{"id":5674,"date":"2025-01-04T15:53:36","date_gmt":"2025-01-04T15:53:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tigrayinsights.net\/?page_id=5674"},"modified":"2025-06-05T02:13:37","modified_gmt":"2025-06-05T02:13:37","slug":"home","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/tigrayinsights.net\/en\/","title":{"rendered":"My Opinion Pieces …"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Why Now? What Is Abiy Trying to Prevent?<\/a><\/h2><\/header>
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The attacks on Tigray may be preparation for another war. But I think something else may also be happening: Addis may be trying to force us to move before the new strategic relationships around Tigray become strong enough to change the balance. The situation in Tigray is becoming more dangerous by the day. Since the beginning of August, we have seen fighting around Shererina, drone attacks in Merewa, attacks around Mariam Kubi and Dandera, and now bombing in Mekelle itself. People are being wounded, families are afraid, and once again Tigrayans are living with the fear of another war. For...<\/p>Read More<\/a><\/div>\n <\/div>

fikru.kidane@protonmail.com<\/a><\/span>
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The Next Mistake May Not Come From Weakness<\/a><\/h2><\/header>
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Recovered leverage is not victory. It is a test of judgment: Tigray must turn its growing room to maneuver into durable gains without making the survival of its people depend on assumptions that may prove wrong. Tigray is no longer where it was under the transitional arrangement. The endurance of our people, the sacrifices of those who defended Tigray, and the political decisions that moved us beyond that arrangement have given Tigray more room to shape events than it had before. That progress is real. It is also the reason I am writing. Recovered agency gives us choices we did...<\/p>Read More<\/a><\/div>\n <\/div>

fikru.kidane@protonmail.com<\/a><\/span>
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The Mask I Wore Willingly: A Tigrayan Letter on Love, Identity, Empire, and the Future of the North<\/a><\/h2><\/header>
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I loved the country that taught me to disappear inside it. I know now that a culture can hold you completely and still not hold your name, and that no state worth keeping asks a people to vanish to belong. Before the letter This is a political letter, not a dissertation. Its point of entry is one life: a Tigrayan childhood formed partly through Amharic language, literature, music, religion, and public culture, and later forced to confront the conditions attached to that belonging. Personal memory cannot settle every historical dispute, and I do not ask it to. Where the argument...<\/p>Read More<\/a><\/div>\n <\/div>

fikru.kidane@protonmail.com<\/a><\/span>
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Administration, Population, and Belonging: Documentary Notes on Western and Southern Tigray<\/a><\/h2><\/header>
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Documentary notes on Western and Southern Tigray \u2014 a companion to The Mask I Wore Willingly This note gathers, in one place, the record on which the letter’s territorial claims rest, so that the argument may be weighed against evidence rather than assertion. The record for Western Tigray and the record for Southern Tigray are not the same; they are set out separately. Where the evidence is incomplete, that is stated rather than concealed. 1. The question and the constitutional standard The dispute over Welkait, Tsegede, Tselemti, and Humera is usually argued as a contest of ancient title \u2014 who...<\/p>Read More<\/a><\/div>\n <\/div>

fikru.kidane@protonmail.com<\/a><\/span>
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Method, Evidence, and Scope: A Companion Note to \u201cThe Mask I Wore Willingly\u201d<\/a><\/h2><\/header>
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A companion note to The Mask I Wore Willingly Purpose of this note The Mask I Wore Willingly is a political letter grounded in one Tigrayan life. Its central argument is autobiographical, historical, and strategic at once: a person may be educated, governed, and culturally formed through the institutions of a state without thereby surrendering a deeper identity; likewise, the fact that an empire once administered a territory does not by itself establish permanent ethnic ownership over the people and land concerned. The essay is not intended to function as a comprehensive historical monograph. Where it relies on documentary claims\u2014law,...<\/p>Read More<\/a><\/div>\n <\/div>

fikru.kidane@protonmail.com<\/a><\/span>
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Fixed Purpose, Open Destination: Why Tigray Needs Direction Without Premature Closure<\/a><\/h2><\/header>
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Mekhete must be anchored in Tigray\u2019s non-negotiable national purpose and guided by clear, measurable objectives. But Tigray should not lock itself into one final political destination before the balance of power, the conduct of its partners, the viability of coexistence, and the growth of its own capacity have revealed which destination can most securely protect its people. Over the past several weeks, as meetings have widened across Tigray and the language of \u1218\u12b8\u1270 (Mekhete) has become more visible in our public conversation, one question has moved quietly to the center of everything: what, exactly, is all of this trying to...<\/p>Read More<\/a><\/div>\n <\/div>

