Zimbabwe national peace days bluff

In an extraordinary government gazette Robert Mugabe declared that 24-26 July will be a period for all Zimbabweans at home and abroad to 'renounce and report all forms of political violence, in an effort to ‘restore peace and stability in the country.'

Therefore the days have been declared National Peace days for renouncing political violence and promoting national healing. At a glance the idea seems to be noble and peculiar, but subjected to further scrutiny the context of the call ebbs all the confidence we had in the sincerity of both the office and the person of President Robert Mugabe.

Firstly for peace to prevail in any given nation, the state should be totally transformed into a safe house for every individual. The powers of the state to carry extra-legal mandates such as militia and para-militia activities against its people should end. The state should lead its citizenry and fulfill its duties under the spotlight of sacrosanct values, ideas and legal instruments that ensures that the bill of rights is elevated to a supreme position that becomes the campus of how the populace and the state interact.

This has not happened in present day Zimbabwe, given the fact that the police, state intelligence and other arms of the executive are still carrying out extra-legal activities with impunity. The people of Zimbabwe’s safety remains severely endangered.

That we are coming from a dark age of reprisal and state sponsored human rights violations and organised state acrimony on those holding dissenting views is undisputable. What is dismissive from our side is an attempt by the present day government to create symbolic days and moments in our country where by the people, region and the international world are misled to believe that the incumbent is whole heartedly moving the country from the abyss of terror towards a glimpse of light and peace.

Peace in its totality is a function of political will and maturity on those who are holding public office and the people of Zimbabwe at large believing that proper mechanisms of truth and reconciliation have been met. Only after those who were grieved acknowledge that restorative measures have been done and those who would have committed acts to terror acknowledging that they violated other people’s rights could peace as a concept be fully recognized.

Mr. Mugabe cannot be the agitator of violence and define peace at the same time, as if he holds the rod of making the rule as he goes.

One will be forgiven to imagine that the person who boasted of degrees in violence not so long ago, can easily sublimate the ‘ideas’ of war and the funning of violence in a blinker of an eye. We remain cognizant of the need for national healing, but at the same time the concept of national healing should be holistic by mainly addressing the following fundamental issues:

The state should be separated from political parties, that is to say, Zanu PF should disband its infrastructure of violence and its proxies. This is in light of the tidal wave of violence which erupted at the Rainbow Towers, instigated by the ZANU PF hoodlums and buttressed by its public relations outfit, Zimbabwe Broadcasting Cooperation.

The uniformed forces should start to behave accordingly with the spirit and letter of co-existence to ensure that lasting peace is equally attained.

The state broadcaster should desist from funning hate speech and lies aimed at prejudicing the public against civil society organizations and other political parties apart from ZANU PF.

The state should immediately cease harassing human rights and political detainees within and without the Zimbabwe prisons.ZANU PF should demobilize and disarm the militia, the proxies of violence that are still active since the acrimonious epoch of political terror that claimed more than 180 lives and displaced thousands in 2008.

Known perpetrators of violence must face the law regardless of political affiliation and rank in society.

The state should immediately stop violence happening at the farms and respect the ruling made by the SADC tribunal disputed of farms in 2008.

Put differently, peace can never be wished into existence by mere words and public relations stunts as the Organ on National healing, Reconciliation and Integration would have the nation believe.

The stark reality is that peace will remain elusive in Zimbabwe as long as the political parties are only as prepared as to condemn violence through the media yet leave institutions and infrastructures of violence in position for further instructions.

Furthermore war veterans continue to be violent with the protection of the police and the public broadcaster as evidenced by the recently disrupted conference at rainbow towers hotel. The reports made by MDC of violence against its supporters even after the advent of the inclusive government are equally worrying.

Without taking concrete steps towards restoring the rule of law, disbanding militia camps, and other recommendations stated above, the call for observing three days to ‘celebrate Zimbabwe’s newfound peace and unity’ remains what it really is – a bluff!

Black peace days protest

More than 100 people on 25 July 2009 heeded ROHR Zimbabwe’s call for a demonstration against the peace days gazetted by Robert Mugabe in Harare today which we believe is ZANU PF’s idea to protect them from prosecution and the need to be accountable to their crimes. People wore black in protest and also in solidarity with victims of last year’s political violence. The march began at Nelson Mandela corner 1st street at 9am. The singing group marched along Nelson Mandela avenue towards parliament where they confronted the police with riot gear manning the parliament building.

The ROHR Harare vice chairman addressed the gathering in front of the police, saying that the peace days are of little significance to the people of Zimbabwe because no concrete steps have been taken to make them a reality especially since violence is still continuing, war veterans still empowered to be violent and rule of law still nonexistent.

He mourned the absence true commitment of the part of politicians to prosecute perpetrators of politically motivated crimes and stated that victims want justice to prevail and to be compensated in some form.

ROHR Zimbabwe stands opposed to the government’s hurried process on national healing which seeks to grant a blanket amnesty to the politicians, state agents, Zanu PF militia who committed crimes with impunity. The government’s objective to urge people to forgive and forget the previous human rights crimes does not only elude the real need for truth, justice and compensation but also it disregards the expectations of people who bore the brunt of the gross violations.

Urgent press release - National Peace days action – 24 July 2008

We are aware of the indaba that took place at the rainbow towers where the three political party leaders, president Mugabe, prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai and deputy prime minister Arthur Mutambara addressed the nation celebrating Zimbabwe’s ‘new found peace and unity’ As ROHR Zimbabwe we disagree Government’s objective which is to urge people to forgive and forget the previous human rights crimes while trotting away from the real need for truth, justice and compensation for victims. This is obviously ZANU PF’s idea because it protects them from prosecution and the need to be accountable to what their crimes.

We believe that peace is likely to remain elusive as long as the status quo described below continues.

Violence against MDC supporters continues.

Threats of violence issued by war veterans and ZANU PF thugs against civil society organizations that disagree with the use of Kariba draft as the basis for constitutional reform in Zimbabwe.

Continued armament and mobilization of militia and youths in rural areas.

Violent invasion and disrespect of property rights at farms around the country at the government’s instigation.

The state controlled newspapers, television and radio stations continue broadcasting party propaganda and lies at the expense of the truth.

Those who committed human rights crimes and other atrocities continue to be protected by the state, while the attorney general relentlessly harasses victims of state abductions. To this we refer to human rights activists, journalists, and MDC members abducted and tortured late 2008 on trumped up charges.

As long as the political parties in the inclusive Government remain mistrustful of each other and maintain the logjams preventing full implementation of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) and subsequently inviting SADC to solve their problems.

As long as the police enforce the law partially depending on who has committed the crime, with those belonging to ZANU PF getting favorable treatment than others.

As long as the government views human rights and democracy as western ideologies those threaten the Nations unity and sovereignty.

The supporters of ZANU PF idol the use of violence as a trade mark of patriotism and tools of recognition and heroism within the party structures.

As long as Mugabe and his bigwigs responsible for various human rights crimes do not publicly admit wrong doing and apologize for the role they played in the Gukurahundi massacre, Operation Murambatsvina, 2008 inter-elections violence and the blood diamonds terror in Chiyadzwa.

ROHR Zimbabwe has planned a protest march scheduled for Tomorrow Saturday 25 July 2009. People will be wearing black in protest and also in solidarity with victims of yesteryear’s political violence. We invite everyone to come and participate in the action.