• UN experts deplore Zimbabwe's campaign of forced eviction
• Statement by the IMF Staff Mission in Zimbabwe
• AU inaction "distressing" says UN official
• Mugabe Blitz Tests UN Human Rights Position
• Zim: 'World must step in'
• Blair wants UN Security Council to debate Zimbabwe
• Report: Zimbabwe dying of hunger, AIDS
• Opposition unable to stop state-sponsored violence
• Zimbabwe Diaspora Coalition statement on Operation Murambasvina
• Zimbabwe's homeless to be herded into camps
• EU President exerts more pressure on African leaders to act against Zimbabwe
• UN special envoy arrives as gov't sweeps dirt under the carpet
• Hunger Strike
• Fuel Crisis
• Government withdraws gun licences without explanation
• Blair slams door on Zimbabwe asylum seekers
• Zimbabwe deportations: Your views
• Clark steps up pressure over Zimbabwe tour
• U.N. Envoy Briefed, Awaits Meeting With Mugabe
• Fuel Crisis May Ease - But Higher Prices Ahead
• Govt allows NGOs to assist 'clean-up' victims
• Zimbabwe vows to act on housing issue

Statement by the IMF Staff Mission in Zimbabwe

A staff mission from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) visited Zimbabwe during June 13-25, 2005 in the context of the 2005 Article IV Consultation discussions and ahead of the Fund Executive Board's consideration of the issue of Zimbabwe's compulsory withdrawal from the IMF¹. It made the following statement:

"We had cordial meetings with Zimbabwe's economic team led by Finance Minister Herbert Murerwa and Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Governor Gideon Gono and want to thank the authorities for facilitating our work. Our discussions focused on policies to place Zimbabwe on a path to achieve sustained growth, low inflation, and improving living standards. Output is expected to decline sharply this year, in part due to the continued difficulties in agriculture-which have been exacerbated by drought-and the intensification of foreign exchange shortages.

"The mission projects that, on the basis of present policies, the budget deficit will increase markedly in 2005, partly due to the cost of higher food imports, interest payments and higher pension costs. Together with the RBZ's substantial producer and credit subsidies, these deficits would fuel a sharp increase in money supply, and hence inflation, by end-2005. The authorities indicated their desire to address these problems by taking measures to contain further increases in the budget deficit. The macroeconomic outlook is further clouded by the gravity of the food security situation and implementation of "Operation Restore Order," which threatens to worsen shortages, contribute to lower growth, and aggravate inflation pressures.

"As indicated in previous rounds of discussions, the mission stressed that the magnitude of the economic problems confronting Zimbabwe calls for a comprehensive policy package that should include decisive action to lower the fiscal deficit, a tightening of monetary policy, and steps to establish a unified, market-determined exchange rate. The package should also include structural reforms, such as the removal of administrative controls, to ease shortages and restore private sector confidence.

"A rebuilding of relations with the international community is a critical part of the effort to reverse the economic decline. We hope the authorities will work more closely with us to formulate and implement such a policy package, which would help stabilize the economy and improve the welfare of the Zimbabwean people."

on 25/6/05 9:38 PM, Conor Walsh at conchubor_uk@yahoo.co.uk wrote:

When I heard Archbishop Ncube say he is prepared to stand in front of guns I asked God to give me the opportunity to stand between him and those guns.

When I heard the sneering charge d'affaires of the Regime's London representation, Godfrey Magwenzi declare, that nobody in Zimbabwe took Archbishop Ncube seriously and that  "The sewage and filth that spills out of that man's mouth should shame and embarrass all men of the cloth," my blood ran cold.

When you want to assassinate a man you destroy his character first.

I would be very grateful if you would use your best offices to disseminate the attached statement of the Zimbabwe Diaspora Coalition expressing support for the masses of the People of God and for +Pius, a hero to many millions, wherever you see fit.

Please pray for us as we pray for you,

Conor Walsh

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===================================
The Zimbabwe Diaspora Coalition is a grassroots voluntary organisation of Zimbabwean people resident in the United Kingdom.

We are a non-partisan organisation, comprising volunteers from many different civil society bodies and from all parts of Zimbabwe and we represent the concerns and aspirations of many hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans.

