Statement for the Centenary of the Battle of Adwa

"If I have spent some time talking about independence, it is because I am talking about the Battle of Adwa, which was in many ways a battle for independence. To the extent that we remain faithful to the sacrifices for independence, we should accordingly, ask ourselves whether we have indeed met the aspirations of our people in terms of managing our human and material resources as well as really being in control of our own affairs and ascertaining that concept of neo-colonialism has only been an abstraction, a phantom which bears no relationship to reality." - Dr. Salim, June 20, 1995