Author: Crown Council

The President of Ambassador International University, Monsignor William A. Kerr, Ph.D., has informed His Imperial Highness Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie, President of the Crown Council of Ethiopia, that Ambassador International University will provide 15 scholarships to students from Ethiopia for a four-year program of undergraduate study at the US university.

The scholarships will be awarded through the Haile Selassie Fund for Ethiopia’s Children, the US-based charity of which Prince Ermias is the Patron.

The scholarships have a current value of some US$1.2-million. University President Kerr expressed the hope that the scholarships would make a difference in Ethiopia: “We believe that education is the best investment for a better global future for all of us. Thus, I am especially pleased to be able to offer these scholarships to help support Ethiopia’s recovery from decades of civil war and unrest, and to help shape a brighter future for Ethiopia.”

The Haile Selassie Fund for Ethiopia’s Children, apart from administering the selection of the students to receive the scholarships, will also raise funds for the air fares of the recipients to and from the United States.

Prince Ermias, commenting on the grant, said: “We are enormously grateful to Ambassador International University for the gift of these extremely valuable scholarships. Ethiopia today needs every educated citizen to be able to work together for the unity and prosperity of our country, and the conditions under which the scholarships will be awarded include the stipulation that the recipient return to Ethiopia after graduating from the course.”

Prince Ermias continued: “These scholarships will not only give great leadership training to Ethiopians, they will also impart practical skills in areas of vital need to the Ethiopian community: agricultural management, engineering, water resource management, computer sciences,communications and business.”

President Kerr noted: “By ensuring that the graduates return home after completion of their studies, we will be building a complementary network of national, regional and global leaders for the next century.”

Ambassador International University is a new university with a unique approach to education for the 21st Century. Its mission is to offer women and men from all parts of the globe, including war-ravaged areas and developing nations, opportunities for personal and professional development through education.

At Ambassador International University, groups of students from nations around the world will study together at a beautiful, fully-equipped 2,500 acre campus. “We will have a cross-fertilization of ideas and cultures, with students from Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and the United States. We are delighted that Ethiopian students will be an important part of our first class, beginning in August this year.”

There has been another call in the United States Congress, the second this month, for US support for the restoration of the Ethiopian Crown as a step toward easing tensions and conflict in the Horn of Africa. Congressman Jim Saxton (Republican, New Jersey), a senior member of the House of Representatives National Security Committee, and Chairman of the House Task Force on Terrorism & Unconventional Warfare, said on February 24 that the President of the Ethiopian Crown Council, Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie was “someone who understands, and can help stabilize the entire Horn of Africa”.

Congressman Saxton noted: “The situation is now becoming critical, and we must find ways to support him in the process of reunifying Ethiopia, which cannot be allowed to be dismembered, and in helping to bring about regional reconciliation—thus protecting and furthering national security interests of the United States and its close allies.”

The full text of Congressman Saxton’s remarks are as follows:

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I spoke on February 9, 1999, to remark that it was essential that we act to help stop the escalation of the crisis in the Horn of Africa, and particularly the Ethiopia-Eritrean war, if the region was not to slide further into chaos. Since then, the anticipated war between Ethiopia and Eritrea has erupted and it keeps escalating. The war has already long-term and dire ramifications for both countries—beyond the impact of the growing numbers of casualties on both sides. The war is largely a low-tech and fairly static war of attrition along long miles of rugged and inhospitable terrain. The new offensive just launched by the Ethiopians is yet to alter the overall character of the war. However, both sides have embarked on an intense effort to acquire high quality air power in order to break the deadlock. Both countries not only purchased several late model combat aircraft and helicopters from states of the former Soviet Union but also engaged a large number of air crews and technicians to fly and maintain them. This effort, that is yet to impact the situation on the front line, is rapidly exhausting the hard currency holdings of these already impoverished states, thus further reducing their chance of economic recovery and development.

Dire as the situation in the Horn of Africa is, and as much as the casualties are lamentable, it is a valid question to ask: Why should we—the United States—care about yet another debilitating war in a remote part of Africa? Fortunately, the war has so far had little impact on the civilian population, there were no massacres, and there is no famine. Hence, there is no humanitarian catastrophe to attract our attention. Hence, I repeat, why should we care?

