TPLF official to lead Tigray interim administration
The Ethiopian government said on Thursday it has appointed a top official in the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) as head of an interim administration for Tigray, the latest confidence building measure under their landmark peace deal.
The announcement comes just a day after parliament removed the TPLF from an official list of terrorist organisations, a move it said would help bolster the November 2022 agreement that ended the brutal two-year war between the rebels and pro-government forces.
“Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has appointed Getachew Reda as president of the Tigray region’s interim administration,” Mr Abiy’s office said in a statement posted on Twitter.
The formation of a transitional government for Ethiopia’s northernmost region and the delisting of the TPLF as a terrorist group were among the key provisions of the peace deal signed in South Africa’s capital Pretoria.
The agreement had stipulated the establishment of an “inclusive” interim regional administration until elections can be held.
The TPLF, which dominated politics for 30 years until Mr Abiy took office in 2018, had been officially designated a terrorist organisation in May 2021, six months after the Tigray war began.
“By regularising the TPLF as a political body, Addis has tacitly shown support for the proposed interim administration in Tigray and the reintegration of TPLF members into national politics,” said Connor Vasey, Africa analyst for the Eurasia Group.
“The formation of an interim administration is a key steppingstone to further rounds of disarmament and confidence building among government financiers, including the IMF and World Bank,” he added in a note.
Mr Getachew, adviser to TPLF leader Debretsion Gebremichael, also once served as communications minister in the federal government under prime minister Hailemariam Desalegn who governed from 2012 to 2018.
The public face of the TPLF, Mr Getachew signed the African Unionbrokered deal in Pretoria along with Mr Abiy’s national security adviser Redwan Hussein.
The war began in November 2020 when Mr Abiy sent troops into Tigray to topple the TPLF after accusing its fighters of attacking federal military bases.
During the conflict, the rebels briefly came close to marching on the capital Addis Ababa but were beaten back by forces loyal to Mr Abiy.