In response to the rapidly intensifying crisis at home we wish to make the following statement:

1. We recognize that the recent joint police and military operation conducted by Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF regime against the urban poor of Zimbabwe under the code name Operation Murambatsvina constitutes a sinister new development in the attempt to destroy all support for the democratic opposition.

2. We associate ourselves fully with the courageous activism of the mass of ordinary Zimbabweans, who have struggled with honour and dignity to live lives of human worth according to universal norms of human decency in the face of relentless State repression.

3. We strongly support Archbishop Pius Ncube, a hero to millions of ordinary Zimbabweans, who has characterized Murambatsvina as a campaign of State terrorism which:

3.1    Emulates the genocidal social engineering policies of the Kampuchean despot Pol Pot;

and

3.2     Is intended to force urban dwellers into remote rural areas far beyond the attentions of international media, where they can be controlled by repressive rural government structures using physical violence as well as the manipulation of food aid.

4. We are deeply concerned that in order to achieve the aim of this Operation to coerce a large proportion of the population into a state of total and abject obedience to the regime, Zanu PF is prepared to condone the possibility of mass starvation.

5. In August 2002, Zanu PF organising secretary Didymus Mutasa stated, "We would be better off with only six million people, with our own people who support the liberation struggle. We don't want these extra people."

Mutasa is now the most powerful Minister in Mugabe¹s cabinet.

6. We utterly reject the ludicrous claim by the Zanu PF regime that this operation is merely a Court authorized attempt to enforce municipal planning guidelines.
7. We reject with utter disdain the refusal of the African Union to condemn this vicious onslaught upon the sovereign people of Zimbabwe using the excuse that the AU would consider any expression of concern as a violation of Zimbabwean sovereignty.
8. Specifically, we view with anger the inaction and timidity of the South African government and call upon Zimbabwe¹s powerful neighbour to take immediate steps through diplomatic sanction as well as economic embargo, to:

8.1        Bring Mugabe to the negotiating table; and
8.2    to bring about the holding of free fair and peaceful elections and respect for the universal principles of the Rule of Law to allow Zimbabweans to chart their own destiny.

9.     We call upon the leaders who will attend the G8 summit to bring immediate and unanswerable pressure to bear on President Mbeki in order to achieve these objective.

10. The world¹s most powerful nations, to their eternal shame, have stood by and uttered platitudes in response to the deaths of millions in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the thousands of Darfur.

11. In the name of God and Man, we call upon the leaders of the G8, the most powerful interest group on Earth, to follow the demands of simple humanity and to coordinate immediate and effective action against Mugabe¹s regime before the most marginalized and contingent people on Earth, faceless people in remote parts of rural Zimbabwe, begin to die in their hundreds and then their thousands and then their hundreds of thousands

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IOL

Zimbabwe's homeless to be herded into camps
          June 27 2005 at 09:04AM

      Bulawayo - Zimbabweans are bracing for President Robert Mugabe's next
"tsunami" in the wake of Operation Murambatsvina (Clear the Trash), in which
at least 250 000 homes have been destroyed.

      Zimbabweans refer to Mugabe's campaign of destruction as a "tsunami"
because it came out of the blue and they believe another wave will follow.

      In the latest crackdown, Bulawayo police are ordering young people
with dreadlocks to cut them off and telling women not to wear trousers. The
intention is that they should look more presentable.

      After international protests, the government on Sunday declared the
"clean-up" operation over, although it had vowed earlier it would continue
until August 31.

      Newspapers have claimed 300 000 children will be unable to go to
school soon as church and charity groups are grappling with the humanitarian
crisis amid scarce resources and widespread repression.

      All eyes are on United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan's special
rapporteur, Anna Kagamulo-Tibaijuko, who is to meet Mugabe on Monday.
Critics say the visit will achieve nothing if Kagamulo-Tibaijuko doesn't
visit villages, churches, orphanages and shops that have been demolished.

      President Thabo Mbeki, who spoke to European Union president Jose
Manuel Barroso on Saturday about Zimbabwe, has also said he is waiting for
the special rapporteur's report.

      Meanwhile, traders and observers say the fuel crisis is the worst
Zimbabwe has experienced. Motorists have been in queues for as long as four
weeks. Even in small towns unprecedented queues have formed. Taxi fares have
quintupled and pedestrians have taken to strolling in streets devoid of
traffic.

