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Foreigners want SA army to protect them from xenophobia

By Alex Bell

23 July 2010

 

A community of foreigners in South Africa have called for the country’s army to remain in the informal settlement where they live, until xenophobic tensions rising across the country begin to diminish.

The community in Kya Sands in Northern Johannesburg say they want the army to remain in the township for another month to ensure their safety, following attacks on both foreigners and locals earlier this week. The army moved into the Kya Sands settlement on Tuesday after the attacks which saw tuck shops and shacks being plundered on Sunday and Monday. At least five people were injured.

According to South Africa’s ‘The Times’ newspaper, people are too frightened to live in the area without the army to protect them. A team from the newspaper spent a night in the township this week and spoke to Zimbabwean Tshepo Sithole, whose shack was damaged in an attack on Sunday night. He told the newspaper that “the minute they (the army) leave, we will be attacked. We are scared, but we feel a bit safe in the presence of the army. The police are useless. People attack in their presence,” he said.

The informal town of Kya Sands is home to thousands of Zimbabweans and Mozambicans.  On Wednesday night, more than 30 army, police, and Johannesburg metro police vehicles, including armoured personnel carriers and ambulances, were reportedly parked on the only stretch of tarred road outside the settlement. The Times said that teams of heavily armed soldiers, SAPS and metro police officers patrolled the area and searched anyone who aroused their suspicions.

Foreigners in South Africa have been living in fear for several weeks after rumoured threats that xenophobic violence would be unleashed after the football World Cup came to an end. The tournament ended almost two weeks ago and so far, a few sporadic incidents of violence have been reported. Fear however continues to drive many foreigners from their South African homes and in Zimbabwe, the Civil Protection Unit has put up temporary shelters in Beitbridge for hundreds of Zimbabweans fleeing the xenophobic threats.

Meanwhile, a friendly soccer match taking place in Johannesburg this weekend will be attempting to give xenophobia a red card. The event, which will see South Africa’s Jomo Cosmos taking on Zimbabwe’s Highlanders, is being hailed as an “Ubuntu Derby”, aiming to bring together all Africans in Africa. People from all walks of life have been invited to celebrate their cultural richness, diversity, and most importantly to embrace their differences through soccer, drama, poetry music and traditional dances. The event will also be graced by political and religious leaders in South Africa.

 


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Legal owner of Chiadzwa mining site says diamond sales unlawful

SW Radio Africa News Stories for 23 July 2010

By Alex Bell

23 July 2010

 

The London based mining firm at the centre of the ongoing Chiadzwa diamond field ownership wrangle, has said this week that the planned sale of the controversial stones from the site is unlawful.

 

Africa Consolidated Resources (ACR) has warned potential international buyers not to buy diamonds from the firms currently mining the Chiadzwa alluvial fields, in partnership with a mining parastatal.

 

ACR’s CEO Andrew Cranswick told SW Radio Africa on Friday that all mining activities at the site since September last year have been done in contravention of High Court and Supreme Court orders, and is criminal and punishable.

 

“Any activity on the site since September 2009, apart from securing and guarding, is in contempt of court and criminal,” Cranswick explained.

 

ACR, which holds the legal title to the Chiadzwa claim, was forced off the site at gunpoint in 2006 and has been fighting a protracted legal battle ever since to resume its operations. The state owned Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) moved onto the site and entered into a joint venture agreement, without Cabinet approval, with two mining firms, Mbada Mining and Canadile Mining. ACR was subsequently awarded a High Court order confirming their legal rights to mine the claim, but that order was ignored.

 

The fight for control of the Chiadzwa claim continued to heat up and in February this year, the Supreme Court ordered that all mining at the site be suspended, until the issue was sorted out. Cranswick explained that this has also been ignored and warned that “everyone involved in mining since that order was made will face prosecution for this criminal behaviour.”

 

Zimbabwe’s government has reportedly been in a celebratory mood after being given the green light to start selling a multi million dollar stockpile of rough diamonds from Chiadzwa. Last week, the international diamond trade monitor, the Kimberley Process, thrashed out an agreement with the Mines Ministry, which will let the country export the stones while agreeing to a strict regime of monitoring and supervision.

 

Under the terms of the agreement, Zimbabwe will be allowed to export a limited number of diamonds produced since May from two mining sites at Chiadzwa. At the same time a Kimberley Process Review Mission will visit the country to assess conditions in the region and compliance with the minimum trade standards. Zimbabwe will be able to export one more batch of diamonds at the start of September, but any exports after that will be dependent on measurable improvements at the diamond fields.

 

Cranswick said on Friday that the agreement worked out last week by the Kimberley Process has no authority over the orders of Zimbabwe’s Supreme Court, explaining that “they have given the green light to certify the stones as conflict free, not the green light for exports.” He explained that such certification “does not guarantee the goods to be legal or not stolen, as they are in this case.”

