Tigray People's Liberation Front Research Articles

Forging Ethno-Nationalism in Tigray (1943–1975)

ABSTRACT In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Ethiopia’s Tigrayan elites harbored deep-seated resentments toward the Shewa Amhara ruling class, mainly driven by the suppression of the 1943 Tigrayan peasant rebellion. These resentments catalyzed the rise of ethnonational consciousness within Tigray, manifested through deliberate attempts to undermine Ethiopian culture, tradition, and heritage with a paradoxical ownership claim of Abyssinian history. Tigray’s pivotal role as the nucleus of the Aksumite civilization within the broader Abyssinian context is palpable memory. This civilization extended across territories such as Eritrea and Amhara, encompassing various less-visible groups. Tigrayans featured prominently in the Solomonic Dynasty, stretching from the legendary Queen of Sheba to the 1974 Ethiopian Revolution that toppled Emperor Haile Selassie (r. 1930–1974). Before the advent of Italian imperialism in Eritrea and the Southward expansion of Menelik II (r. 1889–1913), the Tigrigna-speaking regions, along with the Amhara, had served as the epicenter of the Abyssinian politics and cultural sphere. This paper scrutinizes the emergence of Tigrayan ethno-nationalism amid the Marxist Revolution, juxtaposing it against entrenched Ethiopian values. It also highlights the historical significance of Welkait (a generic term used to refer to an area west of river Tekezé that includes Welkait itself, Telemt, Teg,edé, and Humera) and Raya – areas annexed by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in 1991 and still in contention. The author offers an all-encompassing analysis, incorporating a wealth of secondary and primary historical sources, including archives, chronicles, inscriptions, memoirs, traveler accounts, and oral narratives.

The immediate causes of the Amhara Fano Force's rebellion against the government of Abiy Ahmed

ABSTRACT With careful investigation, this article looks into the immediate causes that led to Amhara Fano's conflict with Abiy Ahmed's administration. Even though the people of Amhara stayed silent through many pains, 2022 was the turning point for Amhara Fano to start official conflict with Abiy Ahmed’s administration. The research design for the study is an exploratory case study. Document review, audio-visual sources, and a semi-structured interview were employed to investigate the recent reasons for Amhara Fano Force's conflict with Abiy Ahmed’s administration. The Pretoria agreement, the establishment of Sheger City, the attempt to tear down the Amhara Regional Force, the absence of trust with Abiy Ahmed's leadership, and delay in providing soil fertiliser to Amhara farmers were a few recent factors that led to the Amhara Fano Force struggle. Based on these findings, the researcher suggests that before the political apparatus, economy, and humanitarian security of Ethiopia are at risk again and affect East Africa, international organisations and international communities need to be part of the solution and provide assistance in establishing negotiation and agreement between these two warring factions like they did for the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and the federal government of Ethiopia.

The conflict between the Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF) and the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE): Special emphasis on the Pretoria Agreement

ABSTRACT The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) and the Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF). The war broke out in Ethiopia's Tigray National Regional State in November 2020. This war was concluded by Pretoria's cessation of hostility agreement. However, this agreement has been facing problems. Accordingly, this study examines this Conflict by placing special emphasis on the Pre-Pretoria Agreement and the challenges of the Post-Pretoria Agreement. Besides, a qualitative research approach with primary and secondary data sources was used. In view of that, the post-Pretoria peace deal has faced various problems due to the presence of contested areas such as Wolkite and Raya between the Amhara and Tigray Region; the failure of demobilization of former young fighters of the Tigray region; and the discriminatory process of the Pretoria agreement, which in turn led to the escalation of a fresh Conflict in the Amhara National Regional State. Hence, appropriate political decision based on historical evidence could answer the questions of the people, proper inclusion of all parties of the conflict in the peace process and all inclusive political negotiations could assure sustainable peace and security.

Posttraumatic stress disorder and its associated factors among people living in Dabat district, northwest Ethiopia.

