Rastafari Rising

Africa Day 1963

"It has been five years since every year this day of April 15, was decreed to be celebrated as Africa's Independence Day. This day is celebrated throughout Africa. It reminds Us of the struggles for independence during the last twelve months and of our African brothers that are still engaged in the fight for freedom.

"For several years in the past, as must be remembered, a large part of the African continent was under colonial rule. In the course of that time, colonialists have stripped the Africans of their freedom and natural rights, and used their resources for the benefit and prosperity of their own country. Even today, colonial masters speak ill of Africans by exaggerating their poverty in the press. Africans are also blamed for the aid they receive. This aid cannot fill the needs of their peoples overnight. From under such humiliation, Africans rose up to safeguard their right and started to struggle to obtain their independence. This struggle began to bear fruit after World War II. 

"The first African Independent States Conference was held in Africa in 1958. The independent states at that time were only eight. Nevertheless, the freedom fight in Africa continued with more vigour and fervour and today the number of independent states has reached 32. This is four times the size of those independent countries which participated in the Accra Conference. Last year alone Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, and Algeria achieved their independence and became members of the Independent African states. Although it had been duly extended at the appropriate time, we will again venture to express our congratulations to these friendly countries.

"In our neighbour country, Kenya, a new political trend is taking shape and elections are expected to be held soon. It is our earnest wish that Kenya achieves independence immediately after the conclusion of a successful election. That Kenya obtains her independence without the dismemberment of her regions is the policy that Ethiopia strongly supports. Ethiopia opposes all those who try to dismember Kenya under the claim of tribalism.

"Congo has been in turmoil after independence. It has been gratifying to Us to see Katanga reintegrated last year into the central government to form a united Congo Republic. We are especially pleased, because Ethiopia has sent her troops to Congo in the name of the United Nations and made substantial contribution to the unity of that country.

"In Central Africa too, political movement is quite encouraging. Under the eminent leadership of Dr. Kamuza Banda, Nyasaland achieved local government under its nationals and the day of her independence is anxiously being awaited in the very near future. It has also been made clear in a recent London Conference that Northern Rhodesia has secured its right of secession from the colonialist-run Federation, and it is fast marching towards independence.

"Meanwhile, the fate of Africans in Southern Rhodesia is in a precarious situation. Many Africans and their leaders are found arbitrarily imprisoned and consequently, the country is in chaos, We will not hesitate to remind the British Government to make use of its responsibility to hand over authority to the African majority so that Southern Rhodesia will also be independent. Until now the British Government has shown wisdom and sound judgment in providing independence for Africans, in a manner constructive and objective.

"The South African racial government apartheid policy has deteriorated instead of effecting leniency and improvement. A large number of Africans, fighting for their freedom, are from day-to-day hauled into jails without due process of law, and are made to suffer under severe conditions. Defying world opinion, breaking international laws and disrespecting the United Nations Charter, the South African government continues practicing its atrocious and odious policy. Nevertheless, Ethiopia will not deny assistance to our brother Africans who live in that unfortunate country.  

"We shall not pass without expressing our regret to the Portuguese Government, that the fate of Africans in its colonies has not been up to now improved so as to have prepared them for independence. What  We would again remind the Portuguese Government, is to prepare Africans in its colonial territories for self-government in order to curtail heavy blood-shed. Ethiopia will not refrain from endeavouring to assist in finding solutions by which Africans under Portuguese colonies will obtain independence.

"In general, We extend our good will greetings to all our African brethren who are still under the yoke of foreign rule, and wish that their struggle for freedom will bear fruit so that they would be masters of their own fate. Our help will also reach them.

"Finally, We would like to speak about the May Conference of African Heads of State to be held here in Addis Ababa. All the 32 heads of state in the entire continent have accepted our invitation and expressed their willingness to participate in the Conference. We are specially pleased  by the response and co-operation shown by our neighbour sister, Somalia, for her reconsideration to take part in the conference following our recommendation and advice.

"The purpose of this conference is to strengthen African unity. Since Ethiopia's hospitality is historically known, it is the voluntary duty of every individual Ethiopian to extend the usual courtesies to our distinguished guests who will come for the conference. We entrust, therefore, to you all that each one of you extend the best reception to our honourable guests.

"Let Almighty God help us in the fulfillment of our wishes."

Statement to the 1963 African Summit

"We welcome to Ethiopia in Our name and in the name of the Ethiopian Government and people, the Heads of State and Government of independent African nations who are today assembled in solemn conclave in Ethiopia's capital city. This conference without parallel in history, is an impressive testimonial to the devotion and dedication of which we all partake in the cause of our mother continent and that of her sons and daughters. This is indeed a momentous and historic day for Africa and for all Africans.

"We stand today on the stage of world affairs, before the audience of world opinion. We have come together to assert our role in the direction of world affairs and to discharge our duty to the great continent whose two hundred and fifty million people we lead. Africa is today at mid-course, in transition from the Africa of yesterday to the Africa of tomorrow. Even as we stand here we move from the past into the future. The task on which we have embarked, the making of Africa will not wait. We must act, to shape and mould the future and leave our imprint on events as they pass into history. 

"We seek, at this meeting, to determine whither we are going and to chart the course of our destiny. It is no less important that we know whence we came. An awareness of our past is essential to the establishment of our personality and our identity as Africans.

"This world was not created piecemeal. Africa was born no later and no earlier than any other geographical area on this globe. Africans, no more and no less than other men, possess all human attributes, talents and deficiencies, virtues and faults. Thousands of years ago, civilisations flourished in Africa which suffer not at all by comparison with those of other continents. In those  centuries, Africans were politically free and economically independent. Their social patterns were their own and their cultures truly indigenous.

"The obscurity which enshrouds the centuries which elapsed between those earliest days and the rediscovery of Africa are being gradually dispersed. What is certain is that during those long years Africans were born, lived and died. Men on other parts of this earth occupied themselves with their own concerns and, in their conceit, proclaimed that the world began and ended at their horizons. All unknown to them, Africa developed in its own pattern, growing in its own life and, in the Nineteenth Century, finally re-emerged into the world's consciousness.

"The events of the past hundred and fifty years require no extended recitation from Us. The period of colonialism into which we were plunged culminated with our continent fettered and bound, with our once proud and free peoples reduced to humiliation and slavery; with Africa's terrain cross-batched and checker-boarded by artificial and arbitrary boundaries. Many of us, during those bitter years, were overwhelmed in battle, and those who escaped conquest did so at the cost of desperate resistance and bloodshed. Others were sold into bondage as the price extracted by the colonialists for the "protection" which they extended and the possession of which they disposed. Africa was a physical resource to be exploited an Africans were chattels to be purchased bodily or, at best, peoples to be reduced to vassalage and lackeyhood. Africa was the market for the produce of other nations and the source of the raw materials with which their factories were fed.

"Today, Africa has emerged from this dark passage. Our Armageddon is past. Africa has been reborn as a free continent and Africans have been reborn as free men. The blood that was shed and the sufferings that were endured are today Africa's advocates for freedom and unity. Those men who refused to accept the judgment passed upon them by the colonies, who held unswervingly through the darkest hours to a vision of an Africa emancipated from political, economic and spiritual domination, will be remembered and revered wherever Africans meet. Many of them never set foot on this continent. Others were born and died here. What we may utter today can add little to the heroic struggle of those who, by their example, have shown us how precious are freedom and human dignity and of how little value is life without them. Their deeds are written in history.

Areas of Resistance

"Africa's victory, although proclaimed, is not yet total and areas of resistance still remain. We name as our first great task the final liberating of those Africans still dominated by foreign exploitation and control. With the goal in sight, and unqualified triumph within our grasp, let us not now falter of lag or relax. We must make one final supreme effort, when so much has been won that the thrilling sense of achievement has brought us near satiation. Our liberty is meaningless unless all Africans are free. Our brothers in the Rhodesias, in Mozambique, in Angola, in South Africa cry out in anguish for our support and assistance. We must urge on their behalf their peaceful accession to independence. We must align and identify ourselves with all aspects of their struggle. It would be betrayal were we to pay only lip-service to the cause of their liberation and fail to back our words with action. To them we say, your pleas shall not go unheeded. The resources of Africa and of all freedom-loving nations are marshaled in your service. Be of good cheer, for your deliverance is at hand.

"As we renew our vow that all of Africa shall be free, let us also resolve that old wounds shall be healed and past scars forgotten. It was thus that Ethiopia treated the invader nearly twenty-five years ago, and Ethiopians found peace with honour in this course. Memories of past injustice should not divert us from the more pressing business at hand. We must live in peace with our former colonisers, shunning recrimination and bitterness and forswearing the luxury of vengeance and retaliation, lest the acid of hatred erode our souls and poison our hearts. Let us act as befits the dignity which we claim for ourselves as Africans, proud of our special qualities, distinctions and abilities. Our efforts as free men must be to establish new relationships, devoid of any resentment and hostility, restored to our belief and faith in ourselves as individuals, dealing on a basis of equality with other equally free peoples.

