Political conflict
has intensified in Zimbabwe since a referendum in February 2000, when people
voted against proposed government amendments to the constitution. Violence
increased in the run-up to Parliamentary elections held later in 2000. Presidential elections are scheduled for
April 2002. MDC supporters and
independent journalists have been subjected to increasing harassment and
violence. The government has also undermined the independence of the judiciary,
forcing the resignation of the chief justice.
Acquisitions of white-owned commercial farms have been accompanied by
significant violence against their owners and farm workers and intimidation and
threats against black Zimbabweans living on surrounding communal land.
A copy of the letter can be found below.
Zimbabwe: Crackdown on Opposition
Condemned
HRW Letter to the Southern
African Development Community |
| November 22, 2001
President Joachim Chissano
Chair, Organ on Politics, Defence and Security
Cooperation
Mozambique
President Bakili Muluzi
Chair, Southern African Development
Community
Malawi
President Thabo Mbeki
South Africa
President Festus Mogae
Botswana
Your Excellencies:
Situation in Zimbabwe
I am writing on behalf of Human Rights Watch to express our concern at the
deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe and to ask that you intervene urgently and
at the highest level on behalf of the Southern African Development Community
(SADC).
For the last two years, there
has been an escalation of political violence in Zimbabwe, largely instigated or
carried out by supporters of the ruling party, ZANU-PF, against leaders and
supporters of opposition parties, in particular the newly formed Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC). This violence has been accompanied by increasing
harassment of independent critics of government, including journalists. The
government has also undermined the independence of the judiciary, forcing
several resignations including that of the chief justice. Acquisitions of
white-owned commercial farms for redistribution have been accompanied by
significant violence against their owners and farm workers, and intimidation and
threats against black Zimbabweans living on surrounding communal land. In many
cases, police have stood by and taken no action to protect those who have been
the victims of violence.
In the last two weeks, there has been a significant escalation of the threats
to members of the MDC. According to information received by Human Rights Watch,
around eighteen people associated with the MDC are currently in detention in
Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second city. Among them are security guards, secretaries,
and organizers for the party in the Bulawayo area. In addition, MDC member of
parliament for Lobengula-Magwegwe and member of the MDC's national executive
committee Fletcher Dlamini-Ncube was arrested on November 16, and the MP for
Bulilima-Mangwe North, Moses Ndlovu, was arrested on Monday November 19. Both
are still in custody. On Thursday November 15, David Coltart, a prominent human
rights lawyer and MDC MP from Bulawayo, was detained for several hours at the
airport outside the capital, Harare. The MDC has had great difficulty in
obtaining access for lawyers to those arrested, in some cases requiring court
orders to do so. Some of those in custody are reported to have been tortured.
Both Fletcher Ncube and Moses Ndlovu have been charged with murder in
connection with the abduction and killing of Cain Nkala, a leading veteran of
Zimbabwe's liberation war and government party supporter. Several of the others
arrested have also been charged with murder, and others with offenses under the
Law and Order Maintenance Act. The MDC has denied responsibility for the
abduction and murder of Nkala, who was linked by police to the murder last year
of an MDC official, Patrick Nabanyama. Nkala was reported as saying that he
would name the real killers of Nabanyama, leading to speculation by the
opposition and in the media that Nkala may have been killed by members of the
Central Intelligence Organization (CIO), Zimbabwe's security police. This
Sunday, November 18, President Robert Mugabe also publicly singled out three
white MDC members whom he declared were "terrorists"-MPs David Coltart and
Michael Auret, both also long-standing and internationally respected human
rights defenders, and Simon Spooner, Coltart's campaign manager during the
parliamentary elections of 2000 who is among those now in custody charged with
murder.
Last Friday, a hundred or more supporters of ZANU-PF rioted in Bulawayo,
beating bystanders and forcing the closure of shops. They were escorted by
police in six or seven riot vehicles. The Bulawayo office of the MDC was
invaded, as the police stood by, and burnt down with a petrol bomb. The fire
brigade who came to assist was stoned by the ZANU-PF supporters. In retaliation,
some MDC supporters then burnt down a building belonging to a prominent ZANU-PF
politician. Supporters of ZANU-PF have also attacked and set fire to the homes
of leading MDC members in Bulawayo. The MDC headquarters in Harare were twice
surrounded by a mob of war veterans and other government supporters the previous
weekend.
There are also threats to nongovernmental organizations working in Zimbabwe,
both on human rights and humanitarian issues. A number of human rights activists
and members of other groups critical of the government, including the National
Constitutional Assembly (NCA), have received threats or have been assaulted by
police, war veterans or supporters of ZANU-PF. An NCA demonstration on Wednesday
November 21 intended to be a march on parliament was prevented from going ahead
by police, and thirty-five people arrested. Four NCA members were arrested the
day before by police to whom they had tried to report assaults by ZANU-PF
supporters. The government has stated that humanitarian organizations will be
banned from distributing food in rural areas, where there is an acute need for
assistance, claiming that aid distribution would be used as an excuse to
campaign for the opposition party.
There are serious concerns about the conduct of next year's presidential
elections. Proposed new electoral regulations will reportedly place significant
difficulties in the way of registering to vote, by requiring voters to produce
passports and bills to prove that they have lived in their constituencies for
the last twelve months. Postal votes will be limited to diplomatic staff and
soldiers serving outside Zimbabwe, preventing other overseas Zimbabweans from
casting a ballot. The regulations have not yet been made public, except through
reports in the government-owned newspaper, the Herald. The Zimbabwean government
has refused to accept election observers from international organizations,
including the European Union, and has stated that the only local monitors
allowed will be civil servants. NGOs have been forbidden from carrying out voter
education. A Public Order and Security Bill has also been mooted in the Herald,
which will reportedly dramatically strengthen the powers that the government
already holds under the Law and Order Maintenance Act, including denying bail to
anyone charged with an offense under the new bill.
The government has also issued new regulations to allow the confiscation of
commercial farmland without the right to appeal the decision to the courts,
another measure that undermines the rule of law.
In August 2001, in the communiqué following the Blantyre summit of SADC,
heads of government expressed their concern at the effect of the economic
situation in Zimbabwe on the region. The summit appointed a task force
comprising Mozambique, South Africa, and Botswana to work with the Zimbabwe
government on the economic and political issues affecting Zimbabwe. Since then,
SADC leaders have met with Mugabe to discuss the land crisis and other issues.
Now is the time to build on these steps by speaking out strongly at the
deteriorating human rights conditions in Zimbabwe, before more lives are lost
and the whole region is affected.
Human Rights Watch urges SADC to condemn publicly the current human rights
violations in Zimbabwe. In particular, we urge you to call on President Mugabe:
To ensure that the police act impartially to protect all Zimbabwean citizens
from violence and that allegations of police complicity in violence, torture or
other abuse are impartially investigated and those responsible brought to
justice;
To end harassment of members of opposition political parties, in particular
the MDC, and of human rights and other organizations of civil society;
To guarantee the constitutional rights of MDC members and other Zimbabweans
held in custody;
To abandon the reported Public Order and Security Bill and new electoral
regulations, and other legislation that undermines the rule of law and the
rights enshrined in Zimbabwe's constitution;
To allow international and national monitors to observe the 2002
presidential elections and to carry out voter education freely before they are
held.
To withdraw the blanket allegations of "terrorism" made against David
Coltart, Michael Auret, and Simon Spooner. The criminal justice system should be
allowed to operate without political interference.
Sincerely,
/s/
Peter Takirambudde
Executive Director of the Africa Division
Human
Rights Watch
cc: SADC secretariat, Gaborone |
From the MDC Mailing List
Press Release 22/11/2001
Government
cracks down on MDC members
In scenes reminiscent of the Rhodesian regime,
the Zanu PF government has
launched a crackdown on MDC members and its entire
leadership.
This crackdown is actually heightening as we move closer to
the presidential
elections. We want to alert the world that information from
our intelligence
reports suggests that Zanu PF has assembled a hit squad in
Hwange to go to
Bulawayo and assassinate MDC Member of Parliament for
Bulawayo South David
Coltart.
We have also been informed that there
will be attempts to plant arms in
homes of the MDC leadership and then
"discover" them. This is what the Zanu
PF government did to the then
opposition PF Zapu in the early 1980s. This
was then used by the government
as grounds for launching the persecution in
Matabeleland and Midlands which
left over 20 000 civilians dead.
Our intelligence reports have also
informed us that two weeks before the
Zanu PF Congress on December 13 in
Victoria Falls, Zanu PF supporters and
war veterans will descend on the
township to beat up, abduct and harass MDC
members. This is a very worrying
development given that government is
running a programme to arm war veterans
and give licensed guns to Zanu PF
supporters.
The society that the
Zanu PF government seeks to create is one based on fear
that is maintained
through violence and oppression. The process of democracy
is quickly becoming
a farce in Zimbabwe.
The human suffering that innocent Zimbabweans
continue to be caused by this
regime cannot be overemphasised. The MDC once
again calls on the government
to respect the rule of law and order. What
Zimbabweans need are jobs,
education for their children, health facilities
and peace. These require a
well-thought programme of action, not intimidation
or brutality.
Professor Welshman Ncube,
MDC Secretary
General.
Independent (UK)
Mugabe violence forces opponents to go into
hiding
By Alex Duval Smith in Bulawayo
24 November 2001
With
two MPs in detention, a regional office destroyed, one home
firebombed,
critics arrested arbitrarily and a score of activists in jail or
in hiding,
opposition supporters in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second city, have
been forced
underground by Robert Mugabe's party stepping up violence in
anticipation of
presidential elections.
Residents see the new round of
attacks by militants of the ruling party as
proof that 77-year-old President
Mugabe – who has yet to announce an
election date – intends to couple
seizures of white-owned land and control
of a dwindling food supply with an
ever-fiercer campaign of violence in
townships. Not surprisingly, these form
the heartland of the opposition
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). In
Emankandeni, a poor suburb of
Bulawayo, Sidumiso Moyo, a widow and mother of
three who is also an MDC
youth organiser, had to flee her home after it was
firebombed on Tuesday.
James Ncube [not his real name], an MDC youth activist
afraid to return to
his township, switches safe houses daily. And, while
refusing to hide, David
Coltart, the party's most prominent white MP, has
been declared a terrorist
and is in constant danger of being arrested or
killed.
The violence began after Cain Nkala, a Bulawayo leader of the
so-called war
veterans who support Mr Mugabe, was abducted on 5 November. He
was later
found dead. Since then, the attacks against MDC activists and
other
government critics have increased.
A shaken Mrs Moyo, aged 33,
said: "They first broke into my house on Sunday.
They smashed up the sitting
room, took the radio and scrawled in magic
marker on the fridge, 'You are
very lucky Mrs Moyo'. Then on Monday, they
left a paper: 'Realese Kain B4
your house being bombered' [sic]. That was
when I ran away.
"On
Tuesday I was phoned by friends to say my house was burning. They used
a
petrol bomb,'' said Mrs Moyo, who is unemployed.
Her husband,
Oliver, an air force sergeant, was killed last year in
Zimbabwe's war in the
Democratic Republic of Congo. She has two sons, aged
18 and 16, and a
daughter of 12. She pointed to shards of a smashed whisky
bottle, lying on
the black, melted remains of her mattress. The green walls
of the bedroom
were covered in black soot. The mirrors of her dressing table
were smashed.
The room stank of burnt plastic. "I do not know who did it but
one of the men
has been recognised by my neighbours.
"I phoned the police and they came
and did a report. But they will do
nothing. They are the government's
servants. There is no one in Zimbabwe any
more who protects law-abiding
people. There is no way I can stay in my
house.'' .
Nkala, said to
have been a critic of ruling party violence despite being a
war veterans'
leader, was found dead on 12 November near Bulawayo. By then
at least six MDC
activists had been detained in connection with the
abduction. Pictures of
Nkala's body being exhumed were shown on state
television. He was declared a
national hero and the ruling Zimbabwe African
National Union-Patriotic Front
(Zanu-PF) said the MDC had killed him. The
MDC denied involvement, claiming
he was killed by the party because he had
threatened to go public with
information on Zanu-PF atrocities.
On Tuesday and Wednesday last week,
clashes were reported in Bulawayo's
western townships. The home of Peter
Mangera, an MDC councillor, was stoned.
Fletcher Dulini-Ncube, an MP, was
arrested in connection with Nkala's
murder. Three other MDC members,
including Mr Coltart's campaign manager,
Simon Spooner, were
arrested.
On 16 November, at least four buses arrived from Harare
carrying
pro-government militants. Other "war vets'' were reported to have
arrived by
train. At midday, a former home affairs minister, Dumiso Dabengwa,
and other
ruling party officials addressed them. Up to 2,000 ruling party
militants
then marched through the town, protected by about 300 riot
police.
Staff fled as the crowd approached the MDC's office, a bungalow
in the west
of the city centre. The building was ransacked then set on fire.
In a
revenge attack at about 3pm, 1,000 MDC activists marched to a
private
college owned by a Zanu-PF official, smashed up the interior and
started
fires.
At the weekend, more MDC activists were detained and a
second of the party's
local MPs, Moses Mzila, was arrested. Two journalists
from the pro-MDC Daily
News were held overnight by police after they
interviewed an intelligence
officer who claimed Nkala's death was an inside
job.
