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Don't deny Gukurahundi, investigate it
Fay Chung
October 22, 2008

I was shocked to read Trevor Grundy-s "report" on 15 October 2008 on my alleged denial of the Gukurahundi atrocities which took place between 1983 and 1987. I must categorically deny that I made such statements recently, allegedly in Masvingo on 26 September 2008. I have been overseas for a month beginning on 17 September 2008, and was definitely not in Masvingo. Nor have I made any of the statements quoted by Trevor Grundy.

What did I say and when did I say it? I addressed journalists in Masvingo on 7 December 2007. During discussion time, we talked about the need to have accurate statistics in their reports, rather than quoting figures which may not be true. We discussed several often quoted statistics. One example was the Gukurahundi killings. The figure of 20 000 killed is usually quoted. I stated that I have not found actual research to justify this figure. This is very different from saying that Gukarahundi didn-t take place. I would say to deny Gukurahundi is the same as denying the Holocaust, and I definitely did not deny it.

What I said is that the Gukurahundi killings have not been fully investigated, and we don-t know the real figures. I have not had the privilege of reading the Chihambakwe report, which may give some accurate figures. I have read the Roman Catholic Peace and Justice Report, "Breaking the Silence", which is an excellent report published in 1997, and should be compulsory reading for all Zimbabweans, but it was based only on an investigation of two districts. I emphasized the need to have a full and open investigation of what happened under Gukurahundi.

Since December 2007 what I said has generated a lot of email discussion, which included Mike Auret. This email discussion has ended with the conclusion that there are at least 2000 definitely confirmed dead. It also adds that 1 in 4 people in Matabeleland have disappeared, 75 - 77% of people interviewed by the Roman Catholics were direct survivors of violence, of whom 51% had witnessed an execution, and 58% claimed at least one health problem linked to political violence. There is general agreement amongst the discussants that the figure of 20 000 dead is not based on facts, but that a more accurate guesstimate would be 10 000.

Finally regarding my "guilt" as having been part of the government during these atrocities. I was a civil servant from 1980 - 1987, as Head of Educational Planning (1980 - 1982), then Head of Curriculum Development (1983 - 1987), and finally as Deputy Secretary for School Administration (1987). I became Minister of Education and therefore a member of the Cabinet in January 1988. I left government in December 1993 to join the UN. Although I was a civil servant during the period, I certainly had nothing to do with the decisions made regarding Gukurahundi.

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