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Mugabe's regional war talk
By Tichaona Sibanda
4 July
2008
Robert Mugabe has warned neighbouring countries to 'think twice'
before
launching an attack against his regime.
Analysts say this could be
viewed as a direct threat to Botswana, who this
week deployed an army
brigade with artillery to patrol it's border with
Zimbabwe. Botswana
described the troop movement as 'a precaution' against
trouble spilling over
into their country.
Relations between Botswana and Zimbabwe came to an
all time low at the Au
Summit in Egypt on Tuesday, when they refused to
recognise Mugabe's stolen
election win. On Friday they reiterated calls for
Mugabe's regime to be
suspended from the AU and the 14-nation SADC
community.
Foreign Minister Phandu Sekelemani told reporters in Gaborone
that as a
country that practices democracy and the rule of law, they do not
recognize
the outcome of Zimbabwe's presidential run-off election, and would
expect
other SADC member states to do the same.
Speaking to his
bussed in 'supporters' on his arrival home on Friday Mugabe
warned his
neighbours to be careful about provoking his government; 'If
there are some
who may want to fight us, they should think twice. We don't
intend to fight
any neighbours. We are a peaceful country, but if there is a
country, a
neighbouring country that is itching for a fight, ah, then let
them try
it.'
Botswana's new president, Ian Khama, a former commander of the
country's
defence forces, has become increasingly critical of Mugabe's rule
and the
problems it has caused in neighbouring countries.
A military
analyst told Newsreel in the unlikely event of a war situation
Mugabe's army
would struggle to sustain a battle, due to a number of
factors.
'The
country's airpower is almost ground to a halt due to lack of spare
parts,
soldiers' morale is low because of poor serving conditions and the
state of
the economy limits the extent of how long the country can sustain a
war.
Currently the army is sending it's soldiers on forced leave due to food
shortages in army barracks. These are all factors that constrain its
operations,' the analyst said.
Since independence Zimbabwe has been
involved in two wars, both guerrilla
and counter insurgencies against MNR
rebels who were fighting the Mozambican
government and in the DRC, propping
up the late Laurent Kabila's government
against rebels sponsored by Uganda
and Rwanda.
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
Botswana urges region not to recognise Mugabe's
re-election
Yahoo News
Fri Jul 4, 9:30 AM ET
GABORONE (AFP) - Botswana's
government urged its neighbours Friday not to
recognise Robert Mugabe's
re-election in a one-man presidential poll as it
reiterated calls for
Zimbabwe to be suspended from a regional bloc.
"As a country that
practices democracy and the rule of law, Botswana does
not ... recognise the
outcome of the presidential run-off election, and
would expect other SADC
member states to do the same," Foreign Minister
Phandu Sekelemani
said.
On Tuesday, Botswana called for Zimbabwe to be suspended from
African Union
and Southern African Development Community (SADC)
meetings.
Sekelemani said violence ahead of the June 27 run-off election
"was not
conducive to the holding of a free and fair election", adding that
unrest
"resulted in the loss of lives, destruction of property and
displacement of
people from their homes."
"It is therefore Botswana's
position that Zimbabwe not be allowed to
participate in SADC meetings until
such time that they demonstrate their
commitment to strictly adhere to the
organisation's principles," he said.
Sekelemani's comments came as Mugabe
arrived back home to a hero's welcome
by his followers after an African
Union summit in Egypt, where he avoided
serious censure after the widely
condemned election that handed him a sixth
term as president.
AU
leaders shunned calls for Mugabe's suspension or the imposition of
sanctions
over Zimbabwe's political crisis and instead passed a resolution
calling for
the formation of a national unity government.
Botswana had taken a harder
line on Zimbabwe, and Sekelemani told reporters
he believed international
condemnation would get Mugabe's attention.
"He did say in Egypt recently
that he was saddened by the position of
Botswana," the foreign minister said
of Mugabe.
"I could see it in his face that the old man was really sad,
but I pray that
he understands it is not personal."
Sekelemani said
Botswana agreed mediation should continue, but called for
such efforts to
"be expedited, given a defined time frame, and conducted in
an atmosphere of
mutual trust and good faith, where both parties are treated
as equal
partners."
He also expressed support for South African President Thabo
Mbeki's
mediation efforts in Zimbabwe despite widespread criticism of
Mbeki's quiet
diplomacy approach.
Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai
boycotted Zimbabwe's presidential
run-off, citing rising violence against
supporters he blamed on Mugabe thugs
and which left some 90 dead and
thousands injured.
Tsvangirai defeated Mugabe in the March 29 first round
of the election, but
with an official vote total just short of an outright
majority.
The dirty half-dozen: The generals who are even more ruthless and
blood-thirsty than Mugabe
Daily Mail, UK
By Andrew
Malone
Last updated at 9:14 PM on 04th July 2008
His Excellency was perspiring, even though there was frost on the ground. In
the palatial gardens of State House, the oak-panelled home of former British
colonial rulers, Robert Mugabe's face glistened with sweat as he was declared
President of the Republic of Zimbabwe. He pulled at his cuffs and glanced over
his shoulder.
After 28 years of bloody rule - and two hours before the election results
were announced 'live' on state-controlled TV - Mugabe appeared anxious as he
was sworn in for a record sixth term this week. His opponents had been killed or
forced at gunpoint to vote in rigged elections.
Yet it wasn't the international outcry over this that worried him. No,
beneath the megalomania, what he must know is that he has already lost power,
not to the persecuted opposition Movement for Democrat Change (MDC), but to a
bloody - and secret - cabal.
The
puppet-masters: Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF election agent Emmerson Mnangagwa, left,
and Constantine Chiwenga, the commander of the Zimbabwean Army
Sitting behind Mugabe at the ceremony, as Chinese-built fighter jets screamed
overhead, six men glowered and followed their dictator's every move.
Thickset and bursting out of their heavily decorated military uniforms, the
watching men were The Generals - a group of cold-blooded killers who have
seized power in Zimbabwe and revel in nicknames such as The Butcher and The Son
Of God.
Dubbed the Dirty Half-Dozen or The Gang Of Six by Zimbabwe's traumatised
people, The Generals have formed a military junta with terrifying plans to
'eliminate all opponents'. They forced Mugabe to hand over power to them at a
meeting in State House, his HQ in Harare, the capital, days after he lost the
first round of elections on March 29.
In a chilling turn of events, they arrived in a fleet of black Mercedes on
April 5 and issued the President with an ultimatum: withhold the election
results, stand aside and let them do their work to ensure they never again face
a challenge to their lucrative, blood-thirsty rule.
Faced with exile and disgrace after this unthinkable defeat, not to mention
the threat of being tried by the UN for war crimes, diplomats say Mugabe could
see no way out.
He could agree to the deal in return for staying on as a figurehead
president - or face the wrath of men responsible for some of Zimbabwe's
bloodiest massacres, where pregnant women have been cut open and their unborn
babies thrown down wells.
According to palace insiders, even Grace, Mugabe's wife, has turned against
her husband. She was working as a security guard at State House when the
President first spotted her and she officially became Zimbabwe's First Lady
after Mugabe's first wife died. Grace relished the role, commandeering the
country's aircraft for shopping sprees in Paris, London and Milan.
The men behind
Mugabe: Commissioner of the Zimbabwe Republic Police Augustine Chihuri, left,
and Paradzai Zimondi, head of the country's Prison Service
Now, however, she is furious at the prospect of losing the perks of office,
which include five mansions and the delivery of boxes stuffed with millions of
U.S. dollars to her home each month. She told Mugabe, 40 years her senior, to
accept the deal offered by The Generals. Reluctantly, he agreed.
Mugabe ceded power to men schooled in torture and political assassinations at
the infamous Chinese military academy in Nanking. At meetings held under their
junta - called the Joint Operational Command (JOC), which controls the secret
services, army, air force, police and prisons - The Generals decreed 'they
will never give up power'.
To keep their promise, they have created a highly sophisticated state terror
apparatus to quell future dissent. They are led by Emmerson Mnangagwa, a
founding member of the notorious Crocodile Gang, who tortured and murdered white
farmers during Mugabe's guerilla war against white rule in the late Seventies.
But Mnangagwa's cruelty was not confined to attacks on whites. He was also
notorious for his role as director of intelligence during Operation Gukurahundi
('the rain that washes away the chaff'), a genocidal campaign against a
breakaway guerilla faction led by Joshua Nkomo during the war of independence.
After being jailed during the days of white rule for his part in atrocities,
he rose through the ranks of the ruling ZANU-PF party following independence in
1980. With an elaborate network of informers, Mnangagwa was responsible for
directing the paramilitary Fifth Brigade against black enemy targets,
particularly the supporters of Nkomo in Matabeleland in the south-west of the
country.
Trained by North Korea and armed with the latest weapons, the Fifth Brigade
has been blamed for the deaths of up to 20,000 people during the Matabeleland
Massacres between 1982 and 1986. Many were killed at public executions. After
being told to dig their own graves, with family and friends forced to look on,
the victims were shot. Others were burned alive in their huts. Women and babies
were thrown into boreholes used for water.
Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono, left, and Air Force Commander Perence Shiri are
some of the other men 'running a regime
within a regime'
Along with Grace Mugabe and others in The Gang Of Six, Mnangagwa - who
calls himself The Son Of God and claims to be accountable to no one - made
millions by ordering troops into the Democratic Republic of Congo during the
late Nineties.
In a war that claimed more than three million lives, the soldiers battled for
control of the Congo's diamond mines - and Zimbabwe's state airline was used
as part of an elaborate gem-smuggling operation that made an estimated £5
billion for those involved.
All this has made Mnangagwa - who has replaced Mugabe as chief of the Joint
Operational Command - the wealthiest man in Zimbabwe. He has a magnificent
walled palace in Harare with a helicopter pad, and a sprawling ranch.
His chief partner in crime is General Constantine Chiwenga, the head of
Zimbabwe's defence forces, who lives in a sparkling white villa with swimming
pools and servants' quarters, in splendid isolation on a hill overlooking the
squalor of Harare.
Brusque and with a volcanic temper, Chiwenga led the Fifth Brigade during the
genocide against Nkomo's Ndebele tribe. Known as The Butcher Of Matabeleland, he
is reputed to have thrown suspected Nkomo supporters out of helicopters.
The behaviour of Chiwenga's wife, Jocelyn, a former prostitute, has not done
much for his recent mood. She shops with an entourage of soldiers to push the
poor out of the way - and once shouted at Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the
opposition, that she would 'take his manhood' when she spotted him in the
street. She has also seized two farms from white owners, saying she would 'taste
their blood' if they refused to hand over the land.
Along with Augustine Chihuri (head of the police), Paradzai Zimondi (head of
prisons), Perence Shiri ( airforce) and Gideon Gono (in charge of funding),
these are the men who intelligence sources in Harare say are in control of the
country and 'running a regime within a regime.'
And they are as determined as any dictator that they will not give up power.
As well as being wanted for war crimes, they suffer none of the hardships faced
by millions of Zimbabweans every day. While many are reduced to killing wild
animals and living off berries, The Generals live in Borrowdale Brook, an
exclusive development in the north of the city.
At their own exclusive supermarket, stocked with goods smuggled in by road
and air, the families and relatives of The Generals browse through a selection
of fresh seafood, including lobster and tiger prawns, as well as the finest
French wines and cheeses.
At a clandestine meeting with one dissident ZANU-PF source, down a dirt track
surrounded by elephant grass that had grown to head height, I was shown
documents purporting to outline the junta's 'final solution' against enemies of
their regime.
In a strategy with chilling echoes of the Matabeleland Massacres, the
documents reveal that the killing has only just started - and provide
conclusive proof that ballot boxes were stuffed all over the country, 'watched
by death squads with orders to kill opposition MPs'.
Of course, we cannot be sure that they are genuine, but they also apparently
reveal that if Tsvangirai's MDC had not pulled out over fears of a bloodbath,
the election 'results' would not have been released and he would have been
charged with treason and hanged.
They state that the killing must continue even after Mugabe has cheated his
way to power, 'with terror to be unleashed after the elections . . . [With]
voting patterns to be assessed to determine where terror should be unleashed'.
As Tsvangirai remains in hiding at the Dutch Embassy after threats on his
life, his supporters are on the run in the face of a brutal new crackdown. With
foreign journalists banned and radio broadcasts from neighbouring countries
blocked, the strategy is designed to ensure the scale of the onslaught does not
reach the outside world.
Robert Mugabe and his wife Grace greet supporters of his
ruling Zanu-PF party upon arriving at Harare International airport Friday
Doctors at hospitals I visited reported a harrowing new medical phenomenon:
the kidneys of victims 'exploding'. 'The blood cells burst during prolonged
beatings, clogging the kidneys, which can't cope,' one doctor said, to the
background noise of screaming from victims in the wards.
'The kidneys collapse and the patients die. It's horrible. It's ugly and it's
getting worse. The Generals have killed and killed and killed. It is crude
torture with horrific consequences. It's like there is a war - with only one
side fighting it.' Lovemore Zilika, 47, was asleep at home when a gang high on
drink and drugs started throwing rocks through his windows.
