Addis Standard Staffs
Addis Abeba, July 13/2019 – In a harsh response to the statement released by the Central Committee (CC) of Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) on July 10, a counter statement released late yesterday by the Executive Committee of Amhara Democratic Party (ADP) accused TPLF of “working with hidden forces to destabilize Ethiopia” and it was responsible for the June 22 assassination of Amhara regional state top leadership. ADP’s statement also said the statement released by TPLF was one that “left naked” its own “shameful conspiracy politics.”
ADP’s statement laid bare the spectacular rift long in the making between the two sister parties which share similar power structures within the executive and the council of the ruling EPRDF.
According to ADP’s statement, as a party that harbors criminals who looted the country and the people of Ethiopia and are wanted by law enforcement; a party that casts doubts on the ongoing reform; and a party that sabotages the reform by hiding behind destructive forces, TPLF has “no moral ground” of pretending as if it is the “sole guardian of Ethiopia.”
Upping the ante of its historical grievances against TPLF, ADP also blamed the former for categorizing (in its founding party manifesto), the Amhara people collectively as “chauvinists” who needed to be crushed, something Amharas contest bitterly.
In a clear signal of the unraveling between the two parties, ADP called out TPLF as an “anti-democratic” party which, for 27 years, had been labeling dissenting voices as “chauvinists”, “narrow nationalists” and “terrorists” and said the latest statement was a testament to TPLF’s “unreformed self” suffering from “incurable disease.”
Following its barrage of criticism, the ADP listed six resolution in its statement in which it assured various sections of the society, starting from its own party members and supporters that the party was committed to continue the struggle, which was pioneered by its founding comrades in order to ensure a democratic Ethiopia home to its diverse nations, and would in no circumstance crack under the pressure of “TPLF’s conspiracy politics.”
It also addressed Amharas living inside Ethiopia and abroad to strengthen their unity in the face of this critical moment when opportunist forces are vying to hurt the party at its weakest at a time when it was working to put itself back on track after the tragic assassinations of its top leadership.
In its attempt to dispel TPLF’s accusation that ADP was an ant-diversity reactionary political party, the statement thanked the “nations, nationalities and Peoples” of Ethiopia for standing by it at this critical juncture and went on to assure its commitments for “a genuine constitutional order” and asked the Ethiopian people to not be deceived by TPLF’s age-old propaganda aimed at sowing discord among the divers nations of the country.
By the same token, ADP addressed the people of Tigray to distance themselves from “incorrect historical narratives” planted by TPLF over the past four decades and instead struggle hard to preserve the historical unity and shared religious values with the people of Amhara as well as a history of intermarriage and struggle against repressions.
The statement also addressed EPRDF allied parties in what appeared to be unequivocal attempt to coroner TPLF. To that end, ADP accused TPLF of pretending to be the only party that stands for the values of diversity but at same time sowing discord among the people’s of Ethiopia for which “it is known that we have, in our journey to change, collectively condemned it.” It further accused TPLF that it was trying to revive its old tactics and called on EPRDF allied parties to “push back with resolve and preserve our unity in order to continue the ongoing reform.”
EPRDF’s allied parties, which normally share each other’s statements in their social media pages, as well as state owned, affiliated media (safe for party media by the two parties based in their respective capital cities) have all distanced themselves from the two statements. However, EPRDF’s Facebook page has for a breif moment shared ADP’s statement but has since been deleted.
The meeting of the Executive Committee in Bahir Dar is still ongoing. AS
Editor’s recommended read: In-depth analysis: Can Ethiopia make the transit to stability?
