Legitimacy of Upcoming Zimbabwean Election Already in Question

Legitimacy of Upcoming Zimbabwean Election Already in Question

By M. Brandon Maggiore
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Africa

HARARE, Zimbabwe -The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) reports forced voting, arrests, and other issues, and Human Rights Watch (HRW) reports that the Zimbabwe election will not bring about democracy.

Five police officers accused of supporting the MDC, an opposition group to the ruling Zanu-PF party, have been jailed for 14 days. This action comes just over a week before the March 29 elections and while postal voting is taking place.

Four police officers were arrested after boarding a vehicle of Harrison Muzuri, a local MDC parliamentary candidate, while another was arrested for allegedly waving an open hand, a symbol associated with the MDC.

Critics say that the police act which bars police officers from participating in politics is selectively enforced, and that supporters of the Zanu-PF party are not prosecuted. Several police officers have been seen entering vehicles for the Zanu-PF without being disciplined.

According to information obtained by the MDC, police officers and military members are being forced to vote under the supervision of their supervisors. Solders in Mutare were required to write their identification number on the back of their ballot, and police officers in Bulawayo were allegedly forced to vote multiple times.

Postal votes are already raising suspicion of fraud. On Thursday, Eddie Cross, MDC policy advisor for the Tsvangirai formation and MDC parliamentary candidate for Bulawayo South told the BBC, “The Zimbabwe Election Commission has said only the police force has requested 8,000 postal votes. To our surprise, we have information that postal votes, cast and sealed, are over 75 000. Where have the rest come from?”

Morgan Tsvangirai, the MDC President, claims that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission had ordered the printing of between 600,000 and 900,000 postal votes. While the armed forces, police, and diplomats total about 82,000, only about 20,000 are eligible for postal votes.

To find out how many postal votes have been sent out, the MDC plans on going to court. The concern is that the armed forces and diplomats are being forced to vote a particular way, not that they are being permitted to vote in advance.

HRW released a report on the upcoming election on Thursday. The report listed numerous concerns  stating that ”there is little chance the March 29 elections will help Zimbabwe either establish democracy or bring an end to the country’s ongoing political crisis.”

HRW  criticized the use of government distributed food supplies and government-subsidized farming equipment to influence the election. The report also discusses the beating of opposition supporters in February by Zanu-PF supporter, and intimidation of opposition supporters by police forces in spite of the prohibition against such conduct in Zimbabwe’s Electoral Laws Amendment Act.

Access to Zimbabwe’s state-owned television and radio stations has also been a problem for opposition leaders according to HRW. In February, President Robert Mugabe and the Zanu-PF party received five-times more television coverage than all opposition groups combined.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Zimbabwe police jailed for ‘bias’ – 21 March 2008

allAfrica.com – Zimbabwe: Soldiers And Police Officers Forced to Vote Under Supervision – 20 March 2008

Human Rights Watch – All Over Again Human Rights Abuses and Flawed Electoral Conditions in Zimbabwe’s Coming General Elections – 20 March 2008

China’s crackdown in Tibet

By Ariel Lin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – Hundreds of paramilitary troops converged on foot, trucks and helicopters to Tibetan areas.  At least 80 trucks were seen traveling along the main road through the mountains into southeastern Tibet. Others set up camp and patrolled streets in riot gear, helmets and rifles in small towns across a wide swath of western China.  The troop mobilization was helping authorities reassert control after the massive demonstrations by Tibetans against Chinese rule in decades.  Led by Buddhist monks, protests began peacefully in Lhasa but erupted into rioting March 14, drawing a harsh response from Chinese authorities.  Demonstrations had also spread across Tibetan areas of Sichuan, Gansu and Qinghai provinces in support of protests that started in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa.

Yesterday, the government also issued a “Most Wanted” list of 21 rioters by posting their photos taken from video cameras and security footage on major Internet portals.  The official Xinhua News Agency said two of the 21 suspects had already been arrested and a third turned himself in.  They will be charged with “endangering national security, beating, smashing, looting and burning,” in Lhasa.  Authorities also called on the public for help, offering rewards for information and guaranteeing the anonymity of tipsters.  China also has admitted for the first time that its police have opened fire on four Tibetan protesters, but it insisted that the gunfire was in self-defense.

