Reuters
Tue 27
May 2008, 13:56 GMT
By MacDonald Dzirutwe
HARARE (Reuters) - More
than 50 people have been killed in political
violence since Zimbabwe's
disputed March 29 elections and 25,000 have fled
their homes, opposition
leader Morgan Tsvangirai said on Tuesday.
Official figures showed
Tsvangirai beat President Robert Mugabe in the
election, but did not garner
enough votes to avoid a second round poll,
which has been set for June
27.
Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change says Mugabe's ruling
ZANU-PF
party has launched a violent campaign against its supporters since
the March
elections in a bid to avoid another defeat next month. The ruling
party
denies the charge, and in turn blames the opposition for the
violence.
"Over 50 Zimbabweans have been killed in the past six weeks.
More than
25,000 people have been displaced. I've been saddened that
Zimbabweans are
willing to shed the blood of other Zimbabweans over
political differences,"
Tsvangirai told a news conference in the capital
Harare.
"We are proceeding to compile the names of those who've committed
these
crimes. We will approach the attorney general to do something about
it. I
don't believe that anyone who has murdered someone should be forgiven,
it is
a criminal act to murder someone."
Tsvangirai said he was
launching a 150 trillion Zimbabwean dollar fund for
victims of political
violence, to be run by representatives from churches
and rights
groups.
The MDC says police have taken a partisan stance in dealing with
political
violence, taking sides with ZANU-PF supporters.
POLICE
CHIEF SUPPORTS MUGABE
In an apparent show of support for Mugabe on
Tuesday, Zimbabwe's police
chief Augustine Chihuri said the force had a duty
to defend the country from
what he called a threat from foreign powers and
their local puppets.
Mugabe frequently accuses the MDC of being in thrall
to former colonial
power Britain and other Western governments he says want
to oust him over
his seizure of white-owned farms for redistribution to
blacks.
"The nation is presently facing a myriad of challenges and
machinations by
external forces and their internal sympathisers, who I
normally call
puppets," Chihuri said.
"Its very existence and
survival is threatened by these puppets and their
handlers," he added, after
conferring ranks on senior police officers in
Harare.
Mugabe often
accuses local privately owned and foreign media of a propaganda
campaign
against his government, and police have arrested several
journalists
covering events around the election.
On Tuesday, state television
reported police had arrested three South
Africans carrying broadcasting
equipment at at a roadblock in the
southwestern district of Esigodini last
Friday.
"When they were asked to explain, they were unable to account
properly how
they got in possession of that property. The equipment suggests
these people
could be running a studio because all the gadgets are labelled
Sky News," a
police spokesman said on ZBC television.
He said the men
would be charged under Zimbabwe's Broadcasting Act and tough
media laws that
critics say are aimed at stifling dissent against Mugabe.
Sky News in London
could not immediately be reached for comment.
On Tuesday, police chief
Chihuri echoed Mugabe's campaign theme for the June
27 run-off, saying it
was "instructive for all Zimbabweans to be clear in
their understanding of
what 100 percent empowerment and total independence
means.
"(It)
means revamping and overhauling the existing system in the
manufacturing and
mining sectors as was done in the agricultural sector," he
said, alluding to
the white farm seizures and a similar drive to nationalise
foreign-owned
mines and other businesses.
Chihuri also accused businesses of hiking
prices of goods and services in
order to force a change of government.
Monsters and Critics
May 27, 2008, 9:18 GMT
Harare - Zimbabwe police
have arrested three people, two of them South
Africans, in connection with
'illegal broadcasting equipment' for British
television network Sky TV,
state radio said Tuesday.
It said the three were detained at the weekend
in the western city of
Bulawayo after finding in a factory in the suburb of
Belmont what it
described as 'Sky television broadcasting equipment' as well
as laptops,
computers, disks, tapes and 'a South African-bound
car.'
It claimed the three had 'tried to bribe police' with 25, 000 South
African
rand. The equipment had been in the factory since March 23, a week
before
elections in March 29. The broadcast gave no further details, and
police
comment was not available.
President Robert Mugabe's
government has cracked down on foreign journalists
visiting Zimbabwe without
official accreditation.
Journalists for The Times of London, the New York
Times and a stringer for
Britain's Sunday Telegraph have been arrested. A
fourth, a legally
accredited photographer for London-based Reuters news
agency, is facing
charges of having an 'unlicensed' satellite
telephone.
Also the weekend, a 14-tonne truck carrying 60,000 copies of
the Zimbabwean
on Sunday, a London-based newspaper printed in South Africa
for Zimbabwean
readers, was hijacked by men with automatic rifles and burnt
with its cargo,
said its editor, Wilf Mbanga.
Zimbabwe, in the midst
of economic collapse and a campaign of violent
intimidation against
supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic
Change ahead of a
second round of presidential elections on June 27,
maintains fierce control
of the media through legislation that carries a
maximum penalty of two years
in jail for journalists working without state
approval.
The New
York-based International Committee to Protect Journalists says the
regime is
one of the world's most hostile governments to the media.
nasdaq
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AFP)--A month before a presidential
election run-off,
Zimbabwe's opposition said Tuesday conditions weren't
conducive for a free
and fair poll but still expressed confidence it would
oust Robert Mugabe.
"Access to the state media is totally closed, holding
rallies is almost
impossible and we had to appeal to the high court to get
an order to hold
our last two rallies," the Movement for Democratic Change
chief spokesman
Nelson Chamisa told AFP.
"As of yesterday, at least
50 of our supporters had been killed in violent
attacks. The perpetrators of
this violence have devised a new strategy where
they abduct key members of
the party and after some days you find the
victims dead."
He said
hundreds of party supporters had fled their homes following attacks
by
ruling party militants.
"Our supporters are being displaced in rural
areas and key players have been
abducted and killed rendering our campaign
crippled and the Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission and the army are working in
cahoots to advance the
cause of ZANU-PF," Chamisa said.
"But despite
all the disadvantages, our candidate Mr. Tsvangirai will win
the election.
Our campaign is code-named 'Let's Finish It' and we are saying
all these
things are birth pangs as we move into a new Zimbabwe."
Tsvangirai won
the initial election March 29 but failed to garner enough
votes to avoid a
run-off, according to disputed figures compiled the by the
official
electoral commission.
Mugabe, in power since independence from the U.K.
in 1980, launched his
campaign for the run-off Sunday, accusing Tsvangirai
of seeking to return
the country to colonial rule.
Mugabe blamed his
poor showing in the first round on divisions within the
ruling ZANU-PF party
and urged his supporters to set their differences aside
and rally behind
him.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
VOA
By Peta Thornycroft
Harare
27 May
2008
As Zimbabwe braces itself for a runoff in the presidential
election,
violence against people loyal to the Movement for Democratic
Change, or MDC,
have reached unprecedented levels. MDC leader Morgan
Tsvangirai said on
Tuesday that more than 50 people have been killed in
political violence
since Zimbabwe's disputed March 29 elections and over
25,000 people
displaced. For VOA, Peta Thornycroft has this
report.
A month before a runoff vote, MDC President Morgan
Tsvangirai said a
campaign of violence and intimidation designed to fix
President Robert
Mugabe's re-election had now killed over 50 of MDC
supporters. Tsvangirai,
who launched a fund for victims of the violence,
said more than 25,000
supporters were also being displaced across the
country.
President Robert Mugabe launched his re-election campaign on
Sunday accusing
Tsvangirai of extensive political violence.
The
runoff is taking place against the backdrop of a complete economic
meltdown
in the country.
Most of the victims of violence say their attackers are
members of Mr.
Mugabe's ZANU-PF.
In eastern Zimbabwe, the chairman of
the MDC's Manicaland province reports a
group of teachers had disappeared 90
kilometers south of the provincial
capital Mutare.
He said
information so far indicates that the teachers, some of who are
suspected of
being MDC supporters, are being held at military bases
established by what
he said was ZANU-PF militia.
He said there were scores of bases in the
southern part of the province.
This information is confirmed by some
commercial farmers in district.
Even in southwestern Zimbabwe, where
there have been few attacks, many
voters have told church leaders and civil
rights activists that they have
been threatened not to vote in the upcoming
runoff unless they endorse Mr.
Mugabe.
Zimbabwe's Election Commission
has so far made no comment about the
violence.
The Commission has
announced that domestic observers and foreign and local
journalists can
apply for accreditation next week. The independent Zimbabwe
Election Support
Network says many observers on duty in the last election
have been beaten
up, or forced to flee their homes.
Applications from most foreign
journalists who applied for accreditation for
the last elections were turned
down.
The accreditation for foreign observers from the Southern African
Development Community, SADC, has been granted for the run off. However, SADC
has said it wants to increase the number of observers.
Tsvangirai won
the most votes in the initial election on March 29 but failed
to garner
enough to avoid a runoff, according to disputed figures compiled
by the
official electoral commission.
The original election day also saw
Mugabe's ZANU-PF lose control of
parliament for the first time since the
84-year-old came to power at
independence from Britain in 1980.
Yahoo News
By ANGUS
SHAW, Associated Press Writer 2 hours, 6 minutes ago
HARARE, Zimbabwe -
Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai launched a $300,000
fund Tuesday to help
victims of politically motivated violence that he said
has left 50
supporters dead over the past six weeks.
Tsvangirai, who heads the
Movement for Democratic Change, returned to
Zimbabwe on Saturday to face a
presidential runoff against longtime
President Robert Mugabe on June
27.
"For the past six weeks, we have been a nation living in the shadow
of a
deliberate and determined campaign of violence conducted by supporters
of
Mugabe," Tsvangirai said in a statement.
He said that "many
thousands have been injured, displaced or had their
houses destroyed and
their property looted." Previously the opposition had
said that 42 of its
activists had been killed.
Independent human rights groups say opposition
supporters have been beaten
and killed by government and ruling party thugs
to ensure Mugabe wins the
second round. He trailed Tsvangirai in the first
round on March 29, but
according to official results, the opposition leader
did not win the 50
percent plus one vote needed to avoid a runoff.
iafrica.com
Article By:
Tue, 27 May 2008
11:45
Southern Africa's main regional bloc will send extra election monitors
to
cover Zimbabwe's presidential run-off next month, Angola said on Monday,
amid opposition fears of rigging and intimidation.
Opposition leader
Morgan Tsvangirai has been lobbying the 14-nation Southern
African
Development Community (Sadc) to send more observers to ensure a fair
run-off
on 27 June against Mugabe, who has been in power since 1980.
Angolan
Foreign Minister Joao Miranda said on Monday the Sadc planned to
increase
the number of its observers after sending 120 people to monitor a
disputed
first round of voting on 29 March.
"We have in perspective increasing the
number of observers to the
presidential run-off set for 27 June so as to
assure greater transparency
and trust in the process," he told Angola's
state Angop news agency, without
giving figures.
Angola heads the
security and defence committee of the Sadc, which along
with the African
Union was widely criticised for giving the first-round vote
a largely clean
bill of health. No western observers were allowed to assess
the first
round.
MDC calls for early monitoring
Tsvangirai, upon returning
to Zimbabwe on Saturday after a six-week absence,
called for Sadc regional
peacekeepers and election monitors to be deployed
by 1 June.
"All
various polling areas should be covered especially in the rural areas
compared to the urban areas, because that is where there is most likely to
be problems and tampering of ballot boxes," opposition spokesperson Nelson
Chamis told AFP on Monday.
"We want a mission that is sufficient to
enable full coverage of all the
polling stations. We also want a Sadc
security monitoring team to ensure
that there is peace in the country," he
added.
Thirty observers from the Pan African Parliament (Pap) are
expected to
arrive in Zimbabwe on 13 June, the state-run New Ziana news
agency reported
on Sunday.
The agency quoted Marwick Khumalo, Pap's
mission leader, as saying an
advance team would arrive in the country on 10
June to prepare.
Mugabe will accept defeat
Meanwhile on Monday, a
top Mugabe aide said that the veteran president would
accept defeat if
beaten in the run-off.
The comments by Mugabe's chief election agent,
Rural Housing Minister
Emmerson Mnangagwa, are another sign of the mood in
the ruling party.
"If the president loses, he will be the first one to go
on national
television to acknowledge the result to the people," he told
state-run
newspaper The Herald.
Mugabe, an independence war hero, has
acknowledged that his loss in the
first-round was "disastrous."
He
launched his campaign for the vote with a fiery speech on Sunday,
threatening to expel the US ambassador and attacking opposition leader
Tsvangirai, whom he described as a coward.
Mugabe lambasted foreign
"imperialists" and accused US Ambassador James
McGee of interfering in the
country's internal affairs and threatened to
"kick him out of the
country."
McGee angered the regime on 13 May when he organised a tour of
hospitals
with other Western diplomats to see victims of political
violence.
South African mediation
On Monday, a South African envoy
helping to mediate between Mugabe and the
opposition arrived in
Harare.
South African President Thabo Mbeki has been tasked by the Sadc
with
brokering dialogue between the two sides and he sent Local Government
Minister Sydney Mufamadi to Harare on Monday.
"I can confirm Minister
Mufamadi had a meeting with the president this
morning but we were not privy
to the subject of their discussion," Mugabe's
spokesperson George Charamba
told AFP.
