Tsvangirai wants Gukurahundi probe

Tsvangirai reiterated the stance by his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) that perpetrators of the 2008 political violence had to be brought to book and that the truth about those who were behind the deadly attacks that cost the lives of more than 200 people last year.

There can be no truth without justice. And no justice without truth, said Tsvangirai who himself has been a victim of partisan security forces since 2000 when the MDC was formed.

Zimbabwe witnessed some of the worst political violence last year after a parliamentary election that was won by the MDC while Tsvangirai defeated President Robert Mugabe in a parallel presidential election but with fewer votes to avoid a second round poll.

In a bid to ensure Mugabe regained the upper hand in the second round vote, Zanu (PF) militia, war veterans and security agents unleashed an orgy of violence and terror across the country, especially in rural areas most of which became no-go zones for the opposition.

The MDC leader later withdrew from the 27 June 2008 run-off poll because of the violence which was won by Mugabe unopposed.

Tsvangirai told delegates to a meeting to launch Zimbabwes national peace days in Harare on Friday that Zimbabweans had suffered many phases of trauma, upheaval and conflict and that any attempt at national healing should go beyond the 2008 atrocities and stretch as far back as before the countrys independence in 1980.

Gukurahundi

We must look back resolutely to the pre-independence era, the post-independence Matabeleland massacres and the more recent political violence that has torn at the fabric of our society. Many of our people have suffered under each of the phases of our evolution to the Zimbabwe that exists today, said Tsvangirai.

At least 20 000 innocent civilians form the Ndebele ethnic minority were reportedly killed in the early 1980s during a bloody counter-insurgency drive by the army in the southern Matabeleland and Midland provinces.

Mugabe who some say personally ordered deployment of the armys North Korean-trained 5th Brigade in Matabeleland and Midlands ostensibly to stop an armed insurrection against his rule has called the killings an act of madness.

But he has never personally accepted responsibility for the civilian murders or formally apologised.

The Zimbabwean strongman has also not yielded to calls by human rights groups for his government to compensate the victims of the brutal army operation popularly known as the Gukurahundi massacres.

In his address to the same gathering, Mugabe did not refer to the Matabaleland massacres or the need for restorative justice for victims of violence. Mugabe used his address to call on Zimbabweans to end political violence and said his party was committed non-violence.

“There are still reported cases of political violence and these must stop,” Mugabe said. “We will commit members of our party in observation of the principles of non-violence. You should not succeed through violence but the efficacy of your political theory and your campaign,” he added.

Revisiting the emotive Gukurahundi atrocities could, however, open up old wounds and jeopardise chances of a fragile coalition government formed by Mugabe and Tsvangirai five months ago.

Mugabe has conveniently avoided raising the issue fearing a backlash from disgruntled Ndebele members of his divided Zanu (PF) party all in hope of maintaining a fragile 1987 Unity Accord he signed with the then PF Zapu led by the late Joshua Nkomo.

The Ndebele group within Zanu (PF) has long been disappointed by what they see as the apparent sidelining of their region from national development issues.

Tsvangirai cautioned against retributive attacks against those fingered as behind the atrocities, hinting on a possible amnesty for the perpetrators of public violence and other atrocities.

Retribution

There can be no room or tolerance for retribution as retribution perpetuates the cycle of oppression and suffering, he said.

He urged Zimbabweans to learn from the experiences of other countries that have gone through similar processes of national healing, notably South Africa which successfully conducted its process through an independent Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

In examining how best to heal our nation, we must learn not just from our past, but from the examples of our other countries and other nations that have undergone similar trauma and have sought to unite their nation through truth, justice and forgiveness, he said.

Amnesty for senior Zanu (PF) officials and other people behind last years political violence has been an emotive issue since Tsvangirai joined Mugabe and Arthur Mutambara of a splinter MDC faction in the coalition government in February.

Security chiefs and Zanu (PF) chefs have tried to derail the unity government unless there are guaranteed immunity from prosecution.

They do not want to face the courts and fear that exposure of their crimes could threaten ill-gotten assets such as farms.

Mugabe declared July 24-26 as a period to promote national healing in Zimbabwe.