African leaders unveil statue of last Ethiopian emperor

African leaders in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa for the 32nd African Union Assembly of Heads of State and Government on Sunday unveiled a life-size statue of Ethiopia’s last Emperor Haile Selassie I, erected on the premises of the pan-African body’s headquarters.

Haile Selassie is seen as being at the forefront of the founding of the Organization of African Union (OAU), a predecessor to the modern-day African Union, founded in 2005.

According to historical documents, in 1960 and 1961 – a time that marked the liberation of many African countries from the yoke of colonialism – African leaders were debating what the future Pan-African body should look like in essence.

While there were many blocs pushing numerous ideas on the body’s formation, two stood out: the Monrovia Group and the Casablanca Group.

The Casablanca Group -- made up of Ghana, Mali, Guinea, the United Arab Republic, and the Algerian provisional government, led by Ghana’s then-provisional president, Kwame Nkrumah -- was launched in January 1961. Though others saw the group as radical, it nevertheless included the conservative kingdom of Morocco. The Casablanca group advocated an immediate union of the African continent in the form of a United Sates of Africa.

The Monrovia Group -- made up of Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Togo, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Senegal, Dahomey, the Malagasy Republic, Chad, Upper Volta, Niger, the People’s Republic of Congo, Gabon, the Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Tunisia -- was formed that May. This group preferred a gradualist approach to unity.

The role of Haile Selassie in bringing these two groups together is seen as one of his legacies.

In 1963 all the blocs assembled at Africa Hall in Addis Ababa, and after heated debate, the Monrovia bloc prevailed, and the Organization of African Unity (OAU) came into being.

Being leader of a country that was never colonized, and a country whose victory over Italian colonialists in the 1886 Battle of Adowa inspired the anti-colonialist struggle across Africa, gave the emperor a stature that no other leader in Africa enjoyed.

Haile Selassie ruled Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974, when he was toppled by a military junta called the Dergue which forced him to step down.

Though the emperor died in prison – many believe he was murdered – he nevertheless was immortalized by Jamaicans, who founded a quasi-religion known to this day as Rastafarianism.

- Rastafarian speaks

Sydney Salmon, 54, said: “I am a repatriated Jamaican Rastafarian reggae artist. I live in Ethiopia, the land created and unified by Haile Selassie I, the living god, for the last seven years.”

“We Rastafarians are very happy because Africa has finally acknowledged Emperor Haile Selassie’s great contribution to the colonized people of Africa, Jamaica and the world at large. We Jah people have been looking forward to this day for a long time.

“The monument vindicates the unifying power of Emperor Haile Selassie, which knows no bounds.

“It is now time for Ethiopia and Ethiopians to canonize and immortalize Haile Selassie. We pray for this to come, and hope it will happen.”

- Grandsons' joy

Prince Beedemariam Makonnen, a grandson of Haile Selassie, told Anadolu Agency that the royal family is filled with joy and many of its members living abroad have come to be part of the grand occasion.

“It is really beyond words, we are mightily happy,” he said. “In our view, the monument represents the fact that Emperor Haile Selassie was a cornerstone of the Organization of African Unity, which has now morphed into the AU.

“It is also a pan-African recognition of the wisdom and diplomatic skills of Emperor Haile Selassie and those who joined hands with him in forming an institution to spearhead the anti-colonial struggle.

“The erection of the statue was delayed for years due to various reasons, and we were confident that this would come when a confident leader took over Ethiopia. It happened and will be grounds for national recognition.”