Ethiopia’s Peace Talk Scheduled to Take Place in South Africa Postponed

October 7, 2022

The African Union is yet to confirm that the scheduled peace talk between the Ethiopian government and TPLF rebels is not happening this Sunday 

Olusegun Obasanjo, African Union Special Envoy for East Africa (Photo source: FBC)

Borkena 

The scheduled peace talk between the Ethiopian government and rebel groups in the Tigray region of Ethiopia – TPLF ( which the Ethiopian government designated as a terrorist group) is postponed indefinitely. 

It was expected to take place this Sunday in Pretoria, South Africa. 

Reuters on Friday cited diplomatic and what it called “Tigray forces” to report the peace talk is delayed due to logistics. 

The Ethiopian government earlier this week announced that it accepts the African Union’s invitation to a peace talk that was meant to take place this weekend as long as there are no preconditions for it and it is the African Union that is leading the peace process. 

It also announced that the Ethiopian government will not stop the measures it is taking against the rebel groups although it expressed readiness for peace talks. 

On its part, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) accepted the AU invitation for the peace talk. However, Debretsion Gebremichael, chairman of the organization, requested clarification about logistics for TPLF representatives and security guarantee negotiators. 

The African Union on Thursday commended the Ethiopian government and the rebel forces in the Tigray region for their “commitment ” to the peace talk. 

In a response letter to the AU invitation for peace, the TPLF chairman mentioned that his organization was not consulted about the peace talk (there is no indication so far if the Ethiopian government was consulted either). 

Getachew Reda, the spokesperson of the organization, told Reuters, in a text message saying that   “You don’t just expect people to show up on a certain date as if this was some kind of get-together,” perhaps an indication that the peace talk was delayed due to the TPLF. 

The African Union has not, at this writing, confirmed that the talk scheduled for Sunday is canceled or postponed. 

There is, however, circumstantial evidence that attests that the peace talk is not happening this coming Sunday.  

Leaders of the Ethiopian ruling party, including those designated as negotiators in the peace talk, are sitting in for a meeting in the Somali region of Ethiopia. 

Besides, Uhuru Kenyatta, former president of Kenya, announced that he would not be able to make it to the peace talk in South Africa. 

He was picked by the African Union as a panelist to help former Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo, who is in charge of the peace talk.

Many Ethiopian and Eritrean activists tend to think that Mr. Uhuru is a U.S. agent interested in advancing the TPLF cause. His recent Twitter message where he described the rebel groups as “Tigray” met with a flood of condemnation from activists. 

The Twitter account that Mr. Uhuru appears to have used to convey the message is suspended. 

It has been nearly two years since the TPLF unexpectedly attacked the Northern Command of the Ethiopian Defense Force – an incident that triggered a “law enforcement operation” by the Ethiopian government which escalated to a full-fledged bloody war.  

Meanwhile, Reuters on Friday reported that an airstrike killed at least five people in a place about 18 kilometers away from Mekelle. 37 others are reportedly wounded. 

The Ethiopian government has not yet responded to the attack. 

Earlier this week, the TPLF forces lost control of Kobo, a town in the Amhara region of Ethiopia. But it said that they withdrew forces from Kobo due to military strategy.