The ZIMBABWE Situation Our thoughts and prayers are with Zimbabwe
- may peace, truth and justice prevail.
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Dear All

I have not been in touch with most of you for sometime, and unfortunately
this is not happy news.

Sunday evening at approx 7pm (Zim tim) my sister Anthea and Brother-in-law
Alan Bradley, with their 2 kids, were returning home when they were shot at
and Alan was hit.

Details are sketchy at this stage but it would appear that there was a tree
across the road just as they turned onto the farm off the Settlers Road in
Virginia/Macheke. First reports I received were that he was hit in the
shoulder, but then heard that he had a punctured lung, and had lost a lot of
blood. He was rushed to Borradaile Hospital in Marondera, and was stabilised
there before being moved to Harare, with the possibility of transferring to
a hospital in SA inf necessary.

I believe Ant was driving and 6 year old Mitch was on Alan's lap at the
time, but it is thought that that Alan might have actually got out of the
car, although a side window was broken and Ant received minor scratches to
her shoulder and chest as a resault of the broken glass. The kids are fine
and are with my folks on the farm. Alan's folks, and sisters are with
Anthea. Like I said details are uncertain, as Alan was alread evacuated when
the folks arrived to collect the kids, and a neighbour took Anthea through,
and they didn't have a chance to speak to her. The little info they have got
is from 8 year old Luke. He said that there were a few characters hanging
around the road block and 'someone was hiding behind a tree with a gun'


Last spoke to Dad at about 7am (Qld time) 11pm (Zim time) when he said that
Alan was just leaving Marondera for Harare. I probably won't get any more
news until later today. I will update as and when I know more.



My Dad phoned 6.45pm (Qld) 10.45am (Zim) to say that Alan has been
unconscious, and has a temperature, with 3 broken ribs, bleeding and
splinters (or shrapnal) in the lung. He is in Theatre at the moment and they
are working on his arm, the extent of the damage to his arm is unknown. The
folks had just got to town with the kids when they phoned, and were on their
way to the hospital.

That's as much as I know at this stage, will keep you updated. I will only
be online for short periods of time to send updates, as I want to keep the
phone line open.





Just spoke to your Mum who said the ZBC have announced the Alan has died!
THIS IS INCORRECT!  He is still alive and is stable.  He is not unconcious
as in "in a coma" but is very heavily sedated.

Your Mum asked if you could please email this to everyone on your list,
before they all panic and think that it is true.

Will keep in touch with them.
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From CNN, 25 November

Zimbabwe white farmer shot

Harare - A white Zimbabwe farmer was shot and wounded on Sunday in a district often targeted by militants loyal to President Robert Mugabe for occupation of white-owned farms, a spokeswoman of the Commercial Farmers Union said. Alan Bradley was shot twice in the upper body after he got out of his vehicle to inspect a felled tree blocking the road to his farm in Zimbabwe's eastern district of Virginia-Macheke, spokeswoman Jenni Williams told Reuters. He was seriously wounded. His wife and two children, who were travelling with him, were unharmed, Williams said. "At this point it is not clear who shot him, or whether his farm is invaded, but many farms in the Virginia-Macheke area have been occupied over the past year," she added. Police were not immediately available for comment.

Nine white farmers have been killed and scores of black farmworkers badly assaulted in farm invasions by pro-government militants. The militants, led by veterans of Zimbabwe's 1970s independence war, say the invasions which began in February 2000 are a show of support for Mugabe's drive to grab large tracts of white-owned farmland for redistribution to landless blacks. Agriculture Minister Joseph Made said this month the government would limit farms not earmarked for seizure to a maximum size of 2,000 hectares (4,940 acres), with the excess going to blacks. White farmers say Mugabe's government has failed to implement a September pact to halt the farm invasions in return for funding for fair reform from former colonial power Britain. Critics say Mugabe wants to use the land issue as a main platform in his campaign for presidential elections due by April. He is facing a stiff challenge from main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai. Industry officials say the land crisis has hit farm production and contributed to food shortages. The U.N. World Food Programme said it planned a huge relief food operation to feed more than half a million mainly rural Zimbabweans.

