Тиграйский народно-освободительный фронт: история и политическая эволюция

Left wing nationalist political party in Ethiopia

Historical:
The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF; ), also called the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front, is a left wing ethnic nationalist, and the former ruling party of Ethiopia. It was classified as a terrorist organization by the Ethiopian government from May 2021 until its removal from the list in March 2023. In older texts and Amharic publications, it is known as Woyane or Wayane
According to official figures, the TPLF was founded on February 18, 1975, in Dedebit, northwestern Tigray. Within 16 years, it grew from about a dozen men to become the most powerful armed "liberation" movement in Ethiopia. From 1988 to 2018, it led a political coalition, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). It fought a 15 year long war against the Derg regime, which was overthrown on 28 May 1991. The TPLF, with the support of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF), overthrew the government of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (PDRE) on May 28, 1991, and installed a new government that remained in power until the TPLF was removed from federal government control on 2 April 2018. On 18 January 2021, the National Election Board of Ethiopia terminated the party's registration, citing acts of violence and rebellion committed by the party's leadership against the Federal government in 2020, as well as a lack of representation. As per the peace agreement, the TPLF began disarming in January 2023.

The TPLF is the product of the marginalization of Tigrayans within Ethiopia after Menelik II of Shewa became emperor in 1889. The Tigrayan traditional elite and peasantry had a strong regional identity and deeply resented the decline of Tigray. Memories of the armed revolt of 1942–43 (the First Woyane) against the re establishment of imperial rule after Italian occupation remained alive and provided an important reference for the new generations of educated Tigrayan nationalists. At Haile Selassie I University (Addis Ababa University), Tigrayan students formed the Political Association of Tigrayans (PAT) in 1972 and the Tigrayan University Students' Association (TUSA) beginning in the early 1960s. PAT evolved into a radical nationalist group that called for Tigrayan independence and formed the Tigray Liberation Front (TLF) in 1974. A Marxist current emerged in TUSA that advocated national self determination for Tigray within a revolutionary, democratic Ethiopia. While the multinational leftist movements prioritized class struggle over national self determination for the Ethiopian nationalities, the Marxists of the TUSA argued for self determination as the starting point for the final socialist revolution because of the existing inequalities among the Ethiopian nationalities.

