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Zimbabwe's opposition leader won't say if he'll take part in runoff until election date set

International Herald Tribune

The Associated PressPublished: May 5, 2008

HARARE, Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe's opposition leader has decided whether he will
participate in a presidential runoff, but won't make his choice public until
electoral officials set an election date, an aide said Monday.

Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai's options: concede
the second round to long-term, increasingly autocratic President Robert
Mugabe; or try to run a campaign in an atmosphere so violent that the
opposition chief does not feel safe in his own country.

"We have a decision," Tsvangirai's spokesman George Sibotshiwe told The
Associated Press Monday. "But we will only announce it when (the Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission) announces the date of the election."

Attempts to reach electoral commission officials, who announced Friday a
runoff would be necessary because neither Mugabe nor Tsvangirai won a simple
majority in March, were not immediately successful Monday. Deputy
Information Minister Bright Matonga said last week the constitution requires
a second round no sooner than 21 days from the announcement of the results,
and no later than a year.

Tsvangirai was in Johannesburg in neighboring South Africa, Sibotshiwe said,
adding the leader would make no comment himself Monday. Tsvangirai has been
traveling in his homeland's neighbors since the first round, saying his
priority is rallying international support but acknowledging he could be
arrested or attacked should he go home.

Tsvangirai has claimed he won outright on March 29 and party officials
dismissed as fraudulent Friday's official announcement that he got the most
votes, but not enough to avoid a second round. Tsvangirai's party and
independent rights groups have accused Mugabe of having delayed the official
results while his army and party militants mounted a campaign of violence
and intimidation intended to undermine support for the opposition before any
runoff.
Zimbabwe's neighbors called on the government to guarantee security during
the second round, according to a statement issued Monday after a weekend
meeting in Angola of the Southern African Development Community's political,
defense and security committee.

On Sunday, the Roman Catholic Justice and Peace Commission protested
political violence and called on the United Nations and African Union to
supervise the runoff.

In a statement to coincide with Sunday services, the Catholic human rights
body said the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission could no longer be relied on as
a "neutral and nonpartisan electoral umpire" after its five-week delay in
announcing final results. The Catholic group also cited witness reports of
politically motivated murder, abduction and torture.

Also Sunday, the Progressive Teachers Union said teachers, who have
traditionally acted as election officers, had been targeted in the political
violence. The union said the attacks on teachers were meant to instill fear
and prevent them from participating as polling officers in the runoff.

"Whoever is calling himself the government should act to stop violence in
schools or we will be forced to act," the union said, threatening a
nationwide strike.

Human Rights Watch said last week it had received reports that more than 100
polling station officers — most of them teachers and low-ranking civil
servants — had been detained in an eastern province. The New York-based
watchdog described that as an indication the government and its loyalists
were targeting those seen as betraying Mugabe.

Mugabe's officials have denied fomenting political violence, instead
accusing the opposition of being behind the unrest.

Mugabe, 84, was hailed at independence in 1980 for promoting racial
reconciliation and bringing education and health care to the black majority.
But in recent years he has been accused of holding onto power through
elections that independent observers say were marred by fraud, intimidation
and rigging.


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New Delay in Zimbabwe Elections

VOA

By Peta Thornycroft
Harare
05 May 2008

Concerns about a possible delay in Zimbabwe's presidential run-off election
are increasing. Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights has warned that the any
delay beyond the 21 day limit from May 2 when results were released will be
a breach of election law. Peta Thornycroft has this report.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, or ZEC, chaired by Judge George Chiweshe
who was appointed by President Robert Mugabe, has made it clear it will
decide the timing of the second round of the presidential election.

The announcement was carried in the State controlled newspaper Sunday Mail.

The run-off is necessary, according to the ZEC, because no candidate got
more than half the votes cast in the March 29 elections. MDC candidate
Morgan Tsvangirai nevertheless decisively outpolled incumbent President
Mugabe, the ruling party Zanu-PF candidate.

It took the commission five weeks to announce the results and rights lawyers
say the delay was an abuse of the electoral law.

Now there are reports in various media with connections to Zanu-PF that the
run-off will be delayed by at least 40 days.

Lawyers have complained that there are more than 120 officials, mostly
teachers, from the commission still in detention in connection with the
election results. The union representing the teachers claims the ZEC has
done little to help the detained officials.

When the results were announced, ruling party secretary Emmerson Mnangagwa,
made complaints accusing the MDC of bribing its way to victory.

He used examples of the illegal recount of 23 constituencies where a handful
of votes changed, but did not alter the final result.

He also said that Zanu-PF would contest the results of 52 constituencies by
petitioning the electoral court which still has to be established.

The MDC has said it too will contest results of scores of results it
believed it had won.

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights Monday called for an immediate end to
political violence and called on the the police, army, central intelligence
organization and Zanu PF militia and so-called war veterans to cease
attacking people it suspects voted for the MDC.

It also requested that expanded regional and international election
observers be allowed immediate entry into Zimbabwe and that all local
observers be allowed to continue their duties without further accreditation.

Political violence, according to the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for
Human Rights, dramatically increased last week and so far about 700 people
have been treated and many admitted to hospital with serious injuries.

Many thousands of people have been forced out of their homes and many
schools have been taken over by militia. The MDC says at least 20 of its
members have been killed.

Nearly all those interviewed by rights lawyers or doctors say they were
attacked because they voted for the MDC in the elections.

Mr. Mugabe admits his loyalists killed thousands of oppositon supporters in
southern Zimbabwe in the early 1980's.


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Baseline conditions must be met

www.kubatana.net

Baseline conditions must be met by the authorities if a second presidential
election is to be at all acceptable in law and practice
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR)
May 04, 2008

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) has noted the announcement of the
results of the presidential elections by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission
(ZEC) on 2 May 2008 after an unprecedented delay of over one month.

ZLHR has previously made its position clear in relation to the adverse
impact of the delayed announcement by ZEC on the credibility of any result
announced. The delay has been unacceptable and, together with the arrest and
detention of over 120 ZEC officers, the lack of transparency in the
electoral process (especially post-voting day), and the ever escalating
retributive political violence, has ensured that this result is and remains
disputed and of no value to those who voted on 29 March 2008 for a return to
the rule of law, peace and democracy in Zimbabwe.

Be that as it may, in line with the provisions of the Electoral Act as
amended, as no presidential candidate received an absolute majority on 29
March 2008, there is now need for a second election within 21 days of the
declaration of the result by ZEC on 2 May 2008.

Should the two presidential candidates agree to participate in the second
election, there is a need to be clear on exactly what issues need to be
addressed in order for such election to conform, at the most minimum level,
to Zimbabwean constitutional and electoral norms and regional and
international standards, most particularly the SADC Principles and
Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections.

ZLHR wishes to make it clear that the following issues need to be addressed
as a matter of the utmost urgency:-

1. Immediate cessation of all political violence in Zimbabwe, especially at
the local community level, by all state actors, and non state actors acting
with the acquiescence of the state. This includes, but is not limited to,
commanders and officers of the Zimbabwe Republic Police (especially the Law
and Order section and the riot squad), the Zimbabwe National Army, the
Central Intelligence Organization, the Police Internal Security
Intelligence, so-called war veterans and graduates of the National Youth
Service.

2. Immediate comprehensive public statements using print (all publicly-owned
newspapers throughout the country) and electronic media (state television
and all four state-controlled radio stations) by the “Minister” of Home
Affairs, the Commissioner-General of Police, the Commander of the Defence
Forces, the Commander of the Air Force, and the Commissioner of Prisons,
denouncing all forms of political violence, instructing their subordinates
to cease all such violence, and assuring voters that they will all be
protected, no matter their political affiliation, and that all perpetrators
will be brought swiftly to justice to ensure that impunity is fought.

3. Immediate access to all victims of political violence by lawyers, medical
practitioners, humanitarian organizations and other groups to provide
emergency and ongoing support services and to ensure their safety throughout
the second election period and beyond.

4. An immediate and public guarantee by the “Minister” of Justice, Legal and
Parliamentary Affairs, of the institutional and individual independence of
the judiciary, especially the judges of the Electoral Court so that they can
carry out their constitutional functions without fear or favour.