"Today, we look to the future calmly, confidently and courageously. We look to the vision of an Africa not merely free but united. In facing this new challenge, we can take comfort and encouragement form the lessons of the past. We know that there are differences among us. Africans enjoy different cultures, distinctive values, special attributes. But we also know that unity can be and has been attained among men of the most disparate origins, that differences of race, of religion, of culture, of tradition, are no insuperable obstacles to the coming together of peoples. History teaches us that unity is strength and cautions us to submerge and overcome our differences in the quest for common goals, to strive with all our combined strength, for the path to true African brotherhood and unity.

"There are those who claim that African unity is impossible, that the forces that pull us, some in this direction, others in that, are too strong to be overcome. Around us there is no lack of doubt and pessimism, no absence of critics and criticism. These speak of Africa, of Africa's future and of her position in the Twentieth Century in sepulchral tones. They predict dissention and disintegration among Africans and internecine strife and chaos on our continent. Let us confound these and, by our deeds, disperse them in confusion. There are others whose hopes for Africa are bright, who stand with faces upturned in wonder and awe at the creation of a new and happier life, who have dedicated themselves to its realisation and are spurred on by the example of their brothers to whom they owe the achievements of Africa's past. Let us reward their trust and merit their approval.

"The road of African unity is already lined with landmarks. The last years are crowded with meetings, with conferences, with declarations and pronouncements. Regional organisations have been established. Local groupings based on common interests, backgrounds and traditions have been created."

Goal Unity

"But through all that has been said and written and done in these years, there runs a common theme. Unity is the accepted goal. We argue about means;  We discuss alternative paths to the same objectives; We engage in debates about techniques and tactics. But when semantics are stripped away, there is little argument among us. We are determined to create a union of Africans. In a very real sense, our continent is unmade; it still awaits its creation and its creators. It is our duty and privilege to rouse the slumbering giant of Africa, not to the nationalism of Europe in the Nineteenth Century, not to regional consciousness, but to the vision of a single African brotherhood bending its united efforts toward the achievement of a greater and nobler goal.

"Above all, we must avoid the pitfalls of tribalism. If we are divided among ourselves on tribal lines, we open our doors to foreign intervention and its potentially harmful consequences. The Congo is clear proof of what We say. We should not be led to complacency because of the present ameliorated situation in that country. The Congolese people have suffered untold misery, and the economic growth of the country has been retarded because of tribal strife.

"But while we agree that the ultimate destiny of this continent lies in political union, we must at the same time recognise that the obstacles to be overcome in its achievement are at once numerous and formidable. Africa's people did not emerge into liberty under uniform conditions. Africans maintain different political systems; our economies are diverse; our social orders are rooted in differing cultures and traditions. Further no clear consensus exists on the "how" and the "what" of this union. Is it to be, in form, federal, confederal or unitary? Is the sovereignty of individual states to be reduced, and if so, by how much, and in what areas? On these and other questions there is no agreement, and if we wait for agreed answers generations hence, matters will be little advanced, while the debate still rages.

"We should, therefore, not be concerned that complete union is not attained from one day to the next. The union which we seek can only come gradually, as the day-to-day progress which we achieve carries us slowly but inexorably along this course. We have before us the examples of the USA and the USSR. We must remember how long these nations required to achieve their union. When a solid foundation is laid, if the mason is able and his materials good, a strong house can be built.

"Thus, a period of transition is inevitable. Old relations and arrangements may, for a time linger. Regional organizations may fulfill legitimate functions and needs which cannot yet be otherwise satisfied. But the difference is in this: that we recognise these circumstances for what they are -- temporary expedients designed to serve only until we have established the conditions which will bring total African unity within our reach."

Action Now

"There is, nonetheless, much that we can do to speed this transition. There are issues on which we stand united and questions on which there is unanimity of opinion. Let us seize on these areas of agreement and exploit them to the fullest. Let us take action now, action which, while taking account of present realities. nonetheless constitutes clear and unmistakable progress along the course plotted out for us by destiny. We are all adherents, whatever our internal political systems, of the principles of democratic action. Let us apply these to the unity we seek to create. Let us work out our own programmes in all fields -- political, economic, social and military. The opponents of Africa's growth, whose interests would be best served by a divided and balkanised continent, would derive much satisfaction from the unhappy spectacle of thirty and more African States so split, so paralysed and immobilised by controversies over long-term goals that they are unable even to join their efforts in short-term measures on which there is no dispute. Let us give neither comfort nor encouragement to these. If we act where we may in those areas where action is possible, the inner logic of the programmes which we adopt will work for us and inevitable impel us still farther in the direction of ultimate union.

"What we still lack, despite the efforts of past years, is the mechanism which will enable us to speak with one voice when we wish to do so and take and implement decisions on African problems when we are so minded. The commentators of 1963 speak, in discussing Africa, of the Monrovia States, the Brazzaville Group, the Casablanca Powers, of these and many more. Let us put an end to these terms. What we require is a single African organization through which Africa's single voice may be heard, within which Africa's problems may be studied and resolved. We need and organization which will facilitate acceptable solutions to dispute among Africans and promote the study and adoption of measures for common defence and programmes for co-operation in the economic and social fields. Let us, at this Conference, create a single institution to which we will all belong, based on principles to which we all subscribe, confident that in its councils our voices will carry their proper weight, secure in the knowledge that the decisions there will be dictated by Africans and only by Africans and that they will take full account of all vital African consideration."

Foundation For Unity

"We are meeting here today to lay the basis for African unity. Let us here and now, agree upon the basic instrument which will constitute the foundation for the future growth in peace and harmony and oneness of this continent. Let our meetings henceforth proceed from solid accomplishments. Let us not put off, to later consideration and study, the single act, the one decision, which must emerge from this gathering if it is to have real meaning. This Conference cannot close without adopting a single African Charter. We cannot leave here without having created a single African organization possessed of the attributes We have described. If we fail in this, we will have shirked our responsibility to Africa and to the peoples we lead. If we succeed, then, and only then, will we have justified our presence here.

"The organization of which We speak must possess a well-cumulated framework, having a permanent headquarters and an adequate Secretariat providing the necessary continuity between meetings of the permanent organs. It must include specialized bodies to work in particular fields of competence assigned to the organization. Unless the political liberty for which Africans have for so long struggled is complemented and bolstered by a corresponding economic and social growth, the breath of life which sustains our freedom may flicker out. In our efforts to improve the standard of life of our peoples and to flesh out the bones of our independence, we count on the assistance and support of others. But this alone will not suffice, and, alone, would only perpetuate Africa's dependence on others.

"A specialized body to facilitate and co-ordinate continent-wide economic programmes and to provide the mechanism for the provision of economic assistance among African nations is thus required. Prompt measures can be taken to increase trade and commerce among us. Africa's mineral wealth is great; we should co-operate in its development. An African Development Programme, which will make provision for the  concentration by each nation on those productive activities for which its resources and its geographic and climatic conditions best fit it is needed. We assume that each African nation has its own national development programme, and it only remains for us to come together and share our experiences for the proper implementation of a continent-wide plan. Today, travel between African nations and telegraphic and telephonic communications among us are circuitous in the extreme. Road communications between two neighbouring states are often difficult or even impossible. It is little wonder that trade among us has remained at a  discouragingly low level. These anachronisms are the remnants of a heritage of which we must rid ourselves -- the legacy of the century when Africans were isolated one from the other. These are vital areas in which efforts must be concentrated."

Development Bank

"An additional project to be implemented without delay is the creation of an African Development Bank, a proposal to which all our Governments have given full support and which has already received intensive study. The meeting of our Finance Ministers to be held within the coming weeks in Khartoum should transform this proposal into fact. This same meeting could appropriately continue studies already undertaken of the impact upon Africa of existing regional economic groupings, and initiate further studies to accelerate the expansion of economic relations among us.

"The nations of Africa, as is true of every continent of the world, had from time to time dispute among themselves. These quarrels must be confined to this continent and quarantined from the contamination of non-African interference. Permanent arrangements must be agreed upon to assist in the peaceful settlement of these disagreements which, however few they may be, cannot be left to languish and fester. Procedures must be established for the peaceful settlement of disputes, in order that the threat or use of force may no longer endanger the peace of our continent.

"Steps must be taken to establish an African defence system. Military planning for the security of this continent must be undertaken in common within a collective framework. The responsibility for protecting this continent from armed attacks from abroad is the primary concern of Africans themselves. Provision must be made for the extension of speedy and effective assistance when any African State is threatened with military aggression. We cannot rely solely on international morality. Africa's control over her own affairs is dependent on the existence of appropriate military arrangements to assure this continent's protection against such threats. While guarding our own independence, we must at the same time determine to live peacefully with all nations of the world."

