HARARE - Zimbabwe's political leaders appeared to speak with discordant voices on Wednesday on the sensitive subject of how to achieve national healing while ensuring those who violated human rights are brought to justice following a unity accord signed earlier this week.
Morgan Tsvangirai - Prime Minister-designate in a new government of national unity with President Robert Mugabe and another opposition leader Arthur Mutambara - told a British newspaper that some senior members of Mugabe's government could face trial over political violence. Mugabe himself will not be tried, according to Tsvangirai.
But, in a quick reminder of how fragile the unity agreement between the three political rivals is, a senior official of Mugabe's ZANU PF party and Mutambara's faction said the parties had not agreed what to do with perpetrators of human rights abuses.
They said whatever course of action the three parties may eventually decide to take, it should be aimed at "achieving national healing rather than punishment and retribution" - clearly insinuating Tsvangirai may have jumped the gun when he spoke of bringing Mugabe's lieutenants to
justice.
ZANU PF deputy spokesman Ephraim Masawi described Tsvangirai's remarks as "unfortunate" and charged that the incoming prime minister loved to point fingers at others while his own MDC party was also guilty of committing political violence.
"The agreement is clear that we must have national healing, but how to achieve that is yet to be fashioned," Masawi told ZimOnline. "It is unfortunate that Tsvangirai speaks of ZANU PF members facing trial, ignoring that his party was also responsible for political violence in the countdown
to the June 27 presidential election run-off."
The ZANU PF official claimed that all of Zimbabwe's three main political parties were guilty of committing political violence, citing a statement issued by the parties last month in which they not only condemned past political violence but also accepted responsibility.
"Every party admitted committing violence and we wonder why Tsvangirai only mentions ZANU PF members. The issue of whether perpetrators will face trial or not rests with the parties when they deal with how to heal the nation as prescribed in the deal they signed on Monday," said
Masawi.
Mutambara would not comment directly on Tsvangirai's calls for ZANU PF officials to be brought to trial but said whatever action the three parties decide to take should aim to heal the nation and not to achieve retribution.
He said: "We must have restorative justice that seeks to incorporate the views of the victims, to rehabilitate individuals and communities that were brutalised through the abuse of human rights and crimes against humanity."
In an interview with The Times newspaper, Tsvangirai said while Mugabe could let off the hook, those in his inner circle should stand trial for political violence and other crimes.
"I don't think Mugabe himself as a person can be held accountable. But there are various levels of institutional violence that has taken place and I'm sure we'll be able to look at that," Tsvangirai
reportedly said. "Let the rule of law apply . . . We all cry for the rule of law, and if somebody's committed an offence he should be prosecuted."
The MDC leader, who was himself brutally assaulted and injured by police last year, said the new government was committed to ensuring there would be no repeat of the violence, which he described as "the darkest period in our history".
Political violence and human rights abuses have accompanied Zimbabwe's elections since the 1999 emergency of Tsvangirai and his MDC party as the first potent threat to Mugabe and ZANU PF's grip on power.
For example, Tsvangirai says that more than 100 members of his MDC party were killed and more than 10 000 others displaced in political violence in the run-up to the June presidential run-off election
Tsvangirai, who pulled out of the run-off to protest the violence and despite having led Mugabe in the first round of voting in March, blamed the violence on ZANU PF militia and state security forces.
Zimbabwe's power-sharing deal is the first real opportunity in nearly 10 years for the crisis-sapped southern African nation to begin a chapter of national healing and recovery.
However, many in and outside Zimbabwe remain immensely skeptical that the deal clinched after seven weeks of tortuous negotiations could stand the strain given the deep personal animosity and mistrust among the political leaders.
Source: ZimOnline
Friday, September 19, 2008
Zim cabinet talks falter
Jan Raath in Harare
The first attempt by the three partners in Zimbabwe's new power-sharing government to launch its new administration and confront the country's disastrous state fell at the first hurdle last night when they failed to agree on the sharing of the ministries.
"Zanu(PF) is claiming all the powerful ministries," said Nelson Chamisa, spokesman for Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change, after Mr Mugabe, Mr Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara, leader of the smaller faction of the MDC, broke up after about six hours of negotiations.
