The End of Act Three?
I stayed up all night last night – just could not
go to bed and then wake up
to face what was happening. My optimism and faith
in the electoral process
was misplaced, democracy did not win this time,
fraud and deceit did, and
everyone is going to suffer as a
consequence.
As I took down the results I could not credit the outcome in
key areas.
Mugabe winning in Tsholotsho was a bit like saying Hitler won a
popularity
contest in Belsen! Many of the results were to expectations – and
where they
were they were accompanied by several other factors – the MDC
presence
during and after the poll was strong, the violence was minimal and
the
relationship with the other elements looked "normal". Elsewhere the
results
were often bizarre and take a lot of believing. Everyone we talk to
say that
the vote was influenced and distorted by electoral
fraud.
That is not MDC simply experiencing sour grapes, the facts support
the view.
In one constituency in Matebeleland where the MDC controls were
good and
effective, the final vote was 6000 more than actually recorded in
the voting
process. Its absurd to expect that Mugabe, after the genocide in
the 80’s,
the fact that Zanu PF has never won a seat in Matebeleland in 22
years of
electoral history; to suddenly find that in many rural
constituencies,
Mugabe polled heavily and was able to substantially increase
his share of
the vote. At a time when there is no food, no jobs, drought and
Zanu PF has
done nothing but beat the hell out of everyone for the past year
– no that
is not plausible.
Today over 1500 MDC and independent poll
watchers are in jail and have been
there since Sunday. Hundreds of others
were unable to do their job and spent
the weekend running from Zanu thugs.
Several may have been killed and many
others suffered injury. Not a single
local independent monitor was allowed
more than 100 meters from the polling
stations they were supposed to be
watching. Out of 14000 applications only
400 were finally allowed into the
process as monitors and then under very
restricted conditions. Over 40 per
cent of all rural stations had no MDC
presence for one reason or another.
The other thing I found interesting
is that in almost all polling stations,
the official monitors drawn from the
"Independent" Electoral Commission were
mainly CIO or Army or Police
operatives. Their attitude was of universal
hostility to anything that was
connected to the MDC and they kept a tight
rein on everything that happened
at the stations. They were also fully
engaged in both the transport of the
ballot boxes and in the counting
process. The IEC was fully staffed by
military and CIO operatives who were
carefully selected for the exercise. It
was a clever and well managed scam
on a huge scale and they did it in front
of the whole world (except the
BBC).
So now what? If we take this as a
four part play – the first scene was the
referendum, the second the
parliamentary election in June 2000 and now the
third scene was the
presidential election. The stage is now set for the
grand finale – the most
exciting scene. As in all good plays the audience
has no idea of how the plot
will turn out but anticipate real excitement.
For those of us on the stage, I
just hope it’s not too tense! Right now I
feel as if I have been through 12
rounds with Ali. My heart goes out to the
thousands of MDC volunteers who
gave their everything to try and make scene
3 a success – which it was
judging, by the applause.
Zanu PF is celebrating tonight – but they are
wrong, they got the booby
prize. They now have to solve the problems they
have created – no Jobs, No
Food, No Foreign Exchange, falling Exports, rising
domestic expenditure on
essential services, the run away deficit in the
budget, high expectations
from the people they promised the world if they won
the election. We need
2,2 million tonnes of food just to feed the country
with basic necessities
in the next 15 months. Today in town there was no
cooking oil, no maize
meal, no margarine, no sugar, no cool drinks, no soap.
That’s just for
starters and they have no solutions, none.
The African
observer teams have all now reported on the elections – ranging
from the
Namibian comment that it was "free and fair and a normal robust
African
electoral experience" to the SA observer team who said that it was
a
"reasonable reflection of the peoples wishes". President Mbeki endorsed
this
view and said he would stand by Zimbabwe in resolving the land issue and
the
helping with economic recovery. The markets immediately condemned his
stance
and the Rand fell in foreign exchange markets. One important
commentator in
the US said that this strips away the veneer of Mandela’s
mantle in South
Africa and consigns the country to the same bin as all the
rest. Several
people have commented that the new initiative for Africa
launched by South
Africa and Nigeria with such fanfare, is now dead in the
water.
This means that the problems here will continue to plague the
region. I
cannot see Mugabe turning back the clock on the land issue and our
farmers
cannot take much more of this tyranny. Winter crop production is now
no
longer possible, summer cropland preparation for the tobacco crop
in
particular is also now a distant possibility. The dry spell continues and
we
must now anticipate food shortages well into the year 2004. Joseph
Made’s
comment the other day that they "had learned their lesson and would
now keep
two years of grain supplies in stock at all times" just confirms the
fact
that the man is incapable of running his portfolio.
The remark
that by African standards the Zimbabwe election was acceptable –
is frankly
racist and denigrating. The standards by which we want to be
judged are
universal standards. Standards that have been established over
the years
through struggle and sweat.
We have formally rejected the outcome of the
election – that’s the opening
exchange in the final scene. What will we do
next? Well watch the stage –
especially the wings, for signs of the next
dramatic development. The cast
expects something special, if not supernatural
and that will be a first. If
it gets any more exciting – I think I will go
fishing.
Eddie Cross
Bulawayo, 13th March 2002.
Zimbabwe: Farms being Looted
- News update 11am. 14 March 2002
15
farmers have been visited by groups of youths of varying size (up to 50
in a
group) and given up to 6 hours to leave. There were 5 in Mash West
North, 3
in Mashonaland East and 5 in the Chegutu area. In Chakari farm
workers are
being told to leave at the moment.
The farmers have stayed put and in
some instances so have a small contingent
of the group who demand to be fed.
Two dairy cattle were slaughtered by the
invading party on one
farm.
Of the 15 farmers visited, 5 had their homes looted with Bruce
Douglas's
house in Lions Den being cleaned out (see Tuesday's release). Cost
to
farmers still being calculated at this time.
The situation remains
fluid but Police are responding decisively to quell
these illegal
evictions.
End of update.
For more info
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Editorial: Mugabe's poll heist can't go
unanswered
The Australian: March 15, 2002
THE dark continent has just lived up to its name. Robert
Mugabe has been declared the victor of a poisoned presidential election and
Africa's despots are lining up to congratulate him on his "richly deserved
triumph". The truth is that Zimbabwe's poll was a disgrace. Most independent
observers reported violence and intimidation by supporters of Mr Mugabe's
Zanu-PF party. Thousands of voters in the opposition stronghold of Harare were
disenfranchised. The US has joined other countries in refusing to recognise the
outcome and considering sanctions.
The wallpaper applied to the Commonwealth Heads of Government
Meeting has been stripped away. Punitive action such as suspending Zimbabwe from
the Commonwealth would be largely symbolic. But the organisation must stand by
the principles it supposedly promotes, namely, democracy, good governance, the
rule of law and freedom of speech. If it misses this opportunity or splits along
racial lines then its reason for being is surely on the line. Mr Mugabe, oddly,
is a leader who desires respectability and that is one thing the Commonwealth
and the global community can deprive him of.
The prospect for consensus on what to do about Zimbabwe, however, appears
bleak. In the tri-nation team that will consider the Commonwealth monitor's
report, Australia could end up the odd man out. South African observers have
praised the high voter turnout and said the election result "should be
considered legitimate". Nigeria has said that incidents of violence were not
"sufficient to threaten the integrity and outcome". The Organisation of African
Unity, to which about half of Commonwealth members belong, described it as
generally "transparent, credible and free and fair".
As John Howard awaits the findings of the Commonwealth monitors, he should
consider the report of the 14-member Southern African Development Community
observer team which slammed the poll for not complying with the normal election
standards. The SADC puts lie to Mr Mugabe's claim that the debate is about race
not democracy and that white leaders of the Commonwealth should therefore keep
their "pink noses" out of Zimbabwe's business.
