ADDRESSES THE BELGRADE CONFERENCE
…..
We are meeting at a critical juncture in history. Even within the confines of
these walls, the rattling of the sabres of the mighty powers clashes in our
ears.
We
deem it a privilege to be here today in Belgrade as the guest of Our old and
good friend, Marshal Josep Broz Tito, and to address this Conference which is
meeting in this, the capital city of Yugoslavia. To all who hear Our words, and
to all whom they represent, We extend Our greetings and those of the people of
Ethiopia.
We
would also extend Our thanks to Marshal Tito for acting as host at this
Conference and to the Government and people of Yugoslavia for the warm welcome
which has been accorded Us here, a welcome which We have come to know to be
characteristic of the friendly and generous Yugoslav nation.
We
are particularly gratified at being able to speak to this Conference, called to
provide a forum wherein nations sharing common attitudes and facing common
difficulties may exchange views on some of the urgent problems which confront
the peoples of the world today, because among those gathered here are many
great world leaders, men whom We are privileged to call friends and whom We and
the peoples of the world hold in highest esteem. Their presence in this hall
augurs well for the success of our labours. We regret only that representatives
of other nations which We believe share views similar to ours are not also
numbered among those present here.
Critical Juncture In History
We
are meeting at a critical juncture in history. Even within the confines of
these walls, the rattling of the sabres of the mighty powers clashes in our
ears. The dark and ominous clouds of world conflict loom threateningly on the
horizon. Both great power groups, while disclaiming any intention of initiating
aggression, have dwelt, in public utterances, upon their retaliatory might,
upon their power to destroy and devastate and annihilate, upon their ability to
wage a war in which tens and hundreds of millions would be the victims, in
which, indeed, some of us fear that man himself might be exterminated.
These are grim days indeed, and we must
call upon a high degree of courage to face each new dawn and the dangers and
decisions it brings. But at the same time, we should not be cast into despair
or deterred from attacking, with zeal and energy, the problems which we have
met to consider. Rather, and perhaps for the first time, let us undertake a
realistic and critical reappraisal of our role in history and thus achieve a
complete understanding of the full extent of our involvement in present-day
world events. We, personally, welcome this opportunity to demonstrate the
influence which the Non-Aligned Nations can bring to bear upon global problems
and the full extent of the contribution which We can make to their solution.
World’s Major Challenges
The major challenges confronting the world
today are two: the preservation of peace and the betterment of the living
conditions of that half of the world which is poor. These are, of course,
mutually interdependent. Without peace, it is futile to talk of improving man’s
lot; and without such improvement, the task of guaranteeing peace is rendered
many-fold more difficult. The assault on these two problems must be made
simultaneously, and all of our actions should be taken with an eye to the
solution of both.
The
nations which are represented here today have answered an invitation to attend
a Conference of Non-Aligned States. We may usefully ask, as an essential first
step in working out our own terms of reference and in shaping a common approach
to the problems we have met to consider, what we mean by the term
“non-aligned.”
We may say that no nation here feels
itself so wholly within the sphere of influence of either of these two great
groups that it cannot act independently of them and contrary to them whenever
it so chooses and the interests of world peace so dictate. We mean, in sum,
that we are all, in the ultimate sense, neutral in the cold war which rages
unabated in the world today.
Neutrality
By the word “neutral” We do not, of
course, mean that abstention from political activity which has been for so long
the hallmark of a Switzerland. We can no more refrain from political activity
in the year 1961 than man today can voluntarily refrain from partaking of the
radioactive fall-out which will be bestowed upon him should a nuclear holocaust
erupt on this globe. Nor does neutrality mean that without taking sides, we
content ourselves with urging that the powers most intimately concerned
negotiate in good faith to the solution of the issues in dispute between them;
we have passed the point where prayerful pleading serves any purpose other than
to debase those who thereby abdicate any responsibility or power to influence
events.
