Mekelle፡Telaviv, Nairobi, Pretoria, London, (Tigray Herald).
The Baytona-Asimba-Eritrea Overture: A Dangerous Pact of Betrayal Against the People of Tigray
From Resistance to Betrayal: Tigrayan Politicians Courting Eritrea Are Compromising a Nation’s Struggle
By Tesema Nadew
A disturbing trend is emerging in the political landscape of post-war Tigray: senior leaders of opposition parties are now publicly signaling their willingness to collaborate with the same foreign regime that participated in the genocidal assault on Tigray.
In less than a week, two prominent political figures Kidane Amene of Baytona Party and Dori Asgedom, chairman of the Asimba Democratic Party have either expressed or initiated outreach to Eritrea’s ruling PFDJ regime under President Isaias Afwerki.
This is more than political opportunism. This is betrayal at a national scale.
Who Are These Politicians Really Serving?
The overtures made by these two party leaders raise serious questions. Both men represent opposition movements that emerged during or shortly after the Tigray war. While opposition is a vital part of any democratic society, when that opposition begins aligning itself with hostile foreign powers especially one responsible for war crimes in Tigray it ceases to be democratic dissent and becomes a national security threat.
Eritrea is not a neutral actor. It was a core military aggressor during the 2020–2022 war, launching brutal campaigns against civilians, cultural institutions, and religious sites across Tigray. Collaborating with such a regime is not politics it is treason.
Eritrea’s Strategy: Divide and Weaken
Eritrea has always sought to undermine Tigray’s strength, autonomy, and regional influence not just through war, but also through political infiltration and psychological warfare.
What we are now witnessing could be part of a broader PFDJ plan: to legitimize itself in Tigray by co-opting weakened or opportunistic political figures under the guise of “dialogue,” “regional cooperation,” or “peace.”
Let’s be clear: PFDJ does not want peace with Tigray. It wants submission. It wants a divided Tigray, politically unstable and vulnerable to future incursions. These recent developments play directly into that strategic blueprint.
Kidane Amene and Dori Asgedom: Two Faces of the Same Betrayal
While Baytona and Asimba may differ in their origins and base constituencies, their current actions are aligned. Both leaders are engaging with a foreign regime that committed and continues to deny crimes against humanity against the very people they claim to represent.
Kidane Amene, whose rhetoric once flirted with populist Tigrayan nationalism, is now openly calling for ties with Eritrea. Dori Asgedom, is now working behind the scenes with Asmara, according to credible sources.
Their actions are not independent. These are not coincidences. These are calculated betrayals, potentially sponsored, encouraged, or manipulated by the Eritrean state.
Where Is the Ethiopian Government and NEBE?
The National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) must immediately suspend the licenses of both Baytona and Asimba pending investigation. If political parties are engaging in foreign collusion especially with a regime that violated Ethiopia’s territorial sovereignty it is a direct violation of the Ethiopian Constitution and the Political Parties Registration Proclamation.
The Ministry of Peace, too, must weigh in. The integrity of Ethiopia’s internal politics cannot be compromised by actors serving external agendas.
And if the federal government refuses to act, then the people of Tigray must through civil resistance, political mobilization, and public condemnation.
The Price of Silence Is Too High
Tigray is still bleeding. Families are still mourning. Survivors of sexual violence are still in need of justice. The people who suffered have not received reparations, recognition, or reconciliation.
To now see Tigrayan political leaders shaking hands with the architects of that suffering is to reopen the wounds and salt them.
It is a mockery of our martyrs.
It is a spit in the face of our displaced.
It is a betrayal of our children’s future.
Conclusion: No to Collaboration with Criminals
The people of Tigray did not suffer for this. They did not endure genocide only to watch their own supposed leaders sell their dignity for political access or foreign favor.
Tigray’s destiny cannot and must not be shaped in Asmara.
It must be written by the survivors, by the mothers who hid their children during drone strikes, by the youth who carried wounded elders through mountain paths, and by the churches and mosques that refused to die even under artillery fire.
To Kidane Amene and Dori Asgedom, the message is clear:
You do not speak for Tigray. You speak for betrayal.
