BY GIRMACHEW GASHAW
As human beings do have dual mentalities to accept circumstance accordingly, some have the gut to be fascinated observing mass murders, but some others are likely to be horrified by such atrocious acts of mass killings.
When a mass murder occurs, it often receives considerable media attention as the act itself helps these media houses win public confidence despite its superficial content.
Stories are revisited for years following the incidents, as experts and novices alike try to determine the causes of why these tragedies occur and how they can be prevented. Although statistics show that mass murders are more common now than they had been in the past, this type of killings is still rather rare.
Criminologists and other experts agreed up on, mass murderer is likewise often young males, who act deliberately and methodically in carrying out their killings. The motivation of mass murderer obviously varies by the killer, but experts note that it is often terror, power, revenge, or profit.
The Mai-Kadra massacre, which was a series of ethnic cleansing and mass murder carried out recently in Tigray state, Ethiopia, was a typical example for this. “Samri”(a youth group) which is loyal to the Tigray people’s Liberation Front (TPLF) junta members is a responsible body for the attack according to the investigations by Amnesty International and Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC).
The victims have been described as “civilians, who appear to have been migrant labourers in no way involved in the on-going military offensive and even they are devoid of the knowhow of politics at all,” particularly those hailing from outside the area.
According to the EHRC, which described the massacre as a “widespread and systematic attack directed against innocent civilians” at least 700 people have been killed. Most of the victims were from the Amhara nationals.
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 Mai-kadra 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 postmodern diagnosis by neutral bodies after the atrocity in Mai-kadra are concrete evidences to knock the doors of the International Criminal Court (ICC) if need arises.
It is to be noted that the EHRC released its preliminary report saying that the local police, militia and the informal Tigray youth group called ‘Samri’ participated in the gruesome events.
In its published preliminary findings, EHRC has reported that a few days before the attack, local militia (or “special force”) and the police barred all exit points from Mai-kadra. Migrant workers, who mainly hailed from the neighbouring Amhara State, were additionally prohibited from going to their places of work or moving around the town.
Checkpoints were established at the four main exit points by the youth group named “Samri”. Residents who attempted to flee the town via outlying farmlands or across the border Sudan were forced to go to where they were before by the local security forces.
EHRC further stated that its team traveled between November 14th, 2020 and 19th, 2020, between Mai-kadra, Abrhajira , Sanja, Gondar, Dansha, and Humera and gathered testimonies and other evidences from victims, from the horse’s mouth, military personnel and various other sources including government authorities who were present at the visit.
The team also visited hospitals, health facilities and talked to survivors and other relevant authorities to further consolidate the evidential concretes, he added.
It is also stated that the Mai-kadra attack could by no means be taken as a simple criminal act, but it has to be succinctly looked into as it is a premeditated and carefully coordinated grave violation of human rights.
Addisu Argaw, lawyer and legal advisor said that the massacre perpetrated in Mai-kadra is treated as a core crime when attested in the eyes of the international law.
“International Criminal Court (ICC), an independent judicial institution with the power to try and punish individuals for the most serious crimes of international concern: genocide, crimes against humanity, crimes of aggression, and war crimes, is expected to look into the magnitude of the crime at its disposal.”
The court was first approved in 1998 by a treaty known as the Rome Statute, and it officially came into being on July 1, 2002, after 60 countries ratified the treaty.
Unlike previous war crimes courts with jurisdiction limited to specific conflicts, the ICC is a permanent institution whose jurisdiction extends globally. Even individuals from countries that are not parties to the Rome Statute may be subject to the court’s jurisdiction under certain circumstances.
However, the ICC is complementary to national criminal procedures, meaning that it may not exercise jurisdiction if a nation is adequately prosecuting accused criminals.
As one of the most historic advance in the protection of global human rights, the innovative system established by the Rome Statute is designed to punish perpetrators, bring justice to victims and contribute to stable, peaceful societies.
Rome Statue article five listed the type of gigantic crimes and genocide is one. Correspondently, article 269 of the criminal code of Ethiopia also considers the mass killing of individuals as genocide.
The mass murder in Mai-kadra, Metema and Hmera areas is genocide and it is a core crime with concrete evidence to be taken to international courts, if the case is beyond the capacity of the Ethiopian government.
Otherwise taking the issue to ICC has its own impact as it takes time, huge amount of capital and the penalty is not more than 30 years. However, observing the task locally have its own benefit as the biggest penalty is death sentence.
Again, according to article five of Rome Statue, TPLF commits war crimes as it has deployed premature children in war, attacked civilians, destroyed infrastructures such as airport, bridges and other public facilities. It also made various crimes against humanity such as torture, rape, displace people etc. simply, it is easy to list what the junta has done on Ethiopia and Ethiopians.
ICC is more concerned about crimes committed in countries which signed the Rome Statute. But this doesn’t mean that an international court is deaf of crimes committed against humanity.
If the Ethiopian government is willing to do so, ICC can see the cases and any country can apply the issue to UN Security Council so that the council can refer the case to ICC for investigation.
Concerning evidences, he said, the TPLF junta themselves witnessed as they are committed the crime. On the other hand, the federal government sent investigative team drawn from Federal Police and Attorney General so as to investigate the issue.
What is more, Amnesty International, EHRC released preliminary reports, the dead bodies and survivors of the genocide can be taken as an evidence for the genocide act in Mai- Kadra and other places.
Gondar University Political Philosophy Lecture Assistant Professor, Sisay Assemrie said that the massacre committed at Mai-kadra is quite equivalent to crime against humanity. To be quick frank, it is genocide. As it is one among many international crimes, the case should be handled by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Youth Groups organized under TPLF have committed horrendous crime against people they identified as being Amhara. Here, there is solidified evidence helpful to take the issue to the ICC or other international courts but this does not mean that the case should not be seen in local courts.
As it is the issue of genocide, the Ethiopian government, right based organizations, victims (Amhara people) or intellectuals can take the issue to international courts, but the case can be seen by local courts as juries are considered neutral to conduct jurisdiction without being partisan.
As it has been repeatedly said, the government is expected to be committed than ever to enforce the rule of law and the courts in turn had better boldly serve justice.
In a nut shell, the merciless and barbaric action taken by the TPLF junta against innocent civilians orchestrating targeted killing has to be adjudicated as promptly as possible either by courts at home or international justice seeking institutions such as ICC.
The Ethiopian herald December 27/2020