      But talk is revolving around what the "insane" government will do
next. Like the farm invasions, there has been no clear plan from the
government, other than a hastily formed committee of nine ministries. A week
ago the bureaucrats were pushed aside by the army to bring into effect
"Operation Restore Order".

      The Zimbabwe Independent reported that the army had drawn up the
agenda for the first meeting of the committee two weeks ago. Then defence
force officer Amoth Chingombe said the army was taking over.

      A huge convoy of soldiers was seen on the road between Harare and
Bulawayo at the weekend. They had brand new uniforms and new equipment.

      Part of the army's plan is to direct national youth service brigades
and the prisons service in the building of holding camps, as part of a
1-trillion Zimbabwean dollar (about R744 300) reconstruction programme.

      It is such holding camps that some Zimbabweans see as potentially the
next tsunami.

      Church leaders fear the camps may turn into permanent features,
similar to the protected villages of the Rhodesian regime, or concentration
camps like those in former Yugoslavia. Several parish priests here have
refused to hand over the hundreds of evictees they have taken into their
care and whom police want to take to such camps.

      One camp, Caledonia, outside Harare, has been trumpeted by the
government as proof of its good intentions. But the camp is surrounded by a
fence and entry is strictly controlled, says Nicholas Mukaronda, of the
National Pastors Conference. It is not nearly large enough to accommodate
all the evictees.

      Church leaders here have told police in negotiations they first want
to be assured that amenities were on the same level as the villages from
which the evictees came, that the camps would simply be transit camps, and
that the government's official "vetting procedures" would not discriminate
against the poor who had been made destitute.

      So far, says Barnabas Nqinji, a priest, the local interdepartmental
committee could only promise the city it would make available stands for
occupation by the evictees. But he says this would be absurd as it costs
40-million Zimbabwean dollars - far more than ordinary Zimbabweans' means -
for new owners to settle on such stands.

      There is light at the end of the tunnel, however, church leaders say.
A prayer day was held here on Sunday and followed a special service showing
solidarity with the evictees and held at St Mary's Cathedral on Saturday.

      At the prayer day, several victims of the "tsunami" described their
experiences at the hands of the police, while lawyers spoke about the
inability of the judiciary to provide remedies. About 1 000 people attended.

      The services, attended by Zimbabwean and South African members of the
Zimbabwe Solidarity Peace Trust, have strengthened interdenominational
solidarity and laid the groundwork for action, church leaders say.

          .. This article was originally published on page 5 of Cape Times
on June 27, 2005

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EU President exerts more pressure on African leaders to act against
Zimbabwe

      SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news

      By Tichaona Sibanda
      27 June 2005

      European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso on Monday increased
pressure on African leaders to take a stance on Zimbabwe, rejecting
arguments that human rights concerns were an internal affair.

      Reuters reported from Maputo, Mozambique that Barroso, wrapping up a
visit to Mozambique, told reporters that Africa must stand with the rest of
the world in condemning Robert Mugabe's crackdown on houses.

      Mozambican President Armando Guebuza explained to Mr Barosso the
impact the Zimbabwe crisis was having on Mozambique's economy.

      Political commentator Daniel Molokela said it is good that a neighbour
with strong ties with Robert Mugabe has come out in the open and admitted
that their country is suffering from the situation in Zimbabwe.

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UN special envoy arrives as gov't sweeps dirt under the carpet

      SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news

      By Violet Gonda
      27 June 05

      The United Nations special envoy Mrs Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka, the
executive director of UN-Habitat, arrived in Zimbabwe on Sunday to
investigate the government's so called clean up exercise. The envoy who has
been sent by the UN Secretary-General Mr Kofi Annan is expected to also
assess the impact and humanitarian needs left by this exercise.

      The fact-finding mission is expected to meet all stakeholders to study
the clean-up operation, after which a UN technical team is expected to make
a follow up.

      There are fears that the government is going to try and sweep its
"dirt" under the carpet and it appears that they have halted the raids
because of the UN delegation's visit.

      Not surprisingly the government has also announced, through the state
media, that it is going to embark on a housing programme. Critics say this
is a cynical ploy and an attempt by the regime to do damage control. Many
say this is an insult to the people that have lost their livelihood and that
the government should have thought about providing alternative accommodation
before the destructions.

