Zimbabwe's teachers targeted in post-election violence

5/4/2008 - 12:51:48 PM

Teachers have become targets in Zimbabwe’s post-election violence, union officials said today.

Zimbabwe’s opposition and international and local human rights groups have accused the ruling party, its militant allies and the army of waging a campaign of terror since President Robert Mugabe came in second in presidential elections March 29.

Electoral officials have said a second round of voting is necessary because neither Mugabe nor his rival Morgan Tsvangirai won a simple majority, and there are fears of increased violence in the lead-up to the run-off.

Teachers have traditionally assisted in running elections. The Progressive Teachers Union said today the violent campaign against them – respected figures in local communities – was meant to instil fear and prevent them from participating as polling officers in the run-off.

“Whoever is calling himself the government should act to stop violence in schools or we will be forced to act,” the union said, adding it was considering calling a nationwide strike.

The union said more than 1,700 teachers have fled violence. It said its members were under attack across the country and urged teachers to withdraw from “politically volatile zones.”

It also said disruptions in schools threatened examinations scheduled in June in rural schools.

It said 133 members were assaulted in the past week and 496 were “interrogated over election matters.” Other rural teachers were forced to pay a “repentance fee” in money, cattle or goats.

Human Rights Watch said last week it had received reports that more than 100 polling station officers – most of them teachers and low-ranking civil servants - had been detained in an eastern province.

The New York-based watchdog described that as an indication the government and its loyalists were targeting those seen as betraying Mugabe.

Mugabe’s officials have denied fomenting political violence, instead accusing the opposition of being behind the unrest.

Thokozani Khupe, vice president of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), said on today that the group still believed a run-off was unnecessary, maintaining Mr Tsvangirai won the first round outright.

At a news conference, Mr Khupe called on the Southern African Development Committee to help verify the results.

“We still need to be convinced before we participate in a run-off,” she said.

No run-off date has been set. Deputy Information Minister Bright Matonga said the constitution requires a second round no sooner than 21 days from the announcement of the results, and no later than a year.

The opposition has consistently rejected a run-off, but its stance has appeared to soften since the official results were released, and Mugabe’s party said he would take part in a second round.

On Friday, Mr Tsvangirai’s deputy in the MDC, Tendai Biti, acknowledged that skipping a second round could result in another term for Mugabe.

International observers have questioned whether a run-off would be legitimate, given the violence the opposition has faced. The opposition’s top leaders, including Mr Biti and Mr Tsvangirai, have been staying out of Zimbabwe for fear of arrest.

Mugabe, 84, was hailed at independence in 1980 for promoting racial reconciliation and bringing education and health care to the black majority. But in recent years he has been accused of holding on to power through elections that independent observers say were marred by fraud, intimidation and rigging.