To
be neutral is to be impartial, impartial to judge actions and policies objectively,
as we see them either contributing to or detracting from the resolution of the
world’s problems, the preservation of peace and the improvement of the general
level of man’s living conditions. Thus, we may find ourselves now opposing, now
supporting, now voting with, now voting against, first the East, next the West.
It is the worth of the policies themselves, and not their source or sponsor,
which determines the position of one who is truly neutral.
This, We maintain, is the essence of
non-alignment. Those who would righteously denounce one side on every major
problem or issue while reserving nothing but praise for the other cannot claim
to be non-aligned, nor can those whose policies are shaped for them elsewhere
and who wait patiently to be instructed whether they are to be for or against
be called uncommitted.
Friendly Relations
We in Ethiopia feel that we have achieved
increasing success in incorporating this concept into our international
relations. We have for many years carried on friendly relations with Western
and Eastern nations. We have received economic aid and technical assistance
from both West and East without in any way compromising our independence in
passing judgment on issues which have arisen between the two. We have never
engaged in unjustifiable attacks on either side, but at the same time, we have
never hesitated to be critical of either when we have felt their policies
demanded or deserved criticisms.
Only
this definition of non-alignment or, if we like, of neutrality, will serve in
the modern world if we intend honestly to bring our influence to bear on
present-day problems. It is in the implementation of this concept that we, the
Non-Aligned Nations, have our role to play, a role which, unless we compromise
it, can contribute immeasurably to the twin causes of world justice and the
betterment of mankind. If we raise our voices against injustice, wherever it be
found, if we demand a stop to aggression wherever it occurs and under whatever
guise and brand the aggressor is such, and if we do so on a wholly impartial
basis, we can serve as the collective conscience of the world. On the other
hand, we will quickly and surely sacrifice this privileged position if we
reveal ourselves to be biased on one side or the other from the outset, if we
listen with only one ear to only one side, and act in defiance of the principle
of impartiality.
We Are Not A Power Bloc
For the fact is, and while the fact is
hard it must be accepted if our deliberations and decisions are to bear the
stamp of sincerity and reality, even the total combined weight of all of the
uncommitted nations of the world here today, plus those which are not attending
this Conference, cannot, in terms of pure power, be compared to the Western and
Eastern powers. To cite but one example, the population of a single nation,
India, represented in our midst by a great and noble statesman and Our good
friend, Jawaharlal Pandit Nehru, exceeds the total population of all of the
rest of the states present here. Analysed with an eye to military strength or
to present day wealth, we must recognize that the uncommitted nations cannot
qualify as a power bloc and that our strength resides not in military might or
in economic wealth, but rather, in the cumulative moral influence which we can
bring to bear on the peoples and the problems of the world.
We
should not, however, under-estimate the extent of this strength, and
realistically appraising its worth, we must seek ways of exploiting it for the
good of mankind. In the struggle which we witness in the world today, two
groups compete for our support and our adherence to their policies. The leaders
and peoples of these two groups are both highly sensitive to our reactions to
their policies, and the potential impact of an aroused public opinion upon them
has, We believe, a far greater significance than we have heretofore realized.
Each side is fearful for its cause and will reap satisfaction or dismay, as the
case may be, from the judgments which we pass upon their actions. If we remain
faithful to the principles of Bandung and apply them in our international life,
we will maximize the influence which we can bring to bear on world problems.
Moral Element
But, in the exercise of this strength we
must guard against the temptation to seek to aggrandize our position by acting
and voting as a group simply for the sake of group action. For when we descend
into the political arena as a recognized and organized and disciplined unit,
our moral influence and our power to rally and shape opinion on questions of
world import which is otherwise our greatest strength is compromised and
dissipated. Bloc action implies, within the group, the exertion of pressures
upon recalcitrant members, the compromise of positions, the sacrifice of
principle for political expediency, the trading of votes for votes and
adherence to the rule of the quid pro quo. All of these are inconsistent with
the real source of our power: the moral element in the conduct of human
affairs. How often have we all, at the United Nations, witnessed the sorry
spectacle of nations voting against their will, against their own self-interest
at times, as part of a bloc. And how have we applauded the occasions when
members of a group, in defiance, of the policies and wishes of the group’s
leaders, have voted in accordance with principle and right as they saw it.
