Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed spoke for the first time on Tuesday June 14 of possible future peace negotiations with the rebels in the Tigray region, revealing the establishment of a "
committee
" on the subject.
To discover
LIVE - Legislative 2022: follow the negotiations the day after the first round
Read alsoIn Ethiopia, the rebels retreat to Tigray
At the same time, he denied that secret discussions were already underway with the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TLPF), which an armed conflict opposed to the federal government between November 2020 and a truce signed last March, respected since.
“
It is not so easy to conduct negotiations.
There is a lot of work to be done (previously) and a committee has been set up
” for this, Abiy Ahmed told Ethiopian MPs.
No “
secret negotiations
”
This committee, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonen, also Minister of Foreign Affairs, will draft a report detailing the preconditions for negotiations, he said.
Then, “
this committee will be the negotiating committee
,” he added.
There are no "
secret negotiations
" underway with the TPLF, as officials in the Amhara region - neighboring Tigray - claim and fear, whose forces supported the federal army in the fighting against the Tigrayan rebels.
“
We say we want peace, that doesn't mean we're going to conduct secret negotiations.
These (alleged) secret negotiations have no reality
,” he said.
“
Peace is not something you hide.
There is no reason to fret over nothing.
When the time is right, we will speak
out.”
Conflict in Tigray since November 2020
Territorial claims oppose Amhara and Tigrayans, particularly in the area of western Tigray, currently under the control of Amhara militias and soldiers from neighboring Eritrea.
The Tigrayan rebels have in recent days made it known that "
Western Tigray is part of Tigray in a non-negotiable way
" and that "
any lasting solution
" to the conflict requires a return to previous administrative lines, which integrated the disputed areas within Tigray. .
Read alsoThe Ethiopian army returns to the offensive against Tigray
The conflict in Tigray began in November 2020 when Abiy Ahmed sent the federal army there - backed by Amhara forces and Eritrean troops - to dislodge TPLF officials who governed the region, accusing regional forces of attacking federal army bases on site.
Initially defeated in a month, the TPLF forces resumed in 2021, during a counter-offensive, almost all of Tigray, even entering the neighboring regions of Amhara - of which they still occupy certain areas - and of Afar.
The fighting has ceased since March, thanks to a “
humanitarian
” truce decided at the end of March by Addis Ababa and accepted by the TPLF.
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