The ZIMBABWE Situation
An extensive and up-to-date website containing news, views and links related to ZIMBABWE - a country in crisis
Please note: You need to have 'Active content' enabled in your IE browser in order to see the index of articles on this webpage
Mugabe's
Party Says Opposition Plots Overthrow
http://abcnews.go.com/
Zimbabwe: Mugabe's party accuses
opposition of planning overthrow;
opposition fears crackdown
By ANGUS
SHAW Associated Press Writer
HARARE, Zimbabwe December 15, 2008
(AP)
Zimbabwe's ruling party renewed accusations Monday that its
opponents are
training in neighboring Botswana to overthrow President Robert
Mugabe,
heightening political tensions as the country faces a spreading
cholera
epidemic.
The United Nations said the reported death toll
shot up by 25 percent in
three days to 978, with a total 18,413 suspected
cases since the start of
the outbreak in August.
The figures reported
Monday by the World Health Organizations were up from
the 792 deaths and
16,700 cases reported Friday. The World Health
Organization has said the
total number of cases could reach 60,000 unless
the epidemic is
stopped.
The rapid spread and high fatality rates of the easily curable
disease has
been caused by the collapse of the country's health care and
water supply
systems. The crisis has been exacerbated by long-standing
political deadlock
over a power-sharing government.
Patrick
Chinamasa, Mugabe's justice minister, was quoted Monday in the
state-owned
Herald newspaper as saying the opposition was not sincere and
"is bent on
foisting war on the country and the region."
Chinamasa said he had
"compelling evidence" that members of Movement for
Democratic Change were
being trained in Botswana to fight. Botswana
President Seretse Ian Khama has
been one of the few African leaders to
openly criticize
Mugabe.
"My plea to Khama and his government is to think carefully
about the
irreversible harm they have been plotting to unleash on the
region,"
Chinamasa said.
The opposition dismissed the allegations,
saying the comments might be used
as a pretext to crack down harder on
dissent or declare an emergency.
Jeff Ramsay, a spokesman for Botswana's
government, also dismissed the
claim.
"Zimbabwe has persisted in
making these allegations but has failed to
produce anything we would
recognize as `compelling evidence,'" Ramsay said.
Botswana's Ministry of
Health said Monday three cholera cases had been
confirmed in Zimbabweans
visiting Botswana. Zimbabwe's neighbors have been
gearing up for the spread
of the disease in the region, with South Africa
caring for scores of
Zimbabweans at a border town.
Mugabe's party and the opposition Movement
for Democratic Change led by
Morgan Tsvangirai, who was in Botswana on
Monday, have yet to implement a
unity government deal struck in September
because of a dispute over how to
share Cabinet posts.
Tendai Biti,
Tsvangirai's chief negotiator, said the allegations followed
reports that
Mugabe's party was gathering alleged threats to national
security to support
a state of emergency declaration that would give Mugabe
broad policing
powers.
"If they want to declare a state of emergency, let them do it.
Don't create
fiction against the MDC," Biti said at a news
conference.
Earlier Monday, Nelson Chamisa, Tsvangirai's spokesman, said
it was
"laughable and ridiculous that they made such a mischievous
propaganda
claim."
Chamisa added the opposition still hoped the
political deadlock could be
resolved, though he said no negotiations had
been scheduled.
In addition to Zimbabwe's economic collapse, the country
faces a growing
hunger problem and cholera has spread
rapidly.
Botswana has pledged aid to help Zimbabwe fight cholera.
Ramsay said that
was "guided by humanitarian considerations and is thus
quite separate from
the Harare authorities' continued leveling of baseless
allegations against
us."
According to U.N. figures, deaths from
cholera in Zimbabwe since August are
approaching 800, with more than 16,000
people sickened by the waterborne
disease. Zimbabwe has been unable to
afford spare parts and chemicals for
systems to provide clean water, and its
hospitals no longer have the staff
or medicine to treat the
sick.
Zimbabwe's decline began in 2000, when Mugabe began an often
violent
campaign to seize white-owned farms and give them to blacks. Most of
the
land ended up in the hands of his cronies, and farm production dropped
sharply. The U.N. estimates half the population will need food aid by early
next year.
Mugabe has ruled his country since its 1980 independence
from Britain. He
refused to leave office following disputed elections in
March. Power sharing
has been agreed to as a solution to the election
dispute, with Tsvangirai as
prime minister and Mugabe continuing as
president.
MDC,
Botswana deny planning Zimbabwe insurgency
http://www.monstersandcritics.com
Africa News
Dec 15, 2008, 14:37
GMT
Johannesburg - Botswana's government and Zimbabwe's
opposition on Monday
rejected allegations by President Robert Mugabe's
regime of training
militants in a conspiracy to overthrow the elderly
leader.
Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) on
Monday described
the alleged plot as a 'dog's breakfast' of a story, while
Botswana insisted
it had no intention of letting its territory be used to
mount an attack on
its neighbour.
In remarks reported in the
state-controlled Herald newspaper, Justice
Minister Patrick Chinamasa
claimed the government had evidence of 'the
recruitment and military
training of youths (in Botswana) for the eventual
destabilisation of the
country (Zimbabwe) with a view to effecting illegal
regime
change.'
Since its formation in 1999, despite its members being routinely
harassed,
detained and even tortured by state forces, the MDC has eschewed
the use of
violence to topple Mugabe.
'We have refused to go to the
fields with little guns on our shoulders. We
seek to achieve democratic
change through non-violent means,' MDC
secretary-general Tendai Biti told a
press conference in Harare.
'The whole thing (the regime's allegations)
is a dog's breakfast, one which
my own dogs wouldn't touch,' Biti declared,
accusing Mugabe of cooking up
the story to justify declaring a state of
emergency.
Botswana on Monday also vigorously denied Harare's claims that
it had
'availed its territory, material and logistical support' to the MDC
to
conduct military training.
'Botswana has made its position very
clear that it will never let its
territory be used to launch attacks,'
foreign affairs spokesman Clifford
Maribe told Deutsche Presse-Agentur
dpa.
Zimbabwe's accusations mark an escalation in the regime's war of
words with
Botswana, whose president has been vocal in his criticism of
Mugabe,
boycotting two summits of the Southern African Development Community
(SADC)
over Mugabe's presence as head of state.
Botswana's Foreign
minister Phando Skelemani recently called on Zimbabwe's
neighbours to shut
their borders with the country to force Mugabe from
office.
Chinamasa
claimed the regime had 'compelling evidence' that Botswana, a
country
usually hailed for its sound governance, 'has decided to be a
destabilizing
factor in the region.'
He gave no details of the 'evidence,' but said the
matter was now in the
hands of the politics and defence organ of
SADC.
Botsawna said it had invited SADC to send investigators to the
country to
investigate the matter. A SADC delegation visited Botswana in the
last two
weeks, Maribe said, but had yet to issue a report.
A senior
MDC official, who cannot be named, claimed some members of a group
of 15 MDC
members that were detained by police in early November and are
being held in
an unknown location had been made confess on video to taking
part in the
training camps.
The Herald claimed that 'the plot was to train groups of
bandits who would
instigate instability that would give the West a pretext
to get the United
Nations Security Council leeway to authorise a military
invasion of
Zimbabwe.'
Zimbabwe's political and humanitarian crises -
around 800 people have died
of cholera since August - are due to be
discussed at a Security Council
meeting in New York this week.
The
last attempt by the Security Council in July to impose targeted
sanctions
against the ruling elite over the killing of scores of MDC
supporters was
vetoed by China and Russia on the basis that the situation
did not pose a
threat to international stability.
But Chinamasa himself warned of a
regional escalation.
'My plea to (President) Khama and his government is
to think carefully about
the irreversible harm they have been plotting to
unleash on the region,'
Chinamasa said, warning 'the population of Botswana'
could also suffer.
Mariba said Botswana supported the formation of a
power-sharing government
in Zimbabwe as the best solution to the country's
crisis. If that failed,
new presidential elections should be held, he
said.
The MDC and Zanu-PF are in negotiations to set in motion the unity
deal they
signed in mid-September.
At the weekend Mugabe gazetted a
constitutional amendment that allows for
Tsvangirai to be sworn in as prime
minister of a unity government, in which
he remains president.
But
the MDC, which has the most seats in parliament has vowed to block the
passage of the amendment in parliament until its other concerns over the
sharing of power have been addressed.
Mugabe
planning state of emergency: MDC
http://www.iol.co.za
December 15 2008 at
07:34PM
Harare - Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change
on Monday
accused President Robert Mugabe's government of planning to
institute a
state of emergency as an excuse to disregard the rule of
law.
MDC secretary general Tendai Biti said the ruling Zanu-PF was
recording
forced confessions from 15 MDC supporters it had abducted since
October to
use as fodder for implementing a state of emergency.
"We
have no doubt as a party that they are going to declare a state of
emergency. We are aware of a document which runs into tens of pages," Biti
told a news conference in the capital Harare.
"If
they declare a state of emergency, let them do it, they should do it but
don't create fiction against the MDC."
He said Zanu-PF already had
three DVDs of "purported confessions" by the
abducted MDC
supporters.
"In a state of emergency there is no recourse to lawyers the
constitution is
suspended."
Mugabe has threatened to call fresh
elections if rival parties failed to
reach agreement on a unity government
accord signed three months ago.
