20 number of the election petitions held during 2001. There are significant peaks associated with the strikes, stay-aways, and protests during 2003. This Report raises the important question of whether the violations represent a strategic and systematic campaign. These matters have been discussed by Zimbabweans themselves, and, as both the Declaration and the Summary of the Johannesburg Symposium clearly state, Zimbabweans require the setting up of a 21 Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission. The issue of justice and reparations has been discussed elsewhere by REDRESS in its follow up report 22 on the Johannesburg Conference. The most pressing conclusion of this Report is that there is a clear association between serious violations of human rights violations and elections, and especially national elections. With the announcement that parliamentary elections will be held in March 2005, addressing the problem of organised violence and torture in Zimbabwe becomes a matter of urgency. In this context it is important to remember several of the conclusions of the Johannesburg Declaration: · That there be an immediate end to political violence and intimidation, an immediate disbanding of the militia, and an immediate return to non-partisan police, army and intelligence services and nonselective application of the law; 20 Here see Amani (2002), Neither Free nor Fair: High Court decisions on the petitions on the June 2000 General Election, HARARE: AMANI TRUST. Following the June 2000 parliamentary elections, the MDC challenged the results in 37 constituencies. Not only did clear evidence emerge of Zanu-PF violence in many of these, leading to the results in several constituencies being set aside, but the petition processes themselves lead to further violence directed at opposition witnesses who wished to testify in the petition hearings. This is further evidence of the link between elections and violence: see Politically Motivated Violence in Zimbabwe 2000-2001, Zimbabwe Human Rights Forum NGO Forum, Harare, August 2001, pp.37-41. 21 Here see Themba Lsizwe (2004), Civil Society and Justice in Zimbabwe: Proceedings of a symposium held in Johannesburg, 11-13 August 2003, PRETORIA: THEMBA LESIZWE. 22 See REDRESS Trust (2004), Zimbabwe: From Impunity to Accountability. Are reparations possible for victims of gross and systematic human rights violations? LONDON: REDRESS. 28