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| Africa Subsaharan |
| Chad's ex-president tried in Senegal for war crimes |
| 2015-07-21 |
| [AA.TR] The trial of Hissene Habre, a former Chadian president accused of committing crimes against humanity while in office, kicked off on Monday -- under heavy security -- in 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... ese capital Dakar. The former head of state was escorted to the courtroom by Senegalese security forces. "He did not want to come; he was taken by force," Mouth Bane, Habre's former communications officer, said. The former president, for his part, has condemned the trial as politically motivated. "This isn't a trial; it's a farce!" Habre declared at Monday's court hearing, claiming he was the victim of "neocolonialism." Several of Habre's young supporters made similar assertions outside the courthouse. "This isn't a trial -- it's an insult to Africa, for which Senegal must take responsibility," one young Habre supporter, insisting on anonymity, said. The court, meanwhile, was surrounded by a heavy police presence. "Police are mobilized to ensure security inside the courtroom while security forces are deployed outside," Marcel Mendy, communications director for the Extraordinary African Chambers, said. The Extraordinary African Chambers is a special court tasked by the Senegalese government and 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... with trying the former Chadian dictator. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 Mouth Bane?? Damn I could riff on that all night |
| Posted by: Bov Flimbers 2015-07-21 02:17 |