Ethiopias Mengistu must face the music, says Zimbabwe opposition


dpa German Press Agency
Published: Thursday December 14, 2006

Harare- Ethiopia's brutal former president Mengistu Haile Mariam, who was this week convicted of genocide, is an unwelcome guest in Zimbabwe and must be extradited to face justice, the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said Thursday. Mengistu was granted refuge by the Zimbabwean government of President Robert Mugabe in 1991 and has been living some say luxuriously in Harare ever since.

Reports say the authorities here have indicated they will not hand over Mengistu for prosecution, despite his conviction in absentia earlier this week of killing thousands during his brutal 17-year rule.

In a statement, MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa said that most Zimbabweans regarded Mengistu as an unwelcome guest who has overstretched the natural benignity of the average Zimbabwean.

There have been allegations not confirmed by Mugabes government that Mengistu, as a security advisor to the Zimbabwean president, had a hand in plotting last years devastating campaign of shack demolitions, that left up to 700,000 Zimbabweans homeless and jobless.

Chamisa said the governments refusal to hand over Mengistu betrayed its inner fear of international law.

"The days in which dictators would consort in a boys' club and luxuriously look after themselves are over," said Chamisa in a statement. "Mr Mengistu may be safe in Harare for now, but for how long?" he added.

The genocide verdict carries a death sentence in Ethiopia.

© 2006 dpa German Press Agency