http://www.voanews.com
By Gibbs
Dube, Blessing Zulu & Ntungamili Nkomo
Washington
10 April
2009
Just one week after Zimbabwe's cabinet gathered in retreat in
the resort
town of Victoria Falls seeking to achieve cohesion on a program
of national
recovery, indications are emerging of serious rifts within the
unity
government cobbled together just eight weeks ago.
A showdown
was looming between President Robert Mugabe and his partners in
the unity
government, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime
Minister
Arthur Mutambara of the two Movement for Democratic Change
formations over
Mr. Mugabe's transfer of major portfolio powers from
Communications Minister
Nelson Chamisa of Tsvangirai's MDC grouping to
Transport Minister Nicholas
Goche of Mr. Mugabe's own ZANU-PF party.
The portfolio assignments
include oversight of state communications
including state-owned fixed-line
phone company TelOne and Mobile provider
NetOne, and ZimPost. Chamisa had
clashed earlier with Information Minister
Webster Shamu over those
entities.
An outraged Nelson Chamisa told reporter Gibbs Dube of VOA's
Studio 7 for
Zimbabwe that the president's move was illegal and violated the
September
2008 power-sharing pact.
Elsewhere, the New York Times
reported that senior officials in Mr. Mugabe's
ZANU-PF party including
ministers and members of the Joint Operations
Command of security agency
chiefs have organized a campaign of violence and
intimidation intended to
pressure Mr. Tsvangirai and his MDC to agree to a
blanket amnesty for past
crimes by senior officials.
The Times report said amnesty is particularly
sought for perpetrators of
political violence last year following the March
elections in which it is
estimated some 200 people died, mostly members of
the MDC, which claimed a
parliamentary majority after years in
opposition.
As VOA reported Thursday, a number of top ZANU-PF and
security officials
have formed a shadowy group called the Social
Revolutionary Council whose
purpose, say ZANU-PF sources, is to frustrate
government aims and ultimately
destabilize the unity government.
The
Times said Mr. Mugabe's top lieutenants are using abductions, detentions
and
torture to press for amnesty in connection with events going back to the
Gukurahundi campaign against loyalists of Joshua Nkomo in Matabeleland in
the 1980s.
The Times quoted Didymus Mutasa, formerly minister of
security, now minister
of state in Mr. Mugabe's office, as acknowledging top
ZANU-PF officials
might be worried about prosecution.
Responding to
information from sources as to the existence of a high-level
group opposed
to Mr. Tsvangirai's program, ZANU-PF Chief Parliamentary Whip
Joram Gumbo
dismissed the notion that ZANU-PF hardliners want to sabotage
the unity
government.
Researcher Glen Mpani at the Center for the Study of Violence
and
Reconciliation in Cape Town, South Africa, said holding the MDC to
ransom
will be counter productive.
London-based political analyst
Last Moyo told reporter Ntungamili Nkomo that
tensions between ZANU-PF party
and the MDC are putting the unity government
in jeopardy.
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=14969
April 10, 2009
NAIROBI, (IRIN)
- Deepening rifts in Kenya's coalition government, a failure
to press ahead
with promised reforms and a proliferation of armed militia
groups have given
rise to fears that the country could slide back into
violence.
In
December 2007, violence claimed more than 1 000 lives and forced about
half
a million people from their homes after disputed elections.
"Kenyans are
not only growing far apart but also frustrated and angry at the
way
politicians are playing a game of Russian roulette with their future;
the
pent-up anger will erupt with volcanic ferocity," Wafula Okumu told
IRIN.
He is a senior research fellow in the African Security Analysis
Programme of
the South Africa-based Institute for Security Studies
(ISS).
"Don't lead us back to war," urged the country's biggest selling
daily
newspaper in a rare front-page editorial on Friday.
"The people
of Kenya are watching as their political leaders threaten to
once again send
this country down the path of death and destruction," it
added, lamenting
that communication between coalition partners had broken
down.
What
makes the prospect of the partnership's collapse all the more alarming
are
reports that several leading politicians, notably those representing
constituencies in the Rift Valley, which bore the brunt of the violence last
year, maintain armed and trained militia units.
"Conditions for armed
violence in Kenya have never been so eminent,"
according to Charles Otieno,
a security analyst whose research into
peace-building strategies uncovered
the existence of dozens of organised,
trained and armed groups controlled by
politicians, mainly in the Rift
Valley.
"There is something behind
all this organisation. It's not just organisation
for the sake of (election)
campaigns like you've seen in the past. This is
organisation in preparation
for potential violent confrontation," he said.
"Politicians are willing
now to fund these militias to remain organised as a
standing army, and that
in itself means the potential for violence is very,
very high because each
constituency has a politician (in office) who has an
opponent on the ground
and each opponent has his own militia group."
Former military officers
have been engaged to train such groups, which for
the first time have begun
to acquire significant quantities of firearms,
Otieno
reported.
According to Aeneas Chuma, the UN Resident and Humanitarian
Coordinator for
Kenya, the UN is working with the government to study such
groups.
