Top US envoy for Africa: Zimbabwe has collapsed

Associated Press

Dec 18, 1:52 PM EST

By DONNA BRYSON
Associated Press Writer

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AP) -- Zimbabwe has collapsed and the world must
act now to keep it from deteriorating into Somalia-scale chaos, the top U.S.
envoy for Africa said Thursday.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer said
questions about how much longer Zimbabwe can withstand hunger, disease and
political stalemate before disintegrating ignore that "there is a complete
collapse right now."

If action is not taken soon, chaos could ensue and Zimbabwe's neighbors will
be calling for peacekeepers, as some are now calling for in Somalia, Frazer
said during an interview in South Africa.

Frazer was in southern Africa to consult with regional leaders about what
can be done to help Zimbabwe. A day earlier, South African President Kgalema
Motlanthe stressed that he believed a proposed unity government was the
solution, and that it must be formed quickly.

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, in power since independence from Britain
in 1980 and seen as increasingly autocratic, and the opposition have been
deadlocked over a power-sharing agreement since September.

Frazer said that while the U.S. was not saying the power-sharing agreement
has no chance, its proposal is that Mugabe yield to a caretaker government
to organize new elections. The U.S. is among Mugabe's sharpest critics,
accusing him of trampling on democracy and destroying a once prosperous and
stable nation.

"We think that the person who has ruined the country ... that he needs to
step down," Frazer said. "We're watching Zimbabwe become a failed state. We
need to act now, proactively, in Zimbabwe."

The political impasse comes amid a mounting economic and humanitarian crisis
that has pushed thousands of Zimbabweans to the point of starvation and left
1,111 dead of cholera since August.

The latest figures, compiled by the World Health Organization and released
Thursday, show that the number of cases has risen to 20,581 since the start
of the outbreak.

Also Thursday, Frazer said the United States was pressing for a
U.N.-sanctioned peacekeeping force for Somalia that would be staffed by
Africans.

A day earlier at the United Nations, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that
during the past four months he has asked at least 50 nations and three
international organizations to support the council's request for a
multinational force to stabilize Somalia.

He said the "lukewarm or negative" replies he had received led him to
believe there is almost no international support for a U.N. force.

A U.N. peacekeeping force met disaster in 1993, when militiamen shot down
two U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopters and battled U.S. troops, killing 18
American servicemen whose bodies were dragged through the streets. That
experience precipitating the U.S. withdrawal was portrayed in the 2001 movie
"Black Hawk Down."

Ban said the first priority should be to strengthen an AU mission first
deployed to Somalia in March 2007. It is authorized to have 8,000 troops,
but now includes only 2,600, mostly Ugandans and Burundians.

But Frazer said what the United States was backing, and what Africans have
called for in Somalia, does have support.

She said with the funding and logistical support a U.N. force would receive,
Ugandans, Burundians, Nigerians and others would step up with the troops to
ensure aid shipments and government institutions were protected. She said
the U.S. would provide funds and training, but no troops.

UN says Zimbabwe cholera death toll reaches 1,111

By FRANK JORDANS
Associated Press Writer

GENEVA (AP) -- The cholera death toll in Zimbabwe has risen above 1,000, the
United Nations said Thursday, as one expert warned that the country is
ill-prepared to deal with outbreaks of other diseases.

A total of 1,111 cholera deaths was recorded by Wednesday, an increase of
133 in two days, the U.N. humanitarian office in Geneva said.

The latest figures, which are compiled by the World Health Organization,
show that the number of cases has risen to 20,581 since the start of the
cholera outbreak in August.

On Monday, health officials had tallied 18,413 cases and 978 deaths.

Aid workers have struggled to keep up with the spread of the disease, partly
because reports of new cases have been slow to come in from rural Zimbabwe.

One WHO cholera expert, Dominique Legros, said a new command and control
center that opened this week will speed up reporting of outbreaks, but the
lack of basic communications equipment in outlying areas remains a problem.

Legros warned that Zimbabwe's fragile health system means the country is
ill-prepared at the moment to deal with other health emergencies.

"We can expect other outbreaks of infectious disease such as measles
occurring in the near future," he told The Associated Press, adding that
vaccination programs and HIV treatment have also come to a virtual
standstill.

WHO says cholera is spreading in Zimbabwe because of badly maintained
sanitation systems, rampant inflation that has hit doctors and nurses, and a
lack of clean drinking water.

Unlike many other African countries, Zimbabwe has modern laboratories and
well-trained health workers, said Legros.

But according to WHO, many cannot survive on the meager pay they receive,
with some unable even to afford the cost of traveling to work.

"For the last few months everything has basically stopped," said Legros.
"There are ghost hospitals."

The outbreak of cholera, which spreads through contaminated water, has hit
Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, the hardest, the agency said.

It warned that supplies of intravenous fluids, used to treat the disease,
could run out early next year unless new stocks are brought in.

The problems have spread to neighboring countries. South Africa is caring
for hundreds of Zimbabwean cholera victims at the border.

In Mozambique, health authorities said Thursday that cholera cases had been
detected in six of that country's 11 provinces, and that in provinces
bordering Zimbabwe the source was believed to have Zimbabweans or
Mozambicans who had traveled to Zimbabwe. Cholera, though, crops up in
Mozambique regularly due to poor sanitation and lack of clean drinking
water.

MDC decries appointment of Johannes Tomana as Attorney-General

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Tichaona Sibanda
18 December 2008

The MDC on Thursday reacted with anger and disgust at the news that a
'blue-eyed boy' of the regime, Johannes Tomana, has been appointed as the
new Attorney-General by Robert Mugabe.
Tomana was sworn into office on Wednesday. He takes over as the country's
chief prosecutor from Justice Bharat Patel, who was the acting AG following
the unceremonial dismissal of Sobusa Gula-Ndebele, whose dismissal was
linked to ZANU-PF in-fighting.
The new AG makes no apology for his support of ZANU-PF and in June, in his
capacity as deputy AG, advised the government that it was legal to detain
MDC supporters without trial.
'The appointment of Johannes Tomana as the new Attorney-General by the ZANU
PF leader adds to the growing list of evidence of insincerity on the part of
ZANU PF in implementing the Global Political Agreement,' MDC spokesman
Nelson Chamisa said in statement.

The MDC said it strongly believes that ZANU PF's latest act flies in the
face of the new spirit of national engagement which should guide the
operations and actions of each of the three political parties that are
signatories to the GPA.

Tomana's appointment comes barely a month after the caretaker regime renewed
the term of office of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono.
Chamisa said the unilateral appointment of a new AG was another desperate
attempt by Mugabe to weaken the power of the judiciary by appointing
blue-eyed boys to such an important national job.

All senior government appointments, according to the GPA signed between the
three main political parties on the 11th September 2008, are only supposed
to be made following a mutual agreement between the President and Prime
Minister.

'Senior appointments of police officers have also been made and the MDC is
worried by ZANU PF's lack of insincerity. As a result, the continued
disregard of the provisions of the agreement by ZANU PF shows that they are
grandstanding on the issue of the inclusive government,' the MDC statement
said.

It added; 'The abductions of MDC and civic activists, the promotion of
senior police officers to Commissioners, the continued denial of a passport
to the Prime Minister designate Morgan Tsvangirai showcase the gross
insincerity on the part of Zanu PF. They are not sincere. They are
politicking. They are taking the people of Zimbabwe, the African Union and
SADC for big ride.'

The MDC has meanwhile scoffed at reports that Mugabe has officially
appointed Tsvangirai as the country's Prime Minister.
The NewZimbabwe.com website quoted an unnamed government source saying a
letter of Tsvangirai's appointment was delivered to his MDC party's office
sometime on Wednesday.
Senior party officials contacted by Newsreel all denied ever seeing any
communication to that effect. Tsvangirai also denied receiving such a
letter, according to Hebson Makuvise, the MDC chief representative in the
UK.
Reports of Mugabe's move to appoint Tsvangirai as Prime Minister came just
hours after South African President Kgalema Motlanthe who chairs the
Southern African Development Community said he expected a stalled power
sharing agreement between Mugabe and his MDC rivals to be implemented this
week.
A draft constitutional amendment was published in an official gazette last
Saturday, paving the way for a unity government by creating the post of
Prime Minister for Tsvangirai. The draft gives Mugabe power to swear-in
Tsvangirai before the amendment is passed by parliament, and Motlanthe said
on Wednesday he expected the Prime Minister to be sworn-in 'with immediate
effect.'
Despite reports of Tsvangirai being under 'tremendous pressure' from the
African Union and SADC to join a unity government, the MDC reiterated it
would not join a new government until unresolved power-sharing issues were
ironed out.
There are outstanding issues such as the issue of governors, equity and
allocation of key ministries which have to be addressed and Tsvangirai has
vowed that unless those issues are resolved, no amount of pressure against
him would force the MDC to jump into the new government.

Mugabe uses 'subliminal terror' to hold power

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/12/17/MNRD14NM33.DTL

Robyn Dixon, Los Angeles Times

Thursday, December 18, 2008

(12-18) 04:00 PST Harare, Zimbabwe --

For a very literal example of Robert Mugabe's staying power, look no further
than a recent crisis summit of southern African leaders designed to settle
the political impasse that has seen the longtime Zimbabwean leader
stubbornly cling to the presidency.

