Monument to the Lion of Judah it was returned to Ethiopia after the negotiations in Addis Ababa. Emperor Haile Selassie took part in the new inauguration ceremony in military uniform, also recalling the patriotic gesture of Zerai Derres. After the 1974 revolution, the Derg regime thought of removing the monument, symbol of the monarchy, but an association of "Arbegnuoc" veterans claimed that it was a memory of Ethiopian antifascist resistance and a symbol of Ethiopia. So, the regime agreed to leave the monument, which is still in front of the Addis Ababa central station. The sculpture of the Lion of Judah, in gilded bronze, is placed
Monument to the Lion of Judah Monument to the Lion of Judah The monument to the Lion of Judah is a statue of the Lion of Judah, symbol of Ethiopian Emperors and Ethiopia. It is located in the square of the Addis Ababa railway station in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The statue is particularly well known in Ethiopia, because in the 1930s (when the sculpture had been taken to Rome) it was the cause of a protest against Italian colonialism by Eritrean patriot Zerai Deres, who wounded several people with a scimitar there. For his gesture, Zerai Deres is celebrated by Eritrean and Ethiopian historiography as a