We
should be aware, too, that in relinquishing the role which we may play, if we
will, in insisting upon the devotion to principle which is the antithesis of
pure power politics, we play the game of those whom we seek to influence. When
no one upholds the cause of right and justice for their own sake, when the
small, still voice of conscience speaks no longer, immorality and lack of
principle have triumphed, and in this history all of mankind is the loser.
Role Of The UN
This leads Us into the next matter of
which We would like to speak to you: the supreme importance which we, and
particularly the smaller nations among us, must continue to attach to the role
played by the United Nations in the field of international relations. The
United Nations, in the first instance, provides the forum wherein we, who claim
the freedom and the position to speak frankly and openly against injustice,
against desertion of principle, against the intimidation, the oppression, the
subjugation of the weak by the powerful, can make our voices heard. We must be
ever vigilant to assure that such an institution is preserved to us. The year
1960 has been called the Year of Africa – and rightly so. We would ask our
fellow Africans to assess in their own minds the significance of the role which
the very existence of the United Nations played in the liberation of the
millions of Africans who in the past few years have cast off the yoke of
subjugation. This is not to say that the United Nations is directly responsible
for the coming of age of Africa. We do assert, however, that without the medium
provided by the United Nations, wherein the African struggle for freedom could
be brought before the conscience of the world, the forces of colonialism would
remain far more firmly entrenched on the African continent than they do today.
Equally
important, the United Nations provides the instrumentality whereby the
principle of Collective Security, to which We personally have devoted Our
lifetime, achieves real and tangible existence and meaning. If force must be
employed in the world today in resistance to aggression and in the maintenance
of world peace, surely it is preferable that it be employed through an
institution such as the United Nations, in pursuance of international decisions
legally and openly arrived at there. Ethiopia has not hesitated to respond in
the past with all the resources at her disposal to the call of the United
Nations in times of crisis, and we shall not hesitate to do so again should the
call be made.
Who Gains From The UN?
Let us not delude ourselves, it is not the
great powers that need or benefit from the existence of the United Nations. It
is the small powers, which depend on and require and demand that it live. It is
we who have the most to gain through the successful achievement of its goals,
it is we who have the most to lose should it one day be relegated to a tidy
niche in history, a niche already occupied by the League of Nations. We have
had sad occasions to observe in the not too distant past that the great powers
are capable of injustice and of abuse of power. We are all too well aware, as
recent events and utterances should convince any but the most sceptical and
disbelieving, that the great powers, while prepared to use the United Nations
when it suits their convenience, have been equally willing to ignore and
by-pass it and act independently of it when their interests so dictated.
Unilateral action outside the United Nations is, however, a luxury denied to
the poorer and weaker nations.
But,
in the face of world opinion, massed in support of right and justice, We
venture to suggest that even the great nations, powerful as they are, will
hesitate to breach the peace and violate fundamental rights of mankind and of
nations, in defiance of the United Nations, and thus face universal
condemnation. This is our hope, our only hope, and it is our obligation to insure
that the full weight of our influence is solidly ranged on the side of right
and justice in this forum.
UN’s Enemy - Our Enemy
In our appraisal of the United Nations, of
its structure and the field of action proper and appropriate to it, we must
recognize the historically demonstrated fact that a wilful and deliberate
violation by any member state of its obligations under the United Nations
Charter weakens the United Nation’s prestige and threatens its destruction. Let
us speak frankly; he who acts deliberately and with calculation to the injury
of the United Nations, to weaken it or to endanger its existence as an
effective and energetic international institution, is the enemy of all of us.
