Dear Friends,

Please find attached the statement from the Africa Democracy Forum (ADF) adopted today 09 April 2008 . In the statement, the Africa Democracy Forum condemns the silence by African Union and Southern African Development Community. ADF joins other local and international actors seeking to hold the government of Zimbabwe accountable for any failure to address these issues that threaten peace and stability in the country.
The International Bar Association (IBA) today “called upon the Zimbabwean authorities to end the incommunicado detention of officials from the Zimbabwean Electoral Commission (ZEC)” in their statement which can be accessed from the link below:
http://www.ibanet.org/iba/article.cfm?article=161
IBA is also concerned about the safety of the ZEC officials as they have been denied legal representation.

Namibia ’s National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) has today issued a statement calling upon the international community, led by the United Nations, to take urgent and appropriate measures in order to prevent the current Zimbabwean situation from unravelling and cascading into a crisis with unforeseeable consequences for human security in Zimbabwe . NSHR as a concerned African civil society actor, is very stunned by the deafening silence on the part of SADC and AU. For more details please find attached statement.

Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) took to the streets of Bulawayo today to lodge a ‘people’s protest’ and to call on ZEC to release the results of the presidential election. The aim of the march was to call for an end to state-sponsored violence that is reported to be happening in rural areas in retribution. Please see the following link:
http://wozazimbabwe.org/

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) issued a statement yesterday on the ongoing arrests of Zimbabwe Electoral Commission personnel. ZLHR confirms the arrest of 5 people and condemns these arrests as they constitute executive interference in the work of a purportedly independent institution. They also criticise failure by the ZEC Chairperson to denounce these attacks. Please find attached statement.

Concerned church groups and Civil society organizations issued the attached statement to register their concern about the failure by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to release Presidential election results. They also appeal to Southern African Development Community (SADC), African Union (AU) and both religious and civic leaders at all levels to exert pressure on ZEC to release the results of the Presidential election as a matter of primary importance.