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Zimbabwe Threatens Peace and Security
National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) - Namibia
June 10, 2003

NSHR remains gravely concerned about the human rights, humanitarian and human security situation in Zimbabwe, which is deteriorating unabated and is assuming disastrous proportions inside the country and regional dimensions.

Persistent and unanimous human rights and media reports have become daily occurrences on widespread, gross and systematic human rights violations, including torture, arbitrary arrests and detention, summary executions and enforced disappearances, targeting political, racial, ethnic and religious entities. While the primary victims of such infractions are critics of President Mugabe, the principal perpetrators of violations are members of police, intelligence, military, paramilitary and vigilante groups acting on the orders or with the full knowledge of President Mugabe and his closest associates.

"This state of affairs and other deliberate and inhumane government policies, such as widespread poverty and famine, are inflicting severe suffering, including serious injury to mental or physical health, on large sections of the Zimbabwean population. President Mugabe has lost his positive image of having played a leading role in liberating his country from white minority rule and bringing about democracy in South Africa. He has now earned himself the image of the most despotic and tyrannical leader in the SADC region and compared to Saddam Hussei, Slobodan Milosevic and the Burmese dictator in Indo-China,", said NSHR executive director Phil ya Nangoloh this morning.

NSHR calls upon AU, ASEAN, OAS and EU member states as well as the UN Security Council to classify the Zimbabwe situation as threat against regional peace and security and to handle it accordingly. President Robert Mugabe and his closes associates should be investigated for crimes against humanity. The proposed measures are a conditio sine qua non in order to prevent the Zimbabwe situation from degenerating into a civil armed conflict with collateral consequences for other countries in the region.

NSHR also calls upon other national and regional civil society organizations in the SADC region and beyond to stand up and be counted by expressing outrage about the Zimbabwe situation and expressing solidarity with people of that country.

For further comment, please contact:
Phil ya Nangoloh
Tel: +264 61 236 183 or +264 61 253 447 (office hours)
Mobile: +264 811 299 886
Website: http://www.nshr.org.na

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