The reason we should pay close attention to the mounting crisis and escalating war is the vital strategic importance of the Horn of Africa to the United States and its close allies. The geo-strategic position of Ethiopia is central to several mega-dynamics stretching all the way from the Middle East to East Africa. Thus, the impact of instability and war reverberates directly to the heart of such areas commonly accepted as vital interests of the United States as Israel or the oil producing states of the Persian Gulf. Here are several major strategic factors in the region, demonstrating its great importance to the security interests of the United States:

1. The security of the Red Sea/Suez Canal Sea Lane of Communication (SLOC), which vitally affects EastWest trade (not just the oil trade) between Europe and Asia, including particularly Japan and Australia. Within this context, the ability of Israel and Jordan to maintain adequate maritime access to the Red Sea (and therefore world trade) is significant.

2. The containment of the spread of Islamist radicalism and terrorism—a process currently sponsored by Sudan’s National Islamic Front (NIF) Government with the assistance of Iran. The hub of international terrorism in Sudan supports subversion throughout the Arab world and East Africa. A personal patron of Osama bin Laden, Hassan al-Turabi, Sudan’s spiritual leader, was instrumental in inspiring and sponsoring the bombing of the U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Having sponsored the eviction of the United States from Somalia, Khartoum is now trying to capitalize on the crisis in the Horn of Africa in order to evict the United States from the rest of this strategically critical area. Toward this end, the Islamists support several Islamist separatist movements in both Eritrea and Ethiopia, most notably the support for the radical separatist Oromo forces designed to break up Ethiopia still further.

3. The management of the Nile waters is critical to the stability, prosperity and growth of Sudan and Egypt, and therefore the stability of the entire Middle East. Egypt is completely dependent on the Nile water for its very existence and Cairo will therefore do anything to ensure the Nile’s uninterrupted flow—including joining the radicals of the Muslim world, turning on the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Israel, etc. Sudan is also the driving force behind and key sponsor of the destabilization of Egypt. Gaining a foothold in Ethiopia will provide Khartoum with the possibility to manipulate the Nile’s flow without direct implications.

Thus, stability in the Horn of Africa, and especially the existence of a unified and pro-Western Ethiopia, is of crucial importance to the national security of the United States. We must care and worry about the escalation of the Ethiopia-Eritrea war and the Sudan-sponsored Islamist forces exploiting it. This position is shared by the Ethiopian Crown Council. In my previous comments, I urged that we help reinforce the position of Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie, the President of the Crown Council of Ethiopia, who is attempting to restore a policy of unity and moderation on Ethiopia and the region. Recently, Prince Ermias has written an excellent analysis of the crisis for the Defense & Foreign Affairs: Strategic Policy, the journal of the respected International Strategic Studies Association. In this overview, he urges that we see the Eritrea-Ethiopia conflict in the context of the broader regional strategic situation, to ensure that radicalization of the region. Prince Ermias stresses the dire ramifications of the deteriorating situation in Ethiopia:

“What we see now [in Ethiopia] is far less democracy and opportunity and prosperity than was being created under the Constitutional Monarchy of Haile Selassie. What we are witnessing today is a society led by people who arrived on the scene by accident; who are mired in divisive, petty squabbling. The result is that the region is divided and at risk. And the risk is one shared by the entire world: a further breakdown in the region could lead to the collapse of the pivotal powers, and a total disruption of the trade routes and the Middle Eastern oil trade. But worse than this, by not seeing the Ethiopia-Eritrea dispute in the broader context and acting accordingly, the world may be condemning the peoples of the region, including those of Egypt and North Africa, Arabia and the Northern Tier, to many more years of despair.”

I share the view and the anguish. I add that the strategic posture of the United States is adversely affected by the reverberations from, and impact of, the continued war in the Horn of Africa. This is why we should not only pay attention to events there, but also act to bring an end to the war. However, any negotiated settlement that would leave the regional strategic posture unchanged would only be a short term and temporary solution. Ultimately, it is imperative that long-term solutions are attained—nation building and economic revitalization under condition conducive for flow of private funds, not just hand outs of humanitarian assistance.

What makes the situation in the Horn of Africa so unique is that there is no need for a US military intervention in order to establish such stability. There are indigenous forces in Ethiopia that, if properly supported, can help their own country and the entire region. I’m talking about the Ethiopian Crown Council. Constitutional monarchy, as was the case in the days of Emperor Haile Selassie, provides the best opportunity for Ethiopia. Mr Speaker, it is clear that in Prince Ermias we have someone who understands, and can help stabilize the entire Horn of Africa. The situation is now becoming critical, and we must find ways to support him in the process of reunifying Ethiopia, which cannot be allowed to be dismembered, and in helping to bring about regional reconciliation—thus protecting and furthering national security interests of the United States and its close allies.

