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Police
in early morning raid on MDC in hotel
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=3167
August 26, 2008
By Our
Correspondent
HARARE - The police besieged a central Harare hotel in the
early hours of
Tuesday morning and threatened to arrest a number of MDC
legislators who are
booked there.
The police say the names of the
targeted Members of Parliament appear on a
list of persons wanted by the
police.
Officers from the Harare Central Police Station's Law and Order
section
threatened to break down the door to hotel room number 512 at the
Quality
International Hotel around 4 am Tuesday. The MDC's Chipinge East
legislator
Mateo Mlambo is booked in that room.
Mlambo told The
Zimbabwe Times by phone that he was holed up in the hotel
room together with
his wife after refusing to entertain the police at that
time of the
night.
The officers claim Mlambo beat up a war veteran in his
constituency during
election campaign in March.
"They are here and
they are waiting to take me," he said. "They came around
4am and demanded
that I get out but I told them it's too early. They
threatened to break down
the door but I dared them to try it."
Hotel staff said the officers
demanded the guest register at the hotel at
gun-point. Terrified reception
staff handed over the list and the officers
frisked the entire hotel,
located in central Harare, reportedly on the hunt
for MDC MPs on their
"wanted" list.
The Zimbabwe Times heard that Makoni North MP and MDC
deputy
secretary-general Elton Mangoma was arrested as he departed from
Parliament
after the swearing-in ceremony Monday. His whereabouts remain
unknown.
Mangoma is one of the key negotiators of the MDC in the SADC
brokered
dialogue between Zanu-PF and the two MDC parties.
Mangoma's
arrest came hard on the heels of the detention of two other MDC
MPs Shuwa
Mudiwa, MP for Mutare West and Eliah Jembere, MP for Epworth, as
they made
their way to the swearing-in ceremony Monday.
Mudiwa was recently
acquitted on trumped up charges of public violence while
Jembere was
acquitted on rape charge, also said to be fake, in May.
Mudiwa has since
been released but Jembere is still in police custody.
MDC spokesman
Nelson Chamisa said the police action was part of a campaign
of retribution
by the defeated Zanu- PF after the party lost the key post of
Speaker of
Parliament to the MDC on Monday.
MDC national chairman Lovemore Moyo was
voted Speaker Monday beating Paul
Themba-Nyathi a nominee sponsored by a
coalition between Zanu-PF and the
breakaway faction of the MDC led by Arthur
Mutambara. MPs representing the
Mutambara faction embarrassed their leaders
when they voted for the
candidate nominated by the rival mainstream
MDC.
"It is clear Zanu-PF is on a retributive campaign after bitterly
losing the
post of Speaker in Parliament,"
Chamisa told The Zimbabwe
Times. "We have been magnanimous in victory; they
must also be distinguished
in defeat."
Chamisa said it was appalling that the police were harassing
MDC MPs who
were themselves victims of violence and yet not even a single
person who
murdered any of the at least 125 MDC activists and sympathizers
had been
arrested.
He railed the police for disturbing the peace at
the hotel and for
embarrassing guests.
The police have issued a list
of wanted MDC legislators. The list includes
the names of Highfield East MP,
Pearson Mungofa, Mazowe Central MP, Shepherd
Mushonga, Piniel Denga (Mbare),
Broadwin Nyaude (Bindura South), Bikita East
MP Edmore Marima and Mangoma,
who was arrested yesterday.
Chamisa said his party was privy to a revised
list of 15 MDC legislators
said to be wanted by the police. Mudiwa, Jembere
and Mlambo are among the
latest additions, he said.
Speakership shows MDC is the people's project
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Monday, 25 August 2008
17:12
Speakership shows MDC is the people's project.
The
MDC has once again proved to Zanu PF that whatever this regime
says
about the people's party, the MDC remains a people's project following
its
Monday victory in Parliament.
Even some MPs within
Zanu PF have now seen the light and on Monday
opted to
vote for the
MDC's nominated candidate for the Speakership in
Parliament,
Lovemore Moyo.
