A politically partisan Council will probably refuse to register these organisations. Even if it does register them, it will be likely to impose such stringent conditions on their operations that it will be impossible for them to operate effectively. In any event as these organisations are not able to raise locally the large amounts of money needed to provide medical and legal assistance to victims, the cutting off of foreign finance will prevent them from operating effectively. Additionally no foreign non-governmental organisation may operate in Zimbabwe if its principal objects include human rights and governance issues. These measures will mean that: · many victims of human rights assistance will be deprived of medical and legal assistance, and will be left without any protection; · without the legal assistance organisations, many people are likely to be taken into custody, and to be held for long periods and brutalised, and no lawyers will be engaged to do whatever they can to try to protect the rights of these victims. · without the medical assistance organisations, many victims of torture and violence will be left without any medical treatment and psychiatric counselling. Government health personnel are already reluctant to treat such victims, especially when government supporters threaten reprisals if they render treatment, and private doctors will be either too frightened to give treatment or will be unprepared to provide it without payment. · human rights abuses perpetrated on behalf of the ruling party by security agencies, war veterans, youth brigade members and ruling party supporters are likely to increase because these abuses are far less likely to be reported and documented; · opposition to the movement towards dictatorial rule is likely to be further stifled by the closing down or hobbling of NGOs advocating the restoration of democracy in Zimbabwe and this will be a further devastating blow to the cause of democracy in Zimbabwe. The end result will be that Zimbabwe will become even more of a closed society than it is presently and this will allow the Government more leeway to engage in human rights violations and anti-democratic activities with less internal and external scrutiny. 4