He robs the world of the last, best hope for peace, robs the small nations of
that bulwark which the United Nations provides against oppression and he
deprives them of the forum where their voice may be raised against injustice
and oppression. It is, perhaps, no accident that the United Nations
headquarters resembles a structure of glass. It is a fragile, not an
indestructible, institution.
At the same time, we need not delude
ourselves, that the performance of the United Nations has been, at all times
and on all questions, that which we might have wished. The United Nations is
man-conceived and man-run, and hence, by its nature and by the nature of man,
imperfect. We must be constantly alert to improve and perfect its machinery, to
minimize the risk that in time of crisis it will fail us, to assure that its
decisions are founded on principle and not on bias and prejudice.
The
most obvious defect which We observe in the United Nations today derives from
the fact that this Organization, in 1961, remains the self-same entity which
was created sixteen years ago at San Francisco. Its membership has more than
doubled from 46 to 99 nations, but its structure remains the same, and no
measures have been taken to assure that adequate representation in its
constituent organs is guaranteed to the peoples who have, since 1945, taken
their places in this world body. We must not and we shall not be denied this
right – for this is a right and not a privilege. The increased participation of
the Non-Aligned Nations in the day-to-day activities of the United Nations is
the best safeguard against the arbitrary abuse of its powers and functions by
and for the benefit of a single group, and such a development would enhance
immeasurably its effectiveness as a bulwark against aggression and a guarantor
of the peace.
We must, too, observe that the United
Nations can scarcely fulfil the role envisaged for it by its founders so long
as hundreds of millions of people remain unrepresented there. We refer now not
merely to those whose independence is yet to be attained but, as well, to those
states, primary among which is the People’s Republic of China, which have thus
far been excluded from a seat in its councils. We can hardly speak with true
sincerity of a universal meeting place or of an organization whose decisions
will be binding upon the world community of nations when states which we, the
Non-Aligned Countries, would wish to influence are not present to hear our
words or to feel the weight of our opinions. We urge both the proponents and
the opponents of the admission of such states to seek an acceptable formula
whereby those to whom We refer may soon be counted among the members of the
Organization.
The Future
In
dealing with present problems, which at the moment appear so overwhelming, let
us, at the same time, do so with a clear eye to the future. Let us be
far-seeing in our actions. There is no area to which this rule does not apply,
and We would seek to apply it specifically, at this moment, to the problem of
colonialism.
We have spoken of the part played by the
United Nations in contributing to the decline of the system of colonialism.
Although herself never colonialized, Ethiopia, like all Asian and African states,
has a lively and vivid appreciation of the vices of this system. Ethiopia was
arbitrarily included within the sphere of influence of a colonial empire when
the map of Africa was carved up by treaty at the end of the 19th Century, and
Our country’s invasion in 1935 was but the last act in a prolonged struggle to
impose upon Ethiopians this most ignoble of human conditions of servitude. No
nation in Africa, we Ethiopians proudly boast, can be said to have more
consistently and more fiercely fought against the shackles of colonialism.
It is clear to Us that colonialism,
defined in the classic sense, is forever finished, both in Africa and in Asia.
Its last remaining vestiges are being systematically attacked and destroyed.
The major powers, not entirely voluntarily and not without the exertion of
continuing pressure – for History knows of few instances where colonial powers
have, of their own free will, relinquished control of a dependent people – have
admitted that the system is out of date, and have acted to change it.
At
the same time that we applaud the serpent of colonialism in breathing its last,
and while we strain our every effort to speed its unlamented demise, we must
look beyond it to the problems which remain, several of which, indeed, are
created or at least intensified by the disappearance of colonialism from the
world scene. We must recognize and deal with the attempts being made from all
quarters to perpetrate colonial exploitation under new forms and to introduce
into our continents a new system no less inimical to freedom and liberty.
