The Star
Letters
April 12, 2007 Edition 1
Give Thabo Mbeki credit for
grasping the nettle and accepting that there's
pain surrounding Mugabe's
regime: the starving and intimidated povo (the
masses), the minority 20% who
are employed trying to survive on their
pittance of a R100 monthly wage; the
pain of a country where prices double
or treble every week, where people
cannot afford necessities like the staple
maize meal, milk, bread, cooking
oil and petrol (if you can find any).
Contary to one newspaper report,
Zimbabwe isn't on the verge of collapse -
it has already collapsed. Any
economist in that God-forsaken country will
confirm that the oft-repeated
figure of 1 800% year-on-year inflation is a
euphemism put out by the regime
that bears no relation to reality. It's more
like 5 000%.
Following
the Dar es Salaam Southern African Development Community (SADC)
meeting -
when Mugabe was rewarded with a call to Western countries to
withdraw their
sanctions which, in any case, hardly inconvenienced Mugabe
and his cronies -
the bashing of people continued.
And a distinguished local TV cameraman
was murdered. He had evidently
supplied film coverage to CNN and the BBC,
considered a heinous "crime" by
the regime's "Gestapo".
I warmly
applaud the Catholic bishops - especially Archbishop Pius Ncube of
Bulawayo
- who have come out bravely against the regime.
Pity that the pope, in
his latest book, apparently has nothing to say about
Mugabe's
tyranny.
Here's a suggestion to those who are valiantly trying to
bring about
urgently needed changes to our nearby neighbour.
Tell
Mugabe, if he really wants to prove his democratic credentials - I've
just
heard on the radio one of his henchmen insist that Zimbabwe is "a
democracy
which allows dissenting opinions" - then he should immediately
withdraw his
ban on the Daily News, enabling the paper to return to the
streets.
Allow this respected and highly professional newspaper to
return to the
public arena. Let the written and spoken word be the means of
fair battle.
This, rather than forcibly removing injured opposition
politicians from
hospital, where they were treated for serious wounds after
bashing, and
returned to the police cells.
Ivor
Davis
Sandton
People's Daily
Zimbabwe's mobile operator, Econet Wireless, has with immediate
effect
barred all its prepaid customers from making international calls
citing
foreign currency shortages, The Herald reported on
Wednesday.
The company said the ban will help conserve the little foreign
currency at
its disposal for other critical business
transactions.
Econet Wireless Managing Director Douglas Mboweni said only
the Business
Partna customers would continue to have access to international
calls.
Econet has two packages, the prepaid package (Libertie and Buddie)
and the
Business Partna.
"The Business Partna is for corporates and
business people and we feel calls
from these packages would generate more
foreign currency for the country.
The foreign currency that we are having at
the moment is not enough to
handle all subscribers, hence we are reserving
the little that we have for
business organizations," said
Mboweni.
Individuals, from now onwards are no longer in a position to
make
international calls as they used to do due to foreign currency
constraints,
said Mboweni.
However, individuals can still access the
short message services (SMS) to
other international mobile
operators.
"Individuals can send their peers SMS and receive
international calls,
thereby earning foreign currency for the country," he
added.
However, Econet customers feel the company has shortchanged them
by not
advising them in advance of the development.
Source:
Xinhua
The Zimbabwean
HARARE
The spate of
explosions reportedly rocking police establishments around the
country are
the result of joint works by the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA)
Military
Intelligence, Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) and Zimbabwe
Republic
Police (ZRP) with a view to sparking a civil war and blaming the
opposition
MDC, investigations by CAJ News Agency have revealed.
The military
intelligence at Inkomo Barracks, King George's (KGVI) and Two
Brigade
Headquarters in Cranborne Barracks were behind the release of
explosives
with a view to blaming the opposition for importing weapons into
the country
for a possible civil war, according to senior police officers
who served
under the United Nations Peacekeeping Missions.
Various explosions have
raised suspicions of a possible civil war in the
country, hence the hiring
of foreign forces from Angola and soldiers from
Libya with a view to trigger
and justify the state of emergency.
"Next time these guys will bomb the
Defence House or Zanu (PF) Headquarters
in Harare and blame the MDC.
Remember how a claymore was planted by Sgt
Samakomwa near the National
Sports Stadium so as to put the late Reverend
Ndabaningi Sithole on
attempted murder charges in 1995?" said the source.
