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Monday, 19 June, 2000, 10:44 GMT 11:44 UK -BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/africa/newsid_797000/797124.stm
Zimbabwe rejects African observers



25,000 opposition supporters attended Sunday's rally

Zimbabwe has barred 17 African observers from an EU team monitoring
parliamentary elections this weekend, accusing them of secretly working for
the United Kingdom.
The state-owned Herald newspaper reported that accreditation had been denied
to 10 Kenyans and seven Nigerians "who had apparently been planted by
Britain in an effort to subvert the ban by government on the former colonial
power not to send observers".

The European Union team have denied the observers had any connection with
the UK - which has been highly critical of President Robert Mugabe.

With campaigning in its final week, the main opposition party will have been
buoyed by a large turn out for their final major campaign rally in the
capital, Harare, on Sunday and by a recent opinion poll suggesting they
could win a majority of seats in the new parliament.




President Mugabe: Relieved to be in Cairo after a difficult weekend



Five times as many supporters attended the opposition organised event than
went to President Robert Mugabe's rally organised by the ruling party. He is
now attending a G15 summit of developing nations in Cairo.

Observers

A spokeswoman for the European Commission in Brussels, Susannah Rosson,
confirmed that the Kenyans had been refused accreditation, but expressed the
hope that the problem could be resolved.

She said Britain had left it to the Commission to decide which observers to
send in its absence.



MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai: Feeling confident



The idea behind sending Kenyans was that the observers would not be seen as
a white colonialist mission.

The spokeswoman said seven Nigerians, who had also reportedly been refused
accreditation, were not yet in the country.

President Mugabe's government - which has accused Britain of "interference"
in the country - announced last month that it would not accept any British
observers to the election.

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has welcomed the arrival
of hundreds of observers, from a variety of international organisations, as
a way of reducing the level of politically-related violence in the run-up to
polling.

About 30 people have died in recent violence - most of them MDC supporters.

Rallies

The 25,000 turnout for the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), at the
party's last major rally before elections next weekend was a big boost for
its leader, Morgan Tsvangirai.

By contrast, President Robert Mugabe's governing Zanu-PF could muster only
5,000 supporters for a rally in Harare on Saturday.



We seek the peace and healing for a nation tortured for too long


Morgan Tsvangirai, MDC leader


But the party atmosphere was punctured by clashes between supporters of
Zanu-PF and the MDC, and since then, an attack has been reported on the
house of another opposition leader, Margaret Dongo.

She said that thugs had attacked her home in the late afternoon, injuring
five people and causing extensive damage and blamed the attack on Zanu-PF
supporters.

Mr Tsvangirai told his supporters that the MDC was now certain to win the
election, ending 20 years of domination by Zanu-PF.

He said he would set up a national commission to investigate the violence in
the run-up to the election, not to punish but to heal wounds.

President Mugabe received a lukewarm response from smaller than expected
crowds at rallies in Harare and Zimbabwe's second city, Bulawayo.

"We must accept that we have a real battle here," the visibly angry
president told the Harare rally.

A survey by the independent Public Opinion Institute suggests the MDC would
win 70 of the 120 parliamentary seats up for grabs.

A further 30 seats in the 150 seat parliament are appointed directly by the
president.



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   HARARE, June 18 (AFP) - About 60 ruling party militants attacked 
the Harare house of opposition candidate Margaret Dongo on Sunday,
wounding one of her campaign workers and wreaking havoc, an EU
observer told AFP.
   "They threw big rocks through the windows and wooden doors, and 
smashed things up inside," said Sanna Johnsson, of Sweden, the civil
liaison officer for EU observer team leader Pierre Schori, who is
also a Swede.
   The Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) 
attackers were armed with short sticks with a knobbed head called
knobkerries, she added.
   But although they smashed up her house, they were careful to 
ensure that Dongo escaped unhurt, said Johnsson.
   "They pushed her under her desk to make sure she wouldn't be 
injured or killed," she said.
   "They arrived in a bus around 5:30 p.m. (1530 GMT), but jumped 
back in it and drove off after neighbours and supporters arrived 20
or 30 minutes later," Johnsson said after returning from the house
in Sunningdale, a southern suburb.
   "The police came and took a brief statement, but only stayed for 
about two minutes."
   A group of women remained with Dongo to give her support, 
Johnsson said, adding that they were singing as she left.
   The campaign worker was taken to a hospital after being hit on 
the forehead, she said.
   Dongo, one of only three non-ruling party members of the last 
parliament, founded a party known as the Zimbabwe Union of
Democrats. She is a candidate for the Harare South constituency.

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Thousands take part in rally against Mugabe - Irish Times 19 June 2000
Healing Donor Rift Tops Zimbabwe Opposition Agenda - HARARE, June 19 (Reuters)
Zimbabwe Holds Watershed Election amid Economic Crisis, Violence - AP June 19, 2000
Zimbabwe rejects African observers - BBC: Monday, 19 June, 2000, 13:24 GMT 14:24 UK
Mugabe Party Puts on Brave Face after Rally Blow - HARARE, June 19 (Reuters)
Zimbabwe Threatens another War Over Land Issue - HARARE (June 19) XINHUA
Zimbabwe to Deploy 30,000 Police for Polls - BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe, June 19 (Reuters)
COMMERCIAL FARMERS' UNION - FARM INVASIONS UPDATE - MONDAY 19 JUNE 2000

Thousands take part in rally against Mugabe

The Irish Times - Monday, June 19, 2000: From Declan Walsh, in Harare 

ZIMBABWE: Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe literally received his marching orders from thousands of opposition supporters yesterday, in one of the last big rallies before next weekend's crucial elections.

