It has been one year since the Pretoria Peace Agreement was signed between the federal government of Ethiopia and the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF) which ended the war that took place in the northern part of Ethiopia for two years. As a result, people now can move from place to place without fear, do their business, hearing no rumors with regard to sexual violence and rape.
Transportation service from the central part of the country to Tigray region is resumed. Aid convoys frequently move there and supply aid to the needy with no hindrance. Ethiopian Airlines resumed flight to Mekelle and Shire air ports three time per weak and transport people and commodities.
Schools are opened; have registered students and restarted teaching learning process. Health facilities also resumed working by their capacity though they faced shortage of medicine and equipment. The federal government has allocated the necessary budget to the Tigray interim Administration. Banks have also resumed their business and people began transacting their money. People who were denied access to their bank account because of the war now could transfer it for their own purposes.
The opening of the telephone service enabled people to contact and talk to their relatives in Ethiopia as well as outside Ethiopia. The starting of the internet services also boosted communication through digitization and social media. It also accelerated money transfer from abroad to their relatives here and within the country.
Agricultural inputs such as fertilizer, pesticides and herbicides are also distributed to farmers and currently, they are harvesting their crops. This, as a part of the fruit of the peace agreement, is a big success for the farmers refrained from farming for about a couple of years.
The war caused loss of life of hundreds of thousands of people both combatant and the civilians; demolished infrastructure and thereby incurred the nation and the region economic crises; displaced millions of people and consumed time that would have been allotted for the development endeavor.
According to the Ministry of Finance, billions of Dollars is needed to reconstruct the demolished infrastructure and to rehabilitate the displaced people. Maximum effort has been exerted to mobilize finance that covers the cost from the sources both local and abroad. In these regard, donor countries are expected to stretch their hands to fulfill what they pledged as a part of their duty for humanity.
Currently, infrastructure such as roads, airports, and facilities like schools, and health institutions are being repaired. Some industries are also becoming operational but due to shortage of inputs, they do not produce in their full scale capacity.
Based on the Pretoria Peace Agreement, new interim administration led by President Getachew Reda is established. It has a power to enact new laws, revoke old laws which have hindrance effect on the implementing of the peace accord, and appoint officials up to the Woreda level. The judiciary system also has been operational even though there are gaps in enforcing some laws. It established its own police forces and security departments.
However, there are some inconsistencies in implementing the Pretoria peace agreement. According to some lawyers, the agreement stipulates that the interim administration to be established through comprising all political parties legally registered to function in Tigray and civic organization but the way the interim administration established did not go in line with stipulation.
It ignored almost all the parties including the known opposition party, Arena Tigray. Besides, civic organizations have not been included in the interim administration. Such situation created uncertainty on the part of the Tigrian elites and put question whether they harness the dividend of the Pretoria agreement or not.
They also criticize that, the inconsistency opened the door to TPLF to disrupt the transition process and currently, it has challenged the interim administration through using its party structure up to the Woreda level. Because of these, some Tigrian political forces demand the establishment of new interim Administration.
The Pretoria peace agreement stipulated the federal government to halt military operation targeting the TPLF combatants, expedite and coordinate the restoration of essential services in Tigray region within the agreed time frame, facilitate the lifting of the terrorist designation of the TPLF by the House of Peoples Representatives, mobilize and expedite humanitarian assistance for all those in need in the Tigray region and other affected areas and ensure unhindered humanitarian assistance.
More or less, the government fulfilled the stipulated demands except some shortcomings witnessed in providing essential services due to shortage of budget.
The Pretoria agreement also stipulates that all foreign forces to withdraw from Tigray region however, according to diplomatic sources, the presence of foreign forces still continued and the interim administration in Tigray also complains that the presence of foreign forces hinders the implementation of the agreement.
According to the agreement, TPLF shall respect the constitutional bodies and organs of the federal government including, the authorities of the Federal government to control the federal facilities, institutions, and the international boundaries of the country; refrain from supporting and abetting, or collaborating with any armed or subversive group in any part of the country; respect the constitutional mandate of the federal government to deploy the Ethiopian National Defense Force as well as federal security and law enforcing agencies to discharge their responsibilities under the constitution’s relevant laws and regulation; refrain from conscription, training, deployment, mobilization or preparation for conflict and hostilities; halt undermining the sovereignty of Ethiopia, including unconstitutional correspondence and relations with foreign powers; cease all attempts of bringing about an unconstitutional change of government.
TPLF is an old party functioning in Tigray for the past fifty years. Currently, though it has been part of the interim administration, it is proved that engaged in some clandestine activities which do not go in line with the Pretoria agreement. It continued to utilize its media which were used as war propaganda machinery during the war time. Still they serve TPLF interest through disseminating war mongering songs which are against the Pretoria agreement.
Evidences also show that some armed groups which were formerly backed by TPLF have their own presence in Amhara region and found to disturb peace and security in the region. Some former armed groups of TPLF residing in the neighboring Sudan infiltrate the border and create havoc on the day to day activity of farmers residing in the border town, burnt crops and killed animals.
Such clandestine activities are totally unacceptable and do not go in line with the Pretoria peace agreement and must be halted. The Pretoria Agreement (PA) stipulates to disarm TPLF forces and let only the existence of one defense force at the federal level.
But some observers put question on the process of the disarming procedure. Last year, for instance, local and international media gave coverage while TPLF officials delivered their armaments and weapons to the federal government and showed pictures but it did not continued as it was predicted. Because of some of the weapons seen delivered were seen looked like outdated and not functional, some still hesitate that whether TPLF had fully disarmed its combatants or not especially heavy artilleries.
Not only these, some TPLF officials while visiting their diaspora supporters residing in the overseas were heard saying that they have plenty of troops and weapons which can confront any forces and can reannex territories they claimed that occupied by the enemy and such assertion makes the matter worrisome and further hiders the implementation of the Pretoria agreement.
Based on the Pretoria peace Agreement, the federal government established the rehabilitation commission which carries out the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) of TPLF forces with the civilian society. However, due to lack of finance which is pledged to be provided by donors, the commission unable to fully conduct its activities as per the agreement. Hence, to implement the elements of the above mentioned agreement which is core for bringing lasting peace in the country, it should be enforced without any delay.
Former TPLF combatants who are physically and psychologically traumatized frequently staged demonstrations asking for their rights to obtain compensation for what they sacrificed and to restart new life. The interim administration pledged to fulfill their demand but unable to do so because of financial deficit and such a situation created social chaos.
The other thing that should be settled based on the Pretoria Agreement but still not be implemented and might create tension is the restoration and rehabilitation of displaced people to their places where they resided for many years. Millions are still living in camps in appalling conditions.
According to the PA, territorial disputes between regions shall be settled based on the constitution through conducting referendum. The federal government also assured this through the statement released by Government Communication Service recently.
Many agree that if the Pretoria peace Agreement is properly implemented, it will bring lasting peace to the region and to the country at large. It also helps to the flourishing of constitutionalism and rule of law. Because many articles of the agreement regarded that the existing constitution serves as the cornerstone for bringing lasting solution step by step.
BY ABEBE WOLDEGIORGIS
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD WEDNESDAY 8 NOVEMBER 2023