 

The planned diamond sales would be a welcome boost to the failing economy if the right measures are in place to ensure that profits are steered towards the Treasury. Quite how this will be done is still being debated, after Finance Minister Tendai Biti proposed a future ‘Diamond Act’ to curb diamond-sale corruption. Biti announced last week that no profits from diamond sales have been seen by the Treasury since the ZMDC took over ACR’s claim, despite an estimated $30 million in diamonds being illegally exported in the past year.

 

ACR has since proposed that it will not stand in the way of the diamond stockpile being sold, if the process is 100% transparent, does not involve the companies illegally occupying Chiadzwa or the parastatal ZMDC, and is approved by the Supreme Court. Cranswick explained that another condition would be to ensure that 100% of the profits go into the economy, and not the pockets of the ZMDC, Mbada or Canadile.

 

“For money to flow to people who have been committing a crime is wrong, it’s internationally wrong,” Cranswick said. “The people who buy the diamonds without our approval and the approval of the Supreme Court will be called to pay us back or return the stones.”

 


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Zimbabwean in 50 mile Channel Islands swim for charity

SW Radio Africa News Stories for 23 July 2010

By Lance Guma

23 July 2010

 

Nat Snook, a Zimbabwean who moved to the Channel Islands in 2004, will attempt to swim 50 miles around the island of Jersey in September this year, to help raise money for two charities back home.

Snook says he left Zimbabwe because of the economic and political problems but this has not dampened his determination to help the Zimbabwe Benefit Foundation and Malvern House Trust.

Speaking to Newsreel on Friday Snook told us the Zimbabwe Benefit Foundation was close to his heart as it helped school children who could not afford to pay fees. He says he benefited from a quality education several years back in Zimbabwe and wanted to give something back.

Snook will swim for 10 to 12 hours around Jersey and his target of 50 miles will depend on tides and the weather. “I just hope the jellyfish will stay out of the way.’ he joked. He is collecting online donations, having created a ‘just giving page’ to collect secure online donations for his chosen charities. http://www.justgiving.com/Nat-Snook).

Meanwhile in London a father and son duo will take part in an 85 mile sponsored cycle ride in aid of orphans in Zimbabwe. Adrian Smale and his son Michael say they saw the documentary “Zimbabwe’s forgotten children” on BBC 4 and felt moved to support the charity around it.

“I haven’t cycled in 35 years and my wife thought I was totally crazy, but when my youngest son Michael agreed to do it with me, things started to take shape. Three months of training and a stone and a half lighter I hope I am physically ready to go!” He said being in the music industry helped his cause and when he advertised the event he was blown away by the generous sponsorship support from companies like Roland, Korg, Tanglewood, Strings N things and others.

You can follow Adrian Smale and his son on;

www.twitter.com/adriansmale  or www.twitter.com/mikeysmale

 


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MDC-T spokesman says party should debate participation in outreach

SW Radio Africa News Stories for 23 July 2010

By Lance Guma

23 July 2010

 

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC party will have to meet and decide whether to continue participating in the current constitutional outreach exercise which has been marred by incidents of violence and intimidation.

In a hard hitting interview, party spokesman Nelson Chamisa said it was now necessary for the leadership to meet and ‘say under the circumstances what is our continued participation in this process. What is the end and what is the product?’

He told Newsreel they were receiving reports from their structures, and even from ZANU PF supporters, complaining that they were being frog marched into torture bases, and indoctrinated on what to say before being taken to outreach meetings.

‘This is very ugly a picture, very disturbing a trend and very discouraging a pattern. When one looks at what has been happening across the whole country it’s not as if people are being allowed to express themselves.’

He likened what was happening to the siege mentality that accompanied the bloody election violence of 2008, when Mugabe and his ZANU PF party lost elections and sent out army units to murder over 500 opposition supporters in retribution.

So will the MDC pull out from the outreach? ‘Look I can’t do that, I have no power to make those kind of alternatives or permutations. The leadership will look at these issues forensically and surgically and come up with a position’. He said people are being turned into robots and this had made the outreach a farce.

 


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Civil society activists to lobby AU over Zimbabwe elections

SW Radio Africa News Stories for 23 July 2010

By Lance Guma

23 July 2010

 

Several key Zimbabwean activists took part in a roundtable discussion in the Ugandan capital Kampala Friday, where they intend to lobby the African Union to take a prominent role in ensuring Zimbabwe’s next elections are free and fair. Several heads of state and government officials began arriving in Uganda on Friday for the AU heads of state summit, scheduled to begin on Sunday.

Political analyst John Makumbe, Zimbabwe Election Support Network chairperson Tinoziva Bere, International Commission of Jurists Africa Director Arnold Tsunga, farm workers union leader Gertrude Hambira, Zimbabwe Human Rights Association Director Okay Machisa, plus Tsitsi Mhlanga, Pedzisai Ruhanya and Dewa Mavhinga took part in the conference.

