The crisis in Zimbabwe has been presented as a racial one by the government, which states that it is finally redressing the injustices of colonial expropriation. The international media and some political commentary has tended to play into the hands of this presentation by highlighting attacks on white commercial farmers and demanding full market value compensation for expropriated land—as well as by largely ignoring other more serious crises on the African continent. However, as many black Zimbabweans stated to Human Rights Watch, disregard for the rule of law is ultimately more serious for poor, rural, black Zimbabweans than it is for white commercial farmers, who are more likely to have the resources to escape violence and recover their economic position, whether in Zimbabwe or elsewhere. A land reform process that is stated to be directed at past injustice is in practice creating new injustices that may well be more difficult to solve in the future. In August 2001, a large number of Zimbabwean civil society groups came together to discuss the crisis in their country. In relation to land, the conference adopted resolutions that: “There must be an immediate cessation to the “fast track” land programme,” and that “The present occupations must be rationalized in terms of the law but those guilty of violence on farms must not be eligible for incorporation into a new lawful programme.”197 Human Rights Watch also concludes that the fast track program must be halted to the extent it generates human rights violations, and that violence must be ended and the rule of law restored. Then the competing claims of commercial farmers, farm workers, new settlers, and the state to land must be arbitrated by an impartial tribunal with authority to adjudicate disputes over land and allocate title fairly. The international donor community should give generous assistance to efforts to ensure a sustainable settlement to the land question in Zimbabwe. 197 The full text on the land issue reads as follows: “The Conference fully accepts the present inequitable pattern of land distribution cannot continue and that there is an urgent need for major land reform in Zimbabwe. The land reform programme must, however, be properly planned and executed so that it benefits those in need of land and ensures that resettled farmers are given proper support systems to enable them to farm the land productively. It must also be carried out within a legal framework and without the use of violence. The Conference notes that the chaotic "fast track" land grab has been carried out with violence and in contempt of the rule of law. There must be an immediate cessation to the "fast track" land programme. The present occupations must be rationalised in terms of the law but those guilty of violence on farms must not be eligible for incorporation into a new lawful programme. There must be immediate compliance with all courts orders issued in connection with the "fast track" land programme. There must be a transparent and accountable process of genuine land reform in the interests of those who need land. The reform programme must ensure that women benefit fairly and directly from land resettlement. A proper system of land tenure must be put in place and section 23 of the Constitution must be amended so that women can own land in their own right.” “Crisis in Zimbabwe: A Time to Act – Resolutions,” Harare, August 4, 2001. Following the conference that adopted these resolutions, a “Crisis in Zimbabwe Coordinating Committee” was established, consisting of nine major civil society coalitions, collectively representing in excess of five hundred civil society groups. See, http://www.kubatana.net/html/sectors/cri001.asp Human Rights Watch 43 March 2002, Vol. 14, No. 1 (A)