The ZIMBABWE Situation Our thoughts and prayers are with Zimbabwe
- may peace, truth and justice prevail.

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From The Sunday Times (UK), 20 October
Sainsbury's supplied by Mugabe aide
Adam Nathan and David Leppard

Sainsbury's supermarkets have sold thousands of pounds worth of vegetables from a Zimbabwean farm seized from its white owner by the wife of Robert Mugabe's army chief. The company admitted that it bought large quantities of sugar-snap peas and mangetout from Jocelyn Chiwenga between June and September. Chiwenga is a senior figure in Mugabe's ruling Zanu PF party. Her husband, Lieutenant-General Constantine Chiwenga, the commander of the Zimbabwean army, is on the trade sanctions lists of the European Union and Bank of England. British companies may not deal with him, but his wife is not affected by the sanctions. The vegetable business is in her name. In April the couple occupied 600 acres of Shepherd Hall farm, 20 miles outside Harare, the capital. Witnesses said Jocelyn Chiwenga was with "several men carrying AK-47 rifles". Roger Staunton, the farm's owner for 20 years, told of his terror during the seizure. When Staunton, whose family farmed the land for more than 100 years, offered a
handshake, Chiwenga allegedly said she had "no intention of shaking hands with a white pig." Staunton, who is now seriously ill in South Africa with a heart condition, claimed Chiwenga ordered a guard to "kill the white bastards". He cocked his weapon but did not fire. A month after the takeover Hortico, Sainsbury's Zimbabwean supplier, signed a deal worth more than £500,000 to buy Chiwenga's produce.

The company packed and labelled it as Sainsbury's own brand, with the
supermarket's consent, before exporting it to Britain. Sainsbury's stopped
buying the produce only last month, when Chiwenga was ordered by the
Zimbabwean high court to stop selling the farm's crops because it had been illegally occupied. A spokesman for Sainsbury's said: "We had been reassured the farmer had been compensated. We are shocked to find this wasn't the case and confirm that we are no longer sourcing produce from this farm."

Last week Chiwenga, listed as "Grower 881" in Sainsbury's records, was happy to talk about British sales of her produce. She said: "There is so much money to make because a lot of what you buy at Sainsbury's is from
Zimbabwe." Chiwenga said she had sold to Britain more than 23 tons of peas, grown on land she claimed had been neglected by Staunton. She admitted that she had made a verbal agreement to compensate him for some infrastructure and crops, but not for the land. She denied making any threats or racist comments. "I am sorry that the whites and the blacks are killing each other but we only have thick whites who do not want to share their land," she said. Staunton said the Chiwengas gave him five days to leave and took over the entire farm and its assets - including buildings, trucks, irrigation equipment and a major rose and greenhouse project - worth £13m at official exchange rates. He claims she illegally sold his greenhouse vegetables and roses for about £1m. Staunton said the Chiwengas first said they would compensate him fully and pressured him to agree not to take them to court or go to the press. Staunton said that after the intimidation of the occupation, "I considered myself lucky=94 to
have been offered compensation." Later, however, he said the Chiwengas "told me they were not going to compensate me as I had made enough profits over the years".
Staunton said he reported the seizure to Zimbabwe's vice-president, Joseph Msika, who is in charge of the regime's "land redistribution programme".
When Chiwenga heard of this she told the farmer that Msika could not remove them. According to Staunton, she told him that "next time she would see me, I could be in a coffin".

After the takeover, Chiwenga agreed with Hortico, a respected firm with long links to British supermarkets, to sell her produce, along with that from other farms, to Britain. A senior Hortico source said: "The policy is to get as many farms into growing and export as soon as possible." Hortico, which claims to supply half the snap peas and mangetout sold by Sainsbury's, said that given the number of farms confiscated from whites, it was inevitable they would have to do business with some of them. The company said it would review its contract with Chiwenga at the end of this year.
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Daily News - Leader Page

      Zanu PF after a one-party state

      10/21/02 9:02:44 AM (GMT +2)

      THE government's desperate bid to win the Insiza parliamentary
by-election on 26-27 October is behind the forced suspension of food
distribution by the United Nations' World Food Programme (WFP) in the
district.

      The government is nervous about allowing non-governmental
organisations to continue to operate in the constituency while it conducts
its campaign to reclaim the seat by any means necessary.

      The recent rural district council elections illustrated the new
strategy by the government in its attempts to get voters to back its
candidate. In Manicaland, the government was caught offering food for those
willing to vote for the the ruling party. This is a clear breach of the
electoral laws.

      The Executive Mayor of Bulawayo, Japhet Ndabeni-Ncube, has been hauled
before the courts on allegations of attempting to influence a voter to
support him. However, those responsible for the food-for-votes in Manicaland
and now in Insiza, can be guaranteed freedom to commit any electoral
outrages in broad daylight and get away with it.

      Conditions had to be made difficult for the WFP so it could not
operate in Insiza, until after the parliamentary by-election next weekend.

      However, as soon as the voting is over, the WFP will most certainly be
asked to go back and continue its work. In the meantime, the people of
Insiza will be offered the choice of voting for the ruling party's candidate
or going hungry until after the parliamentary by-election.

      Many people desperate for food will submit and present themselves to
the ruling party's commissars as "illiterate" people who are keen to vote,
but because of their "illiteracy" require "assistance" of someone from the
ruling party on how to vote.

      That this can happen and the Electoral Supervisory Commission sees
nothing wrong in this conduct is outrageous.

      The government's intention since the first parliamentary by-election
after the 2000 parliamentary election has been to re-establish a one-party
state.

      It is ironic for a country that once boasted a literacy rate of 80
percent to suddenly have thousands of voters claiming to be illiterate. In a
way, it is an argument that exposes the government's record of "achievement"
in the educational sector if 22 years after independence there are so many
illiterate people among its citizens. On that basis alone, it has no moral
justification to seek to be re-elected if one of its achievements has been
more illiterate people.

      And if by its own admission, there are so many people who still cannot
read and write after more than two decades of independence, then perhaps the
people in that constituency were right in rejecting the ruling party because
it has done nothing for the education of their children. The government's
strategy to return this country to a one-party state began with Bikita West
in January 2001, following the death of Amos Mutongi, the MP (MDC) for the
constituency. This was followed by Marondera West, Chikomba, Makoni West,
Bindura, Hurungwe West and now Insiza.

      In between have been the Kadoma mayoral election and the rural
district council elections. The pattern is very clear. Gradually, Zanu PF is
seeking to control every parliamentary seat and every local authority.

      In a democracy such an outcome can never be possible. The ruling party
must win some and lose others to opposition parties. However, when more than
700 seats are won without a contest, as evidenced in the recent rural
district council elections, it is confirmation that electoral manipulation
and voter intimidation are widespread.

      The opposition and civic organisations must reflect on whether there
is any point in participating under such circumstances. The government's and
Zanu PF's game plan is two-fold: to establish a one-party state and through
such an outcome, scuttle any idea of a rerun of the disputed March 2002 pres
idential election, or if it is run, the outcome is predetermined.

      The government has scant regard for free and fair elections.

News24

Zim: Hunger breeds discontent

Johannesburg - Rising discontent over soaring inflation and a rapidly
shrinking economy could lead to serious confrontation between the government
and disgruntled Zimbabwean workers, analysts warned on Thursday.

In response to declining living standards, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade
Unions (ZCTU) has called for widespread tax cuts, saying the deepening
economic crisis had eroded the purchasing power of workers.

Zimbabwe is in the midst of its worst economic crisis since independence
from Britain in 1980, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warning
that the inflation rate will rise to 155% by the end of the year - twice the
government's estimate of 70%.

Lovemore Matombo, the president of the ZCTU, said the umbrella labour
movement had appealed to the government to exempt all workers earning below
Zim $23 000 (US$418 at the official rate) from paying tax.

Increased poverty

"The level of poverty has dramatically increased. Workers are no longer paid
for overtime work, the cost of living is very high. It has become near
impossible for families to afford basic food items as well as access to
social services," Matombo told IRIN.

The federation also wanted the government to scrap tax on retrenchment
payouts for workers who were laid off by liquidated companies.

"The government would do well to heed the frustrations of the workers.
Whether or not they concede to our request, it is important that the people
are aware of the labour movement's position on spiralling inflation,"
Matombo added.

As the pace of Zimbabwe's economic decline accelerated in the mid 1990s, the
unions emerged as the main political challenge to President Robert Mugabe.

However, the once powerful ZCTU may be losing its clout as the formal sector
of the economy continues to shrink at an alarming rate, robbing the movement
of members.

Earlier this year a three-day industrial action received a lukewarm response
from workers. Analysts suggested that fear of the government's response -
after a violent presidential election campaign - and draconian labour laws
were responsible for the poor showing.

All strikes illegal

A new security law also gives the president the power to declare any strike
illegal. All public demonstrations - including protests by striking
workers - now require prior police approval.

The ZCTU was central to the creation of the opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) in 1999, and is regarded as synonymous with the
party by the government. MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai led the ZCTU during
the 1990s, at a crucial period when the movement marked its independence
from the ruling Zanu-PF.

This week, the government demonstrated how it could deal with recalcitrant
workers by firing 627 striking members of the Progressive Teachers Union of
Zimbabwe ahead of crucial end of year exams.

The teachers demanded a 100% salary increment backdated to January this year
and another 100% cost of living adjustment backdated to June.

Also this week health care professionals at Harare and Parirenyatwa
hospitals downed tools again. Doctors and nurses went on strike in August
pressing for more pay but resumed their duties following a government
undertaking to review their salaries.

Labour force restless

Analysts told IRIN that the recent flurry of strikes was a sign that
Zimbabwe's labour force was becoming restless over the government's failure
to address spiralling inflation.

John Makumbe, a political analyst at the University of Zimbabwe said:
"Already there is talk that the hospital technicians may go on strike. It is
also likely that the electricity workers may join them. There is mounting
resistance to how the government is running the country."

Whether or not workers would take to the streets in protest, resulting in an
inevitable confrontation with the security forces, depended on the
government's response to their frustrations, Makumbe said.

"Workers are acutely aware of the government's capacity to use its
instruments of repression. Nobody really wants to lose their lives in the
process. The firing of so many teachers has elicited a lot of anger among
parents. It is this anger that may filter onto the streets of Harare,"
Makumbe added.

