Six political activists in Zimbabwe who gathered last year to watch and discuss television news broadcasts of the Arab Spring protests were convicted on Monday of conspiring to commit violence in an effort to overthrow the government. The penalty could be 10 years in prison. They are to be sentenced on Tuesday.
About 45 activists, students and trade unionists were arrested last February while attending a meeting convened by Munyaradzi Gwisai, a lecturer at the law school at the University of Zimbabwe and a former member of Parliament for Zimbabwe’s main opposition party, to discuss the antiauthoritarian uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia.
Prosecutors claimed that Mr. Gwisai and the others were planning to start a similar uprising in Zimbabwe aimed at toppling President Robert G. Mugabe, who has been in power for three decades. Most of the defendants were later released, but six, including Mr. Gwisai, were charged with serious crimes. Lawyers for the accused said the meeting was an academic discussion, not a planning session for a revolution.
The judge in the case, Kudakwashe Jarabini, said in court that while watching videos of the Arab uprisings was not a crime, the organizers had intended to incite hostility toward the government by playing them, according to people in the courtroom.
Mr. Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party has been in a tenuous unity government with the main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, led by Morgan Tsvangirai, since the 2008 election. Mr. Tsvangirai won the most votes but dropped out of the race because of violence against his supporters. International pressure led to the creation of a unity government. But Mr. Mugabe retained the most crucial government posts, particularly those that control the police and the army.
Mr. Mugabe’s party has been pushing hard for new elections, hoping to retake power while Mr. Mugabe, 88, whose health has grown more fragile, remains alive. But the Movement for Democratic Change and many activists and analysts have argued against holding elections before a new constitution is drawn up and crucial institutions, like the election commission, are reformed. An estimated 350 people died in violence during the 2008 election.
Shortly after the 45 activists were arrested last year, a lawyer working for them reported that a dozen had been tortured to try to force them to testify for the state and that six had been lashed. The accusations prompted a letter of concern from the United Nations torture investigator, Juan E. Méndez.
Dewa Mavhinga of the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, a collection of hundreds of civic groups, said it appeared that the window for change in Zimbabwe was closing. “It is an indicator that we are really going towards elections and that the democratic space that was previously somewhat open is quickly closing down,” Mr. Mavhinga said. “There is no crime that has been committed. It is a political issue that is being dealt with by a politicized and severely compromised judiciary.”
Source: New York Times
Showing posts with label MDC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MDC. Show all posts
Monday, March 19, 2012
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Mugabe's diamond mine 'war chest'
A Zimbabwean diamond field said to be the largest in the world is being mined by companies staffed by Robert Mugabe's police and military chiefs who may use the proceeds as a "war chest" to crack down on opponents, says an anti-corruption watchdog. A study by Global Witness marks the first comprehensive attempt to pin down ownership of two companies awarded the rights to mine at Marange since concessions were awarded by the mining ministry four years ago.
It reveals that one company has, among its directors, members of Mugabe's security services who have previously been implicated in vote-rigging and political violence in the run-up to elections. The other is part-owned by companies registered in tax havens such as Hong Kong and the British Virgin Islands, making its beneficiaries virtually impossible to identify. Tendai Biti, the finance minister and a member of the Movement for Democratic Change in Zimbabwe's fractious coalition government, has repeatedly complained about the disappearance of diamond revenues, which it was hoped might help to revive the shattered economy.
Global Witness claims that instead, the security forces could be channelling the profits into a "war chest" that could be used to act against dissenting voices in elections expected this year or next. Marange diamond fields made international headlines in 2008 when they were seized by the Zimbabwean military. Last year, Global Witness claimed locals were being forced to work for soldiers, then smuggle the stones over the Mozambican border. After widespread outrage, the fields were divided up among favoured companies. Leading the pack were the Chinese, whose Exim bank provided the Zimbabweans with a $98-million loan to rebuild their defence college in return for a concession.
Anjin, a joint venture between a Chinese and a Zimbabwean company, intends to produce two million carats a month. According to Global Witness, Anjin has on its board a number of people close to Mugabe. Its company secretary is listed as being Charles Tarumbwa, a brigadier on the EU sanctions list for his role in terror campaigns.
The second company, Mbada, is run by Robert Mhlanga, a former air vice-marshal in the Zimbabwean air force. It is linked to a network of companies based in Mauritius, Dubai, the British Virgin Islands and Hong Kong. Biti said the results of the study did not surprise him. "I know the money [from the sale of Marange diamonds] is being stolen, but I don't have any proof of how it is being stolen," he said. Neither Anjin nor Mbada could be reached for comment.
Source: Times Live
It reveals that one company has, among its directors, members of Mugabe's security services who have previously been implicated in vote-rigging and political violence in the run-up to elections. The other is part-owned by companies registered in tax havens such as Hong Kong and the British Virgin Islands, making its beneficiaries virtually impossible to identify. Tendai Biti, the finance minister and a member of the Movement for Democratic Change in Zimbabwe's fractious coalition government, has repeatedly complained about the disappearance of diamond revenues, which it was hoped might help to revive the shattered economy.
Global Witness claims that instead, the security forces could be channelling the profits into a "war chest" that could be used to act against dissenting voices in elections expected this year or next. Marange diamond fields made international headlines in 2008 when they were seized by the Zimbabwean military. Last year, Global Witness claimed locals were being forced to work for soldiers, then smuggle the stones over the Mozambican border. After widespread outrage, the fields were divided up among favoured companies. Leading the pack were the Chinese, whose Exim bank provided the Zimbabweans with a $98-million loan to rebuild their defence college in return for a concession.
Anjin, a joint venture between a Chinese and a Zimbabwean company, intends to produce two million carats a month. According to Global Witness, Anjin has on its board a number of people close to Mugabe. Its company secretary is listed as being Charles Tarumbwa, a brigadier on the EU sanctions list for his role in terror campaigns.
The second company, Mbada, is run by Robert Mhlanga, a former air vice-marshal in the Zimbabwean air force. It is linked to a network of companies based in Mauritius, Dubai, the British Virgin Islands and Hong Kong. Biti said the results of the study did not surprise him. "I know the money [from the sale of Marange diamonds] is being stolen, but I don't have any proof of how it is being stolen," he said. Neither Anjin nor Mbada could be reached for comment.
Source: Times Live
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Zim police crack-down on photo exhibition
Zimbabwe police on Tuesday seized all the photographs from an exhibition depicting repression under President Robert Mugabe, and arrested the chief of the human rights body that organised the show, officials confirmed. The incident is another instance of the harassment of human rights groups by Mugabe's police, which has continued despite the formation of a power-sharing government between the 86-year-old autocrat and his former opponent, pro-democracy leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who is now prime minister.
