Human Rights Watch Warns of Human Rights Disaster in Zimbabwe

by Rob Walker | April 10, 2008 at 03:30 pm | 228 views | 3 comments

The opposition party under Tsvangirai will not participate in a presidential runoff vote, said their spokesman on Thursday.
Meanwhile president Mugabe and Tsvangirai both stated they would attend an emergency summit of southern African leaders this weekend.
This meeting comes as reports of increasing violence come in after a third week without the disclosing of the national election results.
Opposition leader Tsvangirai has stated he and his party won, while Mugabe has stayed quiet on the entire issue, raising more fears of an attempt to hold power.

The extraordinary summit of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) on April 12, 2008 is the regional body’s last real chance to resolve Zimbabwe’s worsening political crisis, Human Rights Watch said today. President Levy Mwanawasa of Zambia, chair of the SADC, called the meeting in Lusaka in response to the political impasse in Zimbabwe which has seen a delay in the release of presidential results from Zimbabwe’s March 29 general election.“It’s about time that southern African leaders do something to avert the growing threat of a human rights disaster in Zimbabwe,” said Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “Instead of letting Robert Mugabe set the terms of the summit talks, they should insist he listen to the will of the Zimbabwean people and end his government’s abuses.”

President Thabo Mbeki of regional power South Africa will attend a summit this weekend in Zambia on the post-election crisis in Zimbabwe, the government said Thursday.
"South Africa will participate in this summit within the context of regional efforts to assist the people of Zimbabwe to address their political and economic challenges," a statement said.

The prospect of a second round of the presidential poll, even though the result has not been officially released, is leading to increasing tensions throughout Zimbabwe and the fear of greater violence.

"The situation is turning increasingly violent and this worries us, as well as the electorate," Rangu Nyamurungira, projects manager for Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), told IRIN.