5. The immediate entry into Zimbabwe of expanded regional and international
observer missions, especially those of SADC, COMESA, PAP, AU and the UN, who
will be allowed full access to all areas of the country, and who can ensure,
amongst other things, that ZEC, through its officers on the ground at each
and every polling station, is able to perform its constitutional functions
transparently and without fear or favour.

6. The immediate cessation of the continuing arrests of ZEC presiding
officers and other election officers, the withdrawal of all charges against
those already arrested, and their immediate release from detention.

7. A public undertaking and order to all law enforcement agents by the
“Minister” of Home Affairs and the Commissioner-General of Police that ZEC
officers will not be targeted and their safety and security will be
guaranteed during the second election and in the aftermath thereof.

8. The immediate cessation of attacks on civil society organizations and
individuals working therein, and all other human rights defenders,
especially those involved in human rights, electoral and civic education
activities, by state actors and non state actors acting with the
acquiescence of the state. This includes, but is not limited to, commanders
and officers of the Zimbabwe Republic Police (especially the Law and Order
section and the riot squad), the Zimbabwe National Army, the Central
Intelligence Organization, the Police Internal Security Intelligence,
so-called war veterans and graduates of the National Youth Service.

9. Assurance that all local observers will be allowed to continue with their
observation obligations as stipulated by law and increase their numbers of
accredited observers if they feel it is necessary, to ensure state
compliance with electoral law and procedure at all times, especially, but
not limited to, the Zimbabwe Election Support Network and its member
organizations.

10. Strict compliance by the authorities with the Constitution of Zimbabwe
and the Electoral Act, especially as regards the posting of results outside
polling stations immediately after counting and tabulation has been
effected, and the timely announcement of results.

11. Immediate and equal access by both presidential candidates and their
representatives to the publicly-owned media (print and electronic) and
immediate cessation of inciting hate speech and propaganda, and false
information.

ZLHR wishes to finally make it very clear that there will be zero tolerance
for any attempts by the incumbent president to utilize his disputed and
unconstitutional powers or any other means to amend in any way the current
electoral laws and process, most particularly the time-frame within which
any second election must be held – the deadline of which is on or before 24
May 2008. In addition, the ZEC must ensure that it complies strictly with
its obligations in this regard and does not seek to unlawfully justify the
further delay of this electoral process.


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Zimbabweans afraid to vote without monitors, says church official

May-5-2008

By Bronwen Dachs
Catholic News Service

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (CNS) -- Zimbabweans will be afraid to return to the
polls unless runoff elections are internationally monitored, a church
official said after official results showed opposition leader Morgan
Tsvangirai won the most votes in the presidential election, but not enough
to beat President Robert Mugabe.

Harassment of opposition supporters and those involved in monitoring the
March elections is happening mostly in rural Zimbabwe, said Alouis Chaumba,
head of Zimbabwe's Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace. In a May 4
telephone interview, he said "people are scared" to vote in a runoff because
they fear for their lives.

With "polling agents being accused of being enemies of the state who want to
sell out the country," few will want to be involved in monitoring the
runoff, "which leaves the process open to cheating," he said.

"People voted for change and now feel utter disbelief" as they are told they
need to vote again in a runoff, he said.

Those who voted in Zimbabwe's March 29 presidential and parliamentary
elections "feel like it was a futile exercise and have lost faith in the
process," Chaumba said.

Election officials said May 2 that Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for
Democratic Change, took 47.9 percent of the vote while Mugabe, 84, who has
led Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980, took 43.2 percent.

Zimbabwe election law requires 50 percent plus one vote to avoid a runoff.

The opposition maintains that it won the presidential poll outright with
50.3 percent of the vote.

The official results of the parliamentary vote confirmed that the opposition
held a majority of seats for the first time in 28 years.

No date has been announced for a runoff.

"We want a process from which we can move on to a Zimbabwe where the dignity
of the human person is respected," Chaumba said.

"We need an impartial body to facilitate the process, such as the African
Union or United Nations," he said.

"Another Zimbabwe is possible," Chaumba said, noting that they "want
readmission to the world of nations and to reclaim our status in Africa as
the breadbasket of the region with a highly educated population."

"Our human capital is now outside the country, and we want to draw them
back," he said.

Past elections in Zimbabwe "have brought nothing but suffering, and we have
to move on. We cannot continue in this environment," he said.

In late April Zimbabwe's Christian leaders called for international
intervention in the country's crisis, saying that those accused of voting
for the opposition are being tortured, abducted and murdered.

Churches are bearing the brunt of the country's instability, Chaumba said,
noting that "many of those who are fleeing after being beaten and tortured
are finding solace in churches."

"So many people are internally displaced, and those who would normally be
providing for families are now looking for assistance for themselves," he
said.

Chaumba said "everything has come to a standstill" since the March
elections, with teachers not returning to work and doctors on strike.

"The health and education systems are in dire straits and the government is
doing nothing about it," he said.

Zimbabwe has the world's highest inflation rate -- more than 100,000
percent -- an unemployment rate of more than 80 percent and severe shortages
of basic foods and fuel.

The World Council of Churches and All Africa Conference of Churches said in
a late-April report that the situation in Zimbabwe "creates a dangerous
vacuum that could lead to total disintegration of the nation as well as
threaten the unity of the church."

Noting that the elections "were far from being free and fair" with the
process "skewed in favor of the incumbent who openly utilized state
resources to his advantage," the report "calls on the ecumenical family to
continue to uphold the people of Zimbabwe in their prayers and to remain in
solidarity with them in the postelectoral period."

Also in a late-April statement, Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga
of Tegucigalpa, president of the international Catholic umbrella group
Caritas Internationalis, urged the U.N. Security Council to impose an arms
embargo on Zimbabwe.

The cardinal also said international observers should be sent to Zimbabwe to
monitor human rights.

"No more arms must reach Zimbabwe unless there is the guarantee that they
will not be used against the people. Church workers are reporting an upsurge
in violence that is deeply troubling," Cardinal Rodriguez said.


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UN chief alarmed at reports of rising violence in Zimbabwe

africasia

UNITED NATIONS, May 5 (AFP)

UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Monday expressed alarm at reports of rising violence
and intimidation in Zimbabwe and said he was consulting with African leaders
on how to help resolve the country's election crisis.

"I am deeply concerned at reports of rising levels of violence and
intimidation" in Zimbabwe, he told reporters.

He said he was consulting with the chief of the African Union (AU),
President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania, AU commission chief Jean Ping and
Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa, who currently heads the 14-member Southern
Africa Development Community, on how best to handle the crisis.

Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and his Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) are mulling whether Tsvangirai, who fell just short
of the overall majority needed to oust President Robert Mugabe in the first
round, would run in the second round.

Tsvangirai has previously said he saw no need for a second round, convinced
he won more than 50 percent in polling on March 29.

However, official results released on Friday, nearly five weeks after
polling day, gave him only 47.9 percent while Mugabe was said to have won
43.2 percent.

The runoff should in theory be held within three weeks of the declaration of
results but the commission has still to set a date.


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Zanu PF paying thugs to kill opposition officials



By Lance Guma
05 May 2008

In December 2000 Robert Mugabe opened a Zanu PF congress by urging his
supporters to, ‘strike fear in the heart of the white man.’ Eight years down
the line that policy is being employed to cover all opposition supporters
and officials. The 84-year-old Zanu PF leader, smarting from an embarrassing
March 29 election defeat, is allegedly paying ruling party thugs Z$10
billion for every murder of an MDC activist. The militants are also being
paid Z$5 billion for every opposition home burnt down. According to The
Zimbabwean newspaper a defector from the terror campaign has confirmed that
‘Operation Mavhotera Papi’ was mounted with the specific approval from
Mugabe.

