SADC gives principals one month to implement outstanding issues

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Tichaona Sibanda
16 August 2010

The SADC Troika on Defence, Security and Politics on Sunday resolved that
all outstanding issues in the Global Political Agreement (GPA) should be
fully implemented within a month.

The Troika met on the eve of a SADC summit that began in the Namibian
capital Windhoek on Monday. MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa told us from Harare
that the Troika also insisted that Zimbabwe should hold elections next year,
to hopefully bring stability and peace in the country.

It is believed SADC offered to provide guidance and material support, to
ensure the country holds free and fair elections.

The Sunday night meeting, held at the Safari Court Hotel Conference Centre
was attended by the chairman of the Troika, President Armando Guebuza of
Mozambique, mediator President Jacob Zuma of South Africa, the principals to
the GPA, Robert Mugabe, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and his deputy
Arthur Mutambara, plus their lead negotiators.

Chamisa said the most important thing to come out of the meeting was
probably SADC's roadmap for fresh elections in Zimbabwe next year.

Full details of what was agreed will be released at the end of the summit on
Tuesday. Tsvangirai and his delegation reportedly left Windhoek for home on
Monday, happy with the outcome of the meeting. Zimbabwe is being represented
at the summit by Mugabe. Tsvangirai and Mutambara were in Windhoek to attend
the Troika meeting on Zimbabwe, which finished on Sunday night.

SW Radio Africa was told that the meeting was characterized by directness in
manner and speech, especially from Zuma, who was reportedly 'blunt talking
and straight shooting.'

'Zuma gave them some candid opinion of what he thought was needed to be done
to resolve the crisis in Zimbabwe, which was a forthright approach to the
problem never seen before in many of the SADC meetings on Zimbabwe,' a
source in Windhoek said.

Before the Troika meeting, the principals to the GPA had still to agree on
the appointment of provincial governors, the issues of the appointment of
the Attorney General, Reserve Bank Governor and Roy Bennett, as the deputy
Agriculture minister. The principals were given a month to deal with these
'toxic' issues.
Reports on Friday said Mugabe had agreed to swear in new governors on the
24th August. However Chamisa said the issue of the ten provincial governors
was still in dispute. 'The governors' issue has yet to be resolved. There is
a general agreement but Mugabe is refusing to implement it,' Chamisa told
The Associated Press.

A source told us there was heavy lobbying at the SADC summit behind the
scenes, with negotiations between some SADC leaders and officials from the
United States government to put pressure on Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Mutambara
to come to an agreement over outstanding issues.

Two weeks ago, U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe, a member of the Senate's Foreign
Relations Committee, introduced a bill to repeal sanctions imposed on Mugabe
and his cronies.

The new bill called the Zimbabwe Sanctions Repeal Act of 2010 seeks to lift
the sanctions imposed in 2001 to stop alleged human rights violations by the
ZANU PF government.

'The issue of repealing sanctions against Mugabe and his ZANU PF members is
largely depended on SADC managing to bridge the differences between Mugabe
and Tsvangirai,' a source said.

It is believed the South African facilitation team might be involved in
ensuring that the Troika deliberations on Zimbabwe will be followed and
executed by the principals.

Reports from Windhoek said the SADC Council of Ministers also met and
discussed Zimbabwe's refusal to recognise the ruling of the SADC Tribunal,
which ruled that Zimbabwe must cease the land seizures.

Mugabe has on several occasions ignored SADC rulings to stop the seizure of
dozens of white-owned farms, which the regional body contends violates
international law and should be halted immediately.

But Zimbabwe argues that the Tribunal rulings are not above the laws of the
country.

The incoming chairperson of the SADC Council of Ministers, Hage Geingob, who
is also Namibia's Minister of Trade and Industry, said the controversial
issue was discussed at the meeting.

'It's on the agenda of the ministers meeting, especially about the SADC
Tribunal issues on property that has been seized,' Geingob told journalists
in Windhoek.

The SADC Tribunal, based in the Namibian capital, was established in 2003 by
a SADC treaty signed by regional governments. It provides legal recourse to
issues from aggrieved regional citizens who will not have got satisfactory
rulings in their own countries.

A group of white farmers took their case to the tribunal in 2007 to seek
redress after they lost the farms under the land reforms.

The regional court ruled in November 2008 that the land reforms in Zimbabwe
were against the SADC treaty because they were discriminatory in nature. It
has also ruled that the Zimbabwe government is in contempt of court for
ignoring their rulings.