They pounced when he went to investigate, beating him using crude clubs with
nails sticking out. Lifting his dressings to show masses of red, shredded flesh,
Lovemore also had both legs broken in 20 places. His legs are in plaster up to
his groin and they may have to be amputated.
'These people are killers,' he said. 'They only left me because they thought
I was dead. As they beat me, they kept asking why I wanted to support the MDC.
These people are not human.'
One woman said she was beaten and taken to a hut in the bush, where she was
repeatedly raped. 'There were ten,' she said, weeping.
Another victim, a 42-year- old man who gave his name only as Gudzai, told how
he was dragged from his home at night. As his arms and legs were broken with
iron bars and rocks, he kept slipping into unconsciousness. 'They would throw
water over me to make me come round,' he said. 'Then they started beating me
again.'
This has prompted warnings that the people will rise up - and wreak awful
revenge on their rulers, with the country sliding into civil war. Yet even the
most committed MDC activists were last week in hiding fearing the 'final
solution.'
After being called late at night this week, I was taken to a safe house -
one of dozens used to hide 'enemies of the regime' before they can be smuggled
out of the country. After a raft of elaborate security precautions, I was
introduced to three MDC officials whose names are on death lists distributed by
the junta.
Kimberley, 26, was held at four torture camps last week. He was forced to
simulate sex with a hole in the ground and beaten with logs. He was put in a
cell with two rotting bodies for 24 hours and was denounced by fellow opposition
supporters, who had been beaten for hours into submission.
'They kept shouting at me that I was a sell-out,' he told me, grinning
despite his injuries. 'They burned my home and those of my relatives. They
blindfolded and tortured me. I was eventually dumped in the bush. They thought I
was dead. I couldn't walk, but villagers helped me.'
The interview was interrupted. A car had been heard. Kimberley told me to go
before 'they' came.
Asked if he had a message for the West, he said: 'The world needs to mobilise
to get rid of these people. I have a baby daughter and I want her to grow up
without fear. That's all any of us want.'
But The Gang Of Six has too much to lose. As one Western diplomat told me
before I slipped out of Zimbabwe: 'These men will not give up power. They are in
too deep. They have too much blood on their hands. They have shown they will
stop at nothing to keep what they have got.'
Pity the brave people of Zimbabwe. For I suspect that even the removal of
Robert Mugabe will not be enough to save them.
NGO ban puts older
people at risk of starvation in Zimbabwe
HelpAge International
Date: 04 Jul 2008
Severe food shortages and the
continuing ban on non-governmental
organisation's (NGO) activities are
placing hundreds of thousands of
vulnerable people in Zimbabwe at critical
risk of starvation.
A combination of hyperinflation, rising food prices
and the failure of the
summer harvest has left an estimated 2-4 million
Zimbabweans dependent on
humanitarian food aid.
Older people,
children and the disabled are particularly vulnerable.
However, a blanket
ban on NGO field activities introduced on 4 June means
humanitarian
agencies, including HelpAge International's partner in
Zimbabwe, are unable
to reach them with aid.
Food distribution programme suspended
Our
partner organisation is the only humanitarian agency in the country
focusing
on the needs of older people. It runs a food distribution programme
on
behalf of the World Food Programme, reaching over 7,500 people in 125
care
institutions. These include privately-run orphanages, disability
centres and
older people's homes.
As a result of the NGO ban this programme was
unable to operate throughout
June, leaving these vulnerable groups at great
risk of starvation. Most of
the homes taking part in the programme do not
have any other sources of
income with which to support their
residents.
Uncertain future
Most of the residents at a care home
for older people on the outskirts of
Harare have no family and nowhere else
to go.
Speaking before the NGO suspension, one resident, Maria, said:
'Here I have
been able to get food, a safe home, clothing, bed linen and
blankets. I
couldn't have got these things by myself. If I weren't here, I
would be dead
by now.'
Without the institutional feeding programme
run by HelpAge International's
partner organisation, the future for
residents like Maria is uncertain.
Alex Bush, Assistant Director of
Programmes at HelpAge International, says:
"This situation is incredibly
serious. Vulnerable groups who are supported
by food distributions, such as
older people and the disabled, have no other
means of survival."
Free
UK Zimbabweans from limbo!
http://www.swradioafrica.com
'Strangers into Citizens' call by
church leaders, CITIZENS and MPs for
ZIMBABWEAN EXILES to be
ALLOWED TO
WORK and ACQUIRE SKILLS
Friday, 11 July 2008; ACTION; 11.30 am-
2.30pm; starting at St Margaret's
Church, Westminster Abbey
12.00 :
Service led by Archbishop of York, John Sentamu
1.30pm: Rally and walk to
Home Office; Parliament Sq. and South Bank
INVEST IN THE PEOPLE OF
ZIMBABWE
Britain can best help Zimbabwe in its dark hour by
enabling its future
leaders to acquire the skills to rebuild the country
when the opportunity
comes. .Instead, thousands of Zimbabwean exiles in the
UK live in limbo -
de-motivated and de-skilled, and prevented by law even
from working as
volunteers.
The STRANGERS INTO CITIZENS campaign is
calling for the Home Office to
enable Zimbabweans resident in the UK to
have:
. Temporary access to work
. Job placement and
training
STRANGERS INTO CITIZENS is a campaign by London Citizens (part
of the
Citizen Organising Foundation) calling for a "pathway into
citizenship" for
hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants in the UK
who have been
resident in the country for many years. Since it was launched
in January
2007, the campaign has secured the support of: t he
Liberal-Democrat party;
London's mayor, Boris Johnson; more than 90 MPs of
all parties; the Catholic
bishops of the UK, as well other church and faith
leaders; as well as trade
unions, migrant rights groups, charitable
associations, and many schools
www.strangersintocitizens.org.uk
The
Independent Asylum Commission (IAC) is conducting a nationwide citizens'
review of the UK asylum system. Through a series of reports following
in-depth hearings and analysis, the Commissioners aim to make credible and
workable recommendations for reform that safeguard the rights of asylum
seekers but also command the confidence of the British public.
www.independentasylumcommission.org.uk
LONDON
CITIZENS is the capital's most diverse community alliance, which
includes
more than 100 churches, mosques, schools, trade unions and
charities. London
Citizens teaches the art of politics in action - allowing
ordinary people to
bring about social change. www.londoncitizens.or
Number of displaced Zimbabweans "extremely worrying"
By Alex Bell
04
July 2008
The Zimbabwe Exiles Forum said on Friday the South African
government needs
to take responsibility not only for the number of
Zimbabweans fleeing into
the country, but also for the growing number of
displaced Zimbabweans - a
figure that is now estimated at a quarter of a
million since the March
elections.
The forum's Gabriel Shumba told
Newsreel the figure, while merely an
estimate, is "extremely worrying" and
indicative of how bad the situation in
Zimbabwe has become. He said the bare
minimum of these refugees have shelter
and food, but tens of thousands more
are left "homeless and defenceless".
Shumba said he is deeply concerned
that the trend of Zimbabweans entering
South Africa illegally has changed.
He said individuals used to cross the
border, to provide for their families
back home, but now Shumba said "entire
families are arriving in South
Africa, with nowhere else to go, because
their homes and homestead have been
burnt and their lives threatened".
Shumba added that there are fears
among refugees in South Africa that
Zimbabwean government thugs are
"pretending to be victims of violence to get
help in South Africa, merely to
track down real victims". He said the
situation is "critical and so
overwhelming".
Shumba said the South African government now has a
responsibility to protect
not only the Zimbabweans in exile in its country,
but also the thousands of
people displaced by politically motivated violence
in Zimbabwe. He said it
is "self evident that South Africa has as much to do
with the crisis as
Mugabe" and it is time for them to step in.
Shumba
was among a group of speakers at a prayer meeting for Zimbabwe at the
Central Methodist Church in Johannesburg on Friday. Zimbabwean musicians
also gathered at the church and they included some of the prominent protest
artists whose albums have been banned in Zimbabwe because their lyrical
content describes the suffering and wishes of ordinary
Zimbabweans.
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
A long record of torture
New Statesman
Gerry Simpson
Published
04 July 2008
Human Rights Watch's Gerry Simpson explains the plight
of Zimbabweans in
South Africa many of whom were dislodged from their homes
by Mugabe years
ago
Grace lives in Johannesburg and, like hundreds of
Zimbabweans tortured by
Robert Mugabe's "war veterans" and youth militia
since the March 2008
elections she is struggling to survive. But Grace is
not one of the recently
tortured. Instead, her story reflects the reality
for millions of
Zimbabweans and speaks to eight years of political
repression and economic
destruction next door.
Three years ago,
Mugabe's government ordered Grace's cottage in Harare to be
bulldozed,
together with the homes of 700,000 other people, and banned all
informal
street and market trading. Grace, her daughter and her mother lost
everything: home, work, income, education and healthcare.
Grace has
barely survived. "After they destroyed my cottage we slept in the
open. I
tried to feed us by trading in the street but the police always
stole my
goods and then arrested, fined and beat me with a rubber whip and
then with
an iron bar," she told me in February. "It was impossible to get a
trading
license because I did not have a ZANU-PF card. After they beat me
with the
iron bar I knew could not continue and had to leave to survive. So
I came to
South Africa."
Grace and 700,000 others were victims of "Operation
Murambatsvina" or
"Operation Clear the Filth," a name that reflects the
ruling ZANU-PF party's
low regard for the humanity of these Zimbabwean
citizens. Carried out
shortly after the March 2005 elections in which the
opposition party made
significant gains in Zimbabwe's cities, ZANU-PF viewed
Grace and others
living in high-density suburbs as a political threat that
had to be removed.
Like those abused by Mugabe's thugs in 2008, Grace, and
hundreds of
thousands like her, were all targeted for the same political
reason: they
apparently threatened ZANU-PF's hold on power.
Many
Zimbabweans fleeing to South Africa since 2005 - possibly numbering
tens of
thousands - have escaped the same persecution, and the same
destructive
economic effects, described by Grace. They are refugees,
although South
Africa's dysfunctional asylum system has yet to recognize
them as
such.
They join an estimated 1.5 million Zimbabweans who have fled the
appalling
conditions caused by Mugabe's destructive economic policies.
Zimbabwe has
the world's highest rate of inflation (100,000 per cent); 83
per cent of its
people live in poverty, 80 per cent are unemployed, and 4.1
million depend
on food assistance, which government operatives withhold or
manipulate for
political gain. Life expectancy for women, 56 years in 1978,
has fallen to
34 today; over 70 per cent of the 350,000 Zimbabweans in need
of life-saving
HIV/AIDS drugs cannot access them.
These Zimbabweans -
refugees and people fleeing generalised economic ruin -
have turned to their
South African neighbors in search of safety and work to
help send home food
and money. But almost all enter and remain in South
Africa without
documents, have no right to work and only limited access to
help such as
health care. Even if registered as asylum seekers - which
should guarantee
them protection from forcible return to Zimbabwe - they are
liable to be
arrested and summarily deported. Exploited by employers and at
risk of
xenophobic violence, they live in permanent insecurity. Destitute
and
vulnerable when they arrive, they remain so in South Africa.
Zimbabweans'
presence underlines a failure of foreign policy: the failure to
use South
Africa's leverage to effectively address the brutal human rights
violations
and failed economic policies causing their flight. Their
undocumented status
and vulnerability in South Africa also represents a
failure of domestic
policy: the failure to develop a comprehensive policy to
address the reality
of their presence.
To begin the long-term process of securing a future
for Zimbabweans in
Zimbabwe, South African must end its failed and
discredited "quiet
diplomacy" approach towards Mugabe. But trying to
address the cause of
forced displacement in Zimbabwe is not a substitute for
attending to the
needs of Zimbabweans in South Africa. Pretoria needs to
tackle both failures
now.
South Africa should provide temporary
residence status and work
authorization for all Zimbabweans in South Africa.
By doing this, South
Africa would stop violating international refugee law
by deporting asylum
seekers, help protect Zimbabweans against exploitation
and violence inside
South Africa, facilitate their self sufficiency, and
enable them to help
their desperate families at home.
Granting
temporary status to Zimbabweans would also unburden South Africa's
asylum
system, currently clogged with thousands of Zimbabwean claims, and
ensure
that Zimbabweans earn the minimum wage, which would help South
Africans to
compete fairly with them for jobs. By doing the right thing to
help its
desperate neighbors, South Africa could also lessen the resentment
behind
the recent rise in xenophobic violence that has caused so much
damage - not
least to South Africa's reputation.
Gerry Simpson is a Human Rights Watch
researcher and author of the report,
"Neighbors in Need: Zimbabweans seeking
refuge in South Africa."
Catholicism and Mugabe
New Statesman
Steve Kibble
Published 04
July 2008
Progressio's Steve Kibble on the complex relationship
between Robert Mugabe
and Zimbabwe's churches.
Robert Mugabe
of the African nation has a serious dilemma on his hands,
despite having
declared himself the winner of last Friday's so-called 'vote'.
Desperate to
legitimise his presidency, it seems he will stop at little.
