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SADC communique on Zimbabwe deadlock


28.10.08
Posted to the web: 28/10/2008 10:08:02
Communiqué of the SADC Troika

28 October 2008

Issued following meeting in Harare, Zimbabwe, October 28, 2008

COMMUNIQUÉ EXTRA-ORDINARY SUMMIT OF THE ORGAN TROIKA, 27 - 28 OCTOBER 2008,
HARARE, REPUBLIC OF ZIMBABWE

1. The Extra-ordinary Summit of the Organ Troika of Heads of State and
Government met in Harare, Republic of Zimbabwe. The main objective of the
meeting was to review the latest Political and Security situation in the
region with particular reference to the current developments in the Republic
of
Zimbabwe.

2. The meeting was chaired by H.E. President Armando Emilio Guebuza,
President of the Republic of Mozambique and Deputy Chairperson of the
Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation.

3. The Extra-ordinary Summit was attended by the following Heads of States
and Government or their representatives:

Mozambique

H.E. President Armando Emilio Guebuza, Deputy Chairperson of the Organ on
Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation

South Africa

H.E. President Kgalema Motlanthe, Chairperson of SADC

Swaziland

Right Honourable Dr. Sibusiso Barnabas Dlamini, M.P., Prime Minister

Angola

Hon. Assunção A Sousa dos Anjos, Minister of Foreign Affairs

4. The meeting was also attended by His Excellency Robert Gabriel Mugabe,
President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, His Excellency Thabo Mbeki,
Former President of the Republic of South Africa and Facilitator on the
Zimbabwe Political Dialogue Leaders of MDC Formations, Honourable Morgan
Tsvangirai, Prime Minister Designate of the Republic Zimbabwe, and
Honourable Professor Arthur Mutambara, Deputy Prime Minister Designate and
the Executive Secretary of SADC, Dr. Tomaz Augusto Salomão.

5. In his opening remarks, His Excellency President Armando Emilio Gueuza,
President of the Republic of Mozambique welcomed all delegates to the
meeting and re-affirmed SADC Organ's commitment in supporting the
implementation of the Global Political Agreement signed on 15 September
2008 between the Government and the two MDC Formations.

6. The Extra-ordinary Summit of the Organ Troika also received a report from
His Excellency Thabo Mbeki, Former President of the Republic of the
South Africa and the Facilitator of the Political Dialogue on the Zimbabwe
situation. The report, among others provided details on the progress made
since the signing of the Global Agreement on the 15 September 2008 and the
challenges experienced thereafter.

7. The Extra-ordinary Summit also noted with appreciation the commitment of
the Zimbabwe stakeholders to the dialogue process, the need to
speedily complete the process fro the socio-economic development for all the
Zimbabweans.

8. The Extra Ordinary Summit of the Organ Troika appreciated the efforts of
His Excellency Thabo Mbeki the facilitator of the Political Dialogue on
Zimbabwe in finding an amicable solution to challenges facing the Republic
of Zimbabwe and encouraged him to continue with his mediation efforts.

9. The Extra-ordinary Summit afforded His Excellency Robert Gabriel Mugabe,
Honourable Morgan Tsvangirai, Prime Minister Designate and
Honourable Professor Arthur Mutambara, Deputy Prime Minister Designate to
brief the meeting on the progress made since the signing of the Global
Political Agreement on 15 September 2008.

10. The Extra Ordinary Summit noted with concern disagreement in the
allocation of Ministry of Home Affairs and urged the parties concerned to
reach an agreement in order to enable the full implementation of the Global
Political Agreement on 15 September 2008 as a matter of urgency.

11. The Extra-ordinary Summit however, noted the progress made so far
regarding allocation on ministries and that there is convergence between
the parties with respect to cooperative management of the Ministry of Home
Affairs. The Summit thereafter strongly encourages the parties to
pursue this option.

12. The Extra-ordinary Summit of the Organ noted that people of Zimbabwe are
faced with difficult challenges and suffering that can only be
addressed once the inclusive Government in place.

13. In view of the above, the Extra-ordinary Summit of the Organ urged the
parties to genuinely commit themselves in finding a lasting solution to
the current deadlock.

14. The Extra-ordinary Summit of the Organ recommended the holding of the
full SADC Summit to further review the current political situation in
Zimbabwe as a matter of urgency.

15. The Extra Ordinary Summit of the Organ Troika will continuously remain
seized with the ongoing political situation in the Republic of Zimbabwe.

16. His Excellency President Guebuza, thanked His Excellency President
Robert Gabriel Mugabe, other stakeholders and the people of Zimbabwe for
the warm reception and hospitality.

Rainbow Towers Hotel
Harare, Republic of Zimbabwe
28 October 2008


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MDC statement on Zimbabwe talks

http://www.zimonline.co.za/

Wednesday 29 October 2008

Fellow Zimbabweans, members of the media fraternity, the Extra-Ordinary
Summit of the SADC Organ on Politics Defence and Security Cooperation Troika
concluded in the early hours of the 28th of October 2008.

In the communiqué released by the Troika, pursuant to this summit, the
Troika has decided to refer the Zimbabwe issue to a full summit of SADC
which should be held as soon as possible.

On our part, we thank the Troika for yet again sacrificing their time,
patience and experience on the issue of Zimbabwe, more particularly,
President Monthlante of South Africa and President Guebuzza of Mozambique
and every other leader who attended the summit.

Zimbabwe is privileged that it can count as friends, countries in the region
and distinguished African statesmen such as President Guebuzza and President
Monthlante.

It is regrettable that the Troika could not narrow the gaps between the
Zimbabwe parties. In our view, an urgent summit towards the resolution of
the Zimbabwe crisis is paramount. Zimbabweans are suffering and dying. The
State has dismally failed to provide the least basic social amenities and
our people have been reduced to a primitive mode of production in depths
that have not been known even in many warring situations.

At the core of our differences, in our view, is the lack of sincerity and
good faith on the part of ZANU PF. The fact that contrary to the Global
Political Agenda (GPA), ZANU PF is still interfering with the distribution
of humanitarian assistance, and the fact that it is still emasculating basic
freedoms is equally unacceptable.

We condemn in the strongest language the recent assaults of the members of
the Zimbabwe Students Union (ZINASU) and the continued incarceration of the
members of the Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA).

Even yesterday as the dialogue process was in progress, ZANU PF had the
audacity of insulting and assaulting civic society and MDC activists who
were merely expressing their freedom of expression. That lack of sincerity
is demonstrated in the total disrespect of the MDC and its leader Mr. Morgan
Tsvangirai and the attempt to reduce the same to disinterested bystanders in
the cooperative government despite the fact that it is the MDC that has the
legitimate peoples' mandate following its victory on the 29th of March 2008.