 

SADC Sets Zimbabwe Elections Guideline For Next Year

http://news.radiovop.com/

16/08/2010 16:22:00

Harare, August 17, 2010 - Zimbabwe is expected to hold elections next year
using guidelines set up by the Southern African Development Community (SADC)
to ensure that a legitimate government is allowed to run the country.

Radio VOP has it on good authority that the SADC troika on defence and
politics which met in Windhoek on Sunday resolved that for Zimbabwe to
progress there has to be one leader elected through a free and fair election
which produces credible results.

The meeting was chaired by Mozambican president Armando Guebuza and also in
attendance was mediator President Jacob Zuma of South Africa and the three
principals to the Global Political Agreement (GPA) - President Robert
Mugabe, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and his deputy Arthur Mutambara.

 Negotiators to the deal from the three warring parties in the inclusive
government also attended the meeting where Zuma presented a report on
Zimbabwe in which he outlined that the country was making steady progress
although a few outstanding issues remain unresolved.

The principals were also given a month to ensure that they implement to the
full the GPA.

"It was a great meeting and the summary of it all is that SADC want
elections to be held next year. The region actually wanted to supervise the
elections to ensure that there is no violence, intimidation and vote rigging
but Mugabe begged to have the elections run by a local body.

"It would obviously be embarrassing to have foreigners running an election
but some in SADC feel that it is the only way to ensure transparency given
the mistrust among the political leaders in Zimbabwe. SADC wants stability
in Zimbabwe and they are really turning the screw on Mugabe.

"Mutambara was obviously opposing elections because he knows he will be
completely obliterated. Mugabe is also reluctant to go for free and fair
elections as he is certain to lose.

"But SADC has been patient enough and they are insisting on elections next
year. But first there has to be a referendum on the on-going constitutional
process then we move to elections," said a source who is in Namibia
attending the SADC summit.

The move by SADC comes as it emerges that Zanu (PF) and the MDC has finally
agreed that provincial governors should be sworn in shortly while there
seems to be agreement that a new attorney general should be appointed to
replace Johannes Tomana.

Zuma's report on Zimbabwe is reported to have touched on various issues
including the successes and failures of the implementation of the GPA so
far.

MDC spokesperson Nelson Chamisa welcomed the news of the elections and said
the MDC wanted free and fair elections so that the people are able to chose
a leader of their choice.

"If SADC said they want elections in Zimbabwe next year then it is most
welcome because that is what the people of Zimbabwe have been waiting for
all this time," said Chamisa.

The issue of elections and the remaining outstanding issues are expected to
be announced in a communiqué to be issued at the end of the SADC summit of
heads of state.

Tsvangirai, Mutambara and their delegations left Namibia on Sunday as Monday
was reserved for the heads of state summit.
 

Civic Groups Want Template For Zim Elections

http://news.radiovop.com/

16/08/2010 13:33:00

Windhoek, August 16 2010 - Zimbabwean civic society organisations gathered
here have asked the regional Southern African Development Community body to
come up with a clear roadmap that will guide the holding of any future
elections in Zimbabwe.

This is to avoid the electoral violence that left about 500 people dead in
2008.

The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (CZC) petitioned SADC leaders meeting from
Monday in the Namibian capital Windhoek to put in place mechanisms to
prevent the recurrence of state sponsored violence.

"African leaders must draw concrete plans to prevent state-sponsored
violence in Zimbabwe's elections planned for 2011," said CZC in a petition
to be presented to the heads of state and government.

The petition was also published in major Namibian newspapers on Monday.

The coalition also wants SADC, who are the guarantors of the Global
Political Agreement (GPA) that brought President Robert Mugabe and his long
time foe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai into a government of national
unity after the disputed 2008 polls, to address several other issues in
Zimbabwe before an election can be held.

Among some of the things that the coalition wanted was the adherence to SADC
Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections, impartiality of
electoral institutions and state security sectors.

Further more the groups want Zimbabweans in the diaspora to be allowed to
vote, technical support for the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and suspension
of Zimbabwe's right to take up a position on the SADC Organ on Politics,
Defense and Security until it demonstrates commitment to upholding
democratic values.

Meanwhile an MDC-T legislator has backed calls by Deputy Prime Minister,
Arthur Mutambara, that elections in Zimbabwe should not be held next year as
the right conditions for free and fair elections did not exist in the
country.

