H.I.M. Voice to a Nation

His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie I, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Elect of God, the 225th descendant of King Solomon and Queen Sheba, Man of the Millennium, the Rightful Ruler and King of Ethiopia, took great pride in leading Ethiopia—the last sovereign nation of Africa. With a full livity for protecting and educating his fellow Ethiopians, as well as humanity worldwide, His Imperial Majesty worked for growth and stability in a rapidly changing world.

Rastafari would take root in the 1930s, and takes it’s name from His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie I, whose pre-coronation title was Ras Tafari Makonnen. I-N-I recognize Emperor Selassie as Jah incarnate. When asked once what being a member of the body of Christ meant, His Imperial Majesty stated, “All men are endowed with natural responsibility. This responsibility is in turn distributed and delegated to all according to his gift, and it is expected of each one to fulfill his responsibility. This responsibility in turn is to God and thus for example, one would start his work asking God to bless the beginning, and thank God for a good ending too. We believe that all people in all of their responsibilities delegated to them will begin and finish their work in God’s name.”

The determination of His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie I is exemplified by His actions during the second Italo-Ethiopian War which stemmed from a clash perpetrated by Italian soldiers, under the authority of benito mussolini, at the Ethiopian border town of Wal Wal. mussolini was in search of the Arc of the Covenant, which he knew to be located in Ethiopia.
 
It was after this incursion that His Imperial Majesty first implored the League of Nations, of which both Italy and Ethiopia were members, to intervene on Ethiopia’s behalf. The 52 nation collective, however sympathetic they may have been, did little to check Italian aggression, leaving His Imperial Majesty and Ethiopia to fight for themselves.

Focused on reestablishing the Italian Empire, mussolini continued his push into Ethiopia with the understanding that the League of Nations would stand by idly. Ethiopian soldiers soon found themselves greatly outnumbered, fighting with inferior weaponry. By May, 1936, Italy had annexed Ethiopia and His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie had gone into exile. Once again Emperor Selassie brought His case to the League of Nations. This would mark the first time a head of state addressed the League, much to the chagrin of fellow members. Though fluent in French, His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I spoke to the assembly in Amharic, the official language of Ethiopia.

“I, Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia, am here today to claim that justice which is due to my people, and the assistance promised to it eight months ago, when 50 nations asserted that aggression had been committed in violation of international treaties.

There is no precedent for a Head of State Himself speaking in this assembly. But there is also no precedent for a people being victim of such injustice and being at present threatened by abandonment to its aggressor. Also, there has never before been an example of any Government proceeding to the systematic extermination of a nation by barbarous means, in violation of the most solemn promises made by the nations of the earth that there should not be used against innocent human beings the terrible poison of harmful gases. It is to defend a people struggling for its age-old independence that the head of the Ethiopian Empire has come to Geneva to fulfill this supreme duty, after having Himself fought at the head of his armies.”

In the speech, His Imperial Majesty made reference to the initial Italian provocation and laid blame on the League for unjustly favoring Italy.

“The Wal Wal incident, in December 1934, came as a thunderbolt to me. The Italian provocation was obvious and I did not hesitate to appeal to the League of Nations. I invoked the provisions of the treaty of 1928, the principles of the Covenant; I urged the procedure of conciliation and arbitration. Unhappily for Ethiopia this was the time when a certain Government considered that the European situation made it imperative at all costs to obtain the friendship of Italy. The price paid was the abandonment of Ethiopian independence to the greed of the Italian Government. This secret agreement, contrary to the obligations of the Covenant, has exerted a great influence over the course of events.”

His Imperial Majesty also outlined the atrocities committed by Italian troops during their conquest of Ethiopia. 

“It is not only upon warriors that the Italian Government has made war. It has above all attacked populations far removed from hostilities, in order to terrorize and exterminate them.

At the beginning, towards the end of 1935, Italian aircraft hurled upon my armies bombs of tear-gas. Their effects were but slight. The soldiers learned to scatter, waiting until the wind had rapidly dispersed the poisonous gases. The Italian aircraft then resorted to mustard gas. Barrels of liquid were hurled upon armed groups. But this means also was not effective; the liquid affected only a few soldiers, and barrels upon the ground were themselves a warning to troops and to the population of the danger.

It was at the time when the operations for the encircling of Makalle were taking place that the Italian command, fearing a rout, followed the procedure which it is now my duty to denounce to the world. Special sprayers were installed on board aircraft so that they could vaporize, over vast areas of territory, a fine, death-dealing rain. Groups of nine, fifteen, eighteen aircraft followed one another so that the fog issuing from them formed a continuous sheet. It was thus that, as from the end of January, 1936, soldiers, women, children, cattle, rivers, lakes and pastures were drenched continually with this deadly rain. In order to kill off systematically all living creatures, in order to more surely poison waters and pastures, the Italian command made its aircraft pass over and over again. That was its chief method of warfare.” Initially, His Imperial Majesty appealed to the League that was in place to protect His nation, delivering what remains one of the noblest speeches in recorded history. When His plea for justice was ignored, Emperor Haile Selassie did not hesitate to take up arms and lead His soldiers and defend Ethiopia. His Imperial Majesty’s battle against oppression, and His fight to protect all that is righteous and true, embodies the true principles of Rastafari.

When His Imperial Majesty returned to Ethiopia in 1941, His refusal to allow retaliation against the defeated invader, once again sets a most righteous example. Emperor Haile Selassie would proclaim, “On this day, I owe thanks unutterable by the mouth of man to the living God who has enabled me to be present among you. Today is the beginning of a new era in the history of Ethiopia. Since this is so, do not reward evil for evil… do not commit any act of cruelty like those which the enemy committed against us up to this present time.”

All Praises Due to the Most High, Jah the All Mighty.