By Staff Reporter
HUMAN rights and peace advocacy group Heal Zimbabwe has called upon authorities to ensure transparency and inclusion in the recently launched Gukurahundi Community Engagement Outreach Program.
The program was launched by President Emmerson Mnangagwa last weekend and Survivors will be interviewed in a series of hearings opening the way for possible compensation, in a bid to settle long standing grievances and tensions.
The Gukurahundi massacres took place a few years after Zimbabwe’s independence as former leader Robert Mugabe asserted his power where government troops claimed tens of thousands of lives.
In a statement Tuesday, Heal Zimbabwe Trust said the government is a conflicted stakeholder and must not lead the process.
“Government must release the reports of the Dumbutshena and Chihambakwe Commissions of Inquiry as part of truth telling. Government must take a step back from the programme as it is conflicted to lead the process. While President Mnangagwa has said traditional leaders are leading the process, he must not be seen as handholding the chiefs in the process.
The peace advocate group also highlighted the need for a victim centred approach which aligns with international standards and protects witnesses.
“The outreach programme must be victim-centred, genuine and sincere, recognizing the centrality of victims and survivors in the consultations and the implementation of their demands for true healing in line with the UN Secretary General report on the rule of law in conflict and post conflict societies.
“The outreach programme must provide a witness protection mechanism that is clear and well explained to communities to avoid fears of revictimization of survivors.
The witness and survivor mechanism must ensure that victims are treated with dignity and humanity, witnesses are assisted to present their views and concern and there is an effective long-term witness protection program,” the statement reads.
