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The Zimbabwean
Saturday, 31 May 2008

“Instead of being a source of hope to the people, the police have become a threat.”

HARARE

Deadly AK47 rifles have become the weapon of choice for thugs involved in murder, kidnapping and torture throughout Zimbabwe.

Suspiciously, though, the police have not been able to apprehend a single suspect in all the cases involving the illegal use of AK47s or other firearms. A substantial number of the 50 Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) activists murdered after March 29 were kidnapped by men with AK47 rifles.

Over the years, this Gukurahundi style of abduction and disappearance of activists has left the state as the lead suspect.
At Murambinda in April 2000, for example, two alleged killers driving a Zanu (PF) Manicaland Nissan twin-cab truck approached MDC activists Tichaona Chiminya and Talent Mabika. The two killers pointed AK47s and petrol-bombed the MDC group. Mabika and Chiminya died.

Later that year, David Coltart’s chief polling agent, Patrick Nabayana, was abducted by men allegedly carrying AK47 rifles. His body has never been found.

The following year, 10 men with AK47 rifles abducted Bulawayo war veterans leader Cain Nkala. His decomposing body was later found in a shallow grave near Solusi University. MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai blamed Zanu (PF) for Nkala’s death.
A pointer to who the perpetrators of these abductions really are is contained in an Amnesty International (AI) report, dated June 2002, and entitled Toll of Impunity.

The human rights agency says “these violations were primarily committed by members of ‘state sponsored militia’ and also by state security forces – police officers, army officers or agents of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO)”.

The BBC
30th May 2008

Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has described the country under President Robert Mugabe as an “unmitigated embarrassment” to Africa.

He said that during 28 years of Mr Mugabe’s rule, services such as education and healthcare had gone from the best in Africa to among the worst.

He is standing against Mr Mugabe in a run-off election at the end of June.

Zimbabwe’s justice minister said a Tsvangirai victory would plunge the nation into crisis.

Mr Tsvangirai was speaking at a gathering of parliamentarians from his party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), and media in the Zimbabwean capital Harare.

This was, in effect, his election manifesto, the BBC’s Peter Greste reports from Johannesburg in neighbouring South Africa.
‘Gratuitous violence’

The MDC leader again condemned the ruling Zanu-Pf party for what his party insists is a campaign of intimidation and violence.

He said there would be no amnesty for anyone responsible for political attacks.

“The violence that is currently taking place must stop,” he said.

“There will be no tolerance or amnesty for those who continue to injure, rape and murder our citizens. We consider these acts as criminal acts, not political acts.”

Senator David Coltart, a human rights lawyer and a member of the MDC, described for the BBC some of the attacks on supporters of his party.

“And I think that has caused the Morgan Tsvangirai statement. It amounts to a plea in desperation to get this violence to stop.”

Mr Tsvangirai listed Zimbabwe’ s problems as:

In the News UK
Thursday, 29 May 2008

Robert Mugabe is waging a campaign of violence against the MDC. He is attempting to cling to power in Zimbabwe as pressure for change builds and builds.

Robert Mugabe is waging a campaign of intimidation and violence against Zimbabwe’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), a senior party figure has claimed.

David Coltart, re-elected as a senator in the March 29th parliamentary elections, said Mr Mugabe’s supporters had committed “a fresh crime against humanity” in the last five weeks.

Increased abductions, displacements and the “gratuitous use of violence” all form part of the targeted campaign being conducted by Mr Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party since the first-round election.

That took place two months ago today and, after a lengthy delay, saw the MDC take control of the country’s parliament. The MDC’s Morgan Tsvangirai failed to win an absolute majority in the presidential contest, prompting the current run-off campaign and Mr Mugabe’s reign of terror.

Speaking at an event hosted by thinktank Policy Exchange in London, Mr Coltart compared the current crisis to the Gukuruhundi, the 1983 campaign which resulted in the deaths of 20,000 civilians.

The month after the election saw the number of human rights violations in Zimbabwe increase tenfold, he said, with second- and third-tier leadership levels of the MDC and the north-east of the country singled out for special attention.

“A new operation has unfolded. It is increasingly clear that Zanu-PF has organised a brutal campaign to root out people who voted for, or were in junior leadership positions in, the MDC under Morgan Tsvangirai,” Mr Coltart said.

By May 16th Harare hospital had treated 1,600 victims of the violence alone while 22 deaths among MDC supporters had been confirmed, he claimed. One man was found with his eyes gouged out and his tongue cut out.

The Sydney Morning Herald
Robyn Dixon in Johannesburg
May 26, 2008

JOHANNESBURG: Zimbabwe hangs in dangerous political limbo: the ruling clique clings to power amid rumours of a coup if the incumbent, Robert Mugabe, loses the presidential run-off.

