Mereja.Forum

[Zmeselo]

A wild and almost unknown land in East Africa: bordered by Sudan, Kenya, British Somaliland, Eritrea, and what was then Italian Somaliland.

Free Abyssinia

– thats how the British news agency in a 1941 Reuters report described the land we call Ethiopia today.

This rare archival video footage reveals significant historical details that strongly indicate Eritrea was already recognized as a distinct and far advanced country long before being federated with or annexed by Ethiopia (Abyssinia).

Key points from this 1941 British second world war report:

1) Abyssinia is described as

a wild and almost unknown land in East Africa bordered by Eritrea

– explicitly listing Eritrea as a separate neighboring country.

2) Abyssinia (Ethiopia) is called

the first country to be restored to its own people

after being occupied by Fascist Italy and its Axis allies, and other nations under Nazi like Holland, France, .... will also be liberated by the allies.

3) The freedom of Abyssinia was carried out by the British Empire

4) Emperor Haile Selassie was greeted upon his return by the British General Commander in East Africa, General Cúnningham (commander of forces in Abyssinia). He was in Addis Ababa months before Haile Selassie.

5) Nigerian troops (serving under the British) formed the guard of honor.

Footage of central Addis Ababa in 1941, around the Menelik Palace, shows a city of mud houses and dirt roads with virtually no modern buildings – in stark contrast to Asmara (Eritrea), which at the time was already a planned, modern city with paved roads, European-style architecture, and advanced infrastructure built during Italian colonial rule.

[Zmeselo]

Haile Selassie’s Pursuit of Sovereign Sea Access: The 1945 USS Quincy Meeting in Historical Perspective

By: African Views

https://africanviews.net/haile-selassie ... rspective/

4 hours ago

The question of Ethiopia’s sovereign access to the sea has been a central and recurring theme in the country’s modern statecraft, particularly from the 1940s onward. One of the most consequential moments in shaping this aspiration was Emperor Haile Selassie’s meeting with U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt aboard the USS Quincy on 13 February 1945. Held during the final months of the Second World War, this encounter unfolded at a moment when the international order was being fundamentally reconfigured: colonial territories were under review, imperial boundaries were in question, and new global powers—most notably the United States—were assuming decisive influence over the future of former Italian possessions such as Eritrea.

Ethiopia’s Strategic Imperative and the Post-War Order

Ethiopia’s landlocked status was effectively sealed, when Emperor Menelik II concluded a series of treaties defining the boundary between Italian-occupied Eritrea and the Abyssinian Empire. Following the Italian invasion in 1936 and his eventual restoration to power after six years in exile, Emperor Haile Selassie made the acquisition of a permanent, sovereign maritime outlet one of his central political objectives. From that point onward, successive Ethiopian rulers framed the quest for access to the Red Sea not merely as a matter of commercial convenience, but as an existential requirement tied to national security, state prestige, and the expansion of imperial influence.

Though the post-1991 EPRDF government did not openly advocate for a sovereign corridor to the sea, its policies reflected a more indirect form of irredentism—seeking to weaken the Eritrean state, destabilize its economy, and, at critical moments, wage war with the strategic aim of retaking the port of Assab. This approach maintained Ethiopia’s historic fixation on controlling a Red Sea outlet, even when not articulated as an explicit territorial claim.

By 1945, with Allied victory imminent and the future of the Italian colonies under review, Haile Selassie viewed the moment as uniquely opportune.

The Emperor’s journey from Addis Ababa to Cairo—and then onward to the USS Quincy anchored on the Great Bitter Lake—was therefore not ceremonial. It reflected a calculated diplomatic intervention aimed at influencing post-war territorial settlements, particularly regarding Eritrea.

The Meeting Aboard the USS Quincy

Haile Selassie boarded the U.S. warship at approximately 17:00 on 13 February, 1945. Present in the meeting were President Roosevelt, Emperor Haile Selassie, the Ethiopian interpreter/Minister Yilma Deressa, and the U.S. Secretary of State. The conversation began in French but quickly transitioned into Amharic, once the Emperor produced a handwritten memorandum of demands and requests. The switch in language, combined with the Emperor’s decision to read directly from prepared notes, signaled the seriousness and deliberateness of his objectives.

