Santa Barbara News Press
September 20, 2006 7:13
PM
By
JOHN DANISZEWSKI
and
LARRY
HEINZERLING
Associated Press Writers
UNITED NATIONS (AP) -
President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe defended his
record Wednesday as the
head of the southern African country now reeling
from runaway inflation and
unemployment - saying drought and sanctions were
the cause of the country's
problems, not his policies.
In an interview with the Associated Press,
Mugabe also absolved police
forces that last week violently suppressed labor
demonstrators in the
capital Harare. He said his controversial land reform
program, in which
white farmers were forced to turn over their land six
years ago, would yet
prove successful.
Speaking in the late
afternoon shortly after delivering his country's
address at the annual
opening of the General Assembly of the United Nations,
the 82-year-old
president, who assumed power in 1980 in what had been the
last British
colony in Africa, appeared weary and reflective.
He wore an elegant
charcoal suit, set off with a deep red tie and
handkerchief, and leaned back
in his chair. His voice was soft as he spoke
of still having some ''muscle''
in him.
Once hailed as a freedom fighter, Mugabe in recent years has been
pilloried,
particularly in Europe, for what critics call erratic and
despotic
management and the denial of human rights.
Unrest in
Zimbabwe, where annual inflation reached a record 1,204 percent in
August,
the highest in the world, erupted again over the weekend. Police and
soldiers broke up a march by unionists planning anti-government marches
across the country.
Asked about police actions, Mugabe said he did
not know the details but
blamed ''overzealousness of one or two police,
exaggerating their role.''
The country's economy is on the mend, he said.
''Our inflation, we are
fighting that, and there is no hunger anymore, and
we have a bumper harvest,
so there is enough maize in the country,'' he
said.
He also said that his government remains popular and the world
should not
believe the critics inside Zimbabwe, whom he accused of being in
the pay of
outside governments. ''I don't know what they tell the world, but
- take
care - I do not think they are telling the whole truth, just as their
master
at No. 10 Downing Street.''
In the interview, he said: ''We
are more democratic than the average country
in the developing world. We are
very, very democratic.''
Of his political opponents, he said: ''Oh they
are in parliament and they
should do their business in parliament, criticize
government as much as
possible. We don't hate them.''
But he did
direct verbal fire at the United States, which he had described
in his
speech as a Goliath, adding ''Every Goliath has his own day.''
He said
the world is growing angry at the United States and Britain for the
war in
Iraq.
''You cannot go out on a campaign of aggression with impunity. One
day
obviously there will be the reaction.''
He also accused the
United States of fanning the recent war in Lebanon
between Israelis and
Hezbollah guerrilla fighters. ''I think someone was
pushing Israel from
behind, it was the United States and naively also
Britain acquiesced in it,
and now (Prime Minister Tony) Blair is in trouble
for having done
that.''
In comments to the Associated Press last year, Mugabe said that
he planned
to leave the presidency in 2008. On Wednesday, however, he
declined to
specify when -- only that ''I think the day will come
soon.''
Asked what he wanted his legacy to be, Mugabe said: ''That of an
independent
country that will be defended against outsiders and that also
ensures the
people derive maximum benefits from it.
''We want a state
that is developed, so that is the legacy I want, the road
to a Zimbabwe that
is highly developed.''
He said that he is becoming hardened to criticism
and would never be driven
from power except in a democratic vote. He also
laughed about the hatred he
inspires among some media, especially in
Britain.
''Oh goodness me. I don't know a person they hate more than they
do me,'' he
said. ''I don't know what I have done. They never were in love
with me, from
Day One, even as we were waging our struggle,'' he
said.
AP-WS-09-20-06 2213EDT
SABC
September 21,
2006, 06:15
Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe's president, says the United States
is holding the
United Nations Security Council hostage. Mugabe was
addressing the UN
General Assembly in New York yesterday.
In a
reference to the US, he said "one superpower's" misguided national
interests
prevented swift action being taken in several world hot-spots like
the
recent month long war between Israel and Hizbollah.
Mugabe is calling for
Africa to be given a permanent seat on the United
Nations Security Council.
He says recent failings by the council to sort out
major international
problems - like the recent war between Israel and
Lebanon - highlight the
need for an African voice in the world body.
IOL
September
21 2006 at 01:08AM
Harare - A Zimbabwe constitutional group said
police on Wednesday
arrested 170 of its members marching in solidarity with
trade unionists who
were assaulted and detained last week.
The
National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) frequently holds marches to
press
President Robert Mugabe's government to draft a new constitution.
On Wednesday, NCA chairman Lovemore Madhuku said 170 of its members
had been
arrested in three locations, 160 of them in the eastern border city
of
Mutare, after clashes with police.
"This was a protest in
solidarity with our colleagues in the ZCTU
(Zimbabwe Congress of Trade
Unions) and at the same time to show the
government that we are not
intimidated by their brutal act last week,"
Madhuku told
Reuters.
Lawyers told a Harare court last Friday that a dozen
members of the
ZCTU were tortured and some had limbs broken in police
custody after an
attempted protest against low wages two days
earlier.
All those detained were released on Friday pending trial
on October 3
on charges of violating Zimbabwe's strict security
laws.
Madhuku said no demonstrations had taken place in Harare on
Wednesday
because of a heavy police presence. Riot police on foot and an
open truck
patrolled the streets.
Police spokesperson Wayne
Bvudzijena said he had no details of the
arrests but said the marches were
illegal.
Critics accuse Mugabe of using tough security laws,
including one
requiring police consent for demonstrations, to keep opponents
in check as
the country grapples with a severe economic crisis.
The veteran leader denies that he has run down a once-promising
country and
accuses the West of sabotaging the economy over his seizures of
white-owned
farms to resettle landless blacks.
VOA
By
Jonga Kandemiiri
Washington
20 September
2006
Officials of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions say the
Harare government
has continued to harass the labor organization following
demonstrations and
arrests last week in which 15 union and opposition
officials were severely
beaten.
