Meles Zenawi laid to rest

PRESIDENT Paul Kagame, yesterday, joined the people of Ethiopia to bid a final farewell to their former premier Meles Zenawi, who was laid to rest in Addis Ababa.Followed by giant crowds, Meles’s flag-draped coffin was carried through the capital from the National Palace to the vast Meskel Square, then buried at the Holy Trinity Cathedral.Several African leaders and foreign dignitaries were present.The prime minister, who died last month aged 57, was hailed as an African hero.Speaking at the funeral, President Kagame said Meles had “led a humble and simple life, but very meaningful one”.“We join you in mourning and paying tribute to a great man, a great son of Ethiopia who is also ours as a continent. But we also celebrate his rich life that has touched millions of people in Africa and across the world. His was a life of immense courage, vision and enterprise which he devoted to the advancement of his fellow citizens in this country and across Africa,” Kagame said.Thousands of soldiers stood guard as the ceremony progressed, many getting emotional, before the funeral cortege moved to the capital’s Holy Trinity Cathedral, where Meles was buried.We gather here, Kagame added, to recognise his remarkable achievements that have made us all proud as Ethiopians, Africans and beyond.“I say this, not simply to praise him because he is no longer with us, but from the knowledge of, and experience with him as a friend, a comrade, a leader, a visionary and gallant fighter for freedom. He was a man of such high calibre, rare talent and selflessness that we all feel the magnitude of the gap he has left,” the President said, adding that the late Prime Minister did not court greatness.Kagame described the fallen leader as an unassuming person – whose sharp intellect and tremendous courage to face any kind of challenge made him a formidable presence.“He had the capacity to grasp and cut through complex issues and move forward. It is these qualities that he used to lead the charge in the transformation of his country and that of our continent – restoring the dignity of Ethiopians and Africans as a whole,” President Kagame eulogized.President Kagame noted that friend and foe alike recognised and respected Meles as a man of strong convictions, principles and long term vision.“Where some could have been compromised for short term profit or gains, or easily succumbed to pressures, he was steadfast and always took a definite stand on issues of right and wrong. And more often than not, he was on the side of right,” Ethiopia’s deputy Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said in a speech after prayers at Meskel square that “The late prime minister was working not only for the renaissance of Ethiopia, but also for the renaissance for all of Africa.” Hailemariam, who will lead the government until national elections in 2015, sat behind the coffin, which was placed on a stage above the huge crowd in the square.He promised that all the initiatives of Meles will keep going forward, all the transformation plans will progress.South African President Jacob Zuma said Africa had “lost one of the greatest sons of the continent”, while Benin’s president and current Africa Union chairman, Thomas Boni Yayi hailed Meles’s “driving force” in efforts to end conflict.The US ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice praised Meles for his “selfless” efforts.“Even as we argued whether about economics, democracy, human rights, regional security or our respective foreign policies,” Rice said, “I was always struck by two things; Meles was consistently reasoned in his judgments and thoughtful in his decisions.”Religious leaders from Ethiopia’s Christian Orthodox Church, dressed in flowing embroidered robes and carrying red and gold velvet umbrellas, led the prayers.Meles died in a Brussels hospital on August 20 after a long illness.The former leader took power in 1991 after toppling dictator Mengistu Hailemariam.While Ethiopia has hosted a series of state funerals in recent decades -- including that of popular musician Tilahun Gessesse in 2009 – the last leader to be so honoured was Empress Zawditu in 1930.Ethiopia’s last emperor Haile Selassie, who was murdered in 1975 by coup leaders, is also buried at Holy Trinity Cathedral.