MDC-T legislator for Mbizo constituency in Kwekwe urban, Settlement
Chikwinya, on Saturday told journalists and local councillors at a meeting
organised by media advocacy  organisation, the Media Institute of Southern
Africa (MISA-Zimbabwe), called to discuss the consitution and national
healing that elections should not be held next year but should be held in
2013, once a new consitution is in place.

"I totally agree with Deputy Prime Minister Mutambara that there should be
no elections in this country until the consitution is in place and conducive
conditions have been put in place. The other two parties in the inclusive
government are calling for elections in their political campaings but it
would not be in the best interests of everyone to have elections next
year,"Chikwinya said.

Mutambara has in the past come out openly and has declared that Zimbabwe
will not hold elections next year but has said that elections will be held
once the term of the inclusive government has expired in 2013.

However President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai have
indicated that their parties are ready for elections next year.

Chikwinya said while a constitution was being crafted it would be best to
have the national healing process take place at the same time.

"National healing is a process that will go along with the constitution
making process, you can not avoid marrying the constitution making process
with national healing,"he said.

Chikwinya who was among a team of three panellists that included
MISAZimbabwe national director, Nhlanhla Ngwenya, and a local church pastor
however said one common factor between Zanu (PF) and the two MDC parties was
that they were all agreed that the current constitution was not the best
document to run the country.

"The three parties are all agreed that the Lancaster consitution is not the
best document. For Zanu (PF) it is the best doument to retain power but they
argue that it is not a Zimbabwean grown document since it was crafted at the
Lancaster conference.

"The two formations of the MDC have clearly stated that the current
constitution is not the best document for the country,"Chikwinya said.

Turning to the process of national healing Chikwinya said the party
representatives in the National Healing organ were not the best people to
lead the process at the moment.

"When the three were appointed by their parties last year they were the best
people but as things stand at the moment the three are not the best people
to be leading that organ. John Nkomo is now a Deputy President while Sekai
Holland is only a minister and Gibson Sibanda has no constituency.He is not
a senator, he is not a House of Assembly member and he is not a government
minister and under the circumstances the person who has more power in that
organ is Nkomo and his decision will prevail because he is a deputy
president,"Chikwinya said.

He said there was a need for the parties in the inclusive government to
second people who are in the same level if the organ is to do any meaningful
work.
 

SADC Ministers Discuss Zim Tribunal Violations

http://news.radiovop.com

16/08/2010 08:10:00

Windhoek, August 16, 2010 - The Zimbabwean government's disregard of
Southern African Development Community (SADC) Tribunal rulings on Sunday ame
under discussion at the grouping's Council of Ministers in Windhoek Namibia.

The meeting, attended by Foreign Affairs or Regional Integration ministers
is held days ahead of the SADC summit heads of State and governments which
opens Monday here.

The incoming chairperson of the Southern African Development Community
(SADC) Council of ministers Hage Geingob who is also Namibia's Minister of
Trade and Industry told Radio VOP that the issue was to be discussed at the
meeting.

"It's on the agenda but it's already controversial. It's on the agenda of
the ministers meeting especially about the SADC Tribunal issues on property
that has been seized," said Geingob.

"When the ruling was made from here about the farmers, people were saying
the Windhoek ruling as if Windhoek owns the SADC Tribunal. The court is your
court that is based here. People say Namibians are
against Zimbabweans or President Mugabe but we signed the SADC treaty,
Zimbabwe signed and if you sign there are obligations that coming with
signing and we will say this to Zimbabwe but diplomatically off
course."

The SADC Tribunal based in the Namibian capital was established in 2003 by a
SADC treaty signed by regional governments. Its duty is to provide legal
recourse to issues from aggrieved regional citizens who
will not have got satisfactory rulings in their own countries.

A group of white farmers took their case to the tribunal in 2007 to seek
redress after they lost the farms under Mugabe's controversial and often
chaotic land reform programme of 2000.

The regional court delivered a landmark ruling in November 2008 in favour of
the farms saying the land reforms in Zimbabwe were against the SADC treaty
because they were discriminatory in nature.

The Zimbabwe government defied the ruling calling it a "day dream" and
declared that it was no longer going to be bound by any ruling of the
tribunal.

The case was referred by the court to the full summit of the heads of state
and government but has so far not been part of the agenda.
 

