By Paulos Milkias
I do not believe that Ethiopia’s dictator Meles Zenawi is going to quit. He is simply posturing. Here are reasons why?
An official who is determined to quit will not qualify it by another possibility. An excellent example to announce quitting: “I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your president.” This, as you know, was President Lyndon B. Johnson’s announcement on March 31, 1968, after the setbacks of the Tet Offensive and the violent student demonstrations against the war in Vietnam made his life unbearable.
Mr. Meles is saying he has decided to quit but will respect his party’s decision regarding it. Anybody knows that neither the current TPLF leadership nor what remains of the EPRDF officialdom can survive for long without Mr. Meles’ political machinations. What he is saying is, I will say I will quit and my party caucus will put pressure on me through parliament. Then I will have little choice but to respect their wishes!
Second, he says he will quit as Prime Minister but will remain as the party leader. That is impossible in the present political framework in Ethiopia. If he has to resign as Prime Minister, he also has to resign from the Party leadership. Ethiopia has adapted a parliamentary democracy. In parliamentary democracy, the party leader is automatically the Prime Minister. Do not forget that the Front Benchers are selected and directed by the party leader. The Back Benchers also seek direct guidance from the party leader whose dictates they follow without fail.
Mr. Meles’ posturing is more in tune with that of Gamal Abdel Nasser. When the Egyptian President’s army was decimated in the Six Day War by June 9, 1967, Nasser tendered his resignation as President in a televised broadcast only to “change his mind” when his decision was “rejected” by Egypt’s National Assembly totally controlled by his National Democratic Party. So, come 2010 elections, rest assured that history will repeat itself.
(The writer, Dr Paulos Milkias, can be reached at [email protected])
15 thoughts on “Mr. Meles is posturing”
Melles is patalogical lier. He is changing his colors every now and then. It does not matter for him to say some thing and do another. We have been witnessing this since day one, isn’t it.
Well, after continuous rule for 18 years, it is somewhat hard to give up the power. Actually, he wants to have his cake and keeping it. May be he is going to manage Al Moudin businesses, at the meantime he will put everything at the bay.
The devil meant he will stay in power.
Hi dude Ethiopia is not parliamentary democracy like the UK.
We are developmental state that means it is not a carbon copy of the US or the UK system.
Meles does not need to ammend the constitution to run like Chavez because the developmental states constitution allows that.
But what I have heard from people who are close to him is that he realy does not want to run but he is willing to help as the part’s leader.
The aim hear is to baby sit the transitional process until the new leader get’s confident enough to handle this extremly complex task of governing Ethiopia.
Show me a dictator who voluntarily relinquished his power? There is none. Meles with his bloodied hand and with the continuous flow of corruptly earned money will never abandon his grip on power. He is bluffing just to see the reaction of his people. But word has much power that you can imagine. So his demise either way is inevitable.
It doesn’t matter whether meles quits or not. Unless the entire tplf criminal gang quits, which is highly unlikely, or discarded like an old furniture by the true sons and daughters of Ethiopia, we the people will never breath a sigh of relief.
Good Article and It is fact that he will never give a chance to anybody from or outside his party for good reasons.The foremost one he needs the protection of Agazi Birgade for his life and knows that he has no place to live peacefully in Ethiopia.Second, he is has been responsible for many atrocities committed against innocent citizens.And he knows his fate untaught.Whatever he doesn’t bother to make a Law if he wants.So why should he resign?What and why for? Never smile he is not foolish.
Given the political situation of the horn, EPRDF is the only strong party in the Ethiopian politics. Unless the situation in the horn , that of other countries is also changed , I don’t think EPRDF , i.e Meles is not going to share let alone to leave. Ask any the West , they tell you!!!
Meles is changing his gear for another 17 more years repression
Prime Minster Meles started as President of Ethiopia, changed his mind and organized fake elections became Prime Minister. Tried true election when defeated changed his mind and took power again by force by imprisoning opposition leaders, decided to free some of the opposition leaders from jail. Changed his mind put the opposition leaders in jail again. He announced he will resign from Prim Minister position in 2010 and want be the Chairman or the President of the country. A script directly copied from Russian or Uganda mafias.
