‘Culture of suppressing truth stifling healing’
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Thursday, 14 April 2011 21:02
Nqobile Bhebhe
THE Organ on National Healing, Reconciliation and Integration’s drive to
realise transitional justice is being hampered by a culture of suppressing
the truth deeply entrenched in Zanu PF as well as the exclusion of victims
of violence, politicians and human rights activists have said.
Speaking during the Independent Dialogue in Bulawayo on Wednesday, the
politicians and activists stressed that for national healing to be achieved
and accepted by all citizens, conditions to attain that must include
legislative reforms, political will, restorative justice and visible
community involvement.
But bickering within the organ and lack of an enabling law was derailing the
process.
Kucaca Phulu, a human rights lawyer, said Zimbabwe’s culture of blanketing
the truth was a hindrance to national healing.
“The truth is elusive in Zimbabwe because the previous Zanu PF government
took deliberate steps to ensure that the truth is suppressed as a way of
resolving scars and atrocities of the past,” said Phulu. “So for this
exercise to succeed there is a need to develop a culture of telling the
truth and we cannot arrive at the truth through a referendum or an
election.”
He said citizens should be given the platform to freely discuss the past.
“Today we do not know whether the bones that were exhumed in Mt Darwin are
remains of people killed by the (Ian) Smith regime, people butchered by Zanu
PF during Gukurahundi or as recent as 2008. This is an example of how we do
not know the truth,” said Phulu.
Co-Minister of the Organ on National Healing Moses Mzila-Ndlovu concurred:
“The issue of national healing, during negotiations was presented as a
talks-breaking item – either you take it or leave it and the two MDC
formations made concessions around the faulty clause called Article 7 in the
GPA. I
admit that the starting point around transitional justice was faulty because
the agreement itself was faulty and the justice we envisaged will not be
achieved.
“Because of the vagueness of the GPA, it is not possible for the organ to
deal with issues of transitional justice because there is too much
controversy. The aspect to truth-telling is not a top priority in the organ’s
agenda because we are simply encouraging people to desist from violence,
then we can go for elections and have a new government. But that presents
problems for the organ because as co-ministers, we come in with our party
positions. It is clear to me that other parties (Zanu PF and MDC-T) are
content with the current set up.”
Mzila-Ndlovu said one of the major hurdles facing the organ was the
interference of the alleged perpetrators.
“There is no opportunity for the organ to create a framework for
perpetrators of injustice to be brought to book simply because they
(perpetrators) are still in power. So is it possible to have perpetrators in
power and still allow a process that demands them to account for their
actions to take place?” asked Mzila-Ndlovu.
He said this cascaded down to communities which feel that they are not free
to tell the truth.
Mzila-Ndlovu said for the past two years the organ had failed to engage
communities due to undue interference by police through banning meetings.
He said despite an existence of a cabinet directive that the organ‘s
activities should not be interfered with, that had not been the case. On
Tuesday police blocked Mzila-Ndlovu from engaging villagers on national
healing in Kezi.
Phulu agreed that there was a need for security reforms.
“In most cases atrocities are committed by state actors which include the
police, army and intelligence services. There is a system geared towards
torture which was inherited from Rhodesia and these should be reformed,”
said Phulu.
Radio Dialogue Director Debra Mabunda said there was no clear break with the
past whose traces of violence are still visible.
“How do we start talking about the past when the past is still present
because until we stop the atrocities happening today, how do we expect to
look into the past, expect the same people who are supposed to be answerable
to come forward and agree to face justice?” asked Mabunda.
Ephraim Ncube, a Bulawayo councillor, narrated how his wife was burnt in a
hut during the Gukurahundi era in the 1980s but expressed fear that he had
exposed himself to state security agents.
“At one point I was being hunted down during Gukurahundi and my house was
burnt with my wife inside and I later got jailed for five years at Chikurubi
Maximum Security Prison. The national healing issue is becoming a talk show
as there are no tangible results,” said Ncube.