The SADC report blames both Zanu-PF and the Movement for Democratic change
for violence and intimidation, but says the "majority of those affected were
supporters of the MDC or . . . opponents of the ruling party". It questions the
impartiality of the police, the late release of the voters roll which left no
time to check its accuracy, the crackdown on opposition rallies and the
reduction of polling stations in urban opposition strongholds which it says "had
a major impact on the elections". The report also criticises the Electoral
Commission's lack of independence and Mr Mugabe's censorship and misuse of the
media.
Reading between the lines it is clear Mr Mugabe's victory was the culmination
of not just weeks but months of intimidation and manipulation. It is as if the
better than expected showing of Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC in parliamentary
elections two years ago spurred Mr Mugabe to more desperate efforts to steal
this election too. Although the count has gone in Mr Mugabe's favour, his
tainted victory will come at a price. Zimbabwe is caught between a catastrophic
economic crisis and one of the worst AIDS rates in the world. If outside
pressure won't force him out, it must try to tone down his excesses. The last
thing the people of Zimbabwe deserve is another six years of Mugabe megalomania.
For, despite the anti-capitalist banners of anti-globalisation protesters, it is
all too often the failure of basic political governance and the absence of the
rule of law that keeps poor nations poor.
Dead voters, stolen ballots: Mugabe's dirty win
Sydney Morning Herald: Friday, March 15, 2002
The Telegraph, London
By Tim Butcher in Bulawayo
It was in the countryside that Robert Mugabe stole the Zimbabwe
presidential election. Away from prying eyes, his loyal party henchmen executed
a sleight of hand that was as crude as it was ambitious.
Ballot boxes were stuffed, opposition supporters told to vote for Mr Mugabe
on pain of death, and turnouts grossly inflated to favour the 78-year-old
leader.
One ballot box in the rural Bubi Umguza constituency containing 137
officially listed votes went missing. When it turned up, it was crammed with
more than 1000 additional voting papers.
At another constituency, Tsholotsho, opposition polling agents carefully -
and bravely, considering the intimidation - counted 12,000 voters but when
Zimbabwe's registrar-general declared the result, the turnout had somehow surged
to 21,000.
But while the two official voting days saw gross electoral fraud, Mr Mugabe's
campaign to steal this election really began two years ago after the strong
showing by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in the
legislative poll.
It was then that he saw for the first time that Morgan Tsvangirai, the MDC
leader, was a genuine threat and he resorted to any measure to tip the electoral
process in his favour.
"Journalists" in the state-owned media demonised Mr Tsvangirai as a stooge of
the white man, a puppet of the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, and a
terrorist waiting to destroy Zimbabwe's sovereign status.
Thugs loyal to Mr Mugabe's ZANU-PF knew what to do - MDC members were
abducted and killed, its offices fire-bombed and meetings disrupted.
White farmers, with just a few thousand votes, were targeted by Mr Mugabe.
But it was the intimidation of the millions of black people who dared to turn to
the MDC that characterised the two years since the 2000 parliamentary election.
Scores of MDC members were murdered and thousands harassed by "war veterans"
loyal to ZANU-PF. As police stood by, these thugs were unleashed across the
country with orders to ensure that the rural hinterland remained clear of the
MDC.
They did their job well - killing more than 30 MDC supporters in the last
three months of campaigning.
But when the vote came on Friday, the key to success for Mr Mugabe was
keeping prying eyes away from these rural areas.
He knew the urban vote was largely lost to the MDC but this could be reduced
simply by cutting the number of polling stations, leading to long queues and
thousands of voters turned away.
But in the countryside he needed privacy and this is what he got, first by
accrediting fewer than 400 of 15,000 independent Zimbabwean monitors and then by
targeting MDC polling agents.
International observers were too few to cover all of the rural areas and so
the government machine focused on those MDC representatives who, by law, were
required to be at each of Zimbabwe's 4000-odd polling stations. Some of them
were abducted, some beaten up and some chased away.
The lack of proper scrutiny in these rural areas allowed the freakish results
declared late on Tuesday, allowing Mr Mugabe to claim victory.
Mugabe focuses on land
'revolution'
Mugabe wants to seize all white-owned
farms
 |
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|
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By
Joseph Winter
BBC
News Online |
 |
|
Zimbabwe's Justice Minister, Patrick
Chinamasa, has no doubts about the interpretation of this week's election
results.
"We went to the people to seek their mandate to complete the unfinished
business of the liberation war," he said.
While the opposition
claim that President Robert Mugabe stole a victory that was rightfully theirs,
nobody can deny that hundreds of thousands of people genuinely gave him their
vote.
They were mostly poor black farmers living in Zimbabwe's rural areas.
Many will now be celebrating, in the hope that Mr Mugabe will finally deliver
on his promises to give them the prime agricultural land currently owned by the
country's white minority.
Opposition supporters living in towns and cities say they want jobs, not a
tiny plot of land and the harsh life of a subsistence farmer.
But for those already struggling to grow enough maize on one acre of sandy
earth to support a family of 10 or more, the prospect of having a
reasonable-sized piece of land is extremely attractive.
Reconciliation ended
In the past two years, most of Zimbabwe's 4,000 white-owned farms have been
listed for compulsory acquisition by the government.
The procedures for legally taking ownership of these properties have been
greatly simplified and, with another six years in power, Mr Mugabe will have no
excuses if he does not finish his "revolution".
|
Land |
White population: 70,000 (about 0.6%)
Whites own majority of the best farming land
1m blacks own 16m hectares - often in drought-prone regions
4,000 whites own 11m hectares of prime land
Economy agriculture-based
|
But despite all of the president's fiery rhetoric about immediately seizing
all of Zimbabwe's white-owned land and withdrawing the hand of reconciliation he
offered at independence, eviction orders served on hundreds of white farmers
last year have not been enforced.
The attention of the state was presumably focused on Mr Mugabe's campaign for
re-election.
Colin Cloete, president of the white-dominated Commercial Farmers' Union told
me that most of his members were still going through the legal and
administrative process of appealing against the government's plans to seize
their land.
In some cases, magistrates are instructing land-owners and government lawyers
to come to an amicable agreement - for example if the farmer offers an
alternative piece of land in exchange for the one on the official list.
'Waiting'
But Mr Mugabe will now feel invigorated by his renewed mandate and he will no
longer have the distractions of campaigning.
Indeed, he has said that prising white hands off the levers of Zimbabwe's
economic power was the main reason why, at 78, he fought so hard to remain at
the helm of a country he has already ruled for 22 years.
White farmers have been killed and beaten
up
|
And he has hinted that he might step down, once he has achieved that goal.
Mr Cloete was not willing to give much reaction to the official results.
"We're waiting to see what he says."
But privately, white farmers will be in despair - matching the joy of those
looking forward to being given new plots of land.
Political tool
Mr Mugabe says that raising the living standards of millions of the country's
poorest people will kick-start Zimbabwe's stricken economy.
Economists, white farmers and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change
predict economic disaster if the president takes highly mechanised,
foreign-exchange earning farms, divides them up and redistributes them to
subsistence farmers.
They say that without the money to buy seeds, fertiliser and other in-puts,
poor black farmers will remain as destitute as ever.
The Gobo family want land for their
children
|
And the government, still cut off by major aid donors, is not in a position
to distribute its largesse too widely.
Critics accuse Mr Mugabe of doing little to tackle Zimbabwe's unequal pattern
of land ownership until the MDC emerged to mount a credible political challenge
to his rule.
He, in turn, blames Britain for not meeting the promises of funding it made
at Zimbabwe's independence in 1980 - and white farmers for resisting his
attempts to redistribute land.
He even says the MDC was created precisely to thwart his programme of land
reform.
