Editing History of Zimbabwe (section)

==2003–2005==
{{More citations needed section|date=May 2009}}
[[Image:Zimbabwe £8 in local currency in 2003.jpg|thumb|[[GBP]] 8 worth of [[Zimbabwean dollar]]s in 2003]]
Divisions within the opposition MDC had begun to fester early in the decade, after Morgan Tsvangirai (the president of the MDC) was lured  {{Citation needed|date=June 2008}} into a government sting operation that videotaped him talking of Mr. Mugabe's removal from power. He was subsequently arrested and put on trial on treason charges. This crippled his control of party affairs and raised questions about his competence. It also catalysed a major split within the party. In 2004 he was acquitted, but not until after suffering serious abuse and mistreatment in prison. {{Citation needed|date=June 2008}} The opposing faction was led by [[Welshman Ncube]] who was the general secretary of the party. In mid-2004, vigilantes loyal to Mr. Tsvangirai began attacking members who were mostly loyal to Ncube, climaxing in a September raid on the party's Harare headquarters in which the security director was nearly thrown to his death.<ref name="Wines">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/09/world/africa/09zimbabwe.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin|title=Opposition Splits While Zimbabwe Slips|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=9 May 2007|first=Michael|last=Wines|access-date=4 May 2010|archive-date=25 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325033549/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/09/world/africa/09zimbabwe.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin|url-status=live}}</ref>

An internal party inquiry later established that aides to Tsvangirai had tolerated, if not endorsed, the violence. Divisive as the violence was, it was a debate over the rule of law that set off the party's final break-up in November 2005. These division severely weakened the opposition. In addition the government employed its own operatives to both spy on each side and to undermine each side via acts of espionage. {{Citation needed|date=June 2008}} [[Zimbabwean parliamentary election, 2005]] were held in March 2005 in which ZANU-PF won a two-thirds majority, were again criticised by international observers as being flawed. {{Citation needed|date=June 2008}} Mugabe's political operatives were thus able to weaken the opposition internally and the security apparatus of the state was able to destabilise it externally by using violence in anti-Mugabe strongholds to prevent citizens from voting. {{Citation needed|date=June 2008}} Some voters were 'turned away' from polling station despite having proper identification{{Citation needed|date=June 2008}}, further guaranteeing that the government could control the results. Additionally Mugabe had started to appoint judges sympathetic to the government{{Citation needed|date=June 2008}}, making any judicial appeal futile. {{Citation needed|date=June 2008}} Mugabe was also able to appoint 30 of the members of parliament.<ref name="guardian3">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/international/story/0,,1450239,00.html|title=Mugabe's party wins Zimbabwe election|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=1 April 2005|location=London|first=James|last=Sturcke|access-date=4 May 2010|archive-date=31 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211231042856/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/apr/01/zimbabwe.jamessturcke|url-status=live}}</ref>

As Senate elections approached further opposition splits occurred. Ncube's supporters argued that the M.D.C. should field a slate of candidates; Tsvangirai's argued for a boycott. When party leaders voted on the issue, Ncube's side narrowly won, but Mr. Tsvangirai declared that as president of the party he was not bound by the majority's decision.<ref name="Wines"/> Again the opposition was weakened. As a result, the elections for a new Senate in November 2005 were largely boycotted by the opposition. Mugabe's party won 24 of the 31 constituencies where elections were held amid low voter turnout. Again, evidence surfaced of voter intimidation and fraud. {{Citation needed|date=June 2008}}

In May 2005 the government began [[Operation Murambatsvina]]. It was officially billed to rid urban areas of illegal structures, illegal business enterprises, and criminal activities. In practice its purpose was to punish political opponents{{Citation needed|date=June 2008}}. The UN estimates 700,000 people have been left without jobs or homes as a result.{{Citation needed|date=June 2008}} Families and traders, especially at the beginning of the operation, were often given no notice before police destroyed their homes and businesses.{{Citation needed|date=June 2008}} Others were able to salvage some possessions and building materials but often had nowhere to go, despite the government's statement that people should be returning to their rural homes. Thousands of families were left unprotected in the open in the middle of Zimbabwe's winter.{{Citation needed|date=June 2008}}, . The government interfered with non-governmental organisation (NGO) efforts to provide emergency assistance to the displaced in many instances.{{Citation needed|date=June 2008}} Some families were removed to transit camps, where they had no shelter or cooking facilities and minimal food, supplies, and sanitary facilities. The operation continued into July 2005, when the government began a program to provide housing for the newly displaced.<ref name="us-state">{{cite news|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5479.htm|title=Background Note: Zimbabwe|work=[[United States Department of State]]|access-date=25 May 2019|archive-date=4 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190604194202/https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5479.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

Human Rights Watch said the evictions had disrupted treatment for people with HIV/AIDS in a country where 3,000 die from the disease each week and about 1.3 million children have been orphaned. The operation was "the latest manifestation of a massive human rights problem that has been going on for years", said Amnesty International. As of September 2006, housing construction fell far short of demand, and there were reports that beneficiaries were mostly civil servants and ruling party loyalists, not those displaced. The government campaign of forced evictions continued in 2006, albeit on a lesser scale.<ref name="us-state"/><ref name="guardian4">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/Columnists/Column/0,,1636534,00.html|title=Zimbabwe surrounded by sound and fury, but little action|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=8 November 2005|location=London|first=Simon|last=Tisdall|access-date=4 May 2010|archive-date=31 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211231042857/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/nov/08/tisdallbriefing.comment|url-status=live}}</ref>

In September 2005 Mugabe signed constitutional amendments that reinstituted a national senate (abolished in 1987) and that nationalised all land. This converted all ownership rights into leases. The amendments also ended the right of landowners to challenge government expropriation of land in the courts and marked the end of any hope of returning any land that had been hitherto grabbed by armed land invasions. Elections for the senate in November resulted in a victory for the government. The MDC split over whether to field candidates and partially boycotted the vote. In addition to low turnout there was widespread government intimidation. The split in the MDC hardened into factions, each of which claimed control of the party. The early months of 2006 were marked by food shortages and mass hunger. The sheer extremity of the siltation was revealed by the fact that in the courts, state witnesses said they were too weak from hunger to testify.<ref name="guardian1">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/international/story/0,,1580389,00.html|title=Zimbabwe's economic crisis drives it back into steam age|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=29 September 2005|location=London|first=Andrew|last=Meldrum|access-date=4 May 2010|archive-date=31 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211231042940/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/sep/29/zimbabwe.andrewmeldrum|url-status=live}}</ref>