Yet, as a
supposedly practising Catholic in a deeply religious country
Mugabe might
want to think twice before unleashing the full force of his
campaign of
violence on those he sees as his enemies within the Church.
Because if he
does, he could lay up serious additional trouble for his
ZANU-PF
regime.
Twenty-eight years in power have slowly eroded Mugabe's once
reasonably
healthy relationship with the core denominations of the Zimbabwe
churches.
Though supported to varying degrees by the Catholics, Anglicans
and
Evangelicals when he swept to power in 1980 - the Churches were as eager
as
anyone to see the end of the illegal Smith regime - Mugabe has slowly
burnt
his bridges.
Historically, the Zimbabwe churches, particularly
the leaderships, have been
largely quiet on Mugabe's increasingly
authoritarian rule. In the nineties,
some in the church were concerned about
increasing corruption and
authoritarianism; yet found it difficult to break
from support of the
liberation movement to directly accuse ZANU-PF of being
at the root of the
country's deepening troubles. There were also major
problems for churches as
they sought to devote themselves to the pastoral
and theological struggle
against HIV and AIDS. From the early 2000s there
were also ever-greater
numbers of people requiring food aid and humanitarian
assistance.
Equally, by the early 2000s the lower ranks of the clergy had
begun to
organise themselves cross-denominationally to voice their
opposition to
increasing ZANU-PF demonisation of and attacks on any group
that opposed it.
After a stolen election in 2005, the churches also faced
the fallout from
'Operation Murambatsvina'. Though ostensibly an attempt to
push illegal slum
dwellers out of Harare, scores of innocent civilians were
attacked and
arrested and had their houses destroyed, forcing them to seek
shelter in
churches from where police often chased them out. From this point
on there
was increasing concern from church leaders, although most of them
saw their
role as one of attempting to bring reconciliation rather than
openly lead
opposition to the government and its actions.
After a
number of pastoral statements calling for an end to violence and
poverty,
but not apportioning blame, a turning point came in April 2007 when
the
Catholic Bishops' Conference issued a statement. "God Hears the Cry of
the
Oppressed" squarely blamed the Mugabe government for spiralling
inflation,
rampant food shortages and widespread intimidation. The ZANU-PF
response?
Use of its youth militias to stop the pastoral letter being read
out to
congregations, threats against the clergy, and a successful campaign
to
remove leading ZANU-PF critic Pius Ncube, the Catholic Archbishop of
Bulawayo.
Mugabe's regime now looks to have lost the support of most
of the churches,
bar those who are supporters or beneficiaries of land and
other gifts. In a
country where around 90 per cent subscribe to a faith and
62 per cent attend
Christian churches, Mugabe's next steps will be critical.
And they will be
closely scrutinised across the region and the
world.
The church could now be Mugabe's ultimate challenge. Although
violence
against church groups is on the increase - members of the Zimbabwe
Christian
Alliance were recently arrested and detained for questioning in
Harare - and
although Mugabe has sanctioned attacks on every other sector,
he may yet
prove reluctant to unleash a full-blown campaign of intimidation
against the
churches per se.
Mugabe is already under fire from fellow
regional leaders for the violence
surrounding the electoral run-off. Coupled
with last week's unprecedented UN
security council statement condemning
government-led violence, any direct
attacks on the church would see Mugabe
shunned by his fellow southern
African leaders, who are all nominally
Christian. Given that Mugabe was
refused an audience with the Pope on a
recent visit to the FAO in Rome, he
might not wish to invite further censure
from the Vatican. This gives the
churches significantly more space than
others to stand up for the political,
economic and social rights of their
flocks.
So what option do church leaders now have? As the dust settles
after Friday's
vote, they may well be tempted by the option of carrying on
'as normal', but
for how long would that be possible as inflation hits 4
million per cent,
xenophobia rises in neighbouring states, the economy
collapses further and
up to five million people require food aid? They may
still denounce the
illegitimacy of the result and call for an
internationally or regionally
supervised re-run and perhaps African
peacekeepers. Or will they finally
stick their necks out and say no to
direct attacks on the church, including
reports of parishioners being pulled
from the altar and beaten up?
Will Zimbabwean churches now follow the
example set by South African church
leaders in the last years of apartheid
and lead a campaign of non-violent
resistance, albeit reluctantly?
Undoubtedly they would prefer it if regional
leaders were able to help find
a solution, but time is running out for a
peaceful end to the
crisis.
Mugabe says only God can remove him from power. But it looks
increasingly
possible that the people of God will take the first concrete
steps to help
him on his way.
The
ZEC Commissioners must account for the election farce
http://www.swradioafrica.com/pages/zec030708.htm
I am not a lawyer,
but it seems quite straightforward to me.
The Electoral act says that
"the authority to govern derives from the
will of the people demonstrated
through elections that are conducted
efficiently, freely, fairly,
transparently and properly on the basis
of universal and equal suffrage
exercised through a secret ballot".
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission is
appointed in terms of the
Zimbabwe Constitution to conduct these elections
and to "ensure" that
they are conducted efficiently, freely, fairly and
transparently.
In the exercise of this function, the Constitution says,
the
Commission "shall not be subject to the direction or control of any
person or authority".
In addition to conducting the elections, the
Commission is also
required by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Act to
monitor the
Zimbabwean news media to "ensure" that broadcasters, print
publishers
and journalists observe the provisions of the Act in that
*
all political parties and candidates are treated equitably in their
news
media, in regard to the extent, timing and prominence of the
coverage
accorded to them;
* reports on the election in their news media are factually
accurate,
complete and fair;
* political parties and candidates are
afforded a reasonable right of
reply to any allegations made in their news
media that are claimed by
the political parties or candidates concerned to
be false;
* news media do not promote political parties or candidates that
encourage violence or hatred against any class of persons in Zimbabwe;
*
news media avoid language that:
* encourages racial, ethnic or religious
prejudice or hatred; or
* encourages or incites violence; or
* is likely
to lead to undue public contempt towards any political
party, candidate or
class of person in Zimbabwe.
Finally, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission
Act says that the
Commissioners are required to exercise their functions in
a manner
that promotes conditions conducive to free, fair and democratic
elections. They are not to do anything that may "give rise to a
reasonable apprehension that they are exercising their functions with
partiality or bias; or place in jeopardy their independence or the
perception of their independence; or compromise the Commission's
credibility, impartiality, independence or integrity".
The Electoral
Commissioners have arguably the most important job in
the country. It is
their responsibility to protect the right of
Zimbabweans to choose their
representatives in a free, fair and
transparent election, thereby giving
those representatives the
authority to govern.
It seems to me that
the Commissioners have failed in their mandate in
several ways.
They
have administered an election that has been adjudged either as
not free and
fair, or as not reflecting the will of the people, by
local independent
observers as well as those from SADC, the
Pan-African Parliament and the
African Union.
They have not stopped the state-controlled media from
publishing and
broadcasting material that has been patently biased in favour
of one
candidate without allowing the other any voice or right of reply, and
have allowed them to use language that, in my opinion, encouraged
racial
hatred as well as public contempt towards the MDC and its
presidential
candidate.
There has been no transparency in the Commissioners' reasons
for
proceeding with a run-off election in which one candidate had
indicated that he did not wish to participate, suggesting that the
Commission might have used vast public resources unnecessarily.
Nor
has there been any transparency in their apparent ability to
collate, count
and verify the votes in the run-off election in less
than 48 hours, whereas
the same task apparently took a month after
the 29 March
election.
These and other actions of the Commission have given rise to "a
reasonable apprehension" in me that their credibility, impartiality,
independence and integrity have been compromised.
It would appear
that the Commissioners have either voluntarily failed
to carry out their
constitutional mandate, or have involuntarily been
under the direction of
some other "person or authority", in which
case they should have made this
public and resigned.
At the moment, Commissioners George Chiweshe, Joyce
Kazembe,
Theophilus Gambe, Sarah Kachingwe, George Kahari, Vivian Ncube and
Jonathan Siyachitema might be regarded as those initially responsible
for failing to protect many of the democratic rights of the
Zimbabwean
people in this electoral process.
The Act gives them up to six months
from the announcement of the
results to submit their report on the conduct
of the election to
Parliament and the contesting parties, but I believe that
they should
take responsibility to explain more immediately their actions
(and
inactions) to the voting public.
Dissatisfied Voter
CHRA on the swearing in of the new council for the
city of Harare
The Zimbabwean
Friday, 04 July 2008 14:54
The Combined Harare
Residents Association (CHRA) welcomes the
swearing
in of the new
council for the city of Harare, yesterday on the 1st of
July
2008.
We however note with grave concern the late commencement
of
council business owing to the unexplained delay in the swearing in
of
the new councillors by the Ministry of Local Government. As
an
association, we look forward to a fruitful relationship of
cooperation
with the new council in an endeavour to address the social
service
delivery related problems bedevilling the city of Harare. In
that
regard, the Association takes this vital opportunity to remind the
new
council of the issues that demands its attention as a matter
of
urgency. These critical issues include;
. Advocacy for
the constitutionalisation of Zimbabwe's local
governance
.
Advocacy for autonomous and cooperative local governance in
Zimbabwe
. Wide and gender equitable consultation of residents during
the
council budget formulation.
. Potholes on all the major
roads across the city
. Perennial water shortages across the city, but
severe in high
density areas
. Sewer bursts across the city,
but severe in high density areas
. Uncollected refuse pilling up in
most residential suburbs
. Poor street lighting
. Tall grass
growing along roads
. Absence of clinics and police posts in certain
areas
. Collapsed and dilapidation of council and recreational
facilities like halls
. Harassment of street vendors and other
residents by municipal
police
. The increase in the number of
street kids and vagrants in the
city and cases of harassment of
residents by the street kids.
. Partisan employment recruitment for
council jobs and other
contracts.
. Development of programs
that aim at socio-economic empowerment
for the disadvantaged
residents.
Over and above we urge the new council to tow the path of
participatory
democracy, whereupon the council's decision making
process is
characterised by wide and effective consultation of all
residents
irrespective of their social standing, sex or race. As an
association,
we remain committed to demanding and facilitating enhanced
civic
participation in local governance in Harare.
"Breaking the political impasse in
Zimbabwe"
The Zimbabwean
Friday, 04 July 2008 14:26
A discussion paper
prepared by Bulawayo Agenda
1. Introduction
The protracted
conflict in Zimbabwe between the ruling elite and the
democratic forces has
taken a heavy toll in terms of loss of human life,
economic meltdown and
erosion of its democratic credentials.
Contrary to the
pontification of the Mugabe administration presenting
itself as a victim of
the Western conspiracies, the events of the past few
months have shown that
the 'emperor has no clothes' after all. In the bid to
reclaim what was lost
in the March 29 election, the regime threw all caution
to the wind and went
on a killing spree. Arguably, the current situation in
Zimbabwe can only be
described as a 'complex political emergency'. It is an
incontrovertible fact
that the Mugabe regime is struggling to survive
against the torrential wave
of public anger. Its preferred method of
survival defies all trappings of
democracy. The opposition pulled out of the
Presidential runoff citing a
constellation of factors inter alia the hydra
of violence meted against its
supporters, hostile electoral environment and
the uneven playing field.
Contemporaneously, a number of African countries
finally seem to appreciate
the problems the country is facing. In fact, the
'one man election' has been
described as shameful and illegitimate. As the
drama of the presidential
runoff result unfolds, it is critical for the
African leaders, with support
from the wider international community, to
step in to stop the violence and
resolve the deepening political crisis.
People's expectations and demands
for change have heightened and profound
uncertainty about what form change
would take has raised the political
stakes for all concerned. The gestation
period has taken longer than
optimists had hoped. It is therefore, the
object of this discussion paper to
inspire the debate on the strategic
options for the breaking of the mutually
hurting electoral logjam thereby
ushering in a new constitutional, political
and economic
dispensation.
2. Façade of democratic legitimacy
The
contemporary world is increasingly becoming a democratic one,
where even
tyrants are required to go through the exercise of multicandidate
and
multiparty elections to preserve a semblance of domestic and
international
legitimacy. The pull out by Morgan Tsvangirai, the opposition
candidate,
from the runoff elections rested on popular hopes of shattering
the regime's
facade of democratic legitimacy thereby triggering a process
that would
eventually lead to genuine elections. Thus, the opposition
bravely and
unambiguously expressed its position which aimed at denying an
iota of
legitimacy to the Mugabe administration and this has resonated very
well
with the broad spectrum of the population in Zimbabwe. Predictably, the
insistence by Zanu PF to continue with the runoff election, and consequently
declare Mr Mugabe as a winner, has been met with widespread condemnation
from the region and internationally. The decision to continue with the
elections was a leap in the dark, an action that was as ruinous to
Zimbabwe's
political gains as was the violence that had embedded itself in
the regime.
It was a blow beneath the belt for democracy. Subsequently, Mr
Mugabe faces
a hostile parliament, growing public discontent, mounting
international
pressure and increased isolation. The consequences of his
staying in office
would be catastrophic, not least that the economic decline
would intensify,
with more Zimbabweans fleeing across borders while
inflation plummets to
unprecedented levels. Appropriate regional and
international action must be
taken against the rogue regime. Examples of
such actions would be declaring
his government illegitimate, tightening
existing targeted sanctions on known
hardliners and establishing a Security
Council Commission to investigate
reports of torture, murder and widespread
violations of human rights.
