|
afrol.com, 22 February - As Supreme Court and High Court judges are forced to resign for "not supporting" the Zimbabwean government in their land reform policy, national and international voices feat for the independence of the country's judiciary. Even the UN now speaks out its concern. The UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, Dato' Param Cumaraswamy, yesterday stated his concern with the government of Zimbabwe over the recent developments. Mr. Cumaraswamy sent an urgent appeal to the Government after receiving further information that Mike Moyo, a member of the so-called "war veterans", stated that squads would invade the houses of judges refusing to resign and that they would harm those judges and their families. Indeed, the pressure by the so-called "war vets" has produced results. Last week, Zimbabwe's Chief Justice Anthony Gubbay resigned due to the pressure. The government has made no steps to halt the intimidation; on the contrary. Ministers are giving their vocal support, attacking the judges and accusing them of being allies of the white farmers, actively blocking necessary land reforms. On that, UN's Mr. Cumaraswamy noted that "harassment, intimidation, attacks and threats against an independent judiciary and its judges will in fact be seen as a direct assault on the rule of law. The rule of law which is so pivotal for democracy and sustainable development in any country now has deteriorated further and appears to be very much in jeopardy in Zimbabwe." Referring to international declarations signed by Zimbabwe, the Special Rapporteur added "the obligation to guarantee an independent judiciary implies the State's obligation to protect and defend the judiciary from intimidation, harassment, attacks and threats from any quarter or for any reason. On the contrary, it is extremely disturbing to note from information received that members of the executive in Zimbabwe are heard actively expressing and encouraging such attacks." Also the British government is worried about the liberty of the Zimbabwean judiciary. The UK Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, today expressed his "mounting concern" at the pressure being applied to the judiciary and the media "by the Government of Zimbabwe." He said "the resignation of the Chief Justice and the expulsion of two journalists are cause for alarm. Political violence continues." Minister Cook confirmed that he had spoken to the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Don McKinnon, about the deteriorating situation and that they had agreed to send a Commonwealth fact-finding team to Zimbabwe to report back to the meeting of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group in London on 19-20 March. While concern is outspoken abroad, outrage is mounting in Zimbabwe. The democratic opposition party MDC accuses the government of forcing Supreme Court and High Court judges to resign in order to "create a puppet and partisan judiciary" in a debate on the Judiciary held in Parliament on Tuesday. Leading representatives from the governing called the MDC speaker a "Rhodesian soldier" in a debate that became more about trading insults than the actual matter. Also more profound critics are raised within Zimbabwe. According to the local newspaper "Daily News", the Faculty of Law at the University of Zimbabwe on Tuesday denounced the government-led onslaught on the judiciary. Commenting on government accusations that the judges align with the white farmers, the law professors said, "these accusations do not stand up to any proper scrutiny. There is nothing in any of the rulings by the High Court and the Supreme Court relating to land that shows that the courts are opposed to land reforms." The law lecturers said the courts had in their judgments indicated that the government must comply with its own laws in carrying out land reforms and the police must protect people against violent farm invaders. Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is not impressed by the general critics and outrage against his government's onslaught on the judiciary. The 77-years-old fighter yesterday commented that he wants to see the whites of Zimbabwe "thoroughly beaten" before he resigns. He will therefore be a candidate in next year's presidential election. The last weeks have shown that he is not willing to tolerate opposition from the opposition or the media to achieve his aims.
|