Under the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition the activists say they want to ‘urge leaders at the African Union summit, to ensure that Zimbabwe is sufficiently prepared to hold credible, free and fair elections and that the AU stands ready to monitor and observe those elections.’ It’s also their belief the ‘AU should actively promote democracy, peace and security in Zimbabwe and across Africa.’

In March 2008 Mugabe and his ZANU PF party lost harmonized presidential and parliamentary elections to the MDC, led by then opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai. What followed was a brutal campaign of retribution led by the army in which over 500 opposition supporters were murdered and tens of thousands tortured or maimed. The intervention of the Southern African Development Community resulted in a power sharing deal that kept the loser firmly in power.

But the coalition government has been shaky and progress is being marred by Mugabe’s reluctance to genuinely share power. The momentum has since shifted to a new election as the only possible solution and this is why the activists say they are trying to get the guarantors of the power sharing deal,  SADC and AU, to ensure the transitional government will ‘institute necessary reforms to conduct, free and fair elections, run in accordance with SADC and AU standards.’

 


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COPAC program exposes deep polarisation between parties

SW Radio Africa News Stories for 23 July 2010

By Tichaona Sibanda

23 July 2010

 

The constitutional outreach program, meant to gather people’s views on the new constitution, has exposed the deep political polarization and intolerance that still exists between ZANU PF and MDC supporters.

 

Since the program resumed this week, after a week long break, tension, friction and shouting matches have characterized most of the meetings. Even signaling your intention to contribute a view by raising a hand, has now been politicized by the participants.

 

When MDC supporters want to contribute to debate, they raise their hands as any other person would do. And here lies the problem. An open palm is a gesture linked to the MDC party symbol. In retaliation, ZANU PF supporters have resorted to raising their hands— fists clenched— a style made popular by Mugabe when sloganeering.

 

Our correspondent Simon Muchemwa said it was clear there is still much animosity between supporters of ZANU PF and the MDC. He said these incidents, and many others being observed at the meetings, are clear indicators of the dark cloud of political polarization and intolerance characterizing the political terrain in the country.

 

‘At times you witness shouting matches when people try to put across their party positions. This is happening in meetings mainly in rural areas where deep mistrust among the supporters still exist, Muchemwa said.

 

He said the program is beset with administrative problems, ranging from lack of accommodation to shortages of funds for outreach teams. Some COPAC members threatened to down tools this week when they failed to get their allowances.

 

‘There’s a serious problem out there and COPAC seems to be failing to cope with the crisis. Some people are going hungry because they are not being paid their allowances,’ Muchemwa added.

 

There are a total of 70 outreach teams, totaling 700 people, deployed countrywide. They will spend two months gathering the views of the public on the new constitution which will replace the negotiated 1979 Lancaster House constitution.

 


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Uproar as funds from tollgate fees benefit ZANU PF strongholds

SW Radio Africa News Stories for 23 July 2010

By Tichaona Sibanda

24 July 2010

 

There is an uproar in political circles over the way funds raised from tollgate fees have been channeled to developmental projects, mainly in ZANU PF strongholds.

 

The tollgates, operated by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority, were launched in August last year.  As of March this year the government said it had pocketed US$12 million in fees and the bulk of the money has been spent on trunk roads rehabilitation and pothole repair.

 

Nationally there are 22 tollgates on the country’s major roads that are cashing in an average of US$1,3 million every month. But eyebrows have been raised at the way the funds have been distributed to rehabilitate roads in only some of the provinces.

 

The weekly Zimbabwe Independent reported Friday that Robert Mugabe’s rural home district of Zvimba, and some nearby districts in the area, have controversially grabbed the largest amounts of money from tollgate fees collected nationwide.

 

The paper said the move has caused shock in political and civil society circles, adding that it also confirms the skewed distribution of resources in the country, with most resources being allocated to areas where Mugabe and his closest cronies hail from.

 

Mugabe and his loyalists have over the years been accused of grabbing national resources to develop their own regions, at the expense of others. This has created imbalances in national development and angered other regions which felt marginalized.

 

Out of the US$15 million distributed so far, areas perceived to be ZANU PF strongholds have benefitted the most. Bindura got US$2,6 million and Zvimba slightly more than US$2 million. Mhondoro-Ngezi in Mashonaland West got US$1,8 million.

 

The Independent says all the top six beneficiaries of tollgate money are in the Mashonaland provinces, Bindura (Mashonaland Central), Zvimba (Mashonaland West), Mhondoro-Ngezi (Mashonaland West), Chaminuka (Mashonaland East, US$510 000), Mazowe (Mashonaland Central, US$190 000), and Pfura (Mashonaland Central, US$137 655) .

 


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Hotseat SW Radio Africa

Alex Bell speaks to the Executive Director of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, Irene Petras. She talks about the state of Zimbabwe’s legal system and says critical institutional reforms appear not to be a priority for the unity government. Petras explains there is still no respect for the rule of law or the political will to address Zimbabwe’s culture of impunity.

...................................................................................................