"A committee has already been set up, with three members from the
Office of
the President and two from the UN to develop the feasibility of
addressing
this issue of militias," he said. "Hopefully a rapid assessment
will follow
to establish the scale of militia activity in the
country.
"Admittedly, the coalition is currently under some stress and
this is a
source of worry for us in the humanitarian community.
"My
hope is that the (country's) leadership will recognise that as imperfect
as
it is, the coalition is a useful instrument in pushing the required
reform
agenda; it is not an end in itself."
Chuma was speaking on the day that
Martha Karua, previously a key ally of
President Mwai Kibaki, resigned as
justice and constitutional affairs
minister after the head of state
appointed seven judges without her
knowledge.
Karua, who plans to run
for president in 2012, showed no signs of quitting
the political arena: "I
will now be able to totally disagree with anything
that is anti-reform," she
said.
Changes to the judiciary were among a host of reforms agreed by
Kibaki and
his election rival Raila Odinga during mediation talks led by
former UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 2008.
The departure on
April 7 from government of an assistant minister - in a
country where
resignations on principle are virtually unheard of - marked
another blow for
the coalition's stability.
Danson Mungatana left complaining that
corruption and anti-reform forces
were frustrating those determined to bring
change.
Meanwhile, Odinga, now the prime minister in the coalition
government Annan
steered into being, has become increasingly critical of the
head of state,
describing his leadership as "primitive".
The
president's political party responded with a full-page newspaper
broadside,
labelling Odinga as "reckless," "abusive" and bent on "creating a
crisis."
"Kenya is at a crossroads," Annan declared at a meeting
convened in Geneva
on March 30 to review progress since the signing of a
National Accord in
February 2008.
"The time to act is now," he
added.
Neither Kibaki nor Odinga travelled to Switzerland for the
gathering.
"There is no disagreement on what needs to be done," said
Annan. "The
parties have already agreed on a blueprint for building a more
equitable,
prosperous and just society.
"That blueprint is found in
the reform package agreed in the National
Dialogue."
This package
includes constitutional, legal and institutional reform;
tackling poverty
and inequity and development imbalances; tackling
unemployment, particularly
among the youth; consolidating national cohesion
and unity; undertaking land
reform; and addressing transparency,
accountability and
impunity.
Annan warned that Kenya's situation had implications far beyond
its borders.
"The politicisation of ethnicity, non-adherence to the rule
of law,
corruption and the abuse of power, and inequitable development,
exist in
other parts of Africa and across the globe," he said.
"I
believe this is one reason why the world is paying such attention to the
way
Kenya grapples with these issues."
According to Okumu of ISS, these
issues "have slipped off the radar screen".
"At this critical juncture,
when we are facing a global financial crisis,
Kenya needs a government that
is visionary, committed, disciplined, and
dedicated to serving the people;
not one that is driven by survival on the
backs of the suffering
population," he said.
The UN's Chuma also noted there was much more work
to be done.
"The biggest achievement in 2008 was the stopping of the
violence of course,
but that alone is not enough without the far-reaching
reforms, raising
danger that the momentum may be lost," said
Chuma.
"We hope that the Geneva meeting rekindled that sense of urgency
in getting
the politicians to look at the common good and meeting the hopes
and
aspirations of Kenyans."
As Annan himself noted in Geneva; "The
average person (in Kenya) finds it
hard to comprehend why the changes, some
of them very fundamental, are not
taking place at a faster
pace".
Alice Wambui, 38, a mother of three and resident of Kibera,
Nairobi's
largest slum, said: "This coalition has not met my expectations;
none of the
pledges they made to us have been fulfilled.
"The price
of maize flour remains high, my business stall was looted then
destroyed
during the election chaos, hence I have no reliable means of
livelihood. I
now hassle doing casual work in order to feed my family."
Joseph Wanyama,
40, a watchman in a city estate, told IRIN: "I am
disappointed in our
politicians; they made promises which they promptly
forgot once they started
earning their huge salaries.
"Look at me, I walk about 10km every day to
get to work, the price of maize
flour has not come down, I can barely keep
my children in school, let alone
feed them, yet my salary has remained the
same even after the violence;
there has to be a way these leaders of ours
can help us.
http://www.independent.co.uk/
Neighbours wash their hands of
responsibility for ending this reign of
terror
Saturday, 11 April
2009
Easter Eve, Holy Saturday, Jesus's body lay cold in the
tomb. The day his
disciples were frightened and hid behind closed doors. It
was all over. My
thoughts go to Zimbabwe today, where the waiting continues.
The past 12
months have been like one long Holy Saturday: Zimbabwe
descending into the
harrowing of Hell.
The true depth of Zimbabwe's
tragedy is unfolding further every day. The
uncomfortable marriage, dubbed
"power-sharing", has done nothing to help.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai
has not been given control of the security
forces, and the violence and
intimidation go on. If there is food in the
shops there is no money to pay
for it. All around you see abject poverty,
disease, hunger, and a total
collapse of the rule of law.
