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It is ten years since the original publication of 'Breaking the Silence: A Report on the Disturbances in Matabeleland and the Midlands' (by the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) and the Legal Resources Foundation (LRF)). We are delighted to let you know that the report has been re-published in book form by the South African publishing house Jacana under the title 'Gukurahundi in Zimbabwe'.

Gukurahundi is a traditional Shona word, which means 'the early rain which washes away the chaff before the spring rains.' It is the word chosen by the Mugabe regime to describe a military operation against a civilian population during the 1980s.

In 1980, a few short months after Independence Day, Robert Mugabe signed an agreement with the North Korean President Kim Il Sung to have the North Korean military train a brigade for the Zimbabwean army. Training of the 5th Brigade lasted until September 1982. The objective of the 5th Brigade was to crush the people of Matabeleland, force them to submit to Mugabe's Zanu PF and relinquish their loyalty to Joshua Nkomo's Zimbabwe African People's Union (Zapu).

Njabuliso Mguni: MDC Candidate

This weekend, the people of Lupane will be queuing to cast their vote in a by-election resulting from the death of David Mpala, the MDC Member of Parliament elected in 2000. Theirs is no ordinary constituency: Lupane is a name synonymous with some of the worst human rights violations imaginable. This drought stricken remote rural area of Zimbabwe has a long acquaintance with violence. During the liberation struggle, international newspapers carried reports of vicious attacks on missionaries and civilians in the area. But freedom did not bring peace; international attention was once again focussed on Lupane in post-independence Zimbabwe in July 1982 when six foreign tourists were allegedly abducted.