Executive Summary
The Zimbabwean army must use the two options it has to defend the sovereignty and independence of the country - the ballot box and the gun - should the worst come to the worst.
This is the view of Brigadier General David Sigauke, Commander of the Mechanised Brigade in Inkomo, who was speaking at a graduation ceremony for soldiers last Friday. He urged the graduates to exercise their electoral right wisely in the forthcoming elections in 2008.
In an article published a week earlier, Dr Francois Vrey, who lectures at the faculty of military science at Stellenbosch University, wrote that "Militarisation underpins much of Zimbabwean security culture and directs many of the events on the political landscape." Dr Vrey noted that "this politico military nexus … continues to sustain the military as a coercive backup to stave off undesirable political change."
A recent study by a leading human rights group, the Zimbabwe Peace Project, reveals increasing levels of political intolerance, violence and victimisation of opposition supporters across the country.
Human Rights Watch's press release of 10 September describes the human rights situation in Zimbabwe as "dire". The release points out that, over the past year, "the government has reacted to peaceful protests by intensifying its efforts to intimidate, silence and punish those who expose abuses and exercise their basic rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly."
The human rights crisis also came up for discussion at the on-going 6th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Eleven members of a new human rights group, Restoration of Human Rights in Zimbabwe, were severely assaulted by police and arrested as they gathered for a peaceful march in Harare.
A newly formed Zimbabwean political party, the Multi-People's Democratic Party (MPDP), is reported to have already received threats from the government's intelligence operatives.
The International Federation of Journalists has called on the Zimbabwean government to guarantee the safety of 15 journalists named on a leaked hit list. Top of the list is the editor of Johannesburg-based Zim Online, Abel Mutsakani, who survived an assassination attempt in July.
For the first time, Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings boss Henry Muradzikwa has admitted that there is political interference in the editorial policy of the national broadcaster.
President Mugabe's spokesman, George Charamba, has ordered state media editors to impose a partial blackout on Vice President Joice Mujuru, whose camp within the ruling Zanu PF party has been actively seeking to oust Mugabe.
Accusations of vote-rigging strategies continue to surface and the government is once again buying expensive vehicles for ministers, members of parliament and chiefs.
Industry Minister Obert Mpofu has told Zanu PF party members that the government is in the process of identifying business entities which are for regime change with a view to taking them over.
The army must use the two options it has to defend the sovereignty and independence of Zimbabwe - the ballot box and the gun - should it be necessary, a senior officer has said.
Speaking at a graduation ceremony for 47 soldiers who completed a sergeant’s platoon course at 22 Infantry Battalion in Mudzi District last Friday, Commander of the Mechanised Brigade in Inkomo, Brigadier General David Sigauke said the army’s core business was to defend to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Zimbabwe.
“…As soldiers, we are privileged to be able to pursue this task on two fronts, the first being through the ballot box and the second being the use of the barrel of the gun should the worse come to the worst," he said.
"I may therefore urge you as citizens of Zimbabwe to exercise your electoral right wisely in the forthcoming elections in 2008, remembering that ‘Zimbabwe shall never be a colony again’," said Brig Gen Sigauke….
He said the prevailing economic hardships and shortages of basic goods were as a result of the illegal regime change inspired sanctions imposed by the British and their allies in response to the land reform programme.
Identified perpetrators: General David Sigauke
Source: Herald, The (ZW) [2]
SADC standards breached
A recent study by a leading human rights group reveals increasing levels of political intolerance, violence and victimization of opposition supporters across the country.
In the July report of the Zimbabwe Peace Project, released on September 10, there are numerous examples cited of this disturbing trend from Matabeleland in the west right across to to Manicaland in the east.
Traditional leaders in Matabeland South who make no secret of their own allegiance to Zanu PF are reported as conducting meetings at which they announce that villagers who do not support that party should not expect to benefit from food distribution projects.
In the same region a number of NGOs formerly engaged in food distribution on behalf of the international donor community have found themselves barred from this relief work on the grounds that they are covertly funding the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party.
In some areas in Midlands province it is reported that youths are going around taking house numbers of those people who are not able to produce Zanu PF cards….
In Masvingo traditional leaders who are suspected of supporting the MDC have in some cases been arrested by police officers who have told them it is a crime for a traditional leader to support the opposition party.
