•
•
3.8
16 May 2000: A Mazda truck full of Zanu (PF) youths came to Chiedza township in Karoi
and in full view of the police, abducted the local MDC vice-chairman, who has not been
seen since.
16 May 2000: Eamonn Oliver, the production manager of Border Timbers in Chimanimani
was captured by Zanu (PF) supporters and forced to attend a rally. He was beaten repeatedly
and ordered to chant Zanu (PF) slogans.
Intimidation
Behind the overt psychological torture, there have been numerous threatening and intimidatory
utterances have been made by government officials and persons connected with government. These
statements create the climate of fear and threat so necessary for psychological torture to be effective.
• In mid-March one of the leaders of the National Liberation War Veterans Association
threatened to use violence to overthrow the MDC if it won the upcoming election. Andrew
Ndlovu said that the war veterans would never allow the country "to go back to Smith" and
that if they did come back to power they would "declare a military government". Ndlovu
said the war fighters had stashed arms in caches all over the country. We will get arms from
government armouries. We are a reserve army and we have the right to use the arms to
defend the government of Zanu (PF). We will invade military camps just as we have gone to
the farms. This is statement amounts to a threat of treason as Ndlovu is, in effect, saying that
if MDC is democratically elected, the war veterans will then overthrow it by the use of force.
No government leaders have seen fit to condemn Ndlovu for advocating treason.
• A few days later speaking in Shona at a ceremony relating to the opening of the water
pipeline between the Pungwe and Mutare, President Mugabe said: "Those who try to cause
disunity among our people must watch out because death will befall them."
• At the beginning of May at a rally on a farm a leader of war veterans, Comrade Zimbabwe,
warned farm workers that the opposition would pay dearly if the opposition won the
elections He said: "If ZANU (PF) loses this election, you will not say that I did not warn
you. If we lose, we will get out our guns. We cannot allow the MDC to sell our country." He
also said: "We will be at the voting stations. If ZANU-PF loses, the way forward will be
filled with war," You will witness our strength in the coming weeks. Comrade Zimbabwe
wore a T-shirt marked "No Monkey Business – Vote Zanu PF".
• In mid-May the Masvingo Provincial Governor, Josaya Hungwe, threatened white
commercial farmers in Chiredzi with war if they did not vote for the ruling party. He said he
was not happy with the attitude of some of the farmers who were supporters of the MDC.
They should vote for Zanu (PF) if they want peace. He said "We do not want another war. If
you want peace you should support me and the ruling party. . . If you want trouble then vote
for another party".
3.9
Community disruption
Community disruption is a frequent concomitant of organised violence, and, in the current situation,
most serious of these have been attacks on health workers and teachers. At the time of writing more
than 250 schools are reported to have been closed, whilst an unknown number of teachers have fled
to safety, fearing that they will become targets of organised violence or torture. More than 6,000
people are reported to be internally displaced as a consequence of the violence.
Even more serious have been attacks on health workers. Nurses have been killed. Severely
assaulted, abducted, and even raped. In one report, the hospital at Nyadire Mission was briefly
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