ACTION ALERT: Continuing violence, property destruction and animal cruelty on Friedewal Farm
Violence is continuing at Friedewal Farm. The invadors, who answer to the Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank Edward Mashiringwani, are once again not allowing the farm workers to feed and water the pigs – a grostesque act of animal cruelty.
Water to the farm has been cut off, and as many as half of the farm residents homes have now been burned down.
A dozen farm workers were blasted with shot-gun pellets and are being treated for injuries. One of the injured farm workers reported that approximately 50 of the farm residents were assaulted with wire and sticks from the start of the dawn raid until 2pm today.
“The violence stopped, he said, when police from a station 10km away arrived several hours after being called. Police did nothing to the attackers, but “took one of us to make a statement,”
To add insult to injury, six workers have been charged with inciting public violence and are being held at Chinhoyi police station.
These images depict some of the atrocities that have been taking place on Friedwal Farm.
We ran an Action Alert last week in response to news that five people had been shot, leaving two people critically injured. We asked people to contact the Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank Edward Mashiringwani – the man behind the terrible violence and destruiction of property – to demand that he stops, and to make him aware that his name and actions are being noted by people around the world.
We are repeating this call to action,and now widening our appeal to include lobbying the South African government to respond and do what they can to support a Louis Fick, a South African national, in his pursuit of justice and in his efforts to protect the people who work at Friedewal Farm.
We also want people to call Chinhoyi Police Station and ask the police why they are arresting the victims and not the perpetrators!
Fick meanwhile is one of 79 farmers who took their case to the SADC Tribunal in Windhoek last year, and his farm is meant to be protected by the Tribunal’s ruling. The ruling was meant to ensure that the Zimbabwe government protected the farmers from future land invasions, but ZANU PF has refused to abide by the ruling, relentlessly harassing farmers and their workers across the country. The government was this year charged with contempt for ignoring the earlier ruling, but in response, the government announced it no longer recognises the Tribunal. (via SWRA)
PLEASE TAKE ACTION:
1. Lobby the South African Ambassador to Zimbabwe:
Remind South African Ambassador Mlungisi Makalima that Louis Fick is a South African National and ask that he does all he can to stop the ongoing violence at Freidewal Farm. Remind Ambassador Makalima that South Africa has not pulled out of the SADC Tribunal – even if Zimbabwe has unlawfuly done so – and that he has a duty to do all he can to ensure that regional ruling protecting the human rights of South African civilians are upheld:
Call or sms the Ambassador on this number:
Cell phone: +263 4 912271969
Call email or fax the South African Embassy in Harare:
Phone: +263-4-753147, +263-4-753149, +263-4-251844, +263-4-251846
Fax: +263-4-749657 and +263-4-757908
Email: sahcomm@ecoweb.co.zw and sahcpol@ecoweb.co.zw
7 Elcombe Street
PO Box A1654
Harare
Zimbabwe
2. Contact Chinhoyi Police Station
Ask the police why they are arresting victims?! Did these people shoot themselves or the other farm residents? Did these people set about buring down their homes? Did they destroy all their possessions, deliberately leaving themselves with absolutely nothing? Tell the police that charging the victims and doing nothing about the aggressors is completely unacceptable. Demand that they release the six farm workers and respond to the real perpetrators of violence.
Phone: +263-67-28000
3. Please keep calling Mashiringwani
Call or sms the Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank, Edward Mashiringwani, and tell him that the world is watching and shocked by his unlawful actions. Advise him that you are contacting your governments in your countries and will be doing all you can to call attention to this shameful state of affairs. Then please do just that.
Cell: +263 (0)11 800582
Email Mashiringwani: emashiringwani@rbz.co.zw
4. Please keep contacting the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe:
Call or fax the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, where Mashiringwani works, and insist that Mashiringwani is asked to stop the violence on Friedewil Farm. Make sure the people he works with are aware of what he is doing and that they also know the world is watching. It is very likely that people at the RBZ do not know that people have been shot today. Please tell them, and tell them that you are utterly horrified. Ask them to remind Mashiringwani that attempted murder is a crime and that one day, justice will be done.
Tel: +263 4 70300, +263 4 70311, +263 4 703726, +263 4 703132, +263 4 790562, +263 4 790972, +263 4 791156, +263 4 791162, +263 4 791205, +263 4 791206
Fax: +263 4 707800 and +263 4 706450
Email the RBZ: rbzmail@rbz.co.zw
Please be calm, polite and factual when calling.
Please take action!