Bulawayo is now hostage to fear – a mood easy to impose on the
region of
Matabeleland because this was where, from 1983 to 1988, President
Mugabe
staged the "gukuruhundu''. That genocide claimed the lives of up to
30,000
members of the Ndebele tribe.
James Ncube, the MDC youth
activist, said: "These memories also make us
strong.'' He was so badly beaten
last year that surgeons were forced to
remove one of his testicles in an
emergency operation. Mr Ncube, 21, is
currently in hiding in the white
suburbs of Bulawayo where MDC support is
almost universal.
"We
communicate through bleep messages on our mobile phones,'' he said.
"Many of
my colleagues have been arrested and my own mother, who has
hypertension, is
sick with worry about me. My last safe house was raided
hours after I left
it.
"Our biggest problem is infiltrators but you can tell who they are
because
they are neatly dressed and have the latest cellphones,'' he
said.
Mr Coltart, the white MP for Bulawayo North, concedes that the
party's
members have been unsettled by recent events. Last week, in a surreal
scene
of intimidation, a small plane he was travelling in was held up at
gunpoint
on the runway.
He said: "We believe the election will be in
February and that Zanu-PF's
strategy is to deter people from voting. They
know we will win if we get
people to vote. The core will not be frightened
but there is a danger that
the timid people will stay at home.''
BBC
Friday, 23 November, 2001, 17:51 GMT
EU-Zimbabwe relations 'critical'
There was no meeting of minds with Mr
Mugabe
A high-level European Union delegation has said that
relations with Zimbabwe have reached a "critical point" following talks with
President Robert Mugabe in Harare.
Unless the elections comply with certain minimum standards,
it will be very difficult, not to say impossible to be recognised by the
EU 
|
|
Javier Solana, EU foreign affairs policy representative
|
Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel said the delegation had tried to raise
concerns about land reform, media freedom and next year's presidential
elections.
But he described the response from Mr Mugabe as "brutal".
The EU last month edged closer towards imposing sanctions following
Zimbabwe's refusal to accept European election monitors to observe next year's
polls, elections that could pose the toughest challenge yet for Mr Mugabe.
Isolation threat
"We didn't have the opportunity to have a constructive exchange of views," Mr
Michel said.
"We hope it will be possible to have discussions with this country, we want
to give a chance to positive exchange of views", the AFP news agency quoted Mr
Michel as saying.
The other chance might come when formal consultations with Zimbabwe are held.
If that does take place and attitudes do not change it is likely sanctions to
isolate the government might be imposed.
The delegation was on a mission to revive the Democratic Republic of Congo
peace talks.
No recognition
Zimbabwe has some 11,000 troops in the DR Congo to support the government in
its war against Rwandan and Ugandan backed rebels .
Others in the team were the EU Commissioner for Foreign Relations Chris
Patten and its senior foreign policy representative Javier Solana.
Elections might not be
recognised
|
Mr Solana said: " Unless the elections comply with certain minimum standards,
it will be very difficult, not to say impossible to be recognised by the EU."
The opposition Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangarai has
said he would be challenging for the presidency.
In a separate development, a Zimbabwean government spokesman accused a list
of foreign and local journalists of aiding terrorists, just days after it
described opposition politicians as terrorists.
A lawyer for one of those named described the accusation, carried in a
front-page report in the official Herald newspaper, as extremely serious.
Zim Independent
EU to grill Mugabe over DRC
Dumisani Muleya
THE
European Union (EU) delegation, which was expected to arrive in the
country
last night, is expected to confront and quiz President Robert Mugabe
over the
looting of minerals in the Congo, diplomatic sources
said
yesterday.
Sources said the team, led by Belgian deputy Prime
Minister Louis Michel,
whose country currently holds the rotating EU
presidency, is itching to
tackle Mugabe on the plunder of Democratic Republic
of Congo (DRC) resources
by foreign countries, including Zimbabwe.
The
meeting comes in the wake of a United Nations report released this
week
condemning Zimbabwe’s role in the plunder. EU officials could also take
on
Mugabe on the Zimbabwe crisis and the ongoing fighting between Harare
and
the 15-member EU bloc.
Aldo Ajello, the EU envoy to the Great
Lakes, was expected to be part of the
team. Other members of the group are
Javier Solana, the EU secretary-general
and high representative for common
external and security policy, and Chris
Patten, the EU commissioner for
external relations.
The team met DRC President Joseph Kabila, peace
mediator Sir Ketumile
Masire, and UN representatives in Congo on Wednesday.
It also met Angolan
President Eduardo Dos Santos and his Foreign Affairs
minister yesterday.
Today the group is set to engage Mugabe and Foreign
Affairs minister Stan
Mudenge before proceeding to talk to President Pierre
Buyoya of Burundi.
Tomorrow the team is scheduled to meet Rwandan
President Paul Kagame and his
Foreign Affairs minister before meeting
President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda
and his Foreign minister the same
day.
Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe entered the DRC in 1998 in support of
Kinshasa
while Rwanda and Uganda supported the rebels fighting to topple
the
government of assassinated President Laurent Kabila.
An
investigation report submitted to the United Nations Security Council
on
Monday accused Zimbabwe of raiding Congolese resources. The report said
the
Zimbabwe military and government officials were exploiting gold,
diamonds
and other precious minerals.
The latest UN report is in line
with a report by Global Witness, a
non-government organisation which
investigates the exploitation of natural
resources in conflict situations,
released in August, accusing Zimbabwe of
“resource colonialism in
DRC”.
The Global Witness report revealed efforts by the Harare regime to
exploit
33 million hectares of prime Congolese forests in a US$300 million
deal. The
venture has not taken off yet due to lack of capital.
This
latest UN report on the DRC is the second. Earlier this year, the
world
body’s team of experts released a report implicating Rwanda and Uganda
in
massive looting of Congolese resources.
Zimbabwe responded with
excitement to the initial report, saying the
document vindicated its position
that Rwanda and Uganda were looters. But
this week Harare reacted with
horror, claiming the latest report was meant
to tarnish the image of the
country.
The Scotsman
Zimbabwe facing sanctions
A 20-MEMBER delegation
from the European Union arrived in Zimbabwe last
night to consider sanctions
against the country in the face of mounting
human rights abuses.
Hours
earlier, the government proposed a law that would allow it to jail or
fine
people who moved about without identity cards - the latest in a string
of
draconian moves by the embattled president, Robert Mugabe. - Reuters
ABC News
Presidential spokesman calls some journalists `terrorists';
Zimbabwe leader
rejects EU demands
The Associated
Press
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) Correspondents for foreign media who
reported
indiscriminate beatings of whites a week ago will be treated as
terrorists,
a presidential spokesman warned Friday.
The statement appeared
in the state-owned Herald newspaper on the same day a
European Union
delegation said embattled President Robert Mugabe heatedly
rejected EU
demands for international observers at elections that are
supposed to be held
by early next year.
Mugabe's government is being strongly criticized over
alleged human rights
abuses and a crackdown on the opposition that have
escalated since ruling
party militants began violent occupations of
white-owned farms in March
2000. The 15-nation EU is considering
sanctions.
With the economy near collapse, Mugabe's popularity has
plummeted, and
Western diplomats and political analysts have speculated he is
trying to
engineer a chaotic situation that would allow him to declare a
state of
emergency and toughen his crackdown before elections.
The
presidential spokesman, who was not identified by name, said a protest
letter
from U.S. Ambassador Joseph Sullivan about Nov. 16 violence in
Bulawayo,
Zimbabwe's second biggest city, was "likely to trigger a
diplomatic furor."
He said it was based on "gross and obscene
misrepresentation of facts by the
so-called foreign correspondents."
Western diplomats confirmed that
ruling party militants assaulted whites and
vendors of independent newspapers
in Bulawayo. One German aid worker was
beaten in front of his children, they
said.
Witnesses reported that militants threw firebombs at the offices of
the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change in downtown Bulawayo and
then
stoned fire trucks when they arrived. State media said the MDC burned
its
own offices, allegedly to destroy evidence of involvement in the murder
of a
militant leader.
The presidential spokesman's criticism singled
out journalists from The
Associated Press, Business Day of South Africa and
the British newspapers
The Times, Guardian, Daily Telegraph and The
Independent.
"It is now an open secret that these reporters are not only
distorting the
facts but are assisting terrorists who stand accused in our
courts of law of
abduction, torture and murder, by covering up and
misrepresenting the brutal
deeds of terrorists," the spokesman was quoted as
saying.
"As for the correspondents, we would like them to know that we
agree with
U.S. President Bush that anyone who in any way finances, harbors
or defends
terrorists is himself a terrorist. We, too, will not make any
difference
between terrorists and their friends and supporters."
The
spokesman also contended that independent media in Zimbabwe had tried
to
intimidate journalists who work for state-controlled newspapers
and
broadcasters. "This kind of media terrorism will not be tolerated,"
the
spokesman was quoted as saying.
Journalists for independent media
have been arrested and beaten by ruling
party militants. Foreign journalists
have been harassed, threatened, beaten
and arrested by militants and security
forces.
The U.S. Embassy had no comment on the spokesman's remarks or on
whether the
ambassador had sent a protest letter. However, a U.S. official,
speaking on
condition of anonymity, said a protest note had been delivered by
U.S.
officials in Washington to Zimbabwe's embassy there.
"AP's
coverage of the violence in Zimbabwe and our coverage of moves by
the
government against political opponents and the press have been
consistently
factual, unbiased and fair," AP spokeswoman Kelly Smith Tunney
said in New
York.
Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel, head of the
EU delegation, described
the 90-minute meeting with Mugabe on Friday as
stormy.
He said EU officials expressed concerns over the occupation of
white-owned
farms, attacks on press freedoms and the decision to ban
international
election monitors. Mugabe's reaction to monitors was
particularly strong, he
said.
"We just put on the table the issue and
there was a very brutal reaction,"
Michel said. "We really didn't have an
opportunity to have a constructive
exchange of views."
There was no
immediate comment from the government about the meeting.
Mugabe gives EU election delegation 'brutal' reception
An EU delegation
demanding international monitors at Zimbabwe's elections
has received a
"brutal reaction" from President Robert Mugabe.
The 20-member delegation
arrived in Harare amid growing concerns over human
rights abuses in the
country and a government crackdown on civil liberties.
The EU Council of
Ministers is considering sanctions on Zimbabwe in response
to Mugabe's
refusal to guarantee fair elections and the ban on
international
observers.
Belgian foreign minister Louis Michel said
the 90-minute meeting was stormy.
He said the delegation expressed
concerns over the occupation of white-owned
farms, incursions on press
freedoms and the decision to ban international
election monitors.
Mr
Michel said: "We just put on the table the issue and there was a very
brutal
reaction. We really didn't have an opportunity to have a
constructive
exchange of views."
Mr Michel was accompanied by the EU
foreign and security policy chief,
Javier Solana, and External Relations
Commissioner Chris Patten.
Mr Patten said: "President Mugabe did not
indicate - I put the point
mildly - that he would welcome election
observers.
"We did not have a meeting of minds with President
Mugabe."
Rural Zimbabwe has spiralled into chaos since March 2000, when
ruling party
militants began violent occupations of white-owned farms,
demanding they be
handed over to landless blacks.
Guardian
Zimbabwe's Mugabe Rejects EU Demands
Friday November 23,
2001 5:40 PM
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) - Correspondents for foreign media
who reported
indiscriminate beatings of whites a week ago will be treated as
terrorists,
a presidential spokesman warned Friday.
The statement
appeared in the state-owned Herald newspaper on the same day a
European Union
delegation said embattled President Robert Mugabe heatedly
rejected EU
demands for international observers at elections that are
supposed to be held
by early next year.
Mugabe's government is being strongly criticized over
alleged human rights
abuses and a crackdown on the opposition that have
escalated since ruling
party militants began violent occupations of
white-owned farms in March
2000. The 15-nation EU is considering
sanctions.
With the economy near collapse, Mugabe's popularity has
plummeted, and
Western diplomats and political analysts have speculated he is
trying to
engineer a chaotic situation that would allow him to declare a
state of
emergency and toughen his crackdown before elections.
The
presidential spokesman, who was not identified by name, said a protest
letter
from U.S. Ambassador Joseph Sullivan about Nov. 16 violence in
Bulawayo,
Zimbabwe's second biggest city, was ``likely to trigger a
diplomatic furor.''
He said it was based on ``gross and obscene
misrepresentation of facts by the
so-called foreign correspondents.''
Western diplomats confirmed that
ruling party militants assaulted whites and
vendors of independent newspapers
in Bulawayo. One German aid worker was
beaten in front of his children, they
said.
Witnesses reported that militants threw firebombs at the offices of
the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change in downtown Bulawayo and
then
stoned fire trucks when they arrived. State media said the MDC burned
its
own offices, allegedly to destroy evidence of involvement in the murder
of a
militant leader.
The presidential spokesman's criticism singled
out journalists from The
Associated Press, Business Day of South Africa and
the British newspapers
The Times, Guardian, Daily Telegraph and The
Independent.
``It is now an open secret that these reporters are not only
distorting the
facts but are assisting terrorists who stand accused in our
courts of law of
abduction, torture and murder, by covering up and
misrepresenting the brutal
deeds of terrorists,'' the spokesman was quoted as
saying.
