Embassy Row

Fighting change

In Zimbabwe, voting for change is not just a campaign slogan. It is a matter of life and death, as U.S. Ambassador James McGee documented on hospital visits where he met victims of political violence that, he said, is “orchestrated at the highest levels” of President Robert Mugabe’s ruling party.

Mr. McGee met supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) who were dragged from their homes, severely beaten, forced to pay fines and warned against voting in a runoff election between MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai and Mr. Mugabe, whose brutal regime has driven the southern African nation into crushing poverty with inflation at an astonishing 150,000 percent a year.

In the March 29 presidential election, “a majority of Zimbabweans voted for change,” Mr. McGee said in a report posted on the U.S. Embassy’s Web site (https://harare.usembassy.gov). He noted that even the Zimbabwe Election Commission confirmed that Mr. Tsvangirai won nearly 48 percent of the vote, while Mr. Mugabe got 43 percent. Neither broke the 50 percent mark to avoid a runoff, which is expected to be held in August.

“Equally undeniable is that some within [Mr. Mugabe’s] ZANU-PF party have started a systematic campaign of violence designed to block this vote for change,” Mr. McGee said of the Zimbabwe African National Union-Popular Front.

“The inescapable conclusion is violence has been orchestrated at the highest levels of the ruling party, both to punish people for supporting the opposition in the March 29 election and to discourage support for the opposition in the event of a runoff election.”

Mr. McGee said the embassy has received “confirmed reports” of more than 700 acts of violence with more than 200 victims hospitalized. He cited a ward chairman for the MDC beaten by soldiers, a shopkeeper dragged from his home by a gang that beat him and burned his home and others who endured a “full day of torture” by Mr. Mugabe’s supporters.

“Taken together, they paint a deeply disturbing picture of an organized campaign of violence against those who voted for the opposition,” Mr. McGee said.

“The U.S. government has concrete evidence of the destruction of homes, beatings, intimidation and even murder. We have shared this evidence with U.N. and regional leaders,” he added, noting that the embassy has the identities of many of those suspected of committing the violence.

Nicaragua alert

The U.S. Embassy in Nicaragua is warning Americans to avoid traveling at night on a highway between the capital, Managua, and the town of Granada where two groups of U.S. citizens were robbed and kidnapped. Americans have also been told to take special precautions during a nationwide transportation strike.

Gunmen dressed as police stopped Americans at night on two occasions earlier this month on the Tipitapa-Massaya highway. The gunmen robbed them and released them later in “a remote location far from the highway,” the embassy said this week.

It also cautioned Americans about a transportation strike called to protest rising fuel prices. The strike has already claimed the life of a taxicab driver, who was killed on Tuesday.

“A growing number of inner-city streets have been blocked by protesters, and some members of the transportation sector have also attempted to block traffic at various locations throughout Nicaragua,” the embassy said.

It urged Americans to keep the gas tanks of their vehicles at least three-quarters full at all time, drive with their windows up and doors locked and avoid street barricades. The embassy also advised Americans to maintain a week’s supply of food and water in their homes.

• Call Embassy Row at 202/636-3297, fax 202/832-7278 or e-mail jmorrison@washingtontimes.com.