| Ba Beta Kristiyan Haile Selassie I |
| Haile Selassie I |
| click Ethiopian Flag to return to Selected Speeches |
| click Ethiopian Flag to return to Selected Speeches |
| Home | Haile Selassie I | The Church | Rastalogy | Organization | Church Store | Events | Related Links | Contact Us |
| Copyright © 2003-2004 The Church of Haile Selassie I, Inc. ~ All rights reserved. |
| Selected Speeches |
| The Church of Haile Selassie I, Inc. |
| The Church of Haile Selassie I, Inc. |
| Ba Beta Kristiyan Haile Selassie I |
| Report To The Nation Nov. 21, 1964 |
| Selected Speeches |
.... Seven weeks ago, We left Ethiopia to travel to Sudan, the United States
of America, Canada, Guinea, Mali, Morocco, Algeria, France, Tunisia,
Yugoslavia and the United Arab Republic. Past visits to friendly nations
have persuaded Us of the value of the personal contacts between leaders
which such occasions afford, and Our most recent travels have only
reconfirmed Us in this belief. At every hand, We were met with that
warmth and friendship which is the best testimony of the regard and
respect in which Our nation is uniformly held by those whom we call
friends. Each one of Us shares in the success which attended the talks
We held with the leaders of these nations, for We spoke always on behalf
of the nation which We lead and the people who have been such an
unfailing source of strength and support in the discharge of the arduous
responsibilities which have fallen to Our lot.
In the United States of America, We found continued appreciation and
sympathy for the efforts which Our Government and people are making to
speed the development of Ethiopia, and We came away reassured by Our
talks with President Kennedy that the United States would continue to
extend generous support to these labours in the form of concrete projects
contributing still further to Our nations's economic and social health. In
New York, We had occasion to address the General Assembly of the
United Nations Organization, an occasion which recalled the most painful
days of Our life but which also brought to mind the loyalty and
steadfastness of the great Ethiopian people through whose efforts Ethiopia
is today a free and independent state. We left the United Nations
Headquarters reconfirmed in Our belief that this Organization, as We
stated to the General Assembly, represents the best, and perhaps the last,
hope for peace in the modern world.
of America, Canada, Guinea, Mali, Morocco, Algeria, France, Tunisia,
Yugoslavia and the United Arab Republic. Past visits to friendly nations
have persuaded Us of the value of the personal contacts between leaders
which such occasions afford, and Our most recent travels have only
reconfirmed Us in this belief. At every hand, We were met with that
warmth and friendship which is the best testimony of the regard and
respect in which Our nation is uniformly held by those whom we call
friends. Each one of Us shares in the success which attended the talks
We held with the leaders of these nations, for We spoke always on behalf
of the nation which We lead and the people who have been such an
unfailing source of strength and support in the discharge of the arduous
responsibilities which have fallen to Our lot.
In the United States of America, We found continued appreciation and
sympathy for the efforts which Our Government and people are making to
speed the development of Ethiopia, and We came away reassured by Our
talks with President Kennedy that the United States would continue to
extend generous support to these labours in the form of concrete projects
contributing still further to Our nations's economic and social health. In
New York, We had occasion to address the General Assembly of the
United Nations Organization, an occasion which recalled the most painful
days of Our life but which also brought to mind the loyalty and
steadfastness of the great Ethiopian people through whose efforts Ethiopia
is today a free and independent state. We left the United Nations
Headquarters reconfirmed in Our belief that this Organization, as We
stated to the General Assembly, represents the best, and perhaps the last,
hope for peace in the modern world.
| Africa Visits |
| Haile Selassie the First - November 21, 1964 |
On Our visits to sister African states, We met and talked with Our good
friends, President Sekou Toure in Guinea, President Modibo Keita in Mali,
King Hassan II in Morocco, President Ahmed Ben Bella in Algeria and
President Habib Bourguiba in Tunisia. During these conversations, We
were repeatedly struct by the oneness of purpose demonstrated whenever
the issue of the future of Africa came under consideration. In every
African nation We found a uniform determination to translate the decisions
of Addis Ababa into milestones along the path to the creation of a single
and united Africa, and a readiness to make whatever sacrifices this effort
might require. This is indeed a good augury for the future and for the
hopes of the African peoples that the goals which all Africans seek may be
brought to full realization within the lifetime of the present generation.
In other nations We exchanged views with respected statesmen whose
nations have long enjoyed friendly relations with Ethiopia -- with El Ferik
Ibrahim Abboud in Sudan, with Prime Minister Lester Pearson in Canada,
with General de Gaulle in France, with Marshal Tito in Yugoslavia, with
President Gamel Abdul Nasser in the United Arab Republic. The results of
Our talks will be of benefit not only to Ethiopia, but to all men of goodwill.
Ethiopia has, throughout the past year, continued to adhere to the
traditional policies to which We have on numerous occasions declared Our
nation's devoted respect for the rights of others, non-interference in the
internal affairs of states, respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty
of nations, the peaceful settlement of disputes, support of the principle of
collective security as the best protection against aggression and the best
guardian of the peace. These policies We apply uniformly, whether to a
neighbour state with which We share common frontiers or to a nation
halfway round the world. To live in peace and friendship with all men
today, it is only necessary that these principles find the universal
observance which We have so long urged.....
.... Since this day last year, Ethiopia has taken special pleasure in
welcoming to the ranks of independent states the nations of Kenya,
Malawi, Zambia and Zanzibar. Our relations with these new nations
whose independence We long and ardently advocated and supported, are
already characterized by that sympathy and that spirit of brotherhood
which constitute a common bond among all Africans, whether already free
or still struggling to attain this happy state. It is this same spirit which has
carried Africa forward in triumph on the crest of the wave in pursuit of
the ideal of African unity, and it remains unflagging today, as We prepare
for yet more vigorous efforts in the battle to win through to this cherished
objective.
