• Such justice should come in the form of compensation, imprisonment, and counselling and civic education on human rights, should be paid to all who had suffered in one way or another, and perpetrators must be imprisoned political activists]. • Some youths who had committed offences against communities, including political violence and rape, needed to receive counselling because “there were no choices for most youths. They were forced to kill people and to burn houses … there was no democracy, no freedom of choice. If you do not obey you will die and you will see others being killed.” v. Institutional reform • The militarization of government institutions and politicization of traditional leaders are causes for alarm. All government institutions must be demilitarized. Traditional leaders must be apolitical [youth group]. • The police should not be told “hands off political matters”. • Recruitment in government institutions is based on party affiliations. There is no chance of acceptance for those who are not members of a political party [youth group]. • Government institutions should serve everyone, particularly the media, the police and the Ministry of Education. • The district has access to one newspaper only, i.e. the Herald, and all would benefit if media laws were reformed to welcome other parties in order to provide more balanced views and access [youth group]. • The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has become a political tool to reward perpetrators of political violence and punish those of divergent views. • Government institutions are simply engaging in affirmative action in order to correct historical imbalances [youths from the National Youth Service]. • Reform of the educational curriculum is necessary, as is improving professionalism and non-partisanship in the work of the security sector [youth group]. • Confidence in the institutions that serve the public must be restored [most participants]. vi. Separation of Church and State • There is a culture of intolerance by politicians of the work of the Church during election periods, which impacts negatively on the fundamental freedoms of the right to association and freedom of worship [church group] vii. Truth commissions • A truth commission could be an alternative in a situation where victims have no other place to tell their stories. • Experiences in other countries, such as South Africa, could be of value if a truth commission were constituted by the State. 7. OBSERVATIONS • The meeting drew participants from both victims and perpetrators of political violence. It was held at a government institution, which had been accused of hiding perpetrators of political violence. Despite this, participants bravely attended the workshop, giving their different opinions freely. 52 Taking Transitional Justice to the People – Outreach Report