Biti reiterated the MDCs stance that it
would welcome fresh elections,
however, it would only take part if the polls
were under international
supervision.
"Zanu-PF cannot threaten us
with an election. Bring on an election but not
under Zanu-PF terms. It would
have to be under international terms.
Elections must be held under
international supervision," said Biti.
He added that if elections were
held a caretaker government must be
installed. - Sapa-AFP
Zimbabwe cholera deaths soar to 978
The death toll from cholera in Zimbabwe has soared
to 978 with another 18,413 suspected cases.
Last Updated: 7:04PM GMT 15 Dec 2008
The country's capital Harare is the worst-hit
district, with 208 deaths and 8,454 suspected cases, the UN Office for the
Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.
Beitbridge, which border South Africa, was also badly
affected. Some 91 people in the border town have been killed by the disease,
while 3,546 are suspected to be suffering from it.
The latest toll came even as the United States and
Britain were expected to lobby the UN Security Council to turn up the heat on
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.
But Harare has vowed to thwart western efforts to put
Zimbabwe on the Security Council agenda, saying it was not a threat to
international security.
The South African Red Cross has sent medical supplies
to Zimbabwe, and has issued an appeal for funds to treat a total of 30,000
people.
The UN has said it estimates up to 60,000 people may
eventually be affected.
On Thursday, Mr Mugabe gave a nationally televised
speech saying the outbreak had been contained.
"I am happy to say our doctors are being assisted by
others, and the WHO [World Health Organization] have now arrested cholera."
He has accused Western powers, including Zimbabwe's
former colonial ruler Britain, of using the cholera outbreak as a pretext to
invade the country and overthrow him.
"Now that there is no cholera, there is no cause for
war," he said.
Other high-ranking officials have accused Britain of
deliberately spreading cholera.
In a separate development, neighbouring Botswana has
denied a Zimbabwean accusation that it was involved in a plot to overthrow
Robert Mugabe's government.
UN
Security Council to meet on Zimbabwe
http://www.monstersandcritics.com
Africa News
Dec 15, 2008, 16:52
GMT
New York - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was scheduled to
brief the UN
Security Council later Monday on the deterioration of living
conditions in
Zimbabwe, where a cholera epidemic has killed more than 900
people.
The 15-nation council was to hear Ban behind closed doors as is
the normal
practice for sensitive issues. Last week, US Secretary of State
Condoleezza
Rice called on the council to take 'meaningful action' against
Zimbabwean
President Robert Mugabe for his leadership in the worsening
situation.
British Ambassador John Sawers also called on the council to
seek a solution
to the plight of Zimbabwean people.
'We want to try
to find a common way forward and a solution to this
absolutely desperate
plight of the Zimbabwean people and a way to put
together a government that
reflects the genuine will of the Zimbabwean
people ahead of the elections in
March,' Sawers told reporters last week.
The World Health Organization
said Monday a total of 978 people have died of
cholera and suspected cholera
cases had risen to above 18,000, affecting
nine of 10 provinces in Zimbabwe.
It said half of all cholera cases are
located in a suburb of Harare and a
further 26 per cent of cases in a town
bordering South Africa.
The
epidemic has spread to South Africa, Botswana and Mozambique.
WHO said
the death rate in Zimbabwe from cholera stood at 5.3 per cent,
which was
considered high. It said for the disease to be under control, the
death rate
should be under 1 per cent.
WHO said the main problem in Zimbabwe was the
lack of clean water, which
aggravated by the interruption of the water
supply, overcrowding and the
disposal of waste and repair of sewage and
sewage blockage in most areas in
that country.
In the face of UN
warnings of mounting cholera cases, Mugabe claimed his
country had gotten
rid of the epidemic.
Zimbabwe 'not a
threat'
http://www.news24.com
15/12/2008 19:04 - (SA)
Harare - President Robert
Mugabe's government on Monday vowed to thwart
western efforts to put
Zimbabwe on the UN Security Council agenda, saying it
was not a threat to
international security.
The United States and Britain were expected to
lobby the council to turn up
the heat on Mugabe, amid mounting international
pressure for him to step
aside as his country caves in under an economic
meltdown and cholera crisis.
The 15-member UN Security Council was due on
Monday to hold a closed-door
meeting, and Washington said last week it would
pressure members to act
against the veteran leader, whom it blames directly
for Zimbabwe's woes.
Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu told the
state-owned Herald newspaper
it was "improper" for western countries to try
to put Zimbabwe on the
agenda.
No consultation
"You do not
convene a UN Security Council meeting for a sovereign state
without
consulting that country," he was quoted as saying.
"We are not a threat.
If they insist, we will work hard to block it with the
assistance of our
friends."
Zimbabwe's authorities on Monday also claimed that Botswana, a
vocal
regional critic, was supporting an opposition plot to overthrow
Mugabe,
labelling its neighbour a "surrogate" of western
powers.
"What evidence is there establishes that Botswana has rendered
itself a
surrogate of Western imperial powers, that it is acting contrary to
its past
role as a Frontline State, and that it has to be a destabilising
factor in
the region," Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa said in the
Herald.
Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) on
Monday described
the alleged plot as a "dog's breakfast" of a story, while
Botswana insisted
it had no intention of letting its territory be used to
mount an attack on
its neighbour.
In southern African, Botswana has
been the most consistently critical of
Mugabe's regime, in stark contrast to
the silence of Zimbabwe's other
neighbours.
The United Nations
estimates some 800 have died and more than 16 000
infected by cholera as
political rivals remain in a logjam over a
power-sharing
government.
US State Department spokesperson Sean McCormack said
Washington was talking
to Zimbabwe's neighbour South Africa and other
Security Council members
about how to "start a process that will bring an
end to the tragedy that is
unfolding in Zimbabwe".
'Leave
office'
Several world leaders have called on Mugabe to leave office,
including US
President George W Bush, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and
British Prime
Minister Gordon Brown.
The security body has failed to
act against Mugabe in the past amid splits
between the western nations and
Russia and China.
A constitutional amendment set to pave the way toward
the formation of a
power-sharing leadership was gazetted on Saturday, but
treated sceptically
by parties who said key issues could still see the deal
fall apart.
The opposition Movement for Democratic Change on Monday
accused Mugabe's
government of planning to institute a state of emergency as
an excuse to
disregard rule of law.
Mugabe and opposition leader
Morgan Tsvangirai signed a unity accord three
months ago, but have so far
failed to agree on how to form a cabinet,
leaving government in
limbo.
Zimbabwe, once a role model economy in Africa, now faces a myriad
of
problems including run-away inflation of 231 million percent, compounded
by
a growing humanitarian crisis as cholera is expected to spread to 60
000.
It is expected about five million people will need food aid in the
coming
months.
- SAPA
Zimbabwe's
MDC says ready for new election
http://africa.reuters.com
Mon 15 Dec 2008, 11:22 GMT
HARARE, Dec
15 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC)
said on Monday it was ready to participate in any new election,
as long as
it was under international supervision.
MDC Secretary-General Tendai Biti
said the party would reject a poll held
under the ruling ZANU-PF's terms.
(Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Writing
by Agnieszka Flak)
NCA to stage countrywide protest Tuesday
By Alex Bell
15 December
2008
As the end to the crises in Zimbabwe appear further and further
away,
members of the pressure group the National Constitutional Assembly
(NCA)
have said they will not give up their fight for a free Zimbabwe, and
will
once again take to the streets in protest on Tuesday.
Scores of
people are expected to gather in Harare, Bulwayo, Masvingo, Gweru
and Mutare
on Tuesday to stage a peaceful demonstration to support the NCA's
plan for
achieving democracy in Zimbabwe. The group has led three previous
demonstrations in Harare and the mass action is set to build on the success
of the last protest two weeks ago, which saw over 1,000 NCA members take to
the streets. The demonstration saw the arrest of 15 members when riot police
clashed with protesters - leaving 22 people hospitalised with injuries as a
result of beatings. But despite the violent crackdown by riot police, NCA
officials have said they will not be deterred in protesting for national
recovery.
Tuesday's countrywide demonstrations are expected to get
underway in the
morning, and the NCA is encouraging all Zimbabweans to amass
in their
numbers and join the action.
SW
Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
Zimbabwean journalist abducted
By
Violet Gonda
15 December 2008
A freelance photojournalist is the latest victim of state sponsored terror
attacks. It’s reported that Shadreck Manyere, aka Saddam, was abducted on
Saturday by unknown assailants and his home raided the following day. His
whereabouts are still unknown.
Our correspondent Simon Muchemwa who knew Shadreck, said the accredited
journalist had taken his car to a garage in Norton on Saturday when he received
a call from a person who said he wanted to meet him. It is believed that Manyere
must have known the caller for him to agree to the meeting. That was the last
time that he was seen.
His family and friends became worried when the journalist did not return home
that evening and after they found his phone had also been switched off.
Concern grew at 1am on Sunday morning when a group of men saying they were
from the police Law and Order section went to the photojournalist’s Westgate
home and requested to search his house. Muchemwa reports that the police said
they wanted to see Manyere’s wife because he had been involved in a car accident
and was dead.
Manyere’s wife refused to let them in, but they returned at 10am with a
search warrant and ransacked the house.
Muchemwa said they took a laptop, video camera and some tapes but as usual
police denied involvement.