His opponent, Morgan Tsvangirai, far from facing down military hardliners, has returned to Harare after weeks of self-imposed exile, fearing assassination.

As regional leaders dither, a new wave of systematic abductions and killings of top opposition activists suggests a regime unwilling to leave office, even if it loses the second round, scheduled for June 27.

“There’s no way we are going to lose the run-off,” a senior ruling party figure said. “We are going to make sure of that. If we lose … then the army will take over.

“Never be fooled that Tsvangirai will rule this country. Never,” the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said in Harare, the capital.

Human rights organisations, including the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights, say the level and intensity of the violence far surpasses the violence around elections in 2000 and 2002. Mr Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change says 43 activists have been killed since the first round of voting on March 29.

The opposition charges that the Government is targeting its top activists and officials, saying that at least six have been abducted in the past 10 days by armed security officials, and four have been found dead, after severe beatings and torture. An MDC official said 10 others are missing and feared dead.

At a news conference in Harare on Saturday, hours after arriving from Johannesburg, Mr Tsvangirai said leaders in southern Africa had guaranteed his safety and assured him that election monitors would arrive by June 1 to prevent further violence against his supporters.

Intellpuke
24 May 2008
By Robyn Dixon

Zimbabwe hangs in a dangerous political limbo: A ruling party clique clings to power amid rumors of a coup if President Robert Mugabe loses the upcoming presidential runoff. His opponent, Morgan Tsvangirai, far from facing down military hard-liners, has been out of the country for weeks, fearing assassination.

As regional leaders dither, a new wave of systematic abductions and killings of top opposition activists suggests a regime that is unwilling to leave office, even if it loses the second round of voting, scheduled for the end of next month.

“There’s no way we are going to lose the runoff,” one senior ruling party figure said. “We are going to make sure of that. If we lose the runoff, then the army will take over.

“Never be fooled that Tsvangirai will rule this country. Never,” the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said in an interview in Harare, the Zimbabwean capital.

Rights organizations, such as Zimbabwe Doctors for Human Rights, say the level and intensity of the violence far surpasses that surrounding elections in 2000 and 2002. Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change says 43 activists are known to have been killed since the March 29 vote.

The opposition says the government is targeting its top activists and officials and that at least six have been abducted in the last 10 days by heavily armed security officials. Four have been found dead, it says, their bodies showing signs of severe beating and torture. Ten others are missing and feared dead.

MDC activist Tonderai Ndira was dragged from his bed last week by eight security operatives. His body was found Wednesday, dumped in the bush. His brother Barnabas said Ndira’s face had been beaten so badly it was unrecognizable.

Business Day
By Michael Bleby - Writer at Large
Wednesday 14 May 2008

NEWS of a second Khampepe report, the analysis Judge Sisi Khampepe wrote with Judge Dikgang Moseneke for President Thabo Mbeki of the skewed 2002 Zimbabwean presidential election and which he has sat on since then, has got a number of people hot under the collar.

The opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) is baying for Mbeki’s blood. And murmurs are growing among the African National Congress’ tripartite alliance partners for a more robust approach to dealing with Zimbabwe and President Robert Mugabe. They may be reassured, however, to know that the same report has also been a source of great frustration to Mbeki.

In 2004, Zimbabwe’s opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) dropped a bid to force Mbeki to release the report under access to information legislation. While the party did not say at the time why it was giving up the chase, senior party member David Coltart now says it was under pressure from Mbeki.

“He quashed our attempts to use South African legislation to compel the production of the report. He was very angry about it. It was a warning that it would endanger their relationship.”

The report by Khampepe and Moseneke, now deputy chief justice, cited a range of problems with the 2002 poll that the MDC said allowed Mugabe to steal the election. These included a failure to properly constitute the Electoral Supervisory Commission; a change in the Electoral Act to give Mugabe, rather than parliament, authority to amend electoral law; and the change of wording in the Electoral Act to stymie challenges to election findings.

Leader in The Guardian
Tuesday May 13 2008

Morgan Tsvangirai was right to decide to return to Zimbabwe to contest the second round runoff. His departure, over a month ago, to lobby the governments of southern Africa was initially a shrewd move, and did much to undermine Thabo Mbeki’s attempts to shield his embattled friend Robert Mugabe. But staying away from his homeland, when his supporters were being killed, tortured and chased out of their homes, was a different matter. Had Mr Tsvangirai spent the time instead visiting the war veterans’ victims in their hospital beds, he would have been able to keep the region’s focus on what is happening in Zimbabwe.

