Marange diamond field: Zimbabwe torture camp discovered

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14377215

 

8 August 2011 Last updated at 05:40 GMT

 

By Hilary Andersson BBC Panorama

Marange could represent as much as a fifth of the world's diamonds deposits

 

A torture camp run by Zimbabwe's security forces is operating in the country's rich Marange diamond fields, BBC Panorama has found.

The programme heard from recent victims who told of severe beatings and sexual assault.

The claims come as the European Union pushes to let some banned diamonds from the country led by President Robert Mugabe back onto world markets.

The Zimbabwean government has not responded to the BBC's findings.

In an internal document seen by the BBC, the EU said it was confident that two mines in the area now meet international standards and it wants diamonds from those areas to be immediately approved for export, which would partially lift a trade ban dating back to 2009.

The ban was imposed by the Kimberley Process (KP), the international organisation that polices diamonds, following reports of large-scale killings and abuse by Zimbabwe's security forces in the Marange diamond fields.

'Forty whips'

The main torture camp uncovered by the programme is known locally as "Diamond Base". Witnesses said it is a remote collection of military tents, with an outdoor razor wire enclosure where the prisoners are kept.

It is near an area known as Zengeni in Marange, said to be one of the world's most significant diamond fields. The camp is about one mile from the main Mbada mine that the EU wants to approve exports from.

The company that runs the mine is headed by a personal friend of President Mugabe. A second camp is located in nearby Muchena

"It is the place of torture where sometimes miners are unable to walk on account of the beatings," a victim who was released from the main camp in February told the BBC.

All the released prisoners the BBC spoke to requested anonymity.

"They beat us 40 whips in the morning, 40 in the afternoon and 40 in the evening," said the man, who still could not use one of his arms after the beatings and could barely walk.

"They used logs to beat me here, under my feet, as I lay on the ground. They also used stones to beat my ankles."

He and other former captives said men are held in the camp for several days at a time, before new prisoners come in.

Women are released more quickly, often after being raped, witnesses said.

"Even if someone dies there, the soldiers do not disclose, because they do not want it known," an officer in Zimbabwe's military told the BBC, again on condition of anonymity.

Witnesses said the camps have been operating for at least three years.

In Marange, the police and military recruit civilians to illegally dig for diamonds for them. Those workers are taken to the camps for punishment if they demand too large a share of the profits.

Civilians caught mining for themselves are also punished in the camps.

Dog maulings

A former member of a paramilitary police unit who worked in the main camp in late 2008 told the BBC that at the time he tortured prisoners by mock-drowning them and whipping them on their genitals.

He also said that dogs were methodically ordered by a handler to maul prisoners.

"They would handcuff the prisoner, they would unleash the dogs so that he can bite," he said. "There was a lot of screaming".

He said one woman was bitten on the breast by the dogs whilst he was working in the camp.

"I do not think she survived," he said.

Another witness the BBC spoke to said he was locked up in Muchena camp in 2008 after police set dogs on him.

He was recaptured in November 2010.

"Nothing has changed between 2008 and 2010... a lot of people are still being beaten or bitten by dogs."

'Pandering'

Marange diamonds were banned in 2009 by the KP, the international initiative of the diamond industry, national governments and non-governmental organisations that attempts to keep conflict or so-called "blood" diamonds out of the lucrative market.

Representatives of the KP visited the area briefly in August 2010 and concluded that the situation in the diamond areas was still problematic but there had been significant progress.

The KP had previously requested that the Zimbabwean police secure the diamond area.

Witnesses told the BBC that it is Zimbabwe's police and military that run the torture camps.

Nick Westcott, spokesman for the Working Group on Monitoring of the KP, said of the BBC's discovery of the torture camps: "It is not something that has been notified to the Kimberley Process."

The EU's proposal to allow diamond sales from two key mines in Marange to resume is part of an attempt to broker a deal within the KP, which is in turmoil over the issue.

In June, KP chairman Matieu Yamba formally announced that the export ban on the two key Marange mines was lifted with immediate effect. The EU, among others, did not accept his decision.

Now the EU's proposal, designed to break the deadlock, agrees with the partial lifting of the ban, but insists that international monitoring should continue throughout Marange.

Panorama asked the Foreign Office to comment on the EU's position.

In a statement, Henry Bellingham MP, Minister for Africa, said: "It is only from these locations that we support exports, subject to ongoing monitoring. From all other Marange mines, the UK and the EU continue to strongly oppose the resumption of exports until independent, international experts deem them to comply with the KP."

Critics have said it is a weak proposal.

Annie Dunneback of the advocacy group Global Witness said of the EU proposal: "It is the latest in a series of deals that have cast aside the principle of exports for progress and pandered to the demands of the Zimbabwean government."

Victims speak of massacre in Zimbabwe diamond fields

European Union to lift ban on Zimbabwe's 'blood diamonds' despite torture claims

http://www.telegraph.co.uk

The European Union is to allow exports of diamonds from Zimbabwe's Marange
diamond fields despite new allegations of torture camps run by Robert
Mugabe's security forces in the mining region.