 

In Letter from Zimbabwe, author Cathy Buckle writes; "The real question is, whether the sudden rash of charges against Temba Mliswa is a serious case of police investigation into the looting of farms or if dirty politics is really behind this matter. Temba Mliswa is the tip of a gigantic antheap. An antheap that is festering underground, hot and humid and crammed with a seething mass of criminals, small, big and very big. Is their day finally coming?"


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Callback SW Radio Africa

Vamsanda says people should not welcome the move by the Kimberley Process to allow Zim to sell diamonds, as it will not benefit the country but only corrupt government officials; while Dliwayo says politicians in the GNU seems to be content with the current situation and don’t seem to want it to change; And Simba says the MDC is not campaigning for the new constitution in the rural areas, leaving ZPF and war vets to intimidate & threaten people into not expressing their opinion.

 

 

 


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JAG OPEN LETTER FORUM - No. 707- Dated 23 July 2010

From: "Justice for Agriculture" <justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw>

Sent: Saturday, July 24, 2010 7:40 PM

To: "Justice for Agriculture" <justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw>

Subject: OPEN LETTER FORUM dated 23 JULY 2010

 

 

Email: jag@mango.zw; justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw

 

Please send any material for publication in the Open Letter Forum to jag@mango JAG OPEN LETTER FORUM - No..zw with "For Open Letter Forum" in the subject line.

 

To subscribe/unsubscribe to the JAG mailing list, please email:

jag@mango.zw with subject line "subscribe" or "unsubscribe".

 

=================================================

 

1.  Kathy Hull - letter

 

2.  Robb WJ Ellis - SADC Tribunal Rules Against Mugabe

 

3.  Robb WJ Ellis - Shout Down, Knock Down, Hold Down

 

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1.  Kathy Hull - letter

 

Dear Jag

 

I just love the people of this country.  I went to visit a friend who works in a shop.  She was busy, but she said "come let's go and have a quick cup of coffee."  She is battling and someone had taken her a box of food.  She had just given some of her soup to an old lady who needed help.  And we saw a doctor quietly ask at a pharmacy if he could have any spare drugs to help out those who couldn't afford them.  I felt so proud and happy to be Zimbabwean and I kept thinking all day "I don't want to leave this place."

 

I was Overseas and mentioned to my son that someone from USA had asked to stay in my house while I was away.  I didn't know him at all and he knew no-one here, so I arranged for a friends' driver to fetch him from the airport.  The driver took him straight to my house and later on the friend of mine phoned him and said "We're having a braai at our house on Sunday.

 

Would you like to come?  We can fetch you."  My son said "Wow.  That's what I miss.  People just don't do that here."  I hadn't thought anything of it, as we are just like that.

 

I lost two husbands and a daughter - all tragically (not all at once, and I certainly didn't lose the husbands at the same time).  So often I've met people who've said they know my name so well as they were praying for me.

 

Our Harare community care.  We are not just a number - we are important and we are all special.  Recently I broke my wrist, and couldn't drive for eight weeks.  People I'd never even met before took me shopping and brought me ready-made meals.  My friend taught me how to put  my underwear on by swinging it round my foot.  How thoughtful is that?

 

I've been reading a books about the SAS and Selous Scouts in our Bush war, and what amazed me the most is that our soldiers were never just cannon fodder.  Every one of them had to come back alive and uninjured.

If one of them died, the country mourned.  It was a disaster.  If one of them got lost, a whole platoon, or however many soldiers it took, would be sent out to risk their lives and search high and low to find that  one man and bring him home.

 

In the Supermarkets, people look you in the face, with a ready smile.

Often they chat.  You just don't DO in any other part of the world, not even just the other side of the boerewors curtain.  I was in a shop there and a woman started chatting to me.  I thought "that's unusual" and I found out she was also visiting from Zimbabwe!  A shop-keeper there said to me "I can see you Zimbabweans from a mile off. You smile, you don't wear so much make-up and you are all generally thinner."  Oops I'd just bought five big slabs of chocolate and a big box of ultramel custard for my husband, but I drank it all before I got to the till. ( He never forgave me.)

 

I was in the queue at Spar with a bottle of brandy and a bottle of vodka in my trolley.  The African gentleman behind me said "Mmmm, I think I'll come and have a drink with you."  I answered "well, it's actually for my mother,"

 

and he replied, "oh, well, I think I'll go and have a drink with her.

But there IS a problem.  And that is..I just might become your Step Father."  I laughed, so he said "I thought that'd make you laugh!"

 

I met up with a friend who has been living in England for twenty five years and has a thick Rhodesian accent just like Ian Smith had.  He said he went to a very larny dinner there.  Someone said to him "You know what Bing, Old chap, you will always just be Zimbabwean, you will never be one of us," and he said "Thank the **** for THAT!"

 

Kathy Hull.