If there is one thing that both sides of Zimbabwe's deep political divide can
agree on, it is that the other has been exploiting the land question to further
its electoral and economic interests.
Robert Mugabe now has the extra six years in power he was looking for.
His real commitment to redistributing land will soon become apparent - as
will the effects on Zimbabwe's economy.
The Bangladesh Independent - editorial
Harare’s burden
Zimbabwe is
not yet out of the woods. President Robert Mugabe may have
convinced himself
that he has been handed six more years to govern the
country. Having already
been in office for twenty two years, he will now
rest content that by the
time his new term comes to an end, he will have
completed a total of nearly
three decades in power. Having said that,
however, there remains the feeling
that a lot of things will happen in
Zimbabwe before the next six years
elapse. Mugabe will surely point to the
support he has received from
observers reporting on the election from
neighbouring African nations. But
that does not make the case for him and
his ZANU-PF party any easier. The
United States and other western nations
have already denounced the elections
as flawed, which effectively means that
the President has been directly
accused of subverting the electoral process.
In the ultimate sense, what
Mugabe calls a victory might turn out to be a
huge liability for his
country.
That the Zimbabwe elections were neither free nor fair can be
easily gauged
from the manner in which the opposition Movement for Democratic
Change was
thwarted at nearly every point during the campaign. Its leader
and
presidential candidate Morgan Tsvangirai never had an easy time of it,
a
fact made amply clear by the government charge of treason brought
against
him on the basis of a videotape which the MDC says was doctored by
the
authorities. Additionally, the government detained another senior leader
of
the MDC on similar charges. And then bad was made worse by the rough way
in
which the government refused to allow queuing voters, most of whom
were
clearly sympathetic to the MDC cause, from voting on the pretext that
voting
time had expired. It is these facts which keep Zimbabweans from
celebrating
what should have been a genuine exercise in democracy. The fact
that a
subdued mood hangs over the country is reflective of the unease
citizens
feel after a clearly manipulated election. That is why the road
ahead for
the country is yet to be spotted. The woods where it is stuck are
dense and
dark.
Ostracising MugabeFor the international community, the
clear and present
need is to ensure that Robert Mugabe does not get away with
his act. He has
made sure that his opponent cannot measure up to him in terms
of votes – and
he has done that through questionable means. He is also armed
with sweeping
powers, those that could land Tsvangirai in a lot of trouble
were the latter
to go for agitation. Given that reality, ostracising Mugabe
would mean
offering hope to his people.
|
Thursday, 14 March, 2002,
17:17 GMT
'Climate of fear' in Zimbabwe
poll
Ruling party accused of campaign of
intimidation
The Commonwealth observer group in Zimbabwe has strongly
condemned the country's presidential election, saying it was held in a climate
of fear.
The Nigerian chairman of the observer group, former
military ruler General Abdusalami Abubakar, said its preliminary conclusion was
that there had not been a free expression of will by the electorate.
The BBC's Mike Wooldridge says the report may preface punitive action by the
Commonwealth, which has so far failed to agree on imposing sanctions against the
regime of Robert Mugabe, who secured a fifth term in office.
Speaking in parliament in London, UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said Mr
Mugabe's victory was a "tragedy", but he stopped short of announcing new
sanctions against Zimbabwe.
'Suspicion'
The Commonwealth observer group's statement echoes the declarations of
Western nations and election observers following Wednesday's announcement of the
result, but is in sharp contrast to the views of many African nations.
Robert Mugabe may have claimed to have won these elections
but the people of Zimbabwe have lost 
|
|
UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw
| The group says
thousands of Zimbabweans were prevented from voting and a systematic campaign of
intimidation against opposition supporters "created a climate of fear and
suspicion".
It also says it was particularly concerned about the activities of
paramilitary youth groups.
Laws used to prevent campaigning by the opposition Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC), and the ruling Zanu-PF party's exclusive use of state television
to promote its message, are also highlighted.
South African view
The report was published as South Africa's Deputy President, Jacob Zuma, went
to Zimbabwe for talks with government leaders.
Election observers from South Africa have said they believed the election
outcome was legitimate and the country's ruling party, the African National
Congress, has congratulated Mr Mugabe.
Mugabe: Yet to claim
victory
| However, President Thabo Mbeki has yet to comment on the
result.
Our correspondent says South Africa, whose economy is firmly linked to that
of Zimbabwe, is in a key position to influence events.
He adds that the visit to Zimbabwe by Mr Zuma appears to be part of South
Africa's efforts to ensure continuing stability in the region in the wake of the
election.
'Deserved victory'
Election observers from Nigeria and the Organisation of African Unity (OAU)
have also said they believe the election to have been largely free and fair.
And the leaders of Kenya and Tanzania have already praised Mr Mugabe's
"deserved victory".
But the United States, Britain, and France - along with European election
observers - have all described Mr Mugabe's victory as the result of a flawed
election.
UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw described it as a "tragedy" for the people of
Southern Africa.
"Robert Mugabe may have claimed to have won these elections but the people of
Zimbabwe have lost," Mr Straw told MPs in London.
The US and Britain are considering imposing sanctions - a move already taken
by the European Union in the run-up to the poll - but Mr Straw did not announce
new measures.
New Zealand's Prime Minister, Helen Clark, has said the Commonwealth must
take action over Zimbabwe if it is to be taken seriously as an international
organisation.
Though Mugabe must go - the West should be more prepared to
support black farmers as capable of running farms, capable of running an
economy, capable of progress and development
|
|
| "If the Commonwealth decides that really there's no
problem, I think that does pose considerable problems for the future of the
organisation," she added.
Mr Mugabe's main challenger, MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai, has described the
result as "daylight robbery".
MDC supporters who took to the streets of Bulawayo, the country's second
city, on Thursday to protest about the result were dispersed by police.
Mr Mugabe himself has yet to appear in public and comment on his re-election.
|
MEDIA MONITORING PROJECT (ZIMBABWE)
Daily Media Update for Wednesday March 13th 2002
DAILY PRINT MEDIA
REPORT FOR WEDNESDAY, 13 MARCH
2002 According to piecemeal reports in the
media tens of thousands of potential voters were turned away during the
presidential election for various reasons. For example, The Chronicle (12/3)
reported that in Matabeleland North, more than 24 000 voters were turned away,
while another 20 976 potential voters were turned away in Mashonaland East,
according to a report in The Herald (11/3), which also reported that a further
2000 people had not been allowed to vote in Mashonaland West.
MMPZ notes that
the media has not yet sought a definitive national total from the authorities
for this important statistic, nor sought a satisfactory explanation for why so
many thousands of Zimbabweans were denied their democratic right to vote.
While The Herald uncritically endorsed the early election results favouring
the ruling party's candidate, The Daily News continued to question their
legitimacy.
The Herald continued peddling anti-MDC propaganda in articles
headlined: MDC fails to deliver; MDC official allegedly transfers property to a
farm; MDC activist agents fall asleep on the job.
The Daily News carried an
editorial comment criticising the electoral process. The comment noted that:
Just about everything regarding this election process- observers included- has
been flawed.
The Herald comment was a mere rehash of the anti-Western
rhetoric that has characterized the newspaper's coverage in the pre- poll
period. Part of the comment read: The turnout in this election has sent clear
signals to the Western world that Zimbabwe is not a colony and will not be
swayed by such blatant threats (from the West).
The Herald and The Daily
News gave front-page prominence to the elections results. But The Daily News
story focussed on the fact that ". heavily armed soldiers and policemen were
deployed in several cities and towns ." and quoted MDC officials confirming this
development. The Herald only referred to the deployment of police throughout
Matabeleland South and reported a statement from the Minister of National
Security warning the nation that the security forces were on full alert ".to
ensure peace prevails."