By Bruno Waterfield, Brussels
4:02PM BST 08 Aug 2011

An investigation by BBC Panorama has spoken to victims who told of severe
beatings and sexual assault in camps in the area, said to be one of the
world's most significant diamond fields.

The latest allegations have emerged as the EU prepares to lift a two year
old ban on diamonds from Zimbabwe allowing the Mugabe regime to cash in on
the lucrative natural resource.

In 2009, officials acted on reports of large-scale killings and abuse by
security forces in the Marange diamond fields in the east of the country to
implement a blanket ban on Zimbabwe's "blood diamonds".

But the EU has now decided that two mines in Marange now meet international
standards under the Kimberley Process, the international organisation that
polices the sale of diamonds from conflict regions.

"We do indeed suggest allowing export of diamonds from mines in the Marange
region," said an EU spokesman.

The BBC yesterday claimed to have discovered a torture camp, known locally
as "Diamond Base", in the area of Zengeni, one mile from Marange's main
Mbada mine that the EU wants to approve exports from.

"It is the place of torture where sometimes miners are unable to walk on
account of the beatings," a victim told reporters.

"They beat us 40 whips in the morning, 40 in the afternoon and 40 in the
evening."

Henry Bellingham MP, the Foreign Office minister for Africa, called on the
Zimbabwean authorities to investigate "the disturbing allegations".

"A Kimberley Process review last year judged that only two Marange mines
meet the standards of the KP; it is only from these locations that we
support exports, subject to rigorous ongoing monitoring," he said.

Export of Zimbabwean diamonds threatens ethical jewellery trade

http://www.theecologist.org

Rosie Spinks

08 August, 2011

With the Kimberley Process in a state of paralysis over Zimbabwean diamonds,
consumers can no longer be sure they’re buying ethical jewels. Ahead of a
BBC Panorama investigation into the issue, Rosie Spinks reports
The dusty veld on Zimbabwe’s eastern border with Mozambique is home to the
Marange diamond fields; an area with rich alluvial deposits that have an
estimated worth of up to US $800 billion and could be viable for the next 80
years.

However the extraction of diamonds from these fields – and their subsequent
release into the global market - has put the ethical diamond trade in
jeopardy due to allegations of serious human rights abuses connected to the
region's diamond industry.

‘At this point, the consumer has no idea what they’re getting at jewellery
stores,’ says Annie Dunnebacke of Global Witness, a UK-based NGO. ‘And
retailers have no way of telling consumers if a diamond has been produced
without human rights abuses.’

In 2002, the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) was created to
prevent the sale of ‘blood diamonds', or stones used by rebel groups to fund
civil wars, such as those in Sierra Leone and Angola.

Diamonds from Zimbabwe’s Marange region have been questioned ever since
President Robert Mugabe’s forces took over mining operations there in 2008
as part of his attempt to nationalise the industry. Since then, numerous
reports of human rights abuses—including rape, child labour, and mass
killings—have emerged.

Tomorrow, BBC Panorama airs an in-depth investigation into the scale and
scope of these alleged crimes, and assesses whether or not Mugabe will ever
be held accountable.

The controversy over Marange diamonds reached a peak on June 23, when the
civil society branch of the KPCS walked out in protest at the body’s
official meeting being held in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The dozen African and international groups that comprise the KP civil
society coalition, which includes Global Witness, clashed with KP Chairman
Mathieu Yamba of the DRC. Yamba broke with the KP’s consensus-based decision
making procedure by unilaterally stating that Zimbabwe could start exporting
rough stones from Marange without having to prove their compliance with KP
regulations first.

‘The case in Zimbabwe highlights the extent to which the KP isn’t able to
[control] the members who don’t uphold the minimum standards to
accountability,’ said Dunnebacke. She confirmed that Global Witness, which
was instrumental in founding the KPCS, is currently ‘reconsidering future
participation’ with the scheme.

Conservative MP Henry Bellingham, the UK Foreign Office Minister to Africa,
said the UK is committed to ending the trade of conflict diamonds.
Bellingham believes that Yamba’s recent decision cannot be considered valid.

‘Despite the statement released by the Chair of the KP in June, it is clear
that KP members did not reach a consensus to resume exports of diamonds from
Marange,’ Bellingham told the Ecologist. ‘Any agreement must ensure Zimbabwe
complies with its KP obligations, and must be robust enough to ensure that
the KP remains a credible and effective mechanism.’

Bellingham’s disapproval of Yamba’s unilateral action was echoed by other
national governments including the US State department, which issued a
statement saying it was ‘deeply disappointed’ by the non-consensus based
decision.

The World Diamond Council, the group formed to represent the interests of
the diamond industry in KPCS decisions, said in a press release that traders
in the industry should avoid Marange diamonds for the time being.`The WDC
urges all members of the trade to deal only in rough diamonds that are
accompanied by KP certificates that comply with the consensus decisions of
the Kimberley Process.’

