| The ZIMBABWE Situation | Our
thoughts and prayers are with Zimbabwe - may peace, truth and justice prevail. |
Abuja - Commonwealth policy towards Zimbabwe was in
disarray on Monday after
renegade President Robert Mugabe declared he was
pulling his country out of
the club of mostly former British colonies in
disgust at its continued
suspension.
Mugabe made the announcement
barely a few hours after the 54-nation
Commonwealth ended three days of
divisive squabbling and decided to keep
21-month-old sanctions on the
crisis-torn southern African state.
Commonwealth officials scrambled to
downplay the damage the move inflicts on
the organisation's credibility after
it finally managed to eke out a
compromise and agree Zimbabwe had not yet
done enough to warrant a return to
the international fold.
"This was
not wasted," the organisation's spokesperson Joel Kibazo said of
the three
days of talks that pitted members of the so-called "white
Commonwealth"
including Britain advocating a tough line on Zimbabwe -
against countries
such as South Africa which wanted it to be
reinstated
immediately.
"The aim was not to push Zimbabwe, the aim was
to say right, this is the way
forward for you to return into the family of
the Commonwealth."
Kibazo said he expected Commonwealth leaders would be
tackling the crisis on
the fourth and final day on Monday of their summit in
the Nigerian capital
Abuja.
"It's early days, so we'll have to see
what the next step is," he added.
Zimbabwe was suspended from the
Commonwealth in March last year after a
presidential election which saw the
79-year-old Mugabe voted back into
office amid widespread vote-rigging,
violence and political repression.
Zimbabwe would be only the second
country to withdraw from the Commonwealth
after Hendrik Verwoerd, the
architect of apartheid in South Africa, quit
because criticism of his
regime.
The Zimbabwe information ministry said Mugabe had announced his
decision to
the presidents of Nigeria, South Africa and Jamaica who had
telephoned him
to inform him of the decision.
"This is unacceptable.
This is it. It (Zimbabwe) quits and quits it will
be," Mugabe was quoted as
saying in a statement. His announcement is a sharp
blow to Nigerian President
and summit host Olusegun Obasanjo, the former
dictator turned elected leader
whose country was only allowed back into the
Commonwealth four years ago
after decades of military coups and brutal
dictatorships.
Obasanjo had
been tasked by the Commonwealth with assessing progress on
democracy and
human rights in Zimbabwe and was planning to visit the
southern African
nation soon, according to a Commonwealth statement.
Commonwealth leaders
had decided Zimbabwe would remain suspended for an
indefinite period, subject
to review by Obasanjo and a six-nation committee.
"We will watch the
situation in Zimbabwe very carefully. If things are
moving the way I think
they are moving I will be talking in terms of months
rather than years,"
Obasanjo had said.
The ministry said Mugabe had broke the news to the
presidents of Nigeria,
South Africa and Jamaica who telephoned him to tell
him of the
Commonwealth's decision but that they had failed to persuade him
to change
his mind.
Mugabe, once hailed as the liberator of his
country from British rule in
1980, is now accused of human rights abuses,
political repression and a
controversial land policy that has helped drive
his country to the brink of
ruin.
Furious at his exclusion from a
summit on African soil, Mugabe had launched
fiery tirades against white
member states, likening the Commonwealth to the
"Animal Farm" of the George
Orwell satire, with some members more equal than
others.
Sunday's move
has pushed Zimbabwe further into international isolation,
without a voice in
the Commonwealth - a body representing 1,7-billion
people - and threatened
with expulsion from the International Monetary Fund.
Mugabe is now in
charge of a country in the grip of its worst economic
crisis since
independence in 1980. It faces desperate food shortages caused
in part by
Mugabe's controversial programme to seize white-owned farms and
distribute
the land to blacks.
The arguments over Zimbabwe continued right through a
two-day closed door
retreat, delaying the departure of British Prime Minister
Tony Blair and
holding up a planned news conference by two
hours.
British officials said South African President Thabo Mbeki had
long insisted
that Zimbabwe should be readmitted
immediately.
Remaining Commonwealth leaders in Abuja had been set on
Monday to tackle
other issues on their agenda, including efforts to promote
democratic
ideals, forge a common position on global trade and
HIV/AIDS.
But it looks as if Mugabe has stolen the spotlight once again.
- Sapa-AFP
Zimbabwe Quits Commonwealth
Copyright © 2003, Dow Jones Newswires
ABUJA, Nigeria (AP)--A defiant Zimbabwe
withdrew from the Commonwealth
of Britain and its former colonies on Sunday,
hours after the 54-nation bloc
extended its 18-month suspension of the
southern African nation for alleged
widespread abuses of civil
liberties.
"It's quits, and quits it will be," President Robert
Mugabe's
government said in a statement from Zimbabwe.