From

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Outcry over Mugabe’s luxury spending

By our Staff Writer
ZIMBABWEANS are outraged by President Robert Mugabe’s purchase of a
limousine, at a time when 500 000 people are in need of food aid, when the
health and education sectors are crumbling, and the country is facing its
worst ever economic downturn.

Last week, The Standard revealed that President Mugabe had bought a
state-of-the-art Mercedes Benz S600 limousine along with three other
Mercedes Benz sedans and 19 escort trucks, at a total cost of $250 million.

A law lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe, who requested anonymity, said
President Mugabe’s latest acquis-tion was testimony of how the President was
bent on enriching himself at the expense of economically deprived
Zimbabweans.
“We can all see how the man is now surrounding himself with gold while the
rest of us are starving. This is the mark of a true dictator and Zimbabweans
must brace for worse times.

“I am terribly disappointed that our President does not care about our
hardships. He has taken his idea of patronage to a scary and worrying level.
The next thing he is going to do is buy planes for war vets,” he said.

Kundai Shoko of Chitungwiza said President Mugabe’s case was one of a great
leader who had fallen from grace.

“I have become more and more disappointed with the president despite my
admiration for him in the 1980s when he was our independence hero.”

A University of Zimbabwe political science student said the first family had
become remote from reality if they could purchase expensive vehicles when
there was need to pay student grants.

“The president is more of a kleptocrat and autocrat than a democrat. He has
become like a father who lavishly spends his family’s income on beer and
prostitutes, leaving his family to starve,” said the student.

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Matabeleland appeals to international community

By Thabo Kunene
BULAWAYO—People in Matabeleland have appealed to the international community
for protection against what they have said is state-sponsored terrorism in
the region.

Government-sponsored terror squads, some originating from Harare, are said
to be harassing villagers in the Matabeleland north and south provinces,
considered the political power bases of the opposition MDC.

In Bulawayo, politically-motivated violence continued last week despite the
presence of armed police, with the housing of opposition supporters being
burnt down or looted.

The appeal for protection by the people of Matabeleland comes in the wake of
rising political tension in the province, following the abduction and murder
two weeks ago of Cain Nkala, formerly the leader of the war veterans in
Bulawayo.

Nkala, a former Zipra guerrilla, was abducted from his home in Magwegwe
township, Bulawayo by about 10 gunmen. His decomposed body was found buried
in a shallow grave on a farm near Solusi University, about 35km south-east
of the city.

The government has blamed the MDC for the abduction and murder of Nkala
despite evidence suggesting that the veteran was a victim of infighting
within the ranks of the war veterans association.

Those interviewed by The Standard said the current terror was government’s
way of punishing people in the region for rejecting the ruling party in last
year’s parliamentary elections.

They said the state had staged the Nkala and Luphalhla killings as a pretext
for deploying the army in the region, to instil fear ahead of next year’s
presidential election.

Herbert Masuku of Njube, said government aimed at carrying out a kind of
genocide in the area.

“I have no doubt in my mind that what is happening now is the first step
towards deploying soldiers in our region,” said Masuku.

Bulawayo residents told The Standard that they had appealed to the South
African government for protection against the terror squads. “We are
appealing to President Thabo Mbeki not to abandon us when the terror begins
in Matabeleland. This government is for terror and the international
community should not forget us,” said Mrs Mavis Maseko of Luveve.

Maseko said she lost six relatives and two brothers during the Fifth Brigade
campaign in Matabeleland in the 1980s, dubbed Gukura-hundi, which left
hundreds of villagers dead.

A lecturer at the University of Science and Technology (Nust) warned
government against deploying the army in Matabeleland to terrorise the
population. “It would be a big blunder. Strategies such as terrorising
civilians always backfire on dictators,” he said.
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Crack ZNA/ZRP unit for elections

By our Staff Writers
THE Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) and the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) are
preparing an elite force to crackdown on the opposition in the run-up to the
presidential election due early next year, The Standard has established.

A fleet of 66 imported Steyr military vehicles crossed into the country
through the Forbes border post a fortnight ago, and is expected to beef up
logistics for the crack force which is currently undergoing specialist
training in anti-insurgency.
A Harare-based company, Zebra Freight, brought the vehicles into the country
on 9 November and delivered them to the army’s Msasa Base Workshop where the
carriers are still parked.