But, he said, the anti-trade unionism laws and extra-legal constraints would
make it difficult for the ZCTU to mobilise support on the same level as it
did 1998.

Bloodbath

The ZCTU successfully flexed its muscles in 1998 when it forced the
government to scrap a 2.5% sales tax, a 5% tax on personal incomes, a 15%
tax on pension-fund profits and a range of other levies.

"The government is unlikely to heed ZCTU's demands for tax cuts. In fact,
Zanu-PF has become a lot more strident in recent months. A confrontation
between the government and workers could lead to a bloodbath and everyone
concerned is very aware of this. [But] we are likely to see further
stayaways and sit-ins," Richard Cornwell, a senior researcher at the
Institute for Security Studies in South Africa said.

However, Makumbe did not rule out the possibility of mass action, as a
"simple incident could transform an ostensibly calm situation into an
all-out confrontation between the police and workers".

Meanwhile, since the MDC's defeat in local council elections last month -
marred by intimidation and the inability of the MDC to contest in half of
the wards - the party had "lost direction", one analyst said.

Reluctant

Tsvangirai was reluctant to call for mass action fearing the government may
use the opportunity to violently clamp down on opposition supporters, said
the analyst who asked not to be named.

"The MDC has yet to recover from what they perceive was a 'stolen
presidency'. There have been rumours of internal squabbles and the bruising
they received from losing the last local elections has left them without
direction. All they do now is hope for a managed transition from Mugabe to
somebody else in Zanu-PF," Cornwell said.

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe's currency this week sank to its lowest level in the
country's history. At the present parallel rate of exchange, it now costs
nearly 1 000 Zimbabwe dollars for one US dollar. Economists say the latest
plunge was sparked by the cost of imported fuel.

Three weeks of fuel shortages ended on Monday after the government
reportedly used all its available foreign currency to pay Libya for fuel.
The fuel was stored in tanks controlled by the Libyans on the outskirts of
Harare, and they only released it after receiving payment in foreign
currency. - IRIN
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Guardian

U.N. Panel to Set Restrictions

Monday October 21, 2002 8:30 AM

UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Accusing criminal groups linked to the armies of
Rwanda, Uganda, Zimbabwe and Congo of plundering Congo's riches, a U.N.
panel called on the United Nations to impose financial restrictions on 29
companies and 54 individuals.

While the conflict that drew the armies of seven African nations into Congo
has diminished, smaller battles continue to be fought over minerals, farm
produce, land and even tax revenue - and these ``microconflicts'' have been
very lucrative for criminal groups with army and business connections, the
panel said Monday.

Even though troops from Rwanda, Uganda and Zimbabwe have been withdrawing
from Congo under recent peace agreements, the panel said the groups have
made elaborate arrangements to continue exploiting billions of dollars worth
of diamonds, gold, copper, cobalt, timber and coltan, a conductor used in
the high-tech, communications and aerospace industries.

``Those (criminal) groups will not disband voluntarily,'' the panel said.
``They have built up a self-financing war economy centered on mineral
exploitation.''

In a report to the U.N. Security Council, the five-member panel cites steps
taken to preserve access to Congo's riches by the Rwandan government and
army, the Ugandan army, and Congolese and Zimbabwean government officials -
each acting with the support of businesses and individuals in the areas of
Congo they control.

For example, the panel said, ``the elite network of Congolese and Zimbabwean
political, military and commercial interests seeks to maintain its grip on
the main mineral resources - diamonds, cobalt, copper, germanium - of the
government-controlled area.''

``This network has transferred ownership of at least $5 billion of assets
from the state mining sector to private companies under its control in the
past three years with no compensation or benefit for the state treasury of
the Democratic Republic of Congo,'' it said.

To keep control of Congo's resources in eastern Congo, Rwanda has kept its
battalions that specialize in mining activities in place ``though they have
ceased wearing (army) uniforms and will continue the activities under a
commercial guise,'' the panel said.

The panel accused the Ugandan army of training local militia to serve as a
paramilitary force ``directly and discreetly'' under its command, to keep
control of trade and tax revenue.

The panel recommended that the Security Council consider placing financial
restrictions on 29 companies based in Belgium, Congo, Uganda, Zimbabwe,
Rwanda, Uganda, and South Africa.

The companies - involved in trading diamonds, coltan and other resources and
flying the materials out of Congo - should be barred ``from accessing
banking facilities and other financial institutions and from receiving
funding or establishing a partnership or other commercial relations with
international financial institutions,'' the panel said.

It recommended that 54 individuals - including business executives, military
and government officials - face travel bans, a freeze on their personal
assets and the same financial restrictions as the businesses.

The list includes the chief of staff of the Rwandan army, James Kabarebe;
the minister of the presidency of Congo, Augustin Matumba Mwanke; the chief
of staff of the Ugandan army, Maj. Gen. James Kazini; Uganda's chief of
military intelligence Nobel Mayombo; the speaker of Zimbabwe's Parliament
Emmerson Mnangagwa; and Victor Bout, a Russian arms and minerals dealer and
transporter who operates out of the United Arab Emirates

UN: governments unite with criminals in Congo plunder
Reuters, 10.21.02, 3:46 AM ET

(Release at 6 a.m. EDT, 1000 GMT)

By Evelyn Leopold

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Despite a withdrawal of foreign troops, the
plunder of the Congo's gems and minerals continues unabated by Rwanda,
Uganda and Zimbabwe and Congolese officials, aided by criminal networks, a
U.N.-appointed panel reported Monday.

Although fighting that once involved armies from seven African nations has
diminished, so-called "elite networks" are running a self-financing war
economy centered on pillaging the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Criminal groups linked to the Rwandan, Ugandan and Zimbabwean armies have
benefited from regional "micro-conflicts," with greed often dominating
politics, the panel's 59-page report to the U.N. Security Council said.

"The elite networks derive financial benefit through a variety of criminal
activities, including theft, embezzlement, diversion of public funds,
undervaluation of goods, smuggling, false invoicing, non-payment of taxes,
kickback to public officials and bribery," the independent panel said.

Much of the death and malnutrition in eastern Congo is less due to fighting
than pillaging that has left villagers without a livelihood, the report
said.

Diamonds from Kisangani, for example, are marketed by criminal networks and
laundered by purchasing large quantities of sugar, soap, cloth and medicines
from Dubai to Rwandan wholesalers, thereby devastating local industries.

NAME AND SHAME LIST

The researchers, who issued two previous reports over the past year on how
natural resources were fueling the Congo war, called on the United Nations
to impose financial restrictions on 29 companies and 54 individuals involved
in the pillaging.

Most are in Africa but the list includes four Belgian diamond firms and the
Belgian Groupe George Forrest mining operation, which is in partnership with
the Cleveland, Ohio, based OM Group.

The report also names 85 multinationals in South Africa, Europe and the
United States that it says have violated ethical guidelines on conflict
zones set down by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

These include the world's largest gem and mining firms, such as Anglo
American PLC, Barclays Bank, Bayer A.G., De Beers diamond company, the Cabot
Corp. among others.

While Rwanda, which has the strongest fighting force, has withdrawn some
troops, it has left soldiers behind disguised as Congolese. It runs a "Congo
Desk of the Rwandan Patriotic Army," which in 1999 contributed $320 million
or 80 percent of the military budget.

RWANDA-HUTU COMMON CAUSE

More unusually, Rwanda, which said it invaded the Congo in pursuit of Hutu
leaders of the 1994 genocide, was shown in the report to make common cause
with the Hutu Interahmwe, although other Hutus have been used as forced
labor.

Zimbabwe military and some government officials have contended their
contracts are legal payment for troops, which propped up the Kinshasa
government.

The report says a network of Congolese and Zimbabwean political military and
commercial interests, including top government officials in both countries,
has transferred ownership of at least $5 billion in assets from the state
mining sector to private companies "with no compensation or benefit for the
state treasury."

"The diversion of funds from state companies and public coffers, by fraud or
under the pretext of war efforts has contributed to eliminating funds
available for public services," the report said.

One network is run by Victor Bout, accused in previous U.N. reports as a gun
runner and diamond smuggler. He is still operating from the United Arab
Emirates, whose diamond exports to Belgium increased to nearly $150 million
in 2001 from $4.2 million in 1998, the report said. Bout has several
passports from former Soviet republics.

Bout last year denied all allegations to a Russian radio interviewer.

Among the resources in the central African nation are gold diamonds,
niobium, cassiterite, medicinal barks, cobalt, copper and coltan, a mixture
of columbite and tantalite, used in light bulb filaments and nuclear reactor
parts.

Copyright 2002, Reuters News Service
MSNBC

UN report alleges violations of Zimbabwe sanctions

UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 21 - A Zimbabwean businessman was accused by a U.N.
panel on Monday of procuring military equipment from British Aerospace in
violation of European sanctions against the southern African nation.
       The panel, in a report to the U.N. Security Council on the plunder of
minerals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, named businessman John
Bredenkamp as a key investor in the Aviation Consultancy Service Company,
which represents British Aerospace, Dornier of France and Agusta of Italy in
Africa.
       In discussions with senior Congo officials, the report alleged he
offered to mediate sales of British Aerospace military equipment to Congo.
But the panel said he procured aircraft parts for Zimbabwe's military, which
was propping up the Kinshasa government.
       ''Mr. Bredenkamp's representatives claimed that his companies
observed European Union sanctions on Zimbabwe but British Aerospace spare
parts for ZDF Hawk jets were supplied early in 2002 in breach of those
sanctions,'' the panel's report said.
       Among other measures, the European Union, during a violent election
campaign last February, prohibited member nations from selling Zimbabwe arms
or equipment that ''could be used for internal repression.''
       The U.N.-appointed panel also recommended a travel ban and financial
restrictions on 54 individuals and 29 companies involved in criminal or
illicit plundering in the Congo.
       Bredenkamp and his mining company Tremalt Ltd., incorporated in the
British Virgin Islands, were both on the list. The report accused him of
paying $400,000 to the Congo government for copper and cobalt mine
concessions over 25 years, worth at least $1 billion.
       In addition to Bredenkamp the report put on its list Emmerson
Dambudzo Mnangagwa, the speaker of the Zimbabwean parliament, and his
alleged allies, Gen. Vitalis Zvinavashe Musungwa and retired Gen. Sibusio
Moyo.
       Under Bredenkamp's deal, Tremalt retains 32 percent of the net
profits, pays 34 percent to the Congo and 34 percent to Zimbabwe. Subtracted
from Zimbabwe's share was military equipment, the report said.
       The panel described exploitation of the Congo's riches by Rwanda,
Uganda and Zimbabwe, who all had troops in the central African nation.
       In Zimbabwe's case, it said, senior officers enriched themselves
under the pretext of arrangements set up to repay Zimbabwe for military
services. In many cases bribes were paid to Congo government officials for
selling state-owned companies at low cost.
       More recently the military established new companies, with the
knowledge of President Robert Mugabe, to defend its long-term economic
interests should troops withdraw, the report said.
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News24

Zim: Africa versus West

Johannesburg - Deep divisions between African countries and the West over
how to deal with the current crisis in Zimbabwe was hampering efforts to
help break the political impasse in the country, an international think-tank
said this week.