It is our hope that the SADC Summit will be convened with utmost urgency to
deliberate on the outstanding issues;

1. The first critical outstanding issue is the allocation of portfolio
ministries as enshrined in Article 20.1.6 (5) of the GPA.

On this issue, the firm position of the MDC is that there are fundamental
principles that are key, not just to the MDC, but to the people of Zimbabwe.

1.1. There cannot be responsibility without authority and,

1.2. There has to be equitable distribution of portfolio ministries. In this
regard the MDC has suggested a methodology in respect of which the key
ministries are paired in the orders of importance and relative equality. We
identified 10 (ten) key ministries which we believe are supposed to be
shared equitably. For instance, we have paired Home Affairs to Defence,
Justice and Legal Affairs to Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs, Mines
and Minerals Development to Environment and Youth to Women. In our view
equity and responsibility with authority can be achieved if the ministries
are therefore allocated on the basis of the above methodology.

However, there is an attempt to ignore or overlook these fundamental
principles and hence the claim in some circles that only the Portfolio
Ministry of Home Affairs is outstanding. Nothing can be further from the
truth.

2. The second outstanding issue is the appointment of the ten Provincial
Governors in line with the outcome of the 29th of March elections.

3. The third outstanding issue is the question of the composition, functions
and constitution of the National Security Council. This is a critical issue
in view of the dangerous and partisan role that has been displayed by the
intelligence services in this country.

4. The fourth outstanding issue pertains to the appointment of Permanent
Secretaries and Ambassadors.

5. The fifth outstanding issue is the question of Constitutional Amendment
No. 19 which is the legal document that is necessary and conditional in
bringing the GPA into life.

6. The last point is the morally irreprehensible fact that the fraudulent
alteration of the agreement of the 11th of September 2008 and the one that
was signed on the 15th of September 2008. It is our understanding that the
Troika in fact made a resolution that it is the agreement of the 11th of
September 2008 that should be binding and we are indeed surprised that it
was not captured in the communiqué.

From the above, it is clear that there is so much that still has to be done
and a lot of goodwill, patience and wisdom, which so far has not been
evident or has not been exercised.

On our part, we are fully alive to the historical obligations on our
shoulders and the expectations of Zimbabweans. However, the one instruction
that those suffering and abused people have been telling us at our massive
rallies at Zimbabwe Grounds, Mkoba Stadium, Mutungagore Primary School,
White City Stadium , Mamutse Stadium and all over Zimbabwe is a bold but
simple one, A BAD DEAL IS NO DEAL AT ALL.

Tendai Biti, MP, MDC Secretary General - ZimOnline


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Thabo Mbeki 'unable to extract concessions' from Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe

http://www.telegraph.co.uk
 
Thabo Mbeki, the former South African president mediating Zimbabwe's political negotiations, has been accused of failing to stand up to Robert Mugabe.
 
Zimbabwe talks fail - Emergency summit talks in Zimbabwe fail
Zimbabweans woke up to news that power-sharing talks had failed Photo: AFP/GETTY IMAGES

The latest round of power-sharing talks, at a regional security summit in Harare, broke up early on Tuesday morning with the parties still deadlocked over the allocation of ministries in a coalition government.

"Mbeki will not stand up to Mugabe," said a source very close to the negotiations.

He pointed out that opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai was still being denied a passport by the Zimbabwean authorities. "If you can't force Mugabe to give Morgan Tsvangirai, who is the prime minister designate, a passport, then you can't force him to do anything."

He added that the new South African president Kgalema Motlanthe – who attended the talks and who Western diplomats had hoped might bring with him a change of approach – would "never go against Mbeki," saying that both men were too distracted by political upheavals at home in South Africa to give the crisis in Zimbabwe their full attention.

Mr Mugabe, 84, who has a long history of out-manoeuvring his political opponents, appears to be exploiting events to his advantage.

The key question holding up the new government is control over the ministry of home affairs, which has authority over the police. Mr Tsvangirai has agreed that Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF keep control of the army and intelligence services, but has insisted the MDC be given home affairs, which the president unilaterally allocated to his own party.

The process has become a test of the much-vaunted concept of "African solutions for African problems". The summit communiqué said it "strongly encourages the parties to pursueco-operative management" of home affairs, but joint control, with two co-ministers, would open the way for Zanu-PF to abuse the situation.

Arthur Mutambara, the minority MDC leader and a signatory to the power-sharing agreement said yesterday his party fully backed Mr Tsvangirai being given the home affairs ministry.

Tendai Biti, the MDC secretary-general and chief negotiator, admitted that they had been naive to sign the power-sharing agreement last month.

The MDC had done so in a sprit of "trust, goodwill and faith" he said. "Now we have learned we cannot leave anything to chance. Zanu-PF is not sincere."

He said that the agreement presented to the world on Sept 15 had been altered from the one signed a few days earlier, and that the changes were more than "typographical errors." The document, Mr Biti said, was produced by the government printers and was a "Frankenstein monster".

"A marriage like this agreement needs courtship before consummation. So, don't throw bricks at us, send us flowers and invite us to dinner first," he said. "We want an equitable distribution of top positions, including ministries, permanent secretaries, diplomatic postings and a fair share of provincial governor positions."

The MDC deprived Zanu-PF of its parliamentary majority in the March elections and Mr Tsvangirai easily beat Mr Mugabe in the first round of the presidential election, but pulled out of the run-off citing violence against his supporters.

The talks will now move to a full summit of the Southern African Development Community, but Mr Biti warned that Mr Tsvangirai will not attend if it is held outside Zimbabwe, unless he is given the passport that he applied for in June.

A source close to the talks said the power-sharing agreement was "teetering on the point of collapse".

"Perhaps it can be rescued if SADC leaders as a bloc tell Mugabe to back down on the home affairs ministry," he said. "The problem is there is nothing else but this agreement."


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Our priority would be to end food shortages -- Tsvangirai

http://www.hararetribune.com

Tuesday, 28 October 2008 23:57

President Morgan Tsvangirai this weekend expressed shock at the high level
of starvation that has hit the people of Zimbabwe across the country and
pledged that once in government the MDC would place the food crisis on its
priority issues.

President Tsvangirai made this assessment when he addressed three
report-back rallies  in Marondera and Manicaland on Saturday and Sunday.
The President addressed the Marondera rally on Saturday before moving to
Manicaland where he addressed two rallies at SakubvaStadium in Mutare in the
morning and at Mutungagore business Centre in Makoni South in the afternoon.

At the three rallies, the people narrated harrowing experiences on how they
and their children and the aged; are going for days without food and have to
survive on wild fruits.There was a touching moment at Mutungagore Primary
School in Nyazura , near Rusape on Sunday afternoon when President
Tsvangirai was given hacha (wild berries) to eat.

Ordinary Zimbabweans are now now engaged in running battles with wild
animals for wild fruits as an estimated 5,5 million people face
unprecedented starvation nationwide.

