Ethiopia Takes a Step Closer to Peace by Forming an Interim Administration in Tigray Region

On Thursday, the Ethiopian Prime Minister’s Office said an interim administration had been set up in the country’s northern region of Tigray, an important step in a peace plan to end the war.

This comes a day after the Ethiopian parliament yesterday Wednesday removed the name of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, the dominant political party in the Tigray region, from the list of terrorist organizations, in an important step towards the formation of an interim local government. after two years of civil war.

The Tigray People’s Liberation Front, which brought the northern region into war with the federal government at the end of 2020, was listed as a terrorist in May 2021.

The conflict ended with the signing of an armistice in Pretoria last November, after tens of thousands were killed and millions forced to flee their homes.

The Ethiopian Parliament said in a statement that a majority of MPs agreed to remove the Front from the list.

The exclusion of the name of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front from the list is a prerequisite for the front’s participation in the provisional government. Last week, the Front appointed its representative Getache Reda as head of this government.

Desalen Chen, a spokesman for the opposition Amhara National Movement, voted to reject the decision, accusing the Tigray People’s Liberation Front of failing to fulfill its obligations under the peace deal.

“When it comes to disarmament, demobilization and reintegration, none of that has been implemented,” he told Reuters.

“The federal government must guarantee the people that the TPLF will not wage another war,” Chani added.

For his part, Ashber Voldegiorgis, a parliamentarian from Ethiopia’s ruling party, said he supported the decision to serve the interests of the country.

He added: “Despite everything that has happened, we as a political institution need to make a decision and move forward. When we voted yes today, we never forgot our heroes, we never betrayed them, but rather laid the groundwork to preserve their legacy.”