SOURCE: [email protected] [2]

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Organ on Politics,
Defence and Security Cooperation issued a Communiquê following their
meeting in Harare, Zimbabwe, on 3 April 2003.

This Communiqué identifies the land issue as at the core of the
current Zimbabwe crisis, and discusses the questions of farm workers,
media restrictions, and non-violent demonstrations as peripheral
issues further affecting Zimbabwe. Finally, the communiqué labels as
a "selective diversion" attempts to focus any discussion on
governance and human rights issues.

This Communiquê demonstrates a painful failure of SADC Heads of State
to grasp issues essential to the Zimbabwean people. All Zimbabweans
believe in the principle of a transparent and equitable land
redistribution programme.
In this land reform exercise, however, there should be no bargaining
with human rights and the rule of law. These issues must be
addressed together, through an organised and through agrarian reform
programme. Instead, the manner in which Zimbabwe's land reform
exercise has been carried out has resulted in wide spread food
shortages, growing famine, and has contributed to an economic crisis
that threatens not only Zimbabwe but the region. In spite of this,
the Government of Zimbabwe has managed to generate a highly
politicised debate around the land question. This debate obfuscates
legitimate concerns surrounding violence and human rights abuses, and
distracts attention of the international community, and Southern
Africa in particular, from the poor governance record of ZANU-PF.

The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition urges South Africans, and others in
the region, to look beyond the ruling party propaganda. Human rights
and good governance are not "distractions;" they are essential to the
concerns of all Zimbabweans. A well heeded two-day stay-away, and by-
election victories by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC) last month have been met by a wave of violence and repression.
Over 600 pro-democracy activists, including civic leaders,
councillors and opposition Members of Parliament have been arrested
in the past two weeks under spurious charges. Over 800 people,
primarily activists, but also their neighbours, colleagues, husbands,
wives and children have been beaten, tortured, raped assaulted and
victimised over the past two weeks for involvement - or perceived
involvement-with the democratic struggle.

A SADC task force which was to come to Zimbabwe this week to
investigate the situation here and to consult with key stake holders
has not yet arrived. Reports indicate that the entire Task Force
process may be hijacked by the Government of Zimbabwe, which seeks to
set the agenda, determine the itinerary and identify the "stake
holders" to be consulted, if and when the task force arrives.

The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition is stunned by the capacity of
thirteen capable governments to be so completely hoodwinked by one
country's President. It urges the governments of SADC and concerned
citizens across the region to go beyond the propaganda put forth by
the ruling party in Zimbabwe, and develop their own understanding of
the severity of the Zimbabwe situation by listening to and engaging
with voices from all corners of Zimbabwe.

Please print this message out and distribute it at your workplace.
In addition, feel free to forward this message to your contacts and
colleagues.

Crisis in Zimbabwe is a grouping of civil society organisations and
coalitions whose vision is a democratic Zimbabwe. The Coalition's
mandate is to address the twin questions of governance and legitimacy.
----
editor's comment: this may be a pessimistic view, as the Zimbabwe
government version sounds as if they will be among the task force
members, along with some compliant friends of theirs, but some other
reports say that representatives of Botswana, Mozambique and South
Africa will be included and could view things in a more detached
manner. Still, it is best to be prepared for the worst. Warning of a
possible danger might avert it.
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