Marange diamonds: Zimbabwe denies 'torture camp'

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/

 

9 August 2011 Last updated at 17:47 GMT

Marange could represent as much as a fifth of the world's diamonds deposits

Continue reading the main story

 

Zimbabwe has dismissed as "ridiculous" allegations by BBC Panorama that security forces run a torture camp in its rich Marange diamond fields.

The programme heard from victims who told of beatings and sexual assault.

Mines Minister Obert Mpofu told Agence France-Presse the claims were "nonsense".

He said the allegations were based on false information intended to prevent the country benefiting from its diamond sales.

"That is a ridiculous allegation from the desperate BBC," Mr Mpofu told AFP.

"Why would the army do that? This is the usual BBC nonsense. These are crazy people who want to frustrate our development."

The programme's claims come as the European Union pushes to let some banned diamonds from the country led by President Robert Mugabe back on to world markets.

In an internal document seen by the BBC, the EU said it was confident that two mines in the area now meet international standards and it wants diamonds from those areas to be immediately approved for export, which would partially lift a trade ban dating back to 2009.

The ban was imposed by the Kimberley Process (KP), the international organisation that polices diamonds, following reports of large-scale killings and abuse by Zimbabwe's security forces in the Marange diamond fields.

'Forty whips'

The main torture camp uncovered by the programme is known locally as "Diamond Base". Witnesses said it is a remote collection of military tents, with an outdoor razor wire enclosure where the prisoners are kept.

It is near an area known as Zengeni in Marange, said to be one of the world's most significant diamond fields. The camp is about one mile from the main Mbada mine that the EU wants to approve exports from.

BBC Panorama found that the company that runs the mine is headed by a personal friend of President Mugabe. A second camp is located in nearby Muchena.

"It is the place of torture where sometimes miners are unable to walk on account of the beatings," a victim who was released from the main camp in February told the BBC.

All the released prisoners the BBC spoke to requested anonymity.

"They beat us 40 whips in the morning, 40 in the afternoon and 40 in the evening," said the man, who still could not use one of his arms after the beatings and could barely walk.

"They used logs to beat me here, under my feet, as I lay on the ground. They also used stones to beat my ankles."

He and other former captives said men are held in the camp for several days at a time, before new prisoners come in.

Women are released more quickly, often after being raped, witnesses said.

"Even if someone dies there, the soldiers do not disclose, because they do not want it known," an officer in Zimbabwe's military told the BBC, again on condition of anonymity.

Witnesses said the camps have been operating for at least three years.

In Marange, the police and military recruit civilians to illegally dig for diamonds for them. Those workers are taken to the camps for punishment if they demand too large a share of the profits.

Civilians caught mining for themselves are also punished in the camps.

Dog maulings

A former member of a paramilitary police unit who worked in the main camp in late 2008 told the BBC that at the time he tortured prisoners by mock-drowning them and whipping them on their genitals.

He also said that dogs were methodically ordered by a handler to maul prisoners.

"They would handcuff the prisoner, they would unleash the dogs so that he can bite," he said. "There was a lot of screaming".

He said one woman was bitten on the breast by the dogs whilst he was working in the camp.

"I do not think she survived," he said.

Another witness the BBC spoke to said he was locked up in Muchena camp in 2008 after police set dogs on him.

He was recaptured in November 2010.

"Nothing has changed between 2008 and 2010... a lot of people are still being beaten or bitten by dogs."

'Pandering'

Marange diamonds were banned in 2009 by the KP, the international initiative of the diamond industry, national governments and non-governmental organisations that attempts to keep conflict or so-called "blood" diamonds out of the lucrative market.

Representatives of the KP visited the area briefly in August 2010 and concluded that the situation in the diamond areas was still problematic but there had been significant progress.

The KP had previously requested that the Zimbabwean police secure the diamond area.

Witnesses told the BBC that it is Zimbabwe's police and military that run the torture camps.

Nick Westcott, spokesman for the Working Group on Monitoring of the KP, said of the BBC's discovery of the torture camps: "It is not something that has been notified to the Kimberley Process."

The EU's proposal to allow diamond sales from two key mines in Marange to resume is part of an attempt to broker a deal within the KP, which is in turmoil over the issue.

In June, KP chairman Matieu Yamba formally announced that the export ban on the two key Marange mines was lifted with immediate effect. The EU, among others, did not accept his decision.

Now the EU's proposal, designed to break the deadlock, agrees with the partial lifting of the ban, but insists that international monitoring should continue throughout Marange.

Panorama asked the Foreign Office to comment on the EU's position.

In a statement, Henry Bellingham MP, Minister for Africa, said: "It is only from these locations that we support exports, subject to ongoing monitoring. From all other Marange mines, the UK and the EU continue to strongly oppose the resumption of exports until independent, international experts deem them to comply with the KP."

Critics have said it is a weak proposal.

Annie Dunneback of the advocacy group Global Witness said of the EU proposal: "It is the latest in a series of deals that have cast aside the principle of exports for progress and pandered to the demands of the Zimbabwean government."

Panorama: Mugabe's Blood Diamonds was broadcast on BBC One on Monday, 8 August at 20:30 BST and is now available in the UK on the BBC iPlayer.