Knowing Ourselves

"Africa has come to freedom under the most difficult and trying of circumstances. No small measure of the handicaps under which we labour derive from  the low educational level attained by  our peoples and from their lack of knowledge of their fellow Africans. Education abroad is at best an unsatisfactory substitute for education at home. A massive effort must be launched in the educational and cultural fields which will not only raise the level of literacy and provide the cadres of skilled and trained technicians requisite to our growth and development but, as well acquaint us one with another. Ethiopia, several years ago, instituted a programme of scholarships for students coming from other African lands which has proved highly rewarding and fruitful, and We urge others to adopt projects of this sort. Serious consideration should be given to the establishment of an African University, sponsored by all African States, where future leaders of Africa will be trained in an atmosphere of continental brotherhood. In this African institution, the supra-national aspects of African life would be emphasized and study would be directed toward the ultimate goal of complete African unity. Ethiopia stands prepared here and now to decide on the site of the University and to fix the financial contributions to be made to it.

"This is but the merest summary of what can be accomplished. Upon these measures we are all agreed, and our agreement should now form the basis for our action."

A World Force

"Africa has become an increasingly influential force in the conduct of world affairs as the combined weight of our collective opinion is brought to focus not only on matters which concern this continent exclusively, but on those pressing problems which occupy the thoughts of all men everywhere. As we have come to know one another better and grown in mutual trust and confidence, it has been possible for us to co-ordinate our policies and actions and contribute to the successful settlement of pressing and critical world issues.

"This has not been easy. But co-ordinated action by all African States on common problems is imperative if our opinions are to be accorded their proper weight. We Africans occupy a different -- indeed a unique position among nations of this century. Having for so long known oppression, tyranny and subjugation, who, with better right, can claim for all the opportunity and the right to live and grow as free men? Ourselves for long decades the victims of injustice, whose voices can be better raised in the demand for justice and right for all? We demand an end to colonialism because domination of one people by another is wrong. We demand an end to nuclear testing and the arms race because these activities, which pose such dreadful threats to man's existence and waste and squander humanity's material heritage, are wrong. we demand and end to racial segregation as an affront to man's dignity which is wrong. We act in these matters in the right, as a matter of high principle. We act out of the integrity and conviction of our most deep-founded beliefs.

"If we permit ourselves to be tempted by narrow self-interest and vain ambition, if we barter our beliefs for short-term advantage, who will listen when we claim to speak for conscience, and who will contend that our words deserve to be heeded? We must speak out on major world issues, courageously, openly and  honestly, and in blunt terms of right and wrong. If we yield to blandishments or threats, if we compromise when no honourable compromise is possible, our influence will be sadly diminished and our prestige woefully prejudiced and weakened. Let us not deny our ideals or sacrifice our right to stand as the champions of the poor, the ignorant, the oppressed everywhere. The acts by which we live and the attitudes by which we act must be clear beyond question. Principles alone can endow our deeds with force and meaning, Let us be true to what we believe, that our beliefs may serve and honour us."

Prejudice Opposed

"We reaffirm today, in the name of principle and right, our opposition to prejudice, wherever and in whatever form it may be found, and particularly do we rededicate ourselves to the eradication of racial discrimination from this continent. We can never rest content with our achievements so long as men, in any part of Africa, assert on racial grounds their superiority over the least of our brothers. Racial discrimination constitutes a negation of the spiritual and psychological equality which  we have fought to achieve and a denial of the personality and dignity which we have struggled to establish for ourselves as Africans. Our political and economic liberty will be devoid of meaning for so long as the degrading spectacle of South Africa's apartheid continues to haunt our waking hours and to trouble our sleep. We must redouble our efforts to banish this evil from our land. If we persevere, discrimination will one day vanish from the earth. If we use the means available to us, South Africa's apartheid, just as colonialism, will shortly remain only as a memory. If we pool our resources and use them well, this spectre will be banished forever.

"In this effort, as in so many others, we stand united with our Asian friends and brothers. Africa shares with Asia a common background of colonialism, of exploitation, of discrimination, of oppression. At Bandung, African and Asian States dedicated themselves to the liberation of their two continents from foreign domination and affirmed the right of all nations to develop in their own way, free of any external interference. The Bandung Declaration and the principles enunciated at that Conference remain today valid for us all. We hope that the leaders of India and China, in the spirit of Bandung, will find the way to the peaceful resolution of the dispute between their two countries."

Nuclear Danger

"We must speak, also, of the dangers of the nuclear holocaust which threatens all that we hold dear and precious, including life itself. Forced to live our daily existence with this foreboding and ominous shadow eve rat our side, we cannot lose hope or lapse into despair. The consequences of an uncontrolled nuclear conflict are so dreadful that no sane man can countenance them. There must be an end to testing. A programme of progressive disarmament must be agreed upon. Africa must be freed and shielded, as the denuclearized zone, from the consequences of direct, albeit, involuntary involvement in the nuclear arms race.

"The negotiations at Geneva, where Nigeria, the United Arab Republic and Ethiopia are participating, continue, and painfully and laboriously, progress is being achieved. We cannot know what portion of the limited advances already realized can be attributed to the increasingly important role being played by the non-aligned nations in these discussions, but we can, surely, derive some small measure of satisfaction in even the few tentative steps taken towards ultimate agreement among the nuclear powers. We remain persuaded that in our efforts to scatter the clouds which rim the horizon of our future, success must come, if only because failure is unthinkable. Patience and grim determination are requited, and faith in the guidance of Almighty God."

Collective Security

"We would not close without making mention of the United Nations. We personally, Who have throughout Our lifetime been ever guided and inspired by the principle of collective security, would not now propose measures which depart from or are inconsistent with this ideal or with the declarations of the United Nations Charter. It has withstood the test of time and has proved its inherent value again and again in the past. It would be worse than folly to weaken the one effective world organization which exists today and to which each of us owes so much. It would be sheer recklessness for any of us to detract from this organization which, however imperfect, provides the best bulwark against the incursion of any forces which would deprive us of our hard-won liberty and dignity.

"The African Charter of which we have spoken is wholly consistent with that of the United Nations. The African organization which We envisage is not intended in any way to replace in our national or international life the position which the United Nations has so diligently earned and so rightfully occupies. Rather, the measure which We propose would complement and round out programmes undertaken by the United Nations and its specialized agencies and, hopefully, render both their activities and ours doubly meaningful and effective. What we seek will multiply many times over the contribution which our joint endeavours may make to the assurance of world peace and the promotion of human well-being and understanding."

History's Dictum

" A century hence, when future generations study the pages of history, seeking to follow and fathom the growth and development of the African continent, what will they find of this Conference? Will it be remembered as an occasion on which the leaders of a liberated Africa, acting boldly and with determination, bent events to their will and shaped the future destinies of the African people? Will this meeting be memorialized for its solid achievements, for the intelligence and maturity which marked the decisions taken here? Or will it be recalled for its failure, for the inability of Africa's leaders to transcend local prejudice and individual differences, for the disappointment and disillusionment which followed in its train? 

"The questions give us all pause. The answers are within our power to dictate. The challenges and opportunities which open before us today are greater than those presented at any time in Africa's millennia of history. The risks and the danger which confront us are no less great. The immense responsibilities which history and circumstance have thrust upon us demand balanced and sober reflection. If we succeed in the tasks which lie before us, our names will be remembered and our deeds recalled by those who follow us. If we fail, history will puzzle at our failure and mourn what was lost. We approach the days ahead with the prayer that we who have assembled here may be granted the wisdom, the judgment and the inspiration which will enable us to maintain our faith with peoples and the nations which have entrusted their fate to our hands." 

May 23rd 1963

THE BIBLE
RELIGION
MORALITY
HUMAN RIGHTS
UNITY
GOVERNMENT
LEADERSHIP
EDUCATION
RESPONSIBILITY
PLANNING
WORK
SELF HELP
DEVELOPMENT
LAND POLICY
RESOURCES
AGRICULTURE
FINE ARTS
HEALTH
INTER AFRICA
ETHIOPIA'S POSITION
INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
FATE
LIFE
DEATH
MISCELLANEOUS

His Imperial Majesty
HAILE SELASSIE I
Emperor of Ethiopia, says:

WE IN ETHIOPIA HAVE ONE OF THE OLDEST VERSIONS OF THE BIBLE, but
however old the version may be, in whatever language it might be written, the Word remains
one and the same. It transcends all boundaries of empires and all conceptions of race. It is
eternal.

