Day: August 2, 2022

The EU and U.S. Special Envoys for the Horn of Africa, Annette Weber and Mike Hammer, on Tuesday, travelled to Mekelle, Tigray to encourage the launch of talks between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).

The special envoys who travelled in their first joint mission to the war-torn Tigray region under the African Union’s auspices met Debretsion Gebremichael, Tigray Regional President and other senior TPLF leaders in Mekele.

In a statement Tuesday afternoon, Getachew Reda, advisor to the president and senior TPLF leader said President Debretsion Gebremichael has held “productive talks” with the special envoys.

“President Debretsion explained Tigray’s position on negotiations and the hurdles standing in the way of peaceful settlement of the war on Tigray in all its forms including the siege that has been imposed on the people of Tigray,” said Getachew.

“He expressed his readiness for peace while reiterating the government’s unwavering commitment to end the suffering of our people” he added.

The special envoys underscored political dialogue was necessary to resolve the conflict in northern Ethiopia and to achieve a durable peace.

The Envoys welcomed the public commitment by both parties to engage in talks and expressed their readiness to support African-led mediation.

The envoys agree that a swift restoration of electricity, telecom, banking, and other basic services in Tigray is essential for the people of Tigray, as recognized in earlier discussions with the Ethiopian Government.

TPLF leader and Tigray Regional President Debretsion provided the diplomats with a letter to be passed to the Government of Ethiopia providing security guarantees for those who need to work to restore services in Tigray.

“With this security assurance there should be no obstacle for the restoration of services to begin,” the EU said in a statement Tuesday.

“Equally, unfettered humanitarian access to Tigray and the Afar and Amhara neighbouring regions affected by the conflict is imperative, accompanied by the lifting of restrictions on cash, fuel, and fertilisers”

“Improved civilian-military coordination will help ensure effective and transparent aid distribution” it added.

Furthermore, the EU and US reiterated committed to providing assistance to all communities in need in Ethiopia, including those affected by drought and food insecurity.

“Accountability is a key foundation for reconciliation. In this vein, the Envoys urged cooperation with, and access to the conflict areas for, the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia (ICHREE) to enable them to conduct a credible investigation” the EU statement added.

The envoys furthermore appealed to all parties to the conflict to refrain from hate speech and provocative rhetoric.

The special envoys were also accompanied by Ambassadors of Canada, Italy and the Deputy Head of the UK Mission on various issues of concern.

Their visit to Mekelle comes only a few days after the Ethiopian government announced its readiness to hold peace talks with Tigray leaders regardless of the date and venue for negotiations.

The federal government “is ready to talk anytime, anywhere,” and “talks should begin without preconditions,” said Ambassador Redwan Hussein, the Prime Minister’s National Security Adviser.

Hussein made the announcement last Thursday during a briefing to Horn of Africa Special Envoys of the UN, the EU and the U.S. as well as to the Ambassadors of the U.S., France, Germany, Italy and the UK to Ethiopia.

It has been months since the government and Tigray leaders expressed their desire to negotiate to end the almost two-year-old bloody war.

Recently, the federal government announced that a seven-member committee led by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonon to lead the dialogue with the Tigray forces has started its work.

Following this, the Tigray forces announced that they have set up a team of negotiators but did not disclose who the representatives were.

Peace talks between the TPLF and the federal government were initially expected to begin by the end of June.

Differences over who leads the mediation process, and the venue for talks are major factors that delayed the launch of the political process.

Addis Ababa insists that the AU leads the mediation.

The TPLF, however, doubts the bloc’s neutrality and indicated their preference for Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta adding he should lead the mediation bringing on board the US, EU and the UN alongside the African Union (AU).

Source: Sudan Tribune

Eritrea’s president will convene a preliminary meeting of tribal leaders in eastern Sudan next week to discuss ways to end the inter-communal violence and restore peaceful coexistence at the border region.

According to Al-Sudani newspaper, the Eritrean government will hold a meeting next week in Asmara to prepare for a peace conference in eastern Sudan. The preparatory workshop will gather Native Administration and political leaders.

The invitation for the meeting was addressed directly by President Isaias Afwerki.

“(We) will participate in a conference sponsored by Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki to discuss the situation in the region; in the next few days,” a local leader confirmed to Sudan Tribune under the cover of anonymity.