The paper says party youths are selected by local party branches and then
sent for a 7 day training exercise at the army’s KG6 headquarters in Harare.
During the training they are taught assassination skills and paramilitary
activities. The recruits are taught how to stab their targets and reminded
of the importance of throwing their knives into rivers or sewage drains to
avoid being traced. On graduation the militants are then deployed to areas
far from their homes, where they are unknown to the intended victims. The
youths ‘are sent out at night in small squads to kill members of the
Movement for Democratic Change or burn their houses,’ the paper reported.

On Sunday the MDC issued a statement saying it had received information of a
plot to assassinate MDC officials using a group of 18 snipers. The party
says, ‘the killers have set up a satellite base opposite (the police)
Support Unit in Chikurubi, Harare.’ To aid their operations Zanu PF has
provided the team with ‘10 new Toyota Hilux single cab vehicles which have
number plates that range from ABD 1650 to 1659, among other equipment.’ The
party fears MDC members of parliament and key workers at the party’s Harvest
House headquarters are the main targets. At least 21 party activists and
supporters have been killed countrywide in the wave of violence designed to
intimidate the electorate ahead of a presidential run-off.

Meanwhile the violence in rural areas is increasing. Sources have told
Newsreel that the Gokwe area has been turned into a war zone, with ruling
party militants on the rampage and the area virtually shut down. Across most
of the country opposition supporters are being beaten while their homes are
torched. Many businesses have had to shut down to minimise their risks from
the violence. The situation is so serious the United Nations Children’s Fund
(UNICEF) on Friday said it was providing emergency assistance to more than
1500 displaced people. The agency says it is providing blankets, soap,
buckets and tablets for purifying water.

SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news


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59 protestors beaten up, 11 arrested


Photo: kubatana.net
WOZA has been organising marches to highlight issues regularly
JOHANNESBURG, 5 May 2008 (IRIN) - More than 50 protesting Zimbabweans were beaten up and 11 members of the activist organisation, Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA), were arrested in the country's second city, Bulawayo, on 5 May, according to a WOZA official.

"We demonstrated ahead of Mothers Day to call for an end to political violence," WOZA National Coordinator Jenni Williams told IRIN. "Riot police came upon us indiscriminately - the driver of the police vehicle just drove into the crowd," Williams alleged. "Others were injured by police, who beat them with batons."

Williams said the raid was extremely chaotic. She alleged that police beat her into a police vehicle, then demanded what she was doing in the vehicle and beat her out again. According to WOZA, the 59 injured people were receiving care at a private clinic, but the whereabouts of the 11 people who were arrested was yet to be established.

A police spokesman in Bulawayo said they were unable to confirm the arrests and referred IRIN to the national police headquarters in the capital, Harare. Despite repeated attempts, IRIN was unable to contact the police in Harare.

Election results

Williams said: "We are calling on the Chief Election Officer to declare [leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change Morgan] Tsvangirai the winner. We believe the results [released last week] were rigged; we don't believe them."

According to the results declared by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), none of the presidential candidates managed to get the required majority of 50 percent plus one: Tsvangirai received 47.9 percent, while President Robert Mugabe polled 43.2 percent.

"No candidate received a majority of the total number of votes cast, which means a second election shall be held on a date to be advised by the ZEC," said Lovemore Sekeramayi, ZEC election officer for the presidential ballot.

"According to the Electoral Act, the two candidates who received the highest and next highest numbers of valid votes cast shall be eligible to contest in the second election. Accordingly, Tsvangirai and Mugabe are eligible to contest in the second election."

While the Electoral Act states that a presidential election re-run has to be held within 21 days of the results being announced, the ZEC has been vague about when the run-off will be held, keeping Zimbabweans on tenterhooks.

ZEC chairperson George Chiweshe told the media at the weekend that the ZEC board would meet "as soon as possible" to discuss the date for the run-off, and the logistical arrangements for holding another election - an expense the impoverished state can ill afford.

ZANU-PF, which lost its parliamentary majority for the first time since Zimbabwe gained independence in 1980, has announced that it is already preparing for a run-off. According to MDC vice-president Thokozani Khupe, the party's hand is being forced to participate in a second presidential election.

Late on 5 May, MDC officials were locked in a meeting to consider lodging an application in the High Court in Harare to get the ZEC to verify the results, which might yet make a presidential run-off unnecessary.

Luke Tamborinyoka, the MDC director of information, told IRIN: "One of the conditions that we would propose in the event of a run-off is that the election will have to be supervised by the United Nations, the African Union and the Southern African Development Community."



[ENDS]

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


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WOZA and MOZA members beaten during Bulawayo protests



By Tererai Karimakwenda
May 05, 2008

There is concern for several people who are missing and others who were
injured after police beat demonstrators from the Women and Men of Zimbabwe
Arise in Bulawayo on Monday. The group took to the streets to call for an
end to the politically motivated violence that has left more than 20 people
dead in the last few weeks, and to say that they are against a run-off
presidential election. But unfortunately they met up with exactly what they
were protesting against. It has also been reported that riot police were
beating any group of women that they come across in town.

According to WOZA coordinator Jenni Williams, the protestors had just
gathered and begun to march when they were violently set upon by 2
truckloads of riot police who viciously beat people with their baton sticks.
She said the vehicles came from behind the protestors at top speed and
knocked over several of them, causing some serious injuries. At least 59
people needed medical attention from injuries from baton sticks and
vehicles. About 7 people were arrested but it is not clear where they were
taken to. Lawyers have not been able to locate them.

Williams said they regrouped an hour later and adopted a different strategy,
they marched silently. This allowed them to get quite close to the High
Court, where they planned to deliver a petition demanding that the chief
election officer declare MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai the country’s
president, as he is the candidate that secured the greatest number of votes
in the elections. They also said they wanted to make it clear that they do
not want a run-off election, because it would only result in more
state-sponsored violence.

Amongst those beaten and injured was Jenni Williams, who was assaulted both
on the street and in a police vehicle. She was detained briefly in a police
car and later released, but there is concern for others who were arrested.
Lawyers have not been able to ascertain how many there are or where they
were taken. The second batch of those arrested were last seen being driven
to an area near Brady Barracks.

Williams said they will continue to speak out on important issues, despite
the violent response that the police exhibit each time.

SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news


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Urgent appeal to the UN security council on Zim

www.swradioafrica.com

Urgent Appeal to the UN Security Council to prevent Genocide in Zimbabwe

The United Nations Security Council must consider the Zimbabwean
humanitarian crisis with urgency and seriousness. March 29-30, 2008
Presidential and Parliamentary elections were not free and fair. ZANU PF
government has conducted a campaign of terror and rigged in many
constituencies. More than 5 million Zimbabweans have fled the country
because of serious politically and religious persecutions.
All opposition gatherings have been banned. Opposition supporters are being
harassed and tortured. Cases of death and serious human rights abuses are
being reported on daily basis. More than 20 people have been murdered by the
ZANU PF and 5000 have been displaced by violence. Zimbabwe is at war.

ZANU PF came to power by violence. Its president Robert Mugabe said he
cannot leave power except by 'barrel of a gun.' In 1983 ZANU have committed
a genocide, that eliminated 40 000 Ndebeles without even a compunction.

Since 2000, thousands of Zimbabwean opposition members have been murdered.
Tens of thousands have been tortured and millions are currently being
starved. All productive commercial farms have been invaded, looted and
destroyed under the pretext of land resettlement. Independent newspapers
have been bombed and closed down. International journalist or election
monitors are not being allowed into the country. Many local journalists have
been harassed, tortured or murdered.

ZANU PF does not win elections but rigs them and cling on power by
intimidating the electorate. In March 2002 they massively rigged
presidential elections. Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) is the one with legitimacy to be president of Zimbabwe because
he won both March 2002 and 29 March 2008 presidential elections. ZANU
government is a criminal enterprise which is thriving by committing serious
crimes against humanity, torture, rigging of elections, murder and other
massive abuse of human rights.
Zimbabweans are peace loving people who long for democracy, freedom and
justice from their oppressive government. By rigging elections and State
oppression Mugabe's regime is determined to continue torturing, destroying
homes and murdering people to maintain power. All peaceful avenues to
freedom in Zimbabwe have failed.