China’s response to riots in Tibet drew worldwide attention to China’s human rights record, and threatens to overshadow China’s attempts to project an image of unity and prosperity for the Olympics in August.  The United Nations’ top human rights body is facing calls to break its silence over China’s crackdown in Tibet and send investigators to the Himalayan region Beijing has closed off to foreigners and journalists.

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi met with the Dalai Lama in India and called on the world to denounce China’s crackdown in Tibet.  She dismissed China’s claim that the Dalai Lama was behind the violence in Tibet, as making “no sense.”  Chinese government made its unhappiness clear concerning Nancy Pelosi meeting the Dalai Lama and her statements on Tibet.  The Chinese government warned against any meddling in its “internal affairs” by “any country, organization and person”.  Chinese officials also expressed “grave concerns” toward British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s upcoming meeting with the Dalai Lama.  Also, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has called on China to be open about the situation in Tibet.

However, leaders of numerous countries around the world including Vietnam, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Pakistan and others have also voiced their support for the Chinese government’s efforts to safeguard territorial integrity and national unity in the face of the recent riots in Tibet.  Moreover, Many overseas Chinese groups in South Korea, the United States, Mexico and Egypt as well as Chinese-language newspapers have condemned the riots in Tibet.

For more information, please see:

AP – Chinese Troops Converge in Tibetan Areas – 21 March 2008

AP – China Blankets Tibetan Areas With Troops – 21 March 2008

AP – Pelosi Denounces China’s Tibet Crackdown – 21 March 2008

BBC – Top US lawmaker meets Dalai Lama – 21 March 2008

Canadian Press – China warns British PM about planned meeting with Dalai Lama – 20 March 2008

New York Times – China Admits to Wounding 4 Tibetan Demonstrators – 21 March 2008

Reuters – CHRONOLOGY-Day-by-day record of Tibet protests – 21 March 2008

Reuters – China’s torch climbers denounce Tibet protests – 21 March 2008

Recuters – Germany urges China to open up on Tibet – 21 March 2008

XiHua – Foreign leaders support China’s efforts to defend territorial integrity, national unity – 21 March 2008

XiHua – Overseas Chinese groups, Chinese-language media condemn riots in Tibet – 20 March 2008

XiHua – Vietnam, Cambodia, Bangladesh support China’s actions to stabilize Tibet – 21 March 2008

Legitimacy of Upcoming Zimbabwean Election Already in Question

By M. Brandon Maggiore
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Africa

HARARE, Zimbabwe – The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) reports forced voting, arrests, and other issues, and Human Rights Watch (HRW) reports that the Zimbabwe election will not bring about democracy.

Five police officers accused of supporting the MDC, an opposition group to the ruling Zanu-PF party, have been jailed for 14 days. This action comes just over a week before the March 29 elections and while postal voting is taking place.

Four police officers were arrested after boarding a vehicle of Harrison Muzuri, a local MDC parliamentary candidate, while another was arrested for allegedly waving an open hand, a symbol associated with the MDC.

Critics say that the police act which bars police officers from participating in politics is selectively enforced, and that supporters of the Zanu-PF party are not prosecuted. Several police officers have been seen entering vehicles for the Zanu-PF without being disciplined.

According to information obtained by the MDC, police officers and military members are being forced to vote under the supervision of their supervisors. Solders in Mutare were required to write their identification number on the back of their ballot, and police officers in Bulawayo were allegedly forced to vote multiple times.

Postal votes are already raising suspicion of fraud. On Thursday, Eddie Cross, MDC policy advisor for the Tsvangirai formation and MDC parliamentary candidate for Bulawayo South told the BBC, “The Zimbabwe Election Commission has said only the police force has requested 8,000 postal votes. To our surprise, we have information that postal votes, cast and sealed, are over 75 000. Where have the rest come from?”

Morgan Tsvangirai, the MDC President, claims that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission had ordered the printing of between 600,000 and 900,000 postal votes. While the armed forces, police, and diplomats total about 82,000, only about 20,000 are eligible for postal votes.