``As for the correspondents, we would like them to know that we
agree with
U.S. President Bush that anyone who in any way finances, harbors
or defends
terrorists is himself a terrorist. We, too, will not make any
difference
between terrorists and their friends and supporters.''
The
spokesman also contended that independent media in Zimbabwe had tried
to
intimidate journalists who work for state-controlled newspapers
and
broadcasters. ``This kind of media terrorism will not be tolerated,''
the
spokesman was quoted as saying.
Journalists for independent media
have been arrested and beaten by ruling
party militants. Foreign journalists
have been harassed, threatened, beaten
and arrested by militants and security
forces.
The U.S. Embassy had no comment on the spokesman's remarks or on
whether the
ambassador had sent a protest letter. However, a U.S. official,
speaking on
condition of anonymity, said a protest note had been delivered by
U.S.
officials in Washington to Zimbabwe's embassy there.
``AP's
coverage of the violence in Zimbabwe and our coverage of moves by
the
government against political opponents and the press have been
consistently
factual, unbiased and fair,'' AP spokeswoman Kelly Smith Tunney
said in New
York.
Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel, head of the
EU delegation, described
the 90-minute meeting with Mugabe on Friday as
stormy.
He said EU officials expressed concerns over the occupation of
white-owned
farms, attacks on press freedoms and the decision to ban
international
election monitors. Mugabe's reaction to monitors was
particularly strong, he
said.
``We just put on the table the issue and
there was a very brutal reaction,''
Michel said. ``We really didn't have an
opportunity to have a constructive
exchange of views.''
There was no
immediate comment from the government about the meeting.
CNN
Zimbabwe threatens journalists
November 23, 2001 Posted: 9:50 AM
EST (1450 GMT)
HARARE, Zimbabwe -- Zimbabwe's government has
threatened to treat six
journalists working for foreign media organisations
as terrorists.
The journalists have been accused of filing false reports
on political
violence.
The state-controlled Herald newspaper quoted a
government spokesman on
Friday as saying reporting by some Harare-based
foreign correspondents was
unacceptable.
He accused six journalists
and a South African-based human rights campaigner
of supporting opposition
"terrorists."
The article appears in an environment of increasing
government hostility
toward journalists in the run-up to next year's
election, when President
Robert Mugabe will face the toughest challenge of
his career from opposition
leader Morgan Tsvangirai.
The spokesman
said the government had received a letter from the United
States that was
based on media reports and alleged widespread assaults
against "whites and
others" after the murder of pro-government war veteran
leader, Cain
Nkala.
The spokesman named the journalists and warned in an imitation of
President
George W. Bush that the government would make no distinction
between those
that it considered to be terrorists and anyone who supported
them.
"As for the correspondents we would like them to know that we agree
with
President Bush that anyone who in any way finances, harbours or
defends
terrorists is himself a terrorist," the spokesman was quoted as
saying.
"We too will not make any difference between terrorists and their
friends
and supporters."
Of the seven people named four journalists
work for British newspapers, one
for The Associated Press, one works for a
South African paper and one is a
rights campaigner.
The names were Jan
Raath of The Times, Peta Thornycroft of the Telegraph,
Andrew Meldrum of the
Guardian and Basildon Peta of the Independent
newspaper group, AP's Angus
Shaw, Dumisani Muleya of South Africa's Business
Day and South-African based
human rights campaigner Richard Carver.
Critics say the atmosphere for
such foreign correspondents in Harare is
becoming increasingly difficult as
Mugabe tightens electoral rules and other
laws in his favour ahead of the
poll.
The Times
Q&A: Jan Raath on accusations in the Zimbabwe
Herald
A state-controlled newspaper in Zimbabwe has accused Jan Raath,
The Times
correspondent of "covering up and misrepresenting" the actions
of
terrorists. He answers the accusations.
What is the Zimbabwe
government accusing you of?
The state-controlled newspaper, The Herald,
quoted a government spokesman as
saying that members of the international
press, myself included, had been
responsible for a "gross and obscene"
misrepresentation of the violence that
occurred last week.
President
Mugabe's veterans went on the rampage in Bulaweyo, burning down
the
opposition party's offices. We reported, accurately, on this event, but
now
the government is claiming that we got it all wrong. They say the
MDC
(Movement for Democratic Change) burnt down their own offices to
destroy
evidence of terrorist activities. What President Mugabe says we are
doing is
assisting terrorists.
In recent weeks there have been a
deluge of unfounded accusations from the
president aimed at the MDC claiming
they are involved in terrorism and
terrorist-related activities, this is just
an extension of the same thing.
Why is the government trying to discredit
you?
Because I represent both sides of the story. It looks as if the
government
is preparing the ground ready to pass a series of draconian
security laws,
which prevent "terrorist activity". Mugabe is passing off
anyone who doesn't
support him as a terrorist.
This all started about
three weeks ago with the abduction of a war veteran
in Bulaweyo. His body was
found a few days later and the president assumed
that the MDC was
responsible.
Who are the other journalists who have been
accused?
A number of Zimbabwe-based foreign correspondents were
criticised in the
article published this morning. They included
correspondents for The
Telegraph, The Guardian and The Independent and a
human rights researcher
from Britain and also the American news agency AP.
They didn't name
AFP,Reuters or the BBC, although they have been accused
before.
Has this happened before?
The government is trying to
discredit journalists all the time. Earlier this
year the news agencies
Reuters and AP were accused of being "merchants of
death". The local press
have had a particularly hard time. In 1998 two
journalists from The Standard
were arrested and tortured.
Do you fear for your safety or reputation as
a result of these accusations?
No, although I do feel under tremendous
pressure. I know and work with a
very wide range of people in Zimbabwe and
they will all treat this article
with the same contempt that I
do.
What sort of newspaper is The Herald?
Zimbabwe's Herald is a
broadsheet which was founded in 1890. It was the
first major daily newspaper
in this country but it was taken over by the
government in 1981. It's always
been a government organ, but in the last few
years it has become quite
venomous and inflammatory and the situation is
getting worse. The content in
The Herald isn't far off the state radio
propaganda that existed during the
war in Rwanda. It really is hate
journalism.
CFU Sitrep - Thur 22 Nov 2001
_____
COMMERCIAL FARMERS' UNION
Farm invasions and Security Report
Thursday 22nd November 2001
_____
This report does not purport to cover all the incidents that are taking
place in the commercial farming areas. Communication problems and the fear of
reprisals prevent farmers from reporting all that happens.
Farmers names, and
in some cases farm names, are omitted to minimise the risk of reprisals.
NEWS IN BRIEF Horseshoe - Farm owners wife and two children confined to
homestead whilst militant war veterans, and labourers, hold pungwe outside the
gates from
9pm till 3am Beatrice - Farm owner given 3 days to vacate farm.
Macheke\Virginia - Illegal Settlers demand labour force and Manager move out
of their houses.
REGIONAL REPORTS
MASHONALAND CENTRAL
Horseshoe - On Camsasa Farm, on Tuesday night, the owners wife and two
children were confined to their home, whilst militant war veterans, and
labourers, held a pungwe outside the gates from 9pm till 3am. They refused to
allow the family to leave. The mob forcibly entered the security gates and
began to pound on the windows and doors. One of the drivers was badly beaten by
the war veterans. The ZRP was notified, arrived three hours later and failed to
resolve the situation. Later in the day the ZRP, and leading war veteran from
Guruve attended and resolved the situation, by deferring decisions until the
farmers return. The farmer's wife was allowed to leave. On Siyalima Farm the
resident war veteran stole tobacco seedlings. The labourers were forced to
attend a re-educational pungwe from 7pm to 10.30pm, and were told that there
would be a forced work stoppage unless the owner ploughed the war veterans
lands. The next day there was a total work stoppage. On Monday the 19th of
November, Nyamfuta Farm and Mazooma Farm received Section 8 Orders.
MASHONALAND EAST
Beatrice - Collandra Farm - The owner & labour told by war vet Carter
to attend a meeting at Joyce Mine. The owner of Karreeboom had 5 tonnes of
fertilizer stolen on Sunday night. Alamein Farm The owner given 3 days to
vacate the farm. Planting of a tobacco crop is to continue under threat from
Zhou. War vet Zhou threatened the owner and told him not to return to the
farm. Central farm - Zhou had given permission for all the people living in the
Beatrice village to fish in his dam. Carnethy and Evergreen Farms handed
Section 8 Orders On Zanka farm shots were reported and poaching suspected.
Section 8 Orders were handed to the owners of :
Huntcroft "A" and Witdoorn
"A", Xekene Ext "A" and Goldilands.
Harare South - Auks Nest: A delegation angry about the farmer
destroying own seedbeds. Lots of threats were made before the delegation left.
A white Sunny (430 016H) arrived with seed maize for the settlers. They wanted
to employ workers to plant their crop for them. Tobacco & maize still being
planted by settlers. 1ha of tobacco planted in the last four days.
Marondera North - Kirndean - ploughing, planting and burning
continues.
Somerset - A weaner steer was slaughtered on Monday night and 3 steers
are missing.
Dorset - 2 tractors ploughing. Essexdale an altercation with settlers
yesterday has been resolved.
Marondera South - Wenimbe: Following similar
previous evictions, all lessee's workers forced to vacate their houses by
illegal settler Maphosa.. No reaction from the police. Safari - illegal
settlers who officially moved from an unlisted farm to Safari are evicting farm
workers from their houses Enterprise / Bromley / Ruwa - Binder - issued with a
Section 8 Order.
Agritex is pegging extensively in the area for A2
resettlement. On Belvedore tobacco planting by illegal settlers Featherstone -
Calais and Kuruman dairy farms have had endless problems.
DZL have been out
to have a look & they might have an outcome for the farmers today Macheke/
Virginia - Castledene Pines RB 204/01 . Illegal Settlers demanded that all
members of the labour force and the Manager move out of their houses. Reported
to the Police but no reaction. 4 of the Labour went to Murehwa to see the DA.
Labour still in their houses at the moment. On Malda Illegal settlers demanded
labour move out of their houses This was not reported to the Police, as the
labour requested that they resolve it themselves.
Marylands RB 205/01.
Ongoing tobacco planting by illegal settlers.
Mignon RB 206/01. The owner
had arranged for the labour to be collected by lorry to go to Headlands, to help
with maize planting. The illegal settlers threatened to burn the labourers'
houses if they got on the lorry. The following day all labour chased away from
the farm.
Reported to the Police but were told that it was a Lands
Committee Problem.
Camdale - Continued maize planting by illegal settlers.
R.B 207\2001 Howgate RRB 004682. Reported to the Police that a cow had been
hamstrung. The owner has also been ordered to disassemble the centre Pivot and
remove it from the land. The cattle have been moved into one small paddock.
There is extensive ploughing and preparation for crops by the illegal
settlers.
Wedza - Hull & Lifton.The owner told to remove all cattle
(1000Head) A D.D.F. tractor planting maize in land with centre pivot. Poaching
by occupants in a blue Toyota Hilux who had 6 impala & 4 reedbuck in the
back. Planting of paprika onto ridged land by illegal settlers. Owner's cattle
have been let onto the mainroad.
Imire: 5 Nyala poached. Sunday the owner
caught 8 poachers & dogs.
They had 3 warthogs the owner shot 2 of the
dogs & took them all to the police where the remaining dogs were shot by the
police.
Rhodesdale: shots fired close to the house.
Beer: 6 people
arrived & demanded that an ex-employee be paid out the same gratuities as a
worker from the neighbouring farm.
Dudley: A lorry arrived with 16 youths to
value the property.
Brantingham farm pegged & 2 D.D.F. teams doing
feasibility studies. 10 irrigation pipes have been stolen.
Corby 2 D.D.F.
tractors working, Illegal settlers planting tobacco & paprika in lands
prepared by the owner.
Totnes The cattle have had to be moved off & the
labour have been told to move off today.
Plymtree - Illegal settlers planting
tobacco & paprika alongside the road.
A clinic orderly is planting using
the owners seedlings.
Mbima - Further work stoppage. The police arrived with
war veteran Philip William & told the workers to go back to work. 2 youths
living in a cottage were told to move out. Maize planting by settlers is rife,
and often ordinary maize used as seed Markwe - the owner old to move all the
cattle into 2 paddocks, to make room for the illegal settlers lands.
Rapako -
Police called to destroy a Zebra that had been snared. Dogs have been seen
hunting & very little game remaining. Chigwedere & followers planting
maize into lands prepared by the farmer. They also used the owners paprika
seedlings to plant. D.A. Wedza was asked about possible game capture before
these crops were destroyed. No answer was given.Chigwedere told the owner that
all game animals must be removed or he would do it himself. Permission was
finally given to remove the game animals. Resident illegal settlers told the
farmer the farm would be closed on Friday. Chigwedere & the D.A. denied
knowledge of this..
After negotiations the farmer was allowed to continue
with flowers but no other crops. Poaching is rife & a sable had to be
destroyed after the dogs & hunters were scared off.
MASHONALAND WEST (SOUTH)
Norton - On Maine Farm a seven tonne truck
arrived with Tobacco seedlings, under cover of darkness, and the occupants
proceeded to plant into land prepared and fertilized by the owner for his
dryland crop. Chief Inspector Gunyani from Norton Police has refused to react
or give an R.R.B number and the District Administrator, who appears to have a
stake on the farm, is refusing to resolve the issue as well.