The leaders wanted him to leave the room so they could deliberate in
private. He refused.
Between their misguided politeness and his famous capacity to intimidate,
the presidents meekly backed down. Mugabe stayed.

Be it with his fellow African leaders, the West or the Zimbabwean
opposition, the 84-year-old Mugabe has outmaneuvered - and outlasted - his
critics for more than a quarter of a century, through a careful calibration
of the international reaction and domestic effect of his actions. As close
as the end sometimes seems, Mugabe has managed to survive.

To help understand his staying power, one need only rewind to the 1980s and
the massacres of his early years in power, when he was a conquering hero who
had thrown out the white minority regime of Ian Smith.

The name of the murderous operation, Gukurahundi, was as lyrical as a haiku:
the wind that blows away the chaff before the spring rains.

Mugabe's political opponents were the chaff. The spring rains were supposed
to signify the golden era of a one-party state (or rather, a one-man state).

Western leaders and news media ignored the massacres of the "dissidents" by
the army's crack Five Brigade in Matabeleland province in southern Zimbabwe.
Some estimates put the dead at 20,000.

Mugabe drew his most important lesson from the West's blase reaction,
analysts believe: that there's a level of "acceptable" violence that will
escape international condemnation but still destroy any threat to his power.

"He's never, ever been frightened of war," said analyst Tony Reeler of the
Research & Advocacy Unit, an independent think tank in Harare, the capital.
Mugabe learned that he could get away with "subliminal terror" that would
not trigger international intervention, he said.

"It's just below the threshold that upsets people, and it's deliberately
so," he said.

Opponents not tolerated
The shadow of the Gukurahundi campaign has haunted Zimbabwe since the early
1980s. Mugabe repeatedly revived its message that opponents would be killed
or tortured. But those who felt the rushing "wind" that was Gukurahundi
needed no reminding.

"It's painful to remember. It's a story told in blood," said a 61-year-old
retired military officer who was attached to the Five Brigade when it
"cleansed" villages in 1982, arresting the men, interrogating and torturing
them to identify opposition guerrillas. Like others cited in this report, he
spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing repercussions.

He said he saw thousands of people killed. Women were shut into thatched
huts and burned alive. Even the children were targets.

"They would take these young boys about a year old and they would say, 'This
one will grow up to be a dissident,' and they would smash his head against a
tree, or against a wall, or against the ground."

Others who were behind Gukurahundi are now among Mugabe's closest and most
trusted allies.

Emerson Mnangagwa was head of security when the massacres started and is now
Mugabe's heir-apparent. He was succeeded as security chief in the 1980s by
Sydney Sekeremayi, now defense minister. The Five Brigade was commanded by
Perence Shiri, the current air force commander.

Like Mugabe, all are obsessed with hanging on to their assets and avoiding
prosecution. Their only guarantee of that is clinging to power.

Mugabe has rekindled the terror whenever he has perceived a political
threat. He unleashed violence in elections in 2000 and 2002 after the rise
of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change. He seized land from white
farmers beginning in 2000 because many supported the MDC. In 2005, he
launched Murambatsvina, or Operation Clean Out the Filth, evicting 700,000
urban people in MDC strongholds from their homes.

Less popular, more feared
With every operation, he grew less popular among the people - but more
feared. It seemed that he no longer could distinguish between the two.

On election day in March of this year, Mugabe affected the air of a leader
so popular that he needn't concern himself with the opposition. He had shown
extraordinary energy in the campaign, blitzing several rallies a day clad in
his favorite election garb: a peaked cap and a yellow, lime green or red
suit decorated with his own grinning face.

"Why should I cheat?" he said, fixing the camera with a beady eye after
casting his vote. "The people are there supporting us, day in, day out. The
moment people stop supporting you, then that's the moment you should quit
politics."

After his shocking defeat by MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai in the first-round
presidential vote, he blamed traitors in his ZANU-PF party, according to
several party sources. Enraged, he accused top ZANU-PF Party figures of
"de-campaigning," or campaigning against him.

He told military and ruling party leaders that he was ready to step down,
according to numerous party sources. But rather than ceding control to the
"securocrats" and generals, he has instead strengthened his position with
these hard-line forces in the party, the sources say.

"It was done strategically," a ZANU-PF insider said. "It was to jolt people
into action, and it had the desired effect. There was a lot of lethargy and
despondency in the party at the time, and people thought Tsvangirai was
coming in. Mugabe told some people he was willing to concede defeat, and
this jolted them into action.

Concession not allowed
"These are people who depend on Mugabe for their own political existence.
Without Mugabe, they're nothing. They realized they could not afford to let
Mugabe concede, for their own reasons."

So, in the most recent echo of Gukurahundi, the military and war veterans
recruited youthful militants and set up hundreds of militia bases, beating
thousands of MDC supporters, burning their houses and torturing and killing
opposition activists. At least 130 people died, though the figure could be
higher because much of the violence occurred in remote rural areas out of
sight of human rights groups and journalists.

Tsvangirai pulled out of the second round in June because of the violence,
and African observers condemned the result.

After his electoral setbacks, Mugabe initially seemed like a badly mauled
lion, unlikely to survive a night of circling hyenas. In July, when he was
trapped by TV cameras at an African Union conference in Cairo, video of his
rattled, seething responses surfaced almost instantly on YouTube.

Yet since then he has pulled back from the brink and, amazingly, remains in
power, still recognized as president by African leaders despite his lack of
a legitimate mandate.

Even opponents grudgingly concede that it has been a masterful recovery.
Mugabe has taken advantage of the jumble of motives among ZANU-PF figures,
buying loyalty by doling out rewards such as farms and benefits. None of
them is clean, so all feel vulnerable.

Southern African leaders meeting as the Southern African Development
Community have the job of settling the crisis, but Mugabe has cleverly
played on the feelings of the old boys' club of African liberation
movements, most of which see the rise of a strong opposition as an unwelcome
precedent in the region.

Ministers linked to theft of relief aid

http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=8847

December 17, 2008

By Owen Chikari

MASVINGO- Two ministers have been linked to the alleged looting of tonnes of
fertiliser and maize seed meant for AIDS victims amid reports that police
were reluctant to arrest the culprits.

At least eight Grain Marketing Board (GMB) junior workers linked to the scam
have since been arrested while the ministers and two Zanu-PF party officials
have allegedly been allowed to go scot-free, sources said.

A consignment of over 150 tonnes of both fertiliser and maize seed donated
by different non- governmental organisations went missing at the Masvingo
GMB depot amid revelations that senior Zanu-PF politicians looted the
products.

While police say that a full scale investigation has been launched, it has
emerged that despite overwhelming evidence, the concerned politicians have
not been touched.

Among those linked to the looting of the products are outgoing finance
minister Samuel Mumbengegwi, outgoing higher and tertiary education minister
Stan Mudenge, former governor for Masvingo Willard Chiwewe and former Zaka
West senator Jefta Chindanya.

Sources within the police yesterday confirmed the case but said their
efforts to bring the suspects to book were being hampered by the
interference of senior police officers.

"We have arrested eight GMB junior workers and a supervisor following the
looting of 150 tonnes of both fertiliser and maize seeds meant to benefit
Aids and cholera victims," said a police source who requested not to be
named.

"Those arrested implicated senior Zanu-PF officials among them minister
Mudenge  Mumbengegwi, Chindanya and Chiwewe.

"We have completed our investigations but our seniors have told us to leave
the bigwigs alone."

Mumbengegwi and Mudenge yesterday professed ignorance over the issue while
Chindanya and Chiwewe could not be reached for comment.

"All the fertiliser that I have on my farm I bought it and I have receipts
to prove that," said Mumbengegwi. "I am not a thief. Just investigate your
story further and you will see that we are innocent."

However, the officer commanding Masvingo Senior Assistant Commissioner Mekia
Tanyanyiwa confirmed that they were investigating two ministers and other
Zanu-PF officials over the alleged looting.

However, he would not give any names.

Said Tanyanyiwa: "Our officers are investigating a case in which fertiliser
and maize seeds meant for the poor and cholera victims were looted.

"They have arrested eight workers from the GMB and we are investigating two
cabinet ministers and other Zanu-PF officials believed to be linked to the
case.

"Noone is blocking the case but we have to arrest people after amassing
enough evidence."

Former UN Special Envoy Condemns Proposed Peace Settlement for Zimbabwe

http://www.voanews.com

By Joe De Capua
Washington D.C
18 December 2008

The former UN special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa is condemning a proposed
peace settlement for Zimbabwe that calls for amnesty for President Robert
Mugabe.

Stephen Lewis, founder of AIDS-Free World, says it would be illegal,
irresponsible and sexist to grant Mugabe amnesty. He says President Mugabe
should be brought to trial. Lewis spoke to VOA English to Africa Service
reporter Joe De Capua to further explain why he is against amnesty for the
Zimbabwean leader.

"The proposal comes from the International Crisis Group, which has made some
reputable suggestions in the past but [which] we think is entirely off-base
in this instance. Look, Mugabe is a mass murderer. His hands are drenched in
blood. Thousands of people have died at his command. There has been a
terrible pattern of sexual violence and rape of women who have supported the
opposition party. My own organization, AIDS-Free World, has taken affidavits
from these women. The affidavits are a nightmare in their detail. We handed
a summary of them over to the.commissioner for human rights of the UN in the
hope that down the road they can be used for legal proceedings," he says.

