Our position is that we can sit down and talk to try to solve our problems through dialogue. Meles Zenawi More Quotes by Meles Zenawi More Quotes From Meles Zenawi 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. Meles Zenawi thinkpovertygovernmentwar We believe democracy cannot be imposed from outside in any society. Democracy is the expression of a sovereign people. Meles Zenawi democracysocietybelievepeople 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. Meles Zenawi nationneverblackcountry Democracy cannot be a plaything for the capital cities. It has to infiltrate every nook and cranny in the country, including the village. Meles Zenawi cannotvillagedemocracycountry 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. Meles Zenawi progressbuildingdistancefocus 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. Meles Zenawi goodgovernmentworkpeople I am not worried that the Egyptians will suddenly invade Ethiopia. Nobody who has tried that has lived to tell the story. Meles Zenawi nobodyi-amwillstory Eritrea is hellbent on destabilising Ethiopia. It does not care who it sleeps with. Meles Zenawi doeswhoethiopiacare 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. Meles Zenawi downmanleaderlove I cannot separate my achievements from what can be considered as the achievements of the ruling party. Meles Zenawi achievementsseparatecannotparty We have built tens of thousands of schools, clinics and rural roads. Meles Zenawi schoolsroadsruralbuilt