And yet for Christians all over the world
celebrating this weekend, Saturday
is a day of quiet hope, the day of the
coiled spring. Joy is about to be
released upon the world. Locked up in the
tomb, Jesus's body waits, still
and cold. Soon will come the moment we are
waiting for. Resurrection. The
starting pistol for a new creation, God's
kingdom of justice and joy,
revealed in Christ arisen.
From earliest
times the Easter story has been seen in terms of a battle. A
battle between
the corrupt powers, the authorities, the force of military
might, and Jesus
the Prince of Peace. Evil is vanquished by the courageous
love of Christ,
humble and obedient to death on a cross. With a God like
that, evil
principalities and powers don't stand a chance.
In today's Zimbabwe we
have a new Herod and Pilate rolled into one in the
shape of President Robert
Mugabe. In the name of expediency, to protect
himself and the thugs who keep
him in power, the poor are intimidated,
beaten, starved; opposition is
muzzled. People who were abducted are still
languishing in prison. At least
three million Zimbabweans have travelled
south across the border to South
Africa to escape economic collapse. The
nation has become a living tragedy,
a spectre of evil: the bread basket of
Southern Africa now a basket case.
Neighbours far and near wash their hands
of responsibility for ending this
reign of terror.
Falsehood is now the hard currency of Zimbabwe. Bishop
Sebastian Bakare of
Harare, in his pastoral letter of June 2008, told of how
"the Church is
being persecuted through false allegations. Church buildings
remain locked
and declared no-go areas by the police. Some police officers
have forbidden
us to pray even under a tree, because of allegations by
former members of
our church that we are 'gays, lesbians or
MDC'".
Things have not changed much since. At the beginning of March
police
commissioner Augustine Chihuri issued an affidavit in which he denied
knowing anything about a police operation to force Anglicans away from
churches.
However, the falsehood of this claim was exposed two weeks
later, when on 17
March Bishop Bakare was faced with a riot policeman at the
altar trying to
disrupt his Sunday service. The bishop carried on with
worship, and in front
of the church's full congregation, Bishop Bakare told
the representative of
Zimbabwe's security services: "If you want to attack
me, I am in your
hands."
This reminds me powerfully of the stand
Archbishop Desmond Tutu took, at the
height of apartheid's oppression in
South Africa. Archbishop Tutu declared
to the large group of people,
gathered in St George's Cathedral to pray for
the end of apartheid - and
surrounded by marauding soldiers and police - "I
am a prisoner of hope.
Soldiers, why not come over to the winning side?"
I ask, if the world was
willing to condemn the oppression and lies of the
apartheid regime, and
support people like Desmond Tutu in his courageous
stand, will the world do
the same when falsehood and oppression are the
weapons of the black
Zimbabwean leadership? As night follows day, President
Robert Mugabe and his
Politburo are living on borrowed time and will be
called to account for
their inhumanity against the desecration of their
country. Zimbabwe, which
means "build as a rock", has now become a rubble.
On Mount Carmel, the
prophet Elijah summoned the evil prophets of Baal to a
contest. Who would
bring down fire by the power of prayer? Mount Carmel farm
in Mashonaland,
Zimbabwe, has become the stage for a new contest. Michael
Campbell,
fifth-generation white farmer there, with his son-in-law Ben
Freeth,
recently took President Mugabe to the SADC court in Namibia.
The tribunal
supported their case. But President Mugabe completely ignored
the ruling.
This Easter at Mount Carmel the Campbells and the Freeth family
are holed up
at their farm, knowing that as soon as they leave, the new
owner - one of
the President's cronies - will take possession. Thugs have
attacked it
regularly over the past weeks.
Mike Campbell, earlier abducted and
tortured by Zanu-PF, only wants to
protect the livelihood of his family and
the 500 black workers who live with
them on the once hugely productive farm.
One of the workers, Simon, was
attacked by thugs at the police station, who
bashed his head against the
wall repeatedly, leaving him critically ill with
a fractured skull. I cannot
think of Calvary, Golgotha, "the place of the
skull", where Jesus was
crucified, without thinking of that worker, Simon,
at Mount Carmel farm. His
co-workers have fled in fear to the bush. The
danger is very real. The
mangos are rotting on the trees. How long must we
wait for justice and joy?
On a normal Sunday at Mount Carmel the church
would be full - two-thirds
black, one-third white, defying the
state-sponsored racism. Like any
congregation, anywhere, these are an Easter
people, and Alleluia is their
song. But today is a day of
waiting.
There is no doubt, Zimbabwe's Easter will come, sooner or later.
There will
be a new constitution, new elections, and a new government. This
cannot come
soon enough.
We are anticipating the resurrection of
Zimbabwe. We shall overcome!
The writer is the Archbishop of York
http://www.zimonline.co.za/
by Andrew Moyo
Saturday 11 April 2009
HARARE - Zimbabwe's white commercial
farmers have demanded US$5 billion in
immediate compensation from the
government before they can vacate their
farms, their leadership said on
Thursday.
