Italian Fascist War Crimes in Ethiopia - Societa italiana di storia ...

Italian Fascist War Crimes in Ethiopia 103
Ethiopian representative would enhance Ethiopia’s prestige and have a
useful educative effect. Egyptian Department feel that we needlessly put
ourselves in the wrong by not inviting an Ethiopian representative to participate.
They argue that we thereby lay ourselves open to the charge of
letting down an ally who, although of no use to us now militarily, was
once of considerable assistance in helping to bring about the defeat of an
Italian army in our rear in N. Africa, and has since played her part in providing
supplies. They further point out that, although the Ethiopian
Government have not been brought into our earlier discussions on war
crimes, they were informed at the time of the declaration on looting published
last December and invited to associate themselves with the principles
enunciated in it. Finally, they point out that, while the Commission
will in general confine itself to the examination of war crimes committed
since September 1939, sympathetic consideration has been given to a
request from China that examination should be made of war crimes committed
by the Japanese before that date. This, they feel, might provide a
precedent for a similar extension to cover atrocities committed during the
Abyssinian war.
Despite the strength of such contentions Roberts emphasized what he termed
the “strong arguments” against membership. Explaining that this might entail
an Ethiopian demand for the trial of Badoglio (which, though not so stated, was
anathema to the British Government), he declared that, if the Ethiopians were
represented,
their chief object no doubt would be to bring before the Commission the
crimes which the Italians undoubtedly committed during their original
conquest of the country. This probably would mean that the first name on
the Ethiopian list would be Marshal Badoglio.
Like Malkin he saw no need to say more.
Turning to the “parallel with China,” he declared that in that case the “only
question” was:
how far back to go as regards crimes committed in hostilities which have
been continually in progress, while in the case of Ethiopia the crimes
were followed by a period in which Ethiopia ceased to exist from the