The Crown Council of Ethiopia

The Crown Council extended its sincerest condolences to the families of the victims of the collapse of the Mewa Tsadkan Gabriel church in Ethiopia’s Gondar region.

At least 15 people died when a church in which they were collapsed. It is estimated that some 500 worshippers were in attendance when the collapse occurred. The roof of the ancient church, carved out of rock, caved in as worshippers celebrated the annual feast of St Gabriel's on Monday.

Twenty people were rescued from the rubble of the 800-year old structure. News of the accident took a week to reach the outside world because the church is in a remote area, about 100 kilometers north of Gondar, the main town in the region and 500 kilometers from the capital of Addis Ababa.

The church was one of the earliest to be built by King Lalibela, who ruled the Horn of Africa nation from the late 12th Century to the early 13th Century. Ethiopia is home to dozens of churches carved out of rock hundreds of years ago, which draw tourists from around the world.

UNESCO named the rock-hewn churches of Ethiopia to its World Heritage List in 1978. The Crown Council renews its call to international historic preservation entities to assist in the preservation of the remaining churches and the eventual rebuilding of this, one of the oldest churches in Ethiopia.

Donations to the Haile Selassie Fund are being accepted to go to victims aid and preservation of historic and cultural sites in Ethiopia.

Thirteen other Haile Selassie Fund scholarship students remain at LaRoche College, and will be graduating in the 2003-2004 school year. Ken Service, the Vice President of Institutional Relations at LaRoche, has described the Ethiopian students as a “delightful addition to our campus.” In the words of Monsignor Kerr, the President of LaRoche, the Haile Selassie Fund scholarship program has been “a very good experiment. [The Ethiopian scholars] have applied themselves very well.” He noted also those who “have distinguished themselves academically,” pointing to a number of Ethiopian scholars who have earned opportunities for advanced study at the graduate level.

Commenting on the success of the Ethiopian scholarship recipients, Prince Ermias added, “Each of the students has made a name for themselves. For instance, both Shakir Mohammed and Rakeb Abebe represented LaRoche College at public events, distinguishing themselves for their public speaking skills.” Rakeb is now attending a graduate program in American University in Washington D.C. According to Mr. Service, she represented LaRoche at a Black History event in New York City’s world-famous Apollo Theater, speaking before 1500 people. “We were honored to have her there,” Mr. Service added.

Shakir was president of Globe, the international student organization on the LaRoche campus. Monsignor Kerr praised his work with Globe, noting, “he made it much more visible on campus, encouraging U.S. students to participate as well.” Shakir has received a scholarship to University of Pittsburgh and is planning to get a graduate degree in international affairs.

Monsignor Kerr was impressed that the Ethiopian students have a “great love for their country… and deep gratitude to His Highness.” Upon graduating, the Ethiopian scholars presented a plaque to LaRoche College and Monsignor Kerr, who recalled the event by speaking of the “great deal of affection shared” between the students and the college.

Prince Ermias in turn noted his own gratitude to Monsignor Kerr and LaRoche College: “This has been a remarkable opportunity for these students. We are tremendously fortunate to have such a collaboration with LaRoche, and we know that the experiences these students have shared there will change their lives forever.”

On October 22nd, 2003, HIH Prince Ermias Sahle Selassie paid a 2-day private visit to Hungary. During his visit, he was received by HE Dr. Ferenc Mádl, President of the Hungarian Republic, HE Péter Harrach, Vice President of the Hungarian Parliament, and also with Dr. Dr. Zsolt Semjén, Vice President of the Parliamentarian Committee of Human Rights, Minorities, and Religion. The main topics of discussion were religious freedom and national cultural traditions.

The Prince was also welcomed at Pannonhalma by Bishop Asztoik Várszegi Archabbot of Pannonhalma as well as by ecclesiastical dignitaries in the Primate's Palace in Esztengom. He also had meetings on spritual and charitable aspects with the Hungarian Association of Sovereign Military Order of Malta, the importance of which was stressed by HE Mr. Lázló Kóczy.

HIH Princess Tenagnework died in Addis Ababa at the age of 90 on April 6, 2003, and was buried in the Holy Trinity Cathedral on April 13, 2003. Her funeral, presided over by Abuna Paulos, was attended by high clergy of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and the Ethiopian royal family, who were joined by thousands of mourners who came from many different parts of Ethiopia.

Princess Tenagnework was the first daughter of the late emperor, His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie, through his wife, Empress Menen, and the last of their children still living. Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie, president of the Crown Council, attended the funeral in honor of his aunt, and commented on the importance of the event as an opportunity to commemorate her charitable works.

“Her Highness was a leader in education, a leader in building new schools, a leader in women’s issues. She worked with the disabled, with the blind, with the sick. Her sponsorship of Ethiopian students who studied overseas serves as a role model to us, as her larger charitable works serve as a role model to all of Ethiopia.”

“This is a time for healing, and a time for remembrance,” Prince Ermias noted. “The Crown Council and the Ethiopian royal family mourn her passing.”

