Author: Crown Council

The Ethiopian Crown Council today sent greetings to Ethiopians on the occasion of Inqutatash — Ethiopian New Year — and called on all Ethiopians to agree on an urgent period of respite from ethnic and communal conflict in the Ethiopian community of nations so that urgent issues of poverty, health-care, education and national unity could be addressed.

“Ethiopians have now endured more than two decades of hardship since the death of His Imperial Majesty Empror Haile Selassie I. We now must all work together to overcome all of the obstacles of war, natural disaster, poverty, inadequate education, disunity, and disease to reclaim our rightful place of health and happiness in the world,” the President of the Crown Council, Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie, said in the New Year Greeting.

“It is not only possible for us to achieve victory over these hardships, it is essential. We have suffered for too long. We all know what we must do: we must work together,” Prince Ermias said. “We must have national healing within so that we can defend the threats from without.”

“Ethiopia remains under threat from many man-made problems, such as the ongoing war between Eritrea and Ethiopia, and fratricidal conflicts conducted by minority groups. We must not only deal with with these problems by demonstrating the mutual bonds which link all Ethiopian peoples, we must begin to address the underlying causes of the conflicts. The Administration must show faith in the Ethiopian peoples by encouraging expressions of unity and by encouraging cooperation and interaction among all the various peoples of Ethiopia, instead of by encouraging ethnic rivalry and separation. This would, more than anything else, create a sense of national purpose, and, indeed, have Ethiopians rallying around a productive and popular Government.”

“We can no longer afford to live in division and mutual suspicion,” the Crown Council statement said.

“It is at this time of renewal — this New Year — when Ethiopians must learn to respect and enjoy the greatness of each of the national peoples, each of the great religions of Ethiopia, and each of the great cultures and languages of our peoples,” Prince Ermias said. “The Crown and Crown Council of Ethiopia are the Crown and Crown Council of all Ethiopians, and represent the important symbols of Ethiopianness: unity, prosperity, security, and strength. And the Crown Council — the only legal and Constitutional body representing the Solomonic Crown of Ethiopia during the interregnum — will continue to work for national unity, national strength, for improved education and welfare, and for the perpetuation of the great Ethiopian culture,” Prince Ermias said.

The Ethiopian Crown Council today sent greetings to Ethiopians on the occasion of Inqutatash — Ethiopian New Year — and called on all Ethiopians to agree on an urgent period of respite from ethnic and communal conflict in the Ethiopian community of nations so that urgent issues of poverty, health-care, education and national unity could be addressed.

“Ethiopians have now endured more than two decades of hardship since the death of His Imperial Majesty Empror Haile Selassie I. We now must all work together to overcome all of the obstacles of war, natural disaster, poverty, inadequate education, disunity, and disease to reclaim our rightful place of health and happiness in the world,” the President of the Crown Council, Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie, said in the New Year Greeting.

“It is not only possible for us to achieve victory over these hardships, it is essential. We have suffered for too long. We all know what we must do: we must work together,” Prince Ermias said. “We must have national healing within so that we can defend the threats from without.”

“Ethiopia remains under threat from many man-made problems, such as the ongoing war between Eritrea and Ethiopia, and fratricidal conflicts conducted by minority groups. We must not only deal with with these problems by demonstrating the mutual bonds which link all Ethiopian peoples, we must begin to address the underlying causes of the conflicts. The Administration must show faith in the Ethiopian peoples by encouraging expressions of unity and by encouraging cooperation and interaction among all the various peoples of Ethiopia, instead of by encouraging ethnic rivalry and separation. This would, more than anything else, create a sense of national purpose, and, indeed, have Ethiopians rallying around a productive and popular Government.”

“We can no longer afford to live in division and mutual suspicion,” the Crown Council statement said.