Millions of political dissenters who fled State atrocities are suffering in
exile and want to return home. May the UN act on rigging of elections,
torture, murder and suppression of the will of the people in Zimbabwe. This
is a pre-emptive move to avoid genocide and bring stability in Zimbabwe.

The illegitimate ZANU PF government of Robert Mugabe has committed genocide
in 1983 and will not hesitate to commit another genocide now. Zimbabwe is a
Gun free Zone, therefore citizens have no weapons to defend their women,
children and property from State militias, military police and war veterans
who have been unleashed to harass, abduct, torture, murder and burn houses
of all people who did not vote for ZANU PF government on 29 March 2008
elections.
Foundation of Reason & Justice is opposed to violence, abduction, torture,
and destruction of homes and human rights abuses by ZANU regime. In case of
defensive war, we urge citizens to act properly and responsible under any
legitimate opposition leaders to defend their lives and property from
criminals and bloodthirsty dictators.

Yours for Freedom & Justice

Collen Makumbirofa


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Stand up and be counted

The Age, Australia
 
Morgan Tsvangirai
May 6, 2008

The world's democracies have dragged their feet, but there is still time to thwart Robert Mugabe's despotism.

LEST history fail to record the dismal response of the international community on Zimbabwe, let us reprise the signposts of a descent into darkness. Firstly, just days after the March 29 poll, the Southern African Development Community observed, ridiculously, that the elections had been free and fair, with some caveats. The United States and the European Union then began voicing some concerns over delays in announcing vote returns.

Yet the world failed to move.

After these first volleys, weeks of continued global indifference were taken to new highs as the Zimbabwe High Court refused to properly consider a petition by the Movement for Democratic Change and failed to order the release of the still-embargoed results.

Again, the world said nothing.

By the third week of April, South African President Thabo Mbeki was surmising that all parties must keep talking. This was despite the fact that the ruling Zanu-PF, by all independent counts the loser in the elections, still held all government offices and infrastructure, and had begun intimidating Zimbabweans considered to be against them.

Still, the world nodded and remained unmoved.

By now the silence from global governments and bodies like the SADC and the United Nations had become unbearable. Admonitions and threats from many governments, and even the most liberal-minded communities in the US and the EU, ring hollow. Words have not been followed by action.

Now we have discussion of multilateral sanctions. But where is the movement?

So far we have had circular motion trying to disguise itself as forward progress from the international community. It's a downward spiral that takes us further from the light of democracy.

The MDC has professed a non-violent approach to healing Zimbabwe since our foundation in 1999. Despite the intimidation and the violence dished out to our members and supporters, including me personally, we see no solution in simply finding bigger sticks. That is fighting the wrong fight.

The MDC, in something of a rarity among African opposition groups, has no army. While Robert Mugabe and his thugs trash the country and trample on justice, we cannot play the same brutish game and call ourselves democrats. We have relied on and trusted the democratic process and invested our belief in the international community being there to uphold those same values. Yet this has not happened.

While gaining plaudits is not on our agenda, we might justifiably have expected the international community of liberal and democratic nations to act on their professed values and support a colleague in need of assistance.

The MDC and the many democrats in Zimbabwe have understood there is an obligation to liberty that would be acted on by those in possession of it.

We appear to be wrong.

For Zimbabwe to be the proud and successful country it can be, and has been before, we need the world community. As a country, even a democratic one, we will stand only by propping against those who can help us re-establish a free Zimbabwe.

Today, we look out at our peers and hear the frustration, the anger they feel. They are emotions we feel too. But we see their reluctance to act and we bear the consequences.

And we are not alone. The implications of a failure to act in Zimbabwe are that despots everywhere will be encouraged and democrats will be disillusioned. While it is true that liberty is its own reward, those fighting at the coalface of democracy should expect more return on their investment. They should be able to hope.

What we call for is a means to remove the defeated Mugabe. But, more than this, we need to find the way to break down his corrupted regime and banish those who have benefited from it and now close ranks about their leader.

This is a job for the UN, above all. The UN has the wherewithal and the legitimacy of multilateral compulsion to effect forward movement in Zimbabwe today.

President Mugabe and his minions must be isolated, physically if need be, and a new Zimbabwe defended as it emerges from the ruins.

This means freezing the assets of the regime, blocking transactions, closing down networks, putting a spanner in the machinery of coercion, protecting the innocent, and in every way marginalising the rotten infrastructure of the formerly ruling Zanu-PF until it can no longer survive.

It may seem odd that we are calling for what sounds like a peacekeeping operation in Zimbabwe, but this is in effect what we seek. For Zimbabwe is under attack from within. It is being eaten away by the forces of the former government, and what peace there is needs to be nurtured and developed. There is no hope for Zimbabwe otherwise.

There are implications for the international community, too, should Zimbabwe fall. The international community is today being beaten by the wily old master of lies, Robert Mugabe. So far, democracy's finely balanced gains in Zimbabwe are only highlighting the defeatism of the international community. That is a situation that needs to be reversed immediately.

Morgan Tsvangirai is the leader of Zimbabwe's Movement for Democratic Change. He wrote this comment exclusively for The Age.


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African Union Chief Meets Mugabe Over Election Crisis

nasdaq

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AFP)--The chairman of the African Union's executive,
Jean Ping, Monday held "very constructive" talks with Zimbabwean President
Robert Mugabe on the country's five-week-old electoral crisis, a senior
diplomat told AFP.

"Ping and his delegation were received by Mugabe. The discussions were very
constructive and provided an opportunity to review all aspects of the
situation, " an African diplomat said.

Speaking to AFP from Addis Ababa where the African Union is headquartered,
the diplomat said Ping travelled to Harare with African Union political
affairs commissioner Julia Dolly Joiner and peace and security commissioner
Ramtane Lamamra.

Ping "also had a working meeting with the chairman of Zimbabwe's electoral
commission during which the two men reviewed the entire electoral process
from the start," the diplomat said.

"The meeting allowed us to look at all the scenarios for the coming weeks,
notably what is being done to ensure a satisfactory second round in the
coming weeks," he said.

The diplomat added that the delegation was expected to leave Harare later
Monday and fly on to Arusha, in Tanzania, for a meeting of the continental
organisation's executive council.

Ping's visit to Harare comes amid pressing calls from the U.S. for increased
African Union involvement in the Zimbabwean electoral crisis.

African countries have been divided over Zimbabwe, which has been mired in a
bitter dispute since March 29 general polls.

Results released after five tense weeks indicate a run-off is needed between
Mugabe and Movement for Democratic Change candidate Morgan Tsvangirai, but
the opposition leader maintains he won outright in the first round.

  (END) Dow Jones Newswires
  05-05-081104ET


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MDC leader to return home

IOL

    May 05 2008 at 04:06PM

Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai is expected to return
to Zimbabwe this week, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said on
Monday.

Spokesperson George Sibotshiwe said Tsvangirai was on his way to South
Africa from Tanzania on Monday and would leave for Zimbabwe shortly.

"Mr Tsvangirai will be arriving from Tanzania on Monday and will go to
Zimbabwe in a few days time," Sibotshiwe said.

He said Tsvangirai was not afraid of being arrested.

"He can not afford to be afraid of being arrested. He is an opposition
leader facing a dictator and prospects of being arrested come with the
territory," he said.

Tsvangirai left Zimbabwe in the second week of April to attend a
Southern African Development Community (SADC) meeting in Zambia and has not
returned to Zimbabwe since.

Zimbabwe's Justice Minister, Patrick Chinamasa, accused Tsvangirai of
treason and attempting to overthrow the government with British collusion.

Tsvangirai remained abroad for the past month in part to lobby
governments in the region to intervene in the Zimbabwean election stalemate.

It had been speculated that he also feared for his safety.

Sibotshiwe dismissed claims that Tsvangirai had been given temporary
residency in South Africa, saying he was accorded a visitor's visa each time
he was in the country. - Sapa


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Zimbabwe dominates discussion at Africa Commission meeting



By Tererai Karimakwenda
May 05, 2008

Representatives from Non-Governmental Organisations from across Africa have
been meeting in Swaziland, and Zimbabwe has dominated the proceedings. The
NGOs met on the sidelines of the 43rd Ordinary Session of the African
Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), and expressed serious
concern over the current human rights situation in Zimbabwe. Lawyer and
human rights activist Gabriel Shumba, whose own torture case comes before
the Commission this time around, said Zimbabwe has been upgraded to a
conflict level similar to the Sudan where millions have died.