      MDC Spokesman Paul Temba Nyathi says the opposition party is
encouraged by the envoy's statement that she will interact with all
stakeholders, as this will make it impossible for the regime to hide it's
criminal activities. He told Newsreel that civic groups and the opposition
will hopefully be able to show the mission what has been happening in the
affected areas.

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Hunger Strike

      SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news

      By Tererai Karimakwenda
      27 June 2005

      One of the detained Zimbabwean asylum seekers who went on a hunger
strike in the UK has collapsed from hunger. He was transferred to another
facility as this coordinated protest against the cleanup operation in
Zimbabwe continued. The detainees say it would be cruel to send anyone back
to face the suffering being caused by the destruction of homes and
businesses. The hunger strike is to also show solidarity with Zimbabweans
starving back home and to bring attention to serious abuses in the detention
centres in the UK.

      The detainees have organised themselves under the name United Network
of Detained Zimbabweans UK. Tafara Nhengu, a spokesman for the network, said
on Monday that the home office is disputing that number of detainees
participating, saying there were only 57 instead of the 104 as reported by
the network. Tafara said they coordinated with other detention centres and
have the names of everyone taking part. Asked why the home office would
choose to dispute that, he said because it would be easier to explain their
refusal to change the deportation policy if fewer people were involved.

      The hunger strike is now in its sixth day and many detainees say they
are feeling weak. As for results, there are no signs that a change is
possible. Tony Blair Monday defended the Government's decision to carry on
repatriating failed asylum seekers to Zimbabwe, despite fears that they
could face persecution if they are sent home. The Prime Minister gave
warning that allowing all claimants from Zimbabwe to remain in the UK would
wreck the Government's attempts to bring the asylum system under control.

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Fuel Crisis

      SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news

      By Tererai Karimakwenda
      27 June 2005

      The shortage of fuel in Zimbabwe is beginning to affect the supplies
and prices of fuel in neighbouring countries. This week it was reported that
fuel prices in Mozambique went up twice in a month due to the large
quantities being bought by Zimbabweans who are taking it across the border.

      African leaders have remained quiet about the situation in Zimbabwe
and those who have commented, like Thabo Mbeki, have refused to criticise
the Mugabe regime. But as supplies of basic commodities get more and more
critical in Zimbabwe, the effects will soon give them no choice but to act
in their own self interest.

      Our correspondent Simon Muchemwa said indigenous businesses are
importing fuel from other countries, but they are failing to bring in enough
to make a difference to a population that is now living without adequate
public transport.

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Government withdraws gun licences without explanation

      SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news

      By Tichaona Sibanda
      27 June 2005

      The government has withdrawn firearm licences with immediate effect,
raising suspicion that it is already working on countering an armed revolt.

      Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena on Sunday urged people with
automatic weapons at their homes to surrender them at the nearest police
stations.

      These weapons include all types of rifles and an assortment of
pistols. Tension has been high in Zimbabwe since the start of operation
Murambatsvina, which has seen over a million people being made homeless by a
senseless exercise orchestrated by Zanu (PF).

      But retired army Colonel Bernard Matongo said although government has
a right to withdraw the licences, the timing of the exercise raises
suspicion that there is a threat to national security in the country.

      Police have recently been fighting running battles with residents who
were resisting the forced evictions and demolition of their homes. War
veteran and singer Dick Chingaira, otherwise known as Cde Chinx, recently
fired shots into the air to try and scare off police details who had gone to
demolish his mansion.

      This did not deter the police who reportedly asked the singer to put
down the weapon before giving him a thorough beating. A source said such
incidents where residents can pull out guns against the police can lead to a
full-scale revolt against the armed forces.

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New Zimbabwe

Blair slams door on Zimbabwe asylum seekers

By Mduduzi Mathuthu
Last updated: 06/28/2005 04:53:07
BRITISH Prime Minister Tony Blair has rejected growing calls to halt forced
removals of Zimbabwean asylum seekers, telling campaigners: "We are not open
for business."

Blair survived a week of relentless criticism from human rights campaigners,
MPs and the media all urging Britain not to deport hundreds of failed asylum
seekers back to Zimbabwe. Rights groups say asylum seekers face torture in
Zimbabwe, with claims that some deportees had been tortured or simply
disappeared.