“It is at this time of renewal — this New Year — when Ethiopians must learn to respect and enjoy the greatness of each of the national peoples, each of the great religions of Ethiopia, and each of the great cultures and languages of our peoples,” Prince Ermias said. “The Crown and Crown Council of Ethiopia are the Crown and Crown Council of all Ethiopians, and represent the important symbols of Ethiopianness: unity, prosperity, security, and strength. And the Crown Council — the only legal and Constitutional body representing the Solomonic Crown of Ethiopia during the interregnum — will continue to work for national unity, national strength, for improved education and welfare, and for the perpetuation of the great Ethiopian culture,” Prince Ermias said.

---

Washington DC, August 11, 1999: — The Ethiopian Crown Council today announced that 16 Ethiopian students have been chosen to receive Pacem in Terris scholarships. These full, four-year scholarships to International University of America, in Texas, in the United States, were awarded to Ethiopians in Ethiopia and the diaspora.

These scholarships, administered in the name of the charity organization, the Haile Selassie Fund for Ethiopia’s Children, cover four years of college tuition, room, and board for all 16 recipients. The recipients will spend their first six months at Pennsylvania’s La Roche College receiving intensive English language instruction, and will complete the remainder of their four-year program at International University of America (formerly Ambassador International University) in Texas.

The Haile Selassie Fund was able to award scholarships in the fields of computer science, business, engineering, communications, and water resources management. These scholarships, awarded in early July, have a collective value of some US$1.2-million. The scholarship recipients are a diverse group of Ethiopians with a wide range of personal backgrounds and interests. Among the finalists are students from Addis Ababa, Harar, Mekelle, Awasa, Dire Dawa, and even several from various Ethiopian communities in the diaspora of the United States and Europe.

The Crown Council released the following statement to the press after the announcement of the scholarship winners: “Our heartfelt congratulations go out to the recent recipients of the Pacem in Terris scholarships.  We would also like to extend our deepest gratitude to Monsignor William Kerr, President of International University of America. His enthusiasm and energy in the establishment of this scholarship has provided an unprecedented opportunity for these young Ethiopians. The International University’s work to promote peace and well-being among the peoples of the earth deserves all of our appreciation and support. The young men and women who will begin their studies at the International University are the pride of Ethiopia, and we look forward to watching their careers in the years to come.”

Over the past twenty-five years, Ethiopia has struggled with one painful challenge after another. The worst kinds of government oppression worked in concert with years of devastating famine to leave lasting scars throughout our culture and our country. Now, the ravages of HIV and AIDS present us with one of the greatest threats to our people yet.

Thankfully, many AIDS patients in developed countries, such as the United States, are able to reap the benefits of powerful new drug combinations which ease their suffering and give them new hope for a longer life. Because of the blessing of these new treatments, too many men and women around the world are becoming complacent and forgetful of the horrors which HIV and AIDS can still bring to countries like Ethiopia, where the weapons necessary to win this war remain unavailable. If we do not alert our countrymen and warn the world community, the first decade of the new millenium will do unspeakable damage to our hopes for a peaceful and prosperous future.

The latest statistics detailing the HIV/AIDS situation in Ethiopia paint an ugly picture. Health officials estimate that nearly 2.5-million Ethiopians suffer from HIV infection. This is an amazing figure: it represents nearly 10 percent of the total infections throughout the world. More importantly, it means that one out of every ten adult Ethiopians carries this deadly virus and can pass it on to others.

These numbers make a grim formula for Ethiopia’s future. The average life expectancy is already relatively low in Ethiopia. If HIV and AIDS continue unchecked, by the year 2010, the average Ethiopian will die fifteen years younger. It is estimated that the ravages of this disease have already left over 620,000 children orphaned throughout Ethiopia. In ten years, the total will be nearly three times that number.

HIV and AIDS are also intimately linked to two other grave threats to our future, poverty and famine. As Ethiopia continues to struggle to feed itself, AIDS patients are at a greater risk. Carriers of the disease can be too weak to resist infections. The poorest of our countrymen are the least likely to receive expensive and time-consuming treatments. Unable to break from this cycle, Ethiopians sink deeper into poverty as they lose a productive and beloved member of their family.