The session kicked off in Ezulwini, Swaziland on Saturday, with Swaziland’s
former Prime Minister Obed Dlamini urging participants not to shy away from
discussing real problems in Zimbabwe and other African countries such as
Kenya, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo

Speaking during the opening ceremony Dlamini said: “The violent campaign by
ZANU PF and its supporters in the rural areas of Zimbabwe must be
criticised.”

Shumba said the NGOs called for regional and international supervision of
elections in the event there is a runoff between Robert Mugabe and Morgan
Tsvangirai. They recommended that elections go ahead only after observers
and monitors are already on the ground in Zimbabwe, making sure there is
peace.

The NGO forum was presented with shocking reports of the state-sponsored
violence that has caused the deaths of over 20 people in the post election
period. There have also been more than 450 arbitrary arrests and detentions,
mostly of opposition supporters and officers from the Electoral Commission.
Zimbabwe’s attempts to import weapons from China, statistics on the economy
and death rates were also highlighted.

The NGOs called for the creation of an African Truth and Justice Commission,
that would prosecute perpetrators of human rights abuses on the continent.
Shumba said that they agreed the culture of impunity that currently exists
needs to be eliminated.

Meanwhile the AFP news agency reports that the chairman of the African Union
executive Jean Ping has held "very constructive" talks with Robert Mugabe
during a visit to Harare. The report quotes a senior African diplomat who
said the talks centred on the electoral crisis.

Speaking from Addis Ababa where the AU is headquartered, the diplomat said
Ping travelled to Harare with AU political affairs commissioner Julia Dolly
Joiner and peace and security commissioner Ramtane Lamamra. Ping also
reportedly met with the chairman of Zimbabwe’s electoral commission and
reviewed the entire electoral process from the start.

The delegation was expected to leave Harare on Monday and head to Arusha, in
Tanzania, for a meeting of the AU’s executive council. The United States has
been calling for increased AU involvement in the Zimbabwe’s crisis.

SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news


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NPA gets details of alleged Zimbabwe torturers

www.legalbrief.co.za

Published in: Legalbrief
Africa
Date: Mon 05 May 2008
Category: South Africa
Issue No: 279

South Africa's National Prosecuting Authority has been asked to prosecute 18
top Zimbabwe security officials for torturing members of the opposition
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

The 18 include two Cabinet Ministers as well as the heads of state security,
police, prisons and defence who were allegedly involved in torturing - 'on a
systematised and/or widespread basis' - MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai and
other MDC officials in a major crackdown in March last year. The Southern
African Litigation Centre (SALC) has submitted a dossier to the NPA
containing comprehensive evidence of the involvement of the 18 security
officials, says a Sunday Tribune report. SALC director Nicole Fritz said
that in terms of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Act,
South Africa is obliged to arrest and prosecute anyone who commits a crime
against humanity as defined by the International Criminal Court. This means
that if the NPA agreed to investigate and indict the 18 security officials,
they could be arrested if they set foot in South Africa.


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Rush on Zimbabwe dollar on first day of floating currency

Monsters and Critics

May 5, 2008, 15:25 GMT

Harare - Cash shortages in Zimbabwe worsened Monday on the first day of free
trading of the Zimbabwe dollar as people queued for hours in banks to buy up
local currency.

The Zimbabwe dollar closed the day in some banks at close to 200 million
against the US dollar, down from a starting rate of 160 million set by the
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.

Zimbabweans with foreign currency to sell welcomed the willing- buyer,
willing-seller policy introduced last week by bank governor Gideon Gono but
were unhappy about the shortages of cash.

'The rate being offered by the banks is much higher than what the foreign
exchange dealers are offering, but we have been waiting for cash since
morning,' one man said at Barclays Bank, which was offering 165 million
Zimbabwe dollars for 1 US dollar.

The man said he would take the Zimbabwe dollars in cash rather than have the
money transferred into his bank account because inflation of over 165,000
per cent meant the money would quickly lose value if left sitting in the
bank.

The Reserve Bank floated the Zimbabwe dollar in a bid to obtain foreign
currency for food and key agricultural inputs and end rampant black market
currency trading.

Before the move, the Zimbabwe dollar had been pegged at 30,000 Zimbabwe
dollars to the US dollar, compared with around 130 million Zimbabwe dollars
to the US dollar on the black market.

Analysts are wary, however, of the government's commitment to a free
floating currency.

In 2005, the Reserve Bank partially floated the Zimbabwe dollar only to fix
the exchange rate again when the currency started depreciating faster it had
anticipated.


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Banished Zimbabwe farmer to sue SA

Business Day

 05 May 2008

Chantelle Benjamin

Chief Reporter

TAXPAYERS may have to pay millions of rands in compensation for the
government’s failure to act in Zimbabwe when hundreds of white-owned farms
belonging to South Africans were confiscated in 2000.

Free State farmer Crawford von Abo is taking President Thabo Mbeki, Foreign
Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and Trade and Industry Minister Mandisi
Mpahlwa to court to force the government to ratify a treaty that protects
South African investments abroad, or pay him R80m in compensation. Von Abo
has been battling for six years to have confiscated farms in Zimbabwe
restored to him.

Von Abo’s bid to recover losses could open the way for similar court
actions. More than 100 South African farmers lost land in Zimbabwe.

Von Abo, a former chairman of SA’s maize and wheat boards and a Zimbabwe
resident, had farmed in Zimbabwe since the 1950s and employed more than 1000
Zimbabweans until he was arrested in 2002 for contravening Zimbabwe’s Land
Acquisition Act by refusing to leave his farm. At the time he owned only one
farm, Fauna, 100km north of Beitbridge.

Von Abo is to bring an urgent application this week to compel the government
to legalise the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment
Disputes (ICSID) — a mediation facility set up by the World Bank to protect
foreign investment in 144 member countries. Von Abo is asking as an
alternative for the government to compensate him for the land he lost.

Von Abo argues that the government failed to provide him with diplomatic
protection, his constitutional right, and was “passive” and “sluggish” when
it came to acting against Zimbabwe’s unlawful confiscation of land. He also
accused the government of not sending a witness to his court case.

At the time of his arrest, Von Abo said intervention by officials from other
countries, in particular France and Germany, saw land returned to those
nationals from farms neighbouring his.

The South African Law Commission recommended a few years ago that SA give
the ICSID legal status. This would protect companies with business interests
abroad. At least 42 African countries, including Zimbabwe, are signatories.

Democratic Alliance (DA) MP Andries Botha said that in 2002 the DA had
handed the names of more than 120 South African citizens who lost farms in
Zimbabwe to the South African government, but little was done to assist
them. He said the party asked again last year what was being done to assist
citizens who lost farms but had yet to get a definitive reply.

In 2002, the foreign affairs department insisted it had intervened when Von
Abo was arrested and had “raised the matter with Zimbabwean authorities,
including the principal of lands”.


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Zimbabwean Teachers Threaten Strike Over Poll Related Violence

RTTnews

5/5/2008 1:04:12 PM Zimbabwe's Progressive Teachers Union on Monday
threatened to go on a strike unless the pro-government activists stop their
attacks on the members of the union.

The union says that the government supporters target the union members
accusing them of siding with the opposition in the controversial 29 March
elections, reported the BBC.

A spokesman for the union said that about 133 of its members, who worked as
officials in the controvertial presidential polls, were seriously injured in
the attacks.

"They were beaten with iron bars, some have had their legs and limbs and
hands seriously injured," said the union's spokesman Raymond Majongwe.
"Quite a lot have been hit on the head and its quite tragic, it's terrible."

Post poll violence broke out in Zimbabwe after the ZEC failed to announce
the result of March 29 presidential elections in which the opposition
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) claimed outright victory.