Mugabe to Britain: Extinguish London Fires

http://www.voanews.com/

August 09, 2011

Peta Thornycroft

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe delivers a speech at the burial of a
liberation war hero, Andrew Muntanga, in Harare, July, 20, 2011 (file photo)
Photo: AP
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe delivers a speech at the burial of a
liberation war hero, Andrew Muntanga, in Harare, July, 20, 2011 (file photo)

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe is taking new shots at the West, saying
Britain should put out the fires in London, and the United States should
attend to its financial problems and leave Zimbabwe alone.  Mugabe was
speaking Tuesday at the defense forces day military parade, which is part of
the annual recognition of those who fought to end minority white rule more
than 30 years ago.

Mugabe told the gathering of Zimbabwe's defense forces that Zimbabwe did not
have any fires and that western countries should mind their own business.

"Britain I understand is on fire, London especially," said Mugabe.  "And we
hope they can extinguish their fire, pay attention to the general problem
and that fire which is blazing all over and leave us alone, because we do
not have any fire here and we do not want them to create any unnecessary
problems in our country."

Britain, Europe, and the United States have accused Mugabe of serious human
rights abuses and of persecuting those pushing for democracy and free and
fair elections.  He says the West should mind its own business instead of
accusing countries which have economic problems of lacking freedom.

"Let them, those in Europe attend to their problems, those in America attend
to their internal problems, and now that they are experiencing problems
which have dogged other countries before, and they have in those
circumstances accuse these countries of lacking freedom, let them tell us
what's happening whether it is lack of freedom or it is something else,"
Mugabe added.

Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party have strongly criticized the NATO bombing of
Libya and said that NATO was behaving like al-Qaida and the Taliban in
Afghanistan.

He has regularly told Zimbabweans that the West wants to impose what he
calls regime change.

"NATO has now a lot to do in Europe, please leave us alone now," said
Mugabe.

He told the defense forces at the parade that the economy is in poor shape
because of Western restrictions against him and his colleagues in ZANU-PF
and some key state companies.

"These sanctions continue to hurt our people in various ways and they affect
the economy from which they derive income and also the state derives
revenue, and once again we appeal to those who have imposed sanctions to
heed our call that the sanctions, the sanctions should go," Mugabe
explained.

He said the poor economy meant that members of the defense forces were
underpaid and had poor working conditions.

Top Zimbabwean generals regularly refuse to salute Morgan Tsvangirai, leader
of the Movement for Democratic Change party and prime minister in the
inclusive government, because they say he was not part of the struggle to
end white rule.

Tsvangirai was not at the annual heroes' day celebration, as he was
attending the funeral of a top MDC leader, Eliphas Mukonoweshore, who was
public services minister and who died last Friday.

Abducted MDC-N director of elections found dead in Zhombe

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Tichaona Sibanda
9 August 2011

The director of elections for the MDC-N in Zhombe in the Midlands province,
who was abducted by unknown assailants on Friday last week, was found dead
on Monday.

Maxwell Ncube was kidnapped at gunpoint on Friday evening just after 8pm,
when he was walking home from nearby shops. MDC-N spokesman Nhlanhla Dube
told SW Radio Africa that his wife heard him scream for help.

‘She ran to where the screams were coming from and when she got there the
gang threatened her and she took off in fright. She went looking for
assistance from other villagers. They were unable to trace the people that
had abducted Maxwell and immediately after that they made a report to the
police,’ Dube said.

Even with the help of the law-enforcement agents they failed to trace his
whereabouts from Friday until Monday, when Ncube’s wife was told his body
had been found, half buried in a pit just 800 metres from their homestead.

‘The body was discovered on Monday but inbetween the time he was abducted
and Sunday, the family kept receiving calls and text messages from his phone
saying that he had been abducted and would be released in two months’ time,’
Dube added. The family were warned against approaching the police for help.

The cause of death is still unclear but Dube’s head was covered with a sack.
His killers have not been caught or identified, although ZANU PF militia and
war vets have been waging a campaign of murder and intimidation against MDC
activists in the district for some time now. Dube may have been a particular
target of his killers because of the work he did in Zhombe.

‘There’s obviously a lot of speculation going around, mostly because he was
a member of our party responsible with working with our structures in voter
education.

‘One can’t help wonder if this was just plain robbery and murder or this was
a murder which is politically motivated. We can’t commit to that at the
moment, we don’t have the full details but we hope the police are working on
it expeditiously and looking forward to some concrete answers,’ Dube said.

Meanwhile, seven MDC-T activists being held in prison facing charges of
murdering a police officer in Glen View, Harare in May will be back in court
on Wednesday for a remand hearing.

The group was denied bail by High Court Judge Justice Samuel Kudya on 28
July. He said the activists were still a flight risk. Those still in custody
are; Councillor Tungamirai Madzokere of Ward 32 Glen View, brothers Lazarus
and Stanford Maengahama, Phineas Nhatarikwa, Stanford Mangwiro, Yvonne
Musarurwa and Rebecca Mafikeni.

They are part of 24 other MDC-T activists who are facing the same charges.
The MDC-T insists the police officer was murdered by unknown persons at a
night club in Glen View. The other 17 members were granted bail in July.

