• No Sign of Improvement as 2003 Ends
• US Law Students Told of Dismantling of Rule of Law in Zimbabwe
• JAG Communique dated 24 November 2003
• JAG Open Letters Forum No. 192
• Prison Diary
• Judge under probe
• Zim deploys army nurses
• The Congo Genocide That Lies Under the Carpet
• Zimbabwean Clergy Hold Talks With Muluzi Over Crisis
• MDC dismisses security chief
• War vet boss Mhlanga’s trial date set
• Take steps to reduce inflation, State urged
• Zambia President: Blacks Shouldn't 'Demonize' Mugabe

HARARE, Nov 24 (IPS) - Zimbabwe is winding up another bitter year, and
Samson Tawona, a teacher in the capital - Harare - is a depressed man.

”Prices of essential goods - food, soap, fuel, you name it - are going up
almost every hour. Buy a bar of soap for one amount in the morning (and)
when you go to the same supermarket at lunch, the price will be higher,” he
says.

Hundreds, if not thousands of Zimbabwe's young, educated nationals have gone
abroad, and most of those who remain at home are an angry lot. Their country
is enduring its worst economic and political crisis since independence in
1980.

Dozens of human rights activists and trade unionists were arrested in
various parts of Zimbabwe last week to prevent them from staging protests
against human rights abuses - and the deteriorating economic situation.

This follows two mass arrests last month - the second on Oct. 22, when
members of the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) gathered in support of
calls for a new constitution.

According to the British-based human rights watchdog Amnesty International,
about 200 NCA activists were detained overnight in Harare under the Public
Order and Security Act (POSA), which bans demonstrations that have not
received police clearance.

Last month, Zimbabwe's sole privately-owned daily - the Daily News - was
shut down again after it made a brief reappearance on the streets of the
capital.

Prior to this, the paper had been closed for about two months under the
Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, which requires all
journalists and news organisations to register with a state commission.
Freedom of speech groups have denounced the act as a bid to muzzle the
press.

Zimbabwe is also experiencing severe food shortages attributed to drought
and mismanagement of the land redistribution process. According to the
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 5.5
million people will require food aid in the course of 2004. The UN Human
Development Report for this year puts Zimbabwe's population at around 13
million.

To date, efforts to provide emergency assistance have been marred by
allegations that the ruling ZANU-PF party is manipulating food aid for
political ends.

At the beginning of August, authorities in Harare said they would restrict
non-governmental organisations (NGO's) from distributing supplies. The
government later softened its approach, telling donor countries that it
would not intervene in distribution.

Nonetheless, the international sanctions imposed on President Robert
Mugabe's government to bring about a change in policy are receiving little
support from some in the country.

Samson Tawona vehemently criticises these so-called ”smart sanctions”, which
are meant to target Mugabe, as well as some members of his government and
ZANU-PF.

His colleague, Zebron Madunge, agrees. ”Those sanctions are hurting us, the
general public,” he says, ”They are not upsetting the government as planned.
It is now clear they (Western powers) wanted to drive us into (a) frenzy
(to) remove Mugabe, to make way for Morgan (Tsvangirai of the opposition
Movement for Democratic Change, MDC).”

”That (is) a silly and dangerous dream. This government adopted, mastered
and perfected one of the most ruthless laws in the world,” says Madunge. ”
The Law and Order Maintenance Act, LOMA, of the 1970s - now the Public Order
and Security Act - is a very effective weapon to silence opposition and
protests. 'Order' is the word.”

Harare businesswoman Martha Mudziki says the smart sanctions are a global
shame: ”Look at how the people are suffering. You cannot restore democracy
and human rights in a country by punishing its people.”

Leaders of the Southern African Development Community have added their
voices to this call for sanctions to be lifted.

The European Union (EU) joined Australia in imposing sanctions on the
Zimbabwean government after the 2002 presidential poll in which Mugabe was,
controversially, re-elected.

In September this year, the EU denied that it was responsible for the
worsening situation in Zimbabwe. It maintains that sanctions are focused on
key officials, not ordinary citizens.

Zimbabwe began occupying the international spotlight at the start of 2000,
when veterans from the country's war of independence and pro-government
militants started occupying farms.

Most of these properties were owned by minority whites, who then controlled
the majority of prime agricultural land in Zimbabwe. Officials claim that
more than 300,000 black families have so far been resettled on the occupied
land.

Mugabe endorsed the land invasions - this ahead of parliamentary elections
in 2000, where the ruling party faced its first-ever credible challenge from
an opposition party, the MDC. The President claims the MDC is a front for
western - particularly British - interests.

Tennyson Nani, a senior war veteran resident in the Midlands mining town of
Shurugwi, says ”Mugabe knew he was not going back to State House if he
ordered the army against us. Soldiers would have been divided. Most of their
seniors are war veterans.”

”For 20 years we had been dwelling on empty promises, of which we were only
reminded towards elections. This time we were prepared to fight for the
land,” adds Nani.

Later, he says, ”All hell broke loose.” Judges resigned or were fired after
ruling in favour of the farmers, and the rule of law was applied
selectively.

Election observers from the EU grudgingly accepted the outcome of the
legislative vote, which saw ZANU-PF retain its parliamentary majority.
However, African leaders by and large declared the poll legitimate.

While South African observers gave tentative approval to last year's
presidential election, the Commonwealth team accused authorities of
vote-rigging and bearing prime responsibility for election-related violence.
This prompted Zimbabwe's suspension for 12 months from the Commonwealth,
which represents about 1.8 billion people, mainly from former British
colonies.

