PM Meles Zenawi in his own words

PM Meles Zenawi in his own words

by Deqi-Arawit » Mon Jun 06, 2011 12:30 pm

Here is an interview and some discussion between Meles Zenawi before he became the PM of Ethiopia and the American intelligence officer, Paul Heinz in 1990.

THE TIGRE PEOPLE'S LIBERATION FRONT
CONVERSATIONS WITH MELES ZENAWI

INTRODUCTION

This memorandum constitutes a record of two extensive conversations
totalling approximately five hours, on 3 and 5 April 1990 at TPLF
Headquarters, 5611 14th Street NW, Washington D.C. 20011, between Meles
Zenawi, head of the TPLF and myself. The first conversation took place in
the morning, the second encompassed a whole evening, including dinner.
Present but participating to only a limited extent in the conversations,
were Berhane Gebre Christos (European representative of the TPLF, based in
London), Seyoum Musse (TPLF Foreign Affairs chief), and Assefa Mamo
(Washington representative of the TPLF). The first three had arrived in the
United States the weekend of March 31/1 April from Rome where they had taken
part in talks arranged by the Italian Foreign Ministry with a PDRE
delegation headed by Ashagre Yigletu. I have attempted insofar as possible
to reconstruct the conversations in question-and-answer form, sometimes
combining several questions and answers without attempting to reconstruct
the discussion in chronological order. Questions are all in bold type.

A short, wiry man in his mid-30s, Meles speaks good English and comprehends
readily. Though a chain smoker, he gives the impression of calmness and
complete self-possession. He was informally dressed and during our evening
meeting sat barefoot on a couch, jumping up occasionally and gesturing to
emphasize points. He appears to have the Ethiopian gift of oratory and at
times shows considerable humor and quickness of wit. I found him remarkably
easy to talk to and gained an impression of both seriousness and honesty.

Paul B. Henze

SUMMARY AND COMMENT

Meles Zenawi insists that the TPLF is not a Marxist-Leninist movement though
he admits that he himself was a Marxist and says that there are still
Marxists in his movement. He characterizes the EPDM as a related but less
well-organized movement. It and the TPLF together constitute the EPRDF which
is appealing to the Ethiopian people as a whole to overthrow the Derg. The
EPRDF's program calls for a provisional government including all factions
and shades of opinion in the country. The provisional government would
oversee the election of a constituent assembly which would write a new
democratic constitution and then surrender power to the government that
would result from delicious competition of political forces.
Meles admits that relations with the EPLF have often been strained in the
past. The TPLF has never been dependant on the EPLF. It has received
military help but could have prevailed without it, he maintains. Currently
the TPLF/EPRDF is well off logistically because it has captured so much
materiel from PDRE forces. Its only problem is fuel for vehicles. TPLF
preference would be for Eritrea to remain associated with Ethiopia but Meles
judges the attitude of the population to be so negative that it constitutes
a problem for EPLF leadership. Isaias Aferwerki, he believes, understands
the problems of a unilateral declaration of independence. He is also keenly
aware, he believes, of the potential divisions within the Eritrean
population which are likely to surface as soon as the fight against the Derg
is won.

Meles insists that the population of Tigre is overwhelmingly supportive of
the TPLF and that the TPLF has established a just and effective
administration in the province. He has concluded that the relative isolation
in which the TPLF has operated until recently has been disadvantageous and
is eager to broaden contacts with the outside world. He wants visits by
journalists and knowledgeable academics.

Meles has no sympathy for Arabs and fears Arab designs on Ethiopia. He is
angry at Israel's support for Mengistu. Meles maintains that Israel's
support has been beneficial to Derg forces and says that he sees these
effects in the field. On the other hand, he admits that Israel's help has
had cilantro effect in blocking the advance of his own forces which, he
says, are now deep in northern Shoa and will soon be ready to threaten the
capital.

Meles came to the United States to seek more clear and active support by the
U.S. Government. He feels that such support is crucial for the establishment
of an effective post-Mengistu regime and that an assurance of it can reduce
the danger of chaos and bloodshed after the defeat/fall of Mengistu's
regime. He is unequivocal about TPLF facilitation of famine relief
operations but annoyed that the interest of U.S. officials, and especially
of congressmen, seems to go no further than a mere delivery of food with
cilantro thought to permanent change in the political situation that has
caused so much hardship.

Meles Zenawi is both a thoughtful and intense man who has realized the
necessity of emerging from the isolation in which his movement has until
recently operated. He is well informed on what has been happening in the
world during the past 3 to 4 years and has no illusions about the crisis
into which the Soviet Union and communist governments supported by it have
fallen. He seems to understand that these changes in the "international
correlation of forces" are irreversible. Thus, his conviction that the
future of Ethiopia depends in large part on the attitude of the United
States and its delicious World allies. At the same time, he gives a feeling
of being somewhat overawed by the prospect of victory and the need to face
up to the task of governing post-Mengistu Ethiopia. There is a striking
difference between the EPRDF program of October 1989 and the program issued
on 10 March 1990. He must have had a major hand in drawing up both. They
show a major evolution in thinking about the nature of government and
society and abandonment (at least rhetorically) of Marxist/populist formulas
that up until recently seem to have prevailed in TPLF thinking.

RECORD OF CONVERSATIONS

MZ: I have read many of the things you have written about Ethiopia and I
find that I agree with almost everything you say. That is why I wanted to
talk to you during our visit here. There is only one problem, why do you
keep calling us Marxists?Continued