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Vote ZANU-PF or Starve
Physicians for
Human Rights, Denmark
November 20, 2002
Johannesburg
View the full report at http://www.phrusa.org/healthrights/phr_den112002b.html
Summary and Conclusions
The overriding conclusion of Physicians for Human Rights-Denmark
(PHR-DK), based on our most recent findings, is that the political abuse
of food is the most serious and widespread human rights violation in Zimbabwe
at this time.
Conclusions of Previous Reports
This report is the third report in 2002 on torture in Zimbabwe
written by Physicians for Human Rights-Denmark (PHR-DK). In January
and May
2002, earlier reports concluded that mutilating torture was being practised
by government supporters against the political opposition, and that perpetrators
operated on the assumption of total impunity.
Our May report further documented a phenomenon
last seen in Zimbabwe in1984 – the political manipulation of hunger in
some areas, to exclude from all routes of gaining staple food those labelled
as opposition supporters.
The January and May reports both reflected
concern at the clamp down on the Zimbabwean judiciary, media and civil
society and its impact on the flow of information on human rights abuses
to the international community. In May we warned that in the Zimbabwean
context, fewer formal reports about abuses did not indicate that fewer
abuses were taking place. Rather it indicated that repressive legislation
and a growing government campaign against independent voices had succeeded
in decreasing the information flow.
Conclusions of Current Report
We document in this report that in the second half of 2002, torture and
ill treatment beyond any doubt is still being practised by government
supporters against their political opponents, in Zimbabwe. The fact that
perpetrators continue not to care whether they torture people who can
identify them, or whether their acts of torture or ill treatment leave
marks that can easily be recognised as caused by torture, underlines a
clear assumption on their part, of impunity. This assumption appears well
founded: no prosecutions against perpetrators have been made in any of
our documented cases of torture and ill treatment. This includes to date,
no prosecution linked to any case from the January or May reports.
Our current findings further reinforce
our previous conclusion that there is a deliberate policy of torture and
impunity by the authorities.
The current report documents that attacks on
independent voices in the media, the judiciary and civil society have
indeed continued, and are predicted to escalate yet further in the next
few months, in the form of further repressive legislation, as well as
attacks on individuals. Government officials, in the last few
months, have ignored court rulings and condoned attacks on court officials
who made rulings unfavourable to government. The appointment of a new
Minister of Home Affairs appears to have coincided with an escalation
of reported torture perpetrated by the police.
- The most significant findings in this report
relate to political abuse of food. We conclude that in the last four
months, manipulation of food was directly related to elections. The
threat of being deliberately starved by the Government if the opposition
won votes, was used to profoundly influence vulnerable rural voters
in recent elections in Zimbabwe.
- Abuse of government controlled "food
for work" programmes and of sales from the government controlled
Grain Marketing Board, were reported to us from 18 different districts
and centres. This is indicative of a wide spread and deliberate strategy,
in which opposition supporters are being denied the right to maize.
- In all cases of problematic food distribution,
those implicated in politically manipulating access to food, are Zanu-PF
officials or supporters.
- Zanu-PF appears to be maintaining a situation
where there is too little food in the country, by controlling all sales
and imports. Too little food is serving a dual purpose: it allows political
control through controlling who accesses food; it facilitates the creation
of a Zanu-PF dominated black market, thus enriching the Zanu-PF hierarchy.
- Strategies need to be found to dramatically
increase the flow of food into the country, and to free it from government
control, which is equivalent to partisan Zanu-PF control.
- If it is not possible to increase non-partisan
food supplies into the country, it is our opinion that starvation and
eventually death, will occur along party political lines in Zimbabwe.
Contact details
Secretary: Olav M. Vedel
Mailing address:
Volshojvej 12
DK 8240 Risskov
Denmark
Phone: +45 86 210740
Cell phone: +45 26 200741
E-mail: omv@dadlnet.dk
Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.
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