Politics
In 2019, Arena Tigray’s leader, Gebru Asrat, was seen as a major leader of ethnic Tigray opposition in Tigray Region.
Federalism
Arena joined the Medrek national coalition of political parties at the coalition’s founding in 2008. As of 2017, Arena continued to be active in Medrek.
2020 Tigray regional election
In August 2020, prior to the 2020 Tigray regional election, Arena Tigray announced that it would boycott the election, in agreement with the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE), on the grounds of “political provocations by the TPLF”, the COVID-19 pandemic and what it saw as the illegitimacy of the election.
Tigray War
On 3 February 2021, Arena Tigray party member Goitom Tsegay stated his long-term opposition to the TPLF and his opposition to the Tigray War, objecting to human rights violations by Fano and other Amhara militias and their taking control of Tigray Region territory, communication blocks and a lack of transparency, the extrajudicial executions of civilians, rape, the presence and role of the Eritrean Defence Forces (EDF) in the war, and starvation. Goitom stated that “many” Arena Tigray members were “wholly against the war” but had been unable to organise a formal meeting given the war situation. Goitom concluded that peace negotiations between the federal government and “Tigray militias and political parties” would be needed to return the region to “some normalcy”.