Ethiopia: Assessing The Pretoria Peace AgreementIn mid-March this year, Prime Minister Abiy engaged in discussions with delegates and representatives from the Tigray region concerning the preservation of the Pretoria Peace Agreement and the formulation of a sustainable way forward. Implementation of the Pretoria agreement has been sluggish, principally due to deficient disarmament of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). According to the letter of the Peace Agreement, disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) of TPLF fighters was to take precedence. This of course goes against the spirit of the Pretoria Peace Agreement, which precludes all parties from making inflammatory statements or instigating tension. As skepticism emerges on the continued viability of the Pretoria Peace Agreement, it remains to be seen whether the conflicting parties and the mediators will take the difficult steps needed to implement the envisaged peace.
