[This report
does not necessarily reflect the views of the United
Nations] |
Inside Zimbabwe's healthcare crisis
Christian Science Monitor
The
collapse of Zimbabwe's health sector, once the envy of many African
countries, has quickly spread the country's internal crisis to neighboring
countries.
By Scott Baldauf | Staff writer of The Christian Science
Monitor
and a contributor
from the May 30, 2008
edition
Reporter Scott Baldauf talks about the conditions he found at
a hospital for
AIDS patients in Zimbabwe.
HARARE and BULAWAYO,
ZIMBABWE - Lucia Munenzwa was shell-shocked when she
was presented with a
list of items that the local clinic needed for her to
give birth at the
health center.
Top of the list were 10 pairs of latex gloves to be used
by the midwives.
There were also a surgical blade, clamp cord, cotton wool,
linen saver, and
rehydration fluid. To buy all the requirements, Ms.
Munenzwa, a young widow
who survives by selling items on the street, needed
about $20 billion
Zimbabwean dollars (nearly US $40) – a figure well beyond
the reach of any
ordinary Zimbabwean.
"The nurses have just told me
that without the items, they can't allow me to
give birth here," she said
with tears in her eyes as she walked out of the
clinic, heading home. Two
days later, Munenzwa gave birth at home, with the
assistance of an elderly
neighbor. She named her baby boy Lucky.
The collapse of Zimbabwe's health
sector, once the envy of many African
countries, may seem to be an internal
matter – yet another sign of the
country's economic woes. But the flood of
an estimated 3 million Zimbabwean
refugees from their country – fleeing as
much for food and medical care as
for political freedom – has quickly spread
Zimbabwe's internal crisis to
other countries. The ongoing anti-immigrant
violence in South Africa shows
that Zimbabwe's problems have regional
repercussions, putting pressure on
African leaders to come up with solutions
... fast.
"What this shows is that effectively there is no government in
Zimbabwe,"
says Chris Maroleng, a Zimbabwe expert at the Institute for
Security Studies
in Tshwane, as Pretoria is now called. "It says to us that
in the end, we
must have this issue of human security as an essential
starting point for
solving the crisis. But the question is how to get to the
starting point.
The international community that normally intervenes in
situations like this
is unwelcome now in Zimbabwe. So unless we resolve the
underlying political
problem, we're going nowhere."
Signs of the
healthcare crisis have been obvious for some time to the few
doctors still
available in the country's largest hospitals, Parirenyatwa and
Harare
General Hospital.
At Parirenyatwa Hospital, only 1 out of 18 dialysis
machines works. At
Harare General, only 3 out of 50 incubators works, and
the neonatal unit is
seriously understaffed as nurses and doctors leave for
more stable jobs
abroad. There is only one radiologist who is servicing
Harare and
Parirenyatwa hospitals and the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA). That
radiologist is "borrowed" from the Army.
Refrigerators in the
mortuary area at Harare General have stopped working.
Two weeks ago,
surgeons and anesthesiologists at Parirenyatwa stopped doing
any operations
to protest the poor working conditions and inadequate
supplies. The surgeons
say they are afraid of ruining their reputations by
continuing to lose
patients by going into theater without adequate supplies.
Douglas
Gwatidzo, chairman of the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human
Rights,
describes the situation in Harare's health centers as "dire." "About
one
doctor is serving over 8,000 people in the country, [compared with] the
world standard of 1 doctor to 500 patients," says Mr. Gwatidzo. "It's quite
sad."
Many mothers walk into Harare Central Hospital's neonatal unit
with little
hope of taking their infant children home alive. "I tell you
those who come
out alive only do so by the grace of God," says Mary Moyo, a
young mother
who had her child hospitalized in the unit last week.
In
Zimbabwe's second-largest city, Bulawayo, AIDS patients come to
Thembelihle
House for their last hope of a dignified end. Thembelihle is a
hospice
designed to provide terminally ill AIDS patients with enough food
for them
to regain their strength so their families can look after them.
But the
shortage of drugs and medical supplies, the rising cost of food, and
the
growing poverty of Zimbabwean citizens are making it a lot harder for
Thembelihle to do its job properly, says Gladys Dube, manager of the
hospice.
She walks through the wards, where 62 of the 70 beds remain
empty because of
staff shortages. Women wash soiled sheets by hand. Used
rubber gloves hang
out on clothes lines to dry.
"We have nothing
right now," says Ms. Dube. "We have a few candles in
storage, for when the
power goes out. Soap at the moment is difficult to
find, so we are resorting
to an entrepreneur who makes it himself, but the
quality is not
good."
She takes the hand of an emaciated young patient who has just
checked in,
and pats her forehead. "Some come to us in a very bad state. We
can improve
their nutrition so that they can go home to be looked after by
their
families." Aid agencies used to bring food, but there has been no food
delivered here in the last month.
While doctors and even members of
parliament blame the government for the
crisis – Blessing Chebundo, chair of
the parliamentary committee on health
and child welfare, says the government
lacks political commitment – the
government itself says it is doing
everything in its power to address the
health care crisis.
"We are
aware of the challenges in the health sector and we are doing
everything
within our means to tackle them," says David Parirenyatwa, the
minister of
health and child welfare. Parirenyatwa Hospital was named after
his father,
the country's first black doctor.
