Borkena
Toronto – A recent history of diplomatic effort to mediate government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) had mostly been secret until the final part of the process which culminated in the signing of the Pretoria Agreement in November 2022. However, it seems the case that the agreement rather laid a foundation to a different form of conflict within the TPLF, a signatory to the agreement, and now fears are high that the Tigray region could be engulfed in war again.
It seems that the conflict in the Amhara region is experiencing something similar. Wazema radio on Tuesday reported that “diplomats” have managed to engage one faction of the Fano forces that calls itself Amhara Fano Popular Organization (AFPO). Eskinder Nega leads the organization.
The contact with the Fano group is said to be part of an effort to facilitate negotiation with this faction of the Fano Group whose main area of operation is said to be the Shewa area of Amhara region.
AFPO has reacted to the news in the past two days and it is denying that there is no negotiation. Geta Asrade, head of the political affairs of the Fano faction, had an interview with Anchor media. He admitted that his group met with diplomats from the African Union (AU) and Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD). However, he denied that it was not negotiation. It was a “discussion” whose focus was to demonstrate the level of human rights abuse and war crimes committed against Amhara to the diplomats. Eskinder Nega himself has dismissed reports of negotiation as “fake news.”
However, the report from Wazema indicates that there were diplomats from the European Union and the U.S. government as part of the group that met with the Eskinder Nega led Fano faction.
The diplomats held the discussion in the parts of Shewa where the AFPO is operating. There are speculations that the Ethiopian government might have facilitated access to the point where the diplomats met with AFPO leaders.
The source also claimed that the diplomats have initiated talks with two other Fano organizations but the identities of the Fano group is unspecified.
Eskinder Nega has appeared on Maede-Zena youtube channel and he gave the impression that there is “No negotiation.” His words do not seem to have a calming effect on Fano supporters.
His organization is facing criticism from a considerable number of fano supporters and activists. Unifying Fano forces should have been a priority rather than engaging in negotiation is one of the key criticisms. Politicians like Andargachew Tsege argue that the process will make the Amhara people vulnerable to danger in light of development in the country.
In the past week or so, there was significant development in the effort to unite Fano Forces as two major groups in Gondar and Three Fano groups in Wollo merged as a single structure. The Fano forces are yet to release a statement in connection with the talks of “discussion” with diplomats from AU and IGAD.
The Ethiopian government has not denied or confirmed about ongoing negotiation. However, there had been blurred references to an ongoing negotiation with Fano. The Defense chief of staff made a reference to Eskinder Nega ,in connection with negotiation, during an interview with Lualawi Medida towards the end of last year. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed himself has been making references during some of his recent public appearances that his government is trying to negotiate with Fano forces without specifying which group was negotiating. At the time, many Fano groups reacted saying that they were not negotiating with the government.
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