• Eddie Cross to Hear The Word Ministries
• Zimbabwe Action Letter
• Iran, Zimbabwe Keen on Expanding Agricultural Cooperation
• In Botswana, You Are Zimbabwean At Your Own Peril
• A Bleak Future Still Stalks an Ailing Zimbabwe
• Freed Zimbabwean journalists still defiant
• Mujuru hits out at greedy A2 farmers
• Zimbabwe acquires 400 tractors from Iran
• Soldier accused of shooting woman dead
• Striking Zimbabwean Doctors Finally Get Back to Work
• JAG Legal Communique
• JAG Open letters forum 216

(From Eddie Cross to Hear the Word Ministries)

I am astonished as a Christian, a citizen of Zimbabwe and as an observer of
the political scene in Zimbabwe that Hear the Word can be so insensitive, so
ignorant of the political and social environment within which your actions
in sending Mugabe a "gift" of Z$30 million at Christmas are percieved. I can
think of few other actions that have been taken by the Church in recent days
that is more shameful and disgraceful. There is no evidence that Mugabe is a
Christian in any shape or form, in fact there is growing evidence of his use
of witch doctors and others. His actions as a political leader have found
condemnation across the world.

I have been active in the MDC for 4 years - my family and I have had death
threats, been to jail, been accused of all sorts of things, been in court
dozens of times on all sorts of charges brought by the State. I have had
friends murdered, raped and their homes burned. I worked for Mugabe for 8
years in the 80's - I know personally that he ordered the massacres in
Matebeleland where at least 20 000 people died. That is more people that
were killed in the 8 years of civil war in the 70's.

We have 2 million internally displaced refugees inside Zimbabwe, at least 3
million external economic refugees in other countries, 6 million people
subsisting on 12 ounces of food a day right now and 3000 people a week dying
of aids related causes - many because of the chaos caused by Mugabe.

And you give him a "gift" for Christmas? God forgive you, because I
certainly cannot.

Eddie Cross
12th January 2004

.....................................
(Name and Country)

------------------------------------------------------------

TEHRAN (IRNA) -- Agricultural Jihad Minister Mahmoud Hojjati and his
Zimbabwean counterpart Joseph Made in a meeting here on Sunday discussed the
most pivotal grounds for mutual cooperation, particularly in agricultural
and cattle breeding areas.

A report released by the media department of the Agricultural Jihad Ministry
quoting Hojjati said that the promotion of applicational research in the
agricultural sector, promotion of mechanization, and rainfalls in the past
two years have contributed to the growing production.

Hojjati declared Iran's readiness for sharing its experiences in the
agricultural field and exchange of agricultural experts with Zimbabwe.

He added that the two countries can launch effective cooperation in
agricultural research and training, cattle breeding, gardening and
veterinary.

For his part, Made expressed his country's interest in bolstering ties with
Iran and said that Zimbabwe has a long-term plan for rural development and
land reform.

"Zimbabwe is willing to use Iran's experience in this regard, specially in
development of mechanization, cattle breeding, water and soil management as
well as training and research in the field," he concluded

African Church Information Service

January 12, 2004
Posted to the web January 12, 2004

Henry Omondi
Nairobi

If you are one of the 130,000 illegal Zimbabwean immigrants living in
Botswana, chances are that you work at a cattle post, on farm lands or as a
housemaid. Or if you fail to get work, survival instincts force you to
steal, slaughter and eat cattle and goats in the bush. In this write up,
Henry Omondi reports on the harsh situation desperate Zimbabwean immigrants
are enduring in Botswana.

In his state of the nation address last November, President Festus Mogae of
Botswana promised to close in on illegal immigrants in the country.

In a carefully crafted speech, laced with connotations referring to increase
in crime as synonymous with illegal immigrants, President Mogae promised to
tighten the policing of illegal immigrants into the country.

From the president's speech, it is apparent that Zimbabweans would be a
prime target. They form about 90 percent of illegal immigrants in Botswana,
and close to 10 percent of the country's total population of only 1.76
million.

According to Botswana's Department of Immigration, there are about 130,000
Zimbabwean immigrants living illegally in Botswana at a given time.