The suspension was later extended until this December, when leaders from the
group will meet in Nigeria to review the Zimbabwe issue.

During a previous meeting of Commonwealth Foreign Ministers held in Nigeria
in Sep. 2001, delegates agreed that land was, due to historical reasons, at
the core of the crisis in Zimbabwe.

However, the meeting also resolved that this matter could not be separated
from other issues of concern to the Commonwealth, like the ”rule of law,
respect for human rights, democracy and the economy”.

Zimbabwe's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Stan Mudenge, says the country -
even though it has no case to answer - has served its punishment and should
be readmitted to the Commonwealth. President Mugabe has described the
current suspension as a racially-driven initiative, spearheaded by Britain
and Australia.

But the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, an NGO based in New Delhi,
India, maintains that Zimbabwe must remain suspended until it respects
Commonwealth principles, including the protection and promotion of human
rights. (END/2003)

United States Department of State (Washington, DC)

November 24, 2003
Posted to the web November 25, 2003

Jim Fisher-Thompson
Washington, DC

Humphrey Fellow details Mugabe's usurpation of country's legal system

A group of budding young lawyers, all imbued with the desire to champion
human rights abroad and in the their own country, recently heard attorney
Roseline Zigomo describe the assault on the rule of law in her own homeland
of Zimbabwe by the nation's chief executive, President Robert Mugabe.

By his arbitrary land redistribution schemes and assault on the nation's
legal system through questionable legislation and amendments to its
Constitution, President Mugabe has shown himself to be "the chief usurper of
the rule of law" in Zimbabwe, Zigomo asserted.

"Nothing can happen [legally] without his sanctioning it," the attorney
added, and the result has been an escalating seizure of mainly white-owned
farms while the government turns a blind eye to violence caused by black
settlers, many of whom are former veterans of Zimbabwe's war of liberation.
The Mugabe administration has goaded many to occupy the farms, which are
then awarded to ZANU PF officials and cronies of Mugabe, she explained.

The attorney spoke November 19 program of the Human Rights Defenders
Speakers Series at American University's Washington College of Law. The
forum was organized by the law school's Center for Human Rights and
Humanitarian Law. Zigomo is currently studying at the law school courtesy of
the State Department's Humphrey Fellowship Program.

A partner in the Harare law firm of Atherstone & Cook, Zigomo told the
students "We know that as a [law] firm and individuals [lawyers] advocating"
for human rights "that our phones are tapped; that our e-mail is interfered
with." However, "I only became really scared, for example, when I was
involved in the commercial farmers' case. But everywhere else you kind of
take it in stride and realize 'Well, they haven't yet dragged me into the
[police] stationhouse, so I'm still okay.'"

Zigomo explained that her eyes were opened to Mugabe's abuses when in August
2001 she took on the case of 20 white farmers who were arrested and detained
after they protested the arbitrary seizure of a number of white-owned farms.
"This opened a floodgate for me. You can live in a country for many
years...I had no idea of what was going on in the commercial farms."

Zigomo explained that after independence a land reimbursement fund was
established with the help of the British Government and international
community that amounted to about 44 million pounds. The aim was to help
facilitate equitable land transfers, but much of the money disappeared. "As
of 1997, following pressure to account for where the money was," the Mugabe
administration finally paid about 3 million pounds back into the fund, she
said. "Some of the farms that were [then] purchased for redistribution by
the government were given to government ministers and senior [ZANU PF]
officials," she said.

"A sinister part" of the whole process of land seizures and redistributions,
Zigomo said, was "state-sponsored violence and intimidation that included
torture, rape, assault and the burning of property -- it was just mayhem and
chaos, particularly in the rural areas."

From a lawyer's standpoint, Zigomo said that, besides the violence, she has
been disturbed by the way Mugabe has loaded up the Constitution with
amendments that sanction his actions and attempt to curb the media and
political opposition. A starting point was when the government revived the
call for land redistribution and amended the Constitution to provide for
compensation only for improvements made on the seized farms.

At the same time, parliament was pressured to enact laws that curbed the
media and political opposition, Zigomo added. The Access to Information and
Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) was passed and, although it sounds as if
it would safeguard the rights of the press, actually "curtails freedom of
expression," she said, because it requires journalists to register with a
Government-controlled board. The Public Order and Security Act (POSA) was
also passed and makes it difficult for the political opposition to organize
and demonstrate against the Government, she added.

The irony, Zigomo said, is that both acts mirror law-and-order legislation
passed by the white-dominated Rhodesian Government of Prime Minister Ian
Smith. "Its amazing how things change, but they don't really change," she
said.

Asked if Mugabe was playing a "race card" in his continual pitting of the
nation's majority of landless blacks against the minority white farmers,
especially before elections, Zigomo agreed, saying, "In order to deflect
attention from the breakdown of the rule of law and the chaos on the farms,
he [Mugabe] then says, 'This a race issue. It is colonialism...these white
farmers do not want to give up their farms.'

"And believe it or not, this appeals to a lot of black people in Zimbabwe,"
the lawyer said. Although we had a reconciliation at independence, "we never
had a truth and justice commission" like South Africa had under its first
multi-racial government headed by President Nelson Mandela.

The result, she said, was that in Zimbabwe "there was never an outlet of
people's deep-seated feeling of the injustice they had suffered under Ian
Smith's regime. So many people felt that white people were holding power
over the land. So when Mugabe starts talking about land redistribution
'because this is a race thing,' people said, 'Yes, yes this is very good.'
But when they realized it was followed by violence and intimidation and just
willy-nilly amendments of the Constitution, then right-thinking citizens
began to say, 'No, this [racism] is not what it's really about.'