 

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2.  Robb WJ Ellis - SADC Tribunal Rules Against Mugabe

 

Dear Jag

 

SADC Tribunal Rules Against Mugabe - Again Robb , Derby:

 

Mugabe is fast becoming a huge problem in Africa - and the various bodies, such as SADC and the AU, have done nothing to hinder his self-gratifying rule in Zimbabwe, that now the problem is bigger than ever.

 

SADC can make as many rulings as they want - Mugabe will ignore them all and will issue statements that ridicule and belittle their efforts.

 

Mugabe believes that he is appointed by God, and is in power for the rest of his life.

 

"The SADC Tribunal made another landmark ruling in Windhoek, Namibia, today (July 16) regarding the Zimbabwean government's continued violation of decisions made by the Tribunal to commercial farmers affect by the country's land reform policies.

 

Referring to violations in a further contempt order of June 5, 2009 after the main judgement of November 28, 2008 in the Campbell farm test case, the Tribunal said in today's judgement.

 

"The Tribunal found that the Respondent (the Zimbabwe Government), had failed to comply with the decision in the former case (28 November 2008) and reported such failure to the Summit to take appropriate action...

Despite this the Respondent has continued to violate the decision of the Tribunal."

 

Mugabe doesn't care about rulings made by the SADC Tribunal and a letter from his Minister of Justice, Patrick Chinamasa, states: "any decisions that the Tribunal may have made or may make in the future against the Republic of Zimbabwe are null and void".

 

Interestingly, if the ruling had been in favour of Mugabe, then he would have conformed to that ruling.

 

Mugabe claims that the land grab was to correct the colonial land tenure imbalance, but what he has done is replace the perceived wrong of the land ownership being in the hands of the 'bloody' white commercial farmers who he described as 'enemies of the State' with the ownership being largely ZANU PF cadres, officials, ministers and supporters. The publicly announced intention to hand the land to the 'landless blacks'

had proven to be probably one of the biggest lies Mugabe has visited upon the population.

 

And Mugabe is reluctant to enter into the coalition entirely because he is of the opinion that the MDC - the winners of the 2008 election - will reverse the land grab. Even if the MDC wanted to reverse the operation, the damage caused by the land programme is too deep, too devastating to do much more that ensure that the land is handed to the 'landless blacks'

and the country would remain in need of international aid to feed themselves.

 

One of the farmers whose land was subject to the original ruling, Mike Campbell, stated: "They have burnt my house with all its contents, they have looted my crops and my tractors, they have tortured my workers, they have killed my animals, they have stripped my farm, they have beaten me within an inch of my life - from which I have never recovered - it is now time that SADC acted."

 

The saddest part of this whole thing is that SADC may have made rulings, and they may have appointed a mediator in the ongoing (!) inter-party negotiations, but they don't have the clout to push for these talks to bear fruit...

 

"Despite the SADC-brokered Global Political Agreement (GPA), invasions and looting continued unabated.

 

This has destroyed the country's ability to feed itself and ruined the entire commercial farming industry, depriving tens of thousands of additional farm workers of their job and livelihoods."

 

Robb WJ Ellis

 

The Bearded Man

 

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3.  Robb WJ Ellis - Shout Down, Knock Down, Hold Down

 

Robb , Derby: few seconds ago

 

Zimbabwe :

 

Yesterday, you may recall that I wrote about Mugabe's attitude to the new SADC ruling following his ignoring the initial ruling. This is all about the land grab and the SADC Tribunal had ruled that the applicants, Michael Campbell and his son-in-law, Ben Freeth, were to be allowed to live and work on their farms and that the invaders were to leave them alone.

 

The thugs, representing Mugabe's interests, then burned the households to ground.

 

The invaders have not left the farms and Campbell and Freeth have not been able to work the land.

 

A new ruling reiterates the original ruling and orders the invaders off the land.

 

Mugabe's Minister of Justice has stated that the Zimbabwean government doesn't recognise the tribunal's ruling.

 

"The government has once again snubbed a ruling by the human rights courts of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), saying the ruling is of `no consequence' to Zimbabwe.

 

The comments were made by Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa over the weekend, after the SADC Tribunal ruled that the government was in contempt, for ignoring previous rulings over unlawful land seizures. The contempt ruling is the third since the government was taken to court over the land `reform' programme in 2008, and the case will now be referred to the SADC summit in Namibia next month.

 

But ZANU PF's Chinamasa on Sunday told the state controlled Herald newspaper that SADC rulings would never change the government's position on land `reform'. He added that the position on the SADC Tribunal remained the same, in that that it did not recognise its judgements.

 

"Our position remains the same that we don't recognise the SADC Tribunal for reasons that we have given before. The farmers can have as many such judgements as they can but they will be of no effect in our jurisdiction," he said.

 

"The farmers are wasting their time and money and are only going there for propaganda purposes. They are entitled to play their propaganda by going to the Tribunal but we will not recognise the judgement,"

he said."

 

When I wrote the editorial yesterday, I stated exactly that.

