Folks, They think they can BRUTALIZE their people, TERRORIZE them, VIOLATE their human rights, PLUNDER their wealth and then WRAP themselves up in "anti-slavery," "anti-colonialism" or "anti-imperialism" garb to inoculate themselves against their grotesque misdeeds. Sure, slavery and colonialism were at once invidious and pernicious but the clothes of the DESPOTS are wearing thing. One day, they will have to answer in a COURT OF LAW what the VICTIMS of their insidious repression have got to do with Western slavery or imperialism. Please read and save it for your archives for future reference. ******************** http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38199-2000Sep8.html <http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38199-2000Sep8.html> Mugabe Sued in N.Y. Over Rights Abuses By Bill Miller Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday, September 9, 2000; Page A03 Robert Mugabe, the president of Zimbabwe who was in New York this week for a U.N. summit of world leaders, was served with a civil lawsuit Thursday accusing him and two associates of human rights abuses against political enemies. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, alleges that Mugabe has orchestrated a campaign of violence to keep his political party, the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriot Front, in power. The plaintiffs include relatives of three people who were slain and a political opponent who claims she was beaten. "All my clients are looking for is basic justice," said Theodore M. Cooperstein, who hopes to turn the suit into a class action. The conduct by Mugabe and his supporters, Cooperstein said, "violates all international and domestic norms." Facing his strongest political challenge in 20 years of leadership, Mugabe's government has encouraged the expropriation of hundreds of white-owned farms this year. At least 31 people were killed in the lead-up to parliamentary elections in June. Human rights groups have blamed Mugabe's supporters for much of the bloodshed, alleging they were determined to quash support for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change. The lawsuit was filed under the Alien Tort Claims Act, a 211-year-old U.S. law originally meant to combat piracy. The act gives foreigners the right to file civil suits in U.S. courts for injuries suffered in violation of international law. Last month, a jury in New York ordered Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic to pay $745 million to a group of women who accused him of killings and other atrocities. The suit against Mugabe seeks nearly $400 million in damages, though plaintiffs in the past have had great difficulty collecting judgments in such cases. Mugabe was the second international leader to be served with court papers while in New York. Another group of plaintiffs filed a similar suit against former Chinese premier Li Peng, alleging that he was responsible for the crushing of pro-democracy demonstrations at Tiananmen Square in 1989, as well as other violations of human rights. Peng's security guards were served with that suit on Aug. 31 in a hotel garage. By locating Mugabe in New York, the plaintiffs overcame one of the biggest hurdles in pursuing a human rights case under the Alien Tort Claims Act. Courts typically have held that defendants must be served with such lawsuits while in the United States. The plaintiffs' attorneys got a court order on Wednesday clearing the way for the Secret Service to hand Mugabe a copy of the lawsuit during his New York stay. But the U.S. government objected, citing concerns by the State Department that Mugabe and the other defendants might be entitled to immunity while on a diplomatic visit. The plaintiffs' attorneys maintained that Mugabe is not immune from the lawsuit because the case involves alleged actions that took place outside his official capacity as Zimbabwe's president. In light of the U.S. government's position, a judge instructed the plaintiffs to get the court papers to Mugabe on their own. They did so without incident Thursday night, as he was entering a church in Harlem to give a speech. During his speech, Mugabe defended his plan to take land from white farmers and give it to poor blacks. The Associated Press quoted him as saying, "We will die clinging to our land." © 2000 The Washington Post Company **************** ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask] if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------