Land Reform: 'No Shared Vision Between
Govt And Farmers'
South African Press Association
(Johannesburg)
February 20, 2003
Posted to the web February 20,
2003
Bloemfontein
The statements of South African ministers about
Zimbabwe showed clearly that
there was no shared vision yet between South
African farmers and government
regarding land reform, Free State Agriculture
(FSA) president Louw Steytler
said in Bloemfontein on
Thursday.
According to Steytler this placed in serious jeopardy the
future of the
Strategic Plan for South African Agriculture, that was jointly
developed and
adopted by government and organised agriculture.
"The
whole strategic plan is based on the principle of a free land market
with
willing buyers and willing sellers. Ministerial statements that all
is
basically well in Zimbabwe is opposed in letter and deed to the whole of
the
strategic plan. It seems we have failed to develop a shared vision
regarding
land reform," Steytler told the annual Free State Congress of the
National
Wool Growers' Association (NWGA).
According to Steytler the
Zimbabwean minister of agriculture, Joseph Made,
mentioned several times on a
recent fact-finding visit of Minister of
Agriculture Thoko Didiza to that
country, that the ruling Zanu-PF party
would not have been able to push
through their land reform programme if it
was not for the support of the
South African government.
Delegations of Agri SA and the National African
Farmers' Union (Nafu)
accompanied Didiza on her mission to
Zimbabwe.
Steytler said Made told Didiza that his government highly
appreciated South
African President Thabo Mbeki's insistence to protect
Zimbabwe's
sovereignty, which enabled them to implement their land reform
programme.
"It is a sad tragedy that our ministers talk well of what
happened in
Zimbabwe while we thought that we had a shared vision for South
African land
reform.
"They use the words progressive and innovative
when describing the
Zimbabwean land reform programme. This is a contradiction
in terms while the
rest of the world looks at it in utter dismay," Steytler
said.
He also said Agri SA could not budge from its premise that land
reform must
be based on the principle of willing buyer and willing
seller.
"This should not be interpreted as intransigence or an
unwillingness to
depart from the past.
"The opposite is true: We want
to be part of the solution. We are not part
of the problem," Steytler
said.
He called on farmers to be consistently and actively involved in
land reform
in South Africa.
"We have no other alternative. It is like
playing a game: If you take your
eye off the ball for one moment it will hit
you," Steytler said.
Didiza's spokesman, Zola Pinda, said in reaction
that his minister indeed
found parts of what happened in Zimbabwe progressive
and innovative,
compared to the situation a few months ago.
Pinda also
said the aim of the minister's fact-finding mission to Zimbabwe
was that the
two countries should learn from each other regarding land
reform. Zimbabwe
had the advantages of an orderly land reform process to
learn from South
Africa. South Africa also had lessons to learn from
Zimbabwe, which was a
much older democracy.
Pinda could not confirm whether Made specifically
conveyed the view that his
government would not have been able to push
through its land reform program
without President Mbeki's
support.
However, the South African government indeed had a consistent
policy of
respecting all other countries' sovereignty, Pinda
said./wj
Cricinfo
Press
climbdown by Zimbabwe
Mihir Bose - 21 February 2003
The
Zimbabwean authorities have backed off from plans to "sniff out"
English
cricket journalists and expel them from the country in retaliation
for
England refusing to play their match in Harare.
Following a
meeting with Brendan McClements, head of corporate affairs of
the
International Cricket Council, and senior Zimbabwean officials in
Harare
yesterday, Zimbabwe will honour their commitments to allow
journalists
accredited to World Cup matches into the country.
The
officials were unable to provide any explanations as to why on Tuesday
Simon
Briggs, the Telegraph reporter due to cover Zimbabwe v India, was not
allowed
to enter the country despite having correct papers. This is now
being
presented as a bureaucratic mistake rather than an attempt to throw
out
British journalists.
Last November the Zimbabwean Minister for Sport,
Culture and Education had
signed an agreement with the ICC promising to allow
properly accredited
journalists into the country. After more talks the
journalist visa fee of
£380 was also waived.
The deportation of Briggs
came as an acute embarrassment to the ICC and led
to talks between the
Zimbabwean authorities, the ICC and Ali Bacher, the
World Cup's executive
director.
Early yesterday Bacher was confident the Zimbabwean authorities
would sort
it out and even offered to fly Briggs back to Zimbabwe at the
organisers'
expense. Briggs does not intend to take up the offer as other
Telegraph
writers are assigned to cover Zimbabwe's remaining
matches.
The ICC executive board have rejected New Zealand's attempt to
move their
match from Kenya on security grounds and four points have been
awarded to
Kenya.
© The Electronic Telegraph
chronwatch.com
"France Angers Its Own
Citizens"
Posted by Kevin Willmann
Friday, February 21,
2003
The French government officials must be
in the business of angering
people. Not only have they angered the
United States and her allies with
their stance on Iraq, but they've managed
to anger many in their own
country. Reason? France has invited
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe for a
summit
meeting.
Angela Doland writes the following for
News.com.au on the
French
protests.
HUMAN rights
protests against Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe have
overshadowed the
start of a Franco-African summit, with demonstrators
chanting, ''Mugabe,
murderer!'' and seeking his arrest.
In one protest, a dozen gay rights activists from the group ACT UP
blasted
horns and pelted red paint at Zimbabwe's Paris
Embassy.
After a scuffle, police
carried away one protester.
Outside the leader's hotel in a quiet
boutique district, other
demonstrators shouted: "Arrest
Mugabe!"
The protesters were angry
that France had invited the African leader
despite a European Union ban on
his travel.
The Star
(SA)
No French kiss for 'monster'
Mugabe
February 21,
2003
By Alex Duval
Smith
Paris - In the land of la bise
(French slang for "kiss") a handshake
says it
all.
In a faraway land of food shortages,
a lavish meal for African heads
of state also speaks
volumes.
It must have been an uncertain
mood that dominated Grace and Robert
Mugabe's breakfast yesterday at the
five-star Plaza Athénée Hotel, paid for
by the French
government.
Would the Zimbabwean leader have a
protest-free day?
Would Grace, if that is
what she planned, manage to get to Galeries
Lafayette, where the spring
collections are just in?
The Elysée Palace was
on the defensive. In response to the assertion
by the British tabloid The Sun
that "the worm (French President Jacques
Chirac) meets the monster (Mugabe)",
spokesperson Catherine Colonna snapped:
"Insults often tell you much more
about those who proffer them than about
those the insults are intended to
describe."
But "the worm" does appear to
have been sensitive to British dismay at
Mugabe's trip to Paris. The trip was
agreed by Britain only to secure a
French vote in favour of renewed travel
sanctions against 71 members of the
Zimbabwean
leadership.
Colonna said Chirac would meet
Mugabe to express his "preoccupation"
over the situation in
Zimbabwe.
At the Palais des Congres, where
the 22nd Franco-African summit was
taking place, the red carpet was rolled
out with Chirac standing at the end
of
it.
Mugabe's arrival was sandwiched
between that of two other presidents -
Sam Nujoma of Namibia, one of his best
friends, and Benjamin Mkapa of
Tanzania, who was relatively democratically
elected.
Nujoma got three bises and Mkapa
got two, plus a joke from the
French
president.
Mugabe's "grubby
handshake" - as it has been described in Britain -
was in fact a chilly
greeting, given Chirac's affability with other
leaders.
Chirac, who had wrapped his left
hand warmly around his palm-to-palm
with Nujoma, kept it firmly behind his
back when it was Mugabe's turn.
"We'll
talk later," seemed to be the French president's only words to
"the
monster".