The Daily News carried three reports of continuing
incidents of politically motivated violence. The paper reported MDC officials
and victims saying ZANU PF supporters and war veterans were attacking people
suspected of being members of the opposition, and in another case, of burning
two vehicles belonging to the opposition.
The Norwegian observer mission
comments appeared in both newspapers. Part of the comment read: "The observer
mission concludes that the presidential elections failed to meet key, broadly
accepted criteria for elections. The presidential elections were conducted in
an environment of strong polarisation, political violence and an election
administration with severe shortcomings"
The Herald's news story concluded with a comment: "The judgement of the
election by the Norwegians comes as no surprise, reflecting the general
anti-President Mugabe stance that has been taken by European countries. The
Norwegians' assessment is also in sharp contrast to the 'free and fair'
declaration made so far by some African countries, which have also been
monitoring the election".
In another article, The Herald reported, "a team of
observers from South Africa declared . that the presidential election in
Zimbabwe had been free and fair".
The Daily News on the other hand, reported
that the Belgium-based International Crisis Group ".urged South Africa and
Nigeria to make it clear to President Mugabe's regime that it would be
diplomatically isolated within the Southern African Development Community, the
African Union and the Commonwealth if its rigs the presidential
election".
The Daily News also reported that "Hundreds of people arrested in
Harare's high-density suburbs on Sunday for allegedly trying to vote twice were
still languishing in police cells at Harare Central and Glen Norah Police
Stations ." The paper noted that most were reportedly taken while waiting in
queues to vote.
The Herald and The Daily News reported the remand of MDC Secretary-General
Welshman Ncube on $500 000 bail. The Herald noted that Ncube faced high treason
charges but did not explain why he was arrested on his way to Botswana. The
Daily News provided a further dimension to the story when it reported Ncube's
lawyer saying the police had given Ncube papers clearing him to travel with his
car to Botswana.
The Herald reported that government had gazetted an extraordinary Electoral
Amendment Bill to alter the Electoral Act following Sunday's High Court order
compelling the government to extend the presidential election by a day.
According to the notice, the Registrar-General is empowered to extend the poll
for the elections to enable the prospective registered voters to cast their
ballots. The newspaper did not question why this was done so hastily or explain
the circumstances surrounding the need to take such an extraordinary measure.
But it closely follows the attack on the judgment by Information Minister
Jonathan Moyo who is on record as saying: "What happened (on Sunday) was the
court basically usurping the powers of the Registrar-General. That is something
that must not be tolerated".
DAILY ELECTRONIC REPORT FOR TUESDAY, MARCH 12TH 2002 Counting and
results ZBC (TV, 7am & 3FM 1pm) quoted Minister Jonathan Moyo expressing his
party's satisfaction with the electoral process.
Asked to comment, during
TV's This Morning programme on the MDC's statement that they would not accept
the results if ZANU PF won, Moyo said: "We hope no one has put those words into
his mouth because those are words of a criminal, someone who is lawless who
wants to be a law unto themselves".
ZBC did not ask the MDC why it would not
accept the results or what it thought about the whole electoral process.
The
Election Directorate's updates on the developments in counting centres across
the country were covered live throughout the day. The broadcaster (1pm) carried
reports in which it announced that verification was underway.
Contrary to
ZBC's presentation of the whole process as having been smooth, SW Radio Africa
reported on the harassment of MDC polling agents in places such as Shamva, Mt
Darwin, Guruve North and South, Harare and Muzarabani. The station reported
that in most counting centres verification took place without MDC agents who
were either arrested for no reason or chased away. The station reported that in
Mhangura about 300 ZANU PF militia bussed from Sanyathi had threatened to kill
MDC polling agents at the counting centre. The militia, according to the
station, also threatened polling agents in Waterfalls and Prospect in Harare.
In Nkulumane suburb of Bulawayo, MDC polling agents were reportedly denied
access to the counting hall and were told that only presiding officers were
allowed. The short wave station gave an analysis of the underlying implications
of such actions and stated that this was clear violation of the law.
ZBC
deliberately ignored all these cases to present the whole election as having
been free and fair.
The Norwegian observer team issued a statement on March
12 criticizing the electoral process, which they described as 'severely
flawed'. Predictably, ZBC, which had previously quoted South African observers
stating that the process was free and fair, ignored the statement. It was left
to SW Radio Africa to report the Norwegian statement. The station also offered
members of civic society a platform to comment on the election. David Chimhini
of the Zimbabwe Civic Education Trust criticized the whole process saying that
it was marred by chaos, mismanagement, and long queues among other issues.
The state broadcaster gave updates of the results of the Presidential
election throughout the night and sourced alternative comment from Ibbo Mandaza
(for TV) and Norman Mlambo for Three Fm and Spot FM.
ENDS The MEDIA UPDATE is produced and circulated by the Media Monitoring
Project Zimbabwe, (MMPZ). Send all queries and comments to the Project
Coordinator, 15 Duthie Avenue, Alexandra Park, Harare, Tel/fax: 263 4 703702,
E-mail: monitors@mweb.co.zw
Previous copies of MMPZ reports can be accessed at http://mmpz.icon.co.zw/ Please feel free to
circulate this message
Catholic News
Zimbabwean archbishop calls presidential elections
'rigged'
The archbishop of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, said he was saddened
but not surprised
that President Robert Mugabe was re-elected in voting
widely condemned by
local and international observers.
Archbishop Pius
Ncube agreed with most local and international observers
that the results of
the 9-11 March election were "rigged".
"The numbers are unrealistic. They
(the ruling party ZANU-PF) played around
with the numbers to keep themselves
on top," Archbishop Ncube told Catholic
News Service.
The archbishop
said ballot boxes were kept out of sight of election
observers so that the
ballots "could have been stuffed with votes for the
ruling party."
The
archbishop also said that police in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second largest
city,
and Harare, the capital, were "beating people up" so that they
wouldn't
protest Mugabe's victory.
Independent (UK)
National unity plan 'impossible under
Mugabe'
Analysts cast doubt on whether president would entertain Thabo
Mbkei's idea
of shared government
By Basildon Peta
15 March
2002
With the threat of civil strife growing in Zimbabwe following
President
Robert Mugabe's victory in a flawed presidential election, a number
of world
leaders appear to be rallying behind a secret plan mooted by the
South
African president Thabo Mbeki for a government of national
unity.
Political analysts are doubtful that such a plan can work in
Zimbabwe's
volatile political environment. "Definitely not," said University
of
Zimbabwe law professor Lovemore Madhuku. "A government of national
unity
cannot work simply because the nature and style of Mugabe's leadership
will
not make it work."
President Mugabe enjoys overweening powers
under Zimbabwe's constitution
which made him probably the most powerful
president in the world in terms of
the authority he exercises over his
people.
That explains why he did not have to consult any of his cabinet
ministers or
Parliament before he made the controversial decision to deploy a
third pf
Zimbabwe's national army in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It
also
explains why President Mugabe has over the last two years ruled
Zimbabwe
under an unofficial state of emergency, issuing decrees to overide
the
courts, firing judges and usurping the legislature. President Mugabe is
not
amenable to criticism.
Professor Madhuku said: "Unless [Morgan]
Tsvangirai and his MDC [Movement
for Democratic Change] guys are willing to
be mere stooges without any
influence in such a government of national unity,
I simply don't see how it
can be sustainable.
The former Industry and
International Trade Minister Nkosana Moyo, who fled
Zimbabwe, is a good
indicator of how a government of national unity under
Mugabe might work.
Moyo, a respected banker, was brought into cabinet to
revive the ailing
industrial sector and add a new flair to a Mugabe cabinet
stuffed with
liberation war allies. But soon after Moyo started speaking
publicly against
the 78-year-old president's command economy policies like
price control and a
fixed exchange rate system, his destiny was set.
