Internal refugees attacked, some killed, in Zimbabwe
I received news this morning that the internally displaced persons (IDPs) – internal refugees – who sought safety and shelter in the South African embassy in Harare on Wednesday last week were attacked by masked militias last night.
They had been moved to a rehabilitation centre in the town of Ruwa (20kms east of Harare) last week; their move was organised by the South African embassy staff and by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Apparently their safety there had been guaranteed by the Zimbabwean regime.
“However last night a group of masked militia arrived in pickup trucks and raided the centre.”
Refugees were assaulted and many were injured. We are told that some of them have been taken to hospital and that deaths have been recorded but that the figures of those affected is still uncertain. The refugees had earlier asked for police protection but this had been denied.
To remind you, these are the same people who were chased out of their home areas and who initially fled to Harare and the safety provided by the MDC Headquarters, Harvest House. After Harvest House was raided by the police and they were attacked again, some took refuge in the American Embassy; a few days later others asked for help from the South Africans.
Their so-called ’safe-haven’ has been attacked again. Theirs is not the only place attacked; we also learned that a refugee center set up near Gokwe was also attacked last night by ZANU PF thugs and some were killed there too.
I can’t imagine the despair and fear these people must feel. While the world tests out political hypothesis and constantly gives the regime the benefit of the doubt – believing their promises because they have to presumably (for the sake of politics and diplomacy) give them a chance to do the honourable thing – our fellow Zimbabwean citizens are caught in the cross fire. I cry for them.
Those refugees who died and who have been hurt – whose hands are covered in their blood? Mugabe’s regime, yes, but what about those to whom they turned for help, who blinkered themselves to the danger, and didn’t do what was necessary to protect them? Surely they must take some responsibility for this too?
Postscript:
After writing this post I discovered the BBC have picked up on it here:
Armed militia have raided two camps for people fleeing post-election violence in Zimbabwe, opposition and medical officials have said.
Several people were killed in one attack in Gokwe, north of Harare, the opposition said.
In Ruwa, near the capital, masked men in army fatigues beat up people who had previously sought refuge at the South African embassy, a witness said.
A BBC correspondent says the raids could threaten moves to share power.
At least eight of those attacked in Ruwa were taken to hospital, the witness said.
About 400 people have been sheltering in local squash courts in Ruwa after being moved on from the South African embassy.
About 14 people were reported missing after the attack there, most of them from a patrol that camp occupants had organised to maintain security.
The opposition Movement of Democratic Change says 5,000 of its members are missing and more than 100 of its supporters have been murdered since elections in March.
It accuses the army and ruling party militias of being behind the violence – charges denied by President Robert Mugabe.
July 7th, 2008 13:38
On the same BBC News website, under the heading: Zimbabwe: Possible Scenarios, there is a section under Military Intervention which says that, as such a move would have to be sactioned by the UN, it is unlikely to happen.
This means that things would be allowed to get much worse even than they are now, with many thousands of innocent lives lost, and still no military intervention would be forthcoming. It would be really shameful if a Zanu-PF genocidal bloodbath could be committed while the world just says tut tut!
Whereas, if an outside force did come in to rescue the country it would not be very long before pockets of the Zimbabwe army would cease their resistance and either surrender, or if they had any love of country, come over to the side of righteousness. It is only those corrupt leaders at the top who have the most to lose who would resist to the end.
July 7th, 2008 16:08
@ True Grit
If a country/countries outside Africa used military force, it could go either way. What you say could happen, with most of the army surrendering. However, it would play into Mugabe’s hands after all his talk of the UK wanting to colonise Zim again. It would create another Iraq senario (also their army surrendered almost immediately – but the special forces didn’t), and after the news of his little chats with Al-Qaeda while he was overseas, we could expect the same deadly situation. China would not give up her investments that easily either. So, military intervention would be very dangerous unless it was from the AU. I think the rest of the world is waiting for the AU to stand up and do their job … at this rate, they could be in for a long wait. At least some countries are trying. I respect them for that. Personally I think they don’t have a clue what to do.What do you do with a man/men like that? He wouldn’t stop at blackmail, murder, destabilising one of their countries, etc
I’d like to know what he has over Mbeki. I can’t believe anyone can be so stupid. Mugabe has just lied to his face about the safety of these people and Mbeki will continue to ‘believe’ him. Something’s going on.
By the way, my computer has been doing a few strange things a couple of minutes after coming onto this site. Is it possible that people on this site are being monitored?
July 7th, 2008 16:31
“It would be really shameful if a Zanu-PF genocidal bloodbath could be committed while the world just says tut tut!”
That is what is likely to happen, although it would be a massacre, not a genocide – unless whites were specifically targeted.
When the US and its allies rescued the Iraqis from the Saddam regime, the response was universal condemnation and accusations of bad motives. Why would they want to repeat that over the less bad Mugabe regime?
They would only be told they had invaded Zimbabwe to steal the platinum.
Zimbabweans have to realise that they will get no practical help from any other country, except possibly Botswana, which will help the refugees that cross its borders. The UK is treating refugees from Zimbabwe very badly. South Africa, even worse.
The present plans of the “international community” are to say “tut tut” rather loudly, and set up some mild sanctions.