Minister Parirenyatwa blames the
current crisis on economic sanctions
against Zimbabwe, placed by Britain and
the United States for Zimbabwe's
alleged human rights violations. With
little foreign currency, Zimbabwe
cannot purchase drugs on the global
market. "The shortage of foreign
currency is a major impediment," he
says.
• A journalist who could not be named for security reasons
contributed from
Harare.
A platoon on the rampage
Zimbabwe, Buhera –Commanded by one Col. Morgan Mzilikazi, a battle hardened
platoon of soldiers in full battle dress descended on Murambinda Growth Point
last Saturday and caused mayhem.
The soldiers indiscriminately fired their AK-47 rifles, loaded with live
ammunition, at anything that moved, anything in their sights in an apparent
attempt to flush out MDC supporters at the growth point.
When the dust settled in the late afternoon, as the platoon withdrew back to
its torture camp by the Save River loaded with looted booty, one person was dead
and dozens were nursing gunshot wounds.
|
|
Zanu PF supporters chant party slogans at President Robert
Mugabe's rally in Shamva, some 100 kilometers (62 miles) north east of Harare,
Thursday, May 29, 2008. Mugabe has denied that ZANU-PF is behind the violence
that has left 50 people dead, all members of the MDC.
|
As we reported yesterday, Chinotimba has been given a mandate
by ZANU-PF to make sure that Manicaland Province as a whole votes 100% for
Mugabe in the run-off election on June 27.
Col. Morgan Mzilikazi is one of a number of Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA)
personnel who are helping Chinotimba complete his mission.
Murambinda Growth Point, in Manicaland Province is a sleepy business centre
in the heart of Buhera district.
It is the heart and soul of the district setting the trend be it in dress
style or modes of dancing to Sungura.
Generally, the districts all around that include Buhera North, South,
Central, have all voted ZANU-PF 100% in past elections. In short, these areas
had been the bedrock upon which ZANU-PF’s electoral invincibility had been built
on over the years.
On March 29, residents in and around Murambinda turned their backs on ZANU-PF
and instead voted for MDC en masse. The recount that followed failed to
overturn the original results.
Even the gifts, feasts, that one Joseph Chinotimba endowed on the residents
of Buhera failed to win him a seat. Chinotimba’s rival, Naison Nemadziva,
“cheated” and won the seat without wasting a single cent.
It is being another warm afternoon, with scarcely a cloud in the blue azure
African sky, villagers from the surrounding areas, milled about the growth point
that Saturday, taking care of their business as usual.
Vendors sold their wares—oranges, stalks of sugar cane, bananas, maputi—to
the travelers aboard the long distance buses that passed through the growth
point on their way to distant Mutare in the east. .
“I had gone there to have my maize ground by Shumba’s grinding mill,” Ambuya
Nekete said as she lay on a bed at Murambinda Gen. Hospital waiting for her
thigh gunshot wound to heal. “Then I heard the noise, the guns shooting, it
reminded me of the war years…” she added, sobbing softly, wiping her tears with
a handkerchief.
Acting with complete impunity, Col. Mzilikazi’ platoon—“ZANU-PF
activists”—had total disregard for human life. They even let loose a couple of
grenades that did extensive damage to three shops at the growth point.
Initially, it appeared Col. Mzilikazi’s platoon wanted to flush out MDC
supporters at the growth point, but on reaching the destination, they found out
that it was impossible to distinguish who was who. The villagers even refused to
cooperate with the army.
“Many people resisted taking orders from the soldiers and apparently this set
off an ugly scene where they started firing indiscriminately towards a group
that was being vocal. One person was shot and died on the spot while several
others received bullet wounds,” MDC MP elect for Makoni South, Pishai Muchauraya
confirmed.
The soldiers started firing and people ran helter skelter, looking for cover.
The deceased has been identified as 25 year-old Taurai Matanda who hails from
Gutu. The MDC has also been able to identify the killer. Muchauraya named the
soldier who fired the fatal shot as Private Svosve Mupindu.
Col. Mzilikazi, who is reported to have vowed to clear off the MDC “scum” in
Manicaland Province, has been seen in the company of his commander Chinotimba on
a number of occasions.
At the most recent estimate, Chinotimba’s cadres, with full support from the
Zimbabwe national army, has killed upwards of thirty people. Many people have
vanished without a trace in the province and their whereabouts are unknown. It
is standard practice for the “ZANU-PF Activists” to kill and bury their victims
in the dead of the night.
The MDC has indicated that it is actively gathering the names of the killers
with a view of prosecuting them in the future.
“We have all the names of the leaders and those committing crimes against
humanity. What happened in Murambinda was total mayhem. Many more people were
brutally attacked as one violent act led to another,” Muchauraya said.
The MP refuted ZANU-PF’s claim that there were no soldiers operating in the
rural areas.
“ZANU-PF cannot fool us to say soldiers are not involved in the violence. We
have them in the rural areas, dressed in complete army regalia and heavily
armed. We have all the evidence, the names, places and the nature of their
operations,” Muchauraya added.
