Credit Micky Raya: ህወሓት ዝጨወየቶ ህዝባዊ መረፃ
The human rights abuses have drawn significant attention among the people of Tigray and the urgent need for accountability and reform. Let’s look at the famous statements said by the TPLF Chairman, Dr Debretsion Gebremichael: “Whether they come from Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) or elsewhere, we want to save our party first before anything else (ካብ ተመዛበልቲ ዝመፁስ፣ ካብ ካሊእ ዝመፁስ፣ ቕድሚ ኹሉ ውድብና ክንድሕን ኢና ንደሊ),” and L. General Tadesse Werede said, “People of Tigray, trust your children” (“ህዝቢ ትግራይ ብደቅኻ ተኣማመን”) to restore Tigray’s territorial integrity occupied by the Amhara PP forces in Western Tigray and the Eritrean Army in North-West and Eastern Tigray. The TPLF leadership, the Interim President, and the TDF’s Above-the-Core generals have swallowed their promises, shown their betrayal unashamedly, and turned their backs against the people of Tigray and have now established a military command to continue their authoritarian and repressive rule over Tigray.
The people of Tigray have been protesting for their fundamental rights to be upheld against the joint dictatorship of the TPLF and President Tadesse Werede’s administration after a series of mass protests demanding the restoration of their democratic rights and the rule of law, justice, and peace for being ignored in Southern, South-Eastern, and Eastern Tigray. This escalating tension underscores the precarious balance between governance and civil unrest, as communities seek to reclaim their rights for what they have struggled for in the last half-century against the Derg and the genocidal war of the regimes of Ethiopia and Eritrea and their allied Amhara forces.
Since January 2025, the TPLF and the Interim Administration President Tadesse Werede have been committing the worst human rights abuses in Tigray by ignoring the people’s demands for democracy, justice, rule of law, freedom and liberty. The TPLF leadership has also sidelined its primary duties to implement the Pretoria peace agreement and engaged in a power struggle since it was signed on November 2, 2022. The TPLF and President Tadesse failed to address the profound demands of the people. Instead, both the TPLF and President Werede are working together to subdue the people of Tigray using lethal military force. The use of military force is backfiring, as the people have totally lost trust in President Tadesse Werede and the TPLF’s leadership abilities to lead and foster dialogue aimed at lasting stability in the region.
The Interim Administration President and the TPLF leadership failures have already undermined the unity of Tigray and are threatening to exacerbate the volatile situations. As the human rights violations continue to deteriorate, the people of Raya are now arming themselves to defend their rights, which can lead to irreconcilable civil war in Tigray. In this context, it is imperative for the TPLF and Interim Administration to facilitate constructive conversations to address people’s grievances. The deeply rooted repression, corruption and maladministration can be broken through all-inclusive dialogue.
Otherwise, the prospects for stability in Tigray will remain bleak and may invite external forces in support of the opposing factions. The Tigray leadership must not lead Tigray to the brink of another conflict, as their ill-thought strategy may disintegrate the territorial integrity of Tigray further.