Friday June 19, 2020
Debretsion Gebremichael
The Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF) will not hold any separate talks on national issues with the ruling Prosperity Party (PP), excluding other political forces, Chairperson of the front Debretsion Gebremichael has said.
The Tigray region Communication Bureau quoted Debretsion who is also deputy president of the region as saying that the disagreement between the federal and Tigray region can be solved through reaching national consensus in which all concerned parties are involved.
Debretsion’s remark comes after religious leaders and scholars suggested for immediate talks between the Tigray region and federal governments to resolve escalating political disputes between them.
“There should be national dialogue in which all political parties, nations, and nationalities and federalist forces participate. Otherwise, any attempt to hold clandestine discussion with TPLF will be nonsense and not acceptable,” the deputy president said.Debretsion accused the federal government of threatening war against the Tigray region which according to the chairperson will conduct elections based on the constitution.
The disagreement between the ruling PP and TPLF began after TPLF refused to hand over Getachew Assefa, the former spy chief who is wanted for wide-ranging crimes and human rights violations during the EPRDF regime in which TPLF had the upper hand.
TPLF is also blamed for turning down requests of the federal government to hand over dozens of officials who have allegedly embezzled billions of birr. Almost all officials of the TPLF are confined to Tigray region for undisclosed reasons.
TPLF further argues that it will organize an election in Tigray state based on the constitutional principle that “no government can stay in power after five years without an election, a move opposed by the federal government.
It accuses the federal government of postponing the election using COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse to stay in power.
Two weeks ago, the House of Federation postponed the general election which was slated for August 29, after the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia announced that it could not carry out pre-election activities due to the pandemic and state of emergency declared thereof.
The TPLF chairperson claimed that the PP is opposing not only TPLF but also the Nations, Nationalities, and People of Ethiopia by violating the constitution and establishing a dictatorial regime.
He said political parties and religious fathers who can represent each region should also participate in the dialogue.
Meanwhile, the Ethiopian Ministry of Health has confirmed 109 new COVID-19 cases from 5, 102 samples tested on Tuesday. This brings the total number of confirmed cases in Ethiopia to 3, 630.
The new cases reported are all Ethiopians, with 60 being males and 49 females. The youngest is one year old and the oldest 78 years.
From the 109 cases, Addis Ababa has 81 cases, Oromia 9, Somali and SNNP 4 cases each, Amhara, Tigray and Afar 3 cases each and Harari 2 cases.