In its latest report titled "Zimbabwe, The Politics of National Liberation
and International Division", the International Crisis Group (ICG) said the
lack of a unified response had allowed President Robert Mugabe "to believe
that he can exploit the policy fissures between the West and Africa".

The Brussels-based group also pointed to the foreign media's skewed emphasis
on forced land evictions, saying that by focusing on the plight of white
commercial farmers, the media had inadvertently given Mugabe's liberation
rhetoric greater resonance in many African countries.

"Foreign medias' emphasis on the plight of white farmers reinforces the
erroneous but widespread belief in Africa that the West is concerned about
Zimbabwe only because white property interests have been harmed," the report
said.

Critical food shortages

Instead, the ICG suggested more should be made of allegations of human
rights abuses, the dismantling of democratic institutions, and the
destruction of the rule of law.

Zimbabwe's current crisis of governance was because of its poor economic
performance in recent years and the current food shortages, the crisis group
said.

Almost six million Zimbabweans face critical food shortages, mainly due to
drought and the government's land programme.

The report echoed concerns that the escalating economic crisis could further
destabilise the region, particularly South Africa, by driving tens of
thousands more refugees out of Zimbabwe and into neighbouring states.

"South Africa does not yet appear to be sufficiently convinced of the
imminence of the threat to its own stability with sufficient energy,
especially as it seems to fear the impact of Mugabe's charges that it is in
collusion with the West," the report said.

This week, South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki said his government would
continue engaging all sectors of Zimbabwean society. However, he pointed out
that Zimbabwe's troubles and the concomitant media attention it had received
had served as a "smokescreen for those who did not want to address Africa's
other problems".

Inter-party solution

Earlier this month Zimbabwe was replaced as deputy chair of the 14-nation
Southern African Development Community (SADC) in what diplomats considered a
sign of the region's displeasure with Mugabe's policies.

But the regional body has opposed sanctions, which have been imposed on
Zimbabwe by the United States and European Union.

The crisis group called on South Africa and Nigeria to revive efforts to
negotiate an inter-party solution between the ruling Zanu-PF and the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change.

Also, it recommended broader African pressure to ensure that the ruling
Zanu-PF restore the rule of law and establish conditions for free and fair
elections.

Furthermore, the ICG said the international response to the crisis was still
characterised by "too much bark and too little bite".

Targeted sanctions

The report suggested a much more nuanced two-track diplomatic strategy for
the United States and the European Union "of strong and public actions to
isolate the regime while quietly applying pressure on key African states to
encourage more resolute action".

Among the measures recommended by the ICG were targeted sanctions that are
better enforced and extended beyond Zanu-PF's leadership to include the
regime's commercial supporters and bankers and family members, particularly
those studying in the West.

The ICG also accused the government of blatantly using emergency food aid as
a political weapon against opposition supporters.

The group recommended that food donors shine the spotlight on the
politicisation of food aid and make all food relief conditional on ensuring
that everyone receives assistance regardless of political affiliation. -
IRIN

Daily News

      Mugabe exploiting rift over Zimbabwe, says pressure group

      10/21/02 9:00:55 AM (GMT +2)

      By Pedzisai Ruhanya Chief Reporter

      DEEP divisions in the international community about the response to
Zimbabwe's crisis are playing into President Mugabe's hands, the
Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG) has said.

      In its report released on Thursday entitled The Politics of National
Liberation and International Division, ICG said the foreign media's emphasis
on the plight of white farmers also helps the regime's liberation rhetoric,
reinforcing the erroneous but widespread belief in Africa that the West is
concerned about Zimbabwe only because white property interests have been
harmed.

      The report said the split between Africa and the West had paralysed
international efforts to help break the political impasse in Zimbabwe before
it results in widespread violence or possible state collapse.

      It emphasised the very real problems in Zimbabwe, including the risks
to southern African stability and rising humanitarian costs of the crisis.

      Zimbabwean human rights groups are reporting torture rates among the
highest in the world, while government policies have turned a drought into a
food emergency, and the regime is blatantly using food as a political weapon
against opposition supporters, it said.
      The report comes hardly a week after the government banned major
international charities, Oxfam and Save the Children, from distributing food
in drought-stricken parts of Matabeleland.

      The two United Kingdom organisations were banned amid allegations they
were distributing food to suspected MDC supporters in Binga and other parts
of Matabeleland. But Zanu PF, through the Grain Marketing Board, is alleged
to be involved in a food-for-votes campaign in Insiza constituency where a
parliamentary by-election is due to held at the month-end.

      The same strategy was used during last month's rural district council
elections.
      John Prendergast, co-director of ICG's Africa programme, said: "The
policy division between the West and Africa has emboldened the ruling party
and undermined the international response to the crisis in Zimbabwe."

      Among the measures recommended by ICG are targeted sanctions that are
better enforced and extended beyond Zanu PF's leadership to include the
regime's commercial supporters and bankers and family members, particularly
those studying in the West.

      The report also details a much more nuanced two-track diplomatic
strategy for the United States and the European Union of strong and public
actions to isolate the regime while quietly engaging with and applying
back-stage pressure on key African states and the Southern African
Development Community to encourage more resolute action.

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Daily News

      Cracking whip of fear loud on Majongwe

      10/21/02 8:32:02 AM (GMT +2)

      I AM fanatically attached to teachers and their noble calling of
showing all of us the light. Teachers rank high on the list of people who
really matter in life. The responsibility to make us what we are today lay
with the teachers.

      While I may honour my parents for bringing me up and teaching me the
basic things that a child could be taught by his or her parents, I extend my
appreciation to the teachers who taught me at school. Those who taught me in
all the learning institutions I went through made me what I am today. They
prepared me for the life ahead.

      The aim of an education that is spearheaded by good teachers is to
make those who embrace the fight against illiteracy and innumeracy to be
good citizens. Schools of an academic nature never teach anything bad. I do
know that at school, the term "bad" is only used sparingly as an example of
something that contradicts good. I do not know if ancient schools like Fort
Hare gave lessons in violence. All I know is that schools, through employing
dedicated teachers, are sworn to producing useful citizens.

      When one considers that the technologically advancing world looks
forward to literate citizens, one can be easily drawn into sympathising with
the teaching fraternity.

      Considering what teachers do to those who are wiling to learn, their
recognition by way of a befitting salary is most appropriate. But our
teachers are given peanuts that can best be served to monkeys.

      I recall that Dani Ngubeso, the high-flying doctor of medicine who is
plying his trade in South Africa, sat side-by-side with me at primary
school. He did not know that he was going to end up being a famous doctor.
Tja Butje, the one who is a teacher, was also my classmate at secondary
school. No one ever thought that he could become a teacher. The ordinary
teacher, starting from the primary school teacher, instilled the learning
discipline.

      The professors and doctors at university who earn loads of money
merely perfect the product of the elementary teacher. They cannot on their
own start with an illiterate person. They want someone who has a proven
record from secondary school. The secondary school teachers also do not have
a soft spot for the rudiments of
      education. They accept only those students who can satisfy them that
they went through a seven-year primary school course.

      Having realised that their efforts as teachers are not being rewarded
accordingly, one of the two major teachers' association called for a
nationwide teachers' strike. The employer of the teachers chose to ignore
the threat as they supposed that Joseph Chinotimba would stop the strikes by
simply invoking his right of threatening citizens. In all fairness, the
strike action by the teachers deserves the people's sympathy. We all know
how much on average teachers get. It is pathetic.

      It is a sad fact too that is known by most Zimbabweans that the cost
of living in this inflationary atmosphere is going up, in the process
bringing down the standard of living for most honest workers. Inflation is
officially pegged at around 140 percent, yet it could actually be running up
to 200 percent. The teachers are not immune to this cruel economic
condition. If their employer refuses to match their salaries to the animal
that eats away their buying power, the teachers have a right to take
industrial action.

      The government is known to fear strikes. There is belief in Zanu PF
that strikes expose the weaknesses of the party. Through this belief, Zanu
PF will try hardest to thwart any strikes by government employees. It is
through this fear that the whip had to crack that loud on Raymond Majongwe
of Progressive Teachers' Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ).

      Zanu PF was dismayed by the success of the teachers' strike. Majongwe
had to face the painful consequences of calling a successful strike. He had
to be beaten up like the rest of those who expose the administrative
weaknesses of the Zanu PF government.

      Had the strike by the teachers been a flop, the PTUZ would have been
mocked as a body that failed to get support from the teachers. The official
Press would have made a meal out of the failure. Luckily for the strike
organisers, the effects of the strike are biting. Unfortunately, some people
have to be tortured by the gestapo-like security organisations of our
country.

      The government should be told that not all strikes are intended to
topple it from power. People go on strike as a last resort to make their
demands felt. I know that teachers - and indeed most of the civil servants -
earn salaries that are only envied by school pupils as pocket money. Most
government employees are underpaid to the extent that they spend most of the
government's time supplementing their salaries by engaging in underhand
deals.

      If the government does not understand that more strikes are on the
way, then they have a problem with vision. With such a high level of
inflation and stagnant salaries, the people may end up resorting to wildcat
strikes. I know that the police and army fear being charged for mutiny, but
most are not happy. There is a big lump of disquiet forming in the throat.
There is bound to be a time when the police and army will ignore the orders
in sympathy with their own stomachs.

      In order to address the bleak situation, the government has so many
alternatives to choose from. The government can choose to fire all the
striking teachers as a lesson to others who might want to go on strike. If
the government does this, there will have a problem in finding suitable
replacements. The training of Border Gezi "graduates" to become teachers may
not cope for immediate needs.

