Abay Tsehaye
Abay Tsehaye (Tigrinya: አባይ ፀሓዬ; Born on April 29, 1953 - died 13th of January 2021) was a Tigrayan-Ethiopian politician and a prominent personality in the Ethiopian political discourse. He was active in the political scene from the early 1960s up to late 2018, initially as one of the founding members of the TPLF (from inception to 1990), followed by important positions within the EPRDF led by the Ethiopian government(1990-2018), after which he retired and moved to live in Axum and Mekelle, Tigray.
Abay (Amha) Tsehaye | |
|---|---|
ኣባይ (ኣምሃ) ፀሓየ | |
| Executive Member of the Central Committee of the TPLF | |
| In office 2001–2018 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 29, 1953 Aksum, Tigray Province, Ethiopia |
| Died | 13 January 2021 (aged 67) |
| Political party | EPRDF |
| Other political affiliations | TPLF |
| Children | Hayet Abay, Aron Abay |
Abay was born on April 29, 1953,in Axum, Tigray. He attended high school in Mekelle, the capital city of Tigray, which had modern schools at the time. He attended college-level education at the Addis Ababa University (then called Haile Selassie I University). Aside from his academic work, he had an eye on activism, stemming from the difficulties he encountered as a Tigrayan. [1]
Abay was a student activist while enrolled in Haile Selassie I University in the early 1970s as a member of the Tigrayan University Students' Association. He was always passionate when talking about the systemic injustices imposed by the Ethiopian state on the people of Tigray. He was one of many Tigrayans attending AAU who took up the cause of the disenfranchised people and particularly Tigrayans which they hail from.
Abay discovered that Ethiopians are not free if they cannot overcome the feudal state and the unjust arrangement which had them in a bind. He became a founding member of TPLF( [2] Tigray People's Liberation Front.) with approximately 12 students.[3] Abay was selected to be one of the first TPLF members to be given military training by the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) and he arrived in Asmara, January 1975 after changing his name from "Amha" to Abay.[4]
With Meles Zenawi and Sibhat Nega, Abay was one of the founders of the TPLF in July 1985.[5] Following the end of the Ethiopian Civil War and the fall of the Dergue Regime, Abay became Minister of Federal Affairs in 2001. Abay was also an executive member of the Central Committee of the TPLF for a long time of his political career.[6]
Abay Tsehaye Death and Assassination
According to the Ethiopian government, Abay went missing in action in the ongoing Tigray War by the Ethiopian National Defence Forces under the command of Abiy Ahmed Ali, Prime Minister of Ethiopia, on January 13, 2021.
Two other Tigray People's Liberation Front officials were killed with him. Ethiopia alleged that the group refused to surrender. Five further officials were captured.[7]
Abay Tsahaye had heart surgery before the war. Their families and the TPLF have since said the three were taken from their homes in Mekelle and executed by the Eritrean and Ethiopian military.[8] The pictures published by Ethiopian authorities indicate a point-blank execution of the former ministers and MPs.
References
- Aregawi Berhe, A Political history of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (1975-1991) (Los Angeles: Tsehai, 2009), p. 340
- Aregawi Berhe, "The origins of the Tigray People's Liberation Front", African Affairs 103 (2004), p. 577
- Aregawi, Political History, p. 40
- Aregawi, "The origins", p. 586
- Aregawi, Political History, p. 156
- "List of Central Committee members of the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF)" Archived April 8, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front website (accessed 29 May 2009)
- Staff, Reuters (14 January 2021). "Ethiopia says ex-foreign minister killed by military after refusing to surrender". Reuters.
- መግለፂ መንግስቲ ትግራይን ዕለታዊ ዜናን DW International 7 ጥሪ 2013