Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the only Ethiopian party that enjoyed decades of a dominant position in the country’s political arena has stood against Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed’s new reforms.
In what seems to be new God-sent waves hit the political decisions of the most populated East African nation following months of mass protest that uprooted the semi-authoritarian governance.
After Dr. Ahmed assumed the office of the country’s premiership, the 42-year-old former soldier carried swift reforms and changes towards Security services, economic liberalisation, cabinet shake-up, ending the nationwide state emergency and the perspective of the country leadership towards Eritrea.
The TPLF party was dumbfounded at the sight of these reforms and called its central Committee for the immediate conference to deliberate about the political changes which came as bombshell.
At the conclusion of the two-day session (12th and 13th June) held at Mekele town, the party opposed the decisions of the new Prime Minister claiming there have been procedural irregularities.
The 36 executive committee of the party called Ethiopia’s recent decision to accept fully the Ethiopia-Eritrea Algiers Agreement and the subsequent decision by the boundary commission and to partially and/or wholly privatize major state-owned companies have “fundamental flaws.
“EPRDF’s decision both on Eritrea and the economy “failed to take into account” the “fundamental leadership deficit and its damages visible within the EPRDF coalition and failed to evaluate the progress in the recent “deep reform” agenda the party, as a collective, was undertaking in order to solve the mounting challenges it was facing,” reads the statement.
Algiers agreement
Algiers agreement which was signed in Algeria awarded the town of Badme, the flashpoint of the 1998 – 2000 war between the two countries.
The new Prime Minister of Ethiopia said it would accept the outcome of a 2002 border commission ruling.
This will end a dispute with Eritrea that sparked Africa’s deadliest border war in 1998.
Tens of thousands of people were killed in two years of fighting.
Eritrea responded publicly to Ethiopia’s overture and Abiy’s government and announced it would dispatch a delegation to Ethiopia.
Speaking at a Martyrs’ Day event in the capital, Asmara, Isaias Afwerki, Eritrean president expressed hopes of a breakthrough in one of Africa’s most intractable conflicts.
“We will send a delegation to Addis Ababa to gauge current developments directly and in depth and to chart out a plan for continuous future action,” he said.
He described recent peace overtures from arch-enemy Ethiopia as “positive signals”.
“The events and developments that have unfolded in our region in general and in Ethiopia in particular in the recent period warrant appropriate attention,” the president of Eritrea said.
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