Zimbabwe political violence
increases
President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party is
criticised
Two new reports from human rights groups say there has been
a sharp increase in political violence in Zimbabwe.
The reports, one by a coalition of non-governmental organisations called the Zimbabwe Human Rights Forum and the other by a group of Danish doctors, say the government is overwhelmingly responsible.
It comes as the government again fails to to push through a controversial media bill, after ruling party MPs in parliament were critical of the bill's shortcomings.
 Zanu-PF has a majority in
parliament |
The bill, which critics say is part of President Mugabe's drive to silence opposition to his bid for re-election in March, is now tabled to be discussed in parliament next Tuesday.
Under the controversial proposals, foreign journalists would not be allowed to be based in Zimbabwe.
All local media organisations would have to apply for annual government licences or face two years in prison.
And reports deemed to cause alarm and despondency would be forbidden.
The bill is one of several pieces of legislation which analysts say are key to Mr Mugabe's campaign to win the 9-10 March presidential elections, when he is likely to face a strong challenge from the opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change.
Violence
The forum says there was a sharp rise in violence in the first half of January.
 Violence is affecting all levels of
society |
It reports four deaths, 68 cases of torture and 22 kidnappings during that period.
It says much of the violence was carried out by youths from the ruling Zanu-PF party, who have put up roadblocks across the country, demanding that people buy party memberships cards.
The Danish Physicians for Human Rights says politically motivated violence in Zimbabwe is widespread and increasing on a daily basis.
It says the government was responsible for all the cases it studied and the violence was carried out in a way that clearly indicated planning and strategy.
Supporter murdered
Both reports link the violence to the March presidential elections.
Zimbabwe's state-controlled media acknowledges the increase in violence, but says the opposition MDC is also responsible.
It says a Zanu-PF supporter was murdered on Sunday in Masvingo province, south of Harare.
And it accuses the opposition of setting up a number of safe-houses in the capital, from which it conducts raids on Zanu supporters.
ABC NEWS
Zimbabwe Seeks Reporters, Delays Media Bill Again
By Cris Chinaka
HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's parliament delayed debate of a controversial
media bill again on Thursday amid a government search for banned foreign
correspondents and rising international criticism of President Robert
Mugabe.
Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa said debate on the bill, which critics
say will muzzle the media ahead of presidential elections on March 9-10, was
postponed until Tuesday after he clashed with another senior member of the
ruling ZANU-PF party.
The proposed bill has been sharply criticized by Western states and media
groups for seeking to undermine press freedom in the country, which is
undergoing its biggest political and economic crisis since independence from
Britain in 1980.
In the latest move state-owned Herald daily newspaper reported Mugabe's
government is scouring the country for several foreign journalists who
entered Zimbabwe as tourists in defiance of a current de facto ban on
visiting correspondents.
The Herald said it had established that reporters from Britain's Guardian
and Telegraph newspapers, South Africa's Sunday Times and a few other
journalists were staying in hotels or at "safe houses" owned by the main
opposition party Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
"Our net is closing in on them and we should be able to account for all of
them by the end of the day," a government official said.
The government's initial media bill sought to bar foreigners from working as
correspondents in Zimbabwe. But the revised version will now allow those
with permanent residence to work in Zimbabwe. Journalists who are not
citizens or permanent residents will be restricted.
The new draft of the bill also allows foreign media to operate a
representative office in Zimbabwe without a certificate of registration, but
only with the approval of the information minister.
INTERNATIONAL SCRUTINY
Apart from the media bill Mugabe's government is under intense international
scrutiny for its handling of Zimbabwe's political and economic crisis and
its human rights record.
The international community has been alarmed by government crackdowns on
political opponents and state-sanctioned seizures of white-owned farms by
so-called war veterans over the last couple of years, which have led to
violence, deaths and the rapid deterioration of the economy.
Britain said on Wednesday it would press for Zimbabwe's expulsion from the
Commonwealth over Mugabe's "flagrant attacks on democratic principles and
appalling atrocities" against the MDC as well as the campaign against the
media.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair called Mugabe "a disgrace to his own
country" and said his behavior had badly affected the reputation of the
whole of southern Africa.