It is now time that Zanu PF woke up and smelt the
coffee and stop its
nonsense of demonising the MDC because the people
of Zimbabwe know
what they
want. No kind of cheap propaganda will
the people turn against the
MDC
because it is the only hope for
us.
The people of Zimbabwe know that the current predicament that
they are
facing can only be resolved through the leadership of MDC
President
Morgan
Tsvangirai and his team.
Robert
Mugabe and his cronies' continuous attack on the British and
Americans
will not resolve the economic hardships faced by the people
of
Zimbabwe. Through his misguided policies, Mugabe has placed the
country in the mess that it finds itself in it.
Zimbabwe like
every other country cannot live in isolation by blaming
the
West
for its poor human rights and economic policies.
The new term of
Parliament should bring debate that is not partisan
but one
that
will deliver the people of Zimbabwe from their current problems
of
food, jobs, water and transport shortages.
We need a Parliament
that will put the interests of people at heart by
making education and
health readily available to the people who voted
them
into
power.
Readers Comments (12)
The End is
Nigh
written by Zuruvi, August 25, 2008
Thank you so much
to all the MDC-Mutambara and ZANU MPs who have taken
this bold move to start
the process of ridding the country of the devil who
is Robert Mugabe. Now
Mutambara and Welshman Ncube have been taught a
lesson - the people are not
with you (you losers!!!). This is the start of
the START of a new beginning
for Zimbabwe.
God Bless Zimbabwe
Mugabe no sign of
Mercy on Poor Zimbabweans
written by proff, August 25,
2008
Slowly the rooster is being skewered and after all this
hussels there
is going to be freedom and peace. Thanks to MDC the roles that
its taking
for now. There is going to be light at the end of this
tunnel.
...
written by D. Maudzi, August 25,
2008
Well done MDC. This is proof that right will eventually win.
The House
must not waste any time. It musttable and pa*s a motion that
declares Mugabe
as an illegitimate president of Zimabwe. If talks continue,
they will have
to focus on the transfer of real power and not on the
shameful games of
supporting mugabe that Mbeki, Ncube and Mutambara are
playing.
...
written by Lutonian, August 25,
2008
ZANU PF's demise can only be delayed but it is inevitable. I
congratulate the MPs who voted wisely. Mugabe has been ridiculed,
humiliated, no matter how he tries to forcefully remain in power he should
be warned that the military will abandon him eventually. Lets remain
resolute for a new Zimbabwe.
Going to Bed With the People,s
Enemy will Cost Mutambara/Ncube Dearly
written by Ziziharinanyanga,
August 25, 2008
Zimbabweans have been traumatised by Mugabe for a
long time and what
they need is revenge. Siding with him goes against the
people,s interests,
therefore there is noway Aurther will survive this
political rough terrain
without the people,s backing. You are committing
political suicide Aurther
...
written by Jabulile,
August 25, 2008
I feel very proud and blessed to be Zimbabwean.
This is a precious
moment in the history of our country when good prevailed
over evil.
Hopefully this will silence Welshman/Arthur/Jonathan for good. We
are sick
and tired of their irrelevant rhetoric.
Well
Done
written by Ngoni, August 25, 2008
Well Done Lovemore
Moyo and all the progressive MPs who voted him into
the position. Next stop
- IMPEACH THAT OLD DUDE!
The 10 MDC-M MP's and The JOC
written by Kenny Kumbula, August 25, 2008
I said it, that the
10MP's must not be taken for granted as they know
the people's wishes. Whats
left now is the JOC to wake up from the deep
slumber and realise that their
Boss is not one of them as he is a mubvakure
who doesn't care about the
plight of the people of Zimbabwe as his country
Lawes is benefitting
tremendously from the chaos in
Zim. In addition haana ngozi inomutevera
if he kills as many Zim's as
he likes, but thats not the same with the JOC
coz you are all Zimbos and our
culture dictates that if you kill your own
there will be serious
repercations in future. If you have children you
better start protecting
them now by doing the right thing!