Selous - On
Carskey Police and the owner caught poachers with butchers knives, weapons,
empty cartridge cases and a poached eland The poachers/settlers, on this
unlisted farm, were let free, and the owner threatened with arrest by police for
questioning the issue.
Kadoma/Chakari/Battlefields - On Chevy Chase which is
unlisted, the Kadoma Lands Committee and D.A. have allowed land prep recently.
The owner has now been told that he is not allowed to plant, as the illegal
occupiers are planting little patches into the 300 hectares that he has just
prepared for himself. On Alabama Farm illegal occupiers moved into the security
fence area and were demanding to move into the 2 homesteads. The situation was
defused but later that night the guards were abducted and the manager was unable
to get back through the locked gates. The settlers had taken the keys. Police
attended, but Chief Inspector Makaza refused to arrrest the settlers as they
managed to retrieve the guards and their torches. The keys are still in the
hands of the settlers. On Sabonabon the pastor was picked up by Police and has
been held longer than 48 hours without trial.
MASHONALAND WEST (NORTH)
Raffingora Central - Chepstow (Listed)
Work
stoppages occurred as a result of a dispute over bonuses. NEC Chinhoyi
employee. "Denver" was very helpful with the workers who were paid bonuses and
the problem was resovled. .
Nyarapinda: A pre-trial hearing was held and the
case deferred - no date given for actual court hearing.
Marewano; (Not
listed) Tuesday 6 November Agritex arrived to peg Mariwano The relevant
authorities were telephoned and it was established the land should not be
pegged. The Street: From Eldarado to the Makwodzwi has only one farm
co-existing. 20 farms - all "row-croppers" refuse to co-exist with settler and
are under pressure to make a deal.
WARD HUNYANI Pamwachete Farm: Listed - 29
June 2001 Not working.
Chiwe Farm: Listed 02 June 2000 The farmer is
winding down operations and only continuing with crocodile farming. War Vet
leader Akim querying the movement of fencing was told that the fencing and
cattle were to be moved to find grazing. Royal Bucks - Quiet. Theft
decreased. Power struggle between Morgan and Akim continues.
Chimbada -
trying to co-exist. Still restricted to 70 ha.
Mafuta Farm (Listed). Not
prepared to start cotton planting until war vet leader Kangachepe removed.
Power struggle between factions continues.
Incidents occur almost on a daily
basis caused by different instructions being given by each side. Nobody seems
to have any control. People on the ground not listening to the Police, The
D.A. or the War Vet leader.
Settlers started preparing to plant in a patch
"allocated" to the farmer.
Vehicles continue to bring in goods/belongings of
settlers during the night.. Dogs, cattle and sheep moved in
continuously.
Red Acres/ Chisanga (Listed) - Not farming. DDF tractor
ploughing settlers lands.
Planting maize and seed maize.
Minehha Not
farming. Settlers all over farm.
Raffingora Township - people re-pegged part
of the farm. ADA Sisi Estate
- tractor is plouging for settlers.
WARD
VICTOR Cornrise/(Listed) Chininga(Listed): Not Farming. Settler have planted
30ha cotton on Cornrise and 70ha on Chinex.
Nyabonda: (Listed) Not
farming due to invader activity.
Wye Farm: (Not listed) Continued
harrassment , not farming at this time.
Great Gain(Listed) Not farming due to invader activity. .
Kelston Park:
(Not listed) Not farming. Invaders lands being ploughed by a Renault tractor
based in the Raffingora Township.
Jo Kay - No change, remains unconscious in
Athol Evans. No arrests made.
House removal this week Thursday.
Trelawney/Darwendale - Mtotwe Farm Morfu, who is based in Harare, beat the
Chairman of the settlers (Chimgwende) as he says he is not harassing the farmer
enough, the farm is too peacfeful and the farmer should not have been allowed to
plant his full tobacco crop.
An assault charge is laid but Morfu appears to
be dodging the police.
Morfu subsequently threatened the owner to commence
harrowing for both the settlers and the farm labourers immediately. Two 19 year
old "war vets" harassed a store keeper because an item was not price
controlled.
The same youths arrived at the farmers fence at 1.30 on 19th
November, and informed him that his maize meal (supplied by a well known local
supplier)
was not fit for a donkey's consumption and forced the labour to
request that the farmer purchase refined maize meal from Red Seal regardless of
additional costs. The farmer challenged the 19 year old warvets to produce
their cards and they then informed him that, " they were only joking and are in
fact members of the Zanu Youth League" assigned to this area.
CHINHOYI Golden Kopje/Chegutu Road - Portelet Farm Able to plant dryland
crop.
Portelet Estate - Managed to ridge unpegged land and started to plant
without stoppage. Clent Farm - Quantity of irrigation equipment stolen.
A
Chitomborwizi farmer passing through his farm gave the culprits a
lift.
Suspecting something by the sacks they were carrying, the farmer drove
into the Chinhoyi Police Station, where a quantity of equipment was recovered.
It is not clear if any arrests were made.
General - Settlers throughout the
ward are preparing land, and pressuring farmers to assist. Hut building
continues. The Sligo Farm invasion by Chirau villagers remains unresolved.
The Range Farm On 19th November, 2001, settlers, by the names of A Chitanha
and Chikwanda, and their dogs, chased a bushbuck against the security fence and
killed it. Settlers stole 80 meters of new barbed wire from the cattle
paddock. Property loss +- $5000.00. The permimeter secuirty fence has been cut
on several occasions. Illegal invaders threatened to chop down the perimeter
security fence because the owner had security guards in the yard. Poaching
continues unabated with large quantities of snares being recovered.
Trees are
being chopped down and the wood sold. Lorries from local companies are
collecting the wood at night.
Some farm workers have been forced to demolish
their houses in order for the settlers to prepare their plots.
Wytchwood Farm
- Work stoppage - not allowed to carry on planing tobacco.
Settlers told the
farmer that they would carry on with the tobacco as the crop no longer belongs
to him.
Farmer has to move 350 cattle to a neighbouring farm.
MASVINGO Masvingo East and Central Area - The following properties have
received Section 8 Notices Noti Pitlochrie Farm; Goodhope Farm; Wepener of
Goodhope; Victoria R/E (Fomax Dairy); Beauly; Ledard; Testwood; Waterfalls and
Beza. Dromore Farm and Riverdene Farm On Fomax Dairy a pump has been recovered
by Police that was previously reported stolen. Lamotte Farm A private tractor
has arrived on this property and commenced ploughing. On Beauly Farm illegal
occupiers are repeatedly ploughing in vleis. Streambank cultivation is also
occurring.
CIO officials claiming plots on the property have informed private
security company guards to remove themselves from the farm, as they now own the
farm. On Greenhills Farm the owner has been told to remove all cattle and sheep
from the property.
Chatsworth / Gutu Area - Grasslands A white Brahman bull worth $150
000.00 fell down a 12 metre hole dug by illegal occupiers. The owner
managed to pull the bull out of the hole, however severe damage has occurred to
its legs. When the owner reported the incident to the Police, they blamed the
owner for not herding and looking after his cattle.
Chiredzi Area - Lot 1 of Faversham The owner reports ranch has been
subdivided into 40ha plots accommodating 56 plot holders. Owner has also been
asked to attend Compensation Committee in Harare.
Save Conservancy Area -
Nothing to report Mwenezi Area - Lumbergia Farm The owner has recovered his
vehicle from illegal occupiers with assistance of the DA.
MANICALAND Continued pegging throughout Manicaland.
MATABELELAND - No report submitted MIDLANDS - No report submitted
_____
Daily news Leader Page
Aids levy abuse is a shameful
scandal
11/23/01 8:11:03 AM (GMT +2)
WHEN Vice-President
Simon Muzenda made the supremely arrogant boast: "Zanu
PF ichatonga kusvika
madhongi amera nyanga" - literally meaning "Zanu PF
shall govern until
donkeys have grown horns (for ever)" - people dismissed
it as one more of his
many unintelligent but harmless statements.
Even when he made his most
famous gaffe, that "even if we field a baboon as
the Zanu PF candidate,
people must vote for it", most people must have
laughed it off as the genial
old man's unfortunate idea of a joke.
We are not so sure any more that
those "jokes" are as innocent as we
initially made them out to
be.
Every now and then the government does things which give us this
disturbing
feeling that they must have long reasoned that they are presiding
over a
population made up largely of simpletons.
The way it has been
able to come up with one good excuse after another for
extracting levies from
the already overtaxed workers of this country, in its
now long history of
fiscal malfeasance, only to fritter the money away
pleasing people as a way
of buying support for Zanu PF, gives us the
impression the government thinks
it can fool the people of this country at
will for eternity.
When,
during the last drought, the government came up with the idea of a
drought
levy, which it imposed without any consultation, the workers of this
country
had no choice but to grin and bear it.
At any rate, in light of the
drought's severity, many workers accepted it,
albeit grudgingly, as a
necessary evil to stave off the spectre of
starvation in most rural
areas.
But we were all deeply disappointed and also felt terribly cheated
to learn
that the drought relief food and farming inputs bought with our
hard-earned
money were being handed out only to selected villagers as
assistance from
Zanu PF by the party's local officials.
To add insult
to injury, elderly villagers known to have offspring in formal
employment
were declared ineligible to receive either drought relief food or
seed and
fertiliser for the following planting season.
That meant many workers had
to pay a levy to enable Zanu PF to buy support
by feeding strangers while at
the same time having to fork out extra money
to sustain their own elderly
parents.
That this was a grossly unfair deal which made the party and its
government
very unpopular has apparently never dawned on Zanu PF leaders, for
long now
used to taking all other citizens for fools.
Because if the
government had known how deeply resentful the majority of the
working class
were over its use of taxpayers' money to gain political
mileage for its
party, it wouldn't be repeating that mistake with the money
it is collecting
as Aids levy.
The Aids levy fund is being grossly abused by Zanu PF to
bribe rural people
into voting for the party's candidate in the forthcoming
presidential
election.
The situation has obviously gone totally out of
hand when even senior party
people such Dzikamai Mavhaire can't stand it any
longer.
As Mavhaire bluntly put it in a story published yesterday, it is
"bogus Aids
organisations that have so far benefited from the fund at the
expense of
reputable organisations known for caring for Aids
patients".
Even the Red Cross hasn't received a single cent. This is a
shameful scandal
which must be brought to an immediate end.
Zanu PF
ought to know that money can never buy political support.
If they don't
believe us, they should ask Bishop Abel Muzorewa of Huruyadzo
fame.
Daily news
Sikhala reprimanded
11/23/01 8:42:03 AM (GMT
+2)
By Pedzisai Ruhanya
THE MDC yesterday reinstated three
national executive members and other
senior party officials it suspended last
month, following intra-party
clashes, after it found some of them innocent of
any wrongdoing, while
others were reprimanded for violating party
regulations.
The decision follows a report of the team which was tasked
to investigate
the disturbances in the opposition party.
Professor
Welshman Ncube, the MDC secretary-general, yesterday said: "Those
who had
been suspended from party duties have been reinstated with effect
from 22
November 2001. Learnmore Jongwe and Tafadzwa Musekiwa were found
innocent by
the commission and were, thus, absolved from any wrongdoing.
They have, with
immediate effect, been reinstated to their official
positions in the
party."
Jongwe is the MP for Kuwadzana and the MDC's secretary for
information and
publicity, while Musekiwa is the MP for Zengeza.
Ncube
said the MDC leadership studied the report of the investigating team
chaired
by Dr Tichaona Mudzingwa, the party's secretary for health, and
found some
members of the party guilty of misconduct. The report was
submitted last
Friday.
Moses Mzila-Ndlovu, the MP for Bulilimamangwe North, and Enna
Chitsa, the
MDC vice-chairperson, were part of the team of
investigators.
Ncube said the report was yet to be tabled before the
national council of
the party and could not be made available to the
media.
He said MPs Tapiwa Mashakada (Hatfield), who is the party's shadow
minister
of finance, Job Sikhala (St Mary's), Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga
(Glen
Norah), Gabriel Chaibva (Harare South) and Tichaona Munyanyi (Mbare
East)
were found guilty of misconduct.
Alexio Musundire, the
Chitungwiza provincial chairman, Harare provincial
chairman Morgan Femai and
his secretary Last Maengahama, and Harare youth
leaders Elias Machingura and
Eddison Mukwasi also committed acts of
misconduct, Ncube
said.
"Appropriate disciplinary action has been taken against these party
members.
All of them have accepted the disciplinary action and have since
shown
remorse and apologised to the party," Ncube said.
He said those
found guilty acted in a manner inconsistent with the party's
constitution and
put the name of the party into disrepute. For instance, he
said, in Harare
they sought to resist and disrupt the holding of
provincial
elections.
Ncube said party members in Chitungwiza, among
them Sikhala and Musundire,
were found guilty of failing to stop party
supporters from clashing with
each other.
"All party members who were
found guilty were reprimanded and cautioned by
the party and they accepted
the reprimand and apologised because they are
committed to the party's
ideals," Ncube said.
He said the commission recommended that elections
for Harare province should
be held.
"We are going to immediately
implement the recommendations and be assured
that smooth and democratic
elections will be held in Harare," he said.
Ncube said the problem was
now over and the members were now fully
concentrating on the campaign for
next year's presidential election.
"I know that those who want to see
chaos in the MDC will talk about
continued non-existent squabbles in the
party, but our supporters should
know that we are united and are totally
geared to democratically winning the
presidential election," Ncube
said.