MDC sources said Mr Mugabe was insisting on the ministries of defence and home affairs - which includes the police, finance and local government.Mr Mugabe's new demands came after he addressed his party's politburo and central committee.
At the meeting on Wednesday, Mr Mugabe declared: "We remain in the driving seat. We will not tolerate any nonsense from our new partners."
Mr Chamisa said the issue would be referred to representatives of the three parties who carried out the bulk of negotiations for the agreement for an "inclusive" government signed on Monday.
Mr Mugabe leaves next week for the United Nations general assembly, which means that any conclusion is stalled by at least another week.
On Wednesday Mr Mugabe also told the central committee, "If only we had not blundered in the March 29 elections, we would not be facing this humiliation.
"This is what we have to deal with. We urge you to do your best in trying to understand the document." His remarks indicate a sense of resignation, and also signalled that for the first time since he came to power 28 years ago, he and Zanu(PF) can no longer exercise total control. His stance yesterday, however, showed he can be expected to use delaying tactics to the full.
Zanu(PF) will have 15 of the 31 ministries established in terms of the agreement, Mr Tsvangirai's MDC 13 and the lesser MDC led by Arthur Mutambara, 3, leaving the MDC with a slender majority - another unprecedented and unpalatable truth facing Mr Mugabe.
The MDC is understood to be willing to let Mr Mugabe keep the defence ministry, a move that both would placate the powerful generals loyal to him, but also in the hope that he would surrender to the main pro-democracy party the home affairs ministry, and with it the all-important police force.
Source: London Times
Friday, July 4, 2008
Doctors put the bones back together
HARARE-- The doctor points impassively to two X-rays on a screen. One is of a foot fractured in four places, the breaks more severe than if the victim had been run over by a car, the doctor says.
The second is of a leg fractured at the thickest part of the tibia, just beneath the knee. The fibula, a smaller leg bone, is smashed to pieces, says the doctor, who despite eight years' experience with cases of trauma and beatings has never seen an injury like the tibia fracture.
The leg and foot injuries were not the only ones suffered by the two victims, a 41-year-old polling agent for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change party beaten on the soles of his feet and a 46-year-old MDC provincial secretary struck with a metal bar. Both had two broken arms
and one had broken ribs.
The pair are among the thousands of Zimbabwean activists who were injured in the run-up to Friday's presidential runoff, overwhelmingly opposition party supporters attacked by ZANU-PF ruling party militias and operatives, according to Human Rights Watch.
At least 85 opposition activists were killed before the runoff, which concluded with longtime incumbent Robert Mugabe being the sole candidate. An additional 200 are missing and presumed dead. And roughly 200,000 people were displaced from their homes in the violence, the opposition says.
In some areas, the opposition could not field a single polling agent to monitor the election because of safety concerns.
MDC presidential candidate Morgan Tsvangirai, who described the election campaign as being like a war, pulled out of the vote because of the severe violence against MDC activists. Mugabe, 84, who had finished second to Tsvangirai in the initial presidential vote in March, was inaugurated for a new five-year term.
The X-rays convey only the bald medical facts of what happened to two of the many victims, but to a doctor, the pictures speak as eloquently as courtroom testimony.
The doctor, whose name has been withheld because of safety concerns and possible repercussions, describes himself as a man interested in facts, not emotions. He does focus on the biographical details of the men involved, who they were and what were their thoughts and feelings.
"I just write the medical reports," he says. "I try to keep it as objective as possible."
What staggers him is the level of suffering, and the length of time that the victims will continue to feel the pain. "Every time that person puts his foot down for the next five years, it will
hurt," he says.
"You have four metatarsal fractures," the doctor continues, gesturing at the bones in the central part of the foot in the first X-ray. "You just don't get full metatarsal fractures at the same time. It's very unusual. It requires a huge amount of force.
"You could drive a car over someone's foot and if you broke two of them it would be a lot," he says.