It is estimated that the violence following the elections has left at lest
3,000 people homeless, 500 injured and 10 dead. Also, several human rights
groups claimed to have found camps where people are being tortured for
having voted "the wrong way".


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Zambia expels Zimbabweans as crisis rages

Kenya Today

By KITSEPILE NYATHI, Nation Correspondent
Last updated: 5 hours ago

HARARE, Monday

The Zambian government has deported hundreds of traders from neighbouring
Zimbabwe, a move that will pile pressure on President Robert Mugabe to find
a solution to his country’s long-running political crisis.

Zimbabwe plunged deeper into a political quagmire at the weekend, when
opposition leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai rejected the results of the March 29
presidential elections.

The results, released a month after the disputed polls, showed that Mr
Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) beat Mr Mugabe, but
failed to avoid a second round of voting.

Mr Tsvangirai says the results were manipulated and has so far refused to
take part in the runoff on a date yet to be set by the Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission (ZEC).

Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa, who also chairs the Southern African
Development Community (SADC), has been one of the most outspoken African
leaders against the deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe.

Thousands of Zimbabweans flock into neighbouring countries on a daily basis
in search of basic commodities, which are extremely scarce at home, and
Zambia has been the most accommodating and rarely deports the traders.

The state media in Harare accused Zambian soldiers and police of stealing
from the Zimbabweans, and quoted a member of the Joint Operations Command
(JOC), a grouping of security chiefs close to Mr Mugabe, as saying they
would take the issue up with Lusaka very soon.

The traders were rounded up at the resort town of Livingstone and dumped in
the no-man’s land separating the two countries’ borders along the Zambezi
River in the dead of night, state media said.

“I can confirm that we received the deportees and recorded statements from
them,” said Senior Assistant Commissioner Edmore Veterai, who chairs a
provincial organ of the JOC. “We are now going to take up the issue as JOC
and find out from our Zambian counterparts what happened. We will also
investigate the allegations raised by those who were deported.”

The MDC says the JOC took over the day-to-day running of the government soon
after realising that Mr Mugabe and Zanu PF had been defeated, a charge
denied by government.

The state-run Chronicle newspaper acknowledged that cases of Zimbabweans
being deported from Zambia have been few, given the historical ties between
the two countries.

But it warned that authorities in Harare might retaliate because Zimbabwe
was also awash with informal traders from Zambia, who have been conducting
their business freely for years.

The deportations came as South Africa announced that it will send a team to
Zimbabwe to investigate claims of violence blamed on Mr Mugabe’s supporters.

President Thabo Mbeki told African religious leaders at a meeting that he
was concerned about reports of escalating violence in the neighbouring
country. Botswana, which last week announced that it had set up a temporary
refugee camp for Zimbabweans fleeing the political violence, has also
tightened the screws on its neighbour by banning the importation of gasoline
through its borders.

On Sunday, it reiterated its claims that it was being overwhelmed by
Zimbabweans claiming political persecution at home.

In a statement, Minister for Defence, Justice and Security, Mr Dikgakgamatso
Seretse, said there had been an influx of refugees seeking international
protection in the aftermath of the polls.

“For some time we have been receiving illegal immigrants from Zimbabwe
seeking economic opportunities who have been crossing at ungazetted entry
points into Botswana,” he said.

Few of these people sought asylum, Mr Seretse said. “But, since the
elections, we have received a number of people actively seeking political
asylum and international protection and alleging they feared for their
lives,” he said, adding that there was a probability the numbers would grow.


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Charity in Scotland

Sent: Tuesday, May 06, 2008 5:29 AM
Subject: zimbabwe situation

I write regarding the extract from the Aberdeen Press and Journal regarding
the "A to Z Trust" recently registered as a charity in Scotland by Mrs Elsie
OLIVER, a former resident of Aberdeen. The association with Zimbabwe arose
because of the twinning arrangement that exists between that city in
Scotland and Bulawayo. However, the Trust does not restrict its activities
to Bulawayo but to the whole of Zimbabwe, and for example a children's
hospice and a children's home in Harare have been beneficiaries.
The aims of the Trust are: ~
The prevention/relief of poverty
The advancement of education
The advancement of health
The relief of those in need by reason of age, ill-health, disability,
financial hardship or other disadvantage
The Trust number is SCO39203 and trustees may be contacted by telephone #
01620 824284.
 All donations are used exclusively for the intended beneficiaries as no
costs are charged to the Trust other than those required by law such as the
preparation and approval of annual accounts; trustees do not receive any
form of payment and the existing trustees pay all of their own expenses when
visiting Zimbabwe to oversee the proper use of the donations.
Mrs OLIVER and her husband have had along association with Zimbabwe and have
managed to support orphaned children by the payment of compulsory school
fees, the provision of writing materials and books, and some uniforms.
Additionally computers have been supplied for schools, the children's home
and a charity near Bulawayo that has used them to establish an Internet cafe
to generate income for its own purposes. Over 80 boxes of clothing, shoes
and other essentials have been flown out for distribution to needy people.
We are interested to hear from any groups who require support with viable
projects which will enable them to raise their standards of living. These
will be overseen on the ground and help given where it is needed.
Any donor who requires it will receive feedback as to how the money has been
used and in the past we have also been able to provide photographs of some
of the beneficiaries and the conditions in which they have been compelled by
circumstances to live.
Donations are required to support the work of the Trust and these will be
acknowledged and feedback as to use will be given. Any donor wishing to use
the UK Gift Aid system to benefit the Trust by allowing tax to be reclaimed
should indicate this and appropriate receipts will be given for record
purposes.
Elsie OLIVER - Trustee.


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New Zealand urges UN monitoring of Zimbabwe vote

Monsters and Critics

May 5, 2008, 6:48 GMT

Wellington - New Zealand joined Monday international calls for Zimbabwe's
Robert Mugabe to allow the United Nations to monitor a presidential run-off
vote if the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) takes part.

Prime Minister Helen Clark told her weekly news conference, 'The Mugabe
regime appears to be increasing its campaign of repression and abuse against
opposition supporters, human rights activists, and civil society groups,
raising fears that it means to hold on to power and batter the Zimbabwean
electorate into submission before a second presidential ballot.'

She said it was clear that a recount of seats in the March general election
had produced a 'quite remarkable' result in that Mugabe's ZANU-PF had lost
its parliamentary majority for the first time since independence.

Clark said it was uncertain whether the MDC would participate in a
presidential run-off, given credible claims that its leader Morgan
Tsvangirai achieved more than 50 per cent of the vote in the presidential
ballot.

'In the event that the MDC does decide to participate in the presidential
run-off, it will be crucial that international observers are able to monitor
the ballot to ensure that the will of the Zimbabwean people is upheld,' she
said. New Zealand strongly supported calls for the UN to be allowed to
monitor the vote, Clark said.


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Why can Mugabe call all the shots - Election opinion

www.swradioafrica.com

 
Editor
Can someone please explain why robert mugabe has the prerogative to decide
who votes, who doesn't, who is invited to monitor elections and who is not
etc. Why why why Oh! why? After all he is contestant and should not set the
rules. He has got away with it for a long time and has not been seriously
challenged.

He has redrawn constituency boundaries to his advantage. He has abused state
resources, vehicles, personnel and other infrastructure to his advantage as
a matter of routine.

