TPLF Calls for Principled and Impartial Engagement to Advance the Pretoria Agreement

The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) has noted with deep concern the recent public statement issued by the United States Ambassador to Ethiopia following his visit to Humera. While we recognize and appreciate the continued engagement of international partners in support of peace in Ethiopia, we regret that the tone and substance of this particular statement risk further entrenching polarization rather than helping to bridge the widening gap between the signatories to the Pretoria Agreement.

As an observer to the Pretoria Agreement and a key international partner in its facilitation, the United States occupies a position of significant moral and political influence. At this delicate juncture, what is required is not a perception of partisanship, but a bold, principled, and creative engagement that encourages dialogue, restores trust, and advances a mediated solution between the parties.

The central challenge is not a lack of concern for civilians, but the absence of conditions for the safe, voluntary, and dignified return of displaced populations. Over one million civilians were forcibly displaced from Western Tigray in circumstances documented by credible international human rights organizations as involving widespread and systematic acts amounting to ethnic cleansing. These facts cannot be ignored. As long as forces implicated in these abuses continue to exercise authority, prospects for safe return, reconciliation, and genuine political choice remain fundamentally compromised

Against this backdrop, appeals to “put people first” ring hollow when the security, rights, and agency of those same people remain unaddressed. Durable solutions cannot be built on facts established through force, occupation, and fear. Nor can communities be expected to freely determine their political future under conditions of coercion and insecurity.

We are equally concerned by suggestions that politics should be set aside in addressing the conflict. The war in Tigray was, at its core, a profoundly political crisis-rooted in competing visions of governance, constitutional order, and the use of force in resolving political disputes. The Pretoria Agreement itself is a political instrument, premised on restoring constitutional order, addressing grievances through dialogue, and rejecting the pursuit of power through violence. To depoliticize these questions is to misunderstand the conflict and to weaken the very framework designed to resolve it.

The TPLF remains convinced that sustainable peace is inseparable from justice. Accountability, the restoration of rights, and respect for constitutional principles are the foundations of sustainable peace. Unhelpful public statements-by any party, including international partners-risk deepening mistrust at a moment when restraint and constructive engagement are most needed.

Yet, despite our deep concerns, we remain committed to peaceful and negotiated way forward. We believe that the only viable path out of the current impasse lies in a sincere political dialogue between the signatories to the Pretoria Agreement, aimed at identifying points of divergence and convergence and agreeing on a credible, sequenced roadmap for implementation.

The TPLF stands ready to engage in such a process in good faith. We call upon all partners, particularly those with influence and leverage, to recommit themselves to an impartial, principled role that helps bring the parties together, restores confidence in the peace process, and opens the door to a just and lasting peace for all.