Mengistu appeal delayed until July

The appeal for exiled Ethiopian dictator Haile Mengistu Meriam has been delayed until July by a judge in Ethiopia. Mengistu, if you recall, has already been tried and convicted in absentia for his role in orchestrating the notorious Red Terror that left over 100,000 dead, and sent countless more fleeing the country.

Both sides are now engaged in an appeal of the penalty phase of Mengistu's trial, and lawyers for the prosecution are trying to secure a death sentence for Mengistu. They're arguing that Mengistu's role in orchestrating the mass murder of so many people must surely qualify him for a trip to the gallows, while the defense team is simultaneously appealing the original life sentence handed down when Mengistu was originally convicted. No matter the result, it's still infinitely depressing that all of this action is taking place while the man himself is thousands of miles away, living a life of comfort as the guest of another dictator.

Ethiopians remember Red Terror victims

Thousands of people gathered in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa on Sunday for a ceremony honoring the victims of the Red Terror on the anniversary of the overthrow in 1991 of former dictator Haile Mengistu Miriam. The ceremony was not only for remembrance, but offered a final, proper burial for the remains of Mengistu's victims found scattered in mass graves across the country. Some 150,000 were murdered in cold blood by Mengistu's senseless Red Terror campaign, with countless more starved to death in a famine deliberately exacerbated by the Mengistu regime.

Mengistu, for his part, remains a guest of Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe, surviving on a comfortable Zimbabwean pension in a government supplied estate. Predictably, Mugabe has refused every Ethiopian demand for extradition of his honored guest, even though (or perhaps because?) Mengistu is one of Africa's most notorious mass murderers. For his part, Mengistu is completely unrepentant, and used the "you can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs" argument in defense of the Red Terror.

"The so called 'genocide' was this war in defense of the revolution."

- Haile Mengistu Meriam

Without a defendant, Ethiopia was forced to try Mengistu in absentia, where he was duly convicted on charges of genocide, murder, illegal imprisonment and theft along with his other associates in his government. However, in the increasingly likely event that the 83 year old Mugabe dies or falls from power, Mengistu will have nowhere left to hide, and who knows? The mourners in Addis Ababa may get something more tangible for their grief than some reburied remains; they might just get Mengistu back in Ethiopia for a date with the gallows.

Horn of Africa Week: The exile problem

As we all know, there's been quite a lot of news about Robert Mugabe's declining fortunes in Zimbabwe lately. There has been focus on the state of the economy, the harried political opposition and so forth, but I notice one story of interest missing from all the discussion regarding Mugabe's future. Namely, if Mugabe is ousted, what happens to exiled Ethiopian dictator Haile Mengistu Miriam? What happens to an ousted dictator when his dictator patron is knocked out, anyway?

After his ouster in a 1991 coup d'etat, Mengistu fled to Zimbabwe where he was received in exile as a personal guest of Robert Mugabe, and given what has been described as a "lush" estate in the Harare suburb of Gunhill, protected by bodyguards provided by the Zimbabwean secret police, ostensibly to protect him from being kidnapped and dragged back to Ethiopia where he was convicted in absentia for crimes against humanity committed during his reign.

However, Mugabe's own position in Zimbabwe is increasingly untenable, and it's a good bet that whoever replaces him will be in no mood to extend such high profile hospitality to a notorious former dictator. Just ask former Liberian strongman Charles Taylor, who found himself deported from exile Nigeria back to Liberia and onwards to a war crimes trial in Sierra Leone. Mengistu is one of the last remaining former Marxist dictators on the continent, which is what prompted fellow Marxist Mugabe to offer him a cushy home in exile. With the odds of Mugabe himself finding safe refuge in exile after his seemingly inevitable ouster so slim, the chance that anyone will also Mengistu as part of a two-for-one deal are practically nil. Even Ethiopia's sworn enemy, Eritrea, won't have anything to do with Mengistu, as Eritrea was especially brutalized by Mengistu when it was still a part of Ethiopia.

I suppose there may still be a place for a former Marxist tyrant with blood on his hands to live free of charge as a guest of the state. Perhaps Cuba? Venezuela? San Francisco? I'm not sure who would have him, but when Mugabe's time is finished, be sure to keep an eye peeled for news regarding one of the world's most loathsome political refugees.

Mengistu convicted

We'd hate to call it a foregone conclusion, but the trial of former Ethiopian dictator Haile Mengistu Meriam in Addis Ababa has concluded, with the former leader being found guilty of crimes against humanity. As I've noted earlier, Mengistu remains safely ensconced in Zimbabwe as a guest of fellow despot Robert Mugabe.

Mengistu's sentencing in absentia is set for December 28th, and most observers seem to believe there's a strong chance that Mengistu will be sentenced to death by hanging. All of this would naturally be very worrisome to Mengistu if he were actually in Ethiopia, and naturally, will strengthen his resolve to avoid returning home at all costs.

Then again, if the Mossad could bring Adolf Eichmann to Jerusalem, who's to say that Ethiopia couldn't retrieve Mengistu? After all, it's not as if Zimbabwe's borders are airtight - far from it.

Mengistu case drawing to a close

The former dictator of Ethiopia is finally facing judgment - albeit in absentia - by his countrymen. After a case lasting a decade, a court in Addis Ababa will render a verdict this week on whether or not the former Marxist military strongman is guilty of crimes against humanity and will likely face the gallows (as most of his co-defendants have) for his crimes.

Mengistu Hailie Mariam rose to power after his rebel army (known as The Derg) overthrew, and eventually murdered, the reigning monarch Emperor Hailie Selassie I. After consolidating power in the middle of 1977, Mengistu ordered his soldiers to use the power of the state to start a red terror that ultimately claimed the lives of countless innocent Ethiopians, and naturally, a massive purge to eliminate any intra-party political rivals. After securing military and financial aid from the Soviet Union in the 1980's, Mengistu took the offensive at rival communist groups and secessionist regions alike.

A high profile drought and famine pricked the conscience of the west, but Mengistu regarded this as an inconvenience, as most of the suffering were in regions where his armies were fighting anti-government insurgents. After some consideration, Mengistu graciously accepted the donated food and money, and promptly sent the bulk of it to his military. The Soviets also graciously looked the other way, and did not make any politically embarrassing demands to do anything about the famine in their client state.

By 1991, however, Mengistu was finished. The Soviet Union collapsed, and without military aid, the rebels gained the upper hand. Desperate to flee Ethiopia, Mengistu was granted political asylum by Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe as an honored guest of the government, where he remains to this day. As might be expected, Ethiopia is seeking his extradition from Zimbabwe rather urgently, but as long as Mugabe is alive, he won't hand over a fellow dictator to face justice at the hands of his aggrieved people. It might set a bad precedent if and when he's removed from power himself.

When the court's verdict is passed, the accused will be thousands of miles away living in relative luxury. Mengistu should not get too comfortable, however. Robert Mugabe is his only protection from extradition, and when Mugabe (who turns 83 in February) either dies or is overthrown, he will likely find himself in shackles on the first flight back to the Ethiopia. If I were him, I might start into whether or not Kim Jong-Il wants anyone to keep him company.