Individuals at Risk

The situation in Zimbabwe is deteriorating, and the Zimbabwe Civic Action Support Group has documented 1429 cases of political violence across the country. With levels of political violence in Zimbabwe reaching new highs, I'm having a hard time today nailing down what to say about the country and its human rights abuses. There is so much to talk about. 

Yesterday,  MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai withdrew his name from the runoff election because of the violence surrounding the election process. Tsvangirai said that he did not want to endanger his supporters as they went to the polls and that the violence surrounding the election process makes it instead a war "and we will not be part of that war."

Doctors treating victims of the violence have confirmed that at least 85 people have died as a direct result of political violence, and many, many more have been severely injured. Army trucks have brought loads of youth militiamen to areas where MDC supporters gathered, beating them with sticks and metal poles.

Last night, 30 people, many of them women and children, were arrested and taken to an undisclosed location in a raid on the MDC headquarters in Harare. Here, you'll find a link to a short film documenting how the MDC headquarters served as a refuge to those displaced and injured by political and state-sponsored violence. In the video, it's obvious that the headquarters served as a safe haven for MDC supporters before the raid.

Zimbabwean bloggers are reaching out to the rest of the world for help, and Zimbabwean ex-pat newspapers are running full-length memos written by the Movement for Democratic Change's leaders. Also, this interactive map of political violence shows how dire the situation really is.

Amnesty International has a quick online action for stopping violence against human rights defenders in Zimbabwe. Also, Individuals at Risk is highlighting the case of Women of Zimbabwe Arise!, a women's human rights group in Zimbabwe. These women have been illegally detained for expressing their opinions and are in grave danger of torture or other ill-treatment. Please take part in this Urgent Action Appeal by clicking here and writing a letter to those listed.

Oh, and check out today's headline in Zimbabwe's leading (government-run) newspaper...