No doubt you all remember reading in the Acts of the Apostles of how Philip baptised the
Ethiopian official. He is the first Ethiopian on record to have followed Christ, and from that
day onwards the Word of God has continued to grow in the hearts of Ethiopians. And I might
say for myself that from early childhood I was taught to appreciate the Bible and my love for it
increases with the passage of time. All through my troubles I have found it a cause of
infinite comfort.

"Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you
rest" who can resist an invitation so full of compassion?

Because of this personal experience in the goodness of the Bible, I was resolved that all my
countrymen should also share its great blessing and that by reading the Bible they should find
truth for themselves. Therefore, I caused a new translation to be made from our ancient
language into the language which the old and the young understood and spoke.

Today man sees all his hopes and aspirations crumbling before him. He is perplexed and knows
not whither he is drifting. But he must realise that the Bible is his refuge, and the rallying
point for all humanity. In it man will find the solution of his present difficulties and
guidance for his future action, and unless he accepts with clear conscience the Bible and its
great Message, he cannot hope for salvation. For my part I glory in the Bible.

 

RELIGION

We are gratified in particular, to note that the work of this conference has been concerned
purely with religious, spiritual matters free from extraneous political considerations.

This is only fitting and proper, for the church, as a symbol of peace, must follow the path of
peace in all parts of the world. For world peace can only be made abiding by the grace of God,
through the prayers of the Holy Fathers. The truth of this cardinal fact is evident to all
mankind.

Therefore, it has become the noble responsibility of Christians, and peoples of other faiths
and their leaders throughout the world, to pray and to work hard for the preservation of world
peace.

We have always been religious, ever since childhood, ever since the day our father, Ras
Makonnen, taught us the commandment of Our Lord the Creator.

But we don't consider our religion alone valid and have granted the people the freedom to
observe any religion they please.

We believe in the reunification of the churches, which is why we were so happy to meet Pope
Paul VI during our voyage to Italy. We were greatly taken with him, we judged him a man of
superior capacity, especially as regards his intention to work towards church unity.
He received us with great friendliness.

 

MORALITY

ITS BETTER TO GIVE

Wise men have always known the deep and pervading truth that it is better to give than to
receive, for even as it conflicts with selfish and ambitious desires, it moderates and
controls them.

Giving always demands sacrifice. To overcome the temptation to enjoy mere daily comfort, to
press resolutely and patiently forward on the scheduled way, are true tests of the high degree
of determination that should bind you together. Memories of past injustices should not divert
us from the more pressing business at hand.

We must live in peace with our former colonizers, shunning recrimination and bitterness and
fore-swearing the luxury of vengeance and retaliation, lest the acid of hatred erode our souls
and poison our hearts.

Let us act as befits the dignity which we claim for ourselves as Africans, proud of our own
special qualities, distinctions, and abilities. We must speak out on major issues, courageously,
openly and honestly, and in blunt terms of right and wrong.

If we yield to blandishments or threats, if we compromise when no honourable compromise is
possible, our influence will be sadly diminished and our prestige woefully prejudiced and
weakened.

On this day which men of earth and angels of heaven could neither have foreseen nor known, I
give thanks unutterable by the mouth of man to the living God who has enabled me to be present
among you.

Today is the beginning of a new era in the history of Ethiopia.

Since this is so, do not reward evil for evil, do not commit any act of cruelty like those
which the enemy committed against us. Do not allow the enemy any occasion to foul the good
name of Ethiopia.

We shall take his weapons and make him return by the way he came.

We believe in cooperation and collaboration to promote the cause of international security,
the equality of man and the welfare of mankind.

We believe in the peaceful settlement of all disputes without resorting to force.
And in accordance with the charter of O.A.U. we will strive to eradicate colonialism, racism
and apartheid from the face of the earth, to frustrate the efforts being made by foreign powers
to dictate the destiny of the African continent, and we will continue to stand.

 

HUMAN RIGHTS

Colonialism and the policy of racism impose soul searching questions of human rights, weighing
equally on the conscience of all men and nations of good-will. History amply shows that the
freedom enjoyed by the many becomes fragile when the denial, even to the few, of basic human
rights is tolerated.

Our efforts as free men must be to establish new relationships, devoid of any resentment and
hostility, restored to our belief and faith in ourselves as individuals, dealing on a basis of
equality with other equally free people.

We believe in cooperation and collaborration to promote the cause of international security, the
equality of man and the welfare of mankind.

We believe in the peaceful settlement of all disputes without resorting to force.

All well ordered and modern states can only base themselves upon Courts of Justice and Conduct
of Laws which are just, correct and geared towards the protection of the rights of individuals.
Justice is a product of education.

Man's ingratitude to man is often manifested in willingness to relegate human beings to the
scrapheaps of life when they enter the twilight of their careers and younger brains and
stronger arms are found to replace them

 

UNITY

Ethiopia is a nation fully committed to African unity and to the greater guise of world peace
and shall continue to support and strengthen the O.A.U., which was established as an African
instrument for peace and progress.

O.A.U.

The Organization of African Unity, is an organization which the people of our vast continent
have established with a view to performing certain specific tasks.

Briefly speaking, the organization is established for the purpose of protecting in a better
fashion, the independence of African States.

It is also meant to expedite the economic and social progress through cooperation of African
peoples. It also has the important task of assisting in the maintenance of international peace
and security.

We know that unity can be and has been attained among men of the most disparate origins, that
difference of race, of religion, of culture, of tradition, are no insurmountable obstacles to
the coming together of peoples.

We stand today on the stage of world affairs, before the audience of world opinion. We have
come together to assert our role in the direction of world affairs and to discharge our duty
to the great continent whose two hundred and fifty million people we lead. Africa is today at
mid-course, in transition from the Africa of Yesterday to the Africa of Tomorrow. Even as we
stand here, we move from the past into the future The task on which we have embarked, the
making of Africa, will not wait we must act, to shape and mould the future and leave our
imprint on events as they pass into history.

We seek, at this meeting, to determine whither we are going and to chart the course of our
destiny. It is no less important that we know whence we came. An awareness of our past is
essential to the establishment our personality and our identity as Africans.

This world was not crested piecemeal. Africa was born no later and no earlier than any other
geographical area on this globe. Africans, no more and no less than other men, possess all
human attributes, talents and deficiencies, virtues and faults. Thousands of years ago,
civilizations flourished in Africa which suffer not at all by comparison with those of other
continents. In those centuries, Africans were politically free and economically independent.
Their social patterns were their own and their cultures truly indigenous.

The obscurity which enshrouds the centuries which elapsed beteeen those earliest days and the
rediscovery of Africa is being gradually dispersed. What is certain is that during those long
years Africans were born, lived and died. Men on other parts of this earth occupied themselves
with their own concerns and, in their conceit, proclaimed that the world began and ended at
their horizons. All unknown to them, Africa developed in its own pattern, growing in its own
life and, in the Nineteenth Century, finally re-emerged into the world's consciousness.
The events of the past hundred and fifty years require no extended recitation from us. The
period of colonialism into which we were plunged culminated with our continent fettered and
bound; with our once proud and free peoples reduced to humiliation and slavery; with Africans
terrain cross-hatched and checker - boarded by artificial and arbitrary boundaries Many of
us, during those bitter yearn were overwhelmed in battle, and those who escaped conquest did
so at the costs of desperate resistance and bloodshed. Others were sold into bondage as the
price extracted by the colonialists for the 'protection' which they extended and the
possessions of which they disposed. Africa was a physical resource to be exploited and Africans
were chattels to be purchased bodily or, at best, peoples to be reduced to vasselage and
lackeyhood. Africa was the market for the produce of other nations and the source of the raw
materials with which their factories were fed.

Today, Africa has emerged from this dark passage, Our Armageddon is past. Africa has been
reborn as a free continent and Africans have been reborn as free men. The blood that was shed
and the sufferings that were endured are today Africa's advocates for freedom and unity. Those
men who refused to accept the judgement passed upon them by the colonisers, who held
unswervingly through the darkest hours to a vision of an African emancipated from political,
economic and spiritual domination, will be remembered and revered wherever Africans meet.
Many of them never set foot on this continent. Others were born and died here. What we may
utter today can add little to the heroic struggle of those who, by their example, have shown
us how precious are freedom and human dignity and of how little value is life without them.
Their deeds are witten in history.

Africa's victory, although proclaimed, is not yet total, and areas of resistance still remain.
Today, we name as our first great task the final liberating of those Africans still dominated
by foreign exploitation and control. With the goal in sight and uriqualified triumph within
our grasp, let us not now falter or lag or relax. We must make one final supreme effort now,
when the struggle grows weary, when so much has been lost, that the thrilling sense of
achievement has brought us near satiation. Our liberty is meaningless unless all Africans are
free. our brothers in the Rhodesias, in Mozambique, in Angola, in South Africa cry out in
anguish for our support and assistance. We must urge on their behalf their peaceful accession
to independence. We must align and identify ourselves with all aspects of their liberation and
not fail to back our words with action. To them we say, your pleas shall not go unheeded. The
resources of Africa and all freedom-loving nations are marshalled in your service. Be of good
heart, for your deliverance is at hand.

