“This Timkat is very, very special to me,” he said. It was a message that resonated with locals like 22-year-old Gebre Ayana, who emerged from the baths smiling widely, drenched in holy water. His Timkat message praised the virtue of “humility” but offered no details on next steps.Īddressing the faithful Wednesday at the 17th-century baths built by Emperor Fasilides, local officials tried to turn the page on the conflict, declaring the TPLF vanquished and calling for a speedy post-war recovery. His most concrete reconciliation gesture was the release this month of high-profile opponents including a TPLF founder. Tigrayans, he added, “have lost loved ones as well.”Ībiy, winner of the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize, has so far kept the details of a proposed “national dialogue” under wraps. Initially, French officials in Tunisia attempted to deploy Algerian precedents: civilian rule prevailed in cities and coastal regions. “I just want peace for my country,” he said as the parade in Gondar began, with floats featuring a wooden cross and a replica of Noah’s Ark rolling down the city’s paved and cobbled streets. The only combatant who expressed any enthusiasm for peace talks was Arega, the militia fighter who lost his father. “Fighting against your brother is the saddest part of all.” Turning the page A silly, whimsical, and yet deeply encouraging story at the same time, Epiphany City rises up against the overwhelming ideals of society, against hopelessness, and feeling like you'll never be good enough Elegant tutorials & simple controls ensure that you waste no time getting to the fun. “I will never forget the fact that brothers fought each other,” he said. Minas Alemayehu, a burly and bearded Fano fighter injured in a mortar attack, also said the TPLF “will always be a threat” unless they are unequivocally defeated, though he described the hostilities as regrettable. “I don’t believe negotiations with the TPLF will work because from the time of their establishment their goal is to wipe Amharas from the face of the earth,” he said, echoing a common belief in Amhara. Such outpourings of grief reinforce Baye’s view that the TPLF must be dealt with militarily. “Mothers are crying over their dead sons.” “This is a different Timkat for me,” he told AFP. “Does anyone have a gut to negotiate with ISIS? Does anyone have a gut to negotiate with Al-Qaeda? Does anyone have a gut to negotiate with Boko Haram? For us, TPLF is equal to these terrorist groups.”īaye Kenaw, a commander in the ethnic Amhara Fano militia, spent the days preceding Timkat visiting families of nine fighters slain in recent clashes.