Although it was evident that there was a multiplicity of victims, the overwhelming targets of the gross human rights violations documented were members of the Movement for Democratic Change [MDC]. This is true in 2008, as it was in 2002, but there is a marked difference in 2008: whereas in 2002 nearly 40% of the cases had unknown affiliations, 85% were self-admitted members of the MDC in 2008. This is simply explained. In 2002, many people were attacked for the possibility that they might support the MDC in advance of the election, whereas in 2008 the affiliations of the victims were clearly known by the perpetrators in the aftermath of the March poll. As was seen in Table 2, nearly 20% of the MDC members were either MDC officials or MDC members involved in the March poll, which strongly suggests a systematic campaign against the MDC – either of retribution or preemption to stop them participating in the next poll - but it is equally serious that 85% of the cases reported to the Human Rights Forum were MDC members that were known to their abusers, which also supports the notion of a systematic campaign against the MDC. 6.4 Property destruction & Displacements Property destruction is given special mention because it bears all the hallmarks of a pogrom. It has been a feature of gross human rights violations committed in Zimbabwe since 2000, but has been both widespread, and, is possible, even more assiduously applied since March 2008. It has also resulted in the displacement of large numbers of people.51 As was seen earlier in respect of the property destruction reported, this too has all the hallmarks of organization. Groups of ZANU PF Youth, often in very large numbers, attacked MDC supporters in their homes, beat [often very seriously, and amounting to torture] the occupants, very frequently stole the victims’ possessions, and then destroyed the house, usually by burning. All of this was witnessed even by those who fled and watched from places of hiding nearby. This was all publicly announced by the perpetrators as being due to the victims’ affiliations to the MDC. Many of these incidents were reported to the ZRP, but, apart from occasional incidents, there is no evidence of a credible attempt by the authorities to intervene in a situation where armed mobs are rampaging in the community, destroying property and injuring citizens. It can only be assumed, therefore, that the actions of the perpetrators were being condoned, at the least by the omission of the State to take responsible action. The comparison with the violations reported in the 2002 Presidential election is also highly instructive, as it is evident that the patterns seen in the two periods are extremely similar. This 51 The various displacements of the past nine years has drawn highly negative comment in a recently released report. See IDMC (2008), The Many Faces of Displacement: IDPs in Zimbabwe. August 2008. INTERNAL DISPLACEMENT MONITORING CENTRE: GENEVA. See also Hammar, A. (2008), “Reflections on Displacement in Zimbabwe”, Bulletin No.80, 28-35, CONCERNED AFRICA SCHOLARS; Reeler. A.P (2006), A People on the run: Displacement and its effects on Zimbabweans over the decades. Paper presented to: Britain-Zimbabwe Society Annual Research Day, St Antony’s College, Oxford, 19 June 2006.