Ethiopian PM Meles Zenawi dies at 57 after illness

[Yombayomba]

Meles Zenawi, Ethiopian prime minister, 'critical' in Brussels hospital

Meles Zenawi, the Ethiopian prime minister, is in a "critical" condition in hospital in Brussels and may not survive, according to diplomatic sources.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zeinawi Photo: EPA

By Aislinn Laing, Johannesburg and Bruno Waterfield in Brussels

5:33PM BST 18 Jul 2012

The 57-year-old premier has not been seen publicly for several weeks and missed a crunch African Union summit his country was hosting at the weekend at which a new chair was elected.

The Ethiopian government has confirmed that he is unwell but repeated promises of updates on his condition have been delayed.

On Wednesday, a Western diplomatic source in Brussels told the Telegraph that he is now "critically ill".


Source:
Meles Zenawi, Ethiopian prime minister, 'critical' in Brussels hospital - Telegraph

Ethiopian PM Meles Zenawi dies

​

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has died following weeks of illness August 21, 2012
​

ADDIS ABABA

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, a regional strongman in power for over two decades, has died in hospital abroad, the government said Tuesday.

"Prime Minister Meles Zenawi passed away yesterday evening at around midnight," Bereket Simon said, adding that the 57-year-old "was abroad" when he died, without giving further details.

Meles had not been seen in public for two months, and had been reported to have been sick in a hospital in Brussels, although Bereket gave no details of the illness.

"He had been recuperating well, but suddenly something happened and he had to be rushed to the ICU (intensive care unit) and they couldn't keep him alive."

According to Ethiopia's constitution, Deputy Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn is to "act on behalf of the Prime Minister in his absence".

Diplomats and analysts in Addis Ababa say it has not been clear how the government has been run since Meles was reported to have fallen sick in June.

The position of president is largely honorific and Meles, a former rebel fighter who came to power in 1991 after toppling the bloody dictatorship of Mengistu Haile Mariam, held the real political power.

On paper Meles' government has fostered a policy of ethnic federalism, devolving significant powers to regional, ethnically-based authorities but central control remains firmly in the hands of the ruling party.

http://www.nation.co.ke/News/Ethiopian+PM+Meles+Zenawi+dies/-/1056/1483990/-/wo9kxe/-/index.html

 

[Nonda]

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi is taking a break to recover from an unspecified condition, the government said on Thursday, fuelling speculation over the health of the man who has dominated the impoverished nation for more than two decades.

Zaidi hapa Ethiopian PM taking rest after treatment: govt | Top News | Reuters

 

[Thanda]

Let him gooo, let him go, let him goooooooooo, dear children, dear fathers.-Yvonne Machaka (Yvone Chaka Chaka)

 

[FJM]

Huyu Zenawi naye si alikuwa anaendesha hii nchi kama duka lake binafsi? Akifa hiyo nchi itaenda kibla kabla, na mbaya zaidi wako jirani na Somali. Shida.

 

[n00b]

By Tom Rhodes/CPJ East Africa Consultant

​

Rumors abound about the health and whereabouts of Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. (AFP/Simon Maina)

If you search for the name of Ethiopia's prime minister, Meles Zenawi,on Twitter these days, you'll see a flurry of incongruent postings: Meles is hospitalizedin criticalcondition; he's fine and returning to work; he died two weeks ago;he's on holiday.Journalists for international news outlets have tried to sort out fact fromrumor, but they've gotten no help from Ethiopian government officials whooffered only vague assurances that the country's longtime leader was ill but recovering.In Ethiopia, where the government has imposed increasingly repressive measureson the domestic press corps, news coverage has been minimal and contradictory.

International news outlets, such as Reuters, The Associated Press, and the BBC, reported last week that Meles was hospitalized for an undisclosed condition. Reuters, citing diplomatic sources, said he was being treated in Brussels, although even that scant nugget of information was not officially confirmed.

Back home, generally pro-government papers such as Addis Fortunetold readers on Tuesday that Meles had returned to Addis Ababa and would be backto work soon. The paper reported that the government provided little other informationon his condition. A day later, though, the weekly The Reporter claimed that Meles was merely abroad on holiday.

