Horn of Africa much safer now: Premier

Addis Ababa, 24 March 2007 - “I can’t say the Horn of Africa is very stable and safe, but I cannot say that it is deteriorating either,” Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said in an inverview with Al Jazeera TV Thursday.

The Prime Minister said the Horn of Africa is much safer now than it was in December. “... In spite of the conflict in Somalia and the tension in Eritrea, the Horn of Africa is doing very well economically.”

Meles said his country which houses the bulk of the region’s population is doing very well economically. “We are going ahead with all our plans.”

Asked about what implications the recent kidnapping could have for relations with Eritrea, Meles said: “We in Ethiopia look at this not in isolation but in the context of previous activities of the Eritrean government to try and destabilise Ethiopia.” Eight Ethiopians are still being held hostage after they had been kidnapped very near the Eritrean border, along with five Europeans, who were released after 12 days in captivity.

Said Meles: “...There were a spate of bombings in Addis last year, these were carried out by people recruited, supported by the Eritean government. Recently we have caught an Eritrean agent of the Eritrean government who was involved in trying to carry out bombing activities during the African Union Summit here [Addis Ababa]. All of these cases are before court now and so we think this is just a continuation of involvement with terrorism that the Eritrean government unfortunately appears to be more and more immersed in.”

“I think, the Eritrean government has come to the conclusion that they cannot live comfortably alongside a strong, united Ethiopia, under any government ..., and that they should try to weaken and perhaps dismantle Ethiopia to feel secure,” Meles said.

Asked what his assessment of a human rights record, Meles said: “We’ve made tremendous improvements in the human rights record so far in Ethiopia but, of course, this is not a perfect situation, it’s a work in progress.”

To the question as to how he would like to be remembered in history, Meles said: “I would like to be remembered as someone who got Ethiopia off to a good track, a democratic one, one...where Ethiopia’s proverbial poverty begins to be tackled in an effective way. I’d like to be remembered as someone who started the process.”

Source: ENA

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