[By Bereket Kiros]
The seed of change and hope is being challenged by fear and fragmentation, giving the world a negative image after the signing of the Pretoria Agreement. A baby step towards stability was dashed when army officers pledged their allegiance to the TPLF. Nevertheless, we are left with the indisputable fact that a crisis is looming as a result of political miscalculation and a security dilemma hovering in the region. The Pretoria agreement was not intended to be the source of instability but rather the heart of Tigrai’s democratic aspirations for change.
Various arguments have been advanced regarding the Pretoria agreement, both by its supporters and detractors, who regard it as the most ambitious agreement at a critical time of genocidal war. While we acknowledge that the TPLF and the TIRA administrations have flaws and weaknesses, we were unable to mitigate the damage and establish a functioning government. Can we address the challenges that confront us or exacerbate the political situation and add fuel to the still-simmering conflict? Were the TPLF and their supporters blind, or would their intolerable pursuit of their agenda keep them on course to a better end?
Whatever their motive, there seems to be no end in sight. Perhaps it could be that TPLF die hard leaders had misguided the height and breadth of the steps leading to this dais. TPLF supporters masquerade as a responsible party while selling their message deceptively with a concealed agenda hatched in North America by the likes of Sebhat Nega and Co. and financially backed by a few who have a vested interest in land grabbing, gold, and other minerals. We must always guard against such cancerous polarization, which can create a security dilemma and national disgrace, ultimately leading to the erosion of our national pride. It can be argued that the opposition network against TIRA, organized by senior army officials, along with a handful of exiles, intensified the growing paranoia.
Tigray is one of the poorest and least developed regions, mainly due to corruption and greed. Are we doing what we should to develop democratic institutions and foster political development? Tegrawot in the Diaspora need to understand what a hectoring tone evokes when dealing with a people who have endured hardship and perseverance for the last hundred years. To rekindle old emotions, many bashers are reverberating on the web and in the chat rooms of Europe and North America, a narrow Awraja sentiment. Cynical, manipulative, self-serving, and dishonest opportunists, spearheaded under the cover of TPLF support, are combining efforts in and out of to undermine the unity of Tigrai.
We have seen enough already to understand how far they are willing to go to seize power. This ill-advised campaign is part of an orchestrated assault, being both misguided and misplaced, and a detriment to our unity. The Tigrai diaspora community cannot remain an observer of the situation when the generals attempt to revive the failed politics of the TPLF. Cheating and running highly sophisticated political frauds and theft of Tigrai’s resources will not advance TPLF’s case.
They are widespread and legitimate concerns about the tactics of the leaders of TPLF, such as Debretsion, and the flip-flop positions from the outset of the Pretoria Agreement. We need to examine the credibility of the TPLF leaders. The TPLF officials expressed their commitment to fully cooperating with all legal proceedings of the Pretoria agreement, but they spent their time weakening, undermining, and finally dismantling the TIRA administration. What can we say with certainty about the TPLF’s political behavior in the last two years? TPLF is still whining after killing and imprisoning many supporters of the TIRA administration. As we enter April 2025, it appears that the Prosperity Party is attempting to install its candidate in office for another political showdown.
The TPLF is losing ground; an abundance of deceitful political double talk is not unusual in Tegrawot. We, the Tegrawot in the home and diaspora, must recognize that democracy requires more than just an election. Tegrawot, we must design a political and legal structure to guide Tigrai’s journey to democracy. Politically expedient manoeuvring is leading to the growth of an unnecessary division at home and abroad. We must expose conspirators, opportunists, chauvinistic elements, and the personal ambitions of a few who are hungry for power. We seem to have reached the pinnacle of an unending, irresolvable social conflict pitting one group against another and leaving enormous bitterness and disillusionment in the wake of the dismemberment of TIRA.
The non-negotiable attitude of the TPLF leaders provokes an angry reaction from the public. Operating within a paradigm by any means to cling to power is disastrous. It has been seen as irrational and politically incompetent, with tactics that are counterproductive to Tigrai. It appears that they cannot negotiate because they lack something to offer, or they lack some of the essential properties of a political organization, such as a coherent set of democratic principles. There is a sharp contrast between an organization representing societal interests and a political party concerned with winning votes for office. The TPLF party has lost sight and is caught in a vicious cycle of crisis, which is massively resorting to human rights abuses.
The opposition party must make efforts to establish an active dialogue to overcome the crisis and create a more promising vision for the future of democratic participation. A lack of readiness for cooperation poses a threat to the realization of democratic forces in building peace and stability. Indeed, the outcome will determine what kind of country future generations of Tegrawot will inherit. All those demonstrations have failed to change TPLF hardliners, the movement, and the protest. It did create a political order and perhaps could emerge strengthened from the crisis. The democracy-based legitimacy had withstood a significant challenge and played a crucial role in steering the country toward a better future, despite the cries of a few.
The ongoing attack has generated the usual type of stories, claiming that the current rift between TIRA and TPLF may ultimately weaken the TPLF and Tigrai. TPLF forces and their supporters have caused the loss of lives and the mistreatment of TIRA supporters. The government, led by General Wedi Werede, must adopt a tolerant attitude and refrain from reacting to prevent further escalation of human rights violations. Whatever one thinks, the cost of failure will demonize the Pretoria process, and doing nothing to resolve the problem will be a catastrophe. The opposition coalition must deliver a better performance, taking the lead in the absence of robust leadership, and the opposition must reevaluate its behavior and sensitivity. It remains to be seen whether the Prosperity Party’s tactics will succeed in making Tigrai more united than those of TPLF leaders; time will tell. So far, the opposition and a few diaspora groups are making a significant comeback, and their hopes could go a long way in collectively moving Tigray forward.
The sobering fact is that there is little the supporters of the opposition in the Diaspora can do abroad to change Tigrai’s future. What we can do to help our country is to support the mechanisms that enable various political and social forces to engage in dialogue with one another, aiming to resolve current impasses and establish peaceful, lasting democratic institutions. This call also includes those who admit to being advocates of democracy and champions of human rights.
Democracy does not come easily.