Page (A EUGENE REGISTER-GUARD, Sunday, Jan. 13, 1963
Haile Selassie Not Quite So Absolute
Modern Democracy Stirring in Ethiopia
By WEBB McKINLEV
:f - of tha Auoclated Preu ' ; . r
ADDIS AS ABA, Ethiopia The (irtt, hint atiiflnga of
modern democracy ar coming (o Ethiopia and are heartening
this ancient oountry'i wall-wliberi,
Here in the strange highland of the African horn it ia no
longer quite true to call bia Imperial Majeaty Haile Selassie
I one of the last of the absolute monarcha.
, The constitutional government he created in name 32 years
ago is emerging at last as an infant fact.
Groping and uncertain as it still is, it could if it grows save
Ethiopia from a long-predicted explosion,
Recently the Ethiopian lower house of 251 members de
bated for two days a change in the penal code. The govern
ment, meaning presumably the Emperor, wanted an amend-
tnent that would permit public flogging of rumormongers.
Parliament voted it down. ; r
' Next day this surprising body rejected' a tax on building
materials also badly wanted by the government.
. ' Those who take these as heartening aigna admit they, are
mere beginnings. They are also in their way dramatic events
which probably annoy but one day may be welcomed by the
71-year-old monarch.- . .
- Since he became regent as Ras Tafari in 1916 the ruler
Perez Godoy 's Stated Aim
has tried with tremendous will to pull his country out of its
feudal rut.
Potentially Ethiopia la one of Africa's blessed countries. Its
ail la fertile, its tradition proud, its people quick and Ha
climate fine. Kitting on a plateau 8,000 feet above the storied
Red Sea coast, Addis Uvea in continual springtime.
But the same highland isolation that has kept this country
independent for legendary 3,000 yeara has also kept it back
ward. , '
Except for a first-rate, American-managed air service, its
communications are appalling. Despite progress in education
since the war, its people are still 95 per cent illiterate.
Landlords, peasants and prelates of the Ethiopian Coptic
church have opposed reforms. Until 1957 there were no elec
tions. .
Loaded with old guerrilla fighters to whom the Emperor
felt gratitude, the bureaucracy has been chaotic. ,
' Faced with these handicaps, the Emperor in years pasf has
run Ethiopia alone. He has worked day and night, looking
. personally into almost every plan and contract, appointing thl
most minor officials, receiving humble petitioners.
Now he shows signs of wanting to share his work. ha
publicly called on ministers to make their own decisjpns. Rfnj;
are doing it.
Cautiously, against conservative inertia, he is making other
moves toward reform. Labor unions, banned until 1962, are
now permitted. A new pension plan is shucking some excess
from the bureaucracy. A new civil service plan has'beefl ilfffl:
duced.
Helped by about $2 million of American aid, Haile Selassie I
University was founded in December 1961. , '
The educated class is growing.
. Partly because of this, the line of the Lion of Judah faces
constant dangers.
. The independent-minded and relatively educated province
By THOMAS J. STONE
Of th Anoclatetf Pff ?
of Eritrea, giving Ethiopia its only outlet to the sea, is stirring
unhappily because of its incorporation last November into the
empire. This happened when the Eritrean parliament met and
unanimously voted to dissolve itself. There were reportedly
17 of 52 deputies on hand for the vote.
Bigger trouble has loomed for years in Addis. Here one
hears whispers "They are preparing for the second round."
They could only refer to the revolt in December 1960 of the
imperial body guard. This the Emperor squashed simply by
returning from a trip to Brazil and exerting his enormous per
sonal force.
. The younger officers or intellectuals, who compare their
country unhappily with more advanced African states, may now
be playing a waiting game.
