From The Guardian (UK), 22 June

Eclipse gives Zimbabwe joy and hope

Mavuradonha - A cheer of awe and wonder rose from the thousands of people gathered on the edge of the Zambezi river valley in Zimbabwe yesterday as a full solar eclipse blotted out the sun and cast an eerie glow across a vast stretch of southern Africa. Stars appeared in the afternoon sky and a chilling eclipse wind blew across the valley as the moon, passing between the sun and the earth, darkened a path across Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique and the island of Madagascar. It was the first total solar eclipse of the new millennium. "This is a holy moment," said Willie Legge. "It brings all of us closer to the forces of nature."

A mood of elation swept through the thousands of people gathered along the side of the road for picnics as the eclipse occurred. "This eclipse is coming at the right time for us and Zimbabwe," said Elijah Chiwota. "People are happy to forget about our sick political situation. This is a great way for us to release our frustrations." Many rural Zimbabweans stayed in their huts throughout the natural wonder after being warned that they could go blind if they looked at the sun's rays during the eclipse. "We are under house arrest," joked Tabeth Ngazana of Raffingora in Northern Zimbabwe. "My mother heard the warnings that we could be blinded so she kept us all in doors. She even ordered my brother to stay home from school. She locked the door and had a chamber pot so we could not go outside even if we needed to use the toilet."

Not even Zimbabwe's political and economic crisis could overshadow nature's spectacular display. President Robert Mugabe ordered the police and security agents to ensure the safety of thousands of tourists and decreed that adequate supplies of fuel should be made available. But many visitors were unnerved to encounter roadblocks where armed officers searched all vehicles. They were also rattled to find that police officers and agents of the central intelligence organisation were stationed in hotels, restaurants and bars.

Speaking to the nation on state television on Wednesday night, Mr Mugabe welcomed tourists but he could not resist lashing out yet again at journalists. "You will find that this country, which the media routinely besmirches and depicts in hateful and horrid images, is highly discrepant from the safe and serene destination you have chosen to visit," he said. The government barred a BBC television crew from covering the eclipse because it had not applied for accreditation before entering the country.

Leaders of the Traditional Healers Association forecast that the eclipse would bring increased troubles and misery to Zimbabwe. "Traditionally, Africans believe that an eclipse foretells a major change. It can be a turning point," said Barbara Kaim. "We are hoping and praying that this eclipse will bring a change for the better to Zimbabwe." Mostaff Matesanwa, who is in the tourist industry, said he was thrilled with the increase in business. "We are very happy with the tourists who came for the eclipse. We just wish the eclipse would last all year". Mozambique declared a national holiday to mark the eclipse. In Angola three people were arrested on suspicion of distributing fake protective glasses.

Quote from an official manning a road in Northern Zimbabwe.  "Where are you going?" "Up the hill to watch the eclipse" "Don't you know that the Govt has cancelled it?…You must get the Daily News here...." Later, at the moment of the eclipse, a cock crowed. One onlooker said "There's Jongwe." Immediate riposte from another : "Don't you know that Jongwe makes a noise all day, every day?"

From The Independent (UK), 22 June

Guarded welcome to Mugabe's about-turn

In an abrupt change of heart, President Mugabe has declared himself ready to accept a visit by a group of Commonwealth ministers - including the Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw - in a bid to settle the explosive issue of land reform in Zimbabwe. Last night, the Foreign Office was reacting with extreme caution to the apparent overture, in sharp contrast with the racist-tinged abuse heaped for the last two years by Mr Mugabe on the Commonwealth in general and Britain, the former colonial power, in particular.

Officials stressed that no decision had been taken on a response, still less on the date of a possible visit by the seven-strong delegation proposed by Nigeria, consisting of the foreign ministers of Britain, Kenya, South Africa, Jamaica, Nigeria, Australia and Zimbabwe itself. But the guarded hope in London is that a combination of domestic political setbacks, pressure from South Africa (whose president Thabo Mbeki was in Britain last week), and the desperate need for foreign financial assistance to stave off economic collapse, may have prompted Mr Mugabe to change his mind.

As recently as March, the Zimbabwean President haughtily rejected a proposed mission by members of the Commonwealth's human rights action group, C-MAG, as gross interference in his country's affairs. Now however, four months before a crucial Commonwealth summit in Brisbane which could vote to suspend Zimbabwe from the organisation, Mr Mugabe has seemingly relented. Senior British officials said last night: "This is very interesting. We are not rejecting it out of hand. There's a feeling he's getting a sense of his own vulnerability."