The report also refers to some areas in Gokwe that have been declared “no go areas” for those who do not have cards of the ruling party.
In Manicaland it is reported that state agents are stifling civil society organisations by denying them clearance to hold workshops. The few meetings that have gone ahead have led to reprisals against villagers who attended.
The human rights monitoring report cites allegations of the politicisation of both food aid and assistance with agricultural inputs across all provinces of the country.
….Within Zanu PF it is the youths who are identified as playing a critical role in perpetrating violence upon the opposition.
Source: Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum [3]
SADC standards breached
The human rights situation in Zimbabwe remains dire. Over the past year, the government has reacted to peaceful protests by intensifying its efforts to intimidate, silence, and punish those who expose abuses and exercise their basic rights to freedom of expression, association, and assembly. The authorities continue to use repressive laws to prevent criticism of the government.
Since the beginning of the year, the police have arbitrarily arrested hundreds of civil society activists and opposition members and supporters during routine meetings or peaceful protests, often with excessive force, and in some cases have subjected those in custody to severe beatings that amount to torture, and to other mistreatment.
The government has taken no clear action to halt the rising incidence of torture and ill-treatment of activists while in the custody of police or the intelligence services. The human rights violations that have occurred in Zimbabwe in particular over the past six months - and the complete lack of accountability of those responsible for these violations - is of special concern given the longstanding and pervasive culture of impunity in Zimbabwe.
Recently, the government introduced the Interception of Communications Act, which further threatens Zimbabweans' rights to freedom of information, expression, and privacy.
Source: Human Rights Watch [4]
SADC standards breached
The human rights crisis in Zimbabwe came up for discussion at the on-going 6th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (in Geneva) with Zimbabwe not taking kindly to criticism by the European Union.
On Thursday UN Human Rights Commissioner, Louise Arbour, delivered a report noting that her office was experiencing continued delays with the planned deployment of a Senior Human Rights Advisor to Zimbabwe….
Arbour's report was followed by another from EU representative, Francisco Xavier Esteves who made a strong statement about the crisis in Zimbabwe and said that the EU remains deeply concerned about the human rights situation there.
"The EU regrets that repressive legislation, but also its arbitrary application, is being systematically used by the government of Zimbabwe to curtail freedom of expression and association," said Esteves.
"We call on national authorities to respect their international human rights obligations and the rule of law," he said.
Using its right of reply, the Zimbabwe government said it reserves the right to enact legislation that protects its national security and sovereignty. It accused the EU of causing the suffering of Zimbabweans through its sanctions imposed in 2003.
Source: thesouthernafrican.com [5]
SADC standards breached
Eleven members of a new human rights group were severely assaulted by police and arrested on Friday as they gathered for a peaceful march in Harare.
Stan Zvorwadza, vice president of Restoration of Human Rights Zimbabwe (ROHRZim), said about 500 members of their group were gathering for the march when they were disrupted by heavily armed police who proceeded to assault them with baton sticks and booted feet. Ironically the march was to protest police brutality….
….One of them was removed from the group and severely battered by a notorious CIO agent…. Those who needed medical assistance were denied it.
…The group is trying to educate people about their rights.
Source: SW Radio Africa (ZW) [6]
SADC standards breached
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today called on the government of Zimbabwe to guarantee the safety of 15 journalists named on a hit list that appeared to have been leaked from official sources…
The IFJ was shocked to learn of what appears to be a list of journalists who are accused of working with "hostile anti-Zimbabwean western [sic] governments" and to see that it included the name of Foster Dongozi, Secretary General of the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists and member of the IFJ Executive Committee…
The leaked document appears to date from June this year and is headlined "2008 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections." A list of 15 names then follows under the heading "Targeted Journalists".
Below the names is a short note:
"The following media personnel and others as discussed in the previous meeting are to be placed under strict surveillance and taken in on the various dates set. They're working hand in hand with hostile anti-Zimbabwean western [sic] governments. Measures to be taken against the above including those in exile, are listed on page 4 summary."
Top of the list is Abel Mutsakani who survived an assassination attempt when he was shot in South Africa on July 23. Mutsakani was an editor at the Zimbabwe daily newspaper The Daily News until it was banned in 2003. He moved to South Africa in 2004, so that he could report freely on Zimbabwe, and launched ZimOnline.