...
written by moms, August 25, 2008
Mutambara and Ncube
are commiting political suicide. Who is his/her
sane mind would want Mugabe
as president now? What is it that Mugabe did not
do in the last 28 years
that he wants to do now? The Mutambara faction is
betraying the trust they
were given by the people when they voted them into
power. Im sure none of
those who voted in Matebeleland would want to hear
the news that Ncube and
Mutambara are siding with a person who raumatized
them for so
long.
Well done Lovemore and MDC
written by Taneta Mhofu,
August 25, 2008
All the best Lovemore for the victory. Love more we
love you more, MDC
from "Mutambara side" and Zanu MPs love you also. Your
victory is a sign of
good things to come and the light at the end of the
tunnel is visible. We
are tired of the merciless regime. All the best Moyo
and MDC, we love you.
Represent us well.
Taneta
Mutambara & Ncube question
written by
Bvanyangu, August 26, 2008
Congradulations to MDC,Lovemore Moyo,MDC
M. MPS and to the 4 ZANU PF
MPS for showing your voice.
Right,the
question is... for those who had been doubting the side of
Mutambara,Ncube
and Jonathan Moyo,can you now see where the political
football was heading
to?????
So at this point where does Mutambara,Ncube and Jonathan
belong????
I need an answer,those MDC .M who are still behind
Mutambara,please
wake up.
Mutambara,Ncube and Jonathan are on ZANU
pay roll full time,zvino
vamama,vana venharadada.
Freedom is
coming,aluta continua,kwayedza!
God Speaks
written by
Mweya Mutsvene, August 26, 2008
"If zanup goes ahead to convene
parliament, we have no problem with
that, but it is against the spirit of
the MOU" These were the words of God
speaking through his servant Morgan
Tsvangirai. Now, look at the disaster
that has visited zanupf, where MDC-T
has secured the post of Speaker!! God
certainly speaks to his people,
through his servants. Wena welshman and
mtambara, the God of Israel, will
destroy your land of Sodom and Gomora.
Nhai Mwari iwe, Mwari we Israel,
inzwai ku chema kwedu, tumirai mweya wenyu
mutsvene mu paradze hondo ya
Pharaoh.
Mugabe bid to wangle speaker post backfires
http://www.businessday.co.za
26
August 2008
Dumisani
Muleya
Harare
Correspondent
DESPITE attempts to co-opt members of the opposition
Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC), President Robert Mugabe suffered a
decisive defeat in
parliament yesterday when the MDC's Lovemore Moyo was
elected speaker in a
secret ballot.
The landmark victory for the MDC,
led by Morgan Tsvangirai, marked the
beginning of the end of Mugabe's
28-year reign.
It also raised questions about the viability of a Zanu
(PF) coalition with
Arthur Mutambara - the leader of the smaller, breakaway
MDC faction.
Yesterday two MDC MPs were arrested and another threatened,
raising tension
as Mugabe was to open parliament today .
In a hung
parliament, the speaker plays a central role and could take charge
of
controversial debates, if no power-sharing deal is agreed between Mugabe
and
the two MDC factions. The speaker can also act as president in the
absence
of the vice-president or senate president.
The parliamentary
snub triggered a dramatic collapse of Mugabe's strategy to
regain control
and establish a working majority in parliament. His bid to
form a new
government after the power-sharing talks between Zanu (PF) and
the two MDC
factions stalled recently after Tsvangirai refused to serve as
prime
minister under Mugabe without an explicit guarantee that he would head
a
unity government. Mugabe is expected to announce a new cabinet
soon.
But his party's defeat yesterday left him with the difficult
task of forming
a government without a majority in parliament - something
that is likely to
paralyse his beleaguered regime.
This has forced
Mugabe to make offers to opposition MPs behind the scenes.
Mugabe had
planned to grab control of parliament by supporting the Mutambara
faction's
candidate for speaker, Paul Themba Nyathi, in return for backing
in the
house of assembly. If this had succeeded Mugabe would have retained
control
of parliament and formed a government.
Moyo was elected by 110 votes to
Nyathi's 98. Nyathi had been supported by
Zanu (PF) but his bid failed as
MPs from his faction voted with the
Tsvangirai camp after revolting against
their leadership for supporting
Mugabe's plan.