Desirous of cementing the bonds of friendship and mutual
comprehension which already unite Ethiopia with her near-neighbours,
We travelled during the past year to Kenya, Uganda and the United
Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, where We met and talked with
the leaders of these states and came to know at first hand the noble
peoples of these sister African nations. In each of these countries, We
encountered the same devotion to high principle, the same
determination to labour unceasingly for the cause of peace and the
betterment of the way of life of all men, the same opposition to the
evils of continued colonial domination of Our still dependent fellow
Africans and of South Africa's inhuman policy of apartheid, which are
today the hall-mark of wise and responsible statemanship. Our visits
have brought Ethiopia even closer to her East African neighbours, and
we may take real satisfaction in the strong and enduring ties of
friendship which link Us together.
Only two months ago We undertook a considerable journey from
which We only recently returned. In Iran, which We first visited, We
were received by His Majesty the Shah, and in that nation We found a
striking similarity in the problems which are facing both of Our
countries today. In Eastern Europe, We visited Poland, Hungary,
Rumania and Bulgaria. Everywhere We were warmly greeted, and the
tributes which We received We consider as a mark of respect and
friendship for the entire Ethiopian nation. In each of these states, We
enjoyed frank and cordial exchanges of views on pressing world
problems with their leaders, and everywhere We found and an eager
willingness to explore all possible means of increasing contacts with
Ethiopia, particularly in the area of economic co-operation. In the
near future, delegations from these friendly countries will travel to
Ethiopia to discuss the implementation in detail of the agreements in
principle reached for expanded collaboration in the economic and
technical fields....
friends, President Sekou Toure in Guinea, President Modibo Keita in Mali,
King Hassan II in Morocco, President Ahmed Ben Bella in Algeria and
President Habib Bourguiba in Tunisia. During these conversations, We
were repeatedly struct by the oneness of purpose demonstrated whenever
the issue of the future of Africa came under consideration. In every
African nation We found a uniform determination to translate the decisions
of Addis Ababa into milestones along the path to the creation of a single
and united Africa, and a readiness to make whatever sacrifices this effort
might require. This is indeed a good augury for the future and for the
hopes of the African peoples that the goals which all Africans seek may be
brought to full realization within the lifetime of the present generation.
In other nations We exchanged views with respected statesmen whose
nations have long enjoyed friendly relations with Ethiopia -- with El Ferik
Ibrahim Abboud in Sudan, with Prime Minister Lester Pearson in Canada,
with General de Gaulle in France, with Marshal Tito in Yugoslavia, with
President Gamel Abdul Nasser in the United Arab Republic. The results of
Our talks will be of benefit not only to Ethiopia, but to all men of goodwill.
Ethiopia has, throughout the past year, continued to adhere to the
traditional policies to which We have on numerous occasions declared Our
nation's devoted respect for the rights of others, non-interference in the
internal affairs of states, respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty
of nations, the peaceful settlement of disputes, support of the principle of
collective security as the best protection against aggression and the best
guardian of the peace. These policies We apply uniformly, whether to a
neighbour state with which We share common frontiers or to a nation
halfway round the world. To live in peace and friendship with all men
today, it is only necessary that these principles find the universal
observance which We have so long urged.....
.... Since this day last year, Ethiopia has taken special pleasure in
welcoming to the ranks of independent states the nations of Kenya,
Malawi, Zambia and Zanzibar. Our relations with these new nations
whose independence We long and ardently advocated and supported, are
already characterized by that sympathy and that spirit of brotherhood
which constitute a common bond among all Africans, whether already free
or still struggling to attain this happy state. It is this same spirit which has
carried Africa forward in triumph on the crest of the wave in pursuit of
the ideal of African unity, and it remains unflagging today, as We prepare
for yet more vigorous efforts in the battle to win through to this cherished
objective.
Desirous of cementing the bonds of friendship and mutual
comprehension which already unite Ethiopia with her near-neighbours,
We travelled during the past year to Kenya, Uganda and the United
Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, where We met and talked with
the leaders of these states and came to know at first hand the noble
peoples of these sister African nations. In each of these countries, We
encountered the same devotion to high principle, the same
determination to labour unceasingly for the cause of peace and the
betterment of the way of life of all men, the same opposition to the
evils of continued colonial domination of Our still dependent fellow
Africans and of South Africa's inhuman policy of apartheid, which are
today the hall-mark of wise and responsible statemanship. Our visits
have brought Ethiopia even closer to her East African neighbours, and
we may take real satisfaction in the strong and enduring ties of
friendship which link Us together.
Only two months ago We undertook a considerable journey from
which We only recently returned. In Iran, which We first visited, We
were received by His Majesty the Shah, and in that nation We found a
striking similarity in the problems which are facing both of Our
countries today. In Eastern Europe, We visited Poland, Hungary,
Rumania and Bulgaria. Everywhere We were warmly greeted, and the
tributes which We received We consider as a mark of respect and
friendship for the entire Ethiopian nation. In each of these states, We
enjoyed frank and cordial exchanges of views on pressing world
problems with their leaders, and everywhere We found and an eager
willingness to explore all possible means of increasing contacts with
Ethiopia, particularly in the area of economic co-operation. In the
near future, delegations from these friendly countries will travel to
Ethiopia to discuss the implementation in detail of the agreements in
principle reached for expanded collaboration in the economic and
technical fields....
| Chapter II - Part 1 |
| International Relations |