Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Mekele (Agenzia Fides) - Some members of the opposition were arrested in Tigray on the eve of a demonstration scheduled for today, 7 September 2023, in Mekele, against the Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF), the ruling party in the northern region of Ethiopia. In addition to insecurity, reports have also been released in recent days of criminal attacks carried out by Eritrean troops in the northern region of the country, despite the peace agreement signed in Pretoria, South Africa, in November 2022. "Sixteen people were reportedly arrested in the regional capital, including the three leaders of the three parties that organized the demonstration," local sources said. The three were later released. They had been arrested along with a group of activists as they called for protests under slogans such as: A popular and democratic government", "Enough of the one-party system", "The TPLF regime must be replaced".
According to local sources, at the end of August 2023, the three parties had announced the formation of an "Alliance for radical change" in Tigray and the organization, on September 7, 2023, of a demonstration in Mekele, denouncing in particular "the incompetence and absolutism of the TPLF". However, the authorities in Mekele did not authorize the event, justifying the ban on the lack of police available to protect the population in the period leading up to the Ethiopian New Year, which will be celebrated on September 12. The deputy mayor of Macallè, Elias Kahsay, had declared on Facebook that the 'radical change' desired by the opposition could not take the form of "a peaceful demonstration but a revolt" and had called on the population to take part in it. Another objective of the organizers of the demonstration is the liberation of areas of Tigray occupied by militias from neighboring regions and the resumption of the delivery of international humanitarian aid to the region, suspended since May 2023 due to massive hijackings. In Tigray, the TPLF led the government coalition in Ethiopia also for 27 years, until the arrival in 2018 of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed at the head of the federal government, against which conflicts have been unleashed since the end of 2020 which have caused a humanitarian catastrophe in this region of six million inhabitants (5% of the Ethiopian population). Since the November 2022 peace accord, the TPLF has led the Interim Administration (IRA) in the region. (AP) (Agenzia Fides, 7/9/2023)
