Zimbabwe Independent
Harare – Political violence in Zimbabwe has fallen to its lowest levels since the emergence of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change six years ago.
Analysts say this is because President Robert Mugabe has successfully subdued the opposition and civil society.
The Human Rights Forum (HRF) on Monday released its latest monthly statistics, which show that political violence during September was at its lowest level since the MDC burst onto the political scene and ended Mugabe’s de facto one-party rule.
The HRF report shows that in September there were less than a dozen arrests of political activists and no incidents of torture.
Political protests are rare in Zimbabwe these days, and draconian security laws – tougher than those used by the Rhodesian regime during the liberation war in the 1970s – make it an offence for any demonstrations without police permission, which is regularly denied to opposition groups.
The HRF gathers its information from volunteers who offer information, and it does not have the capacity to seek full information in rural areas.
John Makumbe, a senior political scientist at the University of Zimbabwe, explained on Monday: “Zanu-PF, which perpetrated most political violence since 1999, now feels safe and secure as it has subdued all effective political opposition.”
He said violence, repressive legislation and state security agents had effectively managed all opposition attempts to challenge Zanu-PF’s 25-year rule.
More than 400 MDC members have been killed since it came close to beating Zanu-PF at the general election in 2000 – only six months after the party had been launched.
Tens of thousands of its members have been tortured, jailed or had their property destroyed. Hundreds of thousands of its supporters fled to other countries, mostly South Africa and Britain.
MDC legal secretary David Coltart said on Monday: “Zanu-PF discovered that political violence damages the facade of democracy in Zimbabwe. Hunger is a much more effective political weapon, and in rural areas, many MDC supporters are constantly denied access to food.”
Zimbabwe’s Grain Marketing Board is the only legal cereals trader and importer of maize for human consumption. Most small towns go regularly without any mealie meal, and subsistence farmers ran out of grain more than three months ago, according to non-governmental organisations.
The World Food Programme has not yet begun its new emergency programme to feed up to four million of the hungriest Zimbabweans.
HRF director Eilean Sawyer said: “Information we are collecting now for the October report will show that political violence is intra-party: within Zanu-PF and within the MDC.”
The MDC has split into two factions: one that favours participation in Senate elections that take place on Saturday, and the other which is against.