Even so, the suspicion at the Foreign Office is that Zimbabwe's olive branch is a ploy, a diplomatic trap whose purpose is to buy more time for the 76-year-old Mr Mugabe, as he fights to retain power at the Presidential election next year. In Harare, the ministers' mission is being presented purely as a means of easing differences between Zimbabwe and Britain over land, which could unlock an extra £30m of British funding of land redistribution, and pave the way for an overall scheme backed by international organisations. The UK and the Commonwealth, however, want to address not just land reform, but the abuses of the rule of law of the Mugabe regime, including the brutal harassment of opposition political leaders, judges and white farmers – and anyone else who could thwart his re-election.

In recent months, the violence has only increased. About 1,700 white-owned farms have been occupied by so-called "veterans" of Zimbabwe's liberation struggle of the 1960s and 1970s, and after initial support Britain has withdrawn support of the current scheme, saying it is unfair and tilted overwhelmingly to cronies of the President. But the real driving force is almost certainly economic. This year, it is feared, Zimbabwe - normally a net grain exporter - could be unable to feed itself. Recently, petrol and fuel prices soared further, while the government is rejecting pressure for another massive devaluation of the Zimbabwean dollar, officially pegged at 55 to the US dollar, but trading on the black market at up to 150. There have been persistent rumours of a possible army coup against Mr Mugabe, in the event of food riots later this year.

From The Daily News, 21 June

UK stance on Zimbabwe unlikely to alter: Longworth

Peter Longworth, the outgoing British High Commissioner to Zimbabwe, says his country’s hard-line stance on Zimbabwe is unlikely to change, regardless of the re-election a fortnight ago of Tony Blair as prime minister. Addressing the Zimbabwe-Britain Society in Harare on Tuesday, Longworth said as long as the government of Zimbabwe did not address the problems related to its management of the economy and the fast-track land resettlement programme, Britain would maintain its hard-line stance. Longworth said: "The future relations with this country have not been fully revealed yet, but I believe the attitude of the British government will be almost the same as it was. Not a great deal will change in the domestic and foreign policy."

Mugabe last week sent a congratulatory message to Blair, expressing optimism that Blair’s re-election would provide an opportunity for the two countries to patch up their differences. Longworth said the British government and taxpayers wanted to support a government with a well-managed economy, a transparent land reform programme and policies to alleviate poverty. "In some cases when you want to achieve those objectives, you are accused of infringing on the sovereignty of another country," Longworth said. "It is said to be foreign interference, but we do not believe that."

He said if the Zimbabwean government improved its management of a declining economy and embarked on a transparent land reform exercise, Britain could treble its investment in the country. "We could treble our current annual investment from £12m to £36m if we could only agree on how the funds would be managed and how they would benefit the ordinary people," he said. Longworth attacked new regulations on the accreditation of foreign journalists, which stipulate that they apply for entry into Zimbabwe a month in advance and from outside the country. "Freedom of the Press is the cornerstone of democracy and we believe the new regulations are counterproductive," he said. "In fact, they are a violation of the Cotonou Agreement which guarantees freedom of the Press." Longworth, accredited to Zimbabwe in November 1997, leaves on 30 June to take up a post in London.

 

From ZWNEWS

Bush Names New Ambassador to Zimbabwe

American President George W. Bush, has named Joseph Gerard Sullivan as the new Ambassador to Zimbabwe, replacing outgoing Ambassador Tom McDonald, who left Zimbabwe in December last year at the end of his three year appointment. In addition to his service in Angola, where he currently holds the post of Deputy Chief of Mission, Sullivan has also served as the Chairman of the Israel-Lebanon Monitoring Group, over-seeing the Understanding of April l996 negotiated by the United States between Israel and Lebanon to minimize the impact of the conflict upon civilians.

Ambassador-designate Sullivan previously served at the Department of State as Special Coordinator for Haiti (l996-l997); Principal Officer in Havana, Cuba (l993-l996); Deputy Assistant Secretary for Inter-American Affairs (l989-l992) and Office Director of Central American Affairs (l988-l989). A career diplomat, he has been a member of the U.S. Foreign Service since l970, and served as Political Officer and Political Counselor in Tel Aviv, Israel (l984-l988); Special Assistant to the Counselor of the Department of State (l982-l983); and Member of the Office of Policy Planning for Inter-American Affairs (l980-l982). He served at the American Embassy in Portugal as Political Officer (l975-l979), as Desk Officer for Costa Rica (l973-l975), and as Vice Consul and Political Officer at the American Embassy in Mexico City (l97l-l973). Sullivan was a Diplomat in Residence at the Georgetown University Institute for the Study of Diplomacy in l993, and did an academic year at Yale University (l979-l980). He speaks Spanish, Portuguese, and Hebrew.