Addressing about 20 000 people at Rudhaka Stadium in Marondera on Saturday,
President Tsvangirai said he was saddened to note that the people of
Zimbabwe were going for days without food.

He told the crowd told that the levels of hunger had reached unprecedented
levels as people were competing with animals to eat wild fruits while others
were dying at home due to starvation."I know you are suffering and once the
MDC is in government, I will put the food crisis as a first priority," he
said.

The Zanu PF regime has barred most aid organisations from distributing food
aid in the country.President Tsvangirai said the MDC was still committed to
the power sharing deal with Zanu PF provided that ministries were shared
equitably.

"We are very much committed to an all inclusive government not under Zanu PF
conditions, but under an equitable power sharing arrangement,"said President
Tsvangirai.On Sunday, President Tsvangirai addressed a rally at Sakubva
Stadium in Mutare where he also made a commitment to the deal.

Over 30 000 people attended the Sakubva rally.

"There is nothing wrong with the deal but the problem is that Robert Mugabe
and Zanu PF want to grab all key ministries," he said.Later in the day,
President Tsvangirai made a stopover at Mutungangore where he addressed over
10 000 people.The people told the president that it had become a daily
battle to find food in the area.

President Tsvangirai has been addressing feed back rallies across the
country explaining the party's position on the political settlement signed
by the three principals of the three major political parties on 15 September
2008.Other rallies have been held in Harare, Bulawayo and Masvingo.
----------------------------
++MDC Information and Publicity Department


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SADC stays clear of passport saga

http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=6523

October 28, 2008

By Raymond Maingire

HARARE - Regional leaders have said they will not be involved in the dispute
in which MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai has been denied a passport by the
government of President Robert Mugabe.

Tsvangirai has accused the government of denying him a passport in a bid to
arm twist him to agree to Mugabe's terms to a new power-sharing government.

The MDC leader boycotted a SADC troika summit on October 20 in protest over
government's continued refusal to issue him with a new passport.

This prompted the troika to reschedule its meeting for Harare.

Registrar General Tobaiwa Mudede, a loyal Mugabe ally, has issued Tsvangirai
with an emergency travel document (ETD) which limits his travels to a few
countries within the region.

Monday's meeting - called to resolve the dispute over cabinet posts - had
also been expected to settle the passport row, which many say, though, is a
mere administrative issue for the government to settle.

In light of the government's reluctance to resolve the matter, the troika
had also been expected to impress upon the Zimbabwean authorities the
importance of issuing Tsvangirai - as Prime Minister-designate - with a
passport.

But SADC executive secretary Tomaz Salomao told a press briefing Tuesday
morning the role of SADC was not to negotiate travel documents for
Zimbabwean politicians.

"The troika summit did not meet to deal with the issues related with how you
deal with travel documents to the principals," said Salomao, "I think that
it's not the role of the troika to deal with that."

He said the troika would be exceeding its bounds if it were to start
negotiating for a passport on behalf of Tsvangirai.

"If we ask the troika to do that, then something is wrong," he said. "So my
advice to the troika is - 'No, that item is not your item. We have the right
place to deal with the technical problem that we faced last week and I
believe that the relevant authorities are taking care of that."

The MDC has accused government of negotiating in bad faith by refusing to
issue its leader with a passport.

Tsvangirai told his supporters at a rally in Marondera at the weekend that
he had an uphill task in order for him to earn his rivals' trust if they
could not entrust him with a mere passport.

Despite churning out thousands of passports to individuals each week, the
government maintains it is short of the special paper to process Tsvangirai's
passport.

But George Charamba, President Mugabe's spokesperson put it bluntly in his
weekly column, Nathaniel Manheru.

"A passport is not a right, which is why all passports the whole world over
belong to Governments of given States," he wrote in The Herald last
Saturday.

"There is a backlog at the passport office, which is growing by the day. It
stands at upward of 130 000, with many eager applicants having been on the
waiting list for periods longer than the gallivanting Tsvangirai. The needs
of these applicants are even more basic: travelling to neighbouring
countries to buy necessaries.

"Contrast that with Tsvangirai whose passport fills up on sanctions-buying
trips.

"And anyway, why should he jump the queue? Why should he escape the
shortages arising from the very sanctions he so loves? Is it very bad to pay
the guy with his own coin?"

The apparent intransigence has received wide condemnation from ordinary
Zimbabweans who feel Mugabe's government is being insincere in denying
Tsvangirai a passport.

"Tsvangirai is an eminent figure in Zimbabwe even more when he is seen as
holding the key to resolving our economic problems at the moment," observed
an identified man at a bank queue Monday.

"I do not buy this argument that there is shortage of paper to print a new
passport for such a man. In fact, I obtained a new passport for my wife just
last week after paying $US220. Why is it so different with Tsvangirai?"


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Mugabe, Tsvangirai under pressure to end their feud

http://www.businessday.co.za

 29 October 2008

Foreign Staff

Sapa-AFP

HARARE - Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe and the main opposition faced
mounting pressure yesterday to end their feud over forming a unity
government, ahead of a new emergency African summit to tackle the crisis.

After 13 hours of talks on Monday with a regional security body, Mugabe and
opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai remained deadlocked over who should
control the home affairs ministry, which oversees the police.

They agreed only to call for an urgent summit of the 15-member Southern
African Development Community (SADC), which is certain to pile pressure on
the rivals to stick to the unity accord signed six weeks ago.

SADC executive secretary Tomaz Salomao last night said the summit could be
held either in Harare or a neighbouring capital, though it was unclear
exactly when the leaders would gather.

The regional bloc has tried for seven years to press Mugabe into a
compromise with Tsvangirai, but its members are deeply divided over
Zimbabwe.

Some leaders are strong allies of Mugabe, who is still respected as a
liberation hero, while others blame him for leading the country into
economic ruin, causing waves of migrants to cross its borders to look for
work.

The power-sharing deal brokered by former president Thabo Mbeki had been
hailed as a success for so-called "quiet diplomacy", which avoided publicly
condemning Mugabe for alleged human rights abuses or economic woes. But
analysts say the failure of Mugabe and Tsvangirai to agree even on cabinet
posts bodes ill , even if the SADC summit pressures them into a deal.

"We don't expect much from SADC if it does not flex its muscle and put
pressure on them to reach a compromise," said Lovemore Madhuku of the
National Constitutional Assembly pressure group.

"Both groups are changing goal posts and one wonders why they signed the
agreement," he said. "We are not very hopeful."

The summit on Monday was convened by SADC's security organ - its second
meeting in two weeks that failed to achieve any visible headway .

After the latest talks with South African President Kgalema Motlanthe and
other key regional leaders, SADC's Salomao said that control of home affairs
was the only sticking point.