Independence means more than the granting of national flags and anthems, and
without real and effective freedom in the economic and political spheres,
liberty becomes a mere catch-phrase, devoid of content. But in our haste to
escape from one system of bondage, we need not, all blindly, embrace another no
less oppressive and burdensome to the free spirit of man.
Complete Responsibility For Africans
In the task which remains of exterminating
the last remnants of colonialism, We maintain that we need no longer search for
or call upon foreign assistance. Speaking now only for Africa, We firmly assert
that free Africans are now fully able and competent themselves to assume
complete responsibility for ensuring the ultimate expulsion from this continent
of the last colonial elements. We go further: We claim, for Africa, the power
and the ability to deal, without foreign interference, with such problems as may
arise on this continent in the future, save for those few instances where
Africans themselves may decide that the aid and assistance of the United
Nations is required.
For above all else, we must ensure that
the cold war shall not be imported into the African continent. African soil,
for so long the battleground in the struggle of the African peoples for
freedom, must not and shall not now be transformed into a field of hostilities
in the cold war. Such a development could nullify the conflict from which
Africa is only now emerging victorious, and obstruct and impede the solution of
the problems which decades and centuries of colonialism have strewn in their
wake.
We
here are all dedicated to the betterment of the conditions of man’s life; we
all know the sorrows and misery of those who do not live but merely exist, the
lot of men whose living conditions are sub-standard. But when We speak of the
betterment of man’s life, We mean not merely the economic improvement of living
standards; We refer, in addition, to the spiritual conditions in which man
lives, for just as a man without means to feed his hunger and to clothe his
nakedness can take no pride in his existence as a human being, so, also is one
who is reviled and discriminated against because of his race or religion,
robbed of his self-respect and human dignity.
Racial Discrimination
The spectre of racial discrimination which
has for so long cast its dark and evil shadow over much of this globe is slowly
disappearing. Men are coming increasingly to be judged by their talents and
abilities rather than by the less meaningful and far more superficial standards
of race and religion. But there yet remain those who, in their bigotry and
ignorance, resist this flooding tide, and it is against these that our efforts
must be directed. The struggle to win for our brothers in South Africa that
status as free men, free to stand, heads high, among free men as equals, which
so many millions of Africans and Asians have attained but yesterday, goes on.
Our duty is not discharged, our course is not run, our victory not won so long
as apartheid, the legitimized policy of the Government of the Union of South
Africa, prevails in any area of the world.
In
South Africa, an attempt has been made to legislate the inequality of the
races. This attempt is doomed to failure. We here are all pledged not to pause
in this strife until its emptiness and mockery are revealed for all to see and
those who have used it for their own purposes have abjured this doctrine which
is an insult to all men and to Almighty God in Whose image we are created. But,
at the same time, let us not bemuse ourselves with the notion that it is any
more possible to legislate equality, for these matters concern attitudes and
values over which intellect sadly exercises but little control. Let us not
recoil in hatred against those who, even while protecting their freedom from
bias and prejudice, reveal by their actions that the poison of discrimiation
has left its lasting effects, and by this reaction reveal that we, no less than
they, are prey to unreasoning emotion, that we, no less than they, are
susceptible to that virus which is called intolerance.
Apartheid Must Be Discredited
The African states have already imposed
direct sanctions in the economic and diplomatic fields in an attempt to
influence the policies of South Africa and to convince the South African
leaders that it is in no sense in their interest longer to adhere to this policy.
We should, during this Conference, consider if there are not additional
measures which we may adopt to speed the inevitable day when the policy of
racial discrimination and the principle of apartheid are discredited and
abandoned.
But let us take pride in the fact that as
free men we attack and abhor racial discrimination on principle, where-ever it
is found and in whatever guise. We can, in addition to the economic pressures
of which we dispose, bring our moral weight to bear and rally world opinion to
our cause by revealing the brutality, the inhumanity, the inherent viciousness
and evil represented by this policy.