fikru.kidane@protonmail.com<\/a><\/span>
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The Superpower That Cannot See the Horn<\/a><\/h2><\/header>
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Why Washington\u2019s Strategic Diagnosis Keeps Failing the Region America is deeply present in the Horn of Africa, yet increasingly unable to see the region it is trying to stabilize.Ambassador Massinga\u2019s visit to Mekelle is not the story. The framework that sent him is. * This essay builds on earlier TigrayInsights analyses of Western Tigray, Sudan, and the language of diplomacy. It examines U.S. policy from the perspective of long-term strategic effectiveness rather than immediate diplomatic events. The analysis reflects developments through July 18, 2026. ** This essay is written for anyone concerned with peace and stability in the Horn of...<\/p>Read More<\/a><\/div>\n <\/div>

fikru.kidane@protonmail.com<\/a><\/span>
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The Burden of Carrying a Nation<\/a><\/h2><\/header>
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Public Confidence, Political Responsibility, and the Future of \u1218\u12b8\u1270 \u1218\u12b8\u1270 carried Tigray through an existential struggle. Its next test is whether sacrifice can be converted into lasting national capacity. TPLF carries the greatest responsibility because it leads. But leadership is not ownership. It means correcting weaknesses honestly, preserving public confidence, aligning every institution with national priorities, and organizing committed and capable Tigrayans beyond familiar political circles. The burden of carrying a nation is to remain worthy of the people who sustain it. Why I wanted to write this Of all the essays I have written in recent months, this is...<\/p>Read More<\/a><\/div>\n <\/div>

fikru.kidane@protonmail.com<\/a><\/span>
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Beyond Two-Track Mekhete: Toward a National Resilience Strategy for Tigray<\/a><\/h2><\/header>
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Mekhete saved Tigray. Now it must evolve to achieve what survival alone cannot: the return of the displaced, the restoration of occupied territories, justice for genocide, and the recovery of Tigray’s full national rights. Recent exchanges in Ethiopian political and parliamentary discourse have once again illustrated something that many Tigrayan observers like me have been tracking for some time. The contest over Tigray’s future is no longer confined to the battlefield. Military pressure is accompanied by political maneuvering, information campaigns, constitutional and legal contestation, institutional disruption, economic conditioning, international messaging, and sustained efforts to shape how Tigray is perceived \u2014...<\/p>Read More<\/a><\/div>\n <\/div>

fikru.kidane@protonmail.com<\/a><\/span>
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When Diplomacy Speaks, Tigray Must Think<\/a><\/h2><\/header>
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The question is not whether Tigray should be flexible. The question is: flexible about what, under what conditions, and in whose strategic interest? When the United States announced visa restrictions on what it called “hardline members of the TPLF,” I decided to wait before responding. Not because I had no views. But because within hours of the announcement, every camp had already determined what it meant. Those who had been critical of TPLF found confirmation. Those defending TPLF found vindication. The announcement was absorbed almost instantly into positions that were already fixed. Very few seemed interested in slowing down long...<\/p>Read More<\/a><\/div>\n <\/div>

fikru.kidane@protonmail.com<\/a><\/span>
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Where Will Tigray\u2019s Next Political Leaders Come From?<\/a><\/h2><\/header>
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The most important political question facing Tigray today is not who should lead us next. It is whether we have built a society capable of continuously producing people worthy of leading us at all. On the night of November 4, 2021, police came to my house in Addis Ababa at around nine o\u2019clock. Seven of them. Two secret service agents and five uniformed police with a driver. I had seen them coming. I had a few seconds to change the television channel from Tigray media to CNN, hide my smartphone, and walk back to open the gate as if nothing...<\/p>Read More<\/a><\/div>\n <\/div>

fikru.kidane@protonmail.com<\/a><\/span>
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Political Organization Is Not a Copy-and-Paste Exercise<\/a><\/h2><\/header>
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Why Tigray Must Think More Carefully About Political Renewal Politics is often consumed by events. History is shaped by institutions. At a time when political developments in and around Tigray are moving quickly, this may seem an unusual moment to write about political organization rather than current events. That choice is deliberate. Events will continue to unfold, and there will be time to analyze them as the picture becomes clearer. What cannot wait is a deeper conversation about the institutions that will determine whether Tigray succeeds regardless of how the current moment resolves. It is in that spirit that I...<\/p>Read More<\/a><\/div>\n <\/div>

