We believe democracy cannot be imposed from outside in any society. Democracy is the expression of a sovereign people. Meles Zenawi More Quotes by Meles Zenawi More Quotes From Meles Zenawi Spending one hour with Isaias is far more worthwhile, rewarding and enlightening than reading ten books Meles Zenawi enlighteningreadingbook 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. Meles Zenawi intelligentpeopleinteresting 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. Meles Zenawi numbersbelieveyears As we respond to the assault of our enemy and defend our country, we must never break international laws. Crime can not be solved by more crime. Meles Zenawi lawcountryenemy The most stupid mistake a counter-insurgency operation can make is alienating the population. If you alienate the population, you're finished. Meles Zenawi populationstupidmistake Of course everybodys thinking evolves over time. Meles Zenawi coursesevolvethinking Africa's downfall has always been the cult of the personality. And their names always seem to begin with M. We've had Mobutu and Mengistu and I'm not going to add Meles to the list. Meles Zenawi listspersonalitynames It's true we have our disagreements on border issues, we have disagreements on trade and related issues, but you don't go invading a country whenever you have a dispute on trade issues, ... We have more civilized mechanisms on resolving such problems. Meles Zenawi issuesborderscountry If it is presumed that the Kenyans will democratise in order to eat the peanuts of development assistance from the European Union... it would be a big mistake. Meles Zenawi would-bemistakeorder I know more now than I did in the past about the process of democratization. I know more about the pitfalls. Meles Zenawi pitfallsprocesspast The EU report speaks for itself. The statement in my view shows that the mission has turned out to be something worse than a farce, ... We shall in the coming days and weeks see what we can do to expose the pack of lies and innuendoes that characterise the garbage in this report. Meles Zenawi garbageviewslying The rule of law is the basis for any democracy. And without the rule of law in democracy, you have chaos. Meles Zenawi youchaosdemocracylaw 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. Meles Zenawi bestpovertyrealitypast Famine has wreaked havoc in Ethiopia for so long , it would be stupid not to be sensitive to the risk of such things occurring. But there has not been a famine on our watch - emergencies, but no famines. Meles Zenawi thingsriskstupidlong 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. Meles Zenawi i-amgoodchancematter An oversupply of national sentiment is not the problem in Somalia. The problem is a lack of it. The problem is an oversupply of sub-sub-clannish attitude. Meles Zenawi lacksomaliaproblemattitude When you have an emergency, there is the urge to do whatever it takes to see people get assistance. Meles Zenawi whateverseeyoupeople It is illegal to be a member of an organization that is challenging the constitution by armed force. Meles Zenawi armedconstitutionforceorganization Our position is that we can sit down and talk to try to solve our problems through dialogue. Meles Zenawi problemsdowntalktry Of course everybody's thinking evolves over time. Only dead people cease learning, and I am not certified dead yet. So I am still learning. Meles Zenawi i-amlearningtimepeople