Your Excellency Bishop Serafim of Leiria – Fátima, Your Reverence Monsignor Luciano Guerra, Rector of the Shrine, Reverend Brothers and Sisters, Brothers and Sisters; Greeting in Our Lord Jesus:

It is an honor to be here with you today at one of the most holy of Western Europe’s Marian Shrines.

In my own homeland of Ethiopia, I recall the many beautiful ancient monasteries, churches, and pilgrimage sites much like this one, many of them dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary Mother of God, Ark of the Covenant, and also to the Archangel Saint Michael, whom the Portuguese Kings in the days when the explorers first came to my Country designated as Angel of Portugal and Angel of Peace. The same Angel who probably appeared here in Fátima in 1916.

Today it is a great joy for me to be here in the Kingdom of Santa Maria, in this land known as a land of Peace, the Cove of Peace – Fatima!

This is the joy of Fatima – the Oasis of Peace – the fountain of Peace for the family, for countries for the world. To be able to share its gift, its spirituality, and the power of its message with the whole world – is an honor that has been given to each and every one of us, by our Holy Mother, irregardless of race or creed.

We gather here today in this place and feel a supernatural motherly comfort in the midst of a deeply troubled world. Everywhere we look today, we are confronted with a new outbreak of war, or famine, a new and brutal cycle of oppression and retaliation, a new horror in the newspaper’s front-page headlines.

In my own country, we have just fought a war in which thousands of lives were lost over a border conflict which even now is set to reignite at a moment’s notice. This, when Ethiopia stands on the brink of a devastating famine for the third time in thirty years. I believe in the power of the Blessed Virgin at Fátima and entrust to her these situations asking you also my dear brothers to pray for these intentions.

It is only natural, to turn to our faith in times of tragedy, to ask higher powers for guidance. But this should not be the case for faithful Christians, their relationship with Heaven should be of an continuous communication of Love.

The apparitions of Fatima are over 85 years old now, but for those of us who look to our faith for direction, the story of those apparitions still hold many answers. Many of these are fresh blossoms from these seeds planted by the Virgin Mary almost a century ago. In the midst of the darkness of the first world war, the Virgin Mary appeared in a vision before three little children, and gave them a message of hope. Peace, she said to them, could be in reach for the entire world. War, she said, and hunger, were but temporary suffering we could overcome by seeking God’s will by consecrating ourselves to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

In the years since World War One, millions of Christians have heard this message and sought to bring it into a wider world. It is a message with power and poignancy, even for those who have lost their faith, or have begun to doubt it. Simply put, it tells us that a better world is within our reach, that all the trauma and suffering of modernity is avoidable, even unnecessary.

The apparitions of Fatima came as Russia slipped deeper into a revolution which would kill the tsars and ultimately bring the darkness of religious and economic oppression to all corners of the globe, even to my own homeland where my beloved grandfather the Emperor Haile Selassie, who visited this wonderful land in August of 1959 met him untimely death at the hands of revolutionaries.

The request for the consecration of Russia carried out by the Pope and the Catholic Bishops in 1984, lifted the atheist soviet oppression in Russia so that it might one day return to the path of faith, this message and appeal to consecration applies in truth to all people. The specter of famine and disease which once again threatens Ethiopia can be a serious challenge indeed to faith in a merciful God, and prayers are necessary to strengthen us all and to avoid a great tragedy.

Whatever our work may be, whatever our calling in life, we must always remember to seek balance in all that we do. We must remember that good works and charity can feed both body and soul. And we must also remember that such nourishment can come from many different places, from the tables and the hearts of men and women all around the world.

I believe that Our Lady’s intervention at Fatima was not solely for Catholics but for all mankind irregardless of religious creed, race, rank or political party who should be open to this gift from God. I believe this to be true. The road to peace, and the road to faith, is a road open to the entire world’s community of churches, the entire world’s collection of beliefs. Indeed, this road will only get us to our destination if all of us travel it together in Peace and harmony.

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak to you here today, and yet humbled as well by the immensity of God’s presence felt in His mother’s house. Truly, in a place such as this, it is more fitting to listen, and more fitting to pray. As I learn about this country and its people, and as I learn more about Fatima and its visions, I grow full of hope in our future, and our own progress as pilgrims on the road to peace. I ask for your prayers, for Ethiopia and especially its children, and I ask for your help in bringing the message of Fatima to all the peoples of the world.

With all my heart and on behalf of my family which descends from the Royal House of David through King Solomon; I consecrate the Imperial Family and its Solomonic Crown to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and in my heart present the peoples of Ethiopia to our Mother Mary for special protection and peace.

As Queen Sheba of Ethiopia once honored the Great King Solomon by her visit and was permitted to be in the presence of the Ark of the old Covenant with God, the House of Selassie, descendant of Solomon and Sheba in visiting Portugal on the 600th anniversary of the birth of the first born of the Royal House of Braganza, hereby honors its reigning Monarch the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Portugal and is honored to stand in the presence of She who is the Ark of the New Covenant with God.