1.
One important lesson that we have learnt from the experience of the last ten years is that we
cannot leave the further progress of African unity to take its own direction at its own pace
without active guidance from us.

The volume of intra-African trade, which at present, accounts for less than ten percent of our
total foreign trade should be progressively increased, so that by the end of the decade trade
among African countries should occupy a significant place in the exports of each of our
countries.

2. African countries should establish progressive targets for reducing tariffs and other trade
barriers among themselves.

3. Our Ministers charged with the responsibility of economic planning should hold regular
consultations so as to harmonise our development policies and plans and to open up potential
avenues for the expansion of intra-African trade.

Through regular consultations, we should undertake to identify the need for and to establish
industries which may cater to our common needs.

This is important, because the scale on which modern industries can become viable today
necessitates that we should create in Africa wide economic bases to support a balanced
economic state.

 

 

GOVERNMENT

When a whole nation accepts and maintains a government in existence, it means that the nation
recognizes that government.

There is always something moving, brewing. There are ambitious people everywhere. Wicked
people.
The only thing to do is to deal with them with courage and decision.
One must beware of uncertainty, weakness or conflicting emotions - they lead to defeat.

It is our opinion that the world has not changed at all. We believe that such changes have
modified nothing. We don't even notice any difference between monarchies and republics: to us,
they appear two substantially similar methods of governing a nation.

Democracy, Republic:
What do these words signify?
What have they changed in the world?
Have men become better, more loyal, kinder?
Are the people happier?
All goes on as before, as always.
Illusions, illusions.

One should consider the interests of a nation before subverting it with words. Democracy is
necessary in some cases and we believe some African peoples might adopt it. But in other cases
it is a handful, a mistake.

We are all adherent, whatever our internal political systems, of the principles of democratic
action. Let us apply these to the unity we seek to create.

Force must be used against force.
We ourselves, by virtue of our descent from the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon, ever since we
accepted in trust, in 1916, first the regency of the Ethiopian realm and later, the Imperial
Dignity, right up to the present, we have set out to the best of our ability, to improve,
gradually, internal administration by introducing into the country western modes of civilization
through which our people may attain a higher level.

In explanation of the notion 'gradually': unless it is through coaxing a child and getting it
accustomed, it will not be pleased if one takes from it what it has seized with its hand. When
one gives such a baby any sort of food, it will not wish to eat it, unless one shows it to the
child and lets it taste it. Unless they give it milk or other soft food until it grows teeth, it
will not be able to eat when they place bread or meat before them.

And similarly with people who have lived by custom only, without learning at school, without
absorbing knowledge by the ear or observing and searching with the eye, it is necessary to
accustom them, through educations to abandon habits by which they have for long been living,
to make them accept new ways. yet not by hasty or cruel methods but by patience and study.
gradually and over a prolonged period.

 

 

Only a system which tolerates dissent can survive

It gives us great pleasure to appear before this distinguished assemblage and we bring you the
fraternal salutations of the Ethiopian people.

The people of Ethiopia and Trinidad and Tobago are joined in a massive and continuous effort to
create for themselves a new and better way of life. They face many of the same problems.

The hopes and aspirations which they share derive from the same essential beliefs in the nature
and destiny of man. It is thus inevitably true that there should exist between those two great
peoples strong and lasting ties of friendship and understanding

Your role as the representatives of the people is a particularly critical one in the councils of
the twentieth century. The manner in which a representative of the people should properly
discharge his responsibilities has long been a matter for learned discussion among philosophers
and political scientists.

The world of the developing nations is creating new problems for the scholars to ponder as
new societies are emerging to deal with the intricate and explosive questions of national and
institutional development.

Is a representative responsible only to a constituency or to the particular group or interest
which has chosen or appointed him? Certainly this responsibility Must be an element in the
thought and action of such a man, but there are higher values and greater interests and
responsibilities than these.

 

 

Obstacles

Sectional, tribal and other divisive factors often pose major obstacles to national
development. In their expanded sense, as narrowly national and ideological interests, they
threaten unity and progress.

No one is today so foolish as to believe thay any one nation constitutes a perfect monolith
of faith and ideology. Nor could anyone wish that there should be such utter vanity of thought
and aspiration.

The systems of Government which have sought to impose uniformity of belief have survived
briefly and then expired, blinded and weakened by obsessive reliance upon their supposed
infallibility. The only system of Government which can survive is one which is prepared to
tolerate dissent and criticism and Which accepts these as useful and in any case, inevitable
aspects of all social and political relations.

The tolerance of dissent and criticism within a Government proceeds from a single essential
premise: that the Government exists to serve the people generally. Government servants, whether
designated as representatives or not, have a trust to work for the general welfare.

The same trust exists among the member states of international organizations. The members of
such organizations must adhere to some tacit or expressed conception of international welfare.

 

 

Common Goals

In the case of the Organization of African Unity, it is an African Unity, it is an African
welfare; in the case of the United Nations Organization, it is world welfare.

In one way or another, the member nation must accept in thought, spirit and action the basic
premise of their institutions that men of all races, beliefs and status share some essential
common goals.

From this premise, no great and easy actions follow as corollaries. The representatives of
peoples and nations can only come together with open and objective minds and willing hearts
to engage in dialogue, without rigid dogmas and slogans and without violence.

Working in this way achieves no instant Utopia. It may, however, enable us to achieve together
what it is possible to achieve and to move forward steadily, if not always in great haste, with
some degree of harmony and mutual understanding.

Domestically, we can build strong and happy and resourceful societies. internationally, we can
force the end of oppression of man by man and nation by nation. We can bring about the security
and mutual trust which will open the way to the greater human achievements for which the needs
of mankind now cry out.

(He concluded:)
Permit me to express my heartfelt gratitude for the reception accorded me by the people and
Government of Trinidad and Tobago.

 

 

LEADERSHIP

Leadership does not mean domination. The world is always well supplied with people who wish to
rule and dominate others.

The true leader is a different sort; he seeks effective activity which has a truly beneficient
purpose. He inspires others to follow in his wake, and holding aloft the torch of wisdom, leads
the way for society to realize its genuinely great aspirations.

The art of leadership is in the ability to make people want to work for you, while they are
really under no obligation to do so. Leaders are people, who raise the standards by which they
judge themselves and by which they are willing to be judged. The goal chosen, the objective
selected, the requirements imposed, are not mainly for their followers alone.
They develop with consumate energy and devotion, their own skill and knowledge in order to
reach the standard they themselves have set.

This whole-hearted acceptance of the demands imposed by even higher standards is the basis of
all human progress. A love of higher quality, we must remember, is essential in a leader.
The true leader is one who realizes by faith that he is an instrument in the hands of God, and
dedicates himself to be a guide and inspirer of the nobler sentiments and aspirations of the
people.

He who would be a leader must pay the price in self-discipline and moral restraints. This
details the correction and improvement of his personal character, the checking of passions and
desires and an exemplary control of one's bodily needs and desires.

To be first in place, one must be first in merit as well.

He who has not learned to render prompt and willing service to others will find it difficult
to win and keep the goodwill and cooperation of his subordinates.
A leader will kindle interest, teach, aid, correct and inspire. Those whom he leads will
cooperate with him in maintaining discipline for the good of the group. He will instruct his
followed in the goals towards which to strive, and create in them a sense of mutual effort
for attaining the goal.

 

 

EDUCATION

A strong nation and a free nation can only base itself upon education.

In order to make life worthwhile it is also necessary to acquire other things that can only
come about after the acquisition of learning. Learning and technical training must be nurtured
by faith in God, reverence for the human soul, and respect for the reasoning mind.

There is no safer anchorage for our learning, our lives and our actions than that provided by
divine teachings coupled with the best in human understanding. The leaders developed here
should
be guided by the fundamental values and the moral power which have for centuries constituted
the essence of our religious teachings.

These are crucial times when nations rise against nations, tensions increase and disaster is
possible at any moment. Distances are shrinking. Peace and life itself are threatened by
misunderstanding and conflict. Now is the time when man's relationship to God must be the
foundation for all his efforts toward enlightenment, and learning the basis for understanding
cooperation and peace.

The existence of a skilled and trained manpower is an absolute necessity for the progress and
development of any country. Therefore, it is the sacred duty and responsibility of students and
parents to see to it that the mistakes of the past are not repeated and that time which should
be devoted to the pursuit of learning is not wasted by students heedlessly, following the
instigation of a few misguided troublemakers who have yet to understand the value and the true
meaning of education.

The salvation of our country Ethiopia, we have repeatedly stated to you, lies primarily in
education. As Ethiopia is one, all Ethiopians are also one and education is the only way to
maintain the condition.

