1st Avenue, AN OPEN LETTER Rastafari Community International: Sovereigns, Holy Priest; Matriarchs, Patriarchs; Brothers & Sisters in Haile Sellassie 1; Supporters and Sympathisers- Greetings and Salutations. As a follow-up to recently circulated info re. Homeland modalities et al; as encouraged- may I take this public opportunity to thank all ones who have acknowledged and so far commented on the provisional draft concept. Based on initial feedback assessments, I am please to present a summary copy of our presentation to the 4th Int. Trumpet Call- Kingston, JA. I believe the attached ideas may compliment better understanding of the issues at stake and of State being contemplated. Under such proposition, it would necessitate global opinion as well as credible strategic alliances taking into consideration geographic locations, demographic considerations and equally as important, capacity and flexibility. I trust our rank and file leaders, scholastic achievers and general populations to engage with us in pursuit of the noble ideals and realisation of the vision of our founding fathers and ancestors of a thousand generations; territorial ingathering, self determination and political autonomy in its finest essence. I am much obliged and humbled for this good and pleasant opportunity to brainstorm and resolve with our companions in Rastafari over land and sea. I am. Yours Sincerely, Ras Bongo Spear. January 16 2010 “From truth alone is born liberty and only an educated people can consider itself as really free and masters of its own fate. It is only through an educated people that representative and democratic organs of government can exercise their influence for national progress”. Haile Selassie 1, Nov. 3rd 1951 Greetings and salutations to the Ancient Council of Rastafari Elders, brethren, sistren and companions. As always it is an honourable privilege to communicate with the Ancient Order and on this occasion to express gratitude for the fullness of the Millennium Trumpet Calls. To the extent that I can make a contribution towards the reasoning at hand, I will address briefly -among other things, the concept of graduating the Rastafari movement from its perceived categorisation as a socio-religious movement towards a state of modern Statehood. My views are expressed within the framework of centralisation for achieving the cherish goal of repatriation, reparation, and restoration. I believe we cannot merely rest content to contemplate Africa; rather we should give support to an active program which establishes the organisational framework whereby the Rastafari people can at the least undertake the task of nation building in a concerted and unified effort. This new paradigm of our survival which is called political ….differs from the ancient, religious messianic tradition in that it does not expect the return to Africa to be brought about by a miracle, but desires to prepare the way by its own efforts. The reality of this situation is reflected in the fact that I and I are accorded the rights of individuals based on our respective diverse citizenships, instead of being considered a distinct nation. This reinforces our restricted classification as Jamaicans, Barbadians etc of the Rastafari faith - an accepted but untenable situation in the enlightened period of the 21st century. Ideally it is being proffered then that only by means off establishing a State of our own can the Rastafari people obtain true liberty. The grave or perceived dangers posed to Rastafari distinct cultural identity as a result of assimilation, multi-culturalism and globalisation should bear out the point that I am seeking to make. Further, a common analysis of the current Rastafari condition may also suggest an uneasy tension exists in meeting the expanded social, economic, political and intellectual needs of an increasing global population -given the current limitations of prevailing administrative structures to respond to these phenomena, whilst waiting for the Messiah before undertaking to restore our Sovereignty . The solution to the pitfalls of Rastafari existence in dispersion therefore stands as I see it in our territorial ingathering (centralisation) under conditions whereby I and I can exert legitimate control over our destiny – politically and culturally (state). Let I and I therefore be reminded by the clarion calls of article 1 of the 1983 Rastafari International Theocracy Assembly twenty-two -22 points summary resolution, which speaks inter alia to “the establishment of a Sovereign Government and a Secretariat…”and subsequently, article 2 of the 1991 International Preparatory Reasoning which calls for a “studying of the Charters of the OAU/AU, the United Nations and its support organisation, the Organisation of American States, CARICOM and the Non-aligned Movement with the objective of gaining membership / observer status as a means of furthering the aim of repatriation and assisting with identified developmental programmes”. In essence by advocating the formation of a Sovereign Government and UN membership, I and I were averring to the necessity for a correct and new reinterpretation of the Ancient Order, perhaps as a Rastafari commonwealth . Recognising therefore a secular approach as the most appropriate methodology for effectively dealing with the challenges of repatriation as a human right, the aim of this work ought therefore to be rooted in the establishment of a homeland