Meles Zenawi Quotes

• Spending one hour with Isaias is far more worthwhile, rewarding and enlightening than reading ten books

  Meles Zenawi

  Book, Reading, Enlightening

  28 Copy quote

• The most stupid mistake a counter-insurgency operation can make is alienating the population. If you alienate the population, you're finished.

  Meles Zenawi

  Mistake, Stupid, Population

  "Interview: Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi". Interview with Alex Perry, content.time.com. September 6, 2007.

  12 Copy quote

• It does surprise me that intelligent people in the 21st century could claim that if you respond to the terrorists with force, you spawn terrorism, but if you appease them, you somehow tame them. This argument, as I said, is very interesting, and very surprising.

  Meles Zenawi

  Intelligent, Interesting, People

  22 Copy quote

• As a person, I have never been discourteous or nasty to anybody. I may have stood my ground a bit too directly, a bit too firmly, and I believe I have, over a number of years, learned to be a little less direct.

  Meles Zenawi

  Believe, Years, Numbers

  "Interview: Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi". Interview with Alex Perry, content.time.com. September 6, 2007.

  14 Copy quote

• Of course everybodys thinking evolves over time.

  Meles Zenawi

  Thinking, Evolve, Courses

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• As we respond to the assault of our enemy and defend our country, we must never break international laws. Crime can not be solved by more crime.

  Meles Zenawi

  Country, Law, Enemy

  19 Copy quote

• Africa's downfall has always been the cult of the personality. And their names always seem to begin with M. We've had Mobutu and Mengistu and I'm not going to add Meles to the list.

  Meles Zenawi

  Names, Personality, Lists

  "Ethiopia proves there can be life after death" by Jonathan Dimbleby, www.theguardian.com. July 28, 2002.

  16 Copy quote

• I know more now than I did in the past about the process of democratization. I know more about the pitfalls.

  Meles Zenawi

  Past, Pitfalls, Process

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• If it is presumed that the Kenyans will democratise in order to eat the peanuts of development assistance from the European Union... it would be a big mistake.

  Meles Zenawi

  Mistake, Order, Would Be

  "Western world cannot impose democracy in Africa: Ethiopian PM". AFP, January 25, 2008.

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• 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.

  Meles Zenawi

  Country, Issues, Borders

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• 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.

  Meles Zenawi

  Lying, Views, Garbage

  8 Copy quote

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