To truly understand the scope of the potential social and economic devastation, we must do more than discuss the statistics. We must remember the human face of this horrible disease, the face of Ethiopians of all ages, from every socio-economic background. We must remember that this disease does not discriminate, that it kills Tigrean, Amhara, and Oromo alike.

Thankfully, some Ethiopians at home and abroad have already taken the first steps towards turning the tide in this crucial battle. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church has worked in collaboration with UNICEF, encouraging young Ethiopians to change their daily behavior and lifestyle to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. The science faculty at Addis Ababa University is working with health institutions around the world in preparation for an international conference on HIV/AIDS, currently scheduled for November. Finally, the sick themselves have started to come together. Over one hundred Ethiopians living with HIV/AIDS have formed a support organization called “Dawn of Hope”, whose members are actively working for an end to this terrible disease.

For the Ethiopian nation to live to see the full promise of this dawn of hope, the Ethiopian Crown Council and Ethiopians everywhere must work together to summon our full potential as a people. What can those of us in the diaspora do to ease the situation back home? All of our voices in unison can raise awareness throughout the world that for countries such as Ethiopia, the AIDS crisis has only just begun. Together, we can work for the medical and financial assistance that will ease Ethiopia’s plight.

But most importantly, we must spread the news throughout all Ethiopia that the answers to our problems are within our own reach. We must support Ethiopian organizations at home and abroad that continue to educate our people about the causes of this health crisis, and that continue to provide health care and training to those in need. Where those organizations fall short or do not exist at all, we must begin to build them ourselves, with our own hands, and with our own hearts.

The Editorial by HIH Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie, President of the Crown Council of Ethiopia, for the July 31, 1999, edition of Negarit, the Crown newspaper. The statement was issued on June 29, 1999.

Famine, drought and ongoing poverty remain undiscussed, and apparently secondary issues when states are at war over such national and emotional issues of sovereignty and territorial integrity. Ethiopia, which has the highest rates of malnutrition in Africa, is yet again facing another famine with little publicity. Food insecurity, even at the best of times, is one of the most visible manifestations of poverty in Ethiopia. In a nation, which relies on subsistence farming and varying climatic factors, the problem is further compounded by inadequate focus on land protection, afforestation, water conservation, the development of human resources, a coherent policy on land reform and management and an exceptionally high birth rate.

The current war in Ethiopia seems on the surface to have had little impact on the economy, but over the short-term the conflict could have disasterous implications for the country as development aid becomes curtailed and the nation’s meagre resources become diverted to defense expenditures.

It was the lack of attention given to the famine which, in 1974, brought down the Imperial Government. Ethiopia became synonymous in the early 1980s with famine, as many more Ethiopians died from both manmade and natural disaster. What does our fate hold today and into the next century?

Ethiopians who live abroad as well as at home have a huge responsibility as citizens to ponder this shadow of death which afflicts millons of our countrymen too frequently. A problem of this magnitude cannot be tackled in a vacuum. The absence of peace and normalcy is a fundamental prerequisite. The fragility of our region is also an added insecurity, as we will be forced to live in the shadows of more wars to follow. How long are we going to be dependent on foreign donations to sustain our existence? We must measure what our sovereignty entails. If we are at others’ mercies for our survival then how are we truly free?

The Ethiopian administration must be held accountable for its decisions and must be pressured to address this life and death issue expeditiously. We Ethiopians have once more failed in the promise of feeding our people. We have the potential to be net exporters of food, yet millions of our people are vulnerable to the scrouge of famine. We continue to lose so many of our educated citizenary in whom the poor masses invested, and our young men and women are dying daily in the battlefields and through the silent war of poverty and disease.

We as citizens need to do our part by pressuring decisionmakers in Ethiopia to seek meaningful solutions to problems which have long-term consequences. We must also do our part today by turning to our communities, our churches and civic institutions to do our part in helping feed our people. We must educate our friends, our communities, policymakers and the international community that Ethiopia holds a greater promise than the continuous indignity of constantly being on the verge of death. We must pull together as human beings and each contribute according to our individual capacities. Let us become part of the solution by better understanding and confronting this problem which is haunting us periodically. Governments come and go but let us not make famine a permanent feature to our evolution. Let us seek ways to implement sustainable development through peaceful accomodation and co-existence.