Plainclothes police detained,
searched and interrogated the union's deputy
secretary general, Japhet Moyo,
Tuesday at Harare International Airport on
his return from observing
elections in Sweden, union sources said. They said
police also detained
union official Silas Kuvheya, also returning from
abroad but on a different
flight.
Meanwhile, ZCTU President Lovemore Matombo said he may be
bleeding
internally due to the beating he says he received at police hands
last week.
Union Secretary General Wellington Chibhebhe was still being
treated at
Avenues Clinic.
Moyo said the police who detained him at
the airport accused him of
slandering the government on his international
travels, and before letting
him go ordered him not to report the incident at
the airport to anyone.
Moyo told reporter Jonga Kandemiiri of VOA's
Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that
leaders of the union are determined to press
ahead in defense of worker
rights.
The Zimbabwean
HARARE -
The following is a verbatim extract of Morgan Tsvangirai's
exclusive
interview with our correspondent Gift Phiri:
GP: Political analysts are
saying the whole idea behind the savage attack of
labour leaders while in
police custody last week was to send a strong
message to you that this is
what we will do to you if you attempt to lead a
popular revolt. What is your
response?
MT : We are all aware that Zanu (PF) is responsible for the
violence that
has taken place in this country. From the Gukurahundi era, to
the violence
against the opposition, to the violence on Murambatsvina, to
the violence
that has now manifested itself in the so-called response to the
labour
protest. We vehemently condemn the brutality and sadistic action of
the
police. But one has to understand the context in which Zanu (PF) is
reacting
to people's expression of discontent. They have no response to the
plight of
the people for food and jobs, for the higher cost of living, the
poverty of
the people. And by repressing their expression they think that
they will be
able to intimidate the population, to intimidate the political
leadership.
But far from it! I think they have strengthened the resolve, not
only of the
labour leaders, but some of us who are at the forefront of the
democratic
struggle. It is therefore naïve to believe that you can kill the
messenger
in order to suppress the message. The message from the people is
very, very
clear. Zanu (PF) has let the people down and therefore the people
are saying
enough of Zanu (PF). And if they don't want to accept that
reality, I think
they have themselves to blame.
GP : Why do you think
government has disregarded the recommendations of the
Supreme Court to shut
down Matapi Police Station Holding Cells?
MT : Matapi represents the worst of
the regime. In fact, the regime enjoys
exposing its victims to such a
situation where they hope that they can break
the spirit of those who will
be exposed to that situation. They can continue
to build and have so many of
these concentration camps with the hope that
they can intimidate the whole
population. But I think this is an exercise in
futility. Anyone who has been
exposed to those conditions comes out of that
condition knowing fully well
what this regime is up to, and what kind of a
regime we are dealing
with.
GP : What is your reaction to the beating and torture of arrested
labour
leaders in police custody?
MT : The torture of labour leaders was
a shocking act against humanity. The
police are taught professionally that
you cannot harass somebody who has
already been arrested. But we know that
there are extra-legal means that are
being used to undermine police
professionalism. The use of militias, the use
of Zanu (PF) activists, openly
in connivance with individual police officers
who may for some reason begin
to feel angry on behalf of Zanu (PF). Such
type of people, obviously, in
days after the resolution of this crisis, will
not find themselves in a
police unit because they are not professional
police officers. And it is
because of these kind of unprofessional police
officers, who resort to
illegal means, that the credibility of the ZRP is
being undermined.
GP :
In the future, how is the MDC going to hedge against such action?
MT : We
cannot talk about change if we do not transform these institutions.
There is
need for the government to depoliticize the police force and other
institutions like the army, the CIO and other state institutions. The police
should stop carrying out work on behalf of Zanu (PF), the military must stop
carrying out work on behalf of Zanu (PF), and judges should stop carrying
out work on behalf of Zanu (PF). Such kind of institutions needs serious
transformation.
GP : President Mugabe told the 14th Non Aligned Summit in
Havana on Saturday
that he would not accept "this stupid belligerent notion"
by the West,
through opposition groups like the MDC and ZCTU, to cause
anarchy by
"undermining our systems" in order to bring about "illegal regime
change."
Are you concerned by such threats?
MT : That is the barking of
an expired regime. (Breaks into laughter.) Let
me just say that the people
of Zimbabwe are not beholden to Robert Mugabe
and Zanu (PF). You know, the
people of Zimbabwe have a right bestowed by
their destiny, by their God,
that they shall have unalienable rights to
express themselves. And that it
is not an exclusive right of any nation to
have freedoms and justice. And
Zimbabweans aspire to have those things.
That's what motivates them. If
Mugabe thinks that he is going to use podiums
like the Non Aligned Movement
to denounce Zimbabweans, he should come back
home and see how Zimbabweans
are struggling on a daily basis without food,
without jobs, with poverty,
with higher cost of living, with a collapsing
economy. These are the issues
that he needs to address rather than continue
in this paralysis, preoccupied
and paranoid about some unknown enemy who is
going to go around and
overthrow him. We are not talking about overthrowing
Mugabe! We are talking
about Mugabe resolving the national crisis. This has
got nothing to do with
(British Premier Tony) Blair; this has nothing to do
with (US President
George) Bush. It is the situation back home that needs to
be addressed not
at some platform where he knows that he is under security
guard. He should
come here and see how Zimbabweans are struggling on a daily
basis to
survive.
Business Day
Dumisani
Muleya
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Harare
Correspondent
IN THE clearest admission yet that its chaotic land-reform
programme has
failed, Zimbabwe has introduced a new law to ban farm
invasions.
The Gazetted Land (Consequential Provisions) Bill will repeal
the Rural Land
Occupiers (Protection from Eviction) Act that sheltered farm
invaders.
This move can be seen as a belated measure to restore
confidence, attract
foreign investment and lure farmers back.
It also
takes place ahead of a visit next week to Harare by an International
Monetary Fund assessment team after the country was singled out as the weak
link in regional growth. But the legislation will be a double-edged sword
for farmers. While it will protect farmers battling invasions, it will make
it illegal for them to remain on their land after acquisition notices are
issued.
This has raised fear that cabinet ministers and senior
officials want to
outlaw invasions to protect themselves instead of the
farmers. To fuel
suspicion, the law paves the way for more government
takeovers. The state
has taken about 11-million hectares from white
commercial farmers.
