The Times
April 17, 2008
James Bone and Sam Coates in New York
Gordon Brown declared
yesterday that the world must stop Robert Mugabe from
stealing the
Zimbabwean election and raised the prospect of a run-off
contest supervised
by United Nations monitors.
Challenging the Zimbabwean leader and
abandoning nearly a decade of British
“soft” diplomacy, the Prime Minister
told a UN summit: “No one thinks having
seen the results in polling stations
that President Mugabe has won this
election. A stolen election would not be
a democratic election at all.”
Mr Brown was speaking at a Security
Council meeting in New York chaired by
Thabo Mbeki, the South African
President, who did not even mention Zimbabwe.
The South African leader
has continued to advocate his policy of “quiet
diplomacy” towards Zimbabwe,
which until yesterday was supported by Britain.
In what was regarded as a
diplomatic snub, Mr Mbeki cancelled a scheduled
meeting with Mr Brown and
instead chatted to him for only a few minutes in a
UN lounge.
The
Prime Minister and Zalmay Khalilzad, the US Ambassador to the UN, joined
forces to embrace a proposal by Ban Ki Moon, the UN Secretary-General, to
send international observers to monitor a possible run-off between Mr Mugabe
and the opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai.
“The credibility of the
democratic process in Africa could be at stake
here,” the UN chief told the
summit. “If there is a second round of
elections, they must be conducted in
a fair and transparent manner, with
international observers.”
France
joined the growing international chorus. Rama Yade, its Human Rights
Minister, called for the Zimbabwean Government to release the election
results. “The people of Zimbabwe need to know the truth,” she
said.
But China, which maintains close relations with Mr Mugabe as part
of its
quest for natural resources in Africa, made no mention of Zimbabwe in
its
speech. Chinese diplomats say the election stand-off is an internal
matter
not appropriate for Security Council involvement.
A
UNmonitored run-off could offer a compromise to end the impasse, but
international monitors would need to be invited by the host country. Mr
Mugabe could avoid defeat in the March 29 poll, while Mr Tsvangirai might be
reassured that the result of the rematch would not be rigged as he has
feared.
Britain is still calling for the results of the election to
be published,
while emphasising that from all the available evidence it
appears that Mr
Mugabe lost.
British officials believe the issue must
now be addressed by the Southern
Africa Development Community (SADC), which
is due to meet again this
weekend. Should the SADC conclude that the most
sensible way forward is a
run-off,
Britain wants UN oversight,
including election monitors.
Mr Brown discussed the idea with Mr Ban at
breakfast yesterday – a day after
the UN chief had spoken to President Bush.
“Everybody is angry they have not
seen the election results announced. The
General-Secretary has now announced
UN help and if there were to be a second
round, they would send observers .
. . I am pleased the UN Secretary-General
is dealing with the situation,” Mr
Brown said.
The United States
proposed that the UN and African Union send a joint
delegation to press
Zimbabwe’s election commission to publish the results of
the March 29
poll.
It was unclear last night how badly damaged Britain’s relations
were with
the South African leader, a close ally of Tony Blair’s and new
Labour. Mr
Mbeki, who has called the situation in Zimbabwe a “normal
electoral process”,
had insisted it was not on the Security Council
agenda.
The South African leader earlier cancelled a scheduled sit-down
meeting with
Mr Brown in a private room because of a “diary clash”. The
meeting was
replaced by what a British official called a five to ten-minute
“brush-past”
in a diplomatic lounge backstage before the two walked into the
Security
Council together.
South Africa’s UN Ambassador, Dumisani
Kumalo, said that Mr Mbeki changed
the planned meeting because “he only
arrived in the early hours of the
morning”. But another South African
official said that Mr Mbeki had arrived
on time in New York before 9pm on
Tuesday.
The South African leader faces a growing divide at home with his
own ruling
African National Congress (ANC). Mr Mbeki’s silence provided a
further
opportunity for Jacob Zuma, head of the ANC, to criticise his policy
of
quiet diplomacy. In his toughest statement yet, Mr Zuma said in
Johannesburg: “We once again register our apprehension about the situation
in Zimbabwe. The delay in the verification process and the release of
results increases anxiety each day.”
Reuters
Wed 16 Apr 2008, 16:48
GMT
By Louis Charbonneau and Patrick Worsnip
UNITED
NATIONS, April 16 (Reuters) - Western states joined the U.N. in
expressing
concerns about Zimbabwe's recent election but most African
nations avoided
the issue at a Security Council-African Union summit on
Wednesday.
"No one thinks, having seen the results of polling
stations, that President
(Robert) Mugabe has won" the March 29 elections in
Zimbabwe, British Prime
Minister Gordon Brown told the summit.
No
results have so far been announced from the presidential vote in the
southern African country, a former British colony.
"A stolen election
would not be a democratic election at all," Brown said.
"Let a single clear
message go out from here in New York that we ... stand
solidly behind
democracy and human rights for Zimbabwe."
South Africa, current president
of the Security Council, scheduled the
summit to discuss cooperation between
the United Nations and the African
Union (AU). It did not include Zimbabwe
as an official topic but many
Western countries had said they would raise
the issue.
"I am deeply concerned at the uncertainty created by the
prolonged
non-release of the election results in Zimbabwe," U.N.
Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon told the gathering.
"Absent a
transparent solution to this impasse, the situation could
deteriorate
further with serious implications for the people of Zimbabwe,"
he
said.
South African President Thabo Mbeki, who chaired Wednesday's
summit, has
insisted that the situation in Zimbabwe is not a crisis and can
be resolved
through the Southern Africa Development Community, which has
avoided a tough
stand.
Without mentioning South Africa or SADC by
name, Ban made it clear that he
was not satisfied with this
approach.
"The Zimbabwean authorities and the countries of the region
have insisted
that these matters are for the region to resolve but the
international
community continues to watch and wait for decisive action,"
Ban said.
INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS
One African leader who did
mention Zimbabwe was Tanzanian President Jakaya
Kikwete, whose country
chairs the AU. He praised the SADC for doing a
"tremendous job ... to ensure
that the will of the people of Zimbabwe is
respected."
Last week the
SADC decided not to adopt a tough stance on Zimbabwe but
Kikwete said it
would meet again soon.
U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said he was
"gravely concerned about the
escalating politically motivated violence
perpetrated by security forces and
ruling party militias."
Like
Brown, he backed Ban's call for international observers to be deployed
in
Zimbabwe if a second round of presidential elections were to be held. He
suggested that a joint AU-U.N. mission go to Zimbabwe. Italy, France,
Belgium and Croatia also expressed concern.
Other than Kikwete, no
Africans mentioned the issue, including Mbeki, who
focused on a general need
to boost cooperation between the AU and Security
Council to improve African
peacekeeping operations.
The Security Council is not expected to take any
action on Zimbabwe because
of resistance from South Africa and other council
members. But any
discussion of the issue at the meeting helps boost the
pressure on Mugabe,
Western diplomats say.
Brown, Khalilzad and Ban
called for more action to ease the crisis in the
western Sudan region of
Darfur, where only 9,000 of the required 26,000
U.N.-AU peacekeepers are
deployed.
International experts estimate around 2.5 million people have
been displaced
and 200,000 have died in five years of violence in Darfur.
Khartoum puts the
death toll at 9,000.
Agence France-Presse (AFP)
Date: 16 Apr 2008
by Gerard Aziakou
UNITED
NATIONS, April 16, 2008 (AFP) - UN chief Ban Ki-moon backed by some
Western
countries urged southern African leaders Wednesday to take "decisive
action"
to end the Zimbabwe crisis, saying the world body stood ready to
help.