In a
major defeat for Zimbabwe's leader, Commonwealth heads of state
had declared
earlier Sunday that Mugabe's outcast status would stand until
he made
demanded human rights and democratic reforms.
The Commonwealth
accord on Zimbabwe had averted a threatened public
rift between Western and
developing nations in the group, whose members
represent nearly one-third of
the nation's 6 billion people.
The ban also appeared to maintain
Zimbabwe's pariah status, although
Commonwealth leaders insisted they were
anxious to reengage the nation to
help bring about change.
In
the statement, Mugabe's government insisted it would accept nothing
short of
full reinstatement.
"Anything you agree on Zimbabwe which is short
of this position, no
matter how sweetly worded, means Zimbabwe is still a
subject of the
Commonwealth. This is unacceptable," Zimbabwe
said.
In Abuja, site of a four-day Commonwealth summit dominated
by
Zimbabwe, Commonwealth officials expressed dismay.
"It is not
something the Commonwealth wanted," bloc spokesman Joel
Kibazo told The
Associated Press early Monday, calling Zimbabwe's pullout
"disappointing
news."
Although the Commonwealth had extended Zimbabwe's
suspension, it
insisted it had also opened the way for its
return.
"This was supposed to be seen as a way forward, not a way
backward,"
Kibazo said, saying Commonwealth Secretary-general Don McKinnon
was
concerned that Zimbabwe "not ... isolate itself further" from
the
international community.
Zimbabwe's announcement made good
on Mugabe's repeated threat to yank
his increasingly troubled southern
African nation out of the Commonwealth
unless it lifted its ban.
Commonwealth chiefs insisted their move Sunday was the start of
reengaging
with Zimbabwe -as several of the bloc's African and developing
world leaders
had urged.
At the same time, British Prime Minister Tony Blair
called extension
of the suspension "a strong signal" to Mugabe.
Calling the Zimbabwe debate "a test of our commitment to democracy,"
Blair
said, referring to the suspension, "In the end, it was the
right
outcome."
Yet Canadian officials termed it a "compromise"
solution and Nigerian
President Olusegun Obasanjo, host of the Commonwealth
summit, said he hoped
the decision would get the process of "lifting of
Zimbabwe's suspension
started."
Under the Commonwealth's
agreement, Obasanjo had been charged with
monitoring Zimbabwe on behalf of
the bloc, reporting back to a six-nation
suspension-review panel if and when
he saw signs of improvement.
Nigeria's leader had said he planned
to visit Zimbabwe himself to meet
government and opposition officials to
determine whether real changes were
being made.
Obasanjo told
reporters Sunday afternoon he foresaw Zimbabwe's
relatively quick
reinstatement, saying, "If the things I've heard are
anything to go by, I
will be talking in terms of months than in terms of
years."
"The
key is reconciliation" in Zimbabwe, Obasanjo said. "If there is
sufficient
reconciliation then, oh yes, we are there."
He did not elaborate,
but Commonwealth leaders had demanded that
Mugabe -accused of silencing
Zimbabwe's opposition and media -reach out to
critics at home as a first
step.
Paul Nyathi, a Zimbabwean opposition parliament member, said
Sunday he
was "pleasantly surprised" at the Commonwealth holding the line
on
suspension.
"I am satisfied with the process. It strikes a
blow for democracy,"
Nyathi told The Associated Press.
Still, he
added, before changes occur Mugabe should commit to stepping
down, repealing
"repressive legislation" and instituting other reforms.
"As long as
he continues this kind of bluster and bravado, the
solution is not going to
come soon," the Zimbabwe opposition figure said.
Banned from the
bloc and its summit, Mugabe had accused Western
leaders of creating an
"unholy alliance" to oppose him.
He repeatedly threatened to yank
Zimbabwe out of the Commonwealth if
its summit ended Monday without his
nation's reinstatement.
His call had threatened to widen a rift in
the bloc over Zimbabwe's
suspension. Several southern African member nations
in particular had
campaigned for the suspension's lifting, saying dialogue
-not isolation -was
the way to bring change.
(END) Dow Jones
Newswires
December 07, 2003 20:18 ET (01:18 GMT)
africaonline
Zimbabwe: Street kids task force formed
Staff
Reporter
HARARE, 8 December 2003
A task force has been established to
assist the rapidly increasing number of
street children in Zimbabwe's
capital, Harare.
HARARE: Ron Pouwels, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) project
officer for child
protection, told IRIN on Friday that an assessment of
street children would
be conducted next week.
Among the organisations
involved in the task force are UNICEF, the Harare
city council, the
department of social services, Zimbabwe Republic Police,
and various
NGOs.