Two, three, or four bises and
even hugs were reserved for some men who
could be said to be in the monster
league.
Togo's dictator, Gnassingbe Eyadema
(three bises and a short chat) has
been in power for 38 years and has just
changed the constitution in order to
stay in power. Omar Bongo of Gabon, with
more than three decades of ruthless
power behind him, received three bises
and a joke.
Mugabe's trip sparked
protests, including one organised by British
rights activist Peter Tatchell,
who has asked the French courts to issue a
warrant for Mugabe's arrest for
human rights abuses. Tatchell was briefly
detained
yesterday.
nChirac yesterday gave a
message of hope to African heads of state and
government: The poorest
continent has the power to break out of its cycle of
poverty, reports
Sapa-AFP.
He said France wished to "renew
its commitment to stand alongside the
peoples of Africa" within the framework
of the New Partnership for
Africa's
Development.
"The world has
welcomed the commitment of Africa's leaders in favour
of the principles that
underpin the peace and prosperity of peoples
everywhere, namely democracy,
good governance, an open economy and respect
for sovereignty." - Independent
Foreign Service
Daily star
news
ICC Cricket World Cup South Africa
2003
Mixed bag on 'bad
boys'
Zimbabwe players Andy Flower and Henry Olonga may have earned
international
acclaim for their bold black armband protest against the
murder of democracy
in their country. They however have sparked off an
interesting reaction like
the piece written by Billet Magara in Zimbabwe's
Business
Tribune.
The writer said: "The gullibility of
some of our countrymen and women
has reached alarming levels. They lie
prostrate for anyone who wishes to use
them to score political points against
President Robert Mugabe and his
government so long as the money or incentive
is right."
He accused them of selling
their consciences in exchange for promises
for places in and contracts with
English cricket clubs.
Kumar Marijeni,
Sports Editor of the same publication, however says
that while he agrees with
the sentiments of the two players he did not like
the way the duo used the
occasion to make their point.
Meanwhile,
in an interesting development, the Executive Mayor of
Harare, Elias Mudzuri,
has rejected the invitation of the Zimbabwean Cricket
Union to watch the
World Cup matches in his city because the invitation
letter treated him "like
a criminal."
The mayor turned down the
invitation because the letter to him had the
following paragraph: "Just
inside Gate 1 will be a checkpoint where you must
expect to be checked and
searched for the following: alcohol, chairs,
umbrellas, anything that can be
classed as a weapon, anything that is going
to make a noise, such as a
firecracker."
Obviously, the high official
thought that the letter was degrading as
it insinuated that he was
irresponsible. He also declined the invitation to
go and meet the visiting
teams at the airport as a
result.
Financial Times
Zimbabwe
elite 'took farms from peasants'
By
William Wallis and Antony Goldman in London
Published: February 21 2003 4:00 | Last Updated: February 21 2003
4:00
A member of President Robert Mugabe's
family, several high-ranking
Zimbabwean officials and a senior company
executive have grabbed farms and
forcibly evicted peasants under a
controversial land reform programme,
according to a report ordered by the
Zimbabwean president.
The "land reform
and resettlement programme national audit interim
report", completed this
month, was obtained by Africa Confidential, the
London-based
news-letter.
The study, prepared by the
office of Joseph Msika, the vice-president,
names a close relative of Mr
Mugabe's, two cabinet ministers and a leading
businessman - all close
associates of Mr Mugabe - as breaking the "one man,
one farm" principle on
which land reform has been based. This principle
prohibits any individual
from owning more than one farm.
The report
also says a senior military officer was allocated a farm
"at the expense of
96 families" who had settled on the land. Another
minister had allegedly
hired thugs to drive off youths given a farm as part
of an agricultural
training programme, it says.
"It is
disturbing to note that violence is the order of the day on
this farm with
'hired thugs' allegedly driven in from Bulawayo by the
Honourable Minister,"
the report notes.
The report adds that the
list of "anomalies" is far from exhaustive,
"as the people interviewed were
scared to reveal any information lest they
might be victimised". It says
farms are also much bigger than stipulated
under the policy - designed to
break up white-owned commercial farms into
smaller
holdings.
Some of those accused of
irregularities told Africa Confidential the
allegations were false and
politically motivated by rivals within the ruling
party. Attempts by the
Financial Times to contact those named
were
unsuccessful.
The report
concludes: "It is very important to take urgent corrective
measures as the
general public is restive where such cases
exist."
It says land disputes have
disrupted agriculture in parts of
Mashonaland, "traditionally a highly
productive area which normally
contributes to food security". Millions of
Zimbabweans face food shortages.
Evidence
that so many senior members of the ruling Zimbabwe African
Nation Union have
been involved in the corrupt allocation of land will prove
an embarrassment
to Mr Mugabe, who is attending the Franco-African summit
in
Paris.
Financial
Times
Mugabe to be told of
Europe's concerns on human rights
By
Robert Graham in Paris
Published: February 21
2003 4:00 | Last Updated: February 21 2003
4:00
Jacques Chirac, the French president,
yesterday pledged to raise his
concern over the deteriorating political
situation in Zimbabwe with Robert
Mugabe, the country's controversial ruler,
during a special meeting in the
margins of the two-day Franco-African summit
in Paris.
Mr Chirac has been under
international pressure to issue a stern
warning to Mr Mugabe over his
autocratic rule and abuse of human rights in
dealing with the opposition in
Zimbabwe ever since he extended an invitation
to Mr Mugabe to attend the 22nd
Franco-African summit.
A presidential
spokesperson said the two men would meet either late
last night or more
likely today. She added Mr Chirac would use the
opportunity with Mr Mugabe to
"make him aware of the concerns in Europe and
the world of the consequences
of what is happening in his country".
But
it was unclear from this bland statement as to the extent to which
the French
president was either able or willing to put pressure on Mr
Mugabe. Having
decided to invite him, against the express opposition of
several EU
countries, notably Britain, France has pursued the line that it
is best for
Zimbabwe's problems to be settled among fellow African
leaders.
Britain again made plain its
fundamental disagreement with France over
Mr Chirac's decision to invite Mr
Mugabe. "We do not think that talking to
Robert Mugabe right now or
entertaining him in the way he is likely to be
entertained in Paris is going
to deliver," a UK government spokesman
said.
Some 15 African heads of state and
government had threatened to
boycott the summit if the invitation to Mr
Mugabe were withdrawn. This
threat was instrumental in France deciding to let
him come to Paris despite
protests from Britain and rights groups, as well as
the Zimbabwean
opposition.
A small
contingent of the Zimbabwean opposition picketed his hotel
yesterday,
although a heavy police presence ensured anti-Mugabe
demonstrations were
limited. Several French newspapers questioned in
editorials the wisdom of the
Mugabe invitation, warning it sent ambiguous
signals to Africa over France's
commitment to supporting democratic
regimes.
French leftwing politicians said
Mr President Chirac's approach
overturned the previous government's efforts
to keep undemocratic regimes in
Africa at arms length. They also questioned
whether Mr Chirac's avowed aim
of relying on peer pressure among African
leaders to prompt democratic
change and ease corruption was an effective
policy.
But French officials insisted
Paris was not undermining EU sanctions
towards Zimbabwe by obtaining a
temporary waiver on the European travel ban
on the Mugabe
entourage.
Daily
News
Police sell bags of seized
cement among themselves
2/21/2003
12:54:37 AM (GMT +2)
From Sydney Saize
in Mutare
THE police in Mutare on Tuesday
seized 200 bags of cement, valued at
$120 000, from a businessman and
immediately sold them among members of
the
force.