Scores of civic and political activists have been at the receiving end of an
intensified state sponsored crackdown, and there are growing fears that the
regime is doing this under the guise of building a case against an alleged plan
for a military invasion by Botswana.
ZANU PF’s Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa told the state controlled Herald
newspaper on Monday that the regime had ‘compelling evidence tying Botswana to
the training of bandits believed to be linked to an alleged MDC-T plot to
unconstitutionally unseat the Government.’ Botswana denies the allegations.
Meanwhile MDC Secretary General Tendai Biti held a press conference in Harare
on Monday and expressed his party’s concern over the growing number of
kidnappings in the country. He called on the regional leaders and African Union
to put pressure on the regime to stop the abductions.
See list
of those people still missing
| SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news |
MDC shocked that Mugabe ally is living in London
By Tichaona
Sibanda
15 December 2008
MDC activists and officials across the UK
reacted with shock and outrage on
Monday at the news that Florence Chitauro,
a former top ZANU PF Minister, is
now living in London and travels to and
from Zimbabwe without any hindrance.
The former Labour Minister and later
the country's ambassador to Australia,
is accused of helping brutally
suppress workers strikes in the country
during her time as a cabinet
minister.
The UK based Observer newspaper reported on Sunday that Chitauro
lives in a
plush town house in West London with husband James, himself a
former
permanent secretary in Mugabe's regime. The couple have a son and
daughter
who also live in the United Kingdom.
The newspaper
confronted Chitauro over her past and her current free
movements, but she
told the paper she was now a 'private citizen.' Asked
whether she now
denounced the regime, Chitauro replied: 'No, I'm not going
to say that.' She
also claimed she had lived and contributed to the UK for a
long time.
Her
ability to move back and forth between the UK and Zimbabwe has
infuriated
many MDC activists, the majority of them victims of political
persecution by
a regime she once proudly served. Almost all top former and
current senior
Zanu-PF officials are banned from entering European Union
countries and
another 11 names were added to the list last week Monday. But
there are
concerns that others are continuing to slip through the net, like
Chitauro.
Hebson Makuvise, the MDC chief representative in the UK
confirmed that he
had a meeting on Monday with British authorities about
Chitauro.
'I can confirm I met with British foreign office officials who
were also
amazed with news that Chitauro is in the UK. We protested as a
party about
her presence and the British told us they were looking into the
matter as a
matter of urgency,' Makuvise said.
The chief
representative accused Chitauro of waging a relentless war against
Morgan
Tsvangirai during his time as secretary general of the ZCTU.
'She
instituted a commission of enquiry to investigate Tsvangirai for
alleged
fraud at the ZCTU. All this was done to discredit him and the
workers in
Zimbabwe,' he said.
Some activists expressed anger that a high profile
figure like Chitauro
could seek a safe heaven in London and go unnoticed by
authorities in the
UK.
'If it weren't for the newspaper that exposed
her presence here, she could
have remained underground for a long time. She
is a typical example of the
regime's hypocrisy. They criticize the British
during the day but fly to the
UK under the cover of darkness,' said one
activist.
Another added; 'She should go back to farm on one of the farms
they grabbed
from the whites. She's made no pronouncements to denounce
Mugabe and yet
Mugabe hates the British with a passion and so what is she
doing here.'
While Chitauro has been allowed to live and travel freely to
and from
Harare, a Zimbabwean woman and her two daughters who fled the
regime are to
be deported from the UK.
Reports say Privilege Thulambo 39,
and her children (her husband was
murdered by Mugabe's thugs) are being
detained in a controversial
immigration centre after being seized by
immigration officers on Friday.
Friends of the family said the Home Office
would be guilty of "murder by the
back door" by deporting the three
women.
They are all Zimbabwean nationals but because they entered the UK
on
Malawian passports eight years ago - the only way they could escape the
Mugabe regime - they have had their claim for asylum rejected. The family is
expected to spend Christmas in the grim surroundings of the Yarl's Wood
detention centre, before boarding a flight to Malawi on 29th December. As
they are all Zimbabwean nationalities, they are likely to be immediately
sent on to Zimbabwe, or face prosecution for using forged Malawian
documents.
The Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg, the family's former
MP, said it was
wrong to assess them as Malawian for immigration purposes.
He added: 'It is
time this government gets tough on Mugabe, not his victims.
This case
illustrates the heartless approach from a Home Office more willing
to deport
people to their fate, rather than do the right
thing.
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
Zimbabwe's Air Force chief survives gun
attack
ATTACK:
Air Force Commander Perence Shiri (centre) survived assasination
attempt
Posted to the web: 15/12/2008 17:07:41
ZIMBABWE’S
Air Force Commander Air Vice Marshal Perence Shiri survived at attempt on his
life on Saturday night, New Zimbabwe.com has learnt.
Shiri was hospitalised after suffering a gunshot
wound to his arm, a senior official from Zimbabwe’s ruling Zanu PF party has
confirmed to this website.
Shiri, driving alone in his official car, is said to
have been leaving his farm in Mashonaland West Province on Saturday night when
he was ambushed.
“He came under fire from a sizeable number of
professional hitmen. He survived the attack, although he was shot on the arm,”
the official said, speaking on condition he is not named.
The military has been placed on high alert and
security boosted around the country’s top military brass following the
attack.
Military intelligence investigators, the Central
Intelligence Organisation (CIO) and police are all said to be involved in the
investigation to track down the attackers and establish a motive.
“They are pursuing three lines of enquiry: was it an
assassination attempt by outsiders seeking to destabilise the country; was it
part of the internal struggles for power within the party (Zanu PF) or was it a
private quarrel? All these are under consideration at this point,” the official
said.
New Zimbabwe.com understands that the state-run
Herald newspaper and the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation’s Newsnet came close
to running a story on the attack late Sunday after police confirmed they were
investigating an incident only to be told to hold back.
The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
said Monday that it feared President Robert Mugabe was primed to declare a state
of emergency following claims that it had trained bandits in neighbouring
Botswana and was preparing for “war”.
The attack on Shiri will heighten tensions, coming as
it does only a fortnight after the death of Zanu PF political commissar Elliot
Manyika in a suspicious road accident. Manyika’s family maintains that he was
murdered in internecine Zanu PF battles for political power.
No comment was immediately available from the army
spokesman late Monday.
Zimbabwe vows
to block western efforts at UN Security Council
http://news.yahoo.com
HARARE, (AFP) - Zimbabwean
authorities on Monday vowed to block any efforts
by Britain and the United
States to put the country on the agenda of the
United Nations Security
Council.
"You do not convene a UN Security Council meeting for a
sovereign state
without consulting that country," Information Minister
Sikhanyiso Ndlovu was
quoted as saying by the state-owned Herald
newspaper.
"We are not a threat. If they insist, we will work hard to
block it with the
assistance of our friends," he said.
The 15-member
Security Council was due Monday to hold a closed-door meeting
amid rising
pressure on President Robert Mugabe to step down as his country
buckles
under an economic meltdown and cholera crisis.
The United States blames
the veteran leader for the country's downward
spiral, with over 16,000
affected by cholera as political rivals remain in a
logjam over a
power-sharing government.
Last week US State Department spokesman Sean
McCormack said Washington was
talking to Zimbabwe's neighbour South Africa
and other Security Council
members about how to "start a process that will
bring an end to the tragedy
that is unfolding in Zimbabwe."
Several
world leaders have called on Mugabe to leave office, including US
President
George W. Bush, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime
Minister
Gordon Brown.
Since September, Zimbabwean political leaders have been
unable to resolve
differences on who will head key ministries such as home
affairs in a unity
government.
On Saturday, South Africa urged Mugabe
to swear in opposition leader and
prime minister designate Morgan Tsvangirai
to form an inclusive government.
Zimbabwe, once a role model economy in
Africa, now faces a myriad of
problems including run-away inflation of 231
million percent, compounded by
a growing humanitarian crisis as cholera has
killed nearly 800 people.
MDC Criticises Deployment of Soldiers to DRC
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Monday, 15 December
2008
Tendai Biti
HARARE, December 14, 2008 -
Zimbabwe's main opposition party, the
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
has accused the government of illegally
deploying soldiers to the war-torn
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to aid
the embattled Congelese President
Joseph Kabila ward off rebels, at a time
the country is experiencing a
serious economic crisis.
MDC Secretary General Tendai Biti The Zimbabwe
National Army has
however denied sending troops to the central African
country.
MDC secretary general Tendai Biti ,said the government
should recall
troops sent to defend Kabila’s administration against the
National
Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP) rebels, as the
deployment was
legally defective.
The deployment of troops to
the DRC is illegal because Parliament has
not approved a budget for that,
said Biti.
Apart from that, at the moment under the Global
Political Agreement -
we do not have a President so the deployment is
illegal. They must come
back.
The MDC could not say when and
how many soldiers were deployed to the
volatile central African
country.
This is not the first time that the MDC has accused
President Robert
Mugabe of sending troops to prop-up Kabila's administration
this year. Last
month, Biti told a rally in Bindura that some Zimbabwean
soldiers fighting
alongside Kabila's troops had been killed.
Body bags are beginning to come home from DRC, he said at the
rally.
But Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) spokesperson, Colonel Ben
Ncube,
last week vehemently denied that Zimbabwe had sent soldiers to the
Congo.
