Daily News
MP attacked in fuel queue
3/15/2003 9:08:31
AM (GMT +2)
Staff Reporter
Abednigo Malinga, the
MP for Silobela was on Monday night attacked by
seven suspected Zanu PF
supporters in a fuel queue at a service station in
Kwekwe.
Malinga on Thursday said the youths emerged from a Zanu PF militia
base
behind a service station owned by a Zanu PF councillor in the Kwekwe
City
Council and told him to refuel his car in Britain.
"I went to a
service station in the city to get some fuel because I
wanted to attend
Parliament," he said. "The youths manning the fuel queue
said I would not
fill my car because the fuel did not belong to the
MDC
president."
The police in Kwekwe confirmed the incident and
said investigations
would begin soon.
Malinga said the Zanu PF
supporters barred him from filling his car
claiming Morgan Tsvangirai, the
MDC president had called for sanctions
against Zimbabwe.
He said
one of the supporters smashed an empty bottle on his head, and
he sustained a
deep cut.
"I made a report at Kwekwe Central Police Station and two
policemen
were ordered to guard my car. The police took me to Redcliff
Medical Centre
where I was treated."
The MP said while the car
was under police guard, the Zanu PF
attackers smashed the front windscreen
and tried to set it alight with
petrol.
The Zanu PF thugs were
stopped by a security guard at the service
station who warned them if they
burnt the MP's car, the whole place would go
up in smoke.
Paul
Themba Nyathi, the MDC spokesman, said the MP's attackers were
holding the
country to ransom.
"We condemn this criminal act and call upon the
police to ensure that
these criminals are brought to book," he said.
Daily News
ZimRights warns Mugabe over 'Green Bombers'
3/15/2003 9:07:45 AM (GMT +2)
Staff Reporter
MUNYARADZI Bidi, the executive director of the Zimbabwe Human
Rights
Association (ZimRights), says President Mugabe risks being confronted
by the
masses if he does not rein in the so-called national service youths
who are
terrorising innocent citizens.
He said ZimRights had
received thousands of calls from members of the
public demanding an immediate
end to the violence being perpetrated by the
youths or they would resort to
civil disobedience.
ZimRights said since January, it had received
129 reports of violence
by the so-called Green Bombers, while 53 people had
been internally
displaced by violent Zanu PF supporters.
Bidi
was commenting on the continued reprisals against the opposition
in Buhera,
Uzumba-Maramba-Pfungwe, Chimanimani and Chipinge.
He said: "The
ordinary person has been pushed to the periphery of
active political
participation. The call is now very high and people are
saying they can't
take it any more. I believe the patience of the ordinary
people has been
stretched so far that there is a rising demand for
civil
disobedience.
"We call on Mugabe to restrain his followers
because the situation is
about to explode. Zanu PF supporters, war veterans
and the Green Bombers
must exercise restraint otherwise people are ready for
action."
In a statement entitled A Call for Immediate Restraint,
Bidi said
Chengetai Chimunhu, 56, of Mutata village in Chief Chinyerere area
of
Mutoko, was on Monday severely assaulted by known Zanu PF supporters. He
was
admitted at a private hospital in Harare where he is recovering.
Daily News
Let's use the non-violence of the brave
3/15/2003 9:10:01 AM (GMT +2)
I have just been re-reading
the 30 articles of the Declaration of
Human Rights which was adopted and
proclaimed by the General Assembly of the
United Nations on 10 December,
1948.
All member nations of the United Nations Organisation are
bound by the
tenets of this declaration. Since Zimbabwe is a member of the
UN, it is
supposed to keep this Declaration constantly in mind and promote
respect for
the rights and freedoms contained therein.
Unfortunately, in Zimbabwe the government itself is in the forefront
of
violating almost all the individual rights and freedom set forth in the
UN
Declaration.
Part of the preamble to the UN Declaration of Human
Rights reads:
"Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled, as a
last resort,
to rebel against tyranny and oppression, that human rights
should be
protected by the rule of law."
Unfortunately, again,
in Zimbabwe the rule of law itself was thrown
out of the window long ago. In
fact, rules and regulations are being passed
daily which themselves violate
human rights.
I can truthfully say, in Zimbabwe the rule of law,
and with it,
individual liberty and human rights, died long ago. If the
majority of
Zimbabweans were not such latent cowards, they should be wearing
black
armbands to mourn the death of freedom as Andy Flower and Henry Olonga
did
during the country's World Cup Cricket ties.
Democracy is
the cradle and natural element of human rights. History
has proved that the
more democratic a society is, the more respectful it is
of individual human
rights. The more autocratic a country is, the more
individual freedoms and
human rights are trampled underfoot.
Our government proudly claims
that it brought democracy to Zimbabwe.
What a sick joke! The truth is that it
destroyed what little democracy there
was.
Abraham Lincoln
defined or described democracy as "government of the
people, for the people
and by the people". This is not true of our situation
in Zimbabwe. The
government which we have is "of a dictator, for
card-carrying Zanu PF members
and by the President and his cohorts". In
other words, it is an autocracy,
which is government by a single person
having unlimited power. Like all
autocracies, it has no respect for freedom,
justice and human rights as
enshrined in the UN Declaration.
In democratic countries people can
and do change their governments
peacefully through the ballot
box.
Past elections in Zimbabwe have proved that it is impossible
for
Zimbabweans to change their rulers by these means because they have vowed
to
rule until mabwe awora (rocks have rotted) - which is
forever.
In order to stay in power, they have rigged elections and
employed
violence to intimidate the people. The 2002 presidential poll was
stolen in
broad daylight.
