Ethiopia has asked the World for support to its agenda of restoring peace and reconciliation as the country’s reiterates its firm commitment to the African Union (AU) led peace process.
The call has been made on Saturday by H.E. Demeke Mekonnen, Ethiopia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, while submitting at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly.
His remarks are in relation to the Northern Ethiopia conflict which broke out on November 4, 2020 as a result of Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) attacks on the Northern Command of National Defense Forces of Ethiopia and the neighboring regions of Amhara and Afar.
“In November 2020, the most heinous and treasonous attack was waged against the Ethiopian National Defense Force that protected not only the peace and stability of Ethiopia, but also helped to keep peace in other countries on behalf of the United Nations and the African Union,” H.E. Demeke said.
“The criminal group that remains hellbent on destroying societal foundation of our country colluded with external actors opposed to our development aspirations. The insecurity this group created had been very tragic and costly yet the government of Ethiopia has earnestly tried to avoid this conflict”
“Regrettably, our efforts to prevent the conflict from reigniting were not successful. Thanks to the resolve and determination of Ethiopians, the desires of our adversaries against Ethiopia’s progress have been frustrated,” he added.
The Foreign Minister explained that Ethiopia has paved a path for peace and recovery relying on the ability of the peace loving people of Ethiopia to reconcile, make people among ourselves and start the process of healing.
“We just call for support to our agenda for peace, reconciliation and reconstruction. We also urge for respect and support for AU-led peace process. Any other approach including the politicization of human rights and unilateral coercive measures, will not yield and positive outcome,” he reiterated.
The group, which was designated by the Parliament as a terrorist organization, in August this year resumed fighting in Tigray undermining calls and efforts aimed at peaceful resolution of the conflict in Tigray.
In March this year, the Federal Government of Ethiopia led by Prime Minister, Dr Abiy Ahmed, declared an indefinite humanitarian truce to facilitate the free flow of humanitarian aid into Tigray region as well as giving an opportunity to peaceful negotiations.
While announcing the humanitarian truce, government said thousands of people from Tigray were trekking into neighboring regions in search for assistance.
Considering this fact, government said, the situation warranted urgent measures to assist the locals, thus committing to exert maximum effort to facilitate the free flow of the needed aid.
This happened at the backdrop of the fact that TPLF uses starvation through interrupting the flow of humanitarian support into the Northern region, stealing the ready to harvest food and consuming the stockpiled one.
Much as government asked TPLF to desist from acts of aggression and withdraw from areas they occupied in neighboring regions, no signs of such were seen. TPLF still occupied some areas in Afar and Amhara regions and as well continued with provocations.
They on several occasions, commandeered humanitarian vehicles that entered Mekelle. It is worth noting that the group also rejected to observe the government declared Unilateral Ceasefire in June 2021.
TPLF’s belief that continued fighting in Tigray and neighbouring regions would Ethiopia force Addis Ababa to succumb and give-in to the North is frustrating all the possible negotiations.