Word: matabeleland
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First chickens, then goats, then children The report from Zimbabwe's Bishops' Conference, an organization of Roman Catholic churchmen, was not pleasant reading for Prime Minister Robert Mugabe. It accused the Zimbabwe army of waging a campaign of terror in parts of Matabeleland province, into which government troops had been sent in January to flush out antigovernment rebels. The bishops charged that physical brutality was commonplace against the area's 450,000 inhabitants. "People are beaten up on the mere suspicion that they are helping dissidents or when they say they do not know anything about dissidents...
...Independence Day ceremonies on the fourth anniversary of Zimbabwe's nationhood last week, Mugabe defended his government's policies in Matabeleland. "We have built more roads, schools, clinics and boreholes in that area than we have anywhere else in the country," he said. As for the government campaign against the rebels, he declared that the situation "has been brought under control." The curfew has been cut back to the period from dusk to dawn, and buses and private transportation are once again permitted. President Canaan Banana, who is a member of the Matabele tribe, assured Zimbabweans that...
...troubled territory has been a problem off and on since the country achieved independence in 1980, when rivalry between the two former guerrilla confederates, Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo, broke into virtual tribal warfare. Matabeleland is the homeland of the Matabele tribe and of Nkomo, and Mugabe's victory in the nationwide elections moved many of Nkomo's supporters to become rebellious. Nkomo himself was sacked from the Cabinet two years ago, after he was accused of plotting to overthrow the government. The territory is also plagued by armed bandits who kill as well as plunder. Over the past...
...worse than the dissidents. A special combat unit, the Fifth Brigade, acquired an especially notorious reputation. Last year, however, their North Korean advisers returned home, and a resident British military unit took over advanced training of the Fifth Brigade. When the troops returned to Matabeleland early this year after a rise in dissident activity, he warned them to practice "humanity and humility." But soon there were new charges of brutality...
...government has taken small but significant steps to reduce political repression and to signal its need for support from Western governments. Last month Mugabe ordered the Korean-trained Fifth Brigade that was responsible for the massacres earlier this year to leave Matabeleland. When the brigade's Korean instructors returned home, Mugabe invited Britain to retrain its 5,000 troops...