The police said they seized
the cement because the businessman, Justin
Mutudza, was overcharging -
selling it for $3 500 for a 50-kilogramme bag,
far above the
government-controlled price of $600 a bag.
Mutudza yesterday confirmed the seizure, saying the police raid was
led by a
Chief Inspector Mtombeni of Mutare Central Police
Station.
Mutudza confirmed that he was
selling the cement at $3 500 a bag and
said the police reduced the price to
$600 a bag when they were selling it
among themselves and a few members of
the public.
When a news team from The
Daily News visited Mutudza's premises, at
least 20 policemen and women were
jostling to buy the cement.
Two police
vehicles, a Landrover Defender (registration number ZRP
250D) and Peugeot 405
(registration number ZRP 143Q), were parked outside
the premises in the
city's central business district, both loaded with
cement
bags.
Part of the cement consignment in
the Defender vehicle was later
transferred to a Nissan Hardbody twin-cab
vehicle (Registration number
739-110E). The owner of the vehicle could not
immediately be identified.
Other police
officers were observed hiring private vehicles and
cart-owners to transport
the cement bags.
One officer, who
identified himself as Inspector Mujuru, supervised
the cement sales, handling
cash payments.
Yesterday, Mutudza said:
"There was nothing in writing from the police
to show that I had committed an
offence. There was also no written
communication when they seized the cement
for over-pricing."
He said he would pursue
the matter through legal channels.
But Mujuru
dismissed the allegations, saying the businessman was
attempting to build a
negative case against members of the police
force.
He said: "Mutudza is trying to
misrepresent facts on the ground. He
has no grounds for his
case."
Mujuru referred further questions
to Edmund Maingire, the Manicaland
police
spokesperson.
Maingire was unavailable for
comment.
Daily
News
Mugabe lacks moral authority
to rule country, say EU MP
2/21/2003 12:55:16 AM (GMT +2)
From
Sandra Nyaira in London
PRESIDENT Mugabe's
government lacks the moral authority to govern
Zimbabwe, European Union (EU)
Member of Parliament, Glennys Kinnock, said
this
week.
She said the international community
should not be deflected by the
Iraq crisis but should continue to exert
pressure until democracy and the
rule of law returned to
Zimbabwe.
Kinnock said Mugabe should pave
the way for a fresh election that
would be closely monitored by the
international community in order to avoid
violence and massive
intimidation.
She made the remarks at a
Press conference at the House of Commons on
Monday where she launched her
report, Zimbabwe on the Brink.
Mugabe, the
Labour MP said, should never be allowed to divide the
international
community, especially the EU or the Commonwealth when there
was ample
evidence of his iron-fisted rule in the country as evidenced
recently by the
torture of MPs, human rights activists and ordinary
people.
Kinnock said the international
community must do more than just
enforce the travel ban on Mugabe and his
lieutenants and go further to
rescind the citizenships of all Zimbabweans
living in Europe who have links
with the rogue
government.
She said more African
governments should understand that a "quick fix"
to the Zimbabwean crisis and
the "quiet diplomacy and softly-softly
approach" will not
work.
They should instead rise and stop Mugabe
from further damaging the
continent's
reputation.
"Efforts are, however, under
way to get a clear voice from the African
leaders because their reputation
has been damaged," said Kinnock.
"Solidarity with Mugabe will move to being solidarity against their
own
interest so they must join the international community in
condemning
him."
Daily
News
Sikhala says Obasanjo
misinformed Howard
2/21/2003
12:57:51 AM (GMT +2)
By Brian
Mangwende Chief Reporter
JOB Sikhala, the
MP for St Mary's has dismissed as untrue a report by
Nigerian President
Olusegun Obasanjo, to John Howard, the Australian Prime
Minister, that
Zimbabwe had made progress in addressing issues that led to
its suspension
from the Commonwealth.
Obasanjo, Howard
and the South African President Thabo Mbeki, form the
Commonwealth Troika on
Zimbabwe.
In his letter to Obasanjo dated
12 February 2003, Sikhala cited
continuous gross human rights abuses
including torture, rape, murder and
unwarranted arrests allegedly at the
instigation of the government.
"Your
Excellency, I am still in disbelief after reading your letter to
the
Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, in several subjects you
enunciated
especially about my torture," Sikhala
wrote.
"Several people have been murdered,
thousands have been raped,
hundreds maimed and an unaccountable number
tortured under the Robert Mugabe
regime for the period spanning two
years."
He said: "Since my election into
office, Your Excellency, I was
arrested more than 17 times on baseless,
spurious and trumped up charges
which the courts of this country have thrown
away.
"My latest arrest under the current
regime reminds me of several
Nigerians of astute standing who fought for
democracy and human rights
during the (now late) Sani Abacha
regime."
Despite continued cases of human
rights abuses, including the arrests
of journalists from the independent
Press and opposition MPs, Obasanjo wrote
a letter to Howard saying he and
Mbeki, were against extending Zimbabwe's
suspension from the
Commonwealth.
Daily
News
Misa slams Sadc for harsh
Press laws
2/21/2003 12:58:27 AM
(GMT +2)
Staff
Reporter
THE regional governing council of
the Media Institute of Southern
Africa (MISA) has expressed concern on the
continuous muzzling of the Press
in Zimbabwe and other southern African
countries.
In a statement released on
Tuesday, MISA said the fluctuating state of
the media in Malawi, Zimbabwe and
Zambia was of concern to them.
The
statement was made after the organisation held a meeting in
Johannesburg,
South Africa, last week.
"MISA is
concerned with the continued harassment and physical attacks
on journalists
in Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe." The statement read in part:
"The prevailing
environment in Zimbabwe is one that does not allow room for
independent
voices to express themselves freely even though the Zimbabwean
constitution
guarantees freedom of expression."
Recently, The Daily News vendors in Harare, Gweru and Masvingo were
attacked
by Zanu PF youths and members of the National Youth Training
Service,
derisively known as "The Border Gezi" youths for allegedly selling
a paper
that denigrates their party leaders.
Independent papers have been banned in Mashonaland Central
province,
particularly The Daily News.
The government has enacted repressive legislation to stifle the
operations of
the independent media.
The Independent
Journalists' Association of Zimbabwe is challenging in
the Supreme Court, the
constitutionality of the requirement by the Media and
Information Commission
to register journalists as enshrined in the Access to
Information and
Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA).
AIPPA
was crafted by Jonathan Moyo, the Minister of State for
Information and
Publicity in the President's Office.
MISA
said: "We urge governments of the Southern African Development
Community
(Sadc) to uphold the principles of media
freedom."
However, MISA commended the
government of Mozambique for concluding
the investigation and trial into the
murder of investigative journalist
Carlos
Cardoso.
Assasin Anibal dos Santos Junior
was convicted for organising the
death squad that murdered Cardoso but his
lawyer has since called for a
retrial.
Zambia and Botswana were also commended for establishing the
independent
Broadcasting Authority and the government's and the media's
commitment to
uphold professional standards, respectively
Daily
News
Soldiers assault Daily News
photographer
2/21/2003 12:59:02
AM (GMT +2)
Staff
Reporter
SOLDIERS manning queues at
Batanai Supermarket in Harare yesterday
assaulted Daily News photographer,
Philimon Bulawayo after he took pictures
of the long winding queues that have
become prevalent at most shops selling
basic
commodities.
Bulawayo, 29, said he was
approached by two soldiers while he was
standing opposite Batanai Supermarket
and they started assaulting him saying
he was likely to take
pictures.
He said after the assault the
soldiers handed him over to the police
who took away his camera. The police
then handcuffed him and took him to the
Harare Central Police
Station.
