There have been many comparisons between the era of Rhodesian repression and the current situation in Zimbabwe. Although there are clear continuities between aspects of pre- and postcolonial authoritarianism, such comparisons are not altogether accurate. The widespread abuses that accompanied the repression in Matabeleland in the mid-1980s are certainly analogous to the violations from the height of Rhodesian counter-insurgency. The suppression that has characterised the post-2000 period has resulted in considerably fewer deaths, but has been both widespread and systematic. In the words of one exile: “ours is not a bloody war, ours is a silent and cunning war”. Despite these distinctions, the situations in both Rhodesia and Zimbabwe are similar in that there has been no meaningful effort to address the violations that have been perpetrated in either dispensation. Understandably, most human rights organisations in civil society have continued to focus their attention on contemporary priorities. Their capacity to do so has been undermined by a continuing erosion of human resources, as the exodus of Zimbabweans across the socio-economic spectrum continues. This has contributed to a situation where human rights organisations remain primarily in a ‘reactive’ mode, in what many interviewees described as ‘fire-fighting’. In spite of these circumstances, Zimbabwean non-governmental organisations have initiated a process that seeks to consider how best to address the litany of civil, political, social and economic violations that have characterised both colonial and post-colonial dispensations. In 2001, for example, the Amani Trust in Bulawayo convened a ‘Truth and Justice Conference’, which focussed specifically on the situation in Matabeleland. It was, however, a ‘Civil Society and Justice in Zimbabwe’ symposium convened in Johannesburg in August 2003 that for the first time provided a relatively detailed framework of issues that needed to be addressed. A detailed set of recommendations, in the form of a ‘Symposium Declaration’ was developed and adopted, and the Zimbabwean organisations present committed themselves to deepening discussion and debate on these issues, both within their own constituencies and amongst broader Zimbabwean society.6 6 See ‘Symposium Declaration’ – Annexure ‘A’. 3