However, the source said that the meeting comes at a time when the region is witnessing unprecedented stability over the past three years.

Also, he stressed the need not to confuse the Eritrea-brokered process with the Eastern Sudan Conference stipulated in the Juba Peace Agreement.

“We are going to listen to the Eritrean leadership’s vision on how to deal with the situation in Sudan in general and the East in particular,” he added.

The meeting comes after several meetings between the Head of the Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan with the Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Saleh who handed him several letters related to this initiative.

Eritrea hosted peace talks in 2006 between the Sudanese government and the eastern Sudan Front, a loose coalition of political groups from the impoverished region inhabited by tribes that span the border area between the two countries.

After the fall of the former regime, tribal conflicts erupted in the three states of eastern Sudan between the different ethnic groups leaving a large number of dead.

For his part, the former Kassala Governor Saleh Ammar told the Sudan Tribune that the Eritrean role in the East is historical, and the Asmara Peace Agreement signed in 2006 is one of its chapters.

Ammar pointed out that the influence is mutual between eastern Sudan and Eritrea, and it is in the interest of the two countries to promote stability.

The former governor, however, stressed that the Eritrean leadership has to prepare and consider well the current complex situation in Sudan and international and regional interferences before taking any step.

In addition, he said they have to identify the stakeholders that have weight in the region and avoid dealing with groups that caused strife and brought troubles in the region to serve other agendas.

“If these conditions are realized, there is no doubt that the Eritrean role will be welcomed,” he stressed.

Source: Sudan Tribune

The mainstream faction of the Forces of Freedom and Change, the FFC- Central Council, has drawn up a draft of a new constitutional charter. After repeated criticism, they stressed their rejection of any agreement with the military and expressed their desire to consult with Resistance Committees.

The draft text is in the consultation stage to determine the desired political structures and divisions of power.

In a television interview with Al Jazeera on Sunday, Wajdi Saleh, a spokesman for the FFC-CC, said that the FFC-CC will “not act on our own, but in agreement with the forces of the revolution”.

Saleh, who was a prominent member of the now dissolved Empowerment Removal Committee, referred to El Burhan’s announcement about the withdrawal of the military and said that choosing a prime minister is premature.

He stated that the FFC-CC stand with the democratic transition and the overthrow of the coup. He explained that there is no partnership with the military junta and stressed that the FFC-CC will not accept any initiative that keeps the putschists in power.

Saleh emphasised that the junta must completely stay away from political work and reasserted the FFC-CC’s keenness to consult with the resistance committees regarding the arrangements for the next stage.

Criticism

Recently, 12 political and activist groups including the Communist Party of Sudan (CPoS), the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), and the Sudanese Women’s Union formed the Alliance of Forces for Radical Change (AFRC).

This alliance does not include the FCC. According to Mohamed El Khateeb of the CPoS their exclusion is a result of their sympathy towards a power-sharing government with the military.

Activists further criticised the FFC in their dealing with the resistance committees concerning failed plans to establish a Legislative Council in late 2020, in particular with regard to representation quotas for the resistance committees.

Resistance committees

The FFC-CC reasserted its desire to work with the resistance committees but is not clear if the contents of the two political charters issued by the resistance committees of Wad Madani in El Gezira and of Khartoum earlier this year will be taken into consideration as well.

The Resistance Committees in Wad Madani launched the Revolutionary Charter for People’s Power (RCPP) in mid-January whilst the Khartoum Resistance Committees proposed the Charter for the Establishment of the People’s Authority (CEPA) in late February and signed it mid-may.

At the moment, the Sudanese Resistance Committees are working on unifying both charters to create a common stance.

Late 2020, representatives of resistance committees withdrew from a meeting with the FFC-CC about the distribution of seats in parliament, citing disagreements on the agenda.

Yet, the grievances also seemed to concern feelings of exclusion. Young members of resistance committees in Khartoum state told Radio Dabanga at the time that they did not agree with the allocation of seats of the Legislative Council proposed by the FFC-CC.

“The largest percentage goes to the FFC, and they do not represent youth like us in the Resistance Committees, women, and the members of the armed struggle movements,” a young activist said.

Source: Radio Dabanga