Holding Mugabe accountable

An organisation calling itself Enough Project appealed for international action to make President Robert Mugabe accountable immediately after he had bulldozed the presidential elections run-off after the Movement for Democratic Change candidate Morgan Tsvangirai had pulled out because of violence.

Although the United States embassy said the document by Enough Project, which gives legal options to take against Mugabe, could be found at: www.enoughproject.org/files/reports/july_zim_ 2.pdf,The Insider found it at: http://www.enoughproject.org/publications/seeking-justice-zimbabwe-case-accountability-against-robert-mugabe-and-others-1981-2008

The document says there are numerous legal, political and diplomatic options available to the international community which include doing nothing to the creation of a justice mechanism by which Mugabe would be held accountable for alleged domestic and international crimes committed while President of Zimbabwe.

Mugabe could either be tried by a hybrid international war crimes tribunal or an internationalized domestic court. The location should be in Harare or within the region. The International Criminal Court has limited jurisdiction as the gravamen of the offenses took place prior to July 2002.

The mandate should be prosecuting either Mugabe himself alone or those who bear the greatest responsibility for the crimes committed in Zimbabwe, to include Mugabe and selected henchmen.

It says due to his age this needs to be done within the next year or two at the latest.

It is nearly five years since the document was released.

Full cable:

Viewing cable 08HARARE637, ZIM NOTES 7-25-2008

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TAGS: PGOV PREL ASEC PHUM ECON ZI

SUBJECT: ZIM NOTES 7-25-2008

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¶1. SUMMARY

———–

Topics of the week:

– MOU Signed, Talks Started…

– Over a Quarter of MDC MPs Targeted…

– EU Expands Sanctions List…

– SADC Tribunal Rules Against Zimbabwe on Land…

– State Media Tone Down Rhetoric…

– Zim Journalist Wins CNN Award…

– Holding Mugabe Accountable…

– Looming Cash Shortage…

– Cargill’s Cotton Caught in Cash Crunch…

– Another EU Company under Boycott Pressure…

– Nickel Production Down…

– Zimbabwe International Book Fair Cancelled…

——————————————— ———-

¶2. Price Movements-Exchange Rate and Selected Products

——————————————— ———-

Parallel rate for cash inched up to Z$110 billion:US$1 against

inter-bank average of Z$49 billion:US$1

Bank transfer rate shot to Z$780 billion:US$1; official rate:

Z$$30,000:US$1

Bread on the parallel market Z$150 billion vs. controlled price of

Z$400 million

Sugar steady at Z$300 billion/2kg vs. controlled price of Z$8

million/2kg

Cooking oil rose to Z$180 billion/750ml vs. controlled price of

Z$9.3 million/750ml

Petrol and diesel shot to Z$190 billion/liter vs. controlled price

of Z$60,000/liter

—————————–

On the Political/Social Front

——————————

¶3. MOU Signed, Talks Started – Robert Mugabe, Morgan Tsvangirai,

and Arthur Mutambara signed a Memorandum of Understanding on July 21

laying out a framework for inter-party negotiations that started in

South Africa on July 24. Reaction to the MOU has varied. While it

has generated significant buzz, some actors in the MDC and

Zimbabwean civil society remain deeply pessimistic. See Harare 625

and 628.

¶4. Over a Quarter of MDC MPs Targeted – Since March 29, a dozen MDC

legislators have been charged with crimes; others were on police

“wanted lists” or held without charge. Since signing of the MOU, it

appears the MP hunt has been called off, but many MPs-elect still

fear returning home/facing trial. See Harare 622.

¶5. EU Expands Sanctions List – The European Union this week added

37 people and entities to its targeted sanctions list. While most

of the new names are members of the military involved in

election-related violence, the list also includes Peter Chingoka,

the Chairman of Zimbabwe Cricket, and two hate-mongering journalists

associated with the state-sponsored newspaper The Herald.

¶6. SADC Tribunal Rules Against Zimbabwe on Land – On July 18, the

SADC Tribunal in Namibia ruled that the GOZ had violated the body’s

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December 2007 injunction against the harassment or eviction of

several dozen white farmers. The farmers are contesting the seizure

of their property under fast-track land reform. Prosecutions of

farmers for contravening eviction orders slowed down starting in

mid-May, but there has been no letup in disruptions on the ground.

