Harare Maintains Pressure On Opposition With Siege Of Headquarters

VOA

      By Taurai Shava, Blessing Zulu & Thomas Chiripasi
      Gweru, Zimbabwe, and Washington
      14 March 2007

The crisis in Zimbabwe again sharpened late Wednesday as police surrounded
the Harare headquarters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change,
hours after authorities released a battered MDC founding president Morgan
Tsvangirai and other prominent political and civil society opponents of
President Robert Mugabe.

Sources said heavily armed riot police surrounded Harvest House, MDC
headquarters in the capital, for three hours. The government has put the
police and the army on high alert in major cities and towns, apparently to
prevent an upsurge of protests.

Correspondent Taurai Shava filed a report from the Midlands capital of
Gweru, where residents expressed fear that a heavy police presence would
trigger violence.

Detained opposition leaders and activists were released Tuesday evening
though they had not been arraigned, and the police and state prosecutors
again failed to present the necessary paperwork in court Wednesday, leaving
leaving them at liberty.

Doctors at the Avenues Clinic in Harare said Tsvangirai sustained a
fractured skull while in police hands. Also still hospitalized were Tendai
Biti, secretary general of Tsvangirai's opposition faction, Nelson Chamisa,
his information secretary, and Lovemore Madhuku, chairman of the National
Constitutional Assembly.

Madhuku, being treated for injuries to his head and a broken arm, told
reporter Blessing Zulu of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe in an interview from
intensive care that despite the assault, the opposition will continue to
fight for democratic reform.

Rival MDC faction leader Arthur Mutambara vowed in an interview that the
opposition will continue to defy a police ban on public meetings. He added
that the arrests and rough police handling have brought the two opposition
factions closer together. The MDC split into two factions in late 2005 over
issues of policy and personalities.

Defense lawyers for Tsvangirai and other opposition leaders released Tuesday
night expressed perplexity at the apparent breakdown of the legal process in
the cases.

A Harare high court judge ordered Monday that the detainees must receive
medical attention and be brought into magistrate's court by noon Tuesday,
but police did not produce the prisoners until 2 p.m. Tuesday and no medical
care had been provided. Police released the prisoners Tuesday evening
without having arraigned them.

Human rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa, a member of the legal team representing
the opposition, said attorneys were in magistrate's court until 10 p.m. on
Tuesday night seeking disposition of the cases - but police and prosecutors
never showed up.

Mtetwa finally called a state prosecutor who said the cases would be taken
up early Wednesday - but yesterday again the arraignment failed to take
place.

Correspondent Thomas Chiripasi reported from Harare magistrate's court.

Police and prosecutors did not object as defense lawyers sent their clients
home.

'We were all made to lie face down in rows. Then the beatings started'

The Times
March 15, 2007

Jan Raath in Harare
The first full account of the police action that left Zimbabwe's opposition
leader and 14 colleagues undergoing treatment for serious injuries was given
by a party official yesterday.

Morgan Tsvangirai had a brain scan to check on a suspected fractured skull,
the results of which were expected to be known today. He also has a broken
wrist and hand, an enlarged pupil and extensive bruising on the back and
face, hospital officials said. Most of the others had operations on severe
injuries.

As scores of riot police raided the headquarters of the Movement for
Democratic Change in central Harare, Mr Tsvangirai's spokesman, William
Bango, described the party leader's three-day ordeal.

He said that more than 50 opposition officials and supporters were arrested
on Sunday when they approached a prayer meeting organised by church groups
in Highfield township, a teeming, volatile area southwest of the city.

Police who had sealed off the township corralled them in a courtyard in the
main police station. "Suddenly a horde of riot police stormed the area. We
were all made to lie face down in rows. Then the beatings started," he said.
The police used iron rods, rubber truncheons and wooden batons and kicked
the prone victims.

"They hit me on the back of the head with an iron rod so hard the blow
smashed my face into the earth floor and broke the frame of my spectacles,"
he said. "They beat me about the ribcage. I thought it was going to
collapse. They hit me across the back and buttocks. At first we screamed but
afterwards you just grunt with the blow."

The assailants worked in relays, four at a time, to allow for rests. "I
couldn't see what was going on, but whenever someone new took over, you
could feel the force was much stronger," he said.

Among the group was a young amputee, picked up on the street for protesting
at policemen who was attacking people at random. "They went after him in the
courtyard. They beat him on the stump of his leg. He was screaming. He went
ballistic."

They also beat Elton Mangoma, the treasurer of Mr Tsvangirai's faction of
the MDC, who has a leg withered by childhood polio. "They smashed his
 ankle," Mr Bango said.

One of Mr Tsvangirai's bodyguards, who is sick with Aids, attracted the
attackers' attention when he vomited. "They shouted, 'He's drunk', and they
hammered him."

Two women officers targeted Dekai Holland, a 65-year-old grandmother, and
Grace Kwinjeh, both members of the MDC's national executive, who were lying
on either side of Mr Bango. The officers shouted obscenities at Mrs Holland,
who is married to a white Australian, accusing her of being "Tony Blair's
cousin", and abusing her for "eating with a white man".

Hospital sources said yesterday that Mrs Holland had undergone surgey and
was "very sick".

"It was all Mugabe's propaganda they were shouting," Mr Bango said. "These
people really believe it."

Soon after after the beatings began, Mr Bango was ordered to throw out his
mobile telephone. As he reached into his pocket, he saw Mr Tsvangirai being
thrown into the courtyard. He learnt afterwards that the MDC leader had come
to the police station to find out why his colleagues had been arrested. He
was dragged out of his car and beaten, with his driver, and then pulled into
the courtyard.

"They were beating him and he collapsed. They were going for his head. He
didn't scream or shout, he was silent as they beat him, and it made them so
angry, they were shouting, 'We must make him cry'."

The assault started at 10.15am and stopped at about 1pm. "We were told to
get up and get on to a truck outside. There was a huge pool of blood in the
yard," Mr Bango said.

They spent the rest of the day, alternately lying face down on the blazing
hot metal of the lorry being driven around the township while police fired
teargas at random, or lying face down in the sun at Harare central police
station, before being distributed to police stations all round the city.
They were given no water, food or medical attention until they reached court
on Tuesday morning - apart from Mr Tsvangirai, who was taken to a government
hospital to have a deep laceration to his head stitched.

Those treated and discharged from hospital on Tuesday night were allowed to
go home, and ordered to return to the court in the morning. When they
arrived yesterday, court officials had no idea what to do with them, Eric
Mtinenga, a lawyer, said.

Later the police guard over the injured victims in the hospital was
withdrawn. "As far as we are concerned, they are all free men," he said.

Morgan was lying prostrate, like a dead person, blood all over him

The Telegraph

By Peta Thornycroft in Zimbabwe
Last Updated: 8:07pm GMT 14/03/2007

      Tendai Biti, 40, is a well-known Zimbabwean lawyer and Member of
Parliament. He is secretary-general of Morgan Tsvangirai's faction of the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change.

      Mr Biti was arrested while trying to attend a prayer rally on Sunday
and spoke to our Zimbabwe correspondent, Peta Thornycroft, from his bed in a
private hospital in Harare:

      "Even before Sunday, I knew we were going to get arrested. I had this
strong premonition. The previous night we had the 55th birthday party for
Morgan. His wife (Susan) had arranged this secret thing for him, and the way
I danced that night, I knew I am dancing because I won't be out for a long
time.

      "I took my daughter to church and I was praying, just don't let them
send me for remand. But I knew that I would be in a police cell, and the
clothes I put on that day, everything was carefully chosen because I knew we
were going to get arrested.

      "We got to the first roadblock and got through, we were all in
different vehicles from the one the police were used to. All the major roads
were sealed off, so we went through a sweet potato field, into this little
track.

      "At the next road block a policeman came up and said he would not
allow a convoy to travel, he took our keys from the driver, and we were
under arrest. A crowd gathered, shouting at the police, 'you can't do that,"
and it was clear a situation would develop. I felt too guilty to just leave
them, so we decided to stick together and stay.

      We were loaded up into two police vehicles and were taken to the
police station.....They started poking at us with their batons, and we were
very legalistic then, saying you can't do this, you can't do that. I could
see this was getting bad as there were masses and masses of armed riot
police outside, and I thought, we were in trouble.

      Then about 15 guys invaded that court yard and told us to lie down, so
we lay down, and were told to lie on our stomachs, then they just started
beating people, at random. The first time they hit, I said 'Ow, phew, this
thing is painful, really painful'.

      Another group of people (police) were just outside the fence, and they
had started identifying people. The first they identified was Lovemore
Madhuku [head of the National Constitutional Assembly, an opposition
alliance] and this woman said 'he is the ring leader.' The woman removed her
belt, took it with its buckle and swung it, and started hitting Lovemore.

      Next they identified Grace Kwinjeh [and MDC activist] and said to her,
'So Grace, you think you are a commander?- and they started beating her,
assaulting her on her face. She screamed, only once, and then she broke out
in this strange voice, and started talking like a man.

      Other guys were moving around, there were multiple assauts taking
place.

      We were probably around 30 in the courtyard, all being beaten, and
some of them were getting special attention They were young people doing the
beating.

      The woman was very crude, under 30, wearing jeans, very poorly
educated, maybe Grade 7 only, she looked physically ill, probably
HIV-positive as this is Zimbabwe.

      There was a terrible boy doing the torture, maybe he had his O levels,
he was wearing a white baseball shirt with big M on the front, for Michigan
maybe or Masachusetts maybe. He had this sjambok, a baton, with three whips
on the end of it. and when it hits you, it takes your skin off. My corduroy
trousers saved my skin.

      That woman then turns her attention to me and Elton [another MDC
activist], and she says, you guys are well built, you have money, you are
well fed, and she attacks Elton's stomach. Elton has this disabled leg, and
they hit it, and it was broken, that's why he had a major operation today. I
am feeling guilty that he was with us.

      They know the name Tendai Biti, but they don't know what I look like -
that's why, so far I am not taken for the special treatment. So anyway,
before they move onto Nelson Chamisa [head of the MDC youth wing], Morgan
Tsvangirai gets in.

      We didn't see him, because we are all on our stomachs, but we heard
them shouting, "Chauya. Chauya Chauya", (a derogatory term meaning 'get in')

      Then they just start hitting him, then they said to him,so you are the
one who sends in kids to assault policemen, and then he says, 'we don't send
kids to assault police or anyone, we don't do that.

      "When they started assaulting him, they stopped assaulting everyone
else, they assaulted him for 15 to 20 minutes, and there was quiet, all you
could hear was the sound of the whip. All of us, when we tried to raise our
heads to see, the police from outside the fence shouted at us to lie down,
so all you could hear was the whip, again and again and again.

      They shifted into another gear, once they saw Morgan. Then those
random attacks began again, concentrated in another corner and they began
hitting another disabled man, Geoffrey Mutambo, and he asked them why they
were doing this, and they shouted, 'hey you, shut up, do you think because
you are disabled, we won t beat you up?'

      Then they were demolishing everyone, moving around with batons and
whips.

      Then they started on me asking why I had escaped the special
treatment.

      My shoes saved me.

      Then they must have got tired.