"The Zimbabwean authorities and the countries of the region
have insisted
that these matters are for the region to resolve," he told a
high-level
meeting of the Security Council, referring to the delayed results
of
Zimbabwe's March 29 presidential polls.
"But the international
community continues to watch and wait for decisive
action."
Officially, the worsening Zimbabwe crisis was not on the
agenda of
Wednesday's meeting, but Ban and Western members made it a point
to address
the issue.
"The credibility of the democratic process in
Africa could be at stake
here," Ban told the meeting hosted by South African
President Thabo Mbeki,
whose country chairs the 15-member council this
month.
"If there is a second round of elections, they must be conducted
in a fair
and transparent manner, with international observers," he
added.
Ban urged leaders of the Southern African Development Community
(SADC),
which have been mediating between Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe
and the
country's opposition to continue their efforts.
"The United
Nations stands ready to provide assistance in this regard," the
UN secretary
general said.
Sunday SADC leaders wrapped up an emergency meeting in
Zambia with a call on
Harare to release the election
results.
Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai says he beat the
84-year-old
Mugabe outright in the March 29 polls, but the ruling party says
neither man
won a clear victory and insists a run-off will be
needed.
"No one thinks, having seen the results of polling stations, that
President
Mugabe has won this election," British Prime Minister Gordon
Brown, whose
country is Zimbabwe's former colonial ruler, told the
gathering.
"A stolen election would not be a democratic election at all,"
he added.
"So let a single, clear message go out from here in New York:
that we are
and will be vigilant for democratic rights; that we stand
solidly behind
democracy and human rights for Zimbabwe. And we stand ready
to support
Zimbabweans build a better future."
Plans for a bilateral
breakfast meeting between Brown and Mbeki to discuss
Zimbabwe did not
materialize as the South Africans cited a scheduling
conflict, according to
Michael Hoare, a spokesman for Britain's UN mission.
Brown also canceled
a scheduled press conference here.
Mugabe's security forces have clamped
down hard on unrest during a general
strike in Zimbabwe, arresting dozens of
opposition supporters before the
stoppage fizzled out on
Wednesday.
Mbeki has come under fire for telling journalists last week
that "there is
no crisis" in Zimbabwe. Mbeki met Mugabe on Saturday in
Harare while on his
way to the SADC summit.
In his speech to the
council, Mbeki made no mention of the Zimbabwe crisis,
focusing instead on
the main theme of the debate: how to bolster ties
between the UN and
regional organizations, specifically the African Union.
But France's
deputy minister for human rights Rama Yade also briefly raised
Zimbabwe in
her address. "The people of Zimbabwe must not be deprived of
their victory,
which is the victory of democracy," she said.
Speaking to reporters on
her way to the council debate, Yade noted: "We are
concerned about
developments and we want the results of this election to be
announced as
soon as possible because the people of Zimbabwe needs the truth
of this
electoral verdict."
Also attending Wednesday's meeting were the
presidents of Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC), Ivory Coast, Somalia and
Tanzania as well as the
prime ministers of Italy, and Ethiopia.
Yahoo News
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - The US
ambassador to the UN Wednesday expressed
concern about the "escalating
politically motivated" violence in Zimbabwe
and urged a joint role by UN and
the African Union to resolve the election
crisis.
"We are gravely
concerned about the escalating politically-motivated
violence perpetrated by
(Zimbabwean) security forces and ruling party
militias," Ambassador Zalmay
Khalilzad told a high-level meeting of the UN
Security Council.
He
said the time had come for the UN to back efforts by southern African
leaders to settle the crisis "through a joint mission with the African Union
to ensure that... the will of the Zimbabwean people is
upheld."
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's security forces clamped
down hard on
unrest during a general strike in Zimbabwe, arresting dozens of
opposition
supporters before the stoppage fizzled out on
Wednesday.
Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai claims he beat 84-year-old
Mugabe
outright in the presidential election last month, but the ruling
party says
neither man won a clear victory and insists a run-off will be
needed.
Official results have not been published.
Sunday Southern
African Development Community (SADC) leaders wrapped up an
emergency meeting
in Zambia with a call on Harare to release the election
results.
"The
(Harare) government and its supporters must desist immediately from
violence
and intimidation, act with restraint, respect human rights, and
allow the
electoral process to continue unfettered," Khalilzad said.
And he
expressed support for UN chief Ban Ki-moon's call for international
observers to monitor any second round of the Zimbabwean presidential
poll.
"If there is a second round of elections, they must be conducted in
a fair
and transparent manner, with international observers," Ban told the
council
meeting earlier in the day.
nasdaq
(RTTNews) - The Robert Mugabe regime
once again became the object of rising
international criticism over its
reluctance to acknowledge defeat in the
Zimbabwe general elections, as the
UN Security Council'sAfrica summit
convened to debate ways to strengthen the
UN-AU working relationship warned
that Africa's credibility is at stake
unless democracy is upheld in
Zimbabwe.
British Prime Minister Gordon
Brown sent a clear message to Harare by
calling upon the world not to let
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe steal
the presidential
elections.
"No one thinks, having seen the result at the polling
stations, that
President Mugabe has won this election," Brown told the
summit held in New
York to debate peacekeeping in Africa.
"A stolen
election would not be an election at all," Brown said, adding that
his
government "will do everything to encourage efforts" to resolve the
dispute,
including mediation by the Southern African Development Community
and the
UN.
Expressing concern over the uncertainty created by the lack of
transparency
in Zimbabwe's elections, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
demanded, "If
there is a second round of elections, they must be conducted
in a fair and
transparent manner, with international observers."
The
summit was convened to strengthen the African Union's peacekeeping
capabilities in the context that conflicts in the African continent have
taken up 60 percent of UN peacekeeping operations.
Ban Ki-moon has
proposed setting up a UN-AU panel to study ways for both
sides to meet the
challenges in Africa.
European Union (EU)
Date: 16 Apr 2008
8509/08 (Presse
100)
P 051/08
Brussels, 16 April 2008 - The European Union is
following the situation in
Zimbabwe closely and welcomes the holding of the
Extraordinary SADC Summit
to discuss Zimbabwe, hosted by President Mwanawasa
of Zambia in his capacity
of Chair of SADC. It shares SADC's concern about
the situation and welcomes
its efforts to find a regional
solution.
The European Union supports the Summit's call for the
expeditious release of
the Presidential election results, in accordance with
the due process of
law. It reiterates its concern at the prolonged and
unexplained delay in
releasing the Presidential results which is undermining
the credibility of
the process.
The European Union expresses its deep
concern about the current
deteriorating situation in the field of human
rights and the increasing
reports of violent incidents.
The European
Union reiterates the importance of respect for democratic
principles and for
the elections to be a credible reflection of the free and
democratic will of
the Zimbabwean people.
The Candidate Countries Turkey, Croatia and the
former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia, the Countries of the Stabilisation
and Association Process and
potential candidates Albania, Montenegro,
Serbia, and the EFTA countries
Iceland and Norway, members of the European
Economic Area, as well as the
Republic of Moldova and Armenia align
themselves with this declaration.
Croatia and the former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia continue to be part of
the Stabilisation and
Association Process.
IOL
April
16 2008 at 06:45PM
Harare - Inflation in Zimbabwe, already the
world's highest, soared to
164 900 percent year-on-year in February, the
Central Statistics Office
(CSO) said on Wednesday.
"The
year-on-year inflation rate (annual percentage change) for the
month of
February 2008...stood at 164 900,3 percent, gaining 64 320,1
percentage
points on the January rate of 100 580,2 percent," the CSO said.
"The month-on-month inflation rate (monthly percentage change) in
February
2008 was 125,9 percent gaining 5,1 percentage points on the January
2008
rate of 120,8 percent."
