Ethiopia: Meles Zenawi may have broken world record
By Abebe Gelaw
Prime Minister Meles Zenawi may have set a world record for writing the longest ‘letter’ to the editor ever published in a modern newspaper. The 14000-word long letter has already been reported to the Guinness World Records. But the feat needs to be certified by Guinness Book of World Records.

Preliminary research indicates though that no other newspaper in the world has ever published such a long letter to the editor. Most newspapers do not publish letters to the editor with more than 500 words. One of the biggest U.S dailies the Wall Street Journal boasts to have published one of the longest letters to the editor ever published in an American newspaper. The 1010-word letter, written by a Swiss businessman, was published on 12th April 1988.

The Prime Minister’s letter, which is an extraordinarily long derisory tantrum pouring insults and scorn on EU election observers, was published in three parts on the 27th August, 30th August and 31st August editions of the ruling party-controlled English daily, The Ethiopian Herald. The ‘letter’, which was meant to be a rebuttal to a 4000-word long EU election preliminary statement, consumed more than 9 full broadsheet pages of the slim 8-page newspaper. It was reported that regular columns had to be slashed to accommodate the seemingly endless letter. The second and the longest part, ‘Guilty until proven innocent’, contained 5719 words.

However, it appears that Meles made his best effort to trick the international community and the public at large by publishing his own election report disguised as a letter to the editor. He surprised many observers by playing a role of a super-observer.

“It is mind-boggling why he invited foreign election observers in the first place. He declared shamelessly that the 15th May elections were free and fair by any international standards,” a netter said, in a message posted in an Ethiopian cyber forum.

The PM tried to rubbish almost all statements in the preliminary report of the EU Election Observation Mission. In the unprecedented tantrum by a ruler of a country, Meles disparaged and condemned the mission and claimed that it favoured opposition parties. Analysts believe than Meles has no longer got a chance to be treated as a darling of the West.

In the first part, discourteously titled ‘Easy to remove the garbage that has covered the lamps of truth’, Meles lamented at length that the report failed to ignore the irregularities and flaws in the election.

“I had expected that the statement would have very few if any nuggets of truth, and, if any, that these would be buried under so much garbage that it would be virtually impossible to excavate them. As it turned out, the statement has some big, really big, lumps of truth in it, and it is relatively easy to remove the garbage that has covered those lumps of truth.

“While I was expecting a huge garbage damp all I got was newly started garbage damp that was unable to bury the truth. The letter cannot but therefore start by identifying and highlighting the lumps of truth in the statement,” he wrote.

He argued that the rampant human rights violations in Ethiopia including the June 8 massacre, the monopoly of the public media by his party, the ban on public rallies and demonstrations, the mass detention of opposition supporters and sympathizers, the questionable tabulations and count had no bearing on the conduct of the elections.

The Prime Minister tried to avoid directly answering concerns raised by the EU-EOM on the June massacre, which the report identified to have aggravated tensions and fear among the people.

“One can rightly challenge the conclusions of the EU-EOM with regards to the June disturbances. But that would take us away from the main point. Let us instead focus on the impact of the "tension" on the investigation process,” he said and went on to justify the conduct of the contentious election fraud investigation process.

In a bid to look much more sophisticated than he really appears to be, he even borrowed the song of a famous singer though it had little relevance to his arguments. “The rest of the contextual factors have no relevance, whatsoever, to the investigative process. Indeed, they remind me of the famous Tina Turner song. What has love got to do with it? What indeed have they got to do with the investigative process? Nothing! The criticism by the EU-EOM of the complaints investigation process based on contextual factors has no leg to stand on because the contextual factors selected by it have no relevance at all to the investigations,” the PM ranted.

In his emotive outburst, Meles even thought that Ana Gomes, the Chief EU observer, was killed or dead. Defending the duplicity and overlap of Chief Justice Kemal Bedri’s offices, as President of the Federal Supreme Court, President of Council for Constitutional Inquiry and Chairman of the Election Board, Meles wrote: “To the author of the statement, God save her soul , that is enough to condemn NEBE of impartiality and the judiciary of lack of independence. After all, the standard they prefer to use is that if you are accused by the opposition of doing something wrong, or perceived to have done something wrong, that is all there is to it, the case is closed. You are guilty as accused, or perceived.”

Meanwhile his wife, ‘First Lady’ Azeb Mesfin appeared less disturbed by the report. A day before the release of the EU preliminary report, she visited the Amanuel Hospital, and Gefersa Center for the Rehabilitation of Mentally Ill Persons with the aim of getting information necessary for the implementation of a project to be launched jointly with the wife of Former US President Jimmy Carter, ENA reported.

According to ENA, Azeb said the Gefersa Centre has to be particularly equipped well with materials to make it comfortable for mentally ill patients.
The Carter Centre is expected to release its preliminary elections report next week. There was no explanation as to why Mrs Meles and Mrs. Carter have decided to launch the joint project at this particular time.