He jabs a finger at the X-ray of the tibia injury. "Will you look at that bone? The massive strong part of the tibia has been separated. You just don't get complete severing of the tibia from the knee like that. I could not hit someone hard enough to do this.
"It's an illustration of unbelievable, intentional brutality," he says. This is not over when the election is over." The areas hardest hit by the violence were traditional ZANU-PF strongholds
that had swung strongly to the MDC in the March vote.
Zimbabwe Doctors for Human Rights, a group of independent doctors, reports that 2,000 people were treated for injuries suffered in political violence in June and more than 5,000 since February. The doctor is a member of the organization.
"One of the most disturbing things is that there is nowhere that people can turn to. You have got no refuge, no ombudsman, no policeman," the doctor says. He switches off the lighted screen behind the X-rays, takes them down and slides them into two brown envelopes. There are many others like them, he says.
Moroka Media
The second is of a leg fractured at the thickest part of the tibia, just beneath the knee. The fibula, a smaller leg bone, is smashed to pieces, says the doctor, who despite eight years' experience with cases of trauma and beatings has never seen an injury like the tibia fracture.
The leg and foot injuries were not the only ones suffered by the two victims, a 41-year-old polling agent for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change party beaten on the soles of his feet and a 46-year-old MDC provincial secretary struck with a metal bar. Both had two broken arms
and one had broken ribs.
The pair are among the thousands of Zimbabwean activists who were injured in the run-up to Friday's presidential runoff, overwhelmingly opposition party supporters attacked by ZANU-PF ruling party militias and operatives, according to Human Rights Watch.
At least 85 opposition activists were killed before the runoff, which concluded with longtime incumbent Robert Mugabe being the sole candidate. An additional 200 are missing and presumed dead. And roughly 200,000 people were displaced from their homes in the violence, the opposition says.
In some areas, the opposition could not field a single polling agent to monitor the election because of safety concerns.
MDC presidential candidate Morgan Tsvangirai, who described the election campaign as being like a war, pulled out of the vote because of the severe violence against MDC activists. Mugabe, 84, who had finished second to Tsvangirai in the initial presidential vote in March, was inaugurated for a new five-year term.
The X-rays convey only the bald medical facts of what happened to two of the many victims, but to a doctor, the pictures speak as eloquently as courtroom testimony.
The doctor, whose name has been withheld because of safety concerns and possible repercussions, describes himself as a man interested in facts, not emotions. He does focus on the biographical details of the men involved, who they were and what were their thoughts and feelings.
"I just write the medical reports," he says. "I try to keep it as objective as possible."
What staggers him is the level of suffering, and the length of time that the victims will continue to feel the pain. "Every time that person puts his foot down for the next five years, it will
hurt," he says.
"You have four metatarsal fractures," the doctor continues, gesturing at the bones in the central part of the foot in the first X-ray. "You just don't get full metatarsal fractures at the same time. It's very unusual. It requires a huge amount of force.
"You could drive a car over someone's foot and if you broke two of them it would be a lot," he says.
He jabs a finger at the X-ray of the tibia injury. "Will you look at that bone? The massive strong part of the tibia has been separated. You just don't get complete severing of the tibia from the knee like that. I could not hit someone hard enough to do this.
"It's an illustration of unbelievable, intentional brutality," he says. This is not over when the election is over." The areas hardest hit by the violence were traditional ZANU-PF strongholds
that had swung strongly to the MDC in the March vote.
Zimbabwe Doctors for Human Rights, a group of independent doctors, reports that 2,000 people were treated for injuries suffered in political violence in June and more than 5,000 since February. The doctor is a member of the organization.
"One of the most disturbing things is that there is nowhere that people can turn to. You have got no refuge, no ombudsman, no policeman," the doctor says. He switches off the lighted screen behind the X-rays, takes them down and slides them into two brown envelopes. There are many others like them, he says.
Moroka Media
Mugabe urged to dialogue with opposition
HARARE (AFP) - President Robert Mugabe returns to Zimbabwe on Wednesday under pressure from fellow African leaders to form a national unity government in the wake of his re-election in a violent poll ruled unfair by monitors.
