Union of Tigrayans in North America (UTNA)

ማሕበር ተጋሩ ሰሜን ኣሜሪካ (ማ.ተ.ሰ.ኣ.)

PO BOX 73736 WASHINGTON, DC 20056 |TEL. 202-749-8609 |FAX 202-265-8703|

utnaoffice@gmail.com

September 30, 2024

➢ Honorable Anthony Blinken, US Secretary of State

➢ The African Union

➢ The European Union

RE: Call for the Full Implementation of CoHA

Your Excellencies,

Union of Tigrayans in North America (UTNA), a US based civic organization, primarily, would like to express its gratefulness for your tremendous contribution in brokering the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (CoHA) signed on November 2, 2022, which resulted in silencing the guns. However, the implementation of the agreement has been long overdue, and once again we are calling on Your Excellencies to ensure the full and complete implementation of the CoHA.

Being on the eve of the second anniversary of the signing of CoHA, we are still witnessing the sufferings of more than a million displaced Tigrayans languishing in IDP camps, malnourished and under harsh living conditions. Forty percent of sovereign Tigray territory is still under the illegal occupation of the Eritrean military and the Amhara militias with the permission of the Ethiopian Federal and Amhara Regional Governments.

Although, in recent weeks, few IDPs have been returned to their homes in Tselemt area, reliable sources are now reporting that the returnees are going back to their former IDP camps in Shire due to the physical and mental harassment and serous security concerns they faced upon their return, simply because the illegal Amhara administrative structure formed by the invading Amhara militias who forced them out of their homes and land three years ago, is still in place and in control of the area. Moreover, there are also confirmed reports that more armed Amhara militias are entering the occupied Tigrayan territories, and as recently as yesterday, more than fifty people including women and children have been abducted and more than eight hundred cattle looted by these Amhara militias in the Tselemti district. Similarly, unreported, and silent genocidal crimes are being committed daily in the Irob, Western Tigray and Southern Tigray Zones by the Eritrean army and Amhara militias.

Despite all these injustices and cruel and inhumane treatments, the peace-loving people of Tigray are awaiting patiently for the full implementation of the CoHA and return to normal life. The people of Tigray are longing for lasting peace, and the realization of the lasting peace entirely depends on the complete and full implementation of the agreement, which is the responsibility of the Ethiopian Federal Government by in large, and the guarantors of the peace agreement namely, the African Union, the U.S. Government and the European Union. It is of paramount importance that the guarantors swiftly act and unequivocally tell PM Abiy’s Government that the suffering of the Tigrayan people should not continue indefinitely and must stop immediately with the full implementation of the CoHA.

We call on the US, the African Union, and the European Union to use all available leverage to encourage the Federal Government of Ethiopia to fully implement the CoHA, instead of them disproportionately pressuring the Tigrayan side to implement a singled-out Article of the Agreement, the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) of Tigrayan forces. As clearly stated in the CoHA, DDR is meant to be implemented concurrently with the full and complete withdrawal of the Eritrean army and Amhara militias from sovereign Tigrayan territories and the restoration of the constitutional borders prior to November 4, 2020. UTNA strongly believes the full and complete implementation of the CoHA is the only pathway to lasting peace in Ethiopia and the East African Region.

Thank you for your utmost attention to this matter, and we trust that your Good Offices shall do all efforts possible to alleviate the sufferings of the people of Tigray.

Most resppectfully                                                                                                                Zeamman Bezabih,                                                                                                          Chairperson, Union of Tigrayans in North America (UTNA)                  

 Tel: 202-321-7770                                                                                                              Email: utnaoffice@gmail. com

CC: Ambassador Mike Hammer, U.S. Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa                     Ambassador Molly Phee, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs                 Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. Ambassador to the United        Nations