"The man was convicted
but was never put to prison. It becomes a pathetic
military exercise when
you find the police bombing itself and wounding
innocent members so as to
create a scapegoat. The chances are high that the
military will create a
mutiny so as to blame the opposition," he added. -
CAJ News
The Zimbabwean
HARARE
Resignations of
professionals from the ZRP is becoming worrisome as hundreds
continue to
quit in frustration.
The hardest hit this week is the Police Outpost
Magazine, which saw more
than eight professional journalists surrendering
their police uniforms for
greener pastures.
The Outpost Magazine's
Assistant Editor Nkosana Dlamini resigned at end of
March and the chief
reporter covering Zimbabwe's western region, Mxolisi
Ncube, also resigned in
a hurry.
The editor of the police magazine, Elvis Chipuka also resigned under
unclear
circumstances, though it is widely believed that it is as a result
of poor
remunerations.
Chipuka followed the resignation of his
predecessor, a veteran journalist
and academic Ntokozo Nyathi, who is set to
join the Centre for African
Journalists (CAJ News Agency) next month.
In
an interview, the Police Spokesperson, Oliver Mandipaka, said the ZRP did
not have the capacity of blocking people's decisions to resign.
"Many
professionals are leaving for whatever pastures, green or yellow.
Construction people are going, teachers are going, ordinary members are
leaving for the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) and some to South
Africa.
"Though this is worrisome as we are security people, but on another
note,
that is an indication that the ZRP is capable of producing
professionals who
are accepted internationally," said Mandipaka. - CAJ
News
The Zimbabwean
HARARE
As deafening silence continues to come from the Zimbabwe
National Army (ZNA)
and government over alleged upheavals within the ranks,
a family in Harare
has come forward to expose the likelihood of executions
having take place
after an attempted coup. The state has still not
responded to reports that
14 soldiers were executed recently after an
attempted march to State House
with the intention of deposing President
Robert Mugabe.
Army sources have admitted that a group of soldiers was
arrested but one
source denied there were executions. But members of a
Harare family this
week claimed that their relative, a member of the army
"disappeared" on the
day it was reported there had been executions.
"He
went missing on the day it was reported there had been executions and
our
efforts to establish his whereabouts have been unsuccessful," a brother
to
the missing soldier said. "We have been told by his superiors that they
are
working on establishing his whereabouts and they would soon come back to
us. However, some of his colleagues have alleged that he was among the
group which was executed." The missing soldier, whose name was supplied to
this paper, was said to be away on duty, when an inquiry of his whereabouts
was done at the army headquarters in Harare.
Unconfirmed reports alleged
that 14 soldiers were executed after an
attempted coup involving junior and
middle ranked officials of the armed
forces. Disgruntled levels have been
increasing within the army over low
incomes as well as the further declining
economic situation.
A senior official from the ZNA, speaking on condition of
anonymity said that
there had been a group planning to depose Mugabe but
denied reports that
they had been executed saying they were detained at some
barrack after being
arrested by the military police.
The Zimbabwean
MUTOKO
The
graduation of about 60 junior Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) military
officers
at the 2:1 Infantry Battalion here last week, was met with acute
food
shortages, low morale and poor attendance from other security forces as
disgruntlement within the security forces takes centre stage in
Zimbabwe.
Complicating the situation, the Army Commander, General Phillip
Sibanda, did
not attend the event under unclear circumstances. The Colonel
in charge of
Careers at the Army Headquarters, Colonel Shailet Moyo, was
immediately
drafted to become the guest of honour.
The low turnout comes
as hundreds of army and police personnel are leaving,
citing poor
remuneration, the break-down of the rule of law and the face
that they are
now forced to do menial work by the desperate Zanu (PF)
government.
Zimbabwean soldiers and police are now responsible for
off-loading and
packing grain at the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) depots
throughout the
country as government tries to garner support from rural folk
well ahead of
the 2008 presidential election.
The security forces these
days are also ordered to sweep city centre
streets, slash grass along main
roads, and distribute maize to starving
villagers. - CAJ News
The Zimbabwean
The Foundation of Reason and Justice has
joined Zimbabwean Christians to
declare April 18 an international Day of
Prayer for Zimbabwe.
"The Zimbabwean government is in a vicious war with its
law-abiding
citizens. All opposition gatherings including prayer meetings
have been
banned. Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan
Tsvangirai has
survived so many attempts to end his life; the latest one was
on 11 March
2007," says the organisation in a recent statement.