Lewis also says the lack of medical care stemming from the ongoing political
and humanitarian crises in Zimbabwe has resulted in the deaths of thousands
of people with HIV/AIDS. He adds, "They're lined up at the border to get
out. There's a cholera epidemic which has taken over a thousand lives. You
don't start giving amnesty. It is a violation of international law."

Some say it may be worth granting Mugabe amnesty to end the crises. But
Lewis disagrees, saying, "That's an illusion, you see, because the amnesty
comes if you look at the detail with a hugely complicated procedure for
internal reconciliation, which frankly probably won't work. It has to come
with a new international mediator because the previous mediator, the former
president [Thabo] Mbeki of South Africa is entirely discredited.. And the
truth is that if the surrounding southern Africa states were prepared to
apply the appropriate pressure on Zimbabwe - close the border, end the
trade, ask for Mugabe stepping down - they would have an end to the Zimbabwe
crisis without an amnesty."

SADC confirm receiving video that MDC say contains tortured activists

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Lance Guma
18 December 2008

SADC Executive Secretary Tomaz Salomao has confirmed to Newsreel that it's
secretariat received documents and video evidence from the Zimbabwean
government, on alleged MDC banditry training in Botswana. The revelation
will outrage the MDC and other pro-democracy activists who claim several
abducted activists featured in the video were tortured into making
confessions about this 'military training.' MDC Director of Security, Chris
Dhlamini for example was abducted almost 4 weeks ago and is reported to be
featured in one of the videos, making a confession. Also on the tape is
councilor Emmanuel Chinanzvavana from ward 25 in Zvimba South. He was
abducted nearly two months ago, along with his wife.
Confronted with these facts Salomao told us; 'We are not aware of anything.
This matter is between the government of Botswana and the government of
Zimbabwe. It is up to the (SADC) team investigating the matter to make its
own findings,' he said. Swaziland is leading a team that will spend 2 days
in Botswana looking into the allegations made by Mugabe's regime. During a
November 5 meeting of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security
Zimbabwe lodged an official complaint, claiming Botswana was giving military
training to MDC youths, who planned to destabilize the country.
Speaking to Newsreel on Thursday MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa said ZANU PF
was abusing the SADC grouping by 'showing the rest of the region a movie
carefully choreographed to produce a fictitious outcome. Those videos are
not courts of law. What ZANU PF is producing as evidence is manufactured and
concocted,' he said. He refused to be drawn into the details of the video
saying, 'SADC has yet to officially notify us of this video, so I cannot
comment.'
South African President Kgalema Motlanthe on Wednesday told journalists the
regional SADC bloc never believed the allegations against Botswana were
true. He said; 'When it was raised, the Troika of the Organ on Defence was
tasked to deal with that matter and go in to verify whether that is fact or
fiction. They have been to Botswana and they have been all over. We need to
get a report from them but our view up front is that there is no substance
to such an allegation. We do not believe that. MDC is a properly registered
political party, they have been participating in elections, it is
represented in parliament. There would really be no logic in that at this
late hour they are planning for a military option. There is an army in
Zimbabwe which cannot be confronted with people who are trained over
weekends.'
The MDC have meanwhile dismissed the 'banditry' claims as ludicrous and an
attempt to justify imposing a state of emergency which would allow Mugabe to
suspend the constitution and rule by decree. MDC Secretary General Tendai
Biti said; 'We have no doubt as a party that they are going to declare a
state of emergency. We are aware that they have produced a 27 page document
which is full of rubbish that contains the purported evidence. We are aware
that they have three DVDs of purported confessions by MDC activists. They
would not have gone that far to prepare expensive DVDs, power point
presentations and materials that are annexured to that document, if they did
not want to use it.'
Of great concern is the fact that SADC is watching videos of allegedly
tortured activists, who have been abducted and are still missing. There are
numerous court orders in Zimbabwe demanding that the government and the
police produce those people who have been abducted. All court orders have
been ignored.
There are now 26 abducted MDC activists and civic leaders. SADC has seen the
video tape proof. They know who is holding them. If they take no action they
are as guilty as ZANU PF.

NCA activists still in custody

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Violet Gonda
18 December 2008

On Wednesday riot police violently broke up a peaceful demonstration by the
National Constitutional Assembly (NCA). Score of people were beaten and 11
arrested, in protests that were joined by a number of frustrated people who
had been waiting in cash queues.
The pressure group had held countrywide demonstrations the day before in
which a total of 51 people had been arrested.  Most of them have now been
released without charge, except for 16. Lawyers were on Thursday battling to
get them released.
The NCA is demanding the formation of a new government that can speedily
address the horrendous chaos in the country. They are also calling for a
people driven constitution to usher in free and fair elections.
But repression and lack of tolerance continues in Zimbabwe in spite of the
pledges by the regime, in the power sharing deal, to respect the rights of
all Zimbabweans, regardless of political affiliation.
On September 15th the regime agreed to recognise the values of justice and
tolerance, and to build a society free of violence, fear, intimidation and
hatred.
Instead opponents are still being abducted and arrested and SADC - the
guarantors of the power sharing deal, have been conspicuous in their
silence.
Most shocking this week was the revelation that ZANU PF has shown the
regional body a dossier, which includes video tapes, of some of the abducted
MDC activists 'confessing' to an alleged plot to overthrow the Mugabe
regime. These are victims who have been missing for several weeks and the
government has always denied any knowledge of their whereabouts.  Opponents
are abducted and arrested by faceless thugs and yet SADC remains mum on
these gross human rights violations.
Benjamin Chitate, a Zimbabwean activist based in New Zealand asks: "I wonder
whether SADC's inaction is because there have been no formal requests for
SADC to intervene and compel Mugabe to bring back the abducted persons to
their families?'
If that is the case it is equally worrying. Do SADC need a formal request to
respond to torture and abduction?

Zimbabwe cholera plan announced, as death toll continues to rise

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Alex Bell
18 December 2008

Weeks after Zimbabwe's government finally declared the devastating cholera
outbreak a national emergency, the country's 'Health Cluster' this week
completed a US$19 million 'Cholera Outbreaks Coordinated Preparedness and
Operation Plan' to enable the country to mount a coordinated response to the
epidemic.

The death toll as a result of the disease has officially risen to more than
1000, but unofficially there are justifiable fears the number is at least
three times higher than what has been reported. The updated figures include
a new outbreak of hundreds of reported cases in Chegutu. Combined with the
collapse of the health system and a crippling food shortage, the cholera
epidemic has ravaged the already crisis weary country, and aid organisations
and medical experts have warned the worst is yet to come.

The Health Cluster was constituted by the Ministry of Health and various
international aid groups, including the World Health Organisation, UNICEF
and Doctors Without Borders, as well as local NGOs. The cholera plan will
apparently give priority to reducing the spread of the disease through
'increased epidemiological and laboratory surveillance' as well as ensuring
access to clean water and proper sanitation, and instituting safe isolation
and infection control practices in health care facilities. The plan
reportedly also aims to reduce the number of deaths through ensuring early
detection of cases and easy access to health care.

But it is as of yet unclear when the plan will be implemented and there are
already fears that, with the ZANU PF government in control of the
coordinated effort, the plan might not be implemented at all. At the same
time questions are being raised over how such a plan, that conveys a certain
amount of optimism on paper, could be implemented when there are no longer
any structures in Zimbabwe to support it. There is widespread consensus that
a new government would need to be in place before the operation of
rebuilding the country's crucial services can take place. But with the
recent abductions of MDC activists again proving the signed agreement
between Zimbabwe's political players is yet another empty promise, the hopes
for a new, effective government have faded.

Meanwhile the multi million dollar plan comes as the British Red Cross and
Oxfam have both launched emergency appeals to deal with the crisis as a
matter of urgency. Oxfam spokesperson Jon Slater, who recently returned from
a mission to Zimbabwe, explained on Thursday that the crisis is
'overwhelming' and emphasised the critical need for urgent intervention. He
explained that the official number of deaths and reported infections "is a
large underestimate of the real problem, because thousands of people just do
not have access to treatment or even clean water."

At the same time, Slater explained that the crippling food shortage in the
country means thousands more people are fighting to survive. The UN has
predicted that up to five million people will face starvation by January,
but Slater said on Thursday that the figure is already a reality.

"We estimate that at least five million people are already going hungry,"
Slater said. "This situation will get worse because the planting season has
started but there is nothing to plant."

Meanwhile as the cholera crisis deepens, the Chiredzi General Hospital,
Masvingo's second largest hospital, was closed this week following
a critical manpower shortage as nurses and doctors remain on strike. The
closure comes as cholera is reportedly still spreading through the area with
six reported deaths and more than 150 cases recorded. The Chiredzi General
Hospital is just the latest in a long list of hospitals and clinics that
have shut their doors recently, with little to no food or medication, or
even staff.

Tsvangirai stuck in Botswana as travel papers expire

http://www.nation.co.ke

By KITSEPILE NYATHI, NATION Correspondent and ReutersPosted Thursday,
December 18 2008 at 18:13

HARARE, Thursday

Zimbabwe's main opposition leader and Prime Minister-designate Morgan
Tsvangirai is stranded in neighbouring Botswana after his temporary travel
document expired while outside the country.