Democratically ruled nations of the
world, including the Commonwealth,
the European Union and the United States,
have effectively isolated Zimbabwe
because of its outrageous
behaviour.
Her only comfort comes from fellow travellers Thabo
Mbeki of South
Africa, Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, the African Union and
the Non-Aligned
Movement, which themselves are composed mostly of dictators
and despots who
have no respect for democracy.
I laugh
mirthlessly whenever I hear the President or his sidekick
Professor Jonathan
Moyo, the Information Minister purport to speak for
Zimbabweans. They seem to
be oblivious of the fact that Zimbabweans are no
longer with them. In fact,
the people are now against them. Wherever you go
in Zimbabwe today people are
saying: "Enough is enough, Mugabe must go."
They desperately want a change of
government.
Since it is impossible to remove this unwanted
government through
elections other means have to be found.
When
Zimbabweans were fed up with the racist and oppressive rule of
whites they
tried all means to attain their freedom. Finally they opted for
armed
conflict. This and other factors, like international support, brought
us our
independence. Unfortunately, it did not also usher in the freedom we
so
yearned for.
Our liberators have turned out to be more repressive
of our freedoms
than the white government we ousted. We jumped from the
frying pan into the
fire, so to say.
Now, how do we get out of this
fire?
The violent option is out. Even with the Second Chimurenga
(violent
uprising), many people, including myself, feel that a non-violent
approach
could have been just be as successful.
No one in his
right mind can advocate for a violent rebellion today.
The physical, moral
and psychological implications are just too ghastly to
even contemplate. We
have not even yet recovered from the negative effects
of the last civil war.
It created in the country a culture of impurity,
looting and violence which
we did not have before.
Today we have half-deranged war veterans
whose minds were singed by
violence that they now believe that the only
answer to any problem is
violence. Should we add to their
number?
The only option Zimbabweans should take is that of Mahatma
Gandhi's
satyagraha or Martin Luther King Junior's non-violent resistance.
This is
the only moral and brave way our government can be persuaded to
leave
office.
Bharatan Phumarapa, in a note to Gandhi's book,
Non-Violent
Resistance, wrote of Gandhi's philosophy thus: "But the
non-violence which
thus overcomes evil is not the passive resistance of the
weak. The
non-violence of a satyagrahi (an exponent of non-violent
resistance) is
unflinching. It is the non-violence of the brave. It will lead
the
satyagrahi to die with a smile on his lips and with no trace of hatred
in
his heart. It presupposes a disciplined character, selflessness
and
unswerving devotion to duty."
Opposition forces in Zimbabwe
are talking of non-violent mass action,
when, eventually, the call for such
action comes. Let not even one
Zimbabwean, who loves this country and his or
her fellow Zimbabweans, be
found lacking in bravery or resolve. We shall
overcome.
He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
Daily News
Zanu PF refuses to comment on Obasanjo call for Mugabe
to quit
3/15/2003 9:06:40 AM (GMT +2)
Staff
Reporter
THE ruling Zanu PF's secretary for information and
publicity, Nathan
Shamuyarira, has refused to comment on remarks by Nigerian
President
Olusegun Obasanjo that President Mugabe should step
down.
In an exclusive interview with The Sunday Times of London
last week,
Obasanjo said that it would be wise for Mugabe to step down as
leader of
Zimbabwe.
"It's entirely up to him, but obviously he
knows he has to work out a
succession," said Obasanjo, 66, in a rare
interview.
Shamuyarira refused to shed light on Zanu PF's official
position.
"I cannot comment on that," he said. "It's mere speculation.
The
succession of the President will be done in an orderly
manner."
Obasanjo pointed out that he was more than a decade
younger than
Mugabe, 79, and expected his ageing colleague to step
down.
"I don't need to tell him, but if I say I am thinking about
my
succession, that's an indication that I think he should think of his. In
my
part of the world, there are many ways you can tell a man to go to
hell."
Paul Themba Nyathi, the opposition MDC's spokesperson,
yesterday said
his party had always suspected that the letter written to
Australian Prime
Minister John Howard could have emanated from Information
Minister Professor
Jonathan Moyo's office.
In that letter,
Obasanjo said Zimbabwe's suspension from the
Commonwealth councils should be
lifted because Mugabe was reforming.
Obasanjo, who heads a nation
of 130 million, said Zimbabwe's
suspension from the 54-member bloc was no
longer warranted.
A year ago, the Nigerian leader voted in favour
of the suspension of
Mugabe from the Club after election monitors had
condemned the Zimbabwean
presidential poll that confirmed Mugabe in
power.
Obasanjo has since changed his mind.
"If you don't
lift the suspension, what do you do?" he asked.
He now blames the MDC
for challenging the election result in court,
arguing that this will prevent
talks between Mugabe and the main opposition.
But Nyathi said the
MDC would not withdraw the election petition
because in the party's view, the
case was not related to the talks between
the two parties.
"Zanu PF
is trying to get legitimacy by default and we will not allow
that to happen,"
he said.
The court case threatens to cast a shadow over the
Commonwealth Heads
of Government Meeting to be held in Abuja, Nigeria, in
December.
Britain has made it clear that Prime Minister Tony Blair
will not
attend if Mugabe is present. Blair may also advise the Queen, the
titular
head of the Commonwealth, to stay away, dealing the organisation a
severe
blow.