for Rastafari people in Africa -secured by public law. Shashamane among other possible locations presents this opportunity, as well as learning from the 1903 precedent where the British government tentatively offered the Zionist movement autonomous settlement in Kenya. The emphasis on public law is significant, as it means an important element of this program entails an approach to current World Powers in order to obtain their recognition of the right of the Rastafari people to constitute a national homeland in Africa. A critical examination of post 1955 Shashamane history would also reveal that while settlement activity in Ethiopia is important, it is insufficient, in and of itself. What is of crucial importance is to obtain a “Charter” : an international legal instrument of official recognition by the African States and World Powers that would guarantee the Rastafari people’s sovereign right to a homeland in Africa. It also implies that Rastafari people would out of necessity have first to create the organisational frameworks and constitute thereby a legal personality that would endow it with international legitimacy as a Sovereign Nation acting as a unified force within the concert of nations. Towards achieving these noble and populist goals, it is envisaged unlike previous gatherings and conferences, convening an International Congress of Rastafari to be the First National Assembly of Rastafari people -in which the Rastafari people would have to appear both to themselves and to the world, as a nation worthy of self-determination and sovereign equality with the many peoples who had prior establish themselves as independent state entities. Enclosed you will find copies of the aforementioned articles as well as a complimentary draft Declaration of Rastafari’s Independence for your constructive review and recommendations. You may photocopy and distribute by every means necessary to the Rastafari people for their considered opinions. You are also reminded of the annual Session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues held under the auspices of the Division for Social Policy and Development of the United Nations, to which we have consultative niche. Such occasion depending on our bravery, may present the opportunity for Rastafari to impact significantly on the international stage by presenting its case to world opinion. Concluding, I have in this humble submission reframed from expressing an opinion on our version of Theocracy, except to give an interpretation in the footnote. I believe there may be some uncertainty as to when this particular philosophy became entwined in Rastafari doctrines and ideology, and more importantly its applicability given the time of day. Let the words of I and I mouth and meditation of I and I heart be acceptable in Haile Sellassie1 sight - Ras Tafari, King of kings, Lord of lords, Conquering Lion of Judah, Elect of God, Lebena Denghel (Incense of the Virgin), Keeper of the Faith of the Dynasty of Judah and David. With respect and appreciation, I am, Ras, Appendix 3 DRAFT DECLARATION OF RASTAFARI INDEPENDENCE Issued at Jamaica 20.. The Land of Ethiopia was the birthplace of the Black people. Here their spiritual, cultural and national identities were formed. Here they gave the world its first civilization, achieved independence, and created cultures of national and universal significance. Exiled from Africa through the most heinous crime known to humanity, trans Atlantic slavery, the Rastafari people remained faithful to their ancestry in all the countries of their dispersion, never ceasing to pray and hope for their return and for the restoration of our national freedom. Impelled by this historic association, Rastafarians have strove throughout the decades to repatriate to the land of their nativity and regain their statehood. In recent decades, Rastafarians have returned to Shashamane, a land grant decreed in 1955 by His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie 1, to the Black Peoples of the West who desired to resettle in Ethiopia. Here they established a vigorous and thriving community, with its own economic and cultural life. In the year 1983 the First Rastafari International Theocracy Assembly, inspired by the Honorable Marcus Garvey’s vision of an independent United States of Africa, proclaimed the right of the Rastafari people to constitute a sovereign government. In essence, these patriots proclaimed the right of African descendants to national revival in their own country. This right is acknowledged by the Preambles of the Charter of the United Nations, "We the peoples of the United Nations" and of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, "No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of their nationality". The catastrophic effect of European slave trading and colonization that engulfed hundreds of millions of Africans in the diaspora from the fifteenth Century onward and the debilitating effect it has left on the African psyche, proved anew the urgency and the right of the Rastafari People to reconstitute and establish a national homeland in Africa. This would solve the problem of Rastafari homelessness by opening the gates for voluntary repatriation of all African descendants and elevating the Rastafari people to equality in the family of Nations. The surviving descendants of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Genocide, as well as Rastafari people