"So, is it a race issue? Primarily no. Is it a race issue politically? Yes,
because it does get votes," Zigomo said.

Questioned whether sanctions against Mugabe's regime might encourage the
president to stop his attacks on the rule of law -- the U.S. government has
already imposed travel restrictions on ZANU PF officials -- the attorney
said, "I'm not sure about [the value of] sanctions," adding, "they usually
don't touch the government but hurt the poor" instead.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information
Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov

1.30 pm Central Police Station Harare

At Central we are made to sit down in the courtyard with many comrades
including those leaders of the ZCTU who had been grabbed earlier. We are 45
men and 7
women.
Spirits are high; the police are sullen and aggressive. We must sit, stand,
sit but we are not cowed and much banter is exchanged, mocking our captors.
Makedenge from CID Law & Order arrives and is greeted with much noise from
all who
recognise him; he smiles bemusedly and retreats before the barrage. Our
lawyers are in sight
and we are encouraged by the aimless meanderings that occupy the riot police
while they
wait for instructions. We demand to know what we are being charged with.
“POSA” we
are told. “That is not a charge” we counter but are ignored. Our names, ID
numbers and
addresses are written down.

After an age we are called up in groups of tens to get finger-printed; I am
in the last group by which time the police are tired or the ink/stationery
has run
out so the last four or five of us are overlooked and we are dispersed in
our small
groups to sundry points in the car park to sit and wait. We wander
unhindered from
group to group watched by a minimal police presence; our lawyers join us.

Eventually we are led off to the cells. The women are taken off first to the
third floor but the men file into the holding cell - barred at each end and
no
more than 3 metres wide and maybe 8 metres long. No toilet or water. There
is a
spreading pool of suspicious liquid oozing from a small cubicle that smears
across the central
area. We cannot all sit so we take turns to lie, sit and stand. We speculate
as to
the purpose of the electrical sockets mounted into the roof 3 or 4 metres
above our
heads. Cell phones hum. Interviews with SABC, BBC, SW Radio Africa take
place. A
policeman instructs us to turn off our phones; we ignore him but most of us
take care
to keep them on silent mode.

1am Wednesday

Unfortunately the policeman returns and says we must hand over our phones.
We have still not been charged. We file into the property room and hand over
our
phones and money but not our shoes, socks and belts since they do not have
enough
kitbags to store our possessions. We pass the time reading the various
notices on the
wall; we are amused by the instructions regarding cell maintenance, which
have been
ignored since time began, judging by the condition of the place. A gaping
hole in
the roof reminds me of the reports of a sewerage build-up in the ceiling
cavity that
collapsed on top of the hapless police a few weeks before during the
detention of the
NCA protestors. The story raises chuckles with my colleagues. The police
working
in such conditions are barely better off than the prisoners; how they put up
with
life-threateningly unhygienic conditions astounds us but we put it down to
the all-pervasive fear of complaining that we Zimbabweans have learnt over
many
years.

Relieved of phones and cash, we are taken up to the fourth floor into a
large room about 12 x 14 metres and 3 m high. It is the day room; a smooth
unpolished
cement floor, two small open drains next to the concrete columns with
shallow pools
of water breeding mosquitoes and pipes disgorging the occasional cockroach.
The walls
and concrete ceiling are distempered; in one area of the ceiling the leaking
water has created stalactites about 6 cms long and budding stalagmites
below. Four
low-wattage fluorescent lights give the appropriate lighting for this minor
hellhole.
Other light fittings hang useless with dodgy looking wiring or no
components.

We are free to wander around the unit, which has five small cells and a
shower room. Each cell is about 5 x 2,5 wide with 3 cement bunks, a toilet
in the corner
with no flush but a tap that splashes to one side and spills onto the floor
if it is
turned on too high. Some suspicious looking mats and blankets lie around the
floor.
We do not use these since cell veterans warn of lice and bedbugs and fleas.
A
policeman later informs us that the blankets also double up as mops to soak
up the
spillage from the toilet bowls.

We are counted regularly. We must stand up against the wall, no sitting
down. They count us twice each time since there are so many.

Food from Nandos courtesy of the ZCTU. Personal supplies from family and
friends help tremendously. A carton of fortified fruit juice is especially
well received.
We eat well - better than the police and certainly better than the
non-political
detainees, some of whom haven’t eaten for 6 days, they claim. The Mayor
sends in sadza
and relish, thermoses of tea and coffee. I share my Imodium supply with
Andy -
we are determined not to use the toilets. I am successful and do not have to
‘go’
for nearly 60 hours! Urinating is bad enough as the stench is overpowering.
Thankfully
we are never made to sleep in these serious health hazards in spite of
rumours that
Law & Order have told the wardens to put us in. The evident friction between
the
two sections manifests itself in many ways.
The women are not so lucky - having been reduced to two articles of clothing
each (no socks, no bras no belts) they are kept in a cell on the third floor
together
with another 5 assorted shoplifters, fraudsters and other common criminals.
They
tell us that pigeons are nesting in the sinks in their shower room.