Cmdr. Chinotimba has been terrorizing the villagers in Manicaland since the
results were confirmed that ZANU-PF had lost the March 29 election. For how long
will Cmdr. Chonitimba’s army be allowed to kill, torture, maim, behead and
assault villagers?--Harare Tribune
The big 'What if..?'
Zimbabwe Today
Could providence take a hand in
the coming election?
What follows is little more than idle speculation, I
admit. Neither is it
wishful thinking, for surely no man should ever hope
for the demise of
another. But I can accurately report that amongst the
faithful in our ruling
Zanu-PF party there are anxious doubts as to whether
their beloved President
Mugabe can last the course.
At the weekend,
84-year-old Mugabe stood up at Party HQ in Harare, faced the
live television
cameras, and began his usual denunciation of all who oppose
him, Americans,
Brits, Martians, whoever...and then he stopped. And coughed.
And coughed.
And coughed.
For nearly ten minutes Mugabe was shaken with spasms. His
speech ground to a
halt. A glass of water didn't help. Three doctors who
rushed podium-wise
were waved away. Wife Grace, three metres away, sat and
waited, as if she'd
seen all this before.
Eventually the old man
calmed down, and was able to continue his harangue.
Meanwhile, in the seat
next to me, a Zanu-PF delegate prayed audibly: "Oh
Lord, have mercy on our
leader. We need him now more than ever."
It was a point one might argue,
but I left it alone. Instead I remembered
that the previous week Mugabe had
flown secretly to Singapore, allegedly for
treatment for prostate
cancer.
The presidential election run-off, between Mugabe and Movement
for
Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai, is a month away, on June 27.
Zimbabwean electoral law says if one candidate dies during the campaign, the
other automatically wins. Now there's a thought.
After the Harare
meeting I spoke to Mugabe's personal physician, Doctor
Timothy Stamps. Was
the President ill? I asked. Outraged, he told me that
his boss was "as fit
as a fiddle."
A fiddle? I decided not to ask Doctor Stamps which
particular fiddle, fraud,
trick, deception, swindle or dirty trick, imposed
on the people of Zimbabwe
during the Mugabe years, he was referring
to.
Posted on Thursday, 29 May 2008 at 08:55
Anglican archbishops appeal to UN over violence in
Zimbabwe
Ekklesia, UK
By staff writers
29 May 2008
The Archbishop of Canterbury and
the Archbishop of Cape Town have spoken to
Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary
General of the United Nations, asking for help
for churches in Zimbabwe as
well as mediation and monitoring to ensure a
free and fair presidential
run-off, and protection from 'state-organised
violence'.
It follows
the increasing violence of what appears to be a sustained
campaign against
the Anglican Church in Zimbabwe.
Following the conversation they issued a
joint statement identifying a
'sharp escalation' of violence on May 18th
when Sunday services were
disrupted and worshippers were beaten or prevented
from attending church by
security and police force attacks on churches
across Harare diocese.
"Harassment and intimidation is their daily bread"
the statement said which
also identified a continuing failure to enforce
court orders permitting
Anglicans to worship in their Cathedral church in
Harare and other parishes.
"This is a clear violation of Article 18 of
the UN Charter on Human Rights
which expressly gives people the right to
worship and freedom of thought"
the joint statement said, "quite apart from
the other fundamental human
rights, the right to assemble and speak and take
part in free and fair
elections, which are daily denied
Zimbabweans."
"Given this political climate of fear, and now the
intimidation of our
Anglican brothers and sisters, especially in Harare, we
are concerned to
know what the UN security council and SADC (Southern
African Development
Community) regional leaders are doing to defend Mothers'
Union meetings at
churches and prevent people being torn away from altar
rails on the orders
of ruling party or state officials."
"We plead
once more for immediate high level SADC and UN mediation and
monitoring to
ensure a free and fair presidential run-off, and the
protection of its
citizens from state-organised violence.
"This is not simply a matter of
vote rigging: the events of the last ten
days have sharpened everyone's
concern, as we hear of murderous attacks on
legitimate political activists
and now also brutality towards men, women and
children meeting for Christian
worship. We urge increased international
pressure and effective mediation to
prevent further suffering."
Zimbabwe crisis tops SA Church Council's agenda
SABC
May 29, 2008,
11:30
Zimbabwe's political and economic crisis, as well as the run-off
presidential elections in that country, will feature high on the agenda when
the South African Council of Churches'(SACC) Central Committee meeting
enters its second day.
Representatives of the Council's 27 member
denominations, provincial council
of churches and associated organisations
have gathered in Johannesburg for a
three-day conference. The SACC has in
the past been very critical of the
conditions ahead of the run-off vote at
the end of next month.
Tsvangirai beat Mugabe in the March 29
presidential poll but failed to win
an absolute majority. His party the
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC),
which has accused Mugabe's government
of cheating in past elections, fears
it will rig the results of the June 27
run-off.
The period since election day in Zimbabwe has been marked by
increased
violence and the opposition says more than 30 of its supporters
have died at
the hands of Mugabe followers.
US bars citizens from travelling to Zimbabwe
Afrique en ligne
The
US government, worried by reports of politically-motivated violence in
Zimbabwe ahead of a key election next month, Thursday barred its citizens
from travelling to the southern African country for security
reasons.