"Moyo's story is a good
example of how non-stooges cannot co-habit with
Mugabe. With their enthusiam
to do things differently, I don't see fresh
opposition guys lasting in such a
Cabinet."
While Mr Tsvangirai is thought to be open to the idea of a
government of
national unity, it is unlikely President Mugabe is. He refused
to accomodate
the opposition in his cabinet after it almost beat his ruling
Zanu-PF party
in the June 2000 parliamentary elections, winning 57 of the 120
contested
seats.
However, Professor Masipula Sithole of the University
of Zimbabwe, thinks
the president might now be prepared to consider the
option. "Circumstances
have changed and the man is so desperate to cling to
power." he said. "In
view of the current wave of international criticism
about how he stole the
election, he might just as well want to swallow the
opposition into his
ranks and quieten opponents."
Major policy
differences would have to be overcome. While Mr Tsvangirai is a
major
proponent of a free market economy with less state intervention,
President
Mugabe has already abandoned an IMF and World Bank sponsored
economic
structural adjustment programme in favour of a command economy.
Mr
Tsvangirai advocates a sustainable land reform process to allow
the
commercial agriculture sector to flourish, but the president's
wholesale
seizures of white farms are returning Zimbabwe to a peasant
subsistence
economy.
While President Mugabe has promised to further
nationalise factories and has
rubbished any policy proposals that would
attract foreign investment, Mr
Tsvangirai's economic policies hinge on
winning back the confidence of
international investors and the donor
community.
Mr Sithole equated the difference in policy and approach of
the two rivals
to that between night and day.
"While Mugabe remains
entrenched in the dear leader mentality which makes
his word final,
Tsvangirai has shown a great inclination towards
consultation and collective
decision making," he said.
"He Mugabe has served with two deputies Joseph
(Msika) aged 78 and (Simon)
Muzenda who is 80. Trying to readjust to working
with an energetic deputy
who is only 50 and enthusiastic in terms of new
ideas would be the tallest
order for Bob."
Editorial: Mugabe's poll heist can't go
unanswered
The Australian: March 15, 2002
THE dark continent has just lived up to its name. Robert
Mugabe has been declared the victor of a poisoned presidential election and
Africa's despots are lining up to congratulate him on his "richly deserved
triumph". The truth is that Zimbabwe's poll was a disgrace. Most independent
observers reported violence and intimidation by supporters of Mr Mugabe's
Zanu-PF party. Thousands of voters in the opposition stronghold of Harare were
disenfranchised. The US has joined other countries in refusing to recognise the
outcome and considering sanctions.
The wallpaper applied to the Commonwealth Heads of Government
Meeting has been stripped away. Punitive action such as suspending Zimbabwe from
the Commonwealth would be largely symbolic. But the organisation must stand by
the principles it supposedly promotes, namely, democracy, good governance, the
rule of law and freedom of speech. If it misses this opportunity or splits along
racial lines then its reason for being is surely on the line. Mr Mugabe, oddly,
is a leader who desires respectability and that is one thing the Commonwealth
and the global community can deprive him of.
The prospect for consensus on what to do about Zimbabwe, however, appears
bleak. In the tri-nation team that will consider the Commonwealth monitor's
report, Australia could end up the odd man out. South African observers have
praised the high voter turnout and said the election result "should be
considered legitimate". Nigeria has said that incidents of violence were not
"sufficient to threaten the integrity and outcome". The Organisation of African
Unity, to which about half of Commonwealth members belong, described it as
generally "transparent, credible and free and fair".
As John Howard awaits the findings of the Commonwealth monitors, he should
consider the report of the 14-member Southern African Development Community
observer team which slammed the poll for not complying with the normal election
standards. The SADC puts lie to Mr Mugabe's claim that the debate is about race
not democracy and that white leaders of the Commonwealth should therefore keep
their "pink noses" out of Zimbabwe's business.
The SADC report blames both Zanu-PF and the Movement for Democratic change
for violence and intimidation, but says the "majority of those affected were
supporters of the MDC or . . . opponents of the ruling party". It questions the
impartiality of the police, the late release of the voters roll which left no
time to check its accuracy, the crackdown on opposition rallies and the
reduction of polling stations in urban opposition strongholds which it says "had
a major impact on the elections". The report also criticises the Electoral
Commission's lack of independence and Mr Mugabe's censorship and misuse of the
media.
Reading between the lines it is clear Mr Mugabe's victory was the culmination
of not just weeks but months of intimidation and manipulation. It is as if the
better than expected showing of Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC in parliamentary
elections two years ago spurred Mr Mugabe to more desperate efforts to steal
this election too. Although the count has gone in Mr Mugabe's favour, his
tainted victory will come at a price. Zimbabwe is caught between a catastrophic
economic crisis and one of the worst AIDS rates in the world. If outside
pressure won't force him out, it must try to tone down his excesses. The last
thing the people of Zimbabwe deserve is another six years of Mugabe megalomania.
For, despite the anti-capitalist banners of anti-globalisation protesters, it is
all too often the failure of basic political governance and the absence of the
rule of law that keeps poor nations poor.
Zim Gets World's Worst Economic Rating
Financial Gazette
(Harare)
March 14, 2002
Posted to the web March 14, 2002
Staff
Reporter
ZIMBABWE is the least competitive country in the world and
is set to slide
further due to its worsening credit rating and poor exchange
and interest
rate policies, according to a report released this week by the
World
Economic Forum (WEF).
Zimbabwe slipped 20 places from 55th
position in 2000 to 75th in the growth
competitiveness index (GCI) compiled
by the Switzerland-based WEF at the end
of last year.
It was last out
of 75 countries surveyed by the WEF.
The GCI examines the underlying
prospects of growth in the 75 economies in
the next five years and covers
such indicators as the level of technological
advancement, the effectiveness
of a country's public institutions as well as
the macroeconomic
climate.
According to the WEF, Zimbabwe particularly performed poorly on
the scale
for the macroeconomic environment index, where it was last out of
all the
countries involved.
Singapore, which has a high savings rate
and a healthy business environment,
was judged the most competitive economy
in terms of macroeconomic stability,
followed by Norway, Finland and the
Netherlands respectively.
"Most unstable are the economies with
headline-grabbing fiscal histories in
recent years, including Bolivia,
Nicaragua and Zimbabwe," the WEF said in
the Global Competitiveness Report
for 2001/02.
Zimbabwe was also the 11th least competitive economy in
terms of the WEF's
current competitiveness index (CCI), which tracks the
conditions
underpinning current productivity levels in each of the surveyed
countries.
It is an aggregate measure of microeconomic competitiveness,
focusing on the
sophistication of industry and the quality of the domestic
business climate.
Zimbabwe was ranked 65th under the CCI, mirroring the
collapse of local
industry in the past two years caused by shortages of
foreign currency and
fuel.
The country has faced severe hard cash
problems since the government fell
out of favour with international donors in
1999, a development that has
spawned acute shortages of essential inputs and
fuelled arrears on Harare's
external debt.
Arrears on Zimbabwe's
foreign debt stood at over US$1 billion at the end of
last
year.
According to the WEF, Zimbabwean companies are paying more than 450
percent
premium on the official exchange rate to get hard currency due to
the
unsound exchange rate policy pursued by the government for the past
three
years.
Analysts say the slump in Zimbabwe's global
competitiveness will affect the
flow of foreign direct and portfolio
investment into the country.
"For someone sitting in Brussels or
wherever, such kind of information will
definitely affect their perceptions
about Zimbabwe and influence their plans
to invest in the country," economist
Witness Chinyama told the Financial
Gazette.
An analyst at a Harare
stockbroking firm said: "It will also increase
pessimism about the economy
among local investors who are holding on to
their funds instead of investing
in the real sector."
Statistics from the central Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
(RBZ) show that foreign
direct investment to Zimbabwe has declined from a
peak of US$436 million
($23.9 billion) in 1998 to US$4.5 million ($297
million) in 2001.