President Robert Mugabe has already written to Mr Tsvangirai officially
appointing him the country's Prime Minister in a proposed unity government
between the ruling Zanu PF and the two opposition Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) formations.

The letter of appointment was reportedly delivered to MDC offices in Harare
yesterday.

But Mr Tsvangirai says he has no intention of leaving Botswana until he has
been issued a new passport by the Zimbabwe government.

An emergency travel document issued to him when he left Zimbabwe last month
for a regional summit on the stalled power sharing agreement has since
expired.

A draft constitutional amendment was published in an official gazette last
Saturday, paving the way for a unity government by creating the post of
Prime Minister for Mr Tsvangirai and his two deputies.

South African President Kgalema Motlanthe yesterday also said he expected
the unity government to be in place before the end of the week.

But Zimbabweans are less optimistic as the MDC has indicated that it would
not be joining the unity government, with Mr Tsvangirai insisting that his
party "would not take responsibility for the mess without the necessary
authority."

The opposition leader was referring to his party's demand to be given
control of key ministries, including the Home Affairs portfolio in charge of
the police.

Complicating issues is the government's apparent unwillingness to give in to
Mr Tsvangirai's demand to be issued with a new passport.

Mr Mugabe's spokesman, Mr George Charamba, told state media the MDC leader
had breached the time scale of his emergency travel document and was afraid
he would be arrested if he returned home.

"He (Mr Tsvangirai) does not need a passport to cross the borders of
Morocco, Senegal, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania," Mr Charamba told The Herald
newspaper.

Last month, Mr Mugabe labelled his rival a "political prostitute" for
travelling to Europe and African countries before the parties could conclude
power sharing negotiations.

Mr Tsvangirai's passport expired about six months ago and the government has
refused to renew it saying it does not have enough material to produce the
travel document.

However, ordinary Zimbabweans can get a new passport within a fortnight
provided they pay US$700. Those unable to pay in foreign currency can wait
up to five years for a new passport.

Under pressure

Mr Tsvangirai and Mr Mugabe are under pressure from the African Union and
the Southern African Development Community to form a unity government, seen
as the only route available to end Zimbabwe's decade old political and
economic crisis.

And South African ruling ANC leader Jacob Zuma has backed a diplomatic push
as the way to end political deadlock and rejected any suggestion of sending
troops.

When asked in an interview with South Africa's 702 Talk Radio whether he
favoured sending troops to Zimbabwe, ANC leader Zuma said: "No. Why military
intervention when there is no war? We should be pressurising them to see the
light."

South Africa's ANC-led government, however, has continued to back the
regional SADC group's efforts to mediate an end to the crisis. Former South
African President Thabo Mbeki is leading the mediation of the power-sharing
talks.

And the death toll from a cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe has soared to 1,111,
the United Nations said today, adding to pressure for a quick solution to
the crisis in the southern African country.

The latest cholera figures from the UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Geneva included a new outbreak in Chegutu
Urban in Mashonaland West, west of Harare, where more than 378 cases and 121
deaths have been recorded, it said in a statement.

It said more than 20,580 people had been affected by cholera since August.

The cholera epidemic has added to pressure on Mr Mugabe and Western
countries have renewed calls on the veteran leader to step down. (Reuters)

ZANU-PF Prepares for Annual Conference as Cholera Deaths Soar

http://www.voanews.com

By Peta Thornycroft
18 December 2008

Harare's streets are busy as hundreds of delegates to President Robert
Mugabe's annual ZANU-PF conference converge from all over the country. The
annual conference is being held as the death toll continues to climb from a
cholera epidemic that has further strained the country's crumbling
healthcare system.

The United Nations says 1,100 people have died in the cholera epidemic
spreading through mostly urban areas in Zimbabwe.

Anti-cholera drugs, clean water and medical assistance are mostly being
provided by the non-governmental sector, as the state's hospitals and most
of its clinics are either closed or have no equipment or staff. The health
ministry, once one of Africa's best, has virtually collapsed because of lack
of drugs and worthless salaries for medical staff.

In addition to the health crisis, President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF
conference is also being held amid the possibility that Movement for
Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai may be returning home from
Botswana. Political sources in Harare say Zimbabwe negotiations facilitator,
former South African president Thabo Mbeki has sent a letter to Mr.
Tsvangirai encouraging him to return home to be sworn in as prime minister.

Mr. Tsvangirai's aides say they have been told that a new passport is due to
be issued to him. He has been denied one since June.

The MDC won control of Zimbabwe's parliament in March elections, but there
are several views within the MDC about whether the party should take part in
a government of national unity. Mr. Tzvangirai was to become prime minister
as part of a power-sharing agreement that was worked out following the
controversial presidential elections earlier this year.

Some, such as party spokesman Nelson Chamisa and secretary-general Tendai
Biti say there are still too many fundamental issues outstanding for the MDC
to take part in an inclusive government.

Mr. Tsvangirai is due to hold a press conference Friday in Botswana.

While the inclusive government is still not formed, ZANU-PF continues to
make crucial appointments and has appointed party loyalist Johannes Tomana
as attorney general. Recently Mr. Mugabe re-appointed an ally, Central Bank
Governor Gideon Gono for another five-year term.

Economists say Gono is responsible for hyperinflation and record-breaking
devaluation of the Zimbabwe dollar.  The local currency is now largely
replaced by U.S. dollars or South African rands.

ZANU-PF and the MDC signed a political agreement in September for an
inclusive government under which Mr. Mugabe would not be able to make any
senior public appointments without Mr. Tsvangirai's approval once he is
sworn in as prime minister..

Meanwhile, at least three MDC activists have been abducted from their home
area, Bindura, about 40 kilometers from Harare. This brings to nearly 30
people abducted from their home or workplace in the past seven weeks.

Unity deal set to dominate ZANU PF conference

http://www.zimonline.co.za/



      by Patricia Mpofu and Wayne Mafaro Thursday 18 December 2008

HARARE - The shaky power-sharing agreement with the opposition is expected
to dominate discussions at a key conference of President Robert Mugabe's
ruling ZANU PF party that began Thursday, as the United Nations said a
cholera epidemic has killed more than 1 000 Zimbabweans.

The cholera epidemic, coupled with acute food shortages, has highlighted
Zimbabwe's worsening economic and humanitarian crisis that analysts had
hoped a unity government could reverse.

Mugabe and main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai remain deadlocked over
who should control key ministries in a unity government outlined under a
September 15 power-sharing agreement.

ZANU PF deputy spokesman Ephraim Masawi said Mugabe was expected to brief
delegates on power-sharing talks with Tsvangirai's MDC party, adding the
delegates drawn from across the country were expecting "fruitful
 discussions" on the issue as well as on other important matters affecting
the country.

Masawi told ZimOnline: "We met as the politburo on Tuesday to confirm the
agenda of the conference all the items agreed upon will be discussed,
including an update on the talks.

"Delegates will surely want to know the party's position on the talks and
they will be briefed accordingly when the First Secretary (Mugabe) delivers
his keynote speech tomorrow (Friday)."

Analysts see little hope of recovery in Zimbabwe while Mugabe and Tsvangirai
continue to haggle over political power. A leading international political
think-tank said on Tuesday the best way to save Zimbabwe from total collapse
was for the two protagonists to step aside and allow a neutral transitional
authority to takeover.

"The core idea is to establish a transitional administration, run by
non-partisan experts, in which neither Mugabe nor Tsvangirai would have any
position," the Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG) said in
report that described Zimbabwe power-sharing talks as hopelessly deadlocked.

The neutral administration preferably headed by someone from the private
sector, civic society or a member of an international institution should be
tasked to stabilise the economy and prepare for a new democratic
presidential election in 18 months, the ICG said.

Zimbabwe, which once had one of the most vibrant economies in Africa, is in
the grip of an unprecedented economic and humanitarian crisis marked by
acute shortages of food and basic commodities, amid outbreaks of killer
diseases such as cholera and anthrax.

The UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said deaths
from cholera soared to 1 111 from 20 581 cases since the outbreak began in
August, adding that the major causes for the outbreak included the lack of
drinking water and sanitation in Zimbabwe's decaying cities.

Meanwhile the MDC said Mugabe's unilateral decision to appoint a new
Attorney General (AG) "flies in the face" commitment and spirit of the
power-sharing agreement that the opposition said envisages that the new
unity government shall appoint all senior state officials.

Mugabe appointed Johannes Tomana to take over as AG from High Court Judge
Bharat Patel, who had held the post on a temporary basis since the dismissal
last May of former AG Sobusa Gula-Ndebele.?

Tomana is regarded by many as a sympathiser of Mugabe's ZANU PF party.

MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa said: "That (appointment) flies in the face of
the commitment and spirit of the global political agreement. In fact, it
tears the whole agreement apart.

"Appointments of senior government officials were supposed to be done by the
inclusive government but clearly ZANU PF in their wisdom or lack of it are
deciding to put the cart before the horse." - ZimOnline

Zanu PF To Challenge ZAPU Over Use Of Name

http://www.radiovop.com

Bulawayo -  Zanu PF on Thursday said it intended to challenge in
court, the use of the name Zapu, by Dr Dumiso Dabengwa and his followers who
met in Bulawayo last weekend to formally pull out of the unity accord with
Zanu PF and revive Zapu, which was led by the late vice President Joshua
Nkomo.