In a related Interview From PM Meles that would affect the country and the region as reported from Walta Information or Misinformation?
“We very much welcome (Gaddafi’s) offer to help us resolve our problem,” Meles told reporters late on Friday. “The only way for us to do that is for us to get together and iron out our issues.” But, Meles doubted whether Gaddafi could succeed in unraveling the long-running issue, which is a source of tensions across the region. “I am sure he will devote a lot of energy,” he said, adding that he had voted for the Libyan leader to become AU chairman. “But I believe (Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki) is unlikely to change his colours.” WALTA Missinformations
Prime Minister of Ethiopia Mr. Meles Zenawi took him several years to recognize the fact about the Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki that he does not change his colors, Isaias have only one color, and that is the truth. Prime Minister Meles keeps changing his colors wherever he sees opportunity to benefit himself and keep him to power.
Here are the facts.
President Isaias parents gave him a name Isaias and he kept his name. PM Meles’s parents gave him a name Legese, he changed his name for political opportunism to Meles.
President Isaias supported Ethiopian independence and unity while he was fighting as liberation front against Haile Selassie’s and DERG, He was training and arming TPLF and EPRP and OLF. He is still helping those who are fighting in Ethiopia for true self-determination, independence and unity of Ethiopia.
Prime Minster Meles was invited to attend Eritrean Independence pretended as a friend of Isaias. He made a speech promising Eritrean people friendship during Eritrean Independence Day decleration, broadcasted to the world. Seven Years later he started border war with Eritrea, deported thousands Eritreans uprooting them from their homes and businesses.
President Isaias said Bademe historically belonged to Eritrea but Meles claimed to belong to Ethiopia and declared war on Eritrea. Mobilzed Ethiopian poor peasnts by fabricating false accusitions of Eritrans exploiting Ethiopian. After two years of war and over 100,000 death and millions uprooted from their homes and farms, he agreed to abide by international mediation and signed the Algers Agreement promising to accept its verdict as final and binding.The international Court affirmed the truth that “The Sun had and will shine at Bademe, as Eritrean territory”. President Isaias accepted the verdict Prime Minister changed his mind and rejected the verdict once more changing his color, and Isaia still stick to the truth and kept his word.
Before the conflict, President Isaias offered Eritrean ports for Ethiopia to use them free. He offered Ethiopia to use the ports again free after the border war. PM Meles rejected the offer and went to Djibouti,Mombassa, Port Sudan and Berbera paying exorbitant prices. One wanders what the lesson he learned from his mailorder diploma of MBA. Why pay when you can use ports offered to you free? Then his supportes say his a “Smart”.
President Isais warned Ethiopia not to involve in the internal affairs of the Somalia people. Prime Minister rushed to war invading Somalia. After several thousands death and millions of refugees, he changed his stand again and pulled army from Somalia, claiming it was too expensive. One still wonders how and why he got the mail order diploma of MBA. It was clear from the start that Ethiopia would waste her human and financial resources meddling in the internal affairs of it neighbors.
Mr. Prime Minister/Chairman/President Meles/Legese sticks to one thing and learn from the President of Eritrea, who does not change his color from day to day. Just sign the final paper on the border settlement and allow the border demarcation so that future generation would know where the border lies and not commit another blunder that you did going to war in Eritrea. Take the free use of ports to your country, rather than going from one war to the next searching for ports. You should have known that Mogadisho port belonged to Somalia. Follow from what President Isaias from waht he is doing for his country, build dams, roads, farms etc to your people rather than roving from one western capital to another begging for bags of corn to feed your people. Free your people and their land instead of shuffling them from one war to the next; putting a false promise in their mind. What the use of a port when you dont have things to sell or buy from the rest of world. The ports of Eritrea on the Red Sea belong to Eritreans. They would not handover by force the lesson of the a century of Eritrean Revolution. They paid with blood and sweats of their best sons and daughters to secure what belonged to them naturally.