Braving a stream of attacks on his government's policy, Blair came out
fighting on Monday. He said allowing Zimbabweans to stay while deporting
other nationalities would be granting special treatment, and would open the
system to abuse.

"It would send out the impression that Britain is open for business," said
Blair.

On Monday, Blair came under heavy attack from a leading British newspaper
known for its anti-asylum and immigration stance. The Daily Mail which sells
two million copies daily, ran a front page headline saying: For Pity's Sake
Let Them Stay.

The paper dedicated four pages to Zimbabwean asylum seekers, accusing the
government of "wretched pretence" over the Home Office's analysis of the
situation in Zimbabwe.

"What makes matters worse is the wretched pretence by the Home Office that
these people will be in no real danger if they are sent home. It is
positively surreal. What planet are Ministers on?" the Mail said in an
editorial comment.

It added: "Mugabe's regime is an evil that this government -- supposedly so
moral, so egalitarian, so high-minded -- prefers not to confront. Having
gone to war in the Balkans, Afghanistan and Iraq, it not only fails to lift
an effective finger against Mugabe but shamefully intends to deliver his
asylum seeking opponents into his clutches. Britain will be sadly diminished
if these deportations to Zimbabwe aren't stopped."

The Mail also wrapped in its powerful columnist Melanie Phillips, a writer
who has previously formed common front with her paper to attack asylum
seekers.

"This is wholly unacceptable," she wrote in her column. "It means sending
people back indiscriminately into Mugabe's terror, regardless of whether or
not they are genuine refugees, merely to stop more from coming. The
government was quick to intervene to end tyranny in Bosnia. What about
making Zimbabwe's tyranny history?"

Home Office officials said 95 Zimbabweans had been deported in the first
three months of 2005.

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BBC

 

Zimbabwe deportations: Your views

Should the Zimbabweans that have had their UK asylum claims rejected be sent back? Home Secretary Charles Clarke has rejected calls to stop sending back to Zimbabwe people whose UK asylum claims have failed, arguing that not all genuinely face persecution. During the first three months of this year 95 Zimbabweans were sent home following the lifting of the ban on deportations last November. The Conservative spokesman David Davis called the UK Zimbabwe policy a "miserable failure". What is your reaction to the deportations? Should the deportees receive protection? Should the same asylum rules apply to all? Would halting the deportations lead to asylum abuses? Send us your views. If you know anyone affected by the deportations and are willing to talk to the BBC News website about the situation, please include your telephone number. It will not be published. If you would like to remain anonymous please ask. The following comments reflect the balance of opinion we have received so far: Like the issue of domestic violence, a lot of women had to die first before the world realised that domestic violence is not an internal issue but a criminal offence Sharon Njobo, Canada The deportation of Zimbabweans by Britain epitomizes the double standards of all the countries that have stood by the sidelines and watched Zimbabweans being abused by the government of Robert Mugabe. Like the issue of domestic violence, a lot of women had to die first before the world realised that domestic violence is not an internal issue but a criminal offence. What is going on in Zimbabwe is not an internal affair, but a heinous crime and these deportations must stop. Sharon Njobo, Scarborough, Canada This is typical Britain. We care about everything on the condition it's not in our back garden. How stupid can one nation get, seriously you don't expect me to take a governments pledge against poverty serious as we turn thousands over to the poverty we are so called fighting. It's another Blair publicity stunt at the expense of the Live 8 concerts John Gearing, St Helens, UK It is not too long ago that Britain was told to keep out of African affairs, now we are being told to think about what is happening to Zimbabwe. Yes that is a bad situation but if we don't send these people back, how many more from Zimbabwe will make their way to the UK. Sorry but they have to be deported. WP Derbyshire, London, UK The unpalatable truth is that deportation of potential asylum seekers/immigrants will gain more political votes from the electorate than it will lose. Given the key purpose of any politician is to maintain or increase its party's voting power base, there should be no surprise in this move. Whether or not an application is genuine is more a matter of spin to justify the lifting of the ban. David Naylor, Mexico City, Mexico The African Union doesn't seem too bothered about what is going on in Zimbabwe so why should the UK? If, as Tony Blair says they are here illegally they should be deported and, who would have reason to disbelieve him? Phil, UK Definitely don't send them back. I know the UK can't be expected to allow just anyone in, but asylum seekers and refugees are different. If we don't want to help them here, then we should be sending in troops to bring about regime change. Is it that there is no oil there? Gillian Wells, Hove, East Sussex If deportations are halted that is tantamount to inviting the entire population of Zimbabwe, all 13 million of them, to come and live in the UK if they wish. Albert, UK I am totally ashamed by the actions of my government in sending people back to Zimbabwe. How can the government justify sending anyone back to that place now? What we see happening there, on our TV screens, is totally beyond me. Helen S, Norfolk Yes of course they should be sent back if their claims are rejected! The same rules should apply to everyone; we have enough abuses of our system already. Our government should concentrate on its own people before it starts worrying about all and sundry with their own governments! NG, Brighton, UK My advice to the UK government is this: please for God's sake accept all of those who are residing in the UK to stay cause as you may know things are not fine with the Zimbabweans. Most of them are suffering. This is why they are all seeking asylum in the UK. I advice that these people should remain and be allowed to make their living. Francis Eesiah, Monrovia, Liberia It is incomprehensible to me how the UK government can be so inhumane as to send these people back. Why do politicians lose their humanity when they get into office? Of course they should be allowed to stay. Christopher Skelton, Tunbridge Wells, Kent I think the international response to the current situation, especially from the UK and US, is nothing short of a disgrace. Would it be cynical to suggest that the disinterest is due to the fact that there is no oil in Zimbabwe? Alan King, Cardiff, Wales, UK While I can understand the need to deal with bogus asylum seekers, I don't see how that can apply to these people. Zimbabwe is surely a textbook example of a dangerous regime. Andrew, Cardiff, UK

