Bishops condemn election atrocities
By Mark Greaves
20 June 2008

The Catholic bishops of Zimbabwe have called for an immediate end to the violence that has erupted in their country since the elections in March.

They said the campaign of intimidation was "unacceptable" and had called into question the credibility of the presidential run-off elections scheduled for next Friday.

Their statement was issued days before President Robert Mugabe said he would "go to war" if he lost the election.

"The reign of violence that has been unleashed on the country, especially in the rural areas and former commercial farming areas, is unacceptable," the bishops said. "Base camps from which militias terrorise defenceless rural populations must be disbanded as a matter of urgency."

The bishops said that people had been marched to "political re-orientation meetings" and told that unless they voted correctly next Friday there would a full-scale war.

They added: "It is in this context that despicable atrocities are being committed by members of both contesting parties, Zanu PF and the MDC [Movement for Democratic Change]... innocent blood is being spilt. The perpetrators are known."

The bishops urged "restraint" from political parties so that people could vote according to their own conscience. "Hatred, intimidation and violence cannot have the last word in our society," they said. They called for the army and police to be impartial during the election and for the state media to provide balanced coverage.

Independent observers from bodies such as the African Union and the South African Development Community should also be present at the election, they said.

The statement was signed by Archbishop Robert Ndlovu of Harare, president of the Zimbabwe bishops' conference, Bishop Angel Floro of Gokwe, vice-president of the bishops' conference, and Bishop Alexio Churu Muchabaiwa of Mutare, secretary of the bishops' conference.

In recent weeks it is estimated that almost 70 opposition supporters have been murdered, thousands maimed and tens of thousands driven from their homes.

The bishops' statement also comes against a background of increasingly aggressive rhetoric from Mr Mugabe.

At the weekend he described the supporters of the Movement for Democratic Change as "traitors" and said he would wage war if the party won the election.

He said: "We shall never, never accept anything that smells of... the MDC. These pathetic puppets taking over this country? Let's see. That is not going to happen. We are prepared to fight for [Zimbabwe] if we lose it in the same way that our forefathers lost it."