In a statement, the US State Department accused government
security agencies
in Zimbabwe, including the army and police, of 'creating a
climate of
intimidation and fear' in the run-up to the 27 June presidential
election
run-off between President Robert Mugabe and main opposition leader
Morgan
Tsvangirai.
The two lock horns in a second round vote after an
earlier poll in March
failed to producer an outright winner.
But as
the country gears up for the crucial election, there have been
widespread
reports of a government crackdown on opposition supporters and
members to
force them to switch sides.
The government denies the accusations,
instead accusing the opposition of
intimidating and even killing its
supporters.
"While the country prepares for a run-off of the presidential
elections,
Zimbabwean security forces, including some military police and
the police,
as well as so-called war veterans are creating a climate of
intimidation and
fear across the country," the US State Department
said.
"US citizens should defer non-essential travel to Zimbabwe at this
time," it
said.
Tsvangirai said more than 50 of his party's
supporters and members had been
killed by government agents, and has
appealed for the deployment of peace
keepers from the regional Southern
Africa Development Community group.
Harare - 29/05/2008
Pana
Zimbabwean crisis at a
glance
28 MAY 2008 –
ISSUE 1.
Presidential Run-off
The
runoff date
for Zimbabwe's presidential election is Friday 27 June.
SADC Peace
Keepers
At a press conference on his arrival in
Zimbabwe on Saturday 24 May, Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan
Tsvangirai called for peacekeepers and election monitors from the 14-member
regional body SADC to be deployed in Zimbabwe by the end of
May.
Death Toll in Post Election State-Sponsored
Violence
MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa
says that according to the party’s records, 50 MDC members have been killed
since the March 29 elections. (25 May 2008)
Zanu-PF is targeting influential MDC activists in the rural areas, in the
past week those who have been killed were chairmen, polling agents and village
heads. This is a deliberate strategy to
weaken the structures of the MDC.
The
abductions of political and civil activists have intensified in the last week as
ZANU-PF continues its campaign to destroy opposition structures ahead of the
presidential runoff. We have received reports that nearly 20 people have been
abducted since Friday. (SW Radio May 28 2008)
Estimated Number of Displaced People / Communities
(Zimbabwe)
The MDC estimates that over 25 000 people in former strongholds of
Zanu-PF have been forced to flee to neighbouring towns and cities.
Morgan
Tsvangirai says Zanu PF has
launched a violent campaign against its supporters in a bid to avoid another
defeat next month. (Reuters 28 May
2008)
The MDC MP elect for Mbare, Piniel Denga, has endorsed the call for the
deployment of election observers and monitors immediately to ensure that
those displaced by the violence can go back to their areas.
Estimated Number of Homes Destroyed
By mid May, more than 1 000 homes had been destroyed. One of the most calculated acts of cruelty by this regime, one of their
tried and tested tactics, is to destroy food supplies. In a country which needs food aid for an
estimated 4.1 million people (out of an estimated population of 7-8 million),
Zanu PF loyal thugs have burned piles of maize.
One of the affected areas is Uzumba.
Post
Election State Sponsored Violence a Deliberate
Strategy
The
post election state sponsored violence is a deliberate strategy. It has
been carefully planned by Mugabe, his deputy Emerson Mnangagwa and the 15 or so
senior military police and intelligence officers in the Joint Operation Command
(JOC), which now runs Zimbabwe.
Their intention is to intimidate the supporters of the opposition so that
they either cannot, or are too afraid, to vote in the run-off elections….
Through illegal methods, including the torture and blackmail of abducted
opposition activists, Zanu-PF has obtained a list of all the polling agents and
leading activists who work on behalf of Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC.
Now, village by village, town by town, it is embarking on a savage
campaign to eradicate them all. (Daily
Mail) 15 May 2008).
In tandem with this eradication process
is the strategy of displacing thousands of voters, notably from areas which
voted for Morgan Tsvangirai. Voters are
only allowed to vote in the constituencies where they are
registered.
Extreme Brutality of Attacks
The victims of
violence have been killed using some of the most vicious techniques, including
cutting off of genitals, limbs, hands, legs and various other body parts.
Bludgeoning of victims to death using steel bars, axes, sticks, gun butts and
other blunt objects has been common. Every week the MDC is reporting its
activists being murdered and providing evidence of the killings. Doctors have
confirmed in medical reports that most of the victims -- at least 45 so far --
died after "severe assaults". (Business Day 26 May 2008)
Attacks
on Women, Children and the Elderly
Zanu-PF
militia is kidnapping children and women. The purpose of the abductions is to
force husbands and fathers to return to their villages, where they face beatings
and torture by the militia for being MDC supporters. Several of the women who
have been abducted have been subjected to sexual harassment, torture and
assault. According to the Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP), many hundreds of men
have fled the rural areas to seek safety in the cities.