Congressman Saxton is also former Chairman, and currently Vice-Chairman, of the Joint Economic Committee of Congress, the joint House-Senate body which has a major say in US foreign aid and economic policies.

In an important policy statement in the US Congress this week, the Chairman of the House of Representatives Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare called for the restoration of the Ethiopian Monarchy as a means of helping stop “the building crisis and slide toward a regional and fratricidal war” in the Horn of Africa.

Congressman Jim Saxton (Republican, New Jersey) also called for support for His Imperial Highness Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie, President of the Crown Council of Ethiopia, “who has repeatedly exeplified the capable, unifying symbolism which Ethiopia desperately needs”. Congressman Saxton is also a member of the National Security Committee. He made his remarks on the floor of the House of Representatives on February 9.

The full text of his statement is as follows:

Mr SAXTON. Mr Speaker, if permitted to escalate, the mounting crisis in the Horn of Africa will have dire ramifications on the strategic posture of the United States. Presently, there is no end in sight, other than war, in this Ethiopia-Eritrea conflict. The mediation of Assistant Secretary of State Susan Rice and former National Security Advisor Anthony Lake have so far failed to reverse the slide toward war. Vital interests of the United States, Israel and the West are jeopardized, particularly if the Islamist-supported further break-up of Ethiopia is permitted to occur.

A unified Ethiopia is vital to the regional security and economic structure. If Ethiopia were to become fragmented, as Sudanese leaders seek, then Israel’s economic and military security, as well as its access to the Red Sea would be jeopardized. Instability in Ethiopia would destabilize Egypt and Saudi Arabia and the vital Red Sea-Suez trade link.

The key to the reversal of the Ethiopia-Eritrea conflict and the ensuing fragmentation of Ethiopia lies in the rejuvenation of Ethiopia’s national identity. Toward this end, the US needs to help Ethiopia find the unifying symbols to strengthen the country and ensure its commitment to moderation. Until 1974, Ethiopia, the region and the US benefited greatly from the statesmanship and friendship of Emperor Haile Selassie. Ethiopia has since declined into ethnic enclaves and divisiveness, and lays open to Eritrean, Sudanese and irridentist attacks.

The Ethiopian Crown today is a Constitutional Monarchy, ready to return home to provide the inspirational symbolism under which elected day-to-day government can emerge and flourish. Moreover, the stature of the Crown throughout the Horn of Africa makes the Crown uniquely capable of mediating an indigenous solution to the building crisis and slide toward a regional and fratricidal war. The President of the Ethiopian Crown Council and grandson of Emperor Haile Selassie is Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie, who has repeatedly exemplified the capable, unifying symbolism which Ethiopia desperately needs. By encouraging Prince Ermias’s use of the prestige of the Crown and Ethiopia’s traditional elders and institutions to resolve conflict, we can help heal the rifts which are a legacy of decades of civil strife.

Mr Speaker, I therefore urge Ethiopia’s civil government to allow the Crown’s return to help unify and stabilize the State, and thereby help preserve Ethiopian, regional and Western security and economic interests.

The President of the Crown Council of Ethiopia, His Imperial Highness Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie, arrived in Amman, Jordan, today to attend the funeral and mourning period for His Late Majesty King Hussein of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Apart from representing the Imperial Family and the Crown of Ethiopia at the services, Prince Ermias also brought a message of support to His Majesty King Abdullah, who succeeds King Hussein.

“The Ethiopian and Jordanian Crowns have, since the founding of the Hashemite State, shared a great mutual respect,” Prince Ermias said in a statement prepared before he left Washington. “My late Grandfather, His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie, had enormous warmth of feeling for the achievements and personal character of His Late Majesty King Hussein. The Jordanian Royal Family also afforded great support to the Ethiopian Imperial Family after the coup and regicide of 1974-75, and it is important that today, as the guard changes in Jordan, we show just how deeply our feelings are for the late King and for his Family.”

“His Majesty King Hussein, a descendant of the Prophet Mohammed, truly respected the Prophet’s injunction that the Crown and People of Ethiopia should be regarded as protected friends of Islam, and this paved the way for warm bilateral relations between our peoples and Monarchies,” Prince Ermias said. “We are also aware of the great interest which the new Monarch, His Majesty King Abdullah, has shown in African affairs. He comes to the Throne as a man of considerable leadership experience and a great knowledge of international affairs, and we have great confidence in his ability to handle the enormous challenges which face him.”