3. African Union resolutions on
Zimbabwe
The 11th African Union (AU) summit at the Egyptian Red Sea
resort on 1
July adopted a resolution supporting the creation of a
Government of
National Unity (GNU) for Zimbabwe through dialogue. The text
also expressed
support to the SADC facilitation process on the issue while
calling for
continued mediation efforts in order to assist the people and
leadership of
Zimbabwe to resolve its problems. The resolution further
appealed to states
and all parties concerned to refrain from any action that
may negatively
impact on the climate of dialogue. In the resolution, the AU
expressed
confidence that the people of Zimbabwe will be able to resolve
their
differences and work together once again as a nation, provided they
received
undivided support from SADC, the AU and the world at large. As a
result of
the tense situation in Zimbabwe, the African Union (AU) decided on
a
Government of National Unity (GNU) as the ideal mechanism for conflict
resolution to the Zimbabwean crisis. Instead of condemnations, the Union's
leaders gently urged Mugabe to engage in some sort of power-sharing
agreement with Morgan Tsvangirai, along the lines of a deal that ended
violence in Kenya earlier this year. While the AU is lauded for its efforts,
though feeble, to end the political impasse in Zimbabwe, its prescriptive
approach to the crisis will unfortunately lead to a further complication of
the crisis than transformation. The 'copy and paste' solution will prove
disastrous for Africa in general and for Zimbabwe in particular. The Kofi
Anan GNU solution imposed on Kenya has set a dangerous political precedence
for despots and dictators on the continent. Unpopular regimes such as the
Kibaki and Mugabe administrations have found means of survival through a GNU
against the will of their populations. The GNU that was pushed by Kofi Annan
in Kenya stopped the violence by pacifying the various political players
through rewarding them with political posts. The Government of National
Unity only served to silence the guns but did not address the fundamental
grievances of the masses. While in the interim, the GNU approach may seem to
be an easy panacea to the crisis, in the mid and long terms the crisis will
indeed resurface. With regards to Zimbabwe, it should be noted that any
conflict resolution approach should be guided by the outcome of the March
2008 harmonized election result which demonstrated the will of the people of
Zimbabwe. The struggle in Zimbabwe is not of power but for democracy. The AU
diagnosis of the Zimbabwe problem is flawed and its prescription poisonous.
This simply means that a power-sharing deal as signified by the Kenyan model
is not only inappropriate but also retrogressive for Zimbabwe. The African
leaders should refrain from rewarding regimes which cling to power through
violence and undemocratic means. It is on record that Mugabe's
administration was fraudulently elected hence the solution to Zimbabwe
crisis should comprise measures that shall allow for the preparations of a
truly democratic process of constituting a government.
4. Interim
government
While bad governance, democratic deficit, and a blatantly
flawed
electoral process coupled with gross violation of human rights have
eventually stripped the Mugabe regime of all the democratic pretenses, the
launching of a comprehensive negotiation process seem to be the first step
towards the resolution of the crisis. Given the current political dynamics
in Zimbabwe, it is clear that a negotiated political solution is not only
important but inevitable. However, if dialogue is to be initiated, it is
essential that the ruling elite stops the violence, the persecution of
activists and, releases all political prisoners, disbands the militia bases
and concentration camps. Political normalcy should prevail on the part of
the Mugabe regime for any mature political dialogue to take place. The
question that all Zimbabweans should be grappling with is, 'what kind of
political settlement is viable, relevant and acceptable to a large swath of
political and national interests?' In generic terms, an 'Interim Government'
(IG) is the most ideal approach towards the breaking of the political
impasse in Zimbabwe. There are many types of interim governments, thus, it
is the responsibility of the people of Zimbabwe to determine the conceptual
and operational frameworks of the typology that is relevant to their
context. The ensuing sections outline five options of interim government
that need thorough debate amongst the various players in the
country.
i. Transitional Executive Council (TEC)
A
Transitional Executive Council (TEC) is a form of an Interim
Government (IG)
that is led by an impartial individual. The mandate of the
TEC is to
facilitate the creation of a conducive environment not just for
future free
and fair elections but also for the unhindered transfer of power
to the
winning party. The TEC is an all inclusive forum whose members are
drawn
from a broad sector of the population. The authority should be led by
someone who is highly respected and has the confidence of the people of
Zimbabwe across the board. It can either be a retired judge, member of the
clergy or any other individual of good standing in the eyes of the public.
The TEC would be a time-limited authority, whose life span should not exceed
approximately 6 months, oriented towards constitutional reform, the
democratization and the professionalization of state institutions. Partisan,
ethnic and other interests should not be allowed to take precedence over the
Zimbabwean Agenda. This council should also respect the 29 March election
results and make use of the various institutions like parliament. In fact,
parliament would play its customary role of coming up with legislation that
will be used in facilitating the respect for democracy. The TEC would
address the modalities for ensuring military loyalty to a new civilian
government. Senior military commanders strongly opposed to the MDC have been
instrumental in preventing a demo¬cratic transition following the 29 March
election. Indeed, this is one reason why priority should be given to a
negotiated settlement. The TEC must accordingly address the loyalty of the
security services as a priority, including the handover of military power in
a transi¬tional government arrangement. The TEC will need to be complemented
by the regional and wider international community's strong commitment to
providing resources for reconstruction and recovery. Urgent steps would be
needed to guarantee a free and fair vote. These include immediate cessation
of violence and intimidation; strong monitoring and organisational roles for
SADC, the AU and the UN; and massive deployment of independent national,
regional and international observers.
ii. Provisional
Government
A Provisional Government is a type of Interim Government
that is
opposition-led. The proposal for a provisional government is based
on the
results of the 29 March election. It recognizes the parliament,
senate and
the local authority results. These institutions should be left to
carry out
their mandate from Zimbabweans. However, when it comes to the
issue of
leading the provisional government, the proposal dictates that the
winner of
the 29 March elections should lead the provisional government for
a period
of twelve months. The government should include all stakeholders
like the
business, civic society and the churches, as a way of keeping
checks and
balances. A cloud of fear and uncertainty is currently all over
Zimbabwe
because of the orgy of violence that has been unleashed by the
bogus war
veterans and the youth militia. Homes have been burnt, people
displaced and
brutalized by these state apparatus. Villagers can only have
access to basic
commodities if they declare affiliation to Zanu PF.
Corruption has become so
deeply entrenched in almost all forms of the system
of governance. It is
therefore incumbent upon the provisional government to
restore confidence in
national institutions like the police and the army
that have been abused by
the ruling party. Subsequently, the government will
have the duty of coming
up with a people driven constitution which shall be
used to run the
presidential runoff. The entire process should be under the
strict
supervision and monitoring of regional and international
bodies.
iii. Caretaker Government
A Care-taker Government is a
type of Interim Government that is
incumbent-led. This proposal has its
basis on the 29 March harmonized
election but nullifies the June 27 sham.
The elected parliamentarians,
senators and councillors are allowed to
operate under the leadership of the
incumbent. This type of government is
ordinarily not allowed to carry out
any projects especially in preparation
for elections as it gives the
incumbent an unfair advantage. However, for
the purposes of the Zimbabwean
context, this type of government can be given
special mandates. Its
immediate task would be to deal with the war veterans
and the youth militia
who are butchering people in the rural areas. At the
same time the
care-taker government has to depoliticize the institutional
framework
running the elections. The input into the composition of Zimbabwe
Electoral
Commission should be made by all stakeholders and not just one
party. The
dismantling of the structures of violence is expected to lift the
confidence
of the people with regards to national processes and inspire them
to
participate actively in the drafting of a new constitution. The
polarization
in the nature of the politics requires a complete paradigm
shift which
should see the depoliticisation of the military forces in
Zimbabwe. The
role of the military in respect to the political players
should be clearly
outlined. In preparation for the election, the care-taker
government should
not only invite friendly countries but anybody who is a
friend of democracy.
No one should have the prerogative of deciding who
should or should not
observe the elections. Regional bodies like the SADC,
AU and the United
Nations should play a central role in the observation and
monitoring of
elections. The care-taker government would work on a time
frame of six
months to fulfill its mandate.
iv. International
Interim Government
An International Interim Government is a United
Nations led
government. The political environment in Zimbabwe is so
polarized to the
extent that there is likely to be a stalemate on who would
lead the
transitional authority. There is a lot of distrust among the
political
players in Zimbabwe and that is likely to derail the transitional
arrangements. This leads to the option of an International Interim
Government (IIG) led by the United Nations. Under this arrangement all the
players in the conflict should agree to place Zimbabwe under the Trusteeship
of the UN. The UN mission in Zimbabwe will then have the task of restoring
peace by dismantling the institutions of violence in a county ruined by
state sponsored violence against ordinary citizens. In addition to that, the
UN mission, aided by the existing structures of democracy like parliament,
will prepare a new constitution which will lead to the holding of a free and
fair presidential runoff. The rehabilitation of the battered economy and
image of the country will also be the responsibility of the United Nations.
It shall also supervise or have control of all aspects of government,
including public security, information and protection and promotion of human
rights.
v. Power sharing government
A power sharing
government is a type of Interim Government that is
composed of the regime
and the opposition elements. The AU summit in Egypt
summit is advocating for
a Government of National Unity. This recommendation
has been largely
influenced by the Kenyan power sharing deal initiated and
concluded by Kofi
Anan. The GNU arrangement dictates that the two political
parties that are
at loggerheads share power as a way of resolving the crisis
in Zimbabwe.
The problem with the GNU is that it deals with power sharing
and not the
basic issues that are espoused by the ordinary citizens and
hence can never
be the answer to Zimbabwe's current political conundrum. It
reduces the
Zimbabwean crisis to a power struggle rather than the fight to
ensure that
democratic processes and principles are not only upheld but also
respected.
Therefore, a Government of National Unity forged for sharing
power among
rival political parties, is not only a great betrayal but a
losing
proposition for the long suffering Zimbabwean masses.
Whatever type
of Interim Government is finally adopted it should, by
matter of principle
attend to the following issues;
. Drafting a new democratic,
Constitution for Zimbabwe
. Provide security and maintain law and order
throughout the country.
. Establish an effective electoral system in
preparation for the
elections
. Create conditions for holding free
and fair elections
. Assist in the establishment of conditions for
sustainable democracy.
. Setting up of an independent human rights
commission to investigate
all alleged rights abuses
. Allow the
international agencies to distribute food aid to the
suffering
masses.
5. Principles of Engagement
For the negotiations to be
fruitful and bear meaningful results for
the ordinary people there are some
principles that should be respected
. Any talks that are to be held in
the country towards the resolution
of the crisis should respect the
democratic processes. The people of
Zimbabwe voted on 29 March and their
voices should be respected in any
negotiations.
. Negotiations
should be directed towards the preparation for another
Presidential runoff.
A new constitution should be prepared as a basis for a
rerun of the
Presidential runoff.
. The Zimbabwean problem has since ceased to be
the problem between
the MDC and Zanu PF, it has become a problem for
everybody hence all groups
of the society should be consulted and their
input respected. The
negotiations should not be confined to political
parties alone but should
include the input of other stakeholders like civil
society, business and the
church.
. Cessation of violence and
harassment of opposition leaders and
activists is critical in the process of
resolving the problem in Zimbabwe.
. Immediate abrogation of
draconian legislation such as the Public
Order and Security Act (POSA) and
the Access to Information and Protection
of Privacy Act (AIPPA)
6.
Third Party intervention
The mediation efforts led by South African
president Thabo Mbeki have
yielded minimal results for the ordinary
Zimbabwean for several reasons. The
efforts seem not only to be secretive
but also to other SADC heads who
mandated Mbeki to mediate on behalf of
SADC. The insistence by President
Mbeki that there is no crisis in Zimbabwe
when people are being killed has
damaged his reputation as a mediator. There
is, therefore, need for the
mediation efforts to be broadened so that, apart
from the SADC, the African
Union can also be involved. That broadened
mediation, supported by
additional international actors, should focus on the
formation of a
transitional government that will deliver the country from
the current
challenges. The mediation of the Zimbabwe crisis should not be
towards the
Kenyan Model Government of National Unity as it will only serve
to
temporarily stop the violence without dealing with the root causes.
Engagement efforts should be directed towards coming up with a transitional
arrangement that will prepare the environment for free and fair elections
and national healing. The AU/SADC sponsored talks should lead to clear
procedures for the consensual appointment of electoral commission members
with secure tenure as well as civilians retained as polling officers and the
repeal of Electoral Commission Act provisions that allow the secondment of
military, police and prisons service personnel for election tasks.