We must not allow Mugabe to have his way. Four (4) million Zimbabweans
outside the country were not allowed by Mugabe to exercise the right to
vote. They also need to protect democracy at all costs. MDC should only
agree to a re-run on the following MINIMUM conditions:
A Truly Independent Body must run the election NOT ZEC which is an extension
of ZANU PF. The voters roll must be revisited and should be transparent. It
must be agreed to by all parties. All ‘Ghost’ voters must be removed.
All interested Observers from anywhere in the world MUST be allowed without
exception. The same applies to journalists. There should be no need for
accreditation
The same electoral procedure as in the recent election must be followed.
Votes must be counted at polling stations verified there and signed for by
all election agents.
All internally displaced people must be allowed to go back to their homes
prior to voting. Their IDs must be restored and they must be allowed to
participate freely in political activities.
All Zimbabweans of voting age including those outside the country should be
allowed to vote. Expatriate Zimbabweans must register with the Embassies (in
the presence of all party representatives at all times) and a roll prepared
before voting day. In order to register, potential voters should produce
evidence that they are legally entitled to be staying in any foreign Country
ie Residence Permits or Exemption Certificates together with Zimbabwe IDs. A
computer programme should be developed to prevent double voting and this can
be distributed to all foreign polling stations before voting day. On voting
day a Polling station can be arranged at CIVIC CENTRES (Not Embassies) of
major cities where Zimbabweans are residing in large numbers in foreign
countries. The voting procedure as in 4. above should be adhered to.
The Top brass of the media must be removed as they have been appointed on
partisan lines to misinform and project the Zanu PF line. All political
parties must campaign freely without hindrance and must be given equal
airtime in the broadcast media.
A peace keeping force (From UN, SADC, EU and AU) must be brought in to
protect innocent Zimbabweans from retribution. It must be in place 3 months
before and after the election re-run.
Mugabe’s Security Top Brass Security personnel MUST be removed as they are
basically ZANU PF and have publicly indicated that they will not salute any
winning candidate who is not Mugabe.

These conditions are fair to everybody including ZANU PF.
Mr. Editor anything less will give Zanu PF an unfair advantage and will
subject ordinary Zimbabweans to tyranny and brutality for a long time to
come.
I Write as
‘Zimbabwe Patriot’


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Statement on the Announcement of Presidential Results and Presidential Run-Off

The Zimbabwean

Monday, 05 May 2008 14:37

The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN), a network of 38
non-governmental organisations, which has been observing all aspects of the
electoral process of the 29 March 2008 harmonized elections notes the
announcement of the result of the Presidential poll by the Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission (ZEC) in which the ZANU PF candidate, Robert Mugabe
garnered 43.2%, the MDC (Tsvangirai) candidate Morgan Tsvangirai got 47.9%,
Simba Makoni got 8.3% and Langton Towungana got 0.6% of the vote.

“This is a clear circumstance that will necessitate an electoral run
off in terms of Section 110 of the Electoral Act, we urge the ZEC to ensure
that said run-off is undertaken within 21 days as is outlined by the
Electoral Act. The law provides that ‘where two or more candidates are
nominated and no candidate receives a majority of the total number of valid
votes cast, a second election” must be held within 21 days after the
previous election”, explains Noel Kututwa Chairperson of ZESN.

ZESN will continue to play its role in the observation of this
election and the provision of independent information to all stakeholders.
The organisation will continue the deployment of its long-term observers
(LTOs) and short-term observers (STOs) across the country. The Network
cautions that duly accredited observers should be allowed to freely continue
observing the election process. ZESN will keeping a close watch on the
situation and calls on the responsible authorities to guarantee the security
of observers. ZESN also call on ZEC to ensure the invitation and
accreditation of all local and international groups accredited to observe
the 29 March poll is extended to cover this second round.

In the run-up to the second round of the presidential poll, ZESN
re-emphasises on the need for Zimbabwe to adhere to and implement minimum
conditions set out in Southern African Development Community (SADC)
Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections in this re-run and
all subsequent elections.

ZESN calls for zero tolerance on the prevailing political violence. We
call upon political leader to denounce political violence publicly.
Furthermore ZESN urges the police to act swiftly and decisively in dealing
with the perpetrators in accordance with the law.  It is essential that the
conditions prevailing prior to the 29 March poll should serve as minimum
requirements for this election. ZESN particularly discourages any changes to
the electoral legal framework through the use of the Presidential Powers
(Temporary Measures) legislation or any other instrument. While ZESN is
encouraged that improvements were noted in the elections of 29 March 2008
(of note less incidents of more extreme violence), the network urges all
Zimbabweans to maintain the same spirit. Commendable reforms, particular the
posting of results outside polling stations and constituency tabulation
centres should not be eroded.

While noting the improvements preceding the 29 March poll, the Network
urges ZEC and other relevant bodies to continue to make advances by availing
and publicising information on noted areas of concern like the numbers and
distribution of postal ballots, the number of registered voters per
constituency, locations of tabulation centres, list of polling stations and
exact details of procedures such as the verification and tabulation of
results as well as the flow of information from the polling station to the
national level. This should be done well in advance of Election Day and
should not be subject to last minute changes. In addition the tabulation and
collation of results should be done transparently, in the presence of partly
agents and observers. Results should also be released in a timely,
transparent and accountable manner as this will definitely help reduce
tensions following any election.

Any election presents citizens with the opportunity to take the
destiny of their nation into their hands. ZESN therefore urges all
Zimbabweans who are registered to vote to come out in their numbers and
exercise that democratic right freely. ZESN also urges the authorities to
respect the will of the people of Zimbabwe.

The results announced are as follows:-

Presidential Poll Results – 29 March 2008 Harmonized Elections

Candidate
 Number of Votes
 Actual Percent  Vote

Makoni, Herbert Stanley Simba
 207 470
 8.3%

Mugabe, Robert Gabriel
 1 079 730
 43.2%

Towungana, Langton
 14 503
 0.6%

Tsvangirai, Morgan
 1 195 562
 47.9%

Total Valid Votes
 2 497 265
 100%

Spoilt ballots
  39 975

Total votes cast
 2 537 240

Percentage Poll

 42.7%


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Mugabe Treats His People Worse Than Beasts



The Monitor (Kampala)

OPINION
5 May 2008
Posted to the web 5 May 2008

Grace. P Karamura

A few weeks ago, the BBC showed a picture of a woman in Zimbabwe who was so
badly tortured that she could hardly walk.

Uncharacteristic of an African woman who would rather take an injection in
her gomesi rather than expose her nakedness, she stripped naked for the
world media to see the horrendous wounds inflicted on her by the government
that had fought the independence war to protect her. Her crime wasn't
because she may have or not voted for the opposition but because she lives
in the opposition stronghold!

The following evening I was leading a Parish Junior Youth club when a few
nine-year-olds ran to me as if they had something troubling them. "Rev.
Grace, why does Mugabe beat women?" one of them asked. Children can be
unpredictable at best of times but I must confess I was caught off guard
this time.

As I scratched my head to tactfully respond, another child cut in, 'it's not
fair Rev. Grace, is it'? 'No it isn't darling', I responded as I looked away
at the Youth worker that had just come in. I tried as much to hold back the
tears and I rushed for the door back to the Vicarage!

All night I pondered at those innocents' questions and concerns. What pricks
my conscience even now is not my failure to give them a satisfactory answer
but how I have tried as much to avoid these children in case they demand for
an answer. Every day I ponder about these children's question and wonder how
many more children in Zimbabwe that may be asking the same!

I suppose it's the same situation in which the Archbishop of York found
himself when he cut his clerical collar on live TV and vowed never to wear
it again until Mugabe is gone. By the way things stand, it seems it will be
awhile before my brother Sentamu wears his collar again!

Presumably he must be asked from time to time what he thinks of the Zimbabwe
situation. By cutting his collar, it was a clear response of what he thinks
of Mugabe's regime.

I must however take off my hat for Mr Mugabe who at 84 years, still has his
faculties intact (or does he?) and can still manage such hectic and
demanding political campaigns.

He is obviously a very bright man with seven degrees many of which he
acquired when he was in prison fighting the oppressive Ian Smith's regime.
As bright as he may be, he is still convinced that he has something special
to offer Zimbabwe, even at 84!

This is where I find the irony. For such an intelligent man who endured the
dangers of the guerrilla war, who witnessed first-hand prison torture
inflicted on his people and his first wife in particular, how he could allow
similar if not worse suffering to happen to his people under his regime.

I am using the word 'under his regime' deliberately. Many people who
perished during Amin's regime were not necessarily killed by Amin. Some of
them disappeared as a result of unscrupulous individuals thirsty for
unsettled family and political feuds.

Either way it defeats every imagination that ordinary people for whom Mr
Mugabe was sworn in to protect can be treated worse than beasts simply
because they exercised their constitutional right.