The conflict between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) in the Dabat district of Ethiopia has led to significant civilian casualties, instances of rape, sexual abuse, and property theft. These traumatic events contribute to the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among local residents. However, there is currently no available data on the prevalence of PTSD and its associated factors in this region. This study seeks to fill this gap by assessing PTSD prevalence and identifying related factors among residents of the war-affected Dabat district in northwest Ethiopia. A community-based correctional study was conducted in the Woken and China kebeles of Dabat district, northwest Ethiopia, spanning from July 13 to September 19, 2023. A total of 410 participants were selected using systematic random sampling, making a 100% response rate. The study utilized an interviewer-administered questionnaire, which included the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist (PCL-5) to assess PTSD. The research investigated the association between PTSD and various demographic and psychosocial characteristics using both bivariate and multivariable binary logistic regression analyses. Statistical significance was set at a P-value of 0.05. The majority of participants in the study were male (62%) with a mean age of 33 ( ± 1.67) years. The overall prevalence of PTSD was 30.7% (95% CI: 26.6-35.10). Multivariable logistic regression analysis identified several factors significantly associated with PTSD: symptoms of depression (AOR=3.5; 95% CI: 1.13-6.89), age between 45 and 67 years (AOR=1.68; 95% CI: 1.04-5.78), experiencing stressful life events (AOR=1.63; 95% CI: 1.05-7.86), experiencing sexual abuse or rape (AOR=1.53; 95% CI: 1.07-6.75), chewing khat (AOR=1.48; 95% CI: 1.08-4.56), being female (AOR=1.43; 95% CI: 1.13-3.67), and having an income of 34.6 USD (AOR=1.28; 95% CI: 1.07-4.67). This study reported that the prevalence of PTSD was high. As a result, the study suggested that governments and other stakeholders should be involved in implementing efficient interventions and quick measures to mitigate the effects of war on mental health following the conflict. The government and nongovernmental organizations were also advised by these studies to continue providing humanitarian assistance, which should include access to food, clean water, clothing, shelter, and education. This study also suggested that people living in conflict zones should be legally protected from rape, sexual abuse, arson, detention without cause, and kidnapping.

The War on Tigray: Geopolitics and the Struggle for Self-Determination

Tigray continues to be a unique case among ancient kingdoms, Westphalia nation-states, post-colonial Africa, and post-Cold War national liberation struggles. It is one of the oldest civilizations (Aksumite Kingdom) and the historical, cultural, and political soul of ancient and modern Ethiopia. But it was made to be an ‘oppressed nation struggling for regional autonomy and survival from genocidal aggression’ by the empire state of Ethiopia and the ‘garrison state’ of Eritrea. It also survived Egyptian and Mahdist expansionists, and Italian colonialism, though it lost ‘Bahre-Negash’ (Eritrea) to Italy due to the Wuchale Agreement (or Treaty of Wichale) in 1889. Eritrea was handed over to Italian colonialists by Menelik II of Shewa-Amhara in order to weaken Tigray’s geopolitical power base. Tigray was also the hotbed of the first Woyane rebellion in 1943 which sparked the idea of ‘land to the Tiller, fair taxation, and self-rule,’ and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) led the second Woyane rebellion (1975–91) that restructured the empire state of Ethiopia into a federation with the 1995 constitution. Since 2018, after 27 years of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF)- led federal experiment, Tigray again became a victim of a ‘genocidal war’ led by the Ethiopian federal army, Amhara forces, Ethiopian regional forces, and Eritrean army, supported by UAE and Turkey drones, and the Somalian army. The international community and the African Union supported Abiy Ahmed and Issaias Afewerki’s genocidal war in the name of “maintaining the territorial integrity of Ethiopia” by neglecting the principles of Responsibility to Protect (R2P), people’s self-determination rights, and the prevention of genocide. Tigray, therefore, is a rare case in the vicious cycle of violence. The Tigrayan ‘two-year’ survival war (from November 2020 to November 2022) against those who practice genocide was destined to break Tigray’s historically vicious cycle of violence perpetrated by Ethiopia and Eritrea. The paper aims to investigate the historical, geopolitical, and security reasons that have trapped Tigray into facing the post-2020 genocidal war.

