Mekelle፡Telaviv, Nairobi, Pretoria, London, (Tigray Herald)
Above the Graveyard of Tigray Identity: The Unchanged Evil of the EPLF-PFDJ Regime and Its Historical War Against Ethiopia and Tigray
Introduction
This archival publication, presented by the Horn of Africa Geopolitical Review and authored by aconsortium of regional and international experts in security, law, history, and genocide studies,ofers a deeply documented, historically anchored analysis of the Eritrean regime’s unrelentingideological war against Tigray and Ethiopia.
Since its inception in 1973, the Eritrean People’sLiberation Front (EPLF)—now the People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), under theleadership of Isaias Afwerki—has remained ideologically committed to dismantling Tigray’snational, cultural, and geopolitical relevance.
What began as a militant secessionist movement evolved into one of Africa’s most brutal andisolationist regimes, defined by its unrepentant enmity toward the Tigrayan people. Fromweaponized famine to modern genocide, this regime’s history is a timeline of ethnic terror,revisionism, and betrayal of international norms
.Section I:
The Ideological Genesis and Sworn Enmity
Toward Tigray
The EPLF was founded in 1973 following a schism from the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF),positioning itself as the vanguard of Eritrean nationalism. Heavily influenced by Maoist andMarxist-Leninist principles, the EPLF cultivated an exclusivist political culture that sought tosever all cultural, religious, and historical afiliations with Tigray and Ethiopia.
From early publications such as Nehnan Elamanan (“We and Our Objectives”) authored byIsaias Afwerki in 1971, the EPLF defined itself in opposition to Ethiopian sovereignty andespecially to Tigray’s historical centrality in Ethiopian civilization. Tigray’s ancient Christianheritage, its pivotal role in Ethiopian imperial history, and its linguistic-cultural overlaps with theEritrean highlands were seen not as bridges—but as threats to Eritrean identity formation.
Section II:
Above the Graveyard of Tigray –
Reengineering Eritrean Identity
The EPLF-PFDJ project to reconstruct Eritrean identity was built on the strategic erasure ofshared heritage with Tigray. This ideological reengineering operated through four interlinkedinstruments:
1. Systematic Cultural Revisionism:
By promoting a sanitized, mythologized version of Eritrean history, the regime attempted todissociate Eritrean Tigrinya identity from its Tigrayan roots. Shared Orthodox Christian traditionswere minimized, and cultural festivals common to both regions were rebranded or discouraged.
2. Border Militarization:Following Eritrea’s
1993 independence, the border with Tigray became one of the mostmilitarized zones in the world. It served not merely a defensive purpose but a symbolicfunction—an artificial rupture of familial, economic, and cultural continuity.
3. Propaganda Warfare:
EPLF-controlled media regularly portrayed Tigrayans as expansionist, corrupt, or subservient toexternal powers. This demonization fed public support for repeated military ofensives anddeepened xenophobic nationalism.
4. Strategic Genocidal Violence:
Across multiple historical episodes, the Eritrean regime has engaged in deliberate violenceaimed at eliminating Tigrayan lives and identity, culminating in the 2020–2022 genocide.
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Section III:
Timeline of Betrayals and Atrocities
1. 1983–1984: Famine Blockade
During the catastrophic Ethiopian famine (1983–85), EPLF forces deliberately blocked thepassage of Tigrayan refugees attempting to flee to Sudan through western Eritrea. Eyewitness accounts, including Médecins Sans Frontières and UN field reports, detail how escape routeswere mined or patrolled, resulting in the deaths of tens of thousands. This act was notrequested by any Ethiopian authority—it was a unilateral campaign of ethnic cruelty.
2. July 1991: Massacre of Ethiopian POWs and Civilians
After entering Asmara in 1991, the EPLF executed over 4,000 captured Ethiopian soldiers andmassacred 2,000 unarmed prisoners of war. As documented by Voice of America, AgenceFrance-Presse, and former USAID Director Andrew Natsios, looting and mutilation of corpseswere widespread. Over 250,000 civilians of Ethiopian origin were forcibly expelled from Eritreain a brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing.
3. 1998–2000: Badme War and Cluster
Bombing of TigrayThe Eritrean regime launched a full-scale war against Ethiopia under the pretense of border disputes. Civilian targets in Tigray—especially in Mekelle—were hit with cluster munitions. The Ayder school bombing on June 5, 1998, killed over 158 students. The UN Claims Commissionlater ruled many of these acts as violations of international humanitarian law.
4. 2020–2022: Tigray Genocide
Eritrean troops launched a coordinated genocide in Tigray. UN investigations, AmnestyInternational, Human Rights Watch, and the EHRC-OHCHR Joint Report have all documentedsystematic massacres, rape campaigns, cultural destruction, and starvation tactics. Thesociological nature of this violence reflects a genocidal ideology decades in the making.
Section IV: The TPLF’s Historical Betrayals and Complicity
The tragedy of Tigray is further deepened by the collaborationist role played by key TPLFfigures. Between 1989 and 1993, TPLF leaders, including Meles Zenawi and Sebhat Nega:Supported unconditional Eritrean secession, by passing international legal procedures.Allowed EPLF control of Red Sea ports, nullifying Ethiopia’s maritime sovereignty.
Suppressed calls for Tigray’s federal autonomy in foreign afairs and defense.Whitewashed EPLF war crimes during the transition years.Declassified U.S. State Department memos and internal TPLF debates (available in the writingsof former members such as Gebru Asrat) afirm this history of betrayal. These were not strategicconcessions—they were acts of ideological subordination and historical sabotage.
Section V: Exposing the Deniers and Historical Revisionists
In recent years, a segment of TPLF-linked activists and media outlets have attempted to absolve the EPLF-PFDJ regime by claiming its involvement in the Tigray Genocide was “invited”or “coordinated.”
These revisionist narratives must be interrogated:Who invited EPLF in 1983–84 to block famine refugees?Who invited the 1991 massacre of Ethiopian POWs?Who invited the 1998 cluster bombing of schoolchildren?These lies aim to deflect accountability and silence demands for justice.
They are designed topreserve the reputations of both external aggressors and internal collaborators.
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Conclusion: Dismantling the Twin Threats to Tigray and Ethiopia
The Tigrayan people face two existential threats: the foreign fascism of the EPLF-PFDJ and theinternal betrayal of a corrupted TPLF elite. One seeks to annihilate; the other enabled theannihilator. Both must be held accountable.
This document demands:A UN-mandated international investigation into EPLF-PFDJ war crimes and crimes against humanity.Universal jurisdiction proceedings targeting perpetrators within and outside Eritrea.A historical reckoning for TPLF leaders who undermined Tigray’s sovereignty and survival. The birth of a new Tigrayan political and cultural identity based on truth, justice, andself-determination.
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Publisher: Horn of Africa Geopolitical Review (HAGR)Contributors: Regional and international experts on security, law, history, and intelligencestudies.