“Ethiopia and Jordan both have vital interests in maintaining the freedom and stability of the Red Sea sea lanes, and both are pivotal nations in the overall process of peace, stability and progress for the entire Middle East region. The Ethiopian Crown, although currently in Exile, commits itself to working with His Majesty King Abdullah and his Government, in the furtherance of the regional good.”

“The Ethiopian Crown is now preoccupied with attempting to help address the problem of renewed conflict in and around Ethiopia, and we hope to consult with our brother, King Abdullah, about this.”

“God Bless the sacred memory of His Late Majesty King Hussein. God Bless and Protect the reign and Person of His Majesty King Abdullah.”

The Ethiopian Monarchy today called on all Ethiopians to put aside their political differences to unify in the face of the new military and insurgent threats to the security of the State. Ethiopia’s continued existence as a federal nation-state was now threatened more than at any time since the Italian invasion of 1935, according to Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie, the President of the Crown Council of Ethiopia.

Prince Ermias authorized the release of the statement issued today from the US Legation of the Ethiopian Crown in Exile before he left Washington DC to represent the Ethiopian Crown at the funeral services and mourning period for His Majesty King Hussein in Amman. Prince Ermias said that the State of Ethiopia was ill-equipped to meet the two major military and separatist threats which now faced it.

“Unfortunately, mistakes were made after the removal of the genocidal Dergue administration in 1991,” Prince Ermias said. “The present civil administration in Ethiopia had, after taking power in the name of Tigrean separatism in 1991, divided the country into ethnic enclaves, making it difficult for the country to successfully resist the current external threats. Now, we must come together again, and we must rally around the traditional symbols of Ethiopian unity, including the Crown, which belongs to all Ethiopia’s ethnic and religious communities.”

“The Ethiopian people — representing more than 40 ethnic and linguistic groups — must now pull together to resist the military and political threats being posed by Eritrea and certain Sudanese extremist groups,” Prince Ermias said. “Our first cause must be the preservation of our State; our economic and cultural survival depend on this.”

“It is critical, if we are all to pull together, that the present civil administration in Addis Ababa also commits to the unity of Ethiopia and the reconciliation of its peoples by dramatically improving its record on human rights. This means releasing political prisoners and beginning the process of allowing full political involvement and debate within the society. The administration has said that it wishes the support of all Ethiopians, and to achieve this it must now ensure that all Ethiopians are free from oppression.”

Prince Ermias is the grandson of Emperor Haile Selassie I, and the nephew of Emperor Amha Selassie I. He was named head of the Crown Council of Ethiopia in 1993. The Council advises reigning Emperors and, during any interregnum (such as now), the Council actually represents the 3,000-year-old Solomonic Crown of Ethiopia. No accession to the Throne may be made, according to the Constitution, unless sanctioned by the Crown Council.

“It is inconceivable that Ethiopia, with some 60-million people, cannot resist a military incursion by the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) fighters,” the Prince said. “However, at the same time, we find radical Islamists in Sudan defying the command of the Prophet Mohammed, who specifically forbade Muslims from attacking Ethiopia. Today, the radicals want to break Ethiopia up into a patchwork of small Muslim states, destroying the balanced and harmonious mix of loyal Ethiopian Muslims and Orthodox Christians who have traditionally made Ethiopia an example of religious tolerance.”

“Ethiopia must return to its traditional unifying symbol, the Crown,” Prince Ermias said. “The Crown can and will work with the elected representatives of Ethiopia’s civil administration to ensure that the pride and traditional strengths of our country are restored. The Crown is ready now to work with all Ethiopian civil, military and religious institutions to help strengthen the unity of the State in the face of the most serious threats which now challenge our very survival.”

Prince Ermias, along with the International Strategic Studies Association (ISSA), a Washington-based international NGO, had in October 1998 offered to help mediate a peaceful end to Asmara’s dispute with Ethiopia. “It now seems clear that neither side wished to negotiate an end to the conflict,” the Prince said, “so today we must do all we can to bolster the unity of Ethiopia in order to stave off any threats to the integrity of the State.”

“The continued unity and stability of Ethiopia is vital to the security of the region, to the stable flow of Nile waters to Sudan and Egypt, to the security of the Red Sea sea lanes, and to the overall Middle Eastern peace process.”