The Saintly father of the House of Braganza, Blessed Nuno, Grandee of the Realm as a sign of entrustment to the Blessed Virgin Mary, gave up all of his worldly goods and titles. His descendant King John IV gave up his crown and declared Mary, reigning Queen of Portugal and protectress of the Royal House of Braganza.

May I also be permitted in this holy place to have the honor of bestowing the Collar of the Seal of Solomon, the Imperial House of Ethiopia’s highest distinction to Mary, Mother of God and by this act renew our own consecration to Her.

May Fatima always be a lighthouse of hope in this world still filled with darkness. And may each one of us after visiting Fatima bring this light of hope, which is Jesus Christ to the world. May God and his Heavenly Mother be praised!

Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to begin by thanking you for your hospitality, and the privilege of an invitation to join you today. It is an opportunity to renew the old ties between my family and the Portuguese Royal Family and the people of Portugal.

In 1959, my grandfather, His Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie, paid a state visit to Portugal, and held with honor a Grand Cross in the Portuguese Order of the Three Orders, and the Order of the Tower and Sword. I think I may speak for him today by saying that Portugal also held a special place in his memory as it does in the memory of all Ethiopians, and all freedom-loving peoples, for the stand it took in the 1930s against the fascist invasion of Ethiopia.

This long relationship between Portugal and Ethiopia came into being out of sheer curiosity. We think of the heroic Portuguese expeditions around the Cape of Good Hope and up to the Horn of Africa. We think of the ambassadors of the Ethiopian regent, Queen Helen, who journeyed so far from home to bring greetings to the Portuguese King. We think also of the Portuguese priest Francisco Alvares and the Emperor Lebna Dengel, who stayed up late into the night, arguing about the theological nature of the Holy Trinity and the Sacrament of Communion. These events still serve as models for how we hope Ethiopia can greet the world, and the world can still learn about us, five hundred years later.

The birth-pains of the twenty-first century have at their heart a growing polarization between the western world and Islam, a cycle of fundamentalism, terrorism, and retaliation. Ethiopia, with its ancient Christianity and its large Muslim population, today stands at the cross-roads, and will soon teach the world by example of the best that might come, or the worst that we fear.

In many ways, we are reminded of the parallels to the Middle Ages, when Europe’s fear of Islam, and Muslim attempts to expel European crusaders, gave rise to whispered rumors of Prester John, a Christian king growing in power in far lands beyond Muslim rule. Then as now, the tension between two great civilizations turns our minds to Ethiopia, and the lessons it can teach us. A Christian Ethiopian Emperor was what first inspired the stories of Prester John. And it may be that Ethiopian Christians dreamed of joining Europe in a great crusade against Islam. But in the end, Prester John never rode forth to join Europe's crusaders. Indeed, Ethiopian independence was saved only by the timely arrival of Portuguese reinforcements, fighting off the armies of Ahmed Gran.

But of course, these Portuguese reinforcements are long gone, and the ambitions of a crusade many generations in the past. Ethiopia has not survived these past five hundred years by stubbornly clinging to the way of the gun. If that had been our path, we would have crumbled into oblivion long ago. On the contrary, Ethiopia has survived by making peace with itself, by showing that Muslims and Christians and Jews can live side by side, and can work together to build a unified country and crown. In this transition, the Ethiopian crown has led the way, at times by its own example. The blood of Muslim ancestors flowing in my veins is proof enough of this.

The Portuguese nation and the Portuguese Crown have made a similar transition. Gone are the days in which the spice trade and the desire for new worlds brought Portuguese Missionaries and explorers to all corners of the globe. And gone too are the days in which the Portuguese Crown ruled over a vast transcontinental empire. And yet many of Portugal's old responsibilities still remain, particularly in Africa and East Timor.

HRH the Duke of Braganza although not a reigning King of Portugal has continued to show the Crown’s support of the evangelized countries of Portuguese Tradition and Culture. HRH’s Foundations’s role over the decades in the struggle of East Timor and Cabinda are proof of this support and aid. Here again, the paths of the Ethiopian and Portuguese Royal Crowns cross.

Simmilarly the Haile Selassie Foundation also continues to look for ways to improve the plight of Ethiopia, its children, its cultural heritage.

But unlike Portugal, Ethiopia is not yet able to rely on its own resources and we must still look to the outside world for help. This is part of my message to you today: in Ethiopia today, centuries-old monasteries crumble and decay; ancient bridges fall into ruin; the villages connected by those bridges sink into isolation; their markets go empty; their children begin to starve and die. There is no need for this to happen, no need for us to remain silent. I come to you today as Lebna Dengel, the Emperor whose cries for help reached Portuguese ears four and a half centuries ago. The Portuguese did come at last to join him, as I hope you will today with the establishment of the Prester John Luso – Ethiopian Society. But our fight will be a new fight, a different one, not against neighbors of a different faith, but against that waste, that decay, and that indifference which again so threaten my country and my people.

The myth of Prester John has long since faded into memory, but the true symbolic value of that myth, Portugal’s interest in Ethiopia, and the spirit of co-operation between Portugal and Ethiopia which once thrived, can make a crucial difference today. I ask you for your help and support and ask God, the Father of all life to abundantly bless you and the Royal House of Portugal in this great Jubilee Year of its Founding.. Thank you.