Zimbabwe's economy is near collapse, with
chronic food shortages and
80 percent unemployment. A quarter of the
population has fled the country as
economic refugees.
nasdaq
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AFP)--A Zimbabwe farmers union said
Wednesday more than
130 white farmers had been driven off their land by
supporters of President
Robert Mugabe, and around 30 hadn't able to return
to their farms.
Trevor Gifford, president of the Commercial Farmers
Union, said at least 134
farmers had been affected by a new wave of farm
occupations by hardline
supporters of Mugabe amid rising tensions over the
results of recent polls.
"The majority of white farmers have been able to
return to their farms and
continue farming," Gifford said in a statement.
"Regrettably, we cannot say
this for all as the remainder are facing a
variety of difficult situations."
Around 30 farmers are still trying to
get back to their farms, he said,
adding intimidation is still
rife.
"Some of those who are still on the farms are still facing repeated
harassment and abuse despite police intervention," he said. "In some cases
the police are reluctant to get involved as they indicate that the issue is
now political."
Jabulani Sibanda, leader of Zimbabwe's so-called war
veterans who took part
in the country's independence struggle and were at
the forefront of land
invasions eight years ago, has denied recent
recurrences on mostly
white-owned farms.
Sibanda said war veterans
had merely gone to investigate claims whites were
preparing to "take back
the land" after opposition Movement for Democratic
Change leader Morgan
Tsvangirai declared he had won the presidential poll.
Mugabe's ruling
ZANU-PF has been fanning the flames of the land issue in a
bid to discredit
Tsvangirai, whom they typecast as a pro-Western stooge
planning to resettle
the whites.
Zimbabwe launched its controversial and often violent land
reforms eight
years ago seizing at least 4,000 properties formerly operated
by white
farmers, and pledging to redistribute them to landless
blacks.
An estimated 400 white farmers now remain in the
country.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
04-16-081129ET
SW Radio
Africa (London)
ANALYSIS
16 April 2008
Posted to the web 16 April
2008
Lance Guma
Soldiers and militants loyal to Robert
Mugabe's regime have unleashed a
terror campaign that the MDC on Wednesday
compared to the beginnings of the
Rwandan genocide in 1994.
In an
interview on our Behind the Headlines series MDC spokesman Nelson
Chamisa
said the brutal attacks on their supporters countrywide will
ultimately cost
many lives, including the two who have already been killed
in Karoi and
Mudzi.
In Magunje soldiers made villagers line up and forced them to
hold bullets
while demanding they meditate with their eyes closed, on why
they voted for
the opposition. One by one they were forced to reveal who
they voted for in
the election while soldiers asked menacingly, 'do you want
to start a war
with Zanu PF?' Military experts have described the tactic as
a Chinese
psychological torture technique. The MDC have also revealed that
ordinary
Zanu PF militia have been given army combat gear to wear and so
distinguishing genuine soldiers from fake ones has become
difficult.
Village elders in Magunje were also questioned on why they did
not ensure
their people voted for Zanu PF. Two village leaders bravely
defied the
soldiers and told them to strip them of their 'village head'
status if they
wanted. One of them, Forbes Chambati, ran on an MDC ticket
for the
parliamentary elections in the area. Although he lost to a Zanu PF
candidate, Chamisa says MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai had more votes than
Mugabe in the presidential election. The results were posted outside polling
stations in the area and could be clearly seen.
In Chatsworth
soldiers have ransacked villages at Injama farm and abducted
all the polling
agents who worked for the MDC during the election. In Gutu
in an area called
Chiguhuni, similar attacks have occurred. In Mutasa South
the party reports
that over 500 villagers have been made homeless after
soldiers ransacked and
burnt their homes. Those affected have moved to Old
Mutare. Chamisa says
their social welfare department is struggling to cope
with the refugee
crisis that is developing.
In Gokwe an MDC supporter was shot in both
legs on Tuesday and has been
admitted to a hospital in Gokwe centre. Again
Zanu PF militants masquerading
as soldiers were behind the attack. In Seke a
group of war veterans moved
around the villages wielding guns and
threatening those who voted for the
opposition. In Zaka, Tsholotsho and
other rural areas the stories are the
same.
The Zimbabwe Association
of Doctors for Human Rights has meanwhile confirmed
that its members have
treated more than 150 patients beaten and tortured
since the March 29
election. The doctors say the injuries clearly stemmed
from organised
violence and torture. Over 30 patients were from the Mudzi
area alone. 'The
commonest injury observed was extensive soft tissue injury
of the buttocks.
This results from prolonged beating with a hard blunt
object" the doctors
said. The doctors urged authorities to 'cease the use of
intimidation,
violence and torture as a form of retribution or
victimisation.'
SW Radio Africa
(London)
16 April 2008
Posted to the web 16 April 2008
Lance
Guma
Over 50 opposition supporters have been arrested in a clampdown
by security
forces, targeting those who participated in Tuesday's
stayaway.
Although police have only confirmed the arrest of 30 opposition
activists
the MDC insists the figure is much higher, with suggestions that
over 100
might have been picked up countrywide. According to MDC spokesman
Nelson
Chamisa most of those arrested are MDC staff members and include a
recently
elected member of parliament.
The MDC called for a
stayaway Tuesday to press for the release of
presidential election
results.
Former student leader Marvellous Khumalo who won the St Mary's
constituency,
Director of Information Luke Tamborinyoka, administrators
Kudakwashe
Matibiri and Fortune Goveya are some of those being held at
Harare Central
police station. Police claim those arrested barricaded
streets and stoned
buses that were transporting workers in the
morning.
With 80 percent unemployment and most people self-employed, the
response to
the stayaway was low key. There were however enough incidents to
suggest a
restive population. Angry youths in Harare threw a burning tyre
into a bus,
setting it alight, while others clashed with soldiers and police
in the
early hours of the morning. The situation was calm late in the
afternoon and
most shops and businesses made the decision to open at that
time. Chamisa
says they have received several reports that companies who
took heed of the
stayaway are being victimised by state security
agents.
He noted a high number of soldiers deployed around the suburbs
with police
almost, 'invisible.' He accused the soldiers of haphazardly
beating up
residents, in a clear attempt at intimidation.
SW Radio Africa
(London)
16 April 2008
Posted to the web 16 April 2008
Lance
Guma
Students at the National University of Science and Technology in
Bulawayo
rioted on campus Wednesday, demanding that Robert Mugabe step down
as
Chancellor of the University.
The demonstration is said to have
turned violent when riot police entered
the campus and started beating up
students indiscriminately. Angry students
then turned on one member of the
police force who was brandishing a pistol,
and stoned him. Several cars and
buildings were stoned during the
skirmishes.
The students are
angry about the poor educational standards in the country
and blame Mugabe's
misrule for their plight. They also demanded a release of
presidential
election results, which have still not been announced 18 days
after
Zimbabweans voted. Zimbabwe National Students Union President Clever
Bere
warned Mugabe that students would make the country 'ungovernable' if he
tried to 'steal' the election.
The students have declared they will
go on an indefinite class boycott while
they wait for new a Chancellor to be
installed. They said Mugabe's term
expired on March 28th. Meanwhile another
statement from ZINASU says over 300
students at the University of Zimbabwe
in Harare demonstrated against the
withholding of presidential election
results. A branch of the Commercial
Bank of Zimbabwe (CBZ), which operates
from campus, was shut down during the
protest.
Sunday Independent, SA
16
April 2008, 11:36
An uncleared vessel - suspected of carrying arms -
docked at the Durban
harbour, the National Ports authority said on
Wednesday.