Pouwels explained that while task forces had already been set up in
other
parts of the country, such as Zimbabwe's second city, Bulawayo,
the
increasing number of street children in Harare necessitated a
more
coordinated intervention.
Previous attempts to set up the task
force had failed for one reason or
another, but the initiative was revived in
the latter half of the year by
the Zimbabwe National Council for the Welfare
of Children, with the
financial support of UNICEF.
Street kids crisis
fuelled by food shortages, poverty and HIV/AIDS
Zimbabwe's humanitarian
crisis - fuelled by a combination of food shortages,
rapid economic decline
and the impact of HIV/AIDS - had contributed to the
increase in street
children.
"We know that children are dropping out of school because of
the food
shortages, and it is definitely one reason why they end up on the
street;
another is the collapse of community structures and the orphan crisis
[as a
result of HIV/AIDS]. Communities are overstretched already because
of
poverty - with food insecurity and the impact of HIV/AIDS they are less
and
less able to cope with the increasing number of orphans, and Harare is
a
magnet for these children," Pouwels said.
He added that while
HIV/AIDS, food shortages and rising poverty had
contributed to the crisis,
"there is also an increase in child abuse, which
is also one of the reasons
why children choose to leave home. Their parents
are unable to cope, they
have high stress levels and take it out on
children, who then feel it's
enough and they leave," Pouwels explained.
The main aim of the task force
"is to bring together partners, so as to
better coordinate the work that they
are doing for street children", Pouwels
said. "We've seen the numbers [of
street children] increasing and, while
there have been responses, these have
not really been coordinated".
An assessment of street children in Harare
was crucial, as it would guide
the response to the crisis.
"There's a
lot of pressure from government in terms of rounding up these
children. Their
numbers are increasing and government wants to take action,
but our opinion
is that just to round [them] up will not solve the problem.
In two weeks'
time they will be back on the streets. [State] institutions
are full, and
just sending them home does not solve the problem," Pouwels
said.
The
assessment aims to identify where the children are coming from, why they
are
on the street and whether they are permanently on the street, or just
there
during the day and going home at night.
Pouwels explained that each group
of street children required different
interventions.
For those who are
permanently on the streets, or have been there for some
time, integrating
them back into their home communities may not be an
option, Pouwels said. It
was perhaps better to "teach them life skills and
vocational skills, so they
can survive on their own".
The assessment would allow the task force to
"immediately target" children
who had recently left home. "If the separation
with community or family is
recent, and the ties are still strong, it is
easier to try and get them back
to their family and community in general,"
Pouwels noted.
(IRIN)
The Mugabe problem
Leader
Monday December 8, 2003
The
Guardian
The case for lifting the suspension of Zimbabwe from the
Commonwealth was
not persuasive, and yesterday's decision to continue the ban
should be
supported. If President Robert Mugabe now carries through on his
threat to
quit the organisation, that will be deeply regrettable but
hardly
cataclysmic.
It seems certain that when he leaves office, as
eventually he must (and the
sooner the better), wiser heads in Zimbabwe will
want to rejoin - and will
be encouraged to do so. What would have been truly
disastrous, however,
would have been to allow the Zimbabwe issue to split the
Commonwealth along
artificial black-white, north-south lines. That was Mr
Mugabe's aim. That
outcome has been avoided, although at the cost of not a
few political
bruises.
Following last year's stolen presidential
election and the rigged
parliamentary polls of 2000, Mr Mugabe has done
nothing to earn a lifting of
the suspension - or of EU and US sanctions that
have targeted him and his
cronies. Unofficial contacts notwithstanding, he
has ignored calls by his
neighbours, including his main protector, South
Africa, for a national
dialogue. He has continued the persecution of his main
political rival,
Morgan Tsvangirai, and his Movement for Democratic
Change.
On the eve of the Abuja summit, Mr Mugabe rebuffed its host,
Nigeria's
President Olusegun Obasanjo, who went to Harare to mediate. He
preferred
instead to invoke the era of anti-colonialist, anti-racist struggle
to
defend, as Tony Blair says, the indefensible. The Commonwealth has
shown
that for the most part, Africans and imperialism's heirs have moved
on.
Sadly, Mr Mugabe has not.
It is true that many other members of
the 54-country group have a far from
perfect democratic record - and not just
the African members. The
continuation of Pakistan's suspension is justified
in this context, given
General Pervez Musharraf's retention of sweeping
powers. Zimbabwe's dismal
human rights record is also far from unique. As
Kate Allen, the director of
Amnesty International UK, argued in the Guardian
last week, a lot of other
Commonwealth countries could do a lot better in
this regard, too.
The media attention paid to the plight of white
Zimbabwean farmers, brutally
dispossessed of their land by the licensed
thuggery of Mr Mugabe's "war
veterans", has intensified the international
spotlight on Zimbabwe to an
unusual degree. Far more prosperous and fortunate
members such as Britain
and India have also infringed human rights of late,
in the name of
counter-terrorism.