The fascist dictator has no legs to stand on. His pathetic cry and accusations against the EU will not save him from his demise.

The multitude of his victims, the dead, the injured, the political prisoners languishing in prison,those deported from their villages into ethnic killils and left to beg on the streets, the people removed from their work place for their ethnicity, the students zenawi massacred etc etc etc are all crying for justice.

Ethiopia is waiting for her salvation from the grip of this evil dictator who is openly anti-Ethiopian and agent of the Shabia.

He will be remembered as the ruler with the longesr tantrum.

Related story
First Lady Visits Hospital, Center For Mentally Ill Persons
Addis Ababa, 8/24/2005



The First Lady Azeb Mesfin visited here on Wednesday Amanuel Hospital, a hospital for mentally ill persons, and Gefersa Center for the Rehabilitation of Mentally Ill Persons with the aim of getting information necessary for the implementation of a plan to be implemented together with the wife of Former US President Jimmy Carter.

Azeb told ENA during her visit that her visit was intended to have first hand information on the situation of mentally ill persons thereby improve the standards of the hospital and the center.

She said a lot of things have to be done both in the hospital and the center.

Azeb said particularly the Gefersa Center has to be equipped well with materials to make it comfortable for mentally ill patients.

Pointing out that the difficulty situation in which the patients are subjected to need to be changed through the good will of the society, Azeb said the society's involvement in preventing mental illness is mandatory.

Source: ENA
http://www.ena.gov.et/default.asp?CatId=9&NewsId=180644

Wow! The rumors must be true that Meles is suffering from mental illness. She is making sure that he is going to be comfortable when he gets admitted.

Well done Abebe, what a wonderful analysis. 14,000 words is equivalent to MA degree thesis. The difference is, the MA degree thesis needs evidence, literature review etc to be quoted.

Meles, has no evidence. Therefore, he is talking rubbish just out of frustration

Email: ab89891@yahoo.com

City: LONDON

Why all of a sudden the "first lady" started to care about Ethiopian psychiatric patients? Up to now we have been listening about her corrupted multimillion businesses which was miraculously collected in 14 years time.there is somthing fishy here!

Email: h,y.paulos@wp.pl

City: Wloclawek

Belew,

She probably found herself mentally unstable after the 15th May election when she found out that her husband and their party EPRDF is totally rejected by all Ethiopians. Therefore, she wants to make sure that at least there is hospital for them to go to.

Email: ab89891@yahoo.com

City: LONDON

test

Email: shirdons@yahoo.com

City: Washington DC

Meles must have gone mentally unstable. That is the reason why Mrs. Meles and Mrs. Carter are looking for a luxurious asylum.

Ibrahim,

What are you testing? Your sanity? Your master is going insane. They say insanity is hereditary. You must have inherited it from your boss. Sorry to see you in unstable state of mind.

Mamo Qilo

I think “Test” is some kind of signal between Ibrahim and G/Zmeles or someone. G/S also writes “test” once in a while.

Meles's letter which started with Tina Turner has ended with the 'supremacy of the judgment of the Ethiopian peasant'.
Meles is really - really going MAD!
He (Meles) reminds me of my old alalm clock. He has a one track mind which replays same old same old stories - just as my clock goes off at the same time everyday.
What ever he says, the fact is out there for everyone to see.

Email: hiwot@optusnet.com.au

City: Sydney

Can anyone help the tyrant? He seems seriouly ill and out of the real world. Interesting story!

Mr. AB:

You said this to the PM Meles:

"Meles, has no evidence. Therefore, he is talking rubbish just out of frustration".

Did you read the letter? I doubt. If you read it properly, you woudn't say this.

Eh, we are living with special people like who are making the country a worst place to live. I think you can understand if you read, and I hope you will read the PM letter properly.

Please don't tell us who you are..and your level of intellect. This is an insult to the injury.

I wish you all the best to have light at the end of the tunnel of ignorance.

I read the letter again and again and found it to be very articulate. Ana Gobeze is found naked in broad day light because of his letter. How intellegent a leader he's. we should all be proud of him.

Email: 123@yahoo.com

City: addis ababa

I myself have been repeatedly banned and send a message as blank to find out if allowed back. I believe Ibrahim is too. Not as a result of Mamo Qilo would have trying to tell us.

Welcome back GebreMeles? Can you give us any explanation why Madam Meles visited Amanuel?

Meles Zenawi's Eritrean mother voted for the seccession of Eritrea. That makes the mother and the son who is a 'prime minister' in another country belonging to two different warring factions. I think this is another record for Meles, as it has never happened before in history.

I agree Abdu. He is also the first ruler of a country who has written a letter to the UN pleading or the secession of his motherland.... Anyway why was Mrs. Meles at Amanuel?

Well done to Meles! We all know he isn't so well but still we use him to fire words at anyone who critize us. Thanks for Azeb for looking after her husband.