Most of them herd cattle and goats for their employers, while others work in
farms or as housemaids. Those who do not get jobs get trapped into crime,
stealing cattle and goats, which they slaughter and eat in the bush.

Zimbabweans are blamed for the increased crime in Botswana's cities of
Gaborone and Francistown. They are also held largely responsible for the
country's soaring HIV/AIDS pandemic, and for the foot-and-mouth disease that
saw over 16,000 heads of cattle slaughtered in January last year.

As a result, Batswana from the cities neighbourhoods are increasingly
becoming restless as crime takes its toll on their lives.

"We have had many incidences of critically ill Zimbabweans dumped at
hospitals, or thickets to die without any one claiming them," says Tutume
Police Station commander, Seabe Maboka. Last month, three Zimbabweans in
Francistown died of food poisoning after eating stolen maize meal.

This is in spite of a Botswana-Zimbabwe Joint Permanent Commission (JPC)
meeting on defence and public security meeting held in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe,
last July. The meeting had promised to promote awareness of refugee rights,
and at the same time, reduce the influx of Zimbabwe's economic refugees into
Botswana.

Cross-border crimes like drugs and goods smuggling, car thefts, poaching and
border jumping sees more than 2,000 Zimbabweans deported from Francistown
and its environs every month. "We arrest and deport an average of 75 illegal
Zimbabwean immigrants a day," says Seabe Maboka, adding: "And often, we
arrest the same people every week."

Confirming officer Moboka's predicament, Botswana's Chief Immigration
Officer, Roy Sekgorwane adds: "We are seriously loosing out on our battle to
deal with the Zimbabwe problem."

Zimbabwe is the newest entrant in the growing list of Africa's failed
democracies. Other countries in the list include Somalia, the Democratic
Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

The tension between Batswana and Zimbabweans has been building up since
August, when Tlokweng elders and leaders called for the repatriation of
Zimbabweans from their Gaborone suburb.

"Enough is enough. We cannot take it any more," said the Batlokwa tribe
Deputy Chief, Michael Gaborone.

Claims that most crime in Botswana are carried out by illegal immigrants
from Zimbabwe have been confirmed by Superintendent Robson Maleka of
Tlokweng police station. Says he: "Our cells can only hold 12 people.

Sometimes we house suspects in lecture rooms because there is no space."

The Batlokwa now want all Zimbabweans, legal or illegal, out. Chief Gaborone
accuses Zimbabweans of making his people's lives unbearable.

"Crime has gone up because of these people. Rapes, assaults, and house
break-ins have increased dramatically . We can no longer travel freely at
night. Our children cannot go to school, and we cannot even send them on
errands because they fear Zimbabweans," he complains.

According to the former Attorney General Skelemani, "the Dikgosi (Chiefs)
have been given powers to make sure there is peace, stability and harmony
within their [communities]".

He reckons that this gives the chiefs great leeway to take drastic measures,
such as evicting the Zimbabweans altogether, for security reasons. "I
foresee other tribes taking the same measures as the Batlokwa."

The Minister for Health, Miss Lasego Motsumi, speaking to journalists
recently, said she was worried by the actions the Dikgosi have taken on the
Zimbabwe situation.

"This will sour our relations with Zimbabwe much more do we have any proof
that any of these criminal activities are indeed done by Zimbabweans?" she
posed.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Lt General Mompati Merafhe, echoes Miss
Lasego's sentiments. She, however, exercises restraint, saying: "The
Zimbabwe issue is very sensitive."

Towards the end of last year, the Botswana Defence Forces (BDF) and the
Botswana Police, riding on top of armoured tanks, swept through the White
City suburb of the capital, Gaborone, in the wake of a surge in armed
robberies and murders.

Whereas Operation Phepafatso, as it was called, rounded up more than 1,500
illegal Zimbabwean immigrants and hauled them by back into Zimbabwe, a week
later, the Zimbabweans were back, and so was their lucrative black-market
phone business they are know for.

But their actions are probably a result of a dire situation in Zimbabwe. The
country's economic environment has deteriorated since 2000, when the white
farmers were evicted from their lands in a much publicised controversial
land reform programme aimed at re-distributing land to landless native
Zimbabweans.