Farmers who continue to occupy land earmarked for
acquisition by the state
will now be jailed for a week or evicted under the
law. Already there is a
constitutional amendment to prevent farmers from
appealing against arbitrary
confiscation.
The new law comes against a
backdrop of worsening agricultural failures. The
collapse of agriculture due
to state-sponsored farm seizures since 2000 has
spawned acute shortages of
basic foodstuffs, including bread, maize meal,
beef, cooking oil, milk and
sugar. There have also been shortages of
critical agriculture-related
commodities such as fertiliser, seed and
stockfeed.
The latest bread
shortages worsened yesterday with bread disappearing from
shop
shelves.
In his seconding reading of the bill on Tuesday, Lands, Land
Reform and
Resettlement Minister Didymus Mutasa said the law was intended to
deal with
"continued occupation of gazetted land without lawful
authority".
"The bill seeks to make it punishable by law to hold, use or
occupy a piece
of land gazetted for resettlement purposes without lawful
authority," he
said. "It also addresses the issue of unlawful fresh farm
occupations."
Mutasa said continued illegal occupation of land after
the expiry of the
prescribed 90 days' acquisition notice would result in
offenders getting
sentences "not exceeding seven days" and being evicted
from the farms.
The Zimbabwean
HARARE - Pro democracy groups in
Zimbabwe have pledged to continue with
their protests for change. In
separate interviews, the National
Constitutional Assembly (NCA), The
Zimbabwe National Student Union (ZINASU),
Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) and
the Combined Harare Residents Association
(CHRA) said Zimbabwe would see
more spontaneous action by the individual
groups working in a non-violent
way.
Although the groups could not elaborate on dates it's reported that the
demonstrations will continue this week.
CHRA Chairperson Mike Davies said
the situation was getting so bad that it
was affecting everybody,
irrespective of their political persuasion. "So we
see a broader protest
developing which includes co-relating around residents
issues, or gender,
education or health." He said that because of the
repressive system in the
country localized protests won't change the regime
which continues to use
violence against the people. But he said progressive
forces need to seek a
diversity of tactics to respond.
CHRA will continue with its sewage and
rubbish dumping protests.- SWRadio
Africa
The Zimbabwean
The first of a two-part
exclusive account of last week's brutal crushing of
the ZCTU demo by the
Mugabe regime.
"We were referred to as ZCTU terrorists bent on killing the
President"
BY A WOZA INMATE
HARARE - At about 10am on Wednesday Traffic
and Riot Police had already
started diverting traffic away from Nelson
Mandela Avenue around
Construction House, where the ZCTU demonstration was
due to start at 12
midday.
On my arrival in the vicinity at 11.45 am
there was a heavy Riot police
presence. I sat for over an hour watching
them. There were a number of MDC
and ZCTU officials and activists waiting
around Bakers Inn. The Riot Police
were without doubt going to provoke a
situation. They were stopping
passersby and questioning them and in many
cases grabbing their arms
aggressively, and telling them to get out of the
area.
The demo finally started around 1pm with about 12 people singing and
dancing
in the street. It was over in seconds. The demonstrators were
ordered to
sit down and then the Riot police went beserk. They beat the
people so
viciously and brutally it was a terrible and shocking spectacle to
witness.
I feared for their lives. All the Policemen raised their baton
sticks way
above their heads and then brought them down in full force
against the
peoples bodies.
I was seen to be taking photos by a CIO
operative who pulled me aside to
question me. Grace Kwinje distracted him
and gave me the "disappear" look!
I hid in a nearby Bank and when I thought
the coast was clear, slipped out
and went round the corner. The next minute
there was a tsunami of bodies
surging panic stricken past me. Before I
could turn around I was hit by a
baton stick on the back by one of three
Riot cops telling me I was under
arrest. I refused to hand over my camera
or my cell phone.
As we were driving past Harvest House (MDC) the Land Rover
screeched to a
halt and five of the six Riot cops leapt out and just grabbed
passersby and
a few people who were standing watching us, and proceeded to
beat them
shouting "what are you doing on the streets?". Having satisfied
their lust
for violence once again, they jumped back in and we were then
handed over to
the CIO just outside the Anglican Cathedral.
There were
two suited Chinese gentlemen with cameras standing on the steps
of the
Cathedral, smiling -waiting for what? The demo was supposed to end
outside
Parliament. It did make me wonder if their suppression of dissent
tactics in
China, ending in the massacre of Tianamen Square, are being
taught to the
Mugabe regime? Their involvement in Operation Murambastvina
was visible
i.e. military uniformed Chinese men seen in the Army vehicles at
the sites
of destruction was ominous to say the least.
We were then taken to Harare
Central Police station where we met up with the
ZCTU leaders and members
already arrested. The station car park was teeming
with Police and riot
members and we were heavily guarded! It was brought to
our attention over
the next few days that we had been referred to as "ZCTU
terrorists bent on
killing the President". The mind boggles.
Having been officially booked into
the holding cell-block we awaited the
arrival of our lawyers. Access to our
lawyers was denied, as was the
opportunity to speak with our relatives when
they brought us food and water.
The stench was stifling. We were not allowed
to wear our shoes, which meant
we were walking in raw sewage. With very
little lighting it meant it was
impossible to avoid stepping into this
disgusting filth. We brought this to
the attention of the duty Police
Officers and were told "those are the
rules".
As we were taken up to the
top of the building for our first roll call, our
eyes were adjusting to the
darkness on the first floor, when we heard a roar
of excitement and singing
and we then realized we were in jail with our WOZA
sisters. It was a heart
warming welcome to the world of detention! Arms
came flying through the
bars and there were hugs all round till the Officer
with his "rova pipe"
(piece of hose pipe used for beating) shouted to us to
move on.
Due to
the uninhabitable state of the cells we were all left with no option
but to
"sleep" on the concrete floor in the passage. There were about forty
WOZA
women so we all squashed up together for warmth and to keep out of the
way
of the sewage creeping along the passage.