The political economy of fiscal transfers: The case of Ethiopia

AbstractThis article examines the political economy of fiscal transfers in Ethiopia. Utilising an original data set spanning 1995–2020, as well as interviews and document analyses, the article illustrates how different factors interact to shape the distribution of grants. Statistical analysis indicates that population size is critical in determining regional grant shares. However, the analyses reveal a pattern of ethno‐regional favouritism in grant distributions during the early stages of Ethiopian federalism. During that period, opaque and centralised decision‐making processes, coupled with the dominant influence of the Tigray People's Liberation Front in the federal government, resulted in grant distribution deviating from principles of fiscal equity. Over time, this evolved into more fluid forms of negotiation influenced by intra‐party competition, dynamics of bargaining between the central and regional authorities, and regional assertiveness, collectively shaping the allocation of grants alongside the grant formula. The analysis highlights how economically and politically marginalised regions are disadvantaged, especially when their population is small. The absence of an independent grant agency means that political considerations continue to affect seemingly formula‐driven allocations. The Ethiopian case underscores how intra‐party bargaining and alignment along ethnic and regional lines undermine the effectiveness of formula‐based grant allocations in the absence of an independent and empowered grant agency.

Symptoms of posttraumatic stress, anxiety, and depression, along with their associated factors, among Eritrean refugees in Dabat town, northwest Ethiopia, 2023

BackgroundRefugee populations are forcibly displaced from their homes as a consequence of natural disasters and armed conflicts. Eritreans, initially displaced to the Maiayni camp within the Tigray region, have faced further relocation to Dabat town due to the conflict between the Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF) and Ethiopian government forces. Subsequently, another conflict has arisen between the Amhara Popular Force (Fano) and Ethiopian government forces in Dabat town, disrupting its stability. These collective challenges in the new environment may contribute to the development of symptoms such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression. Currently, there is a lack of available data on these symptoms and their associated variables in Dabat Town. Thus, the objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of PTSD, anxiety, and depression symptoms, along with associated factors, among Eritrean refugees in Dabat town, northwest Ethiopia. This will provide significant evidence for developing and implementing mental health intervention strategies that specifically address the particular difficulties faced by refugees.MethodA community-based cross-sectional study was carried out from July 25 to September 30, 2023, in the Eritrean refugee camp in Dabat town. A systematic random sampling method was employed to select a total of 399 Eritrean refugees with 100 response rate. Data were collected using the standard validated Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21) questionnaire, which included socio-demographic characteristics. Summary statistics such as frequency and proportion were utilized to present the data in tables and figures. Binary logistic regression was employed to identify associated factors, and variables with a p-value (p ≤ 0.05) were considered statistically significant factors.ResultThe findings of this study indicated that 45% (95% CI: 35.6-48.23), 33.6% (95% CI: 31.66–37.45), and 37.3% (95% CI: 35.56–40.34) of the participants had symptoms of depression, anxiety, and PTSD, respectively. Sex, age, employment status, lack of food or water, experience of torture or beating, and imprisonment emerged as statistically significant predictors of depression. Employment status, murder of family or friends, rape or sexual abuse, torture or beating, and lack of housing or shelter were statistically significantly associated with anxiety. PTSD was found to be significantly associated with sex, length of stay at the refugee camp, lack of housing, shelter, food, or water, experience of rape or sexual abuse, abduction, employment status, and murder of family or friends.Conclusions and recommendationThe results of this study revealed that more than one-third of Eritreans living in the refugee camp in Dabat town had symptoms of PTSD, anxiety, and depression. This prevalence is higher than the previously reported studies. Various factors, including age, gender, monthly income, unemployment, experiences of rape or sexual abuse, witnessing the murder of family or friends, being torched or beaten, imprisonment, and deprivation of basic needs such as food, shelter, and water, were identified as contributors to the development of depression, anxiety, and PTSD. This research underscores the need for both governmental and non-governmental organizations to secure the provision of essential necessities such as food, clean water, shelter, clothing, and education. This study also suggested that Eritrean refugees be legally protected from rape, sexual abuse, arson, detention without cause, and kidnapping. Moreover, the study calls for health service providers to develop a mental health intervention plan and implement strategies to deliver mental health services at healthcare facilities for Eritrean refugees in the Dabat town Eritrean refugee camp.