In all countries of the modern world, special competence is required to deal with the
advancement of agriculture, industry, commerce and the civil service. That competence, can be
secured only through the facilities provided in modern universities.

We believe that the universities today stand as the most promising hope for constructive
solutions to the problems that beset the modern world, problems which prevent the peaceful
cooperation of nations and which threaten the world and humanity with death and disaster.

From universities must come men, ideas, knowledge, experience, technical skills and the deep
human understanding vital to fruitful relations among nations. Without these, world order for
which we have so long strived, cannot be established.

A well informed public opinion is essential to the growth of political and social awareness.
Only he who is informed can comment intelligently on his nation's development and only by such
comments can errors be corrected and progress stimulated.

We must draw on what is valuable and meaningful in our history and tradition, merging this
with the best in modern learning.

We expect from you, to whom we have given the opportunity of education in your chosen field
great and productive service to our country.

If women develop in education, they can overcome the natural weakness and serve their country
as men do.

It is our wish to assure the spread of education among all African People as much as among our
own subjects.

A father should bequeath not only wealth but also provide proper education. Education has value
when it is established in individuals of good character with respect to God. We wish that your
destiny shall be embraced in an education firmly based in good character before men and respect
before God.

Any who may wish to profit himself alone from the knowledge given him, rather than serve
others through the knowledge he has gained from learning, is betraying knowledge and rendering
it worthless.

A man's happiness is to make his brother happy, and to serve his country. Thus it is possible
to justify for knowledge its high and deserved place. For knowledge is power. If it is not
applied to its proper purpose, to create, let there be no doubt, it will destroy.

If we have made so many sacrifices for the education of our youth, it is because we are
convinced that only through intellectual progress and education can Ethiopia come into its own
and make it's just contribution to the history of the Middle East.

We believe that from truth alone is born liberty and only an educated people can consider
itself as really free and master of its fate. It is only with an educated people that
representative and democratic organs of government can exercise their influence for national
progress.

 

 

RESPONSIBILITY

It is both the duty and responsibility of the world's fortunate few to help fulfil the
legitimate aspirations of the unfortunate many.

As man's faculty attains higher level of development and sophistication, so do his wants in
life.

As generations come and go, those assuming responsibility for the period do not cease to try
and improve on the past in order to meet newly arising demands. In this respect, it is quite
evident that to march with the time members of the coming generation should build on what their
forefathers have bequeathed to them.

It is because the present generation is cherishing and keeping intact what it has received
from the past that it has succeeded in attaining its present stage of development, by making
the necessary changes and improvements called for by conditions now existing. This would
require great foresight and the-work accomplished as far as regards to this task of great
responsibility is no small matter. It has been fulfilled as a result of God's blessing and His
Divine guidance.

It is both the responsibility of the governor as well as elders to create harmony among the
people in initiating them to discuss their common problems and work towards the problems and
the betterment of their standard of living.

It is the duty of teachers to direct the thought and outlook as well as mould the character of
their students. For this reason, the responsibility of teachers in training student-teachers
aimed at the future progress and development of our country and the proper upbringing of
students, could hardly be underestimated.

In the age in which we are living especially when different philosophies of life are competing
against another, the responsibility of teachers has been even more exacting. Those who will be
serving the people in future should follow this same path in endeavouring to develop their
country and maintain her freedom. This is one of the main responsibilities of teachers.

In this age when man, through his knowledge of science, has created dangerous weapons to
destroy himself the responsibility of the great powers for the maintenance of world peace is
well known to everyone. We believe that the exchange of visits by statesmen to talk over
matters on which their points of view will greatly help remove the misunderstandings and
mistrust prevailing among States.

 

 

PLANNING

Planning is the basis of the rational and sustained use of capital, manpower and time in the
acceleration of economic development.

The history of planning shows that no pioneer plans were ever executed even partially, much
less wholly.

Planning is indispensable for the rational utilization of both a nation's resources and
foreign aid or loans.

As a basis of, and working procedure for, a national socio-economic policy, a plan is a means
whereby a nation can be developed through the rational utilization of manpower and machinery for
the most important aspects of he country's needs.

The execution of any such plan needs, however, national participation. You must ensure that
in your desire to achieve immediate goals, long term considerations of equal or greater
importance are not ignored or irrevocably prejudiced. Plan your time and use both your
physical and mental powers purposefully and productively. Military planning for the security
of this continent must be undertaken in common within a collective framework.

 

 

WORK

Every labourer is a father, his labour is his child. Choose your project carefully and achieve
it worthily.

Once a person has decided upon his life work and is assured that in doing the work for which
he is best endowed and equipped, he is filling a vital need, what he then needs, is faith and
integrity, compiled with courageous spirit so that no longer preferring himself to the
fulfilment of his task, he may address himself to the problems he must solve in order to be
effective.

Rich and poor have always existed and always will.
Why? Because there are those that work and those that don't, those that wish to earn their
living and those that prefer to do nothing.
Those that work, that want to work, are not poor. For it is true that Our Lord the Creator
sends us into the world as equals, but it is also true that when one is born one is neither
rich nor poor. One is naked.
It is later on that one becomes rich or poor, according to one's desserts.

Yes, we too are aware that giving alms serves no useful purpose. For there is only one means
to solve the poverty problem. work.

We have said that whoever doesn't work because he doesn't want to is poor. We have said that
wealth has to be gained through hard work. We have said those who don't work starve. And now
we add that the capacity to earn depends on the individual: Each individual is responsible for
his misfortunes, his fate. It is wrong to expect help to fall from above, as a gift: Wealth has
to be deserved. Work is one of the commandment of Our Lord the Creator!

If each and everyone endeavours to cooperate and work in as much as his capacity permits, our
faith rests upon the Almighty God that he would bless the results for us.

It is not sufficient simply to see and admire the natural beauty and fertility of Ethiopia.

It is our obligation to work upon and benefit from this country whose fertile soil has been
granted us by the Almighty God. We have to gain honour and pride for the country.

Whatever the task may be, man may begin it but he cannot complete it, unless God sustains
and supports him. If he fails to accomplish the task on which he has set out, having worked to
the best of his ability, he is not to be maligned by being called lazy.

 

 

SELF HELP

The people themselves must come to realize their own difficulties in the development of their
community and try to solve them by collective participation following an order of priority and
taking their potentiality into account.

It is well known to you all that recognizing one's problems and striving hard to challenge
them is a mark of an attempt at self-sufficiency. Self help in the benefits to be acquired
through education, will save the individual from asking someone's assistance.

 

 

DEVELOPMENT

Although the beginnings of civilization of each country vary in time, the fundamental factors
which gave impetus to each country to awaken and embark on the road to progress to reach their
present level of development, are those qualities which are enshrined in the nature of man,
namely desire and fortitude.

The partner who places his own short-range ambitions ahead of the long-range interests of the
partnership has embarked on a course which will ultimately result in the dissolution of the
partnership itself.

It is by the understanding of past difficulties that we can bequeath fundamental guidance
which would be of pride to the coming generations we therefore urge our people to struggle and
to make sacrifices for those things which will enable them to ameliorate their conditions of
life and leave a richer heritage.

Economic Development

Where enterprise and initiative are not lacking, the pace at which the growth of a country's
economy normally proceeds can be quickened or slackened by global developments far or near. In
our effort to raise the living Standard of our beloved people, in our endeavour to bring
prosperity to our country, the feeling of cooperation and understanding has always characterized
our people.

A special case is the recent development in certain provinces where the people are seen
voluntarily raising funds to build schools, clinics, roads and similar other projects.
What can give one more pleasure than to see such a measure of self-help in one's life time,
for the prosperity and progress of his own country? Let every citizen of our empire strive
hard to strengthen this espirit de corps everywhere.

We entrust the spirit of good-will to our people to work diligently and cooperatively in order
to arrive at the realization of this socioeconomic development that has been launched by either
our government or our people. You have a rich land that yields a variety of products, do not
be contented with the satisfaction of your bare needs but instead, cultivate your land among
others with oleogenous plants, the seeds of which you can export for your greater benefit. Use
the forest woods to make furniture and implements and exchange them for money. Your
workmanship will be a monument to your name.

One should realize that thriftiness is the basis for the accumulation of wealth and the
economic growth of a nation. One seldom minimizes the value of money earned by the sweat of
the brow however small it may be, but for the extravagant even a huge amount of money is
worthless.

The co-operative movement has long been known throughout the world, and we Ourself have on
numerous occasions urged Our people to join increasingly in cooperative enterprises.