At least 12,000 supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) turned out for a boisterous rally in Harare's Rufaro Stadium. They sang songs, repeatedly shouted their slogan "change your ways" and at one point held thousands of s referees' red cards aloft.

Nobody left the pitch but the message was clear: "Mugabe must go".

The rally was a show of strength for an increasingly confident opposition buoyed by an opinion poll suggesting it will take 70 of the 120 seats when the votes are counted next Monday, ending 20 years of domination by Dr Mugabe's Zanu PF party.

The well attended event contrasted sharply with an embarrassingly low turnout for a Zanu PF rally on Saturday. An estimated crowd of 5,000 came to hear President Mugabe speak at a venue where he drew hundreds of thousands at independence in 1980.

Violence had been feared at yesterday's event but it passed off largely peacefully. Police prevented people attending earlier rallies and several MDC supporters have died at the hands of the war veterans led by Mr Chenjerai Hunzvi.

The only hint of violence yesterday came when police brought a dazed Zanu PF supporter with a bloodied nose into the stadium. An MDC official claimed the man had been preventing others from attending the event.

The scores of international observers standing in the centre of the stadium appeared to have a beneficial effect. "Before when we had rallies the war veterans would come along and start beating people up while the police did nothing," said a young woman.

A small number of whites were sprinkled among the crowd or sat on the speaker's podium. One was 15-year-old Tom Spicer, who addressed the crowd in the Shona language, telling the police present to "tell your superiors what you have heard, that the MDC has brought president Morgan Tsvangirai."

While the seizure of white farms has caught the international spotlight, it is a secondary consideration for voters. With rampant inflation, soaring interest rates and a 55 per cent unemployment rate, their main interest is jobs. "Mugabe's ruling elite has betrayed us," Mr Tsvangirai told the crowd to rapturous applause.

Afterwards the exuberant crowd crammed into old green buses waiting outside. They hung out the windows as the buses lurched down the road, cheering loudly and waving their red cards.

Healing Donor Rift Tops Zimbabwe Opposition Agenda

HARARE, June 19 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's main opposition party has put healing a deep rift with Western donors at the top of its economic agenda to restore international investor confidence and resuscitate growth, analysts say.

Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) will move to improve strained relations with the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) to unlock institutional and private foreign investment.

They will seek to reverse the latest moves in the United States, where the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee has approved a bill to suspend bilateral aid to Zimbabwe until an improvement in democracy and rule of law.

"By creating a friendly and transparent environment for investors, within a sound economy in a free market, we believe that foreign direct investment will return," Tsvangirai said.

"Our relations with donors are sour. We need their support in the short-term to get the economy going, so I would agree that is the top priority on anyone's agenda," said John Mukamure, chief economist at the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce.

The MDC poses the greatest challenge to the 20-year reign of President Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF party when crucial parliamentary elections are held on June 24-25.

MDC WIN COULD FORCE BUDGET REVISION

Mugabe's position does not come up for election until 2002, meaning the MDC's economic platform will remain largely theoretical unless it obtains a huge parliamentary majority to use as a weapon to demand a budget review.

The MDC wants that radical budget revision 30 days after parliamentary elections. It has vowed to eliminate spending on war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, slash government expenditure and privatise firms such as telecommunications.

Analysts see the opposition agenda as workable, but hasten to add that only an outright win in parliamentary elections would force their agenda on the national stage.

Many political analysts say MDC could win as many as 70 of 120 elected seats, but Mugabe has a right to nominate 30 more, giving him a huge advantage even before the ballots are cast.

"The programme is fairly radical," Mukamure said. "The question is whether it can be delivered within the time pledged. Zimbabwe has a terrible record of promising and not implementing afterwards."

Zimbabwe has one-third of its 33,000-strong army in the Congo, joining Angola and Namibia in defending President Laurent Kabila against a splintered rebel onslaught that has the support of former allies and now bitter foes Rwanda and Uganda.

MACRECONOMIC STABILITY CRUCIAL

Favouring a properly refined land reform programme to replace the violent occupation of white-owned farms by thousands of liberation war veterans, the MDC says it can also woo back hard currency-paying tourists and also restore the agricultural backbone.

London-based emerging markets economists said land reform -- with specific compensation provisions for any seized land -- was key to investor confidence and trust in Zimbabwe's management.

In a move that would be welcomed by growers of the main commodity export tobacco, the MDC preaches freeing of the Zimbabwe dollar -- which has been held at an artificial rate of around 38 against the U.S. unit for a year. A thriving grey market has the Zimbabwe dollar at 53-60 on the greenback.

Tsvangirai told Reuters that Zimbabwe would initially require US$1 billion in programme and project funding to stabilise the economy and allow the state to take difficult options ahead.

"Macroeconomic stability is crucial. We have to get inflation down, deal with high interest rates," said Harare economist John Robertson. "Then you have to deal with civil service reform and lagging privatisation to convince donors that Zimbabwe is finally back on the reform path."

Zimbabwe rejects African observers
BBC: Monday, 19 June, 2000, 13:24 GMT 14:24 UK
25,000 opposition supporters attended Sunday's rally
Zimbabwe has barred 17 African observers from an EU team monitoring parliamentary elections this weekend, accusing them of secretly working for the United Kingdom.

