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Haile Selassie I - Life and Works

JOINT COMMUNIQUE of HIM and J.F.KENNEDY – October 1963

JOINT COMMUNIQUE BY THE PRESIDENT AND HIS IMPERIAL MAJESTY HAILE SELASSIE I, EMPEROR OF ETHIOPIA FOLLOWING DISCUSSIONS HELD IN WASHINGTON, D.C. ON OCTOBER 1-2, 1963.

“During the course of the State Visit of His Imperial Majesty, Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia, October 1 and 2, 1963, the Emperor and President John F. Kennedy discussed important aspects of world peace and economic progress, as well as African problems and aspirations in these vital areas. The two leaders expressed their satisfaction at the friendship which has for so long existed between Ethiopia and the United States, and reaffirmed their desire to continue closer cooperation and collaboration in fields of mutual interest.

Against the backdrop of the emergence of 28 new nations in Africa since the visit of the Emperor to the United States in 1954, the two leaders discussed current problems of the Continent. They reiterated their belief in the right of the still dependent territories to freedom and independence, and expressed the fervent hope that the final steps in the transition to freedom in Africa can be taken and implemented within the framework provided by the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity.

Noting the historical dedication of the Emperor to the principle of collective security, the President expressed particular appreciation of the significant contribution of Ethiopia to the establishment of unity and peace in the Congo. The Emperor and the President reaffirmed their faith in the United Nations, and deplored any action which would tend to weaken the Organization or the principles embodied in the Charter. The Emperor and the President also endorsed the principle of the Charter of the Organization of African Unity which called for ‘respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of each state and for its inalienable right to independent existence.’

The President assured the Emperor of the continuance of the interest of the United States in Ethiopia’s economic development and security. In separate discussions, officials of the two governments discussed various aspects of Ethiopia’s Five Year Plan and considered possible methods of financing the accomplishments of its programs. The United States agreed to examine Ethiopian requests for United States assistance for economic development projects and to give careful consideration to assistance in the financing of agreed projects by means of long-term loans.

The Emperor extended an invitation to the President to visit Ethiopia. The President indicated his appreciation and expressed his desire to arrange such a visit as soon as his schedule permitted.”

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Haile Selassie I - Testimonies

Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of the U.S. President F.D.Roosevelt – 1954

New York – Friday, May 29 1954

“This country is happy to be visited by the courageous Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie, and to entertain him as an honored guest.

Older people will remember his passionate plea to the League of Nations for the protection of his country against the invading Italian forces in 1935. And it will also be remembered that Ethiopia sent its contingent of soldiers to Korea. The Ethiopians were among the finest groups of soldiers who visited the United Nations General Assembly in Paris in 1951 to be congratulated by that body for their services in Korea.

In my short address to them at that time, I quoted from a speech made to them by Emperor Haile Selassie when they left for the front. It was one of the finest statements I had read of the purpose for which the U.N. was fighting in Korea, and it held high standards up for these soldiers to live by.

I hope those who greet the Emperor here will remember the fine record of his soldiers in Korea, when they fought side by side with our own men.

Ethiopia is largely a Christian country, with religious traditions going back to the earliest days of Christianity. Our citizens will be anxious to learn more of conditions in the Emperor’s country and of the ways in which our two countries can cooperate for the improvement of world conditions.”

Hyde Park – Tuesday 2nd June 1954

“On Sunday morning we had the pleasure of having the Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia visit us here at Hyde Park. He laid a wreath on my husband’s grave, then paid a short visit to the home and the Memorial Library. He was much interested in my husband’s variety of interests, looked at the model ships and went through the stacks where papers and books are kept.

He reached my cottage just at 1 o’clock, when the recording of his appearanee on the television program, “Youth Wants to Know,” was shown. The young people had asked him many questions and he had answered them willingly and cordially. Naturally, he wanted to see and hear the recording as it was going out over the country, so for half an hour we watched television.

Since his schedule required him to be in New York City by 4:30, he had to leave here between 2:15 and 2:30. You can imagine that a buffet lunch served to 40 persons in three-quarters of an hour is rather hurried! But I think several people had a chance to talk to the Emperor while he ate; and I had a few minutes of conversation with him quietly before he left. (…)

I found the Emperor a most delightful person. His son is very unassuming and charming, and so is his granddaughter. In fact, I have rarely had a more enjoyable official party here. Though they were hurried, they behaved as though everything was just the way they wished it to be, and I hope they will carry away pleasant memories of their short time with us.”

