SW Radio Africa (London)
Tichaona Sibanda
23 July 2008
Two days after the warring parties in the country signed the ground breaking Memorandum of Understanding agreement, the deal has at least temporarily staunched the tide of violence loosed on the country by Zanu-PF.
The bloody and barbaric violence of the past four months has left 115 MDC activists dead and 10 000 injured. The daily abductions of influential MDC activists that had become routine between April and June have stopped, political assassinations have decreased, and the indiscriminate attacks on rural folk, who bore the brunt of the violence have subsided.
Children and teenagers now play soccer along what were once some of the most notoriously dangerous areas in villages, while adults can now venture out at night without the fear of capture.
A few of the two hundred thousand people who were displaced from their homes are returning to their dwellings amid reports things were starting to improve. The MDC Tsvangirai demanded an end to political violence as a condition for entering talks with Robert Mugabe on a unity government.
MDC MP for Makoni South in Manicaland, Pishai Muchauraya remains cautious and warns people to remain vigilant despite the relative peace prevailing in Zimbabwe over the past few days.
'We can never trust Zanu-PF. They've changed their tactics from killing and beating our supporters to denying them food. Only those with Zanu-PF cards are being given food but for all we know this is a temporary measure,' Muchauraya said.
Though Tsvangirai signed the MOU, he still insists that Mugabe should stop all the repression and political violence, release the 1 500 MDC officials and supporters in detention, and let humanitarian aid resume. Most of those injured in the rural areas, notably Gokwe in the Midlands are still being denied medical care. Although there are reports militia bases are being dismantled, most of them are still intact and operating.
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