Anthony Reeler
Demands for constitutional reform were in full spate, as were demands for a new
relationship between the various players in the economic field. With the launch
of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), the scene seemed set for trouble
in the new millennium, but few could have predicted the intensity and the scale.
The story today
Over the past twelve years, since the result of the Constitutional Referendum
in February 2000, there has once again been an epidemic of organized violence
and torture in Zimbabwe. This has been documented like no period before, and
an enormous number of reports are available.18 More importantly, the reports
emanating from Zimbabwean organizations have been corroborated by the
reports of international organizations.19
In addition, there have been regular reports on the political violence that has
affected the country, as well as accurate reporting on the election petitions being
heard before the High Court of Zimbabwe.20 Thus, it is possible to provide a very
clear analysis of both the violence and who is responsible for this violence.
If you are a victim of the current organized violence and torture, you are
almost certainly believed to be a member of the Movement for Democratic
Change, but in reality you could either be a member of the MDC, the National
Constitutional Assembly, a civil servant, a member of a civic organization, or even
just an ordinary citizen. The point here is that the violence is targeted at any
person or group that is believed not be an active supporter of ZANU(PF). The
notion of ‘sell-out’ has had a new and extremely broad extension, and no one is
safe unless they declare active allegiance to ZANU(PF).
See fn. 3, above.
Zimbabwe: Terror Tactics in the Run-up to the Parliamentary Elections, June 2000
(London: Amnesty International, 2000); Zimbabwe: The Toll of Impunity (London: Amnesty
International, 2002); Organised Violence and Torture in Zimbabwe (Harare and Copenhagen:
International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims, 2000); Zimbabwe: Post Presidential
Election – March to May 2002: ‘We’ll Make Them Run’ (Risskov, Denmark: Physicians for
Human Rights, 2002); Subliminal Terror? Human Rights Violations and Torture in Zimbabwe
during 2008 (Johannesburg: Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, 2009).
20
See Organised Violence and Torture in the June 2000 General Election in Zimbabwe
(Harare: Amani Trust, 2002); Neither Free nor Fair: High Court Decisions on the Petitions on
the June 2000 General Election (Harare: Amani Trust, 2002); Organised Violence and Torture
in the By-Elections Held in Zimbabwe during 2000 and 2001 (Harare: Amani Trust, 2002);
Heroism in the Dock: Does Testifying Help Victims of Organised Violence and Torture? A Pilot
Study from Zimbabwe (Harare: Amani Trust, 2002).
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International Conference on Transitional Justice, Zimbabwe
Select target paragraph3
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