An African Union summit in Egypt, attended by Mugabe, approved a resolution calling for him to negotiate with opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who withdrew from the run-off election because of violence against his supporters.
The resolution fell short of the tougher statement wanted by some African countries, but it was an unprecedented rebuff to Mugabe, previously feted as a liberation hero.
In the strongest public statement from one of Zimbabwe's neighbours since he was sworn in on Sunday, Botswana called for Mugabe to be barred from the AU and the southern African regional body SADC.
Last Friday's second-round election, in which he was the only candidate, was condemned by monitors and much of world opinion as violent and unfair.
"In our considered view . the representatives of the current government in Zimbabwe should be excluded from attending SADC (Southern African Development Community) and African Union meetings," Botswana Vice-President Mompati Merafhe said, according to a text of his remarks.
Botswana said Mugabe's participation in African meetings "would give unqualified legitimacy to a process which cannot be considered legitimate".Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga has called for Mugabe, 84, to be suspended from the AU after the election.
European Union president France said the EU would only accept a Zimbabwean government led by Tsvangirai, echoing a Western position that Mugabe was an illegitimate leader.
Tsvangirai defeated Mugabe in the first round of the election on March 29 but withdrew from the run-off after he said pro-government militias killed 86 of his supporters. Botswana's statement underlined deep rifts in Africa and among Zimbabwe's neighbours over how tough to be with Mugabe.
South Africa, the designated mediator in Zimbabwe, has resisted open condemnation. The AU summit, in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, called for SADC mediation, led by South African President Thabo Mbeki, to continue.
Mbeki has been criticised in the region and at home for what is seen as ineffective mediation that favours Mugabe. At the summit, Mugabe attacked his critics in Africa and outside but did not
object to the resolution, Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki told reporters.
"There was a lengthy debate, many views were put forward including very critical views of the Zimbabwean ruling party and the president," Zaki said.
Mugabe spokesman George Charamba earlier rejected ideas being discussed for a power sharing deal and MDC Secretary-General Tendai Biti said there was nochance of negotiations.
Biti said Mugabe's decision to go ahead with the June 27 election "totally and completely exterminated any prospects of a negotiated settlement". MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa said the party would respond to the AU resolution on Wednesday.
The summit did not back a U.S. push for U.N. sanctions against Mugabe, including an arms embargo.
Source: AFP
An African Union summit in Egypt, attended by Mugabe, approved a resolution calling for him to negotiate with opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who withdrew from the run-off election because of violence against his supporters.
The resolution fell short of the tougher statement wanted by some African countries, but it was an unprecedented rebuff to Mugabe, previously feted as a liberation hero.
In the strongest public statement from one of Zimbabwe's neighbours since he was sworn in on Sunday, Botswana called for Mugabe to be barred from the AU and the southern African regional body SADC.
Last Friday's second-round election, in which he was the only candidate, was condemned by monitors and much of world opinion as violent and unfair.
"In our considered view . the representatives of the current government in Zimbabwe should be excluded from attending SADC (Southern African Development Community) and African Union meetings," Botswana Vice-President Mompati Merafhe said, according to a text of his remarks.
Botswana said Mugabe's participation in African meetings "would give unqualified legitimacy to a process which cannot be considered legitimate".Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga has called for Mugabe, 84, to be suspended from the AU after the election.
European Union president France said the EU would only accept a Zimbabwean government led by Tsvangirai, echoing a Western position that Mugabe was an illegitimate leader.
Tsvangirai defeated Mugabe in the first round of the election on March 29 but withdrew from the run-off after he said pro-government militias killed 86 of his supporters. Botswana's statement underlined deep rifts in Africa and among Zimbabwe's neighbours over how tough to be with Mugabe.
South Africa, the designated mediator in Zimbabwe, has resisted open condemnation. The AU summit, in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, called for SADC mediation, led by South African President Thabo Mbeki, to continue.
Mbeki has been criticised in the region and at home for what is seen as ineffective mediation that favours Mugabe. At the summit, Mugabe attacked his critics in Africa and outside but did not
object to the resolution, Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki told reporters.