This is not true. There is definitely nothing like that,
said Ncube.
There is no reason to do that.
The Congolese rebels
have also accused Mugabe of backing Kabila's
forces in the latest fighting
that erupted in eastern Congo. The rebels are
being led by General Laurent
Nkunda.
Biti said Mugabe had no authority to deploy troops out of
the country
at the moment as deployment of troops requires the approval of
Cabinet,
which at the moment does not exist owing to political parties'
haggling over
the allocation of ministries.
It is feared that
deployment of troops to the DRC could worsen the
country's socio-political
and economic crisis characterized by
hyper-inflation, shortage of foreign
currency, food and cash as well as an
outbreak of cholera.
We
can not afford to send troops to DRC when people are starving, said
Biti.
A Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit
held in South
Africa last month agreed to deploy soldiers to the
DRC.
Speaking after the Summit, SADC Executive Secretary, Tomaz
Salomao,
said the regional bloc backed the African Union's calls for a
ceasefire and
the creation of a humanitarian corridor.
Salomao
said a military advisory team would be immediately deployed to
provide
advice to the DRC's armed forces.
However, Salomao said SADC would
first assess the ability of the
United Nations peacekeeping force to handle
the conflict before making any
decision.
HOT SEAT (TRANSCRIPT): Interview with MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai
|
SW Radio Africa Hot Seat Transcript
HOT SEAT: Journalist Violet Gonda interviews MDC
President Morgan Tsvangirai
Broadcast 12 DECEMBER 2008
|
|
Violet Gonda: Mr Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the MDC
and Prime Minister designate is my guest on the programme Hot Seat. Welcome on
the programme Mr Tsvangirai.
Morgan Tsvangirai: Thank you very much
VG: Now let’s start with what happened on Thursday,
Robert Mugabe, the man you have pledged to form a unity government with,
actually lashed out on Thursday and called you a prostitute
|
|
when he was addressing mourners at the burial of Elliot Manyika and he said,
I quote: “Today you are in Senegal, tomorrow you are in that country, ndochii
ichocho? (What is that?) Chihure ichocho (that is prostitution)”. Now Mr
Tsvangirai, are you cheating on Mr Mugabe?
MT: Well first of all I think that my response to those kind
of remarks is that people must actually feel sorry for a man who has lost his
mind. It is indecent, un-African, it shows you the kind of man - no wonder why
people are sceptical about his commitment to co-habitation, co-sharing the
power. It really demonstrates the extent to which the man has lost any sense of
decency, any sense of African culture, in front of women, children and men.
VG: So with statements like that Mr Tsvangirai, do you think
you can work with a man like that?
MT: Well you must understand that when we signed the power
sharing agreement on the 15 September we were very hopeful that this
relationship would consummate into some workable solution. Now, it would appear
that the intention was never about power sharing it was about co-habitation on
the part of the man and indecent comments demonstrates his exasperation and his
frustration and what I would call, lack of options on his part. So if you ask me
a question – can you work with such a man? Obviously it is difficult to
have a relationship, a workable relationship with such a man.
VG: We’ve been getting more and more feedback from people in
Zimbabwe who are concerned that the MDC is not visible and that they are not
hearing from their leader, why is that and where are you?
MT: Well that accusation has no basis. Two weeks ago I was
the first one to call for the humanitarian attention, the potential humanitarian
catastrophe we were facing in Zimbabwe . The question of where I am is
immaterial, the question is what are we doing to raise the humanitarian crisis,
to bring to the attention of the world the humanitarian crisis and to mobilise
international opinion about the crisis in Zimbabwe . The international crisis
has focused on the Zimbabwe crisis because of our intervention and our
diplomatic effort. But the question of my individual presence is immaterial.
VG: Do you not think it is imperative for the people to know
where their leader is, they voted for you and so, you don’t think they deserve
to know where you are, are you in exile?
MT: Well you know Violet, the question we hear every time I
go out - the people say where is the leader? And sometimes it is very
frustrating to answer that question because it may be a question being asked by
my own detractors. Our own structures, our own leadership knows where I am and
what I am doing, it is part of our programme.
VG: But what this does, if you are not open to the people, a
lot of speculation then starts creeping in. For example it is reported that the
entire MDC leadership is in hiding so is this true and is this the reason you
are still out of the country?
MT: No the reason why I am out of the country is I left the
country openly and I left the country on a diplomatic mission and the reason why
I have not been in is because the government has denied me a passport. I don’t
have travel documents as I speak and I am waiting for my passport to be
processed so that I can go back. But I am not going to go back because people
just want to see my presence. We have to go back because of work we must do
internally, we have work we must do externally.
VG: But Mr Tsvangirai you have been fighting for a new
passport for several months now and Mugabe has not even budged, even when you
wanted to go to attend the SADC summit in Swaziland and he still didn’t give you
that passport. What makes you think he will give it to you now and also is there
a law to stop you from going back home even without a passport?
MT: How do I go without travel documents? How do you cross
the border without a travel document? You know that you need travel document. My
ETD has expired whilst I was out. I cannot travel on an expired ETD. Who’s going
to let you on a plane with an expired ETD?
VG: So what hap … (interrupted)
MT: Anyway, let me just explain this, isn’t that a
demonstration of bad faith and insincerity. If Mugabe does not demonstrate to
give me a passport, and refuses to give me a passport, how does he entrust me as
Prime Minister designate with the fortunes of the whole country?
VG: So what happens then if he doesn’t give you a passport,
then you just stay out of the country forever?
MT: Well that’s the responsibility of SADC leaders and all
the leaders who have guaranteed this agreement and they have to ensure that I
have the passport.
VG: So far, what are the Sad leaders saying, the leaders
that you have been talking to?
MT: Well Violet, the thing is that people are dying and we
can’t concentrate on a passport. It is a personal issue, I am doing everything
in my power to ensure that we get the travel documents and the leaders know
that, they have discussed the issue and hopefully they will bring some sense to
Mugabe to release my passport.
VG: But Mr Tsvangirai, you have made yourself available to
lead the people of Zimbabwe as they seek to liberate themselves, so how would
you respond to people who say or who expect you to be home in Zimbabwe,
especially now with people who are enduring the suffering from this regime.
MT: Well you see this is becoming an exasperating debate. I
have a responsibility to lead the people. I am not the one responsible for the
crisis in Zimbabwe . The fact that we have been out there mobilising
international opinion on the focus on the humanitarian crisis is in itself
giving leadership to the crisis that the people are facing.
VG: I’m sorry you are getting exasperated about this but I
am asking the questions that we are receiving from our listeners, your
supporters and they want the answers, and if we can go to the issue of the
abductions, we have seen at least 22 people who have been abducted so far and
their whereabouts still remain unknown and these include the Zimbabwe Peace
Project director, Jestina Mukoko and Ghandi Mudzingwa, your former personal
assistant and a two year old baby. So shouldn’t you be saying right now, no more
negotiations, no more talks until all these people are released?
MT: Well again Violet, I think that you are jumping the gun.
This is exactly what we have been telling our negotiators, that we cannot on the
one hand be negotiating whilst people are being abducted. You cannot be
negotiating with me having no travel document, this is a sign of bad faith. But
let me just go back to the question of abductions – the person who is
responsible for upholding the rule of law is Mugabe and Zanu-PF. The person who
is responsible for enforcing the rule of law is Robert Mugabe and his
institution. So if anyone disappears in Zimbabwe the fate of those people
certainly cannot be shared, that burden of responsibility cannot be shared with
us. We make Mugabe and his regime and his people accountable for the fate of
those people, and we have stated that clearly.
VG: So where does that leave you and the talks? Why are you
still negotiating with the regime that continues to abduct your people, that
continues to brutalise your people?
MT: This is a recent development. We are just as disgusted
about the ongoing abductions as you are and what we are saying is that the
abductions have to stop. We have represented to President Motlanthe who is
Chairman of SADC; we have made all the necessary representations to ensure that
these abductions stop and that you cannot continue to have negotiations while
these people’s fate and lives are being under threat. For what purpose?
VG: We have seen many leaders in Europe and America speaking
out against the regime and calling for Mugabe’s ouster but except for a few
leaders in Africa , namely the Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, there’s
really not been much movement supporting calls for military intervention from
African countries. First of all, what is your take on the calls for military
intervention?
MT: Well as a party, we have never pursued the military
option. We have always been committed to the democratic option. Mugabe has
violated all the democratic norms in the country, we have continued to fight for
democratic change, we have never considered military option as an option
available for any democratic change in the country. But of course these are
people who are expressing this at this time as if there are no options. One of
the things that you have to understand is that the AU and the SADC are the
guarantors to this peace deal, this Global Political Agreement. They should make
sure that they have sufficient leverage to ensure that Mugabe observes that
Global Political Agreement. So this question of military option is not something
that we can determine on behalf of the world.
VG: So you are out of the country right now and you have
been meeting regional leaders, African leaders and world leaders at large, so
can you explain what form of external intervention you want for Zimbabwe and
what form it should take?
