Mugabe dismisses Chiadzwa abuses in defence of the army

In an address to mark Zimbabwe Defence Forces Day, Mugabe accused Western governments and rights groups of actively seeking to tarnish Zimbabwes name by falsely claiming security forces had committed human rights abuses. He instead praised the army and police for cracking down on illegal diamond miners in Chiadzwa last year, a crackdown that left a trail of torture and abuse, and hundreds of people dead.

Allegations of gross human abuses of human rights and failure to observe good governance have provided fodder for the West and its media as they repeatedly seek blemishes to stick onto our country, Mugabe told a gathering comprised mostly of members of the uniformed forces.

The government had originally illegally seized the Chiadzwa diamond claim in 2007, and set off a diamond rush when it encouraged locals to help themselves. But the arrival of the army last year resulted in violence and murder after the area was sealed off with military roadblocks and troops. Accounts from survivors of the military onslaught detailed the killings, speaking of helicopter machine-gun attacks and armed attacks by troops on the ground. Civilians in the region also reported that anyone attempting to enter Chiadzwa was arrested and often tortured and killed.

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights have said that about 5,000 people were arrested during the army operation, with three quarters of them showing signs of having been severely tortured. There were also claims that hundreds of people have been buried in mass graves to hide the militarys murderous activities, and that the soldiers sent to guard the fields had become illegal diamond dealers themselves.

Human rights groups have since repeatedly called for Zimbabwes suspension from the Kimberley Process, the international regulatory body tasked with ending the trade of conflict diamonds. Last month, an investigatory team sent by the Kimberly Process to probe the accounts of human rights abuses in Chiadzwa, declared that Zimbabwe had violated international diamond standards. The delegation urged the government to demilitarise the diamond fields or face suspension from the Kimberley Process, but more than a month later, the military grip on Chiadzwa has tightened further. Human Rights Watch last week reported that fresh troops had been rotated into Chiadzwa where human rights violations, including child labour, are continuing.

But Mugabe, who on Monday said Zimbabwe may have to reconsider its relations with the West, dismissed charges of rights violations as lies spread by our detractors as they have sought desperately and without good reason to find wrong doing on our part. The ageing dictator argued that the West wants to interfere with Zimbabwes internal politics and to divide and weaken the unity government in Harare. Mugabe instead praised the defence forces for safeguarding Zimbabwes national territorial integrity, national sovereignty and national interest in line with their constitutional obligation.

Ironically, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, whose MDC party came under violent attack by the defence forces last year, was also present during Mugabes speech. The defence forces, which have been credited with keeping Mugabe and ZANU PF in power, last year launched a vicious campaign of violence against opposition supporters, all in the name of national interest.

However, in a move that observers say is a public boost for the flailing coalition government, Zimbabwean Generals saluted Tsvangirai for the first time on Tuesday. The service chiefs led by army Commander Lieutenant General Philip Sibanda and Air Force Commander Perence Shiri each greeted Tsvangirai, seated in the front row of the VIP tent next to retired army General Solomon Mujuru. The military chiefs shook hands with Tsvangirai and then saluted him.