Portrait of Ethiopian Child by Barbara Hamilton

From November 27 to December 9, 2002, an art exhibition co-organized by Barbara Hamilton, a noted portrait artist, and the exhibit's co-curators, Countess Milena Grafin von Rex and Professor Bruno Cacco, President of the Rome and Lazio Chapter of UNICEF, made its debut in Rome in aid of Ethiopian children. For two weeks the event was one of the biggest attractions in Rome.

Guests of Honours included His Imperial Highnesses Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie, The Duke of Kent's two children, The Earl of St Andrews and Lord Nicholas Windsor. Other noted guests included His Excellency Mengistu Hulluka, Ambassador of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to Italy.

According to a statement made by Princess Gelila, "Barbara Hamilton learned of the current plight of Ethiopia's children through her friendship with me and Prince Ermias. She became aware of the reality of an unacceptable world of suffering and deprivation for Ethiopia's children. She therefore chose to make her own personal contribution in the way she knows best.

"In this exhibit the artist chose to direct equal attention to her two great passions: Italian classical art and childhood. Through classical art the artist wanted to extend an invitation to promote the Renaissance, to save it beyond the limitations of modern technology and to teach it to children, since from classical art they learn about beauty, proportions, elegance, traditions, history, their own values and respect for one another. Through the wonderful pastels of childhood the artist wished to capture all the gracefulness and freshness of a pose and secure it from the rages of time and our own failing memory. In this manner childhood is captured and belongs to each of us in part for eternity. It is in this manner that Barbara Hamilton, with the help of UNICEF, is offering her art to the service of those countless children whos faces she is unable to paint, in a land such as Ethiopia that for a thousand and one reasons must not be forgotten!

"The portrait of Rut Ruffolo, an Ethiopian little girl of undetermined age, was chosen as a symbol and legacy of this exhibit. This child, who was adopted by her new family a year ago, gazes at us with all her previous suffering and, at the same time, radiates a light of hope."

Commenting on this successful exhibition, Proffesor Bruno Cacco said, "In the name of UNICEF, I would like to thank Barbara Hamilton, who by contributing to the project through her interesting and refined works of art, shares the effort of all volunteers, who day after day, contribute to diminish the sufferings of many unlucky children all over the world."

Princess Gelila, Patron of the Haile Selassie Fund for Ethiopia's Children in Need, added, "I am thankful for this event benefiting Ethiopian children. This noble cause will raise awareness for all friends of Ethiopia and others to reach out and touch those who need our compassion and generosity." HE Ambassador Hulluka concluded by saying, "On behalf of my government and myself I would like to express my utmost gratitude to Professor Cacco for organizing such a special exhibition of precious paintings by an outstanding painter, Barbara Hamilton, in aid of UNICEF in Ethiopia which has been instrumental in fostering assistance to distressed children in Ethiopia. Your effort for such a noble cause would definitely save the lives of so many children whose fate would have been pathetic and perilous. The children of Ethiopia would regard this unprecedented gesture greatly and are highly grateful for the donation of highly admirable paintings."

The exhibition Art for Ethiopian Children raised 7000 Euro given for UNICEF Ethiopia; twenty-five paintings worth 47,000 Euro are still available to benefit this cause. The paintings are still selling. Anyone interested in purchasing additional paintings, lithography and greeting cards which remain available may contact Professor Bruno Cacco at 00 39 0647 8092.

For further press coverage of the UNICEF exhibition and fundraiser, see Il Tempo, "Hamilton, l'arte classica rende omaggio all'Etiopia," November 27, 2002; La Repubblica, "I ritratti di Hamilton per i bimbi dell'Etiopia," December 2, 2002; Corriere della Sera, "Le opera di Barbara Hamilton per i progetti Unicef in Etiopia," December 5, 2002; Il Tempo, "Palazzo Caproni Grande festa in onore della Hamilton," November 29, 2002.

January 16, 2003

Crown Council Sends Greetings on the Occasion of Christmas and Timket

On behalf of the Crown Council of Ethiopia, His Imperial Highness Prince Bekere Fikre-Selassie, Viceroy, and His Imperial Highness Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie, President, send Christmas (Gena) and Epiphany (Timket) greetings to all Ethiopians at home and in the Ethiopian diaspora around the world. Prince Ermias said that the Crown Council, on these sacred days, prayed for the continued recovery of Ethiopia and for the health and happiness of the Ethiopian People for the coming year. The Crown Council also sent greetings to the many supporters of Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Crown around the world, and thanked them for their concern for the Ethiopian People.

The Crown Council pledged to recommit itself to the cause of Ethiopian unity, peace and prosperity for the coming year. It continues its work on a variety of charitable endeavors and in working for communication and understanding between the Ethiopian peoples.

Prince Ermias noted: “In these times, we face enormous hardships ahead, with the anticipated famine which threatens many of our People, and the Crown Council is determined to work toward alleviating that possible disaster in any way attempting to unify the country. The Ethiopian People, and indeed the Crown itself, cannot at this stage be divided in any way; we must work for unity, the health and wellbeing of our fellow Ethiopians, and for prosperity and strength.”