fikru.kidane@protonmail.com<\/a><\/span>
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Can Tigray Afford to Put Ethiopia First?<\/a><\/h2><\/header>
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Before Tigray decides what it owes Ethiopia, it must decide what it owes itself. There is a case for putting Ethiopia first. It is not a weak case. It deserves to be stated honestly before it is examined. Ethiopia remains Tigray’s largest market. It remains the framework within which Tigray’s trade, its infrastructure, its financial relationships, and its administrative connections operate. Ethiopia remains the diplomatic shield within which Tigray’s demands for Pretoria implementation have some international standing. Ethiopia remains the state recognized by the international system, whose collapse or fracture would create security vacuums and regional instabilities that Tigray, landlocked...<\/p>Read More<\/a><\/div>\n <\/div>

fikru.kidane@protonmail.com<\/a><\/span>
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Suppose They Are Right. Then What?<\/a><\/h2><\/header>
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This is probably the longest article I have published in a very long time. I hesitated before writing it, and I hesitated again before publishing it. Not because the subject is unimportant, but because it touches one of the most sensitive debates in Tigrayan political life today. I am not asking anyone to agree with me. I am only asking for the patience to read the argument in full before judging it. Many of the questions raised in this article have been sitting in my mind for months. This was my attempt to think through them honestly and openly. If...<\/p>Read More<\/a><\/div>\n <\/div>

fikru.kidane@protonmail.com<\/a><\/span>
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The Variable Behind the Noise: Tigray and the Nile\u2013Red Sea Equation<\/a><\/h2><\/header>
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For decades, Egypt sought to manage the Nile equation through Ethiopia and Eritrea. The actor that repeatedly altered regional outcomes was neither \u2014 it was Tigray\u2019s organized political capacity. The lesson is not about Egypt. It is about Tigray. If Tigrayans fail to understand their own strategic weight, others will continue to calculate it more clearly than they do themselves. Recent discussions in Ethiopian political media have returned repeatedly to the language of \u201chistorical enemies,\u201d foreign agendas, and external alignments. The message is familiar: Tigray must be isolated from regional actors because any strategic relationship beyond Addis Ababa represents a...<\/p>Read More<\/a><\/div>\n <\/div>

fikru.kidane@protonmail.com<\/a><\/span>
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When the World Comes Knocking, Tigray Must Speak From Strength<\/a><\/h2><\/header>
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Tigray has emerged from its most dangerous internal test more consolidated than many expected. The task now is not merely to preserve that consolidation, but to convert it into diplomatic strength: entering every room with one clear message, one clear objective, and the discipline to distinguish restoration from adjustment to loss. Tigray has spent the past months passing through one of the most difficult political tests of the post-Pretoria period. The attempt to make Tigray\u2019s disagreements harden into fracture did not succeed. The attempt to normalize a reduced Tigray has not won majority acceptance. Beneath the noise, Tigray has shown...<\/p>Read More<\/a><\/div>\n <\/div>