Tsvangirai Hails Mukoweshuro As A National Hero

http://www.radiovop.com/

Harare, August 9, 2011- Movement for Democratic Change President and
Zimbabwe’s Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai says that the late cabinet
Minister Eliphas Mukonoweshuro is a national hero and it was befitting that
he was buried on Heroes day.

Tsvangirai made the remarks Monday at the burial of Mukoweshuro who died in
South Africa last week.

In his speech Tsvangirai said he had lost “a trusted friend and colleague; a
man with whom I shared moments of both sorrow and laughter”.

“There is no doubt in my mind that we are burying a national hero today. And
it is so by no coincidence that today is heroes’ day; that important day
when we salute and remember the gallant sons and daughters of this land who
fought selflessly for this great country that we all love,” said Tsvangirai.

“Yes, we bury him in the great company of patriots such as Tonderai Ndira;
great fighters who lie here and whose only crime was that they demanded
freedom and democracy in the country of their birth,” the Premier added.

He said Mukonoweshuro was one of the many people committed to completing the
unfinished business of the liberation struggle and he sought to fight for
true freedom and democracy in Zimbabwe.

Mukonoweshuro made his mark as an academic of repute at the University of
Zimbabwe where he spent many years sharpening the minds of future leaders as
a lecturer.

Some of his products at the University are now Cabinet ministers in the
transitional government.
When he joined politics, Mukonoweshuro was Tsvangirai’s chief advisor and
one of the key negotiators in the first ever inter-party negotiations
between the MDC and Zanu (PF).

“As my chief advisor, he was no psychopath and he always gave his honest
opinion and advice on key issues. Even if you disagreed with him, he was
firm on his position and left you with no option but to follow his sound
advice,” said Tsvangirai.
In May 2006, Professor Mukonowshuro was a key architect in the development
of a roadmap to a free and democratic Zimbabwe.

“In that roadmap, we envisaged peaceful democratic resistance, inter-party
dialogue, a transitional authority, a new Constitution and free and fair
elections.

“So this inclusive government is a fruition of the ideas of this great man
who five years ago predicted this inclusive transitional authority as the
only way to bringing a legitimate and credible government in Zimbabwe,” said
Tsvangirai.

Zanu PF hijack heroes day

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

By Chengetai Zvauya, Senior Writer
Tuesday, 09 August 2011 14:10

HARARE - Zanu PF supporters yesterday hijacked Heroes Day commemorations in
Harare and turned the event into a party rally where coalition government
partners were jeered and humiliated.

The atmosphere at the national Heroes Acre resembled a Zanu PF rally. No
senior official from Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC party was at the
shrine as it coincided with the burial of Public Service Minister Eliphas
Mukonoweshuro.

But that did not stop Zanu PF supporters from humiliating Deputy Prime
Minister Arthur Mutambara and Harare mayor Muchadeyi Masunda, an MDC
appointee. Both men had turned up at the national shrine.

The supporters jeered as Mugabe made salutations to the two. Others sang
hymns and carried placards derogatory of Tsvangirai.

“They should go. What do they want here? They are puppets,” the supporters
would chant, forcing Mugabe to pause his speech.

Prior to the Heroes Day commemorations, coalition government representatives
from Zanu PF and the two MDC formations had met and agreed that no-one
should be allowed to attend the national event in party regalia.

MDC Harare provincial spokesperson Obert Gutu and Zanu PF women’s league
boss Oppah Muchinguri had confirmed that the parties had agreed that the
wearing of party was out of sync with the national event.

Yesterday, Zanu PF youths were joined by Mbare Chimurenga Choir in singing
songs denouncing MDC leaders as “sell-outs” at the national shrine.

Zanu PF actions are in contrast to the Global Political Agreement (GPA) that
compels all the three political parties to respect national events, desist
from wearing their party regalia at such events and not denigrate each other
verbally through songs and hate speech. The GPA is the coalition government’s
founding accord.

At yesterday’s event Zanu PF supporters could be seen holding placards
denouncing MDC leaders and blaming them for travel and financial sanctions
imposed on Mugabe and his inner ruling, business and military elite by
Western countries.

In his speech Mugabe challenged the United States and other Western
countries, telling them he would win a military battle against them.

Sounding paranoid, Mugabe suggested that Western countries could try bombing
him the same way they have targeted fellow long-time serving strongman,
Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi.

He described the Western leaders as “mad people”.

“We have some mad people in Europe who are defying the International law.
Look at what they are doing to Libya.
They are attacking Libya under the pretext of protecting the citizens and
upholding human rights,” said Mugabe, departing from his prepared speech.

“They are seeking to kill Gaddafi and they have deliberately killed Gaddafi’s
children and throwing bombs at his family home. They are doing exactly what
the Taliban does and what is the difference between them and these terrorist
groups?

This is terrorism and murder and it is a war that has lost legitimacy and it
has become terrorism,” said Mugabe, before blowing his own war horn.

“They can do this to another African country and leader. But we tell them
that if they try it here we are prepared for them,’’ said Mugabe to applause
from the crowd.

President Mugabe Preaches Peace But Differs With PM On Military Reform

http://www.voanews.com

08 August 2011

President Mugabe He called on political parties, local authorities, churches
and civic organizations to engage with the population to foster a culture of
peace and tolerance - but declined to rein in the military

Mark Peter Nthambe, Jonga Kandemiiri & Violet Gonda | Harare, Washington

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe on Monday seized the occasion of Heroes Day
occasion to appeal for peace in the country, urging all political parties
not to try to coerce the population to support them but instead to 7find
ways to win their votes.

