9 smuggled into a neighbouring bed in a wheelchair. Members of the CIO have also been observed organising the militias and transporting them from one place to another. There are also reports of Police Internal Security and Intelligence (PISI) involvement. There are indications that individuals from the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) whose loyalty to the party is solid have been selected and deployed as commanders of the militia, but there is no firm proof of this at present. There are allegations that members of the army have been sighted at least one militia base ⎯ although in plain clothes they were recognised by locals who were themselves former soldiers. On the other hand, there are consistent accounts that the army took a firm hand to quell the violence in the Mount Darwin region in mid-April. However, there is clear evidence that the ZNA took part in post-election violence in retaliation for the rejection of Zanu(PF) candidates, especially in the high density suburbs of Harare. Allegations that the army were giving rudimentary two-day training sessions to the militia have not been proven, but there is reason to believe that the perpetrators of violence have been given some basic education in torture techniques. Militia in different parts of the country have been carrying out beatings in a consistent style, with victims being ordered to lie face down and then being beaten on the backs. Electric wires are frequently used for beatings as are sjamboks and knobkerries. Another common torture is falanga [beating under the soles of the feet] and the use of electric shocks and cigarette burns. On several occasions victims have been doused in petrol to burn them. Properties have also been frequently petrol bombed. There is also a consistency to the methods of psychological torture with victims being issued with similar threats to “cut off your head” and forced to go through similar rituals of humiliation. Forced attendance at the “pungwes” and political rallies inspires mass psychological terror which, in many people’s minds, is reminiscent of the terror inspired during the Gukurahundi campaign in the 1980s. It is now extremely disturbing that the government has given these militia formal status as a “reserve force”, and rather one would have expected that the serious allegations against the war veterans would have resulted in the organisation being disbanded, with the members guilty of human rights violations facing criminal charges. Again one needs little imagination to see how damaging is the Presidential amnesty. Not only are the perpetrators of organised violence and torture made exempt from the criminal law, but receive a reward in the form of employment. This observation deserves more consideration by all. The Bases The Forum has had consistent reports of farms, offices and businesses being used as bases in which to house militia, or as meeting points from which raids into surrounding communities were planned and launched. In many of these, the militia were sleeping, being fed, and provided with drink, whilst in others