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Zimbabwe: Statements/Analysis, 1
Zimbabwe: Statements/Analysis, 1
Date distributed (ymd): 000514
Document reposted by APIC
+++++++++++++++++++++Document Profile+++++++++++++++++++++
Region: Southern Africa
Issue Areas: +political/rights+ +economy/development+
+security/peace+ +US policy focus+
Summary Contents:
This posting contains two statements on the current crisis in
Zimbabwe, one from the Advocacy Network for Africa (ADNA) and the
other from the African Studies faculty of Michigan State University
Another posting today contains on-line starting points for
background and analysis on the current crisis in Zimbabwe, an
article by Patrick Bond on the history and political economy of the
crisis, a statement from the Congress of South Africa Trade Unions
(COSATU) and a brief update on the economic situation from the UN's
Integrated Regional Information Network.
+++++++++++++++++end profile++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Statement on the Present Crisis in Zimbabwe and Needed Actions
Advocacy Network for Africa (ADNA)
May 10, 2000
Zimbabwe's current political and economic crisis demands immediate
attention and action from the international community. As one of
Africa's long-term success stories, Zimbabwe's current environment
is now one of extreme fragility. National peace and security are
severely threatened, and there are regional implications that stem
from Zimbabwe's collapsing economy as well as the potential for
massive refugee flows if human rights violations persist or
violence escalates.
Of urgent concern is the fact that regular attacks are taking
place, on both members of opposition parties such as the Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC) and white commercial farmers, allegedly
by well-organized supporters of the ruling ZANU-PF party. At least
eighteen people have been killed, including white and black
farmers, MDC members and a police officer. President Mugabe claims
that the land-occupiers are dissatisfied war veterans and that the
violence is due to white farmers resisting their occupation. The
fact that the attacks have been mounted against MDC members
however, in the run-up to the parliamentary elections after
President Mugabe received his first major defeat-a rejection of his
proposed new Constitution-illustrates the very political nature of
the problem. MDC Executive members claim they have been threatened
with death, and there is wider concern amongst the public that
those who support the MDC may be under threat as well.
While these political sources of conflict must be immediately
addressed, any long-term transformation of Zimbabwe's crisis will
require addressing the structural sources of conflict, upon which
the success of violent conflict depends. In addition to the very
real land hunger, there is a present economic crisis, characterized
by record high unemployment (over 50%), poverty (76%), inflation at
(70%), and severely declining standards in education and health
(with Africa's highest AIDs-related death tolls)-all of which have
considerably worsened since the introduction of the Economic
Structural Adjustment Program (ESAP) in 1991. Compounding these
problems is the financial fact that Zimbabwe is reportedly spending
US$1 million per day in the Congolese war.
Immediate End to Violence and Impunity
Police should act impartially and promptly to situations of
potential and actual violence and should safeguard the human and
civil rights of all in Zimbabwe. Specifically police should protect
the security of the farm workers, farmers, opposition leaders and
members, and in particular women, now vulnerable to acts of rape,
as well as peaceful demonstrators exercising their rights of
freedom of speech, assembly and association. The government of
Zimbabwe, and President Mugabe specifically, should direct police
to act in this manner.
Investigations should also be promptly and impartially made into
all violations, or risk the characterization of violence with
impunity. Immediate investigations that should be undertaken
include: violence surrounding the Saturday 1 April peace
demonstration in Harare, all murders and cases of arson and rape.
Free and Fair Elections
Elections should be conducted in a free, fair and transparent
manner devoid of intimidation and violence, respecting peoples'
rights to freedom of expression and association. The government of
Zimbabwe should act to protect the integrity, fairness and openness
of the electoral process. State-sanctioned acts of violence create
a climate of fear where individuals are unable to exercise their
rights.
By calling opposition leaders "puppets of the white farmers" and
white farmers "enemies of the state" for their support of the MDC
and their "no" vote in the constitutional referendum, President
Mugabe illustrates his resistance to the most fundamental aspects
of democratic process that entitle the free formation of opposition
political parties. Historically, President Mugabe's record in this
regard is not good. In previous elections, the courts successfully
prosecuted ZANU-PF members for political violence, to which the
President responded promptly with political pardons.
Land Invasions Stopped
Land invasions should be stopped and the Zimbabwe government should
not support them. They threaten the immediate human and civil
rights of farm workers and farm owners, and raise the prospect of
wider social violence. They also contribute to an atmosphere of
intimidation in the run-up to elections. Zimbabwe's highest courts
have twice ruled that against the occupations, and that the police
should evacuate them. These court rulings must prevail.