Co-operatives must, ultimately, play a highly important role in the growth of our economy, and
no time can be lost in availing ourselves of the benefits to be derived from therm During the
past year, we decided upon a programme designed to provide specific encouragement to the
creation of agricultural co-operatives, and a number of Government-sponsored co-operatives,
farms have been established by Our Ministry of National Community Development. We have
provided lands, agricultural machinery and expert assistance to these farms and we entertain
high hopes that their success will spur Our people to embark increasingly upon co-operative
endeavours. Should Our people fail to avail themselves of this opportunity, the consequences
will be regrettable indeed.

Community Development

The fundamental purpose of a community development movement is to teach the rural people of
Our Empire that through cooperative self-help and a united approach to common problems, the
vast potential for their own self-improvement which they themselves represent, can be
translated into effective programmes which can do much to
improve their standard of living.

Social Development

Lasting progress can only be built on deep and enduring foundations. When a solid foundation
is laid, if the mason is able and his materials good, a strong house can be built.

To develop oneself, one has to develop one's own initiative and perseverance - a man has to
strive in order to grow. Let us work out our own programmes in all fields - political, economic,
social and military. Man's contributions which live to influence the life and progress of
posterity, are the most permanent monuments that can ever be created. We must become
increasingly willing to analyze our efforts, to experiment, to admit our failures as we take
pride in our successes.

 

 

LAND POLICY

For those of you who possess the land and labour but lack capital, we have made credit
available at low interest. For those of you who have the necessary finance but do not possess
land to work on, we have, in accordance with our 'Proclamation' which entitles every Ethiopian
to ownership of land, established offices in every province through which you may be able to
acquire land. Those who have neither land nor money will be granted land and financial loans
at low interest. For those of you who possess land, who have financial resources and manpower,
we have made experts available to furnish you with the necessary guidance and advice in your
various undertakings.

Land Reform

The essence of land reform is, while fully respecting the principle of private ownership, the
landless people must have the opportunity to possess their own land, that the position of
tenant farmers must be improved, and that the system of taxation applying to land holdings
must be the same for all.

It is our aim that every Ethiopian own his own land, in implementation of this principle. We
have ourselves set the example by ordering that certain lands in Arussi Province heretofore
administered by our Ministry of the Imperial Court be distributed to the tenants working on
them, against payment by each man only of the nominal fees charged for the transfer and the
registration of this property in his own name.

This has been the basic objective of virtually every modern programme of land reform; this
is the ultimate goal of the study now being undertaken by the Committee of Land Reform.

 

 

RESOURCES

The ultimate resource of a nation is its people.
Unless this resource is employed for the benefit of the nation, unless the latent good which
it represents is exploited to the maximum for the common good the nation will languish, poor
in spirit, lacking in achievernent.

But no people can make their full contribution to the life of the nation to which they ovve
allegiance unless they possess and enjoy those few fundamental prerequisites indispensable
to rendering their participation in the affairs of their country both possible and
significant.

The growth of a people is complex and inter-related. Man must be educated; he cannot come to
grips with or cope with or understand the modern world unless he has been taught about it. He
must be assured of a minimum economic security; concern himself with matters going beyond
the day-to-day satisfaction of his physical needs. unless he is fed and clothed and sheltered,
nor can he acquire a sufficient degree of social consciousness to be able to support his
own personal interests to the good of the nation and the development of its society.

Freedom, liberty, the rights of manùthese mean little to the ignorant, the hungry, the
ill-clothed, the badly housed.

It is our desire to see a much larger number of our young people benefitting from the
resources we have our own and have received as aid from abroad, and our young people
graduating in the fields of technology and industrial relation.

It is essential that, however great the sacrifice needed to curb economic stagnation may
be, available resources be as judiciously used as possible on a carefully selected list of
priorities.

 

 

AGRICULTURE

Since Ethiopia's economy is predominantly agricultural, agriculture must play a large role
in the plans which have been drawn up, at our command, for our empire's development.

It is the duty of all to apply the skill of their minds to the factories, the trading centres
and the roads and communications which are also evidence of Ethiopia's prosperity, of
Ethiopia's strength.

During the past year (1958) the abrupt cessation of rainfall during the growing season
caused considerable damage to Ethiopia's crops. This experience has demonstrated that
the rivers of our country should be devoted to irrigation, so that the food needs of our ever
growing population will no longer be left at the mercy of the whims and caprices of the
elements.

The fruits of the farmer's labour must be enjoyed by him whose toil has produced the crop.
The uses of trees are many and varied. Groves of trees protect our fields and plantations
from being desiccated by the desert winds which blow from neighbouring regions During the
summer months, they provide moisture and shade. If trees are not presently planted to replace
those being cut down from time to time, our constant efforts to conserve and develop the
wealth of our country through the welfare of present and future generations will be rendered
ineffective and futile.

We are greatly grieved to observe the many thousands of gashas of rich forest land being
destroyed every year by reckless timber-cutting, thoughtless forest burning, unregulated
forest grazing and other misuses of our forest wealth, due to popular ignorance and desire
for temporary advantage on the part of our people.

The existence or non-existence of forest wealth in a country is one of the most important
factors influencing its development and progress. The increasing pace of deforestation and
the growing dearth of timber in Ethiopia, caused by unregulated tree-cutting and the failure
to replace these by new plantings, give us occasion for anxiety that a severe economic
problem will confront the coming generation. It is essential that steps be taken here and
now to stop this wastage and check this destruction.

In these days when all nations of the world, in recognition of the tremendous importance of
forest wealth, have launched intensive progranmes for forest conservation and re-forestation,
it behoves our county also to take the appropriate measures to solve this problem.

It is our wish and our desire that each and every citizen of our country follow the example
we set on this Arbour Day in planting this tree, and himself plant as many trees as he can,
for his own benefit as well as for the benefit of future generations.

Without agricultural expansion, industrial growth is impossible. Great strides, it is true,
have been made in introducing industries into Ethiopia in recent years. But in any
less-developed agrarian country possessing only limited possibilities for selling the
products of its factories in world export markets, industry can grow only if there exists
an increasingly prosperous rural consumer population. Industrialisation is not an alternative
to the development of agriculture; rather, the development of agriculture is the essential
pre-condition to the growth of industry.

Measures will shortly be proposed to Parliament for action to be taken to preserve, for
the benefit of present and future generations, the nation's forests which are not only
valuable in themselves as a source of wood, but act as nature's guardian against the forces
of erosion, which, unchecked, can transform fertile areas into barren and sterile desert.

 

 

FINE ARTS

A purely materialistic art would be like a tree which is expected to bear fruit without
flowering and to sacrifice grace and beauty for mere utility.

Our admiration for the creator's handiwork should not be limited to those things he has
provided us with for our daily needs, but should include all that is good and beautiful.
It is these tender feelings of deep and silent admiration evoked from our hearts by the
beauties of creation that should find adequate expression in the fine arts.

Music, drama and the other arts are rooted in the ancient history of our empire, and their
development to an even higher peak of perfection will be possible in the atmosphere of a
university. Ethiopia possesses an ancient literature and its study can be fostered here so
thag the Ethiopian youth inspired by this national example, may raise it to yet higher levels
of excellence.

The study of the heroic history of our empire will stimulate the imagination of building
authors and teachers.

 

 

HEALTH

There is nothing as precious to man as a sound mind in a sound body and it is essential that
the physical well being of our people merits as much attention as its spiritual welfare.

 

 

INTER AFRICA

There is absolutely no doubt that Africans will eventually obtain their freedom and
independence in spite of their present difficulties.

The people of African origin have emigrated to all parts of the world, but wherever they may
be, they have similar historical experience and the problems that await them depend on
sympathy and this can be used by all of us as the basis for the establishment of greater
cooperation, which will be for our mutual benefit.

Haile Selassie to Parliament in Jamaica:
The people of Jamaica, by and large, have originated in Africa. This gives us another basis
upon which we can contract a healthy relation because of the fundamental similarity between
us, that will in the long run contribute to a better maintenance of international peace and
security.

The Organization of African Unity is an organization which the people of our vast continent
have established with a view of performing certain specific tasks. Briefly speaking, the
organization is established for the purpose of protecting in a better fashion, the independence
of African States.

It is also meant to expedite the economic and social progress through cooperation of African
peoples. It also has the important task of assisting in the maintenance of initernational peace
and security. And in accordance with the Charter of O.A.U., we eradicate colonialism and
apartheid.

 

 

ETHIOPIA'S WORLD POSITION

Because of her unity and independence, Ethiopia had and still has jealous enemies and
aggressive dissidents.

It is therefore the primary duty of every Ethiopian to safeguard the unity and freedom that
has been fortified since time immemorial by the courage and bravery of our forefathers.
We have to maintain its integrity, to work and benefit from its existence.

Ethiopia is a nation fully committed to African unity and to the greater cause of world peace
and subsequently shall continue to support and strengthen the O.A.U., which was established
as an African instrument for peace and progress.