A communique issued after the summit urged the rivals "to genuinely commit
themselves in finding a lasting solution" .

"The people of Zimbabwe are faced with difficult challenges and suffering
that can only be addressed once the inclusive government is in place," it
said.

The power-sharing deal calls for 84-year-old Mugabe to remain as president
while Tsvangirai becomes prime minister.

But Mugabe has refused to cede control of home affairs.

The current political battle has crushed the hopes of ordinary Zimbabweans
yearning for an end to the turmoil.


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Analysts say SADC lacks will to break Zim impasse

http://www.zimonline.co.za/

by Cuthbert Nzou Wednesday 29 October 2008

HARARE - Political analysts were pessimistic on Tuesday that a planned
regional summit could break Zimbabwe's power-sharing deadlock, saying the
15-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) bloc lacked the
collective will to force the country's rival political leaders to form a
government of national unity.

University of Zimbabwe political scientist Eldred Masunugure called on the
SADC to refer the Zimbabwe deadlock to the African Union (AU) after the bloc's
Organ on Politics, Defence and Security failed on Tuesday to cajole Zimbabwe's
political leaders to agree on the composition of a unity government.

The Organ recommended the holding of an emergency SADC summit to tackle the
Zimbabwe impasse after it failed during a 13-hour meeting that began Monday
and ended Tuesday to convince President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader
Morgan Tsvangirai to reach agreement on sharing of key ministerial posts in
a unity government.

Masunungure saw little hope that an extraordinary SADC summit could succeed
where its key Organ - made up of Swaziland, Angola and Mozambique - had
failed. Regional economic superpower and chairman of SADC, South Africa,
also attended the flopped Harare meeting.

"There is not much that SADC can do except to rely on the good faith of the
Zimbabwe protagonists," Masunungure said. "After Monday's failure, surely
SADC should throw in the towel and refer the matter to a higher level - AU."

The SADC and the AU are guarantors of the September 15 power-sharing
agreement that proposes retaining Mugabe as president while making
Tsvangirai prime minister and another opposition leader Arthur Mutambara
deputy prime minister in a unity government.

The deal that is seen as the best opportunity for ending Zimbabwe's
unprecedented economic and political crisis has stalled over who between
Mugabe's ruling ZANU PF party and Tsvangirai's opposition MDC party should
control the most powerful ministries.

Tsvangirai has accused Mugabe of power grabbing after the veteran President
insisted on retaining key ministries, among them defence, home affairs,
foreign affairs, local government and media and information.

The opposition leader, who pressured Mugabe to surrender the finance
ministry, insists he should also control home affairs if Mugabe retains
defence.

Another political scientist, Michael Mhike said it was not impossible to
find a way out of the impasse over sharing of Cabinet portfolios but said
much depended on Mugabe and Tsvangirai's good faith and willingness to work
together in a spirit of trust and confidence.

But Mhike was quick to point out that: "Sadly, these crucial elements are
lacking and I cannot see them germinating, let alone growing and flowering
in the near future . . . it all looks pretty pessimistic."

He also suggested that the SADC probably needed to get tougher especially
with Mugabe who appeared intent on keeping most of the power to himself
although he doubted there were many in the region with the stomach to stand
up to the veteran Zimbabwean leader, who is still adored as a hero of Africa's
anti-colonial struggle.

Mhike said: "They (SADC leaders) need to honestly acknowledge the problem in
Zimbabwe and identify where the source of the malaise is and deal with it
decisively. Somehow, I doubt they have the spine to do it. Many of them seem
to be far too much in awe of Mugabe."

A Zimbabwean-born South Africa businessman, Mutumwa Mawere suggested that in
the event that no deal could be reached on the distribution of ministerial
posts then the only option left would be to directly consult Zimbabweans
themselves about who they wanted to lead them.

He said: "The other option is to go back to the people and let people decide
on who should be the president through a legitimate, free and fair election
supervised by a non-partisan actor."

A power-sharing government will have to move with speed to end Zimbabwe's
economic crisis that is seen in the world's highest inflation of 231 million
percent, acute shortages of food, fuel, electricity, hard cash and every
basic survival commodity. - ZimOnline


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NGO Association Urges Zimbabwe Politicians To Resolve Differences

VOA

By Jonga Kandemiiri & Patience Rusere
Washington
28 October 2008

Zimbabwean non-governmental organizations have collectively urged the
political class to overcome its differences on forming a unity government in
the interest of the people.

Before Monday's mini-summit in Harare of the Southern African Development
Community, which was unable to reconcile differences between President
Robert Mugabe and prime minister-designate Morgan Tsvangirai on the
composition of a unity government, board members of the National Association
of Non-Governmental Organizations met with Tsvangirai and ZANU-PF Justice
Minister Patrick Chinamasa.

They told them in separate sessions that Zimbabweans are "grievously
concerned, hurt and gravely disappointed" by the failure of political
leaders to form a unity government to address urgent humanitarian needs. The
group also appealed to international donors to step up food and other
humanitarian aid to alleviate the suffering of the people.
NANGO Chairwoman Mildred Sandi told reporter Jonga Kandemiiri of VOA's
Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that she and other directors urged practicality in
power-sharing.

Meanwhile, leaders of a youth organization that organized a demonstration
Monday at the SADC summit said they feared a body being held at Parirenyatwa
Hospital in Harare might be that of one of two Youth Agenda Trust members
abducted during the demonstration, allegedly by militants of the long-ruling
ZANU-PF party.

Youth Agenda Trust Coordinator Arnold Chamunorwa told reporter Patience
Rusere of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that the group received a tip from
police that the body was left at the hospital Tuesday by officials of
ZANU-PF's Harare provincial office.

Representatives of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights told VOA that their
group was looking into the case, but would only comment if the body were
identified as being that of one of the Youth Agenda Trust members believed
abducted on Monday.

But human rights lawyer Otto Saki said all of the 42 activists arrested by
police during the demonstration on Monday had paid Z$20 fines and were
released.

Elsewhere, members of another organization, Restoration of Human Rights
Zimbabwe, protested Tuesday in Masvingo, capital of eastern Masvingo
province.

Restoration spokesman Edgar Chikuvire said the peaceful demonstration was
attended by about 100 people and drew no police intervention, adding that
the group is staging protests nationwide to press for speedy formation of a
national unity government.


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Chinotimba attacks ex-ZIPRA fighters' association

http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=6535

October 28, 2008

By Our Correspondent

HARARE - Joseph Chinotimba, leader of the war veterans' association, has
fired a salvo at former ZIPRA combatants who have formed a splinter
organisation, alleging that the group is not only illegal but also lacks
grassroots support.

Chinotimba, vice-chairman of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans
Association (ZNLWVA) claimed that the Organisation of ZIPRA veterans was not
registered with the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare.