MT: Well the form is a peaceful intervention, the form is
peaceful pressure, the form is peaceful leverage which the AU and SADC should
exert and I can’t determine how they should exert it. All I will say is that
they have the responsibility of exerting that pressure and that they should use
their collective strength, their collective wisdom to ensure that that leverage
is exercised. They cannot wait for the international community, the Europeans
and the Americans to intervene while they are sitting there and watching. It is
their responsibility. They have said that they are guaranteeing this deal and
they should ensure that this deal is consummated.
VG: But Mr Tsvangirai, you really seem to want this deal.
Why, when you know that you cannot trust Mugabe, when you have heard what Mugabe
had to say about you and you know what he has been doing to your people? Why is
this deal so important? Do you have an alternative to the deal?
MT: Well the thing is that, we regarded a negotiated
settlement as part of our resolution in March as a congress. We believed that to
soft land the crisis the Zimbabwean people were facing we needed a negotiated
settlement and that’s the basis of this deal. We need a transition, we need a
new constitution that’s the road map we defined as a congress, as a party and
that’s what we are following through and that’s why this deal represents one
step in that road map.
VG: So how do you respond to critics who say that part of
the problem right now is in deciding whether the deal is worth it or not, has
been a result of personal interests in your party where some officials already
see themselves as Ministers such that they are prepared to sacrifice the greater
good on the altar for Mercs and bodyguards and this is why some people in your
party are pushing for this deal?
MT: We are not pushing for this in order to have positions.
We are not going to go into this deal, into implementing this deal, we have not
implemented the deal, we have agreed to the framework of the deal. The problem
is arising out of the implementation because of lack of sincerity on the part of
Zanu-PF. Now the deal, there is nothing wrong with the deal. What is wrong is
the ability of this deal to be implemented because of the problems. If we wanted
position we would have said at the time of the signing of that deal, let’s go
into government, but we have said that until certain positions are achieved.
There is no way that we can go there because we cannot have responsibility for
the mess without the necessary authority. So it is at the implementation stage
where we are having problems, and potential impasse as a result of that. It is
not that people want to be cabinet ministers and all that. That’s why there is
no government
VG: What are these problems, because I spoke with Arthur
Mutambara, Professor Arthur Mutambara and he said there was only one remaining
issue and that was over the Home Affairs Ministry?
MT: No that’s not the issue. If it was about the Home
Affairs ministry, why are people negotiating beyond just that issue? You see,
they are too critical. I think we should all appreciate the fact that we are all
running at cross purposes. The issue here is that there are two fundamental
problems regarding the implementation - that is the equitable power sharing
between Zanu-PF and MDC. Secondly it is about ensuring that those that are going
to discharge responsibility have the necessary authority to make the necessary
decisions. Or else you are creating conditions for a dysfunctional transitional
government. I mean, can you imagine problems where you are even disagreeing on
which ministry goes there, what will happen when we actually take fundamental
decisions on policy? So those things have to be ironed out before any form of
government can be seen, can actually be formed. So people, whether Professor
Mutambara thinks that it is only about Home Affairs, then that is a narrow
concept. Why are we discussing about 19 th Amendment? Why are we discussing
about national security deal if the only problem we have is about a ministry? It
is a narrow and myopic view of the whole contestation around power sharing.
VG: The former South African president, Thabo Mbeki who’s
the facilitator also said that you had agreed to the co-sharing of the Home
Affairs ministry and that you’ve been changing your mind, you’ve flip-flopped,
what can you say about this?
MT: Well, there’s no truth to that. An agreement is an
agreement when it is signed. Where have I signed that I want co-ministry? If you
say that in the discussion, if you take discussions as conclusions, then it is
your fault! These people are searching for options and they’re putting up
various permutations on how to solve a problem, and you take that as you have
suggested - so therefore you should be bound by it when I have not signed
anything. Where have I signed co-ministering during negotiations?
VG: So why did you sign that power sharing agreement in the
first place if it wasn’t proper?
MT: Well the thing is that, on the day of the signing of
that agreement, we brought to the attention of Thabo Mbeki the two issues still
outstanding that it is nigh improper to go into a signing ceremony without
sorting out the power, the issues of ministry portfolios and the issues of
governors and the issues of national security. He assured us, and this is
confirmed by his public statement at that signing ceremony. Of course we now
realise on hindsight that he was not interested in the welfare of Zimbabwe .
What he was interested in is an agreement signed in front of all those heads of
state who had now gathered in Harare and his interest was just to get that thing
signed and not about conclusion and having an equitable conclusion and
resolution of the crisis.
VG: Are these the same people that you really want to go …
(interrupted)
MT: Well let me say this, you do not negotiate with your
friends, you negotiate with your enemies and your opponents. That’s a
fundamental thing that you have to understand. Once you have negotiated, we
believed that once that agreement is done in good faith then you can hope that
you can then implement in the spirit. Now we have found out that at the end of
the day, even when we have signed the agreement, Zanu-PF is not operating on the
basis of sincerity. This is what we are putting them to test. We are putting
them to test whether if they really want this agreement or whether they were
just fooling, not only us but the rest of the world about this agreement.
VG: But Mr Tsvangirai, how long will this test go on for
because we all know that Mugabe will not budge, so surely it is now imperative
on your part to just decide, for the sake of the people what happens next,
either you’re in the deal or not?
MT: I’ve heard people say that Mugabe will not negotiate,
Mugabe will not agree, but he has negotiated, he has agreed, although of course
we are all sceptical about his commitment, that’s an inherent fear of his own
attitude, of his attitude towards the agreement but as far as I am concerned the
issue is that he has negotiated, he is negotiating, until such time we are
satisfied that an agreement has been reached and that we have the necessary
tools to have the change we will continue on that road.
VG: I spoke to some political analysts just a week ago and
even some Zimbabweans who say they don’t want a power sharing agreement that
involves Robert Mugabe and if I can quote the words of Brian Kagoro, he said
Morgan Tsvangirai is better off drinking a bucket full of cholera infested
water than go into a power sharing deal with Robert Mugabe. What can you
say to those people who don’t want a government of National Unity with Mugabe?
MT: Well the thing is everyone knows that everyone is
sceptical on Mugabe but you see the thing is that unless you can exercise
leadership to find a solution to the crisis through a negotiated route what else
do you have? Those so-called political analysts and political commentators they
can all have their criticisms. I don’t stop them from having their own
analytical position. I am here being guided by the mandate given to me by our
national executive, by our party, by the people who I consult regularly. And the
reason why we are not going into government is because people have said until
certain measures are fulfilled and are achieved we cannot go into that
government. So I go by the mandate and the support and the position taken by the
people who I consult regularly on these issues.
VG: So of all the possible options, in a nutshell, what
would be an acceptable settlement for you?
MT: We have outstanding issues and until those outstanding
issues are fulfilled, we feel that we have not got an agreement that is
workable. We still have not agreed on the question of distribution of ministries
or portfolios, we have not agreed on the question of governors, we have not
agreed on the 19 th Amendment that gives legal effect to this agreement, we have
not agreed on the national security legislation. So all those things are still
outstanding. And until those are hammered out, we still believe that we haven’t
got an agreement.
VG: What do you make of civil society’s call for a
transitional authority?
MT: Well the thing is the question of options of
transitional authority or mechanism; it still falls back into our road map. We
articulated the question of transition; we articulated the question of a
negotiated process. Even the transitional authority you are talking about has to
come about as a result of a negotiation process. So you cannot just wish a
transitional authority, from where, with who, without a negotiating process. So
the question is that whoever is calling for a transitional authority is actually
accepting our road map which called for a negotiated proper process, including a
transitional authority with a constitution and then the election. It is the road
map that we have defined. So I don’t see anything new there, except perhaps in
substance, changes here but as far as the process is concerned, we are speaking
the same language.
VG: Your Memorandum of Understanding with Zanu-PF refers to
the lifting of the restrictive measures imposed on the ruling elite by western
countries, in your view, when would lifting the restrictive measures be most
beneficial to the process?
MT: Well that is political rhetoric. That has nothing to do
with us because we didn’t determine when those would be lifted.
VG: But you agreed in your MOU.
MT: Yes we agreed, we agreed in the MOU on the basis that we
would have an agreement in the end. At this moment, there is no agreement. And
so, until such agreement is reached, and everyone is satisfied that we are now
forming an inclusive government, it’s up to those countries also to measure, to
find out whether those agreements actually fulfilled the basis of that
agreement. Ok?
VG: What about attitudes from African countries because we
heard from Tanzania , the AU chairman saying there won’t be any foreign
intervention and SADC really has not done much, in fact it’s actually pushing
you to go into this unity government with Zanu-PF?
MT: May I conclude, may I conclude my remarks Violet by
saying that we have a deal which we have signed, it’s part of our resolution to
have a road map to a negotiated solution. We have not yet reached a perfect
position to resolve this crisis. SADC and AU are guarantors of this agreement.
They should ensure that whatever agreement then to form a government it is in
line with that objective. And as far as I’m concerned that is the road we are
in. We have not reached the finality of it yet. Until such time as we have
reached that finality and we have not been able to consummate that government
because of difficulties we will face or because we have not ironed out some of
the outstanding issues I think the problem is that we wait until there is a
conclusion.
VG: Okay, thank you very much Mr Morgan Tsvangirai.
MT: You’re welcome. Thank you, bye bye.
