UN
COMMITTEE ON INDEPENDENCE
FOR
COLONIAL COUNTRIES
On
behalf of Ourselves, Our Government and the Ethiopian people, We are pleased to
welcome once more distinguished members of the United Nations Special Committee
on the situation with regard to the implementation of the Declaration on the
Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples.
The
importance of this Committee cannot be over-emphasized. Its intrinsic value
lies in its attempt to foster the achievement by the U.N. of one of the
fundamental human rights, which is to lead peoples and countries still under
colonial yoke to freedom and independence. We are all cognizant of the fact
that the struggle for freedom must and will always end in victory. Freedom
being the aim of this Committee it shall be achieved. There is no question as
to whether freedom should be attained, but rather how best it should be
reached. Thus, the main concern of this Committee becomes to suggest ways and
means to achieve this end as best as it could.
It
is in its choice of means that the Committee encounters monumental problems. We
are conscious that there are opposing forces at work: on the one hand the
forces which unceasingly search for freedom, and on the other, the forces of
oppression which attempt to deter freedom. A typical example of such conflict of
forces is the unlawful Government in Southern Rhodesia. Except for such
proponents of injustice like South Africa and Portugal, all freedom loving
states have condemned this racist and minority Government. We trust that
majority rule will take over in Zimbabwe. But how and when? It is here that the
Committee has to apply itself and suggest means. Since the measures that have
been tried to force down the illegal Government seem to be ineffective, this
Committee will have to consider other methods, methods that we can perhaps
adopt in concert. No matter how hard the choice may be, We are confident that
the members of this Committee will fulfil the noble task entrusted to them.
We
know that as long as there are men who believe that one race is superior to the
other and that they can lead the destinies of other men by any means, there
shall be no peace. As long as there is going to be groundless irredentism and
interference in other states’ internal affairs, there is still not going to be
peace. It is only by adhering to the principles set out in the Charters of the
United Nations and the Organization of African Unity that we can achieve our
aims, and that our unity will grow stronger. On Our part, We assure you that We
will never tire in our endeavours to free our brethren who are still under the
yoke of colonialism.
We
are aware that the job you are charged with is not easy, but We hope and pray
that God will guide you during your deliberations.
July 7, 1966.
Selected Speeches of His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie
– page 283 –
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