Causecast

by SARAH NELSON, Contributing Writer

Pending allegations of human rights violations and a continued struggle for political stability led Zimbabwe government officials to extend an invite to the United Nations to visit the country on a fact-finding mission earlier this month. UN torture expert, Manfred Nowak, was scheduled to visit the country to investigate the allegations of torture and humans rights violations- including the arrest, harassment and intimidation of human rights activists for their defense of Zimbabwe’s Movement for Democratic Change party. Upon his arrival for the week long investigation, Nowak was met by immigration officials who informed him that he was being refused entry despite his valid visa.

DEPORTED. Needless to say, Mr. Nowak was not happy.

In a statement made after the incident, Nowak remarked , "I deeply regret that the Government has deprived me of the possibility to objectively assess the situation of torture and ill-treatment through gathering on the spot evidence from all available sources, including governmental and non-governmental sources, victims and witnesses, as well as visits to various places of detention."

For more than twenty years, the dictatorial regime of Robert Mugabe, posing as a consociational democratic government, has denied any violation of human rights in Zimbabwe. All the while citizens are left homeless, dying of preventable disease and living in fear of what their government might do to them if they speak out.

The highly charged 2008 presidential election resulted in a "shared-power" decision between Mugabe and the opposing party’s elected Prime Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai.

Sharing power with an evil dictator? Good luck with that.

As it turns out the marriage of the opposing parties isn’t working out so well. Tsvangirai doesn’t trust Mugabe. Mugabe doesn’t like Tsvangiarai. So the rest of South Africa is stepping in for some marriage counseling. Talks among officials from Mozambique, Swaziland and Zambia will begin Thursday in an effort to solve the constant political struggle in Zimbabwe that has contributed to ongoing human rights violations.

Following his deportation last week, Mr. Nowak also voiced concerns that, where allegations of human rights violations are concerned, in Zimbabwe – time is of the essence. It is still unknown who exactly denied the UN official entry into the country, but Nowak blames Mugabe and remarked that his refused entry into Zimbabwe is evidence of where the power lies in Zimbabwe.

I don’t think Nowak is a big believer in the whole "shared power" idea either.

As the government continues to struggle to work out its internal differences, it’s the citizens of Zimbabwe that suffer the most. Mugabe’s failed land reform projects have left millions displaced from their homes. Inflation in Zimbabwe continues to soar, and is so high that in January of this year the country was forced to mint a $50 billion note and unemployment has risen to exceed 85 percent, launching more than 80 percent of the population into poverty.

Causecast featured Organization, Amnesty International USA, is working hard to monitor human rights issues and provide critical information on the situation in Zimbabwe. Be part of the action. Become a member and donate to Amnesty or learn how you can educate others and stand in solidarity with those in Zimbabwe and around the world who suffer violation of their most basic human rights.

Photo by Tech. Sgt. Jeremy Lock, Wikimedia Commons.