Removed from the politburo of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) in
2010, Sebhat Nega still holds hopes of once again heading the party he
helped to found.
Despite his advancing years and his ousting from the top of the Tigray
People's Liberation Front (TPLF, mainstay of the coalition ruling Ethiopia)
and from EFFORT (the holding company for TPLF companies), Sebhat Nega is
keen to go beyond his current post of executive director of the
pro-government Ethiopian International Institute for Peace and Development
(EIIPD). An old hand in the TPLF who has long been in dispute with Azeb
Mesfin, the widow of the late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, he is still
making his presence felt behind the political scenes.
While on a tour of the Tigray Regional State in early May to sound out the
local TPLF leaders, managers and activists, Sebhat Nega hit the headlines
when he agreed with those present at a meeting denouncing corruption,
nepotism and iniquity of the TPLF regime. He then immediately toned down his
criticisms, stating "we must join together to solve these problems".
Interviewed about the TPLF's record on the German radio station Deutsche
Welle in the Amharic language a few days ago, Sebhat Nega defended the
party's policies over the 23 years it has been in power since 1991. He
justified sidelining the pan-Ethiopian organisations in the Transitional
Conference of the time. Nevertheless, he then stated he was prepared to
launch a campaign himself to reconcile with these political groups.
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