He said the organisation had not been established in terms of the War
Veterans Act. This, he said, made the organisation illegal.

"ZNLWVA is a welfare organisation registered with the Ministry of Public
Service and to my understanding, this organisation you are referring to is
not even registered because the War Veterans' Act does not allow that," said
Chinotimba.

"We know its leaders have failed before during their time as leaders.  This
includes people like (Chris) Pasipamire but because they are power hungry,
think that they can just form a war veterans' organisation.

"They were voted out because they are pathetic leaders who failed to lead
war veterans.  They are electoral cowards who should have put their names
forward in elections at our forthcoming congress."

Recently, former ZIPRA cadres announced the breakaway, saying the ZNLWVA was
no longer representing their interests.  They alleged that ex-ZIPRA soldiers
are being sidelined in the ZNLWVA and by the government.

Retired Colonel Ray Ncube, a former ZIPRA cadre who was appointed interim
chairman said ex-ZIPRA soldiers remain poor 28 years after they successfully
defeated colonialism, whereas their ZANLA colleagues were leading decent
lives.

He also said the new body would seek to reclaim more than 50 multi-billion
dollar properties that were seized by the government in the 1980s at the
height of the Gukurahundi disturbances in Matabeleland and Midlands.

Ncube pointed out that it would be impossible for ex-ZIPRA servicemen to
demand the properties if they remained in the ZNLWVA, hence the decision to
pull out.

Analysts say the split of the ZNLWVA is likely to further weaken ZANU -PF
which has since 2000, resorted to using war veterans for its campaigns.

Flaunting his own disputed war credentials, Chinotimba accused the new group
of being "counter-revolutionary."

"They are not their own people," he said.  "There is a hand that is pushing
them in their adventurism.  They are counter-revolutionary, empty vessels
who have no support on the ground.

"They must stop making noise and work on the farms which they were given by
the same government they are now attacking.  But I must warn these guys to
be careful."

Reports over the weekend said the disgruntled ex-combatants would address
their first rally at White City Stadium on Saturday, in a move seen as
setting the stage for the revival of ZAPU.

Former minister and Zanu-PF Politburo member, Dumiso Dabengwa who told
Bulawayo journalists last month that he was "unshakable in ZAPU," is said to
be the brains behind the breakaway and plans to revive ZAPU.

The move by the former ZIPRA comrades has rattled Zanu -PF, putting the
party in typical defensive mode.

Minister Ambrose Mutinhiri, who is also a former ZIPRA commander recently
attacked the new group's leaders, alleging that the breakaway was a tribal
project.

Mutinhiri said former ZAPU leader, Joshua Nkomo led a non-tribal party and
its military wing; one's tribe was not a factor, he said.  The minister said
although he was Shona, Nkomo still had faith in him to such an extent that
he made him the ZIPRA chief of staff.

"These are the same people who delayed our independence," continued
Chinotimba, who himself was unmasked as a fake war veteran.

"They are back again, but just like they only delayed the struggle and not
end it, they will not succeed in defeating the revolution."


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Motlanthe must take a tough new stand on Mugabe

http://www.thetimes.co.za

The Editor, The Times
Newspaper Published:Oct 29, 2008

He ought to be smarter than to follow Mbeki down the tunnel of empty
promises

EDITORIAL: ZIMBABWE'S president Robert Mugabe has perfected the art of
brinkmanship, using it cunningly to hold onto power in the face of global
condemnation of his government.

Mugabe's tactic is simple: give the world just a sliver of hope that he will
transform his blighted country through institutional channels, but never
fulfil that hope.

It is a game he has played with great success for the last decade.

Mugabe convinced Thabo Mbeki that he would step down gracefully and restore
a modicum of order to Zimbabwe.

Mbeki in turn convinced southern Africa, Africa and the world that he should
be entrusted with negotiating Mugabe out of power.

As time went on and Mugabe held onto his misrule with both hands, Mbeki
remained convinced that he was edging the despot towards democracy.

Along the way, Mbeki had to make serious compromises. He had to spend
considerable political capital standing up against a growing chorus of
voices calling for tougher action, such as sanctions and isolation. He did
this for years until he was finally rewarded with the power- sharing deal
signed in Harare.

But no sooner had Mugabe signed than it became abundantly clear that this
was but another step in his canny campaign to extend his stay in office.

Still, Mbeki, now accompanied by his successor, Kgalema Motlanthe, has
sought to discuss a way out of the impasse.

Motlanthe ought to be smarter than to follow Mbeki down the tunnel of empty
promises. He should know from Mbeki's example that political credibility is
hard to win but easy to lose. He must lead southern Africa in a new, bolder
strategy of tough love and the isolation of Zimbabwe - or risk becoming
another victim of Mugabe's guile.


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End Crackdown on Peaceful Demonstrators

28 Oct 2008 22:33:50 GMT
Source: Human Rights Watch

 (Johannesburg, October 28, 2008)  Zimbabwe authorities should immediately
end their violent crackdown on activists engaging in peaceful demonstrations
in Harare, Human Rights Watch said today. The breakup of a demonstration on
October 28, 2008, coincided with a visit by a group from the Southern
African Development Community (SADC), including the presidents of Mozambique
and South Africa. They were in Zimbabwe seeking to end the political
deadlock on sharing power between the country's two main parties, the
long-governing Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) and
the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

"These arrests and beatings by police controlled by Robert Mugabe and
ZANU-PF show their continuing lack of good faith in trying to end the
political crisis," said Carolyn Norris, deputy Africa director at Human
Rights Watch. "SADC leaders should tell ZANU-PF that they will not tolerate
these abuses."

On October 27, police tear-gassed and beat about 150 activists from the
Women's Coalition of Zimbabwe (WCoZ) and the Zimbabwe National Students
Union (ZINASU) who were holding a peaceful demonstration in Harare. The
police arrested 42 women from the WCoZ. The demonstrators were calling for a
resolution to the political impasse between ZANU-PF and the MDC so that the
country's leaders can address the severe food shortages in the country.

"We are dying of hunger � people have no food," Netsai Mushonga, national
coordinator of WCoZ, told Human Rights Watch. "Our demand was for the talks
to conclude because people are suffering."

The authorities charged the 42 women with "gathering without police
permission" under the Public Order and Security Act. The women were forced
to pay on-the-spot fines and were released later that day. At least 35
activists were treated for injuries at hospitals and clinics in Harare,
including five who were admitted to hospitals with more severe injuries.

According to the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law
Enforcement Officials, police should use force only when unavoidable and,
even then, should exercise restraint and act in proportion to the
seriousness of the offense and the legitimate objective to be achieved. The
force used must minimize damage and injury.

