“In accordance with tradition, the emperor made his last will and testament before going to war. If he should die in battle, Haile Selassie instructed that the empress and his children should be taken to the British embassy, where they would seek asylum. The senior commanders and officers were to regroup in an unoccupied part of Ethiopia and choose a leader from among their number, who would assume overall command. The intention was that they should then continue their brave struggle. If Ethiopia should lose her independence, patriotic forces in the country should start a guerrilla war against the occupiers and do everything they could to ensure that the nation regained its sovereignty as quickly as possible. The whole world should be informed about the country’s fate and the crime of the Italian war of aggression. Haile Selassie’s will was entrusted to Etshege Basileos, the senior abbot of the monastery of Debre Libanos, for safe keeping.”
(Taken from “King of Kings”, Asfa-Wossen Asserate, Haus Publishing, 2015 p. 116)