The government censoredthe one domestic outlet that tried to report more detailed information. Thisweekend, the government ordered the state-run printing company not to producethe latest edition of the weekly Feteh, whichwas to have carried front-page coverage of Meles' condition. The weekly, whichhas faced government harassment in the past over its critical coverage, hadprepared stories citing information from international news outlets and anexiled Ethiopian group.

"No one has a clear idea," said BennoMuechler, a German freelance reporter based in the capital. Muechler saidhe tried to get answers from the government communications office--only to beasked by officials there if he had any leads he could share. "There is aninformation blackout in Ethiopia," said exiled journalist Abebe Gellaw,who works for the critical exiled broadcaster EthiopianSatellite Television. Gellaw noted that most Ethiopians get theirinformation from the national broadcaster, which has vaguely reported that Melesis fine and would be back at his desk soon.

But then, where is Meles, and why can't he say this himself? "There isno trust in the media, with so many rumors. Whatever news thatcomes out here, nobody seems to believe it," Muechler said.

While the Ethiopian public may be skeptical, they are definitely seekinganswers. Google Trendsreports that searches for Meles have spiked this month, climbing far higherthan at any point since the tracking's earliest date, in 2004. Publicspeculation about Meles began spreading in mid-July after the premier wasconspicuously absent from theAfricanUnion Summit held in Addis Ababa. He also missed the ratification of thenational budget and the official closing of parliament, according to localreports.

Journalists' hopes that a government press conference held after the AU summitwould clear up the confusion were quickly dashed. "The only thing new that cameout of the press conference [...] was the official breaking of government silencethat has hovered over the issue for three weeks," Tesfalem Waldyes wrote in AddisFortune. Government spokesman Bereket Simon revealed only that the primeminister was recovering from an illness, was "exhausted" from his workloaddespite his "Herculean ability," and would be back at work soon, according to localreports.

When reporters asked about all the secrecy, Bereket's response wastelling. He said the government did not want to "make a public relations pieceout of it" and that the circumspection "is the culture of our party," according to The Reporter.

Ethiopia's ruling party has never been open to the public. DespiteBereket's promises in the past to hold press conferences every two weeks withMeles meeting the press every two months, the government has held only twopress conferences in the last eight months and it has been more a year sincethe prime minister met with the press, according to local reports.

"There is apower vacuum at the moment, and so the information is hidden," said one localjournalist, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared governmentreprisal for offering critical comments. "The media has always been controlledby the state so the media has never developed investigative journalism inEthiopia, and we are lost for answers,"

This information vacuum can have a detrimental effect on both the publicand the government. Rumors, rather than facts, inform public opinion, andpublic confidence in the government is eroded. "Whenever you deliberatelyspread misinformation, you lose people's trust," Abebe told me. "The impact forthe government is that it loses credibility."

The silence over Meles is the"old school way of doing things," writes the Kenya-based Nation columnist Mwendawa Micheni. "Presidents never went down with a cold, even in the coldmonths; jesters were regular features and public accounting totally absent,something that locked the continent's potential for decades," Micheni writes."But even as the continent strives to get unchained, a few leaders are stuck inthe mud."
(Reporting from Nairobi)

Source; Link: Where is Meles Zenawi? Ethiopians don't know.

 

[Taz]

He is sick and dying in a Belgian hospital. cancer, they say.

 

[Jasusi]

Mbona nimemwona juzi anashuka ndege akirejea Addis?

 

[mayenga]

Mungu amponye!

 

[Sangarara]

Huyu naye anahusika sana na ukosefu wa utulivu pande za sudan.

 

[Mzalendo JR]

Zenawi is probably dead as he ddnt attend the previous meeting, the rebels noticed that but they ar of no assurance. If confermed, Ethiopia will be perished among the clans....

 

[hargeisa]

ni kati ya wasiopenda somalia isiwe na amani.

 

[Tangawizi]

Hakuna mtu atakayeishi milele...ajiandae tu maana huko mita sita chini ni kwa kila mtu.

 

[n00b]

Mbona nimemwona juzi anashuka ndege akirejea Addis?

