UPDATE 6-Ethiopian strongman and Western ally, Meles, dies
	
Tue Aug 21, 2012 6:12pm GMT


		
  	
				        
* Meles was being treated for illness in Brussels

* Western ally in war against militant Islam
    
* Spurred economic growth but intolerant of dissent
    
* Deputy PM takes over as acting prime minister
    


By Aaron Maasho
    


ADDIS ABABA, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Ethiopian Prime MinisterMeles Zenawi, an economic reformer condemned at home as anautocrat but hailed in the West as a bulwark against militantIslam, has died after a long illness, aged 57.
    


Twenty-one years after he seized power from a militaryjunta, Meles died in a Brussels hospital late on Monday, endingmonths of rumour that he was gravely ill and prompting sharplycontrasting reactions; the White House mourned his "untimelyloss", while opponents rejoiced at the death of a "tyrant".
    
Deputy Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn will be sworn inas acting prime minister by parliament and the ruling party willmeet to choose a successor but no date has been set.
    


Secretive to the end, it was left to officials of theEuropean Union to disclose that Meles was being treated in theBelgian capital when he succumbed to an unspecified illness.Government spokesman Bereket Simon said only that he had beenailing for a year and died after being rushed to intensive care.
    
Meles had seized power in 1991 from Mengistu Haile Mariam'smilitary junta and went on to become a towering political figureon the continent. Widely credited for steering one of theworld's poorest countries to fast economic growth, he made hispredominantly Christian country a close ally of Washington andtwice sent troops into neighbouring Somalia to fight Islamists.
    


"The death of Prime Minister Meles has robbed Africa of oneof its greatest sons," the African Union, which is headquarteredin the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, said in a statement.
    
Rights groups criticised him for cracking down hard ondissent but the West generally turned a blind eye to therepression, reluctant to pick a fight with a partner in thefight against al Qaeda-linked groups in Africa.
    
U.S. President Barack Obama offered condolences, praisingMeles's commitment to the poor and calling it an "untimely loss"for Ethiopia; British Prime Minister David Cameron describedMeles as an "inspirational spokesman for Africa".
    
In Addis Ababa, Ethiopians crowded into cafes to watchtelevision coverage after a special news broadcast announcedMeles's death. An EU source said he had been a patient at theSaint-Luc University Hospital in Brussels.
    
His deputy Hailemariam said they had spoken only recently:
    
"He was recovering well, even taking part in light sportingactivities. We were often in touch while he was recovering andwe were optimistic that he would go on towards a full recovery,"he said. "Meles was one of a kind. It is very difficult toreplace a man of his stature."
    
A cortege accompanied by police outriders left a hotel nextto the hospital, and took a casket, believed to hold Meles'sbody, to a private Belgian airstrip near the city's mainairport. Belgian military officials and police were at theairport as the casket was loaded onto an Ethiopian Airlines jet.
        


CONFLICTS
    
Somalia's al Shabaab militants, who encountered Ethiopiantroops twice under Meles' tenure, once in 2006-2009 and againfrom December last year, were jubilant: "He led the Africanleaders who had fingers in Somalia for two decades, but all invain," said al Shabaab spokesman Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage.
    
Government spokesman Bereket said Africa's second mostpopulous nation was stable and would continue on the pathcharted by Meles. The ruling party, the Ethiopian People'sRevolutionary Democratic Front, will select his successor.
    


Negasso Gidada, who was president during Meles' tenure andnow chairman of the opposition movement Unity for Democracy andJustice, said he hoped the transition would be peaceful: "Weurge the EPRDF to change for the good the political, democraticand human rights situation in the country," he said.
    
David Shinn, a former U.S. ambassador to Ethiopia, said heexpected many of Meles' defence policies to remain the same: "For internal security reasons, there will be a continuing focuson Somalia and I do not foresee any significant change towardsEritrea," said Shinn, referring to Ethiopia's arch-foe.
    
A long-running conflict has fuelled tensions along theirdisputed border and both governments accuse each other ofsupporting the others' rebel groups.
    
"What will happen to this problem, we leave to the incominggovernment of Ethiopia," Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman SalihMohammed said in South Africa, describing Meles as having been"instrumental" in the crisis.
    
Meles presided over a seven-year run of double-digiteconomic growth, advocating a mixture of heavy state spendingand private investment.
    
He was widely applauded for ploughing money intoinfrastructure but criticised by some for selling off swathes ofland to foreigners. Many Ethiopians complain that his closebusiness ties with China did not translate into more jobs.
        
RIGHTS RECORD
    
International rights groups criticised Meles's handling ofdissent. He rounded up numerous opposition leaders after thedisputed 2005 polls and several opponents and journalists havebeen arrested under a 2009 anti-terrorism law. Late last year,two Swedish journalists were jailed for 11 years for promotingthe activities of a rebel group and entering Ethiopia illegally.
    
"Today is a day of joy for most Ethiopians and all freedomloving people around the world," opposition website EthiopianReview said, describing Meles as a "genocidal tyrant".
    
Former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan said Meles's deathheralded a challenging time for Ethiopia.
    
"I ardently hope that the transition period will be smoothand peaceful and that Ethiopia sees leadership that reflects the aspirations of its people and realises the potential of thisextraordinary country," Annan said in a statement.
    
State television said details of Meles's state funeral wouldbe announced soon.
    
Acting Prime Minister Hailemariam, 47, was an adviser toMeles in 2006 before being picked as his deputy in 2010. He hadalso replaced Meles as chair of a number of parliamentarycommittees in the past few years, a sign that he was beinggroomed for the post, diplomats say.


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