| Ba Beta Kristiyan Haile Selassie I |
| Haile Selassie I |
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| Selected Speeches |
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| Ba Beta Kristiyan Haile Selassie I |
| Selected Speeches |
We would like to say, in conclusion, that a military school unless it
establishes a tradition which is handed down from generation to
generation, is of no real use. You, young men, who are privileged to study
at this Military College should never surrender to the spirit of defeatism,
but following the example of your predecessors and ever conscious of the
high responsibilities which will be yours in your future careers, should
strive zealously to acquire those qualities which are the mark of a good
officier.
In our day, man is seen engaged in the development of atomic energy.
This power can be used for peaceful or destructive purposes. Many
learned men have on various occasions sought to abolish war and establish
an everlasting peace. Treaties have been signed and organizations formed
to achieve this goal, but because they lacked guarantees, these efforts
uniformly failed, and to gain their ends, countries even resorted to the
production and use of poison gas. Now nations are producing weapons
which not only constitute a terrible danger to those against whom they
might be used, but could in fact mean the end of mankind, and again there
are no guarantees. If these awful weapons are used, who will bear the
responsibility? In these circumstances, if man has not sought out the
protection of god as well as that can be brought down upon the race of
human beings is beyond the bounds of imagination. These matters will not
fail to be mentioned in the course of instruction in this school, and We
want you to keep this thought in your mind. In the ethical sphere, your
primary obligation ought to be the inescapable responsibility you have to
your country, along with your faith in God.
In order to acquire the qualities and equipment of a good officer, you must
work hard, strive assiduously for higher knowledge, prepare your minds
from day to day to offer yourselves in sacrifice for the land of your birth,
and be loyal to the pledge you have taken.
So, remembering the words which We have spoken to you today, work
tirelessly to fulfil your sacred duty of serviing your beloved country.
We are pleased to express Our thanks to the officers and instructors and
the staff of this institution, for the efficiency and diligence they have
shown in developing this College to its present status, in accordance with
Our commands.
We would also like to remember here and express Our gratitude and
thanks to the British officers who, immediately after the Liberation of Our
Country, assisted us greatly in the training of our Army at this place.
We would further like on this occasion to state that a befitting memorial to
those soldiers who fell in the four corners of our country in defence of
their freedom, will shortly be constructed.
establishes a tradition which is handed down from generation to
generation, is of no real use. You, young men, who are privileged to study
at this Military College should never surrender to the spirit of defeatism,
but following the example of your predecessors and ever conscious of the
high responsibilities which will be yours in your future careers, should
strive zealously to acquire those qualities which are the mark of a good
officier.
In our day, man is seen engaged in the development of atomic energy.
This power can be used for peaceful or destructive purposes. Many
learned men have on various occasions sought to abolish war and establish
an everlasting peace. Treaties have been signed and organizations formed
to achieve this goal, but because they lacked guarantees, these efforts
uniformly failed, and to gain their ends, countries even resorted to the
production and use of poison gas. Now nations are producing weapons
which not only constitute a terrible danger to those against whom they
might be used, but could in fact mean the end of mankind, and again there
are no guarantees. If these awful weapons are used, who will bear the
responsibility? In these circumstances, if man has not sought out the
protection of god as well as that can be brought down upon the race of
human beings is beyond the bounds of imagination. These matters will not
fail to be mentioned in the course of instruction in this school, and We
want you to keep this thought in your mind. In the ethical sphere, your
primary obligation ought to be the inescapable responsibility you have to
your country, along with your faith in God.
In order to acquire the qualities and equipment of a good officer, you must
work hard, strive assiduously for higher knowledge, prepare your minds
from day to day to offer yourselves in sacrifice for the land of your birth,
and be loyal to the pledge you have taken.
So, remembering the words which We have spoken to you today, work
tirelessly to fulfil your sacred duty of serviing your beloved country.
We are pleased to express Our thanks to the officers and instructors and
the staff of this institution, for the efficiency and diligence they have
shown in developing this College to its present status, in accordance with
Our commands.
We would also like to remember here and express Our gratitude and
thanks to the British officers who, immediately after the Liberation of Our
Country, assisted us greatly in the training of our Army at this place.
We would further like on this occasion to state that a befitting memorial to
those soldiers who fell in the four corners of our country in defence of
their freedom, will shortly be constructed.
| Haile Selassie the First - February 15, 1958 |
Since the beginning of the world, God has always granted a people,
divided though they may be into provinces, districts, villages and families,
the privilege of living together as one nation, in freedom. However, the
greed that impels one to rob another of a part or the whole of his
homeland, it has become an essential duty of man to keep ready the means
of defending his freedom.