Perhaps by uniting to confront the present famine, we will strengthen our unity to fight together for more durable solutions. Let us make a commitment now rather than be overcome by inaction and guilt once the problem becomes overwhelming. We all sympathized with the human suffering in Kosovo, and now the international community must be made aware that hunger is once again looming in our country and that we are prepared to do our part!

His Majesty King Hassan II of Morocco died of a heart attack on July 23, 1999. The following week, Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie, President of the Ethiopian Crown Council, visited the Moroccan Embassy in the Washington DC area to pay his respects to the memory of the late monarch, and to send the Ethiopian monarchy’s best wishes to his successor, King Mohammed VI.

In early August, the Enderasse of the Ethiopian Crown Council, Prince Bekere Fikre-Selassie, and Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie released this statement on the passing of King Hassan:

“On this sad occasion, we all recall with admiration His Majesty King Hassan’s unceasing devotion to the cause of peace and unity throughout Africa and the Middle East, and we look forward to a world strengthened by His Majesty’s vision.

The Ethiopian and Moroccan Crowns fought parallel struggles in the 20th Century, overcoming the challenges of colonialism and exile to work for the continued prosperity of their peoples. His Majesty Haile Selassie I, late Emperor of Ethiopia and founder of the modern Crown Council, worked closely with King Hassan in the cause of African peace and unity. On June 14, 1972, both leaders addressed the summit for the Organisation for African Unity (OAU) which King Hassan himself hosted in Rabat. His Majesty Haile Selassie’s words in tribute to His Majesty King Hassan suit us well today:

‘All of us here are well aware of His Majesty King Hassan’s dedication to, and unwavering faith in, the consolidation of unity and his positive contribution to the… peace of our continent. The generous and typically African hospitality extended to all of us is yet another manifestation of the keen interest His Majesty, the Government and people of Morocco have in strengthening our organization… Whenever We think of Morocco, Our thoughts go back to His Majesty’s illustrious father, King Mohammed V, who, through far-sightedness and political sophistication, led this country into independence from the clutches of colonialism and laid the foundation of modern Morocco… Following in the footsteps of his father, His Majesty King Hassan has continued to contribute to the well-being and prosperity of the Moroccan people. May We wish His Majesty all success in his endeavours.’

As Morocco turns now to look towards its future, we are honored to extend similar wishes for success to His Majesty Mohammed VI. At once both a leader and true scholar, His Majesty’s interest in the social welfare of his people, particularly the poor among them, promises a model of leadership which all of Africa can hope to embrace.”

A Statement on the 107th anniversary of the birth of His Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie the Great,
from Enderasse Prince Bekere Fikre-Selassie and President of the Ethiopian Crown Council Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie

Ethiopians everywhere must always be mindful of the past, of the rich history and tradition that shapes our identity as a people. Our strengths and weaknesses as a nation, our successes and failures, provide a vision and a challenge for the future, a roadmap to understand how far we have come, and how far we still have yet to go. On the anniversary of the birth of His Majesty Haile Selassie I, July 23^rd, it is fitting that we look to his life, to the accomplishments of His Majesty, to gauge our own progress, and to map our course for the years to come.

Few men in history have left such a mark on the lives of their people and the admiring eyes of the world. His memory is cherished by Ethiopians of all ages. His struggles on behalf of African freedom and unity have made him loved by Africans around the world. He stood before us as a direct descendant of King Solomon, a living symbol of continuity between an ancient civilization and a modern world, a living symbol that made Ethiopia the pride and property of all mankind.

What was His Majesty’s legacy? What are we to remember, to summon as a challenge to ourselves, on his 107^th anniversary?

