ANALYSIS OF VIOLENCE AND INTIMIDATION OVER THE FIRST TWO WEEKS OF JUNE

Trends:
Burning or destruction of ID documents
Destruction of homes and property MDC supporters
Beatings, rape
People being dragged off buses
Farmers forced to attend war vet and ZanuPF meetings
Slow deployment of observers into areas
Third force activity
Nationalisation of assets
Moving the goal posts in terms of electoral laws and rules

Questions:
Where will war vets vote?  Which constituency will be allocated to soldiers
serving in Democratic Republic of Congo?  Will prisoners be allowed to vote?

15 June 2000
A number of disturbing trends are becoming apparent ahead of the election.
MDC president Morgan Tsvangirai said, "we have information that ZanuPF is
going to target 30 constituencies to burn and destroy documents, to burn
peoples homes and to generally attempt to intimidate voters ahead of the
election.  We don't believe these strategies will deter all people from
voting. However, the burning of identity documents makes it impossible for
people to vote.

"And too, we have President Mugabe saying that he will nationalise mines. He
has no constitutional right to seize anything - by making these statements
he is creating irreparable harm to the country. Who wants to invest in a
country where property rights are uncertain?   He has threatened farm
property, he is now threatening the mines - where will it end? Is he
nationalising the entire economy?" Tsvangirai asked.

A climate has been created by ZanuPF in which lives, and the economy, have
become expendable.

The Electoral Act has been changed twice in the past two weeks; the first
change necessitated the accreditation of election observers and polling
agents. It further delayed the deployment of election observers to the
field. By today, Thursday, 15 June, some observers were being deployed for
the first time; opposition political parties were still scrambling to get
sufficient details from polling agents to get them accredited.
The MDC began training polling agents a fortnight ago; the ongoing changes
to the Electoral Act have meant those first trained are already out of date
with the law and its changes.

Specific intimidation around voting is occuring. As examples:
12 June:

Farmworkers are now being given detailed instructions by
so-called war veterans on polling day procedures. They are being told that
farmers must provide lorries or tractors and trailers to take people to the polling
     stations, they will be under the direction of a "commander" and will be
accompanied to the door of the polling station.

It will be interesting to see how and where war veterans vote as they are
occupying farms and homesteads in areas they do not come from.

* In Chegutu,  ZanuPF candidate Charles Ndlovu has been picking up
illegal immigrants in the area - Mozambicans, Malawians and the ilk - and
taking them to get rapid Zimbabwean Identity documents and to be placed on
the supplementary roll. There was a group with Ndlovu busy doing this on
Monday night at 8.30pm when police arrived following a complaint from MDC
candidate, Phil Mathibe (091.319.458) and chased them away. 14.6.2000

Identification documents have been burnt, and this seems to be escalating.
There were reports in today's Daily News of identification documents being
destroyed in some areas. MDC first began documenting this on June 5:
* MDC Mutasa candidate, Eve Masaiti fled her home in the Honde Valley
during violent attacks on Monday and slept overnight in the bush. She was
rescued later by MDC supporters.  More than 50 people are now homeless and
have no food or clothes.  During attacks the identification documents of
those attacked were seized and burnt preventing them from voting in the
elections on June 24 and June 25.  The candidate is assessing damage with a
Commonwealth team in the area.  (telephone Eve Masaiti 023689603 or
091-220541 or 091-211553)

The second change to Electoral legislation came yesterday, when the
selection of 10 chiefs (of the 30 the President of Zimbabwe may handpick
according to exisitng law) was delayed until June 29 - after the election.
The MDC believes this delay is to ensure that chiefs who are prevaricating
about voting either MDC or ZanuPF will swing their loyalty to ZanuPF in the
hopes of getting a parliamentary position.  Last weekend, as an example, MDC
reported the following:

* Chief Moses Chiondegwa and his son, SD Makore Chiondegwa, a ZanuPF
education officer summoned headmen to Befura Shopping Centre, Madamomde at
10am (about 70km south of Gweru on the Beitbridge road) and told them that
if they do not vote ZanuPF then government will withdraw all titles from
them, as well as land and confiscate their cattle, and they will be
castigated as "sellouts."  EU observer in the area Annemarike Steeman was
informed of the meeting ahead of time (011805879) (MDC: Bernard Chiondegwa
0352396)(11 June)

Movement for Democratic Change president, Morgan Tsvangirai says, "there is
a secret group conducting the violence under the command of ZanuPFs
president Robert Mugabe, it is a select group or third force comprised of
war veterans, members of the army, airforce and units of the police
including CIO. It reveals itself in distinct patterns of behaviour."
As an example, last week the rape of 9 women were reported to MDC offices,
they were particularly cruel.

* In the Mutaga area there have been nine reports of women being raped
by so-called war veterans supporting Zanu-PF. In one instance the wife of a
senior MDC official was attacked in her bedroom by seven men claiming to be
Zanu-PF supporters to "punish her for selling MDC cards."She was held down
at each arm and each leg by four men, a fifth man sat on her neck and
pummelled her while they took turns beating her and her husband claims she
was raped. They beat her so severely that she can barely walk and her skin
is navy with bruises. Sekai Holland, the MDC candidate for the area said:
"the woman now walks around telling people she is no longer a person." (5
June)

There have been growing numbers of displacees - an estimated 10 000 people
have fled their homes, or had them burnt, or are in hiding fearing attacks
because they have dared to exercise their democratic choice to support the
MDC or a party other than the ruling party.  Hundreds of people live in
forests, or with relatives in urban areas and rural villages, they move from
room to room, house to house with only the clothes on their backs or those
of their children.

