TIGRAY MEDIA HOUSE: Nine months have passed since the anti-Tigrayan axis of evils comprising the fascistic regime of Abiy Ahmed, Dictator Isaias Afeworki’s troops and Amhara blood-thirsty expansionist militias, with the support of non-African technology, invaded Tigray. In response, the people of Tigray have been fighting bitterly these forces of darkness in unison and succeeded to ensure their existence against all the odds.

Our party had been opposing the cruel and genocidal forces alongside our people by all means necessary and will continue to do so until the legal & historical territorial integrity of Tigray is fully respected and the people of Tigray exercises it’s right to self-determination to realize great Tigray nation in the horn of Africa. We also note that the aforementioned objectives won’t be met as long as the fascistic regime of Abiy Ahmed remains in power. Consequently, we shall strengthen our struggle until the forces standing on the way of our political aspirations are neutralized.

While, our objectives and political stand have been clear from the beginning, we also note the international community’s efforts to end the conflict through a negotiated deal. In line with this, we would like to share our party’s point of view on some of the current issues related: –

1. On Ceasefire, Mediation and Negotiation
   A. We support initiatives taken by the international community to achieve a ceasefire between Tigrayan Defense Forces and Ethiopian cocktail troops. However, any sane mind would discern that this is impossible while the illegal Ethiopian government has closed air & land transport to and from Tigray, Tigray is under complete communications blackout, humanitarian access including life saving medications is denied, Tigrayan nationals are blocked from accessing financial services, part of Tigray’s territory is still under occupation, Tigrayans are being hunted all over Ethiopia and tens of thousands of Tigrayan nationals are languishing in Ethiopia’s prisons. We, therefore, call upon for the immediate lift of the illegal and draconian sanctions imposed against the people of Tigray, the withdrawal of the invading forces out of the territory of Tigray and the release of all Tigrayan prisoners of conscience to initiate a substantial dialogue on ceasefire. After all, these shouldn’t have been a demand for a ceasefire, if it were not for the reluctance and failure of the international community to uphold universal humanitarian laws.
   B. Abiy Ahmed and his cronies who have committed war crimes and genocidal atrocities in Tigray should be brought to justice.
   
   C. Trust, a necessary element to initiate dialogue between conflicting parties, is at its lowest level in this case. Therefore, the negotiation process should be conducted through mediators. We strongly reject the involvement of the corrupt and incompetent African Union (AU) in any form in the negotiation process. We consider mediation efforts by the United Nations (UN), United States of America (USA), European Union (EU), United Kingdom (UK), Germany, Ireland, Egypt, Sudan, and other neutral states & international organizations to be acceptable.
   D. We strongly believe any negotiation effort that excludes any party; especially, Tigrayan opposition political parties will not bear fruits and contribute to a sustainable peace in the region. Thus, it is mandatory an all-inclusive dialogue & negotiations involving all stakeholders be conducted.
   
2. On Political Aspiration of The People of Tigray
   A. It should be crystal clear to all partners that in today’s Tigray the political aspiration of the people of Tigray cannot be represented by any single political party, institution or entity.
   B. Atypical phenomena and events, that have never been witnessed anywhere in the world, have happened in Tigray over the last several months. A state has invited a neighboring state to exterminate part of its own population, an industrial scale sexual violence was employed as a weapon and a state has publicly sponsored genocidal acts against its own people. Besides, it is public information that a significant part of Tigrayan political community believe the lasting solution to the recurring conflict is to facilitate the delivery of an internationally recognized & independent Great Tigray nation. Also, it is to be recalled that Tigray is officially not part of the FDRE since 2020 and it didn’t participate in the 2021 illegal Ethiopian elections either. Therefore, it will be prudent to confirm the exact will of the people of Tigray; weather they would like to be an independent nation or join back to the federation should be objectively determined. The only way to do that is through referendum. Accordingly, all peace initiatives should make sure that all negotiations end up in securing a free, internationally monitored and time bound referendum to be conducted in Tigray and other nations who would like to use the universal right of self-determination.
   
3. On Tigray Defense Forces (TDF)
   A. We would like to reiterate that the people of Tigray is fighting evil forces that intend to exterminate its population, vandalize its properties and annex its legally and historically recognized territory. The TDF is a popular force that is standing to defend the people of Tigray and its values. It is composed of volunteer fighters, former military personnel and former Tigrayan security forces. The army was born in the mountains and rifts of Tigray out of the people. It is not owned by any political party and its code of conduct & discipline prohibit being so. It should be clear that TDFs accountability and representation is only to Tigray people. Thus, it will be wildly off to identify the TDF as synonymous to TPLF army. We therefore call for all partners and the free press to avoid such inadvertent mistakes unless it is a deliberate intent to mix them up.
   
4. On TDF and Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) alliance
   A. We support all attempts to forge an alliance between the OLA & TDF to coordinate their struggle against the regime of Abiy Ahmed and the tags around him. The people of Oromo and Tigray have now faced once again their common enemy and it is paramount that they join hands to end the suffering of their respective people and bring the perpetrators of the atrocities committed in Oromia & Tigray to justice.
   B. We call upon all Oromia based political parties and elites to put their support behind the OLA-TDF alliance and other armed national forces to join the alliance.
   C. It should be noted that the current alliance entered between the TDF and OLA is solely a direct military alliance; and no Tigrayan political party has any legal authority to claim the current partnership.
   D. On the political aspect, we would like to express our wish to work together with all Oromia political parties; including Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) and Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), and any national political parties that support Tigray referendum.
   E. In another note, we would like to call upon the international community and all peace loving forces to provide every support they can to the alliance in order to hasten the inevitable end of the fascistic regime and shorten the suffering of the Ethiopian people.
   
   Finally, it should be underscored that the source of Tigray-Ethiopia conflict is not a power conflict between different political factions. Rather, it is a structural problem that emanates from the clash of historical, cultural, social and socio-psychological values. Hence, we believe, the lasting solution to this fundamental and irreconcilable antagonism is organizing and conducting Tigray referendum.
   
   
   Great Tigray Shall Prevail!
   August, 2021
   Mekelle, Tigray