In
addition to being Zimbabwe's Independence Day, April 18 is the day on
which,
way back in 1521, the Christian reformer Martin Luther stood firm
before
Emperor Charles V saying, "My conscience is captive to the word of
God. I
cannot and I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience
is
neither right nor safe. Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise. God help me.
Amen!" This speech shook the world.
Historically Christian reformers have
always been at the forefront of the
struggle against corruption, tyranny of
unbelievers and moral decadence. In
the book of Isaiah the prophet started
his ministry by denouncing social
evils and corruption on the market place.
Biblical tyrants were removed by
God's people and punished for their crimes
in accordance with the Word of
God.
"We call upon people all over the
world to pray fervently for Zimbabwe on
this historic day. Pray for
repentance of many Zimbabweans and the urgent
removal of Mugabe's government
and all wicked rulers, who are murdering and
starving innocent citizens, and
for regional leaders, especially South
Africa's Thabo Mbeki, who are
supporting him. Zimbabweans do not ask for
pity from South Africa's
political leaders. We will lead our own
transformation under our God.
Simply, we condemn those who lend support to
Mugabe," says the statement. -
Collen Makumbirofa
The Zimbabwean
Sanctions used as red
herring
HARARE
President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa is expected to meet
President Robert
Mugabe and impress upon him the fundamental need for
reforms as a way of
solving the political crisis affecting Zimbabwe, this
paper can reveal.
It has been established that Mbeki will meet Mugabe within
the next three
weeks, following meetings last week involving his officials
and senior
opposition members.
MDC (Tsvangirai) officials met with
Mbeki's officials in South Africa last
week. The Secretary General, Tendai
Biti, confirmed that the discussions
had centred mainly on reforms.
"We
discussed with Mbeki's team about the preliminary requirements for his
efforts to find a solution to our crisis," Biti said. "We deliberated on the
need for a roadmap towards the holding of democratic elections and
constitutional reforms."
The united coalition of opposition parties,
civil society and church leaders
is unequivocal on calls for the adoption of
a new constitution before next
year's elections.
Sources within the South
African diplomatic community told The Zimbabwean
that Mugabe, increasingly
under pressure to adopt reforms, has already
confirmed his meeting with
Mbeki. "They will be meeting soon and Mbeki has
no option but to tell Mugabe
that one of the prerequisites to finding a
solution is adoption of electoral
and constitutional reforms," a source
said.
However, Zanu (PF) insiders
said Mugabe remained averse to the idea of
reforms, which he and other
hardliners within the ruling party consider to
be acceptance of a way out of
power. "The only time the matter has been
discussed was when some officials
inquired about whether there would be a
new constitution ahead of next
year's elections, to which Mugabe said there
was no need," said one
source.
Another source said the embattled octogenarian leader planned to buy
time
and divert Mbeki's attention through the sanctions mantra. "He is going
to
demand that the opposition starts by calling off sanctions before any
dialogue commences," he said.
Mugabe succeeded in convincing SADC leaders
of his sanctions propaganda, and
they brought up the issue after the
emergency meeting in Dar-es-Salaam.
The Zimbabwean
By
Trevor Grundy
LONDON
Born into an upper middle class family from Cumbria
in northern England,
John Bradburne turned his back on his privileged
background to care for
lepers in Africa.
He died on a dusty roadside in
what was then Rhodesia, on 3 September 1979,
cut down by the bullets of
guerrillas firing Kalashnikov assault rifles.
Now, nearly 30 years after his
death, the Archbishop of Harare, Robert
Christopher Ndlovu, has said that a
"Cause" should begin.
This formally launches an investigation to determine
whether a candidate for
sainthood has led a life that contains a spiritual
message for the world's
Roman Catholic community.
"The archbishop gave
his approval for a 'Cause' to start after it was
discussed by the [Zimbabwe]
Catholic Bishops' Conference [in March]," Tim
Brigstocke, chairperson of the
John Bradburne Memorial Society, told
Ecumenical News
International.
Lawrence Vambe, the Zimbabwean historian now living in England
who has been
supporting Bradburne's election to the sainthood, said: "John
was a
wonderful man who served the poor, the sick, the wretched and who
might one
day be recognised as a very great poet."
Born on 14 June 1921,
John Bradburne saw active military service with the
Gurkhas unit in Asia
during the Second World War. Afterwards, he became a
drifter, house cleaner
and refuse collector who was fascinated by Eastern
mysticism.