Defining conflict diamonds

It has widely been quoted that less than one per cent of the diamonds on the
world market are blood diamonds. However, Dunnebacke states this figure only
applies when the narrow definition of a blood diamond is used, which only
includes stones that rebel groups use to fund civil wars. In Zimbabwe, it is
the legitimate (if controversial) government, not rebels, that is reportedly
profiting from diamonds mined in inhumane conditions. In addition, Mugabe’s
officials are failing to account for the proceeds from these stones in a
transparent manner.

Zimbabwe minister denies existence of diamond mine "torture camps"

http://www.monstersandcritics.com

Aug 8, 2011, 14:17 GMT

Harare - Zimbabwe's mines minister denied on Monday allegations made in a
television news programme that his country had torture camps near the rich
Marange diamond fields.

The allegations had been made in a story broadcast on the BBC's Panorama
show, which interviewed witnesses who said they were tortured at the
military-run camps.

'We have no torture camps in Marange. This is just cheap propaganda from the
BBC,' Minister of Mines Obert Mpofu told the German Press Agency dpa.

The report came just as the European Union was considering dropping some
bans on diamonds from Zimbabwe. The sanctions were imposed following
allegations of large-scale killings and abuse by Zimbabwe's security forces
in the Marange diamond fields.

'The British government is fighting a losing battle. It wants our diamonds
to be banned from the international market. But I know that the world will
not be fooled,' said Mpofu.

Panaroma cited one witness as saying prisoners received 40 whippings, up to
three times a day. The man, who requested anonymity, was reportedly unable
to his one of his arms as a result of the beatings.

Sexual violence against women and men was also reported, among other abuses.

Civilians were often sent to the camps, according to the report, after
digging for diamonds without governmental permission.

Britain Urges Zimbabwe to Examine Diamond ‘Torture Camp’

http://www.nytimes.com

ReportBy ALAN COWELL
Published: August 8, 2011

LONDON — Britain has urged the Zimbabwe authorities to investigate a BBC
report that its security forces are beating and raping prisoners at two
camps in the Marange diamond fields in the east of the country.
International monitors voted to allow exports from the fields to resume in
June despite objections from the United States, Canada and the European
Union.

BBC News, reporting material for broadcast on Monday on its documentary
program “Panorama,” says that the camps hold workers who were recruited by
the police and military to illegally dig for diamonds for them, but who then
demand too large a share of the profits, and they hold civilians caught
mining for themselves.

According to the report, a released prisoner whom the BBC did not name told
the network that guards at the camps beat prisoners three times a day, with
40 lashes at a time. Dogs were loosed to bite shackled prisoners, and women
inmates were frequently raped, the BBC said.

The Zimbabwe authorities offered no immediate comment.

The government of President Robert G. Mugabe has been working to increase
its legal sales of diamonds. Mr. Mugabe’s political opponents fear that he
will use diamond income to finance a violent campaign to win elections
likely to be held next year.

One of the torture camps the BBC identified, called Diamond Base, is about a
mile from the Mbada mine, which the BBC says is operated by a friend of Mr.
Mugabe. Witnesses cited by the BBC described Diamond Base as “a remote
collection of military tents, with an outdoor razor wire enclosure where the
prisoners are kept.”

The network said it had seen a European Union document showing that the
union was ready to accept the June decision to allow exports from two
Marange mines, including the Mbada mine, a move made by the Kimberley
Process, a global body set up almost a decade ago to halt the sale of
so-called blood diamonds.

In a statement on Monday, Britain’s minister for Africa, Henry Bellingham,
said his country supported exports from two Marange mines that met Kimberley
standards, “ subject to ongoing monitoring.” One is the Mbada mine, the BBC
reported.

The Marange fields were discovered in 2006 and violently taken over by
Zimbabwe’s military in 2008. Mr. Bellingham’s statement said that the
takeover of the fields was “a harrowing and brutal chapter.”

“We utterly condemn all extrajudicial killings and call on the Zimbabwean
authorities to transparently investigate both the dreadful events of 2008,”
he said in a statement, as well as “the disturbing allegations” in the BBC
documentary.

“The U.K. is absolutely committed to eradicating the trade of conflict
diamonds,” the statement said, noting that Britain “played a leading role”
in creating the Kimberley Process.

The group embraces governments, the diamond industry and advocacy groups. A
year ago, it allowed limited sales from the Marange fields to resume; its
decision in June to expanded export rights raised questions because of the
deep Western objections. Decisions by the body are supposed to be taken with
broad consensus.

The charter of the Kimberley Process, initially intended to halt diamond
sales that were used to finance rebel groups, does not specifically address
diamond sales used by an army or a government to commit human rights abuses.

The struggle over the Marange mines has thrown the monitoring group into
disarray, leaving Western governments and advocacy groups pitted against
Zimbabwe’s African allies.

Some advocacy groups walked out of the meeting in June that authorized
Marange sales, protesting the Kimberley Process’s “failure to address human
rights abuses associated with the diamond trade” and complaining that the
organization did not have the political will to enforce its own vaunted
standards.

