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TO: The British Premier
His Excellency, Tony Blair
UK Presidency of the EU

From: Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition

REF: EU MUST URGENTLY ACT ON ZIMBABWE

Your Excellency, we write to draw your attention on the human rights situation in Zimbabwe with the hope that you will facilitate a discussion on the same when you chair an EU Heads of State meeting from 15 -16 December 2005, in Brussels.

There has been a latest wave of attacks targeted at civic leaders who continue to be subjected to degrading and inhumane treatment by President Mugabe's government.Dr Lovemore Madhuku , the Chairperson of the National Constitutional Assembly , Mr Wellington Chibebe , the Chairperson of the Crisis Coalition and Mr Lovemore Matombo , the president of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions and several people were this month arrested after staging peaceful protests demanding the provision of Anti-Retroviral drugs and a new constitution.

Your Excellency, it has become extremely difficult to resort to local means to seek redress for torture victims and arbitrary arrests as the judiciary has been severely compromised. Because of the government's determination to hold on to power, Zimbabweans are subjected to all forms of coercion including destruction of their shelter under the guise of cleaning up the cities.

We are also concerned about the continued expulsion of vocal student leaders at government universities and polytechnics where Mr Mugabe is the Chancellor. The economic and political situation in Zimbabwe has continued to deteriorate whilst the government is unmoved about its responsibility in the process.

Our humblest submission, Your Excellency, is that you facilitate a discussion on the human rights situation in Zimbabwe so that justice prevails. The Government of Zimbabwe has made the country a pariah state, placing a high premium on power politics and ignoring the starving people and the effects of the HIV/Aids pandemic.

It is disheartening to note that even as the old women marched peacefully along the streets of Harare early this month to demand HIV/Aids drugs they were brutally treated by members of President Mugabe's security apparatus.

There are hundreds of thousands of people who urgently need food aid but government continues to fiddle. We are concerned that whilst many hospitals and health centres have run dry and equipment has become obsolete, one of the biggest hospitals, Harare Central Hospital is on the verge of closure.

Your Excellency, we are also concerned that even as the situation continues to deteriorate government is holding Senatorial elections whose outcome is already determined. The Senate elections are just meant to accommodate members of the ruling Zanu PF party who lost during the Parliamentary elections held in March this year.

We have faith in the EU and we hope that serious debate about the deteriorating economic situation in Zimbabwe will be undertaken. Specifically we want the EU to mount pressure on the Harare regime to agree to the following:

Yours Sincerely

Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition

Visit the Crisis in Zimbabwe fact sheet

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