A tenuous power-sharing government and floundering economy continue to plague Zimbabwe. The 2008 Global
Morgan Tsvangirai
Political Agreement (GPA) established Morgan Tsvangirai, of the MDC political party as Prime Minister and Robert Mugabe, of the ZANU-PF, as President. The fragile unity government was recently tested when Tsvangirai and other MDC cabinet members staged a three week boycott. The arrest of Deputy Minister for Agriculture and Mugabe’s refusal to fully implement the GPA were cited as primary reasons for the boycott.
There are reports of deepening political unrest. According to a partner in Zimbabwe,
The decision by the MDC to disengage from government has resulted in increasing cases of arbitrary arrests and human rights violations… There is a general hardening of positions, increase in hate language by the state media and intimidation of civic groups. A senior army official recently issued a public statement claiming that non-governmental organizations were now waging asymmetrical warfare against the state. There seems to be a deliberate strategy to target civic groups and perceived opponents.
Reports also indicate that close to 100 teachers have fled their stations due to harassment by the ZANU-PF.