Mugabe threatens Western firms in Heroes Day speech

http://www.swradioafrica.com

08 August 2011

As the country marked Heroes Day, Robert Mugabe used the occasion to make
fresh threats to punish foreign owned companies from Western countries that
have imposed targeted sanctions on him and his key ZANU PF officials. The US
and European Union slapped the sanctions on Mugabe and his cronies because
of human rights abuses.

According to Reuters, Mugabe told thousands who attended Heroes Day
celebrations that: “We can’t continue to receive the battering of sanctions
without hitting back. We have to hit back.”

“We will have to discriminate against countries that have imposed sanctions
against us. Why do we need companies like Rio Tinto? If they are to continue
mining, then the sanctions must go,” he said.

He has previously called for a boycott of products from foreign countries
who back the sanctions, which he says have hurt the country’s shaky economy.

Analysts have said Mugabe’s regular threats do not help the country’s
economy as they scare off badly needed foreign investors.

Mugabe Says No To Security Sector Reform

http://www.radiovop.com

Harare, August 08, 2011 - President Robert Mugabe on Monday said he will not
allow any interference to the security sector in the country a day after
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai called on the military to remain in the
barracks and to stop their involvement in politics.

Tsvangirai in his Heroes and Defence Forces day statement on Sunday had said
military personnel must be confined to the barracks and stop involving
themselves in the politics of the country months after Brigadier General,
Douglas Nyikayaramba openly said he supports Mugabe's Zanu (PF).

Nyikayaramba also said Tsvangirai was a 'threat' to national security.

Addressing hundreds of Zanu (PF) supporters, ordinary citizens and military
personnel at the national Heroes Acre in Harare Mugabe ruled out security
sector reforms.

Security sector is mentioned as one of the outstanding issues that the unity
government has failed to resolve in the last two years in the Global
Political Agreement (GPA).

"Here we are, with some people who want to interfere with their structures,
wanting to sort them out in order for them to have an appeal to the
structure that they prepare. We have said no, no interference with our
security forces, definitely no," Mugabe said.

"They (security forces) have stood by the people; have remained in service
of the people, guaranteeing our security and peace”.

Tsvangirai on Sunday said as leaders they have "no reason to be fighting our
national institutions if they are performing their national duty. But we
naturally take umbrage at the militarisation of our politics and the
politicisation of the military. Zimbabweans want protection from their
defence forces."

“The past few years have seen the deployment of some members of the army
into the villages to brutalise and attack innocent civilians on the basis of
their political affiliation.”
He added, “It is international best practice that the army should confine
itself to the barracks and leave politics to politicians."

Mugabe takes aim at mining firms

http://www.iol.co.za/

August 8 2011 at 03:20pm

President Robert Mugabe said on Monday Zimbabwe would punish firms from
Western states who have slapped sanctions on senior officials in his ZANU-PF
party, warning that global miners including Rio Tinto could be hit.

“We can't continue to receive the battering of sanctions without hitting
back. We have to hit back,” Mugabe told thousands of people attending a
ceremony to commemorate heroes of Zimbabwe's 1970s independence war.

Mugabe, 87, and ZANU-PF members have had trouble tapping into international
finance due to the sanctions imposed by Western countries for suspected
human rights abuses and electoral fraud under the political veteran's watch.

“We will have to discriminate against countries that have imposed sanctions
against us. Why do we need companies like Rio Tinto? If they are to continue
mining, then the sanctions must go,” Mugabe said.

He has previously called for a boycott of products from foreign countries
backing the sanctions he says have hurt the country's wobbly economy. The
United States and Europe blame Mugabe for gross mismanagement that caused
the economy to collapse under hyperinflation about three years ago.

Mugabe has given several large foreign-owned mining companies to the end of
September to dispose of at least 51 percent of their shares to locals as
part of an empowerment drive that has worried foreign investors.

Zimbabwe's youth and empowerment minister told a conference last month the
government had rejected all 175 local ownership proposals it received from
foreign mining companies, adding firms that do not meet the September
deadline would be kicked out. .

Impoverished Zimbabwe does not have the money to buy controlling stakes in
mines. But it is likely to use the threat to force global mining giants to
the bargaining table so that Zimbabwe, with the world's second-largest
platinum reserves, can receive more money from its mineral riches.

Mugabe has also increasingly turned to China for help after being shunned by
the West.

Political analysts say that as Zimbabwe prepares for elections likely to be
held in 2012, Mugabe will increase pressure on foreign companies but is
unlikely to repeat the wholesale seizure a decade ago of white-owned farms,
a move blamed for the destruction of Zimbabwe's agriculture sector. -
Reuters

Mugabe slams "terrorist" NATO over Libya operations

http://www.monstersandcritics.com

Aug 8, 2011, 12:50 GMT

Harare - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe slammed NATO on Monday over the
ongoing bombing campaign in Libya, calling it a 'terrorist organization'.

The 87-year-old president also said his own country should protect itself
against the Western military alliance.

'Zimbabwe must be in a state of preparedness,' Mugabe said at an event
commemorating Zimbabwe's liberation war against white-minority rule.

'It is clear that (NATO) wants to topple Gaddafi. It is not protecting
civilians as it claims,' he said.