US gem group bans Zimbabwe's Marange diamonds

http://af.reuters.com

Mon Aug 16, 2010 3:47pm GMT

HARARE (Reuters) - A leading diamond trading network has barred its members
from dealing in stones from Zimbabwe's Marange fields, saying their
certification by global regulators did not guarantee they were free from
human rights abuses.

The Kimberley Process (KP) certification scheme, set up to keep "blood
diamonds" -- stones from conflict zones -- out of global gem trade, last
week endorsed the sale of 900,000 carats fron Zimbabwe's controversial
Marange fields.

Human rights activists have called for a ban on diamonds from Marange, where
Zimbabwe's army is accused of widespread atrocities when it moved in to
guard the poorly secured fields after a diamond rush drew up to 30,000
illegal diggers.

The United States-based Rapaport Diamond Trading Network said although the
Marange diamonds had received KP endorsement, it will not allow its members
to trade in them.

"Members found to have knowingly offered Marange diamonds for sale on RapNet
will be expelled and their names will be publicly communicated," it said in
a statement.

Zimbabwe, which denies rights abuses at the Marange fields, says it has
stockpiled nearly 4 million carats of diamonds since the start of the year,
estimated by state media to be worth $1.7 billion.

A power-sharing government formed by President Robert Mugabe and Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai last year in a bid to end a decade-long political
and economic crisis has said it hopes diamond revenues can help fix the
struggling economy.

Zimbabwe shrugs off RapNet diamond ban: will "look East"

http://www.monstersandcritics.com

Aug 16, 2010, 16:22 GMT

Harare - Zimbabwe on Monday shrugged off a ban by a major diamond trading
network on gems from its controversial Marange diamond fields, saying it was
sure to find buyers in Russia and Asia.

The US-based Rapaport Diamond Trading Network, or RapNet as it is known,
warned in a statement on its website that it would publicly denounce and
expel any of its members who dealt in Marange diamonds.

The network links thousands of diamond suppliers and buyers across the
world.

RapNet founder Martin Rapaport said that although the global diamond
watchdog called the Kimberley Process (KP) had authorized Zimbabwe last week
to sell nearly 900,000 carats of Marange diamonds, RapNet still viewed the
gems as tainted.

'RapNet members that knowingly offer Marange (the region where the alluvial
diamonds are found) diamonds for sale on RapNet will be expelled from RapNet
and their names will be publicly communicated,' he warned.

Zimbabwe Mining Minister Obert Mpofu told the German Press Agency dpa he was
'not surprised at all.'

'You might be aware that America, the European Union and the United Kingdom
have made every effort to make Zimbabwe fail,' he said.

'In any case, these countries do not constitute the entire market of
diamonds. We will sell our stones to countries where they are welcome. We
have countries like Russia, China, India and other Asian countries where we
can market our diamonds.'

The Harare government auctioned off 893,000 carats of diamonds from the
Marange region, where the army is accused of gross human rights violations
against illegal miners and villagers since 2008.

Buyers from the United States, Lebanon, India, Israel and Russia attended
the auction, which the government said boosted government coffers by around
71 million dollars.

Last year, the KP ordered Zimbabwe to suspend its diamond exports while it
investigated conditions in Chiadzwa. After several visits to the area, and a
partial withdrawal of the army, the KP has cleared the cash-strapped
government to export gems that have been mined under KP supervision.

Rapaport, however, noted that the KP green light did not automatically put
Zimbabwe's diamonds in the clear.

The KP was set up to clamp down on trade in 'blood diamonds' - diamonds used
to fund conflicts. Zimbabwe, which denies allegations that the army killed
scores of illegal diamond diggers in 2008, has said the label cannot apply
to its diamonds because there is no war in the country.

However, the KP 'does not have a mandate to deny its certification for
diamonds involved in human rights violations and therefore there is no
assurance that diamonds with KP certification are free of human rights
violations,' Rapaport said.

'We strongly urge members to contact their suppliers and obtain written
assurances that they are not being supplied Marange diamonds,' Rapaport
cautioned.

Mugabe's vows on diamond wealth share are tarnished

http://news.scotsman.com

Published Date: 16 August 2010
By Jane Fields

Restless Zimbabweans are clamouring for a share of the diamond pie after the
first legal sale of 900,000 carats worth from the contested Chiadzwa fields
last week - but officials from the former opposition party warn they will be
disappointed.
Finance Minister Tendai Biti of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has
revealed that Zimbabwe's starved coffers "would have done well" to get just
£9.6 million from Wednesday's high-profile sale of Kimberley
Process-certified conflict-free gems in Harare.