Each toilet has a tap above it to
flush the contents away, but there was no
water.
he first morning I saw a
civilian cleaner and asked him to show me where the
water source was. Once
I knew, I was able to get water to flush out the
toilet in only one cell.
Cleaning it was not a pleasant task but I felt if
we were to be there for a
few days we had to have some place for a "comfort
break"! However it was
soon back to where it was in the beginning so Grace
took her turn as the
"plumbing consultant".
We even managed to get a bottle of Sanpic in with our
food pack, as well as
Doom Spray to kill the tsikitsi (bed bugs). One of
our group captured
about 50 of these bugs and placed them in a plastic
packet to be kept as
"Exhibit A"!
The duty officers were cussed
constantly by the ZCTU inmates, for their lack
of professionalism, their
abusive manner, the police violence, the inhuman
conditions in the cells
etc. One of the younger ZCTU members got very
vociferous at one of the roll
calls and was threatened with a beating
"ndichakurova". He just yelled
back, "you can beat me all you like, you are
not Policemen, you are just
thugs in uniform".
On Thursday we were not formally charged and our
fingerprints were not
taken. We still had not seen our lawyers.
By now we
had heard that the ZCTU leadership and an MDC senior official had
been
detained at the notorious Matapi Police Station at Mbare. That Station
is a
well- known torture center and has been condemned by the Supreme Court
of
Zimbabwe as "unfit for human habitation". That night -we thought about 9
pm, the Matapi contingent were moved to join us at Central. It was a pitiful
sight to see those 14 physically and mentally battered and brutalized
figures appearing. Three could hardly walk or stand. The solidarity was
tangible as we all shook hands or hugged our friends. They told us of their
ordeal and how they had been told on arrival at Matapi by the Police (Army?)
details "we are not trained to write dockets, we are trained to kill". They
were taken two at a time into a room and brutally beaten by five men with
knobkerries and long baton sticks for up to 20 minutes.
It was clear that
they were all in desperate need of medical attention,
which had been denied
them at Matapi Police Station.
The Duty Officer made arrangements for their
removal to Parirenyatwa
Hospital and the pitiful group shuffled out with
some hope of relief in
their hearts. Many hours later they all returned,
bandaged, X-rayed, and
obviously all still in great pain.
On Friday
morning, the documentation and fingerprinting procedures started.
The Police
detail doing the fingerprinting was excellent at his job and got
through all
20 of us very quickly. Time was of the essence as we had to get
to Court
before 3pm in order to apply for Bail. The option of remaining in
the
cesspool over the weekend
was a bleak one. However there were other Officers
who were not so
efficient and there was a definite push by the CIO to delay
matters in order
to keep us in custody. - To be continued next week.
Zimbabwejournalists.com
By a Correspondent
LONDON - Zimbabwean
youth activists in the United Kingdom will on
Friday meet South African
officials in London to discuss issues affecting
their homeland and
countrymen and women in South Africa.
Free-ZimYouth says in a
statement the purpose of the meeting is "to
create a mutual understanding
between the two nations and to enlist the
support of the South African
Government at a time when the liberty and
safety of youth activists inside
Zimbabwe is under renewed threat".
The youths sent a letter to the
South African embassy a few months ago
seeking clarification on the South
African policy on Zimbabwe as the country
continues to go down with
inflation rising above 1 200 percent, unemployment
rising by the day and
food shortages slowly returning to haunt the people.
Free-ZimYouth
says it is seeking a statement of South African
Government policy on
Zimbabwe and a clear condemnation of the crackdown on
trade unionists and
youth activists following protests called to speak
against low wages and
related issues.
The youths said they align themselves with their
African counterparts
in the African Union and SADC countries who have
expressed solidarity with
those engaged in the struggle for democracy in
Zimbabwe.
The meeting will take place as the British Trade Union
Congress (TUC)
will be leading demonstrations outside Zimbabwe House against
the brutal
beatings of trade unions leaders in Harare last
week.
Organisations representing Zimbabweans such as the Zimvigil
are urging
people to come out in full force and join with the trades
unionists in
campaigning against human rights abuses in Zimbabwe.
New Zimbabwe
By Lebo
Nkatazo
Last updated: 09/21/2006 11:51:31
MORGAN Tsvangirai initiated a
purge on his supporters last night after being
damned by an internal inquiry
into an attack on officials of a rival faction
of the Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) which he led from formation.
Harare North
legislator Trudy Stevenson was savagely attacked alongside four
other
officials from a rival MDC faction led by Arthur Mutambara. Stevenson
blamed
Tsvangirai's supporters for the attack.
A commission of enquiry led by
Harare lawyer, Advocate Happias Zhou, was set
up by Tsvangirai to probe the
attack and returned its verdict on Wednesday.
The commission reported that
the MDC had been infiltrated by state agents, a
development it blamed on
"organisational and structural weaknesses" within
the MDC
leadership.
Tsvangirai refused to make copies of the report available to
the media.
But in a statement, the MDC leader admitted that he was
looking for
"remedies to our organisational and structural weaknesses as a
party."
Tsvangirai began his purge of senior officials within the Harare
province
and the Mabvuku district where the attack took place.
New
Zimbabwe.com established that at least three officials had been expelled
from the MDC, including Rorana Dandajena, the head of the women's wing in
Harare.
MDC sources revealed that Tsvangirai summoned Dandajena and
other officials
on Tuesday, a day before Wednesday's announcement, and read
them clauses
from the party's constitution granting him power to expel
officials from the
party.
Also expelled in the purge was a woman
identified as Mrs Gatsi, who heads
the MDC's Mabvuku district and one Mesa,
said to be the secretary for
security in the same district.
Nelson
Chamisa, the spokesman for Tsvangirai's faction and Isaac Matongo,
the
faction's chairman, were at the meeting.
An MDC insider said last night:
"It's a bit difficult to comprehend the
point of these expulsions. In the
case of Dandajena, she had her house burnt
down during Tsvangirai's botched
'Final Push' and has been at the receiving
end of beatings by the police and
army."
A defiant Tsvangirai signaled a further expansion of the purge
last night,
claiming the party had been infiltrated by
"spooks".