He slammed the alliance over the recent reported deaths of the Libyan
leader's relatives.

Mugabe has previously condemned NATO's actions in Libya, saying in March the
attacks were over oil resources, and that Western leaders supporting the
strikes were 'vampires'.

Air Zimbabwe passengers stranded in China

http://www.africareview.com/

By KITSEPILE NYATHI in HararePosted Monday, August 8  2011 at  15:05

Over 200 Air Zimbabwe passengers have been stranded in China for the past
two weeks after pilots went on strike demanding unpaid salaries, officials
said on Monday.

The pilots have vowed not to return to work until they are given $200,000
each as full payment of arrears and salaries pending from last year.

AirZim, which is struggling with $100 million debts, will be paying the
stranded passengers’ hotel bills until it starts servicing the route.

“The situation is that we have not been flying to China for the past two
weeks,” Airzim acting chief executive officer Innocent Mavhunga told the
Herald newspaper.

“We have been accommodating the passengers in hotels and those who we can
re-route we are doing so. The cost varies from one hotel to another."

Mismanagement

The strike has affected some of the airline’s international services besides
domestic and regional flights which have also been cancelled.

The pilots went on strike in January demanding to be paid their outstanding
salaries and allowances.

They embarked on another job boycott on March 22

New import duty could lead to food shortages

http://www.swradioafrica.com

by Irene Madongo
08 August 2011

The re-introduction of import duty could lead to shortages of basic
commodities in shops because local industry is still struggling to produce
goods, an economic analyst has warned.

Over the past decade the country’s political and economic crises have almost
destroyed local industry and dramatically reduced the amount of goods
produced locally. This has forced people to rely heavily on imported goods
from neighbouring countries, such as Botswana and South Africa.

But last month Finance Minister Tendai Biti announced in his mid-term budget
statement that the government would restore import duty to protect local
industry from cheap imports. The state-owned media also reported that the
imports have been re-introduced because of an ‘improved supply of basic
goods.’

For basic commodities such as maize meal and cooking oil, the proposed
import duty will take effect from this month, while for other food stuffs
such as potato chips, baked beans and mixed fruit jam, the rates will start
applying from the beginning of September. The proposed duty will range
between 10 percent and 25 percent. Duty on salt, rice and flour will remain
suspended until end of this year.

This month the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) also introduced a 40%
import duty on electronic goods such as fridges and stoves, as well as other
commodities like blankets and footwear. Zimra says people are still allowed
to bring in US$300 worth of duty free goods per month, but not these listed
goods.

On Monday economic analyst Masimba Kuchera said: “I don’t think the economy
is ready as the import duties would want us to believe.”

Kuchera said certain sectors did not have the capacity to produce
sufficiently. He said many of them lacked the necessary capital or
investment to do so. The Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries has also said
that industry is failing to operate fully because of issues such as constant
power cuts from the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority.

“I’m looking at the sheer number of cooking oil brands from South Africa in
Zimbabwean shops, I’m not sure if Olivine Industries are now able to produce
to meet that demand,” Kuchera explained.

He added that many sections of the country’s industry were operating between
20-40% of their capacity, and this is a sign that industry will not be able
to meet demand. He also said that increasing the import duty will force
prices of imports to shoot up. “Some of the things like blankets and shoes
we may not see the effect as much as cooking oil, which are more or less
basic commodities, so people will feel the pinch more when they look at
basic commodities,” he said.

In addition to affecting ordinary people, cross-border traders are expected
to be heavily hit. On Monday Augustine Tawanda, Secretary General of the
Zimbabwe Cross-Border Traders’ Association, said: “It’s going to affect the
traders. They are going to lose in terms of business because the products
are going to be fairly expensive, and generally out of reach.”

“If the prices go up the demand goes down, so we are going to see a
significant reduction in imported food stuff getting into the country,”
Tawanda said.

Zimbabwe beat Bangladesh in test return

http://www.timeslive.co.za/

Sapa-AFP | 08 August, 2011 13:23

Zimbabwe beat Bangladesh by 130 runs in a one-off Test at Harare  Sports
club Monday to claim their first victory since making their return to
cricket after a six-year absence.
Zimbabwe had set Bangladesh a victory target of 375 runs in their second
innings having declared at 291-5 at tea on Sunday however the tourists were
bowled all out for 244.

MDC-T commemorates own heroes in Bulawayo

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Tichaona Sibanda
8 August 2011

The MDC-T in Bulawayo snubbed the national heroes’ commemorations, saying it
is ‘a ZANU PF and not a national event.’

Instead, the party honored its own heroes who ‘sacrificed for the people’s
democratic struggle.’ Our correspondent Lionel Saungweme told us the idea by
the MDC to hold their own parallel commemorations was to make a bold
statement that heroes are not defined just by Robert Mugbae and ZANU PF.

‘The MDC says there are many heroes out there who were not accorded the
status because they were on the wrong side of ZANU PF,’ Saungweme.

