2007 kicks off with strikes
Hundreds of patients were left stranded during the Christmas holiday period as junior doctors in public hospitals across the country went on strike to press for better salaries and working conditions, while the power supply was disrupted in the capital, Harare, when Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority employees decided to stay away from work this week. Read more from IRIN

ZINASU's solidarity message on the indefinite strike action by junior and senior doctors of Zimbabwe
On behalf of the youths in this country, and especially the ever dynamic and ever conscious students represented by the Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU), we wish to heartily announce our unalloyed support and sympathy for the strike action embarked upon by the junior and senior doctors, technically referred to as Resident Medical Officers. However, our hearts are with the suffering patients and we will hold Mugabe and his cronies accountable for any loss of life. Read more

View legislation online here

Zim cleric says MDC a stumbling block to change
Outspoken Zimbabwe Catholic Archbishop Pius Ncube on Thursday said the country’s main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party lacked visionary leadership and had become a stumbling block to efforts to achieve democratic change in the country. Read more

Mugabe set to rule until 2010
Moves to extend President Robert Mugabe's tenure of office by two years are being seen by civil society and opposition groups as a consequence of the messy presidential succession battle being waged in the ruling ZANU-PF party. Read more from IRIN

Statement on postponement of presidential elections
Save Zimbabwe Campaign notes with great dismay and anguish the announcement by the ruling Zanu PF Party of Zimbabwe of an intention to postpone the 2008 Presidential election to 2010 in order to facilitate the joint holding of Presidential and Parliamentary Elections in the same year. Read more

Attack on Lovemore Madhuku's house
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights is concerned at the attack on the seasoned human rights defender which appears to have been well planned and targeted. Such a cowardly attack on an innocent unarmed civilian whose transgression is showing extreme concern about the national wellbeing of our country can only come from individuals who have no respect for human rights and normally act with the full knowledge of or acquiescence of some state actors. Read more
Read the NCA statement

UN voting patterns tell tales of the Commonwealth nations and their real commitment to human rights
If actions speak louder than words human rights protection in the 53 countries of the Commonwealth is treading on thin ice. An analysis of voting patterns at the UN’s Third Committee done by the New York based Democracy Coalition Project shows big gaps between the Commonwealth’s rhetoric and reality. Read more from the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative

Policing the State
“Policing the State” highlights the growth of police brutality in Zimbabwe since 2000, which has coincided with the rise of the democratic challenge to the State. During the 1990s, peaceful protest by the student movement and trades unions was tolerated to some degree, but after the forming of the Movement for Democratic Change and the loss of the February constitutional referendum in 2000, State repression escalated in all respects. The Zimbabwe government has reverted to patterns of State control established under colonialism, including mass arrests in terms of repressive legislation, combined with brutality against civilians. Read more from Solidarity Peace Trust & Institute of Justice and Reconciliation

The language of change in Zimbabwean politics
Change is a phenomenon that most people find difficult to deal with. Even when it is necessary and inevitable, many people still find it hard to come to terms with change. Sometimes, the mere thought of change strikes fear into the hearts of most people. Read more from Alex Magaisa