In 1947, he
was received into the Catholic Church and took a series of lowly
paid jobs
at monasteries before travelling to Israel and then to the British
colony of
Southern Rhodesia.
As a Franciscan layperson he worked as a superintendent at
Mutemwa, a leper
colony, 140 kilometres miles north east of what was then
Salisbury and is
now Harare.
Those close to him said that lepers adored
him but guerrillas supporting the
forces of Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe African
National Union did not.
Towards the end of the Zimbabwean war for
independence, which ended in 1979,
he was abducted from a tin hut where he
often prayed, sang and wrote poetry.
He was shot in the back and left for
dead a few miles from Mutemwa and the
lepers he cared for.
His followers
say that at his funeral, three drops of blood appeared beneath
his coffin,
something alluded to in the book "Strange Vagabond of God", by
Jesuit priest
John Dove, which recounts his great friend's life.
Since then devotion to
John Bradburne has sprung up in Zimbabwe, Africa and
in parts of Britain and
Europe.
"The John Bradburne Memorial Society raises about £30 000 a year to
help
keep
Mutemwa going," said Celia Brigstocke, niece of the man who
could one day
become the first Catholic saint who died in Zimbabwe.
The Zimbabwean
BY CHARLES
ONYANGO-OBBO
NAIROBI
Why is it that African strongmen tend to seem more
powerful and entrenched
at the point when their political record is at its
worst?
Yet when they preside over flourishing economies and have the money
and
groceries with which to buy support, they seem weak.
But when they
turn their countries into a shambles, with inflation soaring
close to 1,800
per cent as in Zimbabwe and nothing left to bribe their
people with,
everyone seems helpless to remove them. Today, the Zimbabwean
government
cannot maintain the army and police in the style they are
accustomed to, yet
they are more zealous in cracking the skulls of the
opposition than when
life was better.
When an economy collapses or is in crisis, the few parts of
it that still
function are almost always in the hands of regime officials
and supporters.
The opposition supporters have nothing, and therefore they
can't fund
anti-government politics. The opposition needs an economy that is
doing well
in order to thrive.
The only problem with that is that there
may not be enough anger, because
things aren't bad enough, to cause enough
people to kick the government out
at elections. And by the time matters are
bad enough and there is sufficient
anger, there is no economic
infrastructure to support rivals.
There is also a view that people who have
endured the long and painful
history of slavery, which then gave way to
colonialism, have a strong
tendency toward self-preservation.
For that
reason, of all the people in the world the African is the least
likely to be
a suicide bomber. An offshoot of this is that many of us cannot
easily be
persuaded to put our necks on the line and die in the process, in
the hope
that the lives of our children will be better.
Moreover, one senses that
because a lot of the liberation wars and "people
power" revolutions that
have swept corrupt and brutal old-style governments
out of Africa in the
past 20 years have failed to bring a better life, the
distrust of politics
among ordinary people has grown deeper.
Where the line between the good and
bad guys is fuzzy, it is always the bad
guys - like Mugabe - who benefit. -
The East African, Nairobi
The Zimbabwean
HARARE
State
security agents are intensifying their plot to incapacitate and
paralyse the
main faction of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
through further
abductions and torture of members of the opposition
leadership.
Abductions and shootings of senior MDC leaders have continued
and sources
within the police and Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO)
said there was
a list of MDC officials in the hands of the Zimbabwe Republic
Police (ZRP)
that must be "brought to book". The exercise also involves Zanu
(PF)
militia. The state has ensured the opposition party's headquarters
become
virtually non-functional through raids, confiscation of equipment and
detention of members of the secretariat.
MDC Harare province executive
member Phillip Katsande, was last week shot
after police raided his home in
Budiriro suburb and left to battle for life
in hospital. Other MDC officials
that were abducted by police or Zanu (PF)
militia included youth secretary,
Solomon Madzore and Sam Chacha, a senior
member in Kwekwe.
Party
spokesman, Nelson Chamisa said the state was increasing its crackdown
on the
opposition party. "We are receiving reports of abductions and brutal
assaults of our members daily and in some cases there is clear evidence of
attempted murder," he said.
Meanwhile, the opposition party's
headquarters in Harare remains deserted
following the confiscation of all
computers and arrest of members of the
secretariat a fortnight
ago.
Several officials, including the former news editor of the Daily News,
and
now director of information at Harvest House, Luke Tamborinyoka, are
languishing in remand prison after being arrested during the police raid and
denied bail on several occasions.
