On the Question of Amnesty to Derg Officials .

Kelemu

December 23, 2010

There is one question that those of us who think the Deg officials ought to be given a chance to openly, unequivocally and whole heartedly admit their direct and indirect role in the eliminations of thousands of innocent civilians during their rule, and ask for a pardon from the Ethiopian people in general and the families of victims in particular. The one question I have is whether the release of these criminals after this process, is against the constitution or not.

In the constitution of the country (Section 28?), it is stated that persons who committed a crime against humanity or illegally killed a person without due process are not eligible for amnesty. It states that no functionary of the government has the authority to provide amnesty to these kinds of criminals. If such is the case, I am afraid the government might find itself, unless I am missing something here, unable to legally release these prisoners. The government has to think about this case very seriously for it might create a bad precedence. Even more it could be an illegal act.

The point that was raised by Zeru in Aiga’s open discussion on this matter, although it might not directly relate to this process, about the Addis Ababa lobbyists and the EPRDF officials has been occupying my mind for sometime. On a second thought I came to a conclusion that Zeru may have a solid point here. On few occasions I have seen people with questionable attitudes and past hovering around government officials of the higher echelon.

The idea of holding conferences in Belesa and Dedebit is not a bad idea at all. It will help to constantly remind the old generation of fighters and teach the new comers that they need to be vigilant in conducting their business of ensuring that their political life is directly dependent on serving the Ethiopian people fairly and justly.

Regards; Kelemu