      Then another policeman shouted through the door when I was being
beaten, 'stop, you are going to kill him. 'I thought of arguing with them
about torture, but then I asked myself, what will be the effect of that?

      I never felt any pain, not the least bit, people say I was smiling,
then he started poking the baton stick in my mouth and telling me that my
mouth talks too much, that I was the engine room (of the MDC) and he was
poking me here, and poking me there, and then they stopped.

      Morgan was lying prostrate, like a dead person..., blood coming all
over him.

Mugabe - Face of a Fallen African Freedom Fighter

The Monitor (Kampala)

EDITORIAL
March 15, 2007
Posted to the web March 14, 2007

From a humble school teacher to an independence hero, to a brute dictator;
Robert Mugabe, President of Zimbabwe has degenerated. It is apparent that
his liberation has now come full circle and it is time the cycle is stopped.

The latest chapter in his book of bad governance was written over this
weekend when his police attacked a rally of the political opposition,
leaving one person dead, scores injured and several in jail.

Mugabe has ironically enjoyed the support of his African peers. This
sympathy was rooted in history; the struggle to liberate his country from
colonialism and later attempts to right some wrongs, especially on land
distribution between the majority black population and minority white
settlers.

It should be apparent that Mr Mugabe has outlived his welcome. His obsession
with holding onto power at whatever cost must be rejected by all civilised
peoples. Beside the brutality he is meting out on Zimbabweans, people are
dying of starvation and the country's socio-economic infrastructure has all
but collapsed.

A paranoid Mugabe has gagged the free press and proscribed free speech and
assembly. He has assembled terror squads which are routinely unleashed on
terrified civilians.

And while this tragedy is played out, many African governments have looked
the other way, preferring to focus on the contentious land re-distribution
experiment and Mugabe's alleged re-discovery of the pan-African spirit. They
see him as the anti-thesis to neo-colonialism.

But the brutal attack on opposition activists that saw main opposition
politician Morgan Tsvangirai and fifty of his colleagues beaten to pulp
while in police custody is a step too far. We must be sickened by such
barbarism and condemn Mugabe's actions in the strongest terms.

By resorting to such repugnant behaviour, Mugabe is affirming to the world
that age has caught up with him. In this evidently dangerous form, the
former liberator and defender of human rights is an unwanted blot on
Africa's roadmap to responsible government. African leaders, especially
Uganda (in the Commonwealth spirit) and others must tell Mugabe that his
country and down-trodden people deserve better.

He inherited a potentially prosperous nation but has succeeded in grinding
it into the dust. Pressure must be mounted and it must be emphasised to Mr
Mugabe that there are people watching Zimbabwe, not only in the western half
of the international community, which he despises, but amongst his own
peers.

Blair under mounting pressure to impose sanctions on Mugabe's regime

The Daily Mail UK

by BENEDICT BROGAN and IAN DRURY
 Last updated at 22:00pm on 14th March 2007

Tony Blair was under mounting pressure last night to break his 'shameful'
silence on the latest brutality of Robert Mugabe's tyrannical regime in
Zimbabwe. The Prime Minister was facing a chorus of protest after pictures
of Mugabe's main political opponent left bloodied and bruised by the
tyrant's henchmen horrified the world.

Senior MPs from across the political spectrum accused the Government of an
appalling failure to take decisive action and called on Mr Blair to
immediately toughen sanctions against the regime. Zimbabwe's opposition
leader Morgan Tsvangirai was reported to be in intensive care yesterday
after he and his supporters were beaten and tortured by police while in
custody on Sunday. One man was shot dead. Images of Mr Tsvangirai, his face
battered and swollen, as he arrived at court on Tuesday to face charges of
taking part in an illegal protest were beamed around the world, sparking
international outrage. But the British Government was accused of avoiding
firm action to stop the state-sanctioned violence. It was left to Foreign
Secretary Margaret Beckett to respond in the Commons - and she did so by
slipping out a statement on her department's website as Parliament was busy
debating Trident and House of Lords reform. Tory attempts to force the
Foreign Secretary to answer questions from MPs were blocked by Speaker
Michael Martin. MPs from across the political spectrum expressed
consternation that no senior minister was prepared to discuss the violence.
Frank Field, a former Labour Cabinet Minister, said it was 'a great puzzle'
why the Government had refused to take effective action. He said: 'It is
shameful that it hasn't. I would like to see some concerted action rather
than statements on websites. 'We need sanctions against the elite that hurt.
If they are not hurting, they are not working.' Kate Hoey, another former
Labour minister, who was threatened with arrest during a trip to Zimbabwe
last October, said: 'You have to ask why it took until yesterday for the
Foreign Secretary to make a comment. The US made one on Sunday.' Shadow
Foreign Secretary William Hague said he was 'appalled' by the Mr
Tsvangirai's arrest and beating, which highlighted the 'ruthless and
repressive nature' of the regime. He said: 'Mr Mugabe has brought Zimbabwe
to economic and political collapse, with desperate poverty and hunger in
what should naturally be a prosperous and productive land. 'It is high time
that the Government raised the tragedy in Zimbabwe with more energy on the
international stage.' Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, a Tory frontbench spokesman on
foreign affairs, added: 'How much longer are we going to stand by and do
very little while one of the worst humanitarian crises in Africa continues,
causing suffering and misery to an increasing number of Zimbabweans?
'Failure by our government to do more will be a betrayal of the Zimbabwean
people.' Mr Blair - who told the Labour Party conference in 2001 he would
'not tolerate... the behaviour of Mugabe's henchmen' - has maintained a
resolute silence on the latest crisis in the country. Britain and the EU
have had limited sanctions in place for several years - a travel ban and
asset freeze on 125 members of Mugabe's leadership. But the despot has
continued to murder and torture opponents, grab land illegally and rig
elections. In the wake of the weekend's bloodshed, critics said Britain
should go it alone by increasing sanctions to punish 83-year-old Mugabe and
his closest allies. This would including banning the children of Zimbabwean
ministers from being educated or receiving medical treatment in Britain and
blocking exports of expensive luxury goods including computers and cars.
Britain should also press for more action from the European Union, the USA
and the African Union as well as asking the International Olympics Committee
to prevent Zimbabwe from competing in the 2008 Games in Beijing. Miss Hoey
said Mr Blair had missed a string of opportunities to confront South Africa
over its failure to do more to tackle Mugabe - including during the G8
Summit in Edinburgh in 2005 which focused on Africa, she said. She said the
Prime Minister 'gets quite embarrassed' raising the subject because it
implied criticism of President Thabo Mbeki. David Heathcoat-Amory, a Tory MP
on the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, said: 'Imposing travel bans and
asset freezes against a few individuals is totally inadequate. It is not
really working. We need to speak out and turn the screw tighter.' He added:
'I wish this Government had spent a fraction of the energy it expended on
toppling Saddam Hussein on dealing with the dictatorship in Zimbabwe, the
situation for its people would be significantly better.' Michael Moore, the
Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman, said: 'Everyone inside and
outside Zimbabwe is outraged by this brutal attack. The Government must
tighten the sanctions squeeze on Mugabe and his evil regime.' Mrs Beckett
slipped out a statement condemning the attacks on the Foreign and
Commonwealth Office website yesterday - 24 hours after junior foreign office
minister David Triesmann condemned Mugabe's brutality in the Lords. She
said: 'I am horrified by events over the last few days in Zimbabwe, and hold
the government of Zimbabwe fully responsible for the barbaric treatment
meted out by the police to members of the opposition. She said it was
'particularly distressing' that Mr Tsvangirai was reportedly in intensive
care and said she would push the United Nations Human Rights Council to
address the situation in Zimbabwe. 'The Zimbabwean Government's continued
brutal treatment of the opposition and recent actions show its total
disregard for international law and the will of the international
community.' Mrs Beckett said the Government would 'look urgently' at ramping
up the pressure on the 125 people subject to economic sanctions and a travel
ban. Mr Tsvangirai, 54, told South African radio he was attacked by police
after attending a prayer meeting in protest at Zimbabwe's political and
economic crisis. He said: 'I was subjected to a lot of random beatings. I
think the intention was to inflict as much harm as they could.' Condoleeza
Rice, the US Secretary of State, condemned the police brutality as 'ruthless
and repressive' and South Africa, which normally avoids direct comment on
Zimbabwe's troubles, called on Mugabe's government to respect the rule of
law. Despite Mr Blair's 2001 pledge, he has rarely commented on Mugabe
outside Parliamentary questions. In December 2003, he called for regime
change after Zimbabwe was suspended from the Commonwealth.

Why doesn't Tony Blair care about Zimbabwe?

Daily Mail UK

Last updated at 21:43pm on 14th March 2007

This is the question that troubles me. Why doesn't Tony Blair care about
Zimbabwe? Perhaps that should be re-phrased. Why doesn't he care at all
(itals) about Zimbabwe?
No one would doubt that this tragic, ruined country - a former British
colony - is worthy of his concern. The terrible beatings this week of the
Zimbabwean opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, and his supporters is the
latest episode in Robert Mugabe's increasingly horrific rule.

Zimbabwean opposition leader moved to intensive care with broken skull

Starvation, hyper-inflation, torture, repression, corruption on a mammoth
scale - these are the hallmarks of Mugabe's regime.

The 83-year-old monster far surpasses most of the dictators with whom Mr
Blair has engaged, and almost rivals Saddam Hussein's genocidal tendencies.

In 1984, Mugabe wiped out many thousands of his political opponents in
Matabeleland in the south of Zimbabwe.

He is just the sort of man whom you would think the high-minded,
interventionist Mr Blair would inveigh against, and whose country you might
even expect him to invade.

In a swirling, passionate speech the Prime Minister made at the Labour Party
conference in 2001, he declared: "The kaleidoscope has been shaken. The
pieces are in flux. Soon they will settle again. Before they do, let us
re-order this world around us."

Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic, Saddam Hussein, the Taliban, the
robber barons of Sierra Leone: all of them have, with varying success, been
're-ordered'.

But not Mugabe. Far from invading his country, or even threatening to do so,
Mr Blair has restricted himself to a few glancing criticisms of the
Zimbabwean president over the years. Robert Mugabe does not begin to stir Mr
Blair's normally ample moral outrage.

Why should this be? One answer is that Zimbabwe, a former British colony
with virtually no Muslims, does not interest the United States, and Mr
Blair, as we know, likes to trot behind George W. Bush.

No doubt if Mr Bush had developed an ambition to 'Get Mugabe,' Mr Blair
would have pricked up his ears and embraced the plan, but the American
president has given no indication of even knowing where Zimbabwe is.

Yet America's lack of interest in the country hardly explains Mr Blair's
almost total silence on the matter. Government ministers were yesterday
stumm.

Margaret Beckett, the Foreign Secretary, heroically roused herself into
issuing a brief statement on the Foreign Office website in support of the
unfortunate Mr Tsvangirai, which I suppose marks a small improvement on her
predecessor, Jack Straw, who was once tricked into shaking Mr Mugabe warmly
by the hand.

There are deeper reasons, I suggest, for Mr Blair's and this government's
unwillingness to concern themselves with Zimbabwe.