Tsvangirai said: "It is clear from the report that some state
security
agents direct party affairs and determine the party agenda in
Mabvuku. The
constituency is heavily infiltrated and all our members and
structures in
the area are at risk.
"The report shows that Mabvuku
may just be one of the many constituencies
with a web of bugs and spooks. We
are grateful that we can now institute a
process of clearing up our
structures in Mabvuku and in other areas to
contain and vaccinate the party
against negative external influences.
"The National Executive Committee
shall meet soon to institute an intensive
leadership analysis and scrutiny
at all levels in order to set in motion a
regular process of weeding out
nests of saboteurs and others whose agenda is
at variance with what we seek
to achieve."
Gabriel Chaibva, a spokesman for the Mutambara faction, said
last night: "We
still believe the committee was not independent enough. This
was just a
self-cleansing exercise and we knew that this issue of
infiltration would be
raised.
"The bottom line is that the group
(Tsvangirai's faction) is composed of
violent people. Leadership means
taking responsibility, saying 'yes, this
happened' and finding corrective
action."
Stevenson, together with four other MDC officials, Tawanda
Mudzemera, Linos
Mushonga, Luxon Sibanda and Simangele Manyere were set upon
by a mob in the
poor township of Mabvuku while campaigning. They sustained
serious injuries
during the attack.
Stevenson has always blamed
Tsvangirai's supporters for the attack. Timothy
Mubhawu, an MP aligned to
Tsvangirai's group, was charged and later released
for lack of evidence
after his vehicle was fingered as the get-away car used
by some of the
attackers.
The MDC split into two factions in October last year after
some senior
officials accused Tsvangirai of dictatorship following his
rejection of a
party vote in favour of participating in
elections.
They also accused Tsvangirai of failing to act on incidents of
internal
violence within the party, and in instances, re-hiring security
staff
expelled for violent conduct.
FROM THE ZIMBABWE VIGIL
Dear All
Planned Zimbabwe Vigil
Action
In light of the brutal repression of protests in Zimbabwe we ask
for your
support for the following initiatives:
1. TUC protest:
The British Trades Union Congress is mounting a
demonstration outside the
Zimbabwe Embassy at 1 pm on Friday, 22 September
2006 to protest against the
repression of human rights in Zimbabwe. We are
grateful to our trades union
brothers and sisters for their solidarity. The
Vigil will be there to
support them and we urge all our supporters who can
get there join with the
TUC in this demonstration. It will be so wonderful
to have the TUC out on
the street with us.
2. Amnesty letter writing campaign (see link:
http://www.swradioafrica.com/pages/amnesty150906.htm
on SWRadioAfrica).
Please support this campaign.
Other Vigil
action in the near future
The Vigil will be 4 years old on 12 October 2006 -
not a cause for
celebration but certainly we will mark the occasion. During
the preceding
week, we are planning to present our petition: "A petition to
UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan about human rights abuses in Zimbabwe - We
are
deeply disturbed at the deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe. It seems
as if
the international community does not care that a rogue government can
hold
its people hostage. In the past six years up to a quarter of the
population
have fled the country. Half of those remaining face starvation.
Any
dissent is stamped on. The UN's special envoys have seen this for
themselves and condemned the regime. We urge the UN Security Council to
take measures to help free the suffering people of Zimbabwe." We are still
working on this and will keep you informed of developments.
14th
October is the nearest Saturday to the anniversary and we will be
asking our
supporters to wear black armbands at that Vigil to mourn the
death of
freedom in Zimbabwe. Free-Zim Youth, one of the most active groups
in our
coalition are planning a pre-Vigil demonstration outside the South
African
Embassy, Trafalgar Square starting at 1 pm and joining the Vigil at
the end
of their protest. Free-Zim Youth's message is that we have been
betrayed by
President Mbeki's 'quiet diplomacy' and we must appeal to South
Africa to
help Zimbabwe in its time of trial. We look to our brothers and
sisters to
help us. Free-Zim Youth have managed to arrange a meeting with
South
African officials on this Friday, 22nd September - we look forward to
hearing the outcome. (Contacts: Alois. P. Mbawara, 07960 333 568;
Wellington Chibanguza, 07706 868 955; email: freezim6@yahoo.co.uk).
COME AND
SUPPORT US ALL ON THE VIGIL'S FOURTH ANNIVERSARY
Vigil
Co-ordinators
The vigil, outside the Zimbabwe Embassy, 429 Strand,
London, takes place
every Saturdays from 14.00 - 18.00 to protest against
gross violations of
human rights by the current regime in Zimbabwe. The
Vigil which started in
October 2002 will continue until
internationally-monitored, free and fair
elections are held in Zimbabwe. http://www.zimvigil.co.uk.
VOA
By
Blessing Zulu
Washington
20 September
2006
Zimbabwean Industry Minister Obert Mpofu shocked members of
parliament and
the public Wednesday when he disclosed that he had urged
Anti-Corruption
Minister Paul Mangwana not to publish a damning report on
the collapse of a
deal with an Indian firm to relaunch the Zimbabwean Iron
and Steel Company,
or pursue charges.
Those familiar with the report,
issued by the Finance Ministry, said it
details demands for share
participation in the joint venture made to the
Indian concern, demands that
ultimately led Global Infrastructure, an
affiliate of Mittal, to pull out of
the deal.
Mpofu's testimony flew in the face of pledges by President
Robert Mugabe to
root out corruption and pursue "economic saboteurs and
enemies" of an
economic recovery.
Mpofu acknowledged in testimony
before a parliamentary committee on industry
and trade that the report
implicates ministers, parliamentarians and top
ZISCO managers. The officials
are alleged to have engaged in schemes
including under-invoicing and other
abuses of company resources. Mpofu told
parliament that disclosure of the
abuses would scare away other potential
foreign investors in the
company.
Anti-Corruption Minister Mangwana told reporter Blessing Zulu of
VOA's
Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that Harare was acting like any "responsible
government" in limiting the circulation of negative information that might
affect state economic interests.
But Goodwill Shana, Chairman of
Transparency International Zimbabwe said
Harare's efforts to cover up the
corruption at ZISCO will hurt the country
even more.