In an emotional speech at the funeral of 33-year-old activist
Tonderai
Ndira, one of at least 40 activists the opposition says have been
brutally
murdered in the last two months, Tsvangirai promised not to betray
his
memory.
"They can kill us, they can maim us, but on 27 June we
are going to vote
this man out. We will not betray the life of Tonderai," he
cried.
Former trade union leader Tsvangirai defeated Mugabe in the first
round but
not by enough to secure an outright victory.
The aftermath
of the disputed first-round polls has been marked by violence
that the
opposition claims is designed to rig the run-off.
Rights groups and the
United Nations have said the attacks are being
directed at followers of
Tsvangirai's MDC movement, with pro-government
militias accused of a
campaign of terror in the countryside.
AFP
Reuters
Tue 27
May 2008, 13:58 GMT
By Nelson Banya
HARARE (Reuters) - Ethiopia's
former ruler Mengistu Haile Mariam, sentenced
to death by his country's
supreme court, will remain in Zimbabwe under the
protection of President
Robert Mugabe's government, a government minister
said on
Tuesday.
"He remains our guest in Zimbabwe. He will remain in Zimbabwe
and we will
protect him as we've always done," Deputy Information Minister
Bright
Matonga said.
Mengistu, sentenced to death in absentia on
Monday, has lived a life of
comfortable exile in Zimbabwe since he was
toppled in 1991. He is unlikely
to face punishment unless Mugabe loses a
run-off election next month and
gives up power.
The opposition
Movement for Democratic Change, whose leader Morgan
Tsvangirai will face
Mugabe in the presidential vote on June 27, said
dictators like Mengistu
were not welcome.
"We don't want dictators on our land," MDC spokesman
Nelson Chamisa said,
hinting Mengistu may be extradited if Tsvangirai wins
next month.
"Of course we do not condone killing or the death sentence as
MDC, but we
want justice to be delivered to the victims and to the
perpetrators so that
there's restoration," he said.
The MDC said in
2006 it would withdraw the protection afforded by Mugabe's
government, which
considers Mengistu a friend of Zimbabwe's liberation
struggle.
Matonga said there had been no formal request regarding
Mengistu from the
Ethiopian government.
"Even if they make the
request, he's not going anywhere."
Wahade Belay, spokesman for Ethiopia's
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told
Reuters: "Since the court case against
Mengistu has now been finalised, we
are still hoping that the Zimbabwe
government would extradite Mengistu to
Ethiopia."
The death penalty
was imposed after the prosecution appealed against a life
term imposed on
Mengistu in January 2007, after he was found guilty of
genocide during his
17-year rule.
He and more than a dozen senior officers were found guilty
after a 12-year
trial that concluded Mengistu's government was responsible
for the deaths of
2,000 people and the torture of at least 2,400.
"My
joy comes from the fact that I lived to see this day and thank God for
that
(but) I know that the killing of one or 18 members of the junta would
not
bring back our loved ones," said Mulugeta Asrat, son of Prince Asrat
Kassa.
Prince Asrat was gunned down along with 60 other members of
the Ethiopian
royal family, ministers and generals of the late Emperor Haile
Selassie and
buried in a mass grave.
By Lance Guma
27
May 2008
Ethiopia’s former dictator, Mengistu Haile Mariam, faces an
uneasy 31 days
while he still enjoys the protection of Robert Mugabe. The
regime has vowed
to continue protecting Mengistu, despite an Ethiopian
Supreme Court
sentencing him to death on Monday for a genocide that claimed
the lives of
2000 people and the torture of 2400 others. But MDC spokesman
Nelson Chamisa
has said if party leader Morgan Tsvangirai wins the June 27
presidential
run-off, Mengistu will be extradited to face justice in
Ethiopia.
Mengistu was initially sentenced to life in prison in January
2007 but
prosecutors appealed saying the sentence did not match his crimes.
Over a
17-year rule Mengistu eliminated his opponents using a combination of
famine
and the so-called ‘Red Terror’ purges. He was ousted in 1991 and fled
to
Zimbabwe where he has lived in great comfort under Mugabe’s protection.
He
was tried in absentia over a 12-year period, which saw the conviction of
dozens of other senior officials directly responsible for the murders,
torture and starvation of thousands. On Monday the Supreme Court granted the
request from prosecutors and sentenced him to death.
Deputy
Information Minister Bright Matonga said Tuesday: ‘Our position has
not
changed. He remains our guest in Zimbabwe. He will remain in Zimbabwe
and we
will protect him as we've always done.’ Matonga added that even a
formal
extradition request from the Ethiopian government would not be
granted.
However speaking for the MDC Chamisa said, ‘It only takes a
dictator to hang
around fellow dictators. They are birds of the same
feather. This is why
ZANU-PF is clinging on to Mengistu. We don't want
dictators on our land. The
people of Ethiopia suffered for such a long time.’
He added that all they
wanted was for justice to be delivered for the
victims, and the perpetrators
as well.
Similarities between Mengistu and Mugabe could not be more
obvious. Human
rights groups, including the Catholic Commission for Justice
and Peace, have
documented the murder of over 20 000 ethnic Ndebele speakers
in Matabeleland
during the Gukurahundi Massacres in the eighties. Mugabe has
also sanctioned
the murder of MDC activists in the 2000, 2002, 2005 and 2008
elections.
After the March 29 elections, which handed control of parliament
to the MDC
and a first round win for Tsvangirai, over 50 MDC officials and
activists,
have been assassinated.
Newsreel spoke to Elliot Pfebve,
who along with Adella Chiminya, Efridah
Pfebve, Maria Stevens and Evelyn
Masaiti, took their search for justice to
the United States Court of Appeal
in August 2000. All 5 lost their loved
ones to senseless state sponsored
violence. On Tuesday Elliot Pfebve
reiterated just how determined Mugabe is
to hang on to power and avoid
facing families seeking justice. He said the
2000 case before the US courts
had still not been concluded.
SW
Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
By
Tichaona Sibanda
27 May 2008
SADC leaders are to meet on the sidelines
of a conference in Japan to
discuss the current political instability in the
region and the deployment
of election observers to monitor the second round
of the presidential poll
in Zimbabwe.
The SADC leaders will be among
40 heads of state and governments from Africa
meeting in Japan’s oldest port
city of Yokohama, for a three-day conference
on African
development.
The summit starts Wednesday and finishes on Friday. Robert
Mugabe will not
attend the conference despite the fact that the Japanese
government invited
him. He’ll be represented by his foreign affairs
Minister, Simbarashe
Mumbengegwi.
Glen Mpani is the regional
co-ordinator in the Cape Town based Centre for
the Study of Violence and
Reconciliation, and he said the time to pretend
that all was well in the
SADC bloc was long gone.
‘It’s now an open secret that problems in
Zimbabwe have also helped inflame
the crisis of xenophobic attacks in South
Africa. By allowing the crisis in
Zimbabwe to drag on for years, SADC
leaders and in particular Mbeki have
realised they left the crisis to fester
and now it has become an increasing
source of irritation to the region,’
Mpani said.
The Red Cross said on Monday that an estimated 25,000
Zimbabweans were
heading for Zambia, as they flee anti-immigrant violence in
South Africa.
Thousands more are heading for Mozambique and Botswana. The
last thing they
want to do is go back to Zimbabwe.
Francoise Le Goff,
the Red Cross director for Southern Africa, said in
Zambia their teams were
preparing for the arrival of the huge Zimbabwean
contingent. He said that up
till now 5,500 Zimbabweans have had assistance
in Mozambique, while 342 had
been received in centres near the border with
Botswana.
‘The SADC
leaders are faced with an explosive situation and no one, not even
Mbeki,
will pretend there is no crisis in Zimbabwe or the region,’ Mpani
added.
Mpani said if Mbeki wanted to salvage his reputation, he had
to ensure the
presidential run-off was going to be free and fair, as well as
urging SADC
leaders to send observers as soon as possible.
‘I’m
certain no SADC leader wants a disputed election in Zimbabwe and added
to
that, no country wants an explosion of refugees because of political
instability in South Africa and Zimbabwe. I think Mbeki will find it even
harder to keep defending Mugabe,’ Mpani said.
With just a month to go
before the presidential election run-off, the MDC
said on Tuesday that
conditions were not conducive for a free and fair poll,
but still expressed
confidence they will oust Mugabe.
Nelson Chamisa, the chief spokesman for
the MDC, said their access to the
state media was now totally closed and
that holding rallies was almost
impossible.
‘We had to appeal to the
high court to get an order to hold our last two
rallies. Our supporters are
being displaced in rural areas and key players
have been abducted and
killed, rendering our campaign crippled and the
Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission and the army are working in cahoots to advance
the cause of
Zanu-PF,’ Chamisa said. He said despite all the disadvantages,
their
candidate would win the election.
Political analyst Brian Kagoro recently
predicted that no amount of
violencem would alter decisions already made in
the hearts and minds of
Zimbabweans who are hungry for change.
SW
Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
By Tererai
Karimakwenda
May 27, 2008
The Centre for Community Development in
Zimbabwe (CCDZ) is advising all MDC
activists and members of civil groups to
be on the lookout out against what
they are calling ‘the forces of evil’.
This refers to the state agents who
have been abducting opposition officials
and civic leaders.
The group released an advisory statement which said in
part: “We have it on
good record that the Central Intelligence Organisation
would like to wipe
out leaders of the above mentioned organisations before
the presidential
run-off scheduled for the 27th June, 2008.We urge all the
political leaders
to take precautionary measures and avoid isolated places
where they can be
easily ambushed by the notorious CIOs.”
The CCDZ
also urged prominent lawyers in Harare and Bulawayo who have
handled MDC
cases and journalists who have reported on the MDC, to exercise
extreme
caution in the face of the many numbers of assassinations and
abductions.
Mfundo Mlilo from the Combined Harare Residents
Association, who are working
with the CCDZ, said 4 of their members were
abducted recently from Kuwadzana
high-density area of Harare. From that
group 2 were released and the other 2
are still missing. The slain MDC
activist Tonderai Ndira was also a CHRA
member for the Mabvuku
district.
Mlilo said it is clear that the people of Zimbabwe no longer
want ZANU-PF.
This is why the ruling party’s strategy is to eliminate
political activists
who helped to mobilise people to vote against them in
the elections. The
government is also doing it’s best to displace all those
who were used as
election observers, to make it easier for them to rig the
presidential run
off.
The groups that are believed to be major
targets include the Crisis
Coalition, National Constitutional Assembly,
Combined Harare Residents
Association, Zimbabwe Elections Support Network,
Youth Forum, Zimbabwe
National Students Union, Women of Zimbabwe Arise,
Zimrights, International
Socialist Organization, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human
Rights, Progressive
Teachers Union of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Congress of Trade
Unions, Restoration
of Human Rights and the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO
Forum.
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
http://zimbabwemetro.com
By Tongai Gava-Special Projects Editor ⋅
zimbabwemetro.com ⋅ May 27, 2008
A truck containing 60,000 copies of The
Zimbabwean On Sunday,was intercepted
on the main road linking South Africa
and Zimbabwe about 150 km south of
Masvingo by eight gunmen with AK-47 type
rifles. The newspaper’s editor,
Wilf Mbanga, said he assumed the gunmen were
Zimbabwean intelligence agents.
They forced driver Christmas Ramabulana
and distribution assistant
Tapfumaneyi Kancheta to drive the truck to a
deserted spot, where they set
it on fire. They also seized and burned
Kancheta’s passport, and beat him
and Ramabulana before departing, leaving
the two of them with their torched
truck.
Emmerson Mnagagwa directly
responsible?
On 5 May 2008, Zanu-PF legal affairs secretary Emmerson
Mnagangwa alleged
that pirate radio stations intensified broadcasting into
the country’s
airspace during the election period.
“Some newspapers,
such as The Zimbabwean, stepped up supply and frequency
and even took MDC-T
colours to consolidate opinion for the opposition.”
Metro managed to get
the last names of the CIO agents that could have been
involved in the
attack,they are Muchengadawa , Ngewa and Hove.
afrol News, 27 May - A truck containing
60,000 issues of Zimbabwe's
independent newspaper, 'Zimbabwean on Sunday'
was hijacked and torched 67
kilometres away from Masvingo. The paper, which
is printed in South Africa
to avoid Zimbabwe's draconic press laws, is one
of the few alternative news
sources in the country.
The driver of the
truck, Christmas Ramabulana, a South African, and a
distribution assistant,
Tapfumaneyi Kancheta, a Zimbabwean, were beaten and
abandoned in the bush
and they were later taken to the hospital after
contacting the Harare
office.
Newspaper editor, Wilf Mbanga told afrol News that Emmerson
Mnangagwa,
President Mugabe's supposed successor had recently said 'The
Zimbabwean' was
to blame for Zanu PF's electoral defeat.
"Mr
Mnangagwa heads the Joint Operations Command responsible for the
atrocities
being committed in Zimbabwe since the aged dictator lost the
March 29
elections to popular MDC leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai," he said.
Mr Mbanga
added that the newspaper was delivered safely despite the
harassment and
intimidation by the ruling party officials with the exception
of last
weekend's edition. He condemned the act saying he would not rest
until the
perpetrators of the act are brought to book.