Mr Anonymous, you are still back to the fake Bademe War story. Its not all about Bademe my friend. The war is not started due to border issue, its something different. If you are among the official inside the top ruling Ertrian leaders may be you distorted or else you are repeating what the two former rebel leaders wants to believe in. Just stop for a while and be neutral and think something different, I mean the what caused the conflict from the regional and international perispective interms of business, relegion, …, just a hint my friend. More over think of the foreign negotiaters, attorneys, judges and just revise the evedince they brought for both sides, just revise. Just revise the whole 2 years of war, what was going on in both countries and the horn region. It is not border issue at all and indeed the two were not supposed to start fighting at all, they were just doing what they were ordered to do!!! the ugly part is they don’t care about the people.
The so called struggle for 30 years and 17 years was a wasted struggle. Infact it is fake. I am not saying this with out evidence, you can also judge the substance of the struggle for independence. God bless teh people in these region.
Give the man a break he had enough of those Gold blocks that he stole and enough stashe his wife grabed from the poor Ethiopians now let him enjoy the rest of his life in a country of his wish. He said he had enought cant’y tou understand that?
Mr paulos, In Germany which is parliamentary system, the Chancellor is not a party leader, your thesis only works in UK style parliamentarty systems. Ethiopian system is closer to the German model please read the text of the constitution.
Meles is ready to give up his position in time before he gets too old.He knows how many crimes he is responsible for.To escape the gas chamber he needs to find out the dedication of his party’s bodyguards.That’s exactly what he is doing.
Election is a process where the people of a nation get another chance to elect a party that they believe will enhance their social, economic, and political interests. The incumbent is judged mainly on its past performances and the challenger is evaluated based on its pragmatic approaches and sound political programs it promotes.
My country Ethiopia is a new actor in this field of democratic elections. It has many hurdles to cross before its people are able to make an informed decision in exercising their rights to the fullest. This exercise needs time to mature. The electorates and government functionaries will need time in understanding their responsibilities and their rights. In the last election I have witnessed an incident where an older person was advised to cast his ballot in a certain way. This will continue to happen for some time to come. As an evolving and aspiring nation keen on development and good governance, Ethiopia needs to work hard on implementing democracy. It should do so without taking any direction from any corner of the world that consider itself as a torch bearer of democracy.
Pardon my digression and let me go back to my main point regarding the topic at hand. In the beginning, when I was opposed to PM Meles and his party on their handling of the Eritrean referendum (not on the outcome) and the Assab corridor issue, I wanted the party to lose power. That changed when an alternative was not in sight. For several years now I have been vigorously propagating that Meles Zenawi should resign his post and a new leaders should emerge to lead the party. My intention and logic was based on 1) the belief that power corrupts and Meles should be replaced as soon as possible. Secondly, I presumed that Meles should set an example by resigning peacefully and set a precedent in the history of Ethiopia. I Still uphold this principle. Lastly, I thought that although we may not have a person who can ably replace Meles, I was of the opinion that the person should learn on the job; that the positive outweighs the negative..
Second thoughts are now in order. My first and last premises are not verifiable. I am not sure if Meles is susceptible to corruption. I am not of the opinion, at this particularly critical time of our development to opt for a leader who can learn on the job. Thus, as the reader can predict, I am for Meles to sit tight on his current position and lead the country (assuming that his party wins – which it will do undoubtedly) for another term.
His peers in the African leadership have a great respect on Meles. He has proven to be a continental leader. The western world has already learned that they can’t push this man around; that he considers them his partners as long as they respect his independence and his interest for his country. His government’s economic performance for a country that is being devastated by natural circumstances and partly surrounded by vicious enemies, is almost miraculous. The progress towards self-sustenance seems to be in a grasp. The decentralization of power; the empowerment of the federal states has helped to create a stable country. This contradicts those who espouse the idea that the empowerment of ethnic groups divides the country.
It is therefore unwise for me to stick to my old convictions. I am shifting gear and choosing the pragmatic approach. I am for Meles for an other term – another LAST term. At the same time the party should go for a head hunt and expose the potential leader to the public in due time – after the election, I think.