(Reliefweb)
A heavily
pregnant woman who was three months away from giving birth was bludgeoned to
death in a ‘horrific, brutal and frenzied attack’ that left her almost
unrecognisable. Rosemary Maramba’s body was found in Nhakiwa village in
Mutawatawa in Mashonaland central. Maramba is one of three people linked to the
MDC, who were murdered in the area over the weekend. (SW Radio Africa 22 May
2008)
Clergy – Catholic
Priests in Hiding
Many
Catholic priests and lay people are reported to be on the wanted lists of
soldiers and militia groups and many are forced to remain in hiding following
death threats. Reprisals come after the
Catholic Church joined with other denominations on 8th May to speak out about
the country’s deteriorating human rights situation, including the “organised
violence” in areas that did not vote for ZANU PF. (ACN News 26 May
2008)
Media
Threats/Violence
The Zimbabwean
Newspaper: The Zimbabwean reports that a
14-tonne truck containing 60,000 copies of Sunday’s edition of The Zimbabwean on
Sunday was intercepted and set alight on Saturday night south of Masvingo. The
driver (a South African national) and his partner (a Zimbabwean national) were
severely beaten with rifle butts and dumped separately in the bush. The Zimbabwean’s passport was confiscated and
burnt.
Sky TV: Zimbabwe police have arrested three people,
two of them South Africans, in connection with "illegal broadcasting equipment"
for British television network Sky TV, state radio said on Tuesday. It said the
three were detained at the weekend in the western city of Bulawayo.
ICJR: The New York-based International Committee to
Protect Journalists said the regime was one of the world's most hostile
governments to the media.
Electoral
Issues
Last week
the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission filed an urgent application in the High Court
chambers seeking an order to destroy ballot saying they want to re-use the boxes
for the run off election. ZEC chairman Justice Chiweshe argued that due to
financial constraints the commission cannot afford to buy new boxes and seals.
In terms of the Electoral Act ballot papers should not be destroyed for a total
of six months after the election.
The MDC reported that the Zanu PF government has instructed town clerks
and executive officers running rural and urban councils not to cooperate with
the newly elected councillors from assuming office until after the second round
of the presidential election scheduled for June 27.
SADC Tribunal in Windhoek – Landmark Farm Test
Case
THE landmark application
brought before the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Tribunal in
Windhoek by Zimbabwean commercial farmers will be heard at the Supreme Court in
Windhoek, Namibia, today. The case is
set for hearing 28 to 30 May.
Marches / Rallies
Over 2 000 people marched
on the streets of Johannesburg on Saturday 24 May in a protest over the recent
spate of xenophobic attacks that have claimed approximately 44 lives with the
majority being African migrants.
Xenophobic Attacks on Foreigners in South Africa
According
to Human Rights Watch, since the attacks on African migrants started 11 May,
they have claimed over 50 lives and displaced more than 25,000 people, in
addition to thousands forced to return to their countries.
The Red Cross
said on Monday 26 May 2008 that an estimates 25 000 Zimbabweans were fleeing the
xenophobic violence in South Africa were heading to Zambia with others moving to
Mozambique and Botswana.
Safety
and Security Minister Charles Nqakula told the BBC 56 people had been killed and
more than 650 injured. Previously, 50 deaths were reported. He also added that
more than 30 000 people had been displaced, 1 300 arrests have been made and
special courts had been set up to deal with the situation.
The Red
Cross in South Africa is currently caring for 25,000 destitute
people who
had been driven from their homes around Johannesburg and
Pretoria, the
hotspot of the unrest.
Zimbabwe’s
Movement for Democratic Change party hired at least 1 000 buses to transport
refugees affected by the violence back home.
BACKGROUND
INFORMATION FOR DAILY REPORT ON ZIMBABWE – MAY 2008
SADC / African Union
SADC
peacekeepers:
On 10 May the MDC met with Angola's President Jose Eduardo dos
Santos
and urged him to send regional SADC peacekeepers for the second
round.
On 14
May 2008 the Southern African Development Community (SADC) said that conditions
in Zimbabwe were not conducive for a free and fair second round presidential
election but rejected opposition calls to send peacekeepers claiming that
Zimbabwe was not at war and there was no need to put up a standby Peace keeping
force.
Retired
South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu has urged the international community to
deploy peacekeepers in Zimbabwe to prevent disturbances during a presidential
run-off poll next month between President Robert Mugabe and MDC leader Morgan
Tsvangirai.
Access
by international observers:
Zimbabwe’s state media
reported Western countries would be
barred from observing a run-off election unless they remove the targeted
sanctions imposed on key members of the Mugabe
regime.
New Zealand is adding its
voice to international calls for an immediate end
to state-sponsored
violence and intimidation in Zimbabwe.
"It's essential that
international monitors be allowed into Zimbabwe to
deter further violence
and to monitor the second round of voting for the
presidency, scheduled to
take place on 27 June," Foreign Minister Winston Peters
said.
"These attacks must end.
Unless the violence stops it will be very difficult
to hold the second round
of voting, and the result will be an election that
is neither free nor
fair," Mr Peters said. (New Zealand Government Press Release Wednesday, 28 May
2008, 12:58 pm.)
ZEC:
"The run-off is a full election and just as big as any general election, so the
resources that we need are obviously substantial. Some of the resources were depleted during
the first election, so we need more time to prepare for the run-off.” (Zimbabwe
Election Commission Chairperson: Justice Chiweshe)
Post Election Violence – Operation
Mavhoterapapi
After
the 29 March 2008, Zanu PF members and supporters launched a crackdown against
MDC supporters. Calling the operation ‘Mavhoterapapi’ (Operation where did you
put your X), the objective is to ‘re-educate’ people and force them through
terror tactics to vote for Zanu PF in the Presidential run-off.