      The government can also choose to send the army and police to arrest
all the striking teachers with orders to "shoot to kill" anyone who tries to
run away. If this happens, the government will lose all the little
credibility that it has left. This choice may appeal to Zanu PF, but they
may not embrace it for obvious reasons.

      The next choice is to ignore the striking teachers. This may be known
as "doing the doctors" in recognition of the silence with which some doctors
' strike was solved some time back. The Zanu PF government will not take
this stance as it feels that silence is not its cup of tea. The government
spokesman trading with the name Jonathan will find something to say.

      The other choice that the government can take is to address the
situation head-on. This time around the government should realise that
partial appeasement of certain government ministries is the worst manner of
juggling staff salaries' problems.

      Perhaps the government will care to work on its economic policies in
order to arrest inflation.

      It is time the government understood that those workers who dance in
front of cameras are genuinely hungry.

      Give the teachers and everyone else a living salary.
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Daily News

      UK body plans award for Meryl Harrison

      10/21/02 9:04:56 AM (GMT +2)

      From Haru Mutasa in Grahamstown

      Plans are still underway to give Meryl Harrison the Royal Society for
the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) Overseas Gallantry Award. The
decision was made by the UK-based RSPCA International Committee on 19 June
this year.

      Their spokesperson, Tracey Clarke, said the award will be given to
Harrison by the RSPCA International Department in South Africa.

      Clarke said Harrison was being honoured for her considerable courage
and disregard for personal safety in the cause of animal welfare.
      The award consists of a certificate and a statuette.

      Clarke said no Overseas Gallantry award was made last year. She said:
"In fact, the last time the award was given was in 1998, to Mr John Walsh of
the World Society for the Protection of Animals.

      "The award was given in recognition of his work over 35 years in
promoting animal welfare internationally, often at great risk, in disaster
aid programmes such as in Bosnia during the civil war in 1992, in Kobe,
Japan after the earthquake in 1995, and in Montserrat following the volcano
eruption in 1997. He accepted the award in recognition of all the people he
had worked with in disaster aid programmes."

      Clarke said RSPCA officials in the UK were finalising the date and
location of where in South Africa the award would be presented to Meryl
Harrison.
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Letter

      Yes, Dongo was right about Mugabe's wives

      10/21/02 8:54:18 AM (GMT +2)

      Margaret Dongo was 100 percent right when she labelled the then entire
Zanu PF parliamentarians as "Mugabe's wives" some years ago. No one in Zanu
PF questions President Mugabe's dictatorial tendencies even though his
policies ruin the former jewel of Africa. Instead they cheer and even
hero-worship him.

      Every day they parade themselves defending the evil deeds of "the dear
leader" and party claiming to be championing the people's causes - what
people's causes?

      People are dying of hunger, while the government and Zanu PF take no
notice. They are always busy fattening their pockets and claiming that
Zimbabwe is heaven on earth.

      It is now very clear that Zanu PF does not have the interests of the
people at heart as it claims through its propaganda machinery of the
Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, The Herald, The Sunday Mail and The
Chronicle.

      Zanu PF is assisting Mugabe to plunder this country's resources, and
at this rate of destruction, they won't be any Zimbabwe to talk of in the
next five years.

      Surely one day, all the geriatrics will be brought to book by none
other than the people whom this government is abusing on a daily basis.

      Mugabe has surrounded himself with non-constituency ministers in order
to prolong his time in power. He knows that these hand-picked ministers will
not question his authority. He has virtually kicked out all the people who
participated in the armed struggle or anyone who might pose a threat to his
rule.

      The so-called war cabinet is composed of people who dance to their
master's tune. We have all seen how the ministers and others are frothing at
the mouth to please and defend the government. No one thinks for himself in
Zanu PF. Mugabe thinks for them all.

      Life under the colonial ruler Ian Smith was far much better than
Mugabe's government. Repressive laws are enacted to silence dissenting
voices. There is no room for opposition.

      This government is fond of blaming everyone except itself for all the
mayhem and chaos that it has created in the past 22 years of uninterrupted
power.

      One day people will say enough is enough and reclaim their power.
There are no men in Zanu PF - all are women except Mugabe.

      Jujuju
      Mkoba
      Gweru
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Daily News

      Suspend import rules, urge Harare residents

      10/21/02 9:15:19 AM (GMT +2)

      Business Reporter

      A NUMBER of Harare residents have implored the government to
temporarily suspend the laws governing imports of basic commodities in bulk
so as to ease the burden caused by the current shortages.

      Kudzanayi Guvaravo, a Marlborough resident, said it would be sensible
for the government to allow ordinary citizens to bring in large quantities
of scarce goods for personal consumption without facing the duties and
tariffs traders are charged. He said, "We are in a crisis right now and
therefore we must react accordingly. Current laws must be adequately relaxed
until the crisis is over." A Tynwald woman, who preferred anonymity, said
border towns such as Messina were close enough to Zimbabwe to make it viable
for her to travel there over a weekend and buy what she needed. "Let those
who have the money go ahead and import household necessities that can last
up to three or four months. I don't see what the problem is," she said.
Ruwadzano Gombe, from Eastlea, said if such a thing were allowed, the
pressure on the domestic suppliers would be greatly alleviated.

      Gombe said, "Though it may seem negligible, it leaves more opportunity
for those of us who cannot afford to go to South Africa to access the
commodities here." He added, "After all, it is these rich people who clear
the shelves when they buy in bulk here. Let them buy from outside while we
buy here." However, the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ) expressed doubts
about the feasibility of the idea saying it would cause problems on a number
of fronts. Victor Chisi, the CCZ's senior manager, said, "Firstly we will
have to ascertain whether or not these foreign goods fit Zimbabwean
standards of consumption." He also noted that it would be difficult for
immigration officials to differentiate between bulk buyers for personal use
and those buying with the purpose of reselling in Zimbabwe. Chisi said:
"Maybe to a certain level it will be a manageable initiative. But it can
threaten the viability of indigenous producers and suppliers."
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Daily News

      Court to take custody of election materials

      10/21/02 9:09:26 AM (GMT +2)

      Court Reporter

      THE High Court has ordered the Registrar-General, Tobaiwa Mudede, to
direct constituency registrars countrywide to secure all ballot papers and
counterfoils used during the March presidential election in separate sealed
packets and surrender the material together with all voters' rolls used in
the election to him for safe custody.

      Justice Lavender Makoni made the ruling in Chambers last week, pending
the determination of an urgent chamber application made by the MDC leader,
Morgan Tsvangirai, for a provisional order to compel Mudede to surrender all
ballot boxes and relevant election material used in the presidential
election to a place in Harare to be determined by the court.

      Tsvangirai, represented by Advocate Adrian de Bourbon instructed by
Bryant Elliot of Gill, Godlonton and Gerrans, said he had reasonable fears
that Mudede was not complying with provisions of Section 78 of the Electoral
Act which deals with the security of election residue and had caused
"material prejudice" in Tsvangirai's election petition to have the results
of the presidential election set aside.

      "The documents are central to the allegations of irregularities and
corrupt practices
      referred to in my election petition," Tsvangirai said in his founding
affidavit. "I therefore need to urgently ascertain whether the respondent
has complied with the said court orders and said Section 78 of the Act and
to ensure that the documents are forthwith preserved in accordance with the
law."

      Mudede said in his opposing papers submitted by Loyce Matanda-Moyo of
the Attorney-General's office, the election residue was safe and secure and
was being guarded "round the clock on a daily basis in the respective
constituencies".

      He said there were no reasonable grounds submitted by Tsvangirai to
suggest that he was flagrantly flouting orders by the High Court not to
destroy ballot papers.

      "The allegations raised here are based on baseless fears and are mere
speculation," Mudede said.

      He said bringing the material to Harare would be "prohibitively too
expensive and unnecessary" as money would be required to cover travel and
subsistence fees for constituency registrars and staff transporting the
material, travel costs and storage costs for the material.

      "Election material for the past presidential, parliamentary and
by-elections have always been kept by the relevant and respective
constituency registrars in the 120 constituencies," Mudede said. "We do not
see why the election residue for the 2002 presidential election should be
treated differently."
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      Teachers ordered to support Zanu PF or else

      10/21/02 9:05:55 AM (GMT +2)

      From Our Correspondent in Bulawayo

      TWENTY-FIVE teachers who fled their schools in Gwanda North from
marauding Zanu PF militias a fortnight ago, say they were told their
security could only be guaranteed if they joined the ruling party.

      Although a junior minister said their safety would be guaranteed only
if they joined Zanu PF, the teachers say they are not certain about their
security.

      The teachers, all from schools around the Gwanda North constituency,
met Abednico Ncube, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, and high ranking
Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture regional officials at St
Christopher's primary school last Monday.
      The meeting was held after the officials offered to mediate to get the
teachers back to work.

      One teacher, who attended the meeting, said although the key issue of
their return to their posts was resolved, they were fearful that their
personal safety was not guaranteed. They felt they were still not safe from
attacks by Zanu PF youth brigade members.

      "The conditions of our return are that we should not preach politics
and we are all being ordered to support Zanu PF.

      "No one feels secure because Ncube said clearly that the party is
still watching us. Some of us, notably David Magagula and Kenneth Page of
Mzimuni Secondary School, feel that our jobs are on the line since the
deputy minister instructed the regional director to see to it that they are
dismissed from service," said the source.

      Ncube is reported to have declared the two teachers "undesirables" who
should be removed from their schools.

      Magagula is a renowned Ndebele novelist and the author of Ndebele
grammar textbooks being used in all primary schools.

      "If you want to teach, stop preaching politics," Ncube is reported to
have said. "If you want to be in politics, join Zanu PF because it is the
government. If you want to join another party, wait until it is in
government."

      Some teachers were accused of holding posts for the MDC in their
areas.
      The source said although there were more threats than resolutions at
the meeting, all the affected teachers had returned to their stations for
fear of being attacked again if they failed to heed Zanu PF orders.

      The teachers were ordered out of their stations at the height of Zanu
PF's crackdown on civil servants accused of supporting MDC activities in
their areas
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Daily News

      MDC councillor, 21 activists face POSA charges

      10/21/02 9:07:32 AM (GMT +2)

      From Our Correspondent in Bulawayo

      TWENTY-ONE Lupane District MDC supporters who include Themba Dlomo, a
winning district councillor in the recent elections, have been charged under
the Public Order and Security Act (POSA).

