Monday, March 27, 2000
Subject: Critical songs irk Zanu
PF
Farai Mutsaka
ZANU PF intends to clamp down on
the broadcasting of songs
that are critical of its
governance.
The party is also planning to stop the publication of
'derogatory'
material that is finding its way into the
government-owned
press.
These recommendations were made by
a central committee
task force formed to ensure a Zanu PF victory in
the
forthcoming parliamentary elections.
The
recommendations have already been made available to
the party's
politburo.
Read part of the document: "We noted that some artists
had
composed and recorded songs that sympathised with
the
opposition and were derogatory of Zanu PF. It was felt that
it
was unfair that such songs were getting generous air time
on
the government-owned ZBC. The party should make use
of
readily available media such as the party
newspaper,
government papers, ZBC (both radio and television) and
the
Zimbabwe Information Service."
In what could be a
direct response to this, Zanu PF last week
inserted full page adverts
in local papers which ridiculed the
opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC). The task
force agreed that the forthcoming
elections would be tougher
than previous ones and that the MDC posed
the greatest threat
its 20-year reign. As a result, there was need to
expose the
weaknesses of opposition parties and make Zanu PF stand
in
better light.
"It is possible to get background
information on opposition
candidates thereby enabling the party to
know their strengths
and weaknesses."
The task force was
set up in February to look at ways of
revamping the ruling party's
support.
The task force also agreed that there was need to establish
the
number of party cadres who had registered as voters. To
this
end, the party would acquire the voters' roll.
The
National Democratic Institute (NDI), a non-governmental
organisation
had agreed to buy the roll for the party.
It also noted that the NDI
had trained National Constitutional
Assembly monitors for the
referendum. However, the task force
did not specify how the party
would know which people were
Zanu PF supporters on the roll. Also of
note among the task
force's recommendations was the identification of
Manicaland,
Harare and Bulawayo as problem areas which needed
special
attention.
"The party should appreciate the
problems facing Harare,
Bulawayo and Manicaland provinces and must
therefore direct
special attention towards them."
The
three provinces recorded the highest number of voters who
rejected
the government-sponsored draft constitution in the
recent
referendum.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thomas Mapfumo
banned
Zimbabwean music icon, Thomas
Mapfumo,~ has had two songs
off his "Chimurenga Explosion" album removed from the play lists of Zimbabwe's
radio stations. The songs, "Mamvemve"
("Tattered Rags") and "Disaster" are
both critical of the government.
Download the FREE mp3 files
for these songs and hear what Mapfumo is singing about.
Some convoluted logic from the Herald! And some interesting maths too -
check
the addition on the section I have marked with **
http://qzwhre.africaonline.co.zw/herald/full.asp?articleid=1886&issue=212
Manifesto
shows land reforms will boost GDP
Herald Reporter
THE proposed
land redistribution programme will result in the
agricultural sector
contributing an additional $10
billion to the gross domestic product while
manufacturing will grow by
at least $13,5 billion.
According to the
Zanu (PF) election manifesto launched by President
Mugabe last week, the land
reform programme will help
increase output from most crops and
livestock.
"Over the past 20 years the overall output from the
agricultural sector
has been relatively static for most products.
The
proposed land redistribution will put into production the
currently
under-utilised 30 percent of arable land in the
commercial
sector.
"Currently, commercial agricultural sector
contributes about $32
million to GDP," the party says in the manifesto, whose
theme
is "Land is the Economy and the Economy is Land".
"Putting at
least one third of the large-scale commercial farming area
to full
utilisation implies that an additional $10 billion to
GDP will be directly
achieved by agriculture, and taking into account
the multiplier effect, a
total growth of at least $13,5
billion will be achieved by the manufacturing
sector."
**Zanu (PF) says out of the five million hectares of land
the
Government has targeted for acquisition, three million will be
for
livestock production, 2,5 million for cotton, tobacco, maize,
soyabeans
and plantation crops such as tea and coffee, and 500
000
hectares for horticulture and other high value crops.**
It is envisaged
that the three million hectares for livestock
production would result in the
national herd, which currently stands
at about five million, increasing to
about 7,9 million beasts over the
next five years.