Spokesperson Ricky Bhikraj said the Chinese vessel had entered
the port
without clearance and had currently docked at the outer
anchorage.
The ship - called 'An Yue Jiang' is suspected of carrying a
consignment of
arms allegedly headed for Zimbabwe.
A Port side police
source told Sapa the ship was carrying arms and had
docked at the harbour on
April 14.
He said there were rumours that it was to deliver arms to
Zimbabwe.
Bhikraj confirmed that a vessel by that name had entered the
Port of Durban.
"We can confirm that there is an uncleared vessel (not
cleared to enter
port) by that name currently at the outer anchorage. The
allegations are
being handled by the various national security authorities,"
he said.
Noseweek editor Martin Welz earlier told Sapa: "The cargo ship
was openly
delivering a containment of arms for Zimbabwe."
Asked
where he had obtained the information from, Welz said it was his own
business.
Bhikraj, meanwhile, said the vessel had to follow
procedures.
"There is a normal process for all ISPS (International Ship
and Ports
Security) vessels to be cleared to enter the port.
He said
this vessel would now have to go through that process and that it
could take
quite some time before it is cleared.
He said if the vessel was not
cleared, it would not be allowed to enter a
South African port.
Asked
whether there had been arms on the ship, Bhikraj said: "We can't
comment on
the whether arms were or were not on the vessel"
Dennis Abrio of the
national branch of the South African Police Service said
they would comment
on the matter once they had details.
KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson
Superintendent Vincent Mdunge said he
could not comment on the matter. -
Sapa
Globe and Mail, Canada
STEPHANIE NOLEN
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail
April 16,
2008 at 3:51 AM EDT
JOHANNESBURG — Their first target is Nelia Gomba, a
tall, frail woman in her
late 40s. She is visibly shivering when a young
woman in military fatigues
drags her out of the crowd.
"This is Nelia
and she is here to make a confession," the young woman shouts
to the four
dozen people packed into the community hall. Then she pins Ms.
Gomba to the
ground.
But the older woman, her face on the floor, says nothing. And so
two more
youths step forward carrying leather whips.
In the crowd,
Ms. Gomba's daughter, Synodia, begins to scream, but is
quickly silenced
with a cracking slap from another youth in fatigues.
At the front of the
room, the youth kicks Ms. Gomba in the face and blood
starts to ooze from
her nose. "That is what you get for trying to sneak the
MDC through the
backdoor," she snarls. Then they begin to use the whips. At
first Ms. Gomba
cries out; in response, the youths hit her harder.
Eventually she stops
screaming, and the noise as the whips hit her body is
the only sound in the
room. The crowd sits silent in the light of flickering
paraffin lamps. Ms.
Gomba loses consciousness after 15 minutes of this, and
her family is
ordered to carry her away.
In Zimbabwe's national election on March 29,
Nelia Gomba volunteered as a
polling agent for the opposition Movement for
Democratic Change. For the
past 28 years, the people of this small farming
village 100 kilometres
southeast of the capital Harare have voted, in
election after election, for
Robert Mugabe and his ZANU-PF
party.
They were driven by a combination of loyalty for the party's role
in the
liberation struggle and fear of retribution if they voted
otherwise.
A bit more than two weeks ago, the people of Chiduku said,
"Enough."
Driven to desperation by an economy that has contracted faster
than any in
history, by inflation of more than 150,000 per cent annually and
by
recurring food shortages, they voted overwhelmingly for the MDC, and its
presidential candidate Morgan Tsvangirai.
Now they are being made to
pay for that act of electoral bravery.
On April 1, Zimbabwe's electoral
commission announced that this and many
other constituencies had gone to the
MDC, enough to give the party control
of Parliament for the first time in
Zimbabwe's history.
Five days later, the youth militia
arrived.
There are about 25 of them and they have established a rough
camp in the
hills above the village.
They wear the rough green
fatigues that gave the infamous militia its
nickname, the Green Bombers.
Shortly after they arrived, a few of them came
down to meet with the chief
of this and each of the four nearby villages,
and gave each a message: They
expected to be regularly supplied with food
and water.
And that first
night, around 8 o'clock, they moved through the villages,
carrying sticks
and whips, and ordered everyone to attend a meeting. People
were told that
if their relatives and neighbours were not there, they would
be held
accountable.
The meetings are called pungwe, the chiShona word for "a
night vigil."
They originated in the war of liberation, when resistance
fighters would
stealthily gather rural people together to indoctrinate them
politically on
the need to end colonial rule.
The militias created by
Mr. Mugabe four years ago have now been deployed
around the country to take
measures to ensure that none of the
constituencies that voted for the MDC
would do it again in a run-off
election.
Outsiders are never allowed
to witness these meetings; a Globe contributor
sneaked in to the Chiduku
gathering last Saturday night to provide a rare
first-hand
account.
At the opening of the meeting, the crowd was ordered to join in
singing
liberation war-era songs urging people to take their guns and fight
for
their country: "sell-outs must be killed," the lyrics go. Then there
were
speeches, denunciations from militia members who appeared to be high on
drugs of "traitors," "rabid dogs of the west" and "puppets."
After
midnight, the demonstrations of the cost of voting MDC began, with the
whipping of Ms. Gomba. When she had been carried, bloodied, from the room,
the youth dragged up Naison Ngwerume, an MDC activist from the area; the
youth told the crowd that they found posters in his bedroom showing Mr.
Tsvangirai.
"These are the rotten apples in this district," said the
youth leader, a
short, hardened man with a bald head. "We shall not allow
them to
contaminate the whole lot of you."
Mocking youths ordered Mr.
Ngwerume, a farmer in his early 30s, to stand on
his head for 20 minutes. He
battled to maintain his balance and struggled in
obvious pain. The youth
laughed hysterically. And when he at last collapsed,
they moved in and
whipped him.
The meeting went on like this four hours: four more people
who were accused
of supporting the MDC were pulled from the crowd and beaten
while everyone
else, including their families, was forced to
watch.
At dawn, the villagers were released, told to go home - and return
that
night for another session. The pungwe continue to be held every
night.
Teresa Shito, a 54-year-old farmer and a mother of three, knew the
terror
had begun before the pungwe. She awoke last Thursday, before dawn to
the
sound of voices outside her straw-roofed home.
Outside the door,
she found a knot of the youth militia who now run the
village. And they had
a message for her.
"They said I was an MDC prostitute because I attended
their rally here," Ms.
Shito said. "Then one of the youth flicked a lit
matchstick on to the roof
of my thatched hut."
Neighbours rushed to
help her put out the flames before they could spread to
other houses. The
youth disappeared.
But she lost everything she owned, she said, including
the clay pots her
mother made for her when she was married - she had used
them each day for
more than 20 years.
Squads of Green Bombers like
those in Chiduku, and other groups of
paramilitaries including "war
veterans," have been deployed in every
district across the country, using
similar tactics.
In Mutoko, 160 kilometres to the north of Harare, 20
houses were burned last
weekend. Five were torched in Murehwa, 80 kilometres
north, on Sunday night.
With a report from a contributor in Chiduko,
Zimbabwe
University of Manchester
16 Apr 2008
The criminalisation of people who depend on cash
and goods from their
relatives living abroad has forced almost half of
Zimbabweans into extreme
ways of avoiding the clutches of ZANU-PF ‘cash
barons’ according to a new
report.
Researchers at the Universities of
Manchester and Zimbabwe found that of the
50 per cent of households who
receive ‘remittances’, between 90 and 95 per
cent use secretive means to
bring in the desperately needed cash – risking
prison, confiscation or being
forced to pay bribes.
The migrant workers’ measures - which includes
secretively bringing goods on
foot from South Africa, or paying anonymous
third parties from Britain - are
an effort to avoid the ZANU-PF Government
controlled banks and money
changers where their assets are
‘disappeared’.
