Zimbabwe under tyranny.

Harare -- The former Rhodesia used to be a prosperous country, easily able to feed itself; 200 white farmers produced about 70% of its agricultural output. Under the tyranny of Robert Mugabe, who led the country to economic ruin especially by the confiscation of the white-owned farms, the country is in a state of economic ruin, and more than three million natives, about 20% of the population, have fled from it.

In the search for social justice, Zimbabwe's Catholic hierarchy has taken a strong stand. Archbishop Ncube has described Mugabe as "a fascist, fraudster, a liar and a godless murderer." He criticized the government's use of intimidation tactics, such as those employed by the National Youth Militia, which specializes in violence--"killing off the souls of young people" (Sunday Herald, May 22, 2005).

Following the opposition's success in the 2000 elections, when they won almost half the seats, Mugabe began distributing white-owned farms to black Zimbabweans in an effort to restore his popularity. As a result, the economy contracted 50% in five years, the unemployment rate now hovers around 70%, and the agricultural sector has collapsed.

The bishops are increasingly concerned over the government's lack of respect for basic human rights. The parliamentary elections held in March, 2005 confirmed the control held by Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party. An international Crisis Group reported that the elections were neither free nor fair; they were manipulated "through a range of legal and extra-legal means to ensure that the election was basically decided well before the first voters reached the polls."

The new found power now enjoyed by the ruling party resulted in a move by authorities to raze a residential district on the outskirts of the nation's capital, Harare. This zone, Mbare, was the country's largest market. The Operation Murambatsvina or "Clean up the Filth," began in late May, when police arrived without warning at the shantytown of Hatcliff. The residents were ordered to return to their rural hometowns and everything was destroyed including a large orphanage. (The nuns and their 180 charges were given one day's notice to get out.) This operation has since spread to other localities.

Those who remain in their home areas have been reduced to sleeping in the open and scrounging food where they can. Their condition is exacerbated by the fact that it is now winter in the southern hemisphere and night temperatures are near to freezing.

Members of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change view Mugabe's tactics as motivated by revenge against those who opposed him in the elections. They further see them as part of a policy to move poor people from urban to rural areas where they can be more easily controlled by the distribution of food--which is in the hands of Mugabe supporters. They estimate that more than a million people have been displaced.

The Restore Order operation has been sharply criticized by the Catholic bishops of Zimbabwe. In their latest pastoral letter, they highlighted the distress it is causing among the population and condemned the operation as a "gross injustice to the poor." Should such an initiative have been needed, suggested the bishops, "alternative accommodation and sources of income should have [first] ... been provided."

The Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference expressed concern about Zimbabwe earlier. In a press release dated August 1, 2004, they called upon the international community to take stronger action, including sanctions, against Zimbabwe, in order to prevent further suffering. "The Zimbabwean situation of starvation and malnutrition, willful political violence and intimidation," they said, "and the immoral use of food aid by the Zimbabwean government demands stronger and transparent intervention by African governments."