Zimbabwe
Peace Project (ZPP) Report – 20 May 2008:
4
359 cases of human rights violations documented.
ZPP notes that patterns of
violence have shifted and violence has become more physical as evidenced by an
increase in cases of assault, murder, malicious damage to property, and
kidnapping.
http://www.kubatana.net/html/archive/hr/080519zpp.asp?sector=HR
Confirmed
injuries (including the most serious):
The ZADHR has reported that the number of victims targeted in this post election
period has now totalled over 900. In one 24 hour period, 30 victims of violence
were treated for limb fractures in Harare hospitals and clinics. One hospital in
Harare alone has treated an average of 23 victims a day over the last week. On
May 8, there were a total of 53 more seriously injured patients (13 men and 40
men) admitted to wards in 3 Harare hospitals. (ZADHR Statement 9
May)
In
a ‘re-education’ session in Mashonaland Central, the Human Rights Watch
confirmed that two men had died on the spot. Three of those who died had
severely mutilated genitals, one of whom had crushed testicles. Reports confirm
the deaths were a direct result of the injuries sustained under
torture.
Confirmed
injuries – the elderly, women and children:
This month a 3-year-old boy was admitted to hospital with trauma to his right
eye after being struck with a rock and a 78 year-old man who sustained a
fractured lower leg due to blunt trauma. A young breast-feeding mother had
bilateral fractures of her hands and was unable to hold her baby to feed her. A
79-year-old widow, a great-grandmother and former nurse aid, was lashed on her
bare buttocks with barbed-wire whips in front of terrified relatives. They were told that if none of them confessed
(to being MDC supporters) they ‘”would hit this granny until she
died.”
Displaced
people: A minimum of 40 000 people in Zimbabwe have
been displaced although the MDC believes that this number could be much
higher.
Number
of homes destroyed: More than 1,000 homes burnt or
destroyed.
Note: It
is believed that Zanu PF’s objective is to displace at least 500 000 eligible
voters, perceived to be MDC supporters, ahead of the
runoff.
In
Masvingo Zanu PF youths set fire to a house and a car worth trillions of dollars
belonging to a Gutu resident magistrate Musaiona Shotgame, whom they accused of
being sympathetic towards the MDC activists who had appeared before him in
court.
Worst
affected areas:
Mashonaland
East and West provinces. Reported incidents of violence are also on the increase
in Harare.
Current
hot spots:
Manicaland recorded the
highest number of incidents with a total of 1924 incidents of violence in the
month of April. Of these cases, 823 involved displacement and over 400 cases of
harassment and intimidation, 251 cases of assault. Two cases of murder were also
recorded in the province.
Food
Aid:
The National Association of Non-governmental Organisations (NANGO) said
President Robert Mugabe’s government has told relief agencies to handover food
and other humanitarian assistance to state organs for distribution to victims of
political violence.
Farm Invasions:
The
President of the Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) Trevor Gifford reports that
since the election polls, the Zanu PF militia has invaded 45 farms, but 37 of
the affected farmers had since returned to their properties. (Zimbabwe Independent 22 May
2008)
Educational
crisis:
The Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ)’s Secretary General Raymond
Majongwe said that at least 464 schools had closed their doors since the
beginning of May, due to mounting violence. About 5,000 teachers are said to
have fled, leaving around 260,000 children without
instructors.
International
statements on the violence:
UN
humanitarian agencies and their partners in the NGO [non-governmental
organisation] community have been experiencing limited access to the affected
people due to this heightened tension and localised outbreaks of violence,
resulting in the scaling-down of humanitarian
programmes, thereby exacerbating the humanitarian situation.
Fact
Finding Missions
South
Africa:
Senior members of the investigating team said their findings were “alarming” and
that most of the violence was state sponsored, although in certain instances
opposition parties had also retaliated.
Africa:
Swaziland MP Marwick Khumalo told the House that the Mission had communicated
concerns twice to the Chairperson of
the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC). The Mission recommended to the House
that the situation in Zimbabwe be ‘closely monitored’. He also added that
‘high-level political mediation’ was now imperative.
International: US
ambassador Mr James McGee said that threats would not deter the US ambassadorial
mission. 'We are eager to continue this type of thing, to show the world what is
happening here in Zimbabwe. It is absolutely urgent that the entire world sees
what is going on. The violence has to stop.'
He later
stated: "After the tour, we now have concrete proof to show the world about
violence taking place in Zimbabwe. There is urgent need to stop what is
happening. Violence has to stop. From the small sample we have taken it is clear
that violence is perpetrated on MDC supporters.”
Activities
- Zimbabwe:
Rallies
/ marches:
About
20 000 MDC supporters attended the White City stadium victory rally to show
support for President Morgan Tsvangirai in the run-off election to be held on 27
June 2008.
Demonstrations:
According to a Women of Zimbabwe arise (WOZA) official, riot police beat the 50
members who were protesting on 5 May 2008 in Bulawayo. 11 members of WOZA were
also arrested.
Activities
Africa
On World Africa Day Sunday
25 May the African Civil Society organisations planned to commemorate Africa Day
with a show of solidarity for the people of Zimbabwe. They dubbed the campaign
“Stand Up (For) Zimbabwe” Day. The International Campaigns coordinator for
Treatment Campaign Regis Mtutu said that there could not be an Africa Day when
the people of Zimbabwe are not enjoying their rights.