"The hectarage
that will be put to livestock will increase both dairy
and beef production as
well as food production in terms of
maize, soyabean and horticulture for
both domestic consumption and the
surplus for export.
"Crops such as
cotton, wheat, maize, soyabeans will be grown on 2,5
million hectares. Output
will increase as yields will
increase for those crops that will be grown on
both dry land and
irrigation.
"The cropping programmes will greatly
contribute to the national
agricultural crop volumes by 50 percent. Assuming
that a part
of the 2,5 hectares will be put to cotton, our economy will
harvest an
estimated 3 million tonnes of cotton," the party says in
the
manifesto that has been translated into the vernacular.
It says
increased cash crops and horticulture production will enhance
exports by 50
percent and, as farming systems will
gradually be upgraded to intensive
irrigation, horticultural production
will increase by 30
percent.
*** What about the assumption that the existing farmers continue to produce as they have been - hah - some hope!
Harare land fund raised by Mbeki
BY RICHARD BEESTON, DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENT, AND MICHAEL HARTNACK IN HARARE (The Times)
PRESIDENT Mbeki of South Africa has sought to
resolve the land crisis in Zimbabwe by appealing to
foreign donors to fund the transfer of white-owned land to
black farmers.
Mr Mbeki has asked Saudi Arabia to donate millions of
pounds towards the purchase of 118 farms. Other
donations could come from Scandinavian countries.
"Mbeki has approached the Saudis to set up a 'quick
release' fund to pay for the land reform," a diplomat at the
United Nations said.
It seems unlikely that the British will be directly involved.
Under a 1998 land reform accord with Zimbabwe, Britain
has offered £36 million towards resettlement but Harare
has rejected the conditions imposed by the Foreign
Office. Britain insists that the illegal seizures of 800
white-owned farms by Mugabe activists must stop; the
violence that has claimed 23 lives must end; land must be
bought voluntarily; and that only black rural poor should
receive the redistributed land.
Mr Mbeki, who left London yesterday after a two-day
visit, has been criticised for his "quiet diplomacy". He
calculates that it is better to engage Mr Mugabe than to
isolate him and fears that trying to force him from power
could lead to a devastating tribal war.
Zimbabwe's white commercial farmers and the judiciary
yesterday backed away from a potentially explosive
confrontation with Chenjerai Hunzvi, leader of the militant
War Veterans' Association. Dr Hunzvi escaped with a
£170 fine and a three-month suspended jail term for
contempt of court for ignoring an order to remove his
militants from 1,300 farms.
Firoz Girach, for the Commercial Farmers' Union, told Mr
Justice David Bartlett that it felt that a jail sentence was
"undesirable in the interests of dialogue" and that the
situation was improving.
MEDIA UPDATE # 2000/19
MONDAY 8 MAY - SUNDAY 14 MAY 2000
1. SUMMARY
Ninety-three per cent of voices quoted in television stories on politics in
the last
month have been ZANU (PF).
All media made great play of remarks by Morgan Tsvangirai that the Movement
for
Democratic Change was contemplating a poll boycott. Television and The
Herald
talked about "cold feet" and "chickening out", without explaining the
reasons why
Tsvangirai had raised the boycott option: violence and intimidation
against MDC
supporters. Radio did a better job. None of the media adequately
explained why
the boycott option was suddenly dropped.
ZBC and ZIMPAPERS inadequately reported the wave of violence in educational
institutions. The views of allegedly pro-MDC teachers were not cited,
while ZBC
coverage of events at Bindura University was mystifying.
Studentsat Bindura threatened a ZBC crew. The Herald used a front-page
editorial
to complain about advertisers withdrawing their support for the paper.
In their news coverage, ZBC and ZIMPAPERS ignored the record fall on the
Zimbabwe Stock Exchange.