"There was a lengthy debate, many views were put forward including very critical views of the Zimbabwean ruling party and the president," Zaki said.
Mugabe spokesman George Charamba earlier rejected ideas being discussed for a power sharing deal and MDC Secretary-General Tendai Biti said there was nochance of negotiations.
Biti said Mugabe's decision to go ahead with the June 27 election "totally and completely exterminated any prospects of a negotiated settlement". MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa said the party would respond to the AU resolution on Wednesday.
The summit did not back a U.S. push for U.N. sanctions against Mugabe, including an arms embargo.
Source: AFP
Friday, June 20, 2008
Zim death toll tops 85
The death toll from state-sponsored violence ahead of Zimbabwe's presidential run-off next week has reached at least 85, independent observers say.
Fourteen killings were reported in a single day yesterday, including four opposition activists burnt to death in a petrol bombing. Human rights groups fear the real toll may be far higher, with many opposition supporters believed to be held in torture camps and police cells, and unidentified bodies being found every morning.
As the killings have increased, the Mugabe regime that has ruled for 28 years has faced unprecedented criticism from fellow African leaders. The Tanzanian Foreign Minister Bernard Membe, head of a regional Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) observer mission, said it was now impossible for the election to be "free and fair".
The US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, said at a UN security council meeting on Zimbabwe that "by its actions, the Mugabe regime has given up any pretence that the 27 June elections will be allowed to proceed in a free and fair manner" . The UN is not expected to take action at this stage.
African election monitors have publicly questioned the viability of any vote after their observers witnessed two people being shot dead while they were being deployed to polling stations.
A day after the South African President, Thabo Mbeki, failed in his attempt to get Mr Mugabe to delay the vote, Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) confirmed it had come under heavy pressure from its supporters and officials to pull out of the run-off.
"We have a multiplicity of voices in the party urging us to quit this sham election," MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa said. "The party has not yet decided on such a drastic step but it is something gaining wide attention and discussion within our ranks."
Mr Chamisa said the MDC was dismayed by the failure of the SADC and the African Union to take effective measures to rein in the 84- year-old President and his backers in the police and army. T
he South African leader's diplomatic mission, in which he failed to persuade Mr Mugabe to talk to the MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who beat him by a clear margin in the first round of voting, has done nothing to alleviate the political crisis.
An influential Zimbabwean politician close to the Mbeki discussions, who did not want his name used, said: "As long as the so-called mediation is based on appeasing Mugabe instead of confronting his evil regime head on, nothing is going to be achieved. It is understandable that some among opposition ranks want the MDC to pull out. Mugabe has been allowed to create this farce with impunity by his peers who fail to deal with him decisively."
With Tanzania as current chairman of the African Union, Mr Membe said he and the foreign ministers of Swaziland and Angola would write to their presidents "so they do something urgently so we can save Zimbabwe".
SADC is sending 380 monitors to Zimbabwe for the vote. Although Mr Tsvangirai won the first round, heavily delayed official results purported to show he failed to get the outright majority needed to avoid a run-off.
The MDC said the four party activists killed overnight were abducted in Chitungwiza, 15 miles south of the capital, and assaulted with iron bars, clubs and guns. Witnesses said that the victims were forced on to trucks and taken away by militias chanting Zanu-PF slogans.
A further 11 killings were recorded by civil society groups including that of Abigail Chiroto, the wife of the MDC mayor-elect of Harare. She and her four-year-old son, Ashley, were seized at their Harare home on Monday night. The boy, who was left at a nearby police station, said he saw his mother being blindfolded and taken into the bush.
Britain has warned the security and military establishment in Zimbabwe that "they are playing with fire" by allowing the political violence to escalate. "They are digging their own graves," said Lord Malloch- Brown, the Foreign Office minister for Africa, who suggested that existing sanctions against Mr Mugabe and his "hard men" could be widened and deepened after the election. "They will never be able to travel or hold bank accounts outside Zimbabwe, they will lose the ability to send their children to school outside the country. They will be trapped in Zimbabwe."