'The Zimbabwean on Sunday'
was launched in February this year as a sister
paper to the popular weekly
'The Zimbabwean', which since last year has
become the largest selling
newspaper in Zimbabwe - selling 230,000 copies a
week at its peak during the
run-up to the landmark 2008 elections. They have
gained their reputation as
the country's leading papers for publishing most
detailed reports about
victims of political violence since March polls.
The attack today caused
international protests. Reporters without Boarders
(RSF) condemned the use
of violence against the independent press, saying
the attacks must not
remain unpunished. An RSF statement released today
stated that since the
March polls, Zimbabwean authorities have been guilty
on 12 counts of
violations against journalists.
The Zimbabwean was established in
February 2005 to stand against President
Mugabe's media blackout. It
exploits a loophole in Zimbabwe's draconian
anti-press legislation by being
published and printed in South Africa and
trucked into the country.
Headquarters are in the UK, with staff mostly
being Zimbabwean journalists
having fled the country.
By staff writers
Dear Media Colleague
The landmark application brought before the SADC Tribunal in Windhoek by Zimbabwean commercial farmers will be heard at the Supreme Court in Windhoek, Namibia, tomorrow - Wednesday 28 May at 09h30.
Initially William Michael Campbell, a commercial farmer in the Chegutu area, brought a case on behalf of himself, his employees and their families who live and work on the farm. The Government of Zimbabwe has been attempting to seize the farm without compensation and the farmer and farm workers have been subjected to significant harassment.
This case was initially heard in December 2007 by the SADC Tribunal which ruled that the farmer could not be evicted pending finalisation of his case. The Zimbabwean government said it would abide by the ruling, but the harassment has been ongoing.
Since then, 77 other farmers have joined Campbell and the main case is set for hearing on 28 to 30 May 2008.
The Applicants say President Robert Mugabe's so called "land reforms", which have seen about 4 000 commercial farmers lose their properties, were racist and illegal under the SADC Treaty and that Article 6 of the Treaty bars member states from discriminating against any person on the grounds of race, ethnic origin and culture. Zimbabwe is a signatory to the SADC Treaty.
The destruction of Zimbabwe's vibrant commercial farming sector, one of the three pillars of the economy, has been catastrophic. Previously a food secure nation and a significant exporter of agricultural produce, this once prosperous country now relies on massive quantities of food aid. In January it was estimated that 4.1 million of the 7-8 million people left in the country required donor community food aid. More than 4 million Zimbabweans are estimated to have fled the economic chaos and relentless state-sponsored violence.
Attached are:
1. The Campbell case Heads of Argument summary
2. An update on the case
Sincere thanks for your ongoing support.
Kind regards
Glyn
Glyn Hunter (Mrs)
Glyn Hunter International - Public
Relations Consultancy
Durban, South Africa
Tel: +27 31 572 2668
Fax +27 31
562 8227
Cell: +27 82 774 2284
CAMPBELL CASE: HEADS OF ARGUMENT
SUMMARY
Introduction:
In early 2006 a constitutional challenge was launched in the Zimbabwe courts against Amendment No. 17 of the Zimbabwe Constitution, which removes the right of those courts to adjudicate in any way in relation to forced acquisition (i.e. confiscation) of land in Zimbabwe by the Mugabe regime. The effect of Amendment 17 is that a person whose land is seized by the Mugabe regime without payment of compensation, is not permitted to apply to a Zimbabwe court for relief.
After all legal remedies available in Zimbabwe were exhausted, the applicants lodged the present application before the SADC Tribunal. The Republic of Zimbabwe signed and ratified the Treaty of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in 1992.
The case is being brought by William Michael Campbell on behalf of himself and as the managing director of Mike Campbell (Pty) Ltd, the owner of farm land in Mount Carmel in the rural district of Chegutu, Zimbabwe and on behalf of the employees of that company, and their families, who live and work on the farm. The Government of Zimbabwe (“GoZ”) is attempting to seize Mount Carmel without payment of any compensation.
The respondent is Robert Gabriel Mugabe in his capacity as the President of Zimbabwe.
The final hearing of the main action in the SADC Tribunal case was set down to be heard on Tuesday 25 March 2008, but has been postponed. What follows is a brief summary of the main arguments to be made on behalf of the applicants.
The GoZ has filed no heads of argument.
Summary of Facts:
The GoZ has been trying to seize Mount Carmel since 22 July 2001. These attempts were at first thwarted by the High Court of Zimbabwe.
On 14 September 2005 the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (no 17) Act 2005 came into effect. On 15 May 2006, the applicants launched proceedings in the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe challenging the constitutional validity of Amendment 17. This served to delay the eviction of the applicants, but it became clear that no permanent protection would be found within the Zimbabwe legal system.
On 5 October 2007 the application was lodged before the SADC Tribunal. On 15 December 2007, the Tribunal issued an interim order.
On 22 January 2008, the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe finally delivered its judgment in the 15 May 2006 case. The effect was to dismiss the applicants’ entire challenge. This serves to confirm the applicants’ prior contention that all legal remedies within Zimbabwe had been exhausted. The only objection to the jurisdiction of the SADC Tribunal advanced by the GoZ is a failure on the part of the applicants to exhaust domestic remedies.
Meanwhile, the GoZ has instituted criminal proceedings against William Michael Campbell. The prosecution has been stayed following the 15 December 2007 interim order.
Main issues:
The issue before the Tribunal is whether the Amendment 17 or the related conduct of the GoZ comply with the Treaty obligations of the GoZ. In determining these issues, the Tribunal will be asked to consider issues regarding the following:
1. The interpretation of the SADC Treaty.
2. The place in the SADC Treaty of the principles of human rights, democracy and the rule of law.
3. Does the exclusion of access to the courts offend the rule of law?
4. Discrimination.
5. Compensation.
1. The Interpretation of the SADC
Treaty
The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties 1969 should be applied to the interpretation of the SADC Treaty. The ordinary meaning of the text of the SADC Treaty should be interpreted in light of the objects and purposes of the Treaty. The Article 4 respect for principles of “human rights, democracy and the rule of law” is recognized in the text as essential to achieving the Article 5 objectives.
The context should also be taken into account. This includes a threefold, integrated commitment of the Member States of SADC to attaining economic development, encouraging regional peace and co-operation and ensuring respect for basic human rights and the rule of law. The context further includes other international legal instruments which the Member States have ratified, such as the Charter of the African Union and the African Charter of Human and People’s Rights.
The SADC Treaty is binding on Member States in terms of the Treaty itself and the Vienna Convention. Article 27 of the Vienna Convention provides that a party may not use its domestic law as a justification for its failure to perform a treaty.
The Tribunal is granted legal authority to ensure adherence to the SADC Treaty by virtue of Article 16(1).
2. The Place in the SADC Treaty of the
Principles of Human Rights, Democracy
and the Rule of Law
In terms of Article 4, Member States must act in accordance with principles including “human rights, democracy and the rule of law”. Article 6(1) gives Member States a mandate to promote the achievement of the objectives of the SADC and the implementation of the Treaty provisions. Article 6(2) requires that Member States refrain from discriminating against any person on various equality grounds. Article 3(h) includes the promotion and protection of human and peoples’ rights in accordance with the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and other relevant instruments.
The SADC Tribunal should interpret Article 4(c) of the Treaty as requiring Member States to act in accordance with the basic human rights, democratic practices and rule of law principles established by international human rights instruments. This would give effect to the objectives and purposes of the Treaty and is compatible with the approach taken by other international courts, such as the European Court of Justice.
3. Does the Exclusion of Access to the Courts
Offend the Rule of Law?
Amendment 17 violates the SADC Treaty in that it violates the rule of law itself. Section 16B(3) of the Zimbabwe Constitution puts into effect an ouster of the jurisdiction of the courts. The provision precludes access to the courts by individuals wishing to challenge the form, manner or legitimacy of the compulsory acquisition of their land. It prevents a challenge to the deprivation of their rights to equality and property before the courts as well as a judicial assessment of the substantive fairness of compulsory land acquisition decisions.
The rule of law includes both the right of access to the courts, and the right to a fair hearing before an individual is deprived of a right, interest or legitimate expectation (the right to ‘due process’). Both are regarded as fundamental human rights and are well-established and protected within the national constitutional frameworks of SADC Member States and international human rights case law.
In South African case law, the Constitutional Court in Zondi v MEC for Traditional and Local Government Affairs and Others 2005 (3) SA 589 (CC) discussed Section 34 of the South African Constitution and noted that:
“Section 34 is an express constitutional recognition of the importance of the fair resolution of social conflict by impartial and independent institutions. The sharper the potential for social conflict, the more important it is…that disputes are resolved by courts”.[1]
The amendments to the Zimbabwe Constitution constitute a fundamental deprivation of the core of the rule of law in precluding any judicial scrutiny of decisions to take property, and represent a negation of the objective, purposes and principles of the SADC Treaty. They expressly violate Article 4 of the SADC Treaty.
The ouster clause (i.e. Amendment 17) is also incompatible with Article 7(1)(a) of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights. The African Commission on Human and People’s Rights has placed considerable importance on the right of access to courts, emphasizing that it should be respected even where sharp social and political conflict exists.
Ouster clauses of a scope and extent similar to section 16B of the Zimbabwe Constitution should be considered a denial of the right to access the courts under the SADC Treaty.
The right to a fair hearing before an impartial tribunal is expressly set out as a fundamental human right in many constitutions and international instruments.
In its recent judgment, the Zimbabwe Supreme Court revealed:
“To stop what was considered obstructive litigation and secure finality in cases of compulsory acquisition of agriculture land for public purposes, the legislature enacted the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment Act (No 17) on 14 September 2005”.[2]
Now that Zimbabwe’s highest domestic court has confirmed that the very purpose of Amendment 17 was to suppress pending challenges to it by the owners of the 157 pieces of land listed in Schedule 6, there can be no debate as to whether the amendment complies with the rule of law. Zimbabwe’s SADC Treaty obligations do not permit such a course.
4. Discrimination
Amendment 17 and its enforcement targets only white farmers, irrespective of their attributes, land-use and circumstances. Schedule 6 is inherently arbitrary and is based solely on race and ethnic origin, as well as the political affiliation of the intended beneficiaries. An annexure to the applicants’ papers sets out a large number of utterances by those responsible for policy in Zimbabwe showing clearly that the policy of land acquisition was premised on a racial basis. The policy was designed to redress the ownership of land created during the colonial period.
In 2000, the (then) Full Court of the Zimbabwe Supreme Court stated:
“We are not entirely convinced that the expropriation of white farmers, if it is done lawfully and fair compensation is paid, can be said to be discriminatory. But there can be no doubt that it is unfair discrimination…to award the spoils of expropriation primarily to ruling party adherents”.
Currently, this is exactly the case and the present situation stands in sharp contrast to that in 2000. The national policy of racism offends the SADC Treaty and the established, enforceable norms (jus cogens) of international law. There is an absolute prohibition of racial discrimination in Article 6 of the SADC Treaty. The prohibition against discrimination based on race or origin has become jus cogens and ranks with crimes against humanity as contrary to fundamental international law. Consequently, it cannot be derogated from no matter the excuse, and the GoZ has offended its SADC Treaty obligations.
5. Compensation
The GoZ does not dispute the right to compensation.
The following is common cause:
· No compensation has been paid to the Applicants.
· No assessment of compensation has been made and the procedures laid down in domestic legislation have not been followed.
· The GoZ does not have the financial resources to pay all the compensation due in respect of farms acquired since 2000.
Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights guarantees that no one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family or home nor attacks upon his honour and reputation. The principles of SADC incorporate this guarantee.
Article 17 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights guarantees the right that no person shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property. Amendment 17 to the Zimbabwean Constitution was drafted so that no consideration is given to individual farms and merely a blanket listing was done. The deprivation of the applicants’ land was arbitrary and contrary to international law.
The effect of Zimbabwe’s Land Reform Programme has been to take land and improvements without proper compensation for either. In enacting section 16A of the Zimbabwe Constitution (the section brought into law by Amendment 17), the GoZ limited its obligation to pay compensation for improvements to property, and imposed the obligation to pay for the land itself on the former colonial power. This offends the principles of international human rights law in general and the SADC Treaty in particular. The GoZ is the expropriating authority. The GoZ is dealing with land which for the most part (and certainly in the applicants’ case) was lawfully acquired by virtue of a commercial transaction, and not by any favour of the former colonial power. In these circumstances it was not permissible to fail to compensate the owner for the land itself. The GoZ cannot pass to a third party the obligation to pay for something which in terms of international law, as the acquiring authority, it is required to bear.
No legislative procedure exists in Zimbabwe for the assessment of compensation of the properties acquired in terms of Amendment 17. Prior to the amendment, at the time that the preliminary notices of compulsory acquisition were sent to the applicants, there were legislative procedures in place. These were not followed.
When deciding whether or not to make a compulsory acquisition, the acquiring authority must have available resources to pay compensation. The very fact that the acquisitions by the GoZ of thousands of farms in terms of Amendment 17 is far outside the financial resources of the GoZ renders that form of acquisition invalid.