With parliament stirring to life and the country moving
slowly toward reform, many appear content to wait for the
succession of Crown Prince Alerid Azmatch Asfaw Wosen. The
qujet, 46-year-otd heir is a puzzle to outsiders. In the 1960
revolt he'was put ur pj (he rebels as a puppet, but later in
sisted he accepted he role only with a gun in his back. He is
vyldcly believe.(j, at any rate, to favor a constitutional monarchy.
Whatever happens even the restless young mpn of Addis
admit thai Haile Sflassje 1 the Kjng of Kings, the conquering
. Lion of Judah, by a, superb, persona) effort has pulled his coun
try into the modern age. Tftprg cjjuld bardy be another like
him.
I 1. ,. M
r . vf?tv. J-
t t. I M V
J
Haile Selassie
Political Stability Needed in Peru
LIMA, Peru The elements
ef revolutipn were there and
the time was ripe. Strikes
plagued the . nation. Civil
guards and Castro-type guer
rillas fought a virtual war in
the heart of the ancient Inca '
empire. , i.-
Ono danger was that. the
ipark would ignite the pas-'
sions and hatreds of nearly
three million Indians, desper
ately poor descendants of the
Incas whose civilization flour
ished centuries ago. -
Restlessness among them
grew. They attacked nig ha
ciendas and threatened thoir
White owners.
' At La Oroya, high in the
Andes, strikes broke out at
the U. S.-owned Cerro ' de
Pasco Corp. mining complex.
Clashes killed 1 mn 2nd in
jured 18 others. Saboteurs'
bombs caused an estimated $4
million damage.
Peru's military govenment
seemed oblivious to it all.
- "The . Communists are to
blame for all the trouble and
nobody is doing anything
about it." This was the cry in
Lima. .
Therj, as the country
. seernep near the brink of real
trouble, Gen. Ricardo Perez
Godoy, president of the gov
erning junta, struck. After
midnight last weekend gov-
v . ... .
. . ,
V t J)
Gen. Ricardo Perez Godoy
ernment forces rounded up
Communists, suspected Com
munists and other extremists
from cities along the coast
to the hamlets in the snow
capped ndes.
By the junta's account, the
Communists had planned the
real thing. A sweeping revo-'
lution, a lightning takeovpr
a giant victory parade On it)
the middle of May in LipM-
The government announced
the arrest of 400 persons. The
Peruvian press placed (he
number seized as high as
i.oqo.
"If this means the Commu
nists in , Peru have been
smashed we are all right,"
said a banker. "We've got a
good economy. With, the left
ists out of the way we should
have no trouble."
But Vl.B. businessmen still
Wove Worried that the spark
fqr revolution remains alive.
t'We were planning to build
I quarter rnjpn dollar plant
here, but the country js too
unsettled," one American said..
"After all the trouble broke
out we decided to look else- ,
where."
An executive of one of the
two U.S. tire manufacturers
considering substantial invest;
ments here said: "We're wait
ing until the situation is clar
ified." Two suspected leaders of
the plot Solomon Bolo Hidal
go, a defrocked priest, and
Gcnaro Camera Checo were
still at large. They could keep
. the revolutionary spark alive
but right now the extremists
apparently were without an
organized leadership.
Peru, a nation of nearly 6H
million people, is generally
better off than other Latin
American countries. It has a
diversified economy mining,
fish meal, cotton and sugar.
The economy is booming.
Wages arc at a record high.
Dollar reserves that is, mon
ey that can be used to buy
goods from abroad and act as
well as a platform for Peru's
own currency are satisfac
tory. With political stability and
U.S. help, Peru so its leaders
say could become one of the
more economically advanced
nations on a continent fraught
with potential upheaval.
But the nation, extending
some 1,150 miles along South
America's Pacific Coast, has
been troubled for centuries
by raciaj tensipns. The Span
ish settled Pfcru, crushed the
advanced Ipca pivillzatiqn and,
stripped the, Andes 0f lis
gold. The pnce proutl Indian
Wgs reduced to subservience.