fikru.kidane@protonmail.com<\/a><\/span>
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Tigray Must Turn Friction Into Cohesion<\/a><\/h2><\/header>
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Tigray\u2019s trauma has amplified its disagreements so deeply that many Tigrayans now struggle to recognize how much shared ground still remains. The task is to recover that ground, organize it, and turn friction into cohesion before others turn it into fracture. \u12a5\u12da \u1345\u1211\u134d\u1361 \u1293\u12ed \u12f5\u1215\u1228-\u1355\u122a\u1276\u122a\u12eb \u1275\u130d\u122b\u12ed \u1356\u1208\u1272\u12ab\u12ca \u121d\u1235\u120a \u1265\u1250\u120a\u1209 \u12a3\u1265 \u1218\u1295\u130e \u201c\u12f0\u1208\u12ed\u1272 \u1230\u120b\u121d\u201d\u1295 \u201c\u12f0\u1208\u12ed\u1272 \u12b2\u1293\u1275\u201d\u1295 \u12c8\u12ed \u12a3\u1265 \u1218\u1295\u130e \u201c\u12f0\u1308\u134d\u1272 \u1355\u122a\u1276\u122a\u12eb\u201d\u1295 \u201c\u1270\u1253\u12c8\u121d\u1272 \u1355\u122a\u1276\u122a\u12eb\u201d\u1295 \u12dd\u1270\u1218\u1250\u1208 \u1325\u122b\u12ed \u12a8\u121d\u12d8\u12ed\u12ae\u1290 \u12ed\u12a8\u122b\u12b8\u122d\u1362 \u12a5\u1272 \u1293\u12ed \u1213\u1242 \u1338\u1308\u121d\u1361 \u12dd\u1270\u1348\u120b\u1208\u12e9 \u12c8\u1308\u1293\u1275 \u1270\u1218\u1233\u1233\u120a \u1243\u120b\u1275 \u12a5\u1293\u1270\u1320\u1250\u1219 \u2014 \u201c\u1230\u120b\u121d\u201d\u1361 \u201c\u1355\u122a\u1276\u122a\u12eb\u201d\u1361 \u201c\u1205\u120d\u12cd\u1293\u201d \u2014 \u1293\u1265 \u12dd\u1270\u1348\u120b\u1208\u12e8\u1295 \u12d8\u12ed\u1230\u121b\u121b\u12d5\u1295 \u1356\u1208\u1272\u12ab\u12ca \u12cd\u1345\u12a2\u1275 \u12e8\u121d\u122d\u1211 \u121d\u1205\u120b\u12ce\u121d \u12a5\u12e9\u1362 \u1295\u1218\u1265\u12db\u1215\u1275\u12a6\u121d \u1270\u130b\u1229\u1361 \u1355\u122a\u1276\u122a\u12eb \u121b\u1208\u1275 \u121d\u121d\u120b\u1235\u1295 \u12f3\u130d\u121b\u12ed \u121d\u1275\u12ab\u120d\u1295 \u12ad\u12b8\u12cd\u1295 \u12a3\u1208\u12ce\u1364 \u121d\u121d\u120b\u1235 \u1270\u1218\u12db\u1260\u120d\u1272\u1363 \u121d\u12cd\u1343\u12a5...<\/p>Read More<\/a><\/div>\n <\/div>

fikru.kidane@protonmail.com<\/a><\/span>
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Abiy Won the Timeline. Tigray Must Win the Terms.<\/a><\/h2><\/header>
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Obasanjo’s re-engagement will have meaning only if it moves Pretoria from process to enforceable chronology. But that will happen only if Tigray enters the room with sharper demands, documented positions, and a second track that does not depend on the goodwill of those who benefit from delay. Obasanjo\u2019s arrival in Mekelle comes at a consequential moment. It follows Ethiopia\u2019s June 1 election, years of incomplete Pretoria implementation, and the reconstitution of Tigray\u2019s political authority. Had this visit occurred before June 1, it would have meant something different. It would have arrived at a moment when international pressure on Abiy Ahmed...<\/p>Read More<\/a><\/div>\n <\/div>

fikru.kidane@protonmail.com<\/a><\/span>
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The Morning After: No Alternative Is Serious Without a Survival Plan<\/a><\/h2><\/header>
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No political alternative becomes serious until it explains who protects Tigray during the dangerous interval between rejecting the current framework and building a stronger one. I have been following, with real unease, the voices now filling the social media space against the current Tigrayan \u1218\u12b8\u1270 authority. I did not follow them to dismiss them. I followed them because I wanted to understand the logic behind their argument, even though I do not share their conclusion. I believe survival politics requires decisiveness. By decisiveness, I do not mean blind loyalty, reckless coercion, or silence before mistakes. I mean the ability of...<\/p>Read More<\/a><\/div>\n <\/div>

fikru.kidane@protonmail.com<\/a><\/span>
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\u1218\u12b8\u1270 Is Not a Press Release<\/a><\/h2><\/header>
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Tigray needs criticism that forces emergency institutions to become real, not commentary that reduces every crisis to one man. I listened carefully to Tedros Tsegaye\u2019s commentary on the Sheraro drone strike and the reactions that followed. He raised some points I agree with. Formulaic statements after an attack that kills Tigrayan youth are not enough. Leadership must be accountable. Drone deaths must not be normalized. On those points, he is right. But I want to focus on where I think his analysis goes wrong. And I want to be direct about it, because I think the mistakes are serious. \u2014...<\/p>Read More<\/a><\/div>\n <\/div>

fikru.kidane@protonmail.com<\/a><\/span>