It is certainly true, as the
non-governmental Commonwealth Human Rights
Initiative maintains, that the
organisation needs to work harder to
"mainstream human rights in all its
work". Yet it is also true that Mr
Mugabe's regime stands out over its
relentless, systematic undermining of
the independence of the judiciary and
other institutions, its gross economic
irresponsibility, and its attacks on
individual liberties and the free
press.
The regime tried to victimise
the Commonwealth this weekend - and failed.
But its chief victims remain
Zimbabwe's impoverished, oppressed and
neglected people. Their woes still go
unaddressed. If Mr Mugabe ignores
proffered incentives to reform and quits
the organisation, they will be more
alone than ever.
Despite his
physical absence, Mr Mugabe's extraordinary capacity for
division and
destruction found a wider field of action at this summit. The
Mugabe problem
diverted time and attention away from crucial issues for
Africa like poverty
reduction, fair trade and HIV-Aids. When they go home,
leaders like Mr Blair
can to some extent leave such problems behind.
Africans cannot. They live
them every day. To the extent that Abuja was a
missed opportunity, Mr Mugabe
and his apologists were to blame. All Africans
should draw the obvious
conclusion.
Humiliation led Mugabe to quit the club
Continued suspension from the
Commonwealth made Harare a pariah among its
neighbours
Ewen MacAskill,
diplomatic editor and Andrew Meldrum in Harare
Monday December 8, 2003
The
Guardian
Zimbabwe last night joined a long list of countries that have
moved in and
out of the Commonwealth over its 72-year history. Countries that
have had
sanctions imposed, withdrawn, been suspended, and, usually, invited
to
rejoin.
The biggest surprise, perhaps, is that anyone would care
whether they were
in the Commonwealth at all, given that the common
connection for almost all
is that they were once British
colonies.
Robert Mugabe will not mind about leaving on economic grounds,
even though
his country is suffering food and fuel shortages, a currency
crisis and
runaway annual inflation of above 500%. The Commonwealth's funds
are
extremely limited and its aid packages tend to be
modest.
Ultimately, he cared more about the humiliation of being
suspended from a
club with relatively few rules apart from its main watchword
- a respect for
democracy. It matters because most of his neighbouring
countries are
members, and his exclusion gives pariah status to
Zimbabwe.
It also matters on the domestic scene. In Harare, his leading
critics said
they were not surprised by his action. They said he was furious
about the
continued suspension and did not want to submit to any
Commonwealth
investigation or to pressure.
"A rogue state like
Zimbabwe needs to be isolated," said Iden Wetherell,
editor of the Zimbabwe
Independent. He said that even though Mr Mugabe had
quit the Commonwealth,
there was no doubt that he still wanted to be in the
club.
"Despite
all the rhetoric, few doubt that Mugabe wants to be readmitted. He
wants to
strut upon the world stage. The suspension has been a huge
humiliation for
him.
"The announcement that he is quitting is just a case of bad sour
grapes. The
Commonwealth continues, by dangling the carrot of good governance
before
him, to hold out a real prospect of securing his readmission, and it
should
hold firm."
Tony Blair gives the impression he regards the
Commonwealth as largely
irrelevant, and that he would rather have remained at
home. But other
members view it more positively. Mozambique paid the
organisation the
ultimate accolade of asking to join - and being admitted -
even though it
had been a Portuguese rather than a British colony.
The
advantage of the Commonwealth is that it provides a useful forum for
the
leaders of 54 countries - 53 as of last night - to meet informally for
talks
in a way that is not possible at the more structured UN general
assembly.
A Foreign Office spokesman said last night that Mr Mugabe had
threatened to
leave before. He said Zimbabwe could rejoin "when it returns to
the values
of democracy and tolerance on which the Commonwealth was
founded."
There have been endless rows since the organisation was formed
in 1931 -
with South Africa and its apartheid policies being the most
divisive. That
country rejected the criticism of fellow members and withdrew
in 1961, only
to return in 1994 after the end of apartheid.
Others too
have fallen foul, including the host of the summit, Nigeria. It
was suspended
in 1995 when its military government executed the writer Ken
Saro-Wiwa, and
was only readmitted four years ago after a return to
civilian
rule.
Fiji was suspended in 1987 and readmitted in 1997, only
to be suspended
again in 2000 after a short-lived military take-over.
Pakistan too was
suspended from membership of key Commonwealth committees
after its military
coup in 1999.
Zimbabwe was suspended at last year's
summit in Australia after Mr Mugabe
was accused of rigging his re-election
and intimidating political opponents.