Ethiopia: Difficult Way to Peace

Article for the first time analyzes in detail the complex situation in Ethiopia from 2020 when the political elite of the Tigray under the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) started the war against the Ethiopian federal government. The author characterizes the causes of the conflict and the balance of power. In 1991 the new political system – the ethnic federalism – was introduced in Ethiopia. As the consequence, for 27 years the power in the country was monopolized by the Tigray. The protests’ movements which began in 2015 resulted in the change of the political regime. In the 2018 a new premier-minister Abiyu Ahmed came to power. This meant the end of the Tigray rule. But the Tigray elite and the TPLF didn’t accepted defeat. On the 2nd of November 2020 it started the war against the federal government. The war lasted for two years. Hundreds of thousands of civilians and soldiers were killed, economy, medical and educational facilities in the states Tigray, Amhara and Afar were destroyed. And, what is most important, the interethnic relations enormously deteriorated. On the 2nd of November 2022 in Pretoria an Agreement was signed between the TPLF and the federal government. In the March 2023 in Tigray Interim Government was introduced. But it will take a lot of time and efforts to heal all wounds.

Civil War between the Ethiopian Government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front: A Challenge to Implement the Responsibility to Protect Doctrine

Civil War between the Ethiopian Government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front: A Challenge to Implement the Responsibility to Protect Doctrine

War on paper: A critical discourse analysis of war reporting in Ethiopia

This study aims to examine the construction of the war between Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and the central government, as well as its actors, in the local newspaper Bekur. Both a theoretical framework and a research methodology have been developed around critical discourse analysis (CDA). Methods for data analysis include Hodge's war discourse components and Van Dijk's ideological square. The findings indicate that Bekur constructed the war between TPLF forces and the central government as a war of existence. The stories portrayed the war in Ethiopia as a conflict between “country savers” and “dismantlers.” Furthermore, the TPLF forces—the out-group—are portrayed as country destabilizers, while the central government is portrayed as the country's saviour. The newspaper also represented the PM as central to winning the battle. Lastly, the positive representation of us, the in-group, and the negative representation of them, the out-group, in the newspaper seem to blatantly support the continuation of unequal power relations among those involved in the war in Ethiopia.

Organized violence 1989–2022, and the return of conflict between states

This article reports on trends in organized violence, building on new data from the Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP). In 2022, fatalities from organized violence increased by a staggering 97%, compared to the previous year, from 120,000 in 2021 to 237,000 in 2022, making 2022 the deadliest year since the Rwandan genocide in 1994. The increase was driven by two, particularly deadly, state-based armed conflicts: the Russia–Ukraine war, and the war in Ethiopia against TPLF (Tigray People’s Liberation Front). With more than 81,500 and 101,000 fatalities respectively, these are the two most deadly state-based conflict-years recorded in the post-1989 period. The Russian invasion of Ukraine is the first large-scale interstate war in 20 years, and the first interstate armed conflict since World War II where a major power in the international system seeks both territorial gains for itself and the subjugation of another state through regime change. We have witnessed an emerging trend of increased conflict between states in the last decade, including cases where major powers support opposite sides in internationalized intrastate conflict. UCDP recorded 55 active state-based armed conflicts in 2022, an increase of one compared to the previous year. Eight of these conflicts reached the level of war. While the fatalities caused by non-state conflict decreased somewhat when compared to 2021, the number of non-state conflicts, as well as both the number of civilians killed in one-sided violence and the number of actors carrying out such violence, increased in 2022.