The state-owned Herald newspaper reported that accreditation had been denied to 10 Kenyans and seven Nigerians "who had apparently been planted by Britain in an effort to subvert the ban by government on the former colonial power not to send observers".

The European Union team have denied the observers had any connection with the UK - which has been highly critical of President Robert Mugabe.

With campaigning in its final week, the main opposition party will have been buoyed by a large turn out for their final major campaign rally in the capital, Harare, on Sunday and by a recent opinion poll suggesting they could win a majority of seats in the new parliament.

Five times as many supporters attended the opposition organised event than went to President Robert Mugabe's rally organised by the ruling party. He is now attending a G15 summit of developing nations in Cairo.

Observers

A spokeswoman for the European Commission in Brussels, Susannah Rosson, confirmed that the Kenyans had been refused accreditation, but expressed the hope that the problem could be resolved.

She said Britain had left it to the Commission to decide which observers to send in its absence.

The idea behind sending Kenyans was that the observers would not be seen as a white colonialist mission.

The spokeswoman said seven Nigerians, who had also reportedly been refused accreditation, were not yet in the country.

President Mugabe's government - which has accused Britain of "interference" in the country - announced last month that it would not accept any British observers to the election.

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has welcomed the arrival of hundreds of observers, from a variety of international organisations, as a way of reducing the level of politically-related violence in the run-up to polling.

About 30 people have died in recent violence - most of them MDC supporters.

Rallies

The 25,000 turnout for the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), at the party's last major rally before elections next weekend was a big boost for its leader, Morgan Tsvangirai.

By contrast, President Robert Mugabe's governing Zanu-PF could muster only 5,000 supporters for a rally in Harare on Saturday.

But the party atmosphere was punctured by clashes between supporters of Zanu-PF and the MDC, and since then, an attack has been reported on the house of another opposition leader, Margaret Dongo.

She told journalists in Harare that about 70 miitants of the Zanu-PF party arrived in a bus wielding sticks and something like a bottle of petrol,

They thoroughly wrecked the house and car and five people were seriously injured.

She said that police in the area were very reluctant to confront the attackers, some of whom she recognised as previous troublemakers.

When the attackers left, the house was litered with broken debris and personal possessions.

A survey by the independent Public Opinion Institute suggests the MDC would win 70 of the 120 parliamentary seats up for grabs.

A further 30 seats in the 150 seat parliament are appointed directly by the president.

Zimbabwe Holds Watershed Election amid Economic Crisis, Violence

June 19, 2000 - Web posted at: 10:47 AM EDT (1447 GMT)

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) -- When voters rejected President Robert Mugabe's proposed constitution in February, they signaled that parliamentary elections this week will be competitive for the first time.

Since then, Zimbabwe has suffered a spasm of political violence, crushing economic troubles and sharp international condemnation, a spiral many blame on the ruling party's scorched-earth blueprint for crushing its opponents.

Many say the future rests on the voting Saturday and Sunday, determining whether Zimbabwe moves further toward the autocratic rule that plagues many African countries, or allows the opposition to have a voice in governing the country.

"Zimbabwe is already a pariah state. The election will determine whether that will continue or be reversed," said John Makumbe, a political science professor at the University of Zimbabwe. "If Mugabe remains in power and his ruling party gains the majority, then I think Zimbabwe is doomed to relegation as a banana republic."

Cheered by 30,000 boisterous supporters at a rally in Harare, opposition leaders predicted Sunday they would overtake Mugabe's ruling party.

But the Commonwealth and other international groups have questioned whether the elections can be fair in the atmosphere of violence and intimidation pervading the country.

If the polls -- watched over by hundreds of international observers and journalists -- are rigged or marred by violence, the country will be further wounded, Makumbe said.

An election loss wouldn't likely threaten Mugabe's grip on power, at least immediately. Mugabe himself is not up for re-election for two years, and the voters are filling only 120 of the 150 parliamentary seats, with the president naming the remaining 30.

But Mugabe's ZANU-PF party controls 147 of the seats in the outgoing parliament, and a strong showing by the main opposition group, the Movement for Democratic Change, would signal the birth of the first serious opposition in the country's 20 years of independence.

That threat has spurred the ruling party to push hard for victory.

Soon after Mugabe's defeat in the constitutional vote, mobs of armed ruling party supporters began occupying the farms of white commercial farmers, who were seen as strong opposition supporters. Mugabe then threatened to seize the farms for redistribution to landless blacks.

Many of the white farmers' laborers, a key opposition constituency, were beaten and had their homes burned.

At least 31 people, mostly opposition supporters, have been killed in the political violence, which also targeted opposition candidates.

Mugabe has blamed the violence on the opposition and implored his supporters to retaliate. "Don't kill, but hit back wildly," he said in an April speech.

Even before the referendum, Zimbabwe was suffering its worst economic slump since independence, with more than 70 percent inflation and 50 percent unemployment. That crisis has been blamed for Mugabe's declining support.

The economy has become more bleak since the charter vote. The farm occupations and an overvalued currency have hurt sales of tobacco, the nation's biggest export. Mine operators have not been able to buy supplies because the country is short of foreign currency.

The tourism business has dried up, and a severe fuel crisis, blamed on corruption, is adding to the toll.

Zimbabwe's participation in the Congo war also is hurting. It has 11,000 soldiers there, at a reported cost of more than $15 million a month.

Mugabe's threat to seize white farms and his statement that non-Zimbabwe-owned mines are next in line for black ownership have raised questions about the government's stance on private property and frightened investors.

