The Zimbabwe Situation

Cricket team won't play in Zimbabwe

Paul Martin
THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Published February 12, 2003

     LONDON — England's national cricket team said yesterday that it will not appear in a major international match in Zimbabwe scheduled for tomorrow, ratcheting up tensions between the two governments.
     The players said they had defied the sport's international governing body by refusing to play because of a written death threat, even though the threat was dismissed by police in southern Africa as a hoax.
     The move, announced after weeks of agonizing by the English cricket authorities, was urged a month ago by members of Prime Minister Tony Blair's government who wanted to inflict a major snub to Zimbabwe's leader, Robert Mugabe.
     Britain has accused him of instigating sustained violence against white farmers, many of whom are descendants of British colonialists, abusing human rights and fraudulently winning a national election.
     The decision has thrown the first week of the world's premier cricket competition into further disarray after the New Zealand team refused to play a match in East Africa because of previous terrorism in Kenya.
     A hotel in Kenya was attacked last year by al Qaeda, which also blew up U.S. embassies in Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam in 1997. One match was played in Zimbabwe this week, pitting the home team against neighboring Namibia, and five more are scheduled.
     Two senior Zimbabwean players wore black armbands during that match in an unprecedented protest, saying later that the armbands symbolized the "death of human rights and democracy" in their country.
     The death threat to the English team, now cloistered in a hotel in Cape Town, came from an unknown group calling itself the Sons and Daughters of Zimbabwe. A South African police chief described it as "rubbish of the sort we receive 20 a day."
     The decision could cost English cricket authorities as much as $15 million in fines by the International Cricket Council and compensatory payments, primarily to television sponsors.
     The British government had opposed English participation in the match, which would have been seen by as many as 1 billion television viewers, for fear it would seem to endorse the rule of Mr. Mugabe.
     The World Cup, held once every four years, is extremely popular in many former British territories, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and the Caribbean states.

REPORT FROM CHIEF INSPECTOR MERYL HARRISON - ZNSPCA

It is not often that I have time to put pen to paper - but tonight I feel compelled to do so.

A farm rescue necessitated ZNSPCA being in the Karoi area today.

Whilst in Mashonaland West I decided to check on the welfare of some of the Tredar Security dogs that escaped being euthanaised for one reason or another. Most of them have been re-deployed on farms, but a fair number just got 'lost in the system'. They were never uplifted by ZNSPCA because no one thought to let us know they were still on the respective farms, and as Tredar's records were destroyed by their guards during the strike - there were no records of where the dogs were deployed.

At the height of ZNSPCA's very sad task of euthanaising the hundreds of Tredar dogs - Marcelle Meredith, Executive Director of NSPCA in South Africa, phoned to give me moral support, and during the course of conversation, she said the dogs that we were euthanaising were the 'lucky ones'. Of course I knew that this was true but the situation was not helped by some of the hate mail (anonymous of course) that I received, and one local newspaper referring to me "as that murderess at the SPCA".

For those that ever doubted whether ZNSPCA acted in the correct manner, let me tell you what Trainee Inspector Jimmy Zuze and I found yesterday:

Farm No. 1: A very gentle Bouvier X dog called 'Boots' whom the farmer had insisted he wanted to keep - no longer there - he had been beaten to death by thieves who stole 126 irrigation pipes.

Farm No. 2: A lovely Ridgeback dog called 'Zimbabwe'. The kennel had no floor and as a result he was lying on the hot sand, water dish virtually empty (the nearest water point is apparently "too far"), filthy food dish - plastic split down the side - kennel totally isolated, but then his job is purely to guard the farm implements.

Farm No. 3: A Rottweiller dog found to be in reasonable condition but also lying on the hot sand, filthy grooming brush, but at least he had two new dishes for food and water.

Farm No. 4: A brindle X breed - the new Fawcett guard now working with the dog did not know its name, said that nobody had ever told him. Cement floor with grass 'walls', very low roof, appeared as if dog was housed in a cave, never received any sunlight. Kennel surrounds filthy, with broken light bulbs, pieces of plastic, material, etc. A few dried twigs tied together (very worn) served as the brush to clean out the kennel.

Two old, rusty enamel dishes were inside his kennel, but not a drop of water - both dishes had enough holes in them to serve as colanders. On questioning, guard said that he had told the employer that the dog's dishes leaked.

Farm No. 5: We were shown to a kennel situated near the barns - noticed that dish of food had not been touched and water bowl only had a small amount of water, inside of dish covered in green slime (algae). Black and Tan Rottweiler X made no attempt to move as we approached the kennel - patches of foamy vomit were visible on the kennel floor. On lifting him out, he immediately collapsed on the ground. His breathing was laboured and his eyes were jaundiced. We guessed he was suffering from advanced biliary. Fawcett guard informed us that he knew the dog was very sick and once again had no idea what the dog's name was. He told the commercial farmer on two occasions that the dog was very sick but nothing had been done for the dog.

On questioning the farmer he admitted that he had been informed about the dog, admitted that he did not take the trouble to go and look at it, admitted that he would recognise the symptoms of biliary and admitted that if it had been one of his own two house dogs he would have done something to help the dog.

I instructed him to immediately take the dog through to a veterinarian in Harare, and informed him that if the dog died, he would be charged under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. Farmer admitted he had been wrong and would take whatever punishment was due.

Later on that afternoon, Jimmy and I called in at the vets - the dog had died an hour after admission. This beautiful ex-Tredar dog, abandoned by humans when he needed them most. Now just one more statistic in the tragedy surrounding the collapse of Tredar Association.

If ever I needed convincing - I know now, that the dogs which we euthanaised were indeed the lucky ones.

Meryl Harrison

Chief Inspector & National Co-ordinator

ZNSPCA

GOROMONZI