The Emperor’s memorandum was extensive. Although no complete English translation survives in U.S. archives—the notes taken by the Secretary of State and summaries attest to the central themes:

1. Securing a sovereign maritime outlet for Ethiopia, ideally through the acquisition of an Eritrean port.

2. Franco-Ethiopian Railway particularly railways linking the Ethiopian highlands to the Red Sea.

3. Arms supply and military support for post-war reconstruction.

4. Clarifying the political future of Eritrea and adjacent territories, under Allied administration.

5. Addressing questions of war-crimes and wartime reparations.

Throughout the meeting, Haile Selassie repeatedly returned to the question of sea access. When Roosevelt directly asked whether Ethiopia preferred Djibouti or an Eritrean port, the Emperor stated unambiguously that Djibouti was insufficient—a stopgap subject to French control—and that Ethiopia required a permanent, sovereign outlet on the Red Sea. In Ethiopian strategic thinking, control over an Eritrean port represented not only economic lifelines but an existential guarantee of independence in an era of shifting regional alliances.

In addition, when mention was made of Italian Somali-land by the Emperor, the President asked whether it had been at some time a part of Ethiopia, and the Emperor replied in the affirmative.

Roosevelt’s responses were cautious. He acknowledged the feasibility of constructing a railway to an Eritrean port and advised the Emperor to avoid excessive payments to American contractors. He also offered general observations about potential petroleum prospects in the region. However, the President refrained from promising political intervention or territorial reassignment. His position aligned with the broader Allied reluctance to unilaterally redraw colonial frontiers, in the immediate post-war period.

Allied Skepticism and the Limits of Wartime Diplomacy

The Emperor’s appeal aboard the Quincy, must be understood within the broader diplomatic context. Britain, which administered Eritrea after 1941, had its own strategic interests and envisioned multiple possible futures for the territory, ranging from partition to trusteeship. The United States, while increasingly influential, was not prepared to impose a settlement favorable to Ethiopia against British preferences or against the emerging framework of international trusteeship under the United Nations.

Subsequent meetings between Haile Selassie and British leaders Winston Churchill and Anthony Eden in Cairo, confirmed the limitations of Ethiopian leverage. Although the Emperor pressed his case vigorously, the British position remained noncommittal, and no immediate commitments were made to alter Eritrea’s status in Ethiopia’s favor.

Aftermath and Long-Term Consequences

Despite the absence of explicit promises at the Quincy meeting, Haile Selassie’s diplomatic efforts contributed to the broader discourse surrounding Eritrea’s future. Ethiopia’s persistent claim—rooted in strategic necessity rather than wartime entitlement—remained central in post-war negotiations.

The 1950 UN resolution that established the Eritrean–Ethiopian federation in 1952 was shaped by a convergence of Ethiopia’s persistent irredentist lobbying and the United States’ strategic priorities in the region, including securing a communications and intelligence facility in Asmara. For Emperor Haile Selassie, however, the federation was only a step toward a larger aim: the complete incorporation of Eritrea. That objective was pursued gradually and ultimately realized through the unlawful dissolution of the federation in 1962, when Eritrea was annexed and reduced to an Ethiopian province.

Conclusion

The February 1945 meeting aboard the USS Quincy, marked a pivotal moment in Ethiopia’s pursuit of Eritrea and its ports. Haile Selassie’s calculated irredentist maneuver, coupled with his persistent advocacy for sovereign access to the sea, underscored the strategic importance of maritime control in Ethiopia’s post second world war ambitions. While the major powers did not immediately endorse his demands, the Emperor’s relentless efforts—alongside US strategic interests and the absence of strong Eritrean resistance—shaped international deliberations over Eritrea’s future and laid the groundwork for the eventual federation and subsequent annexation

Abiy is simply repackaging an old agenda in a new, shiny bottle. Driven by UAE financing and by the lingering irredentist nostalgia of certain old-guard elites and power-hungry loyalists, he has revived the same discredited arguments about Ethiopia’s

sovereign access to the sea

and the erasure of Eritrea’s sovereignty—now amplified across Ethiopia’s state controlled airwaves and social-media studios.

