Zimbabwe

Summary:

Instead of addressing the issues that the women are protesting about, the government has responded by using brutal force and attacking anybody who engages in peaceful demonstrations and protests, even peaceful ones.

Summary:

Colleagues of mine in Zimbabwe were jailed and tortured by the Mugabe administration, but I was expected by pro-Mugabe activists in the USA to say nothing, and indeed, to deny everything.

Summary:

Zimbabwe needs a new national vision to restore our self-confidence, dignity, and hope.

Summary:

We observe with great concern the continued abuse of executive and military powers to subvert the expressed will of the people.

Summary:Chávez says he plans to emulate repressive regimes around the world.

Summary:

A senior police officer told us to wash off the blood. Was this out of sympathy or a desire to remove the evidence?

Summary:

The police officer said the meeting was banned. It was a prayer service, came the reply. "Who were you praying for?" "For you."

Summary:

On Valentine's Day, 2003, WOZA held its first demonstrations, calling on Zimbabwe to "Learn to love again." Valentine's Day was chosen as a significant date in the WOZA calendar because of the association with love -- love of self, of family, of community and of country.

On that day in Bulawayo, fourteen women and one man were arrested and held in appalling conditions for 24 hours. They were charged under the Public Order Security Act and then released. The Harare protest was conducted outside the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) office. Riot police arrested over 49 members, including a 65-year-old Dominican nun. Only one WOZA member, Jennifer Williams, was charged and all members were released within hours of arrest.

Summary:

"We are saying we exist and that we are part of society. We want to be treated as people because we are people, we are human beings living in the same world."