According to the study, most of the households are driven
to find money
changers not linked to the Government – a high risk strategy
which could end
in them loosing the cash or being threatened with prison if
found out.
The study of 300 Zimbabwean urban households provides a stark
snapshot of
how the country’s economic collapse has affected the everyday
fight for
survival of its citizens, many of whom are mired in unemployment,
sickness
and poverty.
Foreign currency must by law be exchanged into
local currency and anyone
caught trading in dollars can be threatened with
prison.
And anyone can be asked by police to produce a foreign currency
receipt -
failure to do so can result in confiscation of cash or
goods.
Dr Sarah Bracking from The University of Manchester, said:
“Financial
meltdown in Zimbabwe means some people are getting rich quick
while the
desperately poor are harassed and hounded by the government and
other state
organisations into giving up their lifelines from
abroad.
“Zimbabweans are forced into playing a criminalized game of ‘cat
and mouse’
with the authorities over the possession of their own
money.
“It is an economy of dispossession: members of the political class
control
some informal sector money changers for their own gain, while money
changing
is criminalized for everyone else.
“There are ‘cash barons’
at the heart of government: some banks are rumoured
to be owned by top
officials within the ruling party.
“It’s an intolerable situation as
households depend hugely on remittances
for their survival – and can explain
why some people risk trading with
foreign currency at great enormous risk to
themselves.
”It’s also appalling to think that this is happening to the
many Zimbabweans
living in Britain who work and subsist on perhaps 60 hours
of minimum wage a
week – mainly in care work- to keep their relatives
alive.”
She added: “Though rarely confiscated outright, Zimbabwean banks
convert
remittances into local currency so that the vast majority of the
value of
the foreign exchange is lost.
“If that doesn’t happen, the
banks periodically run out of money, or limit
daily withdrawals, so you have
to queue for weeks.
“Senior Zanu PF members on the other hand are simply
allocated foreign
currency which is converted from Zimdollars at sky high
rates.
“Our small snapshot between November 2005 and November 2006 in the
remittance economy of Zimbabwe showed how the trust needed to facilitate
remote economic exchange is declining alarmingly.
“Because of the
concerns over security, the families we spoke to were
increasingly unwilling
to use remote, unknown, or institutional means of
money transfer or
exchange.
“Informal sector commercial institutions were also less used in
2006 than
2005, while an increase in personal transit was
observed.
“Together with the constant devaluation of Zimdollar receipts
because of
Zimbabwe’s plummeting currency, it’s hard to imagine things
getting much
worse.”
National Review
April 16, 2008 12:00 PM
Giesecke & Devrient's bank notes are abetting Zimbabwe's financial
crisis.
By Roger Bate
A company with links to a U.S.
government contractor is enabling
Robert Mugabe despotic rule in Zimbabwe by
printing bank notes. In the past
month, these increasingly worthless notes
have been used to bribe officials
in the public sector, army, and other
public-security services to curry
votes for the Mugabe regime.
In the weeks prior to the March 29 election, with Zimbabwe’s economy
collapsing and inflation already running at 100,000 percent, a German
company called Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) ran its printing presses at
maximum
capacity, delivering 432,000 sheets of banknotes to Mugabe’s
government each
week. The money, equivalent to nearly Z$173 trillion (U.S.
$32 million), was
then dispersed among targeted voters.
Despite
the Mugabe regime’s efforts — illegal as well legal —
independent observers
say the opposition Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC) and its leader,
Morgan Tsvangirai, won the election. But the Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission
has not released the results. The MDC is fearful that
Mugabe is maneuvering
to steal a potential run-off contest between the top
two candidates (which
Zimbabwean law requires within 21 days of the original
election if no
candidate receives 50 percent of the vote in the first
round), or may be
tampering with the original vote to fabricate a majority
that will ensure
his victory. In the meantime, his security services have
banned rallies,
beaten up MDC politicians, briefly arrested two foreign
journalists, and
forbidden any EU or U.S. election observers.
Mugabe has also used
currency printed by G&D to pay thugs to squat on
some of the few
white-owned farms remaining in the country. According to one
local I spoke
with, Mugabe wants “to continue the myth that Northerners are
only
interested in Zimbabwe because white farmers are being harmed.” As if
to
demonstrate the point, at the same time that regional leaders met in
Zambia
to discuss the crisis, a column in the Herald, Zimbabwe’s state-run
newspaper, decried the idea that “African leaders are supposed to do the
bidding of the white West. . . . to pressure Zimbabwe to abet the regime
change agenda.”
G&D has directly contributed to a meltdown.
According to the Sunday
Times of London, the company is receiving more than
$750,000 a week from the
Mugabe regime “for delivering notes at the
astonishing rate of Z$170
trillion a week.” Inflation caused by this
reckless currency printing has
destroyed once-sustainable food markets and
stymied business investment, and
has contributed to thousands of deaths a
week from malnutrition and disease.
The black market value of the Zimbabwe
dollar has dropped by 70 percent
against the U.S. dollar since the mass
printing of bank notes began recently
(official exchange rates are now
irrelevant).
The international community would just like the issue
to disappear.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has taken a rhetorically
strong stance
against the Mugabe regime, and has supported EU travel and
banking sanctions
against its cronies. But her government says that
G&D’s involvement in
Zimbabwe is a private matter.
While the
U.S. government has placed effective sanctions on the leaders of
the regime
in Harare, it is still contracting with G&D’s American affiliate
to
provide security-card and banknote services. (The Treasury Department’s
latest contract with the company is worth $381,200). State Department
officials would only speak on background, but it appears that there is no
official policy or position on G&D. Since G&D America is an
independently
listed U.S. business doing no business with Zimbabwe, it’s
likely that
Treasury will take no action against the company. No one at
G&D’s offices in
Dulles, Virginia, would answer the phone or return our
messages.
Western complicity in Mugabe’s despotism is egregious, but
African leaders
have been far worse. The weekend after an emergency meeting
with Mugabe,
South African president Thabo Mbeki (who received shelter from
Mugabe during
the dark days of apartheid), claimed that “there is no crisis
in Zimbabwe,”
a theme that was repeated at a summit of the Southern African
Development
Community (SADC). The summit, hosted by Zambian President Levy
Mwanawasa,
started strongly by making the unprecedented move of inviting MDC
leader
Tsvangirai to attend, widely seen as an acknowledgement that he had
won the
election. (Mugabe decided not to attend.) But after 12 hours of
deliberation, stretching well into the early hours of Sunday, SADC’s
delegates scurried away, leaving Zambia’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Kabinga
Pande, to deliver a thin statement calling for a verification of election
results in the presence of candidates and observers. He claimed that both
parties had agreed that the election was free and fair and that there was no
crisis.
MDC Secretary-General Tendai Biti flatly rejects this claim.
At a press
conference shortly after the summit, he praised the SADC for
having “the
guts” to hold the meeting at all, but said the crisis was far
from resolved.
Indeed, the High Court of Zimbabwe has rejected an MDC appeal
for the
government to publish results within the statutorily required
two-week
window following the election (the window closed last Friday.) The
Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission’s offer to hold a recount of the presidential
and
parliamentary poll is not consistent with Zimbabwean law, which requires
a
run-off.
At the SADC Summit, former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi
Annan of Ghana warned
the leaders at the summit they had “a grave
responsibility to act, not only
because of the negative spillover effects on
the region, but also to ensure
that democracy, human rights and the rule of
law are respected.” They can
hardly be said to have fulfilled that
responsibility yet.