Tsvangirai was due to open the exhibition Wednesday at the capital's well-known, private Delta Gallery of 62 framed photographs, which showed Mugabe's brutal crackdown on Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). A spokesperson for Tsvangirai's office said the prime minister was "adamant that the exhibition will go ahead", and that he would be opening it as scheduled. "What these people [Mugabe's Zanu-PF party] don't understand is that by showing these photographs you are not reopening wounds, you are trying to heal wounds," Tsvangirai said.
The images showed victims of violence, Tsvangirai with head injuries from an assault, police breaking up peace demonstrations, as well as Mugabe praying, and ended with pictures of members of the coalition government, said Cynthia Manjoro, spokesperson for the Zimbabwe Human Rights Organization (Zimrights) that was holding the exhibition. "The aim was to make people look at where we have been, and to try to make sure we don't go there again," she said. "It is about national healing, and that we are begging for a truth and reconciliation commission."
Manjoro said police first arrived and took photographs of all the pictures. Later about 20 officers, including riot police, removed the pictures from the walls and dumped them in a police pick-up truck. Zimrights director Okay Machisa tried to intervene and was arrested. Lawyers later said Machisa had been released, but it was not clear what, if any, charges had been pressed against him. Manjoro said police gave no reason for removing the pictures.
In the last 10 years of harassment since Tsvangirai's MDC emerged as the first real threat to Mugabe's nearly 30 years in power, police have regularly closed down theatres featuring critical and satirical drama, arresting actors, producers and audiences, and shut down music concerts with a political theme. Observers say it is the first time they have interfered with an art exhibition. The show coincided with a swell of demands for acknowledgement, particularly by Mugabe's side of the coalition government, of a decade of violent intimidation, with murders, rapes, torture, assault, arson, looting and destruction of homes on a vast scale, which human rights organizations claim have been committed almost entirely by Mugabe's security forces and party vigilantes.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Tsvangirai was due to open the exhibition Wednesday at the capital's well-known, private Delta Gallery of 62 framed photographs, which showed Mugabe's brutal crackdown on Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). A spokesperson for Tsvangirai's office said the prime minister was "adamant that the exhibition will go ahead", and that he would be opening it as scheduled. "What these people [Mugabe's Zanu-PF party] don't understand is that by showing these photographs you are not reopening wounds, you are trying to heal wounds," Tsvangirai said.
The images showed victims of violence, Tsvangirai with head injuries from an assault, police breaking up peace demonstrations, as well as Mugabe praying, and ended with pictures of members of the coalition government, said Cynthia Manjoro, spokesperson for the Zimbabwe Human Rights Organization (Zimrights) that was holding the exhibition. "The aim was to make people look at where we have been, and to try to make sure we don't go there again," she said. "It is about national healing, and that we are begging for a truth and reconciliation commission."
Manjoro said police first arrived and took photographs of all the pictures. Later about 20 officers, including riot police, removed the pictures from the walls and dumped them in a police pick-up truck. Zimrights director Okay Machisa tried to intervene and was arrested. Lawyers later said Machisa had been released, but it was not clear what, if any, charges had been pressed against him. Manjoro said police gave no reason for removing the pictures.
In the last 10 years of harassment since Tsvangirai's MDC emerged as the first real threat to Mugabe's nearly 30 years in power, police have regularly closed down theatres featuring critical and satirical drama, arresting actors, producers and audiences, and shut down music concerts with a political theme. Observers say it is the first time they have interfered with an art exhibition. The show coincided with a swell of demands for acknowledgement, particularly by Mugabe's side of the coalition government, of a decade of violent intimidation, with murders, rapes, torture, assault, arson, looting and destruction of homes on a vast scale, which human rights organizations claim have been committed almost entirely by Mugabe's security forces and party vigilantes.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Friday, February 12, 2010
Zimbabwe: One Year On, Reform a Failure
Zimbabwe's power-sharing government has made no real progress in implementing political reforms and ending human rights abuses after a year in office, Human Rights Watch said today. The government has demonstrated little political will or capacity to enact meaningful changes to improve the lives of Zimbabweans. Human Rights Watch urged the government to take immediate steps to end abuses and create the necessary constitutional and electoral framework to ensure free, fair, and credible elections, as envisaged in the Global Political Agreement, which established the power-sharing government. "The transitional power-sharing government is a sham," said Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "From a human rights perspective, nothing has changed for the better. Robert Mugabe and ZANU-PF are still fully in control."
The Global Political Agreement, which took effect on February 11, 2009, was approved in September 2008 by the Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), the longtime ruling party led by Mugabe and by the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), the former opposition. It was designed to resolve Zimbabwe's political and economic crisis and chart a new political direction for the country. Recent research by Human Rights Watch in Zimbabwe suggests that there has been no meaningful political transition, and that ZANU-PF continues to engage in political violence against perceived opponents. Groups of war veterans and ZANU-PF youth, who have been deployed in the past to target the opposition, remain intact. ZANU-PF still uses elements in the security forces as instruments of repression. Military-led violent invasions of commercial farms continue.
In the first week of February 2010, police disrupted MDC-organized constitutional reform meetings, beat up participants, and arbitrarily arrested 43 people in Binga, 48 in Masvingo, and 52 in Mt. Darwin. Although the Global Political Agreement recognized the importance of the rights to freedom of expression and communication, the media in Zimbabwe remain muzzled. There are no private daily newspapers or privately owned radio stations. Public information remains under the firm control of ZANU-PF. Not one license for independent media outlets has been issued since the power-sharing government was formed. A Bulawayo-based community radio initiative, Radio Dialogue, released a press statement on February 4 saying that it had the equipment and staff necessary to start broadcasting immediately, but that the government had failed to provide a broadcasting license.
Journalists in Zimbabwe face intimidation and arrest for appearing to oppose ZANU-PF. On January 16, a freelance journalist, Stanley Kwenda, fled to South Africa, saying he had received death threats from a senior police officer. Two days later, another freelance journalist, Andrison Manyere, was arrested while filming a public demonstration organized by Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA). Police detained him for over six hours before releasing him without charge. ZANU-PF continues to use its control of state-owned print and electronic media to manipulate public opinion in its favor while using hate speech and other offensive language against MDC. Without an open media environment, Zimbabweans will be unable to participate fully in the ongoing constitutional reform process or in future elections, Human Rights Watch said.