Feedback can be emailed to violet@swradioafrica.com |
Bank Freezes Accounts Containing Over $1
Quadrillion
http://www.shortnews.com
12/15/2008
02:36 PM
Zimbabwe: Several banks have frozen accounts that have
balances considered
'suspiciously large'. Agribank froze a number of
accounts containing in
excess of $1 quadrillion while several other banks
set the mark at $3
trillion.
People whose accounts have been frozen
will be forced to explain to the
bank's satisfaction where the money came
from. It is thought that some of
the big balances come from an irregular
means of currency exchange known as
'money burning'.
"We have frozen
those accounts because some people with no jobs at all have
huge bank
balances and they have to explain where they got the money. It is
believed
that... those who were behind 'burning money' will be exposed,"
said one
bank manager.
Pressure increases on South Africa to deal with Robert
Mugabe
http://www.timesonline.co.uk
December
15, 2008
Catherine Philp, Diplomatic Correspondent
Pressure is mounting on
South Africa to take responsibility for resolving
the crisis in Zimbabwe
before a United Nations Security Council meeting this
week.
The US
said that it was talking to South Africa and other members of the
Security
Council about how to "start a process that will bring an end to the
tragedy
that is unfolding in Zimbabwe".
Lord Malloch-Brown, the British Minister
for Africa, who returned from an
emergency trip to Pretoria on Friday, said
that he detected movement in the
South African mood away from the belief
that the power-sharing settlement
could be implemented and towards a harder
line against President Mugabe.
"There is increasingly a view that you are
not going to get a deal while
Robert Mugabe is President," he
said.
Security Council members will meet in New York today for two
days of private
talks, with piracy off the coast of Somalia top of the
agenda.
The US and Britain, however, will push for discussions on
possible measures
against Zimbabwe, including the reconsideration of
sanctions against the
ruling inner circle.
These were rejected in
July after Russia reversed its position at the last
minute. South Africa
also opposed them and China abstained.
The Government of Mr Mugabe made
an attempt to force the power-sharing deal
into law, issuing a draft
constitutional amendment creating the office of
prime minister for Morgan
Tsvangirai, the leader of the Movement for
Democratic Change
(MDC).
The Bill appeared to give Mr Mugabe the power to swear in Mr
Tsvangirai
without the need for parliamentary approval.
The
Zimbabwean Justice Minister has threatened to hold fresh elections if
Parliament does not pass the Bill promptly.
The MDC dismissed the
move, saying that a settlement remained deadlocked
over the refusal of Mr
Mugabe to relinquish control of key ministries.
Comments
This is
Africa's own Hussein except Zim do not have oil. The whole world
USA, UK
& EU forced Mugabe into power as they did in Mozambique, Angola, SA
& Namibia etc. All countries ruled by the so called "revolutionary
leaders"
who will never act against each other. Declare Zim leaders war
criminals
Errol Haner, Luanda, Angola
Why is anyone concerned and
making a fuss about Zimbabwe and Mugabe.
Mugabe doesn't care whats happening
to his people or country.
The rest of African Presidents don't care
either
Mugabe know that the lower everything sinks....the West (who created
this
whole Mess) will send loads of money
Fritz Muser, Toronto,
Canada
Vorster use the threat of permanent border closure to dislodge
Smith.
History can be repeated. South Africa, under Mbeki, lacked the
political
will. Just how bad do things have to get, how much poverty,
disease, crime
and misery needs to be exported to South Africa, for them to
take action?
David Norman, Perth,
Zimbabwean
TV to Air "Iran Today" Documentary
http://english.farsnews.com
17
Dhul Hijjah 1429 / Monday 15 Dec 2008 / 25 Azar 1387 a
TEHRAN (FNA)- Documentary film
'Iran Today' featuring the country's
achievements since the victory of the
Islamic Revolution will be broadcast
on Zimbabwean TV in English language,
an Iranian diplomat said.
Iran's cultural attaché in the
country Mohammad Hassan Ipakchi added that
the film contains 20
episodes.
He also referred to his meeting with head of Zimbabwean TV
Planning Office
Walter Mupfanochiya on December 10 and said that during the
meeting Zimbabwe
TV's cooperation in airing films and documentaries on Iran
in the past two
years was appreciated, the Islamic republic news agency
reported.
Mupfanochiya, for his part, announced his country's readiness
to further
cooperate with Iran in the field.
Ipakchi further noted
that broadcasting Iranian films by Zimbabwean TV will
serve as an important
step towards promoting mutual cooperation.
Zimbabwe's ambulance Samaritan
Zimbabwean mechanic William Machesa, 22, explains how the current cholera
crisis persuaded him to turn his pick-up truck into an ambulance so he could
ferry the sick to and from a clinic manned by international humanitarian
teams.
There are no ambulances working any more in Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, and
so William's vehicle is chemically cleaned every time he ferries the sick to
Budiriro clinic to curb the further spread of the deadly disease.
 I started doing this from the onset of the cholera outbreak.
 |
 Sometimes I just do it for nothing, especially when they are young
kids  |
I thought it was a good idea to help the community. To date, I do not know
the actual number of people that I have helped by ferrying them to the clinic in
Budiriro but each week I help, let's say, about 35 to 42 people because
sometimes I can take between four and eight clients a day.
What I charge all depends because for those who can pay, I charge 210 South
African rand [about $21].
But some say they do not have the money or the equivalent in Zimbabwean
dollars and cannot pay, so all I can do is ensure that I have enough fuel and if
I do, then I take them.
I have no option other than to save lives.
If a patient doesn't have any money then we agree - the patient's relatives
and I agree to save a life; maybe they have an item they can give me in return
for taking their ill relative to get treatment.
For example one patient gave me a two-plate stove to cover my costs so I
could do the work.
Weak and very frail
Sometimes I just do it for nothing, especially when they are young kids, you
see, I have no option but to save the lives of the young ones.
Most of the Zimbabweans suffering from cholera are too weak to
walk |
On a daily basis I come across sick people while I am driving around.
Yesterday, there was a very young lady, who was possibly in her twenties.
She was weak and very frail with the problem of cholera.
She was being assisted by two women so I stopped for them. They didn't have
any money to pay me but I just took them back to their place.
One of the lady's relatives, who was called Primrose, told me that the
hospital had discouraged them from staying and she had been released because
they said she was now better.
But from the look of things you could see that she was not well. 
|
A Big Step Forward
After so many disappointments and delays we should
not be surprised when we
get very little response to developments that take
place in the long drawn
out saga that is meant to resolve the political
crisis in Zimbabwe. Also,
because of the complexities and the secrecy that
always surrounds such
developments, the media does not always pick up its
significance.
What happened this past week is that the negotiators
resumed discussions on
Wednesday in Harare and after two days settled on a
draft of constitutional
amendment number 19. It was then printed in the
Government Gazette on
Saturday and will now face 30 days of debate at
national level before going
to Parliament in mid January for possible
acceptance and adoption by a two
thirds majority.
Few of us expected
such a smooth passage of this significant and substantive
change to the
constitution and it seems clear that it was achieved only
because the South
African government at last grasped the nettle and told
Zanu PF to get on
with the task and stop any procrastination. I have always
argued that the
only government in the world that Zanu cannot say no to is
South Africa and I
think this view was again confirmed by these events.
The amendments
proposed are far reaching. They will restore citizenship to
many thousands
who were stripped of their citizenship for political reasons.
They make it
possible to hold dual citizenship. They create the post of
Prime Minister and
the Council of Ministers and make this new structure
responsible for
government. They stipulate that the President will remain
Head of State and
in charge of the security Ministries but it also creates a
National Security
Council to replace the JOC and gives the MDC a major role
in the Council and
the ability to block any unlawful activity.
The amendments also provide
for the President to make senior appointments
only after he has consulted and
agreed on those appointments with the Prime
Minister. Best of all the deal
includes a specific time table to be followed
in the drafting of a new
constitution that in two years time, will replace
the existing one and permit
the first truly free and fair democratic
elections in 30 years.
We
still have a few things to get out of the way before the new legislation
can
be passed into law. MDC is demanding that these be dealt with before the
new
legislation comes before Parliament in January. These are the legal
basis of
the National Security Council to be agreed and drafted for
consideration by
Parliament in January at the same time as the
constitutional amendments; the
equitable allocation of Ministerial
portfolios between the three Parties; the
rescinding of the appointment of
Governors and their replacement by new
appointments representing the Party
that holds a majority of Members of
Parliament in each Province; and, the
return to Zimbabwe of all Diplomats and
their replacement by new
appointments agreed in terms of the
GPA.
These are not minor issues and we would have wanted them out of the
way
first but we are quite happy to see them resolved while the main
legislation
goes through the process required by the constitution. This
should not be
difficult if the South Africans remain engaged and involved.
Mbeki, even if
he notionally remains the formal facilitator, will not play a
significant
role. The major player is the new State President in South
Africa.
South Africa called for the swearing in as soon as possible for
the new
Prime Minister. MDC is not enthusiastic about that proposal because
it does
not trust the incumbent administration in any way. We want all the
aspects
of the Global Political Agreement set in concrete before we go into
the
transitional government.
MDC is already working behind the scenes
to address the immediate
emergency it is working on food supplies, water
systems and needs, the
health crisis and is trying to put many aspects of the
stabilisation and
recovery programme into a form that will allow swift action
once the new
government is in place. But there are limits to what we can do
before being
sworn in and this is a problem which concerns the South
Africans.