Even now, after Mugabe has devastated what was once one of the two or three
most prosperous countries in Africa, he remains in some measure the creature
of the Left, whose election as President in 1980 was rapturously greeted by
Tony Benn in his diaries.

The man who then spoke for a large faction in the Labour Party could not
"remember anything giving me so much pleasure for a long time."

Throughout the 1970s, Rhodesia (as Zimbabwe was then known) was the country
the Left hated above all. Its white Prime Minister, Ian Smith, was depicted
in the liberal media as little better than a fascist.

Without doubt he was intransigent, and he was fatally slow in encouraging
plausible moderate black leaders to emerge.

Yet Rhodesia thrived economically in those years, despite international
sanctions, and the rule of law was for the most part preserved.

Today, almost any black Zimbabwean not belonging to the governing party who
remembers that time will tell you that the 'fascist' Ian Smith was far
preferable to Robert Mugabe.

Yet leftist journalists and politicians welcomed Mugabe's election,
preferring the Marxist 'freedom fighter' (and former Roman Catholic mission
boy) to the more moderate Bishop Abel Muzorewa, and ignoring or discounting
the atrocities his guerillas had committed.

When Mugabe unleashed his North Korean-trained 5th Brigade on the hapless
Matabele in 1984, the Left largely looked away as, alas, did the Tory
administration which had inadvertently engineered his triumph.

Indeed, it was not just the Left that became besotted with Mugabe.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, successive British governments merrily sold
him Hawk fighter aircraft and other weapons, and as recently as the late
1990s the Blair administration was supplying him with hundreds of armoured
Land Rovers, which have been used by the police against demonstrators, such
as Morgan Tsvangirai and his brave opposition supporters last Sunday.

Only when Mugabe recklessly confiscated thousands of highly productive
white-owned farms almost overnight, thereby leading the country towards
economic collapse and starvation, did his blinkered supporters in the West
finally melt away. Even so - witness Mr Blair and this government - they
could not bring themselves to address him robustly as the dangerous
genocidal maniac he undoubtedly is.

'Regime change' in Zimbabwe may never have been a sensible option, but
Britain, as the former colonial power responsible for bringing Mugabe to the
position he now occupies, could and should have spearheaded an international
moral crusade against him.

It should have shamed South Africa into action, that country having been
endlessly indulgent of Mugabe, to the point that one fears it may partly
approve of him. As a neighbouring, much richer and more powerful country,
South Africa could apply pressure on Mugabe, yet does nothing.

Ian Smith's regime attracted international obloquy and, in Britain, he
became the Left's most hated figure. My God, they were obsessed with him!
Yet even now Mugabe's truly evil regime is seldom harshly criticised -
President John Agyekum Kufuor of Ghana was notably uncensorious when he was
interviewed yesterday on Radio 4's Today programme - and the media have
sometimes been slow to wake up to the enormity of what is happening in
Zimbabwe.

The BBC, which has been banned from the country, has too often ended up by
ignoring it.

We shouldn't. Zimbabwe, for better or worse, is the product of British
colonialism. Our policies brought Mugabe to the presidency.

How can we turn aside from the country's wretched and persecuted people? It
is time for those on the Left (and in this matter Mr Blair is oddly
unreconstructed) to concede that Mugabe is, and always was, a tyrant and a
killer, in whose young mind those Catholic missionaries instilled no abiding
Christian principles.

Even one speech from Mr Blair - a mere expression of disgust - would be a
small blow for democracy and freedom. A powerful diplomatic initiative could
amount to much more.

It would give some hope to the millions of people who have been starved and
impoverished by Mugabe, and to the opposition forces that are daring to
stand up to him. Some show of interest from the Tories would also not go
amiss.

Here, even now, the Prime Minister might do some good in his dying days, and
leave a useful legacy behind him.

Mugabe is old, mad, and weak, threatened as he is by factions within his own
party. He could be toppled. This is a cause worth fighting for. And yet I am
almost certain that Tony Blair will do nothing at all.

Zim police chief says officers ill-prepared to deal with protests

Zim Online

Thursday 15 March 2007

By Brian Ncube

BULAWAYO - Zimbabwe police chief Augustine Chihuri says police are
ill-prepared to deal with violent opposition protests with most junior
officers suffering from a dire lack of skills, ZimOnline has learnt.

In a confidential memorandum seen by ZimOnline dated 12 March, which was
addressed to Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi, Chihuri said insufficient
training, inexperience and lack of resources was seriously undermining the
operations of the police force.

The memo came a day after the police shot and killed an opposition Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC) supporter during violent clashes in Harare's
working class suburb of Highfield last weekend.

In a five-page memo, entitled, "Application for Funds to Equip the Force and
Retrain Officers," Chihuri admits that Zimbabwean police were seriously
exposed during the riots in Highfield adding that police were at present
incapable of handling volatile situations.

Chihuri warned that the police would be found wanting during protests the
opposition has threatened to call to force President Robert Mugabe to
embrace political reforms.

The police chief, a trusted confidante of Mugabe, appealed for Z$5 trillion
to help the police prepare for "trying times" that lay ahead.

"Most of our junior officers, especially those that joined the force six to
seven years ago, only did theoretical riot drills and musketry. They did not
go to the range to practise on the use of these firearms and this left them
unable to operate the firearms when the need arises.

"With the political situation worsening by the day and with more pointers
that the opposition, civic groups and members of the general public are
ready to take the government and the security forces head-on, I am sorry to
say that we are incapable as an organisation to handle such a situation,"
reads part of the memo.

Chihuri said the lack of experience stemmed from the fact that most junior
officers had not been exposed to "real violence situations" after they were
used to dealing with "trivial workers' strikes" and mob violence at football
matches.

The police chief appealed to Mohadi to pump in more money into the police
force to enable police officers to be retrained in weapon handling.

"We need to urgently embark on the retraining programme for members who are
already at stations, while those at training depots also need to get live
ammunition to train with because there are some junior members who have not
fired a single gun, who would panic and flee if a gun is pointed at them as
they are literally just civilians in police uniform.

"Sunday's situation, whereby our officers had tear smoke thrown at them for
the first time in many years by members of the public, left us convinced
that they cannot control a war-like situation.

"Our equipment, which also failed to protect them against the smoke, also
showed that we lack the capability to stand our own when there is need,"
said Chihuri.

Chihuri said the police needed to be ready "before the situation gets out of
hand."

A source at police headquarters in Harare told ZimOnline that Chihuri was
already working on a programme that would see junior officers attending a
month-long weapon-handling course as soon as the funds are made available.

"Their training curriculum will mainly focus on weapon-handling and
Zimbabwean history, as it is aimed at preparing them both mentally and
physically for the times ahead.

"The Commissioner wants them (juniors) to understand why they must be
prepared to protect their country," said the source.

Police spokesperson Wayne Bvudzijena refused to take questions on the
matter.

"I cannot comment on that. If you saw the memo, then what do you want from
me. I have nothing to say," he said.

Mohadi also refused to comment on the matter but conceded that the
government was working on plans to boost resources within the police.

"We are not sitting on our laurels, especially when some people have decided
to put the government under such siege. I have spoken to the Treasury and
the police will be boosted in terms of both material and human resources
within the next few months," said Mohadi. - ZimOnline

Mugabe's close brush with Tsvangirai

Zim Online

Thursday 15 March 2007

By Batsirayi Muranje

HARARE - President Robert Mugabe on Wednesday paid a surprise visit at
Avenues Clinic in Harare where his political nemesis Morgan Tsvangirai is
receiving treatment following his brutal attack by security agents last
weekend.

Tsvangirai is receiving treatment at the hospital together with other senior
officials of his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party.

But Mugabe made no intention to see Tsvangirai in the intensive care unit in
the third floor where the opposition leader is battling with a suspected
fractured skull.

Neither did Mugabe visit any of the 22 victims of the weekend assault who
are recuperating at the private clinic.

Mugabe, who arrived at the clinic at 1630hrs with his usual entourage of
armed soldiers and police, was instead visiting his sister, Sabina, a Member
of Parliament who is suffering from an unknown illness.

Sabina is in Ward 15, the ward right next to where Grace Kwinje, the MDC's
deputy secretary for international relations is being treated after Mugabe's
thugs almost severed her ear.

Business briefly came to a halt at the private clinic when security details
occupied all floors, disturbing the tranquil environment of the evening
visiting hour.

Mugabe walked past Tendai Biti, who is recovering in a ward right next to
Sabina's.

The Zimbabwean strongman's security officials made a human barrier in what
seemed to be an attempt to make sure the 83-year old leader did not see the
results of the handiwork of his brutal security agents.

"He must be embarrassed. How can he come here and ignore the victims of his
police force's brutality. This man is inhuman," said Chitungwiza MP Fidelis
Mhashu, who had come to visit Tsvangirai and his injured officials.

By late yesterday, results of a scan for a suspected fractured skull on
Tsvangirai were still not out and doctors were restricting access to the
intensive care unit, where he is detained, to his close family members. -
ZimOnline

Two police stations petrol bombed

Zim Online

Thursday 15 March 2007

By Thabani Mlilo and Patricia Mpofu

HARARE - Three police officers were seriously injured in the early hours of
Wednesday after their houses at Marimba police station were petrol bombed as
political tensions remained high in Harare's working class suburbs.

Sources at the camp told ZimOnline that two women police officers suffered
extensive burns on their faces in what the police suspected to be an act of
retribution against the police following last weekend's violence in
Highfield.

A similar attack was also reported in at Nehanda police station in the
Midlands city of Gweru. No one was injured in the Gweru attack.

Police spokesperson Wayne Bvudzijena confirmed the incidents which he blamed
on MDC youths.

"I can confirm that incidents of such nature did happen last night and our
initial investigations indicate that this is a continuation of the violence
that is being perpetrated by unruly MDC elements in some parts of the high
density suburbs in Harare," he said.

Bvudzijena said two suspects had already been arrested in connection with
the bombing of the police station in Marimba.

Tensions have been rising in Zimbabwe since last Sunday following protests
between the police and MDC supporters n Highfield. An MDC youth member, Gift
Tandare, was shot and killed by the police.

MDC leaders Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara as well as National
Constitutional Assembly chairman, Lovemore Madhuku, were arrested and
brutally tortured while in police custody.

The United States, Britain, South Africa and other major power have all
condemned the savage attack on Tsvangirai and other opposition officials. -
ZimOnline

ZANU PF dissolves Masvingo executive

Zim Online

Thursday 15 March 2007

By Nqobizitha Khumalo

MASVINGO - Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU PF party has dissolved the Masvingo
provincial executive committee and ordered that fresh elections be held in
the province in what observers said was part of the succession fight in the
party.

The dissolution of Masvingo provincial executive comes barely a fortnight
after Elliot Manyika, the ZANU PF national commissar, dissolved another
provincial executive in Bulawayo.

Insiders within ZANU PF said the dissolution of provincial executives was
part of the bitter internal fights within the party to succeed President
Robert Mugabe if he steps down at the end of his term next year.

Manyika, who is believed to be part of the Emmerson Mnangagwa camp that is
wrestling for control of ZANU PF with another faction led by retired army
general Solomon Mujuru, is said to be moving to reclaim provinces that were
lost after a crackdown by Mugabe following the Tsholotsho saga two years
ago.