The group, drawn from the force’s Support Unit, are believed to have
completed an initial three-week training course at the ZRP Summer
Battlefield in Shamva and are now being trained in the use of Israeli riot
gear.

The police last year ordered riot gear worth US$1 million from Israeli arms
manufacturer, Beit Alfa Trailer Company (BAT). The riot gear is expected by
the end of the year.

The unit is set to embark on extensive commando military training at
Cranborne Barracks where the army’s 1 Commando is based.

“The training is quite intensive. It is not normal police training. We have
been told that we are training for a special assignment. The training
includes the use of water cannons, gas masks and other war material. We were
told that the equipment we will use is still in Israel.

Police spokesman, Inspector Tarwireyi Tirivavi, said the training was a
routine exercise for police officers and denied that the group was part of a
special unit being put together for spearheading election violence.
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Anglican Church split widens

Trevor Muhondeh
WHEN Nobert Kunonga, a Zanu PF sympathiser, was appointed the Anglican
Harare diocese Bishop in controversial circumstances last year, his critics
predicted that that would be the demise of the diocese. Ten months down the
line, they have been proven right—for the once powerful church is
disintegrating.

One of the country’s most influential churches, the Anglican, like the
Catholic, was one of the churches that played a significant role in checking
abuses of power by government officials and speaking against corruption and
injustice.

But cracks emerged when Kunonga in his maiden speech endorsed his support
for President Mugabe’s land reform programme.

Kunonga’s position differed sharply with that of members of his own church
and of the churches’ umbrella body, the Zimbabwe Council of Churches and the
Catholic Bishops Conference, who came out strongly against government’s use
of land reform for political survival. The Christian bodies attacked
government for using violence and lawlessness in its land grab.

With such differences emerging, observers predicted that Kunonga’s reign
would mark the demise of the Anglican Harare Diocese.

Under Kunonga’s reign, one parish has been closed, priests have been
victimised, and allegations of high handedness and favouritism are rife.

As more problems continue to beset the church, priests and parishioners are
beginning to question Kunonga’s ability to run the diocese.

Insiders say the real threat to the Harare diocese’s continued existence is
Kunonga’s determination to victimise priests seen as allies to Timothy
Neill, the church’s former vicar-general who left the church in a huff early
this year.

Neill, a respected critic, resigned in protest over the appointment of
Kunonga to head the diocese ahead of him.

Insiders say Kunonga is targeting for victimisation priests whom he suspects
were on Neill’s side during his fight with the former vicar-general.

On the other hand, sources told The Standard that Bishop Kunonga is
promoting those who campaigned to have him win against Neill.

Even ordinary parishioners perceived to have supported Neill are not being
spared.

Disillusioned by Kunonga’s conduct, a congregation gathered at Bernard
Mizeki in June, walked out as Kunonga was about to address them. The
congregation had to be persuaded by Bishop Sebastian Bakare to return and
listen to Kunonga.

As the purge on priests continues, Kunonga has ordered the closure of at
least five parishes. Some parishioners in Dzivar-esekwa’s St Joseph, St
Monica’s in Chitungwiza, St Luke’s of Greendale, All Souls in Mount Pleasant
and Mufakose’s St Luke’s have expressed concern over Kunonga’s leadership.

Last week some women from Dzivaresekwa petitioned for the removal of their
parish priest, Augustine Moketse, whom they say was imposed by Kunonga
because he was Kunonga’s front man during his power struggle with Neill.
“I don’t think he has what it takes to run this diocese. He is too
vindictive and has been harassing priests who were close to Neill.

“Priests have never been so divided since Kunonga’s arrival. People with
problems are not entertained. We are not given an audience at all. The guy
is just dictatorial. Frankly the church is crumbling,” said one priest.

Neill said the diocese would never be same again after Kunonga, whom he
accused of being bent on serving Zanu PF interests ahead of those of the
church.
Said Neill: “The route that was taken to usher him to the post was ungodly.
It contradicted with the cannon laws of the church. The new bishop will face
more problems because he is not the people’s choice.