7. Role of Various Players in Zimbabwe
Zanu PF should negotiate
with the MDC on a constitutional framework,
transitional arrangements,
detailed agenda and benchmarks for a political
settlement. Zanu PF has the
responsibility of dismantling the structures of
violence that have been
planted all over the country. War veterans and the
youth militia that have
been used to terrorize Zimbabweans should be stopped
from carrying out such
heinous acts. The military should go back to the
barracks and the police
force depoliticized. Thus, Zanu PF should engage in
such talks without
reservations and should support the Interim Government in
order to provide
Zimbabweans with a free and fair Presidential rerun of
runoff elections that
will lead to the end the political and economic
crisis.MDC: - The MDC also
has a critical role to play if the negotiations
are to bear any meaningful
results for the ordinary Zimbabweans. As a way of
bridging the divide that
was experienced as a result of the decision by the
political parties in
ratifying Amendment 18, there is a need for the MDC to
consult widely. It
should maintain a united front in the talks and rebuild
consensus with civil
society organisations on a joint strategy to promote
democratic change.Civil
society and Church: - Zimbabwe has benefited
immensely from a vibrant civil
society even in the midst of the
deterioration of the political and social
fabric and the regime's
dictatorial tendencies that has not hesitated to
silence any voice of
dissent. Civil Society organizations and churches have
continued to carry
out their activities against the background of
persecution. They have an
equally critical role to play in the quest to find
a lasting solution to the
crisis in Zimbabwe. Many of the civic
organizations maintain strong
membership bases and hence have the
responsibility to help the citizens to
understand the terms and
implementation of the transitional arrangements as
a way of advancing peace
and reconciliation in the country. The
organizations also play a pivotal
function in overseeing the implementation
of the transitional process and
the performance of the interim government.
CSOs and faith-based
organisations should be allowed to carry out civic
education, promotion of
human rights, gender equity and the eventual
monitoring of electoral
processes. The CSOs/churches have a role of
rebuilding the country through
promoting programmes of reconciliation in
this battered country. They should
disseminate information as a way of
encouraging transparency and building
public confidence and
participation.Regional and international intervention:
- These have a
pivotal role to play in as far as the monitoring and
observation of the
talks and the Interim Government is concerned. They also
play the role of
overseer and make sure that all parties are committed to
the negotiation
process. They can also apply pressure in the form of
sanctions or
international isolation. The AU should both maintain pressure
at this
crucial point and increase support for democratic forces. Increased
pressure
and intervention, including that from regional organisations, the
Southern
African Development Community (SADC), and the West is a categorical
imperative at this stage. Concessions to ZANU-PF should only be made in
exchange for true restoration of democracy. The UN/AU should intensify
planning for an economic and political recovery package guided by principles
of good governance that is designed to promote institutional
change.
7. Conclusion
An Interim Government should be
set up to work towards the creation of
a democratic Zimbabwe. The African
Union, SADC, International community and
the civic society should all play
the pivotal role of being the watchdog.
Only political will and a deep sense
of patriotism, in the face of a
collapsing nation, is required to overcome
the immense socio-economic
difficulties facing Zimbabwe today. The
transitional mechanism has the
capacity to elevate Zimbabwe to a higher
pedestal of political, economic and
cultural progress. It offers the
opportunity for the process to reflect the
enthusiasm of a national populace
that yearns for better life and dignity
from a motherland dogged by a
history of economic recession, political
intolerance and cultural erosion.
If the talks fail to produce a
transitional mechanism that will lead to free
and fair presidential
elections, the mediators should candidly and promptly
acknowledge failure,
and SADC-AU should refuse to endorse any government
that will not be a
product of the mediation and be prepared to isolate
Harare.NB. It is not the
object of this paper to outline in detail the
normative framework for change
in Zimbabwe; rather, its key interest is to
provoke some thinking and debate
around the issues raised. Likewise, the
document is not a position paper but
a discussion one.By Gorden Moyo and
Rodrick Fayayo (Byo Agenda)
Who Is Gilbert Moyo and Why is Zanu Pf Dumping him
Now?
The Zimbabwean
Friday, 04 July 2008 12:10
Gilbert Moyo in his 40s, is a
self acclaimed war veteran and strong
Zanu PF cadre who hails from Chegutu.
For some ages Moyo has been
participating in Zanu PF activities and even
driven Zanu PF vehicles in
Chegutu, Kadoma, Chakari, Mhondoro and
Selous.
Soon after the March elections Gilbert Moyo was involved in
the attack
of MDC MP for Chakari. The MP sustained serious injuries and had
to be taken
to a hospital in Harare where he received better treatment that
saved his
life.
Gilbert Moyo was also involved in the Chikanga
incident where Shepherd
Jack an MDC youth was attacked sustained broken
limbs.David Watsauka MDC
councillor for ward 22 lost his house and had his
household property, four
suits, two goats and cash amounting to $600 billion
looted despite
sustaining broken limbs which are in plasters at the
moment.
In a surprise move the police issued a statement in The
Herald of
Wednesday the 2nd of July, in which they alleged that Gilbert Moyo
was a
"criminal taking advantage of the just ended run off."
"These invasions and robberies are not political but just criminal
acts by
people taking advantage of the situation. We have since identified
the ring
leader as Gilbert Moyo and have launched a manhunt for him,"
Assistant
Commisioner Wayne Bvudzijena said.
Ass Comm Bvudzijena reiterated
that the police had deployed some
details into the farming areas affected
and have since arrested 16 suspects
for trespassing, robbery or alternative
charges.
However according to Mike Campbell and his son in law Ben
Freeth who
are still languishing in hospital after a deadly ordeal with
Gilbert Moyo on
Sunday the 29th of June, the attacks were politic and
targeted."I believe my
father in law was attacked because he was at the fore
front of the SADC
Tribunal for land invasions in Zimbabwe which was convened
in Namibia. Moyo
had prior knowledge of his victims and was motivated to
commit these crimes
by Zanu PF," Ben said
According to Ben the
police may have been ordered to act against
Gilbert Moyo since the looting
had gone out of hand especially after
attacking farmers whose case is still
under the scrutiny of the SADC
tribunal.
Gilbert Moyo abducteed
and attacked the Campbells at their farm and
robbed them of various goods
including a white Toyota Prado and riffles. At
some stage and at gun point
the Campbells were ordered to write affidavits
of surrendering their farms
which indicates that the attack was not ordinary
as the police are
claiming.
The Campbells own a farm called Mt Carmel in Chegutu
which they
purchased in 1999 just before the land invasions. It is however
believed
Nathan Shamhuyarira Zanu PF spokesperson is eyeing the
farm.
In the same area there is Scotdale farm owned by the
Etheredges and
all their equipment from three farm houses was looted. Three
motorbikes and
a cream BMW were part of the loot but no arrest have been
made despite the
police noticing Zanu PF activists riding the bikes on a
daily basis.
The motorbikes are being ridden by Biggy a former Zanu
PF councillor,
Tonderai Chigora of Zanu PF, Eddy Mutowo a former Border Gezi
graduate and
the Cream BMW is being driven by by Isaac Tizora in
Chegutu.
The fomer Senate President Ednar Madzongwe is believed to
be
interested in the Scotdale farm which produces oranges and mangos for
export
just like Mt Carmel owned by the Campbell. The two farms are being
harvested
at the moment.
Gibert Moyo has been driving a Toyota
Prado which was stolen from the
Campells and another white Toyota twin cab
registration number ADB 3888 and
the police could not act.
Gilbert Moyo like scores of other Zanu PF thugs were motivated by Zanu
PF to
threaten the farmers especially the former white farmers following
ZTV, ZBC,
and The Herald news reports that former white comercial farmers
intended to
invade and reoccupy the farms they used to own after the MDC won
the March
29th Harmonised Elections.
Glbert Moyo was at the centre of
intimidations, abductions, beatings,
looting and robbery in Chegutu farming
areas and most of his loot was being
taken to Zanu PF bases at Farmers Hall
in Msengezi small scale farming area,
Toyi farm in Selous, Uhuru Nakazi in
Zowa resettlement area, another base at
Bhinda Shopping centre in Mhondoro
and at Neuso Shopping centre in Mhondoro
which were commanded by Gilbert
Moyo working in partnership with two
Airforce Marshalls namely Tutisa and
Tauya from Suri Suri Airbase in Gweru.
All along when the police
were being informed about Gilbert Moyo's
erands the police would in turn
arrest MDC activists for causing political
violence, at times they would say
the matter was political and they could
not intervene.
Zhanda
Trymore and 14 others from Chegutu were arrested after they had
gone to make
a report about having beaten by a gang led by Gilbert Moyo and
no arrests
were done. Trymore Zhanda and his friends were imprisoned, in
fact the
police advised them to retaliate although most of them were afraid
to do so
since they believed that they were going to be arrested and the
election was
going to be a non event without them.
Although the police are
alleging they have arrested 16 suspects they
have not arrested Gilbert Moyo
and the youths who work with him.
What Are We Saying?
Fahamu (Oxford)
OPINION
3 July
2008
Posted to the web 4 July 2008
Mukoma Wa Ngugi
After
the African Union issued a statement so tepid that it might as well as
have
come from a high-school student conference, low expectations have
further
diminished. The African Union can now be seen in the same light as
its
predecessor - the OAU, a drum that beats hollow when it most counts for
the
African citizen.
But nevertheless, Mugabe's one-man act has irreversibly
damaged his
reputation. The extent to which Mugabe has misread the
continental and
international political climate is shocking.African people,
who previously
saw Zimbabwe as a metaphor of their own countries where the
elite exist at
the expense of the poor, are abandoning him en mass. Having
lost
international legitimacy to George Bush and Tony Blair - a remarkable
feat
considering the extent to which his two adversaries are hated - the
African
people became his last defense.
But there has always been
the African people and their governments. In
regards to the African Union
statement, Bishop Desmond Tutu expressed dismay
by saying that he was
"distressed that (AU leaders) have not thought it was
important to declare
the illegitimacy of the runoff and the illegitimacy of
the Robert Mugabe
administration."
The Pan-African Parliament was very clear in its
condemnation of the one-man
show. Its statement in part reads: "Conditions
should be put in place for
the holding of free, fair and credible elections
as soon as possible in line
with the African Union Declaration on the
Principles Governing Democratic
Elections."
But the question is this:
Why should we expect the AU to accomplish what it
cannot and has not in the
past? Meles Zenawi is no more democratic than
Cameroon's Biya. The AU is in
fact head-quartered in Ethiopia, which is
currently occupying Somalia in
alliance with the United States. The AU has
been ineffective in the Sudan,
and in the Congo where over 6 million people
have lost their lives since
1996. Why are we then expecting the impossible?
Meanwhile, as if to
underline Africa's tragic reliance on the West, Zambian
President Levy
Mwanawasa who is also the chair of SADC was "flown to the
French capital,
Paris, for specialist medical treatment after suffering a
stroke in Egypt"
the BBC
reports.
SADC AND MBEKI
The SADC Election Observer
Mission in its June 30th statement is clear about
what it thinks of the
single candidate presidential. SADC is " of the view
that the prevailing
environment impinged on the credibility of the electoral
process. The
elections did not represent the will of the people of
Zimbabwe."
But
SADC as an organization finds its hands tied because the leader (who is
also
the chief mediator) of its most powerful member state has not taken a
proactive stand against Mugabe.
MUGABE: WOLF IN REVOLUTIONARY
SKIN?
It has become the norm to begin each analysis of Mugabe with the
explanation
that he was a revolutionary liberation fighter who has only
recently gone
rogue, who lost his revolutionary vision somewhere along the
way.
But this premise is being reconsidered. Paul Zeleza reminds us that:
"The
reality is Mugabe lost his anti-imperialist and progressive nationalist
credentials a long time ago. As a frequent visitor to Zimbabwe, a country
where I was born and where my family lived for many years, the gap between
revolutionary rhetoric and voracious acquisitiveness, national liberation
and political intolerance was already evident by the mid-1990s."
But
others are going even further, to state that Mugabe has always been a
die-hard capitalist who slept cozy with the IMF and the World Bank right
from the beginning. To understand just how deeply entrenched western
capitalism has become under Mugabe's watch, see Trading with Mugabe an
article that calls for sanctions but nevertheless is
revealing.
MORGAN TSVANGIRAI: WOLF IN DEMOCRATIC SKIN?
Will the
MDC be able to capitalize on its initial success in isolating
Mugabe? First
the MDC is hampered by its ties to Western capitalism. For
example, it has
not been shy to publicly declare that it will invite the
World Bank and the
IMF to buoy Zimbabwe's badly damaged economy. Because of
its perceived ties
to the West, African people have been reluctant to give
endorse the MDC,
even as they seek ways to express solidarity with the
Zimbabwean
people.
Itayi Garande in Is it time for the MDC to take stock? writes
that: "It is
shocking that Tsvangirai's staunch(est) supporters are
reluctant to see his
political infantilism, unfitness for political
decision-making and the
fluidity of his political moods - qualities that are
responsible for his
numerous ruptures with political associates in the
MDC."
Garande goes on to say that: "Tsvangirai at the Dutch embassy was
the
'spectacle of the Century. Coming out to give a press conference and
then
going back into 'safety' was laughable."
THE
CASUALTIES
Certainly it is the Zimbabwean people who are the casualties,
and as the
xenophobic attacks in South Africa clearly underlined, what
happens in
Zimbabwe reverberates through the region.