2. THE MONTH ON TELEVISION
This week MMPZ has issued a statement, in which we conclude that free and
fair
elections are impossible without a radical shift in the coverage of
political parties
provided by the publicly owned media. And here is part of the evidence for
our claim -
the last month's political coverage by ZBC television, the nation's sole
provider of TV
news. One hundred-and-sixty-seven stories dealt with the pre-election
campaign. One
hundred-and-fifty-two of these - or 91 per cent - were on ZANU (PF). Eight
(5 per cent)
were about the MDC and seven covered other opposition parties. Of the 227
voices
quoted in political stories, 211 (93 per cent) were ZANU (PF), nine (4 per
cent) were
MDC and seven (3 per cent) other opposition parties. In stories on political
violence (47
in all) ZANU (PF) voices were the most quoted (27 or 42 per cent), even
ahead of the
police (21 or 33 per cent). The MDC was quoted just once.
3. THE BOYCOTT (THAT NEVER WAS)
A statement by MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai that his party was considering
an
option to boycott the elections was one of the biggest stories of the week,
but the
coverage was unenlightening. ZBC television news (10 May, 8.00 pm) abandoned
any
pretence of impartiality:
"Against a backdrop of resignations by its candidates and supporters, the
newly
formed Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), now seems to be developing cold
feet over contesting in the forthcoming parliamentary elections. At a news
conference
in Harare today, attended mostly by foreign correspondents, the MDC
announced that
the leadership will meet on Saturday this week to decide whether they will
go ahead
and participate in the forthcoming parliamentary elections."
Not for the first time, the "resignations" from the MDC are presented as if
they were
the product of spontaneous disillusionment rather than violent intimidation
and
therefore the cause of the MDC's "cold feet". And if domestic journalists
decided to
stay away from the MDC's news conference, then the party is hardly to blame
for that.
Television then went on to quote Tsvangirai's statement:
We have already maintained that boycott is not an option. But we have now
reached a
stage where we have to review this. There is also a third issue we have to
review. Given
the current state of anarchy and lawlessness, whether something should be
considered in the form of mass action and even possibly appealing to the
international
community for much more drastic measures.
He was followed, at greater length, by Professor Jonathan Moyo who was (at
last)
introduced as a ZANU (PF) spokesperson:
We are a peaceful country and we are beginning to see the results of the
peace and
indeed it is because there is no violence of the kind that the MDC claims
there is. Why
the international media have left this country, they came in huge numbers
six weeks
ago expecting that our country would be engulfed by violence and that there
would be
chaos and general breakdown of the rule of law. Nothing of the sort. It is
therefore quite
surprising that a statement which perhaps could have made some limited sense
six
weeks ago is being made today when there is evidence all around us of peace.
And
this is not surprising really when you consider that it is coming from a
political party
that has a history of staying away, a history of boycotting political
processes, and
indeed a party which had no interest in the election in the first place. You
will recall for
quite some time, for the last six or so weeks, the MDC working together with
the
international media misled the world into believing that there won't be
elections in
Zimbabwe and that there will be a state of emergency. This is what they were
praying
for, this is what they have not gotten. But to get the same difference they
are now
resorting to the old trick of boycotting.
Tsvangirai's statement was taken out of context: the viewers never got to
hear what
were the three options that the MDC was considering (boycott being only
one). Moyo's
statement went unquestioned. An alert interviewer might have followed up his
admission that six weeks ago there was, in a "limited" sense, "chaos and
general
breakdown of the rule of law". He could have been asked whether he
considered 20
deaths in political violence to constitute peace. And if all the
international media have
gone home, who was at Tsvangirai's press conference?
ZBC radio ran a similar story, including Moyo's remarks but not quoting
Tsvangirai
himself. The Herald ("MDC contemplates election boycott", 11 May) took a
similar
approach, quoting the same remarks by Tsvangirai on ZBC television and then
giving
more space to Minister Chimutengwende and Jonathan Moyo to accuse the MDC of
"chickening out" and never having been committed to the democratic process.
Neither
addressed Tsvangirai's stated reason for considering a boycott, namely
violent
intimidation. (An incidental point: the Minister of Information, Posts and
Telecommunications is a government functionary, drawing a salary paid by the
Zimbabwean taxpayer. The "Information" part of his portfolio is to explain
government
policy, not to act as a party spokesperson.)
However, the MDC did itself no favours. On 11 May (8.00 pm), party
spokesperson
Learnmore Jongwe (introduced with another gratuitous reference to "cold
feet") was
conveying a quite different message from his leader:
What we were formed to do as a party was to contest the elections and that
is what is
likely to come out of the Saturday meeting. I must tell you that chances of
us
announcing a boycott will range from 0 to -3400.