For the past month, the government-controlled media has been
writing stories
saying that the MDC was on the verge of collapse, with two
alleged camps,
one belonging to MDC president Morgan Tsvangirai and the other
to Ncube But
both Tsvangirai and Ncube dismissed the reports as
well-orchestrated
attempts by Zanu PF to divide them before the crucial
presidential election.
President Mugabe is pitted against Tsvangirai in
the sternest challenge to
his 21-year rule.
Daily news
The Mole
State media now lying full-time to damage
MDC
11/23/01 8:22:24 AM (GMT +2)
SINCE as far back as the
days of Bornwell Chakaodza's editorship, The Mole,
like many other members of
the public, has had strong suspicions that many
of the letters that appear on
The Herald's letters page are penned either in
the paper's Fiction Department
or they originate from the government's
Department of
(Dis)Information.
The reason for these suspicions is that you hardly ever
come across a letter
on that page that is critical of either the President,
the government or the
ruling Zanu PF party. On the other hand, you will
certainly never come
across a letter on that page which has anything good to
say about the MDC or
Morgan Tsvangirai.
As such, Zimbabwe, as seen
through the eyes of The Herald's purported
readers, is such an unreal place
it could not exist anywhere on planet
Earth.
Anyway, that myth was
last week exploded with a deafening bang which also
literally confirmed
beyond any reasonable doubt our long-held suspicions
about the existence of a
Fiction Department from which, with a little help
and direct guidance from
Munhumutapa Building, all those fictitious letters
that see no evil in Zanu
PF and see nothing good in the MDC emanate.
We all know, of course, that
following the disturbances at the University of
Zimbabwe early last week,
those men in dark glasses, who are so thoroughly
evil they can only operate
at night because they are so ashamed of their
work, picked up - in the dead
of night - student leader Phillip Pasirayi
from his hall of
residence.
Now, Pasirayi happens to be the current information and
publicity secretary
of the Zimbabwe National Students' Union
(Zinasu).
While his lawyer was still frantically trying to establish his
whereabouts,
since the police were denying ever picking him up (although he
was later
located at Avondale Police Station), and the rest of us were
fearing the
worst - knowing as we all do that when they take someone away in
the middle
of the night and then deny ever having seen him the person would
usually be
dead - a letter purportedly written by him appeared in The Herald
on
Thursday 15 November! It was headlined: "Students condemn
violence".
In it, after saying his union "condemns in the strongest terms
the
escalation of violence in Matabeleland Province, considered by the MDC to
be
its stronghold", "Pasirayi", who was supposedly writing in his
official
Zinasu capacity, went to town about the evils of the MDC, denouncing
"its
culture of violence" and castigating it for championing the interests
of
"foreigners who are funding it" and all the familiar hogwash about the
MDC
which is now daily fare in the paper's "news" columns.
The Mole's
immediate reaction was: How could Pasirayi have written a letter
to the paper
when he was listed as a missing person, presumably abducted and
possibly
being tortured?
Aha! That explains it, I suddenly reasoned. If he is
being tortured, those
merciless brutes must have written the letter and
forced him to sign it as
having been authored by him as a condition for the
torture being brought to
an end. It made perfect sense to me.
But then
the following day, in a demonstration of alarming daftness on the
part of its
editors, The Herald published another letter, this time written
by the real
Pasirayi, denying ever having penned the one that had appeared
in the paper
the day before.
There was neither an apology from the editor at the end
of the authentic
Pasirayi letter nor the customary footnote explaining how
the fictitious
letter had found its way into the paper in the first
place.
Looks like some one-eyed chiefs are leading whole tribes of blind
men at
some media houses out there.
Suffice it to say that the naked
propaganda readers are daily being
bombarded with and authored by political
opportunists masquerading as
journalists working on The Herald, some of whom
- we pity them - used to be
fairly respectable 15 years ago, is bringing
unbearable shame upon all of
us.
The Herald is, of course, not alone
in its disgraceful campaign of spreading
lies designed to create an image of
the MDC as a violent party as a
well-calculated prelude to the government's
wicked intention to ban the MDC.
The ZBC, with the active collaboration of
the CIO and the police, is on the
same mission of smearing all manner of
filth on the defenceless MDC as an
organisation and its leaders as
individuals.
Most Zimbabweans would by now be aware that all the din
surrounding the
finding, exhumation and reburial of Cain Nkala's body; the
arrest and
confession of the alleged culprits - all in a glare of
unprecedented
publicity with Reuben Barwe, playing the role of master of
ceremonies,
orchestrating the ghoulish tragicomedy - was carefully
stage-managed by the
authorities.
Zim Independent
Muckraker
CAIN Nkala’s death must haunt Zanu
PF, and especially President Mugabe, in a
very big way. When people of this
country have in the past condemned wanton
violence by his war veterans, his
party and the army against innocent
civilians, this has been dismissed as
imagined and calculated to tarnish the
country’s image. No attempt has ever
been made to separate genuine war
veterans from criminal elements who might
seek to further their careers
under the pretence of “hunger for
land”.
Wanton destruction of property and the beating of farm workers and
their
employers have been described cynically as “peaceful demonstrations”.
The
police have been told to keep their hands off these bandits because
the
issues “are political”. It was therefore difficult for any
patriotic
Zimbabwean to share Mugabe’s feigned grief at the burial of Nkala
at the
Heroes’ Acre on Sunday.
We expected the president’s address to
reassure the nation that such
criminal murders would stop. That the real
criminals would be apprehended.
Instead, Mugabe’s address was full of such
rancour it left one with a
terrible sense of foreboding, especially as it
also appeared to be more
politically-inspired than an expression of grief.
There was no sense in
which one could say the vitriol against the MDC was
inspired by any feeling
of justice or moral outrage at a heinous murder
committed in cold blood.
The word “terrorists” was used more than 15
times, imported with “criminal”
levity from the tragic American bombings of
September 11, and each time
invariably referring to a legal opposition party,
the Movement for
Democratic Change. It was not clear why Mugabe was convinced
the MDC
murdered Nkala. What would be their motive?
If we recollect
well, Nkala was among the war veterans who opposed the use
of violence in
Bulawayo in the run-up to the mayoral election. It was for
that reason that
they all opposed Joseph Chinotimba’s involvement in their
campaign — to avoid
violence. And for all practical purposes, it was clear
the MDC would win. So
why would the MDC fight Nkala? If anything, with a
pending court case in
which Nkala was going to be a key witness in the
disappearance of its
election agent, Patrick Nabanyama, Nkala potentially
had more incriminating
evidence against Zanu PF than he could adduce against
the MDC.
But
that was not part of Mugabe’s plan. He was stoking the fires of war on
the
basis of reports gleaned one-sidedly from the state media.
Nkala was
reportedly abducted by a gang of heavily-armed men. So far most of
those
allegedly involved have been arrested. But we have not been shown a
single
firearm. Surely if those youths shown on ZBC TV were prepared to
hand
themselves over to the police they should have surrendered the firearms
too.
Who is hiding the guns?
Mugabe then joined the calumny about
MDC’s terrorist training camps
stretching from Zimbabwe to the region and
abroad. Why haven’t we been shown
where these camps are? Instead, everybody
knows there are Zanu PF so-called
“re-education camps” strewn around the
country and on farms where people are
subjected to torture all night and
forced to re-join Zanu PF. The government
has done nothing to stop this
terrorist mayhem on the farms and in rural
areas.
Then there is the
confession angle. Why has Nkala’s wife been barricaded
from the press? Did
she meet the youths now claimed to be her husband’s
killers? Was an attempt
made to have her positively identify any one of
them? For surely she should
be able to recognise at least one of the people
who knocked her down as she
struggled to help her husband! Why is all this
information being withheld
from the public?
“The MDC perpetrators of political violence and crimes
against humanity and
their international sponsors should also know that their
days are numbered,”
said Mugabe, to much applause from his supporters, a
majority of whom had no
clue whatsoever about who Nkala was.
We doubt
that Nkala’s relatives were consoled to have their son’s death used
as a
plank for Zanu PF’s terror campaign in Matabeleland. They had more
than
enough of that during Gukurahundi.
Sadly, during the entire
vitriolic attack on the opposition, not once did
Mugabe ask a question about
what happened to Nabanyama. Not once did he
assure the nation nor Nabanyama’s
relatives that the case was being
investigated. Does he know
something?
Did anybody get to know why ZBC sent Reuben Barwe to Bulawayo
for a whole
week following Nkala’s abduction? We don’t. All the
“interesting
developments” in Bulawayo could easily have been covered by
Tapfuma
Machakaire as the bureau chief. Was Barwe’s mission perhaps to give
the
exhumation of the body the proper political colouring? And of course
the
police had to wait for the cameras before they could carry the body from
the
scene of the crime.
But Zanu PF’s grand political gimmick has been
exposed as threadbare. The
trick is to commit a crime and immediately call in
state reporters to accuse
the MDC. They burn down a farm and claim the farmer
did it to frustrate land
reform. They attack MDC youths at a rally and rush
to claim they were
provoked. The trick is silly really because nobody
believes the lies
anymore.
But they rely on the immediacy of radio and
TV broadcasts foolishly
believing that by the time the truth is exposed the
lie would have sunk.
No. People know who is responsible for the chaos in
this country and which
party has a track record and “degrees in violence”.
The trick now is to
“strike fear in the hearts of eveybody”. And the
“destabilisation desks” at
Herald and ZBC are doing their hopeless best to
camouflage the truth and
confuse the world. But Zimbabweans have learnt to
suspend belief until the
truth is out.
Philip “LaVanhu $10 000”
Magwaza is making a name for himself as a sleuth at
the Herald. His tale of
Cain Nkala’s last hours is a classic one.
On Friday in the Herald he
wrote the MDC had hatched a plot way back in
February to eliminate the Zanu
PF leadership. How does he know all this and
did he give this information to
the police? Who were involved in hatching
the plan and why didn’t he turn it
into one of his many fabricated scoops
for the Sunday Mail? The details he
gave us of how Nkala met his death can
come only from one who was at the
scene. He must know who committed the
crime and should give the information
to the police.
With his keen nose for news, we understand why he was able
to catch the
whiff of money from LaVanhu restaurant. And knowing that the
long arm of the
law invariably comes short against Zanu PF law-breakers, he
has shrewdly
sneaked into its protective enclave. And gifted with a shrewd
sense of
danger and opportunity, he certainly has a long future with Jonathan
who
still has to deal with Ford Foundation!
Placed conveniently on the
opposite page of Magwaza’s “masterpiece” was an
article by Tim Chigodo
telling us: “Every concerned citizen should work to
strengthen the Zanu PF
political machine.” In his political treatise titled
“President confident of
winning poll” Chigodo said everyone was being
reminded to make a wise choice
and retain the Zanu PF government so it could
complete its “world-acclaimed
land reform programme”. Acclaimed or infamous?
We know Chigodo nearly
went destitute after the closure of the Sunday
Gazette, but to stoop to this
level of fawning is sinking into a sewer to
get one’s supper. Why would we be
importing food if Zanu PF’s land reform
was the envy of the
world?
Then he told us Mugabe had scored successes in education, health
and
housing. We will give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he hadn’t
seen
a ZBC TV report on the appalling housing situation in Bindura where up
to
six people are said to share a single pole-and-dagga shack because there
is
no accommodation.
What is the point of boasting about education
when all those people have to
escape poverty in their own country to seek
refuge in foreign lands? Most of
them are living pretty in European
metropoles because their own government
has turned the whole country into a
virtual political prison.
And we didn’t need to search very far to find
out the result of that brain
drain on our society.
In the Herald of
November 15, under the heading “Maternal mortality shock —
gains in
reproductive health eroded”, Ivy Ncube related a chilling account
of a
pregnant woman who bled to death because there were no specialists in
the
area except in Harare and Bulawayo. The young doctor in charge of
the
hospital could only watch in despair.
This is what Ivy said: “The
hospital’s only ambulance was out on another
call, but even if it was
available, the journey would have taken over four
hours and the woman was
still going to die.”
The young doctor was equally despondent. “I even
phoned the Airforce of
Zimbabwe but they also had to consult before
dispatching a helicopter,” he
said. “She died several hours later while I
helplessly watched. This life
could have been saved. We get such cases every
week,” said the doctor.
Magwaza and Chigodo would do well to compare this
reality on the ground with
their sanitised political dross and wishful
fantasies. Those without access
to the Zanu PF feeding trough know only too
well Mugabe’s everlasting
legacy.
A gem from Barwe reporting on the
murder of Nkala: “An evil mind is the
devil’s workshop.” All along we thought
it was “an idle mind...!”
For all their denials and self-serving bravado
about the state of the
economy, we are glad that some reporters at Herald
House have finally
realised that the country is in a crisis. Not just because
the government
has been forced to reintroduce price controls, but also
because these have
failed to tame inflation.
Writing in the Business
Herald last Friday, the chief business reporter
said: “Inflation — at 2,1
percentage points short of levelling the 100% mark
in October — has dealt
another blow to Zimbabwe’s impaired competitive edge
against its trading
partners.”
Last week’s figures show year-on-year inflation hit an
all-time high of
nearly 98%. Though economists were divided on future trends,
he said, they
agreed “resolute and specific solutions” were required to deal
with soaring
inflation. Unfortunately our so-called policymakers are not
known for their
courage in tackling economic issues but have a searing
passion for its
destruction.