Mkuu juzi hio hio kuna mahala alipigwa picha kwa madai kenda kutibiwa, ikaripotiwa yeye kukataa kwa hio habari kwa madai kuwa kaenda kutembea. Habari za afya na alipo pamoja na afya ya Zenawi ni za wasi wasi, yani sio za hakika sana.

 

[Nyalotsi]

Mkuu juzi hio hio kuna mahala alipigwa picha kwa madai kenda kutibiwa, ikaripotiwa yeye kukataa kwa hio habari kwa madai kuwa kaenda kutembea. Habari za afya na alipo pamoja na afya ya Zenawi ni za wasi wasi, yani sio za hakika sana.

kuna jamaa yuko hospitali aliyolazwa huyu mabwepande wa ethiopia, anasema afya yake haieleweki. Yuko in vegetative state.

 

[Katavi]

Kuna taarifa zilizosambaa leo mchana kuwa amefariki dunia.

 

[tz1]

Mjengwa blog imeandika Meles Zanawi amefariki dunia leo.

 

[Osaka]

Mjengwa blog imeandika Meles Zanawi amefariki dunia leo.

APEPE (Alale Pema Peponi) Meles Zenawi!

 

[Jasusi]

Nimeiona Mjengwa blog lakini nadhani amekurupuka. Nimeangalia website ya BBC na wasingeweza kuikosa habari hii kama ni kweli.

 

[Moony]

mjengwa blog imeandika meles zanawi amefariki dunia leo.

Wanasema amefariki brussels lakini taarifa haieleweki kama ni kweli

 

[Moony]

[h=3]His Excellency Zenawi will be forever remembered as the greatest African leader since Menelik.[/h]