In these and other areas, ZANU-PF has resisted complying with the rule of law. It even declared at its December 2009 party congress that it would not allow security forces to be subjected to reform. The security sector is deeply embedded in the political affairs of the country. Diamond revenue, particularly from the Marange diamond fields in eastern Zimbabwe, is providing a parallel source of revenue for ZANU-PF and its repressive machinery, Human Rights Watch said. Companies with connections to ZANU-PF are mining diamonds in Marange, where military control and abuses continue. Human Rights Watch called on the government to allow newspapers and electronic media to operate freely and to carry out other confidence-building reforms. It should repeal all repressive legislation such as the Public Order and Security Act (POSA), which severely limits rights to demonstrate and criminalizes "insulting" the president of Zimbabwe and publishing "inaccurate" information. These provisions have been used to harass, arrest, and prosecute journalists. Furthermore, the police have loosely interpreted certain provisions of the POSA to justify arbitrary arrests. Even on issues where there is consensus between ZANU-PF and MDC, such as the appointment of new provincial governors, implementation has been stalled, and the parties continue to bicker about the delay. To divert scrutiny of the continuing political instability and the failure to carry out the agreement, parties in the power-sharing government instead overemphasize the significance of efforts made to stabilize the economy, Human Rights Watch said.
Human Rights Watch called for parties to the government to begin preparations for holding internationally supervised free, fair, and credible elections that will lead to a legitimate and democratic government with the political will to bring about change. "The power-sharing government experiment is not working," Gagnon said. "Without political stability and rights reforms, any progress on economic recovery won't last."
Source: Human Rights Watch
The Global Political Agreement, which took effect on February 11, 2009, was approved in September 2008 by the Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), the longtime ruling party led by Mugabe and by the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), the former opposition. It was designed to resolve Zimbabwe's political and economic crisis and chart a new political direction for the country. Recent research by Human Rights Watch in Zimbabwe suggests that there has been no meaningful political transition, and that ZANU-PF continues to engage in political violence against perceived opponents. Groups of war veterans and ZANU-PF youth, who have been deployed in the past to target the opposition, remain intact. ZANU-PF still uses elements in the security forces as instruments of repression. Military-led violent invasions of commercial farms continue.
In the first week of February 2010, police disrupted MDC-organized constitutional reform meetings, beat up participants, and arbitrarily arrested 43 people in Binga, 48 in Masvingo, and 52 in Mt. Darwin. Although the Global Political Agreement recognized the importance of the rights to freedom of expression and communication, the media in Zimbabwe remain muzzled. There are no private daily newspapers or privately owned radio stations. Public information remains under the firm control of ZANU-PF. Not one license for independent media outlets has been issued since the power-sharing government was formed. A Bulawayo-based community radio initiative, Radio Dialogue, released a press statement on February 4 saying that it had the equipment and staff necessary to start broadcasting immediately, but that the government had failed to provide a broadcasting license.
Journalists in Zimbabwe face intimidation and arrest for appearing to oppose ZANU-PF. On January 16, a freelance journalist, Stanley Kwenda, fled to South Africa, saying he had received death threats from a senior police officer. Two days later, another freelance journalist, Andrison Manyere, was arrested while filming a public demonstration organized by Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA). Police detained him for over six hours before releasing him without charge. ZANU-PF continues to use its control of state-owned print and electronic media to manipulate public opinion in its favor while using hate speech and other offensive language against MDC. Without an open media environment, Zimbabweans will be unable to participate fully in the ongoing constitutional reform process or in future elections, Human Rights Watch said.
In these and other areas, ZANU-PF has resisted complying with the rule of law. It even declared at its December 2009 party congress that it would not allow security forces to be subjected to reform. The security sector is deeply embedded in the political affairs of the country. Diamond revenue, particularly from the Marange diamond fields in eastern Zimbabwe, is providing a parallel source of revenue for ZANU-PF and its repressive machinery, Human Rights Watch said. Companies with connections to ZANU-PF are mining diamonds in Marange, where military control and abuses continue. Human Rights Watch called on the government to allow newspapers and electronic media to operate freely and to carry out other confidence-building reforms. It should repeal all repressive legislation such as the Public Order and Security Act (POSA), which severely limits rights to demonstrate and criminalizes "insulting" the president of Zimbabwe and publishing "inaccurate" information. These provisions have been used to harass, arrest, and prosecute journalists. Furthermore, the police have loosely interpreted certain provisions of the POSA to justify arbitrary arrests. Even on issues where there is consensus between ZANU-PF and MDC, such as the appointment of new provincial governors, implementation has been stalled, and the parties continue to bicker about the delay. To divert scrutiny of the continuing political instability and the failure to carry out the agreement, parties in the power-sharing government instead overemphasize the significance of efforts made to stabilize the economy, Human Rights Watch said.
Human Rights Watch called for parties to the government to begin preparations for holding internationally supervised free, fair, and credible elections that will lead to a legitimate and democratic government with the political will to bring about change. "The power-sharing government experiment is not working," Gagnon said. "Without political stability and rights reforms, any progress on economic recovery won't last."
Source: Human Rights Watch
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Bennett's high-profile terrorism trial resumes in Zim
The trial of Zimbabwe deputy agriculture minister-designate Roy Bennett, who is facing charges of illegal possession of weapons for purposes of terrorism, banditry and insurgency, resumed on Wednesday with the prosecution's key witness due to testify.
Bennett, a senior official of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), has pleaded not guilty in the high court in Harare. The MDC says the case against Bennett is politically motivated and aimed at keeping him out of the unity government it formed with President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party last February.
The charge of terrorism carries a death penalty in Zimbabwe, while the other charges of inciting terrorism, banditry and insurgency against Bennett carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Justice Chinembiri Bhunu adjourned the trial in November after Mutare-based arms dealer Peter Hitschmann, the prosecution's star witness, failed to show up in court. The prosecution alleges Hitschmann was paid by Bennett to buy weapons to assassinate government officials. Police say Hitschmann implicated Bennett in the procurement of the arms, but Bennett's lawyers argue that the arms dealer had been tortured into making that submission. Hitschmann has submitted an affidavit saying he does not want to testify against Bennett. His lawyer, Mordecai Mahlangu, was arrested last year in connection with the matter and a judge is expected to rule on the matter this week. Hitschmann was acquitted of terrorism charges in 2006 but served jail time for possessing dangerous weapons -- including six sub-machine guns and two machine guns -- which have been produced in Bennett's trial as part of the state's exhibits. The MDC claims the Attorney General's office is frustrating efforts to swear in Bennett, along with other senior MDC officials chosen for the unity government. Bennett was arrested on the day he was due to be sworn in last February.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Bennett, a senior official of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), has pleaded not guilty in the high court in Harare. The MDC says the case against Bennett is politically motivated and aimed at keeping him out of the unity government it formed with President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party last February.