July 7th, 2008 18:26
Before the Iraq debacle, the British did a well respected intervention in Sierra Leone. Partly it was that which gave Blair the idea that you could go to war and be liked for it and be morally right. Post-Iraq, that idea simply would not fly anywhere. So it’s down to the AU.
I have more faith in the AU than I do in the UN. The UN was set up specifically to prevent what happened in Germany happening again. Yet it has no mandate to interfere in a country when the obvious signs of a clearly documented governmental pathology are there. Dictators only get taken down when they invade somewhere else – Poland, Tanzania, Kuwait; and not when they abuse their people (remember we did not go to war against Germany because of the Jews, though we should have). The World failed to take Hussain out when he invaded Kuwait, and the US and others did it unilaterally 10 years later, so all the precedents for dealing with an out of control dictatorship are shot. So now it’s up to the AU, which doesn’t share those histories, to play its part.
July 7th, 2008 19:01
Both of the comments from C.Rose and Don Cox are certainly true, and I agree with them that unfortunately that is the situation, at least as far as the wider international community is concerned.
C.Rose wonders what possible hold Mugabe has over Mbeki. Aside from the ‘blood brothers’ aspect, there must be something more. As far as the elections are concerned, could it be the truth?
The March 29th elections were the most peaceful since the MDC emerged to challenge Mugabe in 1999, with opposition candidates able to campaign around the country, even in previously ‘no-go’ areas (although this changed later). In the presidential voting, the MDC, who were monitoring results very closely, came up with a tally of 50.3%, i.e. a clear win for president for Morgan Tsvangirai. When the official results were released, however, the figures were: 47.9% for Tsvangirai and 43.2% for Mugabe. A result which would require the notorious run-off which followed.
However, there were serious doubts about a block of 120,000 votes for Mugabe which just happened to be enough to prevent Tsvangirai from winning outright. Therein lies the rigging of the March election. The electoral roll had been manipulated with ‘ghost voters’.
People who had died, or had registered from addresses where there are no buildings. All this was incorporated in the voting process and used in the results subsequently announced by the electoral commission. That was the fraudulent basis on which the whole sorry episode leading to Mugabe’s victory on June 27th relied. And that is the truth that I suspect Mbeki knows. The truth he dares not speak of.
July 7th, 2008 19:32
I do not think UN intervention is a good idea.It would hit sore spots in Zim history, the same ones Mugabe plays on to generate fanaticism – and the fiasco in Irak is present too. AU must intervene and has legitimacy to do so, though if it continues its inaction it stands to lose that.
Does anyone have any news of whether Levy Mwanawasa is still alive and if so, how he is?
My computer is behaving fine, by the way. Would not put it past them to tap in somehow tho.
July 7th, 2008 20:06
And Mugabe is busy likening himself to the western leaders. How conceited this person is. His stooge based in the US, a certain boniface chidyausiku, justified the election delay as similar to some American constituency scenario that occured some time back.
When asked about the killings in Zimbabwe he also counteracted by quoting the murderous US and British invasion of Iraq.
Asked, recently, on what bases he was leading Zimbabwe mugabe said on the basis that Mr Brown is leading ‘Zimbabwe’ meaning Britain.
So you see these demented old men think they are governing like the west and they are capitalising on the west’s consciences while they themselves have lost their souls.
They have twisted brains and their murders are a reflection of their twisted conceit. And Mbeki is seeing no evil, hearing no evil and saying no evil. [edit]
What does this say about African politics i wonder.
July 7th, 2008 22:04
You do what needs to be done with conviction…Rwanda took place because people saw the trickle of murder.and..waited until it was a flood of genocide.
It is pointless to see reality then bury ones head in the sand through speculating over worse case scenarios.
July 7th, 2008 23:40
We need Cosatu, new ANC like Zuma and South African opposition and workers and human rights people from Namibia, Zambia, Botswana, Angola, Swaziland, South Africa and Mozambique to pressure Mbeki. We need to bombard them all with emails, images. Also the G8 leaders and the UN. Let’s keep up the pressure on the email campaigns. Send the new images.
We should also email the international offices and SA offices of the Red Cross about the attacks on the displaced people and refugees … the Zim Red Cross is reputed to be Zanupf and has been for quite a while.
We must not give up on any ways at all for peacefully getting the change we want.
July 8th, 2008 22:52
Just to reiterate Don’s point about what the hypocritical British government is doing with Mugabe’s opposition in exile.
I posted the following
‘Zimbabwean exiles abandoned, left destitute’
http://paulcanning.blogspot.com/2008/07/zimbabweans-exiles-abandoned-left.html
Shamefully, I have to say this story is getting very little attention in the UK.
The activities of my government in the asylum area make me ashamed to be British.
July 9th, 2008 09:52
I didn’t even know this was going on…. well blogged Im gonna do a few posting and see if I can get some people thinking OK will be posting your link OK….
July 9th, 2008 13:04
The Refugee Council in the UK are trying to raise the profile of the refugees’ destitution
See http://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/news/press/2008/july/20080703.htm
Here is some more information about the rally being held tomorrow
http://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/news/news/2008/20080707.htm
Hopefully, the rally will raise the profile of this issue here – most British people would be completely unaware that it is happening.