If Mr Mugabe does manage to steal the election, "it will be by such egregious theft and intimidation that the international community, and neighbouring countries, will see that this is without legitimacy and act accordingly", he said.
Lord Malloch-Brown predicted that Mr Tsvangirai could still secure a "big win" from Zimbabweans who have refused to be cowed by the continuing intimidation and harassment. But he also said that the MDC leader would be expected to share power even in case of a convincing victory. "But with a solid win, he would be able to govern on his own terms."
A day in the life of Mugabe's violent regime
* Four MDC activists were abducted in Chitungwiza yesterday by Zanu-PF supporters and killed in an attack with iron bars, clubs and guns. Amnesty International says that a total 12 people were tortured to death after being abducted by Zanu-PF militias around Zimbabwe yesterday.
* Emmanuel Chiroto, MDC mayor-elect of Harare, described how the body of his murdered wife, Abigai,was hard to identify because her head had been smashed by a blunt instrument. Mrs Chiroto was abducted on Monday with her son, four. The boy was later released unhurt.
* The MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai has been denied a new passport, his party said. His deputy, Tendai Biti, appeared in court yesterday, accused of subverting the government.
* The UN said a human rights senior official had been expelled without explanation after meeting aid workers and UN human rights workers.
Source: Zimbabwe Situation
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Shakira in town
Sometimes newspapers and online sites forget about people, just people without the news. Like what would the world be like if we published all the photos of those we love, we cherish or hold in high esteem for any reasons, personal and every otherwise?
Bob has a comfortable head-start
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe will have a comfortable head-start of at least 130 000 votes through early voting by security officials, sources claim.
They say this is the start of a plan to rig elections by stuffing ballot boxes in areas where the opposition has been violently removed. The Independent Foreign Service spoke to several sources in the armed forces yesterday about their special vote on Friday.
They say the spouses and children of members of the army, air force and police have been forced to cast ballots, and instructed to do so in favour of Mugabe. Armed forces members in Zimbabwe are usually asked to cast their votes ahead of the actual voting day.
For the June 27 run-off they were told to fill out the ballots in front of their station superiors - which the sources say flouts voting procedures.
Armed forces heads, with police chief Augustine Chihuri in the forefront, have publicly declared that the opposition Movement for Democratic Change will not be allowed to rule despite winning the March 29 election.
The MDC's Morgan Tsvangirai won the first round of voting on March 29 with 48% of the votes, against Mugabe's 43%. The sources estimate that Mugabe could have between 130 000 and 150 000 votes before the June 27 poll.
It is the first step in a comprehensive plan to rig the elections, the sources claim. State-sponsored violence has forced thousands of Tsvangirai's supporters to flee their homes in rural and peri-urban constituencies.
They will not be able to vote elsewhere because of a requirement, being stringently enforced, that voters can cast their ballots only at polling stations where they are registered.
Source: Independent Foreign Service
They say this is the start of a plan to rig elections by stuffing ballot boxes in areas where the opposition has been violently removed. The Independent Foreign Service spoke to several sources in the armed forces yesterday about their special vote on Friday.
They say the spouses and children of members of the army, air force and police have been forced to cast ballots, and instructed to do so in favour of Mugabe. Armed forces members in Zimbabwe are usually asked to cast their votes ahead of the actual voting day.
For the June 27 run-off they were told to fill out the ballots in front of their station superiors - which the sources say flouts voting procedures.
Armed forces heads, with police chief Augustine Chihuri in the forefront, have publicly declared that the opposition Movement for Democratic Change will not be allowed to rule despite winning the March 29 election.
The MDC's Morgan Tsvangirai won the first round of voting on March 29 with 48% of the votes, against Mugabe's 43%. The sources estimate that Mugabe could have between 130 000 and 150 000 votes before the June 27 poll.
It is the first step in a comprehensive plan to rig the elections, the sources claim. State-sponsored violence has forced thousands of Tsvangirai's supporters to flee their homes in rural and peri-urban constituencies.
They will not be able to vote elsewhere because of a requirement, being stringently enforced, that voters can cast their ballots only at polling stations where they are registered.
Source: Independent Foreign Service
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