Until they do, G&D can encourage better practices
in Zimbabwe by turning off
the currency spigot. As reported by SecureID News
in 2008, G&D operated in
53 countries and had 2006 revenues totaling
almost 1.3 billion euros, about
U.S.$1.9 billion. Its Zimbabwe revenue
stream is tiny and according to at
least one government source, the company
is well-respected internationally.
But it would do well to protect this
reputation by doing the right thing and
cutting its ties to Mugabe and his
thugs.
Of course, one could argue that G&D might actually be
precipitating the
collapse of the Mugabe regime by driving up inflation and
deepening Zimbabwe’s
financial crisis. One Zimbabwean economist suggested
that inflation may now
be nearing 15,000 percent a month, which is
destroying any sustainable
agricultural markets on which the poorest depend.
Thousands die weekly as a
result.
If G&D does not take action,
the EU should. They should threaten to deny any
future contracts to
companies providing direct services to the Mugabe
regime. It’s appalling, as
MDC Shadow Justice Minister David Coltart told
me, “that a German company is
profiting out of Zimbabweans’ despair,”
fueling inflation by printing
dollars “which are then used to fund Mugabe’s
campaign of
repression.”
— Roger Bate is a resident fellow at the American Enterprise
Institute and
co-author of “Despotism and Disease,” a report on Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe Today
Why the MDC leader has
changed his mind
A spokesman for Morgan Tsvangirai and his party, the
Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) said last night that the opposition
leader will take part in a
run-off presidential election - but only if
certain specific conditions are
met.
These conditions, said George
Sibotshiwe, are first, a secure and peaceful
environment in Zimbabwe, and
second, rigorous international monitoring of
the voting itself, and of the
subsequent count.
He repeated the MDC view that current conditions made a
free and fair vote
impossible, and he called for the Southern African
Development Community
(SADC), the association of heads of state in the
region, to oversee every
stage of any new count.
The MDC believe that
Tsvangirai won the election last month outright. The
results have still not
been made public, despite a call yesterday by the
United Nations Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon for the "very transparent and
expeditious release of
election results."
Meanwhile British premier Gordon Brown is expected to
raise the subject of
Zimbabwe on his current visit to the US. And in South
Africa the ruling
African National Congress made a surprisingly strong
comment, describing the
situation in the country as "dire".
Reports
of the General Strike, which began yesterday and is intended to last
until
the results of the presidential election are announced, were varied
and
confused.
To encourage people to ignore the strike call, the government
provided
transport by bus at half fare in some parts of Harare. In the
Warren Park
area of the capital a 72-seater bus was set on fire, but
passengers were
asked to disembark first, and there were no
injuries.
Police blamed this and other bus burnings on MDC activists. but
an MDC
spokeman denied this, saying that Zanu-PF supporters were trying to
tarnish
the image of the opposition.
There were also reports of
sporadic violence, with police and riot troops
attacking people on the
streets. MDC Secretary-General Tendai Biti said:
"The strike was peaceful
until the police and the army started beating up
people. This shows that the
regime is willing to bury democracy."
Biti claimed that violence by state
militia in rural areas, especially in
those where voters showed strong
support for the MDC in the elections, has
so far resulted in the death of
two MDC activists, with another 200 people
hospitalised.
Posted on
Wednesday, 16 April 2008 at 05:26
International Herald Tribune
The Associated PressPublished: April 16,
2008
HARARE, Zimbabwe: A Zimbabwean judge has cleared two
foreigners of charges
of reporting on the country's election without proper
accreditation.
Magistrate Gloria Takundwa says the state failed to prove
"reasonable
suspicion of them practicing as journalists." The New York Times
correspondent and a British man were arrested April 3. They have been free
on bail for more than a week but have not been allowed to leave the country
pending the court ruling.
It was not immediately clear if they
received their passports following
their acquittals Wednesday.
afrik.com
A GROUP of Chinese soldiers caused a stir last night in the
eastern
border city of Mutare as they patrolled the city centre along with
Zimbabwean security forces.
Wednesday 16 April 2008, by
Bruce Sibanda
from our correspondent in Harare
About 20
Chinese soldiers all carrying revolvers, were part of a heavy
security
deployment in the city centre as the oppostion strike "until
results are
released’ was suppressed.
While the situation in the city was generally
calm, as residents went about
their normal business during the day despite
the call by the opposition to
stage a strike, policemen, all armed with AK
rifles, teargas canisters and
baton sticks with some driving around in water
canons, patrolled the poorer
residential areas of the city, residents there
said.
Confirmation from the Hotel
The Chinese soldiers, along with
about 70 Zimbabwean senior army officers
are booked in at the Holiday Inn,
in the city centre.
“We were shocked to see Chinese soldiers in full
military regalia and armed
with pistols checking into the hotel,” said a
hotel employee. she said its
is strange for armed solders to be booked at
hotels as there are many
barracks in Mutare. They are booked for a week, she
said.
This comes amid widespread reports that incidence of violence
targeting
opposition supporters is escalating in Manicaland
Province.
This has prompting the MDC to make an urgent appeal for tents
and relief
food supplies to assist hundreds of displaced people in the rural
areas.
Patrick Chitaka, the MDC chairman in Manicaland Province, says the
party
requires, as a matter of urgency thousands of tents, food packs and
medical
supplies to assist thousands of MDC supporters who have been
displaced in
rural Manicaland.
Violence displaces over
1000
The MDC says about 200 people have been beaten up while more than
1000 have
been displaced by the violence.
“The violence has now
spread throughout the province,” Chitaka said. “It’s a
disaster and that’s
how the Darfur crisis started. We have reports of
systematic violence
against our supporters.
Apart from beating up people they are now burning
houses. We are going to
have thousands of internally displaced people if the
situation is not
contained fast.”
Chitaka spoke as ZimRights, a human
rights watchdog, also raised concerns
over the spreading violence with MDC
supporters as targets.
Reverend Stephen Maengamhuru, the ZimRights’
regional officer, said MDC
supporters were sleeping in the open in Chipinge
and Mutare South because
they fear spending the night in their own
homes.
The MDC and human rights organisations blame the violence on
security agents
and members of the military who were angered by the reported
loss of Mugabe
to the MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai.
“We now have a
situation where people sleep out in the open because they
fear spending the
night in their homes,” Rev Maengamhuru said.
The MDC, on the other hand,
said violence had now spread to Chipinge,
Nyanga, Marange and the farming
communities of Burma Valley, Mutasa South
and Chimanimani.
MDC
supporters arrested and their houses burned
The MDC chairman, Chitaka,
said the most disturbing aspect was that the
police were arresting MDC
supporters instead of protecting them. About 50
huts belonging to MDC
supporters had been burned on a farm about 20 km west
of the city forcing
103 people to flee into the bush.
The MDC supporters fled from EnVant
Farm after a war veteran identified as
Muniya set their huts on fire around
4 pm on Monday.
Some of the affected people have lived on the farm for up
to 30 years. The
farm was allocated to Muniya, during the chaotic land
reform programme in
2000. He allowed the farm-workers to stay on. But after
he learnt last week
that the majority of the farm-workers people had voted
for the MDC Muniya
visited retribution on them.
“There is a
humanitarian disaster,” said MP elect for Mutasa South, Misheck
Kagurabadza.
“Children and elderly people are sleeping out in the open. We
need blankets
urgently and a place where they can stay for now.”
Chitaka said there
were indications that the violence would soon target MDC
candidates who won
the just-ended elections. Chitaka, himself, won the
Senate seat for
Nyanga.
