By Samuel Estefanous
By Way of Preface
Easy, now, I am just trying to stimulate dialogue with those who are itching to pin blame on the Northernmost province of the CommonWealth for the never ending wars of attrition going on for close to half a century under changing pretexts. So much so that we have ruled out the possibility of living without war in that part of the country as we have known no other alternative all our lives.
I am not suggesting something like letting Tigray go; in my heart of hearts I cannot imagine Ethiopia without Tigray though it isn’t up to the rest of us to try to keep it in the Greater Dominion. You know why? Because the people of Tigray deserve much better; the suffering it has been subjected to is beyond human endurance and it is up to them to stay or go in peace.
By the same token and in all fairness I totally subscribe to the thesis that if Tigray is to stay in the Federal Union, it has to play by the book and remain just one of the Constituent Members. It should cease moving like a Battalion when it is actually a Company.
Let me share the views of one of my favorite Ethiopian scholars of exceptionally profound knowledge and understanding -Aleka Kidanewold Kifle. Every time I read him I find new meaning in his epic ‘ምእማር ወምስትእማር- which translates in to Amharic as ማመልከቻና ማስታወቂያ and in to English as Preface and Introduction. Thank God he hadn’t lived to hear phrases like ‘የልቦና ዉቅር and ‘አዉደሰብ’; he might have even frowned upon ‘ቀዳሚ ቃል’. I mean the man was a perfectionist and lamented that the way we use words out of expediency is worse than brutally hacking at the language with a blunt blade. He would say it is unforgivable -ግፍ ነዉ-in his words. (God knows only these days if we had scholars like him and Merse’hazen Wolde kirkos as well as Teklehariat Teklemariam we could have understood current affairs much better.)
I stand to be corrected but this native scholar writes that Tegaru is a Phoenician or Greek term used in lieu of the Arabic Habesha and translates as ‘the Tigers’. If I didn’t hate going Meri Ras Aman Belay on you, I could have gone on and on (hats off to Tewodros Tsegaye, by the way, for the brutal expose of the dilettante disciple of a looney character). Suffice it to say that the Tigers are the genesis of the Ethiopian polity, whether we call it Kush after the Hebrew version of the Bible or Ethiopia as in the Greek version. Guess what? The Aleqa actually takes issue with the Greek version and insists that the Ge’ez translation should have been corrected by the original Hebrew.
Anyway this lame preface, this ማመልከቻ, is a humble request to be read with good faith.
Is PP holding TPLF on a loose leash?
The other week I couldn’t believe my eyes when I read that the Premier had tipped off TPLF leaders to ‘sort out’ their problems with the government of Eritrea. What is more the fractured leadership of the Regional State has actually been holding talks with Eritrean government representatives and accusing each other ‘you are the first snitch to collaborate with the architect of the Tigray genocide behind the people of Tigray; no you are the principal snitch, I just turned the other way when you’ve become one’.
Despicable.
TPLF cannot have a problem to be sorted out with the State of Eritrea, obviously, but tacitly the FDRE government is taking TPLF off the hook and letting it wander off unchecked. Folks who talk at great length to ‘lay bare’ the ignorance of the FDRE leadership in this regard are too naïve to understand what Abiy’s government is up to. What is more, the otherwise astute seasoned leadership of the Front are swallowing the bait. I mean the people of Tigray have the wisdom to demand that all but the Federal police and defense forces should leave the territories of the Regional State. They accept the Sovereign presence of Federal Authorities on the soil of Tigray even if they have fought one of the bloodiest wars with the Federal government recently. On the contrary TPLF is displaying independence of act and thought viewing Addis Ababa as a parallel structure.
Navigating Dangerous Territories
Taking their cues from these highly irregular developments, countries like Egypt have got the audacity to try to reconcile the two ‘brotherly Nations’ of Eritrea and Tigray. I would rather say TPLF and PFDJ.
The Federal government of Somalia has rushed into the axis of conspiracy with such great abandon that Isaiyas Afeworki is burdened with the task of running the unfortunate country from Asmara. I mean Hassan Sheikh Mohamed runs to Asmara every time he has a bad dream. He might as well move the capital of his country to Eritrea.
However if and when any organized political group in Tigray is drawn into this whirlpool being fomented by the Axis of the Troika, it is going to herald the ultimate disaster. In this connection, the current diplomatic flurry taking place in Mekelle makes us ponder the unlikely. I mean with all its stable organs of government running smoothly for more than three decades, I wonder if Somaliland had hosted a high level Western delegation as Mekelle has been doing these past few years.
The Apparent Indifference of the FDRE
The way I see it, TPLF is having a diplomatic field day with the acquiescence of the Prosperity Party.
TPLF’S dabbling in ‘international diplomatic forums’ on its own enables the FDRE government to wedge a rift between the TPLF leadership and the people of Tigray. It will enable the government to expose the liability of the Front in the unnecessary war that had claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocent Ethiopians on both sides. PP is cleverly isolating and weakening TPLF. On the ruins of TPLF, chances are, extreme forces fostering Independence from Ethiopia are liable to garner support from the elite and the Tigray diaspora and play into the hands of PFJD. Though it takes two to tango and it wouldn’t come to fruition, the latter will ever be pressing the Agazian Union on the Eritrean counterpart. Look, PP has shown no appetite to edge out TPLF and take its place in Tigray as it did around 2020. There is little desire to groom a Tigray PP which suggests that the party in power is silently letting Tigray go. Remember, as it is Tigray isn’t in the Federal Government since September 2021.
The close to 150 million dollars recently paid to TPLF by the FDRE government isn’t a budget; technically it is a generous gratis and the FDRE has no Constitutional ground and power to release the fund. Likewise, any international fund released to Tigray is debited to the account of the FDRE government and reports are going to show as aid extended to Ethiopia. So the FDRE government has the right to demand TPLF to account for all the funds granted by the FDRE government as well as the donor community. Already the rumor mills of embezzlement are beginning to turn as De Tsion is making direct reference to it. Hence in the long run TPLF is going to have the taste of its own original medicine – buy the unquestioned loyalty of your adversary by holding the culprit hostage to his/her crime.
God Bless
The writer can be reached at : estefanoussamuel@yahoo.com
Editor’s note : Views in the article do not necessarily reflect the views of borkena.com
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In my opinion, TPLF has the authority to remove Getachew Reda as its representative within the provisional administration of Tigray. Firstly, TPLF is the party mentioned in the Pretoria Agreement. Getachew was simply appointed to the administration and TPLF retains the right to replace him at any time. Secondly, the interim administration was designed to last for half to one year, followed by an election. It is not appropriate for Tigray to be without elected representatives. TPLF can remove Getachew without the need for a general conference. He can be dismissed at any time at the discretion of the party. His only safeguard is the support he receives within TPLF. If the majority disagrees with his political position, he can be relieved of his duties. It is inaccurate for many Ethiopians to question the legality of TPLF’s decision to dismiss Getachew Reda as they may be influenced by bias against TPLF. Personally, I do not endorse TPLF due to its history of treachery under Meles Zenawi. I believe Tigray should be held accountable for the betrayal committed by TPLF in landlocking Ethiopia, the most populous country in Africa. However, I am fully convinced that Getachew Reda lacks the moral or legal basis to represent TPLF or Tigray. If he opposes TPLF, he should establish his own party instead of claiming ownership of TPLF. I believe Tigray should be excluded from the Federation for the treasonous acts committed by Meles Zenawi and TPLF, with the full support of the people of Tigray.