Uncertainty over Zimbabwe's interest and exchange rate
regimes has spawned
an increase in net portfolio outflows from US$1.2 million
in 2000 to
US$104.9 million last year, according to the RBZ.
The
government has deliberately maintained a cap on interest rates since
the
start of last year in a move meant to reduce the cost of its
surging
borrowing from the domestic market.
Guardian
Why Mugabe played the race card
The Zanu-PF leader's
claims of a white conspiracy helped to deflect western
criticisms and to
rally black countries to his cause, writes Simon Tisdall
Thursday March
14, 2002
The idea that if you say something is true enough times, it does
actually
become true seems to be working for Robert Mugabe in
Zimbabwe.
For two years, since the parliamentary elections that he almost
lost to the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), the veteran
Zanu-PF leader
has been claiming that his country is the victim of a racially
inspired
conspiracy. Mugabe frequently asserted that the British government
wanted to
recolonise Zimbabwe and regretted granting the country, formerly
known as
Rhodesia, its independence in 1980.
The president said Tony
Blair, his former foreign secretary, Robin Cook, and
another British
minister, the abrasive Peter Hain, were secretly aiding and
arming the MDC,
were backing the white farmers in the controversy over land
reform, and were
using their international influence to turn other
countries, especially the
US, against the Harare government.
During the campaign in the run-up to
last weekend's presidential election,
Mugabe said that publicly expressed
concerns about intimidation and
vote-rigging by the British government merely
amounted to further evidence
of this deep-seated malevolence.
He
accused his opponent, the MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, of being
a
"stooge"of the white man, and claimed that the BBC and other British
media
were part of the conspiracy.
Mugabe is a well-educated and
worldly-wise man. At the age of 78, he knows
better than most how the
political game is played. Much of what he said,
immediately dismissed as
absurd in western countries, may well have been
believed by many rural
Zimbabwean voters who lack his sophistication
and
experience.
Similarly, although his claims regarding the BBC, for
example, were
manifestly and demonstrably untrue, Mugabe knew that by playing
the race
card he was hitting the west's weak spot.
The last thing the
British government wants is to "reconquer" Zimbabwe. But
Blair's centre-left
administration, which prides itself on a politically
correct approach to
issues of race and ethnicity, is particularly vulnerable
to even the most
malicious and unfounded accusations of bias or prejudice.
Such words have
only to be mentioned to produce a defensive reaction,
followed by
overcompensation to prove they are untrue.
After all, if British
ministers have to spend time rebutting such
accusations, they have less time
to spend on drawing attention to Mugabe's
skulduggery at home.
One
clear effect of Mugabe's tactics in the period preceding the election
was a
gradual move by Britain to eschew bilateral confrontations and instead
deal
with Zimbabwe collectively via the EU and the Commonwealth. In other
words,
Britain was forced to run for cover.
In the aftermath of the presidential
election, however, Mugabe's tactics may
be proving even more effective. The
Commonwealth summit at Brisbane two
weeks ago clearly split along black-white
lines, with most African members
more or less supporting Mugabe's line that
he was being picked on by the
west. Australia, New Zealand, and Canada sided
with Britain.
That split now makes it unlikely that the Commonwealth will
be able to agree
to take effective action against the Mugabe regime without
itself sustaining
perhaps fatal damage.
It is unlikely, indeed absurd,
to expect action against Harare by either the
Southern Africa Development
Community or the African Union, the successor
organisation to the
Organisation for African Unity. Most African leaders
seem to share the view
that while the election was not perfect, it was fair
enough by current,
prevailing standards.
That view is not shared by Norway's observers, for
example, or most EU
countries, or by the US. President George Bush says he
does not "recognise"
Zimbabwe, whatever that means. They may be acting on
principle, in support
of good governance and democracy. They doubtless
believe they are. But they
are nevertheless open to accusations of double
standards in respect of fixed
elections and dodgy governments in other, more
repressive countries (such as
America's new allies in central
Asia).
And the suspicion lurks in African countries that Bush and the
others are
showing solidarity with Blair as much as they are taking a stand
against
electoral fraud. In other words, they suspect there is a kind of
conspiracy
now, even if there was not before.
Thus the black-white
divide that Mugabe conjured up, with very little real
evidence to support
him, to bolster his reelection chances in Zimbabwe has
now been transformed
into a dangerous international schism.
In playing the race card, Mugabe
not only badly damaged his own country. He
has done a great disservice to
international relations and, for example, to
efforts to build and develop
cooperative millennium initiatives between the
west and
Africa.
Email
simon.tisdall@guardian.co.uk
Business Day
'Zimbabwe will affect brain
drain'
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- The
Students' Representative Council (SRC) of the University of the
Witwatersrand
said today that confidence in the country's future rests on
President Thabo
Mbeki rejecting the tactics employed by the ruling Zanu-PF
in Zimbabwe's
presidential elections.
Students who were considering the option of working
abroad in particular
would be affected by the stance the government adopted,
the SRC said in a
statement.
"South Africa stands at a defining
moment, as the world awaits President
Thabo Mbeki's reaction to the
Zimbabwean presidential elections.
"The election has not been free and
fair, no matter what South African
observer missions say. Too many
Zimbabweans were disenfranchised through
blatant thuggery on Zanu-PF's part.
South Africa's policy of quiet diplomacy
has thus been a failure. Now we risk
a stillbirth of the New Plan for
Africa's Development (Nepad).
"At the
core of Nepad stands good governance. To ensure good governance, a
peer
review mechanism has been conceived. If Thabo Mbeki does anything else
but
read Robert Mugabe the riot act, then this peer review mechanism, and
with it
Nepad, fails by hypocrisy, and Africa loses further ground.
"Now is a
defining moment. One that requires leadership.
"One of our guiding lights
as student leaders is to provide reasons for our
constituency to not become
part of the brain drain. And this task is
becoming more and more difficult,
due - to a great extent - to some of the
policies of our
government.
"As student leaders, our confidence in this country's
government and its
future, and so too the confidence of our constituency,
will stand and fall
by Thabo Mbeki's reaction to the Zimbabwean presidential
elections."
BBC
Thursday, 14 March, 2002, 14:53 GMT
Zimbabwe election diary - After the
results
The BBC's Grant Ferrett is reporting on the Zimbabwe
elections from Beitbridge, on the South African-Zimbabwe border - since the BBC
is banned from reporting in Zimbabwe itself:
Thursday 14 March
A cool, late start.
Drive into the "office" at 0545 this morning.
Trucks are already lining up, waiting to head north across the bridge to
Zimbabwe.
Perhaps some of them contain food for the half-a-million Zimbabweans facing
severe shortages.
No response yet from the election winner, Robert Gabriel Mugabe.
Commonwealth comes out with a surprisingly stern judgement, though: "There
was not a free expression of will by the electorate."
Friend calls from Harare to thank the BBC for its
extensive coverage of the elections. Asks how long we'll be staying.
Embarrassed to admit that we've already started packing up.
The air conditioning has also packed up. The power in the portacabin shuts
down every time we turn it on, so here we all are, melting.
I'm sure it's hotter inside than out.
The story about a cobra in Gavin Hewitt's bathroom turns out to have been
true.
Being a TV person, he made sure there was a cameraman on hand to film it.
In the absence of comment from President Mugabe, we'll just have to suffice
with his reaction to an earlier poll.
Here's what he said in February 2000, shortly after being defeated in a
referendum on a new constitution:
"Especially remarkable was the rare sense of order, maturity and tolerance
during the process. The world now knows Zimbabwe as that country where opposing
views can file so singly and peacefully to and from the booth without incident."
The government-backed invasions of white-owned farms began a few days later,
followed by two years of intimidation of the opposition.
What next?