From The Star (SA), 16 April
Fiona Forde
More than 12 hours of intense and often
bitter debate in Lusaka this weekend
appear to have divided the Southern
African Development Community on the
Zimbabwe crisis, rather than bringing
it closer to a solution to the
weeks-long electoral impasse. And it is a
divide that has cast a sharp light
on the cracks in the 28-year-old
community that separates a new progressive
front from the old guard. Rather
than address the issue of how best to deal
with a man who refuses to
relinquish three decades of power, the
conservative front of the 14-member
bloc - Thabo Mbeki among them - appears
to have got lost instead in its
fears of Morgan Tsvangirai, the head of the
trade-union-backed MDC, who,
like it or not, has made massive inroads into
Zimbabwean politics. The SADC
leaders closed the doors of their emergency
meeting shortly before 5pm on
Saturday afternoon. And it was at 5.10am the
next morning when they emerged
with a resolution in their hands that merely
called on Zimbabwe to hasten
the verification and release of the March 29
presidential election results
and appealed to all parties to accept the
verdict of their state-run
electoral authority. In the event of a recount,
the SADC has offered to send
its Election Observer Mission to monitor the
process. Yet there was no
mention of the fact that the Zimbabwean Electoral
Commission was moved to a
private location more than a week ago - hence
there is no knowing what
became of the original votes, or indeed whatever
became of the 3-million
extra ballot papers that were printed in the run-up
to the controversial
election.
There was nothing in the disappointing document that
reflected Zambian
President Levy Mwanawasa's promising remarks hours earlier
when he told the
opening ceremony that standing by and doing nothing was no
longer an option
where Zimbabwe was concerned. It was time to shed light on
the darkness and
allow our neighbours to turn a new leaf, he said. Indeed,
there was nothing
in the final document that ever veered too far away from
Thabo Mbeki's own
stance of quiet diplomacy. With the exception of a call
for an immediate
release of the results, it seemed to offer a verdict that
our outgoing
president will no doubt read as a victory for himself, just as
Robert Mugabe
has undoubtedly interpreted it as a weak effort on the part of
his regional
peers to rein him in. The ink was hardly dry on the communique
when the
Harare High Court ruled against the MDC's challenge to the delayed
release
of the results. "It was the best we could do under the
circumstances," SADC
executive secretary Tomaz Salamao told Independent
Newspapers after the
meeting ended. Zambia's Foreign Minister Kabinga Pande
said the SADC is of
the view that "there is no crisis" in Zimbabwe, echoing
Mbeki's
controversial words from Harare on Saturday morning. If such is
their view,
then it is clear that the SADC is not the power to turn to for
crisis
management in the region. But it begs the question as to why they
called an
emergency summit in the first place and what happened behind the
scenes to
dampen Mwanawasa's earlier promise to speak up rather than stay
quiet. "He
and many others did speak out," a delegate of the Mauritian team
told
Independent Newspapers, "but the problem is that the voices of the new
blood
are lost in the blanket of old conservatism."
Present on
Saturday were eight heads of state, among them presidents from
Zambia, South
Africa, Namibia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique,
Angola,
Malawi and Botswana, whose recently elected Ian Khama is a newcomer
to the
group. The remaining SADC countries of Tanzania, Lesotho, Swaziland,
Zimbabwe, Madagascar and Mauritius were represented by ministers or
ambassadors. No man was alone - they each brought with them an army of
advisers and officials. It is understood that Botswana, Malawi and Mauritius
had repeatedly pushed for a more hardened stance in dealing with the
84-year-old Mugabe. Khama has rarely been reticent in recent weeks in
speaking out about his support for Tsvangirai and his belief that the time
has come for change. On the other hand, Malawi is widely seen as a friend of
Simba Makoni, and if not a clear backer of Tsvangirai, Dr Bingu Wa Mutharika
shares Khama's view that Mugabe's term in office ended a long time
ago.
The moderate voice of Mwanawasa often reflected their thinking
throughout
the day and it was assumed that Tanzania would have followed
suit.
Unfortunately in the absence of President Jakaya Kikwete, "the
Tanzanians
said very little", one South African delegate said. They met with
heavy
resistance from Mozambique's Armando Guebuza, Joseph Kabila of the DRC
and
Hifikepunye Pohamba of Namibia throughout the day, and to the surprise
of
many, Lesao Lehohla, the deputy prime minister of Lesotho, who stayed
firmly
on the side of the Zimbabwean delegation. However, "the one who
surprised us
most was Angola", according to one delegate from Malawi. "They
went with the
flow all day and didn't put up any resistance." Although Jose
Eduardo dos
Santos is widely seen as an ally of Mugabe - and who this time
last year
offered to send troops to Zimbabwe in the wake of unrest - his
position is
said to have changed dramatically in recent weeks and it is
understood that
he, too, believes a change of leadership is in the best
interests of the
region. However, as he goes into his own elections later
this year, Dos
Santos is strategic in his positioning as he will be mindful
not attract too
much attention to a hardline view at this point in
time.
Yet all delegates repeatedly found themselves challenged by a
number of
leaders, Mbeki among them, who are loathe to endorse a Tsvangirai
presidency
for fear of trade unionism taking hold in the region, and who are
equally
reluctant to stand up to or criticise veteran liberation icons. But
their
positions were rarely tolerated by Mwanawasa and, for the first time,
Mbeki
watched his seniority in the camp erode. A number of times throughout
the
day he was taken to task by his Zambian counterpart, who is also the
chairperson of the SADC and who repeatedly appealed for honest brokerage
where Zimbabwe was concerned. On more than one occasion, he called on Mbeki
to be "sincere" in his approach. "Mbeki kept flip-flopping. He would argue
with one side, then with the other. But Mwanawasa wouldn't take it," a
member of the Angolan delegation explained. The Zambian leader had made it
clear from the onset that it was an emergency summit that required an urgent
response. He refused to accept Mugabe's input to the meeting, which came by
way of Mbeki. "If Robert Mugabe has anything to say to me as chairperson,
then he can talk to me himself," Mwanawasa retorted, reminding Mbeki that he
was creating the impression that he was becoming "Mugabe's messenger". The
two men all but came to blows later in the night when Mbeki showed
reluctance in allowing Tsvangirai to address the meeting, although it had
apparently been talked of in advance. Mwanawasa told him as much, reminding
the South African president that they had discussed it by phone a couple of
days before the summit. "Would you like the whole house to hear the contents
of our conversation?" he boldly asked an irate Mbeki, stopping short of
accusing him of peddling mistruths.
While it was clearly
reasonable for many delegates to argue that Tsvangirai
could not be afforded
equal status as SADC heads of state, it was agreed
that his input was
crucial to understanding both sides of the saga, and it
was late on Saturday
night when he and Simba Makoni finally addressed the
group, "in an informal
meeting", Salamao was quick to note. It was Mutharika
of Malawi who reminded
the house that "we don't need to take our
understanding of what's happening
in Zimbabwe from CNN and international
news channels. We have a man next
door who can explain it to us instead."
Tsvangirai was taken from the
ante-room and during the hour-long session
reiterated his claims of recent
weeks. It is understood that the DRC and
Mozambique told him that just
because he had won the parliamentary
elections, it did not make him the
winner of the presidential poll. It
presented Makoni with an opportunity to
lay claim to his belief that he
would be an ideal candidate to lead a
transitional government to move beyond
what he termed "a hung parliament".
But it was Mbeki who reminded him that
it was both inconceivable and illegal
to step up to the presidential podium
with just a tenth of the electorate
behind him. Throughout the day, the
Zimbabwean delegates sought an
opportunity to sway the SADC. "They painted a
complete picture, which we
hadn't seen before," said JT Metsing, the
principal secretary of Lesotho's
Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Zimbabwean
delegates claimed the MDC was
strategically attempting to delay the release
of the results with their
various court challenges. They argued that it was
improper for Tsvangirai to
announce himself the presidential winner without
any legal basis to his
argument, a line that found favour among many of the
hardline
delegates.
