KAGNEW BATTALION AND
COLLECTIVE SECURITY
Soldiers,
You are today on the point of leaving
Ethiopia on a voyage half way around the world in defence of liberty and of the
principles to which all members of the United Nations stand committed.
We have personally come here in the
presence of the highest officials of the nation which is honouring you today
and of representatives of other nations participating in this momentous
undertaking to bid you a fond farewell and Godspeed on your mission and to give
to you Regimental Colours. These flags you will carry in valour throughout the
campaign. You will, We are sure, bring them back to Your Emperor and Commander-in-Chief,
to whom you have sworn allegiance, as cherished battle standards, glorified by
your exploits and heroism.
You have been called upon to
represent amongst the armed forces of many friendly nations engaged in the same
high endeavour, the heritage of a people that, for untold centuries, has
fiercely fought to defend its freedom and independence. Everyone among you
has known sacrifices in recent years. In the dark hours when We and Our People
were called upon to fight, We did not fail in Our fierce resolve, and today,
thanks to that determination, Ethiopia has again resumed her rightful place
amongst the United Nations. We have all earned the right to be proud of that
heritage of struggle.
We must recognize, then, that every
nation that fights, as we have done, for the defence and maintenance of its
independence has the right to expect the honour and indeed the assistance of
all freedom-loving peoples. You are departing on a long crusade in defence of
that very principle for which we have so long fought – freedom and respect for
the freedom of others. With such traditions and after such sacrifices, Ethiopia
would be the very first nation to recognize the imperative urgency of the call
of duty towards a sister nation.
It is in yet a larger sense,
Soldiers, that you are today leaving the homeland to fight on distant shores.
You are fighting not only for freedom as We know it in Ethiopia, and the right
of each people to its freedom. You are also representing and defending in far
corners of the earth, the most sacred principle of modern international policy
– that principle of collective security with which the name of Ethiopia is
imperishably associated.
It is but natural that small nations
who must so vigilantly defend their independence, should regard collective
security as the cornerstone of their very existence. Their support of that
principle should be instant, unhesitating and absolute. No small state, no
democratic nation, no people imbued with charity towards its fellow men, could
do otherwise.
Of all nations of the world, the name
of Ethiopia has been most closely associated with that principle. Our undaunted
defence of collective security at the League of Nations, Our own appeal to that
august body, Our fierce and un-aided struggles throughout the darkest hours
preceding the last World War, the courage of our patriots, the unending
sacrifices of Our families, have given to Ethiopia an imperishable place in the
history of that principle in modern times.
Did not
Hesitate
This is why, as Sovereign Head of
Ethiopia and as Commander-in-Chief of the Ethiopian Armed Forces, We did not
hesitate immediately to respond to the appeal for collective assistance
launched by the United Nations following the aggression in Korea.
From the first, it was evident that
much time, effort and expense would be required to provide for your
participation in the combined front of the United Nations forces in Korea.
Foreseeing those inevitable difficulties, Ethiopia did not hesitate to provide
instant assistance before even Our military forces could be brought into the
battle. That is why, not only did We promise military assistance, but also
immediately transmitted funds to the United Nations to help in the collective
effort.
Thus it is that you are now departing
to take your honoured place beside the valiant soldiers of other United
Nations, those of the United States, Britain, France, the Netherlands, Belgium,
Greece, Turkey and others.
At
this proud moment of participation in the first collective and world-wide
effort for the defence of the principle of collective security, Ethiopia and
Ourselves can look back with pride, on the progress achieved, progress to which
Ethiopia has so heavily contributed in recent years. Precisely fifteen years
ago this very month, We, Your Emperor, and Commander-in-Chief, addressed from
the battlefield a pressing appeal to the League of Nations for the respect and
application of the principle of collective security. It was not a question then
as now, even to hope for the application of measures of military sanction. So
new then was that principle that Ethiopia could only hope for the most basic
economic sanctions to restrict aggression, and urgent measures to bring to an
end the use of asphyxiating gas. However, it was also in that same month,
fifteen years ago today, that the Council of the League of Nations finally
declared its inability to meet these essential requirements of collective
security. Undaunted by this failure, Ethiopia under Our leadership and with the
courage of its patriots continued the struggle until that glorious day when, at
the head of Our troops and with the aid of British Empire heroes, We re-entered
Our Capital.
Korea
Receives
Today, it is no longer a question of
asking for simple economic sanctions. Korea asks the United Nations and
receives from it collective security in the form of military assistance.
In joining today in these measures of
collective security, We are being faithful to Ourselves and to the obligation
which We conceive to be the most high and solemn duty not alone of the present
hour, but of the present century. Collective security knows no bounds or
distances. In participating in the measures of collective security in the Far
East, We are only fulfilling Our obligations towards the United Nations. Just
as previously, by the sending of financial assistance, We had manifested Our
sympathy towards the valiant people of China so sorely tried by natural
disasters, so today, We deplore the new hardships which that people has been
called upon to suffer as a result of the events in the Far East. Let us hope
that peace and tranquillity may soon be re-established there.
You have been fortunate, Soldiers, in
that each one of you has been selected thus to testify before the world to the
flame of liberty and of devotion to the cause of international justice which
has fired the breasts of Our patriots.
You are following the footsteps of
the long line of your forefathers in proclaiming before the world the right of
each nation, determined by its own efforts to save its independence and
freedom, to receive as collective security assistance of all peace-loving
nations. Ethiopia could do no less today and still remain faithful to her
traditions and to the sacrifices which We have an undergone.
Soldiers,
the spirit of your ancestors, heroes of the thousand-year-long struggle for the
defence of Our freedom will follow you and will strengthen your hands and
hearts in the heat of battle.
Remember that you are about to pay a
debt of honour for your homeland which was liberated thanks not only to the
blood of her patriots, but also to that of faithful allies, likewise members of
the United Nations. Remember also that in paying this debt, you are laying the
basis for a universal system of collective security on behalf of your own
homeland as well as of nations of the world, be they great or small, powerful
or weak.
May God protect you, give you courage
to acquit yourselves as heroes and bring you back safely to your beloved
homeland.
Apr. 14,
1951
Selected Speeches of His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie – page 593 –
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| HIM playing bowling at the Kagnew Station, Asamara, Ethiopia |
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