Ethiopia, jealous of her freedom, has always had to struggle, both for the
sake of her territorial integrity and for the preservation of her religious
liberty. The heroism, developed in the blood of our people and passed
from generation to generation, has served to this day as a bulwark for our
freedom, so that Ethiopia has never had to bear the yoke of slavery. To
this, history and the world bear witness.
We have seen from the happenings of history how God, in His profound
justice, never fails to execute righteous judgment, and for this our
thanksgiving and praise to Him is unbounded. But unfailing as the
righteous judgment of God in punishing the arrogant has ever been, since
freedom is an issue upon which national existence itself depends, it
becomes a sacred obligation of primary importance for a people of one
family, united in their own common life and in oneness of mind and spirit,
to preserve their free and pleasant way of life from all external danger, and
thus be enabled to advance along the path of progress.
The glories and advantages of freedom cannot be purchased with all the
world's material wealth. Freedom's price is the sacrifice of the lives of
innumerable heros and in deep realization of this, it becomes the duty of
free men everywhere to be ever prepared for the defence of their
freedom. However, since in Ethiopia the laying down of one's life for the
sake of national independence has always been looked upon as a duty of
the highest priority and has been ascribed paramount honour and value,
our country has, thanks to the valour of her heroes, from the most ancient
times been ever mistress of her destiny. Thus, even in the dark ages
through which the other nations of Africa had to pass, Ethiopia's name
was well known throughout the world because our heroic forefathers,
making God their shield and their Defender, were always able to repel in
defeat and shame the enemy who descended upon her from time to time.
When, by the will of God, We became Emperor of Ethiopia, We became
aware of the need for minimizing the loss of life of Our people through the
development of technique whereby the enemy might be repelled by the
efforts of a small number of experts of military strategy, and realized the
absolute necessity of entering into a race for such knowledge in
accordance with the way of the world and the practice of civilized nations.
Hence it was that from the outset we established as Our primary objective,
the achievement for our country of a level of attainment equal to that of
other nations of the world, through the preservation of her freedom and
the development of Our people in education and culture. The Military
College, whose cherished memory We are today gathered here to honour
and celebrate, on the many institutions that We had established in Our time
for the realization of Our primary objective for Our country, was created
by Us in January of 1933, in order that Our young men might receive
modern and scientific military education, and thus be fitted to defend their
country's freedom and serve their Emperor. It has been with very high
hopes that We waited for the early fruition of its work.
divided though they may be into provinces, districts, villages and families,
the privilege of living together as one nation, in freedom. However, the
greed that impels one to rob another of a part or the whole of his
homeland, it has become an essential duty of man to keep ready the means
of defending his freedom.
Ethiopia, jealous of her freedom, has always had to struggle, both for the
sake of her territorial integrity and for the preservation of her religious
liberty. The heroism, developed in the blood of our people and passed
from generation to generation, has served to this day as a bulwark for our
freedom, so that Ethiopia has never had to bear the yoke of slavery. To
this, history and the world bear witness.
We have seen from the happenings of history how God, in His profound
justice, never fails to execute righteous judgment, and for this our
thanksgiving and praise to Him is unbounded. But unfailing as the
righteous judgment of God in punishing the arrogant has ever been, since
freedom is an issue upon which national existence itself depends, it
becomes a sacred obligation of primary importance for a people of one
family, united in their own common life and in oneness of mind and spirit,
to preserve their free and pleasant way of life from all external danger, and
thus be enabled to advance along the path of progress.
The glories and advantages of freedom cannot be purchased with all the
world's material wealth. Freedom's price is the sacrifice of the lives of
innumerable heros and in deep realization of this, it becomes the duty of
free men everywhere to be ever prepared for the defence of their
freedom. However, since in Ethiopia the laying down of one's life for the
sake of national independence has always been looked upon as a duty of
the highest priority and has been ascribed paramount honour and value,
our country has, thanks to the valour of her heroes, from the most ancient
times been ever mistress of her destiny. Thus, even in the dark ages
through which the other nations of Africa had to pass, Ethiopia's name
was well known throughout the world because our heroic forefathers,
making God their shield and their Defender, were always able to repel in
defeat and shame the enemy who descended upon her from time to time.
When, by the will of God, We became Emperor of Ethiopia, We became
aware of the need for minimizing the loss of life of Our people through the
development of technique whereby the enemy might be repelled by the
efforts of a small number of experts of military strategy, and realized the
absolute necessity of entering into a race for such knowledge in
accordance with the way of the world and the practice of civilized nations.