At the police station he was made
to sit on the floor and was
further
assaulted.
Bulawayo said: "I was
taken to another officer who took down my
personal details and warned me not
to visit any place where there would be
long queues of people looking for
basic commodities."
Gugulethu Moyo, the
Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe legal adviser
said the arrests of
journalists from The Daily News is disturbing because it
seems to have become
a systematic, unlawful use of force and powers
of
arrest.
Moyo said: "Over the last
few months we have seen an escalation of
detentions and police violence
against our staff. The Zimbabwe Republic
Police now as a matter of habit,
detain our reporters, while on duty, on the
pretext that they have committed
criminal offences.
"During these
detentions, undue force is used against the reporters
and they are denied
other fundamental freedoms and then, quite predictably,
they are released
without charge," she said.
Moyo said
although protections may exist at law against unlawful
detention, torture,
inhuman and degrading punishment and freedom of
expression, these protections
become totally meaningless if the State
institutions which exist to protect
these very rights, become the key
violators.
Daily
News
Sikhala, torture victims to
sue police for $35m
2/21/2003
1:01:00 AM (GMT +2)
By Precious
Shumba
JOB Sikhala, the MP for St Mary's,
and four others who were tortured
by the police last month, on Wednesday
notified Kembo Mohadi, the Minister
of Home Affairs, of their intention to
sue the police for $35 million.
The police
fall under Mohadi's ministry.
Advocate Charles
Selemani, their lawyer, said he was giving the police
notice of their
intention to sue the Ministry of Home Affairs in terms of
Section 6 of the
State Liabilities Act (Chapter 8.14) and the Police Act
(Chapter
11:10).
Selemani, in his papers dated 18
February, submitted on Wednesday to
Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri,
said the court action arose from the
unlawful physical assault and torture of
Sikhala by members of the police
Law and Order
Section.
Yesterday, Assistant Commissioner
Wayne Bvudzijena, the police
spokesman, refused to comment when asked if the
police had been given the
papers.
Sikhala is demanding $15 million compensation while human rights
lawyer,
Gabriel Shumba, is suing for $10,5
million.
The others who were arrested
together with the two and subsequently
tortured by the police are Taurayi
Magaya, Charles Mutama and Bishop Shumba.
Mutama and Magaya are demanding a total of $5 million while Bishop is
suing
for $2 million.
Selemani said:
"Alternatively, the court action arises out of the
omission by the said
police officers of their mandatory legal duty in terms
of the Police Act and
the country's Constitution to protect citizens from
harm, especially those in
their custody."
Sikhala and his colleagues
were arrested in Chitungwiza on 14 January
by the police on allegations they
planned to subvert a
constitutional
government.
The
allegations were dismissed by Harare magistrate
Caroline-Ann
Chigumira.
"Sikhala was
tortured while in police custody," he said. "The assailan
ts used electric
wires, rubber sticks, plants, nails and buckets of water.
Among those who
tortured him were policemen Garnet Sikhova, Matsvimbo
and
Makedenge."
Selemani said: "The
assaults, torture and inhuman treatment of them
were unprovoked and useless.
"It was savage. There was no legal sanction,
and hence it's actionable at
law.
"As a result of the unlawful actions
of the police, they sustained
serious injuries, especially on their genitals,
mouth, eyes and stomach."
Medical reports
submitted to the court confirmed they were
severely
tortured.
Daily
News
Police arrest asylum
seekers
2/21/2003 1:02:47 AM (GMT
+2)
By Brian Mangwende and Kelvin
Jakachira
SEVENTEEN asylum seekers from
Rwanda were arrested on Monday in Mutare
while 58 other foreigners have been
languishing in cells at the Harare
Central Remand Prison for about two months
now awaiting deportation.
The 58 were
arrested after they allegedly flouted immigration laws.
The other 17 were
arrested by soldiers along the Mozambican border and taken
to Grand Reef
Infantry Batallion about 20km north-west of Mutare before
being handed over
to the police.
They allegedly entered the
country secretly through illegal
entry
points.
Brian Makomeke, the
police spokesperson for Mutare district, said the
refugees were later
referred to the Refugee Transit Centre in
Waterfalls,
Harare.
In Harare, Elasto
Mugwadi, the Chief Immigration Officer, yesterday
said of the 58 detained at
Harare Central Remand Prison:
"They will
be held pending deportation. Those with money can buy their
own air tickets
and leave the country, but those without will have to stay
there until we
find money to buy them tickets.
"At times
diplomatic missions chip in to help us deport their
nationals but most of the
time we depend on the tax payers' money after
having received authority from
the Treasury Department."
However, the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Isaac
Mukaro, said he was
unaware refugees were being held at the remand
prison.
"I do not know anything about that,"
he said before referring all
questions to
Mugwadi.
Frankie Meki, the spokesperson for
the Zimbabwe Prison Services, said:
"We are just custodians. They come
through the immigration office and we
provide accommodation for them until
they go wherever they are destined
to
go.
"In some cases, those who have
been deported returned to Zimbabwe
because the hosting country may have
reservations about those people and we
are forced to keep them here on three
meals a day."
Meki said there were 28
Mozambicans, two Malawians, 15 from the
Democratic Republic of Congo, six
Rwandese, one Zambian, one Palestinian,
one Sierra Leonean, one Nigerian, one
Ugandan, a Zambian and another from
Burundi, currently being held at the
remand prison.
Meanwhile, the Rwandans are
believed to have come from Tanzania where
they were expelled and many are
trekking to Zimbabwe.
More than 300
refugees arrived in the country last month from Tanzania
up from an average
of 50 a month while another 1 000 are camped at Tongogara
Refugee Camp in
Chipinge.
Daily
News
Investors to continue
shunning Zimbabwe: Matombo
2/21/2003 12:54:00 AM (GMT +2)
Staff
Reporter
Lovemore Matombo, the president
of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade
Unions (ZCTU), has said investors will
continue to boycott Zimbabwe if the
government fails to tackle the issue of
good governance.
In an interview in
Harare, Matombo said: "Ours is not a stable
environment for investment. The
core issue is good governance and the
government should address
that."
Zimbabwe has been generally shunned
by investors and tourists since
the government's chaotic and often-violent
land reform programme started in
2000.
Matombo said the country should establish good relationships with
trade and
development partners if it was to prosper.
He said: "If they do that, there will be inflows of foreign currency
and
fire-fighting will be a thing of the past. That is the gist of
the
matter.
"Without these
relationships with trade and development partners,
there will be no
employment creation and the economy cannot
grow."
He said the ZCTU was calling for
"depolarisation" of the Zimbabwean
society, which is sharply divided
politically, and the fair application of
the
law.
Matombo said: "Government structures
should be depoliticised. On its
part, the government is saying let us also
depoliticise the workplace and we
have no problem with
that."
Matombo said the Tripartite
Negotiating Forum (TNF), which comprises
the government, the ZCTU and the
Employers' Confederation of Zimbabwe, was
in agreement that the country is in
a deep crisis.
The TNF was established by
the three bodies in 1998 to come up with a
social contract on incomes and
prices, among other things.
Daily News - The
Mole
Perfecting the art of
selective reporting
2/21/2003
1:16:08 AM (GMT +2)
Zimbabweans with
access to both The Daily News and The Herald must by
now have realised how
uninformed about the true situation in their own
country they would be if a
fearless, tell-it-like-it-is independent Press
had been absent from their
news stands.
Many a time readers, after
reading a story in The Herald about a
particular event and then reading it in
The Daily News, have often wondered
whether the two papers were reporting on
the same event. Sometimes they have
agonised on who would be telling the
truth.