The
composition of the 210-member parliament also shows that at least three
Zanu
(PF) MPs voted for Moyo - an unprecedented move that shifted the
balance of
power and marked a further decline of Mugabe's influence and
rule. The
defeat is expected to widen divisions within Zanu (PF).
Mugabe
yesterday appointed eight provincial governors instead of 10 to the
senate,
leaving two positions for the Mutambara faction, sources said.
It is
understood he appointed three senators instead of five, leaving two
positions vacant for Mutambara and possibly his secretary-general Welshman
Ncube .
Mugabe needed a way of taking them into his cabinet if their
deal was to
have worked.
The president and deputy of the senate are
Zanu (PF) members, and the party
has the majority in that tier of the
government.
Tsvangirai's MDC narrowly defeated Zanu (PF) in
March, winning 100 seats
against Zanu (PF)'s 99. The Mutambara faction won
10. A party needs 106
votes to control parliament.
Amid cheers
from MDC benches and chanting that "Zanu (PF) is now rotten",
Moyo said
parliament would now provide the necessary checks and balances on
the
government and exercise cabinet oversight .
"This h ouse ceases to
become a rubber-stamping authority but will provide
robust and constructive
debate," Moyo said.
Nyathi hailed Moyo as a "man of
integrity".
Emmerson Mnangagwa, the Zanu (PF) leader in the h ouse,
said only: "On
behalf of my party, I say congratulations". His colleagues
were stunned into
silence and looked shocked after the
results.
Zanu (PF)'s failure to retain control of parliament through
a coalition with
Mutambara is bound to embarrass Southern African
Development Community
leaders who recently gave Mugabe the go- ahead to
convene parliament despite
a memorandum of understanding on power-sharing
negotiations which prohibited
the move.
Moyo will have Nomalanga
Khumalo of the Mutambara faction as a deputy.
The deal between the
Tsvangirai group and Mutambara's MPs was that they
would be rewarded with
the post of deputy speaker for their support.
However, there is
evidence that three Zanu (PF) MPs voted for Moyo because
the Tsvangirai
faction had 99 MPs voting and got eight votes from the
Mutambara faction.
This means that Moyo, who had a total of 110 votes, got
107 votes from the
MDC bloc and three from Zanu (PF).
Tsvangirai's group had one MP who
failed to vote after he was arrested by
the police at
parliament.
Nelson Chamisa, the spokesman for Tsvangirai's group,
said their MPs Shuah
Mudiwa and Eliah Jembere were arrested yesterday
morning on "political
charges".
Mudiwa was released later, but
Jembere remained in custody and could not
vote.
MDC MP Paul Mungofa
was also arrested yesterday, while another MDC MP, Elton
Mangoma, was
threatened with arrest. With Reuters
No
amnesty should be granted to dictators
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=3163
August 26, 2008
Tanonoka
Whande
A FEW days ago, I had the privilege to talk to both the MDC
National
Chairman, Lovemore Moyo and MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai during
their
visit to Gaborone.
They spoke well and explained several issues
that were of concern to the
thirty-something group of invited
Zimbabweans.
I could not help but feel that were the MDC to give people
such information
in regular briefings, it would go a long way to calm nerves
and consolidate
support for the talks among the jittery populace. I was, of
course, reminded
that certain trade-offs are necessary in delicate
negotiations, such as
these.
Among other things, I was personally
interested in the post-Mugabe era.
Apart from the issue of including Robert
Mugabe in a government of national
unity, one other controversial issue
concerns amnesty and immunity for him
and his lieutenants.
I am
consumed by the unnecessary deaths mindlessly rained on the people by
Zanu-PF before, during and after independence.
It is an obsession on
my part, you would say.
Manicaland and many parts of Zimbabwe continue to
suffer.
Matabeleland and the Midlands suffered. They remain the most
tragic chapter
in our history.
Families were destroyed as parents and
children were made to disappear.
And, disgustingly, the whole nation
continues to suffer at the hands of the
same man who has cases to answer
about the demise of his fellow comrades
during the war of liberation. It was
not even friendly fire.
There were people, like Josiah Tongogara, who
were allegedly murdered so
that some people could secure political control
of a liberation army they
had never created.
