Brass meet on violence
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com
12 February, 2011 11:22:00 | By ZOLI MANGENA
ZIMBABWE’s political leaders are battling to contain an eruption of
political violence which has outraged human rights groups and civil society
bodies ahead of anticipated elections later this year, as the future of the
inclusive government remains uncertain.
Alarmed by the wave of violence sweeping through the country, the Zimbabwe’s
top political leadership met on Friday as the National Security Council
(NSC), chaired by President Robert Mugabe, tries to tackle the upsurge in
violence before it spins out of control.
Apart from Mugabe, others who attend the NSC include co-vice-presidents
Joyce Mujuru and John Nkomo, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and his
deputies, Thokozani Khuphe and Arthur Mutambara.
The other members of the council are Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa,
State Security Minister Sydney Sekeramayi, Presidential Affairs Minister
Didymus Mutasa, Finance Minister Tendai Biti, co-Home Affairs Ministers
Kembo Mohadi and Theresa Makone, Energy and Power Minister Elton Mangoma,
Industry and Trade Minister Welshman Ncube and security service chiefs
including the army commander, police commissioner, head of prisons and the
director-general of intelligence.
Tsvangiari’s spokesman, Luke Tamborinyoka, said on Friday: “I can confirm
that the National Security Council met this morning, but I can’t go into the
details.” However, senior members of the council told the Sunday Times the
meeting was about the political violence rocking the country. Makone had
confirmed before the meeting that violence would take centre stage.
A senior minister said later: “We discussed a lot of issues, but the most
critical debate centred on political violence. The country’s leadership is
worried about the situation and wants to take effective measures to stop
this violence before it gets out of hands.We need to deal seriously with
this issue. We can’t allow this situation to continue.
“It’s unacceptable. In fact, there should be an investigation so that
leaders and politicians who incite political violence can be arraigned and
punished,” he said.
The NSC is a structure created under the Global Political Agreement (GPA) to
deal with security issues. Parties in the inclusive government had agreed
that the council must meet every first Friday of each month. Mugabe has not
been keen to convene the council meetings because they provide an
opportunity for his rivals to criticise him and his Zanu-PF party, but was
forced to call this week’s meeting because of public anger over the
violence.
Mugabe’s Zanu-PF and Tsvangirai’s MDC-T have for a long time now been
fighting over the functions of the NSC.
The MDC-T wants the Joint Operations Command (JOC), Mugabe’s building block
to power, to be dismantled and to have its responsibilities taken over by
the NSC. But Zanu-PF has refused, arguing that the NSC could not replace the
JOC because it dealt with policy issues, while the NSC focused on
operational matters.
Another minister said the NSC dealt with political violence at length
because “it’s the most compelling public security issue facing the country
at the moment”.
Mugabe, who controls the country’s security bodies, is under pressure to
deal with the violence, which is blamed mostly on his party and its
supporters.
Last week Tsvangirai met Mugabe to deal with the problem.
In terms of the GPA, parties have an obligation to guarantee the security of
citizens and prevent violence. The government also has this obligation in
terms of the constitution.
The GPA says parties have an obligation to “renounce and desist from
promoting and using violence, under whatever name called, as of a means
attainting political ends”.
The latest political violence erupted mainly in Harare townships where
Zanu-PF and MDC-T supporters had been fighting running battles.
The two parties blame each other for the violence.
Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena has blamed the MDC-T for the violence,
prompting the party to say he must be fired for being partisan. The MDC-T
also says police commissioner-general Augustine Chihuri must go for failing
to do his job.
With upsurge in political violence – and tensions within the inclusive
government over the lifespan of the coalition arrangement – the European
Union (EU) is set to renew targeted sanctions on Mugabe and his cronies on
Wednesday when its ministers meet in Brussels. The latest violence is likely
to force the EU to maintain the sanctions.
An advocacy group, the Centre for Development, has urged parliament to
investigate the ongoing violence so that perpetrators could be punished.
Another civic group, Restoration of Human Rights, has also denounced the
current violence and churches in Zimbabwe have done the same.
Amnesty International this week also urged the coalition government to “act
on ongoing human rights abuses and institute reforms of the security sector
and the media”. – TimesLive