“Ethiopia is, as we have always known and the world is beginning to discover, in a critical geopolitical location, particularly at this fractious time in international affairs. The Crown is committed to helping unify Ethiopia to meet this conjunction of challenges and opportunities.”

“At the time of these religious holidays, the Crown prays for Ethiopia and the Ethiopian people.”

October 26, 2002

Prince Ermias Sends Greetings to Oklahoma-Ethiopia Society

Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie sent the following message to the Ethiopia-Oklahoma Society on October 12, 2002:

Ladies and Gentlemen, Friends and Guests of the Oklahoma-Ethiopia Society, it is my pleasure and honor to extend to you greetings on the occasion of your annual meeting and to congratulate you for your ongoing interest in Ethiopia, past and present. You are indeed fortunate to have with you tonight Ambassador Tibor Nagy, diplomat in residence at the University of Oklahoma, whose rich experience in Ethiopia, will, I am sure, contribute immensely to your knowledge of my country.

Undoubtedly most of you know that forty-eight years ago, my grandfather, His Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie I, was received here at Oklahoma State University, then Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College, which marked the first visit to Oklahoma by a reigning foreign head of state. Reading about His visit, so marvelously recalled by Professor Theodore Vestal, of Oklahoma State University in the Summer 2001 issue of “The Chronicles of Oklahoma,” stirred my emotions deeply. Reading of my dear father, Prince Sahle-Selassie, then twenty-four, enjoying the records of Frank Sinatra from a jukebox set up in his room and of his fondness for the Student Union’s special-deluxe hot dogs and ice cream sundaes, leads us back to the days of 1954, a year filled with promises and challenges, for this great country, Ethiopia, and the international community.

The occasion for His Majesty’s visit, as Professor Vestal notes, was to thank this University for its work in assisting in modernizing agriculture and education in Ethiopia. The association of the University with Ethiopia dated back four years to a request from the Emperor to Henry G. Bennett, then president of A & M to visit Ethiopia with a view towards setting up an agricultural college. President Bennett’s productive meetings upon his return with President Harry Truman led to his appointment as the first head of the Technical Cooperation Administration which was set up to implement the newly inaugurated Point Four technical assistance program. Ethiopia subsequently became the first country to request technical assistance under that program on June 16, 1951. Thus began the establishment of the Jimma Agricultural Technical School to prepare students for university level work and Oklahoma State University’s subsequent association with the Haile Selassie I University College of Agriculture, now Alemaya University.

From the early years following his coronation as Emperor in 1930 His Majesty, my grandfather, recognized that it was only through education and mastery of technology that Ethiopia could emerge into the modern family of nations and provide its citizens with the basis of a respectable standard of living. The challenge was great and the obstacles were many but the first steps were taken on the long journey which still remains fundamental to the well-being of my country. Following the important linkages set in place with Oklahoma A & M the Emperor turned over his former palace to the University where Ethiopians and many other Africans could for the first time pursue university level education.

Over the past half century many traumatic events have transpired in Ethiopia, both natural and of human inspiration, but through it all the search of education at all levels remains a central need to which all Ethiopians must respond. In recent years my own efforts have focused primarily on the cultivation of scholarships for Ethiopians to La Roche College in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania under the Pacem in Terris Foundation, on which I am honored to sit as a board member. Here we now have twenty-two students, male and female, representing all regions and religions of Ethiopia. At the same time, I have endeavored through the Haile Selassie Fund to develop a grass-roots assistance effort to advance education, effect technology transfer, and cater to the special needs of the very poor in all sections of the country.

While I understand that there are no longer any official programs of the Society in Ethiopia or at Oklahoma State University with respect to educational assistance for Ethiopian students, it is my hope that the members of the Oklahoma-Ethiopia Society will maintain their personal commitment to advance understanding of the past and present of Ethiopia. In so doing, it is also my fervent hope that as a Society or as individuals you will lend a hand wherever possible, in whatever capacity, to assist with the education of a new generation of enlightened Ethiopians capable of leading their country in pursuit of national unity and the highest goals of respect for human rights and democracy.

Thank you and may God bless you all.

Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie

October 7, 2002

Council President Writes to the Orthodox Hierarchs for the Anniversary of 9/11

Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie sent the following letter to representatives of the Oriental Orthodox Churches assembled in New York on September 8, 2002, to commemorate the terrorist attacks of the previous September 11th.

August 26, 2002

To the Most Reverend Fathers the Hierarchs, and to the Members of the Oriental Orthodox Churches in the New York Metropolitan Area,

Our most respectful greetings. It is with profound sorrow that we remember the events of September 11, 2001, and send our condolences to the families and friends of all those who were lost on that day. The tragedy of those attacks reminds us all of the dangers of religious hatred and intolerance. The Ethiopian Crown Council is mindful once again of the positive example of the history of our own country, where the Ethiopian Orthodox Church has lived for centuries in harmony with the other communities of God’s faithful, Ethiopian Jews and Muslims with long and revered traditions of their own. But this relationship has not always been easy; it has been built through hard work, tolerance, prayer, and the inspiration of great leaders.