* June 8, 8am, the homesteads and granaries of Emanuel Munyanana and
Gokwe Nemangwe were razed to the ground at Matanga.
* June 8: Four MDC officials  sit at a table, absolutely numbed, their
clothes smart but creased  - their homes were burnt down at the weekend.
ZanuPF began calling for an end to the beatings and violence but their
supporters and war veterans - who have in instances also begun beating
ZanuPF officials - have not yet heard them. Or perhaps this is a situation
ZanuPF can no longer control, without asking for the forces of law and order
to perform their duty, which they are loathe to do.

There have been numerous abductions - and disappearances with some people
still missing. People have been abducted off the street, dragged off buses,
taken from their homes or workplaces:

* Three MDC supporters were abducted. A student nurse at Marondera
hospital, Thomas Bhiri (28) is in Marondera hospital after being dragged
from a lecture room at the hospital and placed in a municipal vehicle,
according to eyewitnesses. When a hospital guard tried to stop the abductors
he too was beaten up. Bhiri says he was taken to ZanuPF headquarters where a
cloth was tied around his face and he was beaten with iron bars and sticks.
He sustained a broken leg and extensive lacerations. He is at present in
Marondera Hospital.

* Eyewitnesses saw Farai Mutendeudzwa (30), abducted yesterday from
Marondera saw mills by unidentified people.

* Wellington Taruvinga was yesterday abducted from his workplace.
MAPCO, in Marondera, he was taken to the provincial headquarters of ZanuPF
in Marondera where he too had his face covered and was beaten. He lost some
teeth and sustained lacerations and bruising. 

*** Candidate Didymus Munhenzva said he was now "too frightened to return to
the area in case I too, get beaten up or killed." (8 June)

The MDC has adopted an open strategy of informing people about rallies and
meetings - which has led to ZanuPF using this openness to harass candidates
and their officers, and to disrupt meetings, tear down posters and attack
members.

* MDC candidate, Richard Chadya, Hungwe East (091.367.023) said he was
being severely restricted from campaigning in an areas that had seen
killings and severe intimidation. "Our strategy is door to door campaigning.
If we call people to bigger meetings they fear that they will get attacked."
Nevertheless, he said MDC support was strong in his constituency. (8.6.2000)

* Mfanaidza Hove of Mberengwa West Constituency (011-803-453) gave
examples of intimidation in his area recently.  "Mr R Gambiza, the
constituency co-ordinating committee: deputy chairman of Zibwi was abducted
and beaten up, he has now fled to Bulawayo. He was responsible for
organising meetings, rallies in four area - Zimbwa, Rengwe, Vutika,
Mupandashango, Mawari and Mnene with an estimated population of 12 000
people - approximately 40% of whom are registered voters. Mr O Siwela and Mr
T Moyo, both youth wing members were also abducted and assaulted.  Teachers
at Chegato Secondary School, Mnene Secondary school, Maringambizi Secondary
School and others have been abducted and assaulted. The school library at
Maringabizi was also burnt down.

* "Ms T Shumba of Zibwi, a women's wing activitst and Lenny Sibanda a
          youth activist have also fled their homes. The homes have been
burnt down of Mr Bodo (Chief Mazivofa's right hand man) has now fled to Zvishavana,
and that of Mr P Chakarisa, a teacher at Rusvinge school. In Mberengwa East
there have been more brutal assaults, shops destroyed, houses burnt down and a lot
of people have fled their homes ." (8.6.2000)

* At Chinhoyi ZanuPF have been tearing down posters put up by MDC.

* At Wedza -where the MDC candidate has fled following threats by a
general in the army - posters have been torn down, two men have been
abducted and not seen since - Steven Kanengoni and another known only as
Herbert. Polling agents were beaten during training at Shanganayi Shopping
Centre and a hotel at Nhekairo Shoping Centre was destroyed, doors pulled
off their hinges, guests chased outside and beaten because it was -
erroneously - believed that MDC supporters were having a meeting inside.
14.6.200

*      At Derbyshire Stone Quarry, Waterfalls, ZanuPF put up posters - the
workers tore them down. They returned and beat up the owner Brian Zamudio
and his son, even though they had nothing to do with the incident and are
not political. 15.6.2000

The MDC is operating its campaign on a shoestring budget, nearly all its
workers and candidates are working without pay, and have been for months.
Despite huge difficulties in campaigning, and the fact that many have been
beaten, tortured, had their homes destroyed, their wives raped or been
forced out of their constituencies 120 candidates have stood firm.  They are
risking everything for a chance at democratic change.

Keep up the momentum!

Guqula Izenzo/Maitiro Chinja

"Zimbabwe's strength lies in racial and ethnic diversity - we will overcome
attempts to divide us.  Without truth, there is no justice, without justice
no national reconstruction." (Morgan Tsvangirai)

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