From The Financial Gazette, 21 June

Zim pullout from Congo stalls

About 4 000 Zimbabwean troops from three battalions have pulled out of the DRC since April but the exercise has stalled to allow the deployment of UN monitors, a Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) official said this week. Colonel Mbonisi Gatsheni said the entire Masvingo-based 4 Brigade had pulled out of the DRC while sections of 1.1; 5.1 and Commando battalions were now back in the country from their areas of operation as part of the 1999 Lusaka peace plan for war-ravaged DRC. The ZNA is believed to have had at least 12 000 troops in the Congo fighting since August 1998 to keep the government of the then president Laurent Kabila in power against rebels supported by Uganda and Rwanda.

The Zimbabweans, who had been expected to help the late Kabila and then quickly return home, got bogged down in the war in the DRC, dubbed Africa’s first world war. The ZNA became the backbone of the so-called allied forces, which comprise soldiers from Angola, Namibia and the DRC. The war in the Congo is one of the reasons cited for the deteriorating political and economic conditions in Zimbabwe, with international organisations such as the IMF saying the southern African country can ill-afford the costly adventure. Although the Zimbabwean government has remained tight-lipped about its spending in the DRC and claims Kinshasa foots part of the bill, it has been estimated that the military intervention at one time cost Harare about US$2 million a day. The phased withdrawals have temporarily stalled to allow UN monitors to take control of areas being vacated by the warring parties in Africa’s third largest country. Gatsheni this week said there was a lull in the sporadic clashes between the allied forces, Rwanda and Uganda and the rebels that threatened to derail the Lusaka peace accord.

From ZWNEWS, 21 June

The anarchy is where you find it

Just because it's safe for tourists doesn't mean safety for its citizens

By a Special Correspondent

Battered by bad publicity over lawlessness on white-owned farms, the Zimbabwe government was desperate to make the most of yesterday's solar eclipse and told all "patriotic" Zimbabweans to behave well so as not to scare the tourists away. "We can only have ourselves to blame if we let this great opportunity to market our country slip through our fingers," the state-owned Herald told readers on Monday. "Each and every Zimbabwean who comes into contact with the tourists should do their bit to ensure that the foreigners not only enjoy their stay but become ambassadors in helping to market our country."

The government press called the eclipse - which was total in a swathe of northern Zimbabwe - a "godsend" to the southern African country, which has seen tourist arrivals down by well over 50 percent since supporters of President Robert Mugabe began an often-violent campaign of farm invasions in February last year. Tourism used to be one of the country's main foreign exchange earners, but the last 15 months have seen popular resorts like Victoria Falls almost deserted. Zimbabwe has been on several countries' lists of places "not to visit", including Japan. The shortage of forex has hit the economy hard, with fuel and imported medicines becoming increasingly hard to find.

The Sunday Mail reported with glee on the arrival of "100 German tourists", quoting the leader of the group, Arno Lehnen, as saying he had read "inaccurate reports of anarchy in the international media." State radio reported that police would be manning road blocks in the eclipse zone to weed out potential troublemakers. "Tourists do not want to encounter problems like fuel and muggings in any country, otherwise they turn their backs," the Herald said. Visitors must go home "with the impression of a country characterised by friendly people, peace and tranquillity," the paper said Tuesday. White farmers and members of the opposition MDC were accused of wanting to scare away the "thousands" of tourists said to be "pouring" into the country.

"Sadly there are some unpatriotic Zimbabweans who are unhappy with the arrival of the foreign tourists. They are likely to poison their minds or hire thugs to harass and frighten them into believing the country is indeed unsafe," the Herald said on Monday, claiming that white farmers had been stirring up trouble on farms. Riots Monday in Harare's poor Mabvuku township over the recent hike in fuel and thus food prices were carried out by "a group of MDC criminal elements being led by their party to scare away visitors for the solar eclipse," Information and Publicity Minister Professor Jonathan Moyo said.

State broadcaster ZBC reported at the weekend that members of the West Indies cricket team had not ventured out of Meikles hotel in central Harare because they had been told it was dangerous to walk in the streets. They are being over-cautious - a walk through the streets of Harare is no more and no less dangerous than in any other city where poverty-bred crime is rampant.

But just because the West Indies should probably be spending more time worrying about their forthcoming cricket fixtures - a match against a Country Districts side on Wednesday did not go particularly well for them - does not mean that a state of random – and not so random - lawlessness does not exist. A 17-year old member of an expatriate family working for the Red Cross was recently so badly assaulted in central Harare that he had to be flown to Geneva for treatment. Last month a member of the diplomatic corps had her bag snatched as she walked outside an embassy.

As for violent war veterans: last October my wife and I took a safari holiday in the Save Conservancy in southern Zimbabwe. We sat in the evening eating candle-lit meal 40 kilometres into the bush, encircled by raging fires. The war vets spent their days torching the place, while the camp owner and his workers spent theirs back-burning to save the lodge. And although this was last October, the violence, in rural and urban areas, continues. The wife of the manager died of a heart attack not long after our holiday. The camp has since closed.