ESAT News (Dec. 25)–Two members of Arena Tigray, a party that aspires to liberate Tigrians from the grip of the TPLF, have been detained in Mekele while distributing the party’s publication. Arena said the duo remain in custody despite informing the police that they were the party’s members.
Arena’s Mekele branch representative Sultan Hihshe told ESAT that Ayalew Beyene and Tekalign Tadesse were detained under the pretext that they did not carry ID cards identifying them as members of a legally registered political party.
Sultan also said that another member of the party was apprehended Monday in Humera while distributing leaflets. He noted that Arena Tigray has faced numerous hurdles, harassment and repressive measures in order to silence its members and obstruct its operations.
Arena Tigray was formed by veteran members of the TPLF that splintered from the TPLF during the height of the Ethio-Eritrean war, which the splinter group alleged that f Meles Zenawi’s strategies and decisions were dubious as some of the key decisions favored Eritrea.