TPLF Confronts Internal Difficulties, Announces Party Conference to Address Challenges

The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) has acknowledged facing significant internal difficulties, describing them as the most arduous encountered in its five-decade history. The party’s leadership has announced a conference to address these challenges and ensure its survival.

The TPLF’s 11-day leadership meeting and evaluation concluded on July 16, 2024, with a statement released yesterday announcing the decision to hold a party conference within the coming weeks. The party leadership emphasized the importance of the conference, urging relevant parties to participate and emphasizing the urgency of the situation.

The TPLF has committed to the Pretoria Peace Agreement, describing it as a crucial document for achieving a peaceful resolution. However, concerns have been raised about delays in the agreement’s implementation, attributed to a lack of unified leadership within the party.

The party’s central committee has acknowledged recent challenges in fulfilling its core mission and leading effectively, citing a lack of democratic practices, regional favoritism, populism, and corruption. The TPLF has undertaken comprehensive evaluations, critiques, and investigations to identify solutions and has committed to reform, including a thorough internal cleansing and necessary adjustments to strengthen its capacity to deliver fundamental changes.

The assessment identified a core challenge: a struggle between a system focused on personal gain (rent-seeking) and one focused on development. This highlights a conflict within the party leadership, with some members resistant to addressing weaknesses identified by the public.

The meeting emphasized that the aftermath of the war has resulted in significant losses, with unresolved issues remaining, including the delayed return of displaced individuals and the full implementation of Tigray’s sovereignty as outlined in the agreement.

In a press briefing, Lieutenant General Tadesse Werede, Vice President of Tigray’s interim administration, clarified that the delay in repatriating internally displaced persons (IDPs) was due to the presence of new settlers and armed groups in Western Tigray areas. He revealed the establishment of a tripartite agreement between the Tigray interim administration, the Amhara regional government, and the federal government, outlining a more streamlined and secure return process for IDPs to Western Tigray.

Notably, the agreement also stipulates the dismantling of any non-Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) armed groups and the withdrawal of the Amhara administration from these designated areas. In a recent development, nearly 2,200 IDPs have returned to the Tselemti district in Tigray’s North Western Zone, following the successful return of an initial group of 1,500 IDPs to their homes.