Body of late Ethiopian PM arrives back in Addis Ababa

(21 Aug 2012) The body of the late Ethiopian prime minister and former president, Meles Zenawi, returned to Addis Ababa on Tuesday as thousands of mourners gathered on the streets to pay their respects.
Meles, 57, died in a Belgian hospital just before midnight on Monday after contracting an infection, authorities said.
Meles, Ethiopia's long-time ruler and a major US counter-terrorism ally, credited with economic gains but blamed for human rights abuses, died of an undisclosed illness after not being seen in his East African country for weeks.
He did not attend a recent meeting of African Union heads of state in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital, and speculation increased that his health problems were serious.
Hailemariam Desalegne, deputy prime minister and foreign minister since 2010, became acting prime minister and will be sworn in as prime minister after an emergency meeting of parliament, according to a government spokesman.
Opponents of Meles accuse him of killing and jailing opposition members and of rigging elections. Ethiopia's Somalia community in particular has suffered under Meles, who won his last election in 2010 with a reported 99 percent of the vote.
US President Barack Obama said Meles deserved recognition for his contributions to his country's development.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Meles 'will be remembered for his exceptional leadership and advocacy on African issues within and outside the continent, as well as for overseeing his country's economic growth and development'.
Jose Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission, offered his condolences and praised Meles' development work, calling him 'a respected African leader' but he also expressed concern about the state of democracy in the country.
Born on May 8, 1955, Meles became president in 1991 after helping to oust Mengistu Haile Mariam's Communist military junta, which was responsible for hundreds of thousands of Ethiopian deaths.
He became prime minister in 1995, a position that is both the head of the federal government and armed forces.
Washington has long viewed Meles as a strong security partner and has given hundreds of millions of dollars in aid over the years. US military drones that patrol East Africa, especially over Somalia, are stationed in Ethiopia.
State TV said funeral arrangements would be announced soon.

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