HEAL ZIMBABWE - BASELINE STUDY REPORT Another respondent, a war veteran from Zvishavane echoed similar views justifying the need for national peace and reconciliation processes by stating that: We need peace and reconciliation because our history is so dark to describe the colonial abuses and colonialists never apologised because they were leaving, we are owed an apology. The new government in 1980 misled the people into believing that there were dissidents led by Nkomo (manufactured grievance) in 1982, shutting down dissenting voices against the one party state and building oppressive structures of the state. Mugabe was still very trusted and got thumps up from the West. Even that early we already had abductions, torture, rape, poverty and related problems, failed policies that drove our youths into prostitution and drugs, today we also have rampant corruption and looting of state resources.38 The view above presents a broad spectrum of the grievances and historical challenges that Zimbabwe must account for. As such, any peace and reconciliation process should account for all the country’s historical past without excluding the colonial era. However, it could be difficult to demand apology from the colonial government because a negotiated settlement was meant to break from the past. Citizens also believe that the NPRC is being set up to address socio-economic challenges affecting the country. These conflicts mostly relate to partisan distribution of development projects, aid and services. One recurrent issue was the concern about internally displaced persons resulting from natural resources exploitation and development projects in different communities. For example there are displacements that took place in Chiadzwa, Chisumbanje and in Chingwizi. One respondent in Mutare said that “people feel neglected and are not benefitting from development projects that displace them yet their relocation is never done properly especially in areas such as Lake Kariba and Marange Diamonds, Chingwizi and ARDAChisumbanje.”39 “ A female respondent and victim of the Tokwe-Mukorsi Dam construction displacement added that “we were forcibly ...we were forcibly removed from our house in Tokwe and some of us were beaten and arrested for demanding restitution” removed from our house in Tokwe and some of us were beaten and arrested for demanding restitution”.40 As such, the NPRC justifiably has to address both historical political past as well as socioeconomic conflicts that Zimbabwe has faced. In fact, the state has been the major agent for involuntary resettlement in Zimbabwe and in that way has violated citizen’s socio-cultural and economic rights.41 Personal Interview with a former ZIPRA member and War Veteran in Zvishavane on the 23rd of February 2017 Personal interview with a Civic Society leader in Mutare on the 23rd of February 2017 40 Personal interview with a female victim of the Tokwe-Mukorsi Dam Construction in Chingwizi on the 23rd of February 2017 41 Chris de Wet. (2017). The State, Involuntary Resettlement, And Unintended Agency: Some Reflections From Southern Africa. Retrieved from: https://www.iss.nl/fileadmin/ASSETS/iss/Documents/Research_and_projects/DRS/de_Wet_TheStateInvoluntaryResettlement_ SouthernAfrica.pdf 38 39 23