Addressing a Heroes Day commemoration crowd at Heroes Acre in Harare, where
many prominent figures of the 1970s liberation struggle are buried,
President Mugabe spoke at length on the need for peace in Zimbabwe.

He called on all political parties, local authorities, churches and civic
organizations to engage with the population to foster a culture of peace.

Mr. Mugabe said he hoped that by the time the country reaches the next round
of elections there will be no more violence.

He blasted Western countries for imposing sanctions on many officials of his
ZANU-PF party, including prominently himself, adding that he was tired of
calling for such sanctions to be lifted when the nations imposing them did
not listen, warning he might hit back.

Mr. Mugabe said Zimbabwe would punish companies doing business in Zimbabwe
owned by corporations based in Western nations that have imposed travel
restrictions and financial sanctions. He said mining firms including Rio
Tinto could be hit.

"We can't continue to receive the battering of sanctions without hitting
back. We have to hit back," Mr. Mugabe told thousands of people at Heroes
Acre.

"We will have to discriminate against countries that have imposed sanctions
against us," he demanded. "Why do we need companies like Rio Tinto? If they
are to continue mining, then the sanctions must go."

President Mugabe also warned that "mad people in the West" are campaigning
for regime change in Zimbabwe, pointing to the ongoing civil war in Libya
where rebels backed by NATO forces are trying to oust Muammar Gadhafi.

He also reiterated his call for early elections to end the country's
fractious coalition government and called some of his opponents
"demon-possessed sellouts" who turn to the West for help. "Today is the day
to cast out those demons," said Mr. Mugabe

He said his ZANU-PF party was frustrated by the slow pace of preparations
for the next elections, and said he will meet with Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara, his fellow unity
government principals, on the issue.

The president hailed the Zimbabwe Defense Forces, saying they had maintained
peace and operated professionally, so security sector reforms were not
acceptable.

Prime Minister Tsvangirai was absent as he was speaking at the funeral of
Public Service Minister Eliphas Mukonoweshuro elsewhere in the capital.

President Mugabe’s comments rejecting security sector reform closely
followed remarks by his Prime Minister Tsvangirai on Sunday, urging reform
saying the military has been closely associated historically with political
violence in Zimbabwe.

Mr. Tsvangirai urged the military to leave politics to politicians and to be
impartial.

Martin Rupiya, executive director of the Africa Public Policy and Research
Institute, said Mr. Mugabe’s rejection of security sector reform encourages
further abuses.

“The comments by President Robert Mugabe allow impunity and the abuse of
civil-military relations by uniformed forces. This is what is happening as
we speak. We saw a couple of weeks ago the lack of action by the police in
Parliament,” said Rupiya.

Tsvangirai spokesman Luke Tamborinyoka said the prime minister acknowledges
the key role of the military in the liberation of Zimbabwe from white
minority rule, but said the image of the military has been eroded by their
meddling in

Tamborinyoka said the Southern African Development Community, guarantor of
the unity government, needs to focus its attention on the question of
military reform.

Political analyst John Makumbe of the University of Zimbabwe said he
welcomed President Mugabe’s call for peace - but commented that the
president must tell his ZANU-PF party to halt its practice of coercing
people to support it.

Moeletsi Mbeki blasts SADC failure to deal with Mugabe

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Lance Guma
09 August 2011

Moeletsi Mbeki, brother to former South African President Thabo Mbeki, has
blasted the Southern African Development Community (SADC) for failing to
effectively deal with Robert Mugabe since 2000. According to a report in the
NewsDay newspaper Mbeki was speaking at a SADC Council of NGO’s in
Johannesburg, South Africa on Sunday.

Mbeki said he could not find anything that SADC has done in the past 31
years adding that “Zimbabwe was their single biggest challenge and it failed
completely to deal with Mugabe.” Citing fraudulent elections since 2000
Mbeki asked: “Where was SADC? Protocols to sanction the government’s
behaviour were there but never enforced.”

Mbeki said SADC was an ‘obsolete institution’ that could not influence
change and he also questioned the purpose of civil society groups at the
forum, telling them: “Your resolutions will not make a difference because
SADC will not listen. Do you think you can influence Mugabe to follow the
democratic path? Zimbabweans have been brutalised by state agents and the
so-called war veterans.”

Mbeki also criticized remarks by Brigadier-General Douglas Nyikayaramba, who
claimed Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai was a ‘national security threat’
and that this was the reason the army was involved in politics. Mbeki said
the fact that Mugabe had not taken any action against Nyikayaramba reflected
badly on the goings on in the coalition government.

Moeletsi Mbeki, known in South Africa as a straight talker, also attacked
SADC for suspending its regional Tribunal in May this year. Describing it as
a ‘scandal’ Mbeki said the decision was made to appease Mugabe. In 2008 the
SADC Tribunal ruled that Mugabe's land grab campaign was unlawful, and
ordered the government to protect farmers from future attack. The regime
simply ignored the ruling.

