Meles Zenawi Quotations

I am not worried that the Egyptians will suddenly invade Ethiopia. Nobody who has tried that has lived to tell the story.

An oversupply of national sentiment is not the problem in Somalia. The problem is a lack of it. The problem is an oversupply of sub-sub-clannish attitude.

It does surprise me that intelligent people in the 21st century could claim that if you respond to the terrorists with force, you spawn terrorism, but if you appease them, you somehow tame them. This argument, as I said, is very interesting, and very surprising.

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.

The... provisional government unwaveringly believes that it can solve all the present problems together with the broad masses of Ethiopia. However, we can do this only if all the people come out in unison to implement our planned undertakings.

I know more now than I did in the past about the process of democratization. I know more about the pitfalls.

We believe democracy cannot be imposed from outside in any society. Democracy is the expression of a sovereign people.

I think the Eritrean government is aware that any full-scale invasion of Ethiopia along the lines of 1998 could turn out to be suicidal... And we will not respond to any provocation short of all-out invasion. We are already engaged in a much more fruitful war - against poverty.

As a person, I have never been discourteous or nasty to anybody. I may have stood my ground a bit too directly, a bit too firmly, and I believe I have, over a number of years, learned to be a little less direct.

The most stupid mistake a counter-insurgency operation can make is alienating the population. If you alienate the population, you're finished.

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.

Democracy cannot be a plaything for the capital cities. It has to infiltrate every nook and cranny in the country, including the village.

Imagine a government which has delivered double-digit growth rates for over seven years losing an election anywhere on earth. It is unheard of for such a phenomenon to happen.

Eritrea is hellbent on destabilising Ethiopia. It does not care who it sleeps with.

I cannot separate my achievements from what can be considered as the achievements of the ruling party.

I would love to be the African leader that steps down, that overthrows this idea of a Big Man ruler. I don't want to stay in office forever.

In the urban areas, we have focused on infrastructure roads, telecommunications, power.

Of course everybody's thinking evolves over time. Only dead people cease learning, and I am not certified dead yet. So I am still learning.

Our position is that we can sit down and talk to try to solve our problems through dialogue.

The rule of law is the basis for any democracy. And without the rule of law in democracy, you have chaos.

We have built tens of thousands of schools, clinics and rural roads.

When push comes to shove, people vote alone.

When you have an emergency, there is the urge to do whatever it takes to see people get assistance.

Famine has wreaked havoc in Ethiopia for so long , it would be stupid not to be sensitive to the risk of such things occurring. But there has not been a famine on our watch - emergencies, but no famines.

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.

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,

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.

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.

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,

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.

Out of 60 CUD control committee members, the government decided to arrest only 25 suspected of being involved in violence,

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 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 are aware of the buildup in TSZ. The scale has increased in recent days and this is a matter of concern to us,

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.

They will not be released and they are accused of engaging in insurrection... they will have their day in court.

I have no problem talking to anybody so long as it helps the purpose of peace.

I regret the deaths but these were not normal demonstrations. You don't see hand grenades thrown at normal demonstrations,

The EU report speaks for itself. The statement in my view shows that the mission has turned out to be something worse than a farce, ... We shall in the coming days and weeks see what we can do to expose the pack of lies and innuendoes that characterise the garbage in this report.

It's true we have our disagreements on border issues, we have disagreements on trade and related issues, but you don't go invading a country whenever you have a dispute on trade issues, ... We have more civilized mechanisms on resolving such problems.

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

Of course everybodys thinking evolves over time.

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.

As we respond to the assault of our enemy and defend our country, we must never break international laws. Crime can not be solved by more crime.

Spending one hour with Isaias is far more worthwhile, rewarding and enlightening than reading ten books

the Ethiopian government is looking all matters with utmost patience.

The (CUD) officials who have been arrested will be taken to court, ... They are responsible for all these things.

The CUD is responsible for the damage and loss of life that has occurred in the capital in the last three days,

The CUD (Coalition for Unity and Democracy) leaders are engaged in insurrection -- that is an act of treason under Ethiopian law. They will be charged and they will appear in court,