"The compensation is equal to the country's present debt, about
US$5
billion," Commercial Farmers' Union (CFU) president Trevor Gifford told
ZimOnline, adding; "We want it paid and paid now according to the
constitution."
The development, which comes after six farmers were
arrested in the past two
weeks for refusing to leave the farms, could be a
big blow for the country's
agricultural based economy, which has depended
heavily on the few remaining
white commercial farmers.
The Attorney
General's department has in recent weeks stepped up prosecution
of white
farmers it claims are refusing to vacate land acquired by the
government for
purposes of redistribution to land less blacks.
This is despite the fact
that the Southern African Development (SADC)
Tribunal ruled last year that
the government's land reform programme is
discriminatory and illegal under
the SADC Treaty to which Zimbabwe is
signatory.
Gifford said that
they had met with eight government ministers between
Tuesday and Wednesday
where the farmers told Lands Minister Herbert Murerwa
that they were happy
to get their compensation and leave the farms.
Murerwa was not available
for comment on the matter and the CFU leader said
he was not at liberty to
disclose the government reaction to the request.
Government is broke and
cannot pay civil servants and failure to give the
farmers their compensation
could lead to another round of clashes and court
cases.
"It has been
a very hectic week, a large number of my constituency are
saying they no
longer want to farm and want compensation," Gifford said.
"They do not
have the money but they are evicting farmers. We have always
said we want to
work together. We are trying to find a way forward so that
those who still
want to farm can continue without interference. We are in
dialogue but we
have had some cordial meetings with some very influential
people," he
added.
He refused to identify the rest of the ministers the CFU had met,
saying
this could jeopadise the negotiations.
Hordes of ZANU PF
supporters, so-called war veterans and members of the army
and police
stepped up farm invasions almost immediately after the formation
of the
inclusive government in February between ZANU PF and the MDC
formations.
Commercial farmers' organisations say invaders have since
raided at least
100 of the about 300 remaining white-owned commercial farms,
a development
that has intensified doubts over whether the unity government
will withstand
attempts by ZANU PF hardliners to sabotage it.
Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai last month ordered the arrest and
prosecution of
farm invaders, but his word appears to have been largely
ignored with
farmers reporting continuing invasions of their properties and
disruption of
farming activities.
The International Monetary Fund and Western countries
have - on top of other
conditions - made it clear that hey would not
consider giving aid to the
Harare government while farm invasion
continue.
Zimbabwe, also grappling with its worst ever economic crisis,
has since 2000
when land reforms began, relied on food imports and handouts
from
international food agencies mainly due to failure by resettled black
peasants to maintain production on former white farms.
Poor
performance in the mainstay agricultural sector has also had far
reaching
consequences as hundreds of thousands of people have lost jobs
while the
manufacturing sector, starved of inputs from the sector, is
operating below
30 percent of capacity. - ZimOnline
http://www.apanews.net
APA-Harare (Zimbabwe) Zimbabwe's former
opposition Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) is set on a collision course
with President Robert Mugabe after
criticising on Friday a new wave of farm
disturbances and calling for
restoration of rule of law in
agriculture.
The MDC of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said the
continued illegal
invasions of white-owned farms represented "another major
threat to the new
era of rapprochement and economic recovery that had begun
to instil
confidence in the people of Zimbabwe".
"The farm
disturbances and the wanton arrests of farmers are not only a
threat to food
security, but to the goodwill that the international
community had started
to extend to the inclusive government," said the
party, which is one of the
three members of Zimbabwe's fragile coalition
government formed in
February.
More than 100 farms have been targeted for seizure by Mugabe's
supporters
since the formation of the unity government, threatening to
derail Zimbabwe's
chances of winning back international economic
assistance.
Mugabe said this week that his land reform programme would
continue and
accused the white farmers of illegally occupying state
land.
At least six white farmers were arrested during the week for
refusing to
vacate farms earmarked for resettlement.
The MDC said the
occupations are a "threat to the rule of law, to decency,
to hope and to
economic recovery".
"Every farm that is invaded shuts a door of
international goodwill and
vindicates assertions by financiers and the
broader global community that
Zimbabwe is far from respecting basic things
like property rights," the MDC
warned.
An International Monetary Fund
team that visited Zimbabwe last month cited
the ongoing farm invasions as
one of the issues that needed to be addressed
before the resumption of
economic aid to the southern African country.
JN/daj/APA 2009-04-10
http://www.zimtelegraph.com
By GILBERT MUPONDA
Published:
Saturday, April 11, 2009
The recent demotion of ICT Minister Hon. Nelson
Chamisa by the ZANU PF
leader Mr Robert Mugabe only serves to confirm how
insincere ZANU-PF remains
about genuine partnership with the
opposition.
ZANU PF has a defined plan to weaken and decimate the opposition
ahead of
elections . It is clear that ZANU believes MDC should be a junior
partner in
the power-sharing arrangement despite the fact that MDC won the
election and
should be the ruling party whilst ZANU PF should be recovering
as a
opposition party.