It is only natural for man to strive
towards a better life, to wish to educate his children while he himself was
uneducated, to desire to shelter and clothe them while he himself was naked and
scourged by the elements, to strive to spare them from the cruel diseases by
which he himself was ravaged. But when these ends are realized at the expense
of others, at the cost of their degradation and poverty, these desires, which
are not intrinsically immoral or pernicious in themselves, must be frustrated,
and the means by which these otherwise legitimate ends are sought to be
attained must be scorned and shunned.
We
ourselves, the Non-Aligned Nations of the world, seek no less than others these
same objectives. And it is not by mere chance that we also count among our
number the great majority of the underdeveloped nations of the world, for not
until the direction and determination of man’s fate is firmly within his own
grasp can he devote the totality of his strength to his own good.
Financial Assistance
In order to speed our economic
development, most of us require extensive external financial assistance. We
need not be ashamed of this fact, particularly when the poverty and ignorance
from which our peoples suffer have been perpetuated through the deliberate and
long-standing policies of others. It is surely in the interest of those who
look to the uncommitted world to swing the balance between West and East that
we be economically strong and free of crippling bonds which would limit our
freedom of choice. Only if the Non-Aligned Nations have a real opportunity of
choice can their adherence to and support of their policies be of value; a
choice dictated by others or imposed by outside influence is a meaningless
choice.
We believe that on this score the
conscience of the world has been awakened, and that the vast majority of men
today recognize the truth of what we say. There are those, however, who raise
their voices in alarm, warning us that this assistance is designed only to
impose upon us another but equally insidious form of subjugation. With this We
do not agree. We believe that it is possible for all of us to receive
assistance from diverse sources without compromising that independence and
impartiality which We have already declared should be the hallmark of the
nations represented here.
Aid Programmes
Nonetheless,
this fear exists, and when it is coupled with the fear that two assistance
programmes carried on within the same area by competing power groupings will
ultimately result in the importation into our countries of the very cold war
from which we seek to disengage ourselves, a powerful and compelling argument
for multilateral rather than bilateral assistance is made. Happily, there
already exists, in the United Nations, the effective means for the channelling
and administration of massive aid programmes free of these attendant dangers.
Considerable progress has already been made in this realm, and we all have
cause to be heartened by the ever-increasing role which the United Nations is
playing in this field, a role which is financed by the contributions of those
who, recognizing the validity of our fears, are prepared to accept this
technique as a means of meeting them at no sacrifice to the advancement and
enlightenment of the underdeveloped peoples. In enlarging the scope of the
United Nations operations in the field of economic development, we also
strengthen its position and heighten its stature as an international force for
the preservation of peace.
It
is one of the tragedies of our day that while half of the world’s population is
wracked by a never-satisfied hunger and remains poverty-stricken,
disease-ridden and ignorant, vast amounts are spent by great powers on
armaments, money which, if diverted to satisfying the basic human needs of the
poorer people of the world, could transform their lives and restore to them
their human dignity, their happiness in the present and their confidence and
faith in the future. No nation is possessed of limitless riches, and each
heightening of world tensions and the forced expenditure which calls forth
greater military strength on the part of those to whom we look for aid, serves
to lessen the sums available to fight misery, and the great nations cannot,
even if they would, enlist their full support in this battle.
The
Cold War
And yet, while we await hopefully that
measure of assistance which, coupled with our own resources, could assure the
ultimate triumph of the under-developed peoples over their poverty, the rich
and powerful boast of the size of their military arms and the might of their
forces. The one claims that it will spend the other into bankruptcy and
collapse – a most worthy and noble objective. We must recognize that the cold
war poses not only a military danger; the cold war robs the under-developed
nations of their hopes for a happier and more prosperous future. Much emphasis
has been laid on the risks to man’s life on this planet which a world arms race
carries with it, and too little recognition has been given to side-effects and
indirect consequences of astronomical military spending. Disarmament must be
achieved not only because in this fashion will the threat of a world holocaust
be dispelled, but, equally because only through a drastic reduction in the
military budgets of the great powers can the vast resources required to raise
all of mankind to the level of free men be freed for these purposes.
