Tsvangari wants it and there is a lot of stuff that your aff doesn't do



RNW International Justice Desk

03-11-2008

TsvangiraiZimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai on Saturday called for a truth and reconciliation commission to examine atrocities in the country dating back to the massacres of ethnic minorities in the 1980s.

"This country has gone through a lot of traumatic experiences," Tsvangirai said at the launch of a video on the 1980s atrocities. "What we have to accept is that in order to heal there must be justice, and in order to have justice there must be truth," Tsvangirai said. The video documents the Zimbabwean army's bloody campaign known as Gukurahundi, "the rain that washes away the chaff", when a North Korean-trained brigade is believed to have killed some 20,000 people in a counter-insurgency drive.

"That is the only way which can help us move forward as a nation. Unless the truth is told, there cannot be healing and reconciliation," he said. "There are those who are calling for a truth commission. They are right, but without justice we cannot move forward," he added.

Gukurahundi
Gukurahundi, in which the Ndebele minority were executed, burnt alive, thrown down mine shafts, and shot, was carried out by the 5th Brigade under the command of one Perence Shiri. Shiri, now promoted by to an Air Marshall, still serves in the Zimbabwe National Army to this day. The actions of the 5th Brigade have been entirely blamed on Robert Mugabe since, ultimately he was in charge of its operations across the country. The Brigade was different from all other Zimbabwean army units in that it was directly subordinated to the Prime Minister's office, and not integrated to the normal army command structures.

Most of the Ndebele victims were shot in public executions, often after being forced to dig their own graves in front of family and fellow villagers. The largest number of dead in a single killing was on 5 March 1983, when 62 young men and women were shot on the banks of the Cewale River, Lupane . Seven survived with gunshot wounds, the other 55 died. Another way 5 Brigade killed large groups of people was to burn them alive in huts. They did this in Tsholotsho and also in Lupane.

The 5th Brigade also would routinely round up dozens, or even hundreds, of civilians and march them at gun point to a central place, like a school or bore-hole. There they would be forced to sing Shona songs praising ZANU, at the same time being beaten with sticks. These gatherings usually ended with public executions. Those killed could be ex-ZIPRAs, ZAPU officials, or anybody chosen at random.

Moment of madness
In 1999, Mugabe labeled Gukurahundi as a "moment of madness", but has never publicly accepted responsibility. When thousands of civilians were being killed , Mugabe and his other cronies repudiated these allegations of atrocities and accused hostile foreign press of fabricating stories.

The documentary, Gukurahundi: A Moment of Madness, is produced by Zenzele Ndebele who is a human rights activist, was the highlight of a Gaborone film festival organised by the Botswana Centre for Human Rights (Ditshwanelo) in March.

Common thing
Tsvangirai linked the massacres of the 1980s to an operation three years ago when President Robert Mugabe's government bulldozed the homes of 700,000 people in what was officially called a slum renewal project.

"The common thing is we have a leader and a government whose main pre-occupation is power-retention," he added. "We created that government and the leader, and the question is how to deal with such experiences because that is human terror of unprecedented proportions."

Tsvangirai and Mugabe, who has ruled since independence in 1980, have been negotiating for weeks over a power-sharing deal following deadly electoral violence earlier this year.
The talks are stalled over control of the home affairs ministry, which oversees the police.

(AFP)