He was an active reformer, a strong believer in the possibilities of modernization. As regent, he worked vigorously to bring an end to slavery throughout Ethiopia. As emperor, he twice gave Ethiopia constitutions designed to pave the way for a more democratic and participatory national government. He presided over the modernization of the country’s penal code, and the opening of its first parliament. During his reign, the first beginnings of a free press took hold in our homeland.

He spared no expense in the construction and renovation of hospitals, churches, and mosques. He oversaw the creation of modern industry in Ethiopia: the first hydro-electric power plan, the first water works, the first oil refinery. He established agricultural schools and experimental farms to encourage the full utilization of Ethiopia’s natural resources.

His Majesty knew full well the precious value of a strong education, and provided a solid foundation for modern learning throughout Ethiopia. He established the first universities. He founded the first public schools. He did these things often at his own expense, from his own land, his own property.

But His Majesty did not take these steps as mere tokens, as empty gestures towards international notions of what progress required. Rather, he took these steps with the knowledge that a practical education for some Ethiopians produces practical results for all of Ethiopia. Speaking at the Haile Selassie I University graduation in 1967, he said the following: “fully aware that the vast majority of your fellow-countrymen have not had the privilege of higher education that you have had, you must accept the responsibility for identifying the fundamental problems of your country and directing the skills you have acquired towards their solution.”

In the context of world history, His Majesty’s unceasing struggle against imperialism will be one of his most lasting monuments. In 1923, he sought the security of his people through membership in the League of Nations. In 1935, he fought for his people on the front lines, as the world waited for the League to speak out against Italian aggression. When that League failed him, he stood before it without fear, and called for the judgment of God and history upon the system of European colonialism.

It is all too easily forgotten that upon regaining his throne with Allied assistance, the Emperor Haile Selassie never once became vindictive, and never sought recrimination against the harsh rule of the Fascists. True to great statesmanship, His Majesty gave full amnesty, and many Italians were able to remain in Ethiopia and continue to live without fear.

Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, he worked to complete the return of the Ogaden from British occupying forces. Through the act of federation in 1950 and the final union of Eritrea and Ethiopia in 1962, he achieved the final repudiation of the hollow accomplishments of Italian military conquest. In so doing, he bestowed upon us a powerful symbol of Ethiopian unity the lessons of which remain unfulfilled even today.

Even when earlier organizations of international solidarity failed him, His Majesty never turned his back on the world community. He played an active role in the United Nations, and an active role in support of his allies in the Korean War. In the climax of his leadership in the anti-colonial struggle, he guided the creation of the Organisation of African Unity, and steered that body away from the path of dangerous radical revolution.

Looking back on Ethiopia in the twentieth century, one man alone stands out. As we consider the future, we are mindful of his own words, when he spoke on his birthday, July 23, 1958: “As We have stated time and again, it is easy to begin, but hard to finish, and We express on this occasion both Our happiness at what We see here today, as well as Our strong hope to see this work which is now begun bearing fruit in the near future.”

On April 6, 1988, His Majesty Amha Selassie I declared Haile Selassie I to be “Haile Selassie the Great”. This simple proclamation was but one step in a journey that will shape our nation’s progress throughout the coming generations. In proclaiming him “Haile Selassie the Great”, we acknowledge our obligation to his memory, and our obligation to our own people to finish the work he started.

Remembering His Majesty on the 107^th anniversary of his birth, we realize that his challenge to the Class of 1967 is a challenge to us all: we must learn our own history, we must study the works of great thinkers, but we must also seek practical knowledge, an education that heals the sick and feeds the hungry. This is a life’s journey that acknowledges His Majesty’s legacy and the magnitude of his accomplishments, a journey that is easy to begin, but hard indeed to finish. All of us must look forward to rising to that challenge.

The Crown Council in 1996 struck a special medal to commemorate the great military victory which Emperor Menelik II won over the invading Italian forces a century before, in March 1896. This month, the Crown Council authorized the issuance of an additional number of the medals, to mark the 103rd anniversary of the Victory.

