Newsletter # 16 23rd March 2003

mugabe unleashes his cowards

Zvakwana reports with great sadness immense disgust that mugabe continues to call for violence against law-abiding citizens of Zimbabwe. At a funeral address on Friday he spat, "Let the MDC and its leaders be warned that those who play with fire will not only be burnt, but consumed by that fire. Read us correctly!"

It is understood from reliable sources that yesterday mugabe addressed over 5000 youths at his party office. The speech was venomous in the extreme.

True accounts
The results of this hideous behaviour, of one who purports to have the country at heart, are to some extent too terrible to report on. But Zvakwana thinks that it is important to include these true accounts, so that we acknowledge the costs of unseating the regime, and show our support for our fellow activists who are targeted for their commitment to freedom.

Over 250 people have been admitted to the main casualty wards in Harare since Thursday. Many of the victims told how they were warned, during their attacks, not to report the incidents to hospitals or human rights organisations. One women treated today was beaten for seeking treatment for wounds she suffered from a similar attack on Thursday.

There have been severe beatings with rifles, iron bars, metal rods, electrical cord and sjamboks. In addition, some victims were taken by the army for "interrogation," a process that involved electrocution and further beatings.

People reported broken bones and extensive bruising as a result of vicious beatings, as well as several cases of sexual assault. Many more are thought to have been too scared, or otherwise unable, to seek medical attention.

One victim treated today told how soldiers cut the burglar bars in order to gain entry to the house in which he was hiding. He was then beaten with whips and gun butts.

One young man from Kabudzuma was forced to watch while a group of villains stripped his mother and forced the barrel of an AK into her private parts. They then blind folded him, took him away and beat him senseless. He was dumped near Manyame airbase (a common dumping ground for victims of this cruelty wave of violence).

Zvakwana is horrified at this inhumane behaviour, typical of a wounded animal, entrapped and threatened by non-violent demonstrations and a threat to its domain.

Strength in numbers
We have seen from the success of the stay-away that the more of us there are speaking out and acting in protest, the harder it is for mugabe's thugs to victimise us. The fact that most people were able to stay peacefully at home and refuse to go to work shows us that, for the most part, the police and the army are also fed up with the current situation. This is a positive sign, as it means that very soon, if we keep up our pressure, they will increasingly refuse to follow orders and victimise people, and it will be only a very few Green Bombers whom mugabe can control. The more there are of us, the harder it will be for them to attack, victimise, or intimidate us.

We ask everyone to remain steadfast and to remain vigilant. Names, photographs and vehicle numbers are now staring to be sent into [email protected] - these people will be brought to justice.

Apologies
Due to technical difficulties, we have not been able to update the Zvakwana site (www.zvakwana.org). We have been assured that these problems will be resolved by the end of next week. At that time, we will update the website, and post pictures of events from the past week. In the meantime, you can visit the zwnews site (www.zwnews.com) to view some photographs of the events discussed above.