The night passes slowly - my soft middle class body is not used to the hard
cement floor and, in spite of the valium I managed to bring with me, I
become aware
of parts of my anatomy I had forgotten about! The swellings from the police
baton
make moving about a delicate procedure. My smelly trainers pass for a
pillow. I have the
luxury of a few sheets of the Herald; I am comforted by the knowledge that I
am
sleeping on the front-page photo of mugabe and Obasanjo. Our action will
hopefully
ensure that the tyrant is not invited to the Commonwealth meeting in Abuja
in December.

Wednesday dawn - light infuses the grey room and creates a surreal tableau.
I usually only see the dawn as the tail end of a misspent night!

We sit around the walls on the bare floors. The women join us for meals. The
day passes slowly. We talk. We sleep. We eat. I do the crossword - the only
worthwhile part of the state’s propaganda rag.

Raymond Majongwe declaims some of his stirring poetry. We sing. We dance.
The more energetic play 3-a-side soccer using water bottles for goal posts
and
plastic bags compressed into a ball. The ref’s whistling can be heard on the
street we
later learn.

Our leaders return from Law & Order Section - 48 of us can pay admission of
guilt fines for Miscellaneous Offences “ conduct likely to lead to a breach
of the
peace” or perhaps even contravening the Road Traffic Act for “blocking
traffic”;
the Attorney-General’s office has declined to prosecute us under POSA (The
Public Order & Security Act). If we do so, we will be released but 4 ZCTU
leaders will
remain and will be charged under POSA. We decline to leave our colleagues
behind and
accept that we will spend a second night in prison. The solidarity lifts our
spirits. We
have a historic gathering of civil society leaders that reminds some of us
of the
early NCA days. The police are anxious to know more about this new united
front.

Time passes slowly. We have had no real word of the outside reactions - 300
arrests in Mutare, 500 in Bulawayo, COSATU is closing the border, there is a
general
strike - but we know our colleagues will be spreading the news around the
world.

Thursday arrives.

We spend a few hours crammed into an office at Law & Order where the police
attempt to write “profiles’ detailing our personal histories, political
affiliations
and other information. I refuse and will only give my name, occupation, ID
number, and address. If they want to know where I went to school, they can
damn well
charge me and take me to court. Others refuse also to facilitate the work of
the
police and eventually we go back to our cell.

The day we know will be decisive but as the day drags on we are
apprehensive. We know that we have to appear before a magistrate within 48
hours but the deadline
passes.
Eventually we are led down to the property office where we sign for our
phones and money. Are we to be released or charged? We go out to the
courtyard. Lunch
from Chicken Inn (oh for some vegetables! A salad!) and then we are convoyed
to
the magistrates’ court. People stare at us from the pavements, slyly giving
us
the open hand sign or just thumbs up.  A few motorists blow their horns.

3.30pm Thursday Magistrates Court

Our friends are gathered on the steps and the sight of our loved ones brings
emotions to the surface. Solidarity is strength. We greet and brief each
other. Our
lawyers debate upstairs with the prosecution. The State cannot decide the
charges.
51 hours after our arrest, the four leaders are charged under POSA. After
some
haggling they are bailed at $20 000. We learn that we are to be charged with
the same
offence. Free bail the Magistrate says and we erupt in cheers. The police
are glum, the
magistrate smiles discretely. We are to return in the morning at 11.

We erupt out of the court building into the open air. A joyful celebration
of freedom. A convoy of open-backed pick-ups laden with activists hoots and
sings its way through town. People look puzzled. Harare CBD doesn’t see this
except
after some soccer victory. A few smile and wave. Past Harvest House, the
people shout
and wave more enthusiastically, up along Nelson Mandela Ave past Parliament,
the
street relatively quiet. We have achieved the original destination of
Tuesday’s
march but we don’t stop to confront the police since we all want to get to
our families.

Then it’s home, dump the clothes outside the house and the heaven of hot
water and soap. The bed is too soft and I contemplate moving to the bathroom
floor as
sleep envelops me.

11.00 am Friday

Back to the courts. We are confident. The delay lengthens. Eventually we are
before the magistrate. The prosecutor rises. The State withdraws all charges
for
“lack of evidence” and we are free.

ENDS

___________________________________________________

IOL (SA) 21 Nov 2003-11-22

Harare - State prosecutors dropped all charges on Friday against 52 trade
unionists
and their supporters, arrested during nationwide demonstrations against
President
Robert Mugabe's autocratic rule and mounting economic hardships. State
attorneys
informed Harare magistrate Sukai Tongogara that they had insufficient
evidence to
press charges against the group under Zimbabwe's sweeping security laws.
Nearly 90 people, including 14 labour leaders, were arrested on Tuesday in
demonstrations
called by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions and political reform
activists.
Police had declared the protests illegal. The 52 arrested in the capital,
including
the federation's top four leaders, were held for two days before they were
brought to
court. Tongogara released them on condition they appeared in court on Friday
to face
charges of organising illegal demonstrations, which were later dropped.

Brian Raftopoulos, a spokesperson for those released, said the group will
consider
filing suit against the police for wrongful arrest and detention. He accused
police
of using the country's Public Order and Security Act for political ends.
"They succeeded in stopping our demonstrations and kept us in detention and
off
the streets, and maybe that is the aim at the moment," said Raftopoulos,
head of
the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, an alliance of reform groups. On Thursday,
nine protesters were charged with organising an illegal demonstration in the
country's second city, Bulawayo, federation officials said. They were
released on
condition they appear for trial on December 3. More than a dozen others were
released
without charge on Thursday in the eastern border city of Mutare. Thirteen
protesters
remained in custody on Friday in the central industrial town of Gweru, as
police and
prosecutors tried to decide whether to charge them, federation officials
said.