The charge of terrorism carries a death penalty in Zimbabwe, while the other charges of inciting terrorism, banditry and insurgency against Bennett carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Justice Chinembiri Bhunu adjourned the trial in November after Mutare-based arms dealer Peter Hitschmann, the prosecution's star witness, failed to show up in court. The prosecution alleges Hitschmann was paid by Bennett to buy weapons to assassinate government officials. Police say Hitschmann implicated Bennett in the procurement of the arms, but Bennett's lawyers argue that the arms dealer had been tortured into making that submission. Hitschmann has submitted an affidavit saying he does not want to testify against Bennett. His lawyer, Mordecai Mahlangu, was arrested last year in connection with the matter and a judge is expected to rule on the matter this week. Hitschmann was acquitted of terrorism charges in 2006 but served jail time for possessing dangerous weapons -- including six sub-machine guns and two machine guns -- which have been produced in Bennett's trial as part of the state's exhibits. The MDC claims the Attorney General's office is frustrating efforts to swear in Bennett, along with other senior MDC officials chosen for the unity government. Bennett was arrested on the day he was due to be sworn in last February.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Southern Africa: Quiet Diplomacy Replaced with a More Direct Approach
"Quiet diplomacy", the mantra used by former South African president Thabo Mbeki in his dealings with Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, appears to have fallen by the wayside and been replaced with a more no-nonsense approach. The two-day visit on 27 and 28 August by South African President Jacob Zuma to the country's troubled northern neighbour was characterized by a marked difference in style. Mbeki, appointed as mediator by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to resolve Zimbabwe's economic and political crisis, was seen by analysts as indulging Mugabe; Zuma was more direct.
After opening Zimbabwe's 99th agricultural show in the capital, Harare, Zuma dismissed statements ahead of his visit by Mugabe's spokesman, George Charamba, that his presence was only ceremonial. Mbeki was not part of the visit. "I visited Zimbabwe in my capacity as President of South Africa, as well as in my capacity as Chairperson of the Southern African Development Community, both of which are guarantors of the implementation of the Global Political Agreement (GPA)," he said.
The agreement was signed in September 2008 by Mugabe's ZANU-PF, Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and now Prime Minister, and Arthur Mutambara, leader of an MDC faction, which facilitated the formation of a unity government in February 2009. "I decided to use the opportunity of opening the Harare Agricultural Show to meet the esteemed leaders of political parties to ascertain progress with regards to the implementation of the Global Political Agreement," Zuma said. He held closed-door discussions with Mugabe and Tsvangirai.
The progress of the unity government has been tortured. ZANU-PF has stalled on implementing some aspects of the GPA, among them the appointment without consultation of the reserve bank governor and the attorney general, and Mugabe's refusal to swear in provincial governors, or a white former commercial farmer, Roy Bennett, as deputy minister of agriculture. "For this [economic recovery] to happen, it is absolutely necessary that the Global Political Agreement be fully implemented without delay," Zuma said.
ZANU-PF has complained that the MDC has not done enough to convince Western countries to lift sanctions imposed mainly against the ZANU-PF elite. The US and Britain, the former colonial power, have said sanctions would be lifted once there was respect for human rights and democracy. "We are aware that some economic development partners and donor countries have put some benchmarks to be met before they can extend assistance, and currently only offer humanitarian assistance," Zuma said in his speech at the agricultural show. "The achievement of an effective recovery is also dependent on the removal of sanctions and other measures that hold back economic development."
A senior ZANU-PF official, who declined to be identified, told IRIN: "We are a party with a long history of negotiating and we have certainly worn down the MDC - of course, we cannot negotiate ourselves out of power." However, a senior MDC official, who declined to be identified, told IRIN: "Zuma did get some concessions from Mugabe that certain provisions of the coalition deal would have been implemented by the time the [SADC] summit is held. Very soon there will be some developments."
A two-day SADC summit begins on 7 September in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. "This will provide an opportunity to review progress in the implementation of the agreement, and for the countries of Southern Africa to reaffirm their commitment to assisting Zimbabwe," Zuma said. Zimbabwe to work together to remove any remaining obstacles to the implementation of the agreement. The parties are agreed on the need to speed up implementation and to find lasting solutions to the current points of disagreements. The important factor is that there was commitment among all parties, which make the movement forward possible," he pointed out.
Human Rights Watch, a global watchdog, noted in a report released on 31 August, False Dawn: The Zimbabwe Power-Sharing Government's Failure to Deliver Human Rights Improvements, "There is mounting evidence that the new government is failing or unwilling to end serious human rights violations, restore the rule of law, institute fundamental rights reforms, and chart a new political direction for the country." The report also noted that "ZANU-PF retains control of all senior ministries, including the Ministries of Defence, Justice, State Security, and Foreign Affairs; and it co-chairs Home Affairs. The party therefore wields significantly more power than the MDC in the government, and is unwilling to institute human rights and governance reforms." Georgette Gagnon, Africa director of Human Rights Watch, said in a statement: "The region's leaders [at the SADC summit] need to press Zimbabwe openly and publicly for human rights reforms to prevent the country from backsliding into state-sponsored violence and chaos."
Source: All Africa
After opening Zimbabwe's 99th agricultural show in the capital, Harare, Zuma dismissed statements ahead of his visit by Mugabe's spokesman, George Charamba, that his presence was only ceremonial. Mbeki was not part of the visit. "I visited Zimbabwe in my capacity as President of South Africa, as well as in my capacity as Chairperson of the Southern African Development Community, both of which are guarantors of the implementation of the Global Political Agreement (GPA)," he said.
The agreement was signed in September 2008 by Mugabe's ZANU-PF, Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and now Prime Minister, and Arthur Mutambara, leader of an MDC faction, which facilitated the formation of a unity government in February 2009. "I decided to use the opportunity of opening the Harare Agricultural Show to meet the esteemed leaders of political parties to ascertain progress with regards to the implementation of the Global Political Agreement," Zuma said. He held closed-door discussions with Mugabe and Tsvangirai.
The progress of the unity government has been tortured. ZANU-PF has stalled on implementing some aspects of the GPA, among them the appointment without consultation of the reserve bank governor and the attorney general, and Mugabe's refusal to swear in provincial governors, or a white former commercial farmer, Roy Bennett, as deputy minister of agriculture. "For this [economic recovery] to happen, it is absolutely necessary that the Global Political Agreement be fully implemented without delay," Zuma said.
