ENOUGH Project (Washington, DC)
21 July 2008
press release
The Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court sent a chilling message to war criminals around the world last week when he requested an arrest warrant against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and his cronies are almost certainly paying close attention.
A report released jointly today by the ENOUGH Project and Impunity Watch examines the legal options available to hold Mr. Mugabe and others to account for a laundry list of crimes committed during his nearly three decade rule — from the massacre of 20,000 Ndebele civilians in the early 1980s to the continuing post-election crackdown against the political opposition.
“Justice for Zimbabwe should be approached under the combined efforts of a hybrid international tribunal, or a domestic court with international assistance and support,” says David M. Crane, a co-author of the report, Professor at Syracuse University College of Law, and former founding Chief Prosecutor of The Special Court for Sierra Leone. “The longer Mr. Mugabe abuses the power of the state and thwarts the legitimate and democratic will of the people of Zimbabwe to express their rights, the more the question of accountability gains traction,” says ENOUGH Executive Director John Norris. “The question of justice in Zimbabwe should ultimately be a question of when, not if.”
Click here to read the full report
The Impunity Watch Mission is to monitor and address horrific human rights abuses and possible situations of impunity.
ENOUGH is a project of the Center for American Progress to end genocide and crimes against humanity. To learn more, go to www.enoughproject.org
Read comments. Write your own.
Copyright © 2008 ENOUGH Project. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
great to see people doing the right thing by the people murdered by the Butcher of Harare. Lets hope their case against Mugabe is water tight and justice is done.
The Bucthers also include George Bush, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown who are killing civilian Iraq's and civilian Afghans over a period of 6 years. Why are you people from the western countries so blind that you refuse to see the genocide in Iraq and Afghanstan? I live in Zimbabwe and saw what happened post elections. The violence was from both sides and I would say 50-50 and those true Zimbabweans can confirm this. The propaganda machinery of CNN and BBC have failed to recognise that ZANU PF supporters were also killed by MDC Demecratic Resistance Movement thugs who were armed by the US. You remeber Bush said that he was going to arm the opposition. We thank God that he has answered our prayers and the talks are underway, we are tired of these hardships we want to work on our land and feed our families.
Your post clearly shows you are telling lies. I'll show you where. You say the MDC Restistance Movement (which I've never heard of and I'm sure you are making up) was armed by the US.
Do you think the US posted over a whole lot of sticks and pipes for the MDC to use? If the US were going to arm the opposition, they would have send over guns and grenades etc, which werent used. So clearly this is a lie. And you are extremetly stupid for thinking people will believe you.
And this simple mistake by you makes me question the rest of your post. You say that Bush said he was going to arm the opposition. When did he say this? Please provide some evidence of this... because this is something you have also made up.
And as for the 50:50 violence, thats just rediculous. Why motivation does the MDC to reap violence across Zim? the MDC has the will of the people behind them as shown by the votes in the election. All they needed to do was turn up and vote and they would have won the run off. Mugabe however knew this, and to win, he had to change the playing field and unleash intimidation across voters to make them change there minds.
So what motivation did the MDC have for violence? None. The ZANU-PF? plenty. And that is exactly why the violence in Zim was perpetrated by the ZANU-PF on the MDC, save for a few retaliatory attacks in the opposite direction.
I seen this type of comment all the time from Zanoids. OK, lets see your evidence and I will how you mine. I have a book of photographs, submissions and statements from independent observers. WHERE IS YOURS>?
Justice ?? What justice??? You seem to have a selective sense of justice !!! How about Ian Smith and his henchmen most of whom are in Perth, Australia??? Are you going to bring them to justice for the murders and slaughters they did in Rhodesia??? How about the thousands SHONAs who were murdered in and around BULAWAYO between 1981 up to the time when the Fifth Brigade was sent quell the lawlessness and the breakdown of order in the west of the country? Remember INTUMBANE when SHONAs were killed just for being SHONAs despite that some of these people had been in BYO for generations. ANSWER that and give time and date you intend to set up trials for these murders by you Rhodies and your English masters OR are you ONLY interested in stirring up trouble, unrest and conflict in Gt Zimbabwe??? Of course, every one is sorry that unnecessary suffering happened to innocent people (collateral damage) like happened in Kenya during Mau Mau or Malaya or Burma. No one was tried for the mass hangings of the Kikuyu people. Whatever you decide to do we are going to defend our RGM, our President of the Republic of Great Zimbabwe. God bless Zimbabwe and our leaders, Mugabe and Tsvangirayi !!!! The future of Zimbabwe is in your hands varume. Sungai makabvu!!!!!
Akapfunde, You are absolutely right. It's amazing how selective white racist are about "justice" or is it "justus" in their twisted minds. They have for the last 500+ years committed all kinds of injustices against every one they came in contact with and now have the gall to talk about "justice" in Zimbabwe. Yes, let's have justice starting with them first, when that is achieved then we can turn to Africa. We don't even need to go back to the Atlantic Slave Trade that they conducted for hundreds of years and which devastated Africa, we can begin with the Berlin Conference and move forward from there seeking justice.
You two seem to condone killings, maiming and rape of Zimbabwean citizens who did not think like maverick Mugabe!
I do not wish that you first witness the killing, maiming and raping of your own wife, daughter or sister by Mugabe cronies before you start reacting like normal people do!!
Killings by Ian Smith as much as killings by illegitimate Mugabe must be viewed by the same standard of rigidity.
How long and how much are you benefitting from the atrocious rule of maverick Mugabe that you are so blindly defending what should never be defended?
See all comments (13).
Mugabe should be proce cuted also for instructicting his thugs to kill and burn people alive.