The whole GNU concept was ill-conceived from
the start. This has been
worsened by the general view that those who do not
support the GNU are not
patriotic.
The reported transformation of the
Joint Operations Command into the Social
Revolutionary Council only saves to
highlight how ZANU is slowly re-branding
its notorious units.
These
units have their habits and ways of committing evil acts against
anyone who
tries to challenge them.
It is clear ZANU PF does not support the
proposed Media reforms and access
to information which Hon Chamisa was spear
heading. These are the key
reforms that Zimbabwe needs for the "sanctions"
to be lifted.
By demoting Hon Chamisa Mr Mugabe is making it clear he
doesn't care about
sanctions or the welfare of Zimbabweans who desperately
need International
support and assistance .
What is clear is ZANU is
determined to hold on to National Assets such as
Net-one which are being
looted left ,right and centre. The introduction of
Hon Chamisa presented a
road block for the looting gravy train.
Just like its exclusive access to
the Diamond mines in Chiadzwa ,ZANU PF
remains focused on denying MDC any
access to resources or power. This
explains why the state Media continue to
take a dim view on all activities
of the MDC.
According to ZANU PF
when they lose election power has to be shared but when
ZANU "won" past
elections there was never a suggestion that power should be
shared.
This trend is totally disturbing as it goes against the whole
concept of
having elections in the first place.
The parties should
simply sit and dived power without wasting time
,resources and killing
opposition activists just to proceed to divide power
between election losers
and winners .
The MDC clearly was duped ,intimidated and forced into a
Government meant to
legitimize an illegal government that has committed
serious crimes against
humanity.
After losing an election and then
proceed to commit mass murder ,rape,
torture against Zimbabweans ZANU PF
does not deserve to be rewarded or
legitimized by being accommodated in some
fancy Government structure as a
senior partner in that Government.
It
is clear ZANU is determined to use all tricks and tactics to frustrate
and
impede Zimbabwe's recovery. The recent press reports of the Reserve Bank
dishing out Quasi Fiscal Activities left over vehicles to Mps is just but
one clear sign that Zimbabwe remains in the woods.
The MPS are being
silenced through such perks which are still dripping with
blood from crimes
against humanity.
The very same vehicles are the "unmarked vehicles" that
were used through
out the country to abduct, torture and murder opposition
and human rights
activists.
And now Members of Parliament are being
rewarded with such tainted vehicles
used to commit such horrible crimes
against innocent Zimbabweans?
How can then the MPs be expected to
question the source of the vehicles or
what the vehicles were used for in
the past?
MDC is categorically being dismantled and weakened much to the
disadvantage
of Zimbabweans who have all their faith in MDC as an agent of
change.
The two MDC Ministers from who much was expected are slowly being
entangled
in a massive web resembling a circus. Finance Minister Biti was
widely
expected to be a new broom at the Ministry of Finance , but he is
unlikely
to deliver much as long as the International Community withholds
support.
Given that the removal of the Reserve Bank Governor has been
made a
condition precedent for any resumption of Aid means Minister Biti
will find
it hard to achieve the 100 day plan goals.
The Reserve Bank
Governor has made it clear that he is borrowing his
Principal's favorite
song - handiende.
Now if you have individuals who are willing to hold the
nation at ransom
just to remain in office it doesn't take much to figure
that such people
cant be taken as serious partners with a genuine will to
see the country
recover.
The recent documentary on Prisons conditions
show how ZANU PF has committed
crimes against humanity. The evidence is
undeniable .
According to Wikipedia Crimes against humanity, as defined
by the Rome
Statute of the International Criminal Court Explanatory
Memorandum, "are
particularly odious offences in that they constitute a
serious attack on
human dignity or grave humiliation or a degradation of one
or more human
beings.
They are not isolated or sporadic events, but
are part either of a
government policy (although the perpetrators need not
identify themselves
with this policy) or of a wide practice of atrocities
tolerated or condoned
by a government or a de facto
authority.
Murder, extermination, torture, rape, political, racial, or
religious
persecution and other inhumane acts reach the threshold of crimes
against
humanity only if they are part of a widespread or systematic
practice .
The conditions in Zimbabwe and Zimbabwe's Prisons clearly show
how fellow
human beings are degraded, abused and humiliated in a scale
that's clearly a
crime against humanity .
When you have partners who
are prepared to do things such as keeping fellow
human beings under such
conditions and come out to deny or support it its
clear such a Government
can not be progressive.
As such MDC may need to re-think its partnership
with ZANU-PF since
Governments operate on the doctrine of share
responsibility and
accountability.
Some of these crimes against
humanity need to isolated and be clearly linked
to those who committed them
.
It is clear that the MDC needs to remain alert to the various schemes
and
tactics that are being employed to weaken it.
Ministers Biti and
Chamisa were particularly expected to deliver a lot on
behalf of the MDC and
as elections draw closer it may be harder for them to
show any real progress
due to the traps and snares prepared for them in
ZANU-PF bid to tarnish MDC
reputation and image .