“Any aggressors threatening Ethiopia should know that the Crown, with its considerable support among the population of the State and with its widespread international connections, will help rally the defenses of the nation. At the same time, we will continue to fight for the human rights and prosperity of all the inhabitants of Ethiopia, and for the peace and security of the entire region.”

One of Ethiopia’s great cultural and religious treasures of the modern era, the Holy Trinity Cathedral, in Addis Ababa, is in urgent need of repairs and restoration. The Cathedral — which houses the tombs of Her Imperial Majesty Empress Menem, His Imperial Majesty Emperor Amha Selassie I, Their Imperial Highnesses the Duke of Harar and Prince Sahle Selassie — is home to the Battle Standards of the Imperial Ethiopian forces, including the units which fought in the Korean War.

The Ethiopian Crown Council has taken up the cause of trying to raise funds for the urgent repairs, which are estimated to cost some 2.4-million birr (appr. $330,000), and is urging readers to send donations to the Haile Selassie Fund for Ethiopia’s Children, in the US, along with the form on page seven, earmarking the funds to be forwarded to the Cathedral authorities’ restoration fund. An address in Addis will be advised soon where donations can be made. Meanwhile, readers in Ethiopia should send their donations directly to the Cathedral, specifying that the money is to go to the restoration program.

The cornerstone for the great cathedral was laid by His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie I in December 1931 (Western calendar; 1924 EC), only a year after his coronation as Emperor, and well before the Italian invasion. His Holiness the Patriarch, Abuna John the 18th of Alexandria, blessed the occasion.

Work on construction was suspended with the Italian invasion of 1935 (1928 EC), but resumed in 1941 with the liberation of the nation. The cathedral, which was inaugurated in 1944, was named “Holy Trinity” and dedicated to the memory of the patriots who died defending Ethiopia. The Emperor had taken a personal and constant rôle in overseeing the construction of Holy Trinity.

The cathedral has since witnessed the consecration of a number of archbishops and the ordination of many priests and deacons of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.

Emperor Haile Selassie used the cathedral on public holidays, and members of the Imperial Family frequented it. Several of them were later laid to rest there.

The cathedral was enlarged in 1946, the second of three phases in the construction of what is now the completed Holy Trinity. The third and final phase was underway in 1964, adding an additional 500sq.m. of space. Today, this, the most modern and largest church in Ethiopia, is used for the major religious ceremonies of the country.

One of the great murals in Holy Trinity depicts Emperor Haile Selassie pleading for the liberation of Ethiopia at the League of Nations. Another mural, which takes a full wall, depicts “the progressive march of four modern Ethiopian emperors, Téwodros, Yohannes, Menelik II, and Haile Selassie I”, under the watchful gaze of the mounted figure of Saint George, Ethiopia’s patron saint.

A bronze plaque in the cathedral commemorates the collaboration of the British and Ethiopian armies in the liberation of the nation, and the battle ensigns of Ethiopian regiments, garlanded with their battle honors, hang from staffs in the walls.

Superb examples of silver and wooden processional and hand crosses in the traditional Ethiopian style, along with an extensive library, sacred vessels, pyxes and ceremonial umbrellas are among the treasures in Holy Trinity, while outside are the graves of many who died defending the country.

The beautiful cathedral now, however, is facing problems. Leakage in various parts of the roof is worsening, causing serious damage to the interior, including damage to some precious religious paintings and to the windows.

A meeting was called on May 27, 1995, to take preliminary steps to address the problem. The present Patriarch, His Holiness Abuna Paulos, was present and called for the faithful to fulfill their religious obligations by contributing their share to the restoration of the cathedral. A Fundraising Committee of 15 people was established to work within the country and abroad on the project.

An international contractor, EMC (Elmecon plc,), of the UK, was called in to make a complete study of the problems, and has filed a full report to the cathedral committee. The cost for repairing the roof, the most urgent part of the program, is estimated at 975,687 birr ($137,000 appr.).

“Holy Trinity represents the unity of modern Ethiopia,” the President of the Crown Council, Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie said. “The cathedral is an important physical and spiritual home of the Nation. My Father, Grandmother and Uncles are entombed there, but so, too, are the bodies and spirits of those who have lived and died for the integrity and unity of our country.”

“We must now give willingly to preserve it.”

