Yale Human Rights and Development Journal, Vol. 7 [2004], Iss. 1, Art. 4 2004] Zimbabwean Human Rights Crisis The threat of arrest and prosecution under the POSA hangs over all human rights defenders, whose exposure of government-sponsored violence and other human rights violations is considered threatening by Mugabe and his ministers. Even before the enactment of the Act, such groups and individuals had been subjected to a variety of tactics seeking to silence them. Throughout 2001, the government sought to discredit human rights organizations, such as the Amani Trust, an independent group that provides assistance to torture victims and exposes the practice of torture in Zimbabwe. Using government-controlled newspapers, the authorities accused such groups of supporting neo-colonialism and engaging in fraudulent activity. In April 2002, the government-controlled newspaper The Chronicle reported that a war veterans' leader associated with the ZanuPF regime had called for the removal of passports from NGO representatives and said that they should be "punished" for spreading "anti-Zimbabwe propaganda." The paper also quoted this leader as issuing a threat that "after the commercial farmers we will move to the NGOs and remove all employees working against the interests of Zimbabwe." 24 In May 2002, press reports quoted the then Home Affairs Minister, John Nkomo, as stating that the government was moving to adopt measures for the deregistration of NGOs engaged in activity that it considered "anti-Zimbabwe." 25 Another government official reportedly stated that the government wanted all NGOs operating in Zimbabwe to be registered so that their activities could be monitored. At the opening of parliament in July 2003, President Mugabe indicated that the government would soon introduce a Non-Governmental Organisations Bill, designed "to ensure that the operations of Non-Governmental Organisations are consistent with and support Government policies and programmes," and "to prevent foreign interests from using the NGO structures to subvert our sovereignty." 26 The Amani Trust has repeatedly been the target of threats and vilification in the government press. Amani Trust staff have been threatened, including its medical director Dr. Frances Lovemore, who was arrested and detained in August 2002. The organization has been accused of constituting a threat to Zimbabwe's peace and security by Zanu-PF officials and was singled out in November 2002 as being in contravention of the restrictive Private Voluntary Organizations Act. Government representatives stated that the Amani Trust would be dealt with "strongly," and shortly thereafter, the organization was forced to suspend its operations due to concerns about the safety of its staff. and detained are physically abused and sometimes tortured while in custody. 24 Withdraw Passportsof Sellouts and ...Ban Anti-Zim NGOs, THE CHRONICLE (ZIMBABWE), Apr. 18, 2002, at 1 (on file with authors). 25 See NEWS 24 (SOuTH AFRICA), Gov't Threatens to Clamp Down on NGOs, May 12, 2002 (on file with authors). 26 See Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, Advocacy Alert (July 24, 2003) at http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/defenders/hrd-zimbabwe/hrd-zimbabwe.htm. http://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/yhrdlj/vol7/iss1/4 10