“One thing you need to get right is that Kunonga is a Zanu PF appointee and
as long as the party is holding power in the church then the problems won’t
end. It is very possible for the bishop to snub those whom he feels were not
on his side during election time.”

Kunonga refused to speak to The Standard while the Zimbabwe Council of
Churches general secretary Dennison Mafinyane said they would investigate
the problems besetting the Anglican Harare diocese.
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War vets demand 100% bonus

By our own Staff
WAR veterans are demanding a 100% bonus arguing that they, too, are entitled
to a 13th cheque by virtue of being members of the defence forces, The
Standard has learned.

This is the second time that the veterans have made such a demand. But last
year they were snubbed by the late defence minister, Moven Mahachi.

The Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA) secretary
general, Andy Mhlanga, told The Standard that war veterans wanted the
government to consider them in awarding bonuses since they are part of the
reserve force which falls under the ministry of defence.

Regular members of the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) were this month given a
100% bonus, together with the rest of the civil service.

“We understand that civil servants have received their bonuses, including
soldiers who are our colleagues. War veterans want to know whether they will
be considered for the bonuses as well.

“We are soldiers of this country and we must be awarded the bonuses too.
“War veterans are helping to uphold security in the country and who can deny
that we are members of the defence forces?” Mhlanga said.

War veterans were last year incorporated into the national army as part of
the Reserve Force through an amendment to the Defence Act.

The war veterans, who receive monthly gratuities of $6 875, said they were
expecting to receive bonuses next month and wanted the government to
consider their request seriously. Apart from the bonuses, the war veterans
are pressing for a review of their gratuities, arguing that their incomes
have been eroded by high inflation — currently hovering at around 100%.

In August this year, government paid almost $1billion of unbudgeted funds to
the veterans, following a 25% increment on their monthly payments backdated
to January this year.

In November 1997, the payment of $50 000 gratuities to each of the 55 000
war veterans sent the Zimbabwe dollar tumbling to an all time low against
major currencies on what has came to be known as the Black Friday.

That expenditure drew an unbudgeted $4 billion from the country’s coffers.
But the minister of defence, Sydney Sekeramayi, said government had not
received the war veterans’ demand for a bonus. “I’m hearing it from you for
the first time. We are yet to receive such a request from the war veterans.
They know the proper protocol rather than going to newspapers,” he said.
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European Union hypocritical

THE arrogance of the European Union knows no bounds. Like the former
colonialists that they are, the EU team led by Belgian Foreign Minister
Louis Michel came to Harare with the assumption that the poor African
country could be intimidated and its President whipped into line.

Under the pretext of discussing the situation in the DRC, the EU mission
unashame-dly sought to impose its will over both the Zimbabwean political
process and Zimbabwe’s involvement in the DRC conflict.

As predicted, the Belgian-led team wanted to lecture Harare on how it should
conduct its internal and external affairs. And when the insidious agenda
failed, Mr Michel issued a thinly veiled threat against Zimbabwe, stating
that "The relationship between the EU and Zimbabwe has arrived at a very
critical point . . . as a result of our concern about land reform, media
freedom and also the way in which elections will be assured".

We must all be shaking in our boots now that the EU is about to condemn and
castigate us. They try and give the impression that they care about us. In
actual fact they do not. What they care about is the welfare of the
commercial white farmers. They would want this group of people to continue
holding over 80 percent of the country’s prime agricultural land. That is
why the EU is insisting on issues of media freedom and the monitoring of
elections to ensure that they manipulate next year’s presidential election,
as they are known to have done in Yugoslavia.

As was predicted in our reports yesterday, the release of the damning UN
report on Zimbabwe’s involvement in the DRC was meant to coincide with the
EU visit so that it could be used against the Government.

Mr Michel had the audacity to suggest that Zimbabwe should review its trade
relations with the DRC as if there was something untoward about these. In
whose interest should Zimbabwe do this anyway? Certainly not the Congolese
who are in any case the majority shareholders in the different business
ventures. The Congolese government itself has not complained about the trade
agreements.

It is simply mischief making of the highest order to try and equate Zimbabwe
’s intervention in the DRC conflict to that of Uganda and Rwanda.