Zimbabwe needs a ruling party and an opposition
,not de-facto one party
state.
Gilbert Muponda is the Founder and CEO
of GMRI Capital.He can be reached at
gilbert@gilbertmuponda.com
http://www.zimeye.org/?p=3809
By Bridget-Tapuwa
Published:
April 10, 2009
It is now a couple of weeks since Zimbabwe's
GNU took office. And noted is
that the healing organs have a horrendous task
ahead of them.
Under the Mugabe regime which dates back to 1980
when he took office
following the liberation war, every form of opposition
to his governance has
been ruthlessly repressed. And as a result, many
Zimbabweans have suffered
both physically and
emotionally.
Many Zimbabweans have and continue to harbor
bitterness, anger and rage as a
result of the repression. With the coming in
of the GNU, there have been
reports of some Zimbabweans seeking retribution
on the Zanu pf perpetrators
of violence during the 2008 elections phase. An
example is the case in Mbare
where in 2008 some MDC members were ruthlessly
displaced through being
thrown out of their Council homes by Mugabe's Zanu
pf thugs. And now as
these displaced members seek to repossess their houses;
violence is erupting
again.
There are also some three men who
reportedly, 'escaped death by a whisker
after a Movement for Democratic
Change office at Jerera Growth Point was
petrol bombed in June last year';
and are now seeking state assistance to
enable them to look after their
families.
The three reported as 'Edison Gwen**** (28), Kudakwashe Tsumele
(31) and
Isaac Mbanje (29) were severely burnt and are no longer able to do
anything
on their own. The three were left crippled and still require
medical
attention'.
A couple of days ago were also reports over the
nasty violent clashes which
broke out between the Zanu pf and MDC youths at
a youth summit organized by
the Youth Development, Indigenization and
Empowerment Ministry. The clashes
reportedly erupted in the presence of Zanu
PF's Kasukuwere and MDC's
Mahlangu. The heated debate over the sensitive
issue of national healing and
reconciliation sparked the clashes, with the
two groups having divergent
views on that which should befall the
perpetrators of human rights abuses.
Zimbabwe Times also recently
published the plight that have befallen some of
the victims to the 2008
election phase; who include the wife to the late
Gift Tandare and a 'now
bed-ridden' Noel Muguti, the former mainstream
Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) parliamentary candidate for
Gokwe-Nembudziya. Both Mrs Tandare
and Muguti, are reportedly living like
destitutes in South
Africa.
Such cases are so many, such that amongst these cases I quite
consider Mrs
Tandare and Noel Muguti fortunate in that at least they have
been accorded
the forum to air their plight through The Zimbabwe Times. This
is against
the background that Zimbabwe now has many rural based child
headed
households. The children were orphaned when both parents were killed
by the
Mugabe regime. However, because of lack of any coordinated structures
to
look into these issues, their plight and scenario remains unrecorded,
unknown and therefore is 'inexistent'.
The issue is so grave and the
plight of the few victims that has been
revealed is only but just a tip of
an iceberg. This makes the work for the
GNU Healing organs enormous and
overwhelming. Because I hold it that, such
issues are the responsibility of
the Ministers of Healing in unison with the
Department of Social Welfare and
other relevant stakeholders such as the
Church. Against the background of
the fresh incidences of vengeful violence,
what however explains the silence
and lack of intervention by these healing
organs to date, since their
assumption of office? Still playing around with
pen and paper, carving out
their work plans? Only time will tell.
Whichever way, there is need for a
Holistic Approach as opposed to a
piecemeal and haphazard approach to the
issues of Healing. Does this not
bounce us back to the calls for an
Independent Truth and Reconciliation
Commission, a Commission which has for
long been advocated for by some
Zimbabweans? I do not see how the Healing
Organs can achieve any meaningful
goals without such a Commission. It is
only an independent Commission which
can determine deserving cases for state
assistance.
To exert pressure on MDC for assistance when the party is now
in Government
sounds quite like dancing out of tune and rhythm. Receiving
once off
payments from well wishers through publicity on news websites, may
also not
be the best approach given that it is not a long term
solution.
The failure to co-opt victims from the other phases in the
Zimbabwean
history may create more chaos. So this then brings back the issue
which has
for the longest time been evaded; the Gukurahundi issue; where the
Ndebeles
are also seeking compensation for the atrocities they suffered. All
the
election phases in Zimbabwe dating back to 1980; witnessed some victims
to
political violence. And also noted is that even outside the context of
Zimbabwe's election scenarios, many other people fell victim to the violence
by the Mugabe regime. Victims of the Operation Murambatsvina; torture
victims, abused for expressing their political opinions. Because under the
Mugabe regime, opponents victimized do not necessarily have to fall under a
political party umbrella; the basic 'crime' is opposing Mugabe's governance
even in an individual capacity.
I quite liked reading through the
analysis by a Lloyd Msipa under his
article; 'Zimbabwe Unity Government
needs to set up a Truth and
Reconciliation Commission'.