from other lands, proclaiming their right to a life of dignity, freedom and self-determination; undeterred by hazards, hardships and obstacles, tries unceasingly to repatriate to Africa. In the Italo-Ethiopian and the Second World War, Africa and her diaspora made a full contribution in the struggle of the freedom loving nations of the world against the Fascist evil. The sacrifices of these brave warriors and their workers gained them and their descendants- title to rank with the peoples who founded the United Nations. This recognition by the United Nations of the right of the Rastafari people to consult on their independence shall not be revoked. It is moreover, the self evident right of the Rastafari people to be a nation, as are other nations, and to be in their own sovereign Homeland. ACCORDINGLY, WE, the members of the Provisional National Council, representing the Rastafari people of the world; hath met together in solemn assembly today; and by virtue of the natural and historic right of the Rastafari people, HEREBY PROCLAIM establishment of the Rastafari Nation. WE HEREBY DECLARE that as from midnight of the 10th to 11th September 20…, beginning the Ethiopian biennium new year, and until the setting up of the duly elected bodies of the Rastafari Nation in accordance with a Constitution, to be drawn up by a Constituent Assembly, not later than the twenty-first day of April 20… or there after amended, the present Provisional National Council, shall act as the Lawful Authority, and shall constitute the Transitional Government of the Rastafari Nation. A future HOMELAND STATE OF THE RASTAFARI will be open to the repatriation and immigration of Rastafari people from all countries of their dispersal; will promote the development of its territory for the benefit of all its inhabitants; will be based on the precepts of liberty, justice and peace as taught by H.I.M. Haile Selassie 1, the ancient prophets and the Rastafari patriarchs, matriarchs and elders; will uphold the full social and political equality of all its citizens, without distinction of ethnicity, creed or gender; will guarantee full freedom of conscience, worship, education, and culture; will safeguard the sanctity and inviolability of the shrines and Holy Places of all cultures within its jurisdiction; and will dedicate itself to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations. A HOMELAND STATE FOR RASTAFARI will be ready to cooperate with the organs and representatives of the United Nations and the African Union, in the implementation of the Resolution of its Assembly and will take appropriate steps to bring about Economic Union over its whole population. Our appeal to the United Nations and the African Union, to assist the Rastafari people in the building of its Homeland State in Africa and to admit Rastafari into the family of nations. In the midst of unwanton aggression, discrimination and fear, we yet call upon the inhabitants of Africa to continue to maintain the ways of peace, international morality and collective security and to play their part in the future development of the Rastafari Nation and its Homeland State, with full and equal citizenship and due representation in all its offices and institutions provisional or permanent. We offer peace and unity to all the neighboring African countries and their peoples, and invite them to cooperate and work with an independent Rastafari nation for the common good of humanity. Our call goes out to the Rastafari people all over the world to rally to our cause in the task of repatriation, and development and to stand by us in the great struggle for the fulfillment of the hopes of generations the redemption of Africans. With trust in the Almighty Lion of Judah, we set our hand to this Declaration at this session of the Provisional State Council in the City of Kingston Jamaica, on this new year’s eve, the tenth of September ………20... Ancients Council of Rastafari Elders Other National Representatives Regional Representatives International Representatives CONCEPT ESTABLISHMENT HOMELAND RASTAFARI COMMONWEALTH (Black print) Objectives & Accomplishments PROCLAMATION ~ COMMONWEALTH ~ FORM OF GOVERNMENT ~ MERITOCRACY ~ (e.g.) STATE BUILDING ~ NATIONAL ~ STATE BUILDING ~ INTERNATIONAL ~ 1. Authentication Act by the UN 2. Sovereign Territory (SHASHAMANE, Ethiopia) 3. National Flag 4. Coat of Arms 5. National Anthem 1. Constitution 2. Nobility of Ideals 3. Structure of Representatives e.g. President, Minister, Major 4. Structure of the Council of Rastafarian Elders 5. System of Elections / Cycles 6. Common Law System and Authorities 7. Economy Regulations 8. State Currencies a) National / International: e.g. GBP b) Additional Home Currency: e.g. Barter, Mutual Services 1. General Maintenance of State Borders 2. Allocation and Administration of Districts 3. Public Safety 4. Assembling of Infrastructure / Assembling of the Concept of Agricultural Self-Sufficiency a) With the Aid of Foreign States Assistance b) With the Aid of Citizens 5. General Services for the Public 6. General Utilization of the Rastafarian Ethical Values 1. Diplomatic Relations and Negotiations a) Repatriation b) Reparation c) Restoration 2. Paradigm Relations a) Spiritual b) Cultural c) Educational 3. Economic Relations a) Trade b) Educational e.g. Rastafarian Agriculture Comments:
Posted on: Mon, 16 Sep 2013 12:20:41 +0000
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