For starters, Belgians do not have the moral authority to pontificate on the
DRC issue because they created the Congolese crisis when they assassinated
the country’s independence leader, Patrice Lumumba. Their hands are bloody.

Secondly, when Belgium assumed the presidency of the EU, Zimbabwe went in
good faith to the recent talks with the hope of finding a lasting solution
to the DRC conflict and trusted that the country was genuinely interested in
playing a pivotal role on this issue as the former coloniser of the DRC.

However, Belgium’s turnaround is flabbergasting, to say the least. The
Belgian foreign minister has now taken it upon himself to deal with
Zimbabwe, on behalf of the British government, using whatever means
necessary. The DRC issue has now come in handy for the hatchet man who has
become a willing tool of the British.

Belgium has never had a fight with Zimbabwe but Mr Michel’s enthusiasm and
venom suggest that the differences between Harare and London have taken a
new and sinister twist, and developed into a fight between blacks and
whites. And in that fight, Mr Michel has taken an unmistaken position.

He is under the illusion that what the British have failed to do he will. He
fired his first shots recently at a meeting with Zimbabwe’s foreign
minister, Dr Stan Mudenge, in Brussels when he threatened the country with
unspecified action if it did not agree to invite EU election observers and
monitors and gave a week’s deadline.

Zimbabwe naturally refused to be intimidated and Mr Michel’s EU council of
foreign ministers then invoked article 96 of the Cotonou agreement as the
first step towards the imposition of sanctions against Zimba-bwe. Yesterday’
s meeting with the President was obviously meant to reinforce the EU’s warpe
d and racist view of European superiority. Mr Michel and his two cronies
should be told in no uncertain terms where they could disappear to where Mr
Michel should answer for his country’s murder of Patrice Lumumba before
pretending that he cares about us.

Why has he not raised issue with the abduction, torture and murder of ruling
Zanu-PF members by suspected supporters of the opposition Movement for
Democratic Change, to show that he has some modicum of fairness or decency?
Are these not crimes against humanity?
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President humbles EU team

By Political Editor Munyaradzi Huni
THE European Union delegation left the country yesterday with tails between
their legs after they were humbled by President Mugabe when they tried to
smuggle the issue about election monitors in discussions that were supposed
to centre on Zimbabwe’s involvement in the DRC war.

Even as the leader of the delegation, Mr Louis Michel, who is the Belgian
Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, spoke at a Press conference, one
could easily see that he was still trying to recover from the trance that
the discussions with Cde Mugabe had left him.

The other members of the delegation — Mr Chris Patten, the EU Commissioner
for external relations and Mr Javier Solana, the secretary-general of the EU
council and high representative for the common external and security
policy — also looked shell-shocked.

As he always does, Cde Mugabe entered into the boardroom where the meeting
took place looking jovial and he even cracked a joke with one member of the
delegation.

Before the arrival of Cde Mugabe, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cde Stan
Mudenge, had told the delegation that Zimbabwe House is the house that was
used by Mr Ian Smith during the colonial days. This surprised some members
of the delegation.

When Cde Mugabe sat down for the discussions, most members of the EU
delegation were still smiling and it looked as if the meeting would just be
a walkover.

Journalists were then ordered to leave the room and serious discussions
began.

Sources at the meeting told The Sunday Mail that the delegation was stunned
by the way Cde Mugabe responded to their allegations and for the better part
of the meeting all they did was just to listen.

"The President answered them adequately and most of them were stunned. They
never expected the President to answer them the way he did.

"They came with that mentality that President Mugabe would treat them like
superior human beings and they thought he would talk like a beggar. That
didn’t happen and they withered like a flower," said the source.

The source said the discussions went on well until one member of the
delegation brought in the issue about election monitors and good governance.

"The President could not take that. He instantly told the EU delegation that
Zimbabwe would not allow other countries to run ‘our’ elections. He told
them to keep out and walked out.

"For a few seconds the delegation sat glued on the seats. They could not
believe what had happened," said the source.

As if to show that they were still recovering from whatever had hit them,
the EU delegation refused to speak to the Press soon after the meeting.

They later held a Press conference at the Harare International Airport after
giving themselves time to recover, but still they looked shell-shocked.

Mr Michel’s voice was so low as he spoke that one journalist had to ask him
to "please speak up".

