Meles Zenawi

Imagine a government which has delivered double-digit growth rates for over seven years losing an election anywhere on earth. It is unheard of for such a phenomenon to happen.

In the urban areas, we have focused on infrastructure roads, telecommunications, power.

We have built tens of thousands of schools, clinics and rural roads.

I cannot separate my achievements from what can be considered as the achievements of the ruling party.

I would love to be the African leader that steps down, that overthrows this idea of a Big Man ruler. I don't want to stay in office forever.

Eritrea is hellbent on destabilising Ethiopia. It does not care who it sleeps with.

When you have an emergency, there is the urge to do whatever it takes to see people get assistance.

While all democratic systems are works in progress, ours started rather late and therefore has a longer distance to cover. But democratic transformation for us is not mimicking some facets of Western governance. The focus has been on building institutions of democratic governance.

Democracy cannot be a plaything for the capital cities. It has to infiltrate every nook and cranny in the country, including the village.

We have our own script. We have our own calendar. We represent the greatness of Africa's past. We also represent the worst of Africa's present, in terms of poverty. It is the best and the worst of African reality.

After Nigeria, we are the second biggest black African nation. We are the headquarters of the African Union. We are the only African country that has never been colonized. This is perhaps the last surviving African civilization.

The rule of law is the basis for any democracy. And without the rule of law in democracy, you have chaos.

It is illegal to be a member of an organization that is challenging the constitution by armed force.

Of course everybody's thinking evolves over time. Only dead people cease learning, and I am not certified dead yet. So I am still learning.

I think the Eritrean government is aware that any full-scale invasion of Ethiopia along the lines of 1998 could turn out to be suicidal... And we will not respond to any provocation short of all-out invasion. We are already engaged in a much more fruitful war - against poverty.

Our position is that we can sit down and talk to try to solve our problems through dialogue.

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

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.

Of course everybody's thinking evolves over time.

Some people think African states cannot be trusted with the cookie jar. But there are absolutely good NGOs who have this feeling of human solidarity and who also recognize that their work can only be supplementary to the government.