The South Africans have always been the key to this process and
recent
experience has given us more confidence. It¹s such a pity that Mbeki
wasted
all these intervening years when at any time he could have ended
the
Zimbabwe nightmare and saved thousands, maybe millions of lives. Perhaps
we
were just victims of the same idiosyncrasy that gave rise to the
myopic
views that he held on the Aids crisis. Anyway, its water under the
bridge
and there is little to be gained by mourning the lost
opportunities.
While all of this goes on, the crisis in Zimbabwe deepens.
Inflation has now
broken all historical records we are the worst case of
hyper inflation in
history. Its consequences are visible everywhere
destitute people, closed
factories, empty shops and silent cities and towns.
I drove into Harare of
Thursday at 16.30 hrs peak traffic time. Rotten Row
was empty; no signs of
any traffic build up.
The health crisis has
grown in intensity Cholera joins the epidemics of
Aids and Tuberculosis and
perhaps 1,7 million cases of Malaria a year. Its
visibility and the
transmission to our neighbours have suddenly concentrated
minds. The schools
are closed all State schools and all Universities and
Colleges show no sign
of being able to reopen in mid January as scheduled.
What teachers remained
on duty to the end of term in December, are saying
they will not return to
school in January.
I think that any country that cannot feed its
population, cannot provide
basic security of person and property and cannot
provide even the most
rudimentary health services or education for its
children, is, by
definition, a failed State. Not even the most ardent
supporter of Zanu PF
can deny that today and they resort to blaming every one
else for our ills.
The best we saw of this syndrome was this week when the
water crisis in our
cities was blamed on Ian Smith and the British were
accused of infecting our
people with Cholera in a form of biological and
chemical warfare! And these
guys think they should be taken
seriously!
Eddie Cross
Harare 15th December 2008
Comment
on Florence Chitauro
http://www.swradioafrica.com
ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN
WORDS
Editorial Commentary by Mike Rook
So as Zimbabweans are
murdered beaten tortured or disappear or die of Aids
or cholera exacerbated
by acute malnutrition, dictator Robert Mugabe's
ex-Labour, Public Service
and Social Welfare Minister and former ambassador
to Australia Florence
Chitauro comfortably resides in a lavish apartment in
West London, not far
from number 10 Downing Street and the British Home
Office.
Are
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the Home Office mandarins aware
of
Ms Chitauro's comfortable and cosy existence almost on their doorstep,
and
do they know exactly who she is? Let me enlighten them. During her time
as a
Zimbabwean government minister, Florence Chitauro ruthlessly carried
out
Mugabe's cruel and autocratic policies by brutally suppressing strikes
by
Zimbabwe's workers.
It is astonishing that despite the damning and
vociferous political rhetoric
a former key player within the Zimbabwe rogue
regime is allowed sanctuary
here in the United Kingdom, whilst her fellow
citizens wallow in misery and
despair. Then again it more astonishing to see
her former boss so easily
circumventing targeted sanctions and travelling to
the UN and EU countries
by open invitation.
Ms Chitauro is well
acquainted with Zimbabwe's suffering masses as she often
visits her homeland
and sees first hand the destruction and devastation
wreaked by her former
colleagues. However she remains unashamed and
unrepentant. In fact she is so
very cocksure of her British residency that
when asked if she had denounced
the Mugabe regime she replied: 'No, I'm not
going to say that.'
In
terms of immigration strategies there will be no change until the wise
old
adage of 'Actions Speak Louder Than Words' applies equally to the
culprits
and the victims.
ENDS
Cholera disaster zone: Zimbabwe's deprivation accelerates spread of
disease
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Monday, 15 December 2008
Cholera disaster zone:
Zimbabwe's deprivation accelerates spread of
disease
Cholera
fatalaties worldwide stand at around one per cent of those
infected, but as
Robert Mugabe continues to offer no support to his own
people, fatality
rates in parts of Zimbabwe have hit as high as 20 per cent.
At the Seke
South clinic, a few miles outside Harare, a steady stream of
desperate
cholera victims arrive seeking treatment.
The facility serves the
dormitory suburb of Chitungwiza, where more
than one in five of those who
develop the disease die.
It is normally treatable and the international
average for cholera
fatalities is one per cent of those infected, but Robert
Mugabe's Zimbabwe
offers virtually no help to its own people, even as it
blames British
"genocide" for the epidemic.
There was only one
foreign doctor on duty on the clinic, and a handful
of nurses, none of them
from Zimbabwe's health ministry. In a single day
this week four patients
died there.
Chitungwiza, a sprawling high-density area, provides ideal
conditions
for the disease to spread. Clusters of flies swarm over years of
uncollected
garbage, pools of water collected along rutted lanes after a
summer shower,
and the afternoon breeze wafting across the township carries
the stench of
the sewage works a mile away.
United Nations
statistics show that 21 per cent of those infected in
Chitungwiza die, as
opposed to two percent for the rest of Harare and Beit
Bridge, the border
town where South Africans send in fresh water, drugs and
medical
personnel.
Alpha Chinbiri 32, a middle-class housewife was sitting at
the broken
fence around the clinic and said her husband had woken up ill.
"We rushed
him here, but we have heard nothing since.
"I can't get
inside and I can't get any information about him. There
is no food in this
clinic and they will not let our food in, so I am very
worried." At least 20
relatives of other patients were at the fence. The
clinic has opened its
maternity section to cholera victims, and Unicef has
erected a tent giving
the township 300 available beds.
"There is no manpower here, that is
the problem," said a nurse.
By Peta Thornycroft, Zimbabwe
Correspondent
CARICOM must sanction Mugabe
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com
EDITORIAL
Published: Monday | December 15,
2008
Caribbean countries have a deep moral and emotional stake in
Zimbabwe,
where, as is increasingly apparent, the aged president, Robert
Mugabe, has
grown so seriously delusional to be dangerous not only to his
own people,
but a threat to the security of Zimbabwe's southern African
neighbours.
This last week, with many thousands of Zimbabweans suffering
from cholera
and approximately 800 having died from the disease, Mr Mugabe
declared the
epidemic over, even as domestic and international experts
deemed it to be
still raging. Millions of Zimbabweans have taken flight to
neighbouring
states, particularly to South Africa, where, only months ago,
widespread
violence had broken out against Zimbabwean refugees, who poor
South Africans
felt were poaching limited resources. There is a danger that
such tensions
could boil again not only in South Africa, but in countries
like Zambia,
Botswana and even Mozambique should the exodus
worsen.
Symptom of ruin
We made the point previously that
Zimbabwe's cholera epidemic is not merely
a public-health issue, but one
symptom of the ruin that Mr Mugabe has
wrought upon Zimbabwe, which he has
grown to view as private real estate and
his personal fiefdom, rather than a
functioning democracy. So, for several
years now, Mr Mugabe has fought off
legitimate political challenges to his
leadership by the physical
bludgeoning of opponents and the rigging of
elections. The upshot: a loss of
confidence and the collapse of the economy,
which have translated into mass
hunger and a crumbling infrastructure, of
which cholera is one
consequence.
It is a shame to witness a leader, once held in such high
esteem, to have
grown so callously unhinged, for as Caribbean Community
(CARICOM) foreign
ministers reminded in a statement in May, community states
were at the
"forefront of the international campaign against apartheid and
colonialism
in Southern Africa" in the second half of the century just past.
Indeed,
Jamaica's then Prime Minister Michael Manley played a key role in
the
negotiations at the 1979 Commonwealth Summit that finally ended white
minority rule in what is now Zimbabwe and independence the following
year.
In the region where the majority of its citizens are of the African
diaspora, the Caribbean's emotional investment is understandable, and Mr
Mugabe's betrayal of a commitment to human rights, political pluralism and
democracy bites deep. In the circumstances, we believe that it is time for
CARICOM to impose, even if it will be mostly symbolic, sanctions against Mr
Mugabe. Jamaica, which has responsibility within CARICOM for external
relations, should begin the process.
First, Prime Minister Golding
should, very publicly, withdraw the honorary
Order of Jamaica awarded in
1996 to Mr Mugabe for his fight against
apartheid and, paradoxically, "his
distinct leadership in the pursuit of
freedom and human development
throughout Africa".
After last summer's rigged elections in Zimbabwe,
CARICOM leaders declared
the ballot as "totally devoid of legitimacy" and
called on Mr Mugabe to work
with the African Union and South African
neighbours for a negotiated outcome
to the flawed process to avoid a
deepening of the crisis. Mr Mugabe has
toyed with everyone.
Mr
Golding must suggest to his CARICOM colleagues that the region suspends
diplomatic relations with Zimbabwe and warn Mr Mugabe that the community may
deem his behaviour as a crime against humanity. If CARICOM dithers, Jamaica
should go it alone.
Political
stalemate in Zimbabwe must be quickly resolved
http://appablog.wordpress.com
HARARE, Zimbabwe,
December 15, 2008/African Press Organization (APO)/ - With
the cholera
epidemic in Zimbabwe claiming more lives every day and the
stalemate over
the formation of a new government still unresolved, Federal
Foreign Minister
Steinmeier called on Sunday upon the African Union (AU) and
regional
organizations in Africa to take a firm and united stand vis-à-vis
the
country's leaders.
