Geriatric Genocidaire – Zimbabwe Vigil Diary

The Vigil has launched a petition calling for the arraignment of Mugabe before the International Criminal Court. We know he will be protected by his Security Council friends in Beijing and Moscow but we wish to focus attention on the evidence for the prosecution because Africa continues to honour this geriatric genocidaire.

Here is the new petition: ‘Zimbabweans driven into exile by genocidal tyrant Robert Mugabe, and our friends visiting the Zimbabwe Vigil, call for Mugabe’s arraignment before the International Criminal Court in the Hague to answer for his crimes.

Despite Mugabe’s responsibility for the Gukuruhundi massacre of some 20,000 Ndebele people in the 1980s (he acknowledged ‘a moment of madness’), his destruction of the homes and livelihoods of a million urban opposition supporters in the bulldozing Murambatsvina of 2005 and his Zanu PF’s rigging of all elections, Mugabe has been chosen as Chairman of the AfricanUnion.

He used this position to enable President al Bashir of Sudan to flee an AU Summit meeting in South Africa in June after a court there ordered his arrest to answer an indictment by the International Criminal Court for genocide in the Darfur region.’

The evidence against Mugabe over Gukuruhundi and Murambatsvina is indisputable, as is his responsibility for the violent farm invasions and the consequent loss of hundreds of thousands of rural jobs and the destruction of the economy.

As we reported earlier, the Zimbabwean economist and opposition MP Eddie Cross recently looked at the population statistics and concluded that, even allowing for mass emigration, the population is some 10 million people short of what would have been expected by the historic growth trend.

They are the fruits of misgovernance: starvation, disease and poverty. Is this not genocide?

Former Finance Minister Tendai Biti has no doubt about where to lay the blame. He says: ‘If left to continue, the current situation will lead to cannibalism where human beings will resort to eatinghuman flesh. Most of the deaths being witnessed in the country are either due to starvation or stress related ailments like high blood pressure, hypertension and heart attack, because of the economic, political and social decay we are witnessing’

Other Points

·       The petition was approved at a meeting after the Vigil of the Zimbabwe Action Forum (ZAF), which also discussed arrangements for our demonstration next Saturday to mark 4 months since Itai Dzamara’s abduction by the CIO.

We are pleased that, since we set the date for the demonstration, other organisations in Zimbabwe and abroad have decided also to mark the occasion next Saturday. We will be joined by Tendai Kwari of UK branch of Occupy Africa Unity Square. We plan to deliver a letter to the Embassy demanding an explanation of what has happened to our friend Itai. We asked our supporters to bring their own posters.

·       With the general election behind us, the ZAF meeting discussed reviving the ROHR campaign of contacting MPs in connection with having a parliamentary debate on Zimbabwe. We are asking everyone to write to their MP about this. Check our campaigns page for how to find your MP and sample letters: http://www.zimvigil.co.uk/vigil-news/campaign-news/659-letters-to-mps-re-parliamentary-debate.

·       The meeting was irritated by Grace Mugabe’s ill-informed comments about diasporans. As the vice-presidents will confirm, if she’ a doctor of anything it is of witchcraft.

·       Thanks to those who came early to help set up: Vuyana Mthimkhulu, Mncedisi Ndhlovu, Chrispen Ndlovu, Edson Mutero, Morella Nhau, Eva Sanyahokwe and Fungayi Mabhunu. Thanks also to Helen Rukambiro and Bridget Mupotsa for looking after the front table. 

For latest Vigil pictures check: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zimbabwevigil/. Please note: Vigil photos can only be downloaded from our Flickr website. 

FOR THE RECORD: 51 signed the register.