BY LAKACHEW ATINAFU
ADDIS ABABA- The various unspeakable deeds of the fugitive TPLF junta constitute core international crimes that culprits need to face international justice, experts said.
Serious crimes of concern to the international community were witnessed in the gruesome events of Maikadra and other places where the former is confirmed by rights based organizations including Amnesty International, they argue.
A legal expert and scholar said that the preliminary investigations, findings and post mortem diagnosis by neutral bodies after the atrocity in MaiKadra are concrete evidences to knock the doors of the International Criminal Court (ICC) if need arises.
It is to be noted that the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) released its preliminary report saying that the local police, militia and the informal Tigray youth group called ‘Samri’ participated in the gruesome events.
EHRC said its “team travelled between November 14th, 2020 and November 19th, 2020, between Maikadra, Abrhajira, Sanja, Gondar, Dansha and Humera and gathered testimonies and other evidences from victims, eye witnesses, families of victims, first responders, military personnel and various other sources including government authorities who were present at the time of EHRC’s visit.”
The team also visited hospitals and health facilities and talked to survivors and other relevant authorities, he added.
It stated that Maikadra attack is not a simple criminal act but rather is a premeditated and carefully coordinated grave violation of human rights.
Addisu Algaw, lawyer and legal advisor said that the massacre perpetrated in Maikadra is treated as core crimes according to the international law. Besides, the recent series of crimes of the junta falls under war crime. There are evidences that show as the Junta committed genocide by killing people whom it profiled as Ahmara by identity.
Ethiopia has not signed the Rome Statutes; however, there are no restrictions which prohibit Ethiopia if it needs to prosecute the culprits at the ICC.
Professor Sisay Assemrie, Assistance Professor of Political Philosophy at Gonder University for his part said that the massacre committed at Maikadra is nothing less than crime against humanity. To be quite frank, it is a genocide. Groups organized under TPLF have committed horrendous crime against people they identified as being Amhara.
The Ethiopian Herald December 16/2020