Six ZANU PF chairmen, who were aligned to Mnangagwa, were suspended from the
party in 2005 for attempting to block the rise of Joice Mujuru to the
vice-presidency.

The dissolution of the Masvingo committee led by Samuel Mumbengegwi is said
to have not gone down well with senior party members in the province.

"When Mumbengegwi was ushered into office, it was to deal specifically with
the Isaiah Shumba-led executive that had openly backed Mnangagwa in the
Tsholotsho debacle.

"Everyone knows which camp Manyika belongs to and that is the reason why all
this is happening," �said a senior party official who refused to be named.

Mumbengegwi could not be reached for comment on the matter last night.

Richard Ndlovu, ZANU PF's deputy national commissar, said there was nothing
amiss in the dissolution of the provincial committee as the party was
restructuring provinces that were appointed after the Tsholotsho saga.

"The committees were not substantive and we are normalising things now, so
elections will be held in Masvingo on April 28," said �Ndlovu.

ZANU PF is currently embroiled in a bitter wrangle over Mugabe's
successor. - ZimOnline

Why I blame Blair for the ruin of Zimbabwe

The Herald, Glasgow

      HARRY REID March 14 2007

At long last it looks as if the iniquitous tyranny of Robert Gabriel Mugabe
may be ending.

Zimbabwe's villainous dictator is now a very old man. His cunning and
appetite for carefully directed thuggery should never be underestimated,
but, at 83, even he may be losing his grip on power.

Mugabe has led Zimbabwe since the botched Lancaster House settlement of
1980, which was not one of modern British diplomacy's finer moments. Until
recently he let it be known that he wanted to rule at least until 2010, even
if he had to suspend the elections due in 2008 to do so. Now it looks as if
he may not cling on to power until even the end of this year, though such
predictions have been made too often in the past.

If the end is approaching, it is not because of the efforts of the
opposition, though its leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, is a brave and charismatic
man who has survived two fraught treason trials, when he faced the death
penalty, and several horrendous beatings by Mugabe's police, the most recent
of which cracked his skull. Nor, shamefully, is it coming because of any
concerted international diplomatic pressure. No, the dictator's grip is
loosening because his own Zanu party is finally fracturing.
In the lamentable litany of missed opportunities and consequent human
despair which is the story of so much of modern Africa, Zimbabwe is not the
greatest tragedy. Yet the country, once comparatively blessed, is now in a
condition of ruin. The plight of the people is horrendous. Fear and
destitution mark their lives. Well over half of them survive on less than a
dollar a day. The life expectancy for women is only 33 years. The country is
bankrupt, and the inflation rate is around 1750%. Mugable spends more on his
secret police than on his nation's health. The black middle class have all
but disappeared, many of them over the border to South Africa.

The long-term blame for this situation lies with Britain. The Tories
decolonised in Africa quickly and for the most part competently in the late
1950s and early 1960s, when Harold Macmillan and Iain Macleod knew what they
were doing, despite opposition from political dinosaurs in their party.
Unfortunately, Margaret Thatcher's one major attempt at an African
decolonisation came within a year of her first election victory. The tyro
leader allowed herself to be bulldozed, against her better instincts, by
Lord Carrington and Lord Soames, two toffs who also seemed to know what they
were doing but who actually presided over a rushed and slapdash
constitutional conference at Lancaster House, London. The complex Southern
Rhodesia problem was "sorted" in a mere 14 weeks. Various problems, notably
the land issue, were completely fudged in the settlement.

Nonetheless, Mugabe, a Jesuit-educated Marxist guerrilla leader, assumed
power amid fanfare. In his first speeches, he preached conciliation and
promised to follow a political "middle way" (does that sound eerily
familiar?). And, to be fair, the first few years of his regime were
relatively benign, and the new state prospered.

But as the economy faltered, so his authoritarian streak showed.
Increasingly it became evident that he was a tyrant of the worst hue, a man
who manipulated his party with obsessive self-interested tactical skill and
was only too willing to deploy savage thugs whenever anyone - whether it was
opposition politicians or white farmers or just low-key demonstrators - got
in his way. Remarkably, despite his growing appetite for blatant despotism,
the judiciary managed to maintain at least some independence.

If Thatcher can be blamed as the midwife of this extended catastrophe, Tony
Blair should be blamed for not doing nearly enough on the diplomatic front
in the past decade. Of course, the difficulties are many. China, a backer of
Mugabe from the start, is increasingly influential throughout Africa and is
hardly likely to pay much attention to Blair or the Commonwealth. As for
Zimbabwe's more stable neighbours, the likes of South Africa and Mozambique,
they are for various reasons reluctant to become involved.

But Blair must be castigated none the less. Because he has become embroiled
in such a wrong-headed and maladroit policy in the Middle East, he has not
devoted enough attention to galvanising international, and particularly
Commonwealth, pressure on Mugabe. So much for the "ethical foreign policy"
trumpeted by his first foreign secretary, the late lamented Robin Cook.

Internal figures who have condemned Mugabe, especially Tsvangirai and the
courageous Catholic archbishop of Bulawayo, Pius Ncube, have received too
little succour or encouragement from Britain, the country that is ultimately
responsible for Mugabe's gaining of power. Blair has claimed that the
African continent is a stain on the conscience of mankind. The single
country of Zimbabwe should be a specific stain on his conscience.

Mugabe Is Creating His Own Mandela

Moscow Times

Los Angeles Times

Morgan Tsvangirai is not a household name in much of the world, but he
stands a chance of becoming for Zimbabwe what Nelson Mandela was for South
Africa -- especially if his country's ruling regime persists in its
self-destructive attempts to crush him.

Tsvangirai, 55, was badly beaten by police Sunday during a "prayer meeting"
in a suburb of Harare, the country's capital. Tsvangirai probably wasn't
doing a lot of praying; political rallies are illegal in Zimbabwe, so
opposition leaders gathered at a legally permissible religious event.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe exercises total control over the media
and has made criticizing the government a crime.

Until recently, Tsvangirai had been fading from the political scene. A labor
leader who quit school as a teenager to provide for his family, Tsvangirai
in 1999 created the country's opposition party, the Movement for Democratic
Change. Yet the party's shaky coalition split apart in 2005, and Tsvangirai
spent 2006 largely on the sidelines. That changed in December, when the
ruling party prompted widespread outrage by saying it would seek to extend
Mugabe's term, which expires in 2008. Mugabe is 83.

The arrests Sunday of Tsvangirai and the leader of the MDC's breakaway
faction, Arthur Mutambara -- who also appeared at the rally -- signaled that
the opposition is reunifying.

Mugabe, Zimbabwe's only leader since it gained independence from Britain in
1980, was widely regarded as a post-colonial African hero until 2000. That
was when he initiated "land reform" -- stealing farms from white settlers
and redistributing the land to his supporters, most of whom knew nothing
about farming. The result was the predictable collapse of an economy
dominated by agriculture. Mugabe responded to the inevitable outcry with a
brutal crackdown, culminating in 2005 with a campaign to bulldoze the homes
and businesses of the urban poor, the MDC's political base. Hundreds of
thousands were rendered homeless. The World Bank says Zimbabwe is suffering
the world's worst peacetime economic crisis, with inflation running at more
than 1,700 percent.

On Tuesday, Tsvangirai was taken to a hospital under police escort, with
witnesses saying he had suffered deep head wounds and may have been
tortured. His lawyer said the government planned to charge him with
incitement to violence, which would be a tactical as well as a moral
mistake. Mugabe's excesses have prompted international outcry but little
action aside from sanctions from the United States and the European Union.
If change is to come, it will likely have to come from within. And nothing
rallies an opposition movement like turning its leader into a martyr.

This comment appeared as an editorial in the Los Angeles Times.

Bleed, bleed, poor Zimbabwe

Gulf News, Dubai

Editorial

15/03/2007 12:00 AM (UAE)

Gulf News

Normally regimes collapse before countries do. But in
Zimbabwe's case, the country has almost totally collapsed while the regime
goes on.

The thuggish reaction of riot police to a small meeting
organised in Harare by the opposition, church and civic groups was all too
predictable. One protester was shot dead and dozens of opposition activists
were beaten and tortured in custody.

Among them was Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the
Movement for Democratic Change who is now in critical condition.

President Robert Mugabe holds the unenviable record of
presiding over a country that was once the bread basket of the region and is
now the world's fastest-shrinking peacetime economy.

Unemployment has swollen by 80 per cent and inflation is
expected to reach over 4,000 per cent by the end of the year. Just when
Mugabe will go is not clear, but what is clear is that the country cannot
afford his so-called policies.

NZ must convince pro Zimbabwe nations to cut support - Peters

Radio New Zealand

Posted at 8:37am on 15 Mar 2007

New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says New Zealand must do
more to persuade countries sympathetic to Zimbabwe's government, to cut
their support.

Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has been giving details of
beatings he and others sustained at the hands of the police, after being
detained during an anti-government rally in the capital, Harare, on Sunday.

Winston Peters told Morning Report that President Robert Mugabe should have
gone a long time ago, but outside support has kept him in power.

Since New Zealand has no diplomatic contact with Zimbabwe, he said all it
can do is try to persuade neighbouring African nations to push harder for
change.

Events In Zimbabwe Reflect Breakdown Of Legal System, Experts Say

VOA

      By Ndimyake Mwakalyelye
      Washington
      14 March 2007

Legal experts observing events in Zimbabwe over the past few days say the
conduct of police and prosecutors indicates a serious breakdown of the rule
of law.

Police arrested top officials of the opposition Movement for Democratic
Change and the National Constitutional Assembly on Sunday after blocking a
prayer meeting called by the Save Zimbabwe Campaign, an opposition umbrella
organization. Police have been accused of severely beating their prisoners,
including MDC founding president Morgan Tsvangirai, and failing to bring
them to court for timely arraignment.

Observers note apparent police disregard of a court order saying the
opposition could hold the March 11 prayer meeting in Highfield, and the
later failure by police to heed instructions from the high court regarding
the disposition of their prisoners.

Police opened fire on protesters Sunday, killing MDC youth activist Gift
Tandare. The use of deadly force by the police represented an escalation in
the conflict.

Analysts further say that the use of live ammunition to disperse a
defenseless crowd was unconstitutional and therefore illegal.

Reporter Ndimyake Mwakalyele of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe sought
perspective on the breakdown of the legal system from former administrative
court judge Michael Majuru and University of Zimbabwe constitutional law
lecturer Greg Linington.

Linington said the week's events highlight the disrespect of the
administration and the state security apparatus for the judiciary as well as
for ordinary citizens.

Exiled Zimbabweans Call For Mugabe's Resignation

VOA

      By Carole Gombakomba
      Washington
      14 March 2007

Members of the Movement for Democratic Change in North America are demanding
that President Robert Mugabe resign over the fatal shooting of an opposition
member this weekend and the alleged police beating of opposition leaders and
supporters.

MDC supporters in South Africa, meanwhile, were expressing dissapointment at
the tepid response to the latest turn in Zimbabwe's crisis by the Pretoria
government. It issued a statement saying that it has "constantly maintained
that the solutions to the problems of Zimbabwe will be resolved by the
people of Zimbabwe."