      The arrests followed the violence after an alleged kidnap attempt on
the councillor by suspected Zanu PF retribution gangs.

      Kenny Gwaza, an MDC activist in the area, said the 21 were arrested
last Saturday after clashes that occurred after they foiled an attempt by
Zanu PF supporters to snatch the councillor. The Zanu PF supporters have
been camped in the Mzola ward since the MDC won the council seat.

      Gwaza said: "Trouble started on Thursday when Zanu PF youths and war
veterans came to disrupt a meeting called by the councillor. After failing
to stop people from attending the meeting, the war veterans camped near his
home. On Saturday, they moved in, threatening to grab and kill him, but
villagers rushed to his aid."

      Serious clashes followed, and Zanu PF members were beaten back. Police
intervened and arrested people from both sides and took them to the Lupane
police camp. However, all Zanu PF supporters were released the same day, but
those branded MDC supporters were locked up in the cells until they appeared
in court on Friday They were not asked to plead, but were remanded in
custody to 29 October for trial."

      He said they had been transferred to police cells at Hwange. Apart
from Councillor Dlomo, the other detainees are Ethel Ndiweni, 51, Clement
Masango, 39, Mthandazo Ndlovu, 59, Thandazani Moyo, 16, Crema Sibanda, 19,
Thulani Mlotshwa, 25, Anthony Dlomo, 46, Ndumiso Ndlovu, 22, Mpumelelo Nyoni
18, Nkosilathi Sibanda, 17, Hlanganani Dube,19, Sikhanyisiwe Sibanda, 20,
Johnson Sibanda, 56, Mandla Nyoni, 27, Msongelwa Ncube, 37, Marko Gumbo, 62,
Roger Ndlovu, 66, Bruce Dlomo, 28,and Hebron Ndlovu, 39.

      A 16-year-old Zenzele secondary school pupil is among the group.
Efforts by relatives to establish the exact whereabouts of the group were
fruitless, despite constant assurances by Hwange police that they would
provide them with information.

      The arrests bring to 46 the number of MDC supporters being held in
police or remanded out of police custody in Matabeleland region since 14
October. Fifteen members of the MDC campaign team in the Insiza constituency
of Matabeleland South were on Friday remanded out of custody on $ 5 000 bail
each. They include Charles Mpofu, the MDC campaign manager, and Wilson
Phiri, the election agent of Siyabonga Ncube, the MDC candidate in the
by-election.

      They were all barred by a court from entering Insiza district until
after the 26-27 October by-election. They were ordered to report to their
nearest police station every Friday.

      Their arrest followed a shooting incident in which Andrew Langa, the
Zanu PF candidate, allegedly shot and wounded Darlington Kadengu, 23, an MDC
campaign activist, on 15 October.
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Daily News

      Mob disrupts council function

      10/21/02 9:10:02 AM (GMT +2)

      From our Correspondent in Bulawayo

      DOZENS of war veterans and graduates from the Border Gezi National
Training Centre on Friday disrupted the swearing in of councillors at Binga
and barred people from entering the council premises.

      The rowdy group besieged the Binga Rural District Council offices
early in the morning, singing songs in support of the ruling party, Zanu PF.
Some were reportedly toyi-toying outside the office.

      Shadreck Mudhimba, the council's chief executive officer, could not be
reached for comment as he was not answering his telephone. He was supposed
to have sworn-in the councillors.

      The councillors were also expected to elect a chairman. The police,
who refused to comment, watched the group from a distance.

      Binga is the only constituency in the country where the opposition MDC
grabbed the highest number of wards. Out of the 21 wards the MDC won 16 and
Zanu PF the rest.

      Zanu PF has banned a United Kingdom-based non-governmental
organisation, Save The Children from distributing food aid in the district,
alleging the NGO was responsible for the MDC victory.

      The halt in the food supplies has exacerbated the food situation in
Binga amid reports that two villagers have died of starvation.
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      Journalists to register

      10/21/02 9:07:35 AM (GMT +2)

      Staff Reporters

      JOURNALISTS working for Zimbabwe's privately-owned newspapers have
taken a decision to apply for accreditation in terms of the Access to
Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) and to challenge the
draconian legislation and embark on a programme of protest thereafter.

      This course of action was adopted at a controversial meeting held in
Harare on Saturday. The meeting, which was organised by the Zimbabwe chapter
of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), was attended by more than
100 journalists from all over the country. Representatives of
non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and students from the Division of Mass
Communications at the Harare Polytechnic also attended. Representatives of
the NGO community had applied pressure on the journalists to adopt a more
defiant course of action and refuse to apply for accreditation, as such
accreditation would be construed as support for and lend credibility to an
unjust piece of legislation.

      Lawyer and political activist Brian Kagoro, who chaired the meeting,
went beyond his brief and openly campaigned for defiance, much to the
annoyance of some of the journalists, who questioned afterwards why the MISA
executive had chosen a lawyer and well-known political activist to chair a
meeting where a crucial decision to do with the future of the journalism
profession and the welfare on the independent Press was to be decided. They
also criticised Kagoro's behaviour in openly campaigning for a particular
course of action and not another, and in trying to influence the outcome of
the meeting. Kagoro imposed on the meeting his own decision that
participants should vote by a show of hands. This procedure was questioned
afterwards by some journalists, together with Kagoro's decision to allow
students from the Polytechnic, who are not practising journalists and who,
along with the NGO community, had only an academic interest in the
proceedings on Saturday.

      It was felt that these people were not really affected by the
government's campaign to kill the private Press. Despite the strong
opposition on the part of Kagoro and the NGO community, the journalists
decided they would register, but that they would do so under protest and
then demonstrate against "an unjust law". The meeting was held to decide on
the way forward ahead of the 31 October deadline for journalists to be
accredited by the Tafataona Mahoso-led Media Commission. Ironically, Mahoso
is the head of the Division of Mass Communication at the Harare Polytechnic,
which trains the country's journalists, including those students attending
Saturday's meeting.

      According to AIPPA, which was crafted by Information and Publicity
Minister Jonathan Moyo, every media organisation must pay $500 000 to
register with Mahoso's commission while journalists must fork out $6 000 to
get accreditation. In terms of the new legislation, media organisations
cannot employ journalists who are not accredited with the commission.
Privately-owned newspaper publishing companies, the obvious targets of the
new legislation, risk being shut down if they break the law by failing to
register or by employing journalists who are not accredited. Abel Mutsakani,
the president of the Independent Journalists' Association of Zimbabwe, and
Geoffrey Nyarota, the Editor-in-Chief of The Daily News, who attended in his
capacity as chairman of the Zimbabwe National Editors' Forum, said it was
more prudent in the circumstances for journalists to accredit and then
protest and continue to challenge the legislation , especially in the
courts. Mutsakani has already spearheaded a challenge of AIPPA in the
Supreme Court.

      Nyarota told the meeting on Saturday: "The government and Zanu PF feel
threatened by the emergence on a vibrant and independent privately-owned
press. As a result, they have harassed, arrested and subjected journalists
to violence. "Journalists have even been threatened with death. Newspapers
have been seized and burnt. Newspapers have been banned in the rural areas
and small urban centres. Newspaper offices and a press have been bombed on
three occasions. Because journalists have remained defiant the government
has now resorted to the use of unjust laws as part of a strategy to muzzle
the private press. Nyarota said muzzling or silencing the press was
obviously main objective of AIPPA. "The editors of the private newspapers
obviously do not support the legislation," he said. "They have so far been
the major targets of AIPPA, after all. But we realise that if we do not
register then we are giving Jonathan Moyo victory on a plate.

      "The journalists are more strategically positioned if they fight AIPPA
from their offices and newsrooms than if they campaign through demonstrating
in Africa Unity Square after losing their jobs. Can we expect The Herald and
ZBC to champion our campaign after The Daily News, The Financial Gazette,
The Zimbabwe Independent and The Standard have been closed?. "Our pens are
our voice and we must, at all costs, not lose that voice." If the
journalists registered the public would continue to benefit from reading the
independent newspapers, Nyarota said. "In the event of our not registering
and our media houses being shut down, the poor masses will be reduced again
to being informed only by ZBC and The Herald and The Chronicle."
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ZIMBABWE: Focus on problems with agrarian reform

[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

HARARE, 21 October (IRIN) - A Zimbabwean state-owned newspaper last week carried a controversial cartoon which attempted to extol the merits of agrarian reform in a country with an economy setting record lows.

In the first scene, a Zimbabwean man who had gone abroad in search of a better life reassures an elderly white lady in a nursing home who has soiled herself that he will take care of the situation. In the second scenario, a newly settled farmer sits behind his desk, jacket and tie on, congratulating himself for having stayed at home and farmed.

The cartoon's message - have faith and benefit from government policy - tallied with President Robert Mugabe's campaign slogan that "the economy is land and land is the economy". However, with under a month to go before the beginning of the new planting season, analysts have warned that Zimbabwe's agarian reforms are in deep trouble.

"Instead of moving towards economic prosperity, the land reform programme is taking us in exactly the opposite direction. While there is a consensus that land should be equitably distributed for the decongestion of communal lands and poverty reduction, the government has rendered agrarian reform an empty paradigm through its policy bankruptcy," charged economist John Robertson.

LACK OF PREPARATION

In theory, the government's reform programme aimed at tackling the imbalance in land ownership between a small but wealthy mainly white commercial farming sector, and historically disadvantanged black Zimbabweans. But there are widespread fears that a lack of tillage preparedness will hurt next year's harvests and the fortunes of the new black farmers, even if the country enjoys a normal rainy season after this year's drought.

District Development Fund statistics show there are 600 tractors available for the national tillage programme, but more than half the fleet is reportedly grounded due to the shortage of foreign currency needed to buy spare parts. In spite of its promise, the government has not yet made available 400 additional tractors for the small-scale farmers who depend on state aid. The shortage of tractors has been reportedly compounded by a lack of fuel to run them.

"The situation is worsened by the fact there is insufficient draught power," said Collin Cloete, the president of the white-dominated Commercial Farmers Union. "The national herd of cattle has been reduced from 1.1 million to between 20,000 and 40,000," he added, partly as a result of white farmers evicted from their farms slaughtering their cattle.

