ETHIOPIA: WAR CRIMES TRIAL BEGINS

(13 Dec 1994) Eng/nat

In the biggest war-crimes trial in Africa's history, 46 government officials of Ethiopia's former Mengistu (men-gist-too) regime have appeared in court, accused of genocide and crimes against humanity.

The accused face charges arising from the massacre of supporters of the late Emperor Haile in the mid 1970's.

Manacled at the wrist, Ethiopia's former Prime Minister and 45 of his colleagues who ruled the country with an iron fist for 17 years were brought to court to face justice.

High security surrounded the courtroom in Addis Ababa as the accused faced charges relating to the murder of more than 18 hundred victims.

The War Crimes Trials could last years as Ethiopia tries to cleanse it's bloody past and seek restitution for the victims.

The first hearing restricted to those with special passes began in a converted seminar hall in the capital Addis Ababa.

Dozens battled to get into the heavily-secured compound while about 100 victims and defendants' family members entered with special passes.

The three judges spent more than an hour taking a roll call of the defendants who have been in custody for three years.

At least 22 are believed to be in exile and three have sought sanctuary in the Italian Embassy in the Ethiopian capital.

Accused Number one, former dictator, has refugee status in Zimbabwe and is living in luxury.

He, along with those who fled Ethiopia with him will be tried 'in absentia'.

Mengistu faces the death sentence if found guilty for ordering the executions of his predecessor, Emperor
Haile Sellasie and Sellasie's entire cabinet of 60 ministers.

The prosecution says the elimination of opponents was ordered because the ruling Dergue felt they were "anti-revolutionary, anti-people and reactionary."

Mengistu is alleged to have launched the notorious Red Terror
campaign in 1977 by smashing a bottle of red ink symbolizing the
blood of his enemies on a city square.

Within days thousands of bodies were found and Parents were forced to pay the Dergue for the bullets that killed their children.

In 1983, after tens of thousands had been killed, Mengistu unveiled
a dramatic monument entitled "Our Struggle" which depicts him as a
revolutionary and political hero adored by his followers.

The Ethiopian Transitional Government which insists on a fair
trial has hired lawyers for most of the defendants and is working
with foreign attorneys to set up the country's first public
defender's office.

SOUNDBITE:

"I think that the significance is that this is one of the biggest war crimes trials the world has seen since the second world war and I think its a very important trial. I thinks its really courageous for the Ethiopian government to allocate money for these trials because we are talking a lot of money and we're talking about a lot of manpower and we're talking about a lot of resources in general. "
SUPER CAPTION:
Peter Bach, Danish Lawyer, International Commission of Jurists

Whether it succeeds as a test case for other countries or even
cleanses Ethiopia of its shame, the trial at least provides the
victims with some relief.

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