One such leader, His Imperial Majesty the Emperor Haile Selassie I, was declared a "Defender of the Faith" by the Five Oriental Orthodox Churches gathered together in conference in Addis Ababa in 1965. The Emperor’s reputation as a statesman rested on his fairness, and his firm support for collective security as the road to peace in the international order. We would do well to remember that legacy today, but to remember also that when His Majesty rose to accept his title from the Patriarchs, he noted, "World peace can only be made abiding by the Grace of God, through the prayers of the Holy Fathers." We ask for those prayers again today, in hopes that memories of September 11, 2001 will help to build a better future for us all.

May 27, 2002

Crown Council Mourns the Passing of a True Patriot, Major-General Nega Tegegne: 1930-2002

The Crown Council of Ethiopia noted with great sadness the passing in Britain in May 2002 of one of modern Ethiopia's great and most courageous patriots, Maj.-Gen. Nega Tegegne (1930-2002).

Maj.-Gen. Nega began his military career in the Imperial Bodyguard College, where he graduated with distinction. From 1951-1953 he served in the command of the Ethiopian contingent sent to fight alongside the United Nations in the Korean War. Upon his departure from Korea, he continued his military education at Wellington Staff College in India, and on return to his beloved homeland became one of the first Ethiopian instructors to replace foreigners at the renowned Harrar Military Academy.

From1961-63 he served with the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in the Congo under the overall command of General Kebede Gebre. In 1963, during Ethiopia's border conflict with Somalia over the Ogaden, Nega, then a Colonel, became the Chief Administrator of the Southern Ogaden Region. His military career was to branch into the international arena once again when he was chosen from the Ethiopian Ministry of Defense as an Organization of African Unity (OAU) representative in Angola. Ethiopia was one of the five countries to decide whether Angola's current ruling body, the MPLA, would represent the Angolan freedom fighters as observers in the Organization of African Unity. In 1967, during a UN investigation into charges of ethnic cleansing during the Biafra War, the United Nations sent observers from England, Sweden, Canada, and Poland. Gen. Nega also took part, once again representing the OAU.

From 1969-1971 he continued his studies at the Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS), the most prestigious of the British advanced defense studies colleges. On his return to Ethiopia, Gen. Nega served as Commander of the Third Division in Southern Ethiopia until he was called upon by the Government of Lij Endalkatchew Mekonnen to serve in his native region as Governor of Gonder Province.

In the ensuing years, when Ethiopia became engulfed in the communist revolution and the subsequent brutal military dictatorship - the Dergue - of Mengistu Haile Mariam, Gen. Nega became one of the first Ethiopians to resist the nightmare which was to face Ethiopia for 17 more years. He became a founding member of the Ethiopian Democratic Union (EDU) in 1975, and for many years led a military campaign from the Sudan to oust the Dergue. Disillusioned with the way the EDU was misled from its original charter and vision by its leadership, Maj.-Gen. Nega resigned his post and lived as an exile in the UK. During this time he tirelessly fought a different battle, pleading the cause of the nation he loved but to which he was never able to return. He spoke on Ethiopian issues in international forums, pleading the case of Ethiopian unity and exposing the dangers of dictatorship and ethnic politics in current Ethiopia.

He left a permanent monument by publishing his book, Ethiopia's Many Years of Struggle and The Founding of Modern Ethiopian Army 1855-1974 , as a testimony, so that future generations of Ethiopians would have a correct understanding of their history.

Gen. Nega held the highest Ethiopian military decorations and numerous foreign awards for his service to the nation. The Order of Emperor Menelik II was bestowed on him by Emperor Haile-Selassie I and in 1999 he was recognized and awarded the Imperial Order of the Holy Trinity by the Crown Council of Ethiopia, in Washington DC.

The members of the Crown Council express their sympathy to Gen. Nega's entire family and pay tribute to the integrity, kindness, civility and wisdom of a true patriot.

April 12, 2002

Crown Voices Concerns About Hague Peace Process

Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie, President of the Crown Council, approved the release of the following statement to the press earlier this week:

The Ethiopian Crown Council and all peoples of the Horn of Africa look forward with anticipation to the decision on border demarcation expected from The Hague in the coming week. The war between Ethiopia and Eritrea, ending abruptly in the face of successful Ethiopian advances, resulted in serious casualties and human rights violations on both sides of the border. The United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea has kept a watchful eye over a fragile peace that the Ethiopian people view with extreme skepticism. The Ethiopian government and Prime Minister Meles Zenawi in particular have expressed apparent willingness to go along with the demarcation process no matter what the outcome.

The Ethiopian Crown Council is concerned that the international community appears ready to force an artificial peace at any price. The Ethiopian government has accepted arbitration via colonial-era peace treaties, but Ethiopians both at home and abroad have protested in firm rejection of this principle. Peace cannot hold if the Ethiopian government capitulates on terms which its people oppose. If the Ethiopian people are not free to elect their government in truly democratic elections, and if the people are not consulted on such vital issues as Ethiopia's lack of access to the sea, external demarcations will lack any legitimacy whatsoever.