The agenda which has been placed before us
at this Conference is ambitious in the extreme. In effect, we are to pass
judgment, in one way or another, on virtually every question of significance
which confronts the world today. This is as it should be; once having taken our
places as responsible, intelligent members in the international family of
nations, we cannot shirk our consequent duties.
This agenda raises both questions of principle and questions involving
the application of accepted principles to specific problem areas. Both types of
questions pose equally great difficulties, and there are no easy answers to the
problems before us.
Right Of Peoples
We
may cite one example arising out of the very language of the Charter of the
United Nations. We are to discuss, during this Conference, the right of
peoples and nations to self-determination, a right which is an issue in various
regions of the world today. We are also called upon to reaffirm our respect for
the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states and the principle of
non-interference and non-intervention in their internal affairs, principles
which have demonstrated their essential worth and validity in the field of
international relations many times over and to which we believe all here are
wholly dedicated.
We
deign to suggest that there is some inconsistency, some internal contradiction
between these principles when closely linked together, whereas considered
separately and apart, none would deny them at least lip service. Can a Government
which overtly or covertly supports the violation of the territorial integrity
of another state justify its actions on the ground that it seeks only to
implement the principle of self-determination for all or a portion of the
people of that nation? We think not. To contend contrariwise is to adopt the
thesis of Adolf Hitler, who contended, in support of the action of the Third
Reich in incorporating Austria into Germany, that “It is obvious that an idea
embracing the entire German people and arising from its depths cannot be
stopped at the frontiers of a country.”
Peaceful Co-existence
Similarly,
when we consider the topic of peaceful co-existence among states with different
political and social systems, we must guard against careless use of terms or language
which, for different people, have different meanings. Peaceful co-existence is
not merely the absence of war.
It embraces non-interference and
non-intervention in the domestic affairs of others, refraining from propaganda
activities calculated to create disharmony among states short of war or among
peoples of the same nation, the cessation of subversive activities designed to
ferment civil disorder and revolution in other nations, and the like. The word
itself is an empty bottle – it is for us to give it content and meaning.
In considering the specific problems
before us, We find hardly more cause for optimism or for hopes of easy and
early solutions. But, to revert to a theme earlier sounded, that upon which
Ethiopia’s foreign policy is founded, it is to the United Nations that we must
look for the final decisions concerning these crisis areas. Let us consider
Algeria, where thousands have died in seeking those rights which we assembled
in this hall enjoy as our most precious possessions. This problem, of
fundamental importance for the security of the world, has already figured on
the agenda of several sessions of the General Assembly of the United Nations,
and in a few days it will again be the subject of discussion there. We remain
hopeful that bilateral negotiations between France and the representatives of
the F.L.N., here among us, will terminate in success; meanwhile, we cannot
abdicate our obligations to bring our concerted weight to bear to this same
end, in that forum which is particularly calculated to maximize our influence
in the speedy resolution of this and similar problems. We pledge our ceaseless
efforts to the achievement of the independence of the Algerian people, and we
await impatiently the day when Algeria will take her rightful place as a free
state in the community of nations.
Angola And Bizerta
Angola
poses a particular problem for us Africans who would now take into our own
hands the determination of our own fate and the shaping of our own future.
Again, We are confident that within the four walls of the United Nations,
Africans will secure the means whereby the people of Angola will be enabled to
stand among us as free people, and the Angola problem will be expunged from the
list of items which vex the conscience of the nations of the world.