But eighty years later, the political landscape is entirely different. Abiy’s Ethiopia is not Haile Selassie’s Ethiopia, nor is today’s world the world of the 1940s. Ethiopia under Abiy is fractured, led by a weakened center, burdened with a collapsing economy, a rag-tag military, and a leadership abandoned by former allies who are now simply waiting for change. Eritrea, by contrast, has a politically conscious population, an uncompromising commitment to sovereignty, a growing network of allies, and—critically—a formidable defense force capable of safeguarding its territorial integrity.

The question now is, what Abiy intends to do next. He claims to have discussed the matter with the Americans, Russians, Chinese, the AU, and the EU, yet none have shown sympathy for his demand for ‘sovereign access to the sea.’ Instead, all—including neighbouring states—have urged him to pursue dialogue grounded in international law. Abiy, however, continues to reject this approach and is signalling a willingness to drag Ethiopia toward a new conflict with Eritrea.

[Naga Tuma]

I have respected you for your tenacious presence on this forum and expressing your views.

That should not mean you have any right to continue to lecture your terminal ignorance to an enlightened man in the era of the second Renaissance.

If you care to listen, answer the following questions correctly.

1. Do you agree or disagree that Moses was the Pharaoh par excellence? (Asking again for you to try to answer the question correctly.)

2. Do you know where in the world the Nation of Akhenaten lives?

Be advised and advise your Eritrean colleagues to answer these questions correctly before you get asked the same questions by future enlightened men and women at the U.N. where you labored to get a seat and be dumbfounded.

A wild and almost unknown land in East Africa: bordered by Sudan, Kenya, British Somaliland, Eritrea, and what was then Italian Somaliland.

Free Abyssinia

– thats how the British news agency in a 1941 Reuters report described the land we call Ethiopia today.

This rare archival video footage reveals significant historical details that strongly indicate Eritrea was already recognized as a distinct and far advanced country long before being federated with or annexed by Ethiopia (Abyssinia).

Key points from this 1941 British second world war report:

1) Abyssinia is described as

a wild and almost unknown land in East Africa bordered by Eritrea

– explicitly listing Eritrea as a separate neighboring country.

2) Abyssinia (Ethiopia) is called

the first country to be restored to its own people

after being occupied by Fascist Italy and its Axis allies, and other nations under Nazi like Holland, France, .... will also be liberated by the allies.

3) The freedom of Abyssinia was carried out by the British Empire

4) Emperor Haile Selassie was greeted upon his return by the British General Commander in East Africa, General [ deleted ] (commander of forces in Abyssinia). He was in Addis Ababa months before Haile Selassie.

5) Nigerian troops (serving under the British) formed the guard of honor.

Footage of central Addis Ababa in 1941, around the Menelik Palace, shows a city of mud houses and dirt roads with virtually no modern buildings – in stark contrast to Asmara (Eritrea), which at the time was already a planned, modern city with paved roads, European-style architecture, and advanced infrastructure built during Italian colonial rule.

[Zmeselo]

Ethiopian Ascari:

[Zmeselo]

How is Italian colonialism rightly called a tyranny, but bowing to someone as if he was a god not called even worse?

I have respected you for your tenacious presence on this forum and expressing your views.

That should not mean you have any right to continue to lecture your terminal ignorance to an enlightened man in the era of the second Renaissance.

If you care to listen, answer the following questions correctly.

1. Do you agree or disagree that Moses was the Pharaoh par excellence? (Asking again for you to try to answer the question correctly.)

2. Do you know where in the world the Nation of Akhenaten lives?

Be advised and advise your Eritrean colleagues to answer these questions correctly before you get asked the same questions by future enlightened men and women at the U.N. where you labored to get a seat and be dumbfounded.

A wild and almost unknown land in East Africa: bordered by Sudan, Kenya, British Somaliland, Eritrea, and what was then Italian Somaliland.

Free Abyssinia

– thats how the British news agency in a 1941 Reuters report described the land we call Ethiopia today.

This rare archival video footage reveals significant historical details that strongly indicate Eritrea was already recognized as a distinct and far advanced country long before being federated with or annexed by Ethiopia (Abyssinia).

Key points from this 1941 British second world war report:

1) Abyssinia is described as

a wild and almost unknown land in East Africa bordered by Eritrea

– explicitly listing Eritrea as a separate neighboring country.