On Friday, Mr Biti contradicted expansive estimates of proceeds from
President Robert Mugabe's side of the government.

The inaugural sale raised a total of £29 million, not the £46m announced by
Mines Minister Obert Mpofu, said the finance minister. Before the sale, Mr
Mpofu claimed it would rake in more than £1 billion.

That kind of downward revision isn't what Zanu-PF wants Zimbabweans to hear.

The president's side of the regime is deliberately overstating the potential
benefits to the public of the diamond sales, dangling the promise of a
massive wealth-share before the noses of thousands of state workers.

But with revelations that the government is in line for little more than a
royalty of up to 10 per cent on gross sales, plus a dividend from the
Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation, the state's mining investment
vehicle, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has urged locals to be "realistic"
about what they stand to gain.

Few, it seems, are listening. Whetting appetites, piles of diamonds from
Chiadzwa were shown on state TV for the first time last week. The
authorities have been secretive about the gems until now, with Mugabe
himself complaining in March that he "hadn't seen a single diamond from
Chiadzwa".

Mr Biti has already laid out his plans for the 18-month-old coalition
government to get more benefits from the gems. The finance minister told
parliament in July that there had to be a new "Diamond Act" to ensure all
income from alluvial diamonds was transferred into state coffers.

The Treasury has no record of £19m worth of diamonds sold by the ZMDC
earlier this year, Mr Biti said - a revelation Mr Mpofu dismissed as "hot
air."

Mr Mpofu's personal assistant and the president's wife, Grace, sit on the
board of one of two South African firms selected by Mr Mpofu to exploit the
Chiadwa/Marange claim.

On Thursday, the New York-based Rapaport Diamond Trading Network warned its
members not to trade in Kimberley-certified Marange diamonds because of
persistent blood diamond fears.

Zanu-PF will no doubt use this ban as evidence of more "evil" sanctions from
the West - while ensuring Mr Tsvangirai and the MDC as junior coalition
partners bear the brunt of public disappointment at the diamonds' failure to
bring real change.
 

Villagers devise whistling scheme to combat war vets

http://www.swradioafrica.com

by Irene Madongo
16 August 2010

Fearful villagers in Chipinge and Nyanga have devised a whistle strategy to
combat increasing attacks from ZANU PF thugs and war vets, as the police
standby, refusing to come to their aid.

Douglas Mwonzora, the national co-chairperson of the Constitutional
Parliamentary Committee in Zimbabwe (COPAC), said on Monday that locals were
fed up of being harassed at outreach meetings and have resorted to citizen
action.

"Local people have now devised this strategy of whistling, so that they
mobilize each other in the event of an unlawful attack. This is because the
attacks are being done by very few people who do not have the local support.
There is strength in numbers," he said.

According to Mwonzora the plan is that: "Once a person is attacked or an
attack is imminent, they whistle, those who hear the whistle also whistle
while advancing towards the location of the first whistle, so there will be
a lot of whistling. Firstly it puts off the attacker and confuses the
attacker. It then mobilizes people towards the person being attacked," he
explained.

On arrival at the scene of violence locals hold down the attackers and also
take note of who they are. Then they are taken to a police station and the
hope is that the police will actually do something.

Over the past weeks, war vets and ZANU PF militia were reported to be
terrorising locals in Chipinge and Masvingo province, beating up MDC members
and those believed to be opposed to Robert Mugabe. War vet leader Jabalunai
Sibanda was reportedly a key figure in targeting people who wanted to speak
freely during the ongoing constitutional outreach.

The police are supporting the ZANU PF attackers by refusing to arrest them
for unlawful acts and violence, and it is not surprising that locals have
now resorted to devising their own scheme to arrest the political thugs.

This citizen justice was put into practice over the weekend when locals held
down Mugabe supporters who became violent, according to Munzora. "Over the
weekend I was having a rally in Nyanga North. Before I arrived, a group of
seven ZANU PF people wielding axes went to the gathering and ordered
everyone to disperse. They started attacking people with axes. The people
then retaliated and subdued them. They were then handed over to the police,"
he said.

The scheme will be important for people in Chipinge, where the violence
continues. A constitutional outreach meeting in the area had to be aborted
on Saturday after two MDC members were assaulted by ZANU PF thugs and then
arrested by police, according to reports.