Some of the people who the MDC remembered were Learnmore Jongwe, Tonderai
Ndira, Susan Tsvangirai, Lookout Masuku, Gibson Sibanda, Getrude Mthombeni,
Patrick Nabanyama and Welshman Mabhena.

Bulawayo provincial youth assembly chairperson, Bekithemba Nyathi, told the
gathering at the party offices that they were remembering ‘the great men and
women who fell for the cause of our freedom.’

Family members of the MDC-T heroes received posthumous certificates for
their ‘sacrifice and courage’ to liberate Zimbabwe from the clutches of the
dictatorship.

The MDC-T has a roll of honour list which contains over 300 names of
activists who have been died since the party was formed 12 years ago. The
MDC said most of the victims on the list were callously murdered in
state-sponsored violence.

Zimbabweans snub SA permits

http://www.zimonline.co.za

by Own Corespondent Monday 08 August 2011

JOHANNESBURG – More than 800 000 asylum seekers from Zimbabwe snubbed South
Africa’s offer for work and study permits, local media has reported.
South Africa’s department of home affairs, long accused of running a chaotic
refugee management system and ill-treating immigrants, last year launched a
special project to document illegal Zimbabwean immigrants, offering amnesty
during which migrants, many of whom had initially sought refugee status,
were invited to apply for permits.

But figures form the department shows that a large number of Zimbabweans
spurned the offer for permits, while fresh refuge seekers from South Africa’s
northern neighbour have continued flocking in at a rate of about 5 000 per
month to derail any hopes that the documentation project could help
decongest Pretoria’s refugee handling system.

“Zimbabwean nationals in the country currently (who) have section 22 permits
(also known as Asylum Seeker Temporary Permits) is 849 988,” the reports
quote the department as saying. The figure is for applications received
between 2008 and July 2011.

According to the reports 34 774 Zimbabweans have lodged new applications for
asylum since December when the department closed applications for work,
business and study permits under its Zimbabwean documentation project due
for finalisation by month-end.

Only 275 762 people have applied for permits under the documentation project
under which the department has significantly lowered the bar to allow
Zimbabweans to qualify for the documents.

While there are some genuine claimants for asylum among the Zimbabweans, a
vast majority falls outside the Geneva Refugee Convention’s definition of a
refugee as someone forced to flee his or her country because of persecution,
war, or violence.

Many are ordinary job hunters or economic migrants claiming refugee status
because it is easier to obtain Section 22 or Asylum Seeker Temporary Permits
than work permits. Holders of Section 22 permits are allowed to work.

The flood of job seekers masquerading as asylum seekers has clogged South
Africa’s refugee management system much to the disadvantage of genuine
refugees who have to wait for years before their cases can be heard.

The department, which has not deported illegal Zimbabwean immigrants while
the documentation project was underway, has said once the project is
completed Zimbabweans without permits would be deported as would any illegal
immigrants from other countries.

There are no exact figures of how many Zimbabweans live in South Africa but
various estimates put the figure at anything near two million people, which
is about a sixth of Zimbabwe’s total population of 12 million people.

Locals often complain that the immigrants steal their jobs or lower working
standards by readily accepting below market wages, while also overloading
government social services and committing crime.
An outbreak of xenophobic violence in 2008 left at least 62 foreigners dead
and thousands of others displaced, leaving foreign investors unsettled and
South Africa’s image as one of the more tolerant countries in the world
shattered.
There have been several sporadic outbreaks of xenophobic attacks since the
main violence of 2008. But security forces have been quick to move in to
quash the violence and protect foreigners. – ZimOnline

Hundreds Of Refugees Refused Entry At Nyamapanda Border Post

http://www.radiovop.com

Juru , August 8, 2011 - REFUGEES from Ethiopia and Somalia are now being
refused entry at the Nyamapanda Border Post.

The border post is with Zimbabwe's poor neighbour, Mozambique.

The Ethiopian refugees have now been accompanied by some from Somalia, which
is facing a serious food and humanitarian crisis.

The international community is already asking countries to support them.

A visit by this Reporter to Juru growth point showed that there were no more
refugees entering Zimbabwe from the border post because they were now being
refused entry.

"We have not seen any of them coming this way," a resident at Juru Growth
Point said in an exclusive interview.

"Last month there were hundreds entering Zimbabwe from Nyamapanda but this
figure has now gone down." He said they were being refused entry by the
authorities at the border post.

The South African government recently also announced that as of the
beginning of August it would begin to deport Zimbabweans from that country.

It also said it would no longer allow refugees entering its country which is
wealthy according to African standards.

The number of migrants is increasing in Zimbabwe and South Africa whose
economies are currently ticking.

The humanitarian world said at least 7 200 people have already arrived in
Zimbabwe en-route to South Africa from the Horn of Africa.

Zanu PF rocked by Jonathan Moyo’s call for old guard to go

http://www.thezimbabwemail.com

08/08/2011 17:11:00    By Nkululeko Sibanda

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In a stinging opinion piece published in the state media at the weekend,
Moyo berated geriatrics that are frustrating change from within the party
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HARARE - Former Information minister and one of Zimbabwe’s most recognisable
political turncoats Jonathan Moyo has attacked Zanu PF’s fear of leadership
renewal, saying change is an imperative the ex-majority party has to embrace
or face extinction.