Amnesty calls for UN investigation into security sector

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

by Irene Madongo
09 August 2011

Amnesty International is calling for the United Nations to send in a special
team to look into the human rights abuses carried out by Zimbabwe’s security
sector. The move is contained in the findings of a report Amnesty will
present to the UN for its October 2011 periodic review of Zimbabwe.

Amnesty’s call comes at a time when there are growing demands from civic
society, political parties such as the MDC-T, and SADC, for the security
sector to be reformed.

Last week the Harare-based Research and Advocacy Unit also released a report
which showed that the security sector is still actively being used by Mugabe
and ZANU PF to torture and oppress women in order to keep them out of the
political process. It also brought out the direct role of the ZANU PF
militia in the violence.

In its report, Amnesty outlines growing cases of torture and abuse of human
rights defenders in the country, at the hands of the security sector. It
said a thorough and independent investigation needs to be carried out.

The organisation wants the Zimbabwe government to invite a UN special
rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders and a special
rapporteur on torture to visit the country.

“Members of the security forces found to be responsible for human rights
violations should be removed from their posts according to procedures which
comply with the requirements of due process,” the report says; it also says
those responsible for the violence should be brought to justice.

“The organisation is deeply concerned at the persistent failure to hold to
account members of the security forces for human rights violations against
human rights defenders and opponents of President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF
party, including unlawful killings, torture and ill-treatment,” the report
states.

Abel Chikomo, director of the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, welcomed
Amnesty’s call. “We continue to see a lot of harassment and intimidation of
human rights defenders and indeed a lot of persecution under the guise of
prosecution,” he said. “We welcome any move by any respected human rights
body, especially the United Nations, if they had to come and try and
investigate what is going on in the country; because sometimes when people
like ourselves here speak, we are quickly labelled ad dismissed.”

“It is only up to those who can come in and see for themselves what we are
talking about that they can then be able to appreciate the difficulties that
people go through here,” he added.

MDC- T Honours Gibson Sibanda

http://www.radiovop.com

Bulawayo, August 09, 2011--Thandi Sibanda the daughter of the late MDC Vice
President, Gibson Sibanda said its high time Zanu (PF) stopped from
monopolising the awarding of national heroes status adding that her father
was a national hero who brought change to Zimbabwe.

Despite the formation of an inclusive government in Zimbabwe President
Robert Mugabe’s Zanu (PF) party, still enjoys exclusive rights to decide who
gets declared national hero or not.

Speaking to journalists in Bulawayo yesterday (Monday) during a ceremony by
MDC-T to honour party members who died while working for the party, Thandi
said there is no doubt  that her father was  national  hero but  because of
Zanu (PF) selfishness his father  was not buried  at the national shrine.

“My father is a national hero, there is no doubt about that, but Zanu (PF)
denied him his right to be buried at the national heroes’ acre because of
their selfishness. However that doesn’t worry us as every Zimbabwean
recognizes him as hero who liberated us from Zanu (PF) jaws we thank the
MDC-T for honoring him today,” said Thandi.

Sibanda one of the founder  members of the united MDC died in August last
year and  was buried at his rural home in Filabusi ,Matabeleland South
province after Zanu (PF) refused  to accord him  national heroes status.

However the MDC-T’s youth assembly honored its party heroes with family
members of the party cadres who died whilst fighting for the party awarded
certificates of appreciation. The MDC-T youths said instead of celebrating
lives of Zanu (PF) criminals  who are lying at National Heroes Acre and don’t
deserve to be there, the party has decided to honour  its members who were
killed during political violence since year 2000

Some of the late MDC members who were crowned heroes besides Sibanda are ,
Susan Tsvangirai , Learnmore Jongwe, Tichaona Chiminya, Talent
Mabika,Patrcik Nabanyama,Remember Moyo, Gertrude Mtombeni,Tonderai
Ndira,Gift Tandare,Fainos Kufazvinei Zhou and many others.

Mtombeni’s cousin sister Tsepiso Helen Mpofu who was present at the ceremony
also castigated Zanu (PF) saying “some of the people the party accorded
heroes’ status are criminals who don’t deserve to be at the National heroes
Acre.”

When Tsvangirai met Chiwenga

http://www.newzimbabwe.com

 

Tense moment ... Prime Minister Tsvangirai and Defence Forces Commander General Chiwenga

09/08/2011 00:00:00
	by Staff Reporter

 

Strange bed-fellows ... Mugabe and Tsvangirai on Tuesday

IF ORGANISERS of the Defence Forces Day celebrations at the National Sports Stadium on Tuesday wanted Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai to feel welcome at the event, then they certainly chose a peculiar way to show it.

The MDC-T leader, accused by his ruling coalition partner President Robert Mugabe of being a “demon-possessed puppet” of the West just a day earlier, looked ill at ease as he sat next to defence forces chief, General Constantine Chiwenga.

For a few minutes the two men sat stone-faced, Chiwenga spotting a face like thunder while Tsvangirai looked away, hand on head.

The combustible atmosphere only eased somewhat when Defence Forces Minister, Emmerson Mnangagwa, who conveniently arrived late, thankfully bridged the gulf by taking his seat between the two.

Adding to the tension would have been Tsvangirai’s accusations, also made on Monday, that the army was “brutalising” villagers in the countryside.