The Nigerian leader, Olusegun
Obasanjo, made it clear Mr Mugabe would not be
welcome at this year's summit
in Abuja.
Members of the Zimbabwean opposition party, the Movement for
Democratic
Change (MDC) welcomed Zimbabwe's continued suspension.
MDC
spokesman Paul Themba Nyathi, in Abuja on the sidelines of the summit,
said
that Mr Mugabe's abrupt withdrawal should not change the Commonwealth
leader'
decision.
Aljazeera, Qatar
Mugabe: The controversial statesman
Monday 08 December
2003, 4:33 Makka Time, 1:33 GMT
President Robert Mugabe is a
veteran of the African political scene and one
of the most controversial
figures in world politics.
Born in 1924, Robert Gabriel Mugabe
was educated in missionary schools and
hold's seven degrees. He returned to
Rhodesia in 1960, joined Zimbabwe's
African People's Union (Zapu) but left
three years later to form the rival
Zimbabwe African National Union
(Zanu).
Mugabe became engrossed in Marxist ideology and philosophy
during the war
against the Rhodesian Front government of Ian Smith. He was
jailed without
trial for 10 years for his involvement in
politics.
After his release from prison Mugabe left Rhodesia for
neighboring
Mozambique in 1974 and led the largest guerrilla army fighting a
long and
bloody war against the Smith government.
Five years later
Mugabe returned home to Zimbabwe after months of
negotiations to seal a peace
deal in Rhodesia. Mugabe was welcomed back as a
hero and enjoyed the support
of large sections of the black population.
Coalition with
Nkomo
Mugabe went about working to build a coalition government with Zapu
Forces
leader Nkomo, who had also fought the Smith government. However
any
opportunity that both men may have had to build a political
relationship
came to a premature end when a large cache of arms were found by
police at
the Zapu owned houses of Nkomo. He was promptly dismissed from
the
government.
A newspaper office is attacked by
pro-Mugabe supporters in Harare
What followed was a brutal crackdown
on Zapu supporters, evoking comparisons
of Mugabe's political leadership to
that of white rule.
The collapse of the political alliance with Zapu
allowed Mugabe to dominate
the political scene and push on with his own
political ideas, isolating him
from large sections of the population and the
wider political scene.
Unpopular leader
In recent years Mugabe has
become a outspoken nationalist and had distanced
himself from the
international community, insisting that he alone has the
right to decide the
future of the country.
He has accused the countries 75,000 white
Zimbabweans of being responsible
for the unstable economy. The growing
discontent over the country's failing
economy with inflation and unemployment
soaring to record levels are
starting to threaten his authority.
In
the past Mugabe had always been able to put down political opponents
through
violence and intimidation. His Zanu-PF party still dominates what
is
virtually a one party state occupying 147 out of the country's
150
parliamentary seats.
Mugabe has only recently faced any serious
challenge to his presidency, in
the form of mass protests and significant
gains for the opposition Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC). The MDC has
refused to recognise Mugabe as head
of state.
His policies towards
homosexuals, harassment of white farmers and
journalists has created tension
and fear inside Zimbabwe and has won him
very few friends outside the
country.
Mugabe's long stated aim of handing over farm land from whites
to blacks
looks no nearer to being resolved. The issue, which was a major
cause of the
war for independence in the 1970s, and looks likely to continue
to dominate
Zimbabwean politics.
ninemsn
Disappointment over Zimbabwe pullout
AFP - The
Commonwealth said it was disappointed at Zimbabwe's announcement This is a transcript from The World Today. The program is
broadcast around Australia at 12:10pm on ABC Local Radio.
it was
pulling out of the group of mostly former British colonies and said
the body
wanted the southern African country to return.
"It is disappointing,"
Commonwealth spokesman Joel Kibazo told AFP. "What we
want is the return of
Zimbabwe into the Commonwealth."
"What we care about is the welfare of
the people of Zimbabwe and that is
what we will continue to do," Kibazo
added.
Zimbabwe's veteran president, Robert Mugabe, said he was making
good on a
threat to quit the 54-nation body, describing a decision by
Commonwealth
leaders to extend their suspension of his renegade state as
"unacceptable".
Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, once
hailed for leading a peaceful and
prosperous nation, is now the target of
sanctions for his autocratic style
and his violent crackdown on
dissent.
The 79-year-old leader swept to power in a 1980 election as the
liberator of
his country. In March 2002, he won a fifth six-year term of
office, after a
violent ballot that international observers said was tainted
by fraud.
In his election campaign, the former guerrilla leader has
returned to the
rhetoric of the 1970s liberation war, calling his bid for
re-election the
"third chimurenga" or uprising against white rule.
His
militant supporters reinforced the war mentality with a brutal campaign
of
repression targeting supporters of the opposition Movement for
Democratic
Change (MDC).