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Haile Selassie I - Testimonies

U.S. President L.B. Johnson – 1967

White House, Washington, U.S.A.
February 14, 1967
Your Imperial Majesty, Mr. Vice President, Mr. Chief Justice, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen:
It is a high privilege tonight to honor one of this century’s most courageous, farsighted, and respected statesmen, who has earned an indelible place in the hearts of men everywhere.
Monarch of the oldest Christian kingdom and an ancient civilization, you, Your Majesty, personify to us the eternal spirit of devotion to freedom and independence of your Ethiopian people.
The essence of the Ethiopian character was put in your stirring words many years ago: “With God’s help, we have always stood proud and free upon our native mountains.”
It is difficult for me to express to you tonight the very special place that you occupy in our tradition.
Indeed, in the tradition of all mankind.
Many of us in this room tonight recall the night of June 28, 1936, when the Emperor of Ethiopia made a plea to the League of Nations.
A plea for his suffering people which was also a very moving appeal to the conscience of humanity.
Your Majesty’s final question to the League has echoed down the years with prophetic impact:
“I ask the 52 nations who have given the Ethiopian people a promise to help them in their resistance to the aggressor, what are they willing to do for Ethiopia?
“And the great powers who have .promised the guarantee of collective security to small states on whom weighs the threat that they may one day suffer the fate of Ethiopia, I ask, what measures do you intend to take?
“Representatives of the world, I have come to Geneva to discharge in your midst the most painful of the duties of the head of a state.
“What reply shall I have to take back to my people?”
We all know–to. our shame–the reply Your Majesty received.
The betrayal of Ethiopia was in truth the turning point on the road to aggression and war.
Its lesson has been etched into our memory and has spurred us in building a world where solid commitments to resist oppression are no longer just scraps of paper.
Your Majesty, we also recall with great pleasure your triumphant return to Addis Ababa. And your remarkable reconstruction of your nation as you put into action your long-held and long-frustrated ideals of modernization:
–building schools, a fine university, hospitals, dams, airports, factories;
–turning Addis Ababa into a dynamic, beautiful, modern city;
–proclaiming a revised constitution and legal system;
–training young Ethiopians for the tasks of the future in the 20th century. Your Majesty has not confined your concern just to your people.
We have all witnessed and can testify to with admiration your striking performance as a leader of Africa’s many and diverse peoples–and as a mediator in potentially explosive confrontations between various African states.
The Organization of African Unity-which your initiative in 1963 was instrumental in creating–is one of the most hopeful institutions in the movement towards peace, reason, and unity in the great Continent of Africa.
It has always been a unique privilege and pleasure for me to have an opportunity to exchange views on international affairs with one whom I consider to be one of the world’s greatest eider statesmen.
Today, as in 1963 when we last talked, we had an immediate sense of the great mutual understanding and respect that our people entertain for each other.
Your Majesty, we treasure deeply this relationship. It is my genuine and most earnest hope that succeeding generations of our peoples will continue to reinforce the solid edifice of American-Ethiopian amity and understanding.
On this happy occasion, here tonight in the first house of this land, Mrs. Johnson and I, on behalf of our distinguished guests, all of those who are privileged to come here and be together tonight, and certainly on behalf of all of the American people, propose a toast to Your Majesty–respected statesman, peacemaker in the world, and most honored and trusted friend.
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I&I Rasta

No Nuclear War

INTEVIEWER: “Why did you write the song “No Nuclear War?”

TOSH: “The situation the world is in. The world is being held ransom by what they call two superpowers. Seen? Russia and the United States. And as defender of the universe, I don’t hope to or intend to sit down and play dumb. I am a spokesman for the Almighty. When I speak, it’s just a warning, ’cause He will not speak. He will take planes out of the air like the one that happened last night and they don’t know what caused it. And lots of tornadoes and disasters that guys cannot investigate. So, because of the disaster and destruction that lies ahead in my Father’s kingdom and work that has to be done, it is my duty to let them know, irrespective of how destructive they think they are, they are not as destructive as the Almighty.”

Ancient Ras Peter Tosh, Interview with Christ Boyle 1987.

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Haile Selassie I - Testimonies

U.S. President Harry Truman (1945-1953) – Message to His Majesty