The killing by Zanu-PF
was started by these same men before we even acquired
independence.
I
cannot, for the life of me, believe that our nation shall ever contemplate
that it is business as usual when we think of those killed for the
glorification and gratification of a dictator.
The issue of those
killed by Mugabe and Zanu-PF before, during and after
independence is one
that is going to be very difficult to lay to rest,
especially if it is
handled in a cavalier manner for the convenience of
political parties and
some individuals at the expense of the people.
Amnesty is the "official
pardon for people who have been convicted of
political
offences".
Surely, the MDC is not thinking of this?
Take Mugabe,
for example. If he is granted amnesty, it means he had been to
court and was
convicted of, among other things, genocide, but his successor's
government
might just decide to pardon him and let him spend time on his pig
farm as a
free man, a status he denied Zimbabwean citizens since he became
Prime
Minister and, later, President.
Amnesty is offensive in that those
against whom those crimes were committed
have no say. Politicians just
forgive each other for their own conveniences.
Amnesty is offensive in
that it does not take into consideration the
feelings of those whose
parents, brothers, sisters and other relatives
perished for no
reason.
It is highly offensive to me that a man who murders another man
in a beer
hall brawl is sentenced to death and his death sentence is
actually carried
out by the government, the very same government that would
pardon a man who,
through deliberate abuse of office and betrayal of public
trust, killed
thousands of innocent people just to boost his own ego and to
hold on to
power because people no longer liked his policies.
If you
kill one person you hang; but if you kill thousands, you get amnesty.
Is the
equation accurate and normal? Yet we always assumed the state was the
custodian of justice!
It gets worse.
There is what they call
immunity and it is "the protection or exemption from
something, especially
an obligation or penalty".
Surely, the MDC is not really thinking about
this?
Take Mugabe, for example. If he is granted immunity, he will go
home to
Zvimba and be free to continue abusing people.
Immunity is
offensive because a government that we are going to vote into
power, hoping
to be afforded the opportunity of closure, will protect and
exempt the men
who are terrorizing them and us today.
Imagine the MDC protecting Mugabe
from fellow citizens? Imagine the MDC,
which lost so many of its supporters
to Zanu-PF, protecting them all.
While talks continue, Mugabe's goons
still terrorize people in Manicaland,
abducting, kidnapping and assaulting
opposition party activists.
Even today, many people cannot go back to
their villages because of Mugabe's
supporters.
Yet Mugabe and his men
are pushing for amnesty or immunity at any
opportunity they get, especially
at the talks in South Africa.
How can immunity and amnesty be granted to
men who never admitted committing
any crime and who, while waiting for an
answer to their request for
immunity, continue to kill and abuse people,
including those same ones who
are supposed to grant them their
request?
As the MDC National Chairman was driving me back to my residence
in Gaborone
after the briefing, I revisited the issue of immunity and
amnesty and he
repeated more or less the same thing he had said in the
briefing and that is
that in the interests of Zimbabwe, the MDC was prepared
to accept some
unacceptable things, like amnesty and immunity.
For
the sake of Zimbabwe.
On the whole, it does make sense that agreements to
free Zimbabwe should not
be derailed by a request for amnesty or immunity
from Mugabe.
The reasoning seems to be: give the man what he wants and
save lives and
rebuild the nation.
But it's not that easy as any
successor to Mugabe, be they Zanu-PF, MDC or
something in between, will find
out.
Can the people of Zimbabwe really forgive Mugabe and most of his
people?
There is Entumbane, Gukurahundi. Murambatsvina and a host of other
deliberate acts of killing and abusing people, each one qualifying for
genocide in its own right.
Can the people forgive? I find this
difficult to believe. It is too soon?
As for me, I am in a quandary. I am
a Christian, a former Catholic altar boy
who was taught to forgive those
that trespass against us as those we
trespass against are bound to forgive
us too.
But I can't. I just can't. Something has to heal inside me
first.
Mugabe need not forgive a single Zimbabwean because no single
Zimbabwean
ever did him any wrong. We just never had the
opportunity.