The Tribunal’s authorizing legislation provides that once its orders

have been breached the matter is turned over to the SADC Secretariat

for appropriate action. The next SADC Summit, at which action could

be taken, will be on August 15 under South Africa’s chairmanship.

See Septel.

¶7. State Media Tone Down Rhetoric – State media rolled back hate

speech against Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC this week; they even

referred to Tsvangirai for the first time as “the opposition

leader.” A senior journalist at The Herald told us the paper had

edited out a diatribe against Tsvangirai and the MDC by the First

Lady at the launch of an orphans project this week. Attacks,

however, on the U.S./EU for their targeted sanctions persisted.

¶8. Zim Journalist Wins CNN Award – Despite the GOZ’s refusal to

grant him a license to cover news, Hopewell Rugoh Chin’ono last week

won the prestigious CNN-sponsored African Journalist of the Year

competition for an uncompromising documentary on Zimbabwe’s struggle

against HIV-AIDS: “Pain in My Heart.” The documentary beat 1911

entries from across Africa. Chin’ono has been filing news footage,

including a recent interview with Ambassador McGee, undercover to

international news agencies.

¶9. Holding Mugabe Accountable – !Enough and Impunity Watch issued a

discussion paper this week that highlights the legal options

available to hold President Robert Mugabe accountable for various

international crimes.

www.enoughproject.org/files/reports/july_zim_ 2.pdf.

¶10. Readings on Transitional Governments – The Center for

Contemporary Conflict’s January 2006 “Strategic Insights” focused on

transitional governments. It looked at variety of experiences,

including from Kosovo, Liberia, East Timor, and El Salvador. See

www.ccc.nps.navy.mil/si/archiveDate.asp#vol5i ssue1.

———————————–

On the Economic and Business Front

———————————-

¶11. Looming Cash Shortage – Hyperinflation is driving demand for

cash as problems of bank connectivity, the quadrillions and

quintillions, and transaction lag discourage the use of debit cards,

checks and bank transfers. Barter is on the rise, along with price

indexing to a stable currency, or outright dollarization. Banks are

still getting their daily cash requirement from the Reserve Bank,

but the disruption in the supply of banknote paper combined with

hyperinflation presage an imminent shortage. The GOZ has responded

with some unsustainable stopgap measures, including introduction of

a new Z$100 billion note this week. See Harare 627.

¶12. Cargill’s Cotton Caught in Cash Crunch – Cargill has been

unable to access enough cash to buy up its contracted cotton crop

for the past three weeks. In the meantime, better connected

competitors are moving in to exploit the company’s distress in a

sector notorious for side-marketing.

¶13. Another EU Company under Boycott Pressure – Media pressure is

mounting on the small Austrian security software company Jura JSP to

suspend the provision of security software to Zimbabwe’s banknote

printer. Similar pressure compelled Germany’s Giesecke & Devrient

to end delivery of banknote paper earlier this month.

¶14. Nickel Production Down – Bindura Nickel Corporation (BNC)

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reported production down 37% in the year ending March 31. Weaker

nickel prices, the RBZ’s stranglehold on earned foreign exchange,

skills flight, and aged equipment dampened results. The unviable

inter-bank exchange rate and spiraling inflation will likely

continue to hurt performance, although BNC is opening a new mine

this year. Nickel was Zimbabwe’s fourth largest mineral export last

year. US$30.8 million worth of Zimbabwe nickel went to the U.S. in

2007, according to TradStats Express. That amount is over 40% of

Zimbabwe’s US$71.8 million in exports to the U.S. in 2007.

¶15. Zimbabwe International Book Fair Cancelled – Economic

conditions and the loss of support from international sponsors have

forced cancellation of this year’s ZIBF. A major publishing event

in Africa since 1983, its demise is a significant blow to the

African publishing industry, not to mention one more sign of

Zimbabwe’s decline.

MCGEE

(29 VIEWS)