Former Zimbabwean parliamentarian Roy Bennett, treasurer for the Movement
for Democratic Change faction of Morgan Tsvangirai, told Carole Gombakomba
of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that Mr. Mugabe is unlikely to step down if
Southern African nations continue to accept South Africa's "quiet diplomacy"
on Zimbabwe.

Crisis Mounts for Cornered Mugabe

Institute for War and Peace Reporting

As the president orders a violent crackdown on the opposition, some say
support for him is slipping in his own ZANU-PF party.

By Frederick Tsotso in Harare (AR No. 101, 14-Mar-07)

Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe is now like a cornered cat. Faced with a
fast-imploding economy, growing opposition from within his ZANU-PF party and
a more militant opposition, he has thrown caution to the wind and like a
desperate feline is lashing out at those around him.

Zimbabwe appears to be degenerating into chaos as unrest simmers in Harare
and other parts of the country, sparked by government-sponsored attacks on
political opponents and an economic meltdown that is fuelling public anger
against Mugabe and his ruling party.

Matters came to a head on March 11 with the arrest of Morgan Tsvangirai,
leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, MDC, and other
political, civil society and student leaders and human rights activists.
They were detained as they were on their way to a prayer meeting in the
capital Harare, organised by the pro-democracy Christian Alliance.

After their arrest, leaders including Tsvangirai and Lovemore Madhuku, the
chairman of the National Constitutional Assembly, were badly beaten by
police while in custody, according to supporters who gained access to them.
Tsvangirai and others were initially denied access to lawyers and health
care.

Political analysts had long predicted that a surge in police violence could
shift the confrontation between the Mugabe government and its opponents up a
gear - taking the fight out onto the streets where it could spiral out of
control.

Following the March 11 violence, the unrest spread to the streets of Harare,
the eastern city of Mutare, and Gweru, the Midlands provincial capital, as
activists staged demonstrations demanding the release of the jailed
opposition leaders and the ousting of the Mugabe government.

But the ageing president has held out, rejecting the opposition's demands.

Human rights workers, opposition leaders and international officials argue
that the chaos is part of an orchestrated campaign by the Zimbabwean
authorities to ensure the re-election of Mugabe, an increasingly unpopular
leader who has ruled Zimbabwe since independence in 1980.

"This is a political game that is being played," said Alois Chaumba,
national chairman of the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace. "There
is no way we could have free and fair elections because of the amount of
intimidation going on at the moment."

Tevedzerai Marecha, an office worker in the capital, said, "Seven years ago
Zimbabwe was a wonderful country. Now we are in hell; we are slowly hurtling
towards civil war."

The MDC, Zimbabwe's leading opposition party, said trigger-happy police
loyal to Mugabe had killed three of its members in recent days, in what it
said were politically-motivated attacks.

The authorities in Zimbabwe confirmed only one of the killings - that of
Gift Tandare, killed as security forces moved to head off the meeting at
Highfield . Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena said Tandare was shot dead
after attacking police officers on the way to the assembly

Police claimed the meeting - organised by the Save Zimbabwe Coalition, an
emerging alliance which brings together all the opposition parties, civic
groups and church organisations - was in fact an anti-Mugabe political rally
disguised as a prayer meeting so as to circumvent a ban on such events under
the draconian Public Order and Security Act.

Lawyers representing the detained opposition and civic leaders had to file
an urgent application to the High Court Chamber to gain access to their
clients. It took a High Court order from Justice Chinembiri Bhunu for the
detained leaders to be allowed to see their lawyers and receive medical
attention.

In a serious indictment of the law enforcement agencies, the court conceded
that detainees had been tortured. Justice Bhunu later issued an order
demanding that they be brought before the courts immediately for an initial
remand hearing.

As Tsvangirai appeared with other detainees at the Rotten Row magistrates
courts in central Harare on March 13, he could hardly walk and had deep
bruising all over his body and a massively swollen face. Several other
detainees had to be carried into the court, and some sat on the floor. One
wore a bloodstained shirt and all appeared dirty, tired and disheveled .

Disregarding the High Court order that they be formally charged, the state
refused to provide a trial magistrate, resulting in the detainees being
taken back into police custody for a fourth day.

"These actions are symptomatic of a rogue regime that has lost all semblance
of sanity and decency," Innocent Gonese, legal affairs secretary for the
opposition MDC told IWPR.

"Lawyers spent the whole night serving copies of the court order, but the
police have simply thumbed their noses at the court and shown total disdain
and contempt of due process."

Countless human rights bodies and key western governments, including the
United States administration, have roundly condemned the police action, as
has the European Union.

The Zimbabwean government raced to defend its position, saying Tsvangirai
and his supporters were trying to court international attention by breaking
the laws of the land.

"Tsvangirai knew there was a ban on rallies. I think [he] wanted to be
arrested, because he wanted more support from London and Washington," said
ZANU-PF spokesman Nathan Shamuyarira.

Speaking from South Africa, Shamuyarira denied allegations of rights abuses
in an interview with the public broadcaster SABC 2.

The police killing of Tandare, which the opposition has described as
"cold-blooded murder", has heightened tension in the capital, touching a raw
nerve among an already agitated population, reeling under the unprecedented
economic decline that many blame on Mugabe's misrule.

Mourners at Tandare's funeral in Glenview, a poor suburb on the outskirts of
Harare and a bedrock of opposition to the Mugabe government, vowed to avenge
his death. There was a palpable mood of anger at the wake.

At least two opposition activists, Nickson Magondo and Naison Mashambanhaka,
were shot by riot police as they tried to lead a procession from the funeral
to a police station to demand justice.

Police fired teargas and used water cannons for several hours as they
battled protesters at the funeral, who were chanting, "Ndimi makauraya,
hazvina mhosva" - "You have murdered him, no sweat".

Angry mourners said police and security forces in Zimbabwe were waging a
campaign of intimidation against opposition leaders in a bid to cripple the
Save Zimbabwe Coalition.

Rita Sithole, who sells vegetables at the Machipisa shopping centre in
Highfield, the densely-populated suburb where Tandare was shot, said she was
shocked at the level of police brutality.

"How can they kill a person for going to a prayer meeting?" she asked. "This
is the height of impunity. It goes to show how callous this regime has
become."

"These are the last kicks of a dying horse," said another woman, requesting
anonymity. "God will judge Mugabe and his police harshly for stopping people
pray[ing] for their country, which is clearly in crisis."

Nyasha Moyo, an MDC activist, told IWPR at Tandare's funeral that Mugabe's
government had created a climate of intimidation and political violence to
silence critics of his plan to postpone the next presidential election from
a scheduled date of March 2008 to some time in 2010.

"We are not intimidated by these bully-boy tactics," said Moyo, wearing
opposition MDC regalia. "We want elections next year, and we will make this
country ungovernable if they try to postpone."

Mugabe, who marked his 83rd birthday last month amid great pomp and fanfare,
announced this week that he would seek another term of office if asked to do
so by ZANU-PF party, whether the election was held as planned in 2008 or
delayed by two years.

Critics say Mugabe has mismanaged Zimbabwe's economy and violated human
rights, plunging a once-prosperous nation into crisis. Annual inflation last
month exceeded the 1,700 per cent mark - the highest rate in the world -
unemployment is above 80 per cent, and there are chronic shortages of food,
medicines and fuel.

Faced with a rising tide of anger, Mugabe has now fixed his eye firmly on
the opposition, especially Tsvangirai.

But analysts say change is likely to come from within his own party, as
internal opposition continues to mount. They say different factions within
ZANU-PF now see the president as the major impediment to their own futures -
political and economic.

Frederick Tsotso is the pseudonym of a journalist in Zimbabwe

Additional Zimbabwe Sanctions Possible, State Department Says

US info

14 March 2007

U.S. calls on government not to interfere in opposition member's funeral

By Stephen Kaufman
USINFO Staff Writer

Washington -- In response to the Zimbabwean government's violent repression
of its political opposition, the Bush administration is considering
"additional measures" to its existing targeted sanctions, the State
Department said March 14.

Deputy spokesman Tom Casey said the United States will be consulting with
"other like-minded countries," including members of the European Union, on
possible actions to take, and Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy,
Human Rights and Labor Barry Lowenkron will be raising the issue March 15 in
his consultations with the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Lowenkron will "see what we can do with our African Union partners to push
the Zimbabwean government to allow for peaceful political participation from
its citizens and from the opposition," Casey said.

Current U.S. sanctions, imposed in 2002 and 2003, have been "very specific
and focused on individuals who have been associated with some of these
repressive policies," he said.

"There's always other tools in the toolbox, though, and I certainly expect
we'll look at those," he added.

The deputy spokesman said Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's remarks
threatening a "heavy price" against the opposition are "in keeping" with his
regime's continued intimidation and repression of the country's opposition.

Casey said members of Zimbabwe's political opposition, including Movement
for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai, plan to participate in the
March 17 funeral of an individual who was killed in the government's March
11 attack on an opposition prayer meeting.  (See related article.)

"We call on the government of Zimbabwe to refrain from any actions against
that funeral and events surrounding it and to allow that to move forward
peacefully and without any further incidents of violence or intimidation,"
Casey said.

U.S. Ambassador to Zimbabwe Christopher Dell intends to meet with
Tsvangirai, who is recuperating from injuries reportedly received while in
police custody, "as soon as he is physically able to receive visitors."

Earlier, Casey said the United States was "most pleased" to see that
Tsvangirai and some of the other individuals who had been severely beaten at
the prayer meeting and while in custody have been allowed to receive medical
attention.

"Certainly we're glad to see these people getting medical treatment, but it
still makes very clear the kinds of problems that Zimbabwe currently faces
and the exact nature of the regime that we're dealing with," he said.

Casey also said the Bush administration wants to see the U.N.'s Human Rights
Council in Geneva address the issue, despite U.S. concerns that it lacks
credibility because it is focused primarily on Israel.

"We think this would be certainly the kind of concern that a
well-functioning and credible human rights council would want to address,"
he said.

A senior State Department official said the United States wants the
international community, including Zimbabwe's neighbors in the African
Union, to do more to increase diplomatic pressure on the Mugabe regime.

The official said that although beatings and acts of intimidation against
government opponents have occurred before, such as during the country's
previous election, "this is a qualitatively different kind of reaction to
opposition efforts."

"People really ought to be shocked to see how this happened, and to not only
see that the initial breakup and violent breakup happened, but to then have
people who are basically in the leadership of a substantial portion of the
Zimbabwean political community be savagely beaten while in detention and
then denied medical treatment on top of it," the official said.

The Mugabe government's response "is clearly . taking it to a different
level, and we hope people will respond appropriately," the official added.

The official cited the poor condition of Zimbabwe's economy, saying that
under the Mugabe government the country has transformed from one of the
region's larger food exporters into a major importer, "relying, in some
cases, on international food contributions."

The United States is seeking ways to target the regime "without causing
additional hardship to the people," and the official said that would likely
mean looking at "ways to expand and broaden the kinds of targeted sanctions
that we've already got in place."

(USINFO is produced by the Bureau of International Information Programs,
U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

JAG Open Letter Forum No 476

Please send any material for publication in the Open Letter Forum to
jag@mango.zw with "For Open Letter Forum" in the subject line.