I know my God is listening and I hope He understands why I
cannot forgive. I
do not, and I repeat, I do not forgive these men because
they continue with
their evil ways. They continue to commit the same crimes
for which they seek
immunity and amnesty.
They are starving children
and chasing their parents into the mountains. Yet
they want to be forgiven
while they scout for more families to destroy and
kill. They deny the
injured access to hospitals which they control.
If my refusal to forgive
Robert Mugabe, my homeboy Emerson Mnangagwa, Army
Commander Constantine
Chiwenga, Perrence Shiri, Joseph Mwale, Joseph
Chinotimba and all those who
played cheerleaders to the murder of
Zimbabweans, will condemn me to the
fires of hell, then I am prepared for
that.
I will find Mugabe and
his cronies there as well and none of us will have
the advantage of
fireproof gear.
Amid the crackling of flames and the putrid smell of
burning human flesh, we
will be fighting on equal terms at last and there is
nothing I would cherish
more. This battle is going to go beyond our
galaxies.
Let us do away with amnesty and immunity. They encourage human
rights
abusers.
FEWS Southern Africa Food Security Update Aug 2008 - 8
million are at risk of food insecurity
- Recently concluded
vulnerability assessments indicate that while a majority of households in
southern Africa will have adequate food over this consumption season, widespread
acute and chronic food insecurity remains a real concern in parts of most
countries where these assessments have been conducted. Currently, over 8 million
people in seven countries (Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland,
Zambia, and Zimbabwe) are at risk of food insecurity between now and March 2009
and require some kind of assistance. Numbers are expected to peak over the
November to February hunger season.
- While Mozambique, Zambia, and Malawi produced adequate amounts of cereals
to cover domestic needs, pockets of food insecurity exist in localized areas of
the countries where the 2007/08 crop growing season was characterized by heavy
rains that resulted in flooding, loss of crops, and disruption of livelihoods,
followed by an end of season dry spell in February and March. In addition,
households in parts of Lesotho, Swaziland, and Namibia, countries that did not
produce enough to cover domestic needs, are already experiencing some degree of
food insecurity due to below average harvests as a result of excessive rains and
flooding, prolonged dry spells, and an early cessation of rains. In Tanzania,
localized food shortages have prompted the VAC to plan for a rapid assessment in
August to ascertain numbers of those who may require emergency assistance until
the next harvests in April 2009.
- Zimbabwe faces the highest and most severe levels of food insecurity
largely in the region as a result of adverse crop growing conditions in the
2007/08 cropping season and the country’s continuing economic decline. A joint
FAO/WFP crop and food supply assessment mission (CFSAM) in May estimated that 2
million people will be food insecure from July through September 2008 in both
urban a rural areas. This number is expected to peak at about 5.1 from January
to March 2009. The results of the ongoing VAC food security assessments will
inform updated estimates.
- Apart from the impacts of shocks such as floods, droughts, and early
cessation of rains, the VAC assessments have underscored that many of the
region’s households have become increasingly vulnerable to food insecurity and
their livelihoods more fragile following multi–year shocks, erosion of their asset base, and deepening
poverty levels due to general decline in national economic growth. This has
increased the numbers of chronically food insecure and those “at risk” of food
insecurity from one consumption year to the next.
- The regional cereal balance indicates an exportable maize surplus that is
sufficient to cover the projected shortfalls in the region’s deficit countries,
which include Zimbabwe, South Africa’s SACU partners (Botswana, Lesotho,
Namibia, and Swaziland), and Tanzania. Most of these countries will be looking
to South Africa for the majority of their import requirements. At the current
level (about 2.6 million MT); South Africa’s exportable surplus could fully
cover the region’s import requirements.
Full_Report
(pdf* format - 315.5 Kbytes)
Man made famine looms in
Zimbabwe
Posted on August 25th, 2008
Read 75 times.
Famines occur due to war, anarchy, floods, droughts, insects or blights. Yet
in the last century the most horrible famines are those planned by the
government in the absence of war, to punish their own people, or from a callus
attitude that political power is more important than human life. Such famines
occurred in the Ukraine in the 1930’s and in China’s Great Leap Forward in the
1960’s.So add to this list of monstrous tyrants who plan the deliberate
starvation of their own people the name of Robert Mugabe.The party line in
Zimbabwe is that “the West” is to blame for the famine, since the west has a
limited embargo on investment in Zimbabwe.