The issue of compensation is so interwoven with the abrogation of the right to property that the failure to provide for and pay compensation is fatal to the compulsory acquisition exercise. Two years have passed since the GoZ claims to have obtained ownership of the applicants’ property, and the failure to pay compensation leads to the inevitable conclusion that the compulsory acquisition was not done in terms of the norms of international human rights law.
Final Relief Sought:
1. The Government of Zimbabwe is declared in breach of its obligations as a Member State of the SADC through its purported implementation of Amendment 17.
2. Declaring the purported seizure of Mount Carmel by the GoZ to be in violation of Zimbabwe’s aforesaid obligations as a Member State of SADC and as a party to the SADC Treaty.
3. Declaring the official Zimbabwe Land Reform Programme a violation of Zimbabwe’s aforesaid obligations.
4. Directing the GoZ to comply with such obligations within a period of six months from date of the final order, to the satisfaction of the Tribunal.
5. Authorising the secretariat of the SADC to investigate and report upon the GoZ’s compliance with the final order, and to make further recommendations regarding further steps to be taken.
6. Directing the GoZ to pay the applicants’ costs in relation to the SADC Tribunal proceedings.
7. Directing the GoZ to take no steps, and permit no steps to be taken, to evict from or interfere with the peaceful residence on and beneficial use of Mount Carmel by the applicants, and their employees and families.
[1] At paragraph 58.
[2] Mike Campbell (PvT) Ltd v Minister of National Security Responsible for Land, Land Reform and Resettlement (SC49/07) at 13.
27 May
2008
SECOND
HEARING BEFORE SADC TRIBUNAL OF THE CAMPBELL MATTER
The
first hearing of the Zimbabwean farm case brought before the SADC Tribunal took
place in Windhoek in December 2007, and on 13 December 2007 an interim order was
granted in favour of the owner, Mike Campbell. Towards the end of January 2008,
the Registrar of the Tribunal offered dates at the end of March 2008 for the
hearing of the main application in this matter. The dates 25-28 March were
agreed for the hearing.
Before
the formal notice of set down was sent out, the first of the four intervener
applications was filed. Formal notice of the hearing was given on 12 February
2008. However, on 5 March 2008 the Deputy Attorney-General of Zimbabwe wrote to
the Registrar requesting that the matter be postponed for various reasons
including the forthcoming election in Zimbabwe and the wish of the Government of
Zimbabwe to file further papers. On 6 March 2008 the Registrar advised that the
President had agreed to this postponement. At about this time a further three
applications for intervention were filed, altogether resulting in 77 persons or
companies seeking to be joined in the main action. LorentzAngula in Windhoek
pushed for the hearing of the intervention applications and the President
eventually directed that those applications be heard on 25 March
2008.
The
opposing affidavit, signed by the Secretary of Lands, is an interesting
document. It explicitly concedes jurisdiction to the Tribunal. It claims that
only three white farmers have been charged with a criminal offence for failing
to get off the land. It maintained that interim relief would be interpreted in
Zimbabwe as a predetermination of the main issue by the Tribunal. It sought in
effect to say that the Tribunal could not undermine properly promulgated laws
within Zimbabwe.
In court
the Deputy Attorney-General conceded that the 77 persons should be joined. He
would not however agree to any interim relief in their favour. As a result, it
was argued on behalf of the intervenors for such interim relief. The basis of
the argument was really that they should be treated no differently from Mike
Campbell.
The
argument for the Government of Zimbabwe was somewhat confusing. The bottom line
was that the Government of Zimbabwe contended that its constitution complied
with the SADC Treaty and that the subsequent derogation from that was not a
matter for the Tribunal.
The
Deputy Attorney-General was questioned as to the difference in law and fact
between Campbell and the 77 intervenors.
The only difference he could advance was that the 77 had sought to
intervene after the Supreme Court had rendered its judgement on 22 January
2008.
At the
end of the hearing the President announced that the main hearing was set for
28-30 May 2008. Discussions then took place after the court adjourned to fix a
time schedule leading up to that hearing. It was agreed that the respondent
would file any further affidavits by 25 April 2008, and that any answering
affidavits thereto would be filed by 6 May 2008. The Government of Zimbabwe was
to file its heads of argument by 6 May 2008.
The 77
intervenors were joined and received the same interim relief as Mike Campbell,
and the main case thus now involves 79 applicants. ENDS
Last updated: 05/28/2008
09:18:31
Violet: My guest on
the programme Hot Seat is political analyst Brian Kagoro. So much is happening
in Zimbabwe but the most worrying is the issue of violence. This week alone a
heavily pregnant woman was killed along with two others in Mashonaland East
because they support the MDC and the body of Tonderai Ndira a prominent MDC
youth activist was found decomposing. More than 40 people have been killed since
elections were held on March 29. Brian let’s talk first about this issue of
violence, what would it take to end this kind of violence?
Brian Kagoro: I think that the first thing that needs to happen, the International Community and by that I mean the African Union and SADC must intervene. There is no option for them to fiddle whilst Zimbabwe burns and the International Criminal courts and other authorities must start seriously looking at and investigating these cases of organized violence and torture.
Violet: Clearly the present political climate is not conducive for a free and fair run off election, how can the MDC push for acceptable conditions in which the run-off can be held?
Brian Kagoro: I think the dialogue they have been having with political leaders within Africa and other global opinion makers is one where each brings pressure to bear upon the Mugabe regime. Further I think that their return to the country, mobilisation of people, inspiring people to be able to act in their own self defense as well as for people to be able to realise that we have a historical precedent - that in Matebeleland in the 80's they butchered people, almost 20,000 to 30,000 people were butchered. This did not alter the vote of the people in that region and if that precedent repeats itself, NO amount of violence – as regrettable as it is, as brutal as it- will alter decisions already made in the hearts and minds of Zimbabweans who are hungry for change.
Violet: Speaking about what happened in Matebeleland in the 80's, can we say that the gruesome deaths that we are seeing now are not different from what we saw during Gukurahundi and is this a way to force the MDC into agreeing to some sort of Government of National Unity like Zanu PF did to ZAPU?
Brian Kagoro: There are indications that the violence itself might be motivated by three things. The first one is the naive impression that the violence will alter the course of the votes in the rerun, the second one is the desperate attempt to create conditions that force the MDC into a weaker political position than it has been in after the March 29th poll, the third one of course as you rightly predict is that there is an assumption amongst many that violence will persuade those who are trying to negotiate or to reach a negotiated settlement in Zimbabwe to abandon a course in which they look for one winner and accept that the country is so unstable that both sides - the winning and the loosing side in the March 29th election – need to be accommodated in government. So it’s a strategy to arrive at power sharing or force negotiations.
Violet: So what are your views on, first of all the issue of the run-off and secondly the issue of a negotiated settlements?
Brian Kagoro: I think the run-off is unavoidable because constitutionally it is a natural consequence. If it is accepted that none of the candidates got the requisite votes it naturally follows that there must be a run off. So this is a constitutional or legal statutory position. With respect to the issue of a negotiated settlement, if you look at the vote difference - whether or not rigging accounts for it - four percent is too small a margin for people not to look at options of how to avoid bloodshed, how to avoid the expense of running elections that might reproduce the same results as before.
Also the margin of the March 29th election -- and I know that there are many irregularities regarding that, that have been alleged by the opposition, by the civil society and others -- suggest that the two main parties are evenly split. What one does with the other smaller parties – the parties that had 8% or less -- is a matter of political consideration. If people feel that those actors deserve inclusion in government it will be literally at the discretion of the triumphant party. It’s not a matter of automatic consideration.
I would urge - like most Zimbabweans - that the situation that we are in is so dire that expending a lot more time on procedural questions, on electoral processes might not help the plight of Zimbabweans especially the crisis of livelihoods and now the brutal assault on peoples rights, murder and arson and all the other ambiguities and crimes against humanity that we see being committed.
Violet: On the issue of a negotiated settlement that you just talked about, there are quite a few people including Simba Makoni who have said that there is need for some sort of coalition government or a transitional authority but wouldn’t a negotiated settlement look like actually rewarding Mugabe’s bad behaviour?
Brian Kagoro: A negotiated settlement in the circumstances we are in would of necessity or must of necessity not include Robert Mugabe. I think Robert Mugabe must retire, must be allowed to retire. So a negotiated settlement would be a settlement of political actors be it from Zanu PF, the MDC which won the March 29th election and other political actors who may at the discretion of the MDC be included in such a settlement. What is the benefit of a negotiated settlement? It is forcing everybody at least on paper to go together towards a common objective… (Inaudible). It also allows for a quicker opening –at least in the short term - of the democratic space. It does not always work like magic, we saw in Kenya and we continue to see in Kenya that negotiated settlements or inclusive governments have the potential to collapse if the foundations upon which they are based are not strong enough.
So there will be for example, for me, a negotiated settlement in Zimbabwe must be based on the premise that there will be no amnesty for murderers especially those who have been engaged in murder of innocent citizens in the last couple of days since the March 29th election; number 2, that there will be a free, open and impartial investigation of various factors that have led to the political and economic crisis that our country is faced with, number 3 that there will be a commitment to address the question of the constitution and long term structural question.
So it’s not a negotiate settlement simply to share power. It is a negotiated settlement to move I think towards a four-point plan; settling the immediate political crisis, setting up a constitutional framework to address the long term structural crisis and then having a program for economic and other recovery. In my view, and this is something I should have said from the beginning Violet, whether or not people negotiate now or after the election on June 27th is immaterial. The fact of the matter is that in order to effectively run the country MDC will need Zanu PF and other political players and Zanu PF will need MDC and other political players. The reason why the present government fails is its inability to be inclusive in its approach.
Violet: Brian that’s what I also wanted to find out - before I ask you about the other issue where you say no amnesty for Mugabe and his people - but on the issue of negotiating without Mugabe, don’t you think that’s where the stumbling block is because not only is Mugabe the President but he is also the power base of Zanu PF. So how can you even start to talk about all the stakeholders talking when you are excluding this one person who is the main person, the authority?
Brian Kagoro: I think we have to locate where the fear is within the ruling party. The fear is not so much in Mugabe - who is in fairly advanced in age – and who may not actually believe that he is culpable or liable for any human rights violations. The fear is within and among those arms of State that were used to perpetrate the violations. So if you are talking about who one needs to negotiate with and to whom assurances need to be made to that there will be no recriminations necessarily - there are two positions I am putting on the table; one is there is no need for vindictiveness. So people should not proceed from the premise that we want to take Mugabe to prison or we want to take action Y to prison.
However, people should also not proceed from the premise that we will grant blanket amnesty because there is evidently acts that constitutes crimes against humanity at International law, and some very genocidal thinking that we have witnessed in the last couple of years and months and these need to be stemmed so that they don’t recur in the future. And I don’t think that the block is only Mugabe, I think the block is a whole system, it’s a whole network of people who see themselves as co-conspirators in the violation of people’s rights whether those people are communities or activists within the opposition and civil society.
Violet: Now Brian you mentioned that there should be no amnesty but the MDC is promising amnesty for Mugabe. Is this a realistic approach given the fact that the MDC cannot prevent private citizens from seeking redress from the injustices?
Brian Kagoro: No. What I said is there should be no blanket amnesty. What needs to be in place is a legal process by which cases of deserving amnesty or those cases deserving amnesty are ascertained. So in practice what does this mean? It means you cannot say to people who were responsible for murder, for gang rape, for all sorts of crimes against humanity that it doesn’t matter what you did you are forgiven in the spirit of political settlement, because there was no causal linkage between the gang rape of women, the murder and dumping of Tonderai Ndira’s body and the political objective, okay. You cannot claim that it was done in the heat of the moment, that somebody had lost control of their faculties and didn’t know what they were doing, and that’s one.
Number two, in a realistic political situation where you will accept there would have been violations of rights by people sometimes on both sides of the political divide. You look at the cases and the nature of criminal conduct complained of and then you assess whether it deserves it, but you can’t do it before the matter has been assessed, you can’t do it outside the framework of establishing truth with a view to achieving justice. So there must be that process of arriving at truth.
Violet: Should this also include the violence in the MDC and the violence that is perpetrated by opposition supporters?
Brian Kagoro: I think when you are doing it within a constitutional framework and in this particular incident what I'll say is that let us assume the MDC will be in government and will be the government it cannot forgive itself. This must be one of the cardinal demands of the democratisation in Zimbabwe; which is that there must be an observance of the rule of just law, an observance of the constitution of processes and procedures. So yes it must include even those within the main opposition political party and even civil society.
Violet: Obviously it’s difficult to make comparisons as to who has done worse but we know that in the reports that we are getting from Zimbabwe, many of the people that have been killed or brutalised are those that are coming from the opposition or perceived to be opposition supporters. Now the issue of amnesty as a whole, is this not the sort of thing that would hamper any talk of a negotiated settlement because those in Zanu PF will be afraid to be sent to places like the Hague?
Brian Kagoro: I actually think that the amnesty debate should not arise unless if either one of the parties is accepting that they have deliberately engaged in violence, in criminal conduct, in genocidal acts against a person because of their political affiliation. I think what constitutes the premise of a negotiated settlement in Zimbabwe should a) look at how to establish stability, political stability, b) look at how constitutional rules and functions will be shared and distributed, c) look at how to deal with long term structural issues such as the economy making sure that the economy is back on, d) look at how to re-engage with the rest of the region as a law abiding nation and perhaps with the International Community and by International Community I don’t necessarily mean auctioning the soul of our country to neo liberalism. I mean specifically reengaging so that we can begin to trade, to re-industrialise in a manner that does not affect adversely the rights of our people and their livelihoods.
