Published at Foreign Policy
Many Tigrayans seem to believe that Tigray got the short end of the stick in the recent peace agreement signed last month in Pretoria, South Africa.
More than 5.2 million Tigrayans still desperately need unimpeded, rapid, unconditional, and sustained delivery of humanitarian aid. Despite the agreement, civilians are still being killed and abducted, communication and other services such as public transportation remain suspended, aid trucks are being delayed, and aid is trickling only to limited areas mainly under the control of the Ethiopian and Eritrean forces.
Indeed, no just peace can be achieved in Tigray as long as the population believes it is under the occupation of military forces it considers alien.
Only time will tell if this dissatisfaction could lead to the emergence of a politics of resentment and discontent that could one day spark conflict, leading to a resumption of various forms of hostilities.
Any lasting peace agreement must be predicated on addressing the root causes of war—namely, providing security against what Tigrayans see as an existential threat and non-repetition of atrocities and wars—while respecting the sovereignty of Ethiopia as a country.