UNDP Memo says TPLF deserves the blame for circumstances in Tigray

Addis Ababa, March 10, 2021 (FBC) – The United Nations’ top development agency said in a memo to U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres that leadership of Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF) deserves much of the blame for provoking the war and subsequent humanitarian crisis in Tigray region.

The four-page memo points to the TPLF group as provoking the Ethiopian government offensive by attacking and seizing Ethiopia’s Northern Command headquarters in Tigray in early November 2020, in what would have been an “act of war everywhere in the world, and one that typically triggers military response in defense of any nation,” according to the Feb. 16 memo, which was obtained by Foreign Policy.

The memo provides a largely sympathetic account of Ethiopia’s role in the crisis, echoing government talking points and repeating the Ethiopian leadership’s says that the international community has failed to address TPLF’s provocations over the past two years, including its opposition to government reforms and refusal to engage in political talks with the government.

The memo also urges donor states to focus more on development and humanitarian goals and less on reprimanding the Ethiopian government over its human rights record and especially situations during the conflict.

It recommends that any investigation into human rights abuses be led by Ethiopia’s own national Human Rights Commission, possibly with international participation.

The memo paints a damning portrait of the TPLF, characterizing it as an obstacle to the government’s reform agenda, while faulting foreign governments for failing to call the TPLF out over the past two years when their actions challenged the rule of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

“The ghosts of a repressive 27-year TPLF regime continue to torment the country—and winning the hearts and minds for social cohesion requires accepting that there is blame on all sides, including the international community,” it states.

TPLF forces launched a surprise attack on the Ethiopian Northern Command’s headquarters in Mekele, and hit several other government bases throughout Tigray. The TPLF leadership described the operation as a preventative attack aimed at forestalling an imminent Ethiopian assault, the memo says.