Zimbabwean Violence Makes Free Election Impossible, Group Says
2008-06-09 05:41 (New York)
By Nasreen Seria
June 9 (Bloomberg) -- Zimbabwe's presidential run-off election this month won't be free and fair after the government's campaign of beatings and torture of opposition supporters killed at least 36, Human Rights Watch said.
The violence against members of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change has worsened since the government announced last month it will hold the second-round vote on June 27, the New York- based human rights group said in an e-mail today. More than 2,000 people have been victims of the political violence, it said.
President Robert Mugabe's government has stepped up attacks against opposition supporters in a bid to influence the outcome of the vote, human rights groups and the MDC allege. MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai won more votes in the March 29 ballot than Mugabe, yet fell short of the 50 percent needed to avoid a run-off presidential vote. Tsvangirai was detained by police in Zimbabwe twice last week without being charged.
``Zimbabweans can't vote freely if they fear their vote may get them killed,'' Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch, said in the statement.
A Human Rights Watch report, based on 70 interviews with victims and eyewitnesses, alleges that the ruling ZANU-PF party and its allies, such as army officials, war veterans and youth militia, have looted property and burnt the homes of opposition supporters. More than 3,000 people have fled their homes because of the violence, the group said.
Mugabe's spokesman George Charamba could not be reached for comment on his mobile phone.
Rural Strongholds
The violence has been concentrated in former rural strongholds of ZANU-PF, where the MDC increased its share of the vote in the March election, such as Mashonaland East, Mashonaland Central and Mashonaland West, Human Rights Watch said. The government has also increased attacks in Masvingo and Manicaland, where ZANU-PF lost constituencies to the opposition.
Human Right Watch said the African Union and Southern African Development Community should appoint more election observers in Zimbabwe and insist that those perpetrating the violence must be made accountable.
``AU and SADC leaders should not turn a blind eye to the serious abuses taking place in Zimbabwe,'' Gagnon said. ``They should make it clear to Zimbabwe that they won't endorse the elections and the result unless the government takes immediate measures to end the violence and other abuses.'' |