The opposition party has appealed to
the High Court challenging the
confiscation of its computers by police and
an order was granted that they
must be returned. The police have responded
by saying they needed to extract
information they require for investigations
before they would return the
computer.
Sources privy to the plans against
the opposition by the state said that
there was a plan to establish grounds
on which to raise treason allegations
against MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai,
as a way of tarnishing his image
ahead of next year's presidential
elections. Tsvangirai is expected to pose
a stiff challenge against Mugabe,
who presides over the worst economy in the
world, coupled with declining
social standards.
The Zimbabwean
'Let us make Mugabe the
first victim of World Cup 2010 madness'
John Makumbe
The hosting of the
World Cup soccer tournament by South Africa in 2010 could
be threatened if
the political crisis in neighbouring Zimbabwe is not
resolved urgently.
Crime-riddled south Africa is bearing the brunt of
increasing illegal
migration by Zimbabweans fleeing the political, social
and economic
hardships brewed and bred by Zimbabwe's notorious dictator,
Robert
Mugabe.
An estimated three million Zimbos now live and "work" in South
Africa.
Thousands of others reside in other southern African states -
Botswana,
Zambia, Mozambique, Namibia, Lesotho and Swaziland. Virtually all
these SADC
member states are expected to participate, in one way or another,
in the
hosting of the 2010 World Cup. The economic benefits expected to be
reaped
by these countries could evaporate into nothing if the Zimbabwe
crisis is
not resolved well in advance of 2010.
Mugabe's reluctance to
relinquish political power poses a formidable threat
to the successful
hosting of Africa's first World Cup. If the Zimbabwe
crisis is not resolved
by the time of the premier soccer tournament, it is
very likely that there
will be widespread violence in Zimbabwe, where some
of the best hotel
accommodation facilities in the region are located.
Zimbabwe has already been
identified as a fan base for the soccer
tournament. South Africa has already
indicated that it will not be able to
accommodate the more than 300 000
visitors expected to invade the region for
the tournament. Countries like
Botswana, Swaziland, Lesotho and Namibia can
only accommodate a few hundred
guests in their hotels and lodges.
It is very likely that Mugabe's rigged
re-election in 2008 will result in
the escalation of violence in Zimbabwe
and the further deterioration of the
economy, resulting in a new wave of
illegal migration of Zimbos into South
Africa. Desperate to make a living,
they will have no choice but to engage
in crime in the SADC member
states.
This reality needs to be emphasised to all the SADC heads of state
well in
advance of the World Cup. Zimbabwean civil society and opposition
political
parties need to take advantage of the 2010 World Cup to force the
cowardly
SADC leaders to redouble their efforts to eject the Zimbabwean
dictator.
For example, civil society and opposition political parties should
start to
plan, and publicise widely, massive street demonstrations in all
the
relevant SADC member states to coincide with the tournament. Such
demonstrations should include Zimbabweans and the nationals of other SADC
member states, in which the demos are to be held. Nothing will galvanise the
regional and international communities to action more effectively than the
threat of a disruption of this prime football event. Mugabe will never know
what will has hit him. Let us make Mugabe the first victim of World Cup 2010
madness.
The South African business community needs to be conscientised
to this
reality so that it can apply appropriate pressure on reluctant Thabo
Mbeki
to abandon his sterile quiet diplomacy in the handling of the local
dictator.
The international community could be lobbied to pressure the
relevant world
soccer authorities to threaten to move the 2010 World Cup
elsewhere if the
Zimbabwe crisis is not resolved urgently. Desperate
situations sometimes
require desperate measures as solutions. There may
indeed be light at the
end of the tunnel.
The Zimbabwean
JOHANNESBURG
Retired
Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) Lieutenant Colonel Sikhumbuzo Ndiweni
has urged
the opposition to capitalise on Zanu (PF) being at its weakest
point ever by
campaigning extensively to mobilise the masses to embark on
more effective
protests.
In an interview with CAJ News this week Ndiweni said MDC should
seize the
opportunity "now or never again".
Any further delays and
failure to employ practical tactics to dislodge Zanu
(PF) from power would
render the opposition in Zimbabwe "useless" and the
only hope of a regime
change would have hit a brick wall, he said.
He insisted that Morgan
Tsvangirai had suffered enough at the hands of the
ruling Zanu (PF) and
should be accorded the opportunity of democratically
ruling
Zimbabwe.