But it is also
about the democratic process. There will be governments that
we do not like
- which we should then vote out the next time around. If we
simply abort
democracy because we do not like what is in the horizon, then
we become no
better than the West - which has expressed itself in Africa
through coups
and the support of dictators.
As John Githongo and William Gumede argue,
the ultimate casualty is African
democracy itself. They write that the "real
danger is that Africans will
lose confidence in the limited democratic
institutions available to them.
Nigerians shrugged away the travesty of a
poll there last year with alarming
cynicism. True feelings will emerge
later. Citizens will increasingly find
refuge in tribalism, violence or
religious fundamentalism. Many, too, will
give up and migrate."
They
further argue that: "The AU's charter must be changed from protecting
the
sovereignty of individual countries to protecting Africans themselves. A
citizen from a member country must have recourse to the AU if he or she is
brutalised or discriminated against on the basis of race, ethnicity, creed
or gender. There will have to be a transparent procedure to impeach leaders
who begin as democrats but become tyrants."
But isn't this a
circuitous argument? Yes, the charter can be changed but
who will enforce
it? So we end back where we started.
FENDING OFF THE
VULTURES
Zimbabwe is further complicated by the either with us or against
us argument
famously employed by George Bush Jr. to justify the disastrous
invasion and
consequent occupation of Iraq. This line goes MDC =
Imperialism, Mugabe =
anti-imperialism, or conversely; opposition to Mugabe
= support of
imperialism.
But Horace Campbell argues that "We on the
left, in the peace movement, we
acknowledge that [neither] George Bush
nor Brown have any moral authority to
criticize Zimbabwe because of the
unjust war that they're fighting in Iraq
and Afghanistan. But having said
that, we on the left and the progressives,
we must take the moral leadership
in having solidarity with those opposition
leaders, those workers, those
human rights workers in Zimbabwe and Southern
Africa who are being oppressed
by the Mugabe government.
By the same token, Gerald Horne in, Zimbabwe
and the Question of
Imperialism: A Discussion with Horace Cambell asks "why
Zimbabwe gets so
much focus and attention on this side of the Atlantic [the
West] when Paul
Biya, the leader of Cameron a few weeks ago basically named
himself
President for life and it barely registers a blip."
To which
Horace Campbell responds: "that the government of Senegal, the
government of
Cameroon does not represent itself as a liberation government.
The
Zimbabwean government is very aware of the racism that exists in North
America. And it is exploiting that racism and the antiracist sentiment among
Africans in the west in order to legitimize its repression on the people.
The government of Zimbabwe at this moment is illegitimate we must avoid war
at all costs. Mugabe says only god can remove him and he will go to war. At
present, he is at war with the Zimbabwe people and we must end the silence
in the progressive and pan-African community against this type of
manipulation and repression in the name of liberation."
The problem
is the absence of a viable progressive movement that
progressives can fully
support. Hence the progressive left finds it has to
defend Zimbabwe against
the West with one hand, and chastise Mugabe with the
other, while at the
same time not speaking out against the neo-liberal
policies of the MDC. But,
one can easily retort, the absence of a clear
alternative does not absolve
us of our duty to the Zimbabwean people.
GOVERNMENT OF NATIONAL UNITY OR
TRANSITIONAL AUTHORITY?
The lame-duck African Union has joined the
European Union and "called on
Zimbabwe's political parties to initiate a
dialogue aimed at setting up a
government of national unity." It is as if
all imagination has left African
leadership hence the call to essentially
follow Kenya into a political
agreement that unites the elite, and leaves
the people behind.
The fact that a GNU can be condoned by the African
Union - the highest
Pan-African body -- points to a very dire future for
African democracy,
where undemocratic processes are rewarded with a
power-sharing agreement.
This trend has to stop.
Both ZANU-PF and MDC
have so far not agreed to a GNU, but they could just be
posturing since at
the end of day power and not democracy is the goal.
ZANU-PF has said it can
enter talks, which will of course legitimize the
aftermath of the
one-man-election. The MDC can see through this. In a
statement released June
30th the MDC states that it "remains committed to
participating in a
properly constituted transitional agreement that could
allow the MDC to form
an inclusive government to heal the Country, restore
peace, economic
stability and lay the foundation for a new constitution and
internationally
supervised elections once that constitution has been
ratified by the people
of Zimbabwe."
The call for a Transitional authority to oversee new
elections is also
backed by The Pan-African Parliament which from the
beginning found that the
elections to be null and void further calls: "on
the SADC leaders working
together with the African Union to engage the
broader political leadership
in Zimbabwe into a negotiated transitional
settlement."
SANCTIONS OR MORE SANCTIONS?
Will sanctions hurt the
Zimbabwean people more than they hurt Mugabe?
Trans-Africa Forum in a July
2nd press conference said that while it
supports the US call for a Zimbabwe
arms embargo, they fear that economic
sanctions will hurt Zimbabweans more
than it will hurt ZANU-PF. But in
addition to sanctions there it the concern
over whether the West is being
led by imperialist designs or by a genuine
concern over African democracy.
It is not difficult to figure where many,
thinking of Iraq, fall on this.
So the worst possible solution is one
that involves western military
intervention:. Dr Neo Simutanyi in the June
30, 2008 Zambia Post warns that:
"military intervention in Zimbabwe will
lead to regional instability and
provoke a civil war. There is no doubt that
Western governments are itching
for a showdown and they need not be right to
intervene, they all need a -
justifiable excuse. Iraq is a case in
point."
Hence everyone, except Bush and Brown, has called for Western
leaders to act
within the confines of SADC and the African Union - that it,
it should
follow their lead. A suggestion that makes sense, except when one
considers
that SADC bends to South Africa's will, and the African Union has
shown time
and time again, it is ineffective when it really
matters.
WHERE IS THE HOPE?
When you put all the pieces together,
Zimbabwe's future is bleak, unless a
mechanism to involve the African
people, who are in solidarity with the
Zimbabwean people, is found. And we
are seeing the stirrings of that.
The June 24th The Namibian reports that
"Namibian political parties and NGO
organisations joined international
condemnation of President Robert Mugabe
government, calling the leader's
regime "illegitimate" and consequently
pressuring the president Hifikepunye
Pohamba to sever diplomatic ties with
Zimbabwe.
And over 150 African
Civil Societies? have banded together and condemned
Mugabe while calling on
the AU to act decisively.
Ultimately, African people and not African
governments will have to stand
for other African people.
*Mukoma Wa
Ngugi is co-editor of Pambazuka News.
On a continent where despotism is rife, few
leaders willing to cast a stone at Mugabe
International Herald Tribune
The Associated
PressPublished: July 4, 2008
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa:
Nigeria. Rwanda. Uganda. Ethiopia. Gabon. The
list of candidates for the
title "least democratic in Africa" is not
confined to Zimbabwe.
While
Robert Mugabe has been singled out for condemnation, leaders of other
autocratic states have largely been able to avoid sanctions and isolation.
Many have friends in Western capitals. Or play a strategic role in the war
on terror. Or sit on oil.
With corrupt and authoritarian governments
close to the norm on the
continent, it is not surprising that African
leaders urged by the West to
censure Mugabe at a summit this week instead
welcomed him with hugs.
As Mugabe himself has asked: How many African
leaders can point a clean
finger at him? How many held a better election
than his one-man runoff that
followed a campaign of terror?
Many
African leaders appear to harbor a secret admiration for Mugabe as a
man who
can thumb his nose at the West and point out its perceived
hypocrisies, like
the Bush administration's appeals for human rights in
Zimbabwe while running
the Guantanamo Bay prisoner camp.
"We Africans should learn a lesson
from this," Gambian President Yahya
Jammeh said in praising Mugabe's
election last week.
"They (the West) think they can dictate to us and this is
not acceptable.
Africans should stand for Zimbabwe. After all, what did the
West do for
Africa?" said Jammeh, a former army colonel who seized power in
a 1994 coup.
It's easy to forget that just a decade ago, much of Africa
was gripped by
hope as a wave of democracy swept the continent.
It
began with the extraordinary sight of protesters in the West African
state
of Benin taking hammers to a statue of Lenin. Within three years, 26
countries had held multiparty presidential elections on a continent known
for one-man rule. When elections in South Africa ended white minority rule
in 1994, there was not one single-party state left in sub-Saharan Africa.
Western nations tied aid to free elections and severed ties with dictators
they had supported in the name of the fight against communism.
But
that decade of optimism, backed by theories that opening up socialist
economies to the free market would help pull Africa out of poverty, has come
to an end and the democracy movement has stalled.
Today, more than
half of Africa is ruled by despots, including many offering
the illusion of
democracy with elections like those Mugabe held.
Rights activists put
much of the blame on the West.
"It seems Washington and European
governments will accept even the most
dubious election so long as the
'victor' is a strategic or commercial ally,"
Kenneth Roth, executive
director of New York-based Human Rights Watch, said
in a recent
report.
Among countries he singled out as sham democracies were oil-rich
Chad and
Nigeria; Uganda, whose President Yoweri Museveni's friendship with
U.S.
President George W. Bush has shielded him from criticism; and Ethiopia,
the
strategically located Horn of Africa nation that is a major U.S. ally in
the
war on terrorism.
Other oil producers that have managed to avoid
international condemnation
include Angola, which hasn't held a presidential
election since 1992, and
Gabon, whose President Omar Bongo seized power in a
1967 coup and who is the
continent's longest-serving
leader.
"Countries that have made a point of overtly aligning themselves
with U.S.
narratives and policies regarding terrorism appear to have
benefited not
only from financial and military support but seem successfully
to have
diverted attention away from their internal poor governance and
human rights
abuse," said Akwe Amosu, senior analyst at Washington's Open
Society
Institute.
Much of the West's focus on Zimbabwe is tied up in
the sadness of seeing one
of Africa's great success stories fall apart so
completely.
When Mugabe led Zimbabwe to independence, the country already
had developed
industries and an agricultural base that made it near
self-sufficient
because of years of U.N. sanctions imposed over the white
supremacist regime
of Ian Smith.
Mugabe abandoned his guerrilla
movement's policies of "scientific socialism"
that involved nationalizing
industries and land, encouraging a fairly free
economy that grew and allowed
him to make major investments in education and
health care.
Zimbabwe
blossomed and became a showcase for the continent and was seen as
an example
to then white-ruled South Africa of an economic and multiracial
success
created by a black man. But the world's high hopes were short-lived.
In
2000, Mugabe began violently seizing white farmers' land out of revenge
for
their refusal to support a referendum to consolidate his power. That led
to
the collapse of the commercial farming sector that exported food to
neighbors.
Zimbabwe's economic meltdown has left a third of
Zimbabweans hungry and
caused inflation to run at a mind-boggling 4 million
percent.
But while Mugabe has presided over this catastrophe, he
continues to cast a
spell over many of his fellow African
leaders.
Zimbabwe is "the single greatest challenge ... in southern
Africa, not only
because of its terrible humanitarian consequences but also
because of the
dangerous political precedent it sets," said U.N. deputy
Secretary-General
Asha-Rose Migiro, Tanzania's former foreign
minister.
___
Abdoulie John, an Associated Press reporter in
Banjul, Gambia, contributed
to this report.
___
Michelle Faul
is chief of Africa news for The Associated Press.
The need for true African leadership
The Sowetan
YOUTH VIEW: By
Tendayi Sithole
4 July 2008
"Mugabe should allow free and fair
elections; Mugabe should stop the
violence; Mugabe should accept the
government of national unity; Mugabe blah
blah blah.!"
These
are the concerns of some of the African leaders who are divided in
their
stance towards Mugabe.
It is evident that the 11th African Union
(AU) Summit in Egypt will bare
little fruit to the problems of Zimbabwe and
some African countries. This
meeting of African head of states seems to be
just talks with no action. The
soft approach towards Mugabe clearly
indicates this - or is he feared by
some of his peers?
It is
ridiculous for them to suggest that Mugabe should engage in talks with
the
opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai to form the government of national
unity. It is written on the wall that he will not engage in such talks,
African leaders obviously know that.
Some African leaders
obviously know that they are not angels as they have
similar undemocratic
tendencies like that of their brother Mugabe. It is
obviously known that
there is no democracy in most of the African states
since leaders are only
accountable to themselves.
Those who are not raising their voices
against Mugabe know very well that
they will be questioned about their own
political practices in their home
front. Here is the simple question, "how
can you call your neighbour's house
in order whereas yours is not in
order?"
Most of the African leaders like to argue that Africa must
find its solution
without the interference from the West. This argument is
true but the
problem is that when Africa problems arise they fail to find
solutions for
them. Thus they often choose to keep quiet about the problems
that are
facing the continent.
Look at the governance of most
African states, instead of seeing peace,
stability, development these are
not realized. Why because most African
leaders when in power think about
themselves and their cronies and forget
their constituencies.
How
can regional bodies AU and SADC function when they are full of people
who
are not interested in building this continent? How can there be African
solutions when they are the ones who are exacerbating Africa problems? How
can Africa improve politically, socially and economically since they are the
ones who are hindering such improvements?
