| Who is responsible? A preliminary analysis of pre-election violence in Zimbabwe June 20, 2000 |
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Contents « »A Campaign of Violence by Zanu (PF) Supporters: Regional Studies Although violence by supporters of the ruling party has affected communities in all parts of Zimbabwe, a statistical analysis up to 4 June 2000 by province indicated that certain regions have been affected worse than others. Most reported cases of violence occurred in Harare, which had 23,3 % of the total. 22,1% of reported violations occurred in Mashonaland East, 15,6% in Mashonaland Central, and 10% in the Midlands. These statistics are based largely upon newspaper reports. They are by no means definitive, indeed as regards Harare they are somewhat misleading. Account must be taken of the fact that while cases of violence which occur in the province of Harare are much more likely to be reported to the independent press - which has been at the forefront of exposing the violence - those which occur in outlying districts often remain hidden. This proviso applies equally to the reports which have been received by the Forum, which has also received most of its reports from the same four regions. For this reason alone our initial analysis focuses upon Mashonaland Central and Mashonaland East, with reports upon the Midlands and Harare due to follow together with a summary report on the violence in the rest of Zimbabwe’s eight provinces. Vicious attacks are known to have been made upon opposition supporters in all provinces and these continue to be documented by the Forum and by its member organisations. There have been an increasing number of reports from Manicaland in particular and efforts will be made to give the necessary in depth coverage to the violence in other provinces at a later date. It is important that individual attacks be looked at in their regional context since, although there are many common factors and distinct features which confirm the existence of a national programme of violence, there are also variations from place to place which seem largely to be related to the commitment shown by the party leadership or the militia commanders in that area. The same variations are perceptible within regions so that some districts may have been badly affected, while others have remained relatively calm. In the two provincial analyses that follow the focus is somewhat different. In Mashonaland Central because the available evidence points strongly in this direction, the concentration is upon involvement of government officials. On the other hand, in Mashonaland East the focus is on the brutal and widespread nature of the violence as related by its victims. TOP |