The ruling party has promised to create 800,000 jobs, mostly through redistribution of land. But that is impossible under its economic program, said Moses Tekere, a professor of economics at the University of Zimbabwe.

"You create jobs when you have industries and agriculture, when you have investments coming in," he said. "We're destroying those very entities that create jobs."

Phineas Kadenge, another economics professor at the university, said that regardless of the vote's outcome, the support shown for the opposition has permanently changed Zimbabwean politics.

"In the past, there was no incentive for government to deliver," he said. "But now, with the emergence of competition, there is incentive for government to perform. Things will change."

Mugabe Party Puts on Brave Face after Rally Blow

HARARE, June 19 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU-PF party on Monday tried to put on a brave face after a disastrous weekend rally, while the opposition gained momentum from a strong turnout at its gathering ahead of elections next weekend.

ZANU-PF suffered a psychological blow on Saturday when its last planned rally in Harare -- addressed by President Robert Mugabe -- attracted only 5,000 people.

A second rally on Saturday, in Zimbabwe's second largest city Bulawayo, drew 10,000 supporters.

In contrast, at least 20,000 jubilant supporters of the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) gathered in Harare on Sunday in a key test of the party's ability to mobilise its forces ahead of the June 24-25 poll.

Jonathan Moyo, a senior member of ZANU-PF's campaign directorate, said the foreign media had understated the turnout at the Mugabe rallies and accused the international press of being part of a Western conspiracy to back the MDC.

"We have held major rallies in all the 10 provinces and they have been all well attended, but that fact is not being recorded because it is not in the interest of the MDC agenda," Moyo said.

He said at least 25,000 people were at the Harare rally and 70,000 in Bulawayo's White City Stadium on Saturday. The Bulawayo stadium's seated capacity is just 15,000.

Organisers publicly apologised for the low turnout, which they blamed on fuel shortages and people at work, despite it being the weekend and an unemployment rate of 50 percent.

A visibly angry Mugabe acknowledged at the end of his address that the party faced a serious challenge. "We must accept that we have a real battle here," he said.

MUGABE FURIOUS

Mugabe was later furious with his lieutenants over the poor turnout at Harare's Zimbabwe Grounds, where he had attracted over 150,000 people before independence elections in 1980 which swept the 76-year-old former guerrilla leader to power.

"The old man was very angry," the official told Reuters.

In a bid to wipe out Saturday's failure, the party is planning another rally in Chitungwiza, near Harare, for Wednesday or Thursday, ZANU-PF organisers said.

ZANU-PF's Harare rally was a severe blow for Mugabe, who had been promised at least 100,000 party faithful.

"They (ZANU-PF) did not get the numbers and they know its not good for their image or the morale of their supporters," political commentator Alfred Nhema, a lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe, told Reuters.

Sunday's MDC rally was marred by violence, including attacks by ZANU-PF supporters on people going to the venue and also by MDC youths on three men suspected of being Mugabe loyalists.

But opposition officials were energised after drawing 20,000 people to hear MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

"We have demonstrated here with this large crowd that the MDC is not just an opposition party. We are the government in waiting," Tsvangirai told cheering supporters.

Political scientist Masipula Sithole said the weekend rallies had underscored the fact that the MDC was gaining ground and stood a good chance of beating ZANU-PF.

Sithole was the main researcher for a public opinion poll published last week which suggested the MDC could win 70 of the 120 parliamentary seats up for grabs.

At least 29 people, mostly MDC adherents, have died in political violence since February when liberation war veterans and pro-Mugabe militants began invading white-owned farms.

Zimbabwe has refused to allow 17 Kenyan and Nigerian members of a European Union-sponsored observer mission to monitor the elections, an election official said on Monday.

Zimbabwe Threatens another War Over Land Issue

HARARE (June 19) XINHUA - British citizens who own vast tracts of land in Zimbabwe should choose between acceding to the government's land redistribution program or facing another armed struggle, according to Zimbabwean Vice President Joseph Msika.

Addressing his party's supporters in Mutare North of east Zimbabwe Sunday, Msika said the land issue was a thorny one, over which Zimbabweans would not hesitate to wage another armed struggle.

He, however, hoped that things would not degenerate to that extent and urged the minority whites to genuinely embrace the hand of reconciliation extended to them by the government and the people of Zimbabwe.

About 4,000 white commercial farmers own two-thirds of the country's prime land while more than 10 million blacks are struggling to eke out a living on infertile soils.

Critics of the government would never detract the government from resolving the land imbalances, Msika said, noting that while the war of liberation had brought about political freedom, economic independence would remain a pie in the sky if the land issue was not resolved.

There would be no going back on land redistribution, he said. The Zimbabwean government has since independence acquired 3 million of a targeted 8 million hectares of land for resettlement. To date, 73,000 families have been resettled while another 44,177 landless families have been earmarked for resettlement under the new Land Acquisition Act.

The Act enables the government to take land without paying compensation, except for improvements made on the farms.

Zimbabwe to Deploy 30,000 Police for Polls

BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe, June 19 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe will deploy 30,000 police in a massive countrywide security operation to ensure peaceful voting in this weekend's elections, Home Affairs Minister Dumiso Dabengwa said on Monday.

"We need to ensure that there will be sufficient security across the country," Dabengwa told Reuters in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second largest city where he is campaigning for his parliamentary seat.

At least 29 people, mostly opposition supporters, have died in violence linked to the election or invasion of hundreds of white-owned farms by pro-government militants since February.

Mugabe has backed the land invasions, saying black Zimbabweans should reclaim land stolen during the British colonial era. But he has denied responsibility for the violence.