In February 1974, the Marxists within TUSA welcomed the Ethiopian Revolution but opposed the Derg (a military junta that ruled Ethiopia from 1974 to 1991), as they were convinced that it would neither lead a genuine socialist revolution nor correctly resolve the Ethiopian nationality question. Two days after the Derg took power, on 14 September 1974, seven leaders of this trend established the Association of Progressives of the Tigray Nation (, Maḥbär Gäsgästi Bəḥer Təgray), also known as the Tigrayan National Organization (TNO). The founders were: Alemseged Mengesha (nom de guerre: Haylu), Ammaha Tsehay (Abbay), Aregawi Berhe (Berhu), Embay Mesfin (Seyoum), Fentahun Zere'atsion (Gidey), Mulugeta Hagos (Asfeha), and Zeru Gesese (Agazi). The TNO was to prepare the ground for the future armed movement in Tigray. On the night of 18 February 1975, eleven men, including Gesese Ayyele (Sehul), Gidey, Asfeha, Seyoum, Agazi, and Berhu, left Enda Selassie for Sehul's home area of Dedebit, where they founded the TPLF (original name , Tägadlo Ḥarənnät Ḥəzbi Təgray, "The Popular Struggle for the Freedom of Tigray"). Welde Selassie Nega (Sebhat), Legese Zenawi (Meles), and others soon joined the original group, and, after the arrival of the trainees from Eritrea in June 1975, the TPLF had about 50 fighters. Although a few successful raids bolstered its military credibility, the TPLF grew to only about 120 fighters in early 1976, but a rapidly growing clandestine network of supporters in the cities and a support base among the peasants provided vital supplies and information. On February 18, 1976, a conference of fighters elected a new leadership: Berhu (chairman), Muse (military committee), Abbay (political committee), Agazi (socioeconomic committee), Seyoum (foreign relations), Gidey, and Sebhat. Although the TPLF, the ELF, and the EPLF cooperated during the 1976 and 1978 Derg offensives in Tigray and Eritrea, no stable alliance emerged. The ELF resented the liquidation of the TLF and considered the relationship between the EPLF and the TPLF a serious threat. Since 1977, there had been conflict between ELF and the TPLF over the issue of Eritrean settlers in western Tigray, who were organized at ELF and rejected the TPLF's land reform. In February 1979, the TPLF held its first regular congress. It declared its struggle the Second Woyane (kalay wäyyanä) and changed its Tigrinya name to Həzbawi Wäyyanä Harənnätä Təgray. It adopted a new political program calling for self determination within a democratic Ethiopia, with independence an option only if unity proved impossible. Gaining and maintaining the support of the local population was at the core of the TPLF's strategy in the 1970s and 1980s. TPLF leaders knew that the goodwill of the population would sustain their movement and ultimately lead them to victory over the Derg. Consequently, any fighter caught mistreating locals was punished or even executed by TPLF authorities. As a result, local support for the TPLF was consistent and invaluable. The local population shared food and resources with the fighters, provided them with safe havens, and, most importantly, provided the TPLF with up to date information. In retrospect, it's evident that the 1978 1985 period further strengthened the TPLF. The increasingly alienating intervention of the Derg, the front's handling of famine and refugee problems, and the foreign connections it built through its mission in Khartoum, enabled the movement to mobilize and better equip more fighters to prepare for the shift from guerrilla to frontal attack. Moreover, developments within the TPLF in the mid 1980s led to a conceptual shift from a struggle for the liberation of Tigray to that of all Ethiopia. They established their headquarters in caves in Addi Geza'iti, some 50 kilometers west of Mekelle. The Ethiopian People's Democratic Movement (EPDM), a TPLF loyal splinter group from the EPRP, used caves in Melfa (Dogu'a Tembien). The TPLF managed to use the catastrophic famine of 1983 85 to its advantage. In early 1985, it organized a march of over 200,000 famine victims from Tigray to Sudan to draw international attention to the plight in Tigray. Its humanitarian arm, the Relief Society of Tigray (REST), founded in 1978, received large amounts of international humanitarian aid for famine victims and small scale development projects in liberated Tigray. In July 1985, the Marxist–Leninist League of Tigray (MLLT) was founded at a congress of a few hundred selected cadres. The MLLT was to be the nucleus of the future Marxist–Leninist vanguard party for all Ethiopia. The MLLT invited the genuine revolutionaries in the ranks of the Derg regime, which was busy organizing its own communist party, the Ethiopian Workers' Party, to join it. In July 1989, MLLT and EMLF formed the Union of Ethiopian Proletarian Organizations. In April 1990, the TPLF formed the Ethiopian Democratic Officers Movement from politically re educated captured Ethiopian officers to undermine the Free Officers Movement, which had been formed in 1987 by exiled Ethiopian officers in opposition to the Derg.

In February 1991, the EPRDF began its offensive against the ruling regime with the support of a large EPLF contingent. On May 28, 1991, the EPRDF captured Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, and took control of the country. In July 1991, the EPRDF established the Transitional Government of Ethiopia. In May 1991, the TPLF had 80,000 fighters, the EPDM had 8,000, and the OPDO had 2,000. The total number of TPLF members was well over 100,000. During EPRDF rule, Ethiopia retained authoritarianism and shifted from a one party state to a dominant party state.