Daily News
Ben-Menashe aide confesses she lied
3/15/2003 8:25:42 AM (GMT +2)
By Fanuel Jongwe Court
Reporter
A STATE witness in the treason trial of three top MDC
officials
yesterday confessed that she acted and lied in order to deceive
the
opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, during a meeting in Montreal,
Canada.
Tsvangirai is jointly charged with Welshman Ncube, the
MDC
secretary-general, and Renson Gasela, the shadow minister of
agriculture.
They have pleaded not guilty.
"I was told not to
look surprised, but to go along with what was being
discussed at the
meeting," Tara Thomas, a personal assistant to Ari
Ben-Menashe, president of
Dickens & Madson, a Canadian-based political
consultancy, told the High
Court.
She was being cross-examined by Advocate Chris Andersen of
the defence
team, about the secretly video-taped meeting at the Dickens &
Madson
headquarters on 4 December 2001, where Tsvangirai allegedly outlined a
plot
to assassinate President Mugabe and overthrow his government ahead of
last
year's election.
"I was doing what I was asked to by my
bosses," she said.
Thomas said she pretended to agree with Tsvangirai
on his presidential
election campaign plan when "exactly the opposite" was
true.
Asked whether she had rehearsed the deception before the
meeting,
Thomas said: "I acted in high school, yes."
She denied,
however, that she wanted to undermine Tsvangirai.
"I am not someone who
can control someone's mind," she said.
"I did not make him do or say
what he said. He undermined himself."
She said she did not
personally initiate anything during the meeting
which Ben-Menashe, the key
prosecution witness, said was arranged to gather
evidence of the alleged
conspiracy against Mugabe by the opposition leaders.
"None of this
was my initiative. I just sat in on the meeting," Thomas
said.
She
said during the meeting, Tsvangirai talked about a plot to
eliminate Mugabe
and said that Mugabe's death would have to look like
an
accident.
Earlier, Thomas had told the court that Ben-Menashe
and his deputy,
Alexander Legault, told her they had closed their commodity
company,
Carlington Sales, because of financial problems and formed Dickens
& Madson.
She said when she joined the firm in May 2001, it did
not have any
paying clients until the MDC came along.
"I don't
remember exactly, but the other client, Cote d'Ivoire, came
at the end of
2001 or the beginning of 2002."
But in spite of their problems,
Thomas said, Ben-Menashe and Legault
led flamboyant lifestyles and lived in a
posh part of Montreal. Ben-Menashe
drove a BMW car, while Legault had a
Toyota van, she said.
Asked where the pair could have got their
money from, Thomas said she
assumed they had savings. She said she was not
privy to the company's
accounts and details of the contracts with their
clients. The trial
continues on Monday.
"I am not a curious
person as some people are," she said, when asked
why she did not bother to
find out about the company's finances and history.
"I get paid. That's what I
am worried about."
Moyo indeed a serial deserter
Eddison Zvobgo once described Jonathan Moyo as the
first successful deserter at Mgagao camp.
Zvobgo forgot to mention that Moyo was also the
first successful deserter at Wits University and the Ford Foundation. Not to
mention the fact that he is also the first known deserter of the camp that
criticised President Mugabe in the 1990s. Perhaps Nkosana Moyo, sensing he would
be outdone, decided to desert the regime before Johnny-come- lately. If this
pattern is maintained, we should see him deserting Mugabe’s rapidly sinking ship
very soon!
A Chingore - Harare
Dear Family and Friends,
As a white African living in a black African
country, it has taken me a long time to understand that my religious and
cultural beliefs are not as different from those of black Zimbabweans as I once
thought. Just as I believe that I must pay for my misdeeds, to man or to God, so
African culture dictates that people are completely responsible for their
behaviour and actions.Failure to behave in an acceptable and humane way will
bring down upon the offender the evil spirit of Ngozi which will drive you mad
unless it is appeased. The daily incidences of barbaric, evil and inhuman
behaviour in Zimbabwe are so totally alien to both black and white cultures that
it is now almost impossible to understand how either the victims or the
perpetrators will ever find peace.
Last Saturday, as I sat writing my weekly letter,
500 women braved the wind and rain and gathered in the car park of the Bulawayo
City Hall. It was International Women's Day and they were holding a
peaceful demonstration about the crisis in Zimbabwe. When police arrived
and attempted to arrest 8 of the organisers, the woman tried to prevent it
by kneeling down in front of the police vehicles.They sang and
prayed. Eye witnesses said that the women, some
with babies on their backs, were kicked and beaten by riot police wielding baton
sticks. An elderly woman who lay on the ground begging for mercy was
repeatedly assaulted by 5 policemen who took it in turns to beat her. 15 women
were arrested and later there were horrific reports of how they were treated
whilst in police custody. They were stripped naked and made to lie on their
stomachs. They were beaten on their backs and then made to roll over and were
beaten on their lower abdomens. It was men inflicting the beating but they were
watched by police women who stood and laughed as their sisters screamed out in
agony. There was a lot of blood, both internal and external and as a woman
I still cannot get the picture out of my mind of women police watching and
laughing as this went on.
In another incident in the past week a young
opposition activist was kidnapped in broad daylight in Nkayi. Mthulusi Moyo was
putting up posters on a tree when he was grabbed
and hauled into a government vehicle without number plates. He has not been seen
since but all his clothes, including his underpants have been found, covered in
blood. We fear that the young man is now dead.