Zimbabwe said Britain had scant support for its attempts to suspend Zimbabwe
from the Commonwealth and accused London of seeking to engineer an
opposition victory in the elections.
Chinamasa was blasted over the bill by Eddison Zvobgoa, a senior ZANU-PF
member of parliament's Legal Committee set up to review the
constitutionality of the proposed media bill.
Zvobgoa said his committee had not been given time to properly review the
bill, fueling speculation that a rift in the ruling party could appear over
the legislation.
The government temporarily withdrew the media bill last week to make
amendments after parliament's legal committee called it unconstitutional. A
copy of the amended bill made available to journalists on Tuesday showed
only minor changes.
Zim Independent
From the Editor's Memo
There has been the usual official vitriol of late over transmissions by SW
Radio Africa which is a licensed broadcaster based in London. The Department
of Information has attempt- ed to represent the station as a
British-sponsored propaganda tool when in fact it is a voice of calm and
accuracy which provides a welcome antidote to the vicious lies propagated by
ZBC.
The new station has very quickly built up a large audience in Zimbabwe where
people crave accurate news.
SABC Africa produced a nice little feature on the station last weekend. It
interviewed the station's founder Gerry Jackson who pointed out that despite
a court order allowing them to broadcast in Zimbabwe, they had been thwarted
by the government. At least they can now transmit in relative freedom
without being invaded by armed police.
The Johannesburg Sunday Times also produced a full-page feature by Justice
Malala on SW Radio Africa headed "A voice of independence - A group of
Zimbabwean journalists have rattled their government by broadcasting from
London"
Malala quoted Jonathan Moyo's remarks about its transmissions having "all
the trappings of genocide broadcasts in Rwanda", but then pointed out that
Zanu PF heavyweights like Eddison Zvobgo and Patrick Chinamasa had agreed to
be interviewed.
Malala set the scene: "After a lengthy and robust interview with Zvobgo,
presenters Violet Gondo and Tererai Karimakwenda move on to an interview
with former Anglican archbishop Desmond Tutu and then to an assessment of
the Zimbabwean economy. The interviews are long and in depth, the questions
uncompromising."
Zimbabweans have been visiting the station's live webcasts in droves. So far
170 000 hits have been registered.
"The emergence of a station like SW Radio Africa," said Malala, "reflects
the spirit of Zimbabweans in London and elsewhere, that their courage will
not flag and that they will continue to fight for the small things in life -
like the right to choose what station they listen to."
That spirit, he said, was reflected by a comment written next to Moyo's name
on a list of Zimbabwean cabinet ministers on the wall at the SW offices.
"Ha!" it says.
"And every day, when they start broadcasting, that is exactly what the
station seems to say to the architect of Zimbabwe's draconian media laws and
other government ministers."
Malala's tribute is shared by all those who care about professional
broadcasting. SW Radio Africa should be broadcasting here. Its right to do
so was upheld by the Supreme Court. Instead, ministers running scared of
pluralism blocked it by abuse of the Presidential Powers Act. The subsequent
Broadcasting Services Act which effectively overturned the court ruling is a
measure aimed at stifling media diversity.
Zimbabweans have been deprived of the right to choose what station they
listen to. They have been deprived of the right to hear a diversity of
views. They have been prevented by President Mugabe's minions from
exercising the freedoms accorded to them by the constitution.
The government has drawn some comfort from the recent Sadc communiqué which
called on Western governments to "desist" from authorising broadcasts from
their territories which incite "propaganda against the government of the
Republic of Zimbabwe".
What about the propaganda and incitement Zimbabweans have to put up with
every day from their government broadcaster? I couldn't help but feel Sadc
leaders fear they could be next. But so long as they adhere to good
governance they have nothing to fear - a message we sent to the ministerial
team that visited Harare last month. A diversity of voices is fundamental to
democracy and a number of countries in Africa have no problem with that.
Commenting on the Sadc communiqué, Moyo denounced what he called "gratuitous
personal insults" aimed at Zimbabwe's leadership by South African media
commentators. But in the same breath he called them "Uncle Toms" and "House
Niggers".