2) Abyssinia (Ethiopia) is called

the first country to be restored to its own people

after being occupied by Fascist Italy and its Axis allies, and other nations under Nazi like Holland, France, .... will also be liberated by the allies.

3) The freedom of Abyssinia was carried out by the British Empire

4) Emperor Haile Selassie was greeted upon his return by the British General Commander in East Africa, General [ deleted ] (commander of forces in Abyssinia). He was in Addis Ababa months before Haile Selassie.

5) Nigerian troops (serving under the British) formed the guard of honor.

Footage of central Addis Ababa in 1941, around the Menelik Palace, shows a city of mud houses and dirt roads with virtually no modern buildings – in stark contrast to Asmara (Eritrea), which at the time was already a planned, modern city with paved roads, European-style architecture, and advanced infrastructure built during Italian colonial rule.

[Temt]

Thanks, brother Zmeselo,
We Eritreans have always understood that Eritrea was and continues to be a proud and independent country before Ethiopia was established as an entity. Regardless of what mumbo jumbo some Ethiopian hallucinators murmur, the geographical factors about Eritrea remain just that, correct and irreversible geographical reality!
What I don't understand is the behavior of some ኣስጦብያንs who keep on whining and crying (like a forcefully devirginized young girl) for not getting Eritrea, when they have (at least for now), LOL!, a much bigger country than Eritrea. Oops! Let me give the greedy rascals some advice using a well-known Amharic proverb, ነገሩ "የቆጡን ኣወርድ ብላ የብብትዋን ጣለች" እንዳይሆንባቹ የማትችሉት ጉራና ሽለላ፡ የትም እንደማየድርሳቹ ደህና ኣድርጋቹ ታቃላችሁ። ኣይደለምንድየ፧ ሀ! ሀ! ሀ! ሀ!
Honestly, does it make any sense for your beggar leader to demand a port that never was owned by his "Country" when a very generous and super kind neighboring country offered your previous leader to use our port essentially for FREE! ay yaya ya! What is wrong with you guys anyway?

[Fiyameta]

Abyssinia: A wild and almost unknown land in East Africa: bordered by Sudan, Kenya, British Somaliland, and Eritrea.

[Abere]

According to evil jealousy Ascari ( lazy, non-working Mafia), Ethiopia that joined the League of Nation ( now the UN) on 28 September 1923, which was the only independent African state besides Liberia to be a member at that time is unknown by the world

[Temt]

According to evil jealousy Ascari ( lazy, non-working Mafia), Ethiopia that joined the League of Nation ( now the UN) on 28 September 1923, which was the only independent African state besides Liberia to be a member at that time is unknown by the world

Meat head, the fact that your hodge podge joined an organization does not clear her from being a thief and a snatcher for something that does not belong to the miserable and greedy "country" of yours! Accept it, you coçk sucking dumbo, that you shall never own something that does not belong to you. PERIOD! Don't you know that you are dealing with none other than the ever mighty Eritrea? Just wondered...

[Zmeselo]

Eritreans don't own Reuters. Take your complaints with them.

According to evil jealousy Ascari ( lazy, non-working Mafia), Ethiopia that joined the League of Nation ( now the UN) on 28 September 1923, which was the only independent African state besides Liberia to be a member at that time is unknown by the world

[Zmeselo]

[Abere]

ተምች (temt) and you,
Jealousy is eating you alive. It is ridiculous and resultant effect of an inferiority complex to say Ethiopia was unknown while its name Biblically and in the major Westenr News carried by its victory over your Ascari Masters (Fascist Italy). If you happened to forget, many Ascari's feet and arms ( restless lips ) were chopped off by patriotic Ethiopians.

____ The victory at the Battle of Adwa (1896) was reported in leading Western news outlets of the time, primarily through newspapers and telegraphs.

_____The New York Times is a US newspaper that has published historical content and articles mentioning the battle and its significance.
___BBC News has covered the historical event and modern-day commemorations, n through print and wire services at the time of the battle

______The event was a major global story, forcing the Western world to take Ethiopia and African resistance more seriously, and was recorded in many languages in the leading news outlets of the era.