Also named is Gift Phiri, a correspondent of the Zimbabwean newspaper, who in early April was abducted by police and severely beaten in the capital, Harare. In August, Phiri was acquitted of charges of contravening the repressive Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA).
Another journalist named is Bill Saidi - deputy editor of the privately-owned newspaper The Standard - who in January received a brown envelope containing a bullet and a threatening message warning him to "watch out".
All the journalists listed work for private media and do independent investigative reporting.
"In the run up to the Presidential and Parliamentary elections expected in 2008, independent journalism will be key to ensuring that the voting process is fair and democratic," said IFJ general secretary Aidan White. "We will be watching Zimbabwe closely to ensure that our journalist colleagues are able to do their jobs freely and safely."
Identified victims: Abel Mutsakani, Gift Phiri, Bill Saidi
Source: International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) [7]
SADC standards breached
The chairperson of the Mutambara led MDC, Jobert Mudzumwe, was on Monday picked up by the police from his offices in Masvingo and spent five hours at the Law and Order section.
(Although on this occasion) he was released without charge, Mudzumwe said he had previously “been beaten senseless by the police, I have lost teeth through beatings and I have had bones broken…”
A statement released by the party condemned Mudzumwe's detention, describing it as indicative of the continued assault on people's liberties, freedoms and rights by state agents at the instigation of the Zanu PF regime.
'We are aware that as the nation moves towards the 2008 elections, the regime will resort to brazen acts of force and brutality to muzzle any dissenting voices. We wish to remind the regime that the citizens of Zimbabwe have a right to assemble, including the right to engage in political gatherings,' the statement said…
Identified victims: Jobert Mudzumwe, Chairperson of the Mutambara led MDC formation
Source: SW Radio Africa (ZW) [8]
SADC standards breached
Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings (ZBH) boss Henry Muradzikwa has admitted (to a parliamentary committee hearing) that there is political interference in the editorial policy of the national broadcaster….
"We have been reporting on the basis of deception," said Muradzikwa, appearing before the parliamentary committee on transport and communications….
Muradzikwa said the perception that ZBH serves the interests of Zanu PF had persisted since independence.
He told the committee that some of the expectations the government had of the broadcaster undermined press freedom….
Earlier, the committee heard from Obert Muganyura, chief executive of the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ), the licensing authority for broadcasters, that no independent broadcasters had yet been licensed because the Broadcasting Services Act remained restrictive despite the Supreme Court striking down certain key sections….
The Media Institute of Southern Africa - Zimbabwe (MISA) said revelations by BAZ on the democratic deficiencies in the BSA as well as the political procrastination of the government in amending the BSA further point to the fact that the ruling party and its government are bent on maintaining their total grip on the broadcast media.
The stringent requirements in the BSA, which Muganyura described as problematic include a ban on foreign funding and ownership, restrictions on the number of national free to air private broadcasters that can be licensed as well as the restrictions placed on ownership of frequency transmitters.
The BSA provides that only the government owned company, Transmedia can own frequency transmitters and all new players have to line up to do business with Transmedia….
"The prevailing situation places Zimbabwe in a unique position in southern Africa where it is the only country with a virtual state monopoly in broadcasting. It should be noted that the closure of broadcasting space to new players is a political decision and act meant to safeguard the interest of the ruling elite hence the defiance of expert advice and calls by citizens and civic society for the industry to be opened to new players.
"As Zimbabwe faces elections next year, it should become clear to all that no democratic free and fair elections can be held in an environment where only one political party has access to the broadcasts media," said MISA in a statement.
Source: Financial Gazette, The (ZW) [9]
SADC standards breached
President Robert Mugabe's spokesman (George Charamba) has ordered state media editors to impose a partial blackout on Vice President Joice Mujuru, whose camp within the ruling Zanu PF party has been actively seeking the veteran leader's ouster, ZimOnline established yesterday….
The sources said Charamba, who is also permanent secretary in the Ministry of Information and Publicity, told the editors that they should amplify support for Mugabe's candidature in next year's watershed presidential elections.
(An unnamed editor who attended the meeting) said Charamba was emphatic that the Mujuru faction should be blocked out from news coverage…
The partial blackout is seen as part of the bitter internal infighting in Zanu PF over who will succeed Mugabe.