Other young men and women, graduates from the
notorious so-called Training Camps are reported to be fleeing to South Africa in
their hundreds. According to South African newspapers, human rights
organizations, law firms and churches in that country, youths as young as 15 are
appealing for assistance. The youngsters say they have fled Zimbabwe because
they are' tired of killing for nothing.' The youths report that training centres
have been set up in secondary schools where students have no choice but to
attend. There they are trained to kill in ways that are 'silent and leave no
evidence'. They say they are given alcohol and cannabis to give them false
courage before being sent out on missions of violence. Youngsters told how they
had killed a man by breaking his neck and were ordered to burn the body. They
said they could not do that, so they just dumped the man next to a railway line.
In another incident, one boy reported how he had been instructed to kill his own
father. Others have been instructed to kill close family members because of
their membership of the opposition.
I do not know how Zimbabwe will even begin to heal
these wounds.As a nation we are traumatised by evil. I know, that for my 10 year
old son, it has been a long and painful two years overcoming the trauma
and memories of the awful things that happened on our Marondera farm in
2000. Just one and a half years before he starts
senior school I had begun to despair that he would ever be able to spell.
Teachers, counsellors and educational specialists told me that he had a mental
block, that he had unlearned basic spelling and writing principles and that it
was a type of stress dyslexia. This week he came home wearing a merit badge for
spelling. He has finally overcome the trauma and opened his mind again. We can
only pray that it will be the same for all the living victims of violence. For
the dead, their spirits will never rest until justice is done.
Until next week, with love cathy. Copyright cathy
buckle, 14th March 2003.
Zim Standard
Where have France's high ideals gone?
THE revulsion I felt at seeing French president, Jacques Chirac
welcoming the
"self indulgent eaters of the (African) peoples" bread, to
France, is
difficult to express in unemotional terms.
My father died when I
was still a toddler due to the privations
experienced during the First World
War but at least he died at home. My
uncle died on the fields of Flanders
while my wife's uncle gave his life at
the Somme. During the Second World
War, three of my family served in the
Royal Navy and my wife's brother in the
North African desert, fighting for
the same ideals as their French allies.
They all served and some died for
what they believed in-the freedom of man
from the scourge of poverty, the
evil of oppression, and the indignity of
autocracy.
Whilst many of the president's guests were men of
honour, who lead
their countries with the consent of the governed and for the
benefit of
their people, we witnessed the president of France-in a sickening
display of
hypocrisy-giving moral support to others perceived by the
civilised world to
be dictators, "whose God is their belly and whose glory
their shame" and who
stand for everything that Adolf Hitler stood for and
everything that the
people of France should abhor.
As a student,
I chose to study the history of the American War of
Independence and felt a
certain pride in the fact that the French General
Lafayette and the French
Admiral Comte de Grasse played such heroic and
decisive roles in freeing the
Americans from the domination of an oppressive
regime...what has happened to
France-this once proud nation?
Later this year, I hope to revisit
the United States of America and I
wonder whether this time if I visit the
Statue of Liberty (a French gift to
the people of America in celebration of
America's independence) will
Liberty's head now hang in shame; will the arm
bearing the torch of Liberty
have withered and dropped into the sea and will
the inscription 'Liberty,
Equality and Fraternity' now read 'Brutality,
Autocracy and Hypocrisy'?
Bangorian
Harare
Herald Sun Australia
Salary diplomacy
16mar03
LIBYAN leader
Muammar Gaddafi has agreed to bail out the beleaguered regime
of Robert
Mugabe by paying the salaries of Zimbabwe's diplomats.
The move follows
complaints by Mugabe's men in the Libyan capital of Tripoli
that they had not
been paid in months.
Gaddafi stepped in after a crippling shortage of foreign
currency left
Mugabe unable to pay diplomats.
Zimbabwe's Financial
Gazette said Gaddafi was now paying the salary of
Harare's ambassador John
Mvundura, four other diplomats, rent and car costs.
JAG OPEN LETTER FORUM
Email: justice@telco.co.zw; justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
Internet:
www.justiceforagriculture.com
Please
send any material for publication in the Open Letter Forum to
justice@telco.co.zw with "For Open Letter
Forum" in the subject
line.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Letter
1: Professional Hunters' Association
Dear Members
The latest
Hunting Report has a story on the recent Executive Order from
the US
Government banning American citizens from doing any kind of business
with a
listed 77 high officials in Zimbabwe - or with any company they may
be
associated with in any way. There are huge fines involved for breaking
this
ruling.
While we look into further implications of this, please examine
your own
hunting and/or photographic arrangements to see how you relate and
make
appropriate changes where necessary if possible.
We also suggest
if you are "clean" that you email your clients and agents
and advise that you
are "clean" and clients will not be indicted if they
come hunting with you or
stay at your photographic lodge etc.!!
I can email you the entire report
with the list of names if you request
it.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Letter
2:
BLOCKING PROPERTY OF PERSONS UNDERMINING DEMOCRATIC PROCESSES
OR
INSTITUTIONS IN ZIMBABWE--MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED
STATES
(H. DOC. 108-45) -- (House of Representatives - March 06,
2003)
[Page: H1676] GPO's PDF
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Bishop
of Utah) laid before the House the
following message from the President of
the United States; which was read
and, together with the accompanying papers,
without objection, referred to
the Committee on International Relations and
ordered to be printed:
To the Congress of the United States:
Pursuant to section 204(b) of the International Emergency Economic
Powers
Act, 50 U.S.C. 1703(b) and section 301 of the National Emergencies
Act, 50
U.S.C. 1631, I hereby report that I have exercised my statutory
authority to
declare a national emergency with respect to the unusual and
extraordinary
threat to the foreign policy interests of the United States
posed by the
actions and policies of certain individuals who have
formulated, implemented,
or supported policies that have undermined
Zimbabwe's democratic
institutions.
