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
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.
The violence has marred the image of Ethiopia, ... The worst is clearly behind us and we do not expect any such violence in the near future.
Some people think African states cannot be trusted with the cookie jar. But there are absolutely good NGOs who have this feeling of human solidarity and who also recognize that their work can only be supplementary to the government.
We are aware of the buildup in TSZ. The scale has increased in recent days and this is a matter of concern to us,
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.
We have taken measures and beefed up our defense capabilities around the border since December to prevent any miscalculation by the other side,
What we have is a pattern of prevarication, a pattern of trying to draw out the process and consolidate the hold on our territory, ... If that's the case -- and it appears to be the case -- then the opportunities for resolving this problem peacefully could be fast disappearing.
What we have detained is people who have tried to overthrow the duly constituted government, and that in my view is treason under the laws of the country,
I don't know what the prosecution will ask for but the death penalty is still legal in Ethiopia. On a personal note that is not the penalty I would like to see applied, ... It is for the prosecution and courts to decide, but if I have any say on it I would prefer prison sentences rather than death sentences.
Since these individuals are people who have been openly trying to change the constitutional order through force and street violence, they can use the parliamentary immunity as a cover-up to topple the constitution itself, ... Thus it is imperative to lift this cover-up immediately to ensure the country's peace and stability.
We shall negotiate while we fight and we shall fight while we negotiate,
We shall negotiate while fighting. We shall fight while negotiating, ... Whichever road leads to peace quickly will be the road we follow.
We regret the death but it was not a normal demonstration,
We have no intention of playing fast and loose with this document, with the OAU process, ... We only hope that this time around the other side really means what it says.