Eritreans don't own Reuters. Take your complaints with them.

According to evil jealousy Ascari ( lazy, non-working Mafia), Ethiopia that joined the League of Nation ( now the UN) on 28 September 1923, which was the only independent African state besides Liberia to be a member at that time is unknown by the world

[Sadacha Macca]

This post reeks of insecurity. Everyone, including most Ethiopians acknowledge Eritrea is a sovereign country. The same govt in ethiopia that Eritreas govt created once upon a time to exploit ethiopia to build Tigray and Eritrea, does not represent us.
Eritrea is an independent neighbor like the rest, simple as that.
Ethiopia can do business on a mutually beneficial basis with any neighbor but owning ports outright? Ridiculous.

[Zack]

Somalis wanted to meet thé Ethiopians half way. Somalis suggested that Haile sellasie give back the hawd and reserve area to Somaliland which was then the protectorate in the northern part of the Somali republic in Exchange Somalis would give him a sea out let near zeila, haile sellasie rejected and said all Somalis are Ethiopians an absurd claim , he said no deal .


Dr Zackovich

[Zack]

This post reeks of insecurity. Everyone, including most Ethiopians acknowledge Eritrea is a sovereign country. The same govt in ethiopia that Eritreas govt created once upon a time to exploit ethiopia to build Tigray and Eritrea, does not represent us.
Eritrea is an independent neighbor like the rest, simple as that.
Ethiopia can do business on a mutually beneficial basis with any neighbor but owning ports outright? Ridiculous.

Not that long go ur army chief foreign minister and abiye Ahmed all said that Eritrea right to statehood wasnt done correctly there for Eritrea sovreignthy is nul and void , even horus his pakistani fellow Picked it up , on several occasions ur galla leadership put in. Question the Eritrean statehood which is a violation
The Eritreans are still being civilised also no spokesmen of Eritrea even responded to the remarks the gallas were making



Dr Zackovich

[Zmeselo]

And the Italian POW's (who devised and initiated the attack) were treated royally and sent back with their limbs intact.

You people are Kunta Kintes!

Btw, without Awalom Berhe (an Eritrean spy within the Italian ranks) who misled the italians and led them into the trap of Menelik, you would've been routed and destroyed.

ተምች (temt) and you,
Jealousy is eating you alive. It is ridiculous and resultant effect of an inferiority complex to say Ethiopia was unknown while its name Biblically and in the major Westenr News carried by its victory over your Ascari Masters (Fascist Italy). If you happened to forget, many Ascari's feet and arms ( restless lips ) were chopped off by patriotic Ethiopians.

____ The victory at the Battle of Adwa (1896) was reported in leading Western news outlets of the time, primarily through newspapers and telegraphs.

_____The New York Times is a US newspaper that has published historical content and articles mentioning the battle and its significance.
___BBC News has covered the historical event and modern-day commemorations, n through print and wire services at the time of the battle

______The event was a major global story, forcing the Western world to take Ethiopia and African resistance more seriously, and was recorded in many languages in the leading news outlets of the era.

Eritreans don't own Reuters. Take your complaints with them.

According to evil jealousy Ascari ( lazy, non-working Mafia), Ethiopia that joined the League of Nation ( now the UN) on 28 September 1923, which was the only independent African state besides Liberia to be a member at that time is unknown by the world

[Zmeselo]

This post reeks of insecurity. Everyone, including most Ethiopians acknowledge Eritrea is a sovereign country. The same govt in ethiopia that Eritreas govt created once upon a time to exploit ethiopia to build Tigray and Eritrea, does not represent us.
Eritrea is an independent neighbor like the rest, simple as that.
Ethiopia can do business on a mutually beneficial basis with any neighbor but owning ports outright? Ridiculous.

Not that long go ur army chief foreign minister and abiye Ahmed all said that Eritrea right to statehood wasnt done correctly there for Eritrea sovreignthy is nul and void , even horus his pakistani fellow Picked it up , on several occasions ur galla leadership put in. Question the Eritrean statehood which is a violation
The Eritreans are still being civilised also no spokesmen of Eritrea even responded to the remarks the gallas were making



Dr Zackovich

[Fiyameta]

[Fiyameta]

[Fiyameta]