Zimbabwe is in the throes of economic and political crisis, with official
inflation
running at 526 percent and critical shortages of food, gasoline and other
imports.
The often-violent seizure of white-owned farms for redistribution to
impoverished
blacks has crippled the agriculture-based economy. Mugabe's government has
also stepped up a crackdown on dissent, arresting political opponents,
harassing
labour groups and shutting down the country's only independent daily
newspaper.

ThisDay Nigeria 15:33 22/11/2003

NLC Calls for Release of Detained Labour Leaders
From Iyefu Adoba and Juliana Taiwo in Abuja

The Nigeria Labour Congress, (NLC), calls on the Zimbabwean President Robert
Mugabe to release detained leaders and supporters of the Zimbabwean Congress
of
Trade Unions, (ZCTU).  In a letter sent through the Zimbabwean High
Commissioner
to Nigeria, Dr. Dube, NLC General Secretary, Mr. John Odah said it was
disturbing to hear about the clamp down and detention of over 350 leaders,
activists and
supporters of the ZCTU. According to Odah, ZCTU President Lovemore Matombo,
Vice-President Lucia Mativenga and General Secretary Wellington Chibebe and
others are being
charged under the "Public Order and Security Act, which the Zimbabwean trade
union
movement and civil society have found repressive." Reacting to reports of
police
disruption, brutality and physical assaults on members of ZCTU and civil
society
activists during marches and gatherings and the subsequent detention of
people under very
harsh conditions, the NLC entreated Mugabe to grant freedom to the detainees
and
also to drop the charges invoked under the act immediately and
unconditionally.
Describing the concerns about inflation, taxes and human rights by the ZCTU
as
legitimate, NLC said "it would be grievously wrong to attempt to criminalise
the ZCTU's
campaign for public welfare and the activities organised in furtherance of
it." The NLC
further noted that as a signatory to the UN Declaration on human rights and
other
international human and workers rights instruments, President Mugabe "is
bound to treat workers and citizens justly, humanely, fairly and in
accordance with
civilized standards and constitutional law, even when they are protesting."
Calling
for a repeal of the public order and security acts, the NLC also urged
Mugabe to
take all necessary steps "to address the gaps between the standards of
decency
prescribed in international law and the treatment of trade unionists and
workers currently
in Zimbabwe."

Churches And Rights Groups Condemn Arrests
Catholic Information Service for Africa
 (Nairobi)
November 21, 2003
Posted to the web November 21, 2003
Nairobi
The arrests this week of trade unionists in Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, have
drawn wrath and condemnation from churches, trade unions, and human rights
organizations in and outside the country. More than 100 trade unionists and
civil leaders
were arrested on Tuesday, November 18, 2003 during a demonstration organized
by
the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) to pressurize the autocratic
government of President Robert Mugabe to reduce taxes ahead of the
presentation of that
southern African country's national budget. Organizations that have
protested at the
arrests include the Harare Ecumenical Working Group, Transparency
International and
the Zimbabwe National Pastors Conference (ZNPC). Others are the United
Nations
and the ZCTU itself. Media reports said that 52 of those arrested were
released on
Thursday, on condition that they return to face charges that by organising
an illegal
political demonstration, they violated Zimbabwe's strict security laws. In a
statement
to CISA, the Harare Ecumenical Working Group condemned the detentions and
demanded
that those arrested be released immediately, saying that the ZCTU Leaders
were simply
carrying out their legitimate role. "We do not accept any justification for
the use
of unjust and repressive laws to suppress people's God-given fundamental
rights," the
Ecumenical Group said. "We therefore demand the immediate release of all
Trade Union and civic leaders from detention."
The Zimbabwe National Pastors Conference echoed a similar tone in a
statement mailed to CISA. "The Zimbabwe National Pastors Conference strongly
condemns the
arrest on Tuesday 18th November 2003 of ZCTU leaders and other civil society
leaders,"
said the statement, signed by Pastor Joseph Munemo, Secretary of the
Conference.
In a statement issued in Geneva, the United Nations Acting High Commissioner
for Human Rights, Bertrand Ramcharan, appealed to the Zimbabwean authorities
"to
take all necessary measures to guarantee the rights of the detained persons
and to
secure their right to freedom of opinion and expression, in accordance with
the
fundamental principles as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights and
reiterated in the international human rights norms and instruments."
In October 2003, the UN also expressed concern regarding the arrest of more
than 40 trade unionists during a national protest demonstration.
The Harare Ecumenical Group described the harsh economic conditions
Zimbabweans are facing. "Both workers and the unemployed in Zimbabwe can no
longer feed
their families," they said. "The cost of transport to and from work had
become
unaffordable. Access to the health delivery system has become an illusion
for over 70% of the population because of a severe deterioration of such
services and
due to crippling rate of inflation now at 546%." The Harare Ecumenical
Working
Group can be contacted via P O Box 1524, Harare; Tel 00263-4-703474/738920;
Fax
00263-4-703474.

