Ditto On Sun, Feb 26, 2012 at 5:24 PM, Baba Galleh Jallow <[log in to unmask]>wrote: > Mboge, > > I think I agree with this position. Nkrumah, yes, in spite of his many > shortcomings. Haile Selassie, certainly not. We must not reward people > merely for sentimental reasons clouded by either wilful or genuine > ignorance. Thanks for sharing. > > Baba > > ------------------------------ > Date: Sat, 25 Feb 2012 12:22:44 +0100 > From: [log in to unmask] > Subject: [G_L] Pambazuka - Say no to Haile Selassie statue at AU > To: [log in to unmask] > > > > Say no to Haile Selassie statue at AU An open letter to acting AU > Commission Chairperson Asrat Deferes 2012-02-23, Issue 571<http://www.pambazuka.org/en/issue/571> > http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/80178<http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/80178>[image: > Bookmark and Share]<http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&pub=fahamutech> Printer > friendly version<http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/80178/print> > > *cc A D* <http://www.flickr.com/photos/adavey/2128322386/>Emperor Haile > Selassie was no pan-Africanist. In fact there is overwhelming evidence of > his autocracy and rejection of the Black cause. It will be an injustice to > African history to erect his statue at the new AU headquarters in Addis > Ababa. > H.E. Mr. Erastus Mwencha > Acting Chairperson of AU Commission > African Union Head Office > Addis Ababa, Ethiopia > [log in to unmask] > > Your Excellency, > > The Ethiopian Pan-African Society would like to express its views on the > demands by Ethiopian individuals forwarded to you to consider the erection > of the statue of ex-emperor Haile Selassie along with that of Dr. Kwame > Nkrumah at the premises of the new AU headquarters. We strongly urge you > not to consider this demand as the ex-emperor was neither a pan-Africanist > nor a model head of state to be emulated. > Whether or not the ex-emperor of Ethiopia has contributed to > Pan-Africanism cannot be judged: > • out of abstract sentiment or out of opposition to the current regime in > Ethiopia > • through the songs of Bob Marley, other Rasta reggae singers or through > the Ethiopian singer, Tewodros Kassahun > • through sentimental anecdotes on such as what happened at the founding > conference of the OAU in 1963 as a certain Mismaku did recently. > > 1. Africa is in a deep crisis emanating from a prevailing system of > governance that is corrupt and dictatorial through and through. That calls > for an egalitarian system of governance that takes the crying plights of > the ordinary African into consideration. Cultivating the new generation of > Africans imbued with the spirit of Pan-Africanism that springs from the > plight of the poor and with freedom and democracy in the first place is an > absolute pre-requisite. Construction of Africa’s own history can be part of > this process of cultivating such a new generation. The place we give to > past heads of state in the contemporary history of Africa is as crucial. > This is where our serious objection to the eulogy paid to the ex-emperor of > Ethiopia. > > Anybody who has contributed to Pan-Africanism must be judged by the > person’s contribution to the construction of the very thought of > Pan-Africanism; or by what they did in practice to advance Pan-Africanism > be it in the area of liberating Africa from colonisation or by a > construction of ideas towards an egalitarian (democratic and free) system > of governance for the continent. To that extent, the ex-emperor of Ethiopia > or his government had not done anything exceptionally more than what the > rest of independent states of Africa did at the time. The support the > ex-emperor rendered to the Kenyatta family during Kenya’s struggle against > British colonisation and the military training given to Nelson Mandela > before his imprisonment were not exceptional at all as other African > governments, the front line state to Southern Africa in particular, had > done more to the extent of being attacked by the apartheid regime. Tanzania > and Zambia have been attacked and Mozambique in particular was subjected to > regular aerial bombardment by apartheid forces, which finally shot down an > aircraft killing the country’s president, Samora Machel. (Speaking of > statues, Samora Machel, Edwardo Mondlane, Amilcal Cabral, Patrice Lumumba > were real heroes of Africa’s liberation and who stood for Pan-Africanism > and sacrificed for it. These are the ones who deserve statues along with > Nkrumah.) > > 2. At the beginning of the second millennium, the BBC held an opinion > survey and collected votes from its listeners in Africa as to who their > ‘African of the Millennium’ was. Kwame Nkrumah was voted first by a huge > margin followed by Nelson Mandela in the second place. It is for their > monumental contribution to Africa’s liberation and to the thought of > Pan-Africanism as well as for their exemplary role that Kwame Nkrumah and > Nelson Mandela were voted as ‘my African of the millennium’. This is a > prototype of African perception of leaders who contributed for Africa. > > 3. Apart from issues of construction of ideas and direct contribution to > Africa’s liberation, another crucial element is the leaders’ own internal > policies on governance. What were their policies particularly as regards > the various ethnic groups within their own countries? Pan-Africanism is an > African outlook and is deeply rooted on the identity of Africans as black > people because of the dehumanisation by colonisation. This is indeed the > bottom line as nobody can be a pan-Africanist disregarding black identity. > > The record of the ex-emperor of Ethiopia in this regard is shocking to say > the