"MDC must seize the opportunity of working closely with the
deserted
Zimbabwe soldiers to come up with workable and practical tactics of
dislodging the ruling party in a free and fair election to be observed by
both SADC and the international community.
"Zanu (PF) is at its weakest
point since Zimbabwe gained independence.
Intra-party fighting would work in
favour of MDC if they quickly seize the
opportunity," said Ndiweni.
He
said the MDC leadership lacked experience and were not sure when to act
and
how.
He gave the example of Operation Restore Order/Murambatsvina where over
700
000 families were displaced by government, arguing that if the
opposition
was steadfast they could have mobilised and forced Zanu (PF) out
of power
then.
"The Murambatsvina/Operation Restore Order era was the
most glorious
opportunity for MDC to assume power but that chance went
begging.
"This time around I would like to appeal to the opposition
leadership not to
let this golden chance pass without doing anything
practical. Morgan
Tsvangirai was severely tortured, Gift Tandare was shot
dead, civic leaders
were arrested and severely beaten and this is the time
to act.
"There is no incentive better than suffering. Any slip-up by the
opposition
would have dampened the people's spirits. If it means people
should die, let
it be so," said retired said Ndiweni, who resigned from
government arguing
that he could not work with the regime that was
suppressing its own
people. - CAJ News
The Zimbabwean
BY SCOTT A MORGAN
Zimbabwe's
Information Minister recently addressed reports that the US was
assisting
the Zimbabwean opposition and boldly proclaimed that the American
initiatives would fail.
It has been standard procedure for the US Embassy
in various countries to
offer technical assistance to any and all parties
that are interested. These
projects include assistance with the electoral
process, seminars that deal
with economics and even financial assistance
when necessary. So when the
State Department announced last week it was
conducting such projects no one
should have been shocked.
The reaction of
the Zimbabwe government was by no means a surprise either.
The
state-controlled media stated that this was proof that the US was out to
overthrow President Mugabe.
So what exactly does the Mugabe government
object to? One is the assistance
in Humanitarian Aid for those who have been
left vulnerable by poor
governance, notably the disastrous land reform and
the diabolical Operation
Murambatsvina, which left parts of Harare and other
cities in ruins. The
numbers suffering from malnutrition and other maladies
are in the millions.
Since the controversial elections of 2000, 2002 and 2005
the US has
gradually increased the sanctions against Zimbabwe. Military
contacts have
been ended. Senior members of the ruling party are not allowed
to travel to
the USA and their financial holdings here have been
seized.
In addition, the US wants to strengthen democratic forces in
Zimbabwe. In
the past the US has provided financial and other forms of aid
to democratic
forces around the world. So we are just continuing in a
pattern that has
been the norm for years.
For the reasons listed above
one can read into the reaction of the Zimbabwe
government and say "they are
resistant to change." Another reaction is that
they just want to remain in
power. And that is the sad thing for the
millions suffering in Zimbabwe
today.
The Zimbabwean
Editorial
We commend
the Roman Catholic bishops for their uncompromising Easter
message to the
people of Zimbabwe. In it they urged President Mugabe to end
his oppression
of the people through state-sponsored violence and to leave
office through
democratic reform - or face mass revolt.
"As the suffering population becomes
more insistent, generating more and
more pressure through boycotts, strikes,
demonstrations and uprisings, the
state responds with even harsher
oppression through arrests, detentions,
banning orders, beatings and
torture," says the message, which was stuck to
the doors of churches
throughout Zimbabwe on Easter Sunday.
This is the fist time the Catholic
bishops have spoken with one voice, using
language reminiscent of their
outspoken stance during the Smith days.
"Oppression is sin and cannot be
compromised with," said the bishops
unequivocally. As to where the violence
in our country is coming from - they
did not mince their words.
The
conflict, they said, was "between those who only know the language of
violence and intimidation and those who feel they have nothing more to lose
because their constitutional rights have been abrogated and their votes
rigged".
The bishops called for a new people-driven constitution, leading
to free and
fair elections. It is also encouraging that Pope Benedict XVI
singled out
Zimbabwe for special mention during his Easter message.
"Zimbabwe is in the
grip of a grievous crisis," he said.
We agree with
the comments of Fr Oskar Wermter of the Catholic
Communications Secretariat
who said: "Oppression is not negotiable. It must
stop before there can be
any dialogue."
We urge Thabo Mbeki to insist on this in order to create an
enabling
environment for any dialogue to take place.