ZBC radio deserves an honourable mention. After a poor initial story, it too
reported on
Learnmore Jongwe's statement on 11 May (6.00 and 8.00 pm). The story was
full and
fair:
Newsreader: The MDC says its executive is meeting next Saturday to
strategize on
the way forward. MDC also confirmed that boycotting the elections was out.
Reuben Barwe: The president for MDC, Tsvangirai, said today there is no
intention of
boycotting this year's parliamentary elections. Tsvangirai said it was
unfortunate that
certain comments that were made at a certain conference yesterday were
misconstrued by members of the press. He said that there is no intention
whatsoever
not to go to these elections. He said it was their duty as leaders to
examine all
options, which would include boycott, mass action, etc, but they had no
intentions of
boycotting these elections. Tsvangirai said they owed it to their
supporters, many of
whom have suffered to struggle through to the final conclusion. He also
said the
support of the people they had, and all other supporters from all over the
country are
that the elections must go ahead and they should go to the elections. I
later on talked
to Learnmore Jongwe, the secretary for public and information for MDC, who
told the
ZBC that chances are that 99 per cent of the people at next Saturday's
national
executive council will go for
elections rather than boycott.
Reader: Reuben what are the implications and the kind of impact of this
latest
statement coming from the opposition?
Barwe: According to Jongwe, when I talked to him today he said they are
meeting on
Saturday to discuss about the way forward, realizing that they had suffered
a number
of casualties in the politicking game which is covering the country. And
they said
violence was so much and they were going to look at options of how to go
about it but
the question of boycotting the elections was out. He also said that the
violence which
has been going on - they have been much on the receiving end, they were
going to
strategize when they meet on Saturday as to how best to minimize the contact
and
Jongwe also said, when I asked him if we were welcome, that all media was
welcome.
A small point: has ZBC ever referred to "the president for ZANU (PF),
Mugabe"?
Television followed the Jongwe interview with a report in which Tsvangirai
was
presented as having changed his position in a "surprise U-turn". It is
unclear whether
there was genuinely a change of position, but there is no doubt that
Tsvangirai's
original announcement was greeted by strong reactions: derision on the part
of ZANU
(PF) and accusations of betrayal from the private press. That was the
position reflected
in the Daily News article "Tekere says 'No'" (12 May). The Zimbabwe
Independent
headlined its editorial comment "MDC boycott would be a national betrayal"
(12 May),
although a news story in the same paper made it clear that the boycott
option had
already been discounted ("MDC not quitting, to announce poll candidates
soon").
"Boycotting elections would not come up because it was not an issue, he
[Tsvangirai]
said." The paper noted that this contradicted earlier reports - though it
did not go so far
as to say it contradicted Tsvangirai's own statement, in which he had
clearly said that
boycott was one of three options. Now it was being discounted before the
Saturday
strategy meeting that was supposedly meant to consider it. The interesting
story here
was why the issue had been aired publicly and then suddenly dropped - but no
one
followed this up.
By the time the Sunday Mail (14 May) appeared the boycott story was dead.
But this
hardly mattered. "Morgan 'Boycott' Tsvangirai's multiple faces", "MDC should
take
lessons from past opposition parties", "MDC boycott threat won't affect
elections -
parties", and the editorial comment "Height of immaturity", all attacked the
MDC's
boycott threat, failing either to refer to the MDC's reasons for considering
the boycott
option or to report the MDC statement on Saturday that it had resolved to
contest the
elections. The Sunday Mail carried six local political stories, all of which
were biased
against the MDC, including a cartoon. The front-page story "Tsvangirai calls
for
sanctions" was based on a statement by the MDC for tougher action against
the
Zimbabwe government as a result of its failure to stop political violence.
MMPZ
monitors at the press conference confirm that Tsvangirai never actually
called for
sanctions against Zimbabwe.
4. POLITICAL VIOLENCE
There were a number of media reports about the growing campaign of
intimidation and
violence against teachers at educational institutions. These followed
remarks in
previous weeks by Vice-President Msika about how teachers had influenced the
No
majority in the referendum. This was a sensational story that no one
followed up: the
first recorded example of the opposition rigging the vote against the
government.