No doubt they now know who to
believe. Like the ZBC, its electronic
counterpart, The Herald has perfected
the art of selective reporting. When
reporting on an event at which either
the government, Zanu PF or Robert
Mugabe is both criticised and praised, the
paper will studiously ignore all
the criticism to concentrate only on
whatever puts the party, its leader and
government in good light. And often
it is the trivia.
Anyone who does not
believe this need go no farther back than
yesterday. Both The Herald and The
Daily News gave page one treatment to
Mugabe's arrival in Paris the previous
day. However, where the latter chose
to give its readers the meat in news
terms, the former decided to feed its
readers on the
bones.
The meat, as contained in the story
carried by The Daily News, which
was wholly a Reuters report and, therefore,
unbiased, was in the fact that
Mugabe's arrival overshadowed the rest of the
arrivals. But this time not
because he was given a rousing welcome as The
Herald would certainly have
wished, but because he was given a most hostile
welcome.
Huge crowds of people jeered,
waved banners and placards saying the
most uncomplimentary things about our
President and, as if they had been
coached by the MDC, literally told him to
go because his time is up. The
Herald wouldn't report that, would
they?
- Still on The Herald, as the urge
to falsify events and statements
continues to get the better of the mandarins
at the State-controlled media
houses, the fiction writers at Zimpapers have
graduated from merely quoting
people out of context to actually putting words
into people's mouths.
Witness the spate of
denials over the past few weeks with, to our
collective national shame, even
diplomats finding themselves being forced to
issue public statements denying
remarks they would have been reported by The
Herald to have
made.
There was, for instance, that false
report saying the Japanese
Ambassador to Zimbabwe had expressed support for
the government in a whole
host of issues during a courtesy call on
Information and Publicity Minister
Jonathan Moyo, claims which the envoy
promptly denied as blatantly false.
But
perhaps The Herald's most embarrassing exposure as a peddler of
falsehoods
came with its most high profile damned lie when the paper
reported that James
Morris, the United Nations Special Envoy for
Humanitarian Needs in Southern
Africa, had accepted the irreversibility of
the government's chaotic land
grab which has literally destroyed Zimbabwe's
once booming agricultural
industry.
According to The Herald's report
in its lead story of 25 January,
Morris had not only "accepted the
irreversibility of the land reform
exercise", but had also "urged
humanitarian agencies working in Zimbabwe to
provide new farmers with water
and inputs".
Clearly compromised beyond
what was tolerable, Morris had no option
but to hastily call a Press
conference to put the record straight on the
very same day the false report
appeared in The Herald.
At the Press
conference, Morris said: "The comments in The Herald were
100 percent lies. I
did not comment as The Herald reports in its front page
story
today.
"I did not accept that the land
reform process was irreversible as
they quote me as saying. It was gross
misrepresentation of the worst form."
Daily
News - Leader Page
Zero tolerance
a recipe for explosion
2/21/2003
1:14:38 AM (GMT +2)
Aware that the people,
who are seething with anger because of its
innumerable crimes against them,
are anxious to show it the door out, the
government has become so frightened
of losing power that it has virtually
turned Zimbabwe into a police state.
They are seeing an enemy in
every
citizen.
Because they foolishly
believe that if people are intimidated into
fearing to speak up against the
government their silence will somehow
translate into contentedness, they have
turned a once respectable police
force into an instrument of brutal
repression to create an atmosphere of
false tranquillity. That, clearly, is
the police's new, albeit
transient,
brief.
And, for reasons that
can never be clear to outside observers who are
watching in utter
consternation as the government studiously brutalises the
entire population,
let alone to Zimbabweans themselves who eat and drink
with them every day,
the enthusiasm with which the police are carrying out
that brief is
mind-boggling, to say the least.
On a
daily basis - and this is no exaggeration - the police, who once
were
trigger-happy but have now become truncheon-crazy, are beating up,
arresting
and torturing dozens, if not scores, of innocent citizens. Their
mission, of
course, is to erase from the public gaze anything that can be
seen as
evidence that Zimbabwe has gone to the
dogs.
All along, their favourite main
target has been the opposition MDC, at
least a dozen of whose MPs and scores
of activists have been arrested and
tortured on trumped-up charges;
demonstrators for the National
Constitutional Assembly whose leader, Lovemore
Madhuku, has now become a
regular guest in the police's holding cells, as
well as university and other
tertiary institution
students.
Now, however, the government
seems to have given the police force
fresh instructions and widened its
mandate. It would appear they now have
been instructed to disperse people
wherever they are gathered, for whatever
purpose. It would also appear they
have not been given the option of using
their discretion. How else would one
explain the numerous reports of the
police heartlessly beating up innocent
women and children queueing up to buy
scarce commodities - unless it can be
assumed that the force, filled as it
is now with semi-literate ex-combatants,
is now made up mostly of automatons
with absolutely no capacity to think for
themselves?
This is not an attempt at
deliberately tarnishing the image of the
police. There is tangible evidence
of this new madness. On Monday, this
paper carried a story which ought to
shame any government claiming to be
civilised, particularly the Mugabe regime
which always claims that it is a
"people's
government".
Eighteen-month-old Michelle
Zimbewu, who was strapped to her mother's
back, is feared to have sustained
serious and permanent injuries when a
policeman, "controlling" people in a
queue, smashed his baton onto her
forehead. The mother was queueing for sugar
at a shop in Bindura.
Not a word of regret
or apology was forthcoming from either Police
Commissioner Augustine Chihuri
or the Minister of Home Affairs, Kembo
Mohadi, himself as would be expected
in any civilised society.
This suggests
that sadistic acts of this nature by the police have the
blessing of the
highest office in the land.
Equally
shameful were the actions of the police in Harare and Bulawayo
on Valentine's
Day. On a day set aside for the whole world to celebrate
love, our police
thought nothing of arresting seven journalists and 72
peaceful demonstrators
marching for peace in the country's two major
cities.
The marchers, predominantly women,
who included two female MPs, Evelyn
Masaiti and Trudy Stevenson, as well as
an 83-year-old nun among them, had
said or done nothing to provoke the
government and yet they were subjected
to all manner of humiliation and had
to spend a night in police cells. This
begs the question: Can anything ever
shame or embarrass this government?
One
thing this government must know is that there is that pent-up
pressure among
the people which has reached a point where it may be
impossible to contain.
By preventing people from staging peaceful protests
and openly voicing
discontent, the government is closing all safety valves
for that pressure to
escape.
The result could be a violent
explosion.
Daily
News - Feature
Fantastic promises
and an election year go hand in
hand
2/21/2003 1:16:48 AM (GMT
+2)
AS I sit to unwind after a day's work
at a watering hole recently, a
source walks hesitantly towards
me.
In a conspiratorial tone, the source
whispers: "Be at Civic Centre
tomorrow before 11am. Big meeting on public
transport."
What will be discussed? Who
will be there? The source, pretending to
be oblivious to my questions,
changes the subject - ordering a round of
drinks in the
process.
I am there by 10.30am the following
day.
I position myself in the corridors of
Civic Centre, the engine of the
Mutare City Council, trying to be as
inconspicuous as possible.
True, the
meeting of a bus committee of the city council begins
shortly after
11am.
Discussions are on opening up the city's
transport routes to more
players - ostensibly because commuter bus operators
are failing to satisfy
customers.
In
fact, say the committee's members, operators are "short-changing
and
short-routing" commuters.