Everyone expects the economy to shrink
because we have very little to
export. Where we are able to export minerals
etc, we are such a tiny spot on
the “global village” we can’t hope to
influence prices. We are therefore
unable to earn any foreign currency, while
the value of our own dollar is
risible, to say the least. The Herald chief
business reporter could share
his insights with Stan Mudenge that the country
is bleeding, economically
and politically.
When Belgian Foreign
Affairs minister Louis Michel suggested the UN could
help resolve Zimbabwe’s
crisis, Mudenge reportedly “dismissed” these
overtures because “there is no
crisis”.
It is very difficult not to reach one conclusion about Professor
Jonathan
Moyo: he is a very unhappy person indeed. We don’t know why. But he
is so
full of bile he cannot even graciously accept a simple Supreme Court
ruling
that favours the MDC.
On Tuesday this week the court freed MDC
leader Morgan Tsvangirai of
criminal charges of inciting violence under the
Law and Order
(Maintenance)Act, after it found that sections 51 and 58 were
ultra vires
the constituion.
But Moyo was bitter. The ruling, he
declared sorely, was “yet another
opportunity for the usual malcontents and
cynics to be reminded that ours is
a constitutional democracy and that the
rule of law is alive and well in our
country. Justice does not depend on one
judgement.” But why? Why try to
qualify a simple and straight forward
judgement? The sense of spite and
venom was pervasive throughout his
mean-spirited comments as if he wanted to
have a word with the
court.
He had a word of warning to some imaginary enemies supposedly
eavesdropping
on his interview. He said they (government) respected the
decision (as if it
had a choice). “Unfortunately, we cannot say the same
about some celebrating
cynics (why speak for them?) because for them, an
independent judiciary is
one that only rules in their favour. We are wiser
and responsible than that.
You win some and lose some and that is never
the end of the world,” declared
Moyo ominously. What wisdom could Moyo be
hiding beyond the law? Can anybody
think of a more cynical and bitter
malcontent than Jonathan Moyo? We would
be pleased to know.
Zim Independent
Eric Bloch Column
PROBABLY the most frequently
posed economic question in Zimbabwe today is:
“Have we reached rock bottom
yet?”, whilst the most frequently expressed
economic comment is: “It can’t
get any worse!” Regrettably, the answer to
the question must necessarily be
in the negative, for it is undoubted that
the Zimbabwean economy is set on a
path of decline which presently has no
end (although that may eventually
change). The answer to that question is
evidence that the statement so
oft-expressed is not correct and, at best, is
but a stated hope rather than a
fact.
The overriding tragedy of the economic situation is the gargantuan
extent of
suffering and misery that now characterise the daily life of a vast
majority
of the Zimbabwean populace. Only three weeks ago, in his 2002
budget
statement, the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Simba
Makoni,
stated that more than 75% of Zimbabwe’s population is living in
“abject
poverty”.
It has been authoritatively estimated that 78% of
the population now barely
exists below the poverty datum line, which has been
assessed at $22 000 per
month for a family of six. However, that assessment
was about three months
ago, and since then inflation has soared, the
annualised rate increasing by
more than 20 percentage points.
In
October, inflation reached an all-time record annualised rate of 97,9%,
which
is believed to be still rising. Thus, the probable level of the PDL is
now
above $25 000 per month, with well over 80% of families earning markedly
less
than that. Their poverty is becoming ever greater, they are subject
to
increasing malnutrition and, therefore, fall prey to every illness.
Their
impecunious circumstance precludes access to necessary remedial
health
services (and especially so as Zimbabwe’s health services are
fast
collapsing due to inadequate funding and insufficiency of foreign
exchange
resources).
But a tragedy of equal, if not greater
proportions, is that this sad and
torrid economic circumstance need not
exist, and such widespread suffering
need not be sustained. The economic
conditions that prevail in Zimbabwe are
not due to uncontrollable events, the
vicissitudes of nature, or acts of
parties beyond Zimbabwe’s borders. They
are self-inflicted, having been
totally occasioned by those tasked to manage
Zimbabwe but who have instead
mismanaged it in the extreme, as
incontrovertibly evidenced in recent years.
From 1994 to 1997, the
Zimbabwean economy enjoyed a continuing and very
marked upturn. Inflation
fell sharply, foreign direct investment (FDI) and
domestic investment became
increasingly great, curbing the decline in
employment of many years and
instead creating new employment opportunities,
exchange rates stabilised,
international funding support and aid was
considerable and Zimbabwe’s balance
of payments’ circumstances were greatly
improved.
Agricultural,
tourism and manufacturing sectors of the economy witnessed
significant
growth. Zimbabwe appeared to be set to develop into a key
economic player on
the African continent in the then forthcoming millennium.
Although the
critics, opponents and enemies of the economic structural
adjustment
programme (Esap) will not acknowledge it, and will strenuously
deny it, the
belated, partial implementation of some of the principles of
Esap, at least
three years overdue, yielded some positive results which were
catalytic of an
economic transformation.
But, tragically, that metamorphosis was not to
be an enduring one.
Instead, disregarding all the evidence of the
efficacy of the economic
policies which were being pursued, albeit without
enthusiasm and conviction,
and incompletely, government set upon a
politically-driven course of actions
which could only undermine the
achievements of the mid-1990s and set the
economy back on to a path of
reversal and recession.
First, it embarked upon a programme of land
acquisition, redistribution and
resettlement in an economically destructive
and confrontational manner. That
a programme was necessary was beyond doubt
and in fact, was overdue. But the
desired and justified objectives of
agricultural economic empowerment, of
equity and justice, could have been
achieved with constructive and just
measures, instead of those perceived as
politically expedient and which were
grossly destructive.
That was
followed by the even more foolhardy agreement to pay billions of
dollars
(that government did not have) to war veterans and ex-combatants,
and to do
so in a manner that enabled many thousands to be enriched without
having
contributed meaningfully to Zimbabwean Independence.
Government funded
its rash distributions of largesse partially by recourse
to draconian
taxation, and to a major extent by domestic borrowings which,
to a
considerable degree, were exacted under duress from the central bank.
The
“printing of money” was a stimulus to rapid inflation.
Over the months
ahead the government made many more equally ill-considered
decisions, and
capped them all by embarking upon an exceptionally costly and
unproductive
military involvement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Government had
enough money to fund the killing of people more than 1000
kilometres from
Zimbabwe, but not enough to keep the people at home alive.
The most
impressive economic growth that had been achieved over more than
three years
was cast into a 180 degree reversal. As the decline accelerated,
government
adopted a two-fold strategy. The one was to blame all ills upon
everyone
other than itself.
The economic collapse was alleged to be wholly and
solely due to the
machiavellian, evil acts against Zimbabwe of others. In no
manner was it
government’s fault! The second strategy was progressively to
rescind all the
measures of economic restructuring that had had positive
effect and instead
to revert, in stages, to the very command economy that had
failed during
most of the first 15 years of Independence.
Each action
of intensified governmental control of the economy resulted in
greater
economic decline, but government remained oblivious to the realities
of the
situation and that it was itself the primary cause of the ills being
imposed
to a greater extent upon the country — or it chose to disregard
those
realities.
Instead, it accelerated its actions of taking total control of
the economy
into its hands, and intensified that control. At the same time it
became
evermore vigorous in its pursuit of those very policies which had
placed the
economy upon its downward path.
It assiduously courted the
war veterans (real and pseudo), it intensively
furthered its ill- conceived
land programmes, instead of interacting with
all stakeholders to ensure
effective and productive measures of land
acquisition and resettlement, and
it introduced more and more,
counterproductive, economic
regulation.
Recently, it has resorted to price control policies whose
only merits are to
placate and appease a desperate population, but as could
only occasion
shortages, deprivation, further business closures, greater
unemployment, and
would erect yet another barrier to
investment.
Concurrently, in order to ensure the economic collapse, it
considerably
increased wages to be paid by almost all economic sectors.
Although those
higher wages were most deserved, and very necessary in view of
rampant
inflation, they were beyond the means of many enterprises hovering
upon the
precipice of bankruptcy.
At the same time, it has budgeted
for a deficit of almost 15% of gross
domestic product, to be funded through
domestic borrowings of inevitable
further major inflationary effect. That
such deficit is, to a significant
extent, due to an anticipated more than $18
billion (or 112%) increase in
defence expenditure, and a 93% increase in the
presidential vote, appears to
be irrelevant to government.
As long as
government persists in establishing an increasingly rigid command
economy,
and continues to pursue political policies and objectives as can
only
continue to alienate the international community, intensify the brain
drain,
destroy the role of agriculture as the mainstay of the economy,
deter
investment, discourage tourism, escalate inflation and perpetuate
economic
demoralisation, the economy can only sink lower, and will never
reach rock
bottom.
It is not the economy which needs metamorphosis,
but government policy, for
the latter can bring about the former.
The burden of hate -
Zim Independent
Editor's Memo
Barnabas Thondhlana
“THE more
anger towards the past you carry in your heart, the less capable
you are of
loving the present,” once said one American writer.
It is depressing to
see our economy inexorably tumbling down the precipice
while the flourishing
ruling aristocracy labours to draw our attention — not
to the current
problems as all reasonable Zimbabweans would expect — but to
the long history
of colonialism and the liberation struggle.
Not that we don’t need to
know our history but we are being dragged to
relive the sad chapters of the
past — the brutal colonisation of our
country, aggressive resistance to it,
and concomitant atrocities — for the
sake of the ruling elite’s
self-preservation.
These official propaganda exploits are intensifying by
the day, while
economic dislocation gets worse.
The distortion of
economic fundamentals, including the inflation rate of
Weimar proportions
(97,6%), doesn’t seem to be an issue to anybody in
government at the moment.
The make or break presidential election is.
That’s why the knives are out
and being brandished at Finance minister Simba
Makoni after he rejected
President Mugabe’s mandarin proposals to return the
country to the dark ages
of command economics. The clear-cut message to
Mugabe was contained in the
recently announced 2002 national budget.
Makoni’s “memo” in the budget
statement to the country’s chief executive was
followed by a series of
stories in a local weekly demonising the minister.
For a week or so I
wondered what was going on. But now I know where the
condemnation in the
megaphone was coming from: the government’s
Disinformation Desk at
Munhumutapa Building.
Which brings us to the subject of the bouncing
government propaganda
captain, one professor Jonathan Moyo. A lot of people
agree that his
information management campaigns — disastrous as they may be —
are now way
over the top.
With all due respect to the minister and my
colleagues in the government
media, it’s now extremely difficult to read,
listen or watch their pathetic
news and turgid documentaries. Put simply, the
output is revolting. Who do
they think believes that sort of bunkum
anymore?
Ian Smith irrationally thought blacks believed his propaganda but,
as he
soon discovered, nobody did. Let’s hope Moyo will escape that cruel
fate.
An audit of his record in the past 18 months clearly suggests the
learned
professor has botched miserably. This explains why his messages are
becoming
increasingly shrill. He thinks people can’t hear them.
Still
on Moyo, it really worries me to see rational Zimbabweans — or ones
who are
supposed to be — committed to spreading hate mail through our
state
television, radio and government-owned newspapers.
Hate
messages, especially those which are race-based and loaded with
political
propaganda, are being cultivated and disseminated across the
nation just to
keep Mugabe in power. We know Moyo needs our money — mind you
Jonathan is not
paid by his boss, Mugabe as he seems to think, but by us —
but I think he
still needs more self-respect and professional integrity. If
one sacrifices
his soul defending dictatorship and repression — and all the
atrocities this
goes with — just to get next to the public purse, then
people should be
forgiven for taking him for a cold-blooded political
mercenary. I don’t think
there is anybody who doubts that Moyo is one. But
what a wear and tear of
brains!
I hold no gripe against the state media for supporting the
government of the
day. Former Herald editor, Tommy Sithole, after being
grilled at a media
seminar about his dogged support for government and the
ruling party, Zanu
PF, retorted by asking whether there was anything wrong
with supporting the
government of the day. Of course, there is nothing wrong
so long as one is
able to draw a line between what is rational and what is
not.
While we know some reporters at the state media are grateful for
unmerited
promotions and for being rescued from the journalism scrapyard,
like one
official eulogist at the Herald, there still should be a limit
to
bootlicking or, indeed, singing for one’s supper. Journalists should
not
sing for their supper but work for it!
With Moyo and Mugabe’s
conspiracy theories thickening and getting more
bizarre, I won’t be surprised
to hear one day that the MDC and the whites
are holding up the rains until
after the presidential election to ensure
government’s chaotic fast-track
land resettlement programme fails.
These toadying and semi-literate
Goebbels in Harare can claim anything.
Zim Independent
Comment
HYPOCRISY appears to have become the
Zanu PF government’s trademark. To
begin with, Zanu PF was formed, supported
and sustained as a liberation
movement through foreign and local donations. A
lot of people and
organisations within and outside Zimbabwe — including
British nationals like
Peter Tatchell, Tiny Rowland and many groups in the UK
— contributed
materially to Zanu PF’s liberation war effort because it had a
legitimate
cause.