ZIMPAPERS blamed the political disturbances at schools on teachers who, it
said,
were campaigning for the MDC. In the articles entitled, "School shut down in
political
dispute" (The Chronicle, 10 May) and "School closes in row over MDC
politics" (The
Herald, 10 May) ZIMPAPERS reported that Mapanzure school in Masvingo had
been
closed as parents had stormed the school demanding the expulsion of five
teachers
accused of encouraging children to support the MDC. In both the articles the
accused
teachers were not given the right of reply. The stories lacked any form of
analysis on
the legality of the closures or the implications on freedom of political
association.
In another story, "Police avert mass classroom boycott", The Herald (12 May)
reported
that the police averted a class boycott by teachers in Mashonaland East who
wanted
assurances that they would not be caught up in the political violence. The
story also
reported that a teacher had fled Goromonzi after parents were enraged that
she had
chanted MDC slogans. The story failed to put into perspective that the call
for safety
was made as a result of the intimidation and violence that has been aimed at
teachers
in recent weeks. The story also did not quote the teachers.
Notably, all ZIMPAPERS articles on the disturbances at the schools
emphasized that
the parents were against the MDC.
At 1.00 pm on 9 May, radio reported the Mapanzure school demonstration. The
report
also stated that some teachers had fled the school while some teachers were
locked
up in one room at the school. The report quoted the parents, a teacher and
the
Masvingo Ministry of Education. The report lacked enough detail and evidence
to
substantiate the parents' allegations. It was also unbalanced as it lacked
comments
from the accused teachers or the students themselves who could have given
first-hand
information on what exactly had transpired during lessons. The report was
aired
throughout the day, including the 6.00 and 8.00 pm bulletins with no further
development. Television ran a similar story on Nhau/Indaba of 9 May, which
disappeared that evening, and then resurfaced on all bulletins from 1.30 pm
on 10 May.
The only comment quoted on television was from two parents.
A radio report on 12 May at 1.00 pm stated that political violence between
MDC and
ZPF had led to the closure of three schools and a clinic in Mwenezi. The
report quoted
the Mwenezi police. It was not reported who had instigated the violence or
how the
clinic was implicated.
Special mention should be made of an advert that appeared in The Mirror of
Masvingo
inserted by Zimta. The statement by Zimta stated that the organization was
apolitical
and that the teachers were not behind the No vote as had been claimed by
various
officials. "It is hoped that government will protect its workers who are
increasingly
subjected to wanton political violence," the statement said.
The week's other violence in an educational institution was at Bindura
University. For
television viewers this event was rather mystifying. On the 8 May
Nhau/Indaba bulletin
Governor Border Gezi was reported as having addressed Bindura students
assuring
them that their studies were not going to be disrupted. Viewers could not
have known
that the incident culminated in an assault on a student who supported the
MDC,
followed by the closure of the university. Radio also only had a partial
story - but a
different part.
At 1.00 pm on 10 May it reported that students had sealed off the campus.
The report
quoted a university official, but not the students. On 12 May, the 1.00 pm
radio news
reported Gezi's denials that he had incited political violence - an
allegation that ZBC
had not even reported in the first place.
In previous weeks MMPZ has noted that allegations that the foreign media
play up
white deaths and ignore black deaths have sounded rather hollow - because
ZBC and
ZIMPAPERS have done exactly the same. This week, however, has represented a
shift. The death of John Weeks, a Beatrice farmer, on 13 May, was largely
overlooked.
The earlier death of Allan Dunn was reported, but some reports "balanced" it
with the
story of a non-fatal assault on two blacks. In the story, "Beatrice Farmer
murdered;
Black workers assaulted in retaliatory attack", The Herald (9 May) reported
that in a
first reported case of whites assaulting blacks, two black workers Chris
Mlambo and
an unnamed man had been assaulted by whites in retaliation for Dunn's
killing. The
story quoted guards at the farm who dismissed the possibility of the murder
being
politically motivated but attributed it to criminals who they alleged were
taking
advantage of the presence of war veterans at the farms. This was despite the
fact that
the killers were reported not to have stolen anything from the premises.