The Zimbabwean
HARARE - A cabinet minister in
President Mugabe's government has stunned the
donor community by claiming
that Zimbabwe does not need western food aid -
in the same month that the
United Nations made an appeal for aid warning
millions face starvation if no
urgent aid is delivered.
Zimbabwe's Minister of Lands and Land Reform Didymus
Mutasa claimed Zimbabwe
could "develop and prosper without the aid of
Western countries - if people
are united and share a common vision".
The
shocking statement comes hardly a month after the UN tabled a US$257
million
consolidated appeal to avert a looming humanitarian disaster in
Zimbabwe
because President Mugabe's government failed to alert donors of the
scale of
the disaster.
The government had not quantified its needs until it was too
late to get the
long food chain moving, said donors in Harare this
week.
But Mutasa appeared oblivious to the imminent crisis, heaping praise on
Malaysia whose economy has received little aid from western countries, but
is thriving largely due to a vibrant manufacturing and technology
sector.
The US, Britain and the European Union provide more than 90 percent
of the
funding used to feed Zimbabweans. - Own correspondent
The Zimbabwean
LONDON - Young Zimbabweans in the UK
are determined that SA president Thabo
Mbeki should act on abuses in
Zimbabwe. They plan a demonstration at the SA
embassy in London on October
14.
"We feel betrayed by President Mbeki's quite diplomacy towards our
suffering
at the hands of Mugabe's regime. The gross human rights violations
have made
life mean
nothing to us Zimbabweans. We feel betrayed by
President Mbeki for not
openly criticizing Mugabe's rule," says a statement
issued this week.
"Mbeki should stop sympathizing with Mugabe and sympathize
with the people
on the ground. South Africa had regional back-up to fight
apartheid, the
people of Zimbabwe need regional back-up to fight Mugabe's
rule." - FreeZim
The Zimbabwean
BY GIFT PHIRI
HARARE - Police
last Thursday seized more than 300,000 litres of fuel from
private oil
companies in the Southerton Industrial area accusing them of
profiteering
from long standing arrangements in which they buy fuel at
subsidized prices
from the state oil procurement monopoly, National Oil
Company of Zimbabwe,
NOCZIM.
The senseless blitz, led by one Inspector Munyakamwe, was aimed at
forcing
the private oil companies to sell fuel at the regulated price of
$335 a
litre although the dealers had bought the fuel at $540 a litre from
NOCZIM
while others had imported the precious commodity.
After years of
acute fuel shortages, President Robert Mugabe three years ago
deregulated
fuel imports and demanded that private oil companies supply fuel
from their
external hard currency reserves.
Angry oil industry executives slammed the
crackdown, which is being
spearheaded by a taskforce created through the
Soviet-style committees under
the National Economic Development Priority
Programme, saying it was
unsustainable to sell fuel at loss.
The effect
has been a deepening fuel crisis spawned by the shortages as
private oil
companies simply refused to sell their fuel at that price.
Executives said
privately the crackdown late Thursday caused disarray in the
energy sector
and has pushed up the price of fuel to as much as $1,200 a
litre.
The
crackdown also lent credence to reports that a deal with South Africa
and
Equatorial Guinea to provide $30 million worth of fuel a month for the
next
year was falling apart after Zimbabwe failed to pay arrears in shipping
and
handling costs.
The government has pegged the price at $335 in a bid to hold
down inflation,
now running at a record 1,200 percent in the nation's worst
economic crisis
since independence in 1980.
Acute hard currency shortages
since 1999 have led fuel stations to run dry,
with long lines of cars
regularly waiting for deliveries.
The hard currency shortages have pushed up
the illegal black market exchange
rate to more than 850 Zimbabwe dollars to
one U.S. dollar, compared to the
pegged official exchange rate of
250-1.
International oil companies have said they would need to buy hard
currency
at inflated rates of a blended mix between the official and
unofficial rates
to remain viable.
Civil unrest erupted three years ago
when fuel was raised by 30 percent.
Commuters boycotted transport firms and
vehicles were stoned until fuel
prices were reduced on government
orders.
Back then, Mugabe said foreign oil companies would be required to use
their
external hard currency funds to import fuel, but oil companies insist
that
they must be allowed to remit some hard currency abroad to avoid being
left
with large amounts of Zimbabwe dollars in a hyperinflationary
economy.
Mugabe described state fuel imports sold by foreign oil companies in
Zimbabwe as "this game of foolery" that reaped huge profits for them and
losses for the state.
Part of filling stations that lost huge amounts of
fuel include Birmingham
Road Motors which lost 10,000 litres, Muhammed Mussa
which lost 40,000
litres, Caltex Coventry, among others.
People's Daily
The Zimbabwe government is extending its Look East
policy to the beef
industry with deals to break into the Chinese and
Malaysian markets expected
to be clinched soon, an industry official said on
Wednesday.
Veterinary Services principal director for livestock
development,
Stuart Hargreaves, said that the negotiations to export beef
products to
Malaysia and China were at an advanced stage as the country
seeks
alternative markets to the European Union (EU).
Hargreaves said Malaysian officials who visited the country had
expressed
concerns over local technology and asked for upgrading. An
abattoir had
since been constructed as one of corrective measures.
Hargreaves
said discussions were underway with the Chinese side on
tests they wanted
conducted on residues found in beef products.
Meanwhile, Cold
Storage Company board member, Abdul Nyathi, said
veterinary experts from the
EU had also visited the country recently to
assess progress made in
complying with standards before beef exports could
resume.
Nyathi said the Zimbabwe government was confident that it would
satisfy the
EU demands as it had done everything to ensure all concerns were
addressed.
He said some the measures the government had put in
place, including
erecting boundaries to control movement of animals in
various zones to
ensure speedy quarantine of affected animals in
future.
The EU suspended imports of Zimbabwean beef after a
foot-and- mouth
outbreak in 2001. The country used to supply a quota of 9,
100 tons annually
to the European market.
