Dealing with Dictators

Whilst Saddam appears in court, it might be appropriate to consider the fate of another brutal Dictator.

Take a ruthless Dictator who was responsible for 500,000 (Amnesty International) deaths during a reign of “Red Terror.”

Take a Dictator whose regime was involved in unspeakable crimes and atrocities, and many of whose members now languish in jail. A regime whose soldiers would not release a victim's body for burial until the victim's family had paid back the cost of the bullet used in the killing.

Take a Dictator whose security forces systematically tortured political prisoners, dipping bodies in hot oil, raping and inserting bottles and heated metals in bodies of female prisoners,

Take this dictator and install him in a luxurious estate in Zimbabwe, let him have medical treatment in South Africa.

Who? Mengistu Haile Mariam 17 years the Marxist tyrannical ruler of Ethiopia whose fall followed Russian withdrawal of support.

Who organised his departure from Ethiopia ?

The United States embassy in Zimbabwe confirmed in 1999 the US was involved in obtaining a safe haven for the former Ethiopian dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam.

The embassy said in a statement that then Assistant Secretary of State Hank Cohen had been involved in negotiations which resulted in Mengistu arriving in Harare in 1991. … where he still is.

At the time President Mugabe proudly boasted,”

"Both the Americans and Canadians even offered to assist financially if we could not meet the expenses of looking after Mengistu," he said. "We have not received a cent because we have not requested their assistance. He (Mengistu) helped a lot of the
continent's liberation movements."

In March 2001 Mengistu and seven male relatives, all of whom fled Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, when the regime was overthrown by pro-democracy forces in 1991, had become permanent residents on the orders of John Nkomo, the home affairs minister.

As Mr Mugabe reaches his nemesis Mr Mengitsu must be feeling uneasy that he is returned to Ethiopia as the Government there requests ….. unless of course the United States Ambassador in Harare Christopher Dell, has other ideas… he might of course have read the following which appears on his Embassy Website.


The U.S. Department of State Annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices

The Government of Zimbabwe has conducted a concerted campaign of violence, repression, and intimidation. This campaign has been marked by disregard for human rights, the rule of law, and the welfare of Zimbabwe's citizens. Torture by various methods is used against political opponents and human rights advocates. War veterans, youth brigades, and police officers act with sustained brutality against political enemies. The Mugabe regime has also targeted other institutions of government, including the judiciary and police. Judges have been harassed into submission or resignation, replaced by Mugabe’s cronies. The news media have been restricted and suppressed, with offending journalists arrested and beaten. Land seizures continue to be used as a tool for political and social oppression, and opponents of these destructive policies are subject to violent reprisals.

Human Rights Watch has more here