Activities
– South Africa:
Rallies/marches:
About a
hundred members of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and other
organisations picketed the gates of Parliament in Cape Town on Saturday 17 May
to protest against rising food prices and call for freedom in
Zimbabwe.
Also on 17
May a Cosatu-organised march was held in central Johannesburg to protest against
the past week's xenophobic attacks in Gauteng townships, as well as high food
prices and the crisis in Zimbabwe.
Fundraising
activities:
25
May 2008 (Saturday): A team from the Jesuit Missions was due to participate in
the Edinburgh Marathon, the Hairy Haggis Relay, hoping to raise awareness
regarding the drastic situation in Zimbabwe, as well as to try and raise funds
for the Makumbi mission in Zimbabwe.
Refugee
issues:
The
South African Police have said that 42 people have been killed in the violence
in Johannesburg that has lasted for more than a week. 16 000 people have also
been displaced. In the SABC news it was said that 9 000 Mozambicans have crossed
the bridge back to Mozambique.
To curb the
situation from escalating the South African President Thabo Mbeki has given
permission to the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) army to be
deployed in areas hit by xenophobic attacks to give assistance to the South
African Police Service (SAPS).
Freedom Front
leader Pieter Mulder said that the deployment of the army was as acknowledgement
by President Mbeki that there was ‘a state of emergency’ in South Africa.
SA
Home Affairs: South
Africa's Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Malusi Gigaba admits that the attacks
have bought shame on his country.
Home Affairs spokesman Mansele Tau announced that Home Affairs is not
deporting anyone and that they will assist those who voluntarily want to go home
with their paperwork.
Economic
crisis in Zimbabwe
Inflation
has surpassed that of all other nations with recent reports that it has
doubled. Year-on-year
inflation for the month of March surged to 355 000% from the February figure of
165 000% .
An Independent financial
assessment on Tuesday reported that annual inflation rose this month to 1,063
572 percent based on the price of a basket of basic
foodstuffs.
Economic analysts say unless
the rate of inflation is slowed, annual inflation will likely reach about five
million percent by October.
Z$185
million=US$1. In the formal market and Z$145 million=US$ 1 in the parallel
market
Z$400
million = ₤1
Humanitarian
crisis in Zimbabwe
Unemployment: Estimated at 85%
Life
expectancy: Women:
34 years (was 57 years in 1994).
Men: 37 (was 54 years in
1994)
Food
crisis: The World Food Program estimates that 45% of
the population is malnourished.
Healthcare: Healthcare has virtually collapsed and the
hospitals are in a desperate state.
Mission hospitals in particular are struggling to cope with the huge
numbers of people brutalised in the rural areas.
Death
rate: An estimated 3,500 Zimbabweans die every week
from the combined effects of HIV/AIDS, poverty, and malnutrition. Half a million
Zimbabweans may have died since 2000, while more than 4 million have fled the
country and now live in neighbouring states or overseas.
Destroying
the Opposition – Operation Murambatsvina and Operation
Mavhoterapapi
Operation Murambatsvina (winter 2005) -
post-parliamentary election: This
government-initiated operation destroyed the homes of an estimated 700 000 mainly poor urban people – predominantly opposition
MDC supporters. According to United
Nations estimates, more than 2.4 million people were affected. Operation
Murambatsvina
also resulted in the destruction of at least 32 500 small and micro-businesses
across the country, creating a loss of livelihood for more than 96 600 people,
mostly women.
Operation
Mavhoterapapi (winter 2008) - post parliamentary and presidential election: This
government-initiated crackdown has to date made more than 5 000 families
homeless.
Mbeki letter tells Bush to butt out
of Zimbabwe, says US report
From The Cape Argus (SA), 29 May
By Peter Fabricius
President
Thabo Mbeki has allegedly sent a four-page letter to President
George Bush
criticising the US for its stance on Zimbabwe. According to a US
official
quoted by Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson, Mbeki slammed
the US -
"in a text packed with exclamation points" - for taking sides
against
President Robert Mugabe and disrespecting the views of the
Zimbabwean
people. "He said it was not our business," Gerson quotes the
unnamed
official as saying, and "to butt out, that Africa belongs to him".
He quotes
another official as saying: "Mbeki lost it; it was outrageous." In
his
column, titled "The Despot's Democracy", Gerson said Mbeki had written
the
letter to Bush in April, after the March 29 elections in which Mugabe's
ruling Zanu PF lost its parliamentary majority to the opposition Movement
for Democratic Change and Mugabe came second to MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai
in the presidential poll. Because Tsvangirai did not get more than 50% of
the vote, he must face Mugabe again in a run-off presidential election on
June 27.
Last night Mbeki's spokesman, Mukoni Ratshitanga, said
he had no knowledge
of Mbeki's letter to Bush. However, an official of the
US em-bassy in
Pretoria confirmed that Bush had received the letter. "He
disagreed with
some of the points in the letter. We feel we have an
important role to play
in bringing peace and security to the region and in
helping to ensure free
and transparent elections in Zimbabwe. "The White
House is working on a
response" to the letter, the em-bassy official added.