The point about Zanu PF duplicity is that after 37
years of receiving
foreign funds without qualms, the ruling party has now
passed opportunistic
and self-serving legislation to ban foreign money. The
purpose of the law is
not difficult to see: to undermine a legitimate
democratic opposition by
starving it of resources from well-wishers
abroad.
Then there is the subject of terrorism as just one in a litany of
examples
where official duplicity is manifesting itself.
Mugabe —
trying to sound like US President George W Bush after the September
11
kamikaze terrorist attacks — went to great lengths earlier in the week at
the
burial of war veterans’ leader Cain Nkala to stir up fatuous
nationalist
indignation for his party’s private political gain.
The
president, smoldering with customary rage and paranoia, dissembled and
ran
all over places pretending he had just discovered we were all of a
sudden
surrounded by terrorists sponsored by the British. He attacked the
British
and their Premier Tony Blair — his favourite pastime these days —
and accused
the opposition of sponsoring terror as he tried to arouse the
“Battle of
Britain” willpower among his supporters. No evidence on his
bumbling
accusations was provided except Nkala’s body. Incoherent as his
remarks could
have been, the message was menacing. Mugabe will crush
dissenters and his
real or perceived enemies, we were warned.
If such threats emanate from
an original and highly successful merchant of
terror they should be taken
seriously.
For a leader who stands accused of genocide and human rights
abuses of
Kampuchean proportions to stand up and accuse his rivals of
terrorism in
fundamentalist terms is hypocrisy in the extreme. But then we
are now used
to the two-faced form of this regime.
Nobody condones the
murder of fellow nationals, except perhaps Zanu PF
itself which allowed
hideous massacres to persist for five years in Midlands
and Matabeleland. We
condemn Nkala’s murder, which is manifestly grist in
Zanu PF’s political
mill, in as much as we deplore the killings of Talent
Mabika, Tichaona
Chiminya, Patrick Nabanyama, Edwin Gomo, Robert Musoni and
Doreen Marufu,
among others.
Did we hear Mugabe condemning the murder of at least 55
people since the
state-sponsored violence broke out in the run-up to the
general election
last year? Why is he going to town about Nkala’s murder as
if there are
lives more important than others?
As one of Mugabe’s
voluble spokesmen might have put it, we suspect the
president would not
recognise terrorism if it hit him in the face.
The terrorists are not on
top of mountains or in caves as one minister
suggested, but in glittering
offices.
Whatever methods of repression and devices of clinging to power
Mugabe
uses — the writing is on the wall. Efforts to whitewash it will not
wash.
The democratic forces will not yield to tyrannical
terror.
Zimbabweans of all races — yes all races and ethnic groupings —
are
patiently waiting for the election to make their voices heard. Whichever
way
the vote goes it’s none of our business. The issue is people would
have
delivered their democratic verdict and they should be given a free and
fair
chance to do so. Why try to gain or consolidate power over dead bodies?
Only
unpopular leaders want to steal or rig elections.
We have no
illusions about the capabilities of this neanderthal regime when
it comes to
fascist coercion. We know we haven’t seen anything yet.
That’s why people
are gripped by fears of more kidnappings, murders and
tortures. This
low-intensity civil strife which is being fuelled by the
ongoing systematic
bureaucratisation of terror is likely to increase in
concentration and douse
the nation. But the purveyors of violence must be
careful because the
conflagration may intensify until it reaches a point of
self-destruction. And
when that happens, they will run. Violence should not
and should never have
been an option as an electoral tool or
power-preservation method.
The
only weapon people have to dismantle dictatorship is their franchise. We
must
remember that at the end of the day we shall get a government
we
deserve.
Zim Independent
Govt media conceal evidence on Nkala
Brian
Hungwe
THE Herald, the Chronicle and the ZBC are reportedly in possession of
a
document which could be critical in shedding light on the motive behind
the
murder of war veterans leader, Cain Nkala.
New information on the
murder suggests the late Bulawayo war veterans’
association chairman reported
to the police massive fraud allegations within
the rank and file of the
former fighters three days before he was abducted
and murdered, the Zimbabwe
Independent has learnt.
Sources said he also handed documents chronicling
the allegations to the
Herald, the Chronicle and the ZBC. News of the
allegations have not been
published.
Government sources told the
Independent this week that Nkala’s report had
never been made public and was
not likely to come to light considering the
sensitivity of the matter, which
has now been politicised by the government.
The publication of the
allegations could provide a fresh theory to explain
Nkala’s
death.
Information supplied to the Independent this week reveals that
prior to his
death, Nkala was approached by a war veteran at his Magwegwe
house who
demanded to be vetted.
The source said the man, who has also
been picked up by police for
questioning, spoke to Nkala at length and was
eventually given a letter to
take to Zanu PF’s Bulawayo provincial executive
for confirmation that he was
indeed a war veteran.
The source told the
Independent that it has since turned out that the war
veteran had already
been vetted prior to visiting the late Nkala.
“We know him as a war
veteran and that he was vetted a long time ago. We are
all wondering why he
wanted to be vetted again,” the source said.
The man, identified only as
Moyo, was taken to an undisclosed police station
where he is being held and
has not yet appeared in court.
War veterans national secretary-general,
Endy Mhlanga, confirmed to the
Independent yesterday that he was told by
Nkala’s wife, Sikhumbuzo, during
the course of police investigations, that a
war veteran demanding to be
vetted visited Nkala’s home and spent the whole
day there before the
abduction.
“That information is true. His wife
(Nkala’s) told me of that issue, that a
war veteran came demanding to be
vetted. I have information that he was also
arrested and is in police
custody,” Mhlanga said.
Mhlanga said Nkala’s wife did not relate the
whole story so he never got
Moyo’s first name.
Nkala’s wife has been
barred by government from talking to journalists.
However, Mhlanga professed
ignorance of Nkala’s letter pleading with the
police to investigate the war
veterans’ financial records.
The information on the arrest of the war
veteran has never been made public
by the state-controlled ZBC which has
since Nkala’s death been running a
marque: “Fighting
terrorism”.
Police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Wayne Bvudzijena
told the
Independent that the arrested alleged murderers were appearing in
court and
it was not the right time to reveal or discuss the
matter.
He could neither deny nor confirm Nkala’s letter, or the arrest
of the war
veteran.
“We might send the wrong signal or perception
because this matter is before
the courts,” Bvudzijena said.
Chronicle
editor, Stephen Ndlovu, yesterday denied ever seeing Nkala’s
fraud
allegations letter. “I don’t know anything about it, where did you hear
that
from?”
His news editor, Isaack Waniwa, said: “I have never heard
of that letter.”
Herald editor, Pikirayi Deketeke, was reportedly out of
office. Messages
were left at his office over the matter but he did not
return calls.
Minister of Home affairs John Nkomo told the nation on
state television last
week that the opposition MDC was linked to the
abduction and murder of
Nkala, with President Robert Mugabe reiterating at
the Heroes Acre on Sunday
during Nkala’s burial that the MDC and its British
sponsors and
Tony Blair’s Labour government had a hand.
MDC
president Morgan Tsvangirai told the Independent last week on Wednesday
that
the government should stop “whipping up emotions” to destabilise the
country
over Nkala’s death.
Zim Independent
Labour MP lambasts Mugabe
Dumisani Muleya
A
LEADING European Labour MP Glenys Kinnock has condemned Zimbabwe’s
proposed
terrorism laws, saying they are aimed at curtailing civil liberties
and
securing President Robert Mugabe another term of office in next
year’s
presidential election.
“The Public Order and Security Bill
which has been approved by the
government of Zimbabwe, is yet another nail in
the coffin of any notion that
President Robert Mugabe is prepared to stop his
state-sponsored repression,”
Kinnock said.
“It is increasingly
becoming clear that he is treating the Commonwealth and
the European Union
with contempt. President Mugabe is stifling democracy and
crushing all
opposition. Meanwhile, the suffering of the Zimbabwean people
continues, and
they live in increasing poverty and fear.”
Kinnock’s comments came as the
government announced an apartheid-style
insistence that people should carry
identity cards on them at all times. A
section of the Law and Order
(Maintenance) Act which forced people to carry
IDs was three years ago
declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
Kinnock said the
international community must now actively intervene in
Zimbabwe.
“It
is time for the international community to say ‘enough is
enough’.
“Torture, abductions and arbitrary arrests are now common place.
There is a
danger that the crisis will escalate, and it is therefore urgent
that the EU
takes appropriate measures in the form of travel bans and the
freezing of
assets of President Mugabe, senior Zanu PF politicians and
officials,” she
said.
“It is also critical that southern African
countries take a strong stand and
recognise that the whole region is being
destabilised by Mugabe’s actions.”
Meanwhile, the New York-based group,
Human Rights Watch, yesterday urged the
Southern African Development
Community to speak out strongly on the need to
ensure that the rule of law is
respected in Zimbabwe.
“The situation in Zimbabwe seems to be
deteriorating daily,” said Peter
Takirambudde, executive director of the
Africa division of Human Rights
Watch.
“President Mugabe must take
urgent steps to restore the rule of law and end
harassment of Zimbabweans who
peacefully express their opposition to his
government.
“It seems this
killing is being used as an excuse to crack down on the
opposition,” he
said.
Critics oppose repressive
law
Harare
Correspondent
THE Zimbabwean government would jail or fine people who
move about without
identity cards under a proposed law, the latest in a
string of what critics
see as draconian new rules from President Robert
Mugabe.
This latest attempt by Mugabe to silence his opposition was
announced hours
before a European Union (EU) delegation, led by Belgian
Deputy Prime
Minister Louis Michel, was expected to arrived in Zimbabwe last
night.
Meanwhile, a leading European Labour MP Glenys Kinnock condemned
Zimbabwe's
proposed terrorism laws, and called for smart sanctions against
Zimbabwe.
"It is time for the international community to say enough is
enough'," she
said.
"Torture, abductions and arbitrary arrests are now
commonplace. There is a
danger that the crisis will escalate, and it is
therefore urgent that the EU
takes appropriate measures in the form of travel
bans and the freezing of
assets of President Mugabe, senior Zanu(PF)
politicians and officials," she
said.
The EU officials are expected to
tackle Mugabe on the looting of the
Democratic Republic of Congo, the
Zimbabwe crisis and the continuing
sparring between Harare and the 15-member
bloc.
Aldo Ajello, the EU envoy for the Great Lakes, is expected to be
part of the
team. Other members of the group are Javier Solana, who is the
EU
secretary-general and the representative for common external and
security
policy, and Chris Patten, the EU commissioner for external
relations.
In a statement published in the official Herald newspaper
yesterday, the
government said it had approved amendments to the National
Registration Act
and the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act to make it
mandatory for people
to carry either a national identity card, a passport or
a driver's licence.
Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa said the changes
which he said would soon
be tabled in parliament were "aimed at dealing with
increasing criminal and
terrorism activities".
The law would reverse a
1997 supreme court ruling that outlawed such
measures as an infringement of
the right to free movement. But Chinamasa
said the ruling had made police
work difficult in identifying suspected
criminals, identifying accident
victims and in detecting illegal immigrants.
Under the proposed law
changes, a person found moving without an identity
card would face a fine of
up to Z5000 or a year in jail.
Kinnock said the proposed terrorism laws
were aimed at cur tailing civil
liberties and securing Mugabe another term of
office
"The Public Order and Security Bill, which has been approved by
the
government of Zimbabwe, is yet another nail in the coffin of any notion
that
President Mugabe is prepared to stop his state-sponsored
repression,"
Kinnock said.
Human rights groups have also condemned the
proposed amendments , saying
they violated the constitution. "The government
is creating a repressive
atmosphere with all these draconian proposals,
especially at a time when the
government has given an impression that it will
crush all dissent," said a
spokesman for the Catholic Commission for Justice
and Peace, one of
Zimbabwe's leading rights groups.
Nov 23 2001
12:00:00:000AM Dumisani Muleya Business Day 1st Edition
Friday
23
November 2001
- EU team in Harare - Times of
India
- Actions, not words -
ZWNEWS
- Zim to get 'dompas' law -
Star
- SADC urged to condemn violence -
IRIN
- State media witholding Nkala evidence -
ZimInd
- More than 30 Harare arrests -
BBC
- Canadian MP raises alarm -
Canada.com
From The Times of India, 22
November
EU team to Zimbabwe to focus on
rights abuses
Harare - A 20-member European Union delegation is scheduled to
arrive here later on Thursday. The EU is considering imposing sanctions against
Zimbabwe because of mounting human rights abuses and the government's crackdown
on civil liberties, as well as President Robert Mugabe's refusal to guarantee
fair elections next year and the admission of international observers. In a move
to make it easier to crack down on political opposition, Justice Minister
Patrick Chinamasa announced plans on Thursday to make it compulsory for
residents to carry identity documents at all times. Chinamasa said that one year
jail terms for those found without identity documents would help protect
Zimbabwe from terrorism, a term the government has used to describe activities
of the opposition party Movement for Democratic Change. The plan would nullify a
1997 Supreme Court ruling that the requirement violated constitutional rights of
free movement. "That ruling was so sinister, it invited the unfortunate
conclusion that the bench was unwittingly opening the door for terrorists to
wreak havoc in the country," Chinamasa said.