Over the course of more than 2 years, the Government of
Zimbabwe has
systematically undermined that nation's democratic institutions,
employing
violence, intimidation, and repressive means including legislation
to
stifle opposition to its rule. This campaign to ensure the continued
rule
of Robert Mugabe and his associates was clearly revealed in the
badly
flawed presidential election held in March 2002. Subsequent to
the
election, the Mugabe government intensified its repression of
opposition
political parties and those voices in civil society and the
independent
press calling on the government to respect the nation's
democratic values
and the basic human rights of its citizens. To add to the
desperation of
the besieged Zimbabwean people, the current government has
engaged in a
violent assault on the rule of law that has thrown the economy
into chaos,
devastated the nation's agricultural economy, and triggered a
potentially
catastrophic food crisis.
As a result of the unusual and
extraordinary threat posed to the foreign
policy of the United States by the
deterioration of Zimbabwe's democracy
and the resulting breakdown in the rule
of law, politically motivated
violence, and the political and economic
instability in the southern
African region, I have exercised my statutory
authority and issued an
Executive Order which, except to the extent provided
for in regulations,
orders, directives, or licenses that may be issued
pursuant to this order,
and notwithstanding any contract entered into or any
license or permit
granted prior to the effective date:
Blocks all
property and interests in property of the individuals listed
in the Annex to
the order;
Prohibits any transaction or dealing by United States persons
or within
the United States in property or interests in property blocked
pursuant to
the order, including the making or receiving of any contribution
of funds,
goods, or service to or for the benefit of the persons designated
pursuant
to the order.
The Secretary of the Treasury is further
authorized to designate any
person determined, in consultation with the
Secretary of State, to be owned
or controlled by, or acting or purporting to
act directly or indirectly for
or on behalf of, any persons designated in or
pursuant to the order. The
Secretary of the Treasury is also authorized in
the exercise of my
authorities under the International Emergency Economic
Powers Act to
implement these measures in consultation with the Secretary of
State. All
Federal agencies are directed to take actions within their
authority to
carry out the provisions of the Executive Order.
This
Executive Order further demonstrates the U.S. commitment to
supporting the
Zimbabwe's democratic evolution, and strengthens our
cooperation with the
European Union in efforts to promote that evolution.
The European Union has
acted to freeze the assets of 79 individuals
responsible for the political,
economic, and social deterioration of
Zimbabwe. With the exception of two
individuals no longer associated with
the Government of Zimbabwe, this order
encompasses all those identified by
the European Union.
I have enclosed
a copy of the Executive Order I have issued.
George W. Bush.
The
White House, March 6, 2003.
COMMENT: This Executive Order (see below)
reiterates the US government's
rejection of the Mugabe regime's human rights
abuses against its people, a
situation that has deteriorated substantially in
the last few months.
In simple terms, this Order prohibits any
transactions or dealings in all
property and interests in property either in
the United States or held by
US citizens. It focuses specifically on the
individuals who have commited
the crimes, not the people of Zimbabwe. The
list of 77 names mirrors that
of the European Union, but most importantly,
the President of the United
States has authorised the Secretary of the
Treasury, together with the
Secretary of State, to additionally designate
individuals and entities,
that act for or on behalf of, or are owned or
controlled by, the
individuals listed in the Annex to the Executive
Order.
This is obviously very good
news!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Letter
3: Tore Balance
District Administrator Sanjoba,
Chiredzi.
Ref:
Forced Eviction and Assault : Breach of the High Court Order :
Mungwezi
Ranch
I am enclosing a copy of the High Court Order for you. This is the
third
one that I have given you. The first was handed to you in mid October.
In
addition the Chairman of the Lands Committee himself was made very aware
of
the High Court Order. I have copied the High Court Order to a number
of
appropriate people and one copy was left with my supervisor on the
ranch.
There has been no indication that the settlers have cared to respect
this
Order or that you have educated them on the contents of it. They seem
to
be following a systematic harassment programme. On 12th March you stated
to
me and my wife that you would like to see me off Mungwezi.
May I
inform you again that I have been evicted by force, and that you
appear to
have supported the eviction because the police have been unable
to respond
appropriately without authority from you. The settlers have
totally negated
my rights as a Zimbabwean citizen and have laughed at the
High Court Order.
We have all been assaulted in various degrees. I believe
that you have
encouraged their programme by not taking my case seriously.
I believe that
you are prejudiced to the illegal land grab, and have
yourself participated
in it. Thus I am totally committed to seeking a
solution to my situation in
the courts as your lack of understanding of the
Nation's Constitution and
your own political objectives and racialism have
corrupted the impartiality
of your role as the DA.
In yesterday's meeting I also informed you that
your settling of people
onto Dombadema Ranch was not legal as they have not
received a Section 8.
You claimed that it was part of Crown Ranch and were
not even aware of the
subdivisions that have taken place. We are all part of
the Chiredzi River
Conservancy. The resultant confusion is from your
office.
The resultant impact on my personal life and business has been
serious and
thus I will do my best, despite the present lawlessness, to
expose the
injustices. They will be exposed.
I will not return to my
land until you rectify the situation as a DA
should. I consider that you are
accountable for the actions on Mungwezi
and I will thus respond appropriately
.
In closing: I have witnessed intense racial hatred coming from
youngsters
who should not have any hatred . We know that this intense
racialism
comes from the fathers and that our nation is being presently
poisoned by
it. I am saddened and we will work to bring in the change that
will clean
the hearts of the fathers and now their children!! Thanking you
for
assisting us in bringing in the change.
