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Ethiopian
Prime Minister Meles Zenawi (h) speaks
to
the media during a joint news conference with
Sudanese
President Omar Hassan al-Bashir
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Sudan and South Sudan on Tuesday offered
their condolences to neighboring Ethiopia over the death of its Prime Minister
Meles Zenawi, describing him as a friend and hailing his role in brokering
peace efforts between them.
Zenawi’s death was announced by
Ethiopia’s state TV earlier on the same day, ending months of rumors about the
ill health of the ruler of the East African country for more than two decades.
He died in a Brussels hospital at the
age of 57 after succumbing to an unknown illness. His body was flown to the
capital Addis Ababa where thousands of supporters gathered outside the city’s
main airport terminals to pay their respects. State media said that details of
his funeral would be announced soon.
Meanwhile, the Ethiopian government
has announced that Deputy Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, who also acts as
foreign minister, will be temporarily sworn in as Prime Minister until the
parliament and Zenawi’s ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic
Front chooses a successor.
Ex-war foes and rival neighbors, Sudan
and South Sudan, reacted with shared sadness to the death of Zenawi, with both
describing him as a friend and acknowledging the active role he played in
recent year to support peace efforts between the two nations.
“It’s a very, very sad day for the
people of the Republic of South Sudan and the people of the East African region
as a whole. This has been a tremendous nationalist leader, a president who had
always let peace come to his neighbors.” South Sudan information minister and
government spokesman Barnaba Marial Benjamin said on Tuesday.
Benjamin said that Juba considered
Zenawi as “a strategic ally”. “Indeed we greatly mourn him and we extend our
extensive condolences to the people of Ethiopia.”
Similarly in Khartoum, President Omer
Al-Bashir said in a statement that he was offering his condolences to the
Ethiopian people over the death of a “brave, wise and prowess African leader
who led his people on a path of prosperity”
Al-Bashir said that Zenawi was
distinguished by his positive positions towards Sudan and his support of peace
in the country, citing the fact that he was the first African leader to
contribute troops to the UN-AU Peacekeeping Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) and
later to the UNISFA in Abyei region.
In recent years Zenawi was actively
involved in efforts by the AU High-Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) led by
former South African President Thabo Mbeki to facilitate peace talks between
Sudan and South Sudan, which has been held in Addis Ababa since the south
seceded in July last year.
It remains to be seen whether his
death will cast shadows on the next round of talks which is due to take place
in Addis Ababa in late August. A member of the Sudanese negotiating delegation
told Sudan Tribune on Tuesday that it is too early to say that the next
round would be delayed. The member, who spoke on the condition of anonymity,
pointed out that unlike the AUHIP Ethiopia is not a direct mediator of the
talks with South Sudan.
The late Ethiopian leader also
attempted to broker peace talks between the Sudanese government and the rebel
Sudan People’s Liberation Movement North (SPLM-N) which is fighting in South
Kordofan State and Blue Nile State that borders his country.
Sudan’s ministry of foreign affairs
also issued a statement on Tuesday saying it received news of Zenawi’s death
with “great sadness”. The ministry concluded that it trusts the Ethiopian
leadership to manage a peaceful transition of power as stipulated in the
country’s constitution and to continue the role that Zenawi played in the
regional and international arena.
The official news agency SUNA also
said that Sudan’s foreign minister Ali Karti had phoned his counterpart
Hailemariam Desalegn and conveyed the condolences of Sudanese people to
Ethiopia over the death of Zenawi. SUNA said that the Ethiopian minister
assured Karti that the situation in the country is stable.
Zenawi was also praised by the leader
of the Sudanese opposition National Umma Party (NUP), Al-Sadiq al-Mahdi, who
said in a press release that he was extending his condolences to Ethiopian
people and lauded the late leader’s success in transforming Ethiopia into a
regional power.
Al-Mahdi opined that Zenawi had
achieved some degree of recognizing diversity and freedoms in his country,
adding that while that degree might not be up to international standards but he
avoided flagrant violations of human rights.
Zenawi seized power 21 years ago from
the military regime of Mengistu Haile Mariam and has since reformed Ethiopia’s
economy to see one of the fastest growth rates in Africa although the country
still remains one of the poorest countries on earth.
Under his tenure, Ethiopia fought an
all-out war with rival Eritrea in 1998-2000 and sent troops into Somalia twice
to fight against Islamist militants.
Zenawi’s temporary replacement, the
47-year-old Hailemariam, was appointed as a deputy Prime Minister in 2010.
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