Last Ethiopian emperor laid to rest: AP
Date: Mon, 6 Nov 2000 08:15:04
-0600
Last Ethiopian emperor laid to
rest
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) - Bells
tolled and thousands of Ethiopians wailed and applauded Sunday as Haile
Selassie, their last emperor, was finally laid to rest 25 years after his
mysterious death. As leaders of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church stood by,
resplendent in their colorful robes, elderly veterans of Ethiopia's 1936-41
struggle against Italian occupation carried the coffin - draped in the nation's
red, green and gold flag - up the steps of Trinity Cathedral. The emperor's
family, friends and associates embraced at their first public gathering since
1974, when he was overthrown by Marxist military officers. A crypt had been
waiting at the cathedral since Haile Selassie's remains were discovered under a
concrete slab on the grounds of his former palace in 1992 - 17 years after he
died under house arrest. Officially, his death at age 83 was due to
complications from a prostate condition. The Haile Selassie I Foundation, which
had worked for eight years to give the emperor a suitable burial, claims he was
assassinated.
Posted: Fri - February 7, 2003 at 06:41 PM