The bus
committee is chaired by Henry Chinoda, councillor for Ward
Nine in
Dangamvura, and deputised by Peter Mavisa, councillor for Ward Five
in
Sakubva.
Others are Nhamo Nengome of Ward 17
in Chikanga and Renson Chikara of
Ward 14 in
Dangamvura.
All four are Zanu PF
councillors. The first to be entertained by the
committee is Mapu Chimhende,
the manager of Harare-based Pioneer
Transport.
How many buses can Pioneer
provide to service the city's commuter
routes at peak hours and how soon can
they hit the road?
The same question is put to
officials from the State-run Zimbabwe
United Passenger Company (Zupco), who
are the second spot in the meetings,
between 11.30am and 12
noon.
Between 12 and 12.30pm, the
committee members meet with executives
from Kukura Kurerwa Bus
Company.
The same question tops the
list.
Officials from Tenda Transport, who are
slated for the 12.30-1pm slot,
defer their meeting to later in the day.
Again, they are asked the
same
question.
I track down Mavisa, the
bus committee's vice-chairman, to inquire on
the outcome of the marathon
proceedings with the transport executives.
"The people of Mutare who rely on public transport should breath
easily after
today because their transport nightmares will soon be over,"
Mavisa
gushes.
Oh,
really?
"Yes, yes, yes! Tenda Transport has
already put two buses on the
troublesome City-Dangamvura route. The residents
love it.
"The police are in full force to
ensure there is peace on the roads
and at the
ranks"
"Wait, that's not all. Pioneer
Transport and Zupco are joining in
soon. In fact, Pioneer will start Monday
plying the city's commuter routes."
Now,
hold your horses, I'm trying to say. Obviously, I'm having a hard
time in my
attempts at interruptions.
"Pioneer will
put buses during peak hours, from 4am through 8am and
4.30pm through 8pm,"
Mavisa says, without missing a beat.
"And
that's starting Monday for Pioneer Buses! Kukura Kurerwa people
say they're
looking into the situation, they need more garage space. We'll
sort that one
out, I promise."
So this is it, eh? Mutare
will soon be flooded with public transport
and current operators are either
pushed out of business or watch their
profit margins dwindle to razor-thin
levels.
A close review of what was
discussed at the Civic Centre meeting,
based on interviews with other
participants present and representatives of
bus companies, paints a slightly
less rosy picture than Mavisa
is
portraying.
True, bus operators
represented at the meeting undertook to explore
the council's request to
enter the city's commuter routes.
But
exploring possibilities is quite different from making solid
commitments -
complete with route timetables, the number of buses to be made
available and
a set starting date.
Mapu Chimhende, the
Pioneer Transport manager, tells me from Harare:
"I never made any commitment
to provide Pioneer buses for Mutare's routes
during peak hours, simply
because I'm not authorised to do so by virtue of
the level of my position in
our company."
Chimhende, who
understandably is sounding irritated, says: "The
members of the sub-committee
made their request and I listened. I advised
them they should put it in
writing and I will forward it to my managing
director, who is responsible for
such decisions."
He says the meeting ended
on that note. Pioneer, which started plying
the
Harare-
Mutare route last year, has three
buses for the trips, but plans to
increase them to
10.
"It's inconceivable," says Chimhende,
"that Pioneer would have
promised to start serving Mutare commuter routes as
early as next Monday,
when we don't have such permits in
place."
Bus committee members say the
executive mayor, Lawrence Mudehwe, has
already won authority from the
Ministry of Local Government to liaise with
responsible authorities to
facilitate the issuance of temporary permits to
new operators. So, why all
this exaggerated talk about the end of
commuter
woes?
Politics.
Unfortunately.
This is an election year -
the city's highest office is up for grabs
in August - and anyone who can get
the suffering residents on their side by
promising even the undeliverable
stands to be king maker when the mayoral
race heats
up.
Besides, if you can unravel some
feathers in the city commuter bus
industry in the process, the
better.
We're all waiting expectantly for
Monday morning.
But I must confess, even
at the risk of putting a damper on your
weekend, the odds of waking up on
Monday to find Mutare flooded with
commuter buses are equal to suddenly
discovering unlimited oil reserves atop
the Christmas Pass
Mountains.
Catch my
drift?
Daily News -
Feature
Weary commuters dice with
death to get home
2/21/2003
1:13:50 AM (GMT +2)
By Foster Dongozi
Features Writer
THERE is a tale that when
a government minister's vehicle stopped at
the robot-controlled intersection
along Julius Nyerere Way, a stranded
commuter pulled open the back door and
asked him to move over and make room
for more
passengers.
The commuter was forcibly
dislodged by the official's bodyguard, with
a stern
warning.
As the fuel crisis continues to
paralyse the beleaguered Zimbabwean
economy, a disaster is waiting to happen
as desperate commuters have
resorted to daredevil antics to catch a ride on
privately-owned trucks and
other vehicles which are taking advantage of the
transport shortage by
ferrying stranded
commuters.
For those who have company or
personal vehicles and the lucky few
whose work-places are within reasonable
walking distances, tales of what
transpires in the transport queues would
sound incredible.
More and more commuter
omnibuses are going off the roads because of
the fuel shortage and escalating
costs of spare parts, which have put spares
beyond the reach of
transporters.
This has provided an
opportunity for private car owners to take
advantage of the crisis by
transporting the stranded commuters.
Motorists use their vehicles - despite their being in all manner of
disrepair
- to ferry passengers, in an effort to make an extra
dollar.
Dicing with death usually starts any
time after 4pm.
By then, hordes of
commuters would have gathered at various illegal
pick-up points in cities
around the country.
In Harare, a typical
scenario is that of a pick-up truck, including
the occasional flatbed truck
screeching to a halt among a sea of
desperate
commuters.
Before the vehicle
comes to a halt, tens of people would have started
scrambling onto it with
some avoiding injury or death by a fraction of
a
second.
Because the commuters are not
controlled, getting onto the vehicles is
never an orderly affair as only the
fittest, who can deftly sidestep and
push away their competitors, manage to
get onto the vehicles.
Miraculously, some
of the commuters involved in the daily stampedes
for transport claim they
have so perfected the art that it is unheard of for
one to lose groceries or
parcels in the melee.
Givemore Kangira of
Chitungwiza, who is among hundreds who get their
transport along Julius
Nyerere Way, said: "We have suffered for so long that
we have perfected the
art of surviving a stampede for transport without
losing our
goods.
"It is not just the men who are
doing vhigoroni, (stampede), a lot of
well-groomed women are participating in
this dangerous exercise.
"Some of the women
would be having babies strapped to their backs but
they always make it onto
the vehicles without injuring their
young."
A woman with a baby firmly
strapped to her back, who said she lived in
Chitungwiza, was seen sizing up
the crowd of commuters along Julius Nyerere
Way and Nelson Mandela
Avenue.
"There are still too many people
trying to get transport but by 6pm,
they would have become so exhausted that
it will not be a problem to
outsprint them and get a place in a truck," she
said as she transferred her
groceries from a polythene bag into a bag
fashioned from a sack.
"If I carry the
groceries in a plastic bag, they can easily fall out
in the stampede. This
stronger bag will ensure that whatever happens, they
will not fall
out."
The woman who is self-employed and
lives in Chitungwiza, said she had
gone to the Harare city centre to try to
get a passport because she was
contemplating joining thousands of Zimbabweans
working as economic refugees
in the United Kingdom and other
countries.
But why expose herself and the
baby to such grave danger?
"Is there anything
that is not dangerous these days? It is the threat
to our lives that is now
forcing me and thousands of other Zimbabweans to
seek a better life in other
countries."