Violet: So who do you think would be the best person in your view who can bring all these especially the two political parties together to start discussing such issues?
Brian Kagoro: There are only two men who can resolve our country’s problems and those men are Morgan Tsvangirai and Robert Mugabe and if anyone trying to bring Zimbabwe back to normalcy would have to ignore all the hangers-on and talk directly to those two men and hard options must be put squarely to them. I think that people have used a very softly, softly approach in dealing with Mugabe and the situation in Zimbabwe has continued to deteriorate in the objective sense as well as in the subjective sense.
Equally so, I think that there has been a lot of conciliatory approach by the opposition and I am not sure if they continue to be even more conciliatory than they are now - they will not be mistaken for fools or imbeciles. But one must applaud the statesmanship that they have attempted to show and we must also demand from Zanu PF the statesmanship that we have not seen yet. This triumphant display, this pretense that you are still in charge even though you have lost an elections is a splendid display of foolishness because whilst … (inaudible) with respect to the old man, for the younger members of the ruling party it seems they are writing themselves out of the history books of our country and also sealing their fate in terms of ever getting involved and being accepted by Zimbabweans as legitimate politicians.
Violet: Briefly Brian, can you give us some of these hard options that you are talking about?
Brian Kagoro: The first hard option is already on the table; you need to dismantle all militia groups including those that are dotted within the police force and the army; 2) need to call off the dogs literally, issue an order that says to people you cannot continue killing because someone issued the order for people to kill, someone must issue the order for people NOT to kill, okay. Investigate who is financing the orgy of violence that we are seeing in Zimbabwe. 3) Surrender of power according to the constitution or facilitating at least that there is peaceful hand over of power.
Violet: But how do you force someone like Mugabe to do all these things because he hasn’t done this in the last eight years, so why should he listen now?
Brian Kagoro: Partly because the region SADC has not put adequate pressure. It is SADC that has not been hard. It is our friends in South Africa, and I insist, who have often acted like Mugabe’s International Public relations manager and they have done so to a fairly narrow and bookish interpretation of what the ideological context is in Zimbabwe or rather what the political context is in Zimbabwe.
I think now they have egg on their faces and realise that this has absolutely nothing to do with the broad egalitarian project to ensure that there is redistribution in the economy. That this is really about pursuit of personal power and self-aggrandisement; that there is a systemic and systematic disregard of any form of rules and form of consensus in decision making and in governance in Zimbabwe. So it’s incumbent upon the South Africans to take decisive action to send a clear message. I think soft diplomacy died, was buried and it’s clear now that you need new diplomacy that is effective so one is not suggesting megaphone diplomacy but one is suggesting feasibly effective diplomacy.
Violet: Now Brain, speaking about South Africa, Zimbabweans are not only being hounded down and threatened in Zimbabwe but also next door. What do you make of the xenophobic attacks in South Africa?
Brian Kagoro: No, no, no, no if you call them xenophobic attacks you minimise what they are. These are genocidal attacks, genocidal attacks that some of us believe may be financed by unknown elements or instigated by unknown elements. These are crimes against humanity that the International Criminal Court must investigate; they are not purely linked to the economically disadvantaged people in the slums. These are purely organised genocidal attacks against people of Mozambican, Zimbabwean, Malaiwan, Nigerian, Somali, Kenyan origin.
People who hosted kindly and generously South Africans in the process that they were fighting for their liberation. If the concern were about the economy - we have not seen any attacks against Whites; we have not seen attacks against Asians who dominate the South African economy, so one cannot excuse it as being linked just to livelihood. There must be a more sinister agenda that we need to investigate. But it is sad for South Africa, this is the same country that was preaching African renaissance and it has gone back to the dark ages.
Violet: That’s what I wanted to find out about the root cause of the attacks and is the so called “Rainbow Nation” and its very concept failing?
Brian Kagoro: Well firstly this is Kaffir Apartheid, and I am sorry to use the term "Kaffir", but to have black people exercise the same amount of savagery that we have seen exercised against them by the apartheid state is regrettable. You have black people who for over 300 years were victims of discrimination on the basis of their identity becoming the main perpetrators of identity-based-discrimination is regrettable. So this return of apartheid in a black face is something that has caused South Africa - in the eyes of those of us who consider ourselves progressive Pan Africanists - to lose its moral authority to speak on behalf of Africa, to lose its moral authority to pontificate about an African renaissance.
I think we need to revisit the idea of a Rainbow Nation; is it a Rainbow only for South African-Africans and Whites and Europeans and Americans that they happily welcome each day?
Is it a Rainbow that has no colour black, meaning for the rest of black Africa? So it’s identity politics, identity crisis that we are seeing. It is genocidal attacks especially against Zimbabweans and other African nationalities. It is further confirmation that Apartheid never died.
Violet: I am afraid Brian I have run out of time but thank you very much.
Brian Kagoro: You are welcome.
Comments and feedback can be sent to violet@swradioafrica.com
afrol News, 27 May - With Zimbabwe
governance in shambles and post election
violence spreading beyond control
in the Zimbabwe, more Zimbabweans live in
fear as the country heads for 27
June run-off polls.
Zimbabwe has been rocked by serious human rights
violations since the
disputed presidential polls on 29 March, which has left
over 40 people dead
while more than 1000 are displaced. The ruling ZANU-PF
officials and
supporters were allegedly pursuing violent attacks and
killings against
opposition MDC supporters despite the political agreement
to hold run-off
presidential elections.
As the run off date
approaches, observers fear the violence and intimidation
which has been
dragging since March polls.
Zimbabwe's main opposition leader, Morgan
Tsvangirai, who fled his country
after winning most votes in the
presidential contest due to fears of
assassination, landed in Harare on
Saturday to face his arch rival, ZANU PF
leader, Robert Mugabe.
Mr
Tsvangirai who was out of the country for more than six weeks, survived
at
least three assassination attempts including last year when he was
severely
assaulted by police at a prayer rally held in Harare. ZANU-PF has
denied
allegations of plot assassinations.
Though Mr Tsvangarai has expressed
his fears, he is adamant that his
supporters are ready for the June polls.
CNN quoted Mr Tsvangarai saying
"They can kill us, they can maim us, but on
27 June we are going to vote
this man out. We will not betray the life of
Tonderai."
He was speaking at the funeral of 33-year-old activist
Tonderai Ndira, one
of at least 40 activists of the opposition who have been
murdered in the
past two months.
Independent human rights groups
lashed on the ruling party saying opposition
supporters have been targeted
in a campaign of violence aimed at ensuring
the 84-year-old President Mugabe
remains in power.
While xenophobic attacks has been perpetrated mostly on
Zimbabwean nationals
residing in South Africa, hope to go back to their
country is bleak with the
current human rights violations perpetrated on MDC
supporters in the last
two months.
On the other hand, ZANU PF has
mounted a massive campaign ahead of the June
polls to ensure victory.
Zimbabwean leader Mugabe, who led the country since
independence in 1980,
was beaten into second place in the first round of
presidential polls in
March has launched his run off campaign.
Zimbabwe state media has
reported President Mugabe is urging his supporters
during the launch to
condemn acts of violence and fight for independence in
the
country.
ZANU-PF mouthpiece, 'The Herald', quoted President Mugabe
saying: "Zimbabwe
cannot be British, it cannot be American. Yes, it is
African, but first and
foremost it is Zimbabwean and for
Zimbabweans.”
He appealed to his supporters to put differences aside
which were resultant
of primary election ahead on 29 March polls when
electing candidates to
dedicate their efforts to victory in the run off
elections due next month.
President Mugabe assured the nation that
despite the hardships that were
being faced, the ruling party would continue
to strive to ensure that food
was available and other challenges such as
housing, transport and water and
electricity shortages continued to be
addressed.
President Mugabe who repossessed land for redistribution to
the landless
black majority from the minority white farmers since 2000, was
one of the
major contributors to Zimbabwe's downfall. More than 3.5 million
people have
fled to South Africa and other countries to escape
impoverishment in an
economy where inflation is over 165,000
percent.
By staff writer
Catholic Information Service for Africa
(Nairobi)
27 May 2008
Posted to the web 27 May
2008
Konigstein
Many Catholic priests and laity are on the list of
persons targeted by
soldiers and pro-state militia groups in President
Robert Mugabe's clampdown
on perceived opposition sympathisers.
Many
of the priests and Christians have been forced into hiding following
death
threats, a Zimbabwean priest, who must remain anonymous for reasons of
his
own security, told the Germany-based international Catholic pastoral
charity, Aid to the Church in Need.
Grave human rights abuses are
continuing ahead of the presidential run-off
on June 27. In rural areas
especially, people who had voted for the
opposition Movement for Democratic
Change have been kidnapped, tortured,
maimed and raped by soldiers and
militia groups, the priest said.
There are many people who have been
driven to destitution after their
possessions were plundered and their
houses burned down on charges of having
voted for the opposition.
The
priest expressed fear that the situation will only get still worse ahead
of
the run-off between President Mugabe and MDC leader Morgan Tsivangirai
who
won the first round in the glaringly flawed March 29 election.
The food
distribution system in the famine-stricken nation is likewise being
manipulated by the state. Members of the opposition get no food, and
Catholic dioceses are not allowed to distribute any food to help the
hungry.
The priest called on all Catholics around the world to pray for
the people
of Zimbabwe -- and also for those "who are persecuting us,
because we have
exercised our democratic rights".
The Catholic
charity ACN called for solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe
and for
increased aid, especially for the local Church, which is supporting
democracy.
Meanwhile, a Zimbabwean church group said that freedom of
worship in the
country was being infringed in the weeks before the
presidential run-off.
Police invoked security laws to ban open-air prayer
meetings in some parts
of the country.
"We were told last week that
churches are no longer allowed to hold prayer
meetings in the open except on
church premises," Pastor Useni Sibanda, a
spokesperson for the group called
'Churches in Bulawayo', told Ecumenical
News International.
'Churches
in Bulawayo' is a loose coalition of congregations in Zimbabwe's
second-biggest city. "In the past there were no restrictions on where
churches could hold meetings, and for us this is actually an infringement on
our right to freedom of worship," Sibanda said.
www.maggemm.org
May 26, 2008
Lobby
Group launches new website dedicated to the memory of Gukurahundi
victims.
Mthwakazi Action Group on Genocide in Matabeleland and
Midlands (MAGGEMM) is
launching its new website in honour and remembrance of
those who died or
disappeared during the Gukurahundi genocide in Zimbabwe in
the 1980s.
London, UK - 27/5/08
Rorisang Masiane, Executive
Director of Mthwakazi Action Group on Genocide
in Matabeleland and Midlands
(MAGGEMM) today announced the launch of the
pressure group’s new website, www.maggemm.org.
MAGGEMM will campaign to
promote open dialogue on Gukurahundi, for truth and
justice on behalf of the
victims and also organise commemorative events to
keep the memory of those
who died or disappeared alive. The group has so far
held two demonstrations
this year outside the Zimbabwe Embassy in London.
“What we are launching
today is not just the website but also the re-birth
of MAGGEMM,” says
Rorisang Masiane. “Even though we have been around for a
number of years
now, this is the first time we are making a proper web
presence to
internationalise our work. We want to be the main voice for
those who have
to deal with the trauma of Gukurahundi alone and almost
forgotten.”
The launch of MAGGEMM’s new website also comes with a
revision of their
mission and sees the group go back to basics. “In the last
two years, we
have carried out informal research within the affected
communities and our
findings made us go back to the drawing board and revise
our strategy. With
the launch of our website, we are also presenting a
return to what we were
originally formed to do, which is to focus on the
Gukurahundi genocide and
the fight for truth and justice on behalf of
victims” says Rorisang Masiane.
Notes to Editors;
1. Mthwakazi
Action Group on Genocide in Matabeleland and Midlands (MAGGEMM)
is a
not-for-profit group for victims of the Gukurahundi genocide in
Zimbabwe
between 1982 and 1988.
2. MAGGEMM is not a political party/organisation and
its actions must not be
viewed as such.
3. Gukurahundi is a Shona word
which means "the early rain which washes away
the chaff before the spring
rains” and was the codename for the government
military operation in
Matabeleland and Midlands between 1982 and 1988.
4. At least 20,000 people
were massacred during the Gukurahundi campaign.