In a stinging opinion piece published in the state media at the weekend,
Moyo berated geriatrics that are frustrating change from within the party
despite changing political dynamics in the country.

In statements than can be viewed as a direct attack on President Robert
Mugabe, who at 87 is hanging on to power, Moyo said the old guard should let
a younger generation which he referred to as “Generation 40” take charge.

Moyo admits that it will be ridiculous to present Mugabe as a candidate for
the party in the next two or three years due to “allegations of old age and
alleged ill health” and believes the only solution is leadership renewal.

Change, Moyo said, was one of the issues that “ties the tongues of some
comrades in the nationalist movement in ways that betray the revolutionary
commitment”.

Moyo is believed to be working with the younger generation in Zanu PF like
Saviour Kasukuwere, who believe that the only way to win against the MDC is
to have old people in the party phased out.

In the same piece, Moyo accused fellow Zanu PF officials of being corrupt
and said they must be exposed, a view political analysts said was meant to
immediately eliminate potential candidates within the party who are also
gunning for the top post.

“The time has come for comrades in the nationalist movement to understand
that there is an important difference between change and transformation,”
said Moyo.

“The heroes we are celebrating tomorrow (today) know this and that is why
they succeeded. Change is a constant of life because everything changes,” he
said.

“Why is it that some comrades in the nationalist movement in general and
Zanu PF in particular seem to
be afraid of change when it is a fact of everyday life and is thus essential
to the survival of any living thing whether biological, social, economic or
political?” queried Moyo, who has in the past left and rejoined Zanu PF.

Moyo’s statements are significant as he is a member of Zanu PF’s politburo
and a key strategist for the former ruling party who at some point worked
closely with Defence minister Emmerson Mnangagwa’s camp during the
unsuccessful Tsholotsho bid to remove Mugabe.

Mnangagwa has for long been reported to be positioning himself as Mugabe’s
successor.

The comments betray how Zanu PF top officials are impatient about Mugabe’s
insistence to stay on, say observers.

Many of the people in Zanu PF however, lack the guts to openly encourage the
former guerrilla leader to step down, the observers say.

Moyo suggested in the article that Mugabe will be too old and difficult to
sell if elections were pushed to 2013.
He accused enemies “in and outside” Sadc of covertly pushing Zimbabwe’s
elections to 2013, by time Mugabe would be past his “sell-by” date.

“Enemies of Zimbabwe…have resolved to do everything possible to throw all
manner of spanners in the works to ensure that there’s no election in
Zimbabwe until the last second permissible by law in 2013.

“The thinking behind this strategy is that at that time it will not be
practical and reasonable for President Mugabe to be a presidential candidate
given the allegations that are being made about his age and alleged poor
health,” said Moyo.

Moyo is a fierce critic of Sadc’s demand for the completion of an election
roadmap to level the playing field before any elections are held in
Zimbabwe. Some members of the bloc have already told Mugabe they will slap
him with sanctions if he proceeds to unilaterally announce an election this
year before the completion of agreed reforms.

Sadc holds sway in Zimbabwe’s political processes as it is the mediator and
guarantor of Mugabe and long-time rival Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s
coalition government.

Sadc pushed for the formation of the coalition government after rejecting
results of a violent 2008 presidential election runoff boycotted by
Tsvangirai.

Zanu PF insiders told the Daily News yesterday that Moyo was expressing a
popular sentiment within the party as most viewed Mugabe’s failure to accept
change as a huge liability, particularly because of his advanced age and
failing health.

Moyo’s arguments are strikingly similar to those regularly published by the
Daily News and other independent newspapers.

Surprisingly, Moyo has been at war with journalists from the independent
media who have been writing the same arguments he is now putting forward.

“Change is a constant of life because everything changes…We must therefore
embrace change and lead it in every aspect so as to connect with today’s
youth who make up the current Generation 40,” said Moyo.

Observers say Zanu PF’s failure to renew its leadership poses the greatest
challenge to the party’s future.

They say most liberation war parties that have failed at leadership renewal
stage became extinct with the exit of their demi-god presidents.

They cite examples such as Kamuzu Banda’s Malawi Congress Party in Malawi,
Kenneth Kaunda’s UNIP in Zambia and Daniel Arap Moi’s KANU in Kenya.

Liberation parties that have embraced leadership renewal, such as the ANC in
South Africa, Frelimo in Mozambique and Chama cha Mapinduzi in Tanzania have
remained popular.

Political analyst Ibbo Mandaza described Moyo’s assertions as “belated”.

“The question that comes into mind is on whose behalf is Moyo speaking? If
this is a personal opinion, then it is unfortunate that he has no capacity
to change anything in Zanu PF.

“He is the wrong person, both personally and historically to talk about the
reform of Zanu PF. His comments are belated anyway,” said Mandaza.

An academic, Mandaza said Moyo had been part of the crew that had destroyed
Zanu PF and his efforts now to attack the same institution he led in
destroying would not work.