ZCTU Leaders Granted $50 000 Bail Each
The Herald
 (Harare) aka Kunyepa
November 21, 2003
Posted to the web November 21, 2003
Harare
FOUR leaders of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) and 48 others
who were arrested on Tuesday after allegedly holding an illegal
demonstration, were
yesterday brought to the Harare Magistrates' Courts on charges of breaching
the Public
Order and Security Act. ZCTU president Lovemore Matombo, his two deputies
Lucia
Mativenga and Elias Mlotshwa and the organisation's secretary-general
Wellington
Chibebe were granted $50 000 bail. Magistrate Ms Sukai Tongagara remanded
the four to day
when they are expected to make an application to have charges against them
dropped. The other 48 who separately appeared before the same magistrate
facing similar
charges were also remanded out of custody to day.
They include Zimbabwe Progressive Teachers' Association secretary-general
Raymond Majongwe and University of Zimbabwe lecturers Brian Raftopoulos,
John
Makumbe and Lovemore Madhuku. The group was brought to the Rotten Row Courts
in six
police trucks and were taken into remand Court 6 under heavy police guard.
Charges against
the group arose on November 11 this year after they allegedly defied an
order by
the regulating authority, the police, not to hold a demonstration on
November 18
this year.
ZCTU had applied to the police to hold a demonstration but the regulating
authority for Harare Central District Chief Superintendent Mawira turned
down their
application. An order prohibiting ZCTU from holding the demonstration was
issued in terms of sections of the POSA but they proceeded to hold the
demonstration.
It is alleged that the group gathered at the State Lottery Hall along Julius
Nyerere Way where they intended to march to the offices of the Minister of
Finance and
Economic Development Cde Herbert Murerwa at Munhumutapa Building along
Samora Machel
Avenue.
The State alleges that the group intended to deliver a petition to Cde
Murerwa. The petition stated that the ZCTU wanted the minister to address
them over
issues that included high taxation, high cost of basic goods and the alleged
Government's failure to address macro-economic issues. POSA prohibits the
holding of a
demonstration without police approval. ZCTU's illegal protests which were
supposed to be
held countrywide flopped after workers and employers ignored their call.
Zimbabwe Releases 52 Labor Leaders

By ANGUS SHAW  Associated Press Writer HARARE, Zimbabwe

A magistrate Thursday freed 52 people, including 14 labor leaders, two days
after their arrest during nationwide demonstrations against President Robert
Mugabe's autocratic rule and the country's economic hardships. Nearly 90
people were
arrested Tuesday, including 52 people arrested in the capital - among them
the four
top leaders of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions. The 52 detainees made
their first appearance Thursday before Magistrate Sukai Tongogara. Tongogara
released
them on condition they return Friday to face charges of violating the
nation's
strict security laws by organizing an illegal political demonstration, said
their
attorney, Alec Muchadehama. The offense is punishable by up to six months in
jail.
Union officials said the group's release was delayed by confusion among
police and
state attorneys about what charges to bring against them. Some members of
the
group were told Wednesday they would be charged with the lesser offense of
obstructing
traffic in downtown Harare. Labor leaders called for a nationwide strike to
protest
Tuesday's arrests, but it failed to take hold Thursday. Mlamleli Sibanda, a
federation
spokesman, said there was insufficient time to mobilize workers. Zimbabwe is
in the throes of economic and political crisis with official inflation
running at
526 percent, one of the highest levels in the world. Finance Minister
Herbert
Murerwa gave an even bleaker forecast Thursday as he announced the annual
budget,
warning inflation could rise to a high of 700 percent in the first quarter
of next
year before starting to dissipate. Murerwa said government services like
health
and education declined sharply this year; industry was running at below 50
percent capacity, and most of the country's infrastructure was crumbling.
The
country also faces a record 13.2 percent decline in the gross domestic
product. Opponents
blame Mugabe's authoritarian rule, including the often-violent seizure of
thousands of white-owned commercial farms for redistribution to impoverished
blacks.
Murerwa said the government aims to introduce a series of fiscal measures,
including
government belt-tightening. "The challenges are surmountable," Murerwa said.
"It is ...
imperative we avoid aborting painful measures" toward recovery.

UN Statement On Trade Union Arrests in Zimbabwe

Media Institute of Southern Africa
 (Windhoek)
November 21, 2003
Posted to the web November 21, 2003
Windhoek
The following statement was issued on 20 November 2003 by acting High
Commissioner for Human Rights Bertrand Ramcharan:
"The acting United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights expresses his
concern regarding reports that more than 100 trade unionists and civil
leaders have
been arrested on 18 November 2003 during a protest demonstration in the
capital
Harare.
Last month, the Commission on Human Rights' Special Rapporteur on the
promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression,
Ambeyi Ligabo;
the Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Commission's Working Group on Arbitrary
Detention, Leila Zerrougui, and the Special Representative of the
Secretary-General on
human rights defenders, Hina Jilani, also expressed concern regarding the
arrest
of more than forty trade unionists during a national protest demonstration.
The Acting High Commissioner appeals to the Zimbabwean authorities to take
all necessary measures to guarantee the rights of the detained persons and
to
secure their right to freedom of opinion and expression in accordance with
the
fundamental principles as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights and
reiterated in the international human rights norms and instruments".

African Church Information Service

ANALYSIS
November 24, 2003
Posted to the web November 24, 2003

Nernlor Gruduah
Nairobi

In the course of the two wars the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has
undergone since 1996, there have been two genocide incidences , one under
the glare of international community, and the other swept under the carpet.
Nernlor Gruduah reports.

Apart from its current peacekeeping role in the DRC, the United Nations (UN)
appears to have forgotten a commitment it made to the people of Congo and
Rwanda on the one hand, and the international community on the other.

The UN had undertaken to investigate the disappearance of nearly 300,000
Rwandan refugees, allegedly killed by the Rwandan army during the first war,
that brought Laurent Désiré Kabila to power in May 1997.