That sounds pretty much like "personal insults" to me. The minister's
remarks betray the fiction about the "apartheid press" the Department of
Information has been assiduously cultivating. It is difficult now to find a
black columnist in South Africa who is prepared to say anything good about
Mugabe or his regime. The editorial piece on Sadc by the Sunday Times'
Mondli Makhanya last weekend shows just how disillusioned many senior South
African journalists have become.
Tracing their dismal performance since the Victoria Falls mini-summit of
April 2000, Makhanya said: "It is clear that most southern African leaders
have absolutely no interest in entrenching democracy in their countries and
the region." And he provided a good remedy.
Rather than rely on Sadc to provide leadership the region's people should
build cross-border civil society coalitions to push for the democratisation
of Southern Africa and entrenchment of a culture of good governance, he
said.
"That is the clamour Mugabe and other despots will listen to, not the polite
coaxing of their peers."
I know Mondli. And he is no Uncle Tom. Moyo should avoid making enemies of
every single journalist in South Africa. He has enough enemies at home to
cope with!
Zim Independent
Zanu PF supporters turn on each other
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Augustine Mukaro/Jacob Mutambara
1/25/02
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ZANU PF supporters in Bindura have turned against each other following the
recent brutal murder of Movement for Democratic Change member Trymore Midzi.
Midzi was killed last month by suspected Zanu PF thugs.
In an orgy of violence soon after the death, Zanu PF youths attacked the
premises of fellow supporters including three senior party officials who
they suspected of sympathising with the MDC.
A shop belonging to Bindura's deputy mayor Batsirai Kanosvamhira, and the
homes of prominent Zanu PF councillors, Mrs Zarira and a Mr Kanos, were
extensively damaged after they went to pay their condolences to the Midzi
family.
Zanu PF youths descended on the mourners and in the ensuing melee, the
bereaved left behind a book where all contributors to the funeral were
listed.
The three Zanu PF officials were among the listed mourners who had assisted
the family financially, prompting the current purge.
Bindura residents who spoke to the Zimbabwe Independent said the wave of
violence had shifted from MDC supporters to ruling party members believed to
be opposition sympathisers.
Zarira, a long-time Bindura resident, was forced to relocate to Harare after
her house was attacked.
Kanos recently appeared on national television blaming MDC youths for
attacking his house when in fact it was his own party members.
According to a senior Bindura magistrates' court official, the police had
turned a blind eye to ruling party hooligans but were quick to arrest
suspected opposition offenders.
In a number of cases, he said, the courts have had to withdraw charges
against MDC supporters after the police failed to bring any evidence against
them.
Daily News
MDC members in court over public violence
1/25/02 10:27:27 AM (GMT +2)
Court Reporter
TWO MDC supporters in Harare appeared in court on Tuesday on public violence
and assault charges. Sam Mujiri, who was said to be on the run since 6
January, appeared before Harare magistrate, Shelton Jura on a public
violence charge.
The court remanded him in custody to 5 February and advised him to apply for
bail at the High Court. Prosecutor Alvis Chimwaradze said Mujiri, 30, of
Block 5 at Mbare Hostels, was among a mob of MDC supporters who went around
Mbare randomly stoning and hurling petrol bombs at the homes of Zanu PF
supporters.
In the pandemonium, the mob allegedly destroyed other property, including
furniture and window panes at 13 houses. The group proceeded to Stodart Hall
and stoned Zanu PF offices at the hall.
Matthew Hwengu, 18, of Dzivaresekwa Extension, Harare, appeared before the
same court, charged with kidnapping or assault with intent to cause grievous
bodily harm.
He was remanded to 5 February on $3 000 bail.
The State’s case is that Hwengu and five other youths who were not
identified in the court records, allegedly beat up a Zanu PF supporter who
was sitting with friends outside the Employment Exchange in Mbuya Nehanda
Street, Harare, on Monday.
They allegedly demanded to know why the man was wearing a T-shirt bearing
the portrait of Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo.
When the frightened man failed to give a “satisfactory” explanation, Hwengu
and his colleagues allegedly dragged him to the MDC provincial office where
they allegedly punched and kicked him.
