Addis Ababa — Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has stressed the urgent need to break what he described as a “circle of animosity”, particularly in Northern Ethiopia, reaffirming that lasting peace can only be secured through dialogue and compromise.
In his latest extensive interview with ENA, conducted in Tigrinya, the Prime Minister reflected on the triggers and underlying causes of the conflict in Northern Ethiopia, which formally came to an end following negotiations that led to the signing of the Pretoria Peace Agreement in 2022.
“The triggers for that conflict can be numerous and interconnected. However, the root causes can be categorized into three parts. First, on the side of the then-ruling party [TPLF], there was a refusal to accept the reformist forces and an arrogance defined by a ‘me-only’ sentiment,” the Prime Minister said.
PM Abiy criticized the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), describing it as an organization constrained by what he termed an outdated ideology that no longer corresponds to present-day political realities.
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According to him, such rigidity resulted in decisions that endangered both the public and the organization itself.
“It takes blind actions that endanger not only the people but its very own existence. It is well known that it has frequently taken steps that put the public at risk,” he stated, arguing that this does not reflect the character of a healthy political organization in a rapidly changing global environment.
The Prime Minister underscored the importance of pragmatism in governance, noting that ideas must be judged by their practical value and benefit to the people.
“On a global level, this is called pragmatism. An idea should be measured not just as an idea itself, but by its utility. You can have any idea, but the metric is: what is its benefit? How does it serve our people?” he said.
He maintained that the former ruling party remained anchored in ideas formed decades ago and was unwilling to compromise.
According to Premier Abiy, the TPLF viewed the reformist forces under his leadership as its primary adversary and sought to neutralize them early on.
However, he said, those reformist forces proved resilient.
“It thought it could easily achieve its desires, but that was not possible. Consequently, instead of working with the reformists, it chose war, conflict, and destruction. Because of this, we entered a conflict we did not want and paid an unnecessary price,” he stated.
The Prime Minister acknowledged that the people of Tigray bore an especially heavy burden during the conflict.
He further asserted that rather than working in harmony to transform both their leadership and their communities, extremist elements continued to foster hostility toward Tigray’s youth, security forces, diaspora, and the broader population.
“I can speak with certainty that had the youth held power, we would not have entered into all this trouble. This is because we could have understood each other in a modern language. We know the century we are in, while they want to work with ideas from 50 years ago. This created the problem between us,” he remarked.
Beyond the Northern conflict, the Premier indicated that some of Ethiopia’s recurring tensions stem from what he described as an “unhealthy political structure.”
He argued that such systemic challenges cannot be resolved solely through elections, court rulings, or military means.
“I do not believe these issues can find a solution through elections, the courts, or military means alone. They will not find a solution that way. While the war in the North had its own unique nature, it should not be taken as separate from this national structural problem. It is believed that it, too, can be solved along with the country’s general problems,” he said.
Reiterating his central message, the Prime Minister emphasized that the “circle of animosity” must be broken decisively and permanently.
He reaffirmed his government’s commitment to dialogue and peaceful engagement as the only viable path forward.
“On our part, we believe the solution must come only through dialogue. We do not want war. We believe that discussing our problems and compromising is a good path. We also believe that a National Dialogue can be a decisive key to our national problems. Consequently, we established a National Commission for Dialogue, and most of its work is nearly complete,” he said.
However, Prime Minister Abiy stated that in Tigray, extremist groups are obstructing dialogue efforts by preventing citizens from openly discussing their concerns and seeking solutions.
“For my part, I do not believe this is a good stance,” the Prime Minister stated, reiterating his call for inclusive dialogue to secure sustainable peace and national unity.
