BULUWAYO - 28 April 2008 - 520 words
Zimbabwe: Bulawayo churches open doors to victims of violence and torture
Churches in Bulawayo (CIB), on Friday released a statement through aid agency Tearfund calling for action in response to confirmed reports of widespread torture, beatings and harassment of community members by Zanu PF militias.
CIB confirmed that its member churches would be immediately opening its doors so as to shelter the victims of harassment. They are also calling on the government to release the Presidential results immediately and for increased international efforts to resolve the crisis before the situation degenerates into a bloodbath,.
Since the elections, property has been destroyed and seized. Communities have been threatened with further violence if they fail to vote for Robert Mugabe should a run off ballot take place.
While the South African Development Committee (SADC) leaders have called for release of the presidential results, they consistently avoid open criticism of Mugabe. And while President Mbeki has claimed that there is no crisis, in Zimbabwe, Tearfund partner organisations are reporting something quite different.
"Talk of a run off is frightening as people are still waiting for the result of the Presidential elections, said Pastor Promise Manceda of Zimbabwe's Christian Alliance - who explains that a simple tally of polling station votes would quickly yield the results. "Worse still in the outskirts of Bulawayo, militia are reported to be undergoing intense training. Such a heavy presence and involvement of the military is having a traumatic affect on the population."
Tearfund,' partners have reported violence in rural areas, particularly in those areas scheduled for a recount. We have heard that a regional meeting had to be cancelled because staff members are too afraid to leave their families. Fear and confusion are spreading across the country in this vacuum of uncertainty and threat,, says Karyn Beattie, Tearfund,s Disaster Response Manager for Zimbabwe. We are very concerned for the safety of people, those just simply trying to exist although there is nothing simple about existing in a country in collapse.
There is increasing concern for church leaders and staff of civil society groups, who have courageously spoken out, demanding a democratic and peaceful transition. Tearfund has called on on SADC, the African Union and UN to intervene and ensure that the results of the elections are not falsified and that the democratic right of the people of Zimbabwe to choose their leaders is respected.
Tearfund is sustaining a feeding programme
through local churches to support some 35,000 people - orphans
and vulnerable families although the current situation is hindering
logistic movements. Food, water and nearly all basic necessities
have become all but unavailable to the vast majority. The full text from the Churches in Bulawayo follows:
We as the church in Bulawayo and the surrounding districts are
concerned about the current socio-political developments in our
beloved country. In particular we are concerned that three weeks
after elections, the Presidential Election Results have not been
released.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has failed to communicate
to Zimbabweans the reason for the delay in releasing the results.
The ZEC has been made to prioritise the recounting of votes instead
of releasing the outstanding Presidential Elections Results. Like
many Zimbabweans we are asking why ZEC went on to do a recount
in constituencies where queries were not made within the stipulated
48 hours. This is required by the electoral law and throws doubts
over the ZEC,s independence.
Through the church network we have now received confirmed reports
of intimidations, harassment, beatings and torture of vulnerable
fellow citizens in the rural areas. Churches will now be faced
with the challenges of counseling traumatized and internally displaced
Zimbabweans. It is a cause of great concern that one church in
the Inyathi area that falls under the Bubi / Umguza constituency
has been forced to close. This is an infringement of our constitutional
right of freedom of worship. A Christian leader in the area is
currently hospitalized as he was traumatized by the threats and
accusations.
We are also getting reports of mobilization and preparation for
organized violence by some militia against people in the rural
areas as a form of retribution for choosing candidates of their
own choice during the recent elections and also as an attempt
to influence them to vote in a particular way in the event of
a run-off.
In the midst of these challenges: We call upon Christians everywhere
especially in the neighboring countries to pray for the people
of Zimbabwe as they go through these traumatic times and to put
pressure on their governments concerning the urgent need for SADC
to intervene. We call upon ZEC to immediately release the Presidential
Results. The churches wish to register gratitude to the growing
crescendo of voices in SADC and indeed acknowledge that the UN
Secretary General has added weight to these voices seeking resolutions
to the Zimbabwean impasse. We urge intensification of these voices
and pray that a resolution is reached without the situation degenerating
into a blood bath. As churches we have agreed that churches in
Bulawayo immediately open their doors so as to shelter the victims
of torture and harassment who will be in need of shelter, counseling,
and medical treatment.
Source: Tearffund/CIB
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