-End-
| Tuesday, 27 May 2008 15:54 | |
| Post-Election Update 2 April 28 to May 15 2008 Introduction Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) continues to observe post-election events as they unfold. ZESN deployed 210 long-term observers who closely watch events in their respective constituencies. This update covers the period April 28 to May 27 2008. Methodology This update is based on information gathered from primary and secondary sources. Primary data was gathered from ZESN observers in the 210 constituencies, members of the network as well as ZESN Secretariat. Secondary data was gathered from print and electronic media. Local Authority Results Zimbabwe was divided into 1958 wards according to the Delimitation Report of 2008. Local authorities are critical in Zimbabwe as they are the vehicle of the delivery of services such as refuse collection, sewage and reticulation, maintenance of roads, pegging and servicing of residential stands among other services. The people of Zimbabwe have been grappling with poor and in most cases none existent service delivery. Residents in the various local authorities in Zimbabwe have had to contend with a plethora of problems which include uncollected refuse, bursting sewers, erratic water supplies, roads filled with potholes which have become a nightmare for motorists. There has been a general dissatisfaction among residents with the level of service delivery and these are some of the considerations that might have affected the choices of the electorate as they chose the councillors for their respective local authorities. Local governance results have implications for local governance in Zimbabwe. These wards are under the jurisdiction of councilors who are elected by residents of these wards. While House of Assembly and Senatorial results were released in the first week after the harmonized elections, local authority results were only released 5 weeks after the election and even then they have been released in batches. The first batch of results was published on the 9th of May 2008. Since elections had been harmonized, local authority elections to choose councilors were simultaneously done together with the House of Assembly and the Presidential election. A number of legal changes have been made that affect local governance in Zimbabwe. The executive mayor was abolished, instead the government reverted to the old ceremonial mayor who did not have executive powers but one who would be chosen among the elected councilors. It has been alleged by commentators that the abolition of the Executive Mayor was more for political expediency than economic rationality. Since 2000, most urban local authorities such as Kariba, Chinhoyi, Mutare, Chegutu and Bulawayo just to mention a few, had been under the management of MDC History has shown that political feuds that took place in the past between MDC run councils and the then Minister of Local Government did not benefit residents and the quality of service deteriorated even more. The operations of local authorities were paralyzed for example the Minister of Local Government fired all the councilors of Harare City Council, including the executive mayor Elias Mudzuri who had been elected in the 2002 elections. In its place a commission was put in place to run the affairs of the local authority. This scenario was prevalent in most areas where MDC had won elections including Chegutu and Kariba. Recently, in Kadoma Central elected MDC councilors have been denied access to the City Council Chambers and this means that normal council business has not resumed. Since the March 29 elections, there has been further deterioration in service delivery. The diagrams below show the distribution local government councilors by province. This data was collated by ZESN from the herald of the 9th May 2008 and other publications that followed the release of the first batch of results. Results for the unopposed seats were published by ZEC in state press before the March 29 Elections. National Picture Based On Released Results The ten provinces had a total of 1543 vacancies for councilors that were contested and 569 uncontested in March 29 harmonized elections. MDC (T) has 42 per cent control of local authorities while ZANU PF has 51 per cent and MDC has 6 per cent control of local authorities and UPP and independent combined account for 1 per cent. It is interesting to note that there were some seats for councilors that were won uncontested; the party that fielded a candidate automatically won the seat. Seats won uncontested Province Political Party Seats Won Uncontested Manicaland MDC (Tsvangirai) ZANU PF 1 13 Masvingo MDC (Tsvangirai) MDC ZANU PF 2 1 56 Matebeleland North MDC ZANU PF 5 31 Matebeleland South MDC (Tsvangirai) ZANU PF 1 28 Mashonaland |Central MDC (Tsvangirai) ZANU PF 3 77 Mashonaland East ZANU PF 43 Mashonaland West MDC (Tsvangirai) MDC ZANU PF 1 1 81 Midlands MDC (Tsvangirai) ZANU PF 1 62 Total seats uncontested 569 The uncontested seats have an effect of distorting the election results. It must be noted that in the election of local authorities, MDC (T) won in the election but lost when uncontested seats are included. This scenario was prevalent in Masvingo and Mashonaland West where MDC (T) won contested seats but overall had fewer seats as a result of the uncontested seats. A number of reasons could be given for the lack of contestants for MDC (T) party in council elections for provinces such as Mashonaland Central, West and Midlands. It can be argued that political parties were not fully prepared for the harmonized elections. Lack of coordination can be another reason for inability to field candidates in some wards. In addition, political parties may have given little priority to council elections and this could have resulted to inability to field candidates in all wards. MDC (T) might have failed to find candidates willing to openly declare that they support MDC (T) for fear of the repercussions. Provinces such as Midlands, Mashonaland West and Mashonaland East were believed to be predominantly ZANU PF, as such individuals might have been fearful of the implications of contesting and apparently these fears have been justified as those that dared to be candidates and even agents of MDC have been victims of violence and their homes have been razed to the ground. Release of Presidential Results After a long wait, presidential results were finally released on the 2nd of May 2008. The delay in the release of results led to much speculation and anxiety on the electorate. ZESN observers noted that the electorate did not have trust in ZEC as an independent electoral body. The delay in the release of results exacerbated the mistrust people had of ZEC. The integrity, transparency and impartiality of ZEC was also compromised by the delay in releasing the results. ZESN is concerned about the lack of transparency in the verification, collation and tabulation of results, as party agents were not invited as is required by the law. In addition ZEC was unable to inform the public of certain information which is critical to the public such as the total number of registered voters after they closed registration on the 14th of February 2008, the total votes cast through postal ballot and the distribution of polling stations since more had been added from the original list. ZESN has noted the existence of discrepancies between results announced by ZEC and the results collated by MDC and ZANU PF. ZESN could not vouch on ZEC results because of the reasons mentioned above. Results announced by ZEC were as follows: Presidential Poll Results- 29 March 2008 Harmonized Elections Candidate Number of Votes Percentage of Total Vote Makoni, Herbert Stanley Simba 207 470 8.3% Mugabe, Robert Gabriel 1 076 730 43.2% Towungana, Langton 14 503 0.6% Tsvangarai, Morgan 1 195 562 47.9% Total Valid Votes 2 497 265 Spoilt ballots 39 975 Total vote cast 2 537 240 Percentage poll 42.7% As none of the candidates failed to get the proscribed 50 per cent plus one vote, this state of affairs calls for a run–off. Intimidation and Violence The numbers of people that have experienced post-election violence increased as the run-off became a certainty. The intensity of violence has scaled up, people have been killed, maimed and injured without recourse. Property and people‘s livelihoods have been destroyed in post-election violence. In Mashonaland Central violence has increased, as people suspected to be sympathizers of MDC have been physically assaulted and some people’s homes were burnt to the ground. While it is difficult to provide accurate statistics of people affected by post election violence, estimates are possible based on the number of people that have sought refuge and help with various civil society organizations that offer help to victims. At least 30 observers have been provided with shelter through the network while 155 are reported to be staying with friends and relatives. The Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights has estimated that an estimated 22 people have died, 900 have been tortured and 40 000 farm workers have been displaced in the post-election violence. An organization that is giving help to victims of violence, has noted that the intensity of injuries has increased from April to May 2008. The organization reported that in April 2008, 27 per cent of the injuries on victims were life threatening but there has been an increase in May 2008 where 38 per cent injuries reported have been life threatening. Hospital admissions for victims of political violence in Harare for the month of April stood at 99, ZESN notes with concern that the number of hospital admissions for victims of political violence that have come to Harare 12 days into the month of May stands at 65 and these are statistics for only 12 days of the month. This escalation is disturbing as there are fears that the scale and intensity of violence may increase as people head for the run-off. The 2002 violence is still fresh in the minds of many Zimbabweans and the thought of the same violence being reincarnated in 2008 is nightmarish. ZESN has noted with concern that the Governor of Mashonaland Central, one of the political hotspots, has denied humanitarian assistance to the victims of violence in the area. The Red Cross Society had asked permission to intervene and give humanitarian help to victims but this has been denied as the governor alleges that the Social Welfare Department working in the area and external help will be sought when they deem it necessary. Violence the midlands province has increased as evidenced by an increasing number incidence observed by ZESN observers. In Gokwe Kana, a grocery shop belonging to the MDC (T) candidate was burnt to the ground. A ZESN observer had his plot taken away and the youths alleged that they were acting on instructions from above. War veterans in Mberengwa were terrorizing residents especially those they suspected to be MDC (T) and a number of villagers had fled their homes. Violence was more pronounced in ward 33 in Chingechuru village. Rupange, Mabika and Cheshanje schools under Chief Mapiravana of ward 11 is now deserted as teachers fled after being assaulted for voting “incorrectly” in the March 29 elections. Victims of violence have been accused of placing their votes in the wrong place. 18 ZANU PF youths pleaded guilty to the arson charges. They were accused of burning homes belonging to alleged MDC supporters. In some cases victims of violence were informed that voting was futile in Zimbabwe, as power would not be given to MDC (T). They were told to refrain from voting in the run-off until they know the right place to place their vote. Such occurrences negate the concept of democratic choice and the secrecy of the ballot. Violence has instilled fear in rural populations since violence has been more rampant in these areas. Harassment of Human Rights Defenders ZESN has noted the increase in the attacks of human rights defenders in the post-election period. Davison maruziva an editor for the standard was fired for allowing an article that exposed violence to be published in the paper. Ray Majongwe, Chibhebhe and Matombo Lovemore have been victims in the post-election period. In addition, on the 7th of May 2008, police from the Law and Order unit arrested Mr. Harrison Nkomo, a human rights lawyer and activist. Nkomo was detained overnight and was to appear in court. The grounds for the arrest appear to be statements uttered by the lawyer in the High Court of Zimbabwe while representing a client. The police are charging Nkomo with undermining the authority of the Robert Mugabe. Nkomo is also the ZESN lawyer and has been assisting the organization with police investigations into activities surrounding the 29 March harmonized elections. ZESN is concerned that this is yet another attack on human rights defenders in the post election period. Violence against election observers ZESN condemns acts of violence being perpetrated on the citizenry. Violence has also scaled up as ZESN observers in the rural areas have been targeted for their observation role in the just ended harmonized elections. People who were ZESN observers in the just ended election have become victims of violence and many have been accused of collaborating with MDC to oust ZANU PF. The violence in Mashonaland Central and Mashonaland East has seen observers’ houses being burnt down, they have lost property and they have been physically assaulted. A number of observers looked helplessly as their houses were burnt to the ground. These numbers are not exhaustive as many observers have fled their homes and their whereabouts are still unknown. Such an assault on observers has implications for the run-off, as civil society participation would a risky exercise for observers’ especially in rural areas. A number of observers have received threats of attacks before the run off and they have been warned not to participate again in the run off. It is sad to note that people have lost their lives in a bid to exercise their democratic right to choose their leaders. It seems that observers have committed a crime by being involved in the observation of a seemingly democratic process. They have paid dearly for civic involvement and engagement. ZESN is concerned about the arson attacks on ZESN observers and the general public. It continues to condemn such activities as undemocratic. ZESN observers in Chiweshe reported that victims of post election violence were being denied medical care as health service providers such as Howard Mission Hospital were been barred from providing services to injured people. Role of War Veterans and Youth Militia War veterans and youth militia have been the vehicles through which violence has been perpetrated in the country. In the provinces where violence has scaled up, the perpetrators have been war veterans, members of the armed forces and youth militias. ZESN condemns the role these groups have played in violating the rights of citizens to exercise their democratic rights. War veterans and youth militias have targeted people they suspect to be MDC supporters and those they feel could have voted for opposition in the last election. These have burnt people’s homes and murdered people with impunity. ZESN observers in Chegutu East witnessed rallies addressed by war veterans, people wearing Zimbabwe National Army regalia and youth militias in which people have been intimidated and warned that to vote for MDC was tantamount to voting for a war. ZESN observers reported that on the 28 of April and on the 1 May 2008, rallies were conducted at ZIMFEP and Wicklow Secondary School respectively. These rallies were presided over by war veterans and youth militias. This has been the pattern in many of the hot spots were violence has been rampant. People suspected to be MDC supporters are called upfront and disciplined in front of the crowd as a warning to others in the community who would want to support MDC. ZESN observers have seen that teachers have been targets of politically motivated violence and many schools in Mashonaland Central and Mashonaland East have not been opened or the teachers have run away from their stations after being threatened with violence for being MDC supporters. Teachers that have remained in their stations have been assaulted at times in front of their communities during political meetings. It is also sad to note that people that had contested for council elections on the MDC ticket have been victimized and displaced form their homes. Displacements from their homes mean a sizeable number of people will be disenfranchised in the run-off since voting is ward based. The Media The media provides information on which people make choices about their preferred leaders in an election; this makes media a very important tool in any democratic process. The Universal Declaration of Rights and other major human rights instruments confirm the right to genuine elections, the right of voters to receive accurate and sufficient information upon which to make a choice among political contestants, the right of electoral competitors to express their message in a campaign and finally the right of the media to seek and impart information. An analysis of the current Zimbabwean scenario shows that these rights have been violated as evidenced by the attacks on journalists in the post-election era and the biased reporting that has been rampant in state owned media. Proper media conduct towards all political parties, candidates and presentation of information that is relevant to electoral choices is crucial to achieving democratic elections. In the Zimbabwean case, state owned media has abused their monopoly by providing information that is biased and that shows clear inclination towards one party. The people have lost confidence in the news that is aired by state owned media. MMPZ feels that since the release of house of assembly results and presidential results, the level of propaganda in the Herald and ZTV as well as ZBC have intensified. MMPZ alleges that the level of falsehoods also published by the Herald and ZTV have increased as they seek to discredit MDC Tsvangirai. The ethos of media fairness concerning the treatment of political parties has been sacrificed. There have been gross violations of the rights of citizens to receive, seek and impart information as citizens have been misinformed and fed with the propaganda of how MDC (T) intends to take the country back to colonization. While the announcement of the presidential results was an important issue in the lives of Zimbabweans, state owned media down played the importance of these results, instead it went on an attack of the international community. The onslaught of Morgan Tsvangirai as a puppet of the west has intensified. Reporting on the violence that has scaled up in Mashonaland East, Mashonaland Central has been widely covered in private media and it has been downplayed in state owned media. When state owned media reports on violence it one sided as they seek to portray MDC (T) as a violent party. For example the Herald carried a story whose headline was “Tsvangirai Running Scared”, in which MDC (T) supporters were labeled “misguided backers” this demonstrates inability to tolerate diversity and difference in the media which is meant to foster democratic values of tolerance and acceptance of difference and diversity. Consequently, state owned media has not been able to promote the presentation of accurate, fair and sufficient information for the electorate that will allow them to make informed choices given that Zimbabwe is confronted with the Presidential Run-Off. The Presidential Run-Off The Presidential runoff is now imminent given the official announcement of results by ZEC on the 2nd of May 2008. The law stipulates that in the event that presidential aspirants fail to garner the majority vote, which 50 per cent, plus 1 vote, a run is off has to be done within 21 days of the announcement. However ZEC has indicated that it has up to a year to undertake the run off. George Chiweshe announced that the legislature was over ambitious to announce that a run off could be done within 21 days. The Government Gazette has published on the 13th of May 2008, that the run off would be held within 90 days from the day presidential results were announced. A special notice in the special Government Gazette noted that notwithstanding Section 110 of the Electoral Act, the period within which a second election for the office of the president was extended from 21days to 90 days. This announcement has been met with protests for the MDC (T) as the party believes that 90 days is a long time in which violence will be unleashed on the people and consequently affect their electoral choices. The date for the run-off has been placed at 27 June 2008. However, the level with which post-election violence has increased has cast a shadow on the freeness and fairness with which the run off will be conducted. Stakeholders have raised a number of issues regarding the run –off, these include: • Will the elections be free and fair given the escalation on post-election violence • If the run off is delayed this means more terror for the citizens and an increase in the number of lives lost unnecessarily. • Who will conduct the elections given the harassment, intimidation and arrest of ZEC officials who participated in the election on allegations of fraud? • ZEC has indicated that it might not be able to conduct the election within the timeframe proscribed by the law due to the dearth of resources, the question on everyone ‘s mind is when will election be held and what will the manner of governance be until the run off date is announced. • The fact that in some provinces ZEC officials were taken to court for alleged electoral fraud has implications on the willingness of citizens to manage elections. In Manicaland, the Manica Post recorded that 22 ZEC officials had been arrested for electoral fraud and criminal abuse of duty charges. These are some of the contentious issues being asked by the electorate as they grapple with the paralysis of governance that has gripped the country. Recommendations Based on the above observations ZESN recommends: • An end to all politically motivated violence as it does not foster democratic participation. • ZESN urges political parties to educate their supporters to resist from engaging in violent activities. • ZESN recommends the government to allow victims of violence to receive humanitarian assistance from organizations offering assistance. • ZESN urges all political parties to exercise discipline and respect human live by desisting from violent activities as we count down to the presidential run off. Conclusions In the run up to the Presidential Run –Off, ZESN urges political parties to desist from instigating violence that has wrecked havoc in the lives of innocent Zimbabweans. ZESN also urges Zimbabweans to go in their numbers and vote. |
(Publication Date: 05-27-2008)
By Bronwen
Dachs
Catholic News Service
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (CNS) --
Zimbabweans in rural areas "fear for their
lives," a church official said
after a report warned that Zimbabwe is headed
toward civil
war.