Such an undertaking was obviously going to be difficult, given that Kabila
was used as a face by both Rwanda and Uganda, to execute their dual
objectives in the DRC.

The first objective was to invade the country in pursuit of former Rwandan
army personnel and the Interahamwe Hutu militia, who fled there after the
infamous Rwandan genocide of 1994, in which up to 800,000 Tutsis and
moderate Hutus were slaughtered. These people were believed to have been
behind the genocide.

The second mission was to occupy the land, with the help of powerful
external backers, notably the United States (US) and Britain, to extract its
vast mineral resources.

As a camouflage, Kabila's Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation
of Congo-Zaire (ADFL) sprung out of the blue to make the foreign invasion of
DRC appear like a Congolese rebellion against Mobutu.

A former guerrilla leader in the failed Katanga uprising, Kabila proved an
opportunistic ready tool to be used as a puppet by the external aggressors.

A planned UN investigation mission to DRC aborted after it was denied
permission by Kabila, shortly after Rwanda and Uganda helped him overthrow
long-serving president, Mobutu Sese Seko.

Analysts suspect that Kabila's backers, who are said to be behind the
massacre of the refugees, masterminded his refusal.

The UN mission failed also because the Kabila-led government enjoyed
enormous American support, for as long as he commanded the confidence of
Washington's allies , Uganda and Rwanda.

The US had ditched its long-time friend, Mobutu, when newly baptised
confidants, presidents Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, and Paul Kagame of Rwanda,
entered the stage.

But the honeymoon between Kagame, Museveni and Kabila was short-lived as
Kabila, under pressure from his own people resentful of the Rwandan
presence, told Kagame that the job was complete and that it was time to
leave DRC.

This declaration, which was made in August 1998, infuriated Kagame, who
instantaneously turned the guns against Kabila, using his (Kabila's) enemies
and Rwandan exiles in DRC as a cover.

The backlash of Kabila's decision saw the emergence , at the behest of
Rwanda and Uganda , of rebel groups like the Congolese Rally for Democracy
(RCD).

To his former masters-turned enemies, Kabila had not only bitten too much
than he could chew, but had also bitten the hand that fed him.

Telling the Rwandan army to pack up and leave was unacceptable to Kagame.

Kinshasa, DRC's capital, nearly fell in the ensuing assault by Rwandan and
Ugandan troops as well as splinter rebel groups.

The city, however, survived by a whisker, thanks to the intervention of
Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia, to stamp out a pattern that was developing,
where Rwanda and Uganda were bent on changing government at will in
Kinshasa.

Political analysts attribute Kabila's violent death in January 2001, when he
was shot by his own bodyguard, to this fall-out.

He was to be succeeded later by his son, Joseph Kabila, through whose
leadership the country has finally formed a transitional government, after
signing a peace accord with the rebel groups in April this year.

The deal was brokered by South Africa.

This development notwithstanding, does the UN's long silence over the failed
investigation on the killing of 300,000 refugees mean that it is no longer
worthwhile?

These massacres were believed to have been an orchestrated move to effect a
counter-genocide.

The first wave targeted Rwandan Hutu refugees, mixed with former soldiers
and Interahamwe militia fighters, largely blamed for the Rwandan genocide.

The UN was forced to act by nearly forcibly repatriating hundreds of
thousands of Rwandan refugees.

At the time, journalists who visited the Kivu region of eastern DRC reported
the existence of a number of mass graves.

This is what prompted the UN to set up the investigation team. But then, the
powerful hands working behind the scenes deliberately stalled the process.

Observers note that under normal circumstances, Museveni and Kagame could
pass for war criminals.

Compared with former Liberian president, Charles Taylor, indicted for war
crimes by a special court in Sierra Leone and now living in exile in
Nigeria, the two men have played a more direct role.

Taylor, under pressure from the US, is accused of supporting Sierra Leonean
rebels in exchange for diamonds, whereas Museveni and Kagame sent their
armies to DRC to maim, kill, rape and plunder.

Ironically, though, every now and then, these two leaders dine with
President George W. Bush at the White House.

Could this explain why the genocide committed in DRC has not attracted
international attention on the scale the Rwandan genocide did?

African Church Information Service

November 24, 2003
Posted to the web November 24, 2003

Hobbs Gama
Lilongwe

A delegation of Zimbabwean Bishops last week met Malawi's President, Bakili
Muluzi, to pursue efforts aimed at bringing President Robert Mugabe of
Zimbabwe and the main opposition party, Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC), to a roundtable discussion.

Muluzi is among three African Heads of State entrusted by the regional
Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) to close the widening rift
between MDC's leader, Morgan Tsvangirayi, and Mugabe.

Tsvangirai is contesting Mugabe's re-election in March 2002, claiming the
vote was rigged and plagued with irregularities. He has refused to recognise
Mugabe as president of Zimbabwe.

Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria and Thabo Mbeki of South Africa are
the other mediators in the Zimbabwe affair.

The team of clergymen, who met Muluzi on November 17 during a one day visit
in Lilongwe, the country's capital, comprised Bishop Sebastian Bakare of the
Anglican Church, Patrick Mutume of the Roman Catholic Church, and Bishop
Trevor Mahnanga of the Evangelical Church of Zimbabwe.

"We thank African leaders for participating in peace talks to bring lasting
peace to Zimbabwe, but we feel it is important that they speed up resumption
of negotiations so that tension is eased," said Bakare.