The man managed to escape and went to report the incident to the police.
His abductors allegedly drove away in a Nissan truck.
Zim Independent
Political expediency clouds RBZ policy
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Godfrey Marawanyika
1/25/02
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THE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) is caught between political allegiance
and economic rationale in its up-coming monetary policy for this year with
most analysts saying that prospects are dim. This week central bank governor
Leonard Tsumba failed to give indications on the country's monetary policy
for 2002.
It appears all economic instruments have been over- taken by both political
and military instruments. Politicians have visited the length and breadth of
the county distributing unbudgeted money to people, with serious
implications for money supply growth.
Tsumba is apparently in a quandary whether to have a two-pronged monetary
policy: prior to and after the presidential election.
Doubts over this year's policy have been further worsened by the
deterioration of government's image resulting in failure to attract the
much-needed offshore investment to improve forex inflows.
The failure to come up with a monetary policy for 2002 has been further
worsened by lack of autonomy at the Tsumba-led bank. The governor is caught
between his allegiance to the ruling party, which he has served so well in
the past, and the need for sound fiscal policy. The bespectacled economist
failed to give clear answers to the Zimbabwe Independent when quizzed about
the country's monetary policy.
When asked if the bank was going to have two monetary policies pre- and
post-election Tsumba lectured the Independent on the bank's objectives on
monetary policy without dealing with the issues.
On what the bank had done to control rampant inflation, he said this was due
to public sector expenditures without explaining what the bank had done to
control it.
"Money supply growth remained high for much of last year against the
background of significant economic contraction. The surge in money supply
has been reflected in increases in both the narrow and quasi-money
components," said Tsumba.
"On a sectoral basis, annual growth in the money supply can be explained by
domestic credit expansion, largely driven by public sector expenditures,
which continue to be financed from inflationary bank sources."
He said the RBZ's monetary policy stance was designed to curtail excessive
credit creation and thus control money supply growth and inflation.
On the exchange rate policy he said the current exchange rate policy
announced by Finance minister Simba Makoni in August required that the
exchange rate be adjusted in line with inflation differentials between
Zimbabwe and other major trading partners.
The policy decision flies in the face of the country's high inflation which
is currently 112,1% with the average for the country's major trading
partners below 5%.
He said the bank would continue to pursue prudent policy measures designed
to counter inflationary surges in the economy. Complementary to this, the
surge in inflation also called for concerted efforts by all stakeholders in
order to break the spiral. Every policy decision at the central bank has got
Ministry of Finance blessing but the RBZ has failed to dissuade the
government from resorting to domestic borrowing which is mainly financed by
the central bank.
On interest rates policy, he said the bank would continue to be consistent
with the objectives of its monetary policy stance, which most analysts
believe will not change.
"The RBZ is simply waiting for a complete knockdown; if Zanu PF wins their
policies cannot survive, change is necessary," said one analyst.
"If MDC wins it will turn to the world and apply for aid from multilateral
donors whilst Zanu PF cannot."
Pan Africanist Congress Stands By Mugabe
Mail & Guardian (Johannesburg)
January 25, 2002
Posted to the web January 24, 2002
Thebe Mabanga
The general secretary of the Pan Africanist Congress, Thamika Plaatjie, has
reiterated his party's support for Robert Mugabe, and attacked the media and
"right-wing liberals" for exaggerating the Zimbabwean president's woes.
The PAC's support for Zimbabwe's ruling party has been unwavering since
early last year when Ka Plaatjie told news agency Reuters that if land in
South Africa was not distributed as speedily as necessary, it would spark a
revolt "that will make what is happening in Zimbabwe look like a Sunday
picnic". The rand plunged.
Ka Plaatjie said this week: "We think there is a lot of hypocrisy,
especially in the media, which has a deliberate desire to distort,
misrepresent and misinform the public about the situation in Zimbabwe.
"The liberal media fails to understand that Britain's refusal to provide
funds for land reform is the cause of this problem".
Ka Plaatjie acknowledges that Mugabe has invariably invited criticism from
the media, but the criticism is "from right-wing liberals, like [Democratic
Alliance leader] Tony Leon, who are protecting Anglo American interests and
colonial gains in Zimbabwe."
