Meles Zenawi
Meles Zenawi
Meles Zenawi Asres; 9 May 1955 – 20 August 2012, born Legesse Zenawi Asres) was the Prime Minister of Ethiopia from 1995 until his death in 2012. From 1989, he was the chairman of the Tigrayan Peoples' Liberation Front, and the head of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Frontsince its formation in 1991. Before becoming a prime minister in 1995, he had served the president of the transitional government of Ethiopia from 1991 to 1995...
NationalityEthiopian
ProfessionWorld Leader
Date of Birth8 May 1955
CityAdwa, Ethiopia
CountryEthiopia
Africa's downfall has always been the cult of the personality. And their names always seem to begin with M. We've had Mobutu and Mengistu and I'm not going to add Meles to the list.
I regret the deaths but these were not normal demonstrations. You don't see hand grenades thrown at normal demonstrations,
They will not be released and they are accused of engaging in insurrection... they will have their day in court.
Over the years, I've come to recognize that democratization in Ethiopia is not just a matter of choice. It's a matter of national survival. I am deeply convinced that we either democratize and have a good chance of surviving, or if we fail to do so, we disintegrate.
the Ethiopian government is looking all matters with utmost patience.
We have our own script. We have our own calendar. We represent the greatness of Africa's past. We also represent the worst of Africa's present, in terms of poverty. It is the best and the worst of African reality.
What the implications of this will be in terms of relations between Ethiopia and the EU we will have to wait and see. But I don't think you will be surprised if Ethiopia were to insist that it should not be patronised.
We have taken measures and beefed up our defense capabilities around the border since December to prevent any miscalculation by the other side,
We are aware of the buildup in TSZ. The scale has increased in recent days and this is a matter of concern to us,
If it is presumed that the Kenyans will democratise in order to eat the peanuts of development assistance from the European Union... it would be a big mistake
I am not worried that the Egyptians will suddenly invade Ethiopia. Nobody who has tried that has lived to tell the story.
After Nigeria, we are the second biggest black African nation. We are the headquarters of the African Union. We are the only African country that has never been colonized. This is perhaps the last surviving African civilization.
While all democratic systems are works in progress, ours started rather late and therefore has a longer distance to cover. But democratic transformation for us is not mimicking some facets of Western governance. The focus has been on building institutions of democratic governance.
It is illegal to be a member of an organization that is challenging the constitution by armed force.