by Johnny Walkerz dated: Monday, July 30th, 2012​

​

​

​

(New York Timez) In shocking news for the whole of Africa, Meles Zenawi has passed away from acute justifribilasis fatilosis* at the age of 57. No other leader in the history of the third world has done more to lift his country from the clutches of poverty and delivered Ethiopia into the forefront of modernity in less than 22 years of rule than has the cherished leader of Ethiopia Meles Zenawi. His Excellency Zenawi leaves behind a country that is flourishing and his legacy will forever be etched in all Africans as an intellectual giant who has done more for Africa than Nelson Mandela could have done in five lifetimes. Today is a sad day for all Africans as a son of Ethiopia has been called home by his maker.
President Barack Obama, in a hastily arranged press conference, praised Prime Minister Meles Zenawi as a model leader who has put the needs of his people above the needs of the wealthy.
“Today Africa has lost a bright star, his Excellency Prime Minister Zenawi has been a great partner for the West”, President Obama stated in the Rose Garden. “We shared many uplifting stories at Camp David over wine and kitfo. Prime Minister Zenawi has been an indispensable partner to America and the West as a whole. We have depended on him to free Somalia from Muslim extremists and he has been undertaking yet another quest to stifle Muslim extremism in Ethiopia and in my birthland Kenya. We will sorely miss his leadership and we look forward to the people of Ethiopia voting in a free and fair election as they did in 2005 and voting over 99% for another model Prime Sinister—a Prime Minister—that the West can depend on and value as we valued His Excellency Zenawi.”
News of the sudden passing of Prime Minister Zenawi came as a shock to the Mass Media in the West. CNN has been forced to stop it’s 24/7 news coverage of Tom Cruise and Snookie and has sent journalists to find out more about the latest developments in the horn of Africa. Media personalities have stopped begging for followers on Twitter and are now embarking on journalism as they were taught in college by actually following leads and asking tough questions of the Ethiopian government.
Moreover, economists in the United States are now preparing for another Great Depression unsure if companies like Starbucks will be able to reap billions of dollars in profit without paying fare wages to Ethiopian coffee growers. Reached for comments, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz referred to the memo that was sent out to SBX stockholders.
“We view a coming time of instability in Ethiopia, one of our most profitable cash cows in the world due to the passing of our most cherished clientele and our valued dealer His Excellency Meles Zenawi”, stated the memo from Starbucks. “We are hopeful that the next leader of Ethiopia will be a man who will be just as willing and able to let Starbucks invest in Ethiopia. We look forward to the Ethiopian people supporting a visionary like His Excellency Meles Zenawi so that we can continue our mutually beneficial business relationship.”
News of the sudden passing of PM Zenawi sent the price per share of Starbucks crashing, as of 11:30 AM, Starbucks stock has plummeted more than 25% as coffee traders look to Ethiopia with unease unsure if Ethiopia will nationalize their coffee resources and put in place a system to brand and market their own flavor of “Yagerachif coffee” so that Ethiopian children no longer have to beg for UN rice bags to be dropped from the skies. Starbucks locations in Alexandria and Washington DC have reported near riots as the Ethiopian Diaspora has been flocking to Starbucks to buy their $5.00 cups of coffee instead of buying their coffee from an Ethiopian owned Café by the name of Sidamo Coffee and Tea in Washington.
We sent a beat reporter to Sidamo Coffee and Tea thinking that there would be an overflow of Ethiopians supporting this café owned by one of their own; instead we discovered fifty Caucasians and not one Ethiopian in this Ethiopian café. In order to get reaction from Ethiopians, we dispatched to Starbucks three blocks away and there we found 80 Ethiopians sitting around talking politics in the middle of the day.
“Zis is a great day for all Ethiopians; finally we are liberated from this blood thirsty banda dictator who has oppressed all Ethiopians. This Tigray bastard deserved to die and all Tigray people need to be ethnically cleansed from Ethiopia, we need a final solution for all Tigray people”, stated a man who referred to himself as Nitro Ethiopians who refused to let us use his real name or take his picture and had on ‘I am 100% Eritrean’ t-shirt on. “We brave Ethiopians are ready to rise up, and we pray zat all Ethiopians worldwide rise up and start a revolution. We ask all youth to pick up a gun and go shoot all Tigray people, we ask that you become brave Ethiopian revolutionaries like our group Nitro Ethiopians and start a war to free Ethiopia”.
We found it a bit ironic that Nitro Ethiopians, who had an “I am 100% Eritrean” t-shirt on, would advocate ethnic genocide and encourage all Ethiopians to be brave like him even though he did not want his picture taken nor would he let us use his real name nor reveal his location. A revolution started with a cup of coffee in an air conditioned Starbucks. Adwa by another buna.
Those who support Meles Zenawi are refusing to come to terms with the sudden passing of Meles Zenawi. “Woyanes”—supporters of Meles Zenawi—are posting pictures of PM Zenawi all over Facebook playing tennis and walking down airplane steps with his wife Azeb to prove that PM Zenawi is still alive.
“We don’t believe you; you reporters are full of shit! We know our dear leader Meles Zenawi is still alive”, stated Terry Negussie. “ Ethiopia is a developing country and everyone is benefiting from Our Dear Leader’s economic genius! People like Teddy Fikre are just Tigray haters and don’t want to accept the fact that Tigray people are better and smarter than Ahmaras and Oromos. We are faster, smarter, and smell better than Amhara people! We can do better eskista and our injera tastes better! People like Teddy Fikre are bigots and nothing but haters! Now excuse me as I go back to my husband—my blowup doll of my dear leader Meles Zenawi—that is waiting for me inside my bed mish! Give me a high amushto, now I have to go hawey! Please stop lying to us, we know our beloved Meles is still alive!”
The National Rifle Association’s Wayne LaPierre sent out a press release stating his dejection at the sudden passing of PM Zenawi.
“We at the NRA are deeply saddened at the passing of Ethiopia. Next to Tea Party members and James Eagen Holmes, His Excellency Zenawi was the most fervent supporter of the NRA,” stated LaPierre. “His commitment to AK47s and machine guns was unparalleled; Ethiopia has been the biggest importer of assault weapons are we are deeply saddened by the death of our biggest client His Excellency Meles Zenawi. However, we are certain that the next leader of Ethiopia will continue to purchase more machine guns instead of feeding his people and investing in health care”
Dr. Embi, the leader of one of Ethiopia’s 66 political parties “Yet Another Useless Acronym Liberation Front” stated his remorse for the passing of Meles Zenawi.
“To be honest, we at “YAUALF” are at a loss of words to explain how we are truly depressed that Zenawi passed away,” stated Dr. Embi. “Without Meles as a boogie man, we are not sure if the Ethiopian Diaspora will continue to give us money and support us. We urgently need another blood thirsty dictator that will continue to harass Ethiopians and scare them to death so that we can continue to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars so we can continue to have our meetings at Renaissance hotels and I can continue to call myself Doctor and “Founder”. To be honest, without a tyrant like Meles Zenawi, I will actually have to get a real job instead of traveling the world in first-class accommodations to various symposiums to advocate for Democracy in Ethiopia and Freedom of My Speech, I mean Freedom of Speech.”
Meles Zenawi, dead at the age of 57 before his time and will be sorely missed by his people. His Excellency Zenawi will be buried at Hellgeba Cemetery on Saturday, August 18[SUP]th[/SUP] in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Gone too soon, but never forgotten by his people, Meles Zenawi will forever be mentioned in the folklore of African leaders for delivering change in Ethiopia by lifting millions of Ethiopians from poverty and as a transformational feminist standard bearer for making prostitution a booming business in Ethiopia and giving children in Ethiopia access to potable water for free from the sewer systems of Addis Sheraton. His Excellency Zenawi will be forever remembered as the greatest African leader since Menelik.
[h=3]THIS WAS SATIRE, BELOW IS THE TRUTH[/h]