This time, however, there will be some subtle changes in the special “Adwa Medal”.

The first issuance of the Medal, in 1996, went to prominent Ethiopians — many of whom could not be named because of the fear at the time of political reprisal within Ethiopia — and to a list of major national leaders around the world, particularly including leaders in Africa and the Caribbean.

The original Adwa Medal is shown above, in its two forms: the Medal with Royal Riband (left), and the Medal with Diplomatic Riband (right). The front (obverse) and reverse of the medal in both instances is the same. The Royal Riband is a deep purple, with gold stripes at the side; the Diplomatic Riband is in the Ethiopian colors of red, yellow and green, with a black stripe down the center.

The obverse features a profile of Emperor Menelik, with the words “One Hundred Anniversary of the Battle of Adwa. March 2, 1896”, in English. The reverse features and Imperial Ethiopian Lion, facing left, with the inscription in Amharic and the date in the Ethiopian calendar.

A device — heraldically known as a “bezant” — is fixed to the center of the riband of the two forms of the Award, on which is the Imperial Ethiopian Lion, again facing to the left.

The Imperial Lion was placed facing left on the original form of the medal to signify that the Crown was in Exile and that the Ethiopian people were in distress. The new issuance of the Adwa Medal will show the Lion facing to the Right, to honour the dead and wounded of the current conflict and to show that they — with the Crown and the Ethiopian People — are once again united in their determination to restore Ethiopia’s greatness and progress, and the fact that the Crown is now, once again, on the march with the People.

The new Adwa Medal is being struck for the Crown by Bezant, the Official Maker of Orders, Decorations and Medals for the Crown Council.

Ethiopians to be Recognized: The Crown Council has said that it will soon issue the names of the first group of Ethiopians who would be recognized by the Award of the new Adwa Medal.

The Victory of Adwa medals are usually presented by the President of the Imperial Crown Council, Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie; or by the Viceroy (Enderassé: ^), His Imperial Highness Prince Bekere Fikre-Selassie, a great-grandson of Emperor Haile Selassie I.

Recipients of the new Awards of the Adwa Medal will be announced in the next Negarit.

Washington DC, May 18, 1999: — The death in Philadelphia, in the United States, on May 14 of Ethiopia’s most prominent prisoner of conscience, Dr Asrat Woldeyes, was called “tantamount to state liquidation” today by the Ethiopian Crown Council, in an official statement. Dr Asrat died from heart ailments exacerbated by his illegal imprisonment and ill-treatment at the hands of the Meles administration in Addis Ababa.

The statement was authorized by the President of the Crown Council, Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie, on his return to Washington DC from Philadelphia, where he spent much of Dr Asrat’s final days.

Ethiopia’s most famous victim of the current Addis Ababa administration and onetime leader of the All-Amhara People’s Organization (AAPO), Professor Asrat Woldeyes, passed away on May 14, 1999, at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia. USA.

The Crown Council immediately said that Dr Asrat’s untimely death was, in fact, “tantamount to state liquidation”, and was directly attributable to the Meles administration. “Dr Asrat’s death also highlights the plight of many others languishing illegally in Ethiopian prisons, their lives being shortened and darkened by an administration which seems to feel that it cannot accept criticism nor benefit from open debate.”

Prof. Asrat, a medical doctor and one of Ethiopia’s leading scientists and humanitarians, had been suffering from a variety of ailments, mostly centering around a heart disorder, when Meles administration officials — faced with daily protests around the world and mounting hostility from major governments — released him to seek medical treatment abroad just before Western Christmas 1998. He has been hospitalized ever since.

He had been personal physician to the late Emperor Haile Selassie I for a quarter century. He had been dismissed from his post at the Black Lion Hospital, in Addis Ababa, when the TPLF administration of Meles Zenawi seized power in 1991.

Prof. Asrat’s family, including his two sons, had gathered to be with him at the hospital at the end. As well, the President of the Crown Council, Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie and Princess Gelila Fesseha, a niece of the Professor, were with him. Le’ult Gelila helped spearhead the campaign to have Dr Asrat released from his illegal imprisonment.

