BY BETHANY MORRISON
SENEGAL – On July 23 the Senegalese Government amended their constitution to allow for the prosecution and trial of Hissène Habré in a Senegalese court. Legislation has existed in the country since February 2007 that permits the court to prosecute cases of genocide, war crimes and torture, even if the crimes are committed outside Senegal. The recent amendment clarifies that the law applies to crimes committed even before the law was passed.
Hissène Habré was in power in Chad from 1982 until he was deposed in 1990 by President Idriss Deby Itno. Habré then fled to Cameroon and subsequently went into exile in Senegal. Habré’s one party regime was responsible for widespread atrocities. It is estimated that his government carried out 40,000 politically-motivated killings and over 200,000 cases of torture, leading Human Rights Watch to dub him “Africa’s Pinochet.”
Habré was first indicted in Senegal in 2000 before courts ruled that he could not be tried there. In September 2005, after a four year investigation, a Belgian judge charged the Chadian ex-president with crimes against humanity. On July 2, 2006, the African Union, following the recommendation of a Committee of Eminent African Jurists, called on Senegal to prosecute Hissène Habré “in the name of Africa,” and President Abdoulaye Wade declared that Senegal would do so.
Mugabe will someday be held responsible for his human rights violations against the people of Zimbabwe. The horrific violence and intimidation at the hands of the military junta will not be forgotten. War veterans, youth militia, CIO operatives and thugs associated with Mugabe’s regime will be held to account in the future. The people of Chad have fought for justice against their ex-despotic leader and justice has prevailed; the people of Zimbabwe will find vindication if they do not give up the fight. Â
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