The Washington Post
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — When the summer rains come, as they have in cleansing torrents over recent weeks, the 3
million residents of Ethiopia’s smog-choked capital usually inhale a little more deeply and exhale a little more freely.
But at this moment it seems the entire city is holding its breath. Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, the rebel-turned-technocrat who has led Ethiopia since 1991, is sick. And his long absence from public view has given Ethiopians cause to contemplate what their nation — now enjoying one of the longest sustained periods of economic development in its history — might look like without him.
“We are worried,” said Makeda Taye, who will enter college in Addis Ababa this fall having known life under no other leader. “This country has grown stronger and it’s not certain — did it grow this way because of Meles or in spite of him? In absence of knowing one way or the other, we prefer things the way they are.”
The U.S. government has long viewed Meles as a stable partner in a region peppered with despots and religious extremists. The United States has given Ethiopia, which serves as an ally in the fight against terrorism and hosts a base for U.S. drones, hundreds of millions of dollars in aid over the years.
Meles’s health problems — the exact nature of which government officials have declined to disclose — came to public light when he failed to appear for a series of high-profile events, including the opening of the African Union summit in Addis Ababa last month.
Early rumors, apparently spread by the nation’s assorted opposition groups, posited that the prime minister had died in an overseas hospital.
Government spokesmen quickly assured the country that Meles was alive and, while ill, in need of little more than a short break from his duties, though they have declined to say where he is or when he will return.
Meles, the longtime chairman of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, presides over a nation where human rights groups say dissent, even of the peaceful sort, has often been met with a violent governmental response, including the killing of 200 protesters in 2005.
Under his rule, which was extended for an additional five years in 2010 when the incumbent reportedly received 99 percent of the vote, tens of thousands of dissidents have been jailed. So have hundreds of journalists.
“He’s like other leaders in Africa; some are better and some are worse, but all of them are addicted to power,” said Tola Benti, a young businessman who would like to see a change in leadership, even though he says it is a bit frightening to imagine what his nation would look like under someone else.
Meles, 57, hasn’t exhibited the same ostentatious insatiability for riches and power as many other regional strongmen. Under his rule, religious and press freedoms have been slowly expanded, and a multi-party parliament has been established. Meles also claims to be anticipating his eventual resignation with some relish, telling FT Africa in 2009 that a peaceful transfer of power — which would be a first in Ethiopia’s modern history — “is a precedent that I would almost kill to set.”
It was an unnerving contradiction in a nation that suffered grievously under the Communist Derg’s brutal reign that Meles helped to overthrow. At the Red Terror Martyrs’ Memorial Museum in Addis Ababa, curators have filled a room of glass cases full of skulls and assorted bones recovered from the mass graves exhumed after dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam’s ouster in 1991.
“Of course, everyone has his own opinion about Meles,” said Aberra Deressa, who was minister of agriculture from 2006 to 2010. “All of the opponents of the party say he is a dictator and would never say he is a good man. All of the party members say he is a good man and would never say anything different.”
Aberra, who is not a member of the party, said that nothing about Meles is as absolute as his supporters and detractors profess.
“For my part, I believe he is a good man and a good leader,” he said. “He is democratic, but that is a relative term . . . in developing countries, you don’t get big change through democracy alone.”
Booming economy
As surrounding nations churn through political and social tumult, Ethiopia — among the most linguistically, ethnically and religiously diverse nations in the world — has also been among the most stable.
That’s in no small part due to an economy that has enjoyed an average annual growth of nearly 9 percent over the past decade, driven largely by foreign investment in agriculture, textiles and manufacturing.
Still, Ethiopia’s per capita income remains among the lowest in the world, and the nation has continued to attract international support to the tune of billions of dollars a year.
“That’s one of the remarkable things,” said Asrat Seyoum, deputy editor of the independent newspaper the Reporter and an expert on Ethiopian finance and investment. “Meles has broken all sorts of records in attracting foreign direct investment, even as report after report comes out about journalists getting arrested, foul play, voter intimidation, all of those things.”