We support the
bishops' call for a day of prayer and fasting for Zimbabwe on
April 14 and
the national Day of Prayer on April 18. What more fitting way
to mark the
anniversary of our Independence?
The Zimbabwean
JOHANNESBURG
The MDC
has urged regional leaders to ensure that the estimated three
million
Zimbabwean citizens in the diaspora be allowed to vote in next
year's
presidential election.
The organising secretary for South Africa, Rodgers
Mudarikwa, made the call
well ahead of MDC SA's maiden congress, scheduled
for May 6, 2007 in
Johannesburg.
MDC SA held a meeting last weekend with
the party's Deputy President,
Thokozani Khupe, and national vice chair
Lovemore Moyo. A new constitution
for Zimbabwe was top of the
agenda.
"Our national leaders plan to mobilise SADC leaders to make this
demand
clear. Zimbabweans outside the country must not be prevented from
casting
their ballots next year," said Mudarikwa.
South Africa's nine
provinces were given the status of districts by the
party, while the country
was given the status of a province. Elections for
office bearers are
expected to be held shortly. - CAJ News
The Zimbabwean
HARARE
Efforts by government to force the establishment of a
social contract have
hit a brick wall even with workers' representatives
aligned to Zanu (PF),
who have refused to commit themselves to price and
salary freezes.
Government is still holding talks with business and labour
representatives
loyal to itself, but the Zanu (PF)-sponsored Zimbabwe
Federation of Trade
Unions (ZFTU) has openly said it is impossible to accept
government's terms
on establishing the social contract, arguing that the
workers wouldn't
benefit from the pact.
The ZFTU forged ahead with the
tripartite negotiations after the more
representative Zimbabwe Congress of
Trade Unions boycotted the talks.
ZFTU leader, Alfred Makwarimba said that
the union was under pressure from
workers to avoid committing to a contract
that wasn't practical. "We are
still involved in negotiations, but we have
to make sure that we achieve the
aspirations of workers in whatever the
contract comes up with. Workers are
complaining that prices of goods
continue going up without their salaries
increasing," he said.
Reserve
Bank Governor Gideon Gono mobilized the revival of tripartite
negotiations,
saying a social contract would address fix the country's
economic
problems.
The ZCTU, civil society and the opposition have all responded by
dismissing
Gono's suggestion and blaming government for insincerity. - Itai
Dzamara
New Zimbabwe
By
Staff Reporter
Last updated: 04/12/2007 10:53:25
ZIMBABWEAN police seized
several opposition activists in Zimbabwe's second
largest city of Bulawayo
on Wednesday over a plot to derail a local
passenger train service last
month.
The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said national executive
members
Sikhululekile Nkala and Themba Nyathi (not to be confused with the
former
Gwanda North MP) had been held in separate raids on their
homes.
The arrested activists were taken to Harare where at least 10
other MDC
activists and senior aides to party leader Morgan Tsvangirai
remain behind
bars, charged with a series of petrol bomb explosions on
police stations and
an attempt to blow up a passenger train in
Harare.
Eddie Cross, a Bulawayo-based MDC executive member said the
activists were
held at Matapi Police Station, notoriously known for its poor
cell
conditions. The Supreme Court last year declared Matapi unfit for
habitation.
The activists seized in Bulawayo face charges of trying
to derail a local
train service between the poor township of Emganwini and
the city.
Police say the activists removed bolts from a section of the
track before
dragging big logs onto the track in a bid to derail the train
service, the
desired outcome being to make the country
ungovernable.
A train driver was praised after bringing the train to a
halt with just
meters to spare before a possible crash.
The MDC
rejects accusations by the government that it is behind the petrol
bombings.
The party blames state security agents, accusing the Zanu PF
government of
targeting its activists in a bid to cripple the party ahead of
parliamentary
and presidential elections next year.
On Tuesday, a High Court judge
turned down a bail application by Piniel
Denga, accused of being the
mastermind of the bombings. Justice Tedious
Karwi said Denga -- found with
five sticks of dynamite and 24 detonators at
his Harare home -- was facing
serious charges.
Denga was arrested during a series of raids on the
houses of senior MDC
officials and the party's headquarters in central
Harare.
Police also arrested Ian Makone, one of Tsvangirai's advisors and
journalist
Luke Tamborinyoka, who was doing consultancy for the
MDC.
The bombings have targeted five police stations, business premises
of a Zanu
PF official and two passenger trains.