by Aklog Demissie (aklogdem@gmail.com)
After coming to the forefront of TPLF/EPRDF at the later stage of their rebellious movement, Meles Zenawi has transformed into a cult hero for some and a brutal authoritarian for others. I have met a few people who are not a supporter of the EPRDF regime but only a supporter of Mr. Zenawi. Most of his fervent supporters and even some of his opponents laud Mr. Zenawi as an eloquent speaker, an intellectual whose all rounded knowledge on issues such as politics, economics and history is credit worthy and a leader who stands out among his African peers. In this piece, I will cover different facts that presented Meles Zenawi as a smart leader.
After a huge ideological shift of him and his party from a communist to a capitalist movement during their jungle years, Meles used to get frequent supports from the Western governments. Even during his rebellious time he used to have direct contact with United States President Jimmy Carter and show the progress of his army on the marxist Derg regime [1]. It is evident that such a stretched connection even at his infant days doesn’t come without a strong western support to his leadership of the party. He was also labeled a new generation of African leaders by President Bill Clinton together with his partner-in-rebel Issayas Afewerki. But I dont think just because someone is a leader that he is automatically smart and intelligent.
Meles Zenawi had two challenges which threatened his rule through his entire 20 year reign that he was able to turn his side: the Ethio-Eritrean war and the 2005 election. He was able to put out a revolt against his rule inside his own party after the completion of the Ethio-Eritrean war thanks to a strong political support from his ally Addisu Legese and his ANDM party which has the second highest power in the EPRDF structure. Later, after the 2005 election he was able to handle a sustained pressure from European partners with the support of his special forces who wont hesitate killing 12 year old kids and later label them bank robbers [2], a weak opposition surprised by an unexpected results and a major support by Washington as he was a reliable ally in the war on terror. So overcoming these challenges and staying in power doesnt actually prove Meles’s intellectual character rather the brutality of his regime and his reliability on washington for staying in power. If people are labeled smart for ruling a country then the world would have lots of smart people in Sadam, Hitler, Mugabe and even our own Mengistu H/Mariam.
Another important event that shows the intellect of Meles is his eloquent speeches and parliamentary adresses. His parliament adresses are blatant, well prepared and presented in such a way that they should be accepted by everyone as a dogma. In the parliament’s almost 20 year session there was NO RULING PARTY MEMBER WHO CHALLENGED THE PRIME MINISTER OR ONE OF HIS MINISTERS. This also highlights the level of the so called MPs from the ruling party who are there to enjoy life in the capital city and just do a physical job of raising hands when their party asks them to. And when asked relevant and challenging questions by the opposition, the prime minister will avoid the questions or give one of his long talk non sense. A case in point is a recent interaction at the parliament where the only opposition MP challenged the prime minister to step down half way down his term if the new Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) proposed by the government isnt on track. This seems to be a fair political challenge question that a person with Meles’s reputation should handle, but Meles bulked for the young economist and avoided the question [3].
The only time the people hear from the prime minister is during these parliamentary sessions and an unscheduled press conferences held with mostly government media with prepared questions. It is clear that the system is prepared to make Meles look smarter while he hasn’t proved himself worthy leader on real challenges. We havent seen the prime minister visit a school and motivate kids, take the front lead on HIV testing or visit famine stricken areas in his entire 20 year rule all typical behaviors from a people’s leader.
In conclusion Meles has been surrounded by people who were inferior to him that he shined out. There is a famous Amharic saying “In the family of lepers, even a single finger is a treasure” and Meles is just that among his inferior and empty-headed EPRDF cadets.
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