 

Mugabe will not be moved - not be SADC, not by the AU, not by the EU and not by the UN. Mugabe believes that he was `elected' by the Zimbabwean people - and now he is intent on remaining in power and will shout down anyone who objects, will knock down anyone who opposes him and hold down anyone who seeks justice for the treatment handed out by his violent ZANU PF party.

 

Yet Mugabe believes that his party should be recognised as the `ruling party' by virtue of his position as President of Zimbabwe, although his return to that office was achieved through violence, intimidation and fraud.

 

Whilst his government refuses to recognise the SADC Tribunal, perhaps it is time for SADC to refuse to recognise his tenure, knowing that it was achieved through surreptitious means.

 

"The Tribunal on Friday ruled that farmers can refer their grievances to the SADC summit in August, as the Zimbabwean government has still failed to protect them and their rights to their land. This decision followed an urgent court application made by farmers Louis Fick and Mike Campbell last month, in a bid to force SADC leaders to intervene.

 

The application called on the SADC Tribunal to consider measures under the SADC Treaty to terminate or suspend Zimbabwe's membership from SADC. The basis of the application is that the government remains in contempt of the SADC Tribunal by allowing ongoing farms invasions, arrests, prosecutions and imprisonment of farmers, despite a Tribunal order to protect the same farmers.

 

The government was ordered to protect these rights in a landmark ruling by the Tribunal in 2008, which said that land `reform' was unlawful and discriminatory. That ruling has been completely ignored by the government, which was eventually charged with contempt by the Tribunal. Previous comments by Chinamasa dismissing the Tribunal landed the government in further hot water, when another contempt charge was eventually handed down."

 

The termination or suspension of Zimbabwe's membership to SADC will achieve nothing as Mugabe will believe then that he has removed yet another yoke from his shoulders - and I believe that he will ensure that the land referred to in the rulings will not only be invaded and taken in toto, but that the invasion will be conducted with extreme prejudice.

 

"Chegutu farmer Ben Freeth, who heads the SADC Tribunal Rights Watch group, on Monday told SW Radio Africa that the ball is now in SADC's court to take firm action with Zimbabwe. He explained that the Tribunal is a "visionary concept that means nothing until judgements are implemented."

 

"A court with no teeth is a pretty useless thing," Freeth said. "It paints a gloomy picture for the whole SADC region if human rights abuses are allowed to continue in this way."

 

Robb WJ Ellis

The Bearded Man

 

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4.  Ryan & Louise Swales

 

Dear Jag

 

Is there any chance you can please send out this email to your mailing list.  I had a very scary thing happen to me this morning and I would like to warn people about it.

 

This morning I was taking someone to the airport who was on the early morning flight so we had to be at the airport by 5.30am.  The incident occurred just after the last set of robots before the airport.

 

When I approached the lights they were green and as I crossed over the line they turned amber.  About 200m after the lights a policeman with a reflector waistcoat came out from the gum trees and stopped me.  As soon as I was stopped he moved off so I couldn't get his rank, name or number off is uniform.  Another policeman in a navy uniform approached the car along with two plain clothes.  The policeman in the uniform pointed a shotgun at us and said that we had crossed through the robot when it was red.  I insisted that we didn't and they proceeded to argue with me.  I then took out my cell phone and said that I was phoning Inspector Chigombe and the national complaints line.  I failed to get through but as soon as I mentioned this they started back tracking and they asked me for $30.  I only had $24 on me which I handed over as I was now in a bit of a state with this shotgun pointing at me and they let us go.  The policeman in the navy uniform had no name, rank or number on his uniform.  I was not at the airport for no more than 15 mins and when I came back they were gone.

 

Please can you all be very careful when crossing over that last robot before the airport when it is dark.  These guys are out there to hassle us and it was a very scary situation to be in.

 

Ryan & Louise Swales

 

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All letters published on the open Letter Forum are the views and opinions of the submitters, and do not represent the official viewpoint of Justice for Agriculture.

 

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OUTSIDE LOOKING IN

A letter from the diaspora

 

Dear Friends.

I suppose it’s not really surprising that Zimbabwe doesn’t feature very highly on the world’s news agenda at the moment. The problem – or one of them – is that nothing seems to be happening. The conclusion most non-Zimbabweans draw from that, if they think about it at all, is that things must now be OK in Zimbabwe. On the basis that ‘No news is good news’ they assume that the GNU must be working and all is now quiet in the formerly troubled country. It is no longer one of the world’s trouble spots. Zimbabwe, it seems has solved its problems by the formation of a coalition government with former enemies working amicably together. That’s how it looks from the outside to the uninformed and even to Zimbabweans in exile in the diaspora the news is sometimes very confusing. Take this week for an example. The KP’s decision to allow Zimbabwe to sell her diamonds on the open market was welcomed by both sides of the political divide regardless of any previous condemnation of human rights abuses and the militarization of the diamond fields. And in Harare there was the big news was that Mugabe’s politburo and the two MDC leaders and their delegations had met “to discuss ways to end the violence.” On the face of it that seems a very positive development and that’s exactly where the confusion comes in. If, as both sides are repeatedly claiming, everything is going well in Zimbabwe and the MDC and Zanu PF are getting on fine, why is there still violence on the ground and particularly in the rural areas? Why is the Constitutional Outreach Programme beset with problems of violence and attempts to silence dissenting voices by Zanu PF thugs? Why are MDC officials constantly being harassed and arrested by the partisan police force?