Ethiopia is, by her own choice, a nonaligned state. Our Policies on the vexatious
international issues of the day have been declared to all, and our adherence to them is
steadfast: the urgent imperative of universal disarmament, the settlement of disputes by
peaceful negotiation, the supremacy of reason and logic over force and irrationality.

We insist that the way to peace among men and nations rests in the even-handed application
and enforcement of the principles of the United Nations and Organization of African Unity:
non-interference in the internal affairs of others, self determination for the remaining
dependent peopies of the world, respect for the territorial integrity of independent states
In the conduct of the international affairs of our nation, we have placed high value upon
personal contacts between peoples and leaders of nations.

Ethiopia is a peace-loving nation. Except for those times when it had to rise up in arms to
fight-off aggression or to advance the cause of collective security; there is not one instance
in history of Ethiopia provoking a conflict by violating territorial integrity or by
interfering in the internal affairs of others, and there will never be any such instance.
However, Ethiopia will never be found wanting in its efforts to strengthen its defence force,
sustained as it is by the traditional valor of its gallant people, to thwart the designs of
those who are bent on violating the freedom and unity of its people and its territorial
integrity.

 

 

INTERNATIONAL POLITICS

In matters of foreign policy we have been ever guided by three basic principles.
First is our deep conviction that, where there is no lack of goodwill, all international
disputes can be resolved through negotiations, without recourse to violence. An inevitable
corollary of this belief is our firm conviction that all nations, whatever their political
persuasions, can live together in peace.

Second is our unswerving devotion to the principle of collective security.

Third, flowing from the principle of collective security, is the necessity, in these anxious
days when the major powers are engaged in a frantic arms race, for all countries which have
accepted this principle and assumed a share of the responsibility for ensuring the peace of
the world, to become ever stronger militarily.

As we have stated time and time again, we are firmly persuaded that the path to guaranteeing
the peace of the world lies in supporting the principle of collective security ard the United
Nations Charter, combined with a progressive reduction of the armaments which are being built
up throughout the world. The billions of dollars which are now wasted on this fruitless effort
could with great benefit, be diverted into the constructive channels of aid for the economic
growth of under-developed countries.

Personal Diplomacy

International friendship can be strenthened and deepened by the personal exchange of ideas
between leaders of nations.

What the economically backward countries are looking forward to, however is the application
of the money now dumped on destructive armament to the solution of economic problems.

The Need for Concerted Action

What is called for at this critical time is for the international community to move from mere
rejection and condemnation to taking action. The international community has many options,
but what has been lacking so far is political will.

The world is only now coming to realize what Ethiopia and Africa have long recognized, that
peace, independence and prosperity of mankind can be achieved and assured only by the
collective and united efforts of free men who are prepared to maintain eternal vigilance and
abour unceasingly to protect these most precious of God's gifts.

 

 

FATE

Whatever the task may be, man may begin it but he cannot complete it, unless God sustains and
supports him. If he fails to accomplish the task on which he has set out, having worked to the
best of his ability, he is not to be maligned by being called lazy.

Man may, at the onset, control the direction which events take, but once his choice is made,
events soon escape his control and history proceeds by its own force and momentum.

 

 

LIFE

What life has taught me on the question of racial discrimination, I like to share with those
who want to learn.

That until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and
permanently discredited and abandoned.
That until there are no longer first class and second class citizens of any nation;
That until the colour of a man's skin is no more significance than the colour of his eyes:
That until the basic human rights are equally guaranteed to all, without regard to race;
That until that day, the dream of lasting peace and world citizenship and the rule of
international morality will remain but a fleeting illusion to be pursued but never attained;
And until the ignoble and unhappy regimes that hold our brothers in Angola, in Mozambique
and in South Africa in sub-human bondage have been toppled and destroyed;
Until bigotry and prejudice and malicious and inhuman self interest have been replaced by
understanding and tolerance and goodwill;
Until all Africans stand and speak as free beings, equal in the eyes of the Almighty;
Until that day, the African continent will not know peace. We Africans will fight, if
necessary, and we know that we shall win, as we are confident in the victory of good over
evil.
It will be self deceiving and a waste of time to advocate dialogue with those who are not
ready to listen, because it is obvious that the freedom of millions is not a commodity subject
to bargaining.

It is a fact that young people have always been impatient. This intemational movement is
therefore not surprising. Such move ments sometimes bring useful ideas into the open, but
very often these ideas turn out to be harmful and contrary to ordinary progress.

This impatience and agitation result in larue part from a rnisunderstanding of realities. We
are convinced that young people must learn to use their heads rather than their fists. They
should be heard, but also guided for the common good.

Young people will be young people. You cannot change the uncouth manners of the youth.
Besides there is nothing new in that: there is never anything new under the sun. They can't
know it because they lack experience, they lack wisdom. Examine the past: you'll see that
the disobedience of the young has occurred all through history. The young don't know what
they want.

Life is like the theatre - One mustn't try to understand it all at once and immediately. It is
no longer amusing.

There are good men and wicked. The former should be made use of and the latter punished,
without attempting to understand why the ones are good and the others wicked. We demand
too much of men to be able to respect them ...

That which man dreams of and to Which he aspires, unless fulfilled in his own lifetime, can
produce no actual satisfaction to him. It will be self deceiving and a waste of time to
advocate dialogue with those who are not ready to listen, because it is obvious that the
freedom of millions is not a commodity subject to bargaining. It is better to die free than
to live as slaves.

 

 

DEATH

Now, however, it has become your fate to obey the order of the great and merciful Lord, a
lot that befalls each and everyone of us in our turn.

As it were, after you had accomplished what was within your bounds, you have slept, but
although you depart from us physically, yow works and your name will always remain among
us.

On the death of Prince Makonnen:

Mortality is man's inevitable course. We must patiently accept God's resolution in giving us
Makonnen, the one whom he gave us to be the ornament of our life, and recalling him.
Death changes everything, sweeps everything away. Even mistakes.

 

 

MISCELLANEOUS

Throughout history it has been the inaction of those who could have acted, the indifference of
those who should have known better, the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most,
that has made it possible for evil to triumph.

 

The glorious pages of human history have been written only in those moments when men have
been able to act in concert to prevent impending tragedies. By the actions you take you can
also illuminate the pages of history.

 

When you make man rich in the honours of this world and appoint him above other creatures,
that it be known that It is not for his merit but only through your benevolence and generosity,

 

Since no creature created in Your image and to Your pattern gives up hope that everything he
begs of You will be done for him until the day You sever his soul from his body, we beseech
You that Ethiopia should not remain with her freedom extinct and prostrate under an alien
ruler, so that the mouth of her people be silenced for fear of a foreign governor, but rather,
that You will save them by Your deeds of kindness lest they remain with their hearts
oppressed through being deprived of their own Ethiopian ruler who was leading them towards
civilization under a light yoke and with gladness

 

O Lord, abode of exiles, light of the blind, truth and justice are Your thrones. Receive us
who have been exiled for our freedom's sake, who have had to leave our country on account of
violent assault, In praying to You thus, it is not for our righteousness but for Your great
mercies.

 

Technical and scientific advances have combined to raise mankind to a level of material
achievement never before realized.

 

A house built on granite and strong foundations, not even the onslaught of pouring rain,
gushing torrents and strong winds will be able to pull down. Some people have written the
story of my life representing as truth what in fact derives from ignorance, error or envy;
but they cannot shake the truth from its place, even if they attempt to make others believe it.

 

Sports being the symbol of fraternity and team work there can be no doubt of its utility or
of the sound virtues which it develops.

 

Unemployment is harmful - it harms and damages the unemployed himself, his nation and his
country. Employers should strive to create more jobs. Workers should attend to their work with
diligence and vigour. These twin attributes are the cornerstones for progress.

 

I know of the love which the Jamaican people entertain for the people of Ethiopia and the
welcome which you have given me this day is evidence of it.
I know that the Jamaican people were very sympathetic when Ethiopia was occupied during the
fascist regime. During that time, Jamaicans as well as others who had African blood supported
the Ethiopian Liberation Movement.
And now that we are free we must assume the responsibility to work for the greater unity of all
peoples of African origin.

It is quite true that a country can achieve material progress alone. However, we know from the
experiences of the past that internaltional cooperation tends to quicken the pace for progress of
individual countries.

This is again another area for us to think about and see in what way we can further expand the
relations of the people of Jamaica and Ethiopia.

From another fundamental point of view, this is precisely why the O.A.U. has been
established. It is because the African continent, which comprises more than 250 million people,
if it were to remain divided among more than 30 states, their individual voices would not carry
weight. It is precisely why, since there is an identity of interest, we have attempted to include
Jamaica.

Also, so that we can carry this weight in the councils of nations, and also through the
process of cooperation and expanded economic relations we might be in a position to quicken
the pace of development of the individual member countries of the O A U.