Address to U.S. astronauts,Sept. 21, 1965
"We wish to express our sincere thanks for the message that has been sent by His
Excellency President Johnson. We thank you also for the kind words you have said
about our country. We are happy to receive you for many reasons: happy because
human knowledge, at the present time, is being extended with the hope that
mankind would benefit. We are confident and sure that the world realizes today
that as a result of the investigations and as a result of the courage you have
shown, all humanity is going to benefit. Of course, it is one thing for us to be
sitting at home and to follow events that are transpiring outside, while with
extreme personal courage and at great personal risk, on behalf of humanity, you
were undertaking a feat that has given you personal satisfaction and brought
great honour to the country that you represent. As we said, your undertaking for
advancement of science and on behalf of human good can only result in great
benefit to humanity in general. It is through men that have dedicated themselves
to scientific efforts that the human being has made so much progress. And it is
because men like you have shown extreme personal courage for the future good of
mankind that mankind has accomplished so much in scientific investigations.
There is no doubt that through these scientific achievements mankind can
advance. We are sure the pleasure accruing from what you have accomplished is
not solely confined to ourselves. The pleasure must naturally go to the people
of your country and to us, too. The result of your adventurous experiments and
works is an admirable contribution from the point of view of all men who are
interested in the advancement and progress of human society. Your space flight
and subsequent flights that are to be undertaken by men like you give us
confidence in the bright future of mankind. We thank you very much for the
presents, and please convey our heartfelt congratulations to President Johnson
and all those people who are responsible for this. Again we would like to take
particular note of your heroism and dedication to the cause of science."
H.I.M. Emperor Haile Selassie I