Zimbabwe -- ZANU PF unleashes massive violence against MDC supporters

HARARE - Retribution is quietly gathering pace days after Zimbabwe's disputed election with several dozens of opposition supporting families denied food or beaten up and forced to flee their homes, ZimOnline has established.

In the town of Karoi in Mashonaland West province, ruling ZANU PF party militants have told all perceived supporters of the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party that they will intensify attacks against them once foreign election observers have left the country.

At least 10 villagers from Kazangarare rural area in the province have sought refuge in Karoi after fleeing ruling ZANU PF militias on Monday, who were threatening them with unspecified punishment for supporting the MDC.

"They (ZANU PF militants) said we should come here to Karoi where the MDC is supported," one of the villagers Innocent Tavoyi told ZimOnline.

The villagers are staying at the Karoi home of Biggie Haurovi the MDC candidate in last Thursday's poll. Haurovi lost Hurungwe East constituency, under which Karoi and Kazangarare falls, to ZANU PF's Reuben Marumahoko. But the opposition candidate had more votes in Karoi town.

In Gwanda, in Matabeleland South province, 45 MDC supporters were beaten up and told they will no longer be allowed to buy maize from the state Grain Marketing Board, the only supplier of the staple food in the hunger stricken district.

MDC officials in Matabeleland South said retribution against their supporters, which they said they feared could become more brutal in coming days, began last Saturday a day after the final results of the poll won by ZANU PF by 78 seats against the MDC's 41.

In Mutare city, in the east of the country, six MDC supporters are holed up at the opposition party's provincial headquarters in the city after fleeing their homes in Makoni East, about 100 km north-west of Mutare.

"They (ZANU PF militants) are threatening everyone known to have been campaigning for the MDC. The police are aware and insist we be beaten up first and then report later as there would be evidence," Tendai Gonese who was campaigning for the MDC in Makoni East said.

Gonese and his MDC colleagues, Nixon Injisi, Langton Chifamba, Future Musindo, Thomas Handireki and Rosemary Chimombo said they will only go back to their homes if they are assured of protection from ZANU PF militants.

But MDC officials in Mutare and in other parts of the country where retribution is going on against opposition supporters said they had reported the attacks and denial of food to opposition supporters to the police but to no avail.

MDC deputy spokesman in Matabeleland South, Petros Mukwena said: "Most of the people have suffered beatings ... they have (also) taken advantage of their control of maize distribution to deny our supporters a right to buy the commodity. We have told the police about these activities many times in the past few days but they have not done anything about it."

In Karoi, the MDC's Haurovi said MDC supporters there were living in fear as ZANU PF militants freely roam the area terrorising suspected opposition supporters while the police had by yesterday not taken any action against the ruling party militants.

Haurovi said: "I am surprised that the police are not arresting ZANU PF members involved in brutal attacks against MDC supporters, people are living in fear here."

But Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi and ZANU PF officials denied there was any campaign of retribution by ruling party militants against MDC supporters.

"I am not aware of that. If the MDC has such problems, which I do not believe are happening, they have not reported to the police," Mohadi said.

In Mashonaland West province, under which Karoi falls, acting ZANU PF provincial chairman John Mafa said: "We have not sent anyone to go around beating up people and we as a party we have not received any reports of any of our supporters beating people for voting for the MDC."

Human rights and pro-democracy groups warned of a vicious backlash against the opposition after Zimbabwe's poll and urged observer missions to remain in the country a little longer after polling to help ensure there will be no victimisation of government opponents.

It was not possible to immediately establish when the South African government, Southern African Development Community and Africa Union observer missions, all still in Zimbabwe, planned to leave the country.

Meanwhile, MDC spokesman Paul Themba Nyathi said in a statement yesterday that deputy Transport Minister Andrew Langa last Sunday fired shots to scare MDC supporters as ZANU PF militants brutally attacked them at Avoca rural business centre in Insiza constituency in Matabeleland South province.

"In Insiza, Andrew Langa, the "winning" candidate for Insiza fired at people at Avoca Business Centre last Sunday (3 April 2005). Langa arrived at Avoca business centre and ordered the youths he led to randomly beat up people at the centre. When people tried to defend themselves and forced the youths to retreat, Langa fired at the people, but no one was hit," Nyathi's statement read in part.

Several people were injured during the attack and were treated at Avoca Hospital while a man, Dumisani Mthunzi, who suffered serious injuries was transferred to Bulawayo Central Hospital where he is still receiving treatment, according to Nyathi.

Nyathi said police at Filabusi police station in the area however allowed the ZANU PF youths to go scot-free and instead arrested some of the victims.

More MDC supporters were also attacked in Shamva in Mashonaland Central province and in Harare's Mufakose low-income suburb according to Nyathi.

ZimOnline was not able to independently verify the incidents reported by Nyathi. - ZimOnline

Hmmmmm...ZANU PF....what's that stand for? Isn't it "Zimbabwe African National Union People's Front?" Or something like that? Oh great, another "People's Front" government, which is more "front" than "people."

You know, the socialists just can't comprehend being turned out of power. They react very poorly to it. In poor countries, they fudge the election results and then murder the powerless leaders of the opposition. In somewhat more advanced societies, they do the same, except instead of murdering their opponents, they run to the Courts to either invalidate a valid defeat, or validate their electoral fraud.

Either way, they are people of the same stripe. Never forget Stalin's quote: "It is enough that the people know there was an election. The people who cast the votes decide nothing. The people who count the votes decide everything."

Copies of the film "The Dogs of War" need to be smuggled to the MDC to give them some ideas. Of course they probably don't have tape players either.

I probably write too much on this forum about how African citizens don't need a handout; they need private property and free enterprise to lift them from poverty.

In this case I'm wrong about property and capitalism.

In Zimbabwe, the opposition needs bullets and bombs to cut the head off this pig Nazi dictator and stick it on a pike.

So where's the UN, enforcing its "Declaration of Human Rights?" It's no where to be seen because Zimbabwe is the UN's ideal, a picture of perfection: The fat dictators are comfortable in their dachas with imported bacon, fine wine and slave girls while the serfs struggle for their daily bread, at least those still alive.

Zimbabwe is the living metaphor of government of, by and for the UN elites.

Where are the soldiers of fortune?

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