Zimbabwe last year stepped up attacks on critics of the government, including torture and kidnappings, gagged the media and misused scarce food stocks for political ends, Amnesty International said in a report published on Wednesday.
”There was an escalation in state-sponsored attacks on critics of the government, particularly supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC),” the report said.
The London-based rights watchdog said ”perpetrators of human rights violations continued to enjoy impunity, and allegations against state agents were not investigated.
”The majority of abuses were committed by ruling party supporters and police, security and army officers against opposition supporters,” it said.
”Police officers were implicated in torture, ill-treatment and unlawful killings, mostly of MDC supporters,” Amnesty International said, adding that ”hundreds of people were detained for holding political meetings or peaceful political protests”.
The report also slammed a crackdown on the media following a draconian 2002 law used to close down the popular independent Daily News tabloid, which was fiercely critical of President Robert Mugabe’s government.
It also evoked the expulsion of a foreign journalist working for a British paper and the arrest of scores of local journalists.
”The authorities and state-sponsored militia continued to deny people access to food aid based on real or perceived political affiliation, and used food aid to buy votes during parliamentary by-elections,” it said.
”Political manipulation of food aid by officials and supporters of the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF) continued. The food situation remained critical.”
Aid agencies estimate that Zimbabwe will this year face shortages of up to 800 000 tons of maize meal, a national staple.
Some of the agencies blame the country’s controversial land reform programme, which saw the seizure of white-owned farms for redistribution to new black farmers, for cutting maize production and leading to a crippling food shortage.
Amnesty said Harare also reportedly ”established training camps throughout the country for youth militia members, increasing concerns about the use of youth militia to carry out serious human rights violations against the government’s perceived political enemies”.
It said a slew of elections held last year were anything but free and fair.
”During local council, mayoral and parliamentary by-elections on 30 and 31 August, [ruling party] supporters armed with catapults, stones and iron bars intimidated polling agents and MDC supporters by blocking approaches to the polling stations.
”On 3 November the petition filed by the MDC in April 2002 challenging the results of the March 2002 presidential election,” won by Mugabe ”was heard in the High Court. No ruling in the case had been given by the end of 2003.” – Sapa-AFP