The leader of the Movement for Democratic Change is not going back on his own terms. He has failed to achieve a halt to the violence, a new Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), unfettered access for international observers or a peacekeeping force manned by the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC). Indeed the justice minister Patrick Chinamasa said yesterday that his country would not allow in election monitors from western countries or the UN until sanctions were lifted.

However, Mr Tsvangirai’s principal handicap is that he has not yet got an assurance about the timing of the run-off. Since he lost control of parliament, Mr Mugabe and the rump of Zanu-PF have been playing for time. The delay allowed them to chase 40,000 farm workers from their homes, kill at least 22 people and torture 900 others, according to the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights.

The Nation (Nairobi)
5 May 2008
By Kitsepile Nyathi in Harare

Even if President Mugabe bludgeons his way into a victory in the runoff he will find governing during a sixth term untenable, warns Zimbabwean opposition legislator and legal expert, Mr David Coltart.

He spoke as it finally dawned on election weary Zimbabweans that a second round of voting was now necessary after the country’s electoral body on Friday announced the long awaited outcome of the March 29 presidential elections.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) released the results over a month after the polls were held giving opposition leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai the lead, but not the simple majority needed to avoid a runoff with Mr Mugabe, the second-place finisher.

Mr Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) rejected those results as fraudulent and on Saturday held off a decision on its participation in the second round.
The opposition has threatened that it will not take part in the runoff because it believes that it won outright.

Legal experts say the MDC has no option but to contest the runoff, which must be held after 21 days as a decision not to take part would automatically hand victory to Mr Mugabe.
Analysts warn the run off will not be a run in the park for the opposition as evidenced by the current wave of political violence in rural areas that human rights groups and aid agencies say has killed several people and forced hundreds to flee their homes. Rights groups and the MDC say the violence is mainly aimed at opposition activists or people who voted for the opposition and is designed to intimidate them into voting for Mr Mugabe in a second round.

The Telegraph
By Sebastien Berger in Johannesburg
5 May 2008

Morgan Tsvangirai, Zimbabwe’s opposition leader, came under growing pressure yesterday to take part in a second round of the country’s presidential election.

His party, the Movement for Democratic Change, insists that Mr Tsvangirai won the vote in March outright and that no run-off is necessary. It is threatening to boycott the second round called by the Zimbabwe Election Commission, which claims that Mr Tsvangirai beat Robert Mugabe but fell short of an absolute majority.

A boycott would automatically hand victory, and a sixth term in office, to Mr Mugabe, 84.

David Coltart, a senior MDC figure and a newly-elected senator for Bulawayo, said: “I have spoken to individual leaders and supporters and some are adamant that they should not participate.

“I think we all have no choice but to participate although the brutality is just shocking.”

Armed gangs of Mr Mugabe’s supporters have been attacking opposition activists for several weeks in a campaign of intimidation designed to boost the president’s chances of re-election. The two factions of the MDC have agreed to campaign in the second round for Mr Tsvangirai, who has stayed outside Zimbabwe in the weeks following the poll.

John Mattison, a political commentator, said: “He’s got to participate because otherwise Mugabe just becomes president. Having come this far, I don’t see that he has any other choice.
“It’s a terrible double bind. You know people are going to die. You know there’s going to be corruption and rigging and he’s at risk from that.”

As leaders of the MDC met to decide on their next move, an insider said it was considering what conditions to demand for its participation.

Sunday Independent (SA)
By Maureen Isaacson
May 04 2008

Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), is not Tom Cruise. Tendai Biti, the MDC secretary-general and one of Zimbabwe’s top lawyers, says Tsvangirai, the former mineworker who looks set to rule Zimbabwe, is no actor, nor is he manipulative in the way that politicians often are.

When the MDC split because of Tsvangirai’s decision to vote against the introduction of the senate to the houses of parliament in October 2003, Biti was forced to choose between the leadership of Tsvangirai and the leader of the faction, Arthur Mutambara.

“I chose Morgan because he is a human being with very strong points and weak points also. If he makes mistakes you know they are bona fide and this draws loyalty out of people. What you see is what you get,” says Biti.
Our political proclivities determine what we see and Mugabe’s people did a good job of discrediting Tsvangirai. But even as the crisis over the March election rages, (despite the MDC’s clear win), we are undoubtedly looking at a winner.

Tsvangirai has brought 99 seats to parliament, while Mutambara’s faction gained 10. Together this makes a majority and it means that Mugabe has no power to vote for a national budget, no small feat; certainly a vindication for Tsvangirai.

This week after the two MDC factions united against the repressive regime, Mutambara said in an interview: “…given the attempts by [Robert] Mugabe to sabotage the votes of the people, we are closing ranks and saying we are going to work together in defending the people’s vote. On March 27, we voted for change. Morgan Tsvangirai is the embodiment of that change.”