MSNBC
Zimbabwe's embattled opposition fights to
survive
HARARE, March 14 — Zimbabwe's embattled opposition faces
a crucial survival
test after its demoralising defeat by President Robert
Mugabe, analysts said
on Thursday.
Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai posed
the toughest challenge to Mugabe in his
22 years in power.
But after the MDC's defeat in what the
opposition and Western nations
called a rigged poll, there are questions
about the continuing cohesion of
what some analysts see as a fragile
coalition held together only by the
prospect of overthrowing
Mugabe.
The MDC's immediate challenge is how to respond to demands
from some
of its supporters to lead mass protests against the
result of the March 9-11 poll, which extended Mugabe's rule by
another six
years.
Tsvangirai, whose initial response to the defeat seemed
hesitant and
indecisive, has called on his supporters to avoid physical
confrontation
with Mugabe's government, saying this is exactly what the
ruling party
wants.
The army and police are on high alert against
opposition protests and
observers have accused ZANU-PF militias of systematic
violence and murders
of Mugabe's opponents.
Analysts said the MDC's
other big problem would be how to keep its
ranks intact outside a campaign
process while waiting for five years for
another shot at power.
''Naturally I think there is a lot of soul-searching and reviews
going on in
the MDC, not just to look at political strategies in the
short-term but also
on the lessons from these elections,'' said Brian
Raftopoulos, a political
analyst accused by the government of opposition
bias.
DANGER OF
DISINTEGRATION
''I think the MDC clearly realises that without a clear
political
programme their ranks can be hit from all quarters, natural
quarters and
from the government side,'' he told Reuters.
But MDC
chief spokesman Learnmore Jongwe said the party -- which
first came together
three years ago from a loose coalition of Mugabe
opponents including trade
unions and professional bodies -- was in no danger
of
disintegration.
''We are in parliament, have strong party structures
and much more
importantly we have a political and economic agenda and very
strong support
on the ground,'' he told Reuters.
Jongwe dismissed
as unfounded fears that the MDC would be hurt by its
demoralisation after
Tsvangirai's failure to topple the veteran former
guerrilla leader.
''Our leadership, all our supporters and all fair-minded people know
that we
did not lose these elections but were robbed,'' he said.
''Everyone
knows that we must stay in the political process with our
policies and
programmes and fight for our rights within the laws of the
country,'' he
added.
One senior Western diplomat, however, said the MDC could find
it
difficult to survive as a strong political force if Tsvangirai and
MDC
Secretary-General Welshman Ncube were forced into exile or convicted
on
charges of plotting to kill Mugabe.
They deny the charges, and
have vowed to stay in the country.
''Because both Tsvangirai and Ncube
are key leaders of the MDC, I
think one can easily say that the MDC's future
partly lies on how foreign
and domestic pressure can help to keep them in the
field if Mugabe is
determined to pursue them,'' the diplomat said.
''Then there is also the element of financial support. The MDC has
enjoyed
substantial support from the white community, especially the farmers
and I
don't see how that will continue to come,'' he added.
But Eddie Cross,
a leading white member of the MDC and its secretary
for economic affairs,
said the government had already failed to divide the
opposition with racial
strategies.
''The MDC is not about whites or blacks but policies and
that is why
we have survived and will survive,'' he told Reuters.
''We are a cohesive party, and our cohesiveness has had nothing to do
with
elections but our political programme,'' Jongwe said.
Peer calls for Zimbabwe
suspension
The BBC's Tim Sebastian met Lord
Carrington
The former British foreign secretary and Nato secretary-general, Lord
Carrington has called for the Commonwealth to suspend Zimbabwe.
Lord Carrington told Tim Sebastian for BBC HARDtalk that the Commonwealth did
not have a future unless it could restore confidence in its ability by
suspending Zimbabwe and its controversial leader, Robert Mugabe.
He's obviously got the army on his side because he's made
quite sure that they are properly paid.
|
|
Lord Carrington | "I do think this is very serious for the Commonwealth,"
he said.
"If the Commonwealth doesn't really believe in a popular democratic system in
which there is a free and fair election, I think people begin to wonder what is
the object of the organisation."
Climate of fear
The Commonwealth observer group in Zimbabwe has strongly condemned the
country's presidential election, saying it was held in a climate of fear.
However, the organisation has previously been split over the issue, with
Tanzania and Namibia publicly opposing any call by Britain, Australia and New
Zealand to suspend Zimbabwe in the run up to the election.
Lord Carrington was foreign secretary from 1979-1982 and took part in the
negotiations that brought an end to white-ruled Rhodesia and paved the way for
Zimbabwe.
He expressed concern that President Robert Mugabe had been elected to another
term in office.
"I think it's all terribly sad and the people who are going to suffer are the
people of Zimbabwe," he said.
"They've got inflation at over 100%, enormous unemployment, awful AIDs
problems. It's really terribly sad what's happening, and I think probably a
shortage of food in the near future."
Power and influence
He was also worried about Mr Mugabe's influence over the army in Zimbabwe.
Robert Mugabe casts his vote at the Zimbabwe
elections
| "He's obviously got the army on his side because he's
made quite sure that they are properly paid," he said.
The Tory peer also spoke about the importance of South Africa, which is in a
key position to influence events.
South Africa's economy is firmly linked to that of Zimbabwe, and the
country's ruling party, the African National Congress, has congratulated Mr
Mugabe on his victory.
The South African President, Thabo Mbeki, has yet to comment on the result,
although Lord Carrington predicted that Mr Mbeki would be supportive.
"I think there's a sort of feeling of black African solidarity and I think
probably President Mbeki feels that," he said.
"Difficult"
Lord Carrington who dealt with Mr Mugabe in the 1979 Lancaster House
agreement, which oversaw the transition to majority rule in Zimbabwe called the
president "very intelligent, but very difficult".
He also said he has a history of being power crazy at the expense of his
country.
"I'm sure what has happened over these past three or four years has been a
determination on his part to stay as president of Zimbabwe come what may, having
no regard for the fact that he's bankrupt the country," he said.
You can hear the HARDtalk interview in full at the following times:
BBC News 24 (times shown in GMT)
14 March 0430, repeated 2230
BBC World (times shown in GMT)
14 March 0430, repeated 1130, 1630,
1930, 0030
Telegraph
Straw slams 'tragic' Zimbabwe poll
(Filed:
14/03/2002)
FOREIGN Secretary Jack Straw today denounced the conduct
of elections in
Zimbabwe as a "tragedy".
But, in a statement to the
House of Commons, he stopped short of announcing
any new sanctions against
the regime of Robert Mugabe, who yesterday claimed
victory in a poll marred
by allegations of intimidation, violence and
vote-rigging.
Britain
will await the verdict of the three nations appointed by the
Commonwealth to
assess the Zimbabwean poll - South Africa, Nigeria and
Australia - said Mr
Straw.
It will also discuss the possible broadening of sanctions with
European
Union partners at this weekend's Barcelona summit, as well as with
America,
the G8 nations and members of the Southern African Development
Community
(SADC).
Mr Straw's statement followed the publication this
morning of a report by
Commonwealth observers, which found that the poll was
conducted in a
"climate of fear and suspicion" which "did not adequately
allow for a free
expression of will by the electors".
A separate SADC
delegation concluded that "this election was neither free
nor
fair".
Mr Straw told MPs: "Zimbabweans have plainly been denied their
fundamental
right to choose by whom they are governed. Robert Mugabe may
claim to have
won this election. But the people of Zimbabwe have
lost."
Mr Straw pledged that Britain would maintain its humanitarian aid
to
Zimbabwe and its assistance in the southern African state's fight
against
HIV and Aids.
But he said the UK would continue to oppose "any
access by Zimbabwe to
international financial resources until a more
representative government is
in place".
