Mugabe snubs AI boss

The tough-talking Khan was asked instead to meet with Vice President Joice Mujuru.
Khan will meet with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai in London tomorrow, Monday, where the Premier is on an international tour seeking to raise funds to help Zimbabwe emerge from years of acute recession.
“We did not have an appointment with the President although we had requested a meeting with him,” Khan told a news conference in Harare Thursday. “I will speak with the Prime Minister in London on Monday, the 22nd of June.”
Asked what reasons were given by the President for refusing a face-to-face meeting, Khan said: “The President’s Office simply said he had other issues on his diary.” ?
The Amnesty International boss said her mission came at a critical juncture in Zimbabwe’s history, nine months after the adoption of the global political agreement, and four months after the inclusive government came into power.
Her visit to Zimbabwe was the first by a top official of the world rights body in many years. Khan said her mission followed a decade of political crisis marked by high levels of human rights violations.
“The purpose of our mission has been to assess the human rights situation here and the commitment of the government to end human rights abuses and bring about reforms and also for us to make recommendations to the government and to the international community on the way forward,” Khan said.
Khan met with Mujuru, and the powerful minister of Defence Emmerson Mnangagwa, minister of Education David Coltart, the minister of State in the President’s Office, Didymus Mutasa, the deputy minister of Justice Jessie Majome, the co-ministers of Home Affairs Kembo Mohadi and Giles Mutsekwa.
She also met with the minister of State for National Healing Sekai Holland, the Speaker of the House of Assembly Lovemore Moyo, and with minister of Housing Fidelis Mhashu.
The top world rights body secretary general also met with a wide range of civil society representatives in Harare and Bulawayo, and with women, men and children in urban and rural areas, including survivors of political violence and other human rights abuses.
She told the news conference she had visited a rural community in Bulawayo, urban settlements for displaced persons and a primary school in Harare. Khan also held consultations with representatives from the diplomatic community from African and Western countries.
She said Amnesty International would share with the government a full memorandum of the mission’s findings and recommendations.
“Our findings are based on extensive research prior to this mission as well as on meetings and discussions we have had during this mission,” she said. “We appreciate very much the frank dialogue we have had with the government and the full and free access that we have had.”
Zimbabwe has a long history of gross human rights abuses since 1980. Hundreds of opposition political activists were killed last year during a violent general election.?
The new Harare administration has established a national healing ministerial team that will address the violence that characterised the troubled country especially in the run-up to last year’s run off poll. But the committee of ministers has virtually done nothing to address rights violations.
Khan said during her consultations with government officials, they had indicated that addressing impunity was not a priority right now.
“Despte the pledge in the GPA to bring all perpetrators of political violence to justice, senior ministers confirmed that addressing impunity is not a priority right now,” Khan said. ?
Political violence that followed Zanu (PF) and Mugabe’s devastating electoral loss on March 29 left over 190 dead according to Khan, citing figures from local non-governmental organisations, and displaced over 200,000 others.