Mr Solana was at a loss for words and he just gave a brief speech while Mr
Patten tried to put up a brave face but still showed that he was still
feeling very embarrassed.
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Zimbabwe army deployment seen intimidating voters



HARARE, Nov. 25 — Zimbabwe's main opposition said on Sunday President Robert
Mugabe's government had deployed troops in an opposition stronghold in a bid
to intimidate voters ahead of next year's presidential elections.

       Critics have already accused Mugabe of tightening election rules and
other laws in his favour in the run-up to the election, when he will face
the toughest challenge of his presidential career from opposition leader
Morgan Tsvangirai.
       State radio reported on Saturday that the army had been sent to
Lupane district in Matabeleland province in northwestern Zimbabwe to quell
political violence following the recent killings of two members of the
ruling ZANU-PF party.
       ''It is plain to us that this is yet another ploy to intimidate
voters, but it will not work,'' opposition Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC) Secretary-General Welshman Ncube said after visiting the district on
Sunday.
       ''We know one home in Lupane was burnt down by the army about a week
ago and a couple of people were beaten up,'' Ncube told Reuters by
telephone.
       The MDC won the district in last year's parliamentary elections,
despite a violent nationwide campaign by government supporters in which 31
people -- mainly opposition supporters-- died.
       The radio said nurses in Lupane district were refusing to attend to
medical emergencies at night because of the tense political climate in the
area.
       ZANU-PF has accused the MDC of involvement in the deaths of two of
its members, including war veteran's leader Cain Nkala, whose body was found
in a shallow grave earlier this month.

GOVERNMENT ACCUSED OF CRACKDOWN
       The MDC denies any involvement and says the ruling party is using the
deaths as an excuse to crack down on the opposition in the run-up to the
election, which is due by April 2002.
       A recently published poll showed Mugabe trailing his main rival as
the country sinks deeper into a political and economic crisis sparked by his
controversial scheme to seize white-owned farmland for redistribution to
landless blacks.
       ''There have been cases of violence since the murders, which have
been confined to Matabeleland North and South Provinces. The Zimbabwe
National Army has been deployed to the district to deal with the political
hooligans,'' state radio said.
       Constitutional lawyer Lovemore Madhuku said the soldiers' deployment
in Lupane would revive memories of the army crackdown against a rebellion in
Matabeleland in the 1980s which left thousands of civilians dead.
       ''There is no justification for deploying soldiers. What they
(government) intend to do is to terrorise voters ahead of next year's
election,'' Madhuku told Reuters.
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Straw warns Mugabe over press freedom
by Christina Lamb, Diplomatic Correspondent
(Filed: 25/11/2001)


BRITAIN demanded yesterday that Zimbabwe's President Mugabe stop interfering
with foreign journalists after his spokesman said that they would be treated
as "terrorists".

Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, threatened diplomatic action against
Zimbabwe and said that he was "profoundly concerned" by the remark. In a
statement he said that the British High Commission in Harare was "making
urgent representations to the government of Zimbabwe to seek assurances that
independent journalists will continue to be able to report freely".

Mr Straw added that he would consult his European Union and Commonwealth
counterparts on how else to respond. The Foreign Secretary's statement came
in response to comments by Jonathan Moyo, Mr Mugabe's spokesman, saying that
correspondents for foreign media who reported indiscriminate beatings of
whites a week ago would be treated as terrorists.

He singled out journalists from The Telegraph, the Times, the Guardian, and
the Independent, among others. He said:"It is now an open secret that these
reporters are not only distorting the facts but are assisting terrorists who
stand accused in our courts of law of abduction, torture and murder."

Mr Moyo's comments came amid fears that no foreign media or monitors will be
allowed into Zimbabwe to cover presidential elections next March, as Mr
Mugabe increases the use of violence to frighten his people into not voting
against him.

The human rights situation has deteriorated since ruling party militants
began a campaign of violent occupations of white-owned farms 18 months ago.
International appeals to end the occupations have been rejected.

Opposition candidates have been beaten and tortured, there have been
assassination attempts against Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), and his party headquarters in Bulawayo
were recently set on fire.