In recent years, Mugabe's political strategy
has focused on a program to
hand over 10 million hectares of white-owned
farmland to blacks - some to
poor farmers but others to businessmen,
politicians and others seeking to
own a commercial farm.
The land
reform scheme and his crackdowns on opposition members, judges
and
journalists have triggered an uproar and "smart sanctions" against
Mugabe
and his inner circle by the European Union and the United
States.
Mugabe has attacked his opponents as traitors, polarising opinion
among his
countrymen as never before.
The land reforms, which aim to
address colonial-era injustices, have been
marred by violent invasions of
white farms by pro-government militants,
openly supported by the
president.
In campaign speeches before the March 2002 election, Mugabe
said he had
ordered police not to interfere with the militants.
More
than 100 people have died in the violence since it began in early 2000,
at
least 42,000 have been displaced and thousands more have been tortured
or
intimidated, according to rights groups.
An intellectual who
initially embraced Marxism, Mugabe was praised when he
won the election which
ended white-minority rule in 1980, a few weeks after
Zimbabwe gained
independence from Britain.
Born on February 21, 1924, at Kutama Mission
north-west of the capital
Harare, he qualified as a teacher at the age of
17.
He took his first steps in politics when he enrolled at Fort Hare
University
in South Africa, where he met many of southern Africa's future
black
nationalist leaders.
He then resumed teaching, moving to
Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) and Ghana
before returning home to what was
then Southern Rhodesia in 1960.
As a member of various nationalist
parties which were banned by the
white-minority government, he was detained
with other nationalist leaders in
1964 and spent the next 10 years in prison
camps or jail.
He used those years to consolidate his position in the
Zimbabwe African
National Union and emerged from prison in November 1974 as
ZANU leader. He
then left for Mozambique, from where his banned party was
launching
guerrilla attacks on Rhodesia.
Economic sanctions and war
forced Rhodesian leader Ian Smith to negotiate.
Mugabe's renamed
ZANU-Patriotic Front, which drew most of its support from
the ethnic Shona
majority, swept to power in the 1980 election.
The former guerrilla
leader announced a policy of reconciliation with the
country's white
minority. But most left and now only about 40,000 whites -
less than one per
cent of the population - remain.
Mugabe crushed dissent among the
minority Ndebele people with his North
Korean-trained Fifth Brigade, which
massacred an estimated 20,000 suspected
"dissidents".
In his early
years, Mugabe was widely credited with improving health and
education for the
black majority. But social services later declined and the
AIDS epidemic
shattered gains in health care.
In 1990 he tried to establish a one-party
state along Chinese lines but was
opposed by a majority of his own party and
backed down.
In October 2001 Mugabe declared an end to market reforms and
a return to
socialism.
The price controls he imposed on basic goods
created shortages, while
inflation continued soaring to over 117 per cent and
80 per cent of the
population sank into poverty.
- AFP
Financial Times
Leaders reach deal on Zimbabwe suspension
By Jean Eaglesham, Michael Peel and David White in Abuja
Published:
December 8 2003 4:00 | Last Updated: December 8 2003 4:00
A
prolonged battle in the Commonwealth over Zimbabwe ended last night
with a
deal maintaining the country's suspension but putting its status
under
continuous review.
The hard-won compromise leaves open the
possibility of a return to the
Commonwealth as early as next
year.
Tony Blair, British prime minister, who argued strongly
against any
concessions towards Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe's president, was
"very
satisfied" with the outcome, a UK spokesman said.
In a
carefully calibrated statement, heads of government mandated
Nigeria's
President Olusegun Obasanjo, the Commonwealth's current chairman,
to hold
exploratory talks with Zimbabwean politicians and others, assisted
by Don
McKinnon, the organisation's secretary general.
Zimbabwe's eventual
re-admission would be subject to consultation with
a panel of six
Commonwealth leaders and with heads of government once Mr
Obasanjo decided
that sufficient progress had been made towards
reconciliation between
government and opposition.
A Commonwealth official said it was
important to make clear Zimbabwe
would be welcomed back when it addressed
concerns about democracy and human
rights. Zimbabwe was suspended from
Commonwealth ministers' meetings in
March last year after its government was
accused of electoral fraud and
intimidation.
In a comment
designed to placate countries sympathetic towards
Zimbabwe, notably South
Africa, Mr Obasanjo said there had some signs of
"movement" that had not been
made public, and expected to be "talking in
terms of months rather than in
terms of years". He accepted, however, that
in a compromise deal "you cannot
please everybody".
Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic
Change last night
welcomed the deal, saying it "struck a blow for
democracy".