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New Zealand Herald

      Clark steps up pressure over Zimbabwe tour

      28.06.05

      By Helen Tunnah

      Helen Clark has intensified the political pressure for the Black Caps'
cricket tour of Zimbabwe to be called off, saying there is a "groundswell"
of Kiwi opposition.

      The Prime Minister said the crisis in the rogue state ruled by Robert
Mugabe was deepening.

      The Government wants the International Cricket Council to drop its
punitive sanctions against nations pulling out of cricket tours on moral
grounds, which would allow NZ Cricket to review the August tour.

      England and Australia have been approached to join New Zealand in
asking the ICC to boycott Zimbabwe.

      Helen Clark confirmed that the Zimbabwe team is likely to be banned
from coming here in December.

      The hardening opposition to Black Caps' tour comes as NZ Cricket chief
executive Martin Snedden and the Zimbabwe Cricket Union attend the ICC's
annual meeting in London.

      He would not say how the the political intervention and signalled ban
against the Zimbabwe cricketers had affected the New Zealand officials.

      "Yes, it is an interesting one," Mr Snedden said from London. "I'll
come home and deal directly with the Government."

      If the New Zealanders do not tour Zimbabwe they face a costly
suspension from international cricket and at least a $2.8 million fine.

      Helen Clark said the Government would neither order the cricketers not
to tour, nor pay the fine if they called off the visit.

      But she made it clear the Government was against the tour, and that
public opinion appeared to oppose it.

      "I do sense quite a groundswell of opinion in New Zealand, of real
concern about New Zealand being in Zimbabwe at the present time with the
crisis deepening.

      "Two hundred thousand people having their homes bulldozed, children
killed in the rubble, to say nothing of the ongoing torture, disappearances,
suppression of judiciary, media, [and] economic catastrophe we associate
with Zimbabwe today."

      She said the Government had complete discretion over denying visas to
Zimbabwe's cricket team.

      Mr Goff has already spoken with British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw
and Australia's Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, about a joint approach
to the ICC, seeking a boycott of Zimbabwe. Both had indicated support, but
wanted to speak to their domestic cricket bodies.

      Mr Goff said last night that New Zealand would make its own approach
to the ICC if necessary.

      He said at some point the ICC had to realise human rights atrocities
in Zimbabwe were too great to ignore.

      Mr Straw last year made a fruitless approach to the ICC asking that
England be excused from touring Zimbabwe last December.

      That series went ahead, and pro-Mugabe regime media used the tour to
claim England cricketers were "queuing up" to give their approval.

      England's Steve Harmison refused to tour on moral grounds.

      Zimbabweans living in New Zealand have said they are afraid to speak
out against the Mugabe regime as they fear he has agents here.