Dabengwa said there would be enough police to guarantee a peaceful election.

"We will ensure all voters are protected and are allowed to exercise their right to vote in a peaceful atmosphere," he said.

Dabengwa said 20,000 police would be supported by another 10,000 reservists in one of the country's biggest security operations.

Zimbabwe goes to the polls on June 24-25 with President Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF facing a strong challenge from the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) led by trade unionist Morgan Tsvangirai.

"We might also have to ask for the assistance of the army in certain areas where we have a shortage of policemen and women," Dabengwa said.

Zimbabwean police have been accused by critics at home and abroad of doing little or nothing to end the violence that has swept the country since February.

Human rights monitors have said more than 13,000 rural people had sought refuge in towns and cities to escape the violence and others had their identity books destroyed by government supporters, making it impossible for them to vote.

MDC officials in Bulawayo, seat of the Ndebele warrior King Lobengula more than a century ago, said that they were unable to campaign in certain rural areas sealed off by war veterans and ZANU-PF supporters.

"Some areas are inaccessible and we are looking at the option of using aircraft to access them," David Coltart, MDC legal affairs secretary and a party candidate.

But Coltart said the situation in Matebeleland was far better than Mashonaland which has borne the brunt of the violence.

Dabengwa dismissed the opposition charges.

COMMERCIAL FARMERS' UNION - FARM INVASIONS UPDATE

MONDAY 19 JUNE 2000

Invasions Report 
Total farms invaded - 1631
Total number of invaders - 12 000
 
33% of the invasions have been hostile and violent while 45% of the invasions were peaceful.
 
Farmers have reported invasions to police on 756 ocassions. The police response to 45% of these reports has been fair to good.  However, 35% of these reports had no police response.
 
2400 assaults have been made on farmers and farm workers where 430 people were hospitalised. 98% of these human rights violations have been against farm workers.
 
Death threats received on farmers and farm labourers amount to 1490, where 70% have been on the farm labourers.
 
2987 illegal searches have taken place where 98% of these were against farm labourers.
 
93 transfer agreements have been signed
 
REGIONAL REPORTS
 
MASHONALAND CENTRAL
Centenary - A truck was taken without permission from Whistlefield yesterday to transport people to a rally at Muzarabani and was returned to the farm after the rally.
The province has been quiet otherwise and all other areas had nothing to report as at midday.
 
MASVINGO
Masvingo East and Central - A reinvasion has taken place on Fomax Farm. Occupiers are marking off plots and have had to produce a Zanu PF card and a data card in order to qualify to obtain a plot.
2 other farmers in this area have been asked to remove all their belongings and vacate their farms. The war vets have stated that the farms now belong to them and that they will make provisions for the workers on the properties.  Mass reinvasions of approx 100 people on Marah Ranch, and pegging is taking place on irrigated land. 
Mwenezi - Umbono Holdings reports up to 300 occupiers on the property, making demands for meat. Two new invasions occurred in the area - on Asceldt and Lion and Elephant. 
 
MIDLANDS
Quiet.
 
MASHONALAND WEST NORTH
Lions Den/Mhangura - Poaching and snaring on Highbury, and police not reacting.
Karoi - war vet arrested, and demo outside police cell.
Chinhoyi - 2 steers slaughtered on Upland Farm.
 
MASHONALAND WEST SOUTH
Selous - Some war vets in Selous area, are running out of money and telling farmers that they can buy their farms off war vets. One farmer in Selous is having problems planting onions because war vets say the farm is their section.  Threats continue on Selous farmers to attend the Zanu PF rally.
Kadoma - one MDC support was beaten unconscious by Zanu PF youth and taken to hospital.
Norton - Red Mazda 323 pickup arrived Sunday evening at butchery of Elston Farm. Occupants beat up farm owner and took $50 000. He was taken to hospital.  Reason for assault is unknown.
  
MASHONALAND EAST
Marondera South - Monara - the farm labourers who have been recruited as Zanu PF youth leaders stopped the labourers from going to work. This workday had been planned in order to give the workers Saturday and Sunday next week for voting and shopping. The two claimed that voting days were holidays. The workers felt too intimidated to ignore the stoppage. The two Zanu PF leaders were off the farm for the rest of the day. A former employee who left of his own accord came to the farm demanding that his wife who had remainded on the farm working be paid her wages immediately, plus leave pay or there would be trouble. Other employees warned the farmer and his wife to give in to the man's requests as he had been reporting to various Zanu PF centres that his wife was being held against her will (untrue). This man was very aggressive but after 2 hours of talking he laft without his demands met.  Mulwatte - The owner of the farm was told to go and see Zanu PF youth Lawrence Kastiru. When she went down to see him with one of her guards, he was not available. Before that the youths had mildly intimidated her.
Malabar - On Saturday a delegation from Svosve visited saying they were coming to settle on the farm. 7 returned on Sunday and took over the house where brickmakers were staying. The visitors told the owner that more would be joining them. Meanwhile a second group on the farm have been cutting trees for building huts.
Marondera North - Dormavale - Yesterday's threat that there would be killings if the MDC won the elections were delivered to the farmer himself and his foreman.
Bromley/Ruwa/Enterprise - There was a rally yesterday addressed by Mininster Murehwa with no problems. There was also a rally at Ruwa Growth point with no problems.
Macheke/Virginia - Paradise - the Zanu PF youths were collecting IDs and money in order to hand out Zanu PF cards. There is no report as to whether they have returned the IDs and cards or not.
Mesun - There are sign posts being erected stating that the land is now Zanu PF and no one else is allowed on the farm.
There were two rallies held this weekend where the people were told not to worry about checking if they were on the voters roll because you could go to the polling statins with your ID on the day you want to vote and you can register then and then vote. Farm labour have been forced to pay for Zanu PF cards.
Harare South/Beatrice - Tavistock - problems have esclated. Full report tomorrow. There was a Zanu PF meeting in the Beatrice township but there were no problems.
Kareeboom - Ilodzi and Mavengera wanted a meeting with all of the labour this morning but it fell through.
Featherstone - There is widespread pegging using the labour and they are being charged $50 each for their plots.
  