In respect to your
office,
Yours sincerely,
T.C.Ballance. Owner Mungwezi Ranch.
Copied.
JAG, CFU, Dispol, Propal, Governor, Honey & Blanckenberg.
PA.
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IOL
IMF delivers scathing report on Zimbabwe
March 14 2003
at 12:54PM
Harare - Concerns over governance issues, pervasive
price controls and a
grain marketing monopoly have contributed to Zimbabwe's
crippling food
shortages, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has
said.
An IMF team which had been visiting Zimbabwe for nearly three weeks
until
Thursday, also blamed Zimbabwe's grave food security situation on
the
chaotic land reforms.
In a statement received by news agencies on
Friday, the IMF said while some
foreign donors poured in large amounts of
humanitarian aid, "other donor
assistance has been curtailed because of
concerns over governance."
"Pervasive price controls and other policies
such as the GMB (Grain
Marketing Board) monopoly contributed to shortages,
damaged business
confidence, drove up prices," said the IMF.
Nearly
two thirds of Zimbabwe's 11,6 million people face hunger, which
the
government has blamed solely on bad weather.
Price and foreign
exchange controls which were further intensified in
November last year
"further damaged" production and created new shortages,
the IMF
said.
Zimbabwe is going through its worst economic crisis in two decades.
The
economy, according to the IMF, has deteriorated sharply, especially in
the
past four years.
"Real GDP has declined by about 30 percent and is
still contracting," it
said.
Inflation stood at 208 percent last month
and "could well rise further".
"There are widespread shortages. Poverty
and unemployment have risen, and
the HIV/Aids pandemic is worsening," said
the Bretton Woods institution.
Apart from food shortages, Zimbabwe has
experienced an acute shortage of
foreign exchange which has led to a scarcity
of all other commodities and
services that are imported.
The
government last week devalued its currency from 55 Zimbabwe dollars to
one US
dollar, to 824 to one for most transactions, a move described by IMF
as "a
courageous step forward" but which "will require careful follow-up".
The
IMF said it has observed that there has been a "modest tightening of
monetary
policy in recent weeks, and that if pursued with increasing vigour,
inflation
will eventually be brought under control".
Because of the foreign
currency shortages, Zimbabwe has fallen into arrears
in its loan repayments
to the IMF in recent years.
Zimbabwe incurred arrears to the IMF in
mid-February 2001, and was seven
months later declared ineligible to use IMF
resources.
It was then removed from the list of countries eligible to
borrow resources
under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility.
The
visiting team of experts welcomed the southern African country's
renewed
undertaking to make small quarterly payments of $1,5-million to the
IMF on
its $282,4-million loan as of January 31. - Sapa-AFP
Recent Fuel Price Increases Sub-Economic: Midzi
The Herald
(Harare)
March 14, 2003
Posted to the web March 15,
2003
Harare
THE recent increases in fuel prices was not enough to
cover the cost of
procuring and distributing the product, a Cabinet Minister
told Parliament
on Wednesday.
Responding in Parliament to a question
by Makoni East MP Mr Shadreck
Chipanga (Zanu-PF) on whether the latest
increments would ensure the
availability of fuel, Energy and Power
Development Minister Cde Amos Midzi
described the increases as
sub-economical.
"The clear position is that the prices that we are
applying, those that were
approved are sub-economic in terms of the question
of procurement, cost and
distribution," said Cde Midzi. The Government last
month increased the price
of petrol from $74,47 per litre to $145,20 per
litre, while diesel was
increased from $66,39 to $119,43 per litre.
Barclays Zimbabwe Suspended From Group
The Herald
(Harare)
March 14, 2003
Posted to the web March 15,
2003
Leonard Makombe
Harare
BARCLAYS Zimbabwe has been
suspended from Barclays Africa because its poor
performance in British pound
terms has become a liability to the group.
This means the local bank will
now operate as an autonomous bank without the
obvious benefits that come with
being part of the whole group.
Its accounting and any other transactions
previously handled by Barclays
Africa will now be done
locally.
Although Barclays Africa made a profit of £89 million in 2002,
the group's
managing director Mr Dominic Bruynseels singled out its
Zimbabwean
operations as having affected overall performance.
Barclays
Zimbabwe made an inflation-adjusted net loss of $1 billion during
the
year.
However, in historical terms, it made a net profit of more than $6
billion.
Its performance in British pound terms was considered costly to
Barclays
Africa
Barclays Bank management confirmed they had been
ring-fenced from the group
but were quick to point out that they would
continue to operate in the
country.
"As a responsible organisation,
Barclays conducts periodic exercises to
assess its services, the delivery of
these services and the requirements and
physical location of its customer
base to ensure we deliver the most
effective service to our customers while
meeting our financial performance
objectives.
"Zimbabwe's fast
changing economic environment has necessitated a further
review along similar
lines, as the changing situation has had a significant
impact on our ability
to provide products and services to customers at
affordable cost," said a
bank spokesman.
Business Herald understands that the bank's chairman Mr
Robbie Mupawose
intimated to employees in January that the local operations
would be
ring-fenced.
An internal memo sent to one of the branches
explains the bank's position,
after employees had panicked as they were not
sure of their future at the
bank.
Speculation is rife that the local
operations may actually be disposed of to
interested investors.
"In
fact, we remain very much part of Barclays Africa fairly, but as alluded
to
by the chairman (Dr Robby Mupawose), we have been ring-fenced for the
time
being due to the problems we are facing and which are affecting us.