Zimbabwe's electorate had been
subjected to "two years of violence and
intimidation" at the hands of Mr
Mugabe's Zanu-PF party, said the Foreign
Secretary.
Zanu-PF had
harassed opponents, fiddled the electoral roll, blocked access
to polling
stations, excluded EU election observers and foreign reporters
and denied
access to local media to the opposition Movement for Democratic
Change, he
said.
Mr Straw said: "We are faced here with a leader who is determined
to ignore
the international community, ignore the people and ignore the
consequences
of his actions.
"Change will have to come to Zimbabwe.
One day, I hope soon, I look forward
to a democratic government of Zimbabwe
acting in the interests of its people
and taking its rightful place in modern
Africa."
Mr Mugabe's misrule had led to Zimbabwe's economy contracting by
at least a
quarter over the past two years, and the economy of the whole
region was
threatened by his retention of power, said Mr Straw.
"The
failure of the electoral process in Zimbabwe is a tragedy not just
for
Zimbabwe but for the people of southern Africa as a whole," he
said.
BBC
Analysis: International options on
Zimbabwe
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By
Bridget Kendall
BBC
diplomatic correspondent |
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Even before last weekend's election in Zimbabwe, countries such as Britain -
which were critical of President Robert Mugabe - said they doubted the election
could be free and fair.
His purpose, they argued, was to stay in power at all costs.
Mugabe's victory has split European and African
opinion
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But while, on the whole, European nations registered concern, they made it
clear they were waiting for a comprehensive assessment from election observers
on the ground before passing definitive judgement.
The United States, however, swiftly declared it would not endorse the
election result.
"We do not recognize the outcome of the election, because we think it is
flawed," said President George W Bush in Washington.
African opinion
In Africa itself, and particularly among Zimbabwe's black African neighbours,
the opinion was more mixed.
Some countries were instantly supportive of Mr Mugabe - including Kenya,
Zambia, Tanzania, Namibia and South Africa - as well as the Organisation of
African Unity and the Southern African Development Community's Council of
Ministers - perhaps the most influential regional grouping of observers.
But not all African observers were so sanguine.
The Commonwealth likes to reach decisions by consensus, and
with so many African countries endorsing the election, it seems more likely the
Commonwealth will once again fudge its conclusions
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Even within
the SADC mission there was dissension - a separate team from SADC's Independent
Parliamentary Forum declared the vote had not conformed to proper norms and
standards.
Perhaps most important of all, the group of observers sent by the
Commonwealth, led by the former Nigerian leader Abdulsalami Abubakar, was
unambiguously critical.
The vote, he said, "did not adequately allow for the free expression of will
by the electors".
What happens now?
Inside Zimbabwe, that probably depends on whether there is more violence, and
what happens to opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai.
Much depends on what happens to opposition leader
Morgan Tsvangirai
| He has already once been detained for questioning on
possible charges relating to an alleged conspiracy to assassinate the Zimbabwean
president.
As for external pressure on Zimbabwe's future, the options look pretty
limited.
"We have used all levers at our disposal already," noted one British official
despondently.
Europe summit
No doubt there will be more international condemnation - expect a tough
statement at this week's European Union summit in Barcelona.
Quite possibly targeted sanctions from the EU and the US might be widened to
include more Zimbabwe officials, besides President Mugabe and his immediate
colleagues.
The US has already hinted at this, and extended sanctions are also likely to
be debated in Barcelona.
But the general view is that targeted sanctions have had limited impact on Mr
Mugabe so far, so are unlikely to make much difference in the future.
Commonwealth split
In theory, the Commonwealth could take action such as suspending Zimbabwe if
it is decided the election was a flagrant violation of Commonwealth democratic
values and processes.
That purely symbolic move will depend on the joint decision, probably not to
be made public before next week, reached by a "troika" of three leaders from
Australia, Nigeria and South Africa.
It is not inconceivable they will recommend some form of sanctions.
However disputed the election result, Mr Mugabe can boast he
has just won a new six-year mandate
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Certainly the
critical comments from the Commonwealth observer mission make it more likely.
But the Commonwealth likes to reach decisions by consensus, and with so many
African countries endorsing the election, it seems more likely the Commonwealth
will once again fudge its conclusions.
This may not be the best result for enhancing its own reputation, but
possibly the only way to avoid a damaging bad-tempered split among its members.
And one final option now looks more remote than ever.
Before the elections, European officials had speculated that, if the
opposition had done well and Mr Mugabe's authority had been undermined, then
perhaps fellow African leaders might have been able to persuade 78-year-old
President Mugabe to step down and retire.
But now, however disputed the election result, Mr Mugabe can boast he has
just won a new six-year mandate.
It is hard to see why he should choose to relinquish his hold on power.
ZIMBABWE: Police break up labour meeting
JOHANNESBURG, 14 March (IRIN) -
Police broke up a meeting on Thursday of Zimbabwe's labour movement called to
agree plans on protest action in response to the country's controversial
presidential election, senior union officials told IRIN.
The police
declared the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) general council meeting
illegal under the terms of the Public Order and Security Act, ZCTU
General-Secretary Wellington Chibebe told IRIN. He said a new venue would be
found and the meeting, expected to agree plans for a mass stay away, would
eventually take place.
"The labour movement has been surviving under
these conditions and we are used to these kind of acrobatics," Chibebe
said.
As the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and civil
society groups continued consultations this week on the way forward, sources
told IRIN that a stay away was expected to be called by the ZCTU next week to
protest what they allege was a fraudulent poll that re-elected President Robert
Mugabe with 56 percent of the vote.
The MDC is also pursuing a legal
challenge over the organisation of the 9-11 March election, which local monitors
and some international observers declared deeply flawed by intimidation,
violence and irregularities in the conduct of the ballot.
"The legal
approach is only viable up to a point," University of Zimbabwe political analyst
John Mukumbe told IRIN. He said that the appointment of allegedly pro-government
Supreme Court judges meant that "it was very unlikely that approach would lead
to much".
In a forecast of political unrest to come, Mukumbe said: "It is
naive to expect a dictator to allow a democratic process to facilitate his
removal ... A dictator can only be removed by a public uprising. I think we are
heading that way, though it is sad to say."
UN Secretary-General Kofi
Annan on Wednesday called for calm after the release of the election results.
"Let me appeal once again to all Zimbabweans to remain calm, to show respect for
each other's rights and the democratic process, and to disavow all acts of
violence and retribution," Annan said.
South African Deputy President
Jacob Zuma arrived in Harare on Thursday to meet members of the government.
Earlier this week Zuma said in parliament that South Africa now had the
opportunity to be "innovative" in its approach to engaging its northern
neighbour.
"Those discrediting Zimbabwe's electoral process should listen
to what the Africans are saying," Zuma reportedly said. The Organisation of
African Unity, Southern African Development Community (SADC) ministers, South
Africa, Nigeria, Namibia and Kenya have endorsed the election. Western countries
and SADC parliamentarians described the process as flawed. The Commonwealth said
in an interim report that the poll was held in a "climate of fear" and was not
free and fair.
Claude Kabemba of the Electoral Institute of Southern
Africa said that it was telling that Mugabe as yet had not commented on the
election. He suggested that regional pressure could be brought to bear on Mugabe
to eventually offer a token of reconciliation, and for his MDC rival Morgan
Tsvangirai to accept the result in the interests of stability.
"Now that
is naivety proper. Mugabe enjoys a fight and bloodshed does not disgust him,"
Mukumbe said. "Even if the MDC were to accept such an offer they would, by
public demand, be forced to reject it."
He said that protest action would
be a long term campaign. "It would use a non-violent approach as much as
possible, [wearing down] the pillars of the government's support such as the
army and police."
2002 Zimbabwe Presidential Election - More Voting result statistics - Click Here to view
Click here to download spreadsheet
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