Inhalt
<div><div>This book investigates the road map or the transitional justice mechanisms that the</div><div>Ethiopian government chose to confront the gross human rights violations perpetrated</div><div>under the 17 years’ rule of the Derg, the dictatorial regime that controlled state power</div><div>from 1974 to 1991. Furthermore, the author extensively examines the prosecution of</div><div>politicide or genocide against political groups in Ethiopia.</div><br></div><div>Dealing with the violent conflict, massacres, repressions and other mass atrocities of</div><div>the past is necessary, not for its own sake, but to clear the way for a new beginning.</div><div>In other words, ignoring gross human rights violations and attempting to close the</div><div>chapter on an oppressive dictatorial past by choosing to let bygones be bygones, is no</div><div>longer a viable option when starting on the road to a democratic future. For unaddressed</div><div>atrocities and a sense of injustice would not only continue to haunt a nation but</div><div>could also ignite similar conflicts in the future.</div><div><br></div><div>So the question is what choices are available to the newly installed government when</div><div>confronting the evils of the past. There are a wide array of transitional mechanisms</div><div>to choose from, but there is no “one size fits all” mechanism. Of all the transitional</div><div>justice mechanisms, namely truth commissions, lustration, amnesty, prosecution,</div><div>and reparation, the Ethiopian government chose prosecution as the main means for</div><div>dealing with the horrendous crimes committed by the <i>Derg</i> regime.</div><div><br></div><div>One of the formidable challenges for transitioning states in dealing with the crimes of</div>former regimes is an inadequate legal framework by which to criminalize and punish</div><div>egregious human rights violations. With the aim of examining whether or not Ethiopia</div><div>has confronted this challenge, the book assesses Ethiopia’s legal framework regarding</div><div>both crimes under international law and individual criminal responsibility.</div><div><br></div><div>This book will be of great relevance to academics and practitioners in the areas of</div><div>genocide studies, international criminal law and transitional justice. Students in the</div><div>fields of international criminal law, transitional justice and human rights will also</div><div>find relevant information on the national prosecution of politicide in particular and</div><div>the question of confronting the past in general.</div><div><br></div><div><b>Marshet Tadesse Tessema</b> is Assistant Professor of the Law School, College of Law and</div><div>Governance at Jimma University in Ethiopia, and Postdoctoral Fellow of the South</div><div>African-German Centre, University of the Western Cape in South Africa.</div></div>