Zanu PF politburo member and Minister of Information and Publicity, Dr
Sikhanyiso Ndlovu, said they will seek court recourse to force the revived
Zapu from using the name as the original Zapu was still in unity with the
ruling party.
"Zapu is still in unity with Zanu and we are in Government  today. All
those who say they have revived Zapu are day dreaming and we will leave no
stone unturned to correct that misconception. We will go to court to force
them to stop abusing that name. If they want to form a political party, they
must look for their own name," said Dr Ndlovu.
The revival of Zapu was finalised Sunday after a convention in
Bulawayo attended by close to 1000 delegates from the country's ten
provinces. Dabengwa, a former cabinet minister and Zanu PF politburo
member,was elected chairman of the party.
Other senior members of the party include former speaker of parliament
Cyril Ndebele, Professor Stylish Magidha, among other members who formally
withdrew from Zanu PF.

In a statement, the Zapu revivalists said under-representation in the
Zanu PF leadership, and the prevailing political, social and security
environment made it hard for them to continue honouring the 1987 Accord.

Zapu joined a unity government with the Zimbabwe African National
Union (Zanu) in 1987, agreeing to abolish its name in favour of Zimbabwe
African National Union Patriotic Front (Zanu PF).

Zimbabwe’s war of disappearance

The Vanishing: Hiding In Zimbabwe

Yahoo News

9 hours 49 mins ago

 Sky News

According to reports, 40 opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
staff were taken from their homes overnight.
Like all the "disappeared", nobody knows where they are being held.

Jestina Mokoko, who works for the Zimbabwean Peace Project, a human rights
group, has not been seen since December 3 when armed men abducted her from
her home.

They beat her guard and refused to allow her to kiss her son goodbye.

A court has ruled the police should find her or at least report daily on
their progress. So far they have ignored that order and say they have no
idea where she is.

Sky News met one of her close relatives. Such is the level of fear she
cannot be identified and the meeting was finally held in Harare after a
complicated series of car and location changes to protect her identity and
keep her safe.

She told how Jestina had said on a number of occasions that she feared for
her safety.

She knew she was being kept under surveillance but in recent weeks, after
talks on power sharing, had dropped her guard.

The men came for her at three in the morning while she slept.

"We don't know where she is. We pray she is not in one of the torture
camps," her relative said.

"It is difficult for her son and her family, they are hoping she will be
found.

"If she has done something wrong they should charge her and at least then we
would know she is alive."

There are dozens of cases like Jestina's. Many of Sky News' contacts in
Zimbabwe have either disappeared or are now in hiding.

Why this is happening - and on such a large scale - is unclear.

The MDC believe their workers are being tortured and will "confess" to
running military training camps in Botswana.

Zimbabwe's military forces could use these confessions to impose a state of
emergency.

Both the MDC and the Botswana government deny that any military planning is
being carried out.

Today the Zimbabwean Parliament will sit. It is of course a portrait of
normality... nothing more.

In reality President Mugabe, his army, police and henchmen are running this
country and have no intention of sharing power or the wealth they are
feeding from.

WOMEN'S WATCH 16 of 17 December 2008 [Jestina Mukoko Still Missing]

[17th December 2008]

Jestina Mukoko is Still Missing

Appeals from Family, Friends and Colleagues

From her family:  “They’re taking Mom”…These were the whispered words of Jestina’s son on the phone to his aunt and uncle who live near by.  Now two weeks have gone by.  And no news.  Her family, her two sons, her mother, her brothers, her sister are crying “We are desperately worried and desperate for her return”.  “Please bring her back” .

From a friend: I can’t believe that I was with you only a day before you were abducted.  I keep waking in the night and thinking about what we talked about, what we laughed about.  I worry about how you are being treated and what is happening to you – are you being abused, are you being given food, have they given you clothes, shoes, how are you managing without your glasses - can you see, can you wash?  What are you suffering?  Worst of all I worry that you are dead.  You never lost your cool no matter how hard you were working, how many stresses you had.  I know that whatever you are going through God will keep you strong. You were always there for your friends.  But where are you now – I agonise about where you.  I pray daily that you will be restored to us.

From a woman activist and friend:  Soft-spoken, Jestina is a warm, brave woman who went about her work in a non-threatening way.  She is a helpless mother of a 17-year-old boy and an aunt and guardian to a six-year old.  Jestina was abducted at gunpoint.  That some people can actually live with themselves after being party to such brutality really breaks my heart. That some Zimbabweans believe life is worthless and can be treated with such disdain makes me grieve for my country. We have hit rock bottom, if we have lost all respect for the rights of others.

Women from government, politics and civil society recently commemorated the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence.  This commemoration has now lost meaning for me.  Where is the joint outcry from women across the political divide against the violence done to Jestina?  Where are all those women today when one of their own is in trouble?  One would have thought fellow women would be gravely concerned and falling over each other to get to the bottom of this savage abduction. 

Jestina was working consistently and lawfully for the advancement of peace in Zimbabwean communities.  It is indeed deeply, deeply sad, that Zimbabwe is stuck in a region where very few leaders have spoken up about the current brutality.  Where is the Southern African region's conscience? 

I am deeply sad, but the more I think of what it took and how many people it took to abduct Jestina, the more proud I feel of this hard-working, soft-spoken woman.  She is bigger than her tormentors.  She is stronger than they ever will be.  Wherever you are Jes, you are in our hearts, our true heroine, a woman not afraid to stand up and be counted for the good of her country. We shall overcome.

From two woman media colleagues:  It is easy to understand why Jestina Mukoko is commanding so much attention.  Sporting bottle-thick spectacles, Jestina has an infectious laugh and a gentle, soft and warm manner that makes her charming and charismatic.  During my working career I have often worked with Jestina and I know she has only the best interests of Zimbabwe and Zimbabweans at heart.  She is a peace-loving woman whose professional manner in every aspect of her work is what makes her noticeable.  I pray hard every day that she will come home soon and continue with her outstanding work.

Jestina Mukoko is our big sister.  She is a significant part of the Zimbabwean media and human rights activism landscape.  She is a thread in the country's social political fabric and can also be described as a nurturer, a caretaker and a teacher.  We honour her contributions.  Her peace and human rights work should be understood as trying to improve the situation in this country.  I implore the authorities to bring Jestina back to her children, her loved ones and the rest of the country that is benefiting from her fearlessness in the face of danger.

A Message of Solidarity from the Tanzania Gender Networking Programme: We wish to express our concern and outrage about the worsening situation in Zimbabwe, and particular alarm at the recent abduction of Jestina Mukoko, from the Zimbabwe Peace Project.  We pledge solidarity with Zimbabweans who say:  Free Jestina Mukoko NOW!

A Poem for Jestina by a friend and fellow woman activist

Human dignity is God given as each one of us was made in God’s image

Jestina

A flimsy night dress the only dignity she adorns

Rudely awakened to the sight of intruders

Like a bandit bundled into an unmarked vehicle

Taken to a place unknown

My sister is missing

My sister is missing

Where are you sister?

Groping in the dark without your spectacles , terrified and traumatized?

Are you in a safe place?

If so when do we see your beautiful smile and hear that deep voice?

My sister is missing

Musatore MaDube wedu

Soldier on sister, your spirit must keep you alive

You shall not die Jestina

Even if they attempt to usurp God’s place

Determining your life or death

I am certain you shall not die

Dead or alive

You shall not die Jestina!

We appeal to the common humanity of those who abducted her to let us know if she is safe.  One of the abductors was a woman and we appeal to her as a fellow woman to think of Jestina’s children and family.

We appeal to any member of the public – those who may have witnessed the abduction, those that may have heard “street news” about her,  to anyone with any information

please phone any of these numbers: 011 619 749 or 011 635 755 or 011 635 448 or 011 619 746/7/8.

Veritas makes every effort to ensure reliable information, but cannot take legal responsibility for information supplied.

A sense of dread pervades a country

Photo:

Unsure of what tomorrow brings

HARARE, 18 December 2008 (IRIN) - As if cholera, hyperinflation and food shortages were not enough, there is now also a growing sense of dread in Zimbabwe, as people anticipate living under a state of emergency. "Everything that can possibly go wrong has gone wrong in Zimbabwe," Ronnie Ncube told IRIN in the capital, Harare.

A power-sharing deal, touted as Zimbabwe's escape route from its socioeconomic malaise, is deadlocked, while the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on 18 December that the cholera death toll since August had risen to 1,111, with 20,581 suspected cases.

Harare is bearing the brunt of the cholera outbreak, with 224 official recorded deaths and nearly half the suspected cases.

A bleak future

"When you look at the food shortages, the cholera epidemic, the collapsed health delivery system, the collapsed education sector and the rundown economy, then you realise that the future is bleak," Susan Moyo, who owns a small shop in the high-density suburb of Highfield in Harare, told IRIN.

This is the festive season, but you don't get  the feeling that we are a few days away from Christmas because of the hardships and uncertainties surrounding us

"This is the festive season, but you don't get the feeling that we are a few days away from Christmas because of the hardships and uncertainties surrounding us," she said.

"From a political point of view, the nation is listless and facing the future with fear and dread, because talks to share power between the main political parties have broken down with [Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader] Morgan Tsvangirai now exiled in Botswana."