Ethiopia’s unity and very survival as a nation-state was being challenged today more than at any time for many centuries, according to the Christmas Message of the President of the Ethiopian Crown Council, His Imperial Highness Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie. “The dismemberment of Ethiopia would be a disaster not only for Ethiopians but for the entire world,” the representative of the Ethiopian Monarchy said today in his seasonal message of goodwill to Ethiopians inside the country and in the diaspora.

Speaking from Washington DC, where the Ethiopian Crown is currently in exile, Prince Ermias said that, despite the dangers, there were signs of hope that Ethiopians were taking the initiative to restore the unity and traditional symbols of their country in the face of enormous foreign pressure and intervention. Ethiopia’s Solomonic dynasty, which traces its origins back to the union of Israel’s King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, is the oldest leadership institution in the world today, extending back some 3,000 years.

Prince Ermias’s brief Christmas Message said:

“To all Ethiopians, inside our homeland and to those Ethiopians scattered in a diaspora to a hundred more countries around the world, the Crown of Ethiopia sends Greetings at this sacred time of the year, and hope and encouragement for the coming months as our country faces its most severe threats for many centuries to its unity and very survival.

“As we approach the date of the Orthodox Christmas and in the midst of Ramadan, already being celebrated by Ethiopian Muslims, we bring you a message of hope and support. Ethiopia is under assault from many forces, internal and external, and there are those radicals in the Sudan who have threatened to embark on a campaign to dismember our country, and break it up into a patchwork of insignificant states. The threat from Islamist radicals in Sudan comes in defiance of the Order of the Prophet Mohammed that Ethiopia should not be attacked. And yet this threat, and the threats to unity posed by those within our country, and from the military attacks on our borders by Eritrea, has only served as a final warning to all Ethiopians that our way of life, our institutions and our very history are under assault.

“As a result, we have as a people and as a union of peoples begun to rally. The Ethiopian Crown has, since the torch was passed to the Crown Council by His late Majesty Emperor Amha Selassie I in January 1997, begun to once again provide this rallying point for Ethiopia, a unifying symbol for all of its citizens and, we hope, all of its political parties and movements. This has come not a moment too soon. The break-up of Ethiopia would mean the impoverishment of Ethiopians, who would lose their economic and political viability. It would mean the loss of a culture which, with unbroken continuity, represents the longest-span of human civilization.

“Ethiopia is a cultural treasure of the entire world. But it is also a vital strategic bulwark, ensuring the stability of the flow of the waters of the Nile, so vital to the economic and social security of Sudan and Egypt, and also directly to the future of the Palestinean-Israeli peace. Ethiopia is vital to the security of the Horn of Africa, and therefore the security of the Red Sea and Suez Canal sea lanes. This, then, bears directly on the stability of global trade and also on the stability of the oil-producing states of the Arabian Peninsula.

“Today, Ethiopians and Eritreans ponder their ongoing border dispute. But many of the threats which face Ethiopia also face Eritrea, and it is vital that we find an early end to this family dispute before the external pressures hurt both our peoples. Ultimately, geography dictates that Eritreans and Ethiopians must live together, and it is important that — regardless of our disagreements — we be able to face the external threats together.

“Within Ethiopia, we have seen the start of some measure of healing. The release from political captivity in Addis Ababa of Professor Asrat Woldeyes, the founder of the All-Amhara Peoples’ Organization, last week was a victory, an overdue victory, for the collective action of Ethiopians who have demanded that national leaders respect the voices of a free people. We acknowledge that this step, brought about by more than five years of pressure from Ethiopians and foreign governments, is truly a first step in a process which could lead to a healing of the divisions inflicted upon our society beginning when the Dergue seized power illegally in 1974. We should acknowledge that the release was to enable Dr Asrat to receive medical treatment; it did not lift the charges against him. Nonetheless, it was a move in the right direction.

“We thank the Ethiopian community for helping to bring this about. We also thank most profoundly the Governments of the United States and Britain, among others, for continuing to press for Dr Asrat’s release. But should also be aware that Dr Asrat, a man of medicine, teaching and tolerance — a man opposed to violence as a political tool — remains in poor health as a result of his confinement and lack of medical attention. His illness and his detention serve as a condemnation of the lack of tolerance which, during the past eight years, have divided our country when it could have been healing and uniting. And should Dr Asrat suffer further, or die, as a result of his confinement, then it would remain a permanent and possibly irreversible blight on the image of the administration now in power in Addis Ababa. But for now we must look upon his release as a symbol of goodwill and a good omen for the reunification of our country.