An Understanding of How GDP, Unemployment and Inflation Interact and Change across Time and Frequency

The main aim of this paper is to examine the dynamic relationship between the three pillars of the economy: unemployment, inflation, and GDP in Ethiopia using the cross-wavelet transform (XWT) analysis, the multivariate Student-t generalized autoregressive score (GAS) model, and the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model. The dynamics between the three indicators were also investigated using the Toda–Yamamoto (TY) causality test. The empirical findings from the XWT method suggest a relationship between unemployment, inflation, and GDP, though the relationship varies over time and frequency. The estimation results from the multivariate Student-t GAS model show that the correlation between unemployment (overall, male, female, and youth) and inflation is highly significant, indicating that the correlation is dynamic. A dynamic relationship exists between GDP and unemployment, except for females and young people. The ARDL approach’s findings showed that unemployment significantly negatively impacted GDP. However, it was found that inflation significantly increased GDP. The general conclusion drawn from this study’s findings is that unemployment significantly affects GDP and inflation. Therefore, the government should aggressively implement policies to reduce unemployment, especially youth unemployment. Additionally, the administration must rehabilitate the country’s badly damaged economy and formalize a lasting cessation of hostilities between the federal government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).

The impact of armed violence on educational institutions, students’ educational attainment and the role of actors in governance of the education process

The main purpose of this study was to explore the impact of the Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF) armed violence on educational institutions, students’ educational attainments, and the role of actors playing in school governance and redirecting the education process. This study was positioned to yield preliminary evidence which can serve as input for concerned bodies when designing intervention programs in the study area that aims to give a response to the spoiled education system brought by the violence. In doing so, a convergent mixed-method research design was used. The study sample was bounded to n = 398 participants. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected simultaneously, and the analysis was drawn upon both strands in search of patterns. As a result, the following findings were obtained. The TPLF armed violence instigated the destruction of school infrastructures and generated substantial impediments to the supply of schooling. As a result, students’ educational attainment and learning outcomes were significantly lowered as compared to before the violence. As well, students’ dropout rate, out-of-school students’ rate, and related educational wastage have been amplified. This, in turn, requires sound school governance and the active participation of all actors including parents and the local community at large be part of the solutions for those educational issues hampered by the TPLF violence. In the end, possible conclusions and suggestions were made.

The Pretoria Agreement: mere cessation of hostilities or heralding a new era in Ethiopia?

SUMMARY On 2 November 2022, welcome news came from Pretoria, South Africa. After 10 days of negotiations, the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) signed a Cessation of Hostilities Agreement. This piece situates the importance of the war, and more importantly the agreement, within the longue durée of Ethiopian politics and highlights its importance as a turning point marking the end of the era of the dominance of the TPLF and the beginning of the end of ethno-nationalism's hegemonic centrality to national politics, including at the expense of the Ethiopian state.

THE EXODUS OF ETHIOPIAN REFUGEES IN SUDAN: A STUDY OF THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF HOST COUNTRIES

