The human rights situation in Zimbabwe deteriorated yet further in the first week of June 2003 as the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) called for a national stay-away by workers across the country. This campaign was intended as a broad public protest against the economic and political situation in Zimbabwe. In the first week of the stay-away many businesses remained closed, although public demonstrations were prevented by the deployment of government security forces and the mobilization of government-sponsored youth militias. Reports from around the country indicate that these militias engaged in widespread intimidation as well as violence directed against anyone considered supportive of the opposition or the protests against the government.

On June 6, MDC leader Morgan Tsvangerai was arrested by police, joining an estimated 800 others arrested during the first week of the stay-away. Mr. Tsvangerai, who is already on trial for treason, was once again charged with treason, on the basis that he plotted a violent overthrow of the government by calling for anti-government demonstrations. The MDC strenuously denies any plots to overthrow the government through the use of violence and has continuously advocated for peaceful political change. A legal challenge to the March 2002 presidential elections, filed by the MDC, is due to be heard in court in November 2003.

Lawyers who seek to represent detained MDC leaders and other activists are routinely obstructed in their work, and are often themselves subjected to harassment and intimidation. The Lawyers Committee is extremely concerned by reports of such incidents, including the detention for several hours of lawyers Kossam Ncube and Travor Ndebele in Bulawayo on June 5.

Over the past several years, a serious crisis for human rights and the rule of law has been developing in Zimbabwe. Since elections held in 2000, when the MDC won a significant number of parliamentary seats, the crisis has deepened. The government of President Robert Mugabe has adopted a range of tactics to stifle political dissent and restrict basic freedoms.

In recent months, political violence and intimidation around the country has worsened. Armed militias and youth gangs have been employed to carry out land seizures and attacks on MDC supporters and members of civil society. In early 2002, legislation was passed that prevented the MDC from campaigning effectively for the March presidential elections and this legislation continues to be used to stifle criticism of the government or the organizing of peaceful protests.

In the 1980s, the Lawyers Committee had engaged in research and advocacy concerning human rights in Zimbabwe. This work resulted in the publication of the Wages of War report, that revealed details of massacres carried out in the Matabeleland region. While no program work had been conducted more recently in the country, in late 2001 reports of attacks upon and threats against human rights defenders and political leaders, some of whom were our partners during the 1980s, led to action by the Human Rights Defender Project. We continue to monitor such threats and attacks and to advocate strongly for the ending of all human rights abuses and the restoration of the rule of law in Zimbabwe.