“So, for now, the Crown of Ethiopia, the servant of all the peoples of Ethiopia, wishes you a safe and hopeful Holiday Season. And, in the name of the Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, we ask a blessing on all Ethiopians and all of who support them. We pray with you that the coming year will be more peaceful; that violence will recede from the horizon; and that we may all work together in harmony for the prosperity and dignity of a united Ethiopia.”

Rwanda’s King Kigeli V, the Umwami w’u Rwanda, and current head of a dynasty which goes back in an unbroken line to the year 1081 (Western calendar), is seen here (right of picture) meeting with Ethiopian Crown Council President Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie at the Strategy ’98 dinner in Washington DC on October 6, 1998.

Both Prince Ermias and His Majesty are wearing decorations awarded by the International Strategic Studies Association (ISSA), a worldwide NGO for senior government officials involved in national policy and strategic affairs. King Kigeli was awarded the ISSA Gold Medal Award for Outstanding Contributions to Strategic Progress for Humanitarian Achievements for 1998. This recognized the King’s work to warn the world of the impending genocides in Rwanda over the past decade.

Prince Ermias is wearing the ISSA medal he was awarded in 1997 for his work in attempting to draw international attention to the plight of Ethiopian refugees, who are often in difficult conditions in remote parts of the world. Prince Ermias has travelled extensively throughout Africa, the Caribbean and the Middle East, and has met with dozens of heads-of-state, heads-of-government and senior government officials during the past three years to raise the awareness of the needs of the Ethiopian refugee communities in their midst.

Prince Ermias is also wearing the Battle of Adwa Centenary Medal, issued by the Crown Council to recognize the great victory by the forces of his kinsmen, Emperor Menelik II, over the Italians in 1896. The medal is being re-struck (see story, page seven) to recognize Ethiopian patriots and supporters of Ethiopia to recognize the 103rd anniversary of the battle this month.

Both Prince Ermias and King Kigeli spoke at the big Strategy’98 conference, the Global Strategic Forum, about the strategic situations in their respective countries. As well, both participated in a special briefing to the United States Congress in September, and then again to the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee on October 14.

The briefing to the Senate was held in the rarely-used Senate Treaty Room, the ornate and beautifully-decorated chamber used by the Senate to greet heads-of-state and special dignitaries.

It was at the Senate briefing that Prince Ermias repeated the offer — initially made at Strategy’98 — for the Crown Council to act as a mediating, or conflict resolution, body for the Ethiopia-Eritrea dispute. At the time, Prince Ermias warned that not only would the conflict worsen if not resolved, it would also create animosities within the Ethiopian family of nations which would take generations to heal.

Neither party to the conflict was, at that time, disposed to consider a resolution to the conflict which did indeed worsen.

King Kigeli also discussed, at the conference, the seemingly intractable civil war situation in his country. Discussions are now underway to try to get the King’s return to Rwanda by modifying the colonial constitution (left to the state by the Belgians) to allow his return, where he is seen as the only national unifying figure capable of bringing about reconciliation between the three major groups in Rwanda: the Hutu, Tutsi and Twa.

The ISSA Awards automatically invested both leaders as Life Members of the prestigious association, which is involved in global conflict resolution studies.

The organization, Moa Anbessa: Ethiopians for a Constitutional Monarchy, has been formally separated from the Ethiopian Crown, which helped bring it to life, so that it can become an independent political party inside and outside Ethiopia. Moa Anbessa — the Conquering Lion — was formed by His Imperial Majesty Emperor Amha Selassie I as a support organization for the Crown.

A Crown Council Proclamation of June 3, 1998, (^ 1991) set the stage by announcing the Crown’s decision to bring about the separation, noting: “Whereas His Imperial Majesty Emperor Amha Selassie I, of blessed memory, mindful in exile of the importance of providing an organization which could link the Crown with all Ethiopians, promoted and encouraged the formation of Moa Anbessa as a mass membership body wherein all Ethiopians would be eligible to make their wishes known to the Crown;”

“The Crown Council of Ethiopia (^), upon which the affairs of the Crown now Constitutionally rest following the death of Emperor Amha Selassie I, mindful of the fact that our beloved Ethiopia is now facing military attack and political upheaval, and mindful of the fact that the rôle of the Crown of Ethiopia is symbolic, unifying and healing for the peoples of Ethiopia, and should not be, or be seen to be, engaged in political activities, and yet mindful of the important rôle which Moa Anbessa can make to Ethiopia as a movement of our peoples concerned about the unity and sovereignty of the entire nation, Does Hereby Declare That”