"I am
sure that you will all by now have seen Mr Dominic Bruynseels
commentary on
the financial performance of Barclays Africa.
"Evidently Zimbabwe pulled
the whole team down," read the memo.
The bank has also announced that it
will undertake an exercise to review its
operations specifically looking at
staffing levels, the physical location of
branches and the range and type of
products offered.
"All business concerns must balance the interest of
their owners, staff and
customers to remain financially viable and have a
secure future," the
management at the bank said.
"The objective is to
match operational requirements to customer needs," the
management said in a
statement.
Barclays Africa said the Zimbabwean operations would only be
allowed back in
the fold if it starts making a meaningful contribution to the
group's
profits.
The bank has been operating in the country for the
past 91 years and is one
of the leading financial institutions in the
country.
"Whilst Barclays is committed to developing its presence in
Zimbabwe, we
have taken the opportunity to consider the question of the
bank's position
in the market place and the direction we should take to
secure a long-term
future in Zimbabwe."
At the moment, the bank has a
staff complement of slightly more than 1 800
serving at its 44
branches.
This is not the first time Barclays Africa has suspended
operations on the
continent.
It once pulled out of South Africa after
realising that its profits were
threatened by the political turmoil prior to
majority rule nine years ago.
JUSTICE FOR AGRICULTURE PR COMMUNIQUÉ - March 15, 2003
Email: justice@telco.co.zw; justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
Internet:
www.justiceforagriculture.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
COMMENTS
ON THE NEWS YESTERDAY:
INDEPENDENT
SUMMARY OF "UNDP CALLS FOR 2ND
LAND CONFERENCE": The United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) has
proposed that a land conference should be
held between Government and donors
so as to restart agricultural
production. They stated that the land reform
program requires a lot of
funding, which would need to come from donor
communities. Donors have
refused to finance any program that is not
transparent or that ignores
stakeholders and jeopardises the self-sufficiency
of agriculture. The
proposal does not seek to reverse the land reform
program, but to achieve
optimal utilisation of the land.
JAG'S
COMMENTS: It is JAG's opinion that although funding is desperately
needed to
ensure food security in the country, funding the present
so-called land
reform program, would legitimise the program, and thus
endorse the lawless
manner in which it was executed: the lack of
transparency, accountability and
poverty alleviation, the ignoring of
stakeholders' constitutional rights and
the jeopardising of the
self-sufficiency of agriculture.
SUMMARY OF
PROBE INTO LEAKED LAND REPORT: The leaking of the Government
land audit
report, which blatantly exposes the corruption of senior party
officials, has
naturally caused a huge stir in the ruling party. They are
trying to find out
who leaked it, whilst denying that there ever was such a
report.
JAG'S
COMMENT: We look forward to the unabridged publication of this land
audit,
but will not hold our breath.
SUMMARY OF GOVT TURNS AGAINST ITS WHITE
SUPPORTERS: Farmers who have
supported Government have been betrayed, as they
have now been issued
Section 5 notices and 8 orders on their farms. Kobus
Joubert was served a
Section 8 Order, whilst John Bredenkamp and Nick
Swanepoel have received
Section 5 Notices.
JAG COMMENTS: Some farmers
who at the advice of CFU have tried to deal
with, and support Government have
possibly done so naively, unwittingly and
unknowingly. This article just goes
to prove that selfish self-preservation
through siding with, and trying to do
deals with, an illegitimate greedy
government focused on power preservation
is fruitless. Holding them
accountable and litigating against them is the
only way forward for
commercial farmers.
SUMMARY OF 98% OF COMMERCIAL
FARMS TAKEN: Doug Taylor-Freme, the CFU
vice-president, has criticised the
lawlessness still prevalent in the
acquisition of land, and the deception by
Government, as apparent by the
continued listing of farms despite Government
claims that the program ended
in August last year. He stated that 98% of
commercial farms have been
taken.
JAG'S COMMENTS: Although far from
timeously done, this is a limp step in
the right direction by the CFU, as
they are holding Government accountable
and are being transparent as to their
stance.
INDEPENDENT & DAILY NEWS:
SUMMARY OF ZVOBGO BLASTS
CORRUPT ZANU-PF BIGWIGS AND ZVOBGO BLASTS STATE
CORRUPTION: Zvobgo, a veteran
ruling party official, has criticised the
corruption by senior ZANU-PF
officials and their friends. He cited the
seizing of up to five farms by
individuals as one indication of the
corruption. Kangai, the MP for Buhera
South (ZANU-PF) seconded the motion
to set up an anti-corruption
commission.
JAG'S COMMENTS: JAG commends them for finally being aware of
the truth,
encouraging transparency, and having the courage to do
so.
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From The Times (UK), 15
March
Commonwealth report may keep
Zimbabwe suspended
By Richard Beeston, Diplomatic Editor
The Commonwealth has compiled a report about continued abuses
in Zimbabwe over the past year to try to ensure that it remains suspended from
the organisation. Despite efforts by African nations to have President Mugabe
readmitted to the Commonwealth when the suspension expires next week, most of
the 54 member states seems to favour keeping Zimbabwe out until the next summit
meeting in eight months’ time. The leaders of Australia, Nigeria and South
Africa, who were to review the suspension before it expires on Wednesday, have
been unable to agree. John Howard, the Australian Prime Minister, believes that
Mr Mugabe’s regime should be excluded because of persistent human rights
violations. President Mbeki of South Africa and President Obasanjo of Nigeria
favour the country’s readmission. The argument may be decided by the report,
which was drawn up by senior Commonwealth officials and sent to the three
leaders this week. The contents are confidential, but sources who have read the
document said that it was damning of Mr Mugabe. "There was hardly a good word
said about Zimbabwe in the report," one source said. Another described it as
sombre and serious and said that it faulted Mr Mugabe’s regime on human rights,
land reform, democracy and the rule of law.