MATABELELAND
Bubi - Redlands Valley Ranch - 4 head slaughtered in the last three weeks. 1 heifer came in which had been badly axed on shoulder. 2 poachers in court today. Two separate incidents of poaching on farm. Once a year farmer allows wives of farm workers to cut thatching grass but today when the wives wanted to go out they were stopped by war vets and told that the farm belongs to them (war vets).
 
MANICALAND
Burma Valley - Zanu PF rallies over the weekend - all was quiet
Middle Save - War Veterans invaded labourers houses and threatened all Mozambician labourers and those who didn't have ID's telling them to get off the farm by mid-day.  DISPOL reacted and the situation is being resolved.
Old Mutare - Zanu PF rally combined with a soccer leaque match.  There was a lot of free alcohol and the farmer's driver was drunk before leaving the soccer match.  One labourer fell off the lorry and was killed before it left the soccer match.  It then proceeded to Old Mutare and was racing down the road with a lorry carrying cotton bails.  There was believed to be over a hundred passengers on the lorry.  This lorry turned and the cotton lorry went into the back of it, five were killed and many injured.
 
The rest of Manicaland appears quiet.
 
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Zimbabwe Radio One were caught napping nicely yesterday.

To celebrate Father's Day, kids young and old, were permitted to
phone in and send `live' messages to their dads.
After a lot of soppy heart rendering stuff, an older `daughter'
gets her chance to send her message in loud and clear:

"Here is wishing all the fathers in Zimbabwe a happy day and just
remember, ....... VOTE MDC"!

The radio went silent for a moment and eventually the announcer
stated, "That last lady has just put an end to live phone-ins for
today"!


Stay nice!
P in Zim
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  <<... press


Morgan Tsvangirai, president of the Movement for Democratic Change made
the following speech before a capacity crowd at Rufaro stadium in Mbare,
Harare this afternoon. Rufaro holds 45 000 people.
Tsvangirai spoke before a cheering, singing joyful crowd. Three minor
scuffles at the beginning of the rally failed to mar the exuberant spirits
of a crowd that held up red flags to tell Mugabe to get off the political
playing field in Zimbabwe.
Trucks, buses, taxis and car loads of singing, cheering people left the
stadium peacefully afterward and their flat hand "Change" salute was met
with cheers and salutes along the streets of Harare.
Robert Mugabe of ZanuPF was able to attract a desultory crowd of no more
than 4 000 at Zimbabwe sports grounds in Harare.
The following is the text of Tsvangirai's speech:

FREEDOM RALLY AT RUFARO STADIUM, HARARE, SUNDAY, 18 JUNE 2000

VICTORY IS CERTAIN

I stand before you as a messenger of the people. I stand as a humble
conveyor of your dreams, your hopes, your aspirations.  I come before you
in peace.
Every village, every community, every country needs a leader.
But a country is not powerful if its people are not powerful. A leader is
only powerful - if his people are strong, if his people are healthy and
happy and peaceful.

A leader who makes war is a leader that risks the lives of his people and
in the end destroys his country.

A leader who steals from his people - makes the whole world poor.

I stand before you as a messenger of peace, I have heard your anger, your
pain. I have heard what old men in dark huts say, how sad they are that
the greatness of Zimbabwe is no more. I have heard mothers cry in paraffin
queues.  I have heard young men speak with anger about no jobs.  I have
heard women express frustration about the lack of respect they get in the
home and the workplace.
I have heard children tell me of their fears when they see their father
without work, their mother crying because there is no food.  I have seen
the frustration of businessmen because work has stopped, they have no
orders, their factories, shops and hotels are quiet - they have been
forced to close or lay off people.

One of Zimbabwe's great poets Solomon Mutswairo wrote:
Nokunge kurwa Kwotsviriidza                          (When the battle is
fiercest
Nemhandu dzenge dzasimba kwazo                   (& it seems the foe will
win
 
(seize your pride and honour
Zvinorukudzo umire nazvo

Kubudirira Hakusi Nyn'ore            (Victory is no low fruit for easy
plucking  
Ndiko kwavanho vano unhinhi          (but high & tight you must fight for
it

Shingira nguva yose narinhi           (Forever and a day hold tight
Urmbe kuti, Urambe kuit                (For the steadfast for the loyal
Urambe kuti, 'Handikwanisi!'         (For the faithful will overcome.)

The red sand of Africa is the colour of the blood in our veins, this is
our home, we have no other. Africa is where we belong. There is a new wind
whispering through the people of Africa. We suffered under colonialists,
but after nearly 50 years of uhuru across Africa we find terrible
oppression has come from the African leaders who were supposed to liberate
us. The people of Africa are saying -  NO MORE - we want our freedom NOW.

