|
Zimbabwe was suspended after a group of Commonwealth observers
found gross shortcomings in elections last year.
Suspension from the councils of the Commonwealth is a kind
of half-way house; it means that suspended countries cannot
participate in the organisation’s meetings. But their
flags will fly at Abuja, and the are allowed to participate
in Commonwealth sports events.
“Zimbabwe’s economic, political and human rights
situation continues to be of grave concern to its nationals,
the region, and the wider international community,”
the civil societies organisation coalition says in its petition.
“The possibility of the re-admittance of Zimbabwe has
occasioned controversy.”
The group adds: “It is not the objective of the coalition
to advocate the international isolation of a country we so
dearly love, but to ensure that the reasons for which it was
suspended from the Commonwealth are resolved.”
The coalition presents lists several areas of concern in
Zimbwe. Among these:
- Laws that infringe freedom of expression have not been
repealed but have become more repressive.
- Violent invasions of commercial farms continue, albeit
at a reduced scale.
- The government undermines the rule of law and the independence
of the judiciary in addition to criminalizing dissent.
- It disregards its undertakings to President Thabo Mbeki
of South Africa and President Olusegun Obasanjo on repeal
of adverse laws on freedom of expression.
“Because our internal efforts to engage with the government
in resolving the crisis have been rebuffed and criminalized,
we demand that the international community continue to pressure
the Mugabe regime to enter into national dialogue with legitimate
representation of the Zimbabwean citizenry,” the coalition
says in its petition.
Simultaneously, the Zimbabwe Media Group has made a submission
to Commonwealth leaders that Zimbabwe is suffering from “a
profound socio-political crisis that is crippling the activities
of civic society.
“One of the main aims of the governmentin this campaign
is its need to control the media and all sources of information
in order to shield the nation from its excesses and present
the impression that it has not resorted to violence and electoral
fraud to retain its control on power.” In recent times
the privately owned media and their staff have become “targets
for those prepared to try and silence them by any means.”The
group said that no one has been brought to justice for the
bombing of The Daily News offices shortly before the parliamentary
election in 2000. Nor have the culprits responsible for bombing
the newspaper’s presses in January 2001 been found.
|