The party, which has the prerogative to name Meles’s replacement through the 2015 elections, has no public succession plan and has not speculated as to who would replace the prime minister if he were unable to return to office.
“He has said that he would be stepping down after this term, so Ethiopians have known about that,” said Ethiopian policy adviser BT Costantinos. “But I can feel the kind of vacuum we would have today; even from his absence at the African Union summit, it is palpable.”
Uncertain future
At Teddy Abebe’s barbershop on a recent Saturday afternoon, patrons passed around a cellphone with a picture of Meles’s face superimposed on the body of Gollum, the creepy gremlin from the “Lord of the Rings” films. Another cartoon on the phone showed Meles in a hospital bed, hooked up to an IV that is being supplied by the lifeless bodies of his countrymen.
“My customers, in general, they don’t like Meles, but no one can really picture what Ethiopia would be like without him either,” Abebe said.
When Meles disappeared, Abebe said, most of his customers expressed hope that he would have to step away from office. But just days after Meles’ s leave of absence was officially acknowledged, tens of thousands of members of the nation’s minority Muslim population had staged protests calling for greater religious freedoms — and many in the nation’s Christian majority began to quiver.
“As soon as that happened,” Abebe said, “everyone was saying, ‘if Meles was here, this wouldn’t be happening.’ ”
Tags: Addis Ababa, Meles Zenawi
Ygermal
August 11, 2012 at 3:28 pm
“now enjoying a sustained economic growth………?” washingtonpost, keep ur uninformed, misguided, baised reporting over in america.
Heni Y.
August 11, 2012 at 7:38 am
I believe this is the view of “an individual” ( an individual is a system whose task is to reflect what the system wants him to do so) who is thought to write and trained to mask the reality. If 100 people are dying in Ethiopia because of the political reason, the first person died because the government of Ethiopia has killed him, the other 99 died because the westerners misinterpret the cause of their death and decided not, not only to dig the reason out but also to mask it. Is it because they are blinded by their values and interests? . Not really! Ethiopia has to burry her pride, that she has attained in the battle of Adwa!…. And if mesle has to go, it is because of cancer not because they want him to go and they must be sad, because his value is to live a life of slavery and their value is to keep the sovereignty of their country even at the expense of our unjustified and mis treated life style. And if melese has to go, he will…not because he is done with his assignments, but because he is done with the vital signs and cells important to extend his peevish and venomous life and if the Washington post is writing something positive, it is because to show their respect for his being so friendly to the Americans. But do the Americans know that we held them responsible for the 99 people, if they view him a mastermind knowing not what he did and somehow very well knows what he is? Is it human to rate Hitler the best human being who tried to create a supper Germany, just because he was aspiring for something? I have lost my words…
heni!
Ingocha
August 8, 2012 at 9:05 pm
The Western doesn’t know Ethiopian psycology. Advised to work together with Ethopian volk in stead of Black Hitler/ SS soldiers.
God Bless Ethiopia!
Ethiopia
August 8, 2012 at 6:24 pm
I used to respect and admire the Washington Post, what a shame, reporting such a story full of lies. You should double check your sources, WP, before you decide to print stories about Ethiopia, that you obviously have no knowledge about. I can tell your source for this BS report is the TPLF itself.
rasted
August 8, 2012 at 4:50 pm
One thing we have to know my fellow country men. Why is washington post writing this article now ? what is the Author of this article talking about ? has he say anything about whereabout of meles ? about Meles´s ethnocentricity ? about his crime ? therefore …we do not need to expect any thing good from the united Snakes of America.
ketim
August 8, 2012 at 3:51 pm
Dear WP, Let me say something here, whether this report is urs or western’s opinion be sure u stood on air or groundless of sources. As a result, u can ride ur falacy and paradox evidence coz its your attitude what u willing for abused ethiopians.