ZANU-PF has complained that the MDC has not done enough to convince Western countries to lift sanctions imposed mainly against the ZANU-PF elite. The US and Britain, the former colonial power, have said sanctions would be lifted once there was respect for human rights and democracy. "We are aware that some economic development partners and donor countries have put some benchmarks to be met before they can extend assistance, and currently only offer humanitarian assistance," Zuma said in his speech at the agricultural show. "The achievement of an effective recovery is also dependent on the removal of sanctions and other measures that hold back economic development."
A senior ZANU-PF official, who declined to be identified, told IRIN: "We are a party with a long history of negotiating and we have certainly worn down the MDC - of course, we cannot negotiate ourselves out of power." However, a senior MDC official, who declined to be identified, told IRIN: "Zuma did get some concessions from Mugabe that certain provisions of the coalition deal would have been implemented by the time the [SADC] summit is held. Very soon there will be some developments."
A two-day SADC summit begins on 7 September in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. "This will provide an opportunity to review progress in the implementation of the agreement, and for the countries of Southern Africa to reaffirm their commitment to assisting Zimbabwe," Zuma said. Zimbabwe to work together to remove any remaining obstacles to the implementation of the agreement. The parties are agreed on the need to speed up implementation and to find lasting solutions to the current points of disagreements. The important factor is that there was commitment among all parties, which make the movement forward possible," he pointed out.
Human Rights Watch, a global watchdog, noted in a report released on 31 August, False Dawn: The Zimbabwe Power-Sharing Government's Failure to Deliver Human Rights Improvements, "There is mounting evidence that the new government is failing or unwilling to end serious human rights violations, restore the rule of law, institute fundamental rights reforms, and chart a new political direction for the country." The report also noted that "ZANU-PF retains control of all senior ministries, including the Ministries of Defence, Justice, State Security, and Foreign Affairs; and it co-chairs Home Affairs. The party therefore wields significantly more power than the MDC in the government, and is unwilling to institute human rights and governance reforms." Georgette Gagnon, Africa director of Human Rights Watch, said in a statement: "The region's leaders [at the SADC summit] need to press Zimbabwe openly and publicly for human rights reforms to prevent the country from backsliding into state-sponsored violence and chaos."
Source: All Africa
Monday, August 31, 2009
Southern African Leaders Should Urge End to Politically Motivated Abuses
Southern African leaders should press Zimbabwe's power-sharing government to end ongoing human rights violations and to implement legal reforms, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Heads of state from members of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) are holding a summit meeting in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, on September 7 and 8, 2009.
The 20-page report, "False Dawn: The Zimbabwe Power-Sharing Government's Failure to Deliver Human Rights Improvements," highlights the transitional government's lack of progress in rights reforms in the six months since it was created. The former ruling party, Zimbabwe Africa National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), has demonstrated a lack of political will to effect change and wields more power than the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), the former opposition party and now a partner in government. Police, state prosecutors, and court officials aligned to ZANU-PF conduct politically motivated prosecutions of MDC legislators and activists, and fail to ensure justice for victims of abuses or to hold perpetrators of human rights violations to account.
"Southern African leaders should stop looking at Zimbabwe through rose-colored glasses," said Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "The region's leaders need to press Zimbabwe openly and publicly for human rights reforms to prevent the country from backsliding into state-sponsored violence and chaos."
At the summit meeting, heads of state are expected to assess Zimbabwe's compliance with a number of rulings by the SADC Tribunal on illegal land seizures in Zimbabwe. President Jacob Zuma of South Africa, the organization's current chairman, is also expected to brief leaders on the progress made by Zimbabwe's power-sharing government, which has been in place since February. The government was created by a SADC-brokered September 2008 agreement, which followed a period when ZANU-PF and its allies unleashed a campaign of violence to prevent an MDC electoral win.
In its new report, Human Rights Watch urged Southern African leaders to extract concrete commitments on human rights from the government of Zimbabwe and to tie them to specific benchmarks for progress within a clear time frame. The summit meeting's participants were also urged to raise concerns about Zimbabwe's failure to enact basic institutional and legislative reforms that would guarantee the rule of law as well as fundamental rights for Zimbabweans.
"SADC leaders should stand with the people of Zimbabwe by calling for urgent reforms to address the country's political and human rights crisis," said Gagnon. "Without these necessary changes, Zimbabwe's inclusive government will continue to be built on sand."
Human Rights Watch
The 20-page report, "False Dawn: The Zimbabwe Power-Sharing Government's Failure to Deliver Human Rights Improvements," highlights the transitional government's lack of progress in rights reforms in the six months since it was created. The former ruling party, Zimbabwe Africa National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), has demonstrated a lack of political will to effect change and wields more power than the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), the former opposition party and now a partner in government. Police, state prosecutors, and court officials aligned to ZANU-PF conduct politically motivated prosecutions of MDC legislators and activists, and fail to ensure justice for victims of abuses or to hold perpetrators of human rights violations to account.
"Southern African leaders should stop looking at Zimbabwe through rose-colored glasses," said Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "The region's leaders need to press Zimbabwe openly and publicly for human rights reforms to prevent the country from backsliding into state-sponsored violence and chaos."
At the summit meeting, heads of state are expected to assess Zimbabwe's compliance with a number of rulings by the SADC Tribunal on illegal land seizures in Zimbabwe. President Jacob Zuma of South Africa, the organization's current chairman, is also expected to brief leaders on the progress made by Zimbabwe's power-sharing government, which has been in place since February. The government was created by a SADC-brokered September 2008 agreement, which followed a period when ZANU-PF and its allies unleashed a campaign of violence to prevent an MDC electoral win.
In its new report, Human Rights Watch urged Southern African leaders to extract concrete commitments on human rights from the government of Zimbabwe and to tie them to specific benchmarks for progress within a clear time frame. The summit meeting's participants were also urged to raise concerns about Zimbabwe's failure to enact basic institutional and legislative reforms that would guarantee the rule of law as well as fundamental rights for Zimbabweans.
"SADC leaders should stand with the people of Zimbabwe by calling for urgent reforms to address the country's political and human rights crisis," said Gagnon. "Without these necessary changes, Zimbabwe's inclusive government will continue to be built on sand."
Human Rights Watch
Friday, August 21, 2009
Zimbabwe: Zuma to Intervene in Crisis
South African President Jacob Zuma is expected in Zimbabwe next week to douse flames in the country's coalition government amid intensifying arrests of legislators from the former opposition Movement for Democratic Change.
