Meles awarded top world peace prize, received honorary doctoral degree

Addis Ababa, July 16(ENA)--Prime minister Meles Zenawi has been awarded on Tuesday the top world peace prize at a ceremony held at the national palace. Meles has also received an honorary doctoral degree in political science from the Hannam University.

Speaking on the occasion Prime Minister Meles said the decision of the awarding council is recognition of Ethiopia’s unique and rich history of inter-faith, tolerance and inter-communal harmony.

" We Ethiopians are proud of this tradition which we are committed to protecting. This is also the explanation behind the survival of the nation despite the so many challenges to its independent existence," he said.

So many have felt in the past that Ethiopia’s diversity was a source of weakness, he said, adding that they have been all proved to be wrong and there is no chance that the future will be any different.

" The award, I believe, is meant to be an encouragement for us to continue discharging our responsibilities as a country and as a people for durable peace in our sub-region and for harmony among the peoples of our region and of our continent as a whole," Meles said.

Ethiopians have had more than their share of crisis and internal conflict because of lack of good governance, he said, adding that many opportunities for development have been squandered as a result of that tragedy.

He said while the people of Ethiopia have been dragged into unwanted inter-state conflicts by those both near and far, at no time in its entire history has Ethiopia been the cause for war and inter-state conflict.

" No one with any sense of objectivity can point to any incident example in the modern history of Ethiopia when it has violated principles of international law governing inter-state relations," Meles said.

"I am proud to state with clear conscience on behalf of our government that we have never let our people down and we have tried as much as humanly possible not to lose any opportunity for peace," he said.

The possibility for protecting and securing peace is made all the more difficult when, on top of not having partners for peace, those who have to make the painful decision discover that diplomacy is made to seek false middle ground and sometimes principles of international law have no custodian to speak of, he said.

He said, " it is always safe to assume that people want peace. But it is not always safe to assume that governments equally do."

" I want to assure our friends from the World Peace Prize Awarding council that in the people of Ethiopia you have genuine partners for peace."

Ethiopia will always be devoted to international peace and security and to friendship among the peoples of the world, Meles said.

The Prime Minister also thanked the world peace prize awarding council and the Hannam University for honoring him.

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