Another woman said if she did not
participate in the stampedes for
transport, she risked arriving in
Chitungwiza late in the night.
"On a few
occasions, I have failed to get transport due to many
factors, like there
being too many passengers or fewer cars going to
Chitungwiza because of fuel
shortages.
"When the shortage is acute, I
arrive home just before 11pm and if
nobody has prepared food for my
school-going children, then I would have to
cook some food and probably go to
bed at around midnight.
At the crack of
dawn, she gets up to try and accomplish another
difficult feat of getting
transport to the city.
"It may sound like
a joke but many people in Harare and Chitungwiza
are walking around half
asleep because they spend a lot of time in transport
queues or other queues
to get basic commodities," she said as she suppressed
a
yawn.
Other more daring and desperate
commuters no longer wait for the
vehicles to stop for them at designated or
illegal pick-up points. Dicing
with death and dodging traffic, they stand at
intersections where they
solicit for
transport.
While street-kids are harassing
drivers for alms, desperate commuters
harass them for lifts to their
destinations.
This group of daredevils
appeared very highly stressed out and did not
take kindly to being
interviewed about the transport crisis. "How could you
want to make fun of
the fact that we are suffering?" asked one man as he
jumped out of the way of
an irate driver.
"You journalists are liars.
Where do you work, anyway?"
When a Daily
News photographer told them, a cheer went up and they
poured out their
problems. "We want to send the message to our leaders that
we are suffering
as a result of their poor policies.
"Now
we have to dodge vehicles as we try to get transport to our
homes. They
should know that they have messed up a country that we were once
proud of.
They have turned us into the laughing stock of the world," said
the angry
man.
Because no casualties have been
recorded at the illegal pick-up points
so far, the authorities can afford to
ignore the problem.
Only when people start
dying will they start reacting responsibly.
MDC Press Statement
20 February 2003
MDC Urges Progressive African Leaders To Confront Mugabe
The MDC urges progressive African leaders, meeting in Paris today for the Franco-Africa Summit, to underline their commitment to the principles guiding Africa's renaissance by engaging directly with Mugabe to condemn his reign of terror and to outline the urgent need to restore democratic legitimacy in Zimbabwe.
The African leaders who are meeting in Paris made a commitment to the principles of democracy and good governance when they formally launched the African Union in Durban, South Africa, in August 2002. The African Union can potentially provide the framework within which the notion of an African renaissance can be transformed from rhetoric into reality. Indeed, in his speech marking the formal launch of the AU South African President Thabo Mbeki said "In the spirit of the Constitutive Act of Union (of the AU) we must work for a continent characterised by democratic principles and institutions which guarantee and provide for good governance".
France, for its part needs to turn rhetoric into reality by clearly outlining how it intends to support the spread of good governance and the entrenchment of basic human rights across Africa.
The establishment of democratic governments in South Africa, Botswana, Ghana, Senegal, and more recently Kenya, clearly demonstrates that Africa is moving in the direction envisaged by President Mbeki. These fledgling democracies are indicative of the 'winds of change' that are beginning to sweep across the continent. Africa is slowly throwing off the shackles of a past characterised by bad governance, despotic rule, endemic corruption, institutionalised violence and exploitation. Within this new progressive context the style of rule of people like Mugabe is becoming increasingly anachronistic on the African continent.
If, however, democratic forms of government are to become ubiquitous across the African continent, it is critical that those leaders at the vanguard of Africa's renaissance make a concerted effort to influence positive change beyond their own borders. As such the leaders of South Africa, Botswana, Ghana, Senegal and Kenya should use the Paris summit as an opportunity to inform Mugabe that his style of rule is a barrier to Africa's progress. They need to convey to Mugabe the unequivocal message that his time is up, that his reign of terror will no longer be tolerated and that urgent steps need to be taken to restore democratic legitimacy to Zimbabwe.
If Africa's progressive leaders speak out against Mugabe at the Paris summit they will be sending a message of hope to the suffering people of Zimbabwe that Africa does indeed care about their plight and is truly committed to bringing about an end to their perpetual misery.
Moses Mzila Ndlovu
MDC Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs
-----------------------------------------------------------------
For Further Information, Please contact:
Grace Kwinjeh - 0033 685608775
James Littleton - 0044 7771 501 401
euobserver.com
France reacts with sang froid to 'Worm'
insult
The streets of Paris were brightened by the Sun yesterday
- the British
tabloid version of it at least. An extraordinary edition of the
Britain's
most widely-read daily with the headline, Chirac est un ver (Chirac
is a
worm) was distributed in the French capital on Thursday denouncing
French
president Jacques Chirac's stance on a war with Iraq.
Written
in French, the front page says "We think your president, Jacques
Chirac, is a
disgrace to Europe by constantly threatening to veto military
action to
enforce the will of the United Nations in Iraq."
Claiming it on behalf of
its "ten million readers," the editorial goes on to
clarify "We think it is
all the more hypocritical because the world knows
that eventually President
Chirac will agree to support the UN, America and
Great Britain."
Of
course, the War is mentioned also. "We also think in Britain that you
in
France have forgotten how much you owe to other nations,
particularly
America and Britain, for coming to your aid in two world wars.
You were glad
enough to welcome the Americans when Hitler ruled
France."
French government officials have been quick to react.
Government
spokeswoman, Catherine Colonna said "Insults often say more about
the people
who make them than about those they claim to
describe."
Culture minister Jean-Jacques Aillagon said: "It's aggressive,
very
disagreeable, pretty vulgar and shows contempt for our country. I'd say
they
've been very badly brought up."
"It's disgusting," said
transport minister, Gilles de Robien while social
affairs minister, Francois
Fillon was more of the opinion that it was
"saddening."
But the
president did not reply to the insults from across the Channel
himself. This
was because, said the Sun with moralistic glee, "he was too
busy having cosy
chats with another despicable dictator, Zimbabwe's Robert
Mugabe."
The
Sun prints around 3.5 million editions daily. It is owned by the
Australian
media tycoon, Rupert Murdoch.
Business
Day
Howard again asks Zim match
shift
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
CANBERRA
- Prime Minister John Howard has made another appeal to the
International
Cricket Council to shift Australia's World Cup match
from
Zimbabwe.
Australia is scheduled to play in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe on
Monday.
Australia and England both wanted their matches moved, arguing
that
opponents of President Robert Mugabe have already threatened to disrupt
the
match and that will lead to violence.
Both governments have also
accused Mugabe's regime of human rights
violations with more than half of his
population facing starvation because
of economic chaos caused by his
policies.
Howard's call for the ICC to move the game to Kenya or South
Africa comes
after he pushed for Zimbabwe's suspension from the Commonwealth
to be
extended until the end of the year.
"I've never argued that the
Australian team should unilaterally pull out if
it didn't want to," Howard
told Melbourne Radio 3AW.
"I haven't put that kind of moral pressure on
the Australian team.
"My argument has been that the International Cricket
Council should have
listened to the views of the British and New Zealand
governments and shifted
all of the games from Zimbabwe to either Kenya or
South Africa."
But Howard said the Australian team felt compelled to
fulfill their
contracts with the Australian Cricket Board.
"I think
they're really stuck with a situation that could have been avoided
if the
International Cricket Council had taken another view," he
said.
Sapa-AP
Yahoo
News
Friday February 21, 08:30 AM
Chirac and Mugabe have
private chat
PARIS (Reuters) - French President Jacques Chirac
has had a private talk
with Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe after hosting
a dinner for African
heads of state in Paris, Chirac's spokeswoman
said.