Source:
Xinhua
The Zimbabwean
BY GIFT PHIRI
HARARE - The
Central Statistical Office (CSO) last week made startling
claims that the
rate of unemployment in Zimbabwe is 11 percent - and not 80
percent, despite
growing joblessness and a steadily rising cost of living
which has worsened
the vulnerability of the urban poor in Zimbabwe. CSO
acting director-general
Moffat Nyoni told a workshop called to inform
legislators on the
transformation of the CSO that the 80 percent figure was
false.
"It is 11
percent, that is what we found," he said. "We do not know where
the 80
percent comes from."
Economic analysts and the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade
Unions (ZCTU) have
dismissed government claims that the country's
unemployment rate now stands
at 11 percent.
The Consumer Council of
Zimbabwe (CCZ) has reported that the cost of the
monthly food basket for an
average family of six rose from Z$75,000 in July
to Z$95,000 in August - a
24 percent escalation.
The rising cost of basic items comes at a time when
humanitarian
organisations warn of widespread food shortages in the country
with the
United Nations appealing for US$257 million to avert a looming
disaster. In
its latest situation analysis for Zimbabwe, the Famine Early
Warning System
Network (FEWSNET) noted that the majority of rural households
had run out of
the food they had harvested in the 2005 season.
FEWSNET
said the situation was equally bad in urban areas, where most scarce
foodstuffs were being sold at high informal market prices beyond the reach
of many families. The Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee (ZIMVAC)
predicted in April that 3.3 million people would be food insecure by the end
of this year.
In terms of unemployment, ZCTU president Lovemore Matombo,
who was arrested
last week after calling strikes for more pay, disputed
Nyoni's claim.
"Our assessment of sector performances over the past six years
shows that,
contrary to what the government says, the agricultural sector
has dropped
from employing the highest number of people to being one where
there are no
opportunities at all," he said.
"The disruption of
agriculture through the land reform programme threw many
people out of
employment. The present situation in the sector is that it is
no longer
employing because there is nothing happening on the farms - most
are
under-utilised, if not derelict altogether," added Matombo.
"Our conservative
estimate is that about 2.7 million out of the country's
employable
population of about 3.5 million are out of work right now," said
economic
analyst Erich Bloch.
New Zimbabwe
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This
is the full text of President Robert Mugabe's address to the 61st
session of
the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday,
September 20,
2006
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Last
updated: 09/21/2006 12:36:47
Your Excellency the President of the 6l Session
of the United Nations
General Assembly, Madame Shaikha Rashed Al
Khalifa,
Your Majesties,
Your Excellencies Heads of State and
Government,
Your Excellency the Secretary-General of the United Nations,
Mr Kofi Annan,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and
Gentlemen,
Madame President, Let me begin my statement by echoing the
sentiments of
those who have congratulated you for assuming the Presidency
of the 61st
Session of the General Assembly, as well as those who have
expressed their
appreciation for the manner in which your predecessor, Mr
Jan Eliasson,
successfully conducted the business of the 60th session. Let
me, in the same
vein, Madame President, congratulate the Republic of
Montenegro for its
admission to the United Nations family.
Madame
President, I also wish to pay special tribute to the United Nations
Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, for his vision and exemplary leadership of
the United Nations Organisation over the past ten years. We commend him for
his tireless efforts to assist member states in transforming the United
Nations into a dynamic, relevant and effective instrument for meeting
challenges that confront us as we try to make the world a better place for
everyone.
Mr Secretary-General, your achievements, especially in the
area of promotion
of peace and development which culminated in the
Millennium Summit in the
year 2000 and the Review Summit held last year,
will always be remembered as
historic for the important decisions which we
made on both occasions. As you
come to the end of your tenure of this high
office, we wish you the best in
your future endeavours and hope that you
will be available to serve the
international community wherever you may be
needed.
Madame President, The theme for our debate this year,
"Implementation of the
Global Partnership for Development as a follow-up to
the 2005 World Summit,"
is most appropriate. We acknowledged last year that
fighting poverty was a
collective undertaking. Together, we recognized that
mobilizing financial
resources for development is central to a global
partnership for development
in support of the implementation of the
internationally agreed goals,
including the Millennium Development
Goals.
For many years now, the international community has acknowledged
the need
for accelerated economic development in Africa. There have been
many
initiatives and "Programmes of Action" to achieve this objective.
Indeed,
the history of the United Nations in the last three decades is
littered with
several well-meaning initiatives, many of which unfortunately
never made the
transition from theory to practical implementation.
We
have agreed on goals, and set targets for ourselves, in our quest to meet
our economic and social development challenges. Given this impressive array
of initiatives, it is curious and ironic that the aggregate economic
performance of our countries has not made a difference to the majority of
our people.
Madame President, One explanation for our development
predicament and the
many failed initiatives is the wide gap between rhetoric
and concrete action
on the ground. We have on many occasions agreed on
making available the
means for implementing agreed goals. We have made
targets for making those
resources available. Yet, at the same time, we have
witnessed some countries
and groups taking concerted actions such as illegal
economic sanctions to
frustrate our development efforts.
In the case
of Zimbabwe, these countries have blocked any balance of
payments and other
support from the international financial institutions
that they control.
Following the heroic and successful efforts of the people
of Zimbabwe in
clearing requisite arrears to the IMF, these negative forces
manipulated
decision-making at the institution to deny us any new support.
They have
even tried to restrict investment inflows, all this on account of
political
differences between them and us. Is it not a paradox that while we
are
denied resources for development, funding is readily made available to
support elements bent on subverting the democratically expressed will of the
majority of our citizens and to unconstitutionally effect regime change? We
condemn this interference in our domestic affairs. This warped thinking must
not, and will not succeed.
My Government will carry out its mandate
to protect the country's citizens.
We warn that any attempt to change that
mandate through unconstitutional
means will meet with the full wrath of the
law. It is for this reason that
we welcome this debate that seeks to address
the yawning gap between agreed
action plans and implementation, and between
rhetoric and what actually
happens on the ground.
We fully
acknowledge that national governments shoulder the primary
responsibility
for the implementation of their development plans, including
achieving the
MDGs.