Tsvangirai is in neighbouring Botswana, holding an expired Emergency Travel Document (ETD) after being denied a passport earlier in 2008.

President Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF claim they are unable to provide Tsvangirai - who would become prime minister under the power-sharing deal - with a passport because of shortages of materials, but the MDC point out that thousands of other citizens have been issued with travel documents since their leader applied.

"The truth of the matter is that he has breached the time-scale of his ETD and thinks government may arrest him," government spokesman George Charamba told the state-controlled daily newspaper, The Herald. "There is neither rhyme nor reason to his argument."

Mugabe's government has ratcheted up its rhetoric against the MDC in recent weeks, and has allegedly embarked on a series of abductions of MDC members as well as leading lights in civil society, but ZANU-PF is also facing dissent in its own ranks.

Political analyst Tendai Musah told IRIN that infighting in ZANU-PF over who would become Mugabe's successor, ahead of the party's annual conference starting on 18 December, was believed to be the source of an attempted assassination of a military chief, and a fatal car accident.

"Several events worth noting have happened in the run-up to the party conference: the political commissar [Elliot Manyika] died in a suspicious car accident, while the vice-chairman of war veterans broke his back in another suspicious accident; the air force commander escaped an assassination attempt, and all that points to bloody turf wars," Musah said.

ZANU-PF looks for enemies

ZANU-PF is using the alleged assassination attempt on Air Marshall Perence Shiri, a cousin of Mugabe, as further "evidence", along with the bombings of a railway line in August, and the building housing the Criminal Investigations Department in Harare in November, to vindicate their claims that neighbouring Botswana is training and equipping an MDC militia.

South African President Kgalema Motlanthe told reporters on 17 December that his government's view was that "there is no substance to such an allegation [of Botswana supporting MDC rebels]."

ZANU-PF's constant haranguing of the MDC as "bandits" is reminiscent of language used in the 1980s, which culminated in Operation Gukurahundi (The rain that washes away the chaff before the spring rain), in which supporters of the rival liberation movement, ZAPU, were targeted in a bloody crackdown that led to the deaths of about 20,000 people, nearly all civilians.

In 1987, ZAPU leader Joshua Nkomo signed an accord with Mugabe, forming an alliance between the two liberation movements, and 22 December was declared a public holiday to mark the occasion. This year the holiday is in doubt, as ZAPU has withdrawn from the accord.

We have no doubt ... that ZANU-PF is coming up with all sorts of fictitious stories in order to declare a state of emergency

"We have no doubt ... that ZANU-PF is coming up with all sorts of fictitious stories in order to declare a state of emergency," MDC secretary-general Tendai Biti told IRIN.

"The allegations about the MDC training bandits in Botswana is the latest fictitious instalment designed to justify the declaration of a state of emergency.

"But a state of emergency, or the threat of one, can only point to a bleak future, because civil liberties are suspended, and that would lead to an escalation of human rights abuses," Biti said. "The basic fact is: no nation thrives when it is ruled through a state of emergency."

Bishops want Mugabe out

http://news.iafrica.com/sa/1179818.htm

Article By:
Thu, 18 Dec 2008 15:18
Mediation in Zimbabwe's political crisis has failed and South Africa must
now force President Robert Mugabe to step down, the Southern African
Catholic Bishops' Conference said on Thursday.

"We are deeply saddened that after eight years of mediation, all the talks
have borne no fruit," the conference said in a statement.

It said Mugabe was "clearly willing" to watch his people die of starvation
and cholera, as long as he was able to retain his 28-year-old hold on power.

"The South African government has the capacity to force Mugabe to go. All
that is lacking is the political will.

"We are extremely disappointed at the inability of the Sadc [Southern
African Development Community] leadership, including the new South African
president [Kgalema Motlanthe], to make any headway."

Motlanthe this week refused to join growing international calls for Mugabe
to go, saying he hoped a deal on a unity government in Zimbabwe could be
implemented within days.

Mugabe's regime and the opposition Movement for Democracy and Change, which
won the most votes in March elections, agreed to a power-sharing deal in
September, but remain locked in dispute over the control of key ministries.

According to the latest UN figures, the cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe has
claimed more than 1000 lives.

Sapa

'Force won't solve Zim's problems'

http://www.iol.co.za

    December 18 2008 at 05:08PM

London - The archbishop of Canterbury said Thursday that the world should be
putting pressure on Robert Mugabe to step down as president of Zimbabwe, but
he questioned whether force was the answer.

Archbishop Rowan Williams said in a BBC radio interview that people in
Zimbabwe are divided about whether Mugabe should be removed by force.

"I wouldn't oppose it in all circumstances but I would take very seriously
what people on the ground are saying there, and the Christians I speak to in
our church there have very mixed feelings about the prospect of armed
intervention," he said.

"A lot of people in Zimbabwe find themselves very torn on that because the
last thing they want to see is another round of violence in Zimbabwe. That's
the problem. I don't see a quick answer to that," Williams added.

Williams took a softer line than that advocated by Archbishop of York John
Sentamu. Sentamu has said it is time for Mugabe to be removed from power,
and has spoken of the example of the late Kenyan President Julius Nyerere,
who sent troops into Uganda in 1979 to topple Idi Amin.

Desmond Tutu, a retired Anglican archbishop, said the African Union and
southern African nations have the military capacity to oust Mugabe.

"If they say to him, step down and he refuses, they must go in...
militarily," Tutu said earlier this month in an interview with a Dutch
broadcaster.

Williams said the world should be pleading for Mugabe to step down, "and
putting what pressure we can on him to go."

"We should be encouraging neighboring states to put together a detailed
reconstruction package for Zimbabwe. I think that is what is lacking in the
present situation," he said.

US President George Bush, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French
President Nicolas Sarkozy have called this month for Zimbabwe's 84-year-old
leader to go. - Sapa-AP

December 18, 2008
Zimbabwe: Chaos in New Cholera Outbreak

http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org

A second cholera outbreak has hit Chegutu, a town 100 km south of Harare,
where more than 100 people have died since the first cases appeared on
November 24.

MSF arrived in Chegutu, which has a population of 55,000, on December 12
after being told that day of the cholera emergency there.

The scene MSF found at the town's small government cholera treatment center
(CTC) was grim. The reported number of registered cases was more than 650
and 74 people were said to have died.

Patients were lying on the floor, some next to dead bodies, sanitation
services were non-existent, and there was no water and no food to be found.

"The situation was absolute chaos," said Luis Maria Tello, the MSF emergency
team medical coordinator. "There were no beds and patients everywhere.
People were dying of thirst because there was no water."

The disposal of the dead was one of the first priorities set by the
emergency team. "Dead people were lying everywhere," said Tello.

MSF was able within a day to carry out disinfection and disposal of the
corpses.

The MSF team has brought in more than 150 cholera beds, close to 3,500
liters of ringer lactate, used to treat cholera, and six tents. Due to the
high levels of contamination in the area around the CTC, MSF is constructing
a new isolated CTC with tents and latrines in a separate controlled area.
MSF staff are facilitating better registration of patients while a more
effective process screening of patients is being used to clearly identify
cholera cases.

The team is concerned, however, that a number of people reportedly died of
cholera at home because they were initially afraid to go to the clinic.

"People were staying at home because so many people died in the clinic and
they were afraid to come," said Grant Anthony, the water/sanitation
technician, part of the MSF Emergency Team. "They would rather be treated at
home," says Grant Anthony,

Another challenge is getting food to the patients in the clinic. Many have
been in the CTC for days and have not eaten anything. One elderly man was
trying to remove his IV and leave the CTC.

"I am hungry, I haven't eaten for nine days," he said. He added that if
people saw him with the infusion drip they would know he was carrying
cholera and he would be stigmatized. Many health centers throughout the
country do not have food for their patients. MSF and other agencies are
looking into ways of assuring basic nutrition for the patients.

The sources of the outbreak are believed to have been discovered. Government
authorities found many of the sick had used water from broken pipes that had
been vandalized by others to access water. Chegutu has been experiencing
water shortages for the past seven months, according to residents. Since
there are also many burst sewage pipes in the town, it is believed that
sewage fairly easily contaminated these drinking sources.

Cases are also being found outside the town, in the surrounding farms. The
heavy rains have already started which means the cholera bacteria
potentially can spread more easily beyond the town and into rural areas. MSF
will soon be conducting exploratory missions in the surrounding areas to
look for any other major outbreaks.

The number of cases MSF is seeing in Harare is decreasing. MSF treated 742
patients the week of December 8, whereas the week before, MSF saw 1,143
cases. The number of cases in Gweru is also decreasing. In Epworth and
Chitungwiza, however, the number of patients are increasing, but in small
numbers. Cases in Mudzi District, near the border with Mozambique, had been
decreasing, but since mid-December, two clusters of cases have arisen with
about 40 cases each. Most of the cases in one of the clusters was traced to
a single contaminated water source.

MSF is finding new cases in rural areas in the eastern provinces of Masvingo
and Manicaland. MSF has also seen a surge of cases in the southern part of
Buhera, many of them severe. MSF has seen more than 100 new patients in the
last week in these areas. Because these areas are more remote and the cases
scattered, it is more difficult to find and treat new cases in these areas.