Mugabe and Ka Plaatjie this week found themselves another ally in African
National Congress national executive member and KwaZulu-Natal firebrand
Dumisani Makhaye. In the Herald, a Zimbabwe government-controlled propaganda
sheet, he wrote: "The West wants to impose a president on the people of
Zimbabwe. It is in this context that the reluctance of Zanu-PF to accept
monitors from Western powers must be located and assessed.
"The West has a policy of building strong opposition parties to counteract
governments of former national liberation movements in Southern Africa. In
the last elections in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Namibia, some Western
monitors were openly campaigning for opposition parties of Afonso Dhlakama,
Morgan Tsvangirai and Ben Ulenga respectively.
"The negative report of the recent fact-finding team from the European Union
to Zimbabwe, which differed fundamentally from the report of the team of the
[Southern African Development Community], is a reflection of this problem.
Immediate sanctions unlikely as EU weighs Zimbabwe options
by Robert MacPherson
BRUSSELS, Jan 25 (AFP) - Four options on Zimbabwe will be on the table when
EU foreign ministers gather in Brussels on Monday, but the toughest of
them -- immediate sanctions -- is unlikely to be adopted, or at least not
yet.
Though the European Union wants to keep pressure on President Robert Mugabe,
diplomats say it does not want to "play into his hands" in the run-up to the
March 9-10 presidential elections.
"What ministers will have in mind is what's going to happen on the ground"
in the six weeks still to go before voting day, said a European diplomat on
condition of anonymity.
The EU is especially keen to promptly get election observers into Zimbabwe,
and for foreign and Zimbabwean jouralists to be able to cover the election
campaign without interference.
Diplomats say four options will be studied Monday behind closed doors at the
EU Council of Ministers:
-- Immediate sanctions, including "smart sanctions" such as a European
travel ban and freeze on assets that would specifically target Mugabe, his
family and associates.
-- A declaration of sanctions in principle, but with implementation set back
to a later date.
-- A formal threat of sanctions.
-- The resumption of consultations with Mugabe's government that began
January 11 in Brussels, when Foreign Minister Stan Mugende met with the
Spanish EU presidency.
During that meeting, the EU insisted on "invitation and accreditation of
international observers, including from the EU, at least six weeks before
the elections," and on "full access to national and international media."
Barring a sharp turn for the worse this weekend, officials doubt that the
foreign ministers will embrace the strong option of immediate sanctions --
at least not yet.
"Many take the view that an immediate application of sanctions will play
into Mugabe's hands, leading to more (pre-election) intimidation and more
arrests of the opposition," the diplomat said.
Holding short of immediate sanctions would also buy time for the EU to watch
developments, since its foreign ministers have another formal meeting on
February 18 -- less than three weeks before voting starts.
"Sanctions will always be a possibility, but we want to work out the
options," another European diplomat said.
There is also a foreign ministers' retreat on February 8-9 in Caceres,
western Spain, but only to discuss broad policy questions, with no concrete
decisions to be taken.
Britain has pushed hard for its EU partners to strike a common position on
Zimbabwe, in parallel with its efforts to have Harare suspended from the
Commonwealth over Mugabe's political style.
Prime Minister Tony Blair on Wednesday branded the actions of Zimbabwe's
head of state a "disgrace," adding that Britain was working to ensure its
former colony holds democratic elections.
But within the EU, France is understood to be cautious -- not out of any
sympathy for Mugabe, but because of the broader question in principle of
whether sanctions really make an effective foreign policy tool.
Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who is Mugabe's chief rival in the
polls, has told British diplomats that he is confident he can win, and that
he is not in favor of early sanctions, the Financial Times reported.
The unspoken wish in Brussels is that Zimbabweans will vote Mugabe out of
office, just as Yugoslavs rejected their president Slobodan Milosevic during
elections in September 2000.
But the Serbian strongman, his family and entourage were already targets of
EU sanctions at the time. He now is behind bars in The Hague, awaiting trial
for war crimes before the UN war crimes tribunal.
EUbusiness, 25 January 2002