This year's drought, as well as foot-and-mouth outbreaks in some provinces, have also led to a drastic fall in the number of cattle communal farmers own. This loss will mean that the newly resettled farmers, who traditionally depend on cattle and donkeys for ploughing, will find it difficult to make maximum use of their plots.

Some farmers who have been resettled under the A1 model, which is meant mostly for subsistence farming, have registered their displeasure with the lack of tillage facilities. The A2 model is meant for commercial farming.
 
"I was given 15 acres [6 hectares] under the resettlement programme but had only one acre [0.4 hectares] tilled last year. I had to let most of the land I was allocated lie idle for the rest of the year because I did not have the means to plough it," explained Joramu Chikowore, a resettled farmer.

Chikowore is one of the 330,000 beneficiaries of agrarian reform under the A1 programme. He got his piece of land in Mashonaland West province's Banket area, a bastion of commercial maize, tobacco and wheat cultivation before the government's fast-track land reform programme. 

Mashonaland West, blessed with rich red soils, used to commit about 16,000 hectares of land to wheat alone. However, land under wheat was reduced to less than 6,000 last year, with agricultural experts forecasting a further reduction this year.

Tobacco production, Zimbabwe's main foreign exchange earner, is projected to drop by 40 percent over last year's production, according to Christopher Vambe, the vice-chairman of the Zimbabwe Association of Tobacco Growers (ZATG).

"Most new farmers do not have the capacity to grow tobacco and they have not been given the proper training. In addition barn facilities for flue-cured tobacco are not sufficient. Those available can only cater for 33 hectares of tobacco instead of the normal 56 hectares," Vambe said at ZATG's first annual congress last Tuesday.

LACK OF FUNDS

The president of the Indigenous Commercial Farmers Union, John Mautsa, said that in order to help his members buy inputs, the union had tried to form an organisation that would pool resources. However, "the company has not yet taken off because we do not have the means to do so," he told IRIN.

"If the rains arrive and we have done nothing, just like last year, we will be forced to abandon most of our plots and that might mean more hunger for us. We will also be unable to sell anything," an unsettled Chikowore said.

The 2002-2003 planting season comes at a time when prices of inputs have increased sharply. Recently, the government gazetted new prices for maize, groundnut and sunflower seed. The prices leaped by an average of 120 percent late last month. A 25 kg bag of maize seed now costs Zim $4,280 (US $78 at the official rate), up from Zim $1,946 (US $35), while a 10 kg bag rose from Zim $806 to Zim $1,773. Groundnut and sunflower seed prices shot up by more than 150 percent.

Given the long-running erosion of people's purchasing power, many resettled families may not be able to buy enough seed for planting.

Petronella Chisvo, a war veteran who was resettled about 70 km north of Harare, told IRIN: "My husband, who works in Harare, is currently struggling to pay school fees for three of our children who are still going to school. His salary is meagre and he can hardly afford to buy us such basic commodities like bread, sugar, mealie-meal and salt. Where are we going to get the money for the seeds?"

Concerned that poverty among his members may prevent them from taking full advantage of the fast-track scheme, Mautsa suggested the government should subsidise farmers' production costs, while at the same time announcing new pre-planting prices for crops to act as an incentive.

However, Robertson said that would be a mistake. "Subsidising farmers is an ideal that the government cannot achieve. Subsidies are extremely expensive and it takes a rich country to manage them," he said, adding that it would be fiscally unsupportable given the state of Zimbabwe's "pathetic economy".

Even the war veterans who gained notoriety for leading the invasions of commercial farms have signalled concern about the fast-track programme. Secretary-General of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans' Association (ZNLWVA) Andy Mhlanga, has called for the government to do more to secure the success of the programme.

"The evidence on the ground shows that the government needs to move faster," said Mhlanga, who also bemoaned the lack of inputs and implements on farms.

ZNLWVA has launched a land audit to run parallel with a government initiative introduced earlier this year to establish how land had been allocated. The veterans, who were promised 20 percent of the total resettlement land in 1997, have reportedly accused top government officials of multiple farm ownership at the expense of the intended beneficiaries.

The take-up rate of farm plots by approved beneficiaries in both the A1 and A2 schemes has been disappointing for land reform proponents. According to official figures, only about 50 percent of the new farmers had moved onto their plots by the end of September 2002.

Government minister and provincial governor for Mashonaland Central, Elliot Manyika, recently said that financial constraints barred many families from moving to their plots, as some would have to travel long distances.

Manyika also said some family heads were not willing to leave the graves of their relatives unattended. Other would-be beneficiaries were reportedly discouraged because they would not have access to the schools and hospitals on the new farms that they enjoyed in their old villages.

[ENDS]

IRIN-CEA
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Fax: +254 2 622129
Email: IRIN@ocha.unon.org

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Daily News

      Farmers still having problems getting seed

      10/21/02 9:13:52 AM (GMT +2)

      Farming Editor

      THE Zimbabwe Farmers' Union (ZFU) says farmers are still queuing for
seed despite increases in seed prices effected last month.

      Seed prices were increased by between 120 and 375 percent last month.
There was shortage of seed on the market prior to these price increases.
Seed companies were holding on to their seed as they waited for a price
review which had last been effected in June 2001.

      ZFU director, Sylvester Tsikisayi, said in an interview: "Some of the
seed houses have suspended open sales because they say they have to service
the government input credit scheme.

      "Where there is seed farmers continue to queue." Tsikisayi said he was
concerned that the seed supply situation remained critical at a time when
most small-scale and communal farmers buy their seed. The government has set
aside about $8,5 billion for its input credit scheme and seed companies
began processing the huge order only a month ago.

      Tsikisayi said the ZFU was consulting the government to seek the way
forward as many farmers who were buying seed on their individual capacity
were struggling to access inputs in time.

      Less than 30 percent of communal and small-scale farmers in the
country have access to the government input credit scheme and this means
that most farmers buy the seed on their own.

      Responding to the seed situation, SeedCo, the country's largest seed
producer confirmed that it had been requested by the government to commit a
certain quantity of its products for the government crop input programme.
The company could not say how many tonnes of seed were being set aside for
the input scheme but said it was still working out modalities of the
exercise, including exact quantities.

      The company said: "While SeedCo has been working to distribute seed
into the trade, the huge appetite for seed products that had built up over
the past couple of months has resulted in shelves being emptied very
quickly.

      "On the other hand, the huge demand for seed both from retail trade
and farmers and the need to balance requirements for the government
programme has resulted in delays in some outlets receiving their orders."

      The company said there were adequate seed stocks to meet farmers'
needs for the 2002/2003 growing season when all distribution was completed
through the government input programme and traditional retail sales.

      Zimbabwe has enough seed of the staple food crop, maize. Available
figures from the Seed Production and Trade Committee show that the seed
demand for maize hybrid this year would be a record high of 40,000 tonnes
and this was against available stocks of 47,518 tonnes. This leaves a
surplus of 7,518 tonnes.

      A total of 4 000 tonnes of hybrid maize and 3 000 tonnes of open
pollinated maize varieties have been authorised for export.
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Radio review

Conflict of interest

Elisabeth Mahoney
Monday October 21, 2002
The Guardian

With Amnesty International concerned about how the war on terrorism may
include a tightening of freedom of expression, the World Service's current
Banned season makes involving radio. Yesterday's Play of the Week - Workshop
Negative was especially so, focusing as it does on what follows regime
change in a nation scarred by bloody conflict.
Here, in Cont Mhlanga's play, written five years after Zimbabwean
independence in 1980, those conflicts are racial and political, and deeply
embedded in the national psyche. Mhlanga wrote the play to air the issues
that everyone was talking about in private, but was too afraid to raise
publicly: "Revolutionary leaders getting real corrupt", he said, in an
introduction to the drama, "but they're all too scared to say it. I thought
theatre should come in and say those things".

The Zimbabwean government disagreed. After the play toured the country to
great acclaim, Workshop Negative was banned in 1986. Furthermore, everyone
involved in the production was intimidated. Mhlanga was detained and
interrogated, and narrowly escaped having the fingers on his writing hand
amputated as punishment.

The drama itself does pose vexed questions, and pulls no punches in its
analysis of post-independence Zimbabwe. Corruption is rife, black people are
fighting black people, socialism is being replaced by rampant, vicious
capitalism, and nobody is being brave. Three characters (a white worker, a
black worker and a workshop owner) represent the society in microcosm.

Between them, they voice wildly divergent viewpoints, each finding the other
to be the problem. The black workshop owner blames socialism; the white
worker blames his black colleagues ("he's black, you're black, you speak the
same language and you fight each other like animals"), and the black
idealist (played by Mhlanga) blames the system ("black or white: fight the
exploiters"). What will have been most galling to the government was that
the play ends optimistically, with a refuting of the differences that feed
oppression.

Shhh. Here comes Mike Figgis and his Private Passions (Radio 3). "My
tendency," he explained to a slightly startled sounding Michael Berkeley,
"would be to choose 10 very, very slow pieces of music, all funereal and
gloomy and depressing." Berkeley restrained Figgis, who had turned up with
cases and cases of misery ("we've had to put the iron claws around your
chest"), but all the director wanted was music that "disturbs you in some
ways and takes you to a place you're not quite in control of, and a place
perhaps you wouldn't have gone without the music" - rather like the Banned
season, in fact.

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    Appeal to President Mbeki on African Day on Human and People's Rights
      Amnesty, Mon 21 Oct 2002
      AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

      Open Letter

      Embargo Date: 21 October 2002 00:01 GMT
      Zimbabwe: Appeal to President Mbeki on African Day on Human and
Peoples Rights

      To mark African Day on Human and Peoples' Rights on 21 October,
Amnesty International's Secretary General, Irene Khan, has written to South
African President Thabo Mbeki expressing the organization's concern
regarding the deteriorating human rights situation in Zimbabwe. Over 13,500
people from 126 countries signed an Amnesty International petition in
support of the call for action from President Mbeki.
      Open letter from the Secretary General of Amnesty International to the
President of South Africa on the occasion of African Day on Human and
Peoples' Rights21 October 2002
      Dear Mr. President,

      On the occasion of the 16th anniversary of the coming into force of
the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, I would like to express my
deep concern about the deteriorating human rights situation in Zimbabwe.
Amnesty International warmly welcomes South Africa's influential role in
helping to mediate the crisis thus far, noting in particular South Africa's
participation in the Commonwealth troika and your role as current Chair of
the African Union. However, Amnesty International believes that African
leaders, including your government, need to intensify efforts to publicly
signal to the Zimbabwean government that human rights violations including
those perpetrated by "militia" linked to the state, are unacceptable and to
remind them that these acts are in clear violation of the human rights
principles enshrined in the African Charter.