Rural Zimbabwe has spiralled into chaos since March 2000, when
ruling party militants began violent occupations of white-owned farms, demanding
they be handed over to landless blacks. Government opponents accuse Mugabe of
using land seizures, without compensating the farmers, as a pre-election ploy to
garner support and scare off opponents. With the land reform programme causing
the near-collapse of the economy, Mugabe's popularity had plummeted and he is in
losing power, although the opposition believes a fair election is highly
unlikely. On Wednesday UN Development Programme representatives met Mugabe to
discuss progress on the implementation of an accord, brokered in September in
Abuja, Nigeria, under which Zimbabwe pledged to restore the rule of law in
return for international funding for land reform. The EU team, which includes
British European Commissioner Chris Patten, will meet Western ambassadors late
on Thursday for a briefing on the deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe. Foreign
Minister Stan Mudenge described the EU demands as "futile and thoughtless." The
EU team will also be raising Zimbabwe's continued involvement in Congo's civil
war. Zimbabwe has deployed up to 15,000 troops to Congo since August 1998, at
ruinous cost to its economy.
From ZWNEWS, 23
November
Actions, not
words
European Union sanctions against top
Zanu PF members and strong measures by southern African countries are urgent
following the Zimbabwe government's proposed new crackdown on political
opponents and the media, European Parliament member Glenys Kinnock said
Thursday. "It is time for the international
community to say enough is enough,'' Kinnock said in a statement, commenting on
President Robert Mugabe's Public Order and Security Bill. The bill provides for
the death sentence or life imprisonment for "terrorism'' - a word now frequently
used by Mugabe in his denunciations of the opposition Movement for Democratic
Change, and for jail sentences and fines to be imposed on anyone, including
journalists, who "engender hostility'' toward the president. "Torture, abductions and arbitrary arrests are now common
place,'' Kinnock said in Brussels. "There is a danger that the crisis will
escalate, and it is therefore urgent that the EU takes appropriate measures in
the form of travel bans and the freezing of assets of senior Zanu-PF politicians
and officials. It is also critical that southern African countries take a strong
stand and recognise that the whole region is being destabilised by Mugabe's
actions.'' While Zimbabweans lived in "increasing
poverty and fear,'' Mugabe treated the Commonwealth and the EU with contempt,
she added. She urged that the determination and courage of the MDC, whose
Bulawayo offices were torched by government supporters, deserve action, not
words, from "those who believe that democracy and liberty should be
cherished.''
From The Star (SA), 22
November
Zimbabwe poised to introduce
'dompas' law
Harare - The Zimbabwean government would jail or fine people
who move about without identity cards under a proposed law, the latest in a
string of what critics see as draconian new rules from embattled President
Robert Mugabe. In a statement published in the official Herald newspaper on
Thursday, the government said it had approved amendments to the National
Registration Act and the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act to make it
mandatory for people to carry either a national ID card, a passport or a
driver's licence. Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa said the amendments - which
he said would soon be tabled in parliament - were "aimed at dealing with
increasing criminal and terrorism activities". The law would reverse a 1997
Supreme Court ruling that outlawed such measures as an infringement of the right
to free movement. But Chinamasa said the ruling had made police work difficult
in identifying suspected criminals, identifying accident victims and in
detecting illegal immigrants. Under the proposed changes, a person moving
without an ID would face a fine of up to Z$5 000 or a year in jail. Human rights
groups condemned the amendments as draconian, saying they violated the
constitution. "The government is creating a repressive atmosphere with all these
draconian proposals, especially at a time when the government has given an
impression that it will crush all dissent," said a spokesman for the Catholic
Commission for Justice and Peace, one of Zimbabwe's leading rights groups.
Critics say Mugabe, 77, is tightening electoral rules and other
laws in his favour ahead of next year's presidential poll. Opposition leader
Morgan Tsvangirai is expected to give Mugabe the stiffest challenge of his
career in the elections. The government has tabled proposals to ban local
independent election monitors and forbid private organisations from conducting
voter education. The changes would oblige voters to produce several documents to
prove their residence, while denying voting rights to millions of Zimbabweans
abroad. On Wednesday, state officials said the government also planned to
reintroduce a Public Order Security Bill, which critics say is intended to
suppress opposition ahead of the presidential polls. It will punish "acts of
insurgency, banditry, sabotage, terrorism, treason and subversion" with life
imprisonment or death penalty. The bill also outlaws publishing or communicating
"false statements prejudicial to the state or that incite public disorder,
violence, affect the defence and economic interests of the country or undermine
public confidence in security forces".
From IRIN (UN), 22
November
SADC called on to condemn
violence
The US-based civil liberties group Human Rights Watch on
Thursday called on the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to "speak
out strongly" on the need to ensure that the rule of law is respected in
Zimbabwe. "The situation in Zimbabwe seems to be deteriorating daily," Peter
Takirambudde, executive director of the Africa Division of Human Rights Watch
said in the statement. "President Mugabe must take urgent steps to restore the
rule of law and end harassment of Zimbabweans who peacefully express their
opposition to his government." In a letter to the president of Malawi, which is
currently the chair of SADC, and the presidents of South Africa, Mozambique, and
Botswana, which are members of a SADC "troika" responsible for monitoring the
situation in Zimbabwe, Human Rights Watch urged the regional body to call on the
Zimbabwean government to bring its supporters under control and ensure that the
police act impartially to restore order.
According to Human Rights Watch, at least 18 members of the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) are currently in custody,
charged with offences including murder, in connection with the abduction and
murder of a leading veteran of Zimbabwe's liberation war and government party
supporter, Cain Nkala. The MDC has denied responsibility for the abduction and
murder of Nkala, who was linked by police to the murder last year of an MDC
official, Patrick Nabanyama. "It seems this killing is being used as an excuse
to crackdown on the opposition," said Takirambudde. "While the criminal law must
take its course, state structures should not be used for political
purposes."
From ZWNEWS:
Reports from within Zanu PF, subsequently confirmed by other sources, say that a
four man team has been dispatched from the Hwange area to kill MDC MP David
Coltart. There have been similar reports in the last few days of intentions to
harm MDC president Morgan Tsvangirai, and other senior MDC officials. These
latest reports come after earlier information regarding a meeting which took
place on 1 November in Bulawayo attended by senior Matabeleland Zanu PF
politicians and war veteran leaders in the province. At that meeting, a general
order was given to "eliminate" MDC officials in Matabeleland. Last week, a
document laying out the Zanu PF strategy for the presidential election,
specifically mentioned the "outright elimination" of Morgan Tsvangirai.
From The Zimbabwe Independent, 23
November
Govt media conceal evidence on
Nkala
The Herald, the Chronicle and the ZBC are reportedly in
possession of a document which could be critical in shedding light on the motive
behind the murder of war veterans leader, Cain Nkala. New information on the
murder suggests the late Bulawayo war veterans’ association chairman reported to
the police massive fraud allegations within the rank and file of the former
fighters three days before he was abducted and murdered, the Zimbabwe
Independent has learnt. Sources said he also handed documents chronicling the
allegations to the Herald, the Chronicle and the ZBC. News of the allegations
have not been published. Government sources told the Independent this week that
Nkala’s report had never been made public and was not likely to come to light
considering the sensitivity of the matter, which has now been politicised by the
government. The publication of the allegations could provide a fresh theory to
explain Nkala’s death. Information supplied to the Independent this week reveals
that prior to his death, Nkala was approached by a war veteran at his Magwegwe
house who demanded to be vetted. The source said the man, who has also been
picked up by police for questioning, spoke to Nkala at length and was eventually
given a letter to take to Zanu PF’s Bulawayo provincial executive for
confirmation that he was indeed a war veteran.
The source told the Independent that it has since turned out
that the war veteran had already been vetted prior to visiting the late Nkala.
"We know him as a war veteran and that he was vetted a long time ago. We are all
wondering why he wanted to be vetted again," the source said. The man,
identified only as Moyo, was taken to an undisclosed police station where he is
being held and has not yet appeared in court. War veterans national
secretary-general, Endy Mhlanga, confirmed to the Independent yesterday that he
was told by Nkala’s wife, Sikhumbuzo, during the course of police
investigations, that a war veteran demanding to be vetted visited Nkala’s home
and spent the whole day there before the abduction. "That information is true.
His wife (Nkala’s) told me of that issue, that a war veteran came demanding to
be vetted. I have information that he was also arrested and is in police
custody," Mhlanga said.
Mhlanga said Nkala’s wife did not relate the whole story so he
never got Moyo’s first name. Nkala’s wife has been barred by government from
talking to journalists. However, Mhlanga professed ignorance of Nkala’s letter
pleading with the police to investigate the war veterans’ financial records. The
information on the arrest of the war veteran has never been made public by the
state-controlled ZBC which has since Nkala’s death been running a marque:
"Fighting terrorism". Police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Wayne
Bvudzijena told the Independent that the arrested alleged murderers were
appearing in court and it was not the right time to reveal or discuss the
matter. He could neither deny nor confirm Nkala’s letter, or the arrest of the
war veteran. "We might send the wrong signal or perception because this matter
is before the courts," Bvudzijena said.
Chronicle editor, Stephen Ndlovu, yesterday denied ever seeing
Nkala’s fraud allegations letter. "I don’t know anything about it, where did you
hear that from?" His news editor, Isaack Waniwa, said: "I have never heard of
that letter." Herald editor, Pikirayi Deketeke, was reportedly out of office.
Messages were left at his office over the matter but he did not return calls.
Minister of Home affairs John Nkomo told the nation on state television last
week that the opposition MDC was linked to the abduction and murder of Nkala,
with President Robert Mugabe reiterating at the Heroes Acre on Sunday during
Nkala’s burial that the MDC and its British sponsors and Tony Blair’s Labour
government had a hand. MDC president Morgan Tsvangirai told the Independent last
week on Wednesday that the government should stop "whipping up emotions" to
destabilise the country over Nkala’s death.
From BBC News, 22
November
More than 30 Harare
arrests
The police in Zimbabwe have arrested and detained 35 people
trying to demonstrate against changes to electoral laws, say civil rights
campaigners. The National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) had planned to march on
parliament on Wednesday, accusing President Robert Mugabe's government of trying
to take away democratic rights by introducing new arrangements for next year's
presidential election. They say the arrests took place in Harare's city centre
on Wednesday afternoon as heavily armed riot police easily dispersed a small
crowd gathered for the protest action. Political tension has risen sharply in
Zimbabwe over the past week, with President Mugabe denouncing the opposition as
terrorists. The NCA, a coalition of trade unions, church groups and human rights
organisations are also opposed to plans to stop pressure groups from taking part
in voter education and election monitoring and making the government's sponsored
electoral commission the sole authority instead. NCA spokesman Douglas Mwonza
said 18 of those arrested are their members. Their lawyer said they are being
held on "public violence" charges, according to the French news agency, AFP.
Police have confirmed the detention of 17 people belonging to the NCA.
Early on Wednesday police armed with shotguns, teargas, shields
and batons had deployed in force ahead of the planned mass protest, but only a
small group of about 50 activists turned up. The Reuters news agency reported
that the demonstrators were quickly chased away when they began to march towards
parliament. Riot squad officers had also surrounded the parliament building and
began patrolling Harare's central business district and a nearby square where
protestors traditionally congregate. Presidential elections are due next year
and it is expected that President Robert Mugabe would face his stiffest
challenge yet from the opposition candidate Morgan Tsvangirai. Earlier this week
he confirmed that he would run after the Supreme Court ruled that terrorism
charges against him, relating to a speech he made at a Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) rally last September, were unconstitutional.
From Canada.com, 22
November
MP Martin raises alarm over chaos in
Zimbabwe
Ottawa - While the world has been focused on Afghanistan, the
situation in Zimbabwe has been steadily sliding downhill toward a tragedy of
major proportions, Canadian Alliance MP Keith Martin says. Martin, MP for
Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca, said Wednesday he will introduce a motion in the House
of Commons next week asking Canada to lead the fight to have Zimbabwe expelled
from the Commonwealth; to have the personal assets of President Robert Mugabe
and his ministers frozen internationally, and to ban international travel by
members of his government. Martin, the Alliance's international affairs critic,
visited Zimbabwe in late October with Secretary of State for Africa David
Kilgour as part of a Commonwealth delegation requested by Nigerian President
Olesegun Obasanjo. Part of the group's mandate was to monitor an agreement
struck in early September to make sure land redistribution in Zimbabwe took
place in an orderly fashion and "under the rule of law." While there was
violence related to the redistribution, the delegation also heard reports of
politically motivated violence and intimidation, says Kilgour.
Martin says many black farm workers were simply driven off the
land with nowhere to go. There have been numerous allegations that seized farms
are simply being handed over to Mugabe's friends. The World Food Program has
warned more than 500,000 Zimbabweans face severe food shortages. "One of the
most chilling things," Martin said, "is that black farm workers said, 'If we do
not plant now, what will happen is that we will starve.' Arable land is being
destroyed, wild animals are being shot and domestic animals are starving."
Kilgour agrees the situation is appalling and says he worries about the ongoing
emphasis on anti-terrorism in North America. "That's a huge problem. There's
nothing that's more disappointing than to see the enormous interest this issue
has in Britain and, of course, in Africa (compared to here). And in the European
Union." Human Rights Watch, an international human rights group, condemned
Wednesday the detention of at least 18 members of the Movement for Democratic
Change, the official opposition to Mugabe's party. Mugabe's government issued
draft legislation Wednesday to suppress the "terrorist" MDC, just three days
after Mugabe reportedly said his government would crush the opposition
party.