JAG Hotlines:
+263 (011) 610 073 If you are in trouble or need advice,
 please don't hesitate to contact us - we're here to help!
+263 (04) 799 410 Office Lines

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Letter 1 - Cathy Buckle

Dear Family and Friends,

If you are a follower of events in Zimbabwe you will know that the pressure
is increasing at a dramatic rate. Almost every
day we hear or read of demonstrations, protests and marches. It takes a
considerable amount of courage to take part in these events which are met
with a range of repressive responses including arrests, beatings in custody,
water cannons, baton sticks, tear gas and riot police. There are perhaps
none more familiar with this than the WOZA women who regularly go
out and protest on our streets. These women know, almost without a doubt,
that their protests will be stopped. They know they will be arrested and
they know they stand a good chance of being beaten - and yet still they do
it.

The women of WOZA draw attention to the every day things in life that
ordinary mothers, families and households are battling with - the price of
food, the cost of schooling, the desperate state of health care, the lowest
life expectancy in the world. These women really are the bravest of the
brave and this week Jenni Williams, the founder of WOZA received the
highest international recognition - for her bravery, her vision and her
leadership.

Jenni was one of 10 women from around the world chosen to be given the Women
of Courage award by US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice. Jenni has been
arrested over two dozen times herself, she has been physically abused,
followed, taunted, separated from her family and yet still she leads the
way, determined that the people in power in Zimbabwe hear the calls of the
ordinary women. Being interviewed on the day of the award presentation Jenni
Williams said: "The award is a great honour, but the real award will be a
free and independent Zimbabwe." We salute you Jenni Williams, and all the
women of WOZA.

In the same week as WOZA gained international recognition, inflation in
Zimbabwe rose by a hundred and thirty six percent since in a month and now
stands - albeit momentarily - at 1729,9% . A few quick sums on the
calculator show that inflation is rising by four and half percent every day.
Also this week came the tragic news of 35 people killed when a commuter
omnibus hit a train in Harare. This tragedy is littered with the evidence of
a country falling apart: a grossly overloaded bus; tall, uncut grass
alongside the railway line; no rail crossing warning lights, no rail
crossing booms the news coverage on ZBC Television was crude, callous and
utterly insensitive to the families and friends of the victims. Not
everything has to be seen to be believed. I close with a picture of March
for people away from home: cosmos in flower everywhere - purple, mauve,
pink, white and every shade in between, it is a magnificent sight.  Until
next week, thanks for reading, love Cathy.

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Letter 2 - J.L. Robinson

Dear JAG,

As I approach my fifth anniversary as a displaced farmer this Easter, I
continue to read of the immense suffering Mugabe and his Zanu are inflicting
on most of the people of Zimbabwe.

To name a few, I note that teachers, doctors, nurses, churches, Woza,
opposition parties, soldiers, police, Jag, the Crisis Coalition and indeed
many disgruntled ex Zanu members are now openly critical of Zanu. From a
world perspective, I still notice one single group that is conspicuous by
its absence from the above groups of opposition to Zanu - the Commercial
Farmers' Union. I note that Ben Freeth has been attacked again, and his son
suffered a broken arm at the hands of Shamurariya's mujibas, trying get
"Nathan's farm." Benjamin, if we remember, was the messenger with The
Beatitudes at the CFU Congress.

A Mr. Cloete and a Mr. Hasluck, dismissed young Benjamin ("that bible
punching radical") for "not faithfully enunciating 'their' (Zanu?) doctrine"
and reading the Beatitudes to Msika.

Whilst the large majority of Zimbabwe risk life and limb for change, there
is still no apparent change in heart from the CFU in the world press, in so
far as I can read on the www.

Is it perhaps just possible that the CFU itself that holds the very key to
change - to eventually speak out against the Government for deliberately
starving its people? Until the former custodians of agriculture demand their
rights and accept their responsibility, the Land Reform Programme remains a
howling success and Zanu a world class/best practice institution.

I look forward to the day that the CFU proves me wrong, as do the rest of
Zimbabwe, I'm sure. It's their call, it seems.

J.L. Robinson
Australia

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

Letter 3 - Stu

Dear Jag,

Thank you for the continued open letter forums I receive and eagerly read.

I receive Zim news on a daily basis(have been for a few years now) and it is
a habit/hobby i look forward to coming home to read about anything of back
home because although in body im away my heart is still there!!!!

We continue to read how the Govt in Zim is struggling to obtain foreign
currency, how this and that  govt department is so short of resources, the
power cuts, water cuts, corruption activities surfacing  and the list goes
on. It has been 7 to 8 years that this nonsense and stress has been going on
and it mainly boils down to since the commercial farms were stolen from
people. It doesn't take much brain power to realise this and in my point of
view...normal people would have realised this and try to reverse those
actions. Obviously the reverse gear has not been found or thought of, to
sort these problems out as we never used to have them. But this Govt just
seems to focus on wasting energy on security matters the whole time. They
have no plans on how to try to mend the economy and interact in a civilised
way with the business community for all to prosper, mean while they pay the
taxes that benefits the Govt. The Government Zanu-Pf is failing to look
after the people. I remember growing up reading the papers in Zimbabwe
things like this road is being built, this dam is under-construction, a new
clinic has been built in such a place and this tall building is being built
in Harare etc. There just seems nothing like that going on for obvious
reasons. There is just no sensible thinking  and management on their part,
just greed and looting eg the diamond saga and Zisco steel saga, they too
busy enriching themselves and they behave as if "so long as I'm ok Jack I
don't give a hoot about you my brother". My theory is that the Govt must be
focusing so much on how they are to survive that they are on another planet
forgetting about the real world. We now read that the RBZ is sourcing
foreign currency on the illegal black market.... (no doubt to pay the
diplomats and top chefs). My point is aren't ZANU-PF fed up struggling to
cope, embarrassed how things are turning out, ashamed of how they have
ruined a once prosperous country? The figures and statistics are all around
us e.g. the new low life expectancies. If the answer is no, as it seems by
their attitudes, I fail to comprehend how as humans this Govt can carry on
governing the nation. About time to realise that no one is here forever...we
all have a time to go and the next generation needs to take over. People out
there are more educated, have more energy to think rationally and have the
nation at heart not just their wallets or wheel barrows to fill, as is the
current case.

Stu

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

Letter 4 - Colleen Taylor

Dear JAG,

There have been some commercial looking cattle grazing along the Vumba Rd in
the past few days:  1 large Brahman bull and a smaller Brahman cow also red
young animals with orange ear tags - definitely don't look like the normal
animals that come up from Zimunya.  Anyone lost any cattle recently?

Colleen Taylor

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

Letter 5 - Mike Hart

Dear JAG.

Many thanks indeed for finding out the below about Terrence Hewitt - much
appreciated. Will use e-mail as I do not have Zim phone book here in
Australia!!
Take care and thanks again.

Regards

Mike Hart

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.

JAG Classifieds dated 13 March 2007

As a JAG member or JAG Associate member, please send any classified adverts
for publication in this newsletter to:

JAG Classifieds: jagma@mango.zw
JAG Job Opportunities: jag@mango.zw

Rules for Advertising:

Send all adverts in word document as short as possible (no tables, spread
sheets, pictures, etc.) and quote your subscription receipt number or
membership number.
Notify the JAG Office when Advert is no longer needed, either by phone or
email.
Adverts are published for 2 weeks only, for a longer period please notify
the JAG office, by resending via email the entire advert asking for the
advert to be re-inserted.

Please send your adverts by Tuesdays 11.00am (Adverts will not appear until
payment is received.). Cheques to be made out to JAGMA.

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1.  For Sale Items
2.  Wanted Items
3.  Accommodation
4.  Recreation
5.  Specialist Services
6.  Pets Corner

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

1. OFFERED FOR SALE
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1.1  Generators & Inverters for Sale

The JAG office is now an official agent for GSC Generator Service (Pvt) Ltd
and receives a generous commission on sales of all Kipor generators and
equipment.  Generators are on view at the JAG office.

The one stop shop for ALL your Generator Requirements SALES:
We are the official suppliers, repairs and maintenance team of KIPOR
Equipment here in Zimbabwe.  We have in stock KIPOR Generators from 1 KVA to
55 KVA.  If we don't have what you want we will get it for you.  We also
sell Inverters (1500w), complete with batteries and rechargeable lamps.  Our
prices are very competitive, if not the lowest in town.

SERVICING & REPAIRS: We have a qualified team with many years of experience
in the Generator field.  We have been to Kipor, China for training.  We
carry out services and minor repairs on your premises.  We service and
repair most makes and models of Generators - both petrol and diesel.

INSTALLATIONS:  We have qualified electricians that carry out installations
in a professional way.

SPARES: As we are the official suppliers and maintainers of KIPOR Equipment,
we carry a full range of KIPOR spares.

Don't forget, advice is free, so give us a call and see us at: Bay 3,
Borgward Road, Msasa.
Sales: 884022, 480272 or admin@adas.co.zw
Service: 480272, 480154 or gsc@adas.co.zw

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1.2  For Sale

So Far and No further! Rhodesia's Bid for Independence during the Retreat
from Empire 1959-1965 by J.R.T. Wood

533 pages; quality trade paperback; pub. Trafford ISBN 1-4120-4952-0
Southern African edition, pub. 30 Degrees South : ISBN 0-9584890-2-5

This definitive account traces Rhodesia's attempt to secure independence
during the retreat from Empire after 1959. Based on unique research, it
reveals why Rhodesia defied the world from 1965.

Representing Volume One of three volumes, Two and Three are in preparation
and will take us to Tiger and thence to 1980;

To purchase:

Zimbabwean buyers contact Trish Broderick: pbroderick@mango.zw

RSA buyers: WWW. 30 degreessouth.co.za or Exclusives Books

Overseas buyers see: http://www.jrtwood.com
and a link to Trafford Publishing http://www.trafford.com/04-2760

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1.3 Pet Food for Sale

Still supplying pets food which consists of 500g of precooked pork offal and
veg costing $1000 and 250g of pigs liver or heart costing $1000 for 250g.

Collection points:      Benbar in Msasa at 10.30
Jag offices in Philips Rd, Belgravia at 11.30
Peacehaven which is 75 Oxford St at 13.00

This is on Fridays only. Contact details: phone 011 221 088 and E mail at
claassen@zol.co.zw

Looking for a partner to join in established home based business (see
above).  Must have own pickup and preferably live in Ruwa.  Would suit
ex-farmers wife.

For further information contact the JAG offices - 799410.

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1.4  Fuel Coupons for Sale

Caltex petrol coupons for sale (25 litres).  Phone:  730507, 799410 or
011610073.