Ten MPs from Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's party were detained on Wednesday for allegedly causing disturbances at Finance Ministry offices. Several MDC legislators have been arrested over petty crimes in recent months, prompting Mr Tsvangirai to call for Mr Zuma's intervention to solve the problems that threaten to derail the seven month old unity government.
Mr Zuma is the current chairman of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which along the African Union (AU) are guarantors of Zimbabwe's September 15 power sharing agreement.
Zimbabwe's crisis is also expected to dominate the SADC annual summit set for the Democratic of Congo early next month.
Source: All Africa
Ten MPs from Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's party were detained on Wednesday for allegedly causing disturbances at Finance Ministry offices. Several MDC legislators have been arrested over petty crimes in recent months, prompting Mr Tsvangirai to call for Mr Zuma's intervention to solve the problems that threaten to derail the seven month old unity government.
Mr Zuma is the current chairman of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which along the African Union (AU) are guarantors of Zimbabwe's September 15 power sharing agreement.
Zimbabwe's crisis is also expected to dominate the SADC annual summit set for the Democratic of Congo early next month.
Source: All Africa
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Zimbabwe: Drop Politically Motivated Charges Against Activists
The authorities in Zimbabwe should immediately free and drop criminal charges against 15 human rights activists and Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party members who were ordered back into custody on May 5, Human Rights Watch said today.
Human Rights Watch said that the cases were politically motivated. All had been abducted in late 2008 by officials loyal to the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), a party to Zimbabwe's power-sharing administration with the MDC. On May 5, a magistrate in Harare formally charged the 15 with various acts of banditry and trying to recruit people for training in banditry, sabotage and insurgency, and revoked their bail. Human Rights Watch is deeply concerned that the "evidence" filed to support these charges was extracted under torture.
"Those who brought these outrageous charges should quickly drop them," said Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "This continued persecution makes it pretty clear that ZANU-PF is trying to undermine the new power-sharing administration and is an example of Zimbabwe's overall lack of progress in respecting the rule of law and basic rights."
Zimbabwe's prosecuting authorities and key police and prison units remain under ZANU-PF control. Following their abduction in 2008, the 15 were held in secret detention for periods ranging from two to eight weeks before being handed over to the police. None of them was brought to court within 48 hours of arrest, as required by Zimbabwe law. The 15 were only granted restricted bail in February and March 2009 pending indictment and trial.
Human Rights Watch believes that these prosecutions are a politically motivated attempt by ZANU-PF to pressure the MDC into making concessions that will further weaken its power within the government. Human Rights Watch has already urged the Zimbabwe authorities to disclose immediately the whereabouts of seven "disappeared" activists who were abducted by suspected state agents in late 2008 and who are still missing (see below).
Lawyers representing the activists who were charged on May 5 have also recorded testimony from each of them alleging that they were tortured while in police custody. The state authorities have not investigated the allegations, let alone arrested or prosecuted the perpetrators, even though they were named in the testimony. Torture is a crime both in Zimbabwe and international law, and evidence obtained through the use of torture is not admissible in a Zimbabwean court.
"The new government in Harare will only attract much-needed international financial support when the authorities demonstrate an unambiguous commitment to the rule of law and a willingness to prosecute those who abuse the law for political ends," said Gagnon. "Releasing the 15 activists and dropping all charges against them would be a start. Instead, ZANU-PF continues to use them as pawns in its political games."
The 15 activists are: Jestina Mukoko, Chris Dhlamini, Anderson Shadreck Manyere, Ghandi Mudzingwa, Concillia Chinanzvavana, Emmanuel Chinanzvavana, Violet Mupfuranhehwe, Collen Mutemagawu, Mapfumo Garutsa, Chinoto Mukwezaremba Zulu, Zacharia Nkomo, Audrey Zimbudzana, Regis Mujeyi, Broderick Takawira, and Fidelis Chiramba.
The 15 were part of a group of 43 activists arbitrarily arrested by state security forces from October to December 2008. Police initially denied holding them, but on December 22 lawyers were tipped off that 32 of them were being held in various police stations in the capital, Harare.
Seven are still missing and unaccounted for: Gwenzi Kahiya, Ephraim Mabeka, Lovemore Machokoto, Charles Muza, Edmore Vangirayi, Graham Matehwa, and Peter Munyanyi.
Others among the 43 have been freed at various points in 2009, including a 2-year-old child. Several still have charges pending and some also allege that they were tortured in custody.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch said that the cases were politically motivated. All had been abducted in late 2008 by officials loyal to the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), a party to Zimbabwe's power-sharing administration with the MDC. On May 5, a magistrate in Harare formally charged the 15 with various acts of banditry and trying to recruit people for training in banditry, sabotage and insurgency, and revoked their bail. Human Rights Watch is deeply concerned that the "evidence" filed to support these charges was extracted under torture.
"Those who brought these outrageous charges should quickly drop them," said Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "This continued persecution makes it pretty clear that ZANU-PF is trying to undermine the new power-sharing administration and is an example of Zimbabwe's overall lack of progress in respecting the rule of law and basic rights."
Zimbabwe's prosecuting authorities and key police and prison units remain under ZANU-PF control. Following their abduction in 2008, the 15 were held in secret detention for periods ranging from two to eight weeks before being handed over to the police. None of them was brought to court within 48 hours of arrest, as required by Zimbabwe law. The 15 were only granted restricted bail in February and March 2009 pending indictment and trial.
Human Rights Watch believes that these prosecutions are a politically motivated attempt by ZANU-PF to pressure the MDC into making concessions that will further weaken its power within the government. Human Rights Watch has already urged the Zimbabwe authorities to disclose immediately the whereabouts of seven "disappeared" activists who were abducted by suspected state agents in late 2008 and who are still missing (see below).
Lawyers representing the activists who were charged on May 5 have also recorded testimony from each of them alleging that they were tortured while in police custody. The state authorities have not investigated the allegations, let alone arrested or prosecuted the perpetrators, even though they were named in the testimony. Torture is a crime both in Zimbabwe and international law, and evidence obtained through the use of torture is not admissible in a Zimbabwean court.
"The new government in Harare will only attract much-needed international financial support when the authorities demonstrate an unambiguous commitment to the rule of law and a willingness to prosecute those who abuse the law for political ends," said Gagnon. "Releasing the 15 activists and dropping all charges against them would be a start. Instead, ZANU-PF continues to use them as pawns in its political games."
The 15 activists are: Jestina Mukoko, Chris Dhlamini, Anderson Shadreck Manyere, Ghandi Mudzingwa, Concillia Chinanzvavana, Emmanuel Chinanzvavana, Violet Mupfuranhehwe, Collen Mutemagawu, Mapfumo Garutsa, Chinoto Mukwezaremba Zulu, Zacharia Nkomo, Audrey Zimbudzana, Regis Mujeyi, Broderick Takawira, and Fidelis Chiramba.