Still, the Prime Minister was favoured with a handshake by national army commander Phillip Sibanda which fell far short of the salute Tsvangirai’s aides believe is his due.

Mugabe, who lashed the MDC-T leader during Heroes Day celebrations which he boycotted on Monday, showed little of the venom as the two men shook hands and spoke briefly.

The MDC-T is pushing for so-called security sector reforms, accusing the service chiefs of human rights abuses and subverting electoral processes to ensure Mugabe and his Zanu PF party remain in power.

Handshake will do ... General Phillip Sibanda extends a hand to the Prime Minister

Forces Day loses patriotic appeal

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

By Thelma Chikwanha, Community Affairs Editor
Tuesday, 09 August 2011 14:24

HARARE - The Ministry of Defence has lined up public activities countrywide
to commemorate Zimbabwe Defence Forces Day today.

But most Zimbabweans are likely to use the public holiday to relax at home
and watch foreign movies on television with family.

Analysts and observers note that the day does not evoke any special
patriotic emotion to many ordinary Zimbabweans because of defence forces’
partisanship where senior army officials have made it clear that they
support Zanu PF.

The statement on the Ministry of Defence website makes wonderful reading for
any campaigner of democratic civilian rule.

“The Zimbabwean military like that of any democratic country is one of the
elements identifying national values and security interests and as such must
complement and not conflict with political, economic and social demographic
and informational elements of national power,” states the website.

Noble words but is this being followed?

“The sight of a soldier makes many Zimbabweans stiff with fear,” says
Gabriel Shumba, whose Pretoria-based Zimbabwe Exiles Forum claims to have
helped dozens of people who fled Zimbabwe after being brutalised by state
security agents.

Shumba, a human rights lawyer, fled Zimbabwe in 2003 after telling a
magistrate that he had been tortured by police for representing Job Sikhala,
then an opposition MP.

Analysts say the use of state security agents to crush civilian dissent has
long been a hallmark of President Robert Mugabe’s rule.

The worst atrocities ever to affect Zimbabwe — the 1980s massacre   of 20
000 civillians, including children and pregnant women, in Matabeleland and
Midlands provinces-was done by a North Korean trained military brigade.

In 2005, state security agents were central in executing mass demolitions of
houses in urban areas under a government programme described by some
humanitarian agencies as “the worst kind of inhumanity”.

Murambatsvina, as it was known, left 700 000 people homeless, with some
sleeping in open football grounds following the evictions, according to the
United Nations.

Political parties, churches, civil society and election observers to the
brutal 2008 election violence all accuse the military of masterminding the
violent orgy that left hundreds dead and thousands displaced.

In his heroes and defence forces day messages, Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai, himself a victim of brutality by state security agents, said
defence forces should be at the “epicentre of defending and protecting the
people and not attacking and brutalising them”.

“The past few years have seen the deployment of some members of the army
into the villages to brutalise and attack innocent civilians based on the
basis of their political affiliation,” Tsvangirai said.

“It is international best practice that the army should confine itself to
the barracks and leave politics to the politicians. We naturally take
umbrage at the militarisation of our politics and the politicisation of the
military,” he said.

Four star-spending for families

http://www.dailynews.co.zw/

By Helen Kadirire, Staff Writer
Tuesday, 09 August 2011 14:19

HARARE - Relatives and descendants of fallen heroes/heroines buried at the
national shrine will this year squander more money at a four-star Harare
hotel where they are housed on taxpayers’ money.

The issue of national heroes is an emotive one in Zimbabwe with other
coalition government partners accusing President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu Pf of
monopolising the selection criteria.

When the Daily News called the hotel on Monday, the front desk person
confirmed that the families were already booked, some as early as Sunday
afternoon.

The hotel charges $150 per person for bed and breakfast single night.

Last year, 86 families of Zimbabwe’s “fallen heroes” were feted with the
same largesse.

The weekend jaunt, comprising overnight accommodation and hearty meals at
outlets including the four–star hotel, also saw the families being given
police escort to and from the National Heroes Acre.

A Daily News crew not only witnessed an early afternoon scramble, but droves
of people getting into the hotel for a three-course lunch meal averaging $20
per head for a buffet meal and $10 for a la carte.

Apart from bountiful eats, the annual ritual involves the tour of graves by
surviving members of the heroes and heroines.

This once-a-year lavish lifestyle, however, sharply contrasts with the
families’ daily welfare.

Many widows of national heroes have often complained about neglect.

Of the 80 odd heroes or persons interred at the North Korean-built shrine,
six of them are women, including President Robert Mugabe’s first wife Sally
and sister Sabina, who died two weeks before Heroes Day last year.

As stoked by Sabina’s quick and unilateral conferment, the issue of who
qualifies for a hero or heroine status in Zimbabwe has always been a
controversial one, with groups opposed to Mugabe’s Zanu PF party accusing it
of monopolising the process.

Considered a national monument or heritage site, the 57–acre heroes yard,
about 7 kilometres west of the capital — is protected under the Natural
Resources Act.

Confidence in GNU plunges

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

By Bridget Mananavire, Staff Writer
Tuesday, 09 August 2011 14:21

HARARE - Public confidence in President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai’s coalition government has hit rock bottom because of
inconsistent messages about election timing, according to a leading
elections monitoring group.

