HR group doubts free and fair elections possible in Zim
The Zimbabwean
Saturday, 15 December 2007 13:20
By Chief Re****ter
HARARE - A fresh re****t by a group of human rights physicians says the
Zimbabwean government has brutally sought to suppress political opposition
with state-sponsored torture and political violence, and doubted that the
2008 general elections polls would be free and fair.
The re****t, titled "We Have Degrees in Violence : A Re****t on Torture
and
Human Rights Abuses in Zimbabwe" released Tuesday, do***ents how victims
of
political violence have been tortured and subjected to other human rights
abuses causing devastating health consequences.
The re****t notes that the upsurge in political violence occurred following
a
peaceful prayer rally organized on March 11 by a coalition of Zimbabwean
church and civic organizations.
The investigation, the first conducted by international health
professionals
since the March 11 crackdown, provides fresh evidence that the Zimbabwean
government is systematically utilizing torture and violence as a means of
deterring political opposition.
"This state-sanctioned violence targets low-level political organizers and
ordinary citizens, in addition to prominent members of the political
opposition," says the re****t.
The group of human rights doctors says the government is overwhelmingly
responsible for the terror.
Junior Information minister Bright Matonga dismissed the re****t as a
"figment of the doctors' imagination."
The re****t comes as negotiators in inter-party talks between Mugabe's
ruling
Zanu (PF) party and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
aimed at defusing tension in the country reaches a stalemate over the
ruling
party's apparent reluctance to put a lid to the escalating State-sponsored
repression
The re****t says terror and torture are some of tools which are key to
Mugabe's
campaign to win the March 2008 joint presidential, parliamentary and
municipal elections, where he is likely to face a strong challenge from
the
main opposition led by Morgan Tsvangirai.
"The findings raise profound concerns as to whether elections scheduled
for
2008 will be free and fair," says the re****t.
It re****ts victims being detained under inhuman conditions and denied
appropriate access to medical and legal assistance.
"Members of civil society, including doctors and lawyers assisting victims
of political violence, also described being subjected to harassment by
government authorities," says the re****t.
It says much of the violence was carried out by State security agents,
members of the Central Intelligence Organisation, military intelligence,
youths from the ruling Zanu (PF) party and war veterans.
The physicians added that politically motivated violence in Zimbabwe is
widespread and increasing on a daily basis.
It says the government was responsible for all the cases it studied and
the
violence was carried out in a way that clearly indicated planning and
strategy.
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