(Aug 21, 2012, VOA)--The late Meles Zenawi led Ethiopia since a 1991 coup in which he helped overthrow the Marxist government. The high-profile leader will be remembered for running a growth
oriented, but very authoritarian, government. His illness was kept very
quiet and during his life, no successor was publicly identified.
What will a post-Meles Ethiopia look like? Reporter Anita Powell spoke to Andrew Asamoah, a senior Horn of Africa researcher at the South Africa-based Institute of Security Studies.
VOA: Why has there been such secrecy around the prime minister’s condition and his death?
Asamoah: "We’ve seen that the trend in Africa is for the political leadership to keep the health status of the president to themselves, sometimes for political reasons; sometimes also I guess it’s also the fear of the uncertainty that may come up when their health status is made public. Because in some countries it ends up arming the opposition. So I think it’s the same case that’s played out in the case of Ethiopia."
VOA: Could Meles’ death lead to instability or violence?
Asamoah: "I think the threat about the instability that many are referring to is actually connected to the idea that he has been in charge of the country for so long and that he’s had an opportunity to make himself, or his personality, stand out to many of the goings on in the country. So [there’s] the fear that his sudden exit has the capacity of the dislocating the arrangements of the quality of the country." Read more the original article from VOA »
What will a post-Meles Ethiopia look like? Reporter Anita Powell spoke to Andrew Asamoah, a senior Horn of Africa researcher at the South Africa-based Institute of Security Studies.
VOA: Why has there been such secrecy around the prime minister’s condition and his death?
Asamoah: "We’ve seen that the trend in Africa is for the political leadership to keep the health status of the president to themselves, sometimes for political reasons; sometimes also I guess it’s also the fear of the uncertainty that may come up when their health status is made public. Because in some countries it ends up arming the opposition. So I think it’s the same case that’s played out in the case of Ethiopia."
VOA: Could Meles’ death lead to instability or violence?
Asamoah: "I think the threat about the instability that many are referring to is actually connected to the idea that he has been in charge of the country for so long and that he’s had an opportunity to make himself, or his personality, stand out to many of the goings on in the country. So [there’s] the fear that his sudden exit has the capacity of the dislocating the arrangements of the quality of the country." Read more the original article from VOA »
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