We see here the sad possibility that the absence of civil liberties and the oppression of civil society in the current day may bear the bitter fruit of renewed war in the future. In Ethiopia as in other regions around the world today, the international community’s admirable eagerness to seek peace creates a false sense of hope. The international community must ask itself whether it really expects this agreement to be binding. That question can only be answered after an honest and critical assessment of the weaknesses of the two warring governments. The United States, which had already been working to conclude military agreements with Eritrea and Ethiopia, has been impressed by the Ethiopian government’s anti-terrorist rhetoric, with the result of improving relations between the two countries. But the United States and its allies must not be fooled; beneath the veil of press releases remains a government which cannot guarantee basic human rights for its people. Absent such a government, peace and stability will remain elusive.

Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie, President of the Crown Council, speaking on this subject, concluded, “Future generations of Ethiopians should not be subjected to further wars and conflicts because arbitrary decisions affecting their destiny were taken without their knowledge or consensus.” The Ethiopian Crown Council repeats its call for truly free and fair elections in Ethiopia, and invites the Ethiopian government to hold a plebiscite to determine whether the Ethiopian people truly accept the results of The Hague demarcation. The international community should welcome such developments, and proceed only with caution into a peace process that ignores the need for them.

April 12, 2002

Crown Mourns Passing of England's Queen Mother

The Ethiopian Crown Council joins the House of Windsor, the people of the United Kingdom, and the people of the Commonwealth in mourning the passing of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. Her Majesty's steadfast courage in the face of Nazi bomb attacks on England was a tribute to the Royal Family and an inspiration to all allied in the struggle against totalitarian aggression. When Mussolini invaded Ethiopia in 1935, the English Royal Family welcomed His Majesty Haile Selassie in his time of exile, remembering and strengthening the ties of friendship between the two crowns. Today, the Queen Mother herself can continue to be a source of inspiration and wisdom, for the English, for Ethiopians, and for all peoples. While proud of and loyal to her Scottish ancestry, she was a symbol for all the United Kingdom. Her example shows that peace and prosperity come not through attention to our differences, but to the ties of common history and humanity that bind us together.

May she rest in peace.

January 6, 2002

Ethiopia's New Role in the War on Terror

The U.S. Delegation of the Ethiopian Crown Council released the following statement to the press today:

September 11, 2001 saw the dawn of a new world, in which the United States vowed to never rest until it eliminated all terrorist organizations and the regimes that sponsor them. The Taliban regime in Afghanistan has become the first sponsor of terror to fall in this new world war, but it will not be the last. Already, important figures in Washington and the Horn of Africa are looking towards Somalia, where local warlords battled against U.S. Marines in the streets of Mogadishu in the early 1990s. Recent media reports have focused on alleged al-Qaeda training camps in Somalia, and Osama bin Laden’s connections to other terrorist groups operating elsewhere in the country.

The Ethiopian Crown Council sees this moment as highly important for the future of Ethiopia and the Horn. U.S. intervention in Somalia will inevitably lead to a closer relationship between America and Ethiopia. This past summer, General Tommy Franks, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan and throughout the Middle East, paid a three-country visit to the Horn of Africa, meeting with military and political leaders in Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Djibouti. The agreements on military cooperation that emerged from those trips were in preparation for just such emergencies as this present war on terrorism. The American military will not only ask for Ethiopian logistical support, but will also no doubt rely on our country’s intelligence networks and considerable experience in dealing with Somalia’s troubled situation.

But possible U.S. intervention in the Horn of Africa will affect Ethio-American relations in a number of other ways as well. Changing American attitudes towards Pakistan and India point the way: the United States has lifted trade embargoes and begun considering substantial debt forgiveness. Similar agreements would be of great benefit to Ethiopia, and we all must work hard to secure them. Millions of dollars in food and other aid have been necessary thus far even to keep Afghanistan from falling into complete chaos. The costs of rebuilding the country will be even higher. American military involvement in the Horn of Africa will in all likelihood not be as great as it is in Afghanistan, but that does not mean that the Horn’s needs are any less. Hunger and AIDS continue to ravage significant portions of the population in Ethiopia. In the Sudan and Somalia, America’s lack of diplomatic representation has hampered its ability to make any impact. Terrorists will continue to flourish in these countries as long as the international community lacks the political will and the financial commitment necessary to untangle the region’s many dilemmas .

As the Afghan peace conference at Bonn has shown, countries drawn into this war on terror must lean on their diaspora populations to build a stable future. When America turns its attention to the Horn of Africa, the Ethiopian diaspora and the Ethiopian Crown must be ready to play its part. We must educate America and the world community about Ethiopia and its place in the Horn. Everyone must understand that terror comes in many forms. For Ethiopia and its neighbors in the Horn, terror is not simply anti-American religious fanaticism. It is also the violence and hatred of civil war, the dangers of secessionism, and the plague of warlords and state collapse. The United States must realize that these particular battles in the war on terror will continue long after any American intervention in Somalia ends.