Of course if you have not figured it out by now, this as satire—as in fake news meant to make you think. We here at Brown Condor do not write lies, our standard for everything that we write is that we have to verify all things published from at least four independent sources and one of those sources have to be non-Ethiopians. We need solid proof that our stories are true and we have be able to independently verify all stories before we go to print . Our stance is that our stories have to be corroborated and proven as true, we do not take the stance that “if it’s not proven as false, it must be true” as many in the Ethiopian media world and political opposition members seem to take.
The truth is that no one knows what the fate of Meles Zenawi is, it is irresponsible to print anything with respect to his health and well-being because no one knows. It is irresponsible to send press releases announcing his death knowing its false as some try to incite riots and it is ignorant to post pictures of Meles and his wife stepping of planes from two years ago to prove his health. We will be the first to print an obituary once we are able to verify the passing of Meles Zenawi, and even then, we will not gloat, for as much as we are against Meles Zenawi, we do not wish any man death—we just pray for PM Zenawi and the rest of Ethiopia justice and freedom above all. You cannot fight injustice and tyranny with lies. Those who want to replace Meles Zenawi should fight with truth and never revert to lies. Truth is a guiding light, lies will lead to more tyranny and injustice.

The only time that we deviate from this “Brown” standard is when we occasionally publish a satire piece in order to prove a point. What point are we trying to make with this article? We could go on and spell that to you for another three pages, but we will leave it up to you to form your own conclusions and tell us what message we are trying to prove and what thought we are trying to provoke. You tell us below what you got out of this article and we apologize in advance for “playing a trick on you”, satire is at times cruel because it highlights our own hypocrisy and our own duplicity. We hope that you continue reading Brown Condor because we strive to do nothing more and nothing less than provoke thought in our community and report the verifiable news and truth as we see it.
Moreover, if you care about Ethiopia, please contact CNN, MSNBC, FOX, Washington Post, New York Times, etc. Tell them to get off their collective asses and find out what is going on in Ethiopia! Ethiopia is on the brink of Civil War and the Mass Media is doing nothing to find out about the health of Melez Zenawi. Please email them, tweet them this article URL, Facebook them, call them etc. You can find out the contact info for each Mass Media from the West by going to their website. Contact them and tell them to stop reporting about Snooky and acting like Yellow Journalists and instead report on the health and well-being of PM Meles Zenawi. Ask simply, WHERE IS MELES! Please communicate that message to ALL Mass Media outlets. Use Twitter and Facebook for something worthwhile. Lastly, please let this be a teaching moment, ALWAYS read fully and be fully informed before forming your opinion. Don’t just read the first paragraph and dismiss or accept what othes write. Peace::
[h=4]“Satire is traditionally the weapon of the powerless against the powerful.” ~ Molly Ivins[/h]

*acute justifribilasis fatilosis = Acute Justice Final​