State-controlled media reported that the MDC had burnt down its own offices
allegedly to destroy evidence of organising a murder. Western diplomats
believe that Mr Mugabe might be trying to engineer a situation in which he
can declare a state of emergency and avoid holding elections.

With the economy collapsing and many people facing starvation this winter
because the country is no longer producing enough food, the president's
popularity is at an all-time low.

Senior EU officials, including Chris Patten, who met Mr Mugabe last week had
their demands to send observers to the elections rebuffed.

Mr Mugabe told the state-controlled Herald newspaper: "I told them to keep
out because some of them are our former colonisers."
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Mugabe trails presidential rival in poll

R W JOHNSON, JOHANNESBURG

AN OPINION poll to be published this week shows that Robert Mugabe, the
embattled Zimbabwean leader, has fallen eight points behind his rival for
the presidency, despite a campaign of repression aimed at crushing
opposition.
The survey of a representative sample of 1,900 voters indicates that a
majority of Zimbabweans blame Mugabe for the country’s worsening ills. Even
among supporters of his Zanu-PF party, nearly half are reluctant to see him
stay in office.

Such is the scale of the repression that half of those questioned refused to
state their opinions in the poll, which I helped to organise with Gallup
International. Among those willing to reveal their views, however, Morgan
Tsvangirai, the leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC), was ahead of Mugabe by 52% to 44%.

Asked who was responsible for Zimbabwe’s woes, 66% of those with definite
opinions blamed the Mugabe government — almost double the 34% who agreed
with the official line that they are the fault of whites, foreigners or the
MDC.

One reason for Mugabe’s failure to win support is that voters do not agree
that the issue of land ownership is of supreme importance. Indeed,
comparison with previous surveys confirms that fewer and fewer see things
that way.

Most people are too afraid of retribution to risk speaking publicly about
the phenomenon of political violence, but when questions addressed their
private anxieties, fear of political attacks and killings was strong.

They also expressed fears about Aids — Zimbabwe has one of the highest
incidences of the disease in the world — and starvation.

On one issue after another Mugabe has failed to carry the voters with him.
Only 28% agreed that “all big farms should be taken away from whites”. Twice
that number wanted white farmers to carry on, or for those who had left
Zimbabwe to be invited back.

Even among Mugabe supporters, only 44% thought it sensible to blame whites
for the country’s problems. Among Tsvangirai’s following, 92% thought it
foolish to blame whites.

Zanu-PF’s supporters were also far from being unanimously behind the
president’s campaign slogan: “The people first and Mugabe for ever.” Only
53% wanted him to continue ruling Zimbabwe.

Isaac Maposa, the chief executive of the MDC, said he was not surprised by
the findings. “If the presidential election were to be free or fair, Morgan
Tsvangirai would win by a landslide,” he said.

The reaction of the government, still trying to “disprove” a poll earlier
this month that showed Tsvangirai six points ahead, is expected to be
hostile. “This sort of data panics the regime,” a human rights activist
said. “Its immediate response is to beat up, torture and kill more MDC
supporters.”

Mugabe’s fear that he could not win a free and fair election doubtless lay
behind last week’s battery of measures against the opposition. They include
a new law introducing the death penalty for a long list of crimes, including
“attempts to undermine the authority of the president”.

A Zimbabwean government spokesman also branded six foreign journalists based
in the country — four of whom write for British newspapers — as “terrorists”
. Jack Straw, the foreign secretary, accused Mugabe’s government of
violating its commitment to freedom of expression and said he would discuss
with his European Union and Commonwealth counterparts how to respond.

A proposed new electoral law deprives more than 1m Zimbabweans living abroad
of the vote. Villagers will have to get their “headman”, who is on the
government payroll, to vouch for them. Farm workers must also ask their
employers to attest to their status — a difficult test, since both have been
driven off farms en masse.

“You could sum it up simply by saying any MDC voter not only has to be
disenfranchised but is a terrorist who should be in jail — or worse,” said
one human rights activist.

Like most Zimbabweans, he did not wish to be named — wisely, perhaps, since
such activists were also named by Mugabe last week as supporting “terrorism”
.


