Ethiopian Opposition Party Leaders Reacting to Tigray Ceasefire

July 1, 2021

Tigray ceasefire was a wise decision informed by a sense of humanity say Ethiopian opposition leader, Beyene Petros 

Beyene Petros, leader of Ethiopian Social Democratic Party (Photo : ENA)

Borkena

The Ethiopian government calls the ceasefire it introduced earlier this week as a “silent time” for Ethiopians in the Tigray region of Ethiopia to reflect about what they want to do. 

The decision was said to be informed in part to enable farmers to seize the opportunity for the sowing season during the rainy season without disturbance from a conflict situation.

But it was also partly introduced to relieve the Ethiopian Defense Force from eight months of law enforcement duty in the region without much support from residents in the region. 

Information revealed by the Prime Minister suggests that the Ethiopian Defense Force was attacked by TPLF affiliated armed groups operating as civilians in various cities in the region.  

Some opposition parties in the country, including ones led by ethnic Tigrean politicians, are reacting to the unilateral ceasefire. Aregawi Berhe,  cofounder of Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) who is currently leading Tigray Democratic Party as chairman, said people in Tigray region should not be collaborators to the terrorist group (he is making a reference to the party he helped establish in the late 1970s). He said so on Thursday in an interview with Ethiopian News Agency.

He also criticized the TPLF saying “it does not care for the people of Tigray but for its power.” 

Furthermore, Mr. Aregawi hailed Ethiopian government efforts to distribute humanitarian assistance since after the law enforcement operation back in December. 

The Ethiopian government announced this week that it has spent 100 billion Ethiopian birr (that is well over US $2 billion) to address the humanitarian situation. Part of the support was channelled to TPLF forces in a corrupt way by supporters of the party. 

Also, Mr. Aregawi condemned the political narratives that TPLF is advancing currently in pursuit of secession. 

Professor Beyene Petros, another prominent opposition politician and leader of Ethiopian Social Democratic Party, said  the Ethiopian government has done everything it can to support the Ethiopian people in Tigray under difficult circumstances.

He also said that the declaration of unilateral ceasefire was a wise one informed by a sense of humanity. For him,the law enforcement operation was undertaken diligently.