Anway “nobody can’t give u justice’
‘nobody can’t give u equality’
‘nobody can’t give u freedom’
so u r man
you can Take it” Malcom X
Finally, i would like to say thank u for shamefull building for EPRDF side.
LEE
August 8, 2012 at 3:20 pm
PLEASE DON’T READ THIS TRUSH N P, WHO WRITES ONE SIDED STORY AND BAYES. NO FOR WASHINGTON POST.
marian ibrhim
August 8, 2012 at 2:32 pm
Go Ethiopia !!!! free at last!!! free at last!!!
Ancient Ethiopia
August 8, 2012 at 1:53 pm
what do we expect from washington post?
we , ethiopians are not going to miss the USA’s salve who has sold the dignity of our nation and sent ethiopia’s military in somalia which cost over 4000 ethiopians life just to protect USA’s interest.
USA’s partnership with one of the worst dictator on this planet shows that USA is un reliable and un honest friend for the ethiopians people. By siding with this bloody dictator who is against his own country will hurt America’s long term nation interest.
any ways , ethiopians will do their job as the egyptians did by them selves.
Tatek
August 8, 2012 at 1:44 pm
Shame on Washington post!! Colonel Meles Zenawi, by any strectch of imagination, couldn’t be considered a democrat. He ruthlessely killed, jailed and exiled his political opponents, suppressed the free media, stole election after election, and consolidated every piece of Govt power. How could that be democracy? He was technically heading a single party, as his TPLF remains the dominant party in the puppet and toothless, EPRDF, itself a creation of TPLF. His preachings of a booming economy, one growing at about a paltry 9%, is a manufactured gimmick to serve a lip service to the west and steal our tax dollrs-to finance his huge military that is keeping him in power. I don’t see any difference between this man and Colonel Mengistu, except the fact that the latter was a pro-Soviet strong man whose policies were sabotaged by the west, not just they were evil, but becuase he was seen as a fierce enemy of western imperialist policies. I have a hard time to understand Washington post’s and US’ view of democracy after that country’s elected President, colonel George W. Bush, used his executive privilege to authorize torture, which amounts to war crimes in American law and got unpunished.
hodesefi Cahlew
August 8, 2012 at 1:35 pm
Please tell me that this article is commissioned by the late Melese Zenwai (MZ) himself. What is wrong with WP to write such a blatant lie in their respected newspaper. It is a direct insult to millions of Ethiopians who suffered under Zenawi’s hand. With his iron feast approach MZ killed, imprisoned, tortured and created mayhem in every way possible. He is a sadistic, megalomaniac despot who enjoyed creating misery for the people he claims to be leading especially to those who doesn’t belong to his ethnic group. He is the most despised leader our country has ever had in her history; you paint his portrait with such nice colour and brush, but you should know that he died as ugly as we knew him to be. He brought nothing but a lot of misery to millions of Ethiopians. He is known to be a lire and mass killer. He is personally responsible for ordering killing of so many people including children, elderly people women. In his watch, Ethiopia became landlocked. We know that the US government likes him because he ruled Ethiopia as the best client state that ever existed in the part of the world. He did that to secure the American support for his brutal regime. The economic development that you claim to have been attained is just nothing but a massive transfer of wealth from poor Ethiopian people to few people belonging to his Tigrain minority group. If you believe in MZ’s economic growth sotry/lies, In country where a persistent economic double digit growth has been secured for the last 8 years with decreasing inequality, all of government employers are worse off except the Generals than 8 years ago. MZ has successfully created and presided on absolute totalitarian system where he controls everything including the central statistical office and the media. So he was cooking figures of economic growth at will and pushing it through his media to the world. Ethiopian knows that very well. Of the entire thing I read in your article, the fact you called the reporter as independent newspaper gave me the laugh of my day. That was an emblematic of the nature of your article. You can’t get any shallower than that. BTW the citizens of Ethiopia will one day ask MZ the whereabout of 11 billion USD that was stolen off Ethiopian people for the last 10 years. I bet the Americans know that part of that money is now owned by MZ’s wife. Shame on you the WP for trying to rehabilitate an outright dictator, thief and lier.
