Open letter from Milorad Dodik, Republica Serska Prime Minister, to Slobodan Milosevic, President of Yugoslavia, published in Nezavisne Novine, 22 September
Farewell Time
It is time for you to leave, Slobodan. There has never been a Serb emperor, prince, king or president, since the arrival of the Serbs to the Balkans, that has brought so much grief to his people, shed so much blood, dissociated it from the entire world, as you have. You have divided the Serbs. Those in Croatia almost no longer know where Belgrade is. Those from Knin do not know what came upon them. Those from Kosovo have only faith and hope left. Montenegrins want to go their own way, and most of the Serbs in Serbia, although they have not said it to you, turned their backs on you. The sanctions that you have introduced for the people on this side of the Drina on several occasions, threats to Montenegrins, arrests, suspension of the media, draconian laws, are of no avail to you any more. Nothing avails.
You dissociated
the Serbs from the world, forced them to live on 60 marks of monthly wage,
forced them to smuggle, and purchase medications and food outside of Serbia. You
ravaged a rich country and proud people, you forced your people to die in a
war against the entire world, for the salvation of mankind from the new
world order. It is time for you to underscore your rule. What remains? What will
we remember you by? By wars? By hyperinflation? By the loss of Kosovo? By the
turning of the Serbs into a refugee tribe on tractors? By graves, ruins?
Slobodan, those are the monuments of your rule.
There has never
been a Serb ruler in the history who, speaking of the greatness of his nation,
used zoological language, no one has never named the opposition as the sick
sect, no one has ever dared to call his political opponents traitors and foreign
mercenaries. It is only among Serbs for whom you are responsible that the
old rather die than live, the young rather emigrate than put up with you, it is
only in your Serbia, Slobodan, that the people seek for salvation in alcohol,
apathy or silence. All the normal people today carry the Olympic torch, it is
only you who carries a torch with which you would again like to do what you do
best. That is fire, that is war, that is the new misery you bring to your
people's burden. It is only in the system you created that ministers,
journalists, businessmen, generals, secretaries of parties, are being killed. It
is only in your system that a person once President of Serbia, your best man,
can disappear, while you pretend not to be aware.
It is only in Serbia as you have made it that lives are difficult for the three previous presidents. Ask Cosic, Lilic and Panic, and if Stambolic is alive you should ask him too, what they think about you and your regime. Ask Patriarch Pavle whether he may forgive your sin to the nation, state and the Church. You may speak bad about the Patriarch, you may attack Djukanovic, you may say anything about Kostunica, you may accuse me of all the things you do, you may call all the Serbs who are against your rule any names. You may invent phantom stories about 1,400 RS policemen prepared for invasion of Serbia, you may launch untruths about involvement of my Government in Stambolic's disappearance, you may accuse both me and the Republic of Srpska of whatever crosses your mind. You may do that.
But does it influence the real life of Serbs, national politics, is the primary question? Where did you bring your people, Slobodan? Has anyone ever told you that communism failed, and that you started your speech at the leftist convention in Belgrade yesterday with "comrades and woman comrades". Have you been informed that Russians have better relations with Americans than you do with Russians? Can you interpret the signs of times to which the world is going to, what is the destiny of all peoples who choose isolation, misery and ideological blindness?
You have caused that all the Serbs living in other countries live better than in the motherland upon which they look with love, with hope, with sorrow. When things would be as I desire and to the liking of Serbs from the RS, Serbia would be a happy country and a state good for the life of all its citizens, a magnet for all the surrounding countries, a shop-window of economic prosperity, culture and spirituality. The lighthouse for Serbs outside of Serbia. And you know best why things are not that way. Your people do not want you any more. Force does not help any longer. Do at least one favor to Serbs, let them say freely that they want to part with you. Your interest and Serb interest split here. You go left, and the Serbs should go straight. On that path, I will help them as much as I can.
If you choose force, if you decide to enter history as the first Serb ruler who occupied Serbia from the inside, if you even intend to dishonor the army and the police, then the curse of our people should fall upon you. Live with that If you can. If there is strength, a sense of honour, regret or shame in you, choose repentance, ask for forgiveness from your people and leave. There will be someone to lead Serbia to where Serbia would already be if there has not been for you. It is time for you to leave, Slobodan.
