Mekelle፡ 9th November 2023(Tigray Herald)
GSTS expresses concern over #Ethiopia government plan to resolve occupied areas
On Wednesday, Global Society of Tigrian Scholars and Professionals(GSTS) stated its concern over the Federal government’s plan to resolve the issue of Western #Tigray, as it issued a statement marking the first anniversary of the signing of a Pretoria peace deal.
“We are particularly concerned by elements in the Statement by the Federal government which put into question the legitimate and reasonable rights of Tigrayan displaced persons evicted violently from their indigenous areas.” GSTS said in a strongly-worded statement.
Ethiopia Government Communication Service Ministry on Monday issued a statement that indicated its plan to resolve the issue of ‘disputed areas’ including Western Tigray, that are still occupied by Amhara forces, through referendum.
GSTS rejected the proposal since territories were “forcefully annexed by Amhara and Eritrean forces during the war and the Federal Government has the sole obligation to implement the terms of CoHA.
“Vulnerable people should not be allowed to become hostages to political concerns and their basic human rights should be paramount in all considerations.” GSTS added.
The Society called on the Federal government to facilitate the “dignified and voluntary return” of the millions of IDPs as well as Tigrayan refugees in Sudan.
It also called for the complete withdrawal of all non-ENDF forces from the “constitutionally established territories of Tigray as stipulated in the Nairobi Declaration of Modalities Article 2.1 (d) in a publicly declared time frame.”
GSTS appealed to the International community to swiftly assess the implementation status of the CoHA and put all instruments to pressure signatories to fully implement the agreement they signed.