MSF will treat cholera as the outbreak continues. The strike of some
government health workers in parts of the country continues to make the work
more difficult, but MSF has been able to hire hundreds of nurses and other
staff to help with the caseload. Additional humanitarian assistance is
needed throughout the country, including more supplies, and more clean water
and sanitation services must be provided.

MSF has been in Zimbabwe since 2000 running HIV programs.

Assessment of the food situation in Zimbabwe - November 2008

Latest on the crisis in Zimbabwe - Jon Slater

http://www.oxfam.org.uk

One of my overriding impressions after a week in Zimbabwe is of a country
caught between the devil and the deep blue sea.

The devil for the four million hungry people and millions more struggling to
feed themselves would be too little rain in the next few weeks. Without
rain, the crops planted by Zimbabwe's farmers will not grow and the current
hunger crisis will get much worse over the coming months.

Catastrophe is not far off. Already, more than five million are hungry. Many
of the rural farmers I spoke to have been forced to miss meals or survive on
wild fruit. Those who had managed to grow a few vegetables complained that
their water sources have dried up.

Driving to an Oxfam food and agriculture programme in Chirumanzu, we passed
people desperately scouring the roadside for maize that had been blown from
passing trucks to provide that day's meal. Without food aid these people
have precious little hope.

But heavy rains also cost lives. The cholera epidemic sweeping Zimbabwe has
infected more than 20,000 people and has killed (at a very conservative
estimate) more than 1,000 people.

Cholera is a water-borne disease and heavy rains, combined with the country's
collapsing water, sanitation and health services could easily spell
disaster. Downpours in November triggered the current epidemic.

With most public hospitals closed, ambulances in poor states of repair, and
even public transport beyond the means of many Zimbabweans, many of those
infected cannot get to a treatment centre. This means that not only do they
not receive medical care but their infection also goes unrecorded. It is
difficult - if not impossible - to estimate how many people have died
quietly at home during the current epidemic.

While visiting a cholera treatment centre with sick men, women and children
fighting for their lives on intravenous, drips it started to rain. Already,
new patients were arriving at a rate of one every two minutes but the nurse
assured me that things could get worse: "The rains are good news for farmers
but every time they start again we worry," she said.

There is nothing any of us can do about the weather, but it is important to
help Zimbabweans make the best of the weather they get.

That means providing farmers with fertiliser and seeds so that if the rains
come then crops are planted to take advantage of them. And it means
providing people with soap, water purification tablets and boreholes to
protect them from cholera.

These people need and deserve our help. As Mabuya Mawire, an elderly woman
who had received Oxfam food aid, told me: "We have no seeds. It is not that
we are lazy or can't cultivate our land. If I get seed, I will plant it
today. We have dug up some ground in case we get seed.

"In this village there are very few people who have planted anything because
there is no seed. I do not know what we will do. I hope Oxfam stays here for
a while."

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 18th, 2008 at 5:06 pm

Islanders race to aid desperate cholera victims in Zimbabwe

PUBLICATION:  Times Colonist (Victoria)
DATE:  2008.12.18
BYLINE:  Jack Knox

Funny how a little heat can thaw the frozen wheels of government.

Just over a week ago, Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca MP Keith Martin asked Ottawa to
ship desperately needed medical supplies to Zimbabwe. Millions of dollars
worth of cholera medicine had been donated, but there was no way to get it
to Africa.

Sorry, he was told, it's too late in the year to monkey with the Canadian
International Development Agency's budget.

Then came Carol Goar's column in Monday's Toronto Star, describing the way
the feds had shut the door in Martin's face. By that afternoon, Ottawa had
suddenly found an extra half-million bucks stuffed down the back of the
couch and announced funding that would allow World Vision to distribute
donated antibiotics valued at $4.7 million.

To be fair, says Martin, the minister's chief of staff had shown signs of
warming to the idea as early as Friday. In any case, to the MP the news
comes as an early Christmas present.

Africa is a passion for Martin. He has been there 26 times in the past 22
years, as both a doctor and a politician. In a past life, he worked as an
emergency physician in South Africa, treating casualties of the civil war
just across the border in Mozambique. Of late, he has been trying to have
Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe, "a venal, thuggish, despotic leader who is doing
everything in his power to stay in power," indicted for crimes against
humanity.

Martin has also been working closely with groups like Health Partners
International, the philanthropic arm of the pharmaceutical industry. Earlier
this year, he helped engineer a deal in which the Salvation Army-run Howard
Hospital in rural Zimbabwe got $3 million worth of medical supplies for just
$30,000. A shipment of cholera drugs -- antibiotics and rehydration fluids
for children -- is due to leave Toronto this week, Health Partners and World
Vision covering the costs. That's separate from the ciprofloxacin, donated
by Bayer, that will now be distributed by World Vision with the help of that
federal money.

It's a hastily organized response to the latest catastrophe to hit Zimbabwe,
a cholera epidemic that has killed 1,000 so far.

The disease actually isn't hard to treat, Martin says. "The key is just to
make sure the person is getting more fluid than they're losing, along with
electrolytes." But that's easier said than done in a country where basic
water and sanitation services have disintegrated, and where health workers
are overwhelmed. "The whole medical infrastructure has collapsed."

Zimbabwe is, in fact, a disaster. A power-sharing agreement between Mugabe
and his rivals has stalled, the political unrest reducing the economy to a
mess. Opposition members are murdered, people starve to death as the country
literally crumbles. A quarter of the population is HIV-positive. A decade
ago, the life expectancy was 60 years; today, it's the lowest in the world,
just 36 for men, 34 for women. Yesterday, a study ranked Zimbabwe the
fourth-most-volatile country on Earth.

The temptation on this side of the world, where far-off people can be
reduced to statistics, is to write off Zimbabwe as a terminal case, to shake
our heads and walk away.

That's not an option for Saanich physician Lorraine Irvine, who has spent
much of the past 13 years volunteering at Howard Hospital. To her, it's not
faceless numbers that are dying of disease and malnutrition; it's her
friends and neighbours.

And now she can count political violence among the killers. On a three-month
stint at the hospital this spring, the ward filled with people attacked by
Mugabe's thugs. "This last visit was the only time in my life that I saw
victims of torture." Fourteen men were admitted in May, badly beaten around
the buttocks and feet. Many were school teachers. One man died of his
injuries. Mugabe's supporters would gather outside the hospital, drinking,
drumming, singing all night, intimidating those inside. For the first time,
Irvine thought twice about her movements. "We certainly kept close to the
compound." So, yes, it's bad, really bad.

But that's not going to stop the woman the Zimbabwean kids call Ambuya -- 
grandmother -- from leaving her own grandchildren back in Victoria and
heading off to Howard Hospital again on Jan. 21. In an overwhelming human
disaster like Zimbabwe's, it might not be possible to save everyone, but
it's possible to save some. These are real humans, not statistics.

"They are," says Irvine, "the nicest people."

jknox@tc.canwest.com

Africa laughs at Mugabe's coup fears

From Associated Press, 17 December

Zimbabwe's neighbours do not believe allegations that opposition militants
are training in Botswana to try to overthrow Robert Mugabe, the leader of
the main regional bloc said Wednesday. South African President Kgalema
Motlanthe said the bloc, the Southern African Development Community, opened
an investigation into the allegations when Mugabe's regime first raised them
last month. But Motlanthe, the current SADC chairman, added: "We never
believed that." SADC also includes Botswana, which dismissed the allegations
last month and again when Zimbabwe officials raised them again this week.
The Zimbabwe opposition also has repeatedly dismissed the allegations,
calling them part of a plot to create a pretext for declaring a state of
emergency that would give Mugabe broad security powers.

Also this week, Zimbabwe state media reported the head of the country's air
force was wounded in what "appears to be a buildup of terror attacks
targeting high profile persons, government officials, government
establishments and public transportation systems." Mugabe, in power since
independence from Britain in 1980 and seen as increasingly autocratic, and
the opposition have been deadlocked over a power-sharing agreement since
September. The political impasse comes amid a mounting economic and
humanitarian crisis that has pushed thousands of Zimbabweans to the point of
starvation and left nearly 1 000 dead of cholera since August. Motlanthe,
speaking to reporters in the South African capital of Pretoria, would not
say why he thought Mugabe's regime was pressing allegations the opposition
was plotting violence, but noted there was "mistrust" among Zimbabwe's
politicians.

In another measure of that mistrust, Motlanthe said a SADC plan to send
Zimbabwe humanitarian aid hinged on the creation of a new, nonpartisan
agency being established to distribute food and medicine. Motlanthe said
Zimbabwe had a history of allegations of aid being hijacked by politicians
and not being distributed fairly. "It is important for the relief to reach
all people of Zimbabwe without being influenced by partisan interests,
political interests," Motlanthe said. SADC has proposed an umbrella aid
agency that would include all political parties, international aid agencies,
Zimbabwean farmers and others, Motlanthe said. Much of what Motlanthe said
on Wednesday could be read as criticism of Mugabe's leadership, but the
South African stopped short of explicit denunciations. South Africa has long
argued that confronting Mugabe could backfire.