But the reality is that Mugabe has used food as a weapon to keep power in
previous elections. It was understood that villages who voted wrong would not
get food aid during the periodic famines in their areas.
So in order to distribute food, NGO’s were supposed to be certified by the
government, and food aid was supposed to be distributed via government
officials: something that would be reasonable if one didn’t know Mugabe’s
history and threats.
But after the March elections, where essentially Mugabe lost, things got
worse in Zimbabwe.
During that election, after a long delay, officials decided the votes
suggested a “close count” requiring a “reelection” for president– translation:
he lost so badly that stealing the election by fiat was impossible, so plan B,
violence and intimidation against those who voted wrong, was initiated.
The violence was bad enough that Morgan Tsvangirai, the real winner, withdrew
from the run off election.
But apparently, the mere threat of violence was not enough to ensure the
correct vote: Mugabe also banned the distribution of food aid by NGO’s in early
June.
This was a twofold threat: One, it meant that after a poor harvest, villagers
would know that if they didn’t vote correctly, no food aid would be coming to
keep them alive, and two: It meant that there were fewer outsiders to report on
atrocities.
The dirty little secret about missionaries and NGO’s is that they write about
what they see. Mugabe is trying to intimidate his population, and keep it a
secret. That is why he bans outside reporters from entering the country, and why
letters and emails are assumed by locals to be monitored.
So since June, NGO’s have been banned from giving out food aid. After the
farce election, and the South African mediated talks to try to get a coalition
government, Mugabe agreed to stop the suspension of the NGO’s. This did not
happen, although in early August a small amount of food was allowed to be
distributed to HIV patients.
But if things don’t change, Zimbabwe, which once exported food and with
irrigation and modern techniques could be the breadbasket of Africa, will become
a state with massive
starvation. From the report by the Crisis in Zimbabwe coalition:
“The suspension of humanitarian operations is estimated to have put the lives
of more than 1.5 million marginalised Zimbabweans at risk already,” said the
report. “Without the immediate resumption of food aid across the country,
widespread hunger and worsening malnutrition are unavoidable.”
It noted that
the two main international food agencies, the World Food Programme and the Food
and Agricultural Organisation, estimate that 2.04 million Zimbabweans in rural
and urban areas do not have enough food now. By January, the organisations say
that 5.1 million will be at risk of starvation – about 45% of the
population.
“The government has always maintained a stranglehold on food
distribution with a view to ensuring that those receiving the food associate
this generosity with the government, rather than the donors,” the report
noted.
In the meanwhile, on the political front, things continue to be bad.
South Africa, representing local African countries, tried to pressure
Tsvangirai into signing an agreement that would give Mugabe all the power and
make him a patsy without power. Those knowing Zimbabwe history know how a
similar “agreement” with Joshua Nkomo led to nothing but misery for the Ndebele
who thought they might gain a voice in the government.
So as a “run around”, Mugabe continues to play “pretend”. The first election
“was a tie”. Ah, but he “won” the reelection. South Africa pretends the talks
mean something, and signals Mugabe they’ll pretend too. So Mugabe calls
Parliament into session…while detaining
just a couple opposition congressmen, just enough to tip the scales, and by
making a pact with Mutambara, the leader of an opposition splinter group…a move
that would allow Mugabe to gain a coalition majority without any input from the
larger opposition leader Tsvangirai…
But into this pretend playact, a strange thing happened: The “splinter”
opposition group in Congress refused to follow their “leader”, whose agreements
with Mugabe were made without asking them about it.
And as a result, MDC’s Lovemore Moyo won
the position of speaker.
(Zimbabwe’s parliament has a Senate, with little power, and a lower house
that runs things. For more information go HERE. Think
House of Lords and House of Commons, not the US Senate and House for
comparisons).
So although famine is threatening, and the violence continues, the tiny spark
of democracy is still alive in Zimbabwe…so far.