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Political Violence Report: December 2004 - Overview
Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum
March 03, 2005

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Overview
In the Political Violence Report for December 2004, in addition to describing the human rights violations that were reported in December 2004, comparisons are drawn between the incidence of violence and other human rights violations for 2003 and 2004. This comparison is illustrated with a number of graphs showing the broad categories of violations perpetrated in the past two years, with the contrast between physical violence, psychological violence, interference with freedoms and murder being shown. As is seen, there are great similarities between the two years, but also some minor differences. Contrasts are also made between the two years in the numbers of types of human rights violation, and also between the number of violations per month.

In addition, the main events in each month during 2003 and 2004 are summarized.

Incidents of physical violence and violations of freedoms were higher in 2003 than in 2004. Psychological violence was also higher in 2003 than in 2004, whilst political discrimination and assault were higher in 2004. It is noteworthy that the most frequently violated rights in both years were those associated with freedoms of expression, assembly and association, rights and freedoms protected under Section 21 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe. The Constitution guarantees every person's "right to assemble freely and associate with other persons and in particular to form and belong to political parties".

The statistics for both years indicate marked increases in violence and other human rights violations associated with elections, by-elections, stayaways and demonstrations by members of civil society. The Public Order and Security Act (POSA) was widely used in this respect against citizens demonstrating in support of a new constitution or for food security and affordable food. POSA has been used to arrest and detain hundreds of people in the period under discussion, with the Miscellaneous Offences Act (MOA) serving as a back-up for law-enforcement agents in the on-going harassment of certain members of the public and various political parties.

The Non-Governmental Organizations Bill (NGO Bill) had its third reading in Parliament on 9 December 2004, ironically on the eve of World Human Rights Day on 10 December 2004. The Bill has already impacted negatively on civil society in a number of ways, and created uncertainty among some members of the donor community. One of the consequences in December 2004 was the inability of regular contributors to the Political Violence Report to collect information on human rights violations in the country for this month, and this is reflected in the paucity of information in this report.

The activities of the Human Rights NGO Forum are directed towards the reduction of organized violence and torture in Zimbabwe and as the 2005 General Election draws near, the Human Rights NGO Forum supports the call for violence-free elections. Peace and respect for the constitutionally-guaranteed freedoms will enable the true will of the Zimbabwean people to be expressed, and, additionally, such an atmosphere is required under the new "SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections".

Both President Mugabe and Police Commissioner Chihuri have publicly stated that there will be zero tolerance for election-related violence, and that law enforcement agents will deal with all perpetrators. This is to be commended provided the perpetrators are dealt with across the board, and not selectively as has been claimed by many victims of organized violence and torture over the past two years.

In the run-up to the General Election, human rights organizations also need to be vigilant, and to attempt to monitor the climate. There is especial need to monitor the activities of those who have been previously shown to be involved in organized violence and torture and to ensure that, although there are signs of a decline in physical violence, this is not replaced by more subtle forms of inducing fear.

Here the Human Rights NGO Forum calls upon all - Government, the law enforcement agencies and security forces, and the political parties to ensure that the constitutionally-guaranteed freedoms of expression, assembly and association are protected at all times.

Totals: 1 December- 31 December 2004

Cumulative Totals: 1 January 2004 - 31 December 2004

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