The entire world has been saddened and
disheartened by the recent bloodshed at Bizerta, where gallant Tunisians died
in seeking only to regain for their nation those last few acres of Tunisian
soil still dedicated to the maintenance of military bases. We sorrow that
peaceful discussion failed to lead to a peaceful evacuation of this base. While
reaffirming the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the nation of Tunisia
over Bizerta, We urge those most intimately concerned to spare no efforts that
the further spilling of blood may be avoided, and We particularly urge that the
resolution adopted by the emergency session of the United Nations General
Assembly last week be speedily implemented.
On the continent of Africa, we have
witnessed, during the past years, the sad spectacle of Africans ranged against
Africans in a struggle not of their own making, in which only Africans will be
the losers. Here, again, peace has largely been preserved through the efforts
of the United Nations. Ethiopia has contributed to the full extent of her
resources to these endeavours to resolve this problem through peaceful
discussions, and Ethiopian soldiers serve in the Congo in ensuring the United
Nations presence there. We may all take encouragement in the considerable
improvement which recent developments have introduced into the situation there.
Conflict Reigns
As our gaze travels over the map of the world, we find no quarter wholly
free from problems which threaten the preservation of the peace. In Laos, a
conflict had raged which, even though localized, carries with it far wider
implications. We urge that the fourteen-nation conference which is even now
meeting in Geneva to settle this question reach a speedy decision which will
restore to this nation the serenity and tranquillity which it had earlier
enjoyed.
Also in Southeast Asia, we find the problem involving the people of West
Irian. Ethiopia has in the past supported the position of Indonesia on this
question before the United Nations and will continue to do so.
When we speak of urgent problems, when we look to those regions most
likely to emit the spark whereby the conflagration of a general war threatening
the destruction of us all may be ignited, Our gaze is inexorably drawn to
Berlin, an unhappy city, a city split in twain, a city divided against itself
and isolated from the rest of the German people by barriers far more compelling
and restraining than mere barbed wire or steel barricades. Among the many lamps
signalling danger to peace, that of Berlin glows most desperately, as if it
would frantically attract thereby the attention of all men devoted to the cause
of peace.
The Berlin Question
Where are we, the Non-Aligned States, to turn in seeking the solution to
Berlin? The Four Powers have this far proved themselves either unable, or
incapable, or both, of arriving at an answer. But this problem concerns us all;
can we long allow it to be the sole responsibility, the monopoly, of these
four? Ethiopia supports the concept of a unified Germany. Ethiopia supports the
principle of free access to West Berlin. But if this is not enough, there is
left to us only to ask, rather, to demand, that this question be brought before
the United Nations for resolution by it.
And so, again, We come to the United Nations. Is it inconsistent with
Our own life or the principles by which We have guided Our nation throughout
Our lifetime that We should do so? Surely, a nation as ill and cruelly served
as was Ethiopia twenty-five years ago before the League of Nations, another
tribunal which claimed to act, as a single body, in the protection of the peace
and the preservation of the interests of its smallest and weakest member,
should have profited by its error long since.
No, for us, for the small, the weak, the underdeveloped, there is
nowhere else to go. If we turn to one or another of the major power groups, we
risk engorgement, that gradual process of assimilation which destroys identity
and personality. We must, by force of circumstances, look to the United
Nations, however imperfect, however deficient, to preserve the peace and to
lend us its support in our endeavours to secure a better life for our peoples,
and we must concentrate our efforts, little or great, to the achievement of its
stated ends, for only thus can we secure our free and continued existence.
Incapable Of Despair
This is not a counsel of despair. Our own life has demonstrated that We
are incapable of despair. Men will die in defence of principle; men will
sacrifice their all rather than compromise themselves and renounce that which
distinguishes them from the beasts – their moral faculty. If this force in men
can but be awakened and focused on the problems of each day, we shall, God
willing, survive each day to the dawn of each tomorrow, and in this survival
guarantee to our children and our children’s children a life-time of peace and
security, under justice and right, and under God.
Sept. 3, 1961.
Selected
Speeches of His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie – page 166 –
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