Three days of wrangling over Zimbabwe virtually
monopolised attention
at the Commonwealth summit in Abuja, the Nigerian
capital. South Africa took
other members by surprise with a hardening of its
campaign to have Zimbabwe
re-admitted immediately. Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu-PF
party called for the
country to pull out completely from the Commonwealth
after Mr Mugabe accused
the organisation of interfering with the country's
sovereignty.
Mr Blair was forced to delay his return to London by
several hours to
ensure that Zimbabwe remained suspended from the 54-member
organisation.
He failed to settle the issue on Saturday in
bilateral talks with
Thabo Mbeki, the South African president. Mr Mbeki held
out in favour of
renewed engagement with Zimbabwe, pressing his case as a
member of the
six-nation group mandated to come up with a formula for dealing
with the
issue. The group, also including Australia, Canada, India, Jamaica
and
Mozambique, is to maintain a consultative role.
The
protracted argument dwarfed other high-profile issues on the
summit agenda
including world trade, terrorism and the HIV/Aids epidemic.
Vanguard, Nigeria
Zimbabwean opposition dismisses Mugabe's
threat
By Habib Yakoob
Monday, December
08, 2003
ABUJA— ZIMBABWEAN Opposition Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC)
yesterday dismissed as unrealistic threats by president Robert
Mugabe to
pull out of the Commonwealth, saying the country was not his
"private
property."
Spokesman for the party, Mr. Paul Thamba Nyathi
told journalists in
Abuja that Mugabe would have shot himself in the foot
should he decide to
quit the commonwealth.
"Zimbabwe is not his
(Mugabe) private property, and so he could have
been threatening to leave,
but even if he does we shall keep on the struggle
(to oust him).
He
accused President Mugabe of attempting to muzzle the opposition
and
committing human rights abuses, to perpetrate himself in power, calling
on
the Commonwealth to ensure a change in the country. Nyathi said the
problem
in Zimbabwe was not the issue of land reform as argued by Mugabe, but
the
issue "of a man interested in holding on to power," stressing how
local
militia was being used against the people.
"Mugabe’s is highly
a corrupt government and even most of the war
veterans have pulled out of his
government that is why he resorted to the
use of young militia who were
trained to kill and torture any opposition to
his bad leadership", he
stated.
Though the party’s spokesman would not call for sanctions
against the
government, as its effect would be born by the whole Zimbabweans
but
advocated for a subtle move to get Mugabe out of the way.
New Zimbabwe
UN resolution will sober up Mugabe
BY MDUDUZI
MATHUTHU
08/12/03
THE decision by President Robert Mugabe to drag Zimbabwe
out of the
Commonwealth is a perilous, self-serving adventure for which he
should be
held to account.
By dragging Zimbabwe out of the
Commonwealth, Mugabe knows his animalistic
tendencies of torture, murder and
running down the economy will go
unmonitored, now that his regime is – for
those who thought it couldn’t get
worse - officially a rogue
state.
Mugabe has tried many times over the past week to convince anyone
who cared
to listen that there was no point for the Commonwealth. But his
fervent
attempts to get an invitation betrayed him, and his bitterness in
rejection
exposes just how much he values the Commonwealth.
Even
Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo saw it: “Sometimes when you are
pushed
against the wall, you pretend something doesn’t matter, although deep
down
you know it does.”
What emerges from this sordid saga is the frightening
reality that Robert
Mugabe now thinks he can make ANY decision without
consulting the nation,
let alone consulting his cheering numbskulls that
gathered in Masvingo for
the party conference at the weekend.
In the
United Kingdom, Tony Blair is struggling to get enough support to
embrace the
European Constitution. Other European countries like Ireland and
Norway have
taken a vote whether or not to join the European Union.
But in Zimbabwe,
a murderous tyrant called Robert Mugabe - who licensed the
killing 20 000
minority Ndebeles in the south western Zimbabwean provinces
of Matabeleland
South and North - makes the decision to pull the country out
of the
Commonwealth over breakfast with his wife.
Zimbabweans in the United
Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand and other
Commonwealth countries will now find
it difficult to access lines of credit
from banks – a facility open to
citizens of Commonwealth countries. It would
be impossible for them to change
their drivers’ licence in other
Commonwealth countries, register as voters
and there would be a change of
immigration procedures – all because of an
arbitrary decision of a murderous
tyrant.
There can only be one
conclusion – Mugabe now thinks Zimbabwe is his
personal fiefdom. He thinks he
can do anything on behalf on the majority,
without consulting the people or
parliament.
Here is a ruthless dictator using the name of Zimbabwe to
fight his personal
battles, at whatever cost to the nation which has to bear
his excesses at
the end of the day.
Predictably, Mugabe will now vent
his anger on the opposition at home. He
warned at the weekend that he would
unleash “legal violence” – whatever that
means - on them, which probably
points to the extortion of over a billion
dollars from the opposition
Movement for Democratic Change through legal
costs for false
arrests.
