Ethiopia's Emperor Haile Selassie was a monarch of only 43 when his proud

East African kingdom suffered one of the great outrages of the 20th century.

While the League of Nations sat mute in Geneva in 1936, Italian troops overran

the land and Benito Mussolini appeared on a Rome balcony to boast: "At last

Italy has its empire!"

Ethiopia paid a high price for Il Duce's Caesarean pretensions. By the time

British troops crushed the Italian invaders in 1941, 760,000 Ethiopians had

been killed. Even so, Selassie ordered his people to treat the defeated Italians

with "a sense of honor and a human heart."

For years, Rome has been urging Selassie to pay a reconciliatory visit, but he

has always demurred. One reason for his hesitancy was an 83-ft. stone obelisk

that now stands in front of the headquarters of the United Nations' Food and

Agriculture Organization. Italian troops stole the obelisk from the ancient

Ethiopian capital at Aksum, and Mussolini had it set up in Rome. Ethiopians

want it back, but the Italians have maintained that the shaft is too weak to be

moved. Moreover, neo-Fascist extremists would probably raise a ruckus if Il

Duce's trophy were taken away.

In the end, there was nothing Selassie could do but show his sense of honor

once more. Still erect at 78, the old Lion of Judah finally arrived in Rome last

week for a nine-day visit marking the symbolic reconciliation of the two

countries. No more hard feelings —but no obelisk either. So far, Rome has

made no move to return the pillar, and the only compensation the King of Kings

seems likely to get was the state banquet and immense reception held in his

honor at the Quirinale Palace.

The MYSTERY Of INIQUITY & IMPOSTER POPE PAUL VI REVEALED: II THESSALONIANS 2:7 - part1PT2 - MYSTERY Of INIQUITY & IMPOSTER POPE PAUL VI & DAY OF LORD = 1970 VISIT OF HAILE SELASSIE IPT3 - MYSTERY OF INIQUITY: Imposter Pope, Ethiopian Obelisk, Shepherd of Hermas & Haile Selassie Visitation