ZIMBABWE: As Ethiopia's former dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam is found guilty of genocide, people in Harare express mixed reactions to his exile in Zimbabwe

Record ID: 452693

  • Title: ZIMBABWE: As Ethiopia's former dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam is found guilty of genocide, people in Harare express mixed reactions to his exile in Zimbabwe
  • Date: 16th December 2006
  • Summary: STREETS (SOUNDBITE)(English) UNIDENTIFIED HARARE RESIDENT SAYING: "Well, I think the guy should just go back to his country and deal with reality." (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNIDENTIFIED HARARE RESIDENT SAYING: "Basically, I think he has to go back to his country, because honestly if he committed crime in his country, then there is no reason he should be around in this country." (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNIDENTIFIED HARARE RESIDENT SAYING: "I think he can stay, I don't see anything bad about it." PEOPLE WALKING IN STREETS
  • Embargoed: 31st December 2006 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Zimbabwe
  • Country: Zimbabwe
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement
  • Reuters ID: LVAE2N3B2RYH61JM35XRYFU6SQCJ
  • Story Text: Residents of Zimbabwe's capital Harare, on Tuesday (December 12) responded with mixed reactions to a court case in Ethiopia charging former Ethiopian dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam with genocide.
    The Ethiopian court on Tuesday found exiled former Marxist ruler Mengistu Haile Mariam guilty in absentia of genocide, ending a 12-year trial.
    Mengistu, who now lives in Zimbabwe, was accused of killing thousands during his 17-year rule which began with the toppling of Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974 and included war, brutal purges and famine.
    Spokesman for he opposition Mass Democratic Movement (MDC), Nelson Chamisa, said dictators should face justice.
    "Zimbabwe should not be turned into a sanctuary or safe haven for tinpot dictators, we want all dictators to face justice of their own people, because no impunity should be a allowed to be a factor of a sanctuary by dictators, we feel that who ever has a case to answer in their country should go back and answer those cases."
    While most residents of the city also felt that Mengistu should return to Ethiopia to face justice, that sentiment was not shared by everyone.
    "I think he can stay, I don't see anything bad about it," said one resident.
    Mengistu, who has lived a lavish but reclusive life in exile in Zimbabwe since his 1991 overthrow, fled to Zimbabwe after guerrilla forces led by current Prime Minister Meles Zenawi toppled his 17-year Marxist regime.
    His trial on genocide charges began with procedural hearings in 1992 and began in earnest in 1994.
    He seized power in 1974 after the overthrow of Emperor Haile Selassie who died the following year after being either murdered by his captors or denied the medical treatment that could have kept him alive.
    Mengistu became secretary-general in 1984 of a new Workers Party of Ethiopia, modelled on the Soviet Communist Party. His Marxist policies, which he began abandoning in 1990 with some economic reforms, left a country ravaged by economic decline, famine and regional conflicts that consumed half the state budget.
    In a 1984-85 famine, up to one million Ethiopians starved to death.
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