Milorad Dodik, RS Prime Minister
From The Independent (UK), 7 October
Mugabe opponent faces arrest for 'treason'
Harare - Morgan Tsvangirai, defiant in the face of threats that he is to be arrested on treason charges, accused President Robert Mugabe yesterday of being "Africa's Milosevic". Speaking in Johannesburg, South Africa, from which he pledged to return "in the next couple of days" despite high-level threats that he will be arrested, Mr Tsvangirai, the leader of the MDC, said: "We must stop Africa's Milosevic. The mood in Zimbabwe is uncompromising. A similar situation [to Yugoslavia] cannot be avoided."
Mr Tsvangirai, whose year-old party won nearly half the constituencies in June's general election, warned last weekend, that if President Mugabe did not go voluntarily "we will remove him with violence". This prompted senior ministers and police to state that the MDC leader would be arrested for treason upon his return from a foreign business trip. The opposition leader returned to Africa from Belgium earlier this week and has apparently been biding his time in South Africa. But he pledged yesterday to return to Zimbabwe "in the next couple of days". Since the ruling Zanu-PF narrowly won the June elections, supporters and MPs from the MDC have faced numerous threats. Two MPs' homes have been raided for "arms of war" and a military grenade exploded at the MDC's Harare office last month. A few days later, all the party's files were seized in a police raid.
From The Guardian (UK), 7 October
'We have given Mugabe a warning. It is clear. Listen to the people'
Johannesburg - Zimbabwe's opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, has warned of a popular uprising against the man he calls the Milosevic of Africa - President Robert Mugabe - if the government carries out its threat to arrest him for treason on his return home this weekend. Mr Tsvangirai was accused of treason when he called for the violent overthrow of Mr Mugabe if he did not swiftly resign as president. But, speaking in Johannesburg, the leader of the MDC said his detention would provoke a revolution.
"The mood of the people is so tense that I will not be responsible for the reactions of the people. We have given Mugabe a warning. It is clear. Listen to the people. The current mood in the country is uncompromising. A similar situation [to Yugoslavia] cannot be avoided," he said. "We must stop Africa's Milosevic. There's no difference between the situation in Yugoslavia and the situation in Zimbabwe. There are parallels. [Mugabe] has committed genocide against a minority, rigged elections, ignored the rule of law and created a state which is internationally isolated."
Mr Tsvangirai made the threat that earned him the prospect of arrest at a rally a week ago to mark the first anniversary of the MDC, which came within a whisker of defeating Zanu-PF in June's parliamentary elections. "What we want to tell Mugabe today is to please go peacefully. If you don't want to go, we will remove you violently," he said. Mr Mugabe later told a meeting of his party's central committee that the British government was working with the MDC to create unrest in the cities, "in the hope that a Zanu-PF government will capitulate or fall in violent circumstances".
The day after his speech, Mr Tsvangirai left on a scheduled trip to Europe and South Africa. He was due to fly back to Harare on Tuesday but delayed his return after various government ministers called for his arrest. The speaker of parliament demanded his detention and prosecution for treason. The police described the "threat of violence" as unlawful and said they were prepared to act. Mr Tsvangirai said he had not intended to use the word "violently" and meant "unceremoniously", and that there was no legitimate reason to arrest him for his comments.
"It was undiplomatic, I must say, but it certainly wasn't treason," he said. "The law cannot be applied selectively; one law for the MDC and another for Zanu-PF. There have been instances of people threatening to use weapons of war and they have not been arrested." More than 30 people have died in politically related violence in recent months, either during the occupation of white-owned farms or in attacks on MDC supporters. But there have been no arrests. Ominously, one of Mr Mugabe's old-guard supporters, Nathan Shamuyarira, warned that the ruling party would be more than a match for any uprising. "The area of violence is an area where Zanu-PF has a very strong, long and successful history," he said.
Mr Tsvangirai said Zimbabwe could not afford another two years of Mr Mugabe until the next presidential election. "I understand he still thinks he has more to contribute to Zimbabwe. That state of mind is delusionary. What he is involved in is the tactics of survival, not a strategy for the survival of the country." But he said that if Zimbabweans wanted change, they should learn from the example of Belgrade and not expect others to do it for them. "You cannot watch a situation where things collapse in your hands and you expect a miracle to come from somewhere," he said.