There are wars across Africa. But almost none are wars that seek better
human rights for the people of Africa - most seek bigger bank balances for
corrupt leaders exploiting the diamonds, oil, gold and chrome of their
nations to make themselves richer - and rebel leaders who fight them for
the same thing.  The people of Africa have had enough.

The MDC will pull our troops out of the war in the Democratic Republic of
Congo - they protect no-one, they protect the diamond fields of the
corrupt.  600 Zimbabwean mothers have seen their sons come back in body
bags from Congo - for what? So the corrupt can get richer? We will not
allow this.

In this stadium 20 years ago, Robert Mugabe stood and announced the
independence of Zimbabwe. But Zimbabwe moved from the hands of one
oppressor to another.
There can be no freedom where there is no rule of law; there can be no
freedom where people are not safe;
there can be no freedom where there is hunger;
there can be no freedom where there are no jobs.
A vote alone does not give freedom.
And democracy is still born without economic liberation.

Today Zimbabweans begin the countdown to THE START of our real
independence. To be independent means to be different, to be unique, to
tolerate and celebrate diversity. Independence means equal opportunity. It
means the right to disagree, to be different. It is only when we recognise
the rites of independence that we can have peace.

Today Zimbabweans, this is our FIRST FREEDOM RALLY.
In these elections you will get the chance to change your lives.
Change makes some people afraid. They say "but what if" the new people are
as bad as the old people. They use the words "what if" a lot - those who
are fearful.
But I say to you today, Africa has been the continent of slaves for too
long - first we were the slaves of Arab traders, then of colonialists, now
we are the slaves of corrupt African leaders -  in the 21st century the
only people who are slaves are those who choose to be slaves. Zimbabweans
will next weekend choose to be free. We are no longer the slaves of
ZanuPF. We will no longer say "yes baas" to Robert Mugabe. We will no
longer walk with our eyes to the floor - we are lifting our eyes to the
sky and opening our hearts and saying - NOTHING CAN STOP US NOW. We want
change. Zimbabwe will be free. We will build a new Great Zimbabwe.
     
I and my candidates have heard your words:  Zimbabwe, we are carrying your
messages to the world.

The MDC has the people of Zimbabwe behind it - we are knocking on the
doors of parliament.  We are walking up its corridors. We are saying away
with corruption - away.

No more petrol or paraffin queues - no more.

No more hunger or crying - no more.

No more beatings and house burnings - no more.

The spirit of democratic resistance lives in our hearts.

CHINONZI REGEDZA NDECHIRIMUMAOKA CHIRIMUMOYO CHIRIMUNINGA

The people of Zimbabwe say to Robert Mugabe - we showed you the yellow
card at the time of the referendum, and now today Robert Mugabe we are
showing you the red card.

Get off the field Robert Mugabe - your time is over.

Get off the field ZanuPF  - your time has gone.

Come liberation - come.

Come freedom - come.

The people of Zimbabwe are calling you -

The people of Zimbabwe want democratic change NOW.

Now is the time for peace, for freedom, for the rule of law, for equality
of opportunity.

Now is the time to rejoice because of the courage of ordinary people.
I have travelled the length and breadth of this country. I have seen women
who have been raped by Hunzi's war veterans, I have spoken with people
whose houses have been burnt,  I have seen farmerworkers being forg
marched into re-education camps having been beaten and traumatised to
support ZanuPF. I have seen proud men beaten in the streets like dogs  and
what I have seen in their eyes is COURAGE. 

The whips of cowards have made those beaten stronger and more determined.
COURAGE WILL RULE IN ZIMBABWE.

* We stand for a moment in silence to salute those who have died because
they had the courage to believe in freedom for all.

(SILENCE)

Chief Albert Luthuli said in 1956 - "the length of time of oppression,
depends on the oppressed." Zimbabweans are sick of being oppressed - we
want the freedom to make our own choices, the choice to build a great and
peaceful nation.

Zimbabwe's strength lies in racial and ethnic diversity - we will overcome
attempts to divide us
Without truth, there is no justice, without justice no national
reconstruction.

We will give amnesty to those who tell the truth to a national commission
that looks into the causes of the violence after this election. We do not
seek revenge. We seek the truth and healing for a nation tortured for too
long.

We want change.

We want national integration - we are not interested in racism in reverse.
The MDC is a non-racial party.  Zimbabweans are a collective, we have a
common history -  we share the future. Our strength comes from our
cultural and ethnic diversity.
The red sand of Africa flows through our veins.
Every group is part of the national team - every goal we score is a goal
for the nation.  No team has only one kind of player - it has many
different kinds of players, together those differences make them powerful.
Together.
We are tired of sitting on the sidelines; of being expelled to the bin. We
are tired of the world laughing at the old team as they fall over the
ball.

We are Zimbawe. One people. One nation. One team.

WE WANT ONE VICTORY, AN MDC VICTORY FOR EVERY ZIMBABWEAN.

The Army, the police, the defence forces are national institutions. They
are there to protect and serve ALL THE PEOPLE.  Their level of
professionalism must be enhanced.  We need to set up a National Defence
Council which will be structured with input from all role players, to
assess the threat to Zimbabwe and give recommendations to government on
how to transform our defence forces into the protectors of the people.
The people will be allowed to debate defence and security policy so our
neighbours and all Zimbabweans will understand our defence concerns. We
need to do threat analysis and review the size of the army, we need to
look at training and equipment needs. The nation owns the security
strategies of the country.  Government is the servant of the people. We
have forgotten that in Zimbabwe.