Last week Mugabe
threatened to kick out US ambassador to Zimbabwe James
McGee for
"interfering" after he told a journalist that Tsvangirai should
return home
to start campaigning for the run-off. McGee also ran into
trouble with
authorities earlier this month when he and several other
ambassadors were
detained at the side of the road for an hour after visiting
an alleged Zanu
PF torture camp. Gerson labelled South Africa as a "rogue
democracy", citing
Mbeki's letter, plus a string of decisions in the UN
Security Council where
South Africa opposed action against human rights
offenders, as evidence that
"South Africa - of all places - sides with the
despots".
South Africa: Violence against foreigners Situation Report No.
2
United Nations Country Team in South Africa
Date: 28 May
2008
HIGHLIGHTS
- More than 38,700 foreigners are displaced at 95
sites in Gauteng, KwaZulu
Natal and Western Cape provinces.
-
Mozambicans, Malawians and Zimbabweans and other foreign communities are
fleeing the country out of fear, with their embassies offering logistical
support to leave South Africa.
- More than 55 persons have been
killed in attacks related to xenophobic
violence, according to media
sources.
- Overall violence is reported to have decreased during the
reporting
period.
- The international humanitarian community is
supporting municipal
authorities in a rapid assessment of
needs.
SITUATION - NATIONAL
President Thabo Mbeki addressed the
nation on 25 May 2008 referring to the
xenophobic violence as ‘an absolute
disgrace and the opposite of everything
achieved since the victory over
apartheid.’ In the speech, the President
also added that the Government was
opposed to segregating migrants in
special camps.
Gauteng
Province
Although the last two days have seen fewer violent events, there
remains a
high level of anxiety and fear remains in foreign communities as
intimidation and threats continue. As of 27 May 2008, the number of
displaced has decreased to 17,548. The Provincial Disaster Managements
Centre expects that by 28 May 2008, the five sites in West Rand municipality
will be empty as the remaining population has fled back to their home
countries. The lower number of displaced is explained by the number of
foreigners driven by fear to return home, many taking advantage of the
support for repatriation offered by their diplomatic representatives.
According to the UNHCR, a very large number of those displaced are
Zimbabweans.
Western Cape Province
Violence has escalated
during the reporting period with SAPS reporting
assaults on foreigners
(particularly Somalis) and murders. To date, 19,654
foreigners are displaced
and are being hosted at 45 sites. The four main
sites are in the Cape Town
areas of Silverstroom (Atlantis), Youngsfield
(Kenilworth), Soet Water
(Kommetjie) and Harmony (Strand), with many others
staying on church and
mosque grounds as well as in public buildings. Local
Government, the South
African Red Cross and a variety of community and
faith-based organisations
are responding to their initial needs.
KwaZulu Natal
Foreign
migrants continue to be harassed and attacked by South Africans.
Following
the attacks in Durban, Umbilo, Cato Manor, Chatsworth and Isipingo
(22 May
2008), IOM reports that local authorities estimate that there are
about
1,650 to 1,750 displaced people in the Durban area with most staying
in
churches, community halls and police stations. According to a preliminary
assessment, Mozambicans appeared to be the largest group residing in the
sites, followed by Malawians. Officials from the High Commissions of
Mozambique and Malawi have visited the area over the last few days to
arrange the repatriation of their nationals.
Most of the sites are
overcrowded and do not meet international standard for
human habitation. As
a result, protection issues are beginning to emerge:
there are reports of
rapes and sexual exploitation at ad hoc shelter sites
in Johannesburg and
Durban. Further, problems related to health are
increasingly being
experienced at some of the larger displacement sites,
affecting in
particular those who are HIV positive as well as tuberculosis
patients at
high risk and in need of urgent attention. MSF and the South
African Red
Cross are also reporting increases in diarrhea and acute
respiratory
infections at some of the larger sites. The situation is
particularly
critical at police stations in Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni
metropolitan
areas, Gauteng Province.
In view of the seriousness of the security
situation and the continued
uncertainty all over the country, the UN
Designated Official decided on 24
May 2008 to declared ‘security phase 1’
for the whole of South Africa and
‘security phase 2’ for an increased number
of selected townships and
informal settlements where UN staff are required
to follow enhanced security
procedures.
As of 27 May 2008, the total
number of foreigners displaced in South Africa
as a result of violence has
reached 39,702 people. This number however does
not reflect the total number
displaced, as it includes only those who have
fled to public places,
including police stations, churches, mosques,
community halls and open land
near communal facilities. It does not reflect
those who have fled areas of
violence but are currently staying with other
members of their
community.
There is no official figure for the total number of deaths in
relation to
xenophobic attacks in South Africa, but the media reports more
than 55
deaths. Further, the media estimates that several hundred shops have
been
either burnt or looted. According to the Member of the Executive
Council for
Safety and Security in Gauteng Province, the mobilisation of the
South
Africa Police Service (SAPS) to areas of reported violence has lead to
the
arrest of 1,380 South Africans. The South African National Defence Force
(SANDF), which was mobilized on 21 May 2008 and has deployed to townships
and informal settlements in support of police operations.
You
saw that little American girl, Jendayi Frazer [US Assistant Secretary of State
for African Affairs] trotting around the globe like a prostitute, declaring the
MDC had won
