Pretoria: PM Abiy Ahmed has elaborated on the Pretoria Peace Agreement, emphasizing that the accord represents a heavy price paid to bring sustainable peace to Ethiopia and end the conflict in the Tigray Region. Addressing the House of People's Representatives today, the premier detailed the benefits of the agreement to the inhabitants of the region.
According to Ethiopian News Agency, the Prime Minister pointed out the establishment of the Interim Administration in the region and the demobilization, rehabilitation, and reintegration of more than 60,000 former combatants. Ongoing efforts to rebuild critical infrastructure and social institutions in the region also continue to yield benefits for the local population, he added.
However, the PM said that disruptive actions persist in the region, noting that factions claiming to fight for the people have deprived the population of Tigray of peace, leaving them to bear the brunt of the hardship. "A struggle built on the tears of the people leads nowhere," he remarked, openly stating that certain ongoing disruptions in the Tigray region bear the fingerprints of foreign interference.
He exposed that the instigators have secured their own children abroad or in Addis Ababa while actively deploying countless Tigrayan youth into the Sudanese conflict. Despite their repeated provocations to trigger a fresh round of conflict, the government continues to exercise utmost restraint and patience, the premier stressed.
Beyond the TPLF, there are actors who believe that destruction in Tigray should have continued; these groups have distanced themselves from us in disagreement, while there have also been attempts among them to cooperate with one another, the Premier pointed out. 'Currently, forces in Tigray are carrying out daily provocations that could trigger new conflicts and renewed war. The most painful and concerning issue, however, is that many Tigrayan youths are reportedly being forcibly recruited and sent to fight in the ongoing war in Sudan. These young people are losing their lives in a conflict they neither understand nor have any connection with. The problems within Ethiopia were not enough; the issue has now extended into Sudan as well.'
Throughout this process, the people of Tigray are not the creators of the problem but rather the ones bearing its consequences, the Prime Minister noted. 'What has harmed the people of Tigray most and deepened their suffering is the presence of an unseen internal wound, one that is not easily healed. In reality, today there are more people of Tigrayan origin living peacefully and moving freely without fear in places such as Dessie, Gondar, Addis Ababa, and Adama than those living in Tigray itself."
Noting that the government is fully aware of the root sources of instability, PM Abiy said that necessary measures will be taken to conclusively neutralize threats at their origin. He assured that the government possesses the absolute capability to safeguard Ethiopia's sovereignty and maintain durable peace. The nation's security and law enforcement organs stand in an unprecedented state of readiness, having bolstered their capacity in terms of numbers, training quality, and advanced technology, the Prime Minister confirmed.