Moreover, violence that has rocked the country, including inside parliament
building and Mugabe’s defence of “rogue” military generals has severely
weakened the credibility of a coalition government hailed as a panacea to
the country’s problems at its formation in February 2009.

“The government of national unity (GNU) remains fragile with evident cracks
as the three parties continue to fail to work their differences for the good
of the country,” said the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN).

“The lack of institutional reform has meant that it remains business as
usual with continued harassment and arrest of MDC activists and members of
parliament,” said ZESN in its latest Ballot Update, a monthly bulletin on
issues affecting electoral matters.

Zimbabwe’s delicate political situation has further been strained by
military bosses’ growing appetite to influence political processes.

An example is brigadier general Douglas Nyikayaramba’s demand for elections
to be held this year and his description of Tsvangirai as a “national
security threat”.

Mugabe has publicly come to the defence of the generals, a situation that
puts the country on the road to instability, ZESN said.

Tsvangirai and civil society, on the other hand, say the statements
highlight the urgent need for security sector reform before polls are held.

“The condoning and defence of the general’s statement by the president does
not give confidence on the functionality of the GNU. Such statements do not
provide any hope of the possibility of security sector reform given that it
remains one of the issues that have remained unresolved in the
implementation of the Global Political Agreement and the election roadmap,”
ZESN said.

While ZESN welcomed the gazetting of the Electoral Laws Amendment Bill, it
noted that the Bill did not mention a number of critical issues that could
affect the electoral environment.

“It remains silent on what defines an election period and the campaign
period. In addition the Bill does not deal with structural flaws inherent in
the political environment such as the role of the security sector except for
the police in electoral process,” said ZESN.

ZESN, which is the country’s biggest independent election monitoring group,
said its rural constituency observers were reporting a surge in the abuse of
freedoms of citizens in some parts of the country.

“ZESN observers in rural constituencies have reported intimidation and
censorship of citizens who read other papers other than state owned
newspapers.

This amounts to violation of citizens’ right to information which is
critical in a democracy,” ZESN said.

These violations were noted in areas such as Tsholotsho, Insiza South,
Umguza, Mashonaland West and Gokwe.

Zimbabwean Ministers Disown Proposed Tougher Alcohol Sales Policy

http://www.voanews.com

08 August 2011

Ministers from all three governing parties said there are many issues
needing more urgent attention than regulating alcohol without clear research
showing its consumption is a serious national problem

Gibbs Dube | Washington

Some members of Zimbabwe's Cabinet are distancing themselves from reports
that the government is drafting a tough national alcohol policy that will
regulate the sale of beer and other intoxicating beverages with sales
forbidden after noon on Sundays.

Ministers from the three parties sharing power in a national unity
government said the Cabinet has not yet tabled the alcohol policy document
drafted last year by presidential health adviser Timothy Stamps, contrary to
recent news reports.

The ministers said there are many issues needing more urgent attention than
regulating beer without clear research showing alcohol consumption is a
serious problem.

Under the draft regulations, alcohol would be sold only from 6 a.m. to 7
p.m. Monday through Saturday, and on Sunday until noon. Pregnant women would
be discouraged and teenagers would be prohibited from purchasing alcoholic
beverages.

Social Welfare Minister Paurina Mpariwa told VOA that there are no
indications of a link between poverty in Zimbabwe and the consumption of
alcohol.

“There is need for research before making conclusions about some of these
issues and we cannot afford to talk about alcohol issues now as Zimbabweans
want us to address bread and butter issues,” Mpariwa told VOA Studio 7
reporter Gibbs Dube.

Development worker Liberty Bhebhe said the proposed alcohol policy would not
positively change the lives of Zimbabweans.

Religion Minister Rev. Ray Motsi said the Cabinet or Parliament must surely
have run out of ideas if they advance such a policy. "I cannot imagine
ministers tabling such proposals when our people are struggling to make ends
meet,” Motsi said.

For Zimbabwe's women, a bicycle can be a tool of liberation

http://www.guardian.co.uk/

Cycling can free women from the daily ordeal of Harare's public transport,
and avoid predatory men

Women are not forbidden from riding bicycles in Zimbabwe. But the absence of
women on bicycles in our village led me to believe that they were.

I grew up surrounded by bicycles. My father owned one. I used to watch him
fix a puncture, placing a patch where a sharp stone had penetrated the tyre.
His bicycle was black, steady and heavy. In the villages a bicycle was a
sort of emergency vehicle, even used to carry the sick to hospital.

When I moved to Harare, again I saw men cycling to work, often to places
where public transport was scarce, such as the industrial districts and the
low-density suburbs, where the white and black middle classes live. They
worked as guards for businesses and homes, cooks and gardeners. While there
were no official cycling tracks in Harare, in some parts of the city the
pedestrian paths were wide enough to ride on.

In general, transport was a daily nightmare. Buses, public and private
(licensed estate cars or minibuses known locally as emergency taxis), were
always piled to over capacity with passengers.

People stood at roadsides waiting for any form of transport to take them to
work. Emergency taxis, the estate cars, piled people in through the boot, a
process that involved entering head first, keeping the head low, then
sitting sideways with your legs straight together, as if in preparation for
a yoga posture. The next passenger to get in sat opposite, and so on.