Despite the
availability of good texts and systems to protect and promote
human rights
culture in Africa there are no good results at all. Thus they
have been
adopted to fit the African context within the framework of the
African
Union. Just to highlight few, these include African Charter on Human
and
Peoples rights and African union Convention on Preventing and Combating
Corruption.
Has Mugabe forgotten the Resolution on Guidelines and
Measures for the
Prohibition and Prevention of Torture, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or
Punishment in Africa adopted at Gambia 2002?
I often
ask my self if African leaders understand the meaning of these
texts. This
is because they sign and claim to be bound by them, but only to
be met with
their disappointing actions of contravening them.
It does not help to
blame all the ills in Africa by straight pointing to
colonialism. By the
way, Uncle Bob likes to blame the West and their
colonialism to all the
problems that are deliberately caused by him in
Zimbabwe.
What is
happening in Zimbabwe has also been happening in other African
states and
that is why it took time for some of the African leaders to react
early
towards Mugabe. Their simple reason being that African brothers are
not
supposed to offend one another.
I think its high time African leaders
grow up and start acting like leaders.
They should allow democratic
values to set in by creating the culture of
openness. This will empower
their citizens to actively participate in
politics.
The capacity
of the state institutions like the judiciary that is often
striped of
independence should be strengthened and protected. Not to mention
the
independence of the parliament that is often bypassed or used as the
rubber
stamp by the executive to centralise its authority.
Suppressing of
the dissenting voices from the opposition parties, civil
society, the media
and other groups should be stopped.
Such voices are in the menu of
democracy and they help to keep the
government accountable.
For
them to have credibility in terms of calling one another into order,
they
should put aside this false brotherhood they tend to claim as it
promotes
connivance. African leaders themselves will only solve undemocratic
tendencies that seem to cloud this continent by allowing democracy to set
in. They should be bold enough to take stand against Mugabe; can they do
that since they lack political will?
Mangetout and Mugabe: Multinationals wrestle with Zimbabwe role
Financial Times
Just nine days ago, Tesco was insisting it would ignore increasingly shrill
demands to cut its business ties with Zimbabwe, saying the modest £1m ($2m,
€1.3m) it spent there each year on imports of mangetout and fine beans provided
crucial support to small farmers.
“There is precious little employment of any sort in Zimbabwe,” said the UK’s
leading supermarket chain. “It would simply be irresponsible to deprive
thousands of people of their only means of feeding their families.”
Four days later, the company could withstand the pressure no longer. After a
board meeting on Monday, Tesco announced that it would stop sourcing products
from Zimbabwe until there was an end to political turmoil there. It said: “We
cannot ignore the escalating political crisis in Zimbabwe, and the growing
consensus in the international community – including from UK politicians on all
sides – that further action must be taken to maximise the pressure for
change.”
The abrupt U-turn reflected a dilemma faced by many western companies. Doing
business with Zimbabwe at a time when the world’s media are showing the violent
suppression of dissent can damage their reputations – as many found during the
apartheid years in South Africa. Yet withdrawal could hurt ordinary people while
having little impact on the government – and might delay recovery when democracy
is eventually restored.
Many have already pulled out from a country where it is impossible to make
profits: inflation tops 10 million per cent and the formal economy is in
meltdown. Others will be considering whether they should follow Tesco’s
example.
One that has jumped this week is Giesecke & Devrient, the German
banknote printer, which announced on Tuesday that it was ceasing deliveries to
the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, Harare’s central bank. It said the move was in
response to a request from the German government and to calls for international
sanctions from the European Union and the United Nations.
Yet there have been no calls for an across-the-board trade boycott from the
EU or the UN. In the UK, the former colonial power, the foreign office said this
week it was not calling for commercial sanctions except where the trade
supported the regime or benefited its members. British policy was to strengthen
the EU’s targeted sanctions against leading figures in Mr Mugabe’s government
and their families by banning them from international travel and freezing their
foreign bank accounts.
Companies that continue to do business with Zimbabwe have defended their
stance this week, saying – just as Tesco originally did – that withdrawal would
harm the people who depend on them for their livelihoods and products. They
include Waitrose, the grocery chain that is part of the UK’s John Lewis
Partnership, which imports fair-trade tilapia from a fish farm on Lake
Kariba.
Its supplier, called Lake Harvest, employs 450 people, paying them
“substantially more” than the minimum basic wage, according to Waitrose. They
are also given other cash allowances, free lunches and HIV/Aids support, with
medical insurance and membership of pension schemes for permanent employees.
Waitrose says 60 per cent of the fish are sold locally at cost, while the
remainder are exported to earn the valuable hard currency needed to keep the
farm operating. Lake Harvest was started in 1997 with the help of the UK
government’s CDC, which at the time promoted businesses in Africa.
John Houghton, mayor of Kariba and a member of the opposition Movement for
Democratic Change, has defended the fish exports as essential to keep prices
down for local sales. “We, the people of Kariba where the fish are farmed, are
grateful to Waitrose for their contribution to our wellbeing,” he said this
year. Nationally, even after boycotting the violence-ridden presidential run-off
last month, the MDC has avoided calling outright for sanctions.
That allows companies such as Unilever to defend retaining their presence –
in its case a consumer products factory outside Harare, which employs fewer than
300 people and is lossmaking. “We have been in Zimbabwe for 60 years and there
has been no request to withdraw from inside the country,” the Anglo-Dutch group
says.
Several mining companies have been under attack for their operations in
Zimbabwe, including the London-listed Anglo American, which is spending £200m on
developing a platinum mine at Unki. It employs 650 people and says that if it
stopped work the mine would be taken into state ownership and then developed
much faster by a rival.
Sir Mark Moody-Stuart, chairman, said last week that Zimbabwe would need
enterprises such as the Unki mine when peace was restored. “We face a very
difficult choice,” he said. “Do we progress slowly, with the project coming on
stream in a few years’ time, when hopefully the situation would be different? Or
do we let it go to the Zimbabwean government, who will probably flip it to
someone else for cash, which they are not getting at the moment?”
Support for staying in such circumstances comes from a former British
diplomat in Harare, who says a withdrawal by foreign mining groups would be
“gesture politics ... If Anglo American pulled out, their shoes would be filled
very quickly by the Chinese. The precedent was set in Sudan, where the Chinese
moved in after the imposition of western sanctions.”
One company withdrawing is WPP, the marketing services group that was accused
of involvement in Mr Mugabe’s re-election campaign through its 25 per cent stake
in Imago Y&R. Sir Martin Sorrell, WPP chief executive, ordered the
divestment of the stake after the revelation of the role of the Zimbabwean
company’s chief executive in the ruling Zanu-PF party’s campaign.
But two British companies resisting calls for withdrawal despite accusations
that their presence supports the Mugabe regime are Barclays and Standard
Chartered, whose Zimbabwe subsidiaries are among the largest banks in the
country. They have to buy treasury bills and government bonds to comply with
regulations on capital adequacy and minimum liquidity reserves.
They are also required to contribute to the Agricultural Sector Productivity
Enhancement Facility, a government-run loan scheme for farm improvements. At
least five ministers have received loans under the scheme for farms seized as
part of the controversial land reform policy that left 4,000 white farmers and
tens of thousands of black farm workers destitute.
Banks accused of lending money to the government or to prominent members of
the ruling party say they have no choice. “If we cannot lend money to customers,
and credit demand is weak, then we have no option but to hold government loans,
like treasury bills,” says an economist at one local bank.
Barclays, which has been in Zimbabwe since 1912, says it complies with the EU
sanctions targeted against government members, as does Standard Chartered, whose
forerunner bank opened its doors in 1892. Both say their presence in the country
provides essential services to tens of thousands of customers and many small
businesses, as well as jobs for hundreds of staff.
Campaigners in the west who call for corporate disengagement say that in an
economy as weakened as Zimbabwe’s, with hyperinflation, a collapsed currency and
most people out of work, the only beneficiaries of trade are the elites that
sustain Mr Mugabe. Such voices include Peter Hain, the UK’s former Africa
minister and veteran anti-apartheid campaigner, who this week welcomed Tesco’s
reversal. “It gives a lead to other British and global companies to suspend or
freeze their trade and investment in Zimbabwe until Mugabe’s tyranny is ended,”
he said.
However, Gary Hufbauer, of the US Peterson Institute for International
Economics, says sanctions against a country in such dire straits would be a
“fatuous gesture” – and would damage its recovery once Mr Mugabe was toppled. He
has studied about 170 cases of international sanctions since the first world
war, finding they work best when they are in pursuit of a modest goal yet have a
large impact on the target country.
Sanctions to topple a government are rarely effective, he says, and the
impoverishment of the population often blocks regime change. However, long-term
damage can be severe, since it can take a while for companies to return to
countries after they have withdrawn in such circumstances. “Mr Mugabe has
managed to do everything to ruin the economy already,” he says. “What more do
you want to do?”
Additional reporting by Tony Hawkins and Jimmy
Burns
'Quiet diplomacy' can let Mugabe leave
with dignity intact
New Zealand Herald
5:00AM Wednesday July 02, 2008
By Andrew
Austin
Who would want to be South African President Thabo Mbeki
these days? Not
only is he a lame-duck president - having lost the
leadership of the ruling
African National Congress - but he is now being
scorned for his "inaction"
on Zimbabwe.
Mbeki was given the
unenviable task by the Southern African Development
Community of mediating
the mess in Zimbabwe and now he is being pilloried
for his quiet diplomacy.
People view Mbeki's perceived silence as a
reluctance to criticise a fellow
liberation comrade, but the problem is more
complex.
Let's face it,
this job was never going to be easy. There are some big
obstacles in Mbeki's
way, not least that he is dealing with the despotic
Robert Mugabe, who
culturally is contemptuous of a younger man telling him
what to do. Added to
this is that like many African leaders, Mbeki does not
want to be seen to be
taking instructions from the white West.
Mbeki's other problem is that he
does not naturally command respect like
Nelson Mandela. Mbeki is a
technocrat, a backroom negotiator, who rose
through the ANC leadership ranks
to be his country's second democratically
elected president.
He often
appears cold and overly formal, but ask anyone who has been across
a
negotiating table from him and they will tell you that he is a skilled
operator who can bring resolution to the most difficult situation. He proved
this as one of the first ANC leaders to begin talks with the hated apartheid
regime.
People should not confuse Mbeki's "quiet diplomacy" for
inaction and they
should not be surprised if Mugabe and his cronies
"suddenly" agree to some
sort of negotiated handover to
Tsvangirai.
Mugabe is a bitter old man who wants to leave with his
dignity intact and
Mbeki might just be the one to allow this to
happen.
Mbeki knows that to reach the settlement you want, you need to be
open to
compromise. The popular feeling is that the world should not
negotiate with
a monster like Mugabe. Well, what is the alternative? The
United Nations is
unlikely to send armed forces in to overthrow
Mugabe.
The situation has gone beyond punishing Mugabe for his wrong
doing.
It is now all about saving Zimbabwe. Hindsight may well prove that
Mbeki's
way was the best way to achieve this.
* Andrew Austin is the
New Zealand Herald's chief reporter and was a
journalist in South Africa for
14 years
Journalists' Trial Postponed After Dismissal of Lawyers' Application to Stop
Proceedings
Media Institute of Southern Africa
(Windhoek)
PRESS RELEASE
4 July 2008
Posted to the web 4 July
2008
On 2 July 2008, the trial of two Kwekwe-based journalists
accused of
publishing falsehoods in breach of the Access to Information and
Protection
of Privacy Act (AIPPA) was postponed to 15 July. The postponement
took place
after the trial judge dismissed the defence's application to stop
proceedings pending an appeal of the judge's refusal to release the
journalists.
Wycliff Nyarota and James Muonwa are facing charges
under Section 80 (1) (a)
(2) of AIPPA for allegedly unlawfully and
intentionally publishing a false
story in the "Network Guardian" newspaper
which stated that George Muvhimi
and Tatenda Munhanga were caught in a
compromising position at a local
shopping centre. Nyarota and Muonwa's
former colleague, journalist Blessed
Mhlanga, was earlier found not guilty
and acquitted of the charges.
In his 2 July ruling, Kwekwe magistrate
Oliver Mudzongachiso said that there
was no merit in the defence's
application for the proceedings to be halted,
adding that for a court to
stop proceedings the defence would have to show
that he had demonstrated
gross misconduct in his handling of the case. He
said the defence could
appeal his entire judgement upon conclusion of the
trial if he convicts
either of the two journalists.
The journalists are being represented by
lawyers Prayers Chitsa and James
Magodora with assistance from MISA-Zimbabwe
legal officer Wilbert Mandinde.
WCC spells out the international action needed on
Zimbabwe
Ekklesia, UK
By agency reporter
4 Jul 2008
After "what can be described as
a façade election", the World Council of
Churches (WCC) has called for the
protection of the Zimbabwe population
"against increased and continued
violence", an "intensified international
monitoring of the situation" and
the provision of humanitarian aid.
The WCC also issued a warning
concerning the possible consequences of
economic sanctions.
