Interview with Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi

A year and a half after its war with Eritrea, Asmara and Addis Ababa have settled for an uneasy calm in relations monitored by the UN Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE). Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi spoke to reporters on Tuesday on relations between the erstwhile allies, UNMEE’s role, prospects for peace in neighbouring Somalia, and the economy. Here are excerpts of what he said. QUESTION: What are you hoping for from today’s [16 July] meeting between Ethiopia and Eritrea at The Hague? ANSWER: I understand that today’s meeting in The Hague is intended to develop modalities for the demarcation of the boundary on the basis of the decision of the Boundary Commission. I hope and expect that a workable arrangement for the demarcation process will be developed in The Hague. It is also my hope that the demarcation process will proceed as smoothly as that of the delimitation. Q: What do you think about accusations that Ethiopia is interfering in Somalia? A: We have always stated clearly our views with regard to peace in Somalia. Peace in Somalia is not only in the interests of the Somali people it is also in the interests of everybody in the region. The collapse of the state in Somalia is a source of enormous risk for all of us in the region. Stateless countries have become havens for terrorism and all sorts of organised crime. And therefore the establishment of governance in the state of Somalia is in the interests of Ethiopia and in the interests of regional development. We have for the past 10 years been working very closely with all partners of Somalia and the Somali people themselves for the promotion of peace. We shall continue to do so irrespective of whether our goodwill is given due recognition or not. Q: You once said the Eritrean president was the worst African leader ever. Do you still hold that view? A: My opinions, as you said, are very well known. The key issue as far relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea are concerned is not my view about the qualities of the president of Eritrea. It is our commitment to live in peace irrespective of the qualities of the leadership. Q: When might we see normalisation of relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea? Well the first thing is to consolidate the peace that we have now, and we are committed. Normalisation will have to be built on the consolidation of the peace that we now have. We still have a long way to go. The demarcation process has not been completed. On that basis, as and when circumstances become conducive for the normalisation of relations between our two countries, and as and when the requirements for such normalisation are put in place; then normalisation can proceed. What I can assure you is this: As far as Ethiopia is concerned the war is over. It will not come back. That is the fundamental thing. Q: Can there be peace amid accusations that Eritrea is supporting groups like the Oromo Liberation Front? A: Our efforts to promote peace in this region will succeed because we shall overcome the challenges. One of those challenges is the one that you have mentioned. We have verified facts indicating that the government in Eritrea is trying to destabilise Ethiopia by training and smuggling in armed groups. That is not going to deter us from our path of peace. We will manage each issue as and when it appears, and in a manner that enhances peace along with others. Q: Are there any developments in repatriations of prisoners of war from both countries? A: There are some prisoners of war who have not been exchanged. The stumbling block has been the lack of response on the part of the Eritrean government. Our request as to what happened to an Ethiopian pilot who was downed in Asmara and who was shown to the media … we have not been told of his whereabouts so far. We have sought clarification and information as to whether he is dead or alive, and if he is alive to be handed over to us and if he is dead for us to be given explanations as to how a person, who was captured alive and was seen alive on TV, lost his life. We have not as of yet got adequate responses. That is the stumbling block and we very much hope that this can be overcome. Q: Are you satisfied with the role of the UN peacekeepers in maintaining peace between both countries? A: We have not had any serious problems with UNMEE as an institution in the past and we do not have a problem with UNMEE as an institution now. We may have had some problems with individuals within UNMEE, but that is very different from having problems with UNMEE as an institution. Q: Is Ethiopia still requesting that the force commander of UNMEE be removed? A: We have made our opinion in this regard known to those who are in a position to address our concerns. Our hope and expectation is that this will be done. Q: Do you agree with the Economic Commission for Africa’s (ECA) view on the performance of the economy? A: The Economic Commission for Africa has indicated that Ethiopia has achieved good growth but bureaucracy and HIVAIDS are putting pressure on development. I think our growth rate speaks for itself. Nevertheless, we recognise that Ethiopia is still one of the poorest countries on earth and, therefore, growth rates of 5 percent or 6 percent are not adequate. For our purposes we have to grow much faster than that. In this regard, I cannot say I am fully satisfied with the growth rates that we have achieved. I agree with the ECA that we need to revamp our civil service to make it more supportive of growth in general and private sector activity in particular. I agree with the ECA that the HIV/AIDS pandemic is a serious problem, not only serious health and social problems but also serious economic problems and that we need to do more to try and limit its impact. That is not to say, however, that we do not recognise that we have made some efforts and have had some successes both in the economic field and in terms of fighting HIV/AIDS. Q: Do you think the Italian government will return the Axum Obelisk following the statement by the African Union supporting your calls for its return? A: The issue is not whether the Italian government can return it or not. The issue is whether the Italian government is able to live up to its own obligations. Italy is not a rogue state. Italy is not a failed state and, therefore, Italy recognises that it has to live up to its international obligations. Assuming that all of this is true, then clearly you would expect the Italian government to live up to its obligations. We will continue to appeal to the Italian government, the Italian people and people of good conscience across the globe to help us recover this looted property. We are not going to shoot at them, that’s for sure. Short of that we will do everything in our capability to try and retrieve our obelisk.