      The Rev Richard Johnson, now of Invercargill but who lived in Harare
for 25 years, said they were wise to be worried. He and another Zimbabwean,
who asked not to be named, said they suspected that Mugabe agents were in
New Zealand.

      Mr Johnson said the cricketers had to realise the regime would
politicise the tour.

      "The issue to me is one of morality. It is just wrong."

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VOA

U.N. Envoy Briefed, Awaits Meeting With Mugabe By Blessing Zulu
      Washington
      27 June 2005

With international attention focused on the humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe,
President Robert Mugabe's office had not yet responded Monday to a request
by United Nations special envoy Anna Tibaijuka for a meeting to discuss the
five-week-long government crackdown that has left many thousands of people
homeless.

The U.N. Habitat director arrived in Harare on Sunday and was to meet the
president before touring areas hit by Operation Murambatsvina, Shona for
"Drive Out Rubbish," and its predecessor, Operation Restore order, which
have drawn sharp criticism from Britain, the United States, Australia and
other countries and organizations.

Mrs Tibaijuka's spokesperson, Sharad Shankardass, said her delegation
expects to meet with Mr. Mugabe in a day or two. He said Mrs. Tibaijuka
spent Monday being briefed by Harare-based U.N. officials.

Spokeswoman Katherine Anderson of the United Nations Development Program
said Mrs. Tibaijuka also plans to meet with members of parliament, church
leaders and nongovernmental organizations providing relief to the displaced.

Mrs Tibaijuka heads a nine-member team which includes U.N. political affairs
officer Mari Yamashita and humanitarian affairs officer Alf Blikberg, as
well as six senior staff members from the Nairobi-based U.N. habitat.

Facing international scrutiny, President Mugabe has defended Operations
Restore Order and Murambatsvina as necessary to ensure public order and the
well-being of Zimbabwe's people. Harare has put out the message via the
official media that the crackdown is winding down, and will be followed by
Operation Garikai, or "Settle and Prosper." The government says that in this
phase it will build homes for those left homeless by Murambatsvina.

But Harare must still account for itself to Mrs. Tibaijuka, notes the
International Crisis Group's Johannesburg-based director for Southern
Africa, Peter Kagwanja, who says the Government will ignore the envoy at its
own peril. He told reporter Blessing Zulu of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe
that he is skeptical of statements from Harare to the effect that Operation
Murambatsvina is winding down.

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VOA

Fuel Crisis May Ease - But Higher Prices Ahead By Ndimyake Mwakalyele
      Washington
      27 June 2005

Fuel shortages are nothing new to Zimbabweans, but the current crisis has
reached unprecedented levels. Some say there are more cars in lines for
gasoline, which extend for kilometers, than are circulating on roads.

Bulawayo-based economist Eric Bloch predicts that this acute fuel crisis
will continue for some time, but that fuel will become more available once
the government decides to accept fuel price increases at the retail level,
reflecting import costs. Currently fuel is selling at about Z$4,000 or about
US$0.40 per liter at the official exchange rate - though the liter price
equals less than US$0.20 at parallel market rates..

Dr. Bloch also dismissed reports that there is not enough cash in
circulation - sources told VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that some banks could
not come up with enough banknotes to meet customer demand. But he said these
were isolated incidents, and that the cause had more to do with the fuel
shortage than anything else, as some financial institutions were not
receiving deliveries of cash on schedule.

Dr. Bloch spoke at greater length about the fuel crisis and economic
conditions in an interview with reporter Ndimyake Mwakalyele of VOA's Studio
7 for Zimbabwe.

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Govt allows NGOs to assist 'clean-up' victims

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

BULAWAYO, 27 Jun 2005 (IRIN) - The Zimbabwean government has agreed to allow
aid groups to offer humanitarian assistance to the hundreds of thousands of
people being displaced in its controversial urban clean-up drive.

Authorities previously said the government had ample resources to cater to
the needs of evicted families, but Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo
has now announced that the government had resolved to allow donors to
provide assistance, mainly in the capital, Harare, and Zimbabwe's second
city, Bulawayo.

However, Chombo stressed that the NGOs would have to adhere to certain
regulations. "Anyone with genuine intent and concern is allowed to assist,
but there are rules to be followed. Already we are working together with
organisations, such as the Red Cross, who have done a good job in converting
Caledonia Farm into a transit camp in the capital," Chombo told IRIN.