Lemma
August 8, 2012 at 1:05 pm
I believe that this writer has a hidden agenda. He is not telling us the facts that are found on the ground. As someone commented above, he comes to a false conclusion about the recent Muslim uprising in the country. They are asking nothing except their basic rights. However, the writer tries to express as if they start their movement after the disappearance of Meles and also as if there is disagreement between Christians and Muslims in the country which is untrue. Most Christians support the peaceful movements of the Muslims. If the writer wants to know the truth it is better to go to Ethiopia and collect information directly from the people.
Surafel
August 8, 2012 at 11:55 am
I think Matthew D. LaPlante is a wannabe right wing mouth piece (WAPO defnitely is) doing his internship in Addis. He sees himself as one of the so called donor community bottom feeders, currently infesting the third world, with no respect for the truth or Journalism. The donor community or lords of poverty, as Mr. Hancock calles them, are very much in tune with Meles policy of borrowing on behalf of Ethiopia and distributing it to the donor community and his cronies. Mr. LaPlante just grabbed the names from the Addis phone book and cut and pasted the TPLF press release and propaganda did not talk to anyone in Addis Ababa or anywhere else.
Respectfully,
-Surafel
Garo
August 8, 2012 at 10:54 am
I wonder if those names are real. I have my doubts whenever somebody uses ethnically identifiable non tigrian name and says good things about the monster Meles. Specially an Oromo name. These are others posing as Oromos. Nothing good can come out of the dependent colonial state. The West knows where Meles is, after all they are the ones who are paying for the defense and the rest of the basic administrative expenses and we know the West does not do this for nothing. The west may be looking for replacement. You can see that from some of the Abyssinian circles vying for recognition by state department.The rulers of Ethiopia have always been dependent on the oust side power since the Portuguese came and helped them against Gragn Mohammed. Even when they won at Adwa it was with the help of out side power competition that Menilik was able to accumulate guns that he used to fight the Italians. When these forces don’t come to the rescue,the rulers are toast. Good examples are Selassie and the Derg.
Askale Dama
August 8, 2012 at 9:37 am
The Muslim protest began long before the disappearance of Meles. The writer asserts that Meles is sick. What is the evidence? The only fact is that Meles has disappeared. Is he sick, dead or on vacation? ESAT’s assetion of death is as good as Washington Post’s asserion of sickness. The rest is all interesting stuff. Those who belong to Woyane and benefit from its rule want order, stability, and life as is. Those who suffered under Woyane rule as Asrat Seyoum witnessed want a change in the political order. This is no news. People are worried about uncertainty, power vacuum, instability, chaos, fear of the unknown and so forth. These are the characteristics of moments of change. The truth is this. Physical developments alone don’t produce stability. Only free people are the agent of both development and stability.
Zenaba
August 8, 2012 at 9:05 am
Ethiopian Christians have expresed support for legitimate Muslim demands.
But, the writer of this article ends his report on a negative note. He amost wishes a religious clash in Ethiopia. Western journalists cannot think without some version of clash of civilization in their head. They are content with their way of thinking becuase it is others who pay with their lives and country.
Ethiopia is proving them wrong. But, do not expect them to give up their cherished lazy way of thinking.
Tulu
August 8, 2012 at 7:14 am
It has factual errors.
john
August 8, 2012 at 6:55 am
i think there a hidden agenda b/n the goverment and the west.
b/c they fear that antiterrorism activity woulb be affected if they disclose the death of meles.
but be confident that ethiopians will fight teriorism than meles.so tell us where meles is,please.threis a moral that change is inevitable and predom of speech,democracy and equility will be launched soon by ethiopians through ethiopians.