They proceeded to tell the meeting that Tsvangirai's men
had blatantly
falsified figures and stole votes in the MDC man's favour
while they were
being telephoned through to Harare from the various polling
stations. In
Mwanawasa's view, this was stretching their imagination just a
tad too far.
The chairperson reminded his guests of his legal background and
understanding of how the vote counting had worked. He reiterated claims that
the events of recent weeks were not acceptable and he and Ian Khama began to
push hard for a communique that would condemn Zimbabwe first and foremost
before instructing the country on what to do next. They argued into the wee
hours that it was imperative that Mugabe understands that there is little
tolerance left in the region for his blatant disregard of democracy. They
accepted defeat at 5am in the morning. Condemnation would not feature on the
SADC communique. Although their reasoning is nowhere to be seen in the
four-page document, they have delivered an important message to their SADC
peers that the community is no longer a club of iconic liberation heroes of
yesteryear.
SW Radio
Africa (London)
16 April 2008
Posted to the web 16 April
2008
Tichaona Sibanda
The high court on Wednesday again
postponed by a day a hearing on the MDC's
application to block a recount of
votes cast in 23 constituencies during
last month's elections.
The
hearing is before Judge Antonia Guvava. The hearing was initially
deferred
from Tuesday to Wednesday. Judge Guvava is expected to rule on
whether the
MDC's legal team will be permitted to file supplementary
evidence, or
whether the case should be dismissed.
The MDC represented by lawyer
Selby Hwacha is insisting that the country's
amended electoral law Act says
any aggrieved party can contest the outcome
within a period of 48 hours, but
Zanu-PF lodged their request four days
after the final results were made
public.
swradioafrica.com
I have
spent the last week in Zimbabwe talking to Diplomats, Politicians and
generally to people in the countryside. I have also looked at the electoral
counting and verification process which I believe cannot be rigged as the
results were all posted outside each polling station hours after closing the
polls. However, a Government set on maintaining power can ignore the results
and rule by force and that seems indeed what is evolving now.
In the
election which took place two weeks ago, the MDC opposition clearly
won the
parlimentary majority. The Presidential election was also won by the
opposition by a large margin. Had these elections been indeed free and fair
the margin of loss for ZANU-PF would have been substantially greater. No
announcements detailing results have been made. This delay has caused
several problems:
· The general population I am talking to in the
rural areas (formerly
President Mugabe’s strongholds) have had enough, and
the delay of the
announcement has turned even ZANU-PF supporters away from
the President as
all believe that he is rigging the results in the interim.
The population’s
will to fight from here on is manifesting itself. They will
fight back if
government suppression and intimidation will become the order
of the day.
War veterans tried to invade our Conservancy last week only to
find that the
MDC had mustered enough people to threaten to beat them off
and the police
announcing that no violence would be permitted. The war
veterans returned
home and their leader was forced to leave the town of
Bikita. What a breath
of fresh air in our area in Zimbabwe’s
Lowveld.
· SADC has declared the elections fair and free. Yes, the
Election Day was
largely peaceful. But an election starts 6, 8 or even 12
months prior to
Election Day. SADC is ignoring that in the run up period
Zimbabweans have
been subject to beatings, raping, murder, lack of food and
medical support.
SADC is doing itself disfavour by declaring these elections
free and fair.
SADC’s credibility must be close to non-existent with the
average people of
Zimbabwe today. However, having sanctioned the process
SADC can no longer
ignore the outcome. If they do, the perception may be
that they want to keep
the loser in power. In this case SADC has failed the
people of Zimbabwe.
· The South African Government has talked about
“quiet diplomacy” for the
better part of seven years now. Nothing,
absolutely nothing was achieved
other than making the lives of their
northern neighbours progressively worse
to almost impossible today.
·
As an investor in both countries I can state that the credibility of the
men
and women in power in Pretoria is at an all-time low. Questions which
must
be asked:
o Has the ANC alliance not fought for liberation and human
rights against
the white dominated Apartheid area?
o If a black
African Politician breaks all rules of democracy, law and order
and human
rights, are his actions acceptable just because of his colour or
old
relationships? Bishop Tutu continues to express the honest sentiments:”Whether
black or white, we must fight the oppressor and instill democracy and human
rights!"
o The Government of South Africa appears willing to
blatantly ignore
democratic values: as it is part of SADC, which certified
the seriously
flawed elections to be fair and free. President Mbeki has been
unable to
negotiate any cessation of violence or acceptable conditions for
the run up
to the elections. He now states that Zimbabwe needs to be left
alone to find
its own solution. Further, he has stated that “Zimbabwe has no
crisis”. His
northern neighbor and the population at large see this as a
betrayal of
their interests and basic needs. Hence, it is no wonder that the
South
African Government has not been very popular in Zimbabwe for quite
some
time.
o The South African Government’s position is simply an
embarrassment to
people who believe in democracy and human rights. When
Zimbabwe’s people
need their neighbor most, South Africa is seen to be
deserting them.
o This past weekend’s SADC meeting of Heads of State
yielded no tangible
results to speak of. As I am writing this, so called war
veterans are
deployed around the country to hunt down opposition voters. It
is clear that
SADC has lost its credibility entirely with the local
population. SADC has
condoned and even supported those in power against the
interest of the
people on the ground. Even the affront of President Mugabe
against his peers
in SADC by refusing to join the summit does not seem to
steer Heads of State
away from supporting him. If loss of credibility does
not, what will make
them take a stand on Zimbabwe? Bloodshed on a large
scale maybe? We appear
to be heading in that direction rapidly. For SADC to
gain credibility in
Zimbabwe again it is going to be diffifcult, if not
impossible.
· The African Union has not been heard from to date. Hence,
they too appear
to condone what has happened in Zimbabwe. Surely they too
have a serious
credibility issue to deal with here?
The Government in
Zimbabwe has ordered a partial recount of votes in spite
of the fact that
the High Court ruled against. Ignoring High Court rulings
have been a long
standing habit of the current administration. No foreign
observers are
present, neither is the opposition. The ballot boxes have been
in the ruling
party’s hands for over two weeks. Nobody believes that this
recount is not
done with serious fraud in mind. The results of the original
election were
signed by observers and posted directly outside each polling
station. They
document the correct and approved result and such posters have
been
photographed and cannot be tempered with. Any changes to these posted
numbers are fraud.
As a business man who has invested in the region,
I find the behaviour of
the South African Government, SADC and the AU
disheartening. Gradually an
air of distrust has been created which affects
the approach of foreign
businessmen severely. Losing trust translates into
the perception of
increased risks. Add to that the lack of dependable vital
services such as
power, water, telecommunication and safety from crime and
one finds a
seriously flawed investment climate. This will show in the lack
of long term
projects for the future, desire for shorter payback times and
higher profit
expectations. As a direct consequence, the region will unable
to put its
aggressive employment and economic growth plans into
effect.
Credibility is a direct stimulant of investment and economic
performance.
The lack of credibility has the opposite affect. Southern
African Leaders
need to make hard decisions soon. I have seen none, hence I
am writing about
the concerns of many I speak to.
|
14:14 GMT, Wednesday, 16 April 2008 15:14 UK
Malcolm Fraser.......You got him in, so help kick him out The Australian Malcolm Fraser - Why I backed MugabeThe Australian Businessman faces charges in an illegal helicopter dealMiami Herald The Thabo connectionFrom ZWNEWS. 16 April Politics and the GeneralsNewsweek Zuma widens gap with Mbeki over ZimbabweThe Star |
It's not white farmers coming into a black area and kicking people
off the land 
