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No pardons, urges AI
24/07/2008 22:29 - (SA)
Harare - Negotiations on power-sharing between the ruling party and opposition in Zimbabwe should not result in pardons for human rights abusers, Amnesty International said on Thursday.
"There can be no lasting political solution to the crisis in Zimbabwe without addressing past human rights violations," Amnesty said in a statement.
"While human rights violations must end immediately, investigations must be carried out and alleged perpetrators brought to justice," the London-based rights group added.
The comments come on the first day of fully-fledged talks between Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) on sharing power after months of deadly violence.
The MDC claimed 120 of its supporters were killed by pro-Mugabe thugs and thousands more injured in the aftermath of a first round of elections in March which were won by its leader Morgan Tsvangirai.
The scale of the violence prompted Tsvangirai to pull out of a run-off on June 27 which Mugabe then predictably won by a landslide.
Mugabe in turn accused MDC supporters of attacking Zanu-PF followers, although the UN has said the opposition bore the brunt of the violence.
Amnesty said despite an agreement on Monday to sit down and talk, which was accompanied by a commitment to non-violence, an atmosphere of fear persisted.
"The government must put an immediate end to all acts of intimidation, arbitrary arrest and torture perpetrated by state and non-state actors against human rights defenders and political activists, particularly in rural areas."
- AFP
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Zimbabwe Special Report