In addition to the threatening atmosphere and actual violence they
produce, land invasions present the appearance or reality of
partisanship, and discriminate a priori in favor of some social
groups, particularly actual or claimed ex-combatants aligned with
ZANU-PF, to the likely disadvantage of other groups, including farm
workers, older and younger peasants, ex-combatants not aligned with
ZANU-PF, and women, as well as current land owners.
Action
The legitimate and much needed issues surrounding land reform
should be dealt with through the extensive measures that have
already been arrived at and put in place. These include the
Inception Phase of the Land Reform Program, and the UNDPcoordinated
Technical Support Unit, responsible for assisting
implementation. As also suggested in the Donor Conference Report of
September 1998, further discussions between all potential
stakeholders should continue to take place, in conditions free of
violence and intimidation. This should include farm workers, whose
indigenous knowledge of the farms ensure that they are well placed
to continue working that land. Efforts such as the National
Stakeholder Workshop held in May 1999, must continue to inform and
guide the process.
As both non-governmental organizations and the 1994 Land Tenure
Commission Report has emphasized, land redistribution is essential
for sustainable development and national reconciliation. Various
non- governmental actors within the country have noted that a fair
land redistribution process must be guided by principles of:
- equity, in terms of race, gender, and number of landholders
(more landholders, smaller farms), and in terms of access to rural
infrastructure, agricultural and capital markets;
- transparency: open and accountable process of land acquisition
and its redistribution;
- participation: the policy and program would involve potential
'winners' and 'losers', with opportunities and fora for policy
dialogue and steps taken to compensate 'losers';
- fairness: beneficiaries of resettlement are to be selected by
clear process, and not determined through racist, ethnic, regional
party affiliation, or anti-'foreigner' sentiments, and at the same
time;
- a need-based strategy: those in greatest need should be
targeted. While the system to date in theory is "fair," in practice
the government is under fire as government ministers, who are
generally not farmers, have reaped benefits.
The U.S. government should pursue approaches to the situation that
put priority on concerns for human rights, social justice, peace
and development in Zimbabwe rather than on international economic
ideologies. They should consult widely with all interested
Zimbabweans and support a process of social negotiations that is
widely participatory, transparent and free of coercion, in which
Zimbabweans set the pace and content.
International commitments, some dating back to the 1979 Lancaster
House Agreement, to financially aid the land reform process should
be reaffirmed and extended, following elections and supporting the
above principles. The international community should call for and
support free and fair elections, providing funds and election
monitors.
Active efforts should be taken by the international community
towards fulfilling moral and practical, historical and contemporary
responsibilities related to land redistribution. The Zimbabwean
government's efforts have long been crippled by a lack of resources
to carry out needed land reforms-even when it was pursuing policies
approved of by Britain and the wider international economic
community. Land redistribution, needed for sustainable peace and
development in Zimbabwe will require thoughtful consideration and
action towards linkage to Zimbabwe's wider development policy.
Signatories
(Twenty-one ADNA member organizations signed on to this letter.
List of signatories is on file.)
Erin McCandless Editor, Cantilevers
School of International Service, American University
4400 Massachusettes Ave. NW Washington DC 20016-8071
Tel: (202) 885-1626/Fax: (202) 885-2494/levers@american.edu
Home: 526 4th St. NE Washington DC 20002
tel: (202) 543-7513 emccand@attglobal.net
***
This message is distributed from Cantilevers and the ad hoc working
group on Zimbabwe for the Advocacy Network for Africa (ADNA).
Vicki Lynn Ferguson Advocacy Network for Africa Communications
Facilitator c/o Africa Policy Information Center 110 Maryland Ave,
NE #509 Washington, DC 20002 Ph: 202-546-7961 Fax: 202-546-1545
E-mail: vlf@africapolicy.org Web: http://www.africapolicy.org
Date sent: Fri, 12 May 2000 01:26:15 -0500
From: David Wiley <wiley@msu.edu>
Subject: Resolutions on Zimbabwe by MSU ASC Faculty
Colleagues concerned with Africa,
Here are two resolutions adopted by the vote of the faculty of the
African Studies Center at Michigan State University after extensive
discussion and amendment beginning at the Faculty Spring Meeting on
May 4. They reflect our special concern resulting from the
engagement of many of our faculty and students in Zimbabwe since
its Independence.
These are being disseminated to the Government of Zimbabwe as well
as to the U.S. Administration, Department of State, and relevant
Members of the Senate and Congress.
We hope that these may have some impact on the painful and unjust
situation that has developed in Zimbabwe and to the benefit of the
Zimbabwean people.