The Daily News's story, "Beatrice farmer beaten to death" (9 May) had seven
sources
who were Chenjerai Hunzvi, a farm worker, witnesses, the farm manager, the
neighbours, the victim's wife and the Beatrice Farmers Association. Unlike
The Herald
story, which sought to moderate the death of the farmer with the retaliatory
assault of
two black farm workers, the Daily News treated the farmer's death with the
prominence
and balance it deserved. Unlike The Herald story, there were no suggestions
in the
Daily News that Dunn's killers were criminals and not war veterans. All
seven sources
quoted war veterans as the suspected murderers. The Daily News also quoted
Dunn's
widow as saying that her husband had beaten a ZANU (PF) rival in a recent
council
election and it was feared that man could have ordered the assault.
5. THREATS TO THE MEDIA
The ZBC reported (11 May, 7.00 am and Nhau/Indaba) that Bindura University
students
had attacked a ZBC news crew and refused it entry. The ZBC's Reuben Barwe
told
MMPZ that he had been terrorized by MDC supporters with knobkerries at their
headquarters and that his news crew had been attacked and intimidated by the
Bindura University students. He said that he is now finding it difficult to
do his job.
Once again MMPZ calls on the government to make a clear statement that the
media
should be unhindered in their professional activities. This would be a
proper role for the
Minister of Information.
We urge all parties to instruct their supporters not to impede, threaten or
attack
journalists.
The issue of media freedom arose in a number of guises in the press this
week. In an
article entitled "Journalists seek to revive media council", The Chronicle
(8 May)
reported that media practitioners were worried about plans for the
legislation of a
government media council "monitoring structure", which they fear would be
too
restrictive. As a result, journalists are urgently seeking to revive their
own structure. A
statement said the statutory powers would be obtained through an Act of
Parliament,
which would empower it to summon offenders from both the public and the
media.
In a front-page editorial, "Media madness: Now business is using dollar
against Zanu
PF", The Herald (9 May) lamented that many advertisers were deserting the
paper as a
result of its declared support for the ruling party:
The media madness bug has also bitten the business sector, which is using
the might
of the dollar in a total campaign to support the opposition Movement for
Democratic
Change (MDC) against the ruling Zanu PF.
The paper said this would kill the plurality and diversity of the media in
Zimbabwe.
Business should be playing a more positive role in promoting media plurality
and
diversity. A multiplicity of voices, giving a variety of ideas and opinions,
enriches the
citizens knowledge and opinion bases.
We searched in vain for The Herald's call for the government to end the
ZBC's
broadcasting monopoly.
In fact, MMPZ doubts that private advertisers have changed their approach at
all. They
still allocate advertising in the way that they judge most effective. In the
past this has
benefited The Herald, simply by virtue of its large circulation. The
situation has
changed with the rapid growth of the Daily News. The new paper has
demonstrated
professionalism and a general lack of political bias. In the last month, for
example, the
voices quoted in its stories on the election campaign have been 30 ZANU (PF)
and 27
MDC (for The Herald the figures are 42 and six). This is now being rewarded
with rising
circulation and a growth in advertising. After a period last year when The
Herald rose to
the challenge of competition and registered a significant improvement in its
professionalism, it has now adopted the position of self-proclaimed
campaigner for
ZANU (PF). Advertisers know that on 12-13 February more than half the
voters - their
potential customers - voted against the proposition advocated by The Herald.
It is their
own business interests, which propel them towards a serious newspaper rather
than
an increasingly incoherent party propaganda organ.
Perhaps the explanation for the sudden rash of ill-tempered front-page
leaders was to
be found in a report in the Zimbabwe Independent: "Herald editor to leave
post" (12
May). It reported that Bornwell Chakaodza was to be replaced, possibly by
presidential
spokesperson George Charamba. The latter denied this and said:
We made an appointment (Chakaodza) and as far as we are concerned that
appointment is still holding.
Who is "we"? Has the President's office never heard of the Zimbabwe Mass
Media
Trust or the management board of ZIMPAPERS?
6. THE GREAT CRUSH
In the week under review the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange experienced record
losses.