The country's economy has continued to take a downward spiral, with
inflation hitting the 525 percent mark, the highest in the world. The
country has also been hit by fuel, food and foreign currency shortages

African Church Information Service

January 12, 2004
Posted to the web January 12, 2004

Ntungamili Nkomo
Nairobi

As the New Year dawns - presumably on a good note for most southern African
countries - the diametric opposite could be said of Zimbabwe.

Once a revered bread-basket of the continent, the sub-Saharan country still
finds itself entangled in the shackles of seemingly endless tribulations.
Apart from widespread food shortages, deep-seated political rivalry, and a
hyper-inflationary environment, the country is facing growing isolation from
the international community, which analysts say, dents the prospects of a
quick recovery from the myriad of political and economic problems
bedevilling it. AANA Correspondent, Ntungamili Nkomo, reports.

Political tension between Zimbabwe's two major political rivals, the ruling
Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) led by President
Robert Mugabe, and the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) headed by fiery
former trade unionist, Morgan Tsvangirai, have been largely blamed for
contributing to the socio-political and economic crisis that has dogged the
country for the past three years.

Analysts say there is little hope for recovery of the ailing economy within
this year, especially considering Mugabe's decision to withdraw the
country's membership from the Commonwealth bloc, a grouping of mainly former
British colonies.

Zimbabwe was suspended from the 54-member bloc last year, after a disputed
presidential election that pitted Mugabe and his bitter opponent,
Tsvangirai.

International observers claimed that the election was marred by violence,
and accused Mugabe of manipulating the electoral process in his favour,
leading to the country's suspension from the club.

The Commonwealth again resolved to keep Zimbabwe suspended "indefinitely"
last December, when it met in Abuja, Nigeria. The move infuriated the ageing
Zimbabwean leader, prompting him to pull out of the grouping.

Mugabe described it as a "useless club", which threatened the country's
sovereignty. But the most fundamental question Zimbabweans would want
answered is: Is there any political tolerance between Mugabe and Tsvangirai,
which could lead into some comprehensive talks towards nation building?

Just before the close of last year, both leaders delivered gloomy speeches
that smacked of more tribulations for the already suffering Zimbabweans.

Mass demonstrations, boycotts and strikes was all that the MDC leader
promised the citizens for the New Year. On the other hand, Mugabe reiterated
that his government was prepared to shed its blood to "safeguard jealously,
our sovereignty."

President Mugabe also made it clear that he was not prepared to have talks
with the MDC, claiming that the party was an appendage of the British
government bent on "fomenting trouble and causing chaos in my country". This
further cast a dark cloud over the troubled country's immediate future.

Mugabe, who left the entire world shell-shocked when he pulled his country
out of the Commonwealth, took the platform to lash out at the British Prime
Minister Tony Blair, referring to him as a "Mormon and a false god".

"Tony Blair misguided us. He thought by merely whistling a tune that Mugabe
must go and Zimbabwe must be under MDC, then this would just happen . We are
prepared to die for our country," Mugabe told hundreds of his party
supporters attending its annual conference in Masvingo, southern Zimbabwe.

According to an opposition leader, Paul Siwela, Mugabe had spent the better
part of the year attacking the British Premier instead of fostering
development. Siwela predicted that the country faces a bleak future.

In his end of the year address, the MDC leader said his party was working
out modalities to stage protests in the new year, to force Mugabe to resume
the stalled dialogue. But judging by Mugabe's steadfastness when he makes
resolutions, it remains to be seen if such strategies will ever bear fruits.

Opposition-led mass protests were staged in June and March last year, but
they were violently quashed by armed riot police and soldiers. Many people
were brutally assaulted, while some, including Tsvangirai, were arrested.

"Despite the impressive gains, the national question still remains
unanswered...The Zimbabwe crisis is deepening. Prospects for democracy,
freedom, justice and a better life for all seem to be fading as each day
passes," said Tsvangirai.

Economists and analysts estimate that about 75 percent of Zimbabwe's
population now live below the poverty line because of the spiralling
inflation.

