By Simegnish Yekoye

ADDIS ABABA , Ethiopia , October 13, 2008 – Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Meles Zenawi, said that African countries should follow Gandhi's principle for peace and development in his Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Lecture.

The speech at the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in Addis Ababa was given on the second International Non-Violence Day and the 139th birthday of the Indian independence leader.

Referring to Gandhi's belief that without peace no development is possible, Meles said this is important advice for most African countries, mentioning Somalia as an example.

“It was Gandhi who gave practical shape to the reality of passive resistance, non-cooperation and truth as weapons to fight tyranny and who turned non-violence into an effective political tool,” he said.

However, Meles underlined that Gandhi's philosophy can be abused in Africa and elsewhere, as some use these concepts for anti-democratic purposes.

“Gandhi's aims and values have been twisted far away. The mobilization of bias and prejudice, in fact, has led to the increase of violence, not its negation,” Meles added.

The Prime Minister also emphasised Gandhi's belief that poverty could and should be overcome and said in our struggle against poverty, in our own war on poverty, Mahatma still speaks directly to us.

“This is a particularly appropriate message for our sub-region. It has suffered perhaps more than anywhere else in Africa from violence, and the lack of development, from backwardness. There has been a perennial lack of peace,” said the Prime Minister.

Equally, Meles added, the international community can benefit from Gandhi's ideas. “We may have moved beyond the cold war, and the possibility of annihilation, but there remain plenty of problems, not least in development, or in the issue of climate change, and today a major financial crisis with world-wide implications far beyond its point of origin in the United States .”

The second International Non-Violence Day was declared by the United Nations and organized by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Indian Embassy.

The day, October 2, was chosen for the celebration, according to the Indian Ambassador to Ethiopia, Mr. Gurjit Singh, because it is the birth day of Mahatma Gandhi, who is known for his Satyagraha Movement, which emphasized the relationship between ends and means, leading him to create new paradigms of power to uproot colonialism which has its own archaic power structure.

Meles also mentioned that Mahatma Gandhi is seen as creating a bridge between Africa and Asia, and particularly between India and Africa .

Regarding neighboring Somalia and the international communities focus at combating piracy off the coast of Somalia , Meles said: “ we are very happy that they [the International community] are responding albeit in a belated fashion to the piracy on the sea. We would very much like to see a similar response on what is happening on land”.

The Sub-Saharan Informer - October 5, 2008

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