The process of education will not stop there. As America has drawn closer to Pakistan, and to its Arab allies, the American public has taken the opportunity to think critically about human rights practices in those countries. The result has been a blessing in disguise: in the midst of war the world community pays more attention to the injustices it has in the past been content to ignore. The same process will take place in the Horn of Africa as well. As America grows closer to Ethiopia, United States citizens and public officials will open their eyes to the faults and weaknesses of our homeland, to its corruption, to its poverty, to its human rights abuses. This moment of international attention will be a crucial opportunity for Ethiopians to rally together in search of solutions to these problems that continue to press us.

In short, it will be a crucial moment for the Ethiopian Crown and its supporters to play a part in the war on terrorism. Terrorism in the Horn will end when real peace begins. For far too long, Ethiopia and its neighbors have done little to stop the lawlessness in Somalia and the Sudan. The extension of the Ethio-Eritrean conflict to the funding of proxy wars between various rebel groups has only made matters worse. Somali leaders, fearful of the consequences of an American attack, have been anxious to downplay the presence of terrorists in their midst. They accuse the EPRDF, Ethiopia’s ruling party, of fabricating an Islamic fundamentalist threat where none exists, in hopes of benefiting from Somalia’s continued fragmentation. Abandoned Somali tanks littering the roadsides in eastern Ethiopia serve as ample reminder of past difficulties in Ethio-Somali relations.

Now that our recent conflict with Eritrea is apparently behind us, it is time to turn to Somalia, and mend our fences there as well. Ethiopia’s natural role in the Horn is as a force for peace and stability, but now we have a chance to prove this once more. If American military might comes to Somalia, we must earn the trust of the Somali people by using the moment not for our own strategic advantage, but for the construction of true governance and civil society throughout Somalia. Indeed, now is the time for the creation of strong agencies of international governance and cooperation throughout the Horn. We must move beyond small projects such as IGAD - focused purely on issues of drought and development - and build in their place the Horn’s equivalents of NATO and the EU.

The nations of the Horn will no longer need American intervention when they learn to live as military allies instead of enemies. They will no longer be safe harbors for terrorist fugitives when their intelligence agencies learn to share their resources instead of competing in jealousy. And they will at last be able to point with satisfaction to their record on human rights, religious tolerance, and ethnic cooperation when they learn to treat the future of the Horn as a collective endeavor rather than a prize to be fought for. The Ethiopian Crown Council calls for immediate action on all these issues. These are goals upon which all Ethiopians, at home and throughout the diaspora, can unite with pride.

September 13, 2001

Crown Council Condemns Terrorist War; Calls for Solidarity with America

His Imperial Highness Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie, President of the Ethiopian Crown Council, authorized the following statement released here today.

It is with profound sadness and regret that we bear witness to the tragic loss of life from acts of unthinkable barbarity visited on the American people. There can be no justification, no reasoning, however carefully crafted, that can argue that any justice is served through the use of terror against the innocent. Terror does not discriminate. Acts of terror against one nation are acts of terror against all people.

The people of the United States and the civilized world were viciously and without justification attacked on September 11 at a time, day, and in a manner chosen with deliberation to maximize the amount of human suffering. The fact was not lost on any that planes with the farthest to go, and therefore with the most combustible fuel, were selected for this vilest of deeds. Such deliberate barbarism, such studied inhumanity that could ignore the cries of defenseless civilians, children among them, is not a sign of power or intellect but of an abiding cruelty and inhumanity. Those who would celebrate at this time arouse in us no sympathy to the sadness of their continuing plight, but instead invite us to ignore their own cries of suffering.

Ethiopians, victims of terrorism past and present, find grave empathy at this sad moment with those who have so cruelly been denied the pleasure of once again holding in safety and comfort, their mother, father, child or sibling. Indeed in this manner, this vicious act has been and will always be an attack visited on all who cherish such simple pleasures.

The People and Government of the United States have long been champions to the cause of freedom and democracy and the rule of law. They now ask justice of a world they have always sought to deal with in a just, and equitable manner.

We know, beyond a doubt, that it is America's love of freedom, not any legitimate grievance, that has brought this sad day to bear on their loved ones. If there had been legitimate grievances that required articulation, the massacre of innocent citizenry was not the court in which such redress should have been sought.

The People of Ethiopia, her institutions of Faith, and her Crown, stand by the families and friends of the bereaved, those who have had their loved ones cruelly torn from their arms.

We affirm to the people of the world that an attack on American freedom is an attack on freedom in general and an attack on Ethiopia, on her people, and on the Ethiopian Crown in particular.

We call on the current government of Ethiopia to extend unconditional support to the people and government of the United States as they seek to bring those responsible to justice. We invite all Ethiopians everywhere to join their voices to ours in making this call.

We stand with the United States Government, with its people, and with its friends as we seek to make sense of the wrong committed on all of us and seek to bring to unequivocating justice those who are criminals in the eyes of the whole world.

We support the United States in the gravest though measured consequence, once resolved, it may bring to bear, both to seek redress and to punish the wrongs visited on its people.

April 16, 2001