Mugabe's presence at the two-day Franco-African summit, which
started on
Thursday, has triggered a diplomatic row with Britain and vigorous
protests
by human rights campaigners.
Chirac's spokeswoman, Catherine
Colonna, gave no details of the two leaders'
conversation.
Mugabe has
been under a European Union travel ban since his re-election a
year ago in
what Western countries say was a flawed poll.
France, arguing that it is
better to talk to Mugabe than to isolate him,
persuaded the EU to allow
Mugabe to travel to the summit despite objections
from Britain, the former
colonial power which has led international
criticism of Mugabe's human rights
record.
The Zimbabwean leader accuses Britain and others of
"neo-colonialism" in
southern Africa when they criticise him for seizing
white-owned farmland
without compensation and giving it to landless
blacks.
Britain, France's main rival in Africa in the colonial era, was
furious at
his invitation to the Paris summit.
The Conservatives
called Chirac's greeting to Mugabe at the start of the
meeting the "grubbiest
handshake of the year". Chirac did not, however,
offer Mugabe the kiss on the
cheeks with which he greeted many other
leaders.
The EU issued a
withering condemnation of Zimbabwe's human rights record on
Thursday,
expressing concern at what it called increasing incidents of
arbitrary
arrest, inhuman treatment and the torture of members of the
political
opposition and civil society groups.
In his opening speech to the summit
on Thursday, Chirac told Africa's
leaders not to abuse their power and said
they could no longer hide behind
their office to claim immunity from
international law.
"The days of impunity or when people were able to
justify the use of force
are over," Chirac said.
My arrest in Paris
Activist Peter Tatchell
describes his treatment by the French police this
week as he protested
against Robert Mugabe
Friday February 21, 2003
The
Guardian
It's never pleasant being arrested as I was yesterday. It wasn't
my
intention or desire. I simply wanted to protest about the appalling
human
rights record of President Robert Mugabe's regime in Zimbabwe against
anyone
who expresses opposition. Here is what happened to me since I arrived
in
Paris from London last Sunday.
I had spent most of the previous night
putting the finishing touches to the
legal documentation detailing the case
for Mugabe's arrest while in France
for a Franco-African summit. I wasn't
able to catch up with sleep on the
Eurostar because I was working all the
time. When I got to Paris early in
the afternoon, I went straight to the tiny
studio apartment near the Place
de la Republique that was to be my
base.
My hosts Xavier and Eric spoke little English, and my French is
fairly
minimal, but we managed somehow. At 5pm that afternoon, I had my
first
meeting with the French human rights lawyer who looked over the legal
case
that I planned to present to persuade the French government to
arrest
Mugabe, and then met with the French gay activists who agreed to help
with
the protests. Sunday evening was spent transferring my media contacts to
the
computer at the flat. The French keyboard is different from the
English
qwerty style so everything took twice as long.
The plan was to
present the legal case on Monday morning but not all the
documents had been
translated into French. We rescheduled the presentation
to the deputy
prosecutor of Paris for Wednesday morning.
On Monday, there was a frantic
rush to get the remaining documents delivered
from London, complete the
French translations and start liaising with the
French media. I didn't have
any contacts here at all. Phoning up
switchboards with my poor command of
French was a communications nightmare.
Up to the time I arrived, Mugabe's
visit wasn't really an issue in France.
There was virtually no news reporting
and no French political or human
rights groups were planning any protests. I
phoned all over Paris trying to
persuade campaigners to support us, but the
only ones that showed any
interest were gay and lesbian groups such as
Pantheres Roses and ACT-UP. I
felt frustrated and dismayed. What are human
rights groups for, if not to
challenge torturers and tyrants? Their attitude
was that the French state
was unlikely to arrest Mugabe so it wasn't worth
trying. I knew it was going
to be an uphill struggle, but I felt someone had
to try.
On Tuesday afternoon my colleague Alan Wilkinson, a director of
the Zimbabwe
Association in London, together with Tom Spicer, who had been
tortured by
Mugabe's secret police under "presidential powers", arrived. I
couldn't go
to the station to meet them because I had to stay in the flat to
collect
calls from journalists and the gay activists assisting me. That
afternoon I
liaised with the group of Zimbabwean exiles and refugees who were
flying
over from London on £19.50 Easyjet flights the following
morning.
That evening we gathered in the flat to plot our next move,
along with the
Zimbabwean opposition Movement for Democratic Change
representative in
Europe, Grace Kwinjeh, who had come from Brussels. Somewhat
distressingly
the meeting went on until midnight, largely because of the
language barrier.
On Wednesday morning at 10am, I went back to the
lawyer's office to double
check that all the papers were technically correct.
We had a very fraught
meeting because some minor details were wrong, so we
had to hurriedly retype
the opening section. Meanwhile, we were due to meet
the French gay activists
and Zimbabwean exiles on the steps of Opera. In case
our presence attracted
attention, we arranged to have two people redirect
arrivals out of sight
into a nearby bar. We set off in small groups to the
ministry of justice. We
walked casually into the square then made a beeline
for the doors of the
ministry where we unfurled a huge banner reading "Mugabe
on trial for
torture, rape and murder!" Within two minutes the riot police,
the CRS, came
racing into the square, surrounded us and started pushing us
away.
They were quite rough and aggressive but the presence of so many TV
crews
and photographers gave us some protection. The police told us that if
we
protested again we would be arrested. We headed off to the Palais
de
Justice, where we were penned in again by riot police. They finally
agreed
to allow me to meet with the deputy prosecutor. I was ushered through
very
heavy security and presented the 100-page dossier for Mugabe's
arrest.
At 3pm, the Paris gay rights group ACT-UP had a protest outside
the
Zimbabwean embassy. The police arrested them all. We had had a tip-off
about
the hotel where Mugabe was staying, and the MDC activists went there.
They
were arrested too. When I got there they were all gone. The police
spotted
me and started chasing me down the street, but I ran over to the TV
crews
and they didn't dare grab me right in front of them.
Yesterday
morning, the MDC crew returned to London. The Pantheres Roses were
so shocked
by the heavy-handed police treatment that they didn't want to
participate in
another protest, so that left myself, Alan and Tom to head
for the foreign
affairs ministry where Mugabe was having lunch. As we
arrived at the metro
station, Alan and I were seized by the police. They
didn't recognise Tom and
he managed to walk off. We were frisked and had our
placards taken off us.
The senior arresting officer told us he was acting on
orders from the
interior minister, which were that all protesters were to
be
arrested.
By that stage it was apparent that we were under more or
less constant
police surveillance. I was furious with myself that I hadn't
been more
security conscious. We were held at a police station in the
18th
arrondissement for nearly two hours. When we left, a police car
started
following us. Two men in builders' overalls - the same two men we
noticed at
the metro station - also followed us.
It seems that the
whole apparatus of the French state is organised to
protect a human rights
abuser such as Mugabe and quash peaceful protesters
like ourselves. Yesterday
afternoon it felt as if we were being hunted like
vermin. I haven't
experienced such heavy-handed policing since I staged a
gay rights protest in
communist east Berlin in 1973.
Right now, I feel punch drunk with
exhaustion. My whole body aches. I have
had non-stop headaches from sleep
deprivation. I have never done a campaign
that's been so stressful and
pressurised, but my spirit remains
undiminished. Now Mugabe's presence is a
major story in France. Maybe we've
helped to make the French public aware of
his monstrous human rights abuses.
I am dying to have a decent meal, not
having had one since Saturday, but in
the circumstances I didn't have much
choice. I haven't had much sleep for a
week, but I haven't had nightmares
about Robert Mugabe coming to get me -
though I hope he has nightmares about
me.