I however had
problems in his proposal for 'an urgent need to establish a
Truth Commission
to look into the atrocities that have taken place in the
last ten years or
so'. I cannot grasp the basis for his trimming down the
phase to only the
past ten years or so. Dancing to his concert is tantamount
to dismissing all
the many victims since 1980 to 1999 thereabout. Also of
concern to me was
his unhidden silence on the biggest of the perpetrators,
Mugabe himself.
Lloyd only talks of referral of cases of atrocities to our
domestic courts
for possible prosecution, which to me cunningly implies that
Mugabe will
remain untouched.
With all the spoken and unspoken anger among
Zimbabweans, we wait to see how
the three Ministers responsible for Healing;
John Nkomo, Sekai Holland and
Gibson Sibanda will tackle the burning issues
and bring appeasement. It has
since been reported that the cabinet ministers
charged with leading the
national healing process have started consultations
on the way forward with
various stakeholders, in preparation for a summit to
discuss and prepare a
framework for undertaking the national healing and
reconciliation.
We ask ourselves, what are they going to offer?
Is it state assistance to
the victims, compensation, healing workshops,
healing talks? If it is State
Assistance, and compensation, can the already
bloated government sustain the
expenditure? And if it is about Healing Talks
and workshops, is the GNU
geared up to engage well equipped Psychologists to
work on the traumatized?
And can true Healing and appeasement be
achieved without a Truth and
Reconciliation Commission and the referral of
perpetrators to independent
courts for justice to reign? (ZimEye,
Zimbabwe)
The writer, Bridget Tapuwa is based in Belgium and she can be
reached at
britavoice@gmail.com
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=14993
April 11, 2009
Tanonoka
Whande
ZIMBABWEANS can scream all they want; the original Movement for
Democratic
Change is not very likely to come back ever again. That MDC is
gone and,
should it return to the supporters who nurtured it from birth, it
will be a
somewhat different and little recognisable MDC, more bent on
accommodating
Zanu-PF than on championing the cause of the
people.
The MDC was dragged, kicking and screaming, into this unity
government.
They had very unkind words for Thabo Mbeki for suggesting
this monstrosity.
The MDC went on "a diplomatic offensive" to drum up
support as they
positioned themselves to resist compromise with
Zanu-PF.
They picked up support from, among others, Kenya, Tanzania,
Zambia and, of
course, Botswana.
Today the story is entirely
different.
The MDC now walks in the corridors of power. Suddenly, Mugabe
has become
someone they can work with "for the sake of our country". It is
now the MDC's
duty to fan Mugabe with feather dusters.
Bit by bit,
piece by piece, the MDC's criticism of Mugabe and Zanu-PF is
dwindling while
a lot of promises are being heaped on us to wet our
appetites.
Hundred-day road map, my foot! We demand law and order
now!
The government must stop breaking the law now! Release the detainees
now!
Remove repressive media laws now! Free the people now! We demand a new
constitution now!
Why should all these abnormalities be put through a
100-day process while
new Mercedes Benz cars are being delivered to the MDC
ministers now? Why is
the government spending more than US $1.5 million to
pay Zanu-PF youth
militia today?
Whatever happened to Roy Bennett or
does the MDC think he is no longer an
issue?
MDC supporters are
granted bail but still remain in custody; why? Farm
invasions continue while
Tsvangirai merely threatens arrests, why? The MDC
still has no power to
change anything but, in the meantime, they will accept
what Mugabe gives
them.
Like the notorious war veterans, the MDC is already rewarding
itself for
what they feel they have done for us up to this point. And, like
Zanu-PF at
independence, the MDC is saying they are doing it all for the
people, for
the sake of our country, but not for themselves.
Yes, we
have been through all this before. We have experienced this euphoria
before
and we have urged ourselves to give them enough time to get things
organised.
Almost thirty years down the line, Robert Mugabe has
organised enough graves
to attract anti-genocide enthusiasts. I blame us, we
are about to slip on
the same banana peel for the second time.
Yes,
we have been through this before and we let them do a little of this
and a
little of that until we were totally worthless in their eyes.
However we
look at it, the so-called retreat at Victoria Falls was a totally
insensitive display of misplaced priorities. Change does not come that
way.
Someone wrote to me and called me ignorant (see comments after
'Slowly
getting scared of the MDC' on my blog here on The Zimbabwe Times)
but,
surprisingly, conceded that it made no sense to have a retreat like the
one
the GNU gave themselves.
The new trend is slowly taking
shape.
It ranges from trendy Mercedes Benz cars now driven by MDC
ministers
alongside their Zanu-PF counterparts to availing themselves
retreats at
exclusive resorts. The message is clear: it is time to draw the
curtains and
close the doors. It is now MDC's supper time!
Alarm
bells sounded long before Tendai Biti gave us his version of the MDC's
justification to accept the Benz cars.
"We either had to leave them
to rot or to sell them, and get half their
value. It was cheaper to keep
them."
