His Imperial Highness Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie, President of the Crown Council of Ethiopia has sent New Year’s Greetings to all Ethiopians and friends of Ethiopia. The Ethiopian New Year, bringing in the year 2003 in the Ethiopian (Julian) calendar, falls on Meskerem (ነሐሴ) 1, equivalent to September 11, 2010, in the Western calendar.
In his New Year’s Message, His Imperial Highness said: “The Crown of Ethiopia has been with the global diaspora of the Ethiopian Peoples since 1974 (1966 in the Julian calendar). In this time, as with the late Emperor Haile Selassie I’s brief exile in Britain during the war with Italy, we have seen that the long history of the Ethiopian Crown — the Solomonic dynasty and culture — represents the single unbroken historical ‘genetic chain’ of Western civilization, from pre-Christian times until today. It is also the great link between Western civilization and Africa, the font of all humanity.”
Prince Ermias continued: “Serving the global diaspora, and Western and African civilization, as well as the People in Ethiopia themselves, has shown that the Ethiopian Crown has a duty which is wider than mere national geography. At the same time, we are immensely proud of the progress made by the Ethiopian People and their Government in Ethiopia since the removal of the illegal Dergue which attempted to destroy our history and which engaged in regicide, murder, and tyranny. Ethiopia and Ethiopians are today marching forward, and three millennia of Solomonic values have tied us into the global civilizational mainstream as well as placing us firmly in the historical roots of modern civilization.”
He particularly thanked those Ethiopians and non-Ethiopians honored over the years by the Crown for their service to the Crown, to Ethiopia, and for their commitment to the values and humanitarian endeavors for which the Crown works.
“We are immensely proud of the fact that The International Society for the Imperial Ethiopian Orders has now been formed to bring together the Ethiopian and international communities of those who have worked to preserve our values and to protect humanity. Those invested with Orders and Honors of the Ethiopian Crown include a number of world leaders, and other distinguished individuals from Ethiopia and around the globe. We thank you all for your good works and look forward to working with you over the coming years for the good of humanity and civilization.”