least. First, slavery was practiced in Ethiopia widely. People of the > border regions who are physically Nilotic or Bantu were taken in custody by > the monarchy, nobility and feudal lords under his regime and kept forcibly > as slaves. In fact, in order to prevent escape, tissues from the hamstrings > of most of the male ‘slaves’ were cut out. Ethiopia had difficulties in > joining the League of Nations precisely because of the practice of slavery. > After the war, chattel slavery continued to the final days of the emperor > in 1974. The ex-emperor of Ethiopia had not lifted a finger to end slavery > in his own country. On the contrary, he was one of the big owners of > chattel claves. > > Secondly, the nobility at the time of his rule never considered themselves > as black and African. For political reasons, being African was ‘accepted’ > particularly when the OAU was about to be established. But, being black has > never been accepted. No wonder when the ex-emperor visited Jamaica in 1967, > he said in an interview with a journalist that, ‘We Ethiopians are not > black’. The ruling ideas of a given society at a given point in time are > also the ideas of the ruling class. That includes negative ideas filled > with all sorts of bigotry. But if such ideas are not deconstructed > thoroughly, they persist for too long. This notion of ‘not being black’ is > still widespread in Ethiopia. It is even noticeable today among members of > the Diaspora, who refer to Nilotic or Bantu Africans as ‘black’. These are > undeniable facts that can be proved so easily. > > Thirdly, one can also look at the ex-emperor’s policy on Ethiopian ethnic > groups other than the Amhara. Discrimination and political as well as > economic marginalisation was the daily companion of millions and millions > of non-Amhara Ethiopians. Their lands were taken over by the feudal lords > and were treated as second-class citizens. Many were forced to change their > names to Amharic ones to be accepted. Those who resorted to rebellions were > met with fierce punishment including outright massacres as in the case of > Tigray (1943), Eritrea (1961-1974), Ogaden (1960-1974), Bale (1967), Sidamo > and many other places. The ex-emperor’s ‘Imperial Body Guard’ shot in the > crowd of university students on December 29, who assembled to pay the last > respects to their leaders assassinated the previous day by the ex-emperor’s > secret police. The repressive rule also clamped down against trade union > activists and student leaders. Trade unionists such as Abera Gemu and > student leaders such as Tilahun Gizaw were assassinated in broad daylight. > (Incidentally, Tilahin Gizaw was a champion of Pan-Africanism who received > a gun shot by police during a demonstration against Ian Smiths’ Unilateral > Declaration of Independence and he was also instrumental in organising a > rally in solidarity in 1969 with the struggling people of South Africa and > Zimbabwe.) > > The ex-emperor was also known for his cruelty and viciousness. Apart from > the massacres committed in the Ogaden, Eritrea and so on, his regime had > also practiced the most heinous crimes. Lands were confiscated from the > rural population (poor farmers and nomads) without compensation; political > opponents or conscientious objectors were met with police brutality > including torture. Political suspects were banished to remote areas. The > ex-emperor is even accused of practicing witchcraft orgies in which he > sacrificed children for a spirit called Korit at Lake Bishoftu. In 1961, he > personally ordered the corpse of Girmame Neway, the slain coup leader, to > be hanged and displayed in public. When all these crimes were committed, > the ex-emperor appeared extremely calm and ‘dignified’. Needless to say, > sir, we simply cannot list all the crimes of the ex-emperor. > > We hold that the current regime in Ethiopia is as autocratic as ex-emperor > Haile Selassie’s and Colonel Mengistu’s. We applaud the struggle of the > people of Ethiopia for justice and freedom. We understand that the > Ethiopian Diaspora is also active in this struggle. But fighting against > injustice with injustice done to Ethiopia’s history is something that won’t > work. > > Sir, we fully support the erection of Kwame Nkrumah’s statue at the > premises of the new AU headquarters and strongly demand that you ignore the > demand to have a statue for the ex-emperor Haile Selassie alongside it. If > other African heroes are to be included in the list deserving their statue > in the AU premises, we suggest the inclusion of Nelson Mandela, Patrice > Lumumba, Amilcar Cabral, Samora Machel and Edwardo Mondlane. > > Sincerely yours, > > Asrat Deferes, Chairperson, The Ethiopian Pan-African Society, Addis Ababa > > http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/80178 > > > ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ To > unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web > interface at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html To Search > in the Gambia-L archives, go to: > http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l To contact the > List Management, please send an e-mail to: > [log in to unmask]¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ > ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ To > unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web > interface at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html > > To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: > http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l To contact the > List Management, please send an e-mail to: > [log in to unmask]¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ > ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