Human Rights Watch also expressed serious concern at the continued detention
of Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu, leaders of the women's rights
organization Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA). The two women were arrested on
October 16 in Bulawayo when they tried to lead a peaceful demonstration
about the serious food shortages in the country. On October 27, the Bulawayo
Magistrate's Court denied the women bail, ruling that it would not be in
"interests of justice." The women remain in custody at Mlondlozi Female
Prison in Bulawayo.

Members of WOZA have been subjected to repeated arrests and detentions for
engaging in peaceful demonstrations. Williams and Mahlangu were arrested on
May 28, when they attempted to hold a peaceful demonstration calling for an
end to the post-election violence in the country. On that occasion, they
were held for 37 days.

Zimbabwe's Constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, to which Zimbabwe is a party, provide for freedom of
expression, peaceful assembly, and association.

"The Zimbabwe authorities should release Williams and Mahlangu immediately
and allow civil society the right to demonstrate peacefully," said Norris.
"It's time they took constitutional guarantees on personal freedoms
seriously and ended arbitrary arrests and detentions, and the use of
excessive force."

HRW news


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Zimbabwe: Complex Emergency Situation Report #1 (FY 2009)


BUREAU FOR DEMOCRACY, CONFLICT, AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE (DCHA)
OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA)

Note: The last situation report was dated September 19, 2008.

BACKGROUND

Conditions for most Zimbabweans continue to deteriorate due to the country's collapsing economy, declining access to basic social services and staple food items, the effects of HIV/AIDS, and recent political violence. Detrimental Government of Zimbabwe (GOZ) policies, corruption, and declining agricultural production have exacerbated the humanitarian situation. Following eight consecutive years of economic decline, which have been characterized by hyperinflation and high unemployment rates, Zimbabwe is increasingly unable to maintain the infrastructure necessary for agricultural production, water and sanitation services, power generation, and steady fuel supply. Commercial land redistribution policies have resulted in a dramatic decline in domestic food production.

Following the March 29 presidential and legislative elections in Zimbabwe, heightened political tension led to general insecurity and significant violence by forces loyal to the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU–PF) against perceived members of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). According to field and media reports, GOZ-sponsored attacks against MDC members and supporters substantially increased in number and severity in the weeks prior to the June 27 presidential run-off election. The instability created new displacement and humanitarian needs, further eroding livelihoods, resulting in loss of housing, and increasing Zimbabweans' vulnerability and poverty. On June 4, the GOZ announced a suspension of relief activities in Zimbabwe, severely limiting response to the significant humanitarian needs. The suspension was lifted on August 29 and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are attempting to resume activities. Food security for Zimbabweans remains particularly precarious as a result of poor governance, rising global food prices, hyperinflation, and low crop production—the latter due to inaccessibility of sufficient agricultural inputs, adverse climate conditions, and recent violence targeting farm workers. On September 15, ZANU–PF and MDC signed a power-sharing agreement, but disagreements over control of key ministries has resulted in ongoing negotiations and hindered the formation of a unity government.

On October 6, 2008, U.S. Chargé d'Affaires Katherine S. Dhanani reissued a disaster declaration in Zimbabwe due to the complex emergency. In FY 2008 and to date in FY 2009, USAID/DCHA has provided nearly $217.6 million for agriculture and food security, protection, humanitarian coordination and information management, and water, sanitation, and hygiene programs, as well as emergency relief supplies and emergency food assistance.

NUMBERS AT A GLANCE
SOURCE
Estimated Displacement from Post-Election violence
17,355(1)
IOM(2) - July 2008
Population in Need of Food Assistance
5.1 million
FAO(3) and WFP(4) - June 2008

FY 2009 AND 2008 HUMANITARIAN FUNDING

USAID/OFDA Assistance to Zimbabwe - $7,393,573

USAID/FFP(5) Assistance to Zimbabwe - $207,676,900

State/PRM(6) Assistance to Zimbabwe - $2,520,000

Total USAID and State Humanitarian Assistance to Zimbabwe - $217,590,473

CURRENT SITUATION

Following the GOZ's lifting of the suspension of relief activities on August 29, humanitarian agencies in Zimbabwe are working to re-establish field operations. However, reports from relief agencies indicate that in Masvingo and Manicaland provinces, the geographic areas, beneficiary populations, and sectors in which NGOs are permitted to work could be at the discretion of local authorities. In addition, according to USAID staff, the GOZ's decision in early October to suspend the country's inter-bank transfer system is hindering humanitarian operations for NGO partners. USAID continues to stress the need for complete and unhindered access in order to provide critical humanitarian assistance to beneficiaries in Zimbabwe.

Despite the September 15 signing of a power sharing agreement, as of October 28, ZANU–PF and MDC had yet to reach consensus on establishing a unity government, due to ongoing negotiations regarding control of key ministries.

Full_Report (pdf* format - 95.6 Kbytes)


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Must we wait for Zimalia to become Zithopia?

http://www.zimbabwejournalists.com/

29th Oct 2008 01:48 GMT

By Hans Pienaar

WHEN is the Zimbabwe crisis saga going to end? The short answer seems to be,
never. Not even if the parties to the power-sharing deal were to accept the
SADC politics organ's advice that the ministry of home affairs be shared,
and we are treated to another sham show of unity on television.

Not even Robert Gabriel Mugabe's death will help. The political process has
been weakened so much, as commentator Moeletsi Mbeki so brilliantly
explained at Pretoria University recently, that the issue now is how to
prevent a Zimalia forming - Zimbabwe ruled warlord-style like Somalia .

Home Affairs controls the police, among other sections. Zanu-PF already has
defence, so one would have thought that the push would be for the Movement
for Democratic Change to get the men in tattered blue. How else would there
be even the semblance of a balance of power?

But even if it would get the police, Mugabe and Zanu-PF will find another
way to obstruct the implementation of the process, and South Africa and its
SADC lackeys will continue to paper it over, like they have done so many
times in the past.

The key to a solution remains attitudes in South Africa , where too many
influential people still root for Mugabe - it is hard not to see facilitator
Thabo Mbeki's report before the troika last week as support for Mugabe's
handling of the ministry allocations.

When are these people going to come to their senses? When Zimalia turns into
Zithopia, and thousands die of hunger on TV?

Mugabe is seen by them as some key prize desperately wanted by the West -
they want his head, it is said. When is the penny going to drop that
two-thirds of Zimbabweans - of whom half are in South Africa - also want his
head? The only people who still support him are believers in trickle-down
patronage systems.

There was a flutter of hope that president Kgalema Motlanthe would be a new
broom. Don't look for your worried face in a clean floor soon. This weekend
Motlanthe delivered a speech that suggested he might be firmly in the Mugabe
camp too, at least ideologically.

Motlanthe spoke at an African peer review forum in Benin on the land
question, and said some sensible things. But his focus in both analysis and
policy prescription was on the historical legacy of colonialist land grabs,
of which the redress he says is key to Africa's agricultural growth.