Has the Unity Government lived up to expectations? Are things improving or are they not? Watching David Coltart’s interview shown on the World Service’s Hard Talk I was struck by his equivocal answer to that blunt question. Things are much better than they were, he said, the problem was that people’s expectations were too high! There is food in the shops now he claimed but made little mention of the fact that it was often unaffordable to the poor, though the economy has improved he maintained and the media has been partially freed up. This in the same week that the ZTV/BC resumed its playing of Zanu PF jingles denigrating the GNU and their MDC ‘partners’.  Schools and hospitals are functioning again, Coltart claimed. It all sounded quite rosy but then Coltart would say that wouldn’t he? He and other MDC and Zanu PF ministers are in the UK on a begging trip, appealing for funds. They have to put a positive spin on the situation to attract the investment they so desperately need. What Coltart couldn’t quite bring himself to say was that no one is going to invest in a country where the rule of law is meaningless, where property rights are ignored and the police continue to turn a blind eye to Zanu PF’s blatant disregard of human and democratic rights. Coltart admitted that the situation on the farms has deteriorated even further in recent months but he was careful not to say what every Zimbabwean knows: that Robert Mugabe’s so-called Land Reform has been nothing short of disaster for the country leading to widespread hunger and unemployment. 

As for the question of what should happen to Robert Mugabe and his cronies in the police and the army, it was Tendayi Biti, the Finance Minister, back in Harare who put forward the argument that the only way to get him to give up power was to offer him and his cronies immunity from prosecution in exchange for the promise that they would not be arrested or lose their stolen farms if they just quietly retire from the scene. This extraordinary suggestion seems to have provoked very little comment back in Zimbabwe but speaking personally, I cannot accept that any Minister from any party has the right to set aside an individual’s rights in such a way. How can a Government Minister decide that property that was legally owned and paid for by virtue of Title Deeds can now belong in perpetuity to the thief who stole it? That is nothing more than a criminals’ charter and every land grabber in the country must be rubbing his hands in glee at the thought that his ill-gotten gains – be they farms, crops, tractors, irrigation pipes or household goods stolen during the land invasions – cannot now be taken from him.  There seems little difference to me between Zanu PF  Minister Chinamasa’s statement this week that Zimbabwe would ignore the rulings of the SADC Tribunal in favour of the Zimbabwean farmers and an MDC Minister’s offer of immunity in exchange for retaining stolen property. In neither case is this a true reflection of what is meant by adherence to the rule of law. While an international Advocacy Group calls on the UN Security Council to prosecute Robert Mugabe and warns of the imminent threat of 2008-style violence in the forthcoming elections, the MDC continues its support for the status quo on the grounds that the GNU is the only way forward for the country to avoid the terrible violence of the past.  MDC people such as David Coltart are no doubt well-meaning, sincere and utterly committed to Zimbabwe but in going along with Zanu PF and Robert Mugabe, knowing their violent history, the MDC is guilty of extreme naivety that may well bring down even worse violence on the heads of innocent Zimbabweans in the months ahead.      

Yours in the (continuing) struggle PH.aka Pauline Henson author of Case Closed published by Mambo Press, Going Home and Countdown, political detective stories set in Zimbabwe and available from Lulu.com               

 


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ZZZICOMP MONITOR DETAINED IN MANICALAND PROVINCE

 

23 July 2010

HRDs  Alert

 

                                                              

 

 

 

ZZZICOMP MONITOR DETAINED IN MANICALAND PROVINCE

On 23 July 2010, John Ziyera was arrested and detained at Dumba Business Center, Mutasa North Constituency.

 

John is a Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, Zimbabwe Election Support Network and Zimbabwe Peace Project Independent Constitutional Monitoring Project (ZZZICOMP) monitor, who had been deployed to monitor the constitution making outreach programme in Mutasa North Constituency.

 

He was allegedly apprehended after the participants in a meeting at Dumba Business Centre tried to physically attack him as he was regarded as a foreigner in their area. Although Ziyera identified himself as a ZZZICOMP monitor to David Chimhini, one of the Constitution Select Committee (COPAC) team leader, the legislator proceeded to hand him over to the police under unclear circumstances.

 

Ziyera was then detained by the police from 15:00hours and was subsequently transferred to Mutare Law and Order Section after three hours.

 

When Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) lawyers, Blessing Nyamaropa and Roselyn Hanzi attended at the police station they were advised that no charges had been levelled against the ZZZICOMP monitor.

 

The police continued to detain Ziyera even after the lawyers produced his accreditation card that had been issued by COPAC.