Motlanthe said even though nations like Britain have called for Mugabe to
step down, South Africa would be guided by Zimbabweans. Zimbabwean political
leaders agreed in September that Mugabe would remain president and
opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai would be given the new post of prime
minister. "The issue of whether President Mugabe should go or not has never
been raised by the parties," Motlanthe said. "We feel that we should really
support and take our cue from what they want." Motlanthe called for the
unity government to be formed quickly, "because only then would we be able
to deal with the real problems facing Zimbabwe." He added he believed the
coalition could be formed as soon as this week, but sentiment in Zimbabwe is
much less optimistic. Africans have been under pressure to take a firmer
stand against Mugabe. Tanzania's President Jakaya Kikwete, who heads the
African Union, on Tuesday dismissed accusations that SADC and the AU were
doing too little to resolve Zimbabwe crisis. "We have managed to push Mugabe
and Tsvangirai to sign an agreement in September for power sharing. This is
good for Zimbabweans and Africa," Kikwete told reporters during a visit to
neighbouring Mozambique. He said Zimbabweans should work very hard to get
the agreement implemented quickly.

Tsvangirai should be home with the people

http://www.swradioafrica.com

TANONOKA JOSEPH WHANDE

I received a load of mail from my last week's commentary in which I argued
that Mr Tsvangirai, or MT, should be with the people at home.
Some called me names and even tried to tie me to the Gukurahundi atrocities
because, they said, I was a civil servant at the Zimbabwe Broadcasting
Corporation during part of that time.
Others said since I am in exile myself, I should not be telling MT to go
back to Zimbabwe.
However, many people shared my sentiments that Mr Tsvangirai should be home
with the people.
I beg that you allow me the chance to address that issue one more time in
respect to the mail that I have since received and also because it has
generated a lot of debate and there are a few clarifications that need to be
made.

First off, I still maintain that Mr. Tsvangirai should be home with the
people.

His subordinates are doing the day-to-day running of the party and are
identifying themselves with the people and with the serious problems they
are undergoing during their time of need.
This leaves the leader on the other side of the anthill where no one sees
him.

We should, therefore, not be surprised when, one of these days, party
workhorses like Thoko Khupe, Tendai Biti, Lovemore Moyo and others, who are
bearing the brunt and pains of the despair and misery of the people first
hand, not to mention Mugabe's warped behavior, will say 'enough is enough'
and simply sideline Tsvangirai and then we will have another split.
The point is that Tsvangirai chose to be leader on his own accord and
volition. And, as in every country on earth, there are certain
responsibilities and risks that come with being a leader and those cannot be
wished away.

Yes, I am now writing from and living in exile. I do not have a constituency
like MT does, so the fact that I am not in Zimbabwe is immaterial.
I am talking about a leader who, people are now saying to me, is absconding
from his role.

However, I also did mention that I personally don't think it wise for MT to
go home at this time, considering the vile Mugabe and his desperate band of
thieves and murderers.
If that be the case, I said MT should simply say so, so that the people know
and understand how the struggle will continue to be fought with him in
exile.
Before CDs, DVDs, the Internet and cellphones, the late Ayatollah Ruhollah
Khomeini toppled the Shah of Iran from a nondescript apartment in France.

The issue here is not to take people for granted.
MT and his party have a lot of support and it is very important for them not
to take that for granted.
Support, if not well cultivated, can evaporate.
With the security issue being paramount, the time might have come for MT to
make a decision whether to fight from within or from elsewhere.
What happens to the contestants in the long run is not my concern; they
chose the sport and they chose to compete.
I am only reflecting the kind of thinking that is clogging up my mailbox.

"If you can't help them yourself," one letter said to me, "stop playing
around with the people's emotions by saying that someone else (other than
you Whande) should be with them."
I am not playing with anyone's emotions but expressing mine. I am not anyone's
leader, and never want to be. I don't have to be with anyone but MT does.
Leaders should not take their followers half way and then leave them to fend
for themselves.
Imagine what would have happened between those two walls of water had Moses
abandoned those cowardly Israelites midway across the sea!
Zimbabweans have already shown to be braver, haven't they? They need
leadership.
If Moses had no faith in himself and in leading his people, he too would
have perished.

The MDC has a lot of support and it cannot be denied that Tsvangirai, as a
person, as an individual, created that bond between his party and the
electorate.
Mr. Tsvangirai must acknowledge his support base. He is him because of them.
The choice is simple: he should go home or establish himself somewhere and
get on with the task at hand.

Someone went to the extent of googling me on 'Who is Who In Africa' and
quoted parts of my 'profile'. No problem with that except that I do not see
the relevance.
I am in exile because my life was in danger and that was not because of my
allegiance to any political party but because of my journalistic work,
writings and broadcasts which were regarded as subversive by the Mugabe
government.
Yes, I did work for the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation as a reporter and
producer but I did not have "a very influential" position. It was not "a
very powerful position" like the writer says.
Even if it were powerful, powerful to do what?
Powerful enough to stop Mugabe from killing our citizens? What job was
powerful enough to stop Mugabe from doing what he did?
None, absolutely none, at that time, unless we are talking about the Perence
Shiris, Munangagwas, Chiwengas and a host of well-known perpetrators of the
genocide. They could have stopped the massacres, not any other civilian.

I hope the writer is not implying that everyone who worked for the
government or parastatal at that time is responsible for the government's
behavior.
At the ZBC, those who were trusted by ZANU-PF, especially those who were in
Maputo during the war, had their own programmes on both radio and television
in the News and Current Affairs Department.
As I said in interviews before, I am not a war veteran. My name, Takanonoka,
was given to me at birth in relation to the girls who came before me not
because of the struggle.

At the ZBC, I, and other people, was mysteriously moved "on a lateral
transfer" from News and Current Affairs to the Production department where I
was reduced to producing a music programme.
It was hard for me to believe that my studies in journalism and
telecommunications at university would make me the best candidate to make
musical videos and to produce and direct Mvengemvenge.
It was very demeaning to me indeed; it culminated in my being fired from the
ZBC in 1988.
So, the Gukurahundi issue does not feature in this case.

And while we are on the subject, let us respect the atrocity and not use it
for cheap literary triumphs. Let's not reduce this sad chapter in our
history to a level of using it in verbal wars that insult them.
Coming from the Midlands, I was only one of millions touched and directly
affected by the Gukurahundi and I believe they will be avenged even if all
of us drop dead today. Their time is coming.
But, I beg, let me respectfully leave this subject for now; it is a subject
that has to be treated with utter respect.

I am neither a political analyst nor a commentator. I react to things that
happen around me. My mailbox is full of comments about many issues that
affect us all so I play the devil's advocate once in a while but I am always
very close to my beliefs.
I do not prescribe any political solutions for our country; I am not that
clever. I only write to provoke debate.
Remember, when I write, I seek guidance, solutions and advice. And these
responses help me a lot.

Finally, someone wrote to me: "Neither Tsvangirai nor yourself are safe in
Zimbabwe, and we need both of you to live so you can continue to serve us in
the future."
I thank him very much for that sentiment.
I don't ever dream or aspire to serve in any manner close to Mr Tsvangirai's
courage but I can assure you that whatever little I can do for our people, I
will do. I will not put my pen down until Mugabe and ZANU-PF are down.
That I promise you, my compatriots.

The heart of the matter is that if Mr Tsvangirai can't be with the people at
home, he should establish himself somewhere and try to keep in constant
touch with the people and direct his party from wherever he chooses in an
effort to meet the challenges the people are facing.
That's what caring leaders do.
His long absences, justifiable as they may be, are not doing him any good at
home.
We can argue until the cows come home (or until they wander into someone
else's field) but a leader belongs with his people.
People without a leader can adapt and that is bad news for Tsvangirai
because someone else will emerge without even being prompted.
On the other hand, a leader without people is nothing.
People at home need leadership and leaving subordinates to run the show only
sows seeds of discontent among the leadership itself. Zimbabwe cannot afford
any more acrimony within the opposition ranks.
I am Tanonoka Joseph Whande and that, my compatriots, is the way it is
today, Thursday December 18, 2008.

Zimrights Concert Banned

http://www.radiovop.com


Harare - The Zimrights International Human Rights Day musical show
penciled for Magunje, Hurungwe was banned by police last week.

Police who had initially given Zimrights a clearance to go ahead with
the show cited cholera as the reason for banning the concert.
Okay Machisa, director of Zimrights said: "We had even brought food
for the locals who are starving in Mashonaland West. You could see that the
villagers were angry when police refused us to distribute the food we had."
He added that they had to abandon the show in Magunje and ended up
distributing the food in Mbare where there was another Zimrights function.
Artists who were billed to perform are Mambokadzi, Katarina Queens,
Leonard Zhakata and Sulumani Chimbetu.
In a related issue, One Love Arts Caravan festival, which billed to
take place in Masvingo last week has been postponed indefinitely as fears
over abductions rise in the civic society.

Ethel Mapiye, ADZT spokesperson said: "It was agreed that with the
ongoings of intimidation and abductions we would put in danger the lives of
officials and artists. We have therefore postponed the concert to next
year."
Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) advocacy officer Thabani
Moyo said as partners of ADZT we also saw it fit to postpone this concert in
light of the clampdown on human rights activists.
The festivals, which have already been held successfully in Mutare,
Hwange and Karoi, were formulated to promote peace and love within Zimbabwe
after the post 29 March political violence.
Coordinated by Artists for Democracy Trust Zimbabwe (ADZT) with
support from MISA, Savanna Trust and Radio Dialogue, One Love Arts Caravan
Festival has been active in advocating for a violence free society.