1. “The Crown of Ethiopia hereby severs all formal links, and whatever influence and control with and over Moa Anbessa it may have in the past enjoyed, in order that Moa Anbessa be freed to pursue political and social goals on behalf of the peoples of Ethiopia, whether as a mass organization or as a political party, free to decide among its membership its charter and goals;”
2. “The Crown of Ethiopia wishes to express its warmest thanks to the membership and executives of Moa Anbessa for their voluntary and spontaneous support for the Crown, and hopes that this support, understanding and dialog which has developed through Moa Anbessa toward and with the Crown be sustained forever into the future;”
3. “The Crown of Ethiopia in particular recognizes the enormous creativity, drive and commitment of those members of Moa Anbessa who made the organization a viable and vibrant symbol of the Ethiopian people’s ongoing familial bond with the Crown and the Throne of Solomon, and in this regard pays tribute to Dr Getachew Mekasha, the [Founding] President of Moa Anbessa, and those executives and members of the organization who remain in our beloved homeland, defending its traditions, symbols, way of life and our national freedom;”
4. “The Crown of Ethiopia reaffirms that it is not linked with any individual political party of Ethiopia, or of any other country, in any way other than diplomatic, and except in the pursuit of the reaffirmation of the Crown’s ongoing rôle as the symbol of leadership of all of the peoples of Ethiopia, and execept and other than in the normal function of the relationship which all political parties and all peoples may have with their Sovereign, and the Sovereign with them.”

Moa Anbessa, in a letter this month to members, noted:

“The Ethiopian Monarchy has played a significant rôle in the administration of the country over a long period of time. The Crown had united the country under one administration and made it internationally known. This has enabled the Crown to be identified with maintaining the nation’s freedom, unity, equality, justice, the continuation of modernization, and the protector and guarantor of its soveriegnty. The Crown as part of the people, has contibuted its share in the social, cultural, and economic development of the nation.”

“In the context of protecting the people and the nation, the Crown has defended the country from both external and internal enemies. It has also been victorious. In times of disagreements or conflicts arising from internal squabbles between differing ethnic groups or in matters of religious disputes the Crown has played the rôle of peacemaker, and by taking the high ground was able to render a mediating role to facilitate an era of tranquility, peace and stability. It is for this reason that Ethiopia was able to defend its sovereignty, and continue on the path of modernization from one generation to the next.”

“This is not to say that all those who occupied the throne were all faultless or forward looking. History will tell us that there were those Emperors who were not in touch with the people’s needs or were not willing to advance with the times and as such were detrimental to the advancement of the nation.”

“The fact that the reigns of certain Emperors were detrimental to the life of the nation does not necessarily negate the purpose or need for a constructive rôle for the monarchy. It is precisely for this reason that the current Crown Council having assessed trends and development within Ethiopia and internationally has proposed the introduction of a constitutional monarchy which would not supplant the elected government, but facilitate a nascent democracy to emerge.”

“Under a constitutional monarchy, the monarchy will play its due historical rôle given to it by the constitution. Government with the responsibility of running the administration would then be electable through the people voting for an individual candidate or a single party that would be able to garner the largest amount of votes.”

“Moa Anbessa and the supporters of the Monarchy, to make this feasible, have created a political party and have named it Ethiopians for Constitutional Monarchy. This political party will carry the following agendas.
“A. It will organize and lead all those supporters of the monarchy both inside and outside the country.”
“B. It will educate people about the beneficial rôle of a constitutional monarchy in relevance to Ethiopia’s unity, historical legacy and continuity, in protecting the country’s sovereignty.”
“C. It will create and implement these programs.”
“D. It will research and put in place beneficial foundations that will enable Constitutional Monarchy to be feasible.”
“The principal aim of Ethiopians for Constitutional Monarchy will be that Ethiopians will be able to freely choose through a referandum to reinstate the monarchy.”
“Ethiopians for Constitutional Monarchy will from time to time create and formulate new programs.”
“A. It will conduct diplomatic and propaganda programs.”
“B. It will work along with other political parties that believe in the unity of Ethiopia, in the equality of its citizens and in the fundmental prinicipal that all power eminsates from the people.”
“Ethiopia reaches her hands unto God.”

Moa Anbessa officials have now begun the process of re-registering members in the organization in its political form. It is anticipated that the party will soon re-open its offices in Addis Ababa and around the world.

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