Despite
"much debate" about the current situation in Zimbabwe, from a
religious
point of view some principles remain firm, says the WCC general
secretary
the Rev Dr Samuel Kobia in a statement dated 4 July 2008.
Those
principles are: "to prevent violence, [...] to react to situations of
compelling human need with appropriate measures and to work toward the
rebuilding of good will and reconciliation".
"Children and women are
among the first to suffer if world governments
choose to impose economic
sanctions", the statement warns.
In reviewing the public stances of
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu,
ex-South African President Nelson Mandela,
the African Union and the United
Nations Security Council, Kobia says "all
are looking for justice and
compassion for those who are caught up in the
continued violence, food
shortages and political intimidation".
While
the WCC is ready to participate, together with African regional church
bodies, in a suggested "international monitoring" process of the current
situation in the country, the Council "looks forward to the day when
Zimbabwe has an election that can truly be respected and seen as free, fair
and just".
Full text of the WCC statement: http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=6104
Two stories from
ZBC
Sent: Friday, July 04, 2008 8:57 PM
These are to give you an idea of the astonishing lies that are
broadcast by the state media, though the way they are reported can
also
make one chuckle!
"most retailers have been charging illegal prices on
goods as a way
of punishing people for voting"
"Scores of people were
picked up and bussed to the American Embassy
where they are masquerading as
destitute and victims of political
violence."
"no amount of lying and
claims of post election violence by the MDC-T
will change the peace
prevailing in the country".
======================
<http://www.newsnet.co.zw/index.php?nID=13198>
14.5
tonnes of sugar impounded
Posted: Wed, 02 Jul 2008 08:41:47
+0200
Police in Gweru have impounded about 14.5 tonnes sugar which was
being sold at exorbitant prices by a local retail shop in the
city.
The sugar was confiscated from DCK investments which was selling it
at an illegal price of $13 billion 800 million for 2 kilograms
instead
of the gazetted $548 million per 2 kilogramms.
In an interview with ZBC
News, the Officer Commanding Midlands
Province Senior Assistant Commissioner
Charles Mfandaedza, said most
retailers have been charging illegal prices on
goods as a way of
punishing people for voting.
He however said the
police is working in conjunction with the
National Incomes and Pricing
Commission, in order to restore sanity
in the market.
This comes
exactly a year after the previous price controls by the
government in the
bus world following illegal hiking of prices.
========
<http://www.newsnet.co.zw/index.php?nID=13220>
Lying
& tricks will not affect peace- Muchena
Posted: Fri, 04 Jul 2008
11:06:00 +0200
The MDC-T together with its handlers, the Americans have
once more
resorted to their old trick of stage managing situations in the
country to try and mislead the UN Security Council that all is not
well
in Zimbabwe.
Scores of people were picked up and bussed to the American
Embassy
where they are masquerading as destitute and victims of political
violence.
This follows MDC-T and its handlers' failure to arm twist
African
leaders at the just ended AU summit to take a tough stance against
Cde Robert Mugabe who trounced Morgan Tsvangirayi in the presidential
election runoff held last week.
Sources close to MDC-T leader Morgan
Tsvangirayi revealed that this
is part of a plan to make the world believe
their claims of
instability in the country.
The source said they were
surprised that the AU did not take a tough
stance against the Zanu PF lead
government, even with voices from
Botswana and Kenya's Raila
Odinga.
Some of the people who were dumped outside the American Embassy
say
they were told they will be rewarded handsomely for posing as victims
of political violence.
Some of them who are vendors from the streets
of Harare said they
will be dispersing as soon as they get the promised
reward.
An embassy official who spoke to ZBC News, Mr. Paul Engelstad
claimed
that Zimbabwe has failed to look after its people which is why they
are helping them.
However, he could not explain how the people just
happened to be at
the embassy at the same time, who showed them the embassy
as some are
said to be from the rural areas and why they were grouped
outside,
and not inside the embassy.
Zanu pf media committee
spokesperson, Cde Olivia Muchena has
dismissed this as an old trick which
MDC-T has been using to portray
a picture of chaos in the
country.
She said no amount of lying and claims of post election violence
by
the MDC-T will change the peace prevailing in the country.
Cde
Muchena said it is a shame that some Zimbabweans are willing to
be abused in
this manner for a few American dollars.
She urged them to position
themselves to benefit from the numerous
government policies meant to empower
Zimbabweans, than spending time
waiting for bread crump's dropped by the
Americans.
Zim retains ICC status
iafrica
Article By:
Fri, 04 Jul 2008
09:43
Strife-torn Zimbabwe will remain a full member of the International
Cricket
Council, an official said on Friday, after the deeply divided world
body
worked out a last-minute compromise.
The ICC Executive Board,
meeting for an unscheduled third day here, agreed
to keep Zimbabwe in its
fold after the African nation acceded to India's
request to pull out of next
year's World Twenty20 championships in England.
The British government
had made it clear it would not issue visas to
Zimbabwean cricketers which
could have forced the ICC to move the lucrative
tournament out of
England.
Zimbabwe Cricket Union president Peter Chingoka told AFP his
country had
voluntarily pulled out of the event.
"Zimbabwe has agreed
not to participate in the Twenty20 world championships
in the wider interest
of cricket," Chingoka said.
"But we will continue to be a full member of
the ICC and welcome any team
that wants to play against us.
"We
voluntarily agreed to back out of the Twenty20 Worlds because we were
told
we won't get visas to England. We don't want to gate crash where we are
not
welcome."
The cricket boards of South Africa and England last week
suspended bilateral
ties with Zimbabwe in protest at the deteriorating
political situation in
Harare, where President Robert Mugabe was
controversially re-elected.
While England and South Africa wanted
Zimbabwe to be suspended from the ICC,
the Asian bloc - led by the game's
commercial powerhouse India - opposed the
move.
India convinced
Zimbabwe to reach a compromise at a late-night meeting on
Thursday, an
Indian board official told AFP.
The ICC was expected to confirm
Zimbabwe's position at a press conference
later on Friday.
AFP
Comments from Correspondents
If the MDC and the present government were
to rule together, nationalise
expropriated land (as has been done in
Mozambique) and get the land run on a
scientific basis (such as getting
government tractors to plough the land at
appropriate times, telling people
what to plant, collecting harvested crops
etc). Would this not have been
ideal for farmers who have just started
farming? Could this not have ensured
food security.
Could such nationalisation be a solution to the whole
problem?
EM
--------------
How can the world even think of
supporting the poor of your country when all
around every African nation
sits on its hands and allows the MURDERING
BASTARD MUGABE to carry on as he
wishes.
The Africa nations should be ashamed of its own countries
when it does
nothing to pull down an OLD MAN with hate in his
veins.
The whole of Africa will tumble because of one mans GREED,
you must be seen
to help yourselves before the rest of the world help
you.
If I had my way I would cut all assistance to Africa and its
states until
Mugabe was executed for the horrific crimes he has committed,
and I think
you will find that this is the thinking of all of the civilised
world, for
Africa is showing itself as the one part of the globe that is
totally
uncivilised and living as animals
do.
John
--------------
Re:Africa: Our Reputation is At
Stake
I totally agree with you on this one.SA's Thabo Mbeki is sleeping
with the
enemy and therefore is not at all qualified to mediate.He has
failed in more
than a year already.It now means the 'said' mediation
process will now
delay for another year or so till Mbeki is out of office
and lengthening
Mugabe's grip on Power.AU has shown that it is just a
toothless lion once
again.It is only people like the Batwswana and the
Zambians who have
outrightly ruled out the elections and we cry the death of
Levy at this hour
in the darkest Political scene in our
country.
-----------------
I get a lot concerned by Leaders that
"Look" only at themselves without
looking at the actual and realistic needs
of the people. The MDC should
start considering people, which they haven't
done for a long time now. it is
disturbing to note that a certain breed of
leaders is emerging in the MDC,
which I assure you might be worse than ZANU
PF.
These are the facts that President Tsvangirai with his Head must
think
about.
1. If he really love the people of Zimbabwe he
must stop this rhetoric
about conditions and go into negotiations to save
the people that he claims
to be fighting for
2. By putting too many
conditions while people of Zimbabwe continue to
suffer he is not killing
anyone but the same people who have been
sacrificing for him
3. MDC
must remember that only a united people of Zimbabwe will take
the country
forward. The West will not dump loads of cash into Zimbawe
because
Tsvangirai is president. Only the people of Zimbawe working
together, not
Mugabe or Tsvangira will give glory to the people of Zimbabwe.
So Tsvangirai
must be sensible and give people of Zimbabwe a new start by
compromising and
entering into negotiations which will enable the people of
Zimbabwe to start
working on their destine despite Mugabe or Tsvangirai.
4. Tsvangirai is
holding the key to economic liberty, and Mugabe and
ZANU PF hold the power
to rule the country, whatever circumstances that have
that power. Mugabe
will not barge to conditions of MDC no matter whichever
way the pressure
comes. And unfortunately it's the people both MDC and ZANU
PF who will
continue to suffer.
5. It is at this time that the MDC should start
thinking about people,
not about them being presidents of Zimbabwe, while
the people suffer. This
is just using people for their gains.
6.
One thing that Tsvangirai forgets is that he will need ZANU PF more
than he
will need AMERICA, BRITAIN to run Zimbabwe smoothly even if Mugabe
says
Tsvangirai take it. ZANU PF still holds a lot of support and if you
don't
realize that you are not a politician.
7. Tsvangirai should remember
that only Zimbabweans working together
will take Zimbabwe forward. Promises
for AID from AMERICA ARE to be taken
with looks of caution. They don't just
give you money. The money comes with
conditions, most of which will
certainly go against the benefits of the same
people you are fighting
for.
8. The Americans are not interested in you or Zimbabweans or
Africans.
They are looking at their survival. You need to know that. The
Americans are
looking at securing the future for their great grand children.
And whatever
they offer you will not make you be able to secure a future for
even
yourself, not talking about your grandchildren.
9. So all
politicians remember, let Zimbabweans sit together, and come
up with
strategy, from Zimbabwe to take us forward and secure the future of
our
country. The West will not make us prosper, because our poverty is what
drives their livelihood. Don't forget that.
10. May great people like
Prof A. Mutambara please pass some sense into
some of your colleagues.
Mugabe won't be there forever, but Zimbabwe will be
there forever. Its time
for all Opposition Figures of Substance to Ignore
the presence of Mugabe,
and go into talks for Zimbabwe.
Don't fool yourselves too much. Zimbabwe
is still under the strong grips of
the Spirits, and they have a Major Say in
the leaders of the country.
Democracy is very secondary to them. They know
not democracy. We come
together we prosper. We remain selfish like MDC is
doing we will all perish.
Vadzimu havatyi hondo, nokuti vakafa
kare.
---------
As the SADC and AU election observers all agree that
the recent elections
were not free and fair, surely this renders the
'result' null and void?
Therefore, it's not unreasonable to demand fresh
elections that are not
"deeply flawed". An election with a completely level
playing field.
International and regional observers on the ground
immediately - zero
tolerance on violence - complete access to the media for
campaign purposes -
accreditation for all journalists, international and
regional. Only then
will the true will of the people be heard. All this
nonsensical blather
about a GNU with a corrupt regime is just prolonging the
problem. ZPF will
not adhere to any rules other than their own if a GNU is
put in place. Lets
by-pass all the hand-wringing and ego pacifying and deal
with the problem
staring everyone in the face. It is up to the people of
Zimbabwe to make
their choice of leadership without being forced to
compromise. Even Mbeki
would be hard pushed to object to this extremely
reasonable request.
FK
-------
..........It is obvious when one
reads all the reports thatThe AU and the
SADC will not afford any relief in
the near future as they have insane and
illiterate views of the truth and do
not give a damn for the people of
Zimbabwe.
The hell that is Africa
has always ignored the PEOPLE with one exception -
when THE PEOPLE were
under attack from WHITES. Being maimed and poisoned
by blacks does'nt
seem to raise any eyebrows at all.
The only possibility of any change
soon is via South Africa. So all
efforts should be thrown into removing
MBEKI or having him change his mind.
Proof of all the horrific events should
be poured on him in such quantities
that he is forced to change. Should he
ignore these he will be removed by
consent and haste of the ANC to attempt
to regain some moral ground from
which they are sliding very
fast.
Once removed, the ANC would close the border and switch off ZIM
leading to a
very rapid change.
The Era of Mandela is sadly over and
even before he has died Africa is
ignoring his huge gains and allowing them
to fade into history. The
continent is slowly descending back into the
1800s before the colonialists
where only power counts and tribes rage
against each other. The word
Savage is not to dark and horrid to be
applied to the events in Zim this
last few weeks.
A further serious
and vital move - the legal situation of the 21 day
period in the Electoral
Act which is even known in the British House of
Lords debates, which appears
to make Tsvangerai the President should be
placed before the highest courts
of justice in the Hague for a ruling.
Other Senior constitutional lawyers in
other countries should also add their
view and the AU asked to make a
ruling. In the face of this they can
hardly ignore the truth otherwise law
is worthless...............
DS
Cartoons
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