Don McKinnon, the Commonwealth Secretary-General, has been
consulting member states about Zimbabwe. The issue had threatened to divide the
organisation along racial lines, but many leaders of developing countries have
now hardened their attitudes towards Mr Mugabe. Caribbean nations, for example,
turned against Zimbabwe after Henry Olonga, a Zimbabwean cricketer, was dropped
from the national side for protesting against the Government by wearing a black
armband during the first match of the World Cup. The state-owned Herald
newspaper in Harare denounced the report this month, even before it was
circulated, and alleged that it had been compiled by Brian Donnelly, the British
High Commissioner in Harare. African high commissioners in London met this week
to try to co-ordinate a defence for Zimbabwe. South Africa, for instance, has
lobbied to have European Union sanctions against Zimbabwe lifted and for it to
be readmitted to the Commonwealth. One move open to Nigeria would be to invite
Mr Mugabe to the next Commonwealth heads of government meeting, which it is
hosting in December. Diplomats said, however, that that could lead to a boycott
by other nations.
We have degenerated towards fascism
A lot has been said in our beautiful country about democracy, which
according to my understanding of it, has not been fully realised.
Maybe it’s
just because I do not have “degrees in violence”. Well, what can I boast about
is my “O” level certificate.
Democracy is a form of government in which all
adults have a say in the exercise of power. Anyone who is over the age of 18, is
allowed to vote and can occupy public office regardless of whether they were in
the liberation struggle or regardless of the political organisation they belong
to.
Democracy is also characterised by individual rights such as freedom of
speech, religion and political affiliation. In a democratic country one has the
right to voice concern about how the country is run, as an individual or as a
political organisation.
Journalists have to be allowed to do their job
without restrictions. Journalists act as mirrors reflecting what is happening in
society.
As such journalists should be delegated duties by the companies
that employ them.
In a democratic country problems are solved by discussion
and not through violence.
Democracy is also hinged on legitimacy, meaning
the government has to be acceptable to the majority of the population, because
the people are the source of that legitimacy.
The opposite of democracy is
fascism. It says democracy is too weak because it allows people to be treated
equally regardless of their race and place of origin.
Fascism emphasises
national solidarity and fascists do not allow any dissent. This is what now
obtains in Zimbabwe.
Thulani - Bulawayo
No one is safe in Zimbabwe any more
The events unfolding in Zimbabwe have turned us into a laughing stock
in the world.
The story of the arrest of High Court judge Justice Benjamin
Paradza in chambers was the last straw in the fast-deteriorating justice
delivery system in the country.
As a layman, I believe that there is a
procedure that must be followed which involves the Judge President and the Chief
Justice, followed by the formation of a tribunal to try any crime that a judge
might have allegedly committed. But to go and arrest someone without any
evidence of absconding or wrongdoing, clearly indicates to the country and the
entire world that any judge who makes decisions which the government does not
like will be liable to arrest.
Research indicates that Justice Paradza has of
late made a number of judgments favourable to the Movement for Democratic Change
which include the release of the Executive Mayor of Harare, Elias Mudzuri, from
police custody a few months ago.
If the country’s learned judges were basking
in glory and thinking that they had the regime’s protection, they need to
revisit their situation.
Now is the time for them to join the masses in the
fight for freedom of and peace in Zimbabwe.
Believe me, no one is safe in
this once lovely country any more. The evidence is there for all to see.
Ndiniwo Munhu - Harare
The building of assertiveness in our Nation
A message to
businesses.
Zvakwana is a movement which is actively working towards the
installation of a democratic government in the firm belief that once this has
been achieved many rewards will flow for all Zimbabweans.
These include,
inter alia, the platform for economic recovery, job creation, alleviation of
poverty, the return to rule of law and a respect for human rights.
Zvakwana
understand that to rid a country of a dictator, and his incumbents, requires the
majority of the people to take action, ideally this action being non-violent. To
build the capacity of the people to challenge a regime takes time, planning and
requires actions that are incremental in nature.
These actions will take many
forms over the forthcoming months and certain of these will impact on business
and their workforces. Under these circumstances we urge you, and your business
colleagues, to give your staff the "space" (time and pay) to engage in any
morally acceptable activity that they are called on to undertake. We further
urge you to accept that change will not happen overnight or with a single
action. An activity such as a stay away forms part of the building process.
Workers knowing that their pay will not be jeopardised for short-duration
stairways will, in due course,build their confidence in becoming more courageous
and committed in their actions. The same applies to demonstrations that may be
called in your area.
Zvakwana therefore asks you, as a member of Zimbabwean
society, to support the call of civil society and / or opposition parties in
their quest to build defiance amongst our citizens.
This week is the
anniversary of a stolen Presidential election. An election in which the
democratic voice of Zimbabweans was denied through violent and dishonest means.
We expect that over the next few weeks organisations will follow the lead of
recent groups of demonstrators and activists (Honourable Eng. Mudzuri, Andy
Flower, Henry Olonga, Pastors of Zimbabwe, Women of Zimbabwe Arise, to name a
few) by calling for acts of defiance.
If called on to close your business for
a day please do so unconditionally
Yours in Action
Zvakwana
Visit the
website www.zvakwana.org