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Lessons in red tape

Mail and Guardian

Peter Luhanga

05 May 2008 06:00

      After fleeing persecution or economic meltdown in their home
countries, up to a third of refugee children in South Africa are denied the
right to an education.

      New research suggests that schools turn away refugee children
who don’t have required documentation, such as birth certificates or enough
money for school fees.

      The research, a yet-to-be released study conducted by the Forced
Migration Studies Programme (FMSP) at the University of Witwatersrand, shows
that 341 of 1 190 refugees interviewed in Durban, Johannesburg and Cape Town
came to South Africa with their children, yet 35% of these children do not
attend school.

      According to FMSP, 150 000 refugees are documented on the
database of the department, but there are as many as 1,5-million
undocumented refugees in the country. By extrapolation, there could be as
many as 150 000 refugee children in the country who do not attend school.

      Tara Polzer, one of the programme’s researchers, said more than
a third of the refugee parents interviewed could not access schooling for
their children. This happened in spite of the Constitution being clear that
the right to basic education applies to everyone, regardless of their legal
status.

      Schools act unlawfully when they refuse to enrol undocumented
asylum seekers and refugee children. But many schools misunderstand the law
and are under the impression that they are not allowed to accept children
without birth certificates, vaccination cards and other documentation.

      Refugees are often turned away because they cannot pay school
fees. “They believe that non-South African children are not eligible for
school fees exemption -- but that’s not true. In fact foreign children are
eligible for school fees exemptions, just like South African children.”

      Polzer said schools in areas where there are many asylum seekers
and refugees need to plan not only for South African children but for all
the children living in the area.

      Cape Town Refugee Centre Education Coordinator Solethu Mnxanxeni
said the department of home affairs takes an “unreasonably long time” to
issue documentation, which makes access to schools difficult for children of
refugees.

      But Mnxanxeni said that despite bureaucratic delays, some
schools temporarily enrol refugee children while waiting for the home
affairs documentation. However, he said, by the same token, many refugee
parents encounter schools that refuse their children entry without
identification papers.

      There is also the problem of schools not knowing which grade a
refugee child should be placed in when they don’t have previous school
reports.

      Rodney Theys, the principal of Voorspoed Primary School in
Hanover Park, said there are 40 refugee children at the school, 10 of whom
have no documentation.

      The lack of information negatively affects the province’s
Centralised Educational Management Information System (Cemis), which
determines, among other things, the pupil-to-teacher ratio. “The number of
teachers that we get is based on the number of pupils enrolled … the total
number is according to what we put on Cemis,” said Theys.

      This means that with the addition of undocumented children,
pupil-to- teacher ratios in some of the classes are as high as 53:1.

      He said language is also “a major problem” as many refugee
children do not speak English or Afrikaans and teachers often have to spend
a lot of time with them. “Even their parents -- we find it difficult to
communicate with them when they come to register their children.”

      Xenophobia, he said, is another “big issue” at the school, and
refugee children often become introverted.

       Zimbabwean refugee Nowa Phunda, who lives in Khayelitsha and has
two children, aged 18 and 14, said they often complain about xenophobic
attacks. His children have been called makwerekwere (a derogatory term for
foreigners) at school.

      When he arrived in South Africa in 2006 he was unable to enrol
his children because all the schools said they were full. As a result, his
children lost a year of schooling before they were enrolled in 2007 with the
help of the Cape Town Refugee Centre.

      Coming from Zimbabwe, his children speak English but battle with
Afrikaans. One of his sons had to repeat a grade because he could not pass
the subject.

      But despite the difficulties, there are success stories. Rwandan
Justine Sibomana (21) matriculated in 2004 after starting school in South
Africa in 1999.

      Her family originally lived in Nelspruit and she was welcomed
into the school, where fees were waived. She had to learn Siswati in
Nelspruit and, when her family later moved to Cape Town, polish up her
English.

       Having had access to education means Sibomana, now a graphic
designer, can contribute to South African society. --West Cape News


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Why did the Zimbabwean chicken cross the road?

Standard Freeholder, Canada

Posted By Gwynne Dyer
Posted 3 hours ago
As the delay in announcing the results of Zimbabwe's presidential election
stretched out endlessly, the political jokes proliferated across southern
Africa.

The best ones were based on the old "Why did the chicken cross the road?"
joke. The correct answer is, "To get to the other side," but the
protagonists in the Zimbabwean crisis were all given lines that mocked the
positions they had taken.

Thus, for example, President Robert Mugabe, who lost the election but
wouldn't admit it: "The chicken will never be allowed to cross the road. Not
in my lifetime! Let those that run away to Bush and Brown do so.

"Not my chicken! My chicken will never cross the road. It will never be
colonized again!"

Or Tendai Biti, secretary-general of the opposition Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC): "We have irrefutable evidence from those who were at the road
that the chicken has, indeed, without any shadow of doubt, crossed the road.
I hereby declare that Chicken Huku Inkuku is now the legitimate resident of
the other side of the road."

Or Didymus Mutasa, the minister of national security: "I do not think it
crossed the road. If it crossed the road it's because the white farmer
dragged it. But we cannot allow that to happen. It will have to come back."

Finally, on May 2, 34 days after the vote, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission
released the results of the presidential election.

Predictably, it showed that while opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai's 47.9
percent of the votes put him almost five per cent ahead of Mugabe, he had
not cleared the 50 per cent hurdle and so would have to face Mugabe again in
a run-off.

The MDC claims that the delay was imposed so that the ruling ZANU-PF party
could tamper with the results, and that Tsvangirai really won 50.3 percent
of the votes in the first round. He has been sheltering in South Africa for
fear that Mugabe's thugs will beat him up again or even kill him, so it may
be some days before the party leaders decide whether to run again in a
second round -- but the real Didymus Mutasa cruelly outlined their dilemma.

"I don't think they are serious about not participating (in a run-off)
because they have been saying different things since the election day,"
Mutasa said. "But if they are serious this time, they will be shocked,
because we will proceed without them. The message is very simple: if they
don't participate, they lose the run-off."

It may never be known whether Tsvangirai really scraped a victory in the
first round. Independent observers working from the results that were posted
outside each polling station estimated that he got 49.4 per cent of the
votes, but gave a margin of error of 2.4 per cent. Both Tsvangirai's victory
claim and the regime's figure of 47.4 percent are within that margin of
error.

The fact that the regime's soldiers removed the ballot boxes from the
Electoral Commission's headquarters three weeks ago, and that it delayed so
long before releasing the final figures, suggests that it needed the time to
change the numbers and cancel a Tsvangirai victory. But it may just have
been using the extra time to terrorize villages that voted heavily for the
MDC, before embarking on a second round of voting.

The regime's strategy for the run-off is already clear. Recent changes to
the electoral law included a great multiplication in the number of rural
polling stations, which makes it easy to identify which villages backed the
opposition. Many of these villages have already had a visit from ZANU-PF
enforcers who beat suspected opposition supporters while local police and
army units look on.

The MDC claims that 20 of its supporters have already been killed, and many
hundreds beaten so severely that they had to be hospitalised. It could be
three weeks or even more until the second round of the election, which
allows time for every pro-MDC village to get the treatment at least once,
and in some cases repeatedly.

The MDC will almost certainly agree to take part in the run-off in the end.
Its supporters will face violence that may deter many from voting, and the
regime will not permit adequate scrutiny of the voting by outside observers.
This time, people trying to photograph the results that must be posted up
outside each polling station are likely to be chased away or killed. Yet it
is still possible that Mugabe will lose by such a big and undeniable margin
that he will have to acknowledge defeat.

When you take account of the legions of "ghost voters," all strangely
sharing the same few addresses, who loyally cast their votes for Mugabe in
every election, and the large number of known MDC supporters whose names
were removed from the electoral rolls, the real proportion of eligible
voters who would now vote against Mugabe in a free election probably amounts
to two-thirds or more.

Thanks to the results of the first round, they now KNOW that they are in the
majority. It is imaginable that this will give them the courage to use their
votes despite the intimidation they face, and to turf Mugabe out.

Gwynne Dyer is a London-based independent journalist whose articles are
published in 45 countries.

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