MDC-T Provincial spokesperson and Makoni South MP Pishayi Muchauraya said:
"We had a meeting at the Checheche business centre which was aborted after
some ZANU PF militia attacked two MDC members of that ward, Mr Charles Alone
Chiunke and Charles Chovhi."

"The attacked people are now in Mutare where they are being attended by
doctors. Charles Alone is still bleeding from the ear at the hospital. What
is surprising is that when we were attending to these people who were
injured, some police officers from Checheche actually had to arrest these
injured people and then fined them $20 each as an admission of guilt fine
and which crimes they commit we don't know. Just being beaten, it becomes a
crime."

MDC hold peaceful provincial elections in Chitungwiza

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Staff Writer
16 August 2010

The MDC Chitungwiza province on Sunday held peaceful elections for a new
provincial team.

The elections, held in the 2,000 seat auditorium at the party headquarters
at Harvest House, saw Zengeza East MP Alexio Musundire being elected
chairperson, while Norton MP Edward Musumbu was elected deputy chairperson.
Musundire won the chairmanship after polling 1 200 while Senator James
Makore, a veteran trade unionist, polled 1 100 votes. Other members are;
Chari Parirenyatwa, Kaniso Makarumu, and Llyod Damba. Emily Chipungu was
elected deputy secretary while Patson Chipiro was unopposed for the position
of deputy organising secretary. Chipiro's wife, Dadirai was murdered in 2008
by soldiers and ZANU PF thugs.

The MDC said that over 2000 people from all corners of Chitungwiza province
converged at the party headquarters. The MDC won six of the 12
constituencies in the province. The party said the new executive will work
towards "galvanizing" party structures. The delegates came from all the 12
districts of Chitungwiza province namely Norton, Goromonzi North, Goromonzi
West, Goromonzi South, Seke Rural, Mhondoro-Ngezi, Mhondoro-Mubaira, St Mary's,
Zengeza East, Zengeza West, Chitungwiza South and Chitungwiza North.

The provincial polls also saw new leaders being elected in all wings of the
province. The new chairperson of the Women's Assembly is Goromonzi ward 4
councillor, Martha Nhamburo, while the chairperson for the Youth Assembly is
Albert Mashoko.

The MDC said that the election of the new province comes on the back of a
massive party programme to "consolidate and galvanise all party structures
across the country ahead of the national polls scheduled for anytime next
year."

As part of consolidating its ruling party status, the MDC will this week
launch a new membership card. The new card will be unveiled on Saturday when
party leader Morgan Tsvangirai will be officially handed over card number
001 in ward seven in Harare.
 

COPAC Meeting Abandoned After Violence

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/

Written by ZZZICOMP
Monday, 16 August 2010 14:08

ZESN/ZPP/ZLHR INDEPENDENT CONSTITUTION MONITORING PROJECT (ZZZICOMP) Alert 7

VILLAGERS' ASSAULT CAUSES ABANDONMENT OF COPAC MEETING
Harare - A Constitution Select Committee (COPAC) outreach meeting was on
Saturday 14 August, 2010 abandoned in Chipinge, Manicaland Province after
some ZANU PF youths assaulted two villagers prior to commencement of the
meeting.
The COPAC meeting was scheduled to be held at Checheche Primary School The
villagers Charles Chovi and Charles Chunje were assaulted by some ZANU PF
youths at Checheche Primary School, who were led by Tonderai Ngwendu and
Gilbert Kombo, who used benches, boots and clenched fists.
The two villagers were accused of sitting on some benches which had been set
up before the arrival of the COPAC team members for a meeting to solicit
people's input into a proposed draft constitution.
ZZZICOMP monitors who witnessed the incident reported that Chovi and Chunje
sustained some injuries on their bodies and on the ear and sought medical
attention at St Peters Hospital.
The COPAC meeting was called off after some villagers protested that the
meeting could not proceed as some of them had been assaulted and intimidated
before the arrival of the COPAC team members.
Ngwendu and Kombo were fined by the police at Chisumbanje Police Station,
who also asked Chovi and Chunje to pay an admission of guilty fine for
engaging in public fighting.
Honourable David Chimhini confirmed the assault and the abandonment of the
meeting. He said it was evident that some villagers had been intimidated
before the arrival of the COPAC team and his team had to postpone the
meeting to a date to be advised as tension was high at the meeting.