The Professor, who was in his seventies when he died, was preparing his legacy manifesto before his conditioned worsened in early May.

“Professor Asrat has already created his greatest legacy,” Crown Council President Prince Ermias said. “His legacy is that he has reaffirmed Ethiopia can only survive as a united, democratic country, and that this prize is worth sacrifice to achieve. Professor Asrat has always been a man of peace, dignity and intelligent reason. His imprisonment on trumped-up charges only serves to highlight the nobility of his non-violent protest and the bankruptcy of policies which are imposed by those who fear the will of the people. We cannot allow his sacrifice to be in vain. We cannot forget that his life has been shortened by what amounts to State murder, because he should have been able to complete his medical and teaching career in peace, and he should have been able to look forward to a long and happy retirement. All of this was denied to him, as such freedom is being denied to so many Ethiopians under illegal detainment by the Meles administration.”

The Meles administration released Dr Asrat when it became clear that his condition was deteriorating rapidly in prison. He had already become one of the focal points of protest against the administration, and officials feared that he would become a martyr if he died in prison.

“There is no doubt that Dr Asrat, who never saw himself as a martyr but rather as someone who needed to uphold principles of integrity and Ethiopianness, is now an even greater symbol of Ethiopia’s need for unity and for an end to the kind of repression which has characterized the totalitarianism of the Meles administration,” Dr Asrat’s nephew, Ato Youm Fesseha, said in Philadelphia. Ato Youm worked on the campaign to win his release.

The Ethiopian Crown Council, the constitutional body which represents the exiled 3,000-year-old Solomonic Crown of Ethiopia, today said that it was “a grave mistake” for Ethiopia to call on Iran to help mediate the current conflict between Addis Ababa and Asmara. “It can only lead to grave consequences for the future unity and stability of Ethiopia,” Crown Council President Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie said.

Prince Ermias, the grandson of the late Emperor Haile Selassie, was commenting on Iranian news agency reports which said that Ethiopian Council of People’s Representatives Speaker Dawit Yohanes had today invited Iranian mediation efforts to resolve the crisis between Ethiopia and Eritrea. The Ethiopian Speaker had apparently made the remarks during a meeting in Addis Ababa with Iranian Ambassador Hussein Rajabi.

“All attempts at external mediation have thus far failed,” Prince Ermias said, “and now it has been suggested that Iran, which has been actively attempting to influence events in the Horn of Africa since 1979, should be invited into our affairs. This is untenable.”

“The Ethiopian Crown Council has, since the beginning of this conflict urged both sides to consider mediation and conflict resolution mechanisms which stay within the family of Ethiopic-speaking peoples. This has not yet even been attempted, and now Speaker Yohanes has apparently suggested inviting in a country which has made no secret of its wish to radicalize our region.”

“This does not mean that Ethiopia should treat Iran as an enemy, but it is clear that Iran is not a suitable candidate for a role in mediating the conflict.”

Prince Ermias continued: “The invitation for Iran to mediate in our problem is playing into the hands of the radicals, the same radicals who wish to see Ethiopia alienated from the main body of the world’s trading nations; the same radicals who wish to see Ethiopia dis-united and even dismembered.”

“Iran has been the major ally of Sudanese radical leaders such as Dr Hasan al-Turabi, who has advocated the dismemberment of Ethiopia even in recent months. Iran and Sudan have gone hand-in-hand in promoting radical religious politics in Africa, posing a major threat non only to moderate Ethiopian Muslims, but to moderate Muslim governments throughout Africa and the Middle East.”

“We have seen that in every arena in which Iran has become involved in recent years that religious polarization occurs. We do not want that for Ethiopia. In Ethiopia, religious tolerance and freedom — and an absence of religious radicalism — have been our strength.”

The Council President said that the ill-considered statement by Speaker Yohanes was typical of the drift and lack of a sense of national unity which has marked the current political era in Ethiopia.

