Meles Zenawi Quotes (19 Quotes)

Out of 60 CUD control committee members, the government decided to arrest only 25 suspected of being involved in violence,

I regret the deaths but these were not normal demonstrations. You don't see hand grenades thrown at normal demonstrations,

The (CUD) officials who have been arrested will be taken to court, ... They are responsible for all these things.

We regret the death but it was not a normal demonstration,

We shall negotiate while fighting. We shall fight while negotiating, ... Whichever road leads to peace quickly will be the road we follow.

I don't know what the prosecution will ask for but the death penalty is still legal in Ethiopia. On a personal note that is not the penalty I would like to see applied, ... It is for the prosecution and courts to decide, but if I have any say on it I would prefer prison sentences rather than death sentences.

What the implications of this will be in terms of relations between Ethiopia and the European Union, we will have to wait and see but I don't think you will be surprised if Ethiopia were to insist that it should not be patronised,

Since these individuals are people who have been openly trying to change the constitutional order through force and street violence, they can use the parliamentary immunity as a cover-up to topple the constitution itself, ... Thus it is imperative to lift this cover-up immediately to ensure the country's peace and stability.

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.

The CUD is responsible for the damage and loss of life that has occurred in the capital in the last three days,

I have no problem talking to anybody so long as it helps the purpose of peace.

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.

What we have detained is people who have tried to overthrow the duly constituted government, and that in my view is treason under the laws of the country,

The violence has marred the image of Ethiopia, ... The worst is clearly behind us and we do not expect any such violence in the near future.

They will not be released and they are accused of engaging in insurrection... they will have their day in court.

We have no intention of playing fast and loose with this document, with the OAU process, ... We only hope that this time around the other side really means what it says.

The CUD (Coalition for Unity and Democracy) leaders are engaged in insurrection -- that is an act of treason under Ethiopian law. They will be charged and they will appear in court,

the Ethiopian government is looking all matters with utmost patience.

We are aware of the buildup in TSZ. The scale has increased in recent days and this is a matter of concern to us,