      Most recently through the African Union and the New Partnership for
Africa's Development (NEPAD), African leaders reaffirmed their commitment to
take effective and concrete measures to promote principles of human rights.
The NEPAD Declaration on Democracy, Political, Economic and Corporate
Governance, which South Africa played a key role in drafting, promoted the
principle of peer review and formally recognized the need for regional
accountability. The disparity between the principles enshrined in the
African Charter and the NEPAD Declaration, and the reality of human rights
violations in Zimbabwe creates an urgent need for effective peer review in
practice. The test is whether the good intentions of NEPAD and the African
Union can be realized as a new dawn for human rights protection in Africa,
particularly in countries like Zimbabwe, where human rights are constantly
under attack.

      Amnesty International has been monitoring closely the human rights
situation in Zimbabwe. In June 2002, Amnesty International published a
report entitled Zimbabwe: The toll of impunity (AI Index: AFR 46/034/2002),
a copy of which was sent to you and other members of the South African
Government. The report surveyed the range of human rights concerns which
Amnesty International has documented in Zimbabwe, particularly over the past
two years. As the report indicates, there is a serious level of human rights
violations occurring in Zimbabwe including extrajudicial executions,
torture, and denial of the rights to freedom of expression, association and
assembly.

      According to the latest figures released by the Zimbabwe Human Rights
NGO Forum, approximately 58 politically-motivated killings and over 1,050
cases of torture have been reported in 2002 alone. Furthermore, the conduct
of the country-wide local council elections recently held in late September
2002 indicates that the pattern observed in other elections of
state-sponsored threats, intimidation and attacks on opposition supporters
in the run-up to and during elections continues. According to the MDC,
approximately half of the MDC candidates who intended to contest the
elections were allegedly unable to, largely in response to threats,
intimidation and violence perpetrated by government authorities and
state-sponsored 'militia'. These events confirm that conditions for
elections free from violence and intimidation do not exist in Zimbabwe, and
that grave human rights violations continue to occur:
      Political manipulation of the police
      The investigation and prosecution of suspected state-sponsored
perpetrators of human rights violations continue to be blocked by the
political misuse of the police. The Zimbabwean government has undermined the
effectiveness of the police, and distorted their professional role as
impartial protectors of the community. This is evident in incidents which
show their collusion with "militias" or at the very least their acquiescence
in the face of "militia" assaults; the failure to bring to justice those
responsible for this violence; and the failure to bring to justice police
officers who are colluding with or acquiescing in violations by the
"militias".

      Not only have the police consistently failed to take adequate steps to
prevent incidents of violence and arrest those responsible, they have also
been directly involved as perpetrators by carrying out arbitrary arrests,
beatings and torture during the past two years.

      A climate of impunity persists as police, apparently under political
instructions, fail to arrest and investigate those who commit human rights
violations. The terrible consequences for victims of this situation is
compounded by the impunity enjoyed by police who commit human rights
violations without fear of being held accountable.
      Erosion of the independence of the judiciary and circumvention of its
effectiveness
      The judiciary has a crucial role to play in enforcing the law and
ending impunity for suspected perpetrators of human rights violations in
Zimbabwe. However, Government attempts to harass and intimidate magistrates,
and force out judges perceived to be critical of state policy, undermine the
role of the judiciary, erode confidence in its decisions and damage it as an
institution.

      Several attacks on local magistrates have taken place in response to
judgements they have made. For example, Godfrey Gwaka, the magistrate for
Zaka district, Masvingo province, was stabbed on 26 August 2002 at Zaka
service centre. It is suspected that the attack is related to judgements
made by Godfrey Gwaka which were allegedly perceived to be in support of
opposition supporters.

      The government also continues its campaign of harassing senior judges
as witnessed most recently by the arrest on 13 September 2002 of retired
High Court Judge Fergus Blackie on charges relating to alleged
irregularities in his handling of an appeal case prior to retirement. Judge
Blackie was released on bail, however the charges have not been dropped.
Amnesty International fears that the real motivation for his arrest stems
from his ruling on 17 July 2002 that Patrick Chinamasa, the Minister of
Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, was guilty of two counts of
contempt of court. Judge Blackie is the sixth judge to leave the bench since
2001. His departure highlights the government's ongoing efforts to
intimidate the judiciary. Judges who have shown any sign of judicial
independence have been threatened with investigation and disciplinary action
for supposed misconduct.
      Evasion of justice through the granting of presidential amnesties,
clemencies and indemnities
      The continued issuing of presidential pardons benefiting perpetrators
of human rights violations represents a lost chance for justice and for
breaking the cycle of impunity that has plagued Zimbabwe for decades. By
formalizing impunity for gross human rights abuses, presidential clemency
orders have encouraged state agents to continue to commit or condone human
rights violations in the knowledge that they will not be held responsible
for such crimes by the government. The most recent clemency order was
granted in 2000 following the parliamentary elections. However the pattern
stretches back to before independence, creating a longstanding climate of
impunity for perpetrators. These orders are a breach of international human
rights law. They allow perpetrators to escape justice, deprive victims of
access to any remedies and leave the society as a whole vulnerable to a
cycle of violence.
      Obscuring the identification of the state's agents in perpetrating
human rights violations
      In an attempt to escape accountability for human rights violations,
the Zimbabwean government uses its "militias" to abduct and torture
individuals who are known or suspected supporters of the opposition Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC) party, including people who acted as polling
agents or stood as MDC candidates in recent elections. The evidence in cases
documented by Amnesty International as well as local human rights
organizations shows a clear link between the "militia", the government and
the ruling party.

      The "militia" groups constitute a powerful weapon for suppressing any
form of political opposition. They are allowed to operate without
interference. They appear to enjoy logistical support from government and
party agents. Documented acts of torture and assault, as well as rape and
other forms of sexual violence, committed by "militias" as groups or
individuals, have clearly occurred in a context of state-sanctioned
violence. In allowing these abuses to occur, the Zimbabwean government is
flouting Zimbabwe's Constitution and evading its obligations under
international human rights law.
      Attacks on human rights defenders and the independent media
      The increasing clampdown on Zimbabwe's independent media and human
rights NGOs is indicative of the government's efforts to silence the media
and prevent the investigation and publication of human rights violations.
Since the enactment of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy
Act on 15 March 2002, at least 16 journalists have been arrested for
allegedly contravening various sections of the Act. On 29 August 2002, the
Harare office of Voice of the People, one of Zimbabwe's two independent
broadcasting organizations, was bombed by unknown assailants.

      On 29 August 2002, Dr. Frances Lovemore, Medical Director of Amani
Trust, a leading human rights and service organization in Zimbabwe, was
arrested in Harare and charged with "publishing or communicating false
statements prejudicial to the state". The charge stemmed from press reports
which referred to Amani Trust's work with victims of torture and politically
motivated rape in Zimbabwe. The offices of Amani Trust were raided and
searched by police. Police also initially obstructed access to Dr. Lovemore
by her family and lawyer. Dr. Lovemore was released the next day and all
charges against her dropped due to insufficient evidence.

      On 13 September 2002, the government issued a public notice advising
NGOs to register with the government as per Section 6 of the Private
Voluntary Organizations (PVO) Act. The notice warns that those NGOs which
continue to operate without being registered risk prosecution. Although the
PVO Act was enacted in 1997, it has not been fully enforced. Given
increasing state repression of freedom of expression and assembly in
Zimbabwe, Amnesty International is concerned that this recent notice signals
intensified efforts on the part of the government to silence organizations
perceived to be critical of the state.

      Based on this, Amnesty International therefore urges African leaders
including from South Africa to take a more public stand in condemning state
sponsored repression and violence in Zimbabwe. I believe that a stronger
stand by South Africa, along with other leaders from the African Union and
the Southern African Development Community is vital to ending impunity in
Zimbabwe and to protecting the human rights of all Zimbabwean citizens. I
therefore once again call on your government to use its highly influential
voice to encourage the Zimbabwean authorities to bring an end to human
rights violations perpetrated by the government.

      Yours sincerely,

      Irene Khan
      Secretary General

      Public Document

      ****************************************

      For more information please call Amnesty International's press office
in London, UK, on +44 20 7413 5566

      Amnesty International, 1 Easton St., London WC1X 0DW.
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Christian Science Monitor

from the October 21, 2002 edition

      Why stop with Iraq?

      By Robert I. Rotberg

      CAMBRIDGE, MASS. - If the US persists in enforcing regime change in
Iraq, why not do so in every country where the ruler is odious and grossly
mistreats his or her people?
      Among the many possible candidates for regime change are the cruel
despots of Belarus, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Equatorial Guinea, Liberia,
North Korea, the Sudan, and Zimbabwe. If intervening in Iraq might take a
few weeks and 400,000 troops, ousting some of these less formidable
oppressors might need as little as a lunch hour and a small detachment of
marines.

      Admittedly, Iraq is in a category of its own. Intelligence suggests
that it possesses biological and chemical weapons capacity, and, once it
secures fissile material, might be able to construct a nuclear device. Aside
from North Korea, none of these other places harbors weapons of mass
destruction.

      Yet, in each case, these rulers possess and have used weapons of
destruction against their own people, causing the immiseration of millions.
President Charles Taylor in Liberia, for example, has long embroiled his
country and neighboring Guinea and Sierra Leone in crippling wars. The
military rulers of Burma have insistently employed forced labor to build
pipelines and roads, greatly impoverished their people, and refused to abide
by the prodemocratic results of the 1990 election. The Sudanese government
bombs its own (rebellious) citizens in the south, and has done so
systematically for 19 years.

      Several if not all of the other places hold their own people in as
much or more contempt than Saddam Hussein does his citizens. President
Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe, for example, is now letting about half his
population - a full six million people - starve.

      According to a UN special rapporteur's account in late September,
standards of living in Iraq have recently improved; the quality of life in
Iraq appears much better than in most of the other countries on our possible
hit list.