Many work the VRite mans
sugar plantations now. The
Indian is paid a wage and gets
A fpod ration. Communism
playa on the resentment in (d
Indian breast.
The white man has his ovn
troubles in Peru.
After a six-year democratic
reign, President Manuel
Prado was overthrown by
Peres Godoy's military junta
last July. It claimed the
presidential elections far
Pvadfl's successor were fraudu,
letlt. '-
Pere Podgy says free elop:
tions will pe held within a
year that his junta will have
achieved 1)8 aims by then ihd
WlH. step dflp- ",
''fney w(H find nm ex-
Fpse tq slay, jn power" such
is lh tope flf thing you hear,
however.
Perez Godoy has suspended
civil liberties that permit
political campaigning. There
is no indication the suspen
sion will be lifted soon.
Aussies Fidgety Over Their Destiny;
Leaning More to U.S. Than Britain
By WjLL GRIMSLEY
(AR Wlreohoto)
on Ethiopia, the African
nation ruled by Haile Se
lassie, one of the last ab
solute monarchs. The rul
er has tried tremendously
to pull his country out of
Hs 'ancient rut since he
becanie regent in 1916.
He has made moves to
ward reform and faint
stirrings pf modern de
mocracy are coming
the nation.
to
Trial Resumes
" TUNIS (UPD The treason
trial of 26 persons accused in
a plot to assassinate pro-Western
President Habib Bourgui
ba resumed Saturday before
' a, ixilitary tribunal.
The trial was postponed
shortly after it opened last
' Monday because of new ar
rests in connection with the
abortive plot.
'""'PyCoiomBiA :
(AP WIrephnto)
MINE Map locates La
Oroya (underline) where
heavy damage was done
during strikes at the U.S.
owned Cerro de Pasco
mining complex in Peru.
Government Extending Control in India
Stern Approach Worries Some Indians
. NEW DELHI, India "Take my savings and buy bullets
to shoot down the Chinese," said the young widow of an Indian
soldier killed in the invasion of India.
The savings that Mrs. Ladwati Devi contributed to the Na
tional Defense Fund totaled about 90 rupees, or $10.
A blind man named Aehiah who lives near the Bay of Ben
gal gave his savings ISO rupees.
A schoolboy, too poor to contribute, skipped classes one day
to break stones, and gave his one rupee (21 cents) earnings to
the defense fund.
These individual contributions are reported by Indian gov
ernment publicity officers but there is other evidence the
masses of India have been aroused enough by the Chinese at
tack to make sacrifices for their country. Several foreigners
who have lived with India people in different parts of tho coun
try add their own stories of contributions by rickshaw pullers
and coconut gatherers.
The government is seeking to keep people aroused and
willing to continue working for defenso during the truce on
the Himalayan border.
If the common man is aroused, the government is none too
happy with the response of some rich Indians who have made
only token contributions. Most noted is the Nizam of Hyder
abad, who has a reputation both of being fabulously wealthy
and of being a miser. He said he was too poor, what with all
his pensioners and hangers on, to contribute as much as the
government expected of him.
- Contributions to the defense fund now amount to nearly
800 million rupees ($63 million) plus more than a ton of gold
worth $U2 million. Gold worth nearly $4 billion at world
prices, and double that at Indian prices, is estimated to he in
private Indian hands The government is disappointed with its
efforts to lure mere of this.
By HENRY S. RRADSIIER
(It lh. Anoclattd Pr.ii
There is no disappointment in other responses. Blood don-,
nrs have to be turned away; so do volunteers for the Army.
Lists of both are being compiled for the future.
Army training camps are full, but as more divisions art
added to the Indian Army, more youths will be called in.
Some cynics have suggested the rush to join the Army real
izes an opportunity to eat better than many Indians do. But De
fense Ministry officials say most volunteers come from rela
tively prosperous areas and few from more impoverished parts
of the country.
Home guards also are being organized. The civil defense
program started In fear the Chinese might bomb Indian cities.
