VIOLENCIA NO ZIMBABWE?

Dear Friends

As the waiting continues into the 17th day for the release of results of the Presidential elections, we are disturbed to relay to you further reports from our member organisations of the post-election violence taking place out of the public eye in rural Zimbabwe .

-Firstly, Zimbabwe Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR) has issued a statement today, 15.4.08 concerning the upsurge in cases of organised violence and torture since the elections took place. ZADHR reports having seen and treated 157 cases of injury resulting from organised violence and torture between Election Day, the 29th March 2008 up until yesterday, the 14th April 2008 . Their report states that the provinces where injuries were sustained include Manicaland, Mashonaland East and West and Masvingo. ZADHR condemns this upsurge in violence.

- Secondly, we attach an Information Alert issued yesterday, 14.4.08 by the Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP). Their report focuses on the two provinces of Mashonaland East and Mashonaland West. It contains worrisome reports of torture camps, assaults and heavy beatings by war veterans, of police being ordered to turn a blind eye, of houses being burnt down and of victims being denied medical assistance

In other reports from our member organisations, we attach two recent items from The Media Monitoring Project of Zimbabwe (MMPZ). The first is their 26th Prime-time Daily Monitoring Report of 13.4.08 highlighting the complete lack of information on the state broadcaster about the delayed presidential result outside of the news bulletins. The second is the MMPZ Daily Media Update No 26 of 14.04.08.

In other reports from our member organisations, we attach an Alert Update released yesterday 14.4.08 from the Media Institute for Southern Africa (MISA Zimbabwe) about the acquittal of two South African engineers arrested for practicing journalism without accreditation. A further Alert, issued today, 15.4.08 concerns the arrest of a Bulawayo woman in accused of practicing journalism without accreditation. Those of you interested in freedom of expression may care to sign up to receive these regular mailings from MISA by contacting them at the email address on the bottom of these Alerts.

In further reports of post election violence, The Youth Forum issued the attached statement yesterday, 14.4.08 concerning the burning of the family homestead and property of their Board Chairperson Maddock Chivasa in Chivasa village in Bikita, some 85km east of the southern town of Masvingo . It is alleged that it followed threats from ZANU PF youths who supported the losing ZANU PF candidate for the Bikita West parliamentary seat. Maddock Chivasa is also the spokesperson for the National Constitutional Assembly.

Parliamentarians from across the world are meeting this week in Cape Town , South Africa for the 118th Parliamentary Assembly of the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) whose theme this year is about pushing back the frontiers of poverty. President Thabo Mbeki opened the Assembly with an opening statement on the theme of poverty. The Speaker of the National Assembly of South Africa, Ms. Baleka Mbete is reported to have referred to Zimbabwe in her remarks to the Assembly in which she reportedly said that “as parliamentarians we cannot remain silent when we witness sufferings and violation of human rights. We can also not remain silent about the situation in Zimbabwe ’. Read more at the IPU website on http://www.ipu.org/press-e/cape2.htm