 

A police officer then advised lawyers that the senior police officers at Mutare police station were consulting and verifying with senior police officers in Harare on the way forward.

 

After being detained for almost five hours, Ziyera was released into the custody of his lawyers on condition that he appears at the Mutare Law and Order Section at 08:00 hours on 24 July 2010.

 

ENDS


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Constitution Watch 15/2010 - 22nd July [Outreach Meetings:Manicaland: 26 July to 7 August]

 

CONSTITUTION WATCH 15/2010

[22nd July 2010]

Itinerary for Outreach Meetings: Manicaland Province:

Monday 26th July to Saturday 7th August

Meetings are scheduled for Mutasa, Chimanimani and Chipinge districts.  Veritas will circulate itineraries for other provinces as soon as they become available from COPAC.

Provincial Contact Person for Manicaland is F. Mbesta, 0912 730655.

 

Date

Ward

Meeting Point

Meeting Point

Meeting Point

 

MUTASA  DISTRICT

 

26-Jul-10

31

Nyatsanza Primary

Ruda Primary

Hauna Airstrip

 

CHIMANIMANI DISTRICT

 

 26-Jul-10

Ward 1

Mutambara Central Primary Sch

Nyambeya 1 Primary

Ruwedza Primary

 

2

Mhandarume Primary

Mashonjowa Primary

 

 

3

Chakohwa Primary

Chakohwa Secondry

 

27-Jul-10

3

Nechitima Primary

 

 

 

4

Matendeudze Primary

Chiramba Primary

Mutambara Primary

 

5

Hotsprings Primary

Nemaramba Primary

Nenhowe Primary

 

6

Chayamiti Primary

Shinja Primary

 

 

7

Bumba Primary

 

 

28-Jul-10

7

Bvumbura Primary

Mutsamvu Primary

 

 

8

Agritex

Chitinha Primary

Dirikwe Primary

 

9

Chigwegwe Creche

Zimunda Primary

Takaengwa Primary

 

10

Chikukwa Primary

 

 

29-Jul-10

11

Martin Hall

 

 

 

11

Jantia Farm House

Hangani Primary School

 

 

12

Charleswood

Tilbury Primary

Tarka Primary

 

13

Manase Primary

Kushinga Primary

Kwirire Primary

 

14

Westward Home

Fairfield Primary

 

30-Jul-10

14

Cambridge Primary

 

 

 

15

Ngangu Primary

Chimanimani Magistrate

 

 

16

Dzikope Hall

Tiya Primary

Duri Creche

 

17

Muusha Primary

Saurombe Business Centre

M.D.A.

31-Jul-10

18

Mhakwe Primary

 

 

 

18

Biriwiri District Hospital

Kwaedza House

 

 

19

Chikwakwa Primary

Chikwizi Primary

Ndapetwa Primary

 

20

Gudyanga Primary

Tonhorai Primary

Changazi Primary

1-Aug-10

BREAK [SUNDAY]

 

 

CHIMANIMANI DISTRICT

 

2-Aug-10

21

Ndakopa Primary

Hode Primary

 

 

21

Dzingire Primary

 

 

 

22

Muchadziya Primary

Vimba Primary School

Hlabiso (Makumbura) Secondary

 

23

Ndima Primary

Dip Tank

Mutsvangwa Primary

 

 

CHIPINGE DISTRICT

 

3-Aug-10

1

Bangwe Township

Changadzi Township

Rufumiso Township

 

2

Ngaone Secondary School

Ngaone Toti Primary Sch

Masonga Clinic

 

3

Goko Primary School

Mutema Primary School

Taona Township

 

4

Musani Primary School

Birirano School

Tanganda Primary School

4-Aug-10

5

Sabi Primary School

 

 

 

5

Tongogara Primary School

Meikles Village

 

 

6

Mooiplaats Primary School

Christina Primary School

Bondi Township

 

7

Clearwater Primary School

Chivhunze Primary School

 

5-Aug-10

8

Junction Gate

Ratelshoek Primary School

Foroma Primary School

 

9

Paidamoyo Primary school

Ndiadzo Primary School

Mafumise Primary School

 

10

Hillrand Primary School

Heartbeast

 

 

11

Madziwa Secondary School

Village C Shed

 

6-Aug-10

12

Nyaututu Primary School

Chiriga Primary School

Tashinga Primary School

 

13

Grassflats Primary

Mapote

 

 

14

Mapungwana Primary School

Tamanda Primary School

Nyamadzi Primary School

 

15

Muzite Primary School

Magondi primary School

Gwenzi Primary School

 

16

Mwacheta Primary School

Kondo Primary School

 

7-Aug-10

16

Chipangara Township

 

 

 

17

Munoirwira Primary School

Chinaa Secondary School

Nyagadza Primary School

 

18

Musirizwi Primary School

Tafara Primary School

Tazviona Primary School

 

19

Mt. Selinda Primary School

Beacon Hill Primary School

Hearterg Primary School

 

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

 

 


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