Land grabs by Westerners and other were disastrous, as was slavery - read
about it in my struggle-era book The Third War against Mapoch. Enormous
amounts of resources and money leave the continent in a continued plunder.
But Africans are, and have always been, very much part of this plunder.

To be fair, Motlanthe did refer to the tension between people needing land
and the authorities. But he talks of popular democratic programmes as
necessay to break the resistance against land reform initiatives. How does
this apply to Mozambique , where the state owns all the land, the basis of
its own rural patronage system - the reason why Mozambicans are the largest
foreigner group in South Africa .

And by placing the fight against colonialism at the top of the agenda, the
inference can fairly be made by Zimbabweans and others that Motlanthe is
supporting Mugabe's so-called "resettlement scheme" and the brave campaign
conducted by liberation war veterans.

The fundamental fallacy remains what Elinor Sisulu and other call
"anti-imperialist rhetoric" (Air). Once again, I'm all for battling the
imperialists, black and white, Christian or Muslim, Westerners or Far
Easterners. Several new scrambles for Africa are happening as we speak.

But then it is all the more important that we fight the fight intelligently
and with the purpose of winning it. If you want to open a battlefield you
surely have to study it first, its parameters and possibilities. And today
factors like electronic media, counter-intelligence and post-modern fakery
prescribe the strategies and tactics.

What better way to fight Africa than to have its democratic movements locked
in monstrous concoctions called Gnus (Governments of National Unity? The
truth is that the West and others do not care much about Zimbabwe , much
less about its people. Their politicians care about their image, which can
blow up in their faces and be exploited by their opponents, should they be
found to have presided over calamities like Rwanda and Somalia .

The "African solutions" provided in Kenya and Zimbabwe would suit any
government conspiring against Africa . That's because the African leaders
don't really want solutions that strengthen democracy and boost
anti-corporate campaigns, they want to continue to say thunderous things on
"world stages", which are so necessary to keep their patronage systems
intact.

Politicians like Mugabe and his "irk" are really Western agents. And it
shows - his and Thabo Mbeki's Britishness has been analysed by many
commentators. Mugabe's atrocities in Matabeleland in the 1980s were papered
over by the British; today he is their device for avoiding developmental
duties in Africa. -
Independent Foreign Service


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JAG open letter forum - No. 578 - Dated 28 October 2008



Email: jag@mango.zw; justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw

Please send any material for publication in the Open Letter Forum to
jag@mango.zw with "For Open Letter Forum" in the subject line.

To subscribe/unsubscribe to the JAG mailing list, please email:
jag@mango.zw with subject line "subscribe" or "unsubscribe".

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1. Cathy Buckle - Cabbages & Condoms

Dear Jag

This week the word being used to describe the government of national unity
is 'deadlocked' and it couldn't be more apt. We are locked in a death grip
and things are falling apart at a dramatic pace.

For the benefit of people not in Zimbabwe, let me put a face to deadlock.
This morning I went shopping and this is what I saw. In one locally owned
supermarket which has branches all over the country they are selling goods
in Zimbabwe dollars. On their shelves they had: light bulbs, cayenne pepper
and soya mince, a few vegetables which were distinctly past their best and
a few packets of meat which didn't look too safe. More than half of the
supermarket is completely empty and closed off with strings of white
plastic tape.

In another local supermarket which has branches all over the country they
are also operating in Zimbabwe dollars. Half of the shop is empty and
barricaded off.  Spread out on a couple of shelves were the few goods they
had for sale: tea leaves, condoms, cabbages and onions. Against one wall
stood some crates of fizzy drinks and in a rack a handful of unaffordable
imported magazines gave colour to this most dismal scene.

For Zimbabweans who have no access to foreign currency, these two
supermarkets offer the full extent of food available to buy in our
deadlocked country. The vast majority of Zimbabweans do not have foreign
currency or if they do it is one single, precious note hidden away in a
safe place - not anywhere near enough to buy food with every week.

The third supermarket I visited has just started selling goods in US
dollars and there, if you have foreign bank notes, you can buy sugar,
cooking oil, biscuits, cereals, tea, coffee, pasta, tinned goods and a few
toiletries. On the wall near the check out tills is a poster announcing
what the equivalent of 1 US dollar is in South African Rand, British Pounds
and Botswana Pula - no mention of the dead Zimbabwe dollar.

Food shopping is the tip of the nightmare, then there are the bills. This
week I was advised that an account I have with an internet service has been
terminated for non payment of 1.4 million Zimbabwe dollars. Paying the bill
is almost impossible as Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono has banned inter
account and electronic transfers and limited cash withdrawals to 50
thousand dollars a day. If I am to pay my bill of 1.4 million dollars in
cash I must queue for 2 -3 hours a day for 28 days by which time the bill
will have gone up at a rate I cannot calculate as inflation stands at 231
million percent. The internet provider have said I can pay the bill with a
cheque, but because of inflation the cheque should be for 6.5 BILLION
dollars.

When Mr Gono banned electronic transfers and inter account transfers he
closed business down in one quick and deadly blow. The rich and connected
have got dramatically richer as they and their dealers have poured out onto
our streets to buy up all those preciously saved single notes at obscenely
low rates. People have had no choice but to sell because they cannot get
their own money out of the banks - thanks to Mr Gono's punitive policies
and crippling limits.

When Mr Gono licensed some shops to sell in foreign currency his policy
wiped out Zimbabwe's own supermarkets in one quick and deadly blow - gone
is the great propaganda line of Zimbabwe for Zimbabweans. This is what
deadlock looks like seven months after we voted for a change in government.
Until next week, thanks for reading and thanks to my email service provider
for helping me tell this story for so long, love Cathy.

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2.  James Anderson

Dear Jag,

Andrew Field you are 100% correct. Well done, and well said.

James Anderson.

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3.  Sally Bown

Dear Andrew Field,

You come across as a rather arrogant man.

Search yourself.

Yrs

Sally Bown

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4.   Ben Freeth

Dear Jag,

In answer to my challenge of finding a civilisation that has thrived over
time Andrew Field [alias Just Andrew] cites "officially athiest
China.....with hardly a Christian soul."

Mr. Field makes an interesting choice.  I am not sure if he has travelled
to China.

In working with heroin addicts and ex triad members in Hong Kong, many of
the ex-addicts that we were working with went into China at huge risk to
their lives, as missionaries.

Mr. Field needs to read of the terrible suffering that took place there.
There have been the worst famines, purges, mass executions, slave labour
and abuses of any country on earth!  The red terror has been unbelievable
in the devastation that it has caused.

In one year alone [1960] 22 million people died of starvation - the largest
number in one year of any country in the history of the world.  In "the
great leap forward" 38 million people are calculated to have died over four
years of starvation in forced labour.