The MDC leader said that his party had extended several peaceful inter-party
dialogue overtures to Mugabe in vain. He, thus, resolved that a "detailed
programme of rolling mass action would probably be the best language that
the government would understand to resume dialogue".

Talks between the two parties collapsed early last year, when Mugabe
demanded that the MDC recognise him as the legitimate leader of the country
and withdraw their election court challenge, as a precondition for the talks
to resume. But the opposition party refused to comply.

For the ordinary Zimbabwean, the political impasse between ZANU-PF and MDC
is the primary cause of the problems affecting the country. The general
consensus among the public is that stalled talks should resume to end what
is now widely referred to by the international community as the "Zimbabwean
crisis."

"Surely, what we are currently experiencing in Zimbabwe is pathetic, to say
the least. As the March (2002) presidential election passed, we thought
Mugabe, who undeniably swept to victory under suspicious circumstances,
would hastily find a solution to the economic malaise bedevilling our
country," said Meluleki Moyo, an economics student at a local university.

"But, all that we have heard and seen from him is rhetoric, propaganda and
an unprecedented warfare with the international community. Also, there has
been bickering within the ruling party, not to mention corruption that has
become so embedded in the society, that it would take a leader of real
fabric to root it out," added Moyo.

Workers, whose salaries are heavily eroded by income tax, have warned of a
direct confrontation with the government in the new year.

The country's health sector is yet to recover from the rigours of a just
ended two-and-a-half-month-long industrial action by nurses and doctors,
demanding salary adjustments by more than 8,000 percent. Several civil
service departments, including teachers, gave notice at the end of last
year, of a strike to take effect at the beginning of this year.

As the crisis continues, humanitarian aid organisations have warned that
more food aid is needed this year, to cater for an estimated six million
people facing starvation.

      Prosecutor Golden Mapurutse also asked the magistrate to force the
three journalists to surrender their passports and report to police once a
fortnight.

      Tongogara dropped all other conditions, only saying that the three
accused journalists should "reside in their own homes" after paying bail.

      Wetherel, who described conditions in the police cells as "hell", said
they would "continue to subject public officials to scrutiny".

      "Criminal defamation is a nasty law, a relic of empire used by
governments to deal with critics.

      "The clumsy attempt used - locking us up and prosecuting us - will do
nothing to silence the newspaper," he said.

African Church Information Service

January 12, 2004
Posted to the web January 12, 2004

Ntungamili Nkomo
Bulawayo

Striking health personnel in Zimbabwe ended their two-and-a-half months
strike last week, after the government promised to review their salaries and
improve their working conditions within two months.

But the doctors and nurses warned that they will go back on strike should
the government fail to honour its promise.

Phibeon Manyanga, the doctors' association president, said last Tuesday that
they had seen it prudent to resume work after the government promised to
"sincerely" address their grievances.

"I can safely assure the nation that doctors have resumed work, and its now
upon the responsible ministry to see to it that our demands are met in less
than two months' time," said Manyanga.

He continued: "Failure to that, we will yet again embark on another job
action, which will undeniably throw the health sector into an unimaginable
quandary," .

Doctors and nurses are demanding a salary increment by a whooping 8,000
percent. The Ministry of Health and Child Welfare had initially refused to
award them as much, saying their demands were unreasonable.

David Parirenyatwa, the responsible minister, had further said the demands
were premised on black market rates.

Some doctors who were reluctant to resume work despite a call by their
leadership to do so, expressed reservations about the government's sincerity
to award them the 8,000 percent increment they were demanding.

"Considering the government's record of reneging on its promises, it remains
to be seen whether they are really serious this time round. The situation is
really bad," remarked a doctor in Bulawayo.

Junior and middle level doctors in the country have been on strike since
October last year, over poor pay packages. According to health experts, the
action has had a detrimental impact on the country's health sector, already
reeling from staff and drug shortages due to poor remuneration and a
persistent deficit in foreign currency.

Most qualified health personnel have opted for better-paying jobs abroad. On
average, the country looses an estimated 200 doctors and nurses to
neighbouring countries every year.