Postelection attacks have been "most severe" in rural areas, and
many
Zimbabweans in these areas may be too afraid to vote for the opposition
in
the runoff presidential election June 27, said Alouis Chaumba, head of
Zimbabwe's Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace.
However, many
people in the country's towns and cities "are motivated to
vote again to
ensure an end to the present system," he told Catholic News
Service in a May
26 telephone interview from the capital, Harare.
"Many communities feel
that voting will be an act of solidarity with their
friends who have been
killed or wounded in the violence, so that they did
not die in vain,"
Chaumba said.
A report on postelection violence in Zimbabwe by the
Solidarity Peace Trust,
an ecumenical group of church organizations from
Zimbabwe and South Africa,
said, "There needs to be a general recognition
that Zimbabwe is sinking fast
into the conditions of a civil war, propelled
largely by the increasing
reliance on violence by the ruling party to stay
in power, and the rapidly
shrinking spaces for any form of peaceful
political intervention."
The report, released in Johannesburg, South
Africa, May 21, contained about
50 eyewitness accounts of orchestrated
beatings, torture and the destruction
of homes and shops.
The results
of the March 29 parliamentary and presidential elections are "a
clear
message that, despite the extremely harsh and repressive political
environment in which elections have been conducted in Zimbabwe, the people
of the country found the 'resources of hope' required to say no to continued
authoritarian rule," it said.
In early May, election officials
announced that Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of
the Movement for Democratic
Change, took 47.9 percent of the vote while
President Robert Mugabe, 84, who
has led Zimbabwe since independence from
Britain in 1980, took 43.2
percent.
The official results of the parliamentary vote confirmed that
the opposition
held a majority of seats for the first time in 28
years.
The report said that the ruling party's violence "has demonstrated
the
hollowness of Mugabe's anti-colonial message, with the real targets of
his
party's onslaught being the impoverished and battered citizens of the
country." The party's conduct since the March elections "has encapsulated
the degeneracy of the Mugabe legacy, and the security threat that this
regime now poses to Zimbabweans and the region," it added.
The report
noted that the violence "was carefully planned by a combination
of army,
police" and government intelligence operatives at an April meeting
in the
village of Nkayi, Zimbabwe.
In their late May newsletter, Zimbabwe's
Jesuits said there has been
"vicious, premeditated violence" on an
unprecedented scale in the country
since the elections.
They urged
opposition supporters who have been attacked by government agents
to resist
the temptation to retaliate.
"This would be civil war. It would also
destroy the moral foundation of the
struggle of the opposition for freedom
and the restoration of human dignity
in this country," they said.
In
Harare, Anglican Bishop Sebastian Bakare said people attending services
in
Anglican churches are assaulted by police with increasing brutality. In a
statement, he expressed shock and dismay at the "continuous police
interference with Sunday services."
Police officers "beat, harass and
arrest us, having declared our church
premises no-go areas," his May 23
statement said. Bishop Bakare replaced a
pro-Mugabe bishop.
Jesuit
Father Oscar Wermter said in the May newsletter that "a church
congregation
that is praying for peace is now deemed to be in support of the
opposition
-- with a certain logic, one has to admit, since the ruling party
is
definitely engaged in war against the common people and is against
peace."
"It is a great shame and very sad that members of the church
supporting
different parties may be fighting each other," Father Wermter
said.
AfricaFocus (Washington, DC)
ANALYSIS
26 May
2008
Posted to the web 27 May 2008
Washington, DC
This AfricaFocus Bulletin contains the text of "Zimbabwe: A Dream Deferred," a summary report from TransAfrica Forum on the joint observer mission sent by TransAfrica Forum and Africa Action to the Zimbabwe election in March. The summary is written for a U.S. audience, to provide a progressive alternative to misleading and simplistic characterizations of the crisis in Zimbabwe, often characterizing news coverage and debate in the United States.
It also includes a listing and links to previous AfricaFocus Bulletins and Africa Policy E-Journal issues on Zimbabwe, providing a wide variety of documentation on Zimbabwe in the crisis years from 2000 to the present.
Another AfricaFocus Bulletin sent out today contains excerpts from other recent commentaries on Zimbabwe that challenge the simplistic conflation of Mugabe's critics with the positions taken by the British and American governments.
For ongoing coverage of and commentary on current developments, AfricaFocus particularly recommends Zimbabwean sites http://www.kubatana.net and http://www.sokwanele.com, and international sites http://www.pambazuka.org and http://allafrica.com/zimbabwe
@@@@@@@@@@@Editor's Picks: Crisis Updates/Background@@@@@@@
President Thabo Mbeki Address to the nation on Africa Day
http://www.info.gov.za/speeches/2008/08052608451001.htm
"Sadly, here in South Africa, we mark Africa day with our heads bowed. The shameful actions of a few have blemished the name of South Africa through criminal acts against our African brothers and sisters from other parts of the continent, as well as other foreign residents especially from Asia.
...
Never since the birth of our democracy, have we witnessed such callousness. As part of the reflection that Africa Day requires of all of us, we must acknowledge the events of the past two weeks as an absolute disgrace."
Pambazuka News
http://www.pambazuka.org/en/issue/373
Issue on "South Africa: Xenophobia and the end of an illusion", with articles by editors Mukoma Wa Ngugi and Firoze Manji on xenophobia and solidarity, eye-witness report from a trade unionist, statements by Abahlali baseMjondolo, Onyekachi Wambu, Social Movements Indaba, Southern African film makers, and roundup from African blogs
@@@@@@@@@@End Editor's Picks: Crisis Updates/Background@@@@@@@
The Zimbabwe Elections: A Dream Deferred
TransAfrica Forum Policy Brief
http://www.transafricaforum.org
May 2008
Summary Report (May 12, 2008) from an
Election Mission to Zimbabwe, March 20 - April 2, 2008
[printed formatted version available from TransAfrica Forum]
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up?
like a raisin in the sun
Or fester like a sore-
and then run?
...
Maybe it just sags like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
- Langston Hughes
TransAfrica Forum, founded in 1977, and Africa Action, formed in 2001 by the merger of the American Committee on Africa (1953), the Africa Fund (1966), and the Africa Policy Information Center (1978), have a long history of support for liberation, human rights, and economic justice in Zimbabwe. Before Zimbabwe's independence in 1980, TransAfrica Forum and Africa Action's predecessor groups were among the leading U.S. supporters of Zimbabwe's freedom struggle against the white minority regime of Rhodesia. They also actively opposed and exposed tacit U.S. and British collaboration with that white regime.
Since independence, both groups have maintained close contacts in Zimbabwe, particularly with the trade union movement and with Zimbabwe's active and diverse civil society, as well as with Zimbabwean political groups. They have joined Zimbabwean groups in opposition to conservative economic structural adjustment programs prescribed by international financial institutions and Western powers for Zimbabwe and other African countries. And they have shared the disappointment and disillusionment of Zimbabweans as political leaders have turned to corruption, demagoguery, violence, and repression to preserve their personal power instead of continuing to advance the shared dreams and promises of independence.
From March 20 to April 2, the two organizations fielded an unofficial observer mission to Zimbabwe during the election period, focusing on meeting with a wide range of groups as well as observing the election process. The delegation was made up of TransAfrica Forum Senior Director for Public Affairs Imani Countess, TransAfrica Forum Director for Africa Policy, Roxanne Lawson, and Africa Action Program Associate, Briggs Bomba. Their visit was facilitated by the Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development (ZIMCODD), a national social justice network with over 100 organizational members. The delegation met with civil society groups in Harare and Bulawayo, attended election events and briefings by Zimbabwean and other Southern African election observers, and interviewed Zimbabwean trade unionists, students, and other civil society leaders.
Groups that the delegation met with during the visit to Zimbabwe include Bulawayo Agenda, National Youth Development Trust, Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association, Center for Peace Initiatives in Africa, Christian Alliance and the Save Zimbabwe Campaign, Combined Harare Residents Association, Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, Matabeleland Empowerment Services Association, National Alliance of NGOs, National Constitutional Assembly, Student Solidarity Trust, Women of Zimbabwe Arise, Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development, Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, Zimbabwe Elections Support Network, Zimbabwe Human Rights Campaign, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, and Zimbabwe Social Forum.
This preliminary report summarizes the delegation's observations and analysis, drawing both on interviews during the visit and on the two groups' longstanding engagement with Zimbabweans seeking social, economic, and political justice for their people. In doing so, it seeks to provide a progressive alternative to misleading and simplistic characterizations of the crisis in Zimbabwe.
A False Polarization
Media coverage of the crisis in Zimbabwe has commonly highlighted criticism of Zimbabwe leader Robert Mugabe by Western governments, particularly the United States and Britain, on the one hand, and Mugabe's defense of his government's actions as a continuation of the liberation struggle against Western imperialism. This impression was particularly solidified during the period of seizures of white-owned farms beginning in 2000.
International press coverage gave particular attention to the fate of white farmers and President Mugabe claimed fulfillment of long-deferred goals of the liberation movement. President Mugabe accurately blamed Western powers for failing to follow through on independence pledges to facilitate peaceful settlement of the land issue. Supporters of President Mugabe in Africa and around the world legitimately accused the Western powers of a double standard in singling out Zimbabwe for criticism.
What this picture obscured, however, was the fact that the government itself had moved slowly for two decades on this issue.
Many of those who did receive large farms were themselves high government officials. In the context of conservative economic policies, the gap between rich and poor was accentuated. Critics charged that the new land seizure campaign was an opportunistic response to the government's defeat in a constitutional referendum that same year, and an attempt to divert attention from growing discontent at corruption at high levels while ordinary Zimbabweans saw their economic conditions continue to sink.