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

1.5 For Sale (Ad inserted 6/03/07)

1 Battery Charger
Z$1,500,000
1 Craster Swimming Pool Filter
Z$2,500,000
1 Craster Swimming Pool Motor and Pump
Z$3,500,000
1 High Pressure Water Geyser (old but working)              Z$200,000
1 Mega Green Heavy Duty Transport 2000 liter tank        Z$4,000,000
4 Solco Black Heavy Duty Transport 2000 liter tanks each  Z$4,000,000
1 Pipe Tread Cutter ½ to 2 inch
Z$1,500,000
1 Twin Tub Kitchen Zinc with Mixer Taps
Z$1,500,000
1 Motorola two Channel Base Set with Antenna               Z$3,500,000
1 Motorola 125 Channel Base Set with Antenna              Z$4,000,000
1 Open Sabre Boat with 200 Yamaha
Lets Talk
4 215 x 15 Tyres  (second hand but fair) eachZ$200,000
2 550 x 12 Tyres  (second hand but fair) eachZ$100,000
1 Trailer Spare Wheel with Tyre & Tube 750 x 16 good Z$150,000
1 Wacker Electric M 3000 Concrete Vibrator complete
with Flexible Shaft and 45 mm probe.
Z$10,000,000

Tel:  04-335681, Cell: 011410118
All prices are negotiable.

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

1.6 For Sale (Ad inserted 6/03/07)

1. Squirrel Cage Induction Motor KW45, Volts 390, RPM 980, 6 Pole.
2. Tractor Pump. Wright Rain, Ringwood Hampshire, England. Type H 3, Outlet
2". Inlet 4" reduced to 3".
3. Wesson & Bremnar Pump 3HP.
4. Tractor Pump & Pulleys, 1000 litre/min volume. Harlend Patent No:-415244.
5. Pump & Motor (Electric).  Used for garden irrigation.  1.5 KW.  Type Iris
70FSI.
6. Grundfoss Multi Stage Pump for Borehole/Swimming Pool.
7. 3 Window Frames with Burglar Bars (unused). 2.8 metres x 1.5 metres.
8. Electric Cable. 73 metres x 35 mm, 118 metres x 33 mm.

Phone 091 255 659 for details.

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

1.7 Cattle Sides For Sale (Ad inserted 6/03/07)

Fits Hino FF 8 Ton Lorry.  Made in Square Metal Tubing.  Length 23'5"
(7m.14cms) x width 7'6" (2m.29cms).  Price US$1800 equivalent in local
currency.

Fits Perfection Trailor.  Made in Metal and Wood Strips.  Length 17'8"
(5m.39cms) x width 7'31/2" (2m.23cms).  Price US$700 equivalent in local
currency.

Phone: - 0912 255 659 or 04 - 498234 for details.

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

1.8 For Sale "THE WEAVERY" (Ad inserted 6/03/07)

Super gift ideas for local and overseas friends and family.Hand woven
articles which are light,easy to pack, and send, and fully washable.
Contact Anne on 332851 or
011212424.Or email joannew@zol.co.zw

Crocheted oven gloves--$30,000.
Cotton oven gloves--$22,000.
Small woven bags--$18,000.
Large woven bags--$27,000.
Crocheted bags--$33,000.

Queen(approx.250x240cms) size bedcover--$243,000.
Other sizes to order.
Single Duvet cushions(open into a duvet)--$168,000.
Other sizes to order.
2x1 meter Throw--117,000.
Baby Blanket(1x1meter)--$72,000.

3 piece toilet set--$55,000.
Bath mat--$40,000.

Decorated cushion covers--$24,000.

Table runner--$20,000.
Set(4)Bordered table mats + serviettes--$60,000.
Set(6)Bordered table mats + serviettes--$90,000.
Set(4) crocheted table mats only--$40,000.
Set(6)fringed table mats + serviettes--$72,000.
Lots of other combinations.

Small(approx.105x52cms) plain cotton rug--$40,000.
Medium(approx.120x65cms) plain cotton rug--$55,000
Large(approx.150x75cms) plain cotton rug--$70,000.
Ex.Large(approx.230x130cms) plain cotton rug--$172,000.
Small patterned cotton rug--$55,000.
Small rag rug--$40,000.
Medium rag rug--$55,000.
Medium patterned cotton rug--$70,000.
Large patterned cotton rug--$120,000
Ex.Large patterned cotton rug--$200,000.
Small patterned mohair rug--$120,000.
Medium patterned mohair rug--$150,000
Large patterned mohair rug--$190,000.
Ex. Large patterned mohair rug--$340,000.

Lots of other articles.PLEASE be aware that prices may change without
notice.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1.9 For Sale "FAMILY" OF 3 HIPPOS (Ad inserted 6/03/07)

These beautifully carved,wooden hippos are still "homeless" and going for
US$2000.They really are unique and worth every cent.Phone
Robyn--011413609.Grant--011402122. Or you can view them at Serendipity
Coffee Shop--2a,Serendip Close,Mount Pleasant(entrance on Golden Stairs
Road).Open from 9am-5pm-Tuesday-Saturday. Phone 334377.

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1.10 Items for sale (Ad inserted 6/03/07)

2 Keep nets for fishing       $75,000 ea

Various hockey sticks       $l50,000 ea

Hockey shin pads (new)    $50,000 ea

Roller blades size 6          $200,000 ea

Horse Equipment

2 ordinary riding saddles       $l,500,000 ea

3 bridles            $l20,000 ea

Reins                $l00,000 ea

Noseband          $80,000 ea

Martingale         $l00,000 ea

3 numnas          $l50,000 ea

Surcingle           $80,000 ea

Fly guards         $ 20,000 ea

2 soft halters     $50,000 ea

3 hard hats       $l00,000 ea

Long riding boots                $l50,000

3 rope Hay feeders             $20,000 ea

Windsucking collar             $20,000 (needs stitching)

Pelham bit with chain         $300,000

Snaffle             $200,000

2 prs jodphurs (size  32/34)  $80,000 and $l00,000

4 hoof protectors               $l0,000

2 hoof protectors               $5,000

Stirrup Irons    $350,000

Tel Jennifer at 0ll 4236l4 or 5725l3 (Allan for message) or sms to the cell

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1.11 For Sale (Ad inserted 6/03/07)

Runners World have received new stock, Asics and New Balance running
shoes, (Nike to come). Prices the same as South Africa. Cross-training,
Court and Trail as well as running shoes. Contact Jo on 0912-247001.

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

1.12 Items for Sale (Ad inserted 13/03/07)

ZNSPCA IS SELLING GOODS DONATED FOR RESALE TO HELP US CONTINUE WITH OUR
WORK. ZNSPCA HQ 156 Enterprise RD, tel 497574/ 497885

WATER SKI'S

Steel Work Bench with Indusrial vice - $1 000 000

LAZYMAN GARAGE DOOR - $400 00

LAZYMAN  DOOR  FOR SHOP - $350

WINDOW FRAMES - $100 000 each

FIREWOOD - $20 000 each

OLD TYRES

BASIN AND BATH

Pets meat - 500g chicken - $900 00 per packet

PARQUET
WOODEN BIG BLOCKS

OLD HORSE BOX

ZNSPCA HQ156 Enterprise Rd, or tel: 497574 or 497885 or 882566

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

1.13 GENERATORS AND INVERTERS for Sale (Ad inserted 13/03/07)

77 West Road, Avondale, Harare, Contact Telephone Harare.

Following units ex stock:
Generators -
5 Kva Silenced, 15 Kva Silenced, 30 Kva open frame, 40 Kva Silenced, 60 Kva
Silenced, 60 Kva Open Frame
Inverters -
1500 Watt complete with 1 x 100 Amp Hr battery and charger
5000 Watt complete with 4 x 100 Amp Hr Batteries and charger

Large Range of Generators available from 5 - 2200 Kva ex import (some in
Bond South Africa)

Please phone:- Radium Africa, Tel + 263 4 335848, Sean Bell: + 263 11
600389,
Keith Lowe + 263 11 800859

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1.14 HARROW DISCS for Sale (Ad inserted 13/03/07)

We will have imported Harrow discs (24", 26" and 28") available end April,
2007 book now to avoid disappointment.

Please phone:- Radium Africa, Tel + 263 4 335848, Sean Bell: + 263 11
600389,
Keith Lowe + 263 11 800859

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1.15 FORAGE HARVESTERS for Sale (Ad inserted 13/03/07)

Single Row forage harvester's available ex stock

Please phone:- Radium Africa, Tel + 263 4 335848, Sean Bell: + 263 11
600389,
Keith Lowe + 263 11 800859

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1.16 AGRICULTURAL SPRAYERS for Sale (Ad inserted 13/03/07)

Tractor Mounted 12 Metre / 600 Litre tank Boom sprayers and Canon sprayers
in stock.

Please phone:- Radium Africa, Tel + 263 4 335848, Sean Bell: + 263 11
600389,
Keith Lowe + 263 11 800859

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1.17 Houseboat for Sale (Ad inserted 13/03/07)

Well known boat with Volvopenta motor, fully kitted for back to back
charters, 10 Passengers maximum - Pontoon tender
Ph: Ian 04 - 741071  home@zim.co.zw

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1.18 For Sale (Ad inserted 13/03/07)

PERKINS M 90 MARINE MOTOR
complete with P R M Gear Box.
Price: US 8000 neg.

Contact: Mike Taylor or Billie Taylor on 055 24603, 091 2 945 686, 023 231
775

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1.19 For Sale (Ad inserted 13/03/07)

Road motorcycle for sale.  Yamaha, model YZF600 - 600cc - Thundercat - in
immaculate condition.  Highest cash offer secures.  For further details
contact Dave 011 600 770  or email dapayne@zol.co.zw or leave a message on
answering machine 04 744826.

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2. WANTED
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2.1 Wanted (Ad inserted 27/02/07)

Old wood burning stove wanted for cash, the power cuts are hitting us hard!
If you have one lying around please call Gordon on 496829 or 023 894597

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2.2 WANTED (Ad inserted 27/02/07)

GROUND LEVEL TRAMPOLINE

PHONE - 091605909 OR 233362

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2.3 Wanted Stamp Collection (Ad inserted 6/03/07)

Anyone wanting to sell their collection.  Please contact me on 885967, or
011209880, 011610010 or Email:  lion@zol.co.zw

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2.4 Wanted (Ad inserted 6/03/07)

Sheila Macdonald (Sally in Rhodesia) - If you have any of Sheila Macdonald's
books for sale, please let JAG know the details including condition etc with
your name, telephone number and price wanted.

Telephone JAG - 04 - 799410

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2.5 Wanted (Ad inserted 13/03/07)

If anybody has a massage bed that they would like to sell please contact
Shelley on 04-884007/ 011 608 200 or chika@zol.co.zw

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2.6 Wanted (Ad inserted 13/03/07)

Fifty geese grey or white ASAP.  Best price paid.  011610073.

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3. ACCOMMODATION WANTED AND OFFERED

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3.1 Accommodation Wanted (Ad inserted 6/03/07)

A.S.A.P. - 2brm House or Cottage  Preferabley Eastlea/Highlands area.
Willing to pay upto $300,000. per month. Pse contact Sue on 746656/7 or John
on 0912-919-954

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3.2 Accommodation Available (Ad inserted 13/03/07)

Cottage style house on independent grounds to another house available
immediately to a couple preferably with no animals and who will care-take
the entire property managing staff, garden, repairs and maintenance. In
superb grounds in Newlands this two bed-roomed, two bathrooms, study, dining
room, small lounge and kitchen, double lock-up garage - would suit energetic
& responsible couple. Modest rent by negotiation. Please apply to the
advertiser, p o box hg 379, Newlands, Harare or email:- interhol@mweb.co.zw.

