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Violent elections no: Peaceful elections yes
Heal Zimbabwe Trust
March 19, 2012

The current call by political parties in Zimbabwe of a possibility of holding elections before any meaningful reforms is fundamentally a travesty to justice. There is a general agreement that elections in Zimbabwe have been characterized by intense violence especially in the past decade. The country is on record of having regular elections with intervals of five or less years but the challenge with the Zimbabwean elections set up is the failure by election losers to cede power to the winner.

This is evidenced by the 2008 elections which one can arguably say that the MDC got more votes but the challenge came the acknowledgement and surrendering of power by ZANU PF leading to intense violence which saw close to three hundred people losing their lives, thousands injured, hundreds of thousands displaced. The formation of the Organ on National Healing Reconciliation and Integration has done little in terms of creating a conducive electoral environment as it has failed to promote a Never Again mindset when it comes to political violence.

Victims of the 2008 political violence are still leaving in fear, very few cases have been brought before the courts and it is the hope of the victims that justice will prevail one day. With wounds still fresh it is an insult to victims for political leaders to call for another round of elections. In the eyes of the victims, what has changed? Political violence in rural areas was mainly structured and targeted, and the instigators are people who were well known to each other but to date these people are still roaming free with continued threats of further violence come election time.

It is yet to be seen what has come out of the well publicized Peace Indabas where the three main political party leaders have come in the open denouncing political violence when cases of political violence continue to be recorded everyday, So who is fooling who?

Heal Zimbabwe's position is clear that unless a proper and transparent Truth and Reconciliation exercise takes place where perpetrators of political violence are brought before the full wrath of the law, Zimbabwe should not talk of any elections now. Heal Zimbabwe Trust stand guided by resolutions of a Survivors Summit held in Harare From 9 to 10 September 2010.The petition signed by more than 200 people who represented survivors of torture in post independence Zimbabwe stated that:

We the undersigned representing survivors of political violence in Zimbabwe and characterized as those with permanent injuries, victims of rape, relatives of those who disappeared during the political violence, widows and widowers of political violence, and those who were unlawfully detained several times, call upon the Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs and the Organ on National Healing, Reconciliation and Integration to:

• Set up an independent, transparent and effective Truth and Reconciliation Commission with a clearly defined mandate and supported by an Act of Parliament to investigate, prosecute and adjudicate on human rights violations and torture issues that will deal with all cases of political violence.
• Enact legislation/or reparations bill enabling for restitution to victims of political violence for property loss, loss of livelihood, destroyed shelter and lost lives.
• Acknowledge that the majority of violations that took place were criminal according to the Zimbabwean constitution and politics was used as an excuse to avoid prosecution and therefore there is need for reported cases of violence to be investigated and for justice to prevail.
• Ensure equality before the law and all suspected criminals of political violence should be prosecuted regardless of their perceived or real political affiliation.
• Facilitate for and provide proper medication facilities to those who were tortured during the political violence period that are still having medical complications to date.
• Provide psycho-social support to the victims as many are still traumatized.
• Declare the disappeared dead and launch an independent investigation team that will investigate the circumstances leading to the disappearances and bring the perpetrators to book.
• Liaise with the Government to take full responsibility of the families of those who disappeared during the political violence period and provide for the sustenance and welfare of their relatives.
• Make sure those who were sexually abused during the violence period are brought before the courts of law in this country and prosecuted considering also the fact that some of the victims were infected with the deadly HIV/AIDS and some left with unwanted babies.
• Engage the Government to facilitate state assisted reburial of some of the political victims who did not receive decent burial during the violence period.
• Force the Government to ensure that Political Violence Orphans and other Vulnerable Children (PVOVCs) are prioritized in all welfare interventions by the government.
• Force the Attorney General to speed up political cases that are pending in courts so that justice prevails.
• Come up with laws that criminalize unwarranted detention of people, torture and abductions before the next elections.
• Force all state security personnel and the judiciary to act impartially and professionally in the conduct of their duties especially on issues of political violence.
• Ensure that all perpetrators are held accountable for their crimes without amnesty to deter would be offenders.

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