Solidarity Peace Trust joins other civic organizations in Zimbabwe in condemning the continued arrest of Zim Rights Director, Okay Machisa.
This arrest is only the latest in a continuing trend of harassment of civic leaders and activists in the country, and points to the persistent thread of authoritarian practices of the past under the GPA.
In the midst of the uncertainty over the future of the constitutional reform process and the establishment of conditions for a generally acceptable election in 2013, the ongoing harassment of civic representatives bodes ill for the future of the country.
We call on the parties of the GPA and the regional guarantors of the agreement SADC, to bring an end to such repressive practices and to establish the conditions that will allow for a more democratic opening up of the public sphere in Zimbabwe.
Issued by:
Professor Brian Raftopoulos
Director Of Research And Advocacy
Solidarity Peace Trust
By Brian Raftopoulos
Introduction.
Four years after the signing of the SADC facilitated Global Political Agreement in Zimbabwe, the outcome of the process remains fiercely contested and in the balance. The Agreement, which set out to prepare the political process for a generally acceptable election after the debacle of 2008, has been marked by severe ebbs and flows, all too characteristic of the battle for the state that has constituted the politics of the GPA. At almost every stage of the mediation from 2007 and the implementation of the GPA from February 2009, intense conflicts over the interpretation of the accord have left their debris on the political terrain, at the heart of which has been the struggle over the meaning of ‘sovereignty’. Around this notion Zanu PF in particular has woven dense layers of political discourse combined with the coercive force of the state that it continues to control. The major aim of this strategy has been to manipulate and stall the reform provisions in the GPA, and to regroup and reconfigure its political resources after plunging to the nadir of its legitimacy in the 2008 electoral defeat. (Read more…)
Press Release from the Hopi Foundation: We are pleased to announce that nominations are now open for the 2013 Barbara Chester Award to Clinicians and Healing Practitioners for their work with Survivors of Torture.
The Barbara Chester Award
The award includes a $10,000 USD cash prize and a silver eagle feather sculpture handcrafted by Hopi artist Floyd Lomakuyvaya.
The sculpture symbolizes an eagle feather of prayer to the Award recipient for continued strength to help heal and bring balance to those in need while protecting them from the challenges of fear and intimidation from any source.
The 2013 Barbara Chester Award will be held in October of 2013. (Location to be determined.)
Deadline Date for Nominations – February 28, 2013
Click here to visit our website for more information about the Award, to view the eligibility requirements, and to access the nomination form.
Cordially,
Monica Nuvamsa
Executive Director, The Hopi Foundation
Robert W. Robin, Ph.D.,
Coordinator, Barbara Chester Award