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3.3 House for Sale (Ad inserted 13/03/07)

House for sale in Vainona (850,000).
3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom. Dining Room, Lounge, Granny flat (with shower,
toilet & kitchenette).

Call Pauline on 011 609 840 or email: welch@yoafrica.com  (Photos on
request)

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3.4 Accommodation Offered Marondera (Ad inserted 13/03/07)

A three bed-roomed house close to the central hospital in Marondera.
A cottage with two large rooms are in the garden (gardener stays in rear
room). Workers quarters in the back (gardeners son & friend stay in there)
Gardener can be taken or not.

All we're asking is to cover the running costs and a self determed
donation toward the rent.

Running costs: Water, electricity, phone, gardeners wages (40 000), rapid
response safe guard alarm fee (last time it was 40 000), food for dogs &
chicks.

All this is ONO. We've got two cats in the house & three dogs & a Jacky
Russel round the house = good security

Phone no: 079/27195 cell: 0912416496

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4. RECREATION

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

4.1 Investing in a holiday home or retirement pad (Ad inserted 13/03/07)

Are you thinking of investing in a "bolt hole", holiday home or retirement
pad.
Try the beautiful Eastern Cape. Rob Owsley Properties specializes in
property sales along the Eastern Cape Coast from Port Alfred to Hamburg,
including Riet River, Kleinemonde, Mgwalana, Mpekweni and Birha.  The sales
office in located in Kleinemonde, 20km from Port Alfred on the Sunshine
Coast between Port Elizabeth and East London in the Eastern Cape.

The long stretches of white unspoilt beach, warm Indian ocean waves and
peaceful lagoons make it an ideal seaside getaway.  The natural assets of
Kleinemonde make it an excellent venue for all river and beach activities,
including water skiing, surfing, boating up the unspoilt river, horse riding
on
the beach, fishing and sand boarding and much more!  The beautiful
indigenous
vegetation reaches down to the riverbanks and the ancient cycads are in
abundance.  Bird and wild life are abundant, the cry of the resident fish
eagles
echoes in the silence.  In close proximity are various game reserves and
parks
where the Big Five can be seen on day and night drives. There are two
excellent
golf courses in the area, the Fish River Sun, 5 minutes away and the Royal
Alfred Golf Club in Port Alfred.

All this makes Kleinemonde the ideal holiday home area and also a restful
and
peaceful place to retire. Contact : Rob Owsley Properties;  Tel. +27 46
6751021;  Fax. +27 46 6751126 e-mail :  Owsley@imaginet.co.za,
www.kleinemondeproperty.co.za

If you have children at school or university in Grahamstown, Rob Owsley
Properties also has many delightful properties available on their books for
short term rents.

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4.2 Need a break? (Ad inserted 13/03/07)

Get away and enjoy peace and fresh air at
GUINEA FOWLS REST: Only 80 kms from Harare, Self-catering guest-house,
Sleeps 10 people
Canoeing - 2 kms, Fishing - 2 kms, Bird-watching, DSTV

REGRET: No day visitors.  No boats or dogs allowed.
Contact Dave: 011 600 770 or Annette: 011 600 769 or 091 22 55 653 or email
dapayne@zol.co.zw

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4.3 Savuli Safari

Self catering chalets in the heart of the Save Valley Conservancy. Game
watching, fishing, horse riding, canoeing, walking trails and 4x4 hire. Camp
fully kitted including cook and fridges .Just bring your food, drinks and
relax.    Best value for money. U12 are 1/2  price

Contact John : savuli@mweb.co.zw or Phone 091 2631 556

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5. SPECIALIST SERVICES

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

5.1 Vehicle Repairs (Ad inserted 06/02/07)

Vehicle repairs carried out personally by qualified mechanic with 30 years
experience. Very reasonable rates.

Phone Johnny Rodrigues:  011 603213 or 011 404797, email:
galorand@mweb.co.zw

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5.2 HEALTH (Ad inserted 6/03/07)

Do you or anyone you know suffer from skin disorders, arthritis, and many
other inflammatory conditions, digestive problems, allergies, stress,
obesity?  Or do you simply want to maintain your good health?  Perhaps our
superb range of Aloe products (drinks and skincare products), nutritional
supplements and Bee Products could help.

For more Information, contact Cheryl on 055 20213, 011 407747, or e-mail
coet@mweb.co.zw

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5.3 G-Tech services (Ad inserted 6/03/07)

Specialist diesel, light, heavy, commercial, staitionary & 4x4 services,
repair and overhaul, call Graham on 011 406 023, 741001 or e-mail
gtech@zol.co.zw

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5.4 Borehole Pumps (13/03/07)

T M Lambert (Pvt) Ltd, Agent for Mono Pumps, Zimbabwe

Capacity Test, Installations, Repair and Maintenance on all Borehole pumps.

Phone: 494796, 091 288 448, 011 726 062

Email: tlambert@zim.co.zw, Address: 22 Highland Glen, Umwinsidale.

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5.5 Do You Need a Personalised Vehicle Service? (Ad inserted 13/03/07)

Opened in Msasa at No: 179 Loreley cr. Msasa, a small workshop specialising
in basic services and brake repairs.

Phone Noel or Sandy Odendaal during work hours on 447110 or Cell No:
011615894 to book in your vehicle.

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5.6 Contracts in the DRC (Ad inserted 13/03/07)

Wanted: for  six month renewable contracts in the DRC, two Zimbabwean farm
managers.  One with experience in orchard and plantation crops especially
citrus and bananas, the other with experience in row cropping: potatoes,
maize/soyas, wheat and barley.  Formal agricultural qualifications an
advantage but not a necessity.

Fluency in Swahili preferable but not essential.

Contact 011 610 073.

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5.7 MAGNA PLUMBING AND ELECTRICAL PVT LTD (Ad inserted 13/03/07)
MAGNA MULTI CONTRACTING

We offer professional and prompt service for the following :-

A.    ELECTRICAL REPAIRS AND INSTALLATIONS
B.    PLUMBING REPAIRS AND INSTALLATIONS
C.    HOME AND OFFICE RENOVATIONS
D.    EXTENSIONS AND BUILDINGS
E.    PATIOS AND DRIVEWAYS
F.    PAINTING, CARPENTRY AND GLAZING
G.    ROOFING, GUTTERS AND FLASHING

All our work is carried out professionally and promptly to the customer`s
requirement. We thank you in advance and look forward to doing business with
you.

Please contact:  ROB AND SUE (04) 309051     /     011601885    /
023824896
EMAIL macgyver@zol.co.zw     or    havill@zol.co.zw

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5.8 PROPERTY MAINTENANCE

We regularly come across property owners who are disappointed at the failure
of tenants and / or appointed agents to properly care for and maintain the
house and property they rent. Standard maintenance and repairs are generally
neglected until deterioration necessitates major refurbishment work - even
where the owner reduces rental rates with the proviso that the tenant agrees
to maintain the property. The house-owner tends to lose at every turn. We
can help.

We are a small privately-owned company that specialises in property
maintenance and refurbishment and who provide a service that will give you
peace of mind that your home is being maintained and properly cared for. We
can act on your behalf to do regular checks on your property to ensure they
are being maintained to an acceptable standard, as generally stipulated in a
lease agreement. We keep you informed through regular status reports.

Some of our projects have recently been terminated as the houses have been
placed on the market. Openings for new maintenance projects have therefore
recently come available.

If you believe we can assist in caring for your property or would like
further information please contact us on: 011-620-745 landline 498723 or
e-mail to shelvan@earth.co.zw - to discuss "Property Maintenance
Management".

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6. PETS CORNER
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6.1 Skin Problems and Fleas (Ad inserted 13/03/07)

Go Natural - Aloe Veterinery Formula is available for skin problems and
fleas for any size pet.  Very good for Burns.  Phone Cheryl on 055 20213,
011 407747, coet@mweb.co.zw

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6.2 Puppies Wanted (Ad inserted 13/03/07)

Desperately looking for 1 or 2 puppies of the small dog variety, male or
female.

Specifically after Miniature Jack Russells / Daschunds or Staffie's.  Very
fond of Golden Labs as well or any bigger breed that is good with small
children.

Lost our last Jack Russell to old age and our house feels very empty without
the pitter patter of tiny dog feet!!!!

Please contact me if you have any puppies or know where I can find any.
They will be very well looked after and spoilt rotten.

Kiara Hammond:  Telephone: 091 275 714

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6.3 Looking for a Home (Ad inserted 13/03/07)

Maltese Poodle Lovers! Absolutely gorgeous 5 yr old Maltese poodle male
looking for a very special home as owner is leaving and desperate at the
thought of having him put to sleep.'Bobby' is totally adorable and a real
character, gets on with all other dogs and cats.  His only problem is he is
deaf but it doesn't worry him at all and he would make someone a very loyal
pet. If you can help Jill find a home for Bobby please Tel Michelle on
884294 or e-mail gandami@mweb.co.zw

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6.4 Looking for a Home (Ad inserted 13/03/07)

Looking for a good home for 'Shelly' Boerbull x Labrador bitch, young, cream
in colour. Very affectionate and sweet natured.
Also 'Ben' a magnificent 'Old Boy' Great Dane x St Bernard, just wants
someone to love him.
Tel Michelle on 884294 or e-mail gandami@mweb.co.zw

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JAG Hotlines: +263 (011) 610 073, +263 (04) 799 410.  If you are in trouble
or need advice, please don't hesitate to contact us - we're here to help!
To advertise (JAG Members): Please email classifieds to: jagma@mango.zw
with subject "Classifieds".

MDC UK London Demonstration - 14th March 2007

The Zimbabwe Embassy in London was closed today.  What a surprise.  About
200 Zimbabweans distraught at the brutal treatment of opposition activists
in Zimbabwe found no one to answer their questions.  All we saw was an
anxious face behind a twitching curtain.  Fear and guilt.  We wanted to know
why the regime in Zimbabwe had meted out the vicious treatment which had
left so many MDC and other activists severely injured.  Pictures of their
injuries have horrified the world and we were swamped by the media. The
demonstration called by the MDC UK was easily the biggest ever held on a
weekday by Zimbabweans in London.  Big enough to alarm the Embassy people.
They had contacted the police to ban the protest because they said 2,000
people were coming to attack the Embassy.  For the first time in five years
of Vigil protest there were the barriers were round the Embassy rather than
containing demonstrators.  Ephraim Tapa, Chair of MDC UK spoke for us all
when he said we must keep up the pressure.  A collection was made for Gift
Tandare, the MDC activist who was shot dead on Sunday by Zimbabwean police.
We grieve with his family.  For this pictures of the demonstration:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/zimbabwevigil/

Vigil co-ordinator

The Vigil, outside the Zimbabwe Embassy, 429 Strand, London, takes place
every Saturday from 14.00 to 18.00 to protest against gross violations of
human rights by the current regime in Zimbabwe. The Vigil which started in
October 2002 will continue until internationally-monitored, free and fair
elections are held in Zimbabwe. http://www.zimvigil.co.uk