To find out how many postal votes have been sent out, the MDC plans on going to court. The concern is that the armed forces and diplomats are being forced to vote a particular way, not that they are being permitted to vote in advance.

HRW released a report on the upcoming election on Thursday. The report listed numerous concerns  stating that ”there is little chance the March 29 elections will help Zimbabwe either establish democracy or bring an end to the country’s ongoing political crisis.”

HRW  criticized the use of government distributed food supplies and government-subsidized farming equipment to influence the election. The report also discusses the beating of opposition supporters in February by Zanu-PF supporter, and intimidation of opposition supporters by police forces in spite of the prohibition against such conduct in Zimbabwe’s Electoral Laws Amendment Act.

Access to Zimbabwe’s state-owned television and radio stations has also been a problem for opposition leaders according to HRW. In February, President Robert Mugabe and the Zanu-PF party received five-times more television coverage than all opposition groups combined.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Zimbabwe police jailed for ‘bias’ – 21 March 2008

allAfrica.com – Zimbabwe: Soldiers And Police Officers Forced to Vote Under Supervision – 20 March 2008

Human Rights Watch – All Over Again Human Rights Abuses and Flawed Electoral Conditions in Zimbabwe’s Coming General Elections – 20 March 2008

United Nations Sees No Improvements in Myanmar

By Kristy Tridhavee
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Asia

YANGON, Myanmar – The United Nations [UN] special envoy to Myanmar reported that its last visit to the country was its most disappointing yet because senior government leaders refused to meet with them. Ibrahim Gambari, a representative from the envoy, commented, “Whereas each of my previous visits produced some tangible result that could be built upon, it is a source of disappointment that this latest visit did not yield any immediate tangible outcome.”

The only thing the UN special envoy was able to do was leave a list of UN recommendations for international monitoring that would enhance the “credibility and inclusiveness” of the democracy project the military junta says it is undertaking. The Myanmar government has begun to implement a seven-step process called “a road map to democracy.”

Critics, however, believe the plan will only guarantee continued military dominance. The “road map to democracy” calls for elections in 2010 and bars participation by Aung San Suu Kyi. Aung San Suu Kyi is a leader of the National League of Democracy, and she has been under house arrest for 18 years intermittently. During the UN special envoy’s visit, Ibrahim Gambari met withAung San Suu Kyi, and during the visit she urged that there could be no reconciliation until she was treated as partner in the dialogue.

US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad also expressed disappointment with the constitutional and referendum process. The draft of the constitution had yet to be distributed, and there are laws prevented debate concerning it. The UN will attempt to introduce a draft statement based on its concerns and lack of progress on important issues. However, U.N. Ambassador U Kyaw Tint Swe said that “no Security Council action is warranted with regard to Myanmar.”

Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej made his first visit to Burma and made controversial comments, which were quite contrary to the UN’s reactions. During his weekly TV program, the prime minister said, “Killings and suppressions are normal there but we have to know the facts.” He went on to praise the Senior General Than Shwe. He then went on to add, “And Senior (Gen) Than Shwe practices meditation. He says he prays in the morning … and the country has been in peace and order.” Senior General Than Shwe ordered troops and riot police to fire at peaceful street protestors, which were lead by thousands of Buddhist monks.

For more information, please see:

AP – UN Envoy Disappointed with Myanmar Trip – 18 March 2008

International Herald Tribune – UN Envoy Disappointed by Myanmar Visit – 19 March 2008

Inter Press Service – Thailand Queers ASEAN’s Burma Pitch – 19 March 2008

UPDATE: Nuon Chea Refused Bail

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – The Khmer Rouge Tribunal rejected Nuon Chea’srequest for bail.  Nuon Chea is charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role as Pol Pot’s right-hand man during the Khmer Rouge regime’s rule of Cambodia. Nuon Chea had argued that he was not a flight risk and his safety was not in danger because he had been living for years “in peace and harmony” at his home in the jungle along the Thai border.

For more information, please see:

Reuters – Pol Pot’s Number Two Loses Bail Bid – 20 March 2008