“Ethiopia and the greater family of Ethiopic-speaking peoples must rally around symbols of unity, and build a sense of common purpose, ending conflict through mutual respect and greater sense of Ethiopianness. Ethiopian common objectives need not in any way interfere with the regional, ethnic or religious differences in our community. But we need to retain a strong sense of unity in the face of external threats which are mounting daily.”

The 103rd Anniversary today of the Victory of the Battle of Adwa, in which united Ethiopian forces under Emperor Menelik II resoundingly defeated the invading Italian Army in 1896, has brought a call from the Ethiopian Crown to all people in the greater Ethiopian community to pause and think of the benefits of unity and peace.

In a special statement to mark the anniversary, the President of the Corwn Council of Ethiopia, His Imperial Highness Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie said: “At this extremely unsettled time in Ethiopia’s history, we need to reflect on the great benefit my late kinsman and our great Emperor, Menelik II, brought to Ethiopia when he united the nation in 1896 to defeat the Italian invaders.”

“That unity has in recent years been threatened by policies which have divided our nation, and caused Ethiopians to fight among themselves, risking the very structure and sovereignty of our Empire in the process. The present war within the Ethiopian family should never have occurred; it should never have been necessary. It has been the result of petty regionalism, in which the desire for power has led people to split off parts of our country, or attempt to do so.”

“We may be thankful that the present war may be coming to a close, but it has cost the Ethiopian community of peoples most dearly. Tens of thousands of families are mourning the deaths or mutilation of their young sons when they should not have had to do so. Many more thousands of Ethiopians — and I speak here of the broader Ethiopian family — have been displaced from their homes by years of communal rivalry.”

“But the war has not ended, and will not end merely when the fighting stops. The hatred and rivalry which this totally preventable war has created will take generations to heal. The Victory of the Battle of Adwa healed the nation after the internal squabbles which had preceded Emperor Menelik’s rise to the Throne. The battles of today have brought some of the peoples of Ethiopia together, at a greater human cost than Adwa, but they have also left a legacy of hatred which we must now overcome.”

“All of this has distracted us from the path of unity, strength, economic growth, peace and stability. And while we have been distracted, we have seen others in the region attempt to sew the seeds of ethnic and religious discord among Ethiopians.”

“There are those outside our country who have attempted to introduce radical Islamism to Ethiopian Muslims, who are a pillar of Ethiopian society, and to induce them into try to break up Ethiopia. This will not work. Ethiopians are Ethiopians: the differences in the various peoples of our nation are a cause for celebration, and not for division. And the religious beliefs of Ethiopians are their own private concern; this does not affect their Ethiopianness.”

“Today, we mourn the dead and injured of all branches of the Ethiopian family in the current war, and thank them profoundly for the sacrifice to the cause of Ethiopian unity.”

“Today, we should also remember the great valor and sacrifice of Emperor Menelik and the Ethiopians of 1896, who laid the foundations for the great achievements of Emperor Haile Selassie until 1974.”

“The coup of 1974 caused a great upheaval in Ethiopia’s progress. We have not yet recovered from this, and the division of our country in 1993 and the subsequent communal divisions in Ethiopia have only prolonged the restoration of true national unity. Think how great Ethiopia would have been today if the coup had not occured, and if 1974 Constitution had been implemented and if there had been no civil war, no brutal genocide, and no communism.”

“The possible end to the current fighting is not a signal for Ethiopians to relax. This war should serve merely as a warning that we must now begin the process of true unification, with the restoration of Ethiopia’s 3,000 years of tradition. Now we must truly come together to rebuild Ethiopia and return to the path of economic, social and democratic progress. The Ethiopian Crown is committed to this, and will never walk away from this historic challenge and duty.”

“The war has demonstrated that Ethiopians cherish their nation and its unity and that they have not forgotten how to sacrifice for the salvation of their kinsmen. We must honor their sacrifice and redouble our efforts to rebuild our beloved country.”

• 

• 

•