The 15 were part of a group of 43 activists arbitrarily arrested by state security forces from October to December 2008. Police initially denied holding them, but on December 22 lawyers were tipped off that 32 of them were being held in various police stations in the capital, Harare.
Seven are still missing and unaccounted for: Gwenzi Kahiya, Ephraim Mabeka, Lovemore Machokoto, Charles Muza, Edmore Vangirayi, Graham Matehwa, and Peter Munyanyi.
Others among the 43 have been freed at various points in 2009, including a 2-year-old child. Several still have charges pending and some also allege that they were tortured in custody.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Monday, September 15, 2008
Global Political Agreement
The Agreement between the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) and the two Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) formations, on resolving the challenges facing Zimbabwe can be found here.
Source: Kubatana
Source: Kubatana
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
'If you show that you support MDC, you will starve'
Credible elections in Zimbabwe were among the main objectives of the talks between the Zimbabwean government and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) last year. But despite new regulations, Zimbabwe's polls are unlikely to be free or fair.
President Robert Mugabe's government would like the world to believe otherwise, arguing that political space has been opened up for the opposition to campaign. Neighbouring states should look beyond the rhetoric as, sadly, nothing could be further from the truth.
For weeks now, I've been travelling through Zimbabwe's 10 provinces. Ordinary voters around the country described to me how supporters of the ruling party have physically attacked and intimidated people perceived to support the opposition.
Food has become a political weapon. In nearly all the provinces I visited, Zimbabweans told me that only supporters of the ruling Zanu-PF receive state-subsidised grain or farming equipment. An elderly man from Marange in Manicaland province told me: "If you show yourself to support the opposition, you will starve."
In Mutare, even a Zanu-PF loyalist confirmed that the party manipulates the distribution of food according to political loyalty: "It is very easy. Only those who are on the councillors' lists can access the grain," she told me. "At our rallies, only known supporters of Zanu-PF are allowed to attend."
Despite improved electoral laws, across Zimbabwe I found a chaotic -- and easily abused -- voter registration process. The electoral commission is unprepared and partisan. The voting procedure will be new and more complex than before, but there has been minimal voter education around the country. The opposition's access to the broadcast media is restricted.
A local activist from Makonde constituency in Mashonaland West province told me about the intense intimidation of opposition supporters in his area. "The opposition MDC are visited daily by Zanu-PF youth who shout and sing outside their homes," he said. "They call them sell-outs and tell them they will deal with the MDC candidates after the elections."
In spite of the intimidation, violence has been less conspicuous than in previous elections - in part because of prohibitions in the reformed Electoral Act. But, given the widespread violence during elections in 2000 and 2002, mere threats or allusions to past acts are enough to scare people.
In Masvingo province, a primary-school teacher told me how ruling party youths attacked him after he urged people to register to vote.
"They hit me with clubs on my head," he told me. "They displayed me before the rest of the school and now they are keeping an eye on me." Terrible scars were still visible on his head a month after the attack.
The police claim they are taking a "zero tolerance" approach to violence ahead of the polls, although many members of the police were previously involved in attacks on the opposition, civil society activists and perceived opposition supporters. None of these incidents, documented by Human Rights Watch, have been investigated. The teacher in Masvingo reported the incident, but the perpetrators were never caught.
The onus for reporting violations now rests on regional observers, in particular the Southern African Development Community (SADC) observer mission. International and local observers who charged that previous elections in 2000 and 2002 were blatantly fraudulent were not invited to return for parliamentary elections in 2005, nor for the general elections.
Mugabe's government claims that the elections will conform to the SADC guidelines and principles governing democratic elections. South Africans and their SADC neighbours have a key role to play in the run-up to the elections. SADC should call on the Zimbabwean government to grant access to all election sites. To gauge compliance, observers need to judge the political context in which the elections are being held, not just the voting process itself.
Previous post-election assessments by SADC were alarmingly positive, despite widespread human rights abuses and irregularities in the last three polls. If South Africa and other SADC observers are serious about ending Zimbabwe's political crisis, then another round of flawed elections in Zimbabwe cannot be followed by a "business-as-usual" approach.
South Africans have already seen hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans vote with their feet by crossing the Limpopo to flee hunger, violence and persecution. Now is the time for SADC to help ordinary Zimbabweans to exercise their right to vote freely at home.
Source: Human Rights Watch
President Robert Mugabe's government would like the world to believe otherwise, arguing that political space has been opened up for the opposition to campaign. Neighbouring states should look beyond the rhetoric as, sadly, nothing could be further from the truth.
For weeks now, I've been travelling through Zimbabwe's 10 provinces. Ordinary voters around the country described to me how supporters of the ruling party have physically attacked and intimidated people perceived to support the opposition.
Food has become a political weapon. In nearly all the provinces I visited, Zimbabweans told me that only supporters of the ruling Zanu-PF receive state-subsidised grain or farming equipment. An elderly man from Marange in Manicaland province told me: "If you show yourself to support the opposition, you will starve."
In Mutare, even a Zanu-PF loyalist confirmed that the party manipulates the distribution of food according to political loyalty: "It is very easy. Only those who are on the councillors' lists can access the grain," she told me. "At our rallies, only known supporters of Zanu-PF are allowed to attend."
Despite improved electoral laws, across Zimbabwe I found a chaotic -- and easily abused -- voter registration process. The electoral commission is unprepared and partisan. The voting procedure will be new and more complex than before, but there has been minimal voter education around the country. The opposition's access to the broadcast media is restricted.
A local activist from Makonde constituency in Mashonaland West province told me about the intense intimidation of opposition supporters in his area. "The opposition MDC are visited daily by Zanu-PF youth who shout and sing outside their homes," he said. "They call them sell-outs and tell them they will deal with the MDC candidates after the elections."
In spite of the intimidation, violence has been less conspicuous than in previous elections - in part because of prohibitions in the reformed Electoral Act. But, given the widespread violence during elections in 2000 and 2002, mere threats or allusions to past acts are enough to scare people.
In Masvingo province, a primary-school teacher told me how ruling party youths attacked him after he urged people to register to vote.
"They hit me with clubs on my head," he told me. "They displayed me before the rest of the school and now they are keeping an eye on me." Terrible scars were still visible on his head a month after the attack.
The police claim they are taking a "zero tolerance" approach to violence ahead of the polls, although many members of the police were previously involved in attacks on the opposition, civil society activists and perceived opposition supporters. None of these incidents, documented by Human Rights Watch, have been investigated. The teacher in Masvingo reported the incident, but the perpetrators were never caught.