Zim press freedom still lowest in the region

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Alex Bell
16 August 2010

Press freedom in Zimbabwe is still ranked as the lowest in the Southern
African region, in a strong indictment of the lack of progress under the
unity government.

According to the 2010 Press Freedom rankings by the international watchdog,
Freedom House, Zimbabwe has made slight improvements over the past year.
This has seen the country jump five places up the official ranking, which
rates countries from "free" to "partly free" to "not free." Overall Zimbabwe
sits at joint 181st out of 196 countries, only just making it out of the
bottom ten "worst of the worst" countries for press freedom.

This means that although Zimbabwe has more press freedom than North Korea,
it shares 181st position with war torn Somalia and is ranked worse than
Syria, Sudan and Afghanistan. Freedom House said: "Despite constitutional
provisions for freedom of expression, officials display an openly hostile
attitude towards media freedom, and a draconian legislative framework
continues to effectively inhibit the activities of journalists and media
outlets."

The official ranking is a clear sign of the lack of progress made in
Zimbabwe since the formation of the unity government more than a year ago.
The coalition vowed to improve the conditions under which the media operate,
but only a token effort has been made. Journalists are being accredited, but
many face outrageous fees. Some independent newspapers now have licences,
but the broadcast space remains closed to independent radio.

Loughty Dube, the chairman of the Zimbabwe chapter of the Media Institute
for Southern Africa (MISA), said that the same repressive laws that have
governed and restricted the media in the past are still in place. He said
until the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) and the Access to Information
and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) are fully repealed, there will be no
free media in Zimbabwe.

The press freedom survey meanwhile paints a grim picture in the entire
Southern African region, whose leaders are currently meeting in Namibia at
the heads of state Summit. The survey found surprising changes in South
Africa and Namibia, which both dropped from being "free" to only "partly
free" in terms of the media. Freedom House said this leaves "no free
countries in southern Africa for the first time since 1990."

 

Tears Flow As Zim Violence Is Showcased

http://news.radiovop.com/

16/08/2010 16:12:00

Windhoek, August 16, 2010 - An exhibition hosted by the Zimbabwe Human
Rights Association (ZIMRIGHTS) and a documentary highlighting the problems
that are being faced by farm workers in Zimbabwe after the start of the land
reform programme of 2000 left many civic society leaders attending meetings
on the sidelines of the SADC summit here with tears.

Emotions ran high as many civic representatives from the Southern African
Development Community (SADC) gathered hear watched the gory acts of violence
meted out to ordinary Zimbabweans during the 2008 elections through the
pictures and video presentations.

The ZIMRIGHTS exhibition of pictures chronicling the violence that took
place during the June 2008 election which was banned in Harare in May, left
many delegates shocked.

Some even argued that the pictures were not from Zimbabwe but somewhere in
Africa in places such as DRC or Sudan which are synonymous with war and
strife.

So powerful was the exhibition that it dominated discussions at the meetings
being held here.

ZIMRIGHTS decided to stage the exhibition here after failing to showcase it
in Harare due to police threats.

The exhibition held at the Catholic Cathedral in central Windhoek featured a
host of pictures showing gory acts of violence that was meted out especially
to Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) supporters about 500 of whom died
during the violence.

The exhibition showed chilling pictures of how eyes were gorged out,
buttocks and feet burnt among many other horror acts.

"ZIMRIGHTS path of preaching truth telling and advocacy around national
healing using the pictures in our country was thwarted by state security
agents. This left us with no option but to use such platforms like the SAPSN
gathering here in Windhoek," said ZIMRIGHTS director Okay Machisa.

He was speaking at the Southern African People's Network (SAPSN) meeting
held in Namibia.

A documentary of the plight of farm workers also left delegates in tears.

One of the delegates immediately called for the arrest and subsequent trial
of President Robert Mugabe at the Hague for the disregard of human rights in
Zimbabwe.

"He is no different from Saddam Hussein or Omar Al Bashir, he must be at the
Hague because that's where he belongs," said the delegate from Lesotho.

The documentary was done by the Research and Advocacy Unit.

Gertrude Hambira, Secretary General of the General Agricultural and
Plantation Workers Union of Zimbabwe (GAPWUZ), who produced the documentary
and plays a trailblazing role in protecting the rights of farm workers fled
the country early this year after the production of the documentary.
 

LM Edition 58

Click here to read LM Edition 58 from Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights

Peace Watch 8/2010 of 13th August [Preventing Violence – Lessons from the Kenyan Constitution Referendum]