The government remains defiant. On Thursday the police shut down Zimbabwe's first independent radio station, less than a week after it went on air, in defiance of a supreme court ruling. The high court has ordered the chief of police and his deputy to appear in court on Monday to explain why they should not be jailed for contempt. The government accused Britain of "making threats" to try to stop the move against the radio station. Mr Tsvangirai said this was further evidence of Mr Mugabe's desperation. "It is an illustration of a government that's intolerant of opposing views," he said. "It does not want the space for any mouthpiece other than that which supports Zanu-PF views."
From the BBC, 6 October
Zimbabwe radio row worsens
Harare - The legal row over Zimbabwe's first privately run radio station has deepened with the high court ordering the authorities to grant the new station a licence within 10 days. The court also ordered the police to return equipment seized from the company, Capital Radio, during raids on Wednesday night. The government described the ruling as not binding, saying it did not take into account new rules introduced on Wednesday by President Mugabe. Capital Radio was shut down by the government within a week of beginning to broadcast.
Once again the Zimbabwean government and police are in direct conflict with the courts. Once again it seems that the courts are emerging the losers. Capital Radio began broadcasting last week after the Supreme Court overturned the government monopoly. The judgement said the new station had the right to take to the airwaves. Not so, said the Information Minister, Jonathan Moyo, who argued that no-one could broadcast without a licence. At a news conference on Thursday the minister presented new regulations signed into law by Robert Mugabe, using presidential powers of legislation. He said would-be broadcasters could not allocate themselves a radio frequency in defiance of the government and expect to get away with it.
The latest High Court decision contradicts the minister and says Capital Radio has not broken the law. What is more, the court orders the head of the police to appear before it to explain why he should not be jailed for contempt following an earlier judgement forbidding the police to seize the new station's equipment. Two of the directors of Capital Radio remain in hiding. Others have had their homes searched by armed police. Whatever the decisions of the courts, it seems highly unlikely that the new station will be allowed to resume broadcasting.
From The Zimbabwe Independent, 6 October
Zimbabwe to remain stuck in the DRC
ZIMBABWE - with Africa’s fastest shrinking economy - will remain stuck in the costly DRC war if the United Nations forges ahead with its unworkable peacekeeping plan, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has said. The EIU, a London-based independent research body, warned in its latest report, titled Sub-Saharan Africa: Regional Overview, that the belligerents in the DRC would be in for a much longer run if no effective peace plan was found. The report said the ethnic-driven conflict, which was damaging economies of the warring countries, could intensify if embers of hostilities continued smoldering. It advised the UN to avoid entanglement until the belligerents gave assurances of genuine co-operation. The UN wants to deploy a mission of 5 500 peacekeepers and troops.
The report said Kinshasa had issued ambiguous statements saying it was now prepared to reconsider its stance on the deployment of the UN mission but the danger of it throwing up new barriers in the future remained real. "Minimum respect for a cease fire and compliance with conditions of the 1999 Lusaka Peace Accord have not been meet. Rather than a test case for the UN’s credibility in conflict resolution, the Congo conflict has underlined the dangers of a mission overloaded and unreasonable commitments placed upon it by the Security Council members," the report said. The EIU said the problem was that a clear end to the war was not in sight although several factors favoured disengagement. It stated that foreign forces were exhausted and now wanted out because the war had become too expensive.
"Zimbabwe, the Congolese government’s main ally, has been close to being bankrupted by high military spending and economic and political chaos at home," said the report. "Zimbabwe’s senior leadership, including President Mugabe, have privately stated that they wish to withdraw when expedient." Angola also wanted to withdraw, the report said, to scale down its military operations and focus on the long-running civil war at home. "Angola would also prefer a situation under which it would be able to withdraw its troops and concentrate on the struggle at home against Unita rebels," it said. The report further noted that the war was becoming more complicated with former allies Rwanda and Uganda now slugging it out. "Rwanda and Uganda have seen the war drag on far longer than originally anticipated and have seen their original war aims diverge and the strength of their alliance falter," the report said. "All foreign parties wish to see the Lusaka Peace Accord implemented in full."