It would seem to us that Mugabe has reached a point of no
return. Trying to
close the gap between him and democracy is sure to result
in spectacular
failure.
What is needed now is a United Nations
resolution.
Zimbabweans have endured enough of misrule and economic
mismanagement.
Inflation reaches 700 percent by the government’s own
admission next
January. Food shortages are the order of the day, political
violence is an
acceptable method of campaign and rigging elections passes for
good politics
in Zimbabwe.
In the past year, the government has
crafted two pieces of legislation which
perhaps summarise the true nature of
this evil regime. The Access to
Information and Protection of Privacy Act
(Aippa) with the Public Order and
Security Act (Posa) are two classic
examples of why the problem in Zimbabwe
is not that of racist intrusion by
Britain, Australia or New Zealand – but
that of good governance.
Posa
has the same outlook as Communist Russia’s legislation. The clause
which bans
public demonstrations, or which grants the police the express
right to
tear-gas or beat the hell out of any assembled group of six people
just shows
how Mugabe, for all the anti-European mantra, is a ruthless
dictator who
cries ‘racism’, while at the same time brutalising his own
people.
We
agree with Malawi President Bakili Muluzi when he said before
the
Commonwealth summit: “My brother, comrade Mugabe, and his Zanu-PF
must
realise the world is changing in the direction of democracy. Laws that
don't
benefit the people should be scrapped.”
The fact that the
committee which took the decision to extend Zimbabwe’s ban
from the
Commonwealth comprised mostly African countries shows that no-one
is buying
Mugabe’s racist rhetoric. Not anymore!
The decision to elect Don McKinnon
for another term as Commonwealth
secretary general by 40 to 11 votes is a
proxy vote by the Commonwealth
against Mugabe which shows the group is a
united force - a quality that the
Zimbabwean dictator sought to undermine
with little success.
Now is the time for fellow African leaders to tell
Mugabe that they will not
stand or support his tyranny. The world, as Muluzi
said, is moving towards a
democracy – as can be seen in the case of
Pakistan.
Progressive nations should now form a coalition of the willing
and carry the
same unity displayed at this summit to the United Nations. A
clear signal
should be sent to Mugabe in the form of a resolution that the
world has had
enough of his misrule.
As in the case of Iraq, if Mugabe
then decides to stick his head in the sand
like an ostrich, he should be
suspended, or other severe alternatives should
be pursued as long as they
will secure Zimbabwe and return it to the people.
CNN
ABUJA, Nigeria (Reuters) -- Following is a text of the statement
issued by
the Commonwealth on Sunday:
Commonwealth Heads of Government
discussed the situation in Zimbabwe. They
agreed to establish a committee
consisting of the Heads of Government of
Australia, Canada, India, Jamaica,
Mozambique and South Africa to examine
the way forward. It was agreed that
the Prime Minister of Jamaica would be
the chairman of the
committee.
In discussing the issue the committee was guided by the
following
considerations:
• The commitment of all Commonwealth
countries to adhere to the principles
embodied in the Harare Declaration and
the need to address the issues raised
in the Marlborough House statement of
19 March 2002
• The earnest desire to facilitate the early return of
Zimbabwe to the
Councils of the Commonwealth
• The determination to
promote national reconciliation in Zimbabwe
• Deep concern for the people
of Zimbabwe and the desire to assist towards a
return to normalcy and
economic prosperity.
The committee also welcomed the tireless efforts of
(Nigerian) President
(Olusegun) Obasanjo, (South African) President (Thabo)
Mbeki, (Mozambican)
President (Joaquim) Chissano and others to encourage and
assist the process
of national reconciliation and urged them not to
relent.
It reaffirmed the importance of supporting and consolidating
democracy,
ensuring peace and harmony, and promoting development and growth
in
Zimbabwe.
Heads of Government endorsed the committee's
recommendations and decided as
follows:
• Heads of Government affirmed
the Commonwealth's commitment to encourage
and assist the process of national
reconciliation
• Heads of Government mandated the Chairperson-in-Office
(Obasanjo),
assisted by the Commonwealth Secretary-General, to engage with
the parties
concerned to encourage and facilitate continued progress and the
return of
Zimbabwe to the Councils of the Commonwealth and, in this regard,
express
support for the intention of the Chairperson-in-Office to visit
Zimbabwe at
an early opportunity.
• At an appropriate time when the
Chairperson-in-Office believed sufficient
progress had been made, he would
consult the committee.
• Provided there were consensus in the committee
that sufficient progress
had been made on the issues of concern, the
Chairperson-in-Office would
consult with Commonwealth leaders on the return
of Zimbabwe to the Councils
of the Commonwealth.