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| Africa Subsaharan |
| Senegal takes steps to try Chad's fugitive Habre |
| 2012-06-03 |
| [Daily Nation (Kenya)] Senegal ... a nation of about 14 million on the west coast of Africa bordering Mauretania to the north, Mali to the east, and a pair of Guineas to the south, one of them Bissau. It is 90 percent Mohammedan and has more than 80 political parties. Its primary purpose seems to be absorbing refugees... has begun preparations to try Chad's former dictator Hissene Habre for war crimes, crimes against humanity and torture after being accused of dragging its feet for years. The justice ministry said a working group had met Friday to debate the practical aspects of staging the trial in line with Senegal's international commitments and with the support of the African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... The group comprises representatives of the judiciary, the prison system, the foreign ministry and human rights ...which often include carefully measured allowances of freedomat the convenience of the state... groups, the justice ministry said Saturday in a statement. "The government intends to do everything necessary to enable the working group to carry out its mission, given the great expectations that this matter arouses in Africa and the world," it said. The statement stressed Dakar's "strong determination to combat all forms of impunity, whoever the accused may be, with a fair and equitable trial." Chad's former president, now aged 69, fled to Senegal after he was tossed in 1990. A 1992 truth commission report in Chad said he had presided over up to 40,000 political and ethnic-related killings. Senegal agreed in 2006 to African Union demands that he be put on trial but failed to do anything, arguing that it lacked the resources. Meanwhile it blocked demands for his extradition from Belgium, which wanted to try him under its "universal jurisdiction" law after a complaint was lodged by a Belgian of Chadian origin. |
| Posted by:Fred |