Is not the suffering that China has exported, with its guns and
totalitarian megalomania, on our doorsteps in Zimbabwe today?  "Power comes
from the barrel of a gun" is the maxim on what present day China was
founded on.  When I asked for a thriving nation I did not expect to be
given one thriving on such horrific evil.

"The hardly a Christian soul" talk though is not true.  There is a huge and
growing Christian movement in China which is having a profound influence
there.  The numbers in the last couple of decades have grown to be counted
in the tens of millions and more.  I hope that those individuals continue
to grow in their faith and to temper the evil deeds of their leaders that
have left so many million dead.  I believe that they will.

Ben Freeth

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5.  Ann Lamb

Dear Jag.

For God to take 'sides', to be on the side of this or that political party,
or this or that person, is to limit the Omnipotent, Omnipresent,
Omniactive, Omniscient BEING.- to man made stuff. (Stuffiness).

So let us stop ourselves NOW from going there, and suggesting others are
going there, or have gone there. ( arguing over the character and nature of
God)

We are all blessed with much higher things to ponder and think about than
that.

For example. Phil 2 vs10- 16 to ;..

 " ...at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, ,
and things in earth, and things under the earth.:and that every tongue
should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed. not as in my presence
only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with
fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to
do of his good pleasure. Do all things without murmurings and disputings :
That ye be blameless and harmless , the sons of God without rebuke , in the
midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in
the world.; holding forth the word of life;

This comes with as much love as I know how to humbly express for the well
being of my beloved country and all of you who are courageously sorting
things out step by step.

Sincerely,

Ann Lamb

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6.   Dave Crawford

Last week I watched a Zimbabwean policeman, on Sky News, admit that he was
part of a formal campaign to prevent anyone finding out the horrifying
statistics of the people dying of starvation in that country.

This merely establishes what many of us have believed for a long time.

African National Congress politicians have known this for a lot longer than
we have and yet they can stand and hold hands with someone who seems to see
the people of Zimbabwe as being there to meet his needs.

One day we will learn estimates of how many people died while quiet
diplomacy meandered along trying not to offend Robert Mugabe.

Surely sovereignty should not allow a "leader" to kill his own people with
such impunity?

I shed a few tears when I read Michael Bleby's story about Joel and his
daughter Marvellous (Another flower in Zimbabwe's garden of sorrow, October
24). She was as surely killed by a callous regime as if they had used a
bullet.

Where is our government's outrage as fathers and mothers?

Dave Crawford

Fourways

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7. Stephen Hama

Good day,

What an interesting article from Cathy, this is amazing. A true version of
what has cracked Zim in the past eight years. But l have assurance, the
Lord shall remember let us not lose hope. Let us stand on the truth, and
the truth shall set us free. The reason why Zimbabwe is still going down is
because Christians are still asleep, they are not even involved in the
affairs of their country but never the less a new generation is coming up,
which will rise in the mightness of the lord and Zimbabwe shall be
restored.

Thanks Cathy.

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8.  Let the diaspora money talk for a change

In order to trade and earn foreign currency (USD, Pounds, Euro, Yen, etc),
most countries need to sell either a commodity or a service to another
country. As all logically minded persons with even half a brain are aware,
this foreign currency earned is vital in the requirements of every
country's economy in order to keep not only "the engine" running, but to
create growth.  Mugabe and his ZanuPF have managed to destroy nearly every
sector of the Zimbabwean economic machinery in order for Zimbabwe to earn
that valuable foreign currency, hence the death of agriculture, tourism,
transport, manufacturing, health, education, to name a few.

However, Mugabe and his ZanuPF have created another (very lucrative)
foreign currency earning sector which is of vital importance to them, and
ironically this is accommodated and supported by the very people who have
fled Zimbabwe because of, not only Mugabe and ZanuPF's brutality, rape,
torture, corruption, etc., but also in particular ZanuPF's failed policies.
ZanuPF created "The DIASPORA" sector and it amazes me that Mugabe hasn't
formally and publicly created a special ministry or department for this by
this time.

By creating fear, despondency and despair, he has managed to chase probably
in the region of 4 million plus able bodied people out of Zimbabwe to leave
their homes and families and go and sweat, pay foreign taxes, suffer
humiliation, etc. outside the borders of Zimbabwe, and without even having
created a single bit of initiative, spent a cent or raised a drop of sweat
on their eye brows, Zimbabwe earns, let's argue, USD300 million (3,000,000
people x USD100.00 each) in forex sent back to Zimbabwe in various forms
EVERY MONTH, i.e. Western Union amongst other forms. This the RBZ (Reverse
Bank of Zimbabwe), by printing random and unlimited amounts of worthless
Zimbabwe Dollars, buy up valuable US Dollars at the Road Port, etc. at the
current ridiculous and worthless rate of about 25,000 : 1 and hey presto,
this is how Mugabe, Gono, ZanuPF et al manage to keep living "in the style
they have become accustomed to"! And if you are "connected", you can buy
forex from the Reverse Bank at the equally stupid "bank rate" (354 : 1) and
sell it again at the newly named "cheque rate" (300,000,000 : 1 or even
billions by the time one reads this) and live beyond the means of what you
are accustomed to.

If you do not want to change your money at Road Port, you can now buy
anything from those FOLIWAR outlets which channels your diaspora USD into
the formal sector and back to the Reverse Bank via VAT. And still the
ZanuPF government hadn't flinched a muscle to earn these US Dollars except
to chase Zimbabwean citizens out of this country.

With the compliments and support of the Diaspora!

Take note: Now if one really wants to make Gono, Mugabe and his generals,
etc. sweat, maybe even destroy them, then switch off the US Dollar tap from
the Diaspora. Close all the avenues of bringing in the Diaspora funds. Yes,
the Diaspora families and dependents will suffer for a while. Maybe even
get angry for a change. They are all suffering anyway. Even dying It is
just another form of the already existing slow death so many have been
experiencing.

Isn't it amazing how, rather than protest and die quickly with a bullet,
Zimbabweans have chosen to die slowly. Starvation, malnutrition, HIV and
AIDS, depression, fear, torture, etc. They have lost virtually all their
dignity and are so accepting to live with that knowledge.

And with the silent, informal and un-mentioned "Ministry of Diaspora"
operating full throttle, Gono, Mugabe and his generals and the rest will
sit tight in the knowledge that nothing will move them. They have the money
flowing in and they have their lifestyle.

And least of anybody to move Mugabe Mbeki!

Yet another round of talks has just failed with Mbeki plus three being
played by Mugabe. I guess it won't be a surprise if the proposed full
summit also fails. African leaders quite obviously just don't have the
balls to deal with Mugabe!

Let the Diaspora money talk for a change

The imp.

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All letters published on the open Letter Forum are the views and opinions
of the submitters, and do not represent the official viewpoint of Justice
for Agriculture.

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