The onus for reporting violations now rests on regional observers, in particular the Southern African Development Community (SADC) observer mission. International and local observers who charged that previous elections in 2000 and 2002 were blatantly fraudulent were not invited to return for parliamentary elections in 2005, nor for the general elections.
Mugabe's government claims that the elections will conform to the SADC guidelines and principles governing democratic elections. South Africans and their SADC neighbours have a key role to play in the run-up to the elections. SADC should call on the Zimbabwean government to grant access to all election sites. To gauge compliance, observers need to judge the political context in which the elections are being held, not just the voting process itself.
Previous post-election assessments by SADC were alarmingly positive, despite widespread human rights abuses and irregularities in the last three polls. If South Africa and other SADC observers are serious about ending Zimbabwe's political crisis, then another round of flawed elections in Zimbabwe cannot be followed by a "business-as-usual" approach.
South Africans have already seen hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans vote with their feet by crossing the Limpopo to flee hunger, violence and persecution. Now is the time for SADC to help ordinary Zimbabweans to exercise their right to vote freely at home.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Thursday, March 21, 2002
Defiant Mugabe presses Tsvangirai treason charge
Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the Zimbabwean opposition, was charged with high treason by President Robert Mugabe's government yesterday: a defiant response to Zimbabwe's suspension from the Commonwealth. Earlier this week the South African president, Thabo Mbeki, and other neighbouring African leaders urged Mr Mugabe not to press the charge, to create a more conciliatory political climate after last week's bitterly contested presidential election. By going ahead with it Mr Mugabe seems to be showing that he is not interested in negotiations with Mr Tsvangirai.
Since Mr Mugabe was declared the winner on March 13 he has signed into law a repressive press bill and his supporters have begun a campaign of violent retribution against the opposition. Four supporters of Mr Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change have been killed, and a white farmer.
In a courtroom packed with his supporters, Mr Tsvangirai pleaded not guilty to the charge that he sought to hire Canadian political consultants to assassinate Mr Mugabe. His lawyer, Eric Matinenga, said told the court that the charge was "a kneejerk reaction" to Zimbabwe's one-year suspension from Commonwealth membership. "Mr Tsvangirai's stake in this country is too high to think he would run away from allegations that are very weak indeed," Mr Matinenga said.
The MDC's secretary general, Welshman Ncube, who is also charged with treason, said the charges were "an attempt to continue the harassment of the leadership of the MDC and to make it impossible for us to continue to resist an illegitimate government". He said the suggestion that the MDC should enter into a government of national unity with Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF party "was always out of the question", adding: "You cannot negotiate a government of national unity with a government you believe to be illegitimate."
Mr Tsvangirai was remanded until April 30 and released on bail of Z$1.5m (£20,000) in cash and Z$3m in property surety. He had to surrender his passport and must appear at his local police station every Monday. Renson Gasela, an MDC MP and the shadow agriculture minister, was also charged with treason and released on bail of Z$500,000. The state said it would produce six witnesses, a videotape and other evidence against Mr Tsvangirai.
Legal experts dismiss the evidence as "unconvincing and circumstantial, at best". But Zimbabwe's judicial system has lost a great deal of its independence and lawyers say that Mr Tsvangirai may not get a fair trial.
As he went to court, most Zimbabweans went to work, ignoring the three-day strike called by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions. Virtually all shops and banks were open, but about half the country's factories were closed. Factory workers said the ZCTU had not explained the reasons for the strike. "No one told us what this strike is about," said a machinist who did not want his name used. "I missed work last Monday to vote. If I missed three days this week I would not have enough pay to feed my family. But if the unions had called a protest against the elections and said that clearly, we would have all supported it."
International pressure on Mr Mugabe is continuing to grow. His party's violent retribution against the MDC was criticised yesterday by the Norwegian election observers. "Following the election it quickly emerged that Zanu-PF supporters had embarked on systematic reprisals against opposition members and supporters," said Kare Vollan, the leader of the group, which reported that Mr Mugabe's followers were carrying out arson, beating, torture and killing with "impunity".
Source: The Guardian
Since Mr Mugabe was declared the winner on March 13 he has signed into law a repressive press bill and his supporters have begun a campaign of violent retribution against the opposition. Four supporters of Mr Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change have been killed, and a white farmer.
In a courtroom packed with his supporters, Mr Tsvangirai pleaded not guilty to the charge that he sought to hire Canadian political consultants to assassinate Mr Mugabe. His lawyer, Eric Matinenga, said told the court that the charge was "a kneejerk reaction" to Zimbabwe's one-year suspension from Commonwealth membership. "Mr Tsvangirai's stake in this country is too high to think he would run away from allegations that are very weak indeed," Mr Matinenga said.
The MDC's secretary general, Welshman Ncube, who is also charged with treason, said the charges were "an attempt to continue the harassment of the leadership of the MDC and to make it impossible for us to continue to resist an illegitimate government". He said the suggestion that the MDC should enter into a government of national unity with Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF party "was always out of the question", adding: "You cannot negotiate a government of national unity with a government you believe to be illegitimate."
Mr Tsvangirai was remanded until April 30 and released on bail of Z$1.5m (£20,000) in cash and Z$3m in property surety. He had to surrender his passport and must appear at his local police station every Monday. Renson Gasela, an MDC MP and the shadow agriculture minister, was also charged with treason and released on bail of Z$500,000. The state said it would produce six witnesses, a videotape and other evidence against Mr Tsvangirai.
Legal experts dismiss the evidence as "unconvincing and circumstantial, at best". But Zimbabwe's judicial system has lost a great deal of its independence and lawyers say that Mr Tsvangirai may not get a fair trial.
As he went to court, most Zimbabweans went to work, ignoring the three-day strike called by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions. Virtually all shops and banks were open, but about half the country's factories were closed. Factory workers said the ZCTU had not explained the reasons for the strike. "No one told us what this strike is about," said a machinist who did not want his name used. "I missed work last Monday to vote. If I missed three days this week I would not have enough pay to feed my family. But if the unions had called a protest against the elections and said that clearly, we would have all supported it."
International pressure on Mr Mugabe is continuing to grow. His party's violent retribution against the MDC was criticised yesterday by the Norwegian election observers. "Following the election it quickly emerged that Zanu-PF supporters had embarked on systematic reprisals against opposition members and supporters," said Kare Vollan, the leader of the group, which reported that Mr Mugabe's followers were carrying out arson, beating, torture and killing with "impunity".
Source: The Guardian
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