The Government of Sudan hastened to handle refugees when a mass influx of Tigrayan refugees swarmed the Ethiopian-Sudanese border in late 2020. Political rivalry between the TPLF (Tigray People’s Liberation Front) and the coalition led by Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed's newly formed political coalition Prosperity Party/Paartii Badhaadhiina reached an all-time high when Federal Government decided to halt the financial aid planned for Tigray and formally reject regional election results held by Tigray earlier in September 2020; PM Abiy Ahmed condemned it as an illegal election carried out without Federal Government’s approval. In countermeasure, TPLF stormed the Ethiopian Defense Force regional base headquartered in Tigray capital, Mekelle, An action that provoked PM Abiy Ahmed's intentions to crush the TPLF once and for all. The military coalition consisted of Ethiopian Defense Force, Amhara Milita the Liyu Hayl, and Eritrean forces attacked Tigray from two consecutive fronts, forcing the civilians to flee their homes west into the Ethiopian-Sudanese border, begging for asylum from the Sudanese Government. This study aims to answer the roles and responsibilities carried out by the Sudanese Government in handling the Ethiopian refugees sheltered in the states of Kassala, Gedaref, and Blue Nile during the Tigray crisis. Using Kayongo-Male’s African Refugee Migration research model, the authors find the eagerness shown by the Sudanese Government to handle the Ethiopian refugees, the difficulties of rehabilitating the infrastructure, and the passive role of the African Union in mediating the conflict between the TPLF and Federal Ethiopian Government.

The impact of armed violence on students' educational attainment and the role of parents in resilience schooling and the education process

The main purpose of this study was to explore the impact of the Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF) armed violence on the attainment of students' education and the role of parents' involvement in the resiliency of schooling and the education process. In doing so, a convergent mixed-method research design was used. Accordingly, both qualitative and quantitative data were collected simultaneously, and the analysis was drawn upon both strands in search of patterns. Numbers of the study sample were n = 436 and the selection was bounded into three categories of subjects such as school principals (n = 22) for an interview, primary school teachers (n = 384) for a questionnaire and parents (n = 30) for focus group discussion selected through comprehensive, simple random and purposive sampling strategies respectively. Bothe thematic analysis and descriptive analysis (frequency and percentage) were used as data analysis strategies. As a result, the following findings were obtained: Destruction of school infrastructures generate substantial impediments to the supply of schooling. As a result, students' educational enrolment was lowered and students' dropout rate, out-of-school students' rate and related educational wastage increased. Therefore, it can be concluded that sound school administration and active participation of parents and the local community are urgently needed to continue the schooling and education process. Parents and the local community participated to reorganize school activities when the war affected areas were free from the war battle field. However, currently when this study is being investigated, they are looking back due to threats that the war will reawaken and devastate their efforts again.

Public Administration Developments in Ethiopia Under Three Different Regimes

The paper summarises and analyses the development of the public administration system in Ethiopia under three different regimes. The research mainly follows the traditional legal and administrative history approach methodology, focusing on the most significant historical, political, and legislative events (e.g. adoptions of constitutions) of the given eras, drawing attention to the main problems and reviewing them critically. Under Emperor Haile Selassie (1930–1974), Ethiopia was a centralised unitary state in the form of a feudal authoritarian monarchy. During the Derg regime (1974–1991), it remained a centralised unitary state, but with the concept of socialism, the military junta concentrated the power in their hands. The different government and administrative systems are characterized by weak and strong political, economic, and social achievements. Among these is a lack of good governance, human rights violations, weak institutional capacities, low citizen participation, and an (in)appropriate public administration system. These brought the nationality question to the forefront. The Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF, 1991–2019) established a decentralised federation, whereby parliamentary democracy guarantees a separation of powers with checks and balances and acknowledges the rights and self-determination of different ethnicities. In 2019 the EPRDF was dissolved and transformed into the Prosperity Party (PP). The reform forced the resignation of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the ruling party in the Tigray Region, and as a result, the EPRDF split into PP and TPLF. Meanwhile, public administration transformed from a monarchial administrative system into a weak public administration with poorly functioning state agencies; finally, the present system works under western influences. To mitigate these problems, institutional reforms, effective and efficient use of modern technologies, and inter-institutional cooperation play essential roles in improving the public administration system.