Two farms - Caledonia on the outskirts of Harare and Hellensvale near
Bulawayo - have been converted into holding camps for those whose homes have
been destroyed by the 'clean-up' operation.

Humanitarian authorities have warned that the camps lack the necessary
facilities and cannot accommodate the number of people in need of shelter.

The government started its crackdown on informal settlements and traders
four weeks ago, arguing that the exercise was meant to rid urban centres of
criminal activities.

Human rights groups and the international community have condemned the
campaign, which has left over 320,000 people homeless.

NGOs confirmed reaching an agreement with the government to provide food,
blankets, medicines and sanitation facilities in the camps.

James Elder, a UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) spokesman, told IRIN the agency
had begun offering support to those affected by Operation 'Murambatsvina'
('Drive Out Trash' in the Shona language) throughout the country and that
they were particularly concerned about the plight of children, most of whom
have been unable to attend school.

UNICEF has established access to most 'clean-up' sites across the country
and, in cooperation with various government ministries and a range of NGOs,
has been distributing aid to affected women and children.

"There is a lot of work we are doing throughout the country that includes
disbursing blankets, putting up sanitary facilities, [providing] sleeping
tents and [addressing the needs] of children," Elder said.

UNICEF has appealed for more than $2.7 million to continue its existing
activities, as well as to expand healthcare, deliver urgently needed
non-food items, provide HIV prevention and care, and place social workers in
key areas of the country as it steps up support to the thousands of children
evicted from their homes.

"Many children are now without shelter during winter, others have been
separated from their parents and caregivers, schooling has been widely
disrupted, access to water is difficult, and respiratory infections and
diarrhoeal diseases are a real threat," said Dr. Festo Kavishe, UNICEF's
representative in Zimbabwe.

A government official, Ephraim Masawi, told state radio on Thursday that
more holding camps would be set up across the country and a brigade of the
Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) had been formed to begin constructing houses
for displaced families.

According to the police, families would only be accommodated in the holding
camps for a month while they either searched for proper accommodation in the
townships or returned to their rural homes.

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IOL

Zimbabwe vows to act on housing issue
          June 27 2005 at 04:38PM

      Harare - Zimbabwe vowed to step up a new housing programme on Monday
after a crackdown on illegal structures that has left an estimated 300 000
people homeless, prompting an assessment visit by a top United Nations
official.

      "(The) government is urgently inviting qualified personnel and private
suppliers of building material to start construction work on allocated
stands as the national housing programme gathers momentum," the official
Herald newspaper said.

      "The move is meant to provide immediate housing to thousands of people
legally allocated stands on the heels of (the crackdown) as the state sets
sight on obliterating the two million housing backlog by 2010."

      Officials said Anna Tibaijuka, a special envoy of UN Secretary-General
Kofi Annan, was meeting with UN officials at the start of a mission to
assess the impact of the crackdown, which has prompted an international
outcry.

      Mugabe's government has in the past come under fire for dragging its
feet in addressing a housing crunch, with officials saying the capital
Harare alone has a waiting list of at least 800 000.

      Tibaijuka, the executive director of UN-HABITAT, the global body's
housing agency, arrived in Harare on Sunday and will spend several days
observing the results of "Operation Restore Order," a clean-up campaign that
has also demolished tens of thousands of informal trading structures.

      On Monday UN officials in Harare said Tibaijuka, who is expected to
make a report following her visit, would likely meet Mugabe either later on
Monday or on Tuesday.

      Western countries and organisations including Britain, the United
States, the Commonwealth and the European Union have criticised the
operation, which has claimed the lives of at least two children crushed to
death in demolished houses.

      Aid agencies have estimated that 300 000 people have been made
homeless by the operation, while other estimates are even higher.

      But Mugabe's government has defended the police blitz, saying it is
meant to root out black market trade in scarce foreign currency and basic
food commodities - which had thrived in shantytowns.

      "Our people ... deserve much better than the shacks that are now being
romanticised as fitting habitats for them," Mugabe said in remarks published
in the state media at the weekend.

      Critics say the crackdown has added pressure on poor urban dwellers
who have borne the brunt of an economic crisis widely blamed on government
mismanagement and manifesting itself in chronic shortages of foreign
currency, high inflation and unemployment of over 70 percent.

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