Meles Zenawi

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

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

“When push comes to shove, people vote alone.”

“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.”

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

“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.”

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

“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.”

“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.”

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

“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.”

“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.”

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

“It is illegal to be a member of an organization that is challenging the constitution by armed force.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

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

“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.”

“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.”