However, it is absolutely necessary that our efforts at the
national level,
including the adoption and implementation of correct and
relevant
programmes, be supported, and not
hampered, by lack of
international cooperation. This session therefore would
be of great value if
agreement were to be reached on financing for
development, including the
establishment of mechanisms to measure aid flows.
Such financing should be
adequate, predictable and consistent in order for
it to have a meaningful
impact.
Madame President, The HIV/AIDS pandemic continues to cause untold
havoc in
Africa, particularly in Southern Africa, owing to high levels of
poverty
which make it difficult for the affected people to access
medication.
Zimbabwe welcomes the continuing efforts by the international
community of
nations to find lasting solutions to the scourge of HIV and
AIDS. We urge
the donor community, in cooperation with pharmaceutical
companies, to assist
in scaling-up access to affordable essential drugs,
particularly for
developing countries.
The tendency to use assistance
in the fight against HIV/AIDS as reward for
political compliance and
malleability is a policy which the United Nations
should
condemn.
Given the fact that the pandemic does not respect borders, the
denial of
assistance to countries on political grounds through a
self-serving and
selective approach would do more harm and weaken
international efforts to
fight the pandemic. In my country, for example, on
average, a Zimbabwean
AIDS patient is receiving about US$4.00 per annum in
international
assistance compared with about US$172.00 per annum for other
countries in
the region. However, even against this background, my
Government has
registered some modest success in reducing the HIV/AIDS
prevalence rate from
about 29 per cent in 2000 to 18.1 percent in 2006 on
the strength of its own
resources and programmes.
Madame President,
Without disputing the inevitability of migration, the
problem of brain drain
is of great concern to my Government and indeed to
other developing
countries. The brain drain has indeed proved to be a
handicap to sustainable
development and if it is not addressed now, the
prospects of developing
countries meeting the MDGs by 2015 would be very
minimal. While developing
countries are losing skilled manpower to
migration, the benefits associated
with migrant remittances are far less
than the cost of human resource and
skills development. We need to develop
solutions that give due recognition
and respect to the investment made by
governments into human resources and
skills development of citizens as well
as the human rights of
migrants.
Madame President, While Official Development Assistance is
desirable, what
developing countries need more is an open, rule-based,
predictable,
non-discriminatory trading and financial system. For developing
countries to
realise the full potential of international trade in enhancing
economic
growth, it is quintessential that the main bathers to their exports
be
removed.
In this regard, we are concerned that tariffs have
remained high on goods
that are strategically important to developing
economies such as textiles
and farm products. A lot could be realised with
the right partnerships and
fair terms of trade. We share the view that the
implementation of the
development dimensions of the Doha work programme will
go a long way in
assisting developing countries to compete in this global
village.
It is therefore disturbing that there has been no progress in
breaking the
deadlock on the Doha Round of international trade negotiations.
The failure
of multilateral negotiations will give rise to bilateral
arrangements that
are inimical to fair trade. We cannot help but suspect
that the breakdown
was deliberately engineered in order to perpetuate the
status quo that
favours one group of countries at the expense of
another.
Madame President, The United Nations is uniquely placed to
provide the
framework for international cooperation. There is consensus that
the United
Nations should play a fundamental and central role in the
promotion of
international cooperation for development. In this regard it is
important
that coherence and coordination be enhanced as agreed in the 2005
World
Summit Outcome. At the country level, the United Nations system should
be
effectively coordinated in order to support national efforts in poverty
reduction and sustainable development.
Madame President, While my
Government applauds the United Nations'
continuing efforts to elaborate a
convention on terrorism, we urge Member
States to guard against a situation
where established international
conventions are ignored, and resolutions of
the General Assembly and other
United Nations bodies on this issue are
disregarded. In our attempt to deal
with the scourge of terrorism, it is
also necessary to address the
underlying causes of this phenomenon. To
demonstrate its commitment to fight
terrorism, the Parliament of Zimbabwe
has come up with the Suppression of
Foreign and International Terrorism Bill
that seeks to fight foreign and
international terrorism, as well as
mercenary activities.
Madame President, The recent developments in the
Middle East are a cause of
great concern. We condemn the disproportionate
use of force by Israel in
Gaza and Lebanon and the detention of elected
Palestinian members of
Parliament and Ministers. We firmly reject the
collective punishment of the
Palestinian and Lebanese people and the
intrusion into their territories in
violation of international law. We call
upon the international community,
particularly the United Nations Security
Council and the Quartet to make
every effort to ensure that the brokered
ceasefire continues to hold.
It is sad that the Security Council dithered
and failed to take timely
action to stop the massacres and wanton
destruction of civilian
infrastructure in Lebanon, all because of the
misguided national interests
of one super power. The status quo in the
Council, where a few powerful
countries hold the world to ransom is no
longer tenable. There is therefore
a strong case here for addressing the
core issue of the democratisation of
international governance. Africa
remains the only continent which does not
have a permanent seat with veto
power in the Security Council. That
situation is unacceptable.
It
needs to be corrected and corrected now. The position of the African
Union
on this issue is very clear. Africa demands two permanent seats,
complete
with veto power, with two additional non-permanent seats. We will
not
compromise on this matter until our concerns are adequately
addressed.
Madame President, In many parts of Africa, the dawn of an
unprecedented era
of peace and tranquillity has allowed us to refocus our
attention and
resources towards economic development.
There can be no
better time than now for the international community to
augment our own
efforts to bring home to our people the peace dividend we
have so patiently
waited for.
We therefore call on the international community to renew its
solidarity
with Africa through tangible support in the form of increased
resources,
decisive debt relief as well as new and additional financial
resources for
investment and growth.
Madame President, Let me
conclude by reiterating the fact that the future of
the international
community is best served by an international order that is
based on
strengthening multilateralism. It is our conviction that only
through a
multilateral approach can we achieve peace and development. For us
to
successfully tackle the challenges that we face, there is need for more
than
just pious expressions of solidarity. Together as global partners in
development, we can guarantee a prosperous future for generations to come.
Such a partnership should be based on the principles of sovereign equality
of nations and on mutual benefit. This, Madame President, is the path we
should strive to follow.
I thank you.