Mujuru and her husband, retired army general Solomon Mujuru, lead a Zanu PF faction that is vigorously pushing for Mugabe's retirement….
The state media has of late given acres of space to war veterans and other pro-Mugabe party organs such as the Zanu PF Youth League and Women's League.
Source: Zim Online (ZW) [10]
SADC standards breached
The government of Zimbabwe last week earmarked some US$11 million for food aid to an increasingly hungry population - but meanwhile it's splashing out more than US$20 million to buy luxury vehicles and SUVs for ministers and members of parliament.
Harare's allocation of Z$347 billion dollars for food aid in the supplementary budget it took to parliament last week will only pay for about 36,000 metric tonnes of grain out of the estimated 450,000 to 500,000 tonnes needed to feed the country for the next three months - in other words less than 10% of the fourth-quarter requirement….
Director Godfrey Kanyenze of the Labor and Economic Development Research Institute said that with an election on the horizon, and factionalism on the rise inside Zanu PF, President Mugabe will give priority to appeasing senior ruling party officials.
Meanwhile an article in the Independent Online of September 11 notes that 38 chiefs were given brand new vehicles at a ceremony in Harare. According to the Independent Online, the handouts are part of a programme to equip the country's 266 chiefs with new vehicles before year-end.
Source: VOANews (USA) [11]
SADC standards breached
War veterans in Mberengwa have petitioned President Robert Mugabe to reprimand local Member of Parliament and Agriculture Minister Rugare Gumbo whom they accuse of using food handouts to punish ruling Zanu PF party rivals in the district.
The war veterans accuse Gumbo of denying wards that opposed his candidature in the 2005 parliamentary elections access to food obtained from the Grain Marketing Board under a government scheme to support drought-stricken villagers.
"War veterans are not happy with Gumbo because he is using his portfolio to fix those wards that were against his candidature in the 2005 elections by denying them food," said war veterans' leader and Zanu PF chairperson for Mberengwa East district Rudo Chakona.
Gumbo denies the allegations.
Source: Zim Online (ZW) [12]
SADC standards breached
Our sources have reliably confirmed that Zanu PF plans to give 50,000 ploughs, 50,000 simple ground agricultural harrows and 50,000 Scotch Carts to voters in rural areas commencing October 2007…. A Zanu PF company in Norton is stockpiling the agricultural items….
In 2005 Zanu PF used maize seed and fertilizers to buy voters in the rural areas. The Zanu PF ruling party has always used some blackmail in addition to using military force to have people cast votes for it. In by-elections that have taken place in-between, Zanu PF has used village heads to coerce villagers to vote for party candidates or have no corn meal given to that family or village....
Note: The author of this article, Andrew Manyevere, is an MDC activist living in Canada
Source: zimbabwejournalists.com [13]
SADC standards breached
Industry Minister Obert Mpofu told the ruling Zanu-PF party members meeting at the weekend in western Zimbabwe that the government had already started identifying companies it plans to take over (as a result of their defying controversial price controls).
While embarking on this project of price stabilisation we are now deep in the process of identifying all those business entities which are for regime change with a view of taking over the companies, Mpofu was quoted as saying by the state-controlled Chronicle newspaper.
Source: Mail and Guardian Online, The (RSA) [14]
SADC standards breached
Links:
[1] http://www.sokwanele.com/system/files/images/zewissue7graph.gif
[2] http://allafrica.com/stories/200709250185.html
[3] http://www.hrforumzim.com/
[4] http://hrw.org/english/docs/2007/09/10/global16829.htm
[5] http://thesouthernafrican.com/news/world_news/zim_human_rights_crisis_under_un_spotlight_20070914_1707_83.html
[6] http://www.swradioafrica.com/news170907/postmarch170907.htm
[7] http://www.ifj.org/default.asp?Index=5328&Language=EN
[8] http://www.swradioafrica.com/news100907/mdcchair100907.htm
[9] http://www.fingaz.co.zw/story.aspx?stid=1281
[10] http://www.zimonline.co.za/Article.aspx?ArticleId=2024
[11] http://www.voanews.com/english/Africa/2007-09-11-voa63.cfm
[12] http://www.zimonline.co.za/Article.aspx?ArticleId=1996
[13] http://www.zimbabwejournalists.com/story.php?art_id=2860&cat=4
[14] http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=319483&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__business/