Foreign policy is determined by national interest. We realise we live in a
globalised world and that the concerns of one are the concerns of all, but
in the short term an MDC government will focus on domestic issues. We
trust that our regional and global partners will help us to rebuild our
Zimbabwe. We need to strengthen Zimbabwe, and build solid regional links
with our neighbours.
We have been concerned by the partisanship of some nations toward ZanuPF -
Africa has to move away from the old boys club solidarity of the past that
saw terrible dictators like Idi Amin and Mobutu Sese Seko receiving
solidarity from other African leaders. Africans need to put Africans
first.  The African people carry the spirit of this continent in their
hearts. An attack on the spirit of the African people wounds this
continent. It has to begin healing. An injury to a single African peasant
- is an injury to all.  The time for healing is here. People are
reclaiming their power.

To the observers, media and members of the international community we
thank you for coming to observe this election process.  We hope you too
have found the courage to speak to the most humble of Zimbabweans and to
witness their misery in the most dangerous of communities.

THE MOVEMENT FOR DEMOCRATIC CHANGE WILL WIN THIS ELECTION.

THE PEOPLE OF ZIMBABWE WILL WIN THIS ELECTION. VICTORY IS CERTAIN.
CHINONIZI REGEDZA NDECHIRINUMAOKO CHIRIMUMOYO CHIRIMUNINGA   

WE WANT JOBS

WE WANT HOUSES

WE WANT DECENT HOSPITALS

WE WANT DECENT FOOD

WE WANT PEACE IN OUR LAND

THIS GREAT ZIMBABWE CARRIES THE SPIRIT OF OUR ANCESTORS,
THIS GREAT ZIMBABWE CARRIES THE SPIRIT OF OUR CHILDREN

THIS GREAT ZIMBABWE, THE LAND WE LOVE, THE LAND WE CALL HOME

ZIMBABWE DRY YOUR TEARS  --- YOUR DAY OF FREEDOM IS SOON.
ZANU PF   THIS IS THE RED CARD!!!
Morgan Tsvangirai, Rufaro Stadium, Sunday, June 18, 2000 
 



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At last we are on line after having no phone for almost two weeks and the
old truck broke down twice in the same time. Time for a change. Not that we
can complain. There are many courageous Zimbabweans who have had a much
tougher time simply for taking a stand against evil - sometimes it's not
even about that-some are just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

32 murders,
550 homes destroyed,
6000 injured.

We had a first-hand account of a MDC candidate who was attacked by a group
with knob-kerries (heavy sticks) and steel grass slashers, and had petrol
poured over him. While his assailant was attempting to light the match, he
head-butted him and managed to grab another pointing out that if they
torched him their friend would burn too. At this stage they decided to call
it a day. This man and his election manager also had their homes
petrol-bombed. No wonder we have a fuel shortage.

The fuel situation in Bulawayo has been critical for the past couple of
weeks but all of a sudden we have abundant supplies. The reason? His
excellency, RGM was in town to give a rally--the sight of vehicles queuing
upsets him. In order to encourage people to attend his rally, major
supermarket chains were instructed to close down--as well as beer-halls and
bottle stores--and many other shops also decided it was expedient. We first
heard about this from a local DJ who was furious about it. He also told us
that broadcasting technicians are forced to edit news clips to make it
appear that Mugabe has support. So we see footage of a stony-faced audience
but when Mugabe makes some asinine comment there is cheering and ululation.
The ZBC technicians have a way of obeying the minimal requirement of the
directive - last night it sounded as though they had dubbed a soccer match
onto the tape.

If government broadcasting staff don't support Mugabe one wonders who does?
I have a neighbour whom I got to know during the last elections. I was a
polling agent for the Forum Party and she for Zanu PF.  We aired many views
in our two days together. I remember her telling me that she 'would die Zanu
PF'.  Much to my surprise she told me before the referendum that she was
going to vote No.  "Why are they in such a hurry?" she said.  Just this week
I had a chat with her on our street when she and her friend indicated that
they were going to vote  for MDC (but not in so many words).   I was puzzled
since my neighbour was wearing a Zanu PF tee-shirt.  "Oh" said her friend
"she is just wearing it so she can get it dirty and then she can take his
nose and his lips and rub them together like this, and then she can take a
hot iron and put it on his face!"  But, joking aside they did seem to be fed
up with their own party which does not listen to them; they were still Zanu
PF  members but do not support the current entrenched leadership.

Still, despite their unpopularity, Zanu PF  manage to keep up the pressure
of intimidation with 'war vets'.  If you keep people poor you can always
find someone to do your dirty work for you, for a few dollars.  We even have
a group now, camped in the bush not far away.  So far they have harassed and
threatened fuel station managers for hoarding petrol (which they were not)
and we heard that a pedestrian passing their camp was beaten up.  Mugabe
also bought a couple of battalions of persuaders with him to round people up
for his rally.  They tried to set upon Dave Coltart's election manager whose
truck was advertising a MDC meeting in the centre of town.  He managed to
escape to our local police station where the Member in charge is sympathetic
but one of the Zanu PF vehicles was not so fortunate.  It was pelted with
bricks by irate builders working on a construction above.  Apparently you
could not see the vehicle for dust.

And so not even a week left until elections.  We are going to be kept busy
taking care of polling agents. Our constituency has been gerrymandered to
cover an area that equals just about all the other Bulawayo constituencies
put together.  Let's pray we have enough petrol to keep us going.  God has a
way of working things out and we keep on seeing prayers answered in
incredible ways, so keep praying!

D & P












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