The Zimbabwean clergy said their mission was to brief Muluzi on the ongoing
political and economic hardships in Zimbabwe, with the prime aim of
restarting dialogue between the government and the opposition.

The latest move follows an earlier campaign by churches in Zimbabwe to
combat what they termed as excesses of the Mugabe regime.

In September, about 109 pastors and laity from 59 Christian denominations,
supported by representatives of the ecumenical fraternity in Southern
Africa, issued a communiqué condemning persistent harassment of the media,
intimidation of political opponents, and gross infringement on the rights of
the citizens.

"While we acknowledge the historical imbalances in land distribution, we
disapprove of the irresponsible, inhuman, violent, partisan, and
non-transparent methods the government is using to re-distribute the land,"
stated part of the hard-hitting statement.

            By Askia Muhammad | SACOBSERVER.COM WIRE SERVICES

            NASHVILLE (NNPA) - Blacks in the United States should not
"demonize" Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, but should work, as do other
groups, to develop both a home in America, and their homeland in Africa,
argues Kenneth Kaunda, the founding president of Zambia, one of Sub-Saharan
Africa's first independent countries.

                  Robert Mugabe

            Earlier this year, two of this country's leading Africa-interest
activists loudly criticized Mugabe for taking land from White farmers
without compensating them and redistributing it among landless Black war
veterans.

            But Mugabe deserves a fairer hearing, Kaunda, whose own country
borders Zimbabwe, told members of the Trotter Group, a collection of Black
columnists.

            "Our brothers and sisters in the West have been working hard to
demonize Mugabe," said Kaunda, the first Balfour African
President-in-Residence at Boston University's African Presidential Archives
and Research Center. "I've said this several times. When you see what Ian
Douglas Smith did in Zimbabwe, he arrested Mugabe and all others. He threw
them into prison for over 10 years."

            Smith led the White settlers in what was called Southern
Rhodesia to declare independence from Britain in 1965 in order to establish
a White-minority government.

            "Now, when independence came (in 1981), I personally expected
that Mugabe would arrest Ian Smith and punish him for his sins. Mugabe did
not do that. He said: 'Let bygones be bygones. Let us all start afresh.'
Now, a man who is able to do that for a man who imprisoned him for nothing
is really a very good man."

            Zimbabwe faced major problems, and things "got complicated and
we got into this mess now," according to Kaunda. Those problems got worse
when the British reneged on their agreement to compensate White farmers for
land confiscated by the Zimbabwe government.

            "We should not demonize Mugabe at all. That man, in my opinion,
forgave the unforgivable. It means that he has a good heart. Those who want
to help Mugabe should talk to him about what they think is going wrong,
instead of demonizing him. He has done great things, made mistakes no doubt,
but what do you expect?"

            After President Kaunda's defeat in his country's 1991
presidential election, he formed the Kenneth Kaunda Peace Foundation,
dedicated to the establishment of peace and conflict resolution, and to
fighting HIV/AIDS and poverty in Africa.

            But while he was president for more than 25 years, the plight of
Africa got mixed reactions from leaders in Washington.

            "I used to come here every time there was a new president to
talk about African problems," he recalled. "One day, I came to talk to
Ronald Reagan. I spent 90 minutes talking, talking, talking about apartheid
and problems. I am hoping that my host will now tell me how he is going to
help us. He says: 'Can we start talking about how we can trade together?' I
was very disappointed."

            That attitude, he said, is why Africa receives such small
amounts of financial assistance from the U.S. "They gave us here and there,
little by little, but definitely nothing to speak of." The countries which
helped were the Scandinavian countries and China.

            "Our Chinese brothers and sisters agreed to help us. You know
why? They understood us. The Chinese never forgot how we helped them and
when we appealed to them, they came."

            After 70 years of British colonial domination, his country
became independent with only 100 college graduates, only three of them
medical doctors. "When we took over, we built primary schools all over the
country. We built colleges, trained nurses."

            By the time Kaunda left office, Zambia had more than 55,000
college graduates among its population of 9.5 million people. And, he said,
while AIDS has taken some of the young generation of potential leaders away,
others have fled because of bad governance. Now, he said, Blacks in this
country, along with Africans, "must attack this problem from both sides,
from within America and from within Africa, together, together."

            Kaunda calls his home country, along with Ghana, Malawi, Mali,
Benin, Nigeria, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, and others, "anchor
states," because of their commitment to democratization and free market
reform.

            "I have been saying here ever since I came (to the Boston
University Residency) that I have stopped talking about Africans going back
to Africa. I am saying, now we must do what others are doing. The British
are here, whether they are English, Scottish, Welsh, Irish. The Irish are
here. There are more here in America than in their country of origin," in
some cases, he said. "Israelis, Indians, Japanese. I am saying: Your home is
here. Come and make homes in Africa. Both places, here and in Africa.

            "Don't allow others to come and exploit your natural resources.
Organize our people. You help yourselves here, your people there."

            The "winds of change" are sweeping across the African continent,
Kaunda said, and the rapid changes now require "scholarly and journalistic"
inquiry from Blacks residing both on the African continent and in the U.S.

            "The point I wish to emphasize is that while the abundance of
Africa's natural resources is legendary, Africa's economic value is more
than the total of Mother Nature's blessings," he said. And the challenges
facing the continent are more than the total of its problems. There are, he
insisted, "opportunities to be found and money to be made" in Africa.

            Descendants of Africa throughout the Diaspora must "rise and
shine," he declared, moving "forward ever and backward never."

            This story comes special to the NNPA from the Final Call.