The EIU said its investigations showed that DRC leader Laurent Kabila was a major stumbling block to peace. "The main obstacle to a settlement is obstruction of the peace accord by the Congolese president Laurent Kabila who has demanded the removal of OAU-appointed mediator, former Botswana president, Sir Ketumile Masire, and refuses to agree to the free movement of UN troops," it said. Sir Ketumile however, said this week he was ploughing ahead with negotiations in the Congolese internal dialogue. Reports indicate Kabila wanted Kenyan president Daniel Arap Moi to replace Masire. The EIU report also pointed out that Kabila wanted to stymie those sections of the truce which threatened his position, specifically the democratic transition. It noted that Kabila’s forces were seemingly in a weak position and faced disintegration were the allies to pull out.
His advantage, however, the report said, was that he had unusual leverage over his alliance partners in that were they to withdraw, most stood to lose the heavy investments made so far. "It is this logic which compels them to stay on despite their increasing exasperation. As open obstruction is costly, sanctions against Kabila’s government have been threatened. President Kabila is likely to resume halting or disingenuous co-operation," stated the report. The report examined the consequences of the conflict widely criticised as one of the most senseless wars on the continent. "The conflict is stuck in deadlock. The two main protagonists, Zimbabwe and Rwanda, are central to the outcome. President Mugabe thrives on the conflict which exaggerates his power in the region. This has granted him leverage in his relations with regional states which are alarmed by the consequences of his disastrous leadership," explained the report.
It said the regional leadership was reluctant to criticise Mugabe’s controversial land reform and other policies in the interest of securing his co-operation for a settlement in the conflict which, like the war in Angola, was damaging the region. "A hazard of this strategy is that Mugabe has an interest in perpetuating a conflict which exaggerates his own influence. By the same logic, chaos at home may actually be an asset to him. This (however) cannot be sustained indefinitely," said the report. It noted that Rwanda was likely to hold out because it was determined to prevent the threat by posed by the Interahamwe, the extremist Hutu militias, to its borders. But Rwanda’s position was being made difficult by the chaos which Kabila was promoting in the rebel-held Eastern Congo through the arming of pro-government militias.
"The current prognosis is that the peace process will be thwarted and war will remain in stalemate," observed the report. "However, a familiar pattern will play itself in the coming year. Given Congo’s sprawling territory and multiple actors involved, various parties will seek renewed strategic advantage at any one time before military offensives bog down and diplomatic activity starts afresh. In this way, a war process and a peace process have tended to proceed in parallel," it said. The EIU said an agreement which respected the security considerations of Rwanda, Angola, and Uganda as well as Zimbabwe’s commercial interests was possible.
Zimbabwe Independent (Harare)
October 6, 2000
Brian Hungwe
Harare
The Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) has warned that the country was poised to slide into complete anarchy and economic ruin following the resurgence of farm invasions across the country.
The CFU, which only last month resumed its legal application against President Robert Mugabe's move to acquire 3 000 commercial farms without compensation under the government's fast track land redistribution programme, has called for an immediate return to the rule of law.
CFU president Tim Hen-wood said this week continued violence and intimidation was wide- spread on farms throughout the country, particularly in Masvingo and Mashonaland Central.
"Already, considerable damage to the industry has been done and the critical foreign currency situation will be worsened by a reduction in agricultural output in the coming season," Henwood said.
"It is totally unacceptable that the whole country is being held to ransom by a handful of misguided people masquerading as war veterans and causing mayhem on the farms, in some areas with the active connivance of CIO and senior police personnel."
In the Save Conservancy, the slaughter of wildlife is taking place on a massive scale with game scouts being physically prevented from patrolling properties by resident war veterans that had declared some parts of the conservancy "no-go areas" for the scouts.
Electric fences separating wild buffalo from neighboring cattle were being removed, posing a serious risk of an outbreak of foot and mouth disease, Henwood pointed out.
"If an outbreak were to occur, this would immediately put a stop to our lucrative beef exports to Europe," he warned.
The CFU said farmers were desperately trying to get their crops in the ground but were being frequently physically prevented from doing so by war veterans.
"Last week one of our members was prevented from planting tobacco by war veterans and in the altercation that followed, he was struck across the face with a machete and is seriously injured," Henwood reported, adding "the perpetrator of this vicious attack remains at large."
"If we ever have a chance of recovering from the present economic malaise it is now, and with each passing day that opportunity slips away," Henwood said.