Crisis in Context
Zimbabwe's crisis is therefore not just the story of a liberation leader who has ruled for more than a quarter of a century and turned to violence and fraud to stay in power. It is a complex socio-economic crisis fueled by international economic pressures as well as government policies.
Unemployment is over 80 percent. Inflation is at astronomical levels. As many as 3 million of the 13 million population have fled the country, to South Africa, Britain, and around the world; for many families remittances from overseas relatives are the only source of survival.
Zimbabweans who voted against the government, despite enormous pressures from the ruling party, included not only political supporters of the opposition candidates. Many in fact have doubts about opposition leaders as well as government leaders. But overwhelmingly, the people of Zimbabwe want a new start, an opportunity to rebuild a country that, in the first decade after independence, was seen as one of the beacons of hope in Africa.
The actors are not just the political parties, but a richly diverse array of civil society organizations with grassroots constituencies, including trade unions, student groups, churches, human rights groups, professional groups, and independent media.
Their demand is not so much for a particular candidate, but respect for democracy and the rule of law, an end to violence, and the opportunity to begin economic reconstruction that benefits the majority of Zimbabweans.
Election in Context
Reports that we heard during our visit agreed that while the election context was far from free and fair, the election itself was far more peaceful than previous elections in 2000, 2002, and 2005, with only very minor incidents of violence or overt intimidation. Among changes in election procedure, which were facilitated by mediators from neighboring countries, was that election results in each polling station were posted in public at the station, allowing both party officials and other observers to compile their own national tallies. It was such "unofficial" counts that first indicated a parliamentary victory by the opposition and a loss by President Robert Mugabe in the presidential race.
Out of 5.2 million eligible voters, approximately 2.47 million voted (Zimbabweans outside the country were not eligible to vote).
In the House of Assembly, President Mugabe's Zanu-PF party lost its majority for the first time since independence in 1980, with 97 seats against the MDC's 99 in the 210-seat chamber. The smaller MDC faction won 10 seats [for a total of 109 seats won by the opposition]. In the Senate, Zanu-PF and the combined opposition have 30 seats each. The official presidential election results were finally announced more than a month after the election, and showed Morgan Tsvangirai with 47.9% of the votes, Robert Mugabe with 43.2%, and Simba Mukoni with 8.3%. The MDC claims, however, that their count shows Tsvangirai won an absolute majority, and that the long delay, without transparency, allowed tampering with the totals.
Nevertheless, Zimbabwean civic groups told the delegation that there were many structural aspects of the election that were still unfair, including partisan security forces, biased state media, no provision for voting by Zimbabweans outside the country, the government's decision to invite only "friendly" observers, and the general factor of fear, particularly in rural areas.
In the period following the election, the prospect of a free and fair presidential runoff to complete the process has been gravely endangered by the return of violence, active repression of opposition supporters and other critical voices, and suspicions of fraud in the prolonged period before the final results were released.
Trade Unions and the Crisis in Zimbabwe
The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) was formed in 1981, the year after independence, merging six separate trade union coalitions. The ZCTU has 35 affiliated unions. In the 1980s the union took the lead in opposing the structural adjustment programs introduced by the Zimbabwe government with advice from the World Bank, calling attention to the negative impact on workers and the general population. Criticism escalated to strikes as economic conditions worsened in the late 1990s. From 20,000 workers who went on strike in 1995, the number rose to 235,000 in 1996 and over a million in 1997. In response to growing pressure from civil society, the Parliament passed the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) in 2002, which virtually outlawed public gatherings. The Act requires permission from security forces prior to holding any public meeting; POSA has stifled debate and resulted in the arrest and detention of trade unionists and human rights workers. As government repression against worker action intensified, the ZCTU played a key role in the formation of the Movement for Democratic Change. Morgan Tsvangirai, previously ZCTU Secretary-General, became the leader of the new political party.
Unions in other Southern African countries and the international trade union movement in general, have been among the most consistent supporters of both economic and political justice in Zimbabwe. The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) has been particularly outspoken through the years of crisis. Most recently, in April, South African dockworkers in Durban refused to offload arms from a Chinese ship for shipment to Zimbabwe.
Together with the International Transport Federation (ITF) and the International Trade Unions Confederation (ITUC), and unions in other Southern African countries, pressure was successfully mobilized to stop the ship from offloading through ports in other African countries.
Resurgent Violence and Repression
As noted above, the lead-up to the March 29, 2008 election and Election Day itself were remarkably peaceful, and the initial process was smooth. As election results were delayed, however, violence began to mount, most of it reportedly the result of a campaign by security forces and pro-government gangs against opposition supporters. On May 9, the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights released a report expressing deep concern over the escalating cases of organized violence and torture and the increasing intimidation of medical personnel. The report said over 900 victims of violence have been documented in the post election period. But they stress that this figure grossly underestimates the problem because many cases go unreported countrywide and the violence is so widespread that it is impossible to properly document all the cases. The doctors report that the victims being treated have identified the perpetrators as war veterans, armed security forces and ZANU-PF youth militia. There were a few acts of violence that victims attributed to opposition members, and these appeared to have been retaliation or self-defense.
In addition, election officials in areas voting for the opposition have been arrested; teachers, who often served as local election officials, have been particularly targeted. On May 8, ZCTU President Lovemore Matombo and Secretary-General Wellington Chibebe were detained. The office of the Zimbabwe Election Support Network, the independent civil society election monitor, was raided. Many of its workers are in hiding or in detention. While some of those detained during this period have been released after short periods, there is still no sign that the pattern of arrests and violence is changing.
A Way Ahead?
Any detailed policy proposal risks being overtaken by events. The most recent developments are that the opposition has decided to enter the runoff campaign for president, despite the failure to verify the long-delayed presidential vote count and their contention that they were deprived of a 50%-plus margin by fraud.
But the timing of an election is uncertain, while violence continues to rise, most of it attributed by observers to a decision by security authorities to intimidate the population into voting for President Mugabe. Whether a runoff election with any credibility is in fact possible or not will depend on whether both internal and external pressures force security officials to limit, even if not to stop entirely, the climate of intimidation.
Nevertheless, there are some fundamental principles that must be observed if the people of Zimbabwe are to be able to exit from the crisis and make a new start. Any runoff election must be carried out under conditions of security, which will require the presence of observers not only from governments but also from civil society. Whatever the electoral outcome, or whether it is preceded by a transitional arrangement acceptable to the political contestants and to civil society, no "winner-take-all" solution can be a sustainable path to the future. Zimbabweans deserve a plan for economic reconstruction that breaks both with the current downward spiral of corruption and collapse and with rigid economic formulas imposed by international financial institutions. Western governments with little credibility should refrain from rash statements that give credibility to the regime's charges that opposition comes from Western powers rather than from Zimbabweans themselves. And, outside groups who wish to support the struggle for economic, social, and political justice in Zimbabwe should maintain a wide range of contacts with Zimbabwean civil society. The international community must provide humanitarian support as well as the commitment to be supportive of an open and democratic process in Zimbabwe.
Evolution of the Zimbabwe Crisis
Zimbabwe: Writing on the Wall
Mar 31, 2008 http://www.africafocus.org/docs08/zim0803.php
Zimbabwe: A Regional Solution?
Sep 23, 2007 http://www.africafocus.org/docs07/zim0709b.php
Zimbabwe: Pan African Response
Sep 23, 2007 http://www.africafocus.org/docs07/zim0709a.php
Zimbabwe: Call for SADC Action
Jul 1, 2007 http://www.africafocus.org/docs07/zim0707.php
Zimbabwe: The End of "Quiet Diplomacy"?
Mar 26, 2007 http://www.africafocus.org/docs07/zim0703.php
Zimbabwe: Symptoms of Decline
Dec 12, 2006 http://www.africafocus.org/docs06/zim0612.php
Zimbabwe: Displacement and Survival
Aug 6, 2006 http://www.africafocus.org/docs06/zim0608b.php
Zimbabwe: Shadows and Lies
Aug 6, 2006 http://www.africafocus.org/docs06/zim0608a.php
Zimbabwe: Housing Tsunami Continues
Jul 28, 2005 http://www.africafocus.org/docs05/zim0507.php
Zimbabwe: Election Fraud Report
Apr 18, 2005 http://www.africafocus.org/docs05/zim0504.php
Zimbabwe: Solidarity Newsletter
Mar2, 2005 http://www.africafocus.org/docs05/zim0503.php
Zimbabwe: Test for African Responsibility
Aug 14, 2004 http://www.africafocus.org/docs04/zim0408.php
Zimbabwe: "We Are Still Here Ambuya"
Dec 10, 2003 http://www.africafocus.org/docs03/zim0312b.php
Zimbabwe: Civil Society Voices
Dec7, 2003 http://www.africafocus.org/docs03/zim0312a.php
Africa Policy E-Journal (2000-2003)
Zimbabwe: Statements on Crisis
2003-06-10 http://www.africaaction.org/docs03/zim0306a.htm
Zimbabwe: Human Rights Watch Report
2003-06-10 http://www.africaaction.org/docs03/zim0306b.htm
Zimbabwe: Civil Society on Crisis
2003-04-19 http://www.africaaction.org/docs03/zim0304.htm
Zimbabwe: Election Reports
2002-03-14 http://www.africaaction.org/docs02/zim0203.htm
Zimbabwe: Update / Analysis
2002-02-25 http://www.africaaction.org/docs02/zim0202.htm
Zimbabwe: Press Freedom
2002-01-16 http://www.africaaction.org/docs02/zim0201.htm
Zimbabwe: African Rights Letter
2001-09-22 http://www.africaaction.org/docs01/zim0109.htm
Zimbabwe: Updates / Analysis
2000-10-05 http://www.africaaction.org/docs00/zim0010.htm
Zimbabwe: Statements/Analysis, 2
2000-05-14 http://www.africaaction.org/docs00/zim0005b.htm
Zimbabwe: Statements/Analysis, 1
2000-05-14 http://www.africaaction.org/docs00/zim0005a.htm
Zimbabwe: Recent Documents
2000-03-14 http://www.africaaction.org/docs00/zim0003.htm
AfricaFocus Bulletin is an independent electronic publication providing reposted commentary and analysis on African issues, with a particular focus on U.S. and international policies.
AfricaFocus Bulletin is edited by William Minter.
AfricaFocus Bulletin can be reached at africafocus@igc.org.
Please write to this address to subscribe or unsubscribe to the bulletin, or to suggest material for inclusion. For more information about reposted material, please contact directly the original source mentioned. For a full archive and other resources, see http://www.africafocus.org
http://www.thespoof.com
Zimbabwe Reserve
Bank issues larger notes
Written by Limnothrissa
Story written: 27 May
2008
Harare - The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe today announced the issue of a
larger
notes.
The notes, which again will be "bearer cheques", with
an expiry date, and
will be now much larger than the usual wallet size,
being 30cm X 20cm (18" X
12") in dimensions. They will be in one hundred
billion, one million
billion, one billion billion and one trillion billion
Zimbabwe Dollar
denominations. All smaller notes will expire at the end of
May 2008, as
inflation has made them completely worthless.
The
Reserve Bank Governor said the new sizes of the notes were to
accommodate
all the zeros in the amounts, as there was not enough space for
them to be
printed and still to be readable on the old sized notes. He
commented: "As
these new notes have expiry dates, we are looking to
recycling them, to save
importation of expensive toilet paper. President
Robert (Bob) Mugabes
portrait will be phased out and no longer feature on
the front of new notes
for obvious reasons".
Commentators speculated that it was a reference to
a comparison between the
method of disposal and similar end use of the
notes, and President Mugabe's
reputation.
With the unofficial
inflation rate running at over one zillion percent, 50
billion dollars will
no longer buy a piece of bread, which costs about 80
billion dollars. A
bunch of bananas commands a price of nearly 100 billion
dollars, sparking
rumours that there has been a decision at the highest
levels in the
Government for Zimbabwe to change its name to "The Banana
Republic of
ZimBobwe".
The Governor also said images of the new notes are posted on
the Web to
ensure innocent people did not get duped by counterfeit
notes.
Commercial banks welcomed the announcement as it would mean that
customers
could collect their cash in wheelbarrows instead of bringing herds
of
donkeys into the bank. They have been stipulating that from next week
only
house trained donkeys will be allowed inside, and this has had a
disastrous
effect on business. "Asses shouldn't be allowed in banks" said
one
commercial bank manager, asking not to be named.
The Reserve Bank
Governor declined to respond to this, saying it was not a
matter of national
importance. "There are many asses in Zimbabwe, why
shouldn't they be in
banking as well?" he said.
Customers using donkeys to transport their
cash have decried the state of
the roads in Zimbabwe. "They are full of
potholes, and even though there are
no cars due to the lack of any fuel in
the country, we are losing our asses
in the holes" one said. "The number of
these assholes is growing every day
and the President and his ZANU-PF Party
Officials seem to be completely
unaware of it. They are only concerned about
the Run-Off Election and only
travel by helicopter to campaign, so they
never see all the assholes that
the President and his Government has
created" he said.
The official rate of inflation is 366,000
percent.
The story above is a satire or parody. It is entirely
fictitious.