On two successive days the ZSE suffered its highest ever-daily fall (9 per
cent on 9
May and 13.5 per cent on 10 May). A financial crisis of that magnitude is a
news story
- it does not only belong on the business pages. The Zimbabwe Independent
covered
what it described, as "It's a 'blood bath' on ZSE". ZBC did not think it was
worthy of
mention at all, except for a reference in a panel discussion on "Heart of
the Matter".
The Herald only covered developments in its sponsored regular ZSE report,
not running
it as a news story until 12 May when it ran "ZSE index moves up", after the
market
had rallied.
The failure of the public media to cover one of the week's biggest stories
has two
possible explanations. MMPZ has remarked before on the generally lamentable
standard of economic journalism, so perhaps they simply did not understand
the
significance of these developments. Alternatively, the stock exchange dive
was
generally attributed to business jitters over the political crisis (and in
particular the
decision of Old Mutual to stop propping up the market).
7. AND ANOTHER MISSING STORY
On 7 May a foreign politician made an angry statement about African tyrants
who
"want to die in power because they have committed crimes". It was clear from
the
context that he was talking about Zimbabwe. Some disgruntled racist,
probably. So
why did the ZBC and ZIMPAPERS not report the remarks as further evidence of
the
international conspiracy against the country? Presumably because the speaker
was
not thought to be sufficiently eminent. His name is Nelson Mandela!
Ends
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Monday, April 17, 2000 1:22 PM
Subject: This was your life in 30 Minutes
Consider this, you are at home without any thought of leaving your home, your belongings or your pets. You receive a phone call that you should be ready and assembled within the next thirty minutes, your suburb is being evacuated. You have no time to make plans, decide what to take or leave behind, or how to take care of the pets in your absence. Sounds a bit far fetched and theatrical.
That was reality for 100 farmers and their families in Zimbabwe on Saturday 15 April 2000. They were forced to abandon their homes within 30 minutes, leave behind their belongings, and condemn their pets to an unknown future. They are now trying to arrange for a team to go back to the homesteads and put down the pets. They have no idea of when they will be able to return let alone if they will be able to return. Their concern is that their pets should not die traumatically, or face abuse from the invaders.
These farmers have not been able to plant their winter crops and are not able to prepare to plant their summer crops. Who will feed the nation next year, let alone earn foreign currency to support the economy. Does the President care, he has told us that he is not concerned about the negative impact of the land issue on the economy. The President has told us he is not prepared to order the forces of law and order to act in support of the law.
The comment that I received from one of the affected people is that whilst the coverage by Sky, BBC and CNN has been good, the situation on the ground for the farmers is far worse than what we are seeing. The information I have is that the six farmers who were abducted from the Police Station over the weekend were abducted by well armed men with automatic weapons.
The Government has made it clear that it is not prepared to protect the civilian population and that the Police will not intervene. It is clear from the attacks on the six farmers that the issue and cause of their beatings was their assumed support for the political opposition. Other sources of information have made it clear that the purpose of the farm invasions are to intimidate the farmers and their workers. The land is not the issue. The votes for political power are the issue. The collapsing economy is the issue.
The nation is being misled and abused. Our economy is the problem, not the redistribution of land.
We are all having our attention diverted from the issue of the poor state of the economy.
The land issue could have been resolved many years ago in an orderly fashion. Even today the land issue could be resolved in a peaceful and orderly fashion, but this way has no political agenda. There is no need for the present chaos and breakdown of law and order in the name of the land issue. The most ardent supporter of the land redistribution program who is concerned about the future, can not want the future of the nation put at risk.
Other than intimidating the nation and diverting our attention from the serious state of the economy which is on the brink of collapsing, the land invasions make no sense.
There are many people who are sitting on the fence and not willing to demand that the law be applied and that the constitution be enforced. History has proved that things can and do get worse once anarchy is allowed to take control, and anarchy is taking control in Zimbabwe. History has proved that ignoring anarchy does not make anarchy go away. History has proved that ignoring the breakdown of law and order, does not restore law and order.
Our present situation is not that different to the period 1930 to 1945 in Germany, where the forces of law and order stood aside while civilians were attacked for political reasons.