      But in Zimbabwe, in North Korea, and in almost all of the other
places, living conditions remain exceedingly difficult.

      If Washington is truly prepared to play policeman of the world on
behalf of human rights concerns, and to prevent rulers from repressing their
own citizens, we need a new political doctrine and a carefully enunciated
set of criteria for action. If the US is truly ready to contravene
international law and the UN charter, we need to decide whether it is only
resource-rich states that are subject to attack, or if poorer autocracies
also receive close American attention.

      Alternatively, if preemptive strikes are to be launched only when
rogue states possess weapons of mass destruction and are prepared to use
them against the US or its allies, then we need a different doctrine, a
method of ascertaining sure intent, and a means of ensuring ourselves that
the weapons are armed and poised. Under this last rubric, Washington might
be compelled to act against Pakistan or India, or both.

      Clearly there is dissonance. Washington can only justify attacking
Iraq and not Zimbabwe because of weapons of mass destruction, possible links
to Al Qaeda, oil, and politics. Yet Zimbabwe (and Burma, Liberia, the Sudan,
etc.) are the clearer cases and, in some ways, the easier cases.

      Whereas Mr. Hussein used poison gas against the Kurds more than a
decade ago, and started the foolish assault on Kuwait in 1990, Mr. Mugabe is
torturing opponents now, depriving literally millions of food, and
destroying his country's entire capacity to prosper.

      Whereas Iraq's GDP per capita is growing, Zimbabwe's has fallen by
about 20 percent in two years. Liberia is a failed state where the people
continue to suffer from Taylor's greed and constant warfare. All of the new
oil wealth of Equatorial Guinea is going into the hands of President General
Teodoro Obiang Nguema. Alexander Lukashenko, in Belarus, behaves
arbitrarily, like Mugabe, but with fewer convenient scapegoats. Hun Sen runs
a punishing operation in Cambodia, as the military junta does in battered
Burma.

      Each of these hapless and abysmally run countries merits intervention.
Why not remove their rulers, and demonstrate to the world that the US means
business?

      It may be much more salutary to bully with a broad, all-encompassing
sweep than to focus only on the Middle Eastern country with the most oil, a
legacy of having survived Desert Storm, and a ruler who has thumbed his nose
at Washington and its presidents.

      . Robert I. Rotberg is director of Harvard University's Program on
Intrastate Conflict at the Kennedy School and president of the World Peace
Foundation.
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BBC

Monday, 21 October, 2002, 15:17 GMT 16:17 UK
Zimbabwe union official freed

 A court in Zimbabwe has dismissed fresh charges against a union leader,
arrested for the second time last week for his role in a nationwide
teachers' strike.
The court freed the general secretary of a teachers' union, Raymond
Majongwe, after finding that the state had failed to make its case against
him.

His Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) has been on strike since 8
October, demanding a 100% pay rise.

Official inflation is currently running at 135%, while up to half the
population - six million people - is facing the prospect of starvation,
according to aid agencies.

Court regular

Last Friday, the attorney general's office declined to press new charges
against Mr Majongwe but the police changed the accusations against him and
kept him in jail over the weekend, reports the French news agency, AFP.

He is due to appear in court again this Friday, after being charged under
the controversial new Public Order and Security Act (POSA) following his
first arrest.

This makes it an offence for "any person who, acting in concert with one or
more other persons, forcibly invades the rights of other people".

Mr Majongwe was detained after being accused of trying to force teachers at
two schools in the capital, Harare, to join the dispute.

The Zimbabwean Government says it has dismissed more than 600 teachers for
taking part in the strike.

It accuses some of them of supporting the opposition Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC).

Tortured

Mr Majongwe was freed on bail 10 days ago after reportedly being tortured
while in police custody.

Mr Majongwe was a senior official of the opposition Zimbabwe Union of
Democrats before forming the PTUZ.

Education, Sport and Culture Minister Aneas Chigwedere has called the strike
illegal, although he has admitted that teachers in Zimbabwe are the lowest
paid in the Southern African region, AFP reported.

A high school teacher in Zimbabwe takes home 20,000 Zimbabwe dollars
(US$364) a month, much less that other civil servants, AFP reports.

Many opposition activists and two journalists have complained of being
tortured while in police custody as political tensions have risen in recent
years.
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VOA

Zimbabwe's Opposition Claims Harassment Ahead of Election

Peta Thornycroft
Harare
21 Oct 2002, 15:49 UTC

Opposition leaders in Zimbabwe say their supporters are being harassed by
backers of the ruling party ahead of a local election in Matabeleland
province in the southwestern part of the country.

Opposition spokesman Paul Nyathi said 11 members of the Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) were arrested on Sunday in the Insiza district of
Matabeleland and are now in police custody. He said another 14 opposition
supporters were arrested and later released on bail last week.

Under the conditions of their bail, nine of them who are registered in the
Insiza district are not allowed to return to vote at the weekend.

Mr. Nyathi said the opposition was going to court to try and get their bail
conditions changed.

The opposition spokesman also said that Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the
Movement for Democratic Change, was stopped by police at roadblocks eight
times in the area of Insiza on Sunday. The spokesman said Mr. Tsvangirai was
there to address his supporters.

The by-election is for a seat won by the opposition in the last general
election in June 2000. The MDC member of parliament subsequently died, and
the ruling ZANU-PF party says it is determined to win back the seat.

Two cabinet ministers are leading the campaign in Insiza for the ruling
party. They told people on Sunday that the opposition was sponsored by
Britain and wished to control Zimbabwe's resources.

Insiza is located in one of the areas that has been most affected by the
shortage of food in Zimbabwe.

On Friday, the United Nations closed its feeding program in this area,
citing theft of food and intimidation of its staff by ruling party
supporters.

Now the only source of food in the Insiza district is from the State
Controlled Grain Marketing Board, which opposition supporters say refuses to
sell them food.

Many of the 40,000 registered voters in this huge electoral district were
once employed in recently closed mines and commercial farms.
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News24

Dead statesman's rights in focus

Michael Hartnack

Harare, Zimbabwe - Government lawyers seeking to strip veteran human rights
campaigner Judith Todd of her Zimbabwe citizenship asked the Supreme Court
on Monday for a postponement.

Todd (57), the daughter of the late former Prime Minister Sir Garfield Todd,
filed suit after Zimbabwe's registrar general, Tobaiwa Mudede, said she had
automatically forfeited her citizenship because she did not renounce any
claim to New Zealand citizenship that she may have inherited from her
father.

She has also rebuffed moves by President Robert Mugabe to have her father,
who died last week at 94, declared a national hero and given a state
funeral.

Sir Garfield campaigned for black advancement in Zimbabwe when it was a
British colony known as Southern Rhodesia. Although the government wants to
declare him a national hero, the registrar stripped him of his citizenship
and right to vote before the presidential elections last March because he
was born in Zimbabwe.

Todd said on Friday that declaring her father a hero would be
"inappropriate" and an "embarrassment" because he abhorred the ruling
Zanu-PF party's "suppression of democracy, erosion of civil liberties,
assassination of opposition officials and supporters, arrests, torture, and
the climate of fear spread throughout the country."

Hero status confers large cash benefits on heirs including pensions and
exemption from estate taxes.

Godfrey Chidyausiku, a former Mugabe minister appointed chief justice of the
Supreme Court, had angry exchanges with Todd's lawyer, Adrian de Bourbon in
court on Monday.

Chidyausiku criticised de Bourbon for not presenting the court with New
Zealand statutes on citizenship. However, de Bourbon protested that it was
up to the government to prove Todd held New Zealand citizenship. He said it
was not up to her to renounce a theoretical right she has never attempted to
exert.

The court said it would rule later in the week on a government request for
postponement to allow time to get copies of New Zealand statutes.

The case could outline the rights and duties of up to 2 million Zimbabweans
of foreign descent.

Mugabe passed tough new citizenship laws last year claiming 40 000 whites of
British descent were behind opposition to his 22-year rule. However, under
the law many black Zimbabweans of Zambian and Mozambican parentage now face
statelessness.

Todd's test case is being funded by international donors.

Zimbabwe has been racked by political unrest and economic collapse since
Mugabe lost a constitutional referendum in February 2000.

His claims to victory in later parliamentary and presidential elections have
been widely challenged.

Sir Garfield Todd is due to be buried on Sunday at his farm near Zvishavane,
500 kilometres south of Harare. - Sapa-AP
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"There seems to be a new game on the horizon (sorry not on the horizon -
actually happening now - particularly to us on the Hill).  We have had no
water supplies for over 6 days now on the hill.   Daily runs by car with
loads of plastic bottles etc., to fill up with potable water at homes where
water was still being pumped, came to an abrupt end today when, after a week
of desperation, we awake to read the Herald headlines 'WATER RATIONED'.
Our former 'water suppliers' in the nearby suburbs also woke up this morning
to 'no water at all'.   Looks like they got fed up trying to starve us to
death - and now we are being induced to hurry along our demise through
thirst!

No logical responses coming from the Municipality.  The first excuse is that
the transformer for ZESA in Belvedere blew up and that, in turn affected
pumping power to the water reservoir Philadelphia on the Hill.  Being a retired Alderman who spent fourteen years in the Town Planning and Works Department of this City, I know for a fact that the excuse is without any foundation.  Probably the reservoir is without any foundation - that
would make more sense.

Anyway, it is quite illegal, internationally to 'ration' water by cutting
off all supplies of potable water to a population in the city.  Of course,
it might be a means by the Government to bring down the wholly MDC City
council of Harare - cute thinking!  Or, it might be an attempt by others to
bring about an upsurge in civil unrest. That surely will happen if this
continues.  And I will bloody well be in the forefront of the ranks.
Starvation is one thing and a slow means of wiping out a population, but
without water, genocide is certain.

Must go now and search for water again. It's a daily exercise that is
beating us into the ground, especially with petrol shortages to boot and the
ferocious cost of living where a single potato is costing up to $100!   If
the International community doesn't do something really very fast, they can
kiss us all  Goodbye!

Oh, and another thing. There has been sabotage which is about the only truth
the Herald came out with.  Our borehole which produces a very low yeild in
emergencies  has had its cables cut through, the hosepipe stolen and the
water tanks holed.  This could well be an attempt to force us out of our
homes now - or it might be an effort by the opposition to force us to sit up
and do SOMETHING about this government.  But, we cannot do it alone."
S.
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