The Alliance of Tigrayan Associations in the Diaspora in America (ATAD—America)
condemns, in the strongest terms possible, the proclamation of the Ethiopian Ministry of
Education that annexes schools in the Tigray Regional State that are currently occupied by the Amhara and Eritrean forces (namely: Western Tigray, Southern Tigray and North Western Tigray) to the Amhara Regional State. We strongly request an immediate correction to the released official documents of the Ethiopian Ministry of Education.
ATAD-America considers that an official government communication that implies
schools within the constitutional boundaries of the Tigray Region to belong in the Amhara regional state are not only unconstitutional but also run counter to the principles and agreements duly signed and acknowledged in the Pretoria Agreement for Permanent Cessation of Hostilities and the Nairobi Accord. ATAD-America strongly condemns and rejects any such assumption or claim by the Ethiopian government concerning these territories, which are indisputably the sovereign territories of Tigray. This illegal annexation of the occupied Tigrayan territories is untenable under any acceptable legal frameworks and historical grounds and we urge an immediate correction.
While the people of Tigray are engaging the international community and the Ethiopian
government in good faith to ensure the unconditional return of the occupied territories of Tigray per the Ethiopian constitution and in adherence to the principles of the Pretoria Agreement for Secession of Hostilities and the Executive mechanism signed in Nairobi, we are very sad that the Ethiopian government is failing to fulfill its obligations. The Ethiopian government, in taking such a step, is both infringing on the basis for a lasting peace contrary to the hopes and aspirations laid in Pretoria and Nairobi accords. ATAD—America, therefore, demands the Ministry of Education of Ethiopia to publicly apologize for the mistake. We also call upon all parties to the Pretoria agreement to play their role in resolving this pressing issue and expedite the return of the occupied territories to Tigray so that the interim administration of Tigray initiates a programme to return the displaced residents back to their homes.
Please direct all future correspondence and inquiries to [email protected]
ATAD—America,
July 2, 2023
United States of America
CC:
HE Dr. Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of the Federal republic of Ethiopia
HE Getachew Reda, President of the Tigray Interim Regional Administration
HE Olusegun Obasanjo, Former President of Nigeria, AU High Representative for the for
the Horn of Africa
HE Uhuru Kenyatta, Former President of Kenya, Kenyan Envoy for the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes Region
HE Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Former Deputy President of South Africa
HE Ambassador Michael Hammer, US Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa
HE Hanna Serwaa Tetteh, UN Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa
HE Dr. Annette Weber, EU Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea
HE Antony Blinken, Secretary of State of the United States of America
HE Joseph Borell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and
Security Policy, Vice President of the European UCommission
HE Rt Hon James Cleverly, Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom
