His Imperial Majesty's Statement given
to
the Ethiopian Observer for the special
issue
dedicated to the Conference of
Independent
African States of April 15, 1958, in Accra:
"The convening of the Conference of
Independent
African States in Ghana, where
responsible statesmen
representing free governments are
gathering to consider
together common problems, is a great and
momentous
event. As an integral part of the
African Continent,
Ethiopia looks back with pride to the
role which she has
played in the history of the development
of Africa and
looks forward with confidence to the
future of this great
continent.
In her long and glorious history,
Ethiopia, has time
and again, had to struggle against
overwhelming odds to
preserve intact her traditional freedom
and independence
and to guarantee from generation to
generation the right
of free men to work out their own
destiny without
interference or hindrance. The world is
only now coming
to realize what Ethiopia and Africa have
long recognized,
that peace, independence and the
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 labour
unceasingly to
protect these most precious of God's
gifts. The sympathy
and support which Ethiopia received from
other
African peoples when she was invaded
twenty-three
short years ago is ample testimony of
the strong
sentiments which unite all free African
countries.
In our own life time the world has undergone
changes
more sweeping and striking than those
seen during any
similar period in history. Technical and
scientific
advances have combined to raise mankind
to a level of
material
achievement never before realized. It is the
duty and responsibility of the
Independent African
States to further this development and
to bring the benefits
of modern civilization to increasingly
large numbers
of people in Africa.
However, as man's capacity to improve
his own
lot has grown, so has his power to
spread havoc and
destruction correspondingly increased.
The independent
African States must assure that the
growing weight
of Africa is enlisted on the side of
peace and justice to the
end of avoiding a third holocaust which
could well engulf
the entire world and result in the total
destruction of
mankind.
But dwarfing even man's material
achievements in
the twentieth century has been the
emergence of peoples
all over the world into freedom and
independence.
Today, for the first time, men everywhere to
whom
freedom and independence were, but a
short time ago,
only words, and for whom economic and
political self determination
were no more than far-distant goals,
have
achieved the status of free men and are
directing their
efforts and energies to their own
advancement. We are
particularly gratified and proud that
this development
has been so marked and widespread on the
great continent
of Africa. Africa will no longer be the
“Unknown
Continent", for its human and
material resources are
beyond measure, and this great continent
now stands on
the verge of an economic, political and
cultural development
which, when realized, will be without parallel in
history.
In this development, Ethiopia will have
its own
particular, and We feel, important role
to play. It is for
this reason that We have charged Our
beloved Son
Prince Sahle Selassie with the high
mission to be Our
personal representative and the head of
the Ethiopian
Delegation to the
Conference of Independent African
States. Ethiopia knows how hard-won is
independence
and how vital it is that men be jealous
of
their freedom and be ever prepared to
defend it. Ethiopia
knows, as her history has taught her,
that the world
is small, and that cooperation among all nations
of the
world, East and West alike, is not only
possible and
desirable, but indispensable for the
welfare of mankind,
Ethiopia knows that the willingness of
the independent
States of Africa to co-operate and work
together in
solving their common problems and
achieving their
common goals is essential to the continued
progress of
the African peoples.
It is a propitious omen for the future
that at this
very moment the free nations of Africa
are giving tangible
evidence of their determination to work
together not
only for their own good but for the good
of Africa
and the entire world. The task is great.
It demands
wise judgment and statesmanship of the
highest order.
It requires unceasing labour, a
dedication to fundamental
principles and objectives and a
determination to
overcome all obstacles, however large.
He who suffers,
conquers, and in the final resort, wins
the crown of
victory. We pray that Almighty God will
bless the Conference
with strength and wisdom and crown their
efforts
with success."
Speeches delivered by His Imperial Majesty Haile
Selassie Ist Emperor of Ethiopia on various occasions - page 49 - &
Selected Speeches of His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie – page 189 –
 |
| HIM QHS at the Eastern African Heads of State Conference, Kampala, Uganda, 1967 |
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