The United States of America (US) Senate has tightened screws on the Emerson Mnangagwa administration calling on the Zimbabwean government to acknowledge and apologize for the atrocities in Matabeleland (Gukurahundi).
According to a Bill introduced to the US Senate by Senators Flake and Coons, which seeks to amend the 2001 ZIDERA Act, the Bill demanded that the Mnangagwa governemt should nite Zimbabweans by:
(A) acknowledging that human rights have been abused, including during the urban land clearances of Operation Murambatsvina, and the violence perpetrated in the wake of the 2008 election against the opposition and citizens of Zimbabwe;
(B) undertaking a genuine process of national reconciliation up to and including acknowledging and apologizing for atrocities in Matabeleland (Gukurahundi); and
(C) taking steps to offer redress or compensation to victims of abuses identified in subparagraphs (A) and (B), in a manner recommended by the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission and the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission.
The Bill further called for the Zimbabwean government to “order an immediate inquiry into the disappearance of prominent human rights activists, including Patrick Nabanyama, Itai Dzamara, and Paul Chizuze.”
Matabeleland Institute for Human Rights (an independent human rights organization advocating for the promotion and protection of human rights in the Matabeleland region of Zimbabwe” welcomes the Bill because its implementation will ensure justice for human rights violations in Zimbabwe and also calls on the international community to continue amplifying the voices of the people of Zimbabwe and Matabeleland who have been demanding justice for Gukurahundi genocide victims.
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