Ethiopian lawmakers have removed the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF) from the country’s list of designated terror groups. This comes more than four months after a peace agreement ended a conflict that killed hundreds of thousands of people.
The decision, made on Wednesday, March 22, 2023, highlights the improving relations between federal officials and Tigray regional ones and moves the region closer to the establishment of an interim government. The TPLF dominated Ethiopian politics for close to three decades before Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took office in 2018. The Tigray conflict began in late 2020.
The international community has long been asking the Ethiopian government to lift the terror designations in order to pave way for peaceful resolution to war, but it stood no chance with Ethiopia’s firm stand against calls from the international community.
Ethiopia had to de-list the TPLF from terror groups because it became one of the key points included in the AU brokered agreement for Permanent Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (CoHA) signed between the federal government and representatives of the TPLF on November 2, 2022.
The agreement stipulates that as part of the implementation of the CoHA, the federal government should “facilitate the lifting of the terrorist designation of the TPLF by the House of People’s Representatives.”
According to the state-run Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation, most of Ethiopia’s 547 lawmakers voted to remove the TPLF from the terror list, with 61 objections and five abstentions.
The TPLF was added to the list in May 2012.
Kindeya Gebrehiwot, a senior TPLF official, told reporters that the removal will be a “very good step in moving the peace agreement forward.”
Ethiopia accused the TPLF of starting the conflict by attacking an army base in Tigray, while the TPLF accused the federal government of preparing to strike first.
The peace agreement signed in November, 2022 has led to the return of communications, banking and other basic services cut to the Tigray region of more than 5 million people. Ethiopia now faces a post-conflict reconstruction bill of $20 billion.
U.S Determines That All Sides In The Conflict Committed War Crimes
Earlier this week, the United States said it had determined that all sides in the conflict committed war crimes and crimes against humanity. U.S Secretary of State, Antony Blinken said that after “careful review of the law and facts” he had determined that members of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces, Eritrean Defense Forces, Tigray People’s Liberation Front forces and Amhara forces committed war crimes during the conflict in northern Ethiopia.
While releasing the determination, Blinken said that the U.S welcomes “the commitment that the parties to the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement have made to acknowledge the atrocities committed and their devastating consequences.”
“We urge all parties to follow through on their commitments to one another and implement a credible, inclusive, and comprehensive transitional justice process.”
Antony Blinken
However, Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry criticized the U.S. statement as “selective” and “inflammatory.” The Ministry said that the statement “unfairly apportions blame among different parties in the conflict.”
“For no apparent reason, the statement appears to exonerate one party from certain allegations of human rights violations such as rape and other forms of sexual violence despite the clear and overwhelming evidence about its culpability.”
Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry
Also, the Foreign Ministry of Ethiopia said that the determination was “untimely” as it came “shortly after the launching of national consultations on options for a transitional justice policy. One of the pillars of transitional justice policy is accountability.”
Calling the determinations as ill-advised “partisan and divisive approach from the U.S”, Ethiopia also noted that it “is implementing the Peace Agreement,” and that such “apportioning of blame is unwarranted and undercuts the support of the U.S for an inclusive peace process in Ethiopia.”
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