Regards, David Wiley Director, African Studies Center
===
Statement on Zimbabwe by the Faculty of the African Studies Center
at Michigan State University
May 10, 2000
Statement to President William J. Clinton 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.,
Washington, D.C. 20500 (Via Fax: 202-456-2461)
and to:
Secretary Madeline Albright and Assistant Secretary of State for
Africa Susan Rice U.S. Department of State, Washington, D.C. 20520
(Via Fax: 202-261-8577)
We, the faculty of the African Studies Center at Michigan State
University, are proud of our tradition of defending justice and
basic human rights, condemning both injustice and oppression in
Africa, as found in colonial and apartheid regimes, as well as U.S.
policies which supported oppressive regimes. From this tradition we
express our deep concern for the people of Zimbabwe, and we condemn
the many egregious acts of violence and intimidation occurring
there against both Zimbabwean farm workers and individuals who
support opposition parties.
With humility, we recognize our failure to voice our collective
opposition to instances of state-sanctioned injustice and violence
against civil populations in several countries in Africa in recent
years and the Western support of war, violence, and dictators
during the Cold War. With this resolution, we pledge our more
vigorous and unequivocal opposition to such practices and our
commitment to a more vigorous opposition to violations of human
life and liberty wherever they occur in Africa.
Specifically we call upon the government of the United States to
condemn the widespread and violent attacks in Zimbabwe, including
murder, rape, beatings, and burnings of homes. We note with grave
concern that Zimbabwe's most vulnerable population of 3 million
commercial farm workers and their families are highly vulnerable to
further acts of violence in the absence of protection by Zimbabwe's
police and military.
In response we call upon the U.S. government to take the lead in
funding rape crisis programs for female farm worker victims and
their families, new housing construction for affected farm worker
families, and nutritional programs for their children.
Recognizing the legacy of the discriminatory colonial land policy
and the continuing injustices in disenfranchising Zimbabweans of
land, we call on the U.S. government to honor its commitment to
provide generous financial support for an equitable land
redistribution programs in a manner that contributes to the welfare
of the truly needy--and to encourage its allies in the wealthy
nations to do likewise. It also should encourage the Zimbabwe
Government to vigorously address the legitimate and long-unattended
needs of the landless and farm workers in a fair and just manner.
Finally we support the State Department's call of April 19, 2000
for a return to the rule of law and to respect for basic human
rights in Zimbabwe, and we call upon the U.S. government to use its
influence with the Zimbabwean government to insure timely, free and
fair elections.
Statement to the Government of the Republic of Zimbabwe c/o The
Ambassador, Embassy of the Republic of Zimbabwe, 1608 New Hampshire
Ave. NW. 20009 (Via Fax: 202-483-9326)
The faculty of the African Studies Center at Michigan State
University has a proud tradition of condemning injustice and
oppression in colonial Rhodesia and for supporting the liberation
of Zimbabwe and its people. Moreover we strongly condemned the role
played by our own government in supporting the illegal Smith and
Smith/Muzorewa regimes. Further, in the two decades since
independence, this faculty, through its linkages with the
University of Zimbabwe, the government, and non-governmental
agencies, has collaborated with Zimbabwean colleagues to develop
institutional capacity and to address solutions to economic and
social problems confronting Zimbabwe. More than any other U.S.
university, we have provided countless University, personal, and
grant funds and fellowships for Zimbabweans, and we have given much
labor to assist in building a new Zimbabwe.
From this tradition of deep loyalty to Zimbabwe and Zimbabweans, we
express our deep concern for the people of Zimbabwe and condemn the
egregious acts of violence and intimidation targeted at the
Zimbabwean farm workers and individuals supporting opposition
parties.
We call upon our friends and colleagues in the Government of
Zimbabwe to take immediate action to end all attacks and
intimidation against these rural and urban peoples. Moreover, we
call upon the GRZ to insure the basic human rights of all
Zimbabweans, to immediately return to the rule of law, and to
organize timely elections which are free of intimidation.
Recognizing the legacy of the discriminatory colonial land policy
and the continuing injustices in disenfranchising Zimbabweans of
fertile land, we also are calling on the U.S. government to honor
its commitment to provide generous financial support for land
redistribution programs in Zimbabwe if it is carried out in a
manner that contributes to the welfare of the truly needy and to
encourage its allies in the wealthy nations to do likewise.
Finally, we urge the Government of the Republic of Zimbabwe -
- to vigorously address the legitimate and long-unattended needs of
the landless and the farm workers in a fair and just manner,
- to provide funding for rape crisis programs for female farm
worker victims and their families, new housing construction for
affected farm worker families, and nutritional programs for their
children, and,
- to be proactive in providing safety and security from murder,
rape, beatings, and burning of homes for all the people of the
country regardless of their political affiliation.
This material is being reposted for wider distribution by the
Africa Policy Information Center (APIC). APIC provides accessible
information and analysis in order to promote U.S. and international
policies toward Africa that advance economic, political and social
justice and human and cultural rights.
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