In a telephone call to Tanzanian Foreign Minister
Bernard Membe, Steinmeier
welcomed the efforts of the current AU Presidency
to convene a meeting
hopefully this week with the presidents of eight
African regional
organizations and neighbouring countries to discuss the
situation in
Zimbabwe. According to Membe, the meeting should focus on how
to contain the
cholera outbreak and resolve the current political stalemate
in the country.
In this connection Federal Minister Steinmeier today (14
December) issued
the following statement in Berlin:
"The situation in
Zimbabwe is unacceptable. The death toll from cholera and
the rate of new
infections are rising ever faster. The epidemic is further
tragic
confirmation of the failure of Mugabe's policies.
The planned AU meeting
with the presidents of the regional organizations
therefore needs to send a
strong message making clear to Mugabe and his
party that they will no longer
be allowed to oppose the formation of a
viable government reflecting the
nation's stated will.
Together with our European partners we stand ready
to help Zimbabwe deal
with the current humanitarian crisis, rebuild the
economy and also restore
democracy and the rule of law."
Last week
the Federal Foreign Office increased Germany's humanitarian aid in
connection with the current cholera epidemic to a total of one million
euro.
SOURCE : Germany - Ministry of Foreign Affairs
'Repression, an obstacle to stability in Zim'
http://www.zimonline.co.za
by Jameson
Mombe Tuesday 16 December 2008
JOHANNESBURG - Repression and
intimidation remain obstacles to attaining
political stability in Zimbabwe,
a report on politically motivated violence
and human rights abuses in the
southern African country said.
The latest report by the Zimbabwe Human
Rights NGO Forum said a
power-sharing agreement between the ruling ZANU PF
party and the opposition
had failed to stem political violence and rights
abuses, with 485 cases of
rights violations recorded in October compared to
385 cases recorded the
previous month.
Zimbabweans had hoped a
September power-sharing agreement would help ease
the political situation
and allow the country to tackle a deepening
humanitarian crisis. But the
agreement looks dead after the opposition MDC
on Monday declined to join
ZANU PF in a unity government until its demand
for equitable power-sharing
is met.
The Forum said in the report made available to ZimOnline on
Monday that
state security agents continue to use heavy handed and
repressive methods
against government opponents.
It said it had also
received reports of politicisation of food aid, where
hungry opposition
supporters were barred from receiving food.
It said: "Despite repeated
promises by the parties to the global political
(power-sharing) agreement to
respect and honour their obligations for a
society free of violence, fear
and intimidation, repression and the lack of
tolerance for civic activity
remains a major stumbling block to attaining
political stability in
Zimbabwe."
According to the report, state security agents, particularly
the police
continue to persecute civic society groups and the MDC disrupting
the
opposition's meetings and other political activities just as they did in
the
bloody run-up to the June 27 presidential run-off election won by
President
Robert Mugabe.
At least 100 opposition supporters were
killed and thousands of others
displaced in the run-up to the June poll that
Mugabe won as sole candidate
after MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai pulled
because of political violence.
The Forum said it recorded 123 cases of
violations of the freedoms of
assembly, expression and movement in October
compared to 98 cases recorded
in September.
Placing police at the
forefront of rights violations, the Forum said it
recorded 83 cases of
unlawful arrest and detention of citizens by police in
October, about double
the 44 cases witnessed the previous month.
It warned police and other
government agents they could be held personally
accountable for human rights
abuses in the future.
"Some of the violations being committed by the
security forces such as
torture are considered international crimes, which
are not pardonable under
any circumstances and carry individual liability
and compliance with 'orders
from above' is no defence," the rights group
said.
According to the Forum, ZANU PF youths and war veterans have also
taken part
in committing rights abuses. It cited as an example one case in
Manicaland
province when war veterans barred the MDC from distributing food
to hungry
villagers.
"They reportedly alleged that the assistance was
not sanctioned by the
government and accused the opposition party of wanting
to gain political
mileage out of the desperation of starving villagers. The
perpetrators
reportedly ordered the villagers to disperse or risk being
arrested," the
Forum said.
Politically motivated violence and human
rights abuses - mostly blamed on
state agents - have usually picked up in
Zimbabwe towards elections and the
country looked headed for fresh polls in
the not too distant future as the
MDC said on Monday it would not join a new
unity government with ZANU PF.
The Morgan Tsvangirai led MDC said it
wanted equitable sharing of key
ministries and other top government posts
before it can agree to support a
draft constitutional law to create a unity
government outlined under the
September 15 power-sharing
deal.
Without the backing of the MDC Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment
Number 19
Bill cannot pass in Parliament, a development that would mean the
collapse
of the power-sharing agreement.
Mugabe's government has
indicated it will call fresh elections if the MDC
refuses to back the
amendment. - ZimOnline
Zimbabwe's grim lesson for SA
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Monday, 15 December 2008
Let us
not row backwards when the future demands more of us There was
a time when
Zimbabeans let go of their own destiny and left it inthe hands
of the Harare
nomenklatura. Then absolute power corrupted absolutely.
It was Josiah
Magama Tongogara, the Zimbabwean liberation hero, who
warned his comrades
back in 1979: "Don't look back to the past. When we look
at the future and
its demands, we will be faced with the reality that a lot
remains to be
done."
The Lancaster House negotiations were drawing to a close and
Zimbabwe
was set to become an independent republic the following
year.
Tongogara was telling them not to bask in the glow of their
glorious
war records and be stuck with anti-colonial bitterness and
recriminations.
There was a job to be done.
It was a prophetic
warning that his comrades should have heeded. Alas,
he did not live to see
independence. And neither did his words. He died in a
mysterious car accident
in Mozambique at Christmas that year while doing the
rounds in the camps,
telling the troops that the war was over.
Many Zimbabweans still
believe he was killed to leave the road wide
open for Robert Mugabe to be
crowned independent Zimbabwe's first president.
Today Zimbabweans
hanker after Tongogara and believe things would have
turned out differently
had he lived. But we can only speculate.
What we do know is that he
would not have been stuck in the past. He
would have looked at "the future
and its demands" and led Zimbabwe in that
direction.
You will
forgive me, dear reader, for dragging you back across the
Limpopo for the
second week running. But the situation is so dire that it
would be a travesty
to ignore the dramatic unravelling of a country on our
doorstep. It would
also ignore the tons of lessons that we should be taking
from the Zimbabwean
experience.
Besides the disease, poverty and total breakdown of
democracy, nothing
demonstrates the Zimbabwean collapse more than
inflation.
This week South Africa's Reserve Bank governor, Tito
Mboweni,
announced a 0.5 percentage point cut in interest rates.
In his speech, in which he outlined the monetary policy committee's
reasoning
and outlook, he announced that the inflation rate was on a
downward trend,
coming in at a still high 12.4%. The outlook was much
more
positive.
"Inflation is expected to average 6.2% and 5.6%
in 2009 and 2010
respectively and to average 5.3% in the final quarter of
2010," Mboweni
said.
His Zimbabwean counterpart, Gideon Gono, is
fighting a totally
different battle. The day after Mboweni cut the Reserve
Bank's repo rate,
Gono unveiled a Z500-million note printed on cotton. The
reason for that is
that the country, which has been printing more money in a
day than Jacob
Zuma will print court documents in his entire life, is running
out of paper.
Elegant solution: print the numbers on a flimsy piece
of textile.
"The note shall on the back have an imposition of dairy
cows being
milked mechanically and a miner drilling underground," the
Government
Gazette said, as if to fool the people into believing that the
economy is
still functioning.
Zimbabwe's country's annual
inflation rate is 231000000%, according to
official statistics. But the
respected think tank the Cato Institute
believes otherwise.
It
recently estimated Zimbabwe's inflation at 89.7 sextillion
percent - that's
(89700000000000000000000%).
The mind boggles.
It was
not always so. It is always tempting to take the nostalgic trip
to the time
when the country worked. Yes, there was such a time. A time when
the country
was viewed as a model of success in the region.
This was a time
when Mugabe was implementing some progressive policies
and still had a
semblance of respect for order. Even as he carried out the
brutal massacres
of the '80s' Gukurahundi, he cloaked his brutalities until
they became too
huge to hide.
Today he could not give a hoot what anyone thinks of
his actions.
But it started somewhere. There was a point in the
life of the
Zimbabwean nation when the people of that country gave Mugabe and
Zanu-PF
the licence to mess up their country.
There was a moment
when Zimbabweans let go of their own destiny and
left it in the hands of the
Harare nomenklatura. Then absolute power just
corrupted
absolutely.
This is why South Africans should strenuously avoid the
kind of
concentration of power that the Harare lot held.
I've
said in the past that I do not believe we could ever go in that
direction.
South Africans are far too rebellious and unbowed by authority.
The
man who used to run our republic and his coterie discovered this
very rudely
after they had gone about greedily accumulating power.
I'm very
sure that the current ANC leadership will also discover this
if they continue
to treat the country as their personal toy.
There will come a time
when society will put its foot down and say "No
more". The thing is, there is
no need to take a country to that brink.
We were on our way to
building a good republic that had institutional
safeguards against the kind
of abuse of power that leads to a Zimbabwean
situation.
Now
there is a determination to dismantle those safeguards and leave
the
institutions as empty shells. We are rowing backwards instead of
facing
present and future realities.
Mondli Makhanya