For Biti, it was cheaper for the nation and for them to keep those
cars. In
his case, it was even cheaper not to use his Benz as he reportedly
doesn't
like his Mercedes and uses his truck instead.
Really?
Economics works in strange ways in Zimbabwe.
What Biti and
his fellow cabinet ministers must know is that where they are
now was
planned a long time ago. All Mugabe did was to bait and wait. As we
can see,
he caught them all in his net. They have been snared alright.
Mugabe has
used cars and other conveniences on his opponents before. Ask
John Nkomo and
colleagues who were given the same 'Mercedes Benz treatment'
when they were
campaigning to convince PF-ZAPU supporters to disband and
join
Zanu-PF.
I await evidence that the MDC ministers are still the people's
people. They
are finding out that it is one thing to criticise Zanu-PF
ministers for
extravagance but quite another to resist the same temptation
when it
presents itself before them.
Constitutional Affairs Minister,
Eric Matinenga, an eminent human rights
advocate, says he is "embarrassed"
that he has a government issue official
Mercedes, calling it "a condition of
plenty amidst deprivation". He,
nevertheless, accepted the car, calling it
"a convenient evil".
Mugabe must be saying something about "a convenient
evil" when he talks
about the Gukurahundi madness!
Morgan Tsvangirai
has always preached hope, forgiveness and working
together. His speech at
Victoria Falls reflects what he has always believed
in.
Tsvangirai
has always offered something to Mugabe and yet, up to this day,
Mugabe has
never reciprocated in a meaningful way, unless, of course, if we
count the
Mercedes Benz cars dished out to the cabinet of both parties.
The
so-called retreat, being a government and not a party issue, was
supposed to
come after all outstanding issues had been resolved. It is
pointless to me
that they hold a retreat to discuss government policy when
they differ along
party lines and differ in both approach and
implementation.
Is Gideon
Gono's issue not that important any more and does it not interfere
with the
economic revival upon which the MDC places so much emphasis?
There is
also the issue of continuing farm invasions which fly in the face
of
investor confidence and are themselves proof of the absence of property
rights in our country.
http://www.voanews.com
By
Patience Rusere
Washington
10 April
2009
Zimbabwean HIV/Aids activists reacted positively
Friday to news that the
National Aids Council has been removed as principal
recipient of grants from
the Global Fund to fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and
Malaria, that role to be
assumed by the U.N. Development Program.
VOA
was unable to reach the Global Fund on Friday to obtain clarification of
the
reasons for the decision - the agency was closed in observation of Good
Friday.
But it is believed the decision was related to the diversion
by the Reserve
Bank of Zimbabwe last year of US$7 million in Global Fund
monies, which were
later returned though not before heavy international
pressure was brought to
bear in an incident embarrassing for
Harare.
The National Aids Council's board is appointed by the Zimbabwean
government.
Former National Aids Council board member Frenk Guni, now
technical director
for HIV/AIDS and infectious diseases with Management
Systems International,
a Washington consulting firm, told VOA reporter
Patience Rusere that the
change will make the disbursement of funds more
transparent.
http://www.voanews.com
By
Sithandekile Mhlanga
Washington
10 April
2009
Hard currencies have replaced the Zimbabwe dollar,
but cash shortages remain
a challenge for consumers who are seeing prices
fall but have difficulty
obtaining foreign exchange.
The Central
Statistical Office announced this week that the average family
of five needs
US$461 dollars a month to pay rent, buy food, cover transport
costs and meet
water and electric power rates - all of which must now be
paid in hard
currency.
Consumer prices have fallen in each of the past three months -
but lower
prices nonetheless remain out of reach for many Zimbabweans
without access
to hard currencies.
Organizing Secretary Ambrose
Sibindi of the Bulawayo Progressive Residents'
Association told reporter
Sithandekile Mhlanga of VOA's Studio 7 for
Zimbabwe that life for the
average consumer has become a relentless quest
for scarce foreign
exchange.
http://www.nytimes.com
Letter
Published: April 10, 2009
To the
Editor:
"Villains and Victims in Zimbabwe" (editorial, March 30) rightly
calls on
the United States and Europe to provide the fledgling unity
government in
Zimbabwe with increased financial resources.
Western
governments should maintain sanctions against Zimbabwe's small band
of
villains who continue to keep the citizens of this once-prosperous
country
in poverty.
But these targeted sanctions must be balanced with targeted
support, because
Zimbabwe's health system has collapsed and millions are at
risk of dying
because of starvation, disease and uncontrolled
epidemics.
The political situation remains precarious, but it is clear
that there must
be some kind of intervention to save lives. The government
cannot do it
without international support. While donor governments wait for
a return to
rule of law and respect for human rights before resuming direct
development
aid, more than 4,000 Zimbabweans die each week. Innocent
civilians should
not be caught in such politicized limbo.
The United
States and Europe should provide targeted humanitarian assistance
to the
health sector for this struggling country in transition.
Richard
Sollom
Cambridge, Mass., March 31, 2009
The writer is the principal
investigator, Zimbabwe, at Physicians for Human
Rights.