Ethiopia and the Running Sores of Ethnic Federalism: The Antithetical Forces of Statehood and Nationhood

Ethnic federalism in Ethiopia proved non-viable in practice because it came to be widely seen as a political tool used by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF)-dominated Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), whose ideological foundation was inspired by Soviet system of ‘democratic centralism’: a benign façade that veneered an authoritarian vanguard party operating under a token parliament. This article examines the dynamics of statehood and nationhood: antithetical forces of integration and differentiation, which play out around the commonly shared albeit highly contested polity of the nation-state. The need to dialectically resolve these antagonistic though mutualistic stakes lies at the epicentre of political debate in contemporary Ethiopia, ultimately pointing to the constitutional reform dilemmas it now faces. By drawing on literature on political theory, the article argues that the federal constitution proved antagonistic to the inherited politico-cultural orientations that posited the nation-state as the principal supranational identity. By redefining narrow forms of collective identity that were anchored precisely on ethnic sentiments that grew largely in reaction to perceived injustices, the federal constitution appeared neither to embrace, as a system of legitimation, the characteristic and authoritative dimensions of ‘Ethiopian’ identity as a supra-national universal habitus of loyalty and identification. Nor did it provide integrative cohesion to an otherwise essentially differentiated primordial ethnic and linguistic identity features that now came to be diffused and indeed accentuated at sub-national regions as rigid and hermetic sites of conflict and strife, rather than discursive, reflexive, and interactive domains of cultural and social life.

Kekerasan Seksual terhadap Perempuan dalam Konflik Bersenjata di Tigray Ethiopia dalam Kajian Hukum Internasional

Sexual violence against women is often used as a military strategy to subdue the enemy. Sexual violence against women can result in the impurity of certain ethnicities due to rape and pregnancy and the humiliation of opponents. This happened in the armed conflict in Tigray-Ethiopia in 2020. This article analyzes the international legal protection of women from sexual violence in armed conflict in Tigray. The discussion shows that the armed conflict between the Central Government of Ethiopia and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) in 2020 can be categorized as a non-international armed conflict. The absence of preventive and repressive efforts by the two warring parties, especially the central government of Ethiopia, regarding the sexual violence against Tigray women, shows that there is no legal protection for women in armed conflicts. This violates Article 27 of the 4th Geneva Convention of 1949, Article 4 paragraph (2) letter e of Additional Protocol II of 1977, and violates the principles of non-reciprocity, military necessity, distinction, proportionality, and humanity. In addition, sexual violence against women during armed conflict is an international crime under the Rome Statute. Ethiopia is a party to the 1949 Geneva Conventions and the 1977 Additional Protocol and can therefore be held accountable.

Ethio-Sudan Relations፡ Critical Probe on the Post-2018 Dynamisms

There were no significant changes in the features, focus of national interest and foreign policy behaving in the relationship between Ethiopia and Sudan. Since the independence of Sudan in 1956, the relations of them were characterized by cooperation and conflict or friendship and hostility. Bewildering issues such as disputes over their common border, Nile water, and practices of implicit and explicit interventions are persistent. This article employed qualitative approach and narrative research design to provide analytical pictures regarding the dynamisms of Ethio-Sudan relations in Post-2018. The post-2018 relationship of Ethiopia and Sudan has three distinct phases and features. These are the period of friendship, hostility and normalization. Following Tigray People Liberation Front’s ouster in Addis Ababa; there was a warm and blooming relationship between the two countries. This was the first phase and in which Sudan’s political forces recognized Ethiopia to mediate their domestic political divergences. In the second and third phases (from 2020 onward), confrontational and normalization were the respective features their relationships. During the second phase, the internal vulnerabilities of Ethiopia encouraged Sudan to enhance its pressures on Ethiopia`s government. Sudan exacerbated row over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, border disputes, as well as engaged in proxy conflict through anti–government groups. Sudan also put international pressures over Ethiopia including the declaration of the withdrawal of Ethiopia`s forces from Abyei Mission. The all-around pressures of Sudan on Ethiopia, the proactive-defensive diplomatic manoeuvring of Ethiopia and the involvement of the third bodies are the major points of the dynamism. Finally, the Nairobi Summit of 2022 was a watershed in the relationships of the two countries. Since this summit the intensified tension declined, and the normalization (third phase) process has started.