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| East/Subsaharan Africa |
| Poll triggers series of attacks by Zimbabwe’s youth thugs |
| 2003-02-19 |
| Human rights activists called on the Commonwealth yesterday to investigate the abuses perpetrated by a growing number of state-sponsored youth gangs in Zimbabwe. Investigations by the Guardian reveal that President Robert Mugabe's youth militia are increasingly well-trained in torture techniques that are then used on civilians. Bob must of recruited a few hard-bodies from Iraq. Birds of a feather and all that. Police take virtually no action against the forces, widely known as "green bombers" for the colour of their military-style uniforms and for their reputation for violence. Green? Just a coincidence, I'm sure. The trauma is evident on the face of Jameson Gadzirai, 23, three weeks after he and three others were abducted by the Zanu-PF youth militia. He had gone to Kuwadzana township in Harare as part of a residents' association team. "They were 'green bombers'. I could tell from the uniforms," Mr Gadzirai said. "They started beating us. They suspended us in the air and whipped our backs and our backsides. They beat the soles of our feet. They were organised, very systematic. Hmmm, okay, I guess they could have been Iranian-trained. "And they kept asking us questions. Who did we work for? Who was paying us? Who were we spying for?" Mr Gadzirai added: "They seized our cell phones and when they found the numbers of lawyers and [Harare's] Mayor Elias Mudzuri, they said that proved we were spies." When they were released after a few hours they could hardly walk because of their swollen feet, and they could not sit down. Medical tests confirmed that the injuries were consistent with Mr Gadzirai's account. When they reported the incident to the police, they were arrested. No action has been taken against their attackers. This is Zimbabwe! Of course the victims were arrested. Just wondering: what tribe were they from? Thirty similar reports in Kuwadzana were documented by the Human Rights Forum in January. "The systematic use of violence by the green bombers is a gross human rights abuse," said John Makumbe, a member of Zimbabwe in Crisis Coalition, who was recently beaten by police. "Anyone who doesn't believe that there is torture in Zimbabwe need only look at my face. The situation is getting worse by the day. We appeal to the Commonwealth to send a Fanuel Tsvangirai, the chairman for the opposition MDC party in Kuwadzana, was abducted on January 21. "Eight guys took me from my home. They took me to their camp and they handcuffed me to a pole. They stripped me and stuffed my pants in my mouth. There were about 100 youths there and they sang Zanu-PF songs as I was beaten. They wanted me to disclose the MDC's strategy for the upcoming byelection. "They wanted me to give them the names and addresses of other MDC members." Wonder what would happen to them? Mr Tsvangirai says he was beaten for four hours before being turned over to police, who he claims subjected him to more beatings, electric shocks and cigarette burns. Are the police recruited from the Green Bombers or are they providing advanced training? Gaping wounds on his feet, hands, shins and thighs are testimony to his story. He was eventually released without charge on January 27. The youth militia are trained in six-week sessions at four camps established by the government. Ostensibly they are doing their "national service" and learning skills to help All the things a dictator needs to cow his people. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #4 How 'bout a "Dogs of War" instead.... |
| Posted by: Nero 2003-02-19 12:30:11 |
| #3 Can't be a good homicidal dictator without brown...er, green shirts. |
| Posted by: mojo 2003-02-19 12:29:08 |
| #2 Looks like he's creating a new generation of "war veterans". |
| Posted by: tu3031 2003-02-19 10:09:43 |
| #1 Why not a "Day of the Jackal" for Comrade Bob? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-02-19 09:39:33 |