R W JOHNSON, JOHANNESBURG

AN OPINION poll to be published this week shows that Robert Mugabe, the
embattled Zimbabwean leader, has fallen eight points behind his rival for
the presidency, despite a campaign of repression aimed at crushing
opposition.
The survey of a representative sample of 1,900 voters indicates that a
majority of Zimbabweans blame Mugabe for the country’s worsening ills. Even
among supporters of his Zanu-PF party, nearly half are reluctant to see him
stay in office.

Such is the scale of the repression that half of those questioned refused to
state their opinions in the poll, which I helped to organise with Gallup
International. Among those willing to reveal their views, however, Morgan
Tsvangirai, the leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC), was ahead of Mugabe by 52% to 44%.

Asked who was responsible for Zimbabwe’s woes, 66% of those with definite
opinions blamed the Mugabe government — almost double the 34% who agreed
with the official line that they are the fault of whites, foreigners or the
MDC.

One reason for Mugabe’s failure to win support is that voters do not agree
that the issue of land ownership is of supreme importance. Indeed,
comparison with previous surveys confirms that fewer and fewer see things
that way.

Most people are too afraid of retribution to risk speaking publicly about
the phenomenon of political violence, but when questions addressed their
private anxieties, fear of political attacks and killings was strong.

They also expressed fears about Aids — Zimbabwe has one of the highest
incidences of the disease in the world — and starvation.

On one issue after another Mugabe has failed to carry the voters with him.
Only 28% agreed that “all big farms should be taken away from whites”. Twice
that number wanted white farmers to carry on, or for those who had left
Zimbabwe to be invited back.

Even among Mugabe supporters, only 44% thought it sensible to blame whites
for the country’s problems. Among Tsvangirai’s following, 92% thought it
foolish to blame whites.

Zanu-PF’s supporters were also far from being unanimously behind the
president’s campaign slogan: “The people first and Mugabe for ever.” Only
53% wanted him to continue ruling Zimbabwe.

Isaac Maposa, the chief executive of the MDC, said he was not surprised by
the findings. “If the presidential election were to be free or fair, Morgan
Tsvangirai would win by a landslide,” he said.

The reaction of the government, still trying to “disprove” a poll earlier
this month that showed Tsvangirai six points ahead, is expected to be
hostile. “This sort of data panics the regime,” a human rights activist
said. “Its immediate response is to beat up, torture and kill more MDC
supporters.”

Mugabe’s fear that he could not win a free and fair election doubtless lay
behind last week’s battery of measures against the opposition. They include
a new law introducing the death penalty for a long list of crimes, including
“attempts to undermine the authority of the president”.

A Zimbabwean government spokesman also branded six foreign journalists based
in the country — four of whom write for British newspapers — as “terrorists”
. Jack Straw, the foreign secretary, accused Mugabe’s government of
violating its commitment to freedom of expression and said he would discuss
with his European Union and Commonwealth counterparts how to respond.

A proposed new electoral law deprives more than 1m Zimbabweans living abroad
of the vote. Villagers will have to get their “headman”, who is on the
government payroll, to vouch for them. Farm workers must also ask their
employers to attest to their status — a difficult test, since both have been
driven off farms en masse.

“You could sum it up simply by saying any MDC voter not only has to be
disenfranchised but is a terrorist who should be in jail — or worse,” said
one human rights activist.

Like most Zimbabweans, he did not wish to be named — wisely, perhaps, since
such activists were also named by Mugabe last week as supporting “terrorism”
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Simon was further remanded today till his continued bail hearing can be heard on Monday. Please continue to pray for all concerned this week-end.

Gail, Simon's wife asked us to pass on this letter from her :

" We are so blessed to have experienced the incredible warmth, kindness and generosity of so many wonderful Zimbabweans. Simon has been told of your support and he is overwhelmed. We thank-you from the bottom of our hearts as we are strengthened by your love and prayers.

At times like these it is easy to become discouraged, frightened, frustrated and even angry but we remember the words...

" Fear not for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand. " Isa 41:10 Rsv

So let us be positive and resolute. Let us trust in God that justice will prevail. Let us remember to promote peace and goodwill. Let us not succumb to gossip and rumour - mongering. Let us be patient with the legal process through the courts.

This is what Simon would want!

God Bless You all.

Gail and the girls."

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