The economically advantaged white Zimbabweans rarely suffered from the same
kind of indignity as black people when it came to public transport.
Sometimes private motorists stopped to offer people a ride for payment. For
an attractive woman, it was easy to get transport. Men stopped for you. Then
I saw a woman cycling, and that set off a bell in my mind.

She was Katrina, a Swedish woman whose husband worked at the University of
Zimbabwe. When Katrina and her husband left Zimbabwe, she left me her
beautiful white bicycle as a gift. I was so excited that I cycled to work,
even though I was in what one might call a learning stage. During the first
weeks I kept off the main roads, fortunate that the pedestrian sidewalk was
wide enough to ride most of the way.

People stared at me. I heard them telling each other in Shona that I was
probably an American. Cars slowed down. Windows were rolled down, male heads
would emerge and ask why I was cycling. A woman like me shouldn't be riding
a bike, the men said, and wanted to know where I lived so they could pick me
up. I would pedal away. An old classmate saw me and laughed hysterically.
Sometimes I felt like a foreigner.

I was no longer a hostage to religion, tradition or men. I was free. On my
bicycle I felt like I was in a room of my own.

I thought about what most women who relied on public transport, or on lifts
from passing cars, were subjected to. I remembered with disgust how I often
I had to fend off advances from men who stopped to give me a ride. I sat
tight on my seat while being interrogated about my personal life: was I
married? No. Then a smile, followed by "do you live alone?" Yes, then a
wider smile. "Can I come and pick you up after work?" and so on. Sometimes a
hand moved from the steering wheel and found its way to my thigh. A few
times I yelled at the driver to let me off. Other times I pretended that I
had reached my destination.

When a car would stop for me, first I'd peer in and examine the man's face.
Sometimes I refused to get in. I became an expert at making snap judgments.
Some men took detours to prolong time with me – their prey – for the purpose
of completing the seduction. For some women these rides ended in rape.
Fortunately, that never happened to me. But no woman was safe on Zimbabwe's
roads.

In some parts of the world, a car is often the weapon of choice in the
oppression and entrapment of women.

When I arrived in New York 10 years ago the first thing I looked for was
bike lanes. But I was disappointed – to me, it seemed just like Harare. I
saw a couple of bike lanes in Manhattan, one along the Hudson River. Since
then, the city's Department of Transportation has made a lot more effort to
make people like me, cyclists, more and more welcome.

• After leaving Zimbabwe, Jane Madembo studied mass media and communication
at Fordham University. She now lives in Harlem, New York. Her work has
appeared in the Zimbabwe Times and South Africa's Mail and Guardian.

Jonathan Moyo’s hypocritical lecture on democracy

By Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, 09/08/11

While I hold no brief for the British Government, I personally think
Jonathan Moyo should be the last person to lecture people on democracy and a
free press (ZBC.co.zw, Violence exposes British hypocrisy, 08/08/11).

It is clear that Moyo and his fellow media ‘hangman’ Tafataona Mahoso are
trying to deflect attention from the diamond torture camps exposed by the
BBC to the mindless recreational violence which recently swept through some
British cities.

Hypocrisy is when Jonathan Moyo decried an election roadmap and threatened
what is synonymous with a military coup when he said: “The looming danger
which, if things continue the way they are going, will happen as sure as
tomorrow is coming that what is currently a political process will become a
national security matter” (Livingstone report now a matter for historians,
Jonathan Moyo.com, 22 June 2011).

Hypocrisy is when Tafataona Mahoso weighed in with a tutorial to Britain on
“violence in an area inhabited by neglected ethnic and social groups” when
he  reportedly ordered farmer Charles Bezuidenhout to leave his Welverdien
Farm in Mutare in November 2009.

Perhaps to understand hypocrisy Mahoso needs to read the GAPWUZ report: If
Something Is Wrong – The Invisible suffering of commercial farm workers and
their families due to ‘land reform’ (Sokwanele.com).

Hypocrisy is when Jonathan Moyo watches media coverage of the unwarranted
riots in Britain only to accuse the same media for “being silent when faced
with similar problems” (like in Libya Afghanistan and Zimbabwe). What a
contradiction!

Hypocrisy is when The Herald online took its time to report the death of
Public Service Minister the late Professor Mukonoweshuro by posting the
story at 2 o’clock Saturday afternoon 6th August 2011 when he had died early
Friday morning and was denied hero status presumably because of  exposing 75
000 ghost workers.

Hypocrisy is when Jonathan Moyo published scores of articles highly critical
of Robert Mugabe president of Zanu-pf in Zimbabwe’s independent press, only
to sue them saying he is now offended by his own articles and even wants
damages.

Hypocrisy is when a former Zanu-pf government minister Sikanyiso Ndlovu
blamed the Zimbabwe cholera outbreak in 2008 on the UK, only for Robert
Mugabe to appeal to Britain for help as the death toll reached 570 and 13000
were infected (BBC, UK caused cholera, says Zimbabwe, 12/12/08;
Timesonline.co.uk, 05/12/08).

The then Prime Minister Gordon Brown who was maligned on Zanu-pf  banners
alleging it was his cholera, pledged an additional £10 million to combat the
crisis.

Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, Political Analyst, London,
zimanalysis2009@gmail.com