In November 2019, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the chairman of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front unified the constituent parties of the coalition into a new Prosperity Party. The TPLF viewed this merger as illegal and did not participate in the merger. From the start of January 2020, the TPLF was involved in activities that were criticized by the federal government. In June 2020, the Ethiopian parliament—to which the TPLF was a party—voted to postpone the 2021 Ethiopian General Election, which was originally scheduled to occur in 2020. The TPLF defied the parliamentary vote and held regional elections anyway. The 2020 Tigray regional election was held on 9 September 2020. It was open to international observers, boycotted by Arena Tigray

In November 2020, a civil conflict erupted between the TPLF and the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) when the TPLF attacked the ENDF Northern Command headquarters in the north of the country in what TPLF spokesman Getachew Reda described as a "preemptive strike". In November 2020, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed declared victory over the TPLF. Other sources suggested that the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) controlled only about 70% of the Tigray region. Many TPLF members joined the Tigray Defense Forces (TDF). The TPLF has accused the ENDF and Eritrean forces of war crimes, but it is difficult to independently verify these allegations because of the media blackout imposed by the federal government under Abiy. On March 23, 2021, in response to international pressure, the prime minister admitted for the first time that Eritrean forces had been in the Tigray region. The ENDF then launched its own counteroffensive and recaptured these regions by December 2021. By March 2022, the war had come to a virtual standstill. The TPLF is accused of forcing recruitment into the TDF, including minors. According to several witnesses and Tigrayan administrators, every household in Tigray was required to enlist a family member in the TDF. Those who refused were arrested and imprisoned, including the parents of minors who refused to enlist.

Elections from 1995 to 2015 were conducted under the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front banner. ElectionLeaderNo. of VotesNo. of seats wonGovernment/Opposition19952000 Tigray regional election20002005 Tigray regional election20052010 Tigray regional election2015 Tigray regional electionAbay Weldu2,374,5742020 Tigray regional electionDebretsion Gebremichael2,590,620

The party has its roots in the 1960s student movement which was ideologically nationalist before shifting towards Marxism–Leninism in late 1960s. After revolutionary students formed the Tigray University Student Association, a new leftwing organization known as the Tigrayan National Organization was founded in 1974, from which the TPLF emerged in February 1975. The core ideology of the party was ethnonationalism infused with the theme of a class based ethnonationalism is the fundamental foundation of the party and it persisted throughout the entire existence of the TPLF. The TPLF argues that Ethiopia is a collection of nationalities subjugated by the Amhara ethnic group, which imposes its culture and language over all others; the first manifesto of the party stated: "Disagreement and suspicion among the nations of Ethiopia have resulted from the worsening of the oppression by the Amhara ethnic group over the oppressed nations of Ethiopia and especially over the Tigray ethnic group. Therefore, we now reached a stage where all the oppressed nations of Ethiopia can no more undertake a common class struggle."

The United States government removed the TPLF's classification as a Tier III level terrorist group when the group came to power in 1991. However, an analysis by the Terrorism Research and Analysis Consortium (TRAC) also classified it as a terrorist group dating back to 1976. According to the TRAC:The Tigrayan People's Liberation Front (TPLF) is a political party in Tigray, Ethiopia that has been listed as a perpetrator in the Global Terrorism Database, based on ten incidents occurring between 1976 and 1990 (see GTD link). In 2021, the Ethiopia federal government passed a parliamentary resolution classifying the TPLF as a terrorist organization. According to Article 23, "this decision applies to organizations and individuals that collaborate with, have links with, or are associated with the ideas and actions of the designated terrorist organizations, as well as others that have undertaken similar activities". Individuals or organizations that carry out " humanitarian activities," however, are exempt under Ethiopia's Anti Terrorism Proclamation 1176/2020. On November 3, 2022, the Ethiopian government and the nationalist paramilitary group entered into a peace agreement, ending their two year conflict. A draft agreement was sent to The Associated Press stating that the TPLF will first be disarmed with their "light weapons" followed by the Ethiopian federal forces' retrieval of “all federal facilities, installations, and major infrastructure such as airports and highways within the Tigray region." After the signed peace agreement matured for four months, the TPLF was removed from the country's list of terrorist group on March 22, 2023.