accused Debretsion’s faction of attempting to “destabilize” the region through a “coup d’état.”
Tensions have risen recently after some senior members of the Tigray military forces made an unprecedented announcement calling for the dissolution and restructuring of the region’s interim administration. They expressed support for one faction within the TPLF’s political divide, abandoning their previously neutral stance and escalating Tigray’s political crisis into a potential military crisis. AS
