16 Feb 2024
Mekele, Ethiopia – The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) chairman, Debretsion Gebremichael, delivered a speech marking the 49th anniversary of the group’s armed struggle, making claims about the history of the Tigray region amidst the ongoing conflict in Ethiopia.
Gebremichael stated the people of Tigray, with a “history of thousands of years,” began their struggle against “backwardness, poverty and oppression” 49 years ago.
He emphasized the region’s past achievements, claiming Tigrayans once reached the “height of world civilization.”
He credited the TPLF’s victory in the 1991 overthrow of the Derg regime to “right ideas, organization, and mobilizing the people,” downplaying the role of weaponry and called for learning from the TPLF’s “popularity, pro-people, love, harmony and unity.”
The TPLF, a political and paramilitary organization, dominated Ethiopian politics until 2018. The group has been accused of human rights abuses and is currently engaged in an armed conflict with the Ethiopian government since November 2020.
The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) is a political and paramilitary organization in Ethiopia. It was founded in 1975 and fought a 17-year war against the Derg regime, which was overthrown in 1991. The TPLF then dominated Ethiopian politics until 2018, when Abiy Ahmed became Prime Minister.
The TPLF has been accused of human rights abuses, including ethnic cleansing and torture. It has also been accused of corruption and authoritarianism. The TPLF is currently engaged in a conflict with the Ethiopian government, which began in November 2020.
The TPLF’s claims about the history of the people of Tigray are disputed by some historians. They argue that the TPLF has exaggerated the extent to which Tigray was subjugated in the past, and that its claims about its own role in liberating Tigray are self-se