Hence it was that from the outset we established as Our primary objective,
the achievement for our country of a level of attainment equal to that of
other nations of the world, through the preservation of her freedom and
the development of Our people in education and culture. The Military
College, whose cherished memory We are today gathered here to honour
and celebrate, on the many institutions that We had established in Our time
for the realization of Our primary objective for Our country, was created
by Us in January of 1933, in order that Our young men might receive
modern and scientific military education, and thus be fitted to defend their
country's freedom and serve their Emperor. It has been with very high
hopes that We waited for the early fruition of its work.
| Unstinting Support |
In those early days, We confidently anticipated that this institution would
military education to young cadets, until it achieved full stature as an
institution of the first rank. In Our own tireless efforts to fulfil Our pledge
to defend Ethiopia's freedom and to labour for the development of the life
of Our people, We have given Our unstinting support and encouragement
to the officials in whom We had placed Our confidence and to whom We
had entrusted the responsibility of leading the school to the achievement of
its intended goal, so that they might encounter no difficulties in carrying
out their appointed task. We would like to mention here the earnest
assistance rendered by the Swedish officers whom We brought as
instructors at that time.
It gives Us pride to remember that although the war prevented the school
from reaching its goal, Our efforts during the few short years of its
existence bore fruit. During the invasion, the officer cadets who had
studied here, though still in the prime of their youth, faithful to their pledge
"For the Love of Our Country and the Honour of Our Emperor",
courageously ventured forth into that territory between life and death,
some to die in battle, others to undergo the rigours of exile. Some of the
young cadets of the Guenet Military Academy, which was named after Us,
and who distinguished themselves by their ability and their courage, are
helping Us today in the execution of the plan which We have envisaged for
our Defence Forces.
It is, therefore, with deep pride that We have erected this monument
before Us to the sacred memory of those heroic officers, who, having
studied in that early school and entered into their soldierly duties in 1935,
combining in themselves the natural heroism inherited from their
forefathers with the skills of modern warfare, and faithful to their soldierly
pledge to defend their country's freedom, fell on the battlefield struggling
valiantly to their last breath, without once bending their knee in shame
before their enemies, as well as to the memory of those officers who died
in service and of those that are living now, and We are pleased to award
today these war medals to them according to the degree of
accomplishment of each.
This enduring monument will not only perpetuate the proud memory of
those heroes who served with pride, but will also help to transform the
sorrow of their parents and their nation into joy, and to inspire
posterity to emulate the heroism of those patriots to whose
achievements this memorial bears witness.
military education to young cadets, until it achieved full stature as an
institution of the first rank. In Our own tireless efforts to fulfil Our pledge
to defend Ethiopia's freedom and to labour for the development of the life
of Our people, We have given Our unstinting support and encouragement
to the officials in whom We had placed Our confidence and to whom We
had entrusted the responsibility of leading the school to the achievement of
its intended goal, so that they might encounter no difficulties in carrying
out their appointed task. We would like to mention here the earnest
assistance rendered by the Swedish officers whom We brought as
instructors at that time.
It gives Us pride to remember that although the war prevented the school
from reaching its goal, Our efforts during the few short years of its
existence bore fruit. During the invasion, the officer cadets who had
studied here, though still in the prime of their youth, faithful to their pledge
"For the Love of Our Country and the Honour of Our Emperor",
courageously ventured forth into that territory between life and death,
some to die in battle, others to undergo the rigours of exile. Some of the
young cadets of the Guenet Military Academy, which was named after Us,
and who distinguished themselves by their ability and their courage, are
helping Us today in the execution of the plan which We have envisaged for
our Defence Forces.
It is, therefore, with deep pride that We have erected this monument
before Us to the sacred memory of those heroic officers, who, having
studied in that early school and entered into their soldierly duties in 1935,
combining in themselves the natural heroism inherited from their
forefathers with the skills of modern warfare, and faithful to their soldierly
pledge to defend their country's freedom, fell on the battlefield struggling
valiantly to their last breath, without once bending their knee in shame
before their enemies, as well as to the memory of those officers who died
in service and of those that are living now, and We are pleased to award
today these war medals to them according to the degree of
accomplishment of each.
This enduring monument will not only perpetuate the proud memory of
those heroes who served with pride, but will also help to transform the
sorrow of their parents and their nation into joy, and to inspire
posterity to emulate the heroism of those patriots to whose
achievements this memorial bears witness.
| A Tradition |
| Chapter XIV |
| Honouring Fallen Officers Feb. 15, 1958 |
| Security |