Trenches were dug and air raid sirens wailed in repetition of
World War II practices of the British, who then ruled India.
Lately, however, Prime Minister Nehru has said he thinks
it silly to tmitato practices 20 years old. Such a word from
Nehru usually brings quick results.
Nehru advocates conscription, when eventually it becomes
financially possible, because lie thinks it good for young men's
character.
This stern approach runs through official policy in a way
that worries some Indians
The government has used emergency powers to extend Its
already strong control over the nation.
Government employes missing work can be imprisoned for
a year. Three men who circulated criticism of Nehru's conduct
of the war were jailed without specific charges.
Newspapers are under pressure to omit anything sensitive
officials think might damage morale.
Underlying this is a tendency inherited from British days
for government officials to act as if they know best and for
the people to acquiesce to their authority. The tendency is
crowing stronger during the continuing emergency caused by
the Chineif threat. -
SYDNEY: Australia ,
zle hfcr as if afraid trie taps will run
follow the bPrses with i passjpn and Hvfc pr
the beachps like i spct pf sun-worshipcM. But
they'rp pflwjh'g fidgety ahqijt their destiny.
"t"a, sicpt hearing abou.f what great
sportsmen we Australians are," said a wp!(:
groomed matron. "I'm fed up with winning
the Davis Cup, beating the British in crjpket
and setting world records in swimming. .
"When are we going to do something really
constructive like putting a man in orbit or
sending a gadget to the Moon? Why can't we
make great advances in science, art and litera
ture like the Russians and Americans?"
Someone else interjected:
"Remember, we're just a young country,
less than 200 years old. We've made remark
able progress in that time. We're a nation of
only 10 million people. What more can one
expect?"
An Australian business executive tinkled
the ice in his scotch and soda and said:
"Yes, and when another war breaks out
we'll expect the Yanks to come down and bail
us out again. Let's face it. We're more closely
aligned with America than with Britain. I
wonder when we will be annexed as the 51st
state."
"Heaven help us," came a sharp dissenting
voice. "Who needs or wants all that drive? I
think we're much happier as we are or rather,
were. I'll admit our way of life is being
changed by American influences and, frankly,
I resent it." i .
Thus, the virile, sports-loving people on
the remote island continent debate their pos
sible role in the jet age.
They seem to get a big thrill when they
nr thi, Anodated Press
Australians Stjll gui- feel President Kennedy has adopted a nard
pose policy, as in ipe receni i,uoan msu.
they get uneasy when Premier Khrushchev
talks abqut nls rocKeis. r nere s nor me sngnt-N
est question hpw they' would line up if the
cold war became a hot one.
Alfhouglt seemingly removed from the hot
spots qf wnrlf) tensions, Australians look over
their Shnu!drs as if excepting an Asian wave
io,nguJf them- Thpy haven't forgotten the,
threat Pf be Japanese in the last war.
Today tiey a, re ffipre concerned about
Indonesians. '
"There are 40 million of them and 10 mil-'
lion of us," a man said. "The only buffer be
tween us are the Malayans, who are lovers,
not fighters. It's the fear of the United States
which is keeping the Indonesians off our
necks."
Although Australians hang pictures of
Queen Elizabeth n in almost every foyer,
toast their monarch at formal dinners and give
her fierce loyalty, they cannot escape the
American influence. The movies are from
Hollywood, the television programs from New .
York and most of the night club acts fresh
from the floodlights of American bistros. Sky
scrapers are stabbing into the skies over Syd
ney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and even
far-off Perth, on the West Coast. The conti
nent hums with American industry.
You can get a hot hamburger and cola on
Castlercigh Street in Sydney or a rich choco
late malted on Collins Street in Melbourne.
Australians now drink as much coffee as lea
and the coffee no longer tastes like iodine.
"They tell us Australia is like America .
was back at the turn of the century," Aus
tralians say with mixed pride and apology. '
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