“He (Moyo) knows why he is saying that now. He is afraid to face up to the
reality that he watched as some elements killed Zanu PF."

“He also has to bear in mind that if he is trying to reform the party, his
efforts will come to naught as no-one can reform Zanu PF while Mugabe is
still at the helm,” said Mandaza. -Daily News

Majongwe’s bid to land ZCTU post flops

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

By Chengetai Zvauya, Senior Writer
Monday, 08 August 2011 12:59

HARARE - Teacher unionist Raymond Majongwe’s bid to land the Zimbabwe
Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) secretary-general’s post has flopped after
affiliates failed to nominate him.

Outgoing ZCTU secretary-general Wellington Chibebe told the Daily News
yesterday that Majongwe did not get a single nomination. Majongwe is
founding secretary-general of the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe
(PTUZ) which is one of the 31 affiliates of the ZCTU.

“Majongwe did not get any vote to enable him to stand for the post. He was
not nominated even by his PTUZ union,” said Chibebe.

“Majongwe should know that nominations are not made in newspapers but by the
general council   so we hope  this is the end of the statements he was
making about the ZTCU,’’ said Chibebe.

Majongwe told the Daily News he would respond at a press conference to be
held “during the course of the week”.

ZCTU elections will be held next week.

“Lovemore Matombo, Lucia Matibenga and George Nkiwane were nominated to
contest for the post of president. The general council agreed that the
amendments that bar anyone from seeking a third term in the same portfolio
became valid in 2006 and this means that Matombo is eligible to stand for
the presidency  again,’’ said Chibebe.

Matombo, the incumbent ZCTU president, had been fighting against the
amendments, which he said was meant to block his bid to run for a third
term. He argued that the amendments were done after he had already served
his first term hence he qualified for a final term.

Chibebe said the secretary-general’s post will go to his current deputy
Japheth Moyo who was nominated unopposed.
The contest for the post of the vice president will be between George
Nkiwane, Thokozani Siwela and Rwatinetsa Chingwangwa.

“We are on course to hold elections and I will take the opportunity to bid
farewell to the general council after working with them for a decade,”
Chibebe said.

Chibebe is expected to officially step down to take up the post of deputy
secretary general of the International Trade Union Confederation in Brussels
Belgium end of this month.

India bars Marange diamonds shipment

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

By Business Writer and Idexonline.com
Monday, 08 August 2011 13:14

NEW DELHI - Indian customs are preventing the export of 14 parcels of rough
diamonds from Zimbabwe’s Marange held in Dubai, an Internet based
publication IDEX Online said.

The Dubai authorities cleared the goods for onward shipment. The saga of
these Marange goods is on-going.

Indian dealers bought the parcels in question during a small window of
opportunity in November 2010, paying an estimated $160 million for them at a
tender.

The appointed Kimberley Process (KP) monitor Abbey Chikane hastily certified
the goods in Zimbabwe and they were shipped to Dubai.

The United Arab Emirites (UAE) custom authorities held the goods at the
request of the KP Working Group on Monitoring (WGM).

Under pressure from the UAE authorities, the WGM gave a nod of approval in
the minutes of a June meeting, but did not issue a statement approving the
exports. The UAE Kimberley Process office has subsequently approved the
release and export of the 14 parcels.

Despite the approval, only some of the goods were exported.

The first few parcels were shipped to India and seized by customs.They are
still held at Mumbai because Indian authorities have deemed that there is no
clear KP authorisation.

Once the first few parcels were stopped, the dealers who had bought the
Marange goods decided not to ship the rest. Consequently, most of the goods
are still in Dubai.

India’s Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) has interceded with
the Indian government on behalf of the diamond dealers.

The GJEPC has told the government that since these goods were bought with
what are legitimately issued KP certificates, it is unfair to penalise
individuals for KP’s own lack of a clear policy.

Industry insiders said they were hopeful of a favourable response from the
government sometime next week.

KP is currently divided over a recent decision by its chairman Mathieu Yamba
to allow Zimbabwe to have unmonitored diamond sales.

Meanwhile, the Marange diamonds continue to cause turmoil in government.

Recently, Finance Minister Tendai Biti said millions of dollars in diamond
proceeds remain unaccounted for since January this year. Presenting his
mid-term fiscal review for 2011, Biti said his ministry was still to receive
revenue from diamond sales in the six-month period.

“Despite the huge production at Marange in 2011, no payment has been
received by Treasury for income earned between 1 January and 30 June 2011,”
he said.

Biti said despite 716 958.50 carats of alluvial diamonds having been
exported only $103 million had been accounted for.

He raised concern over the continued disparities between prevailing
international diamond prices and the current income declared through sales
by companies currently mining in Marange.

“For the past 12 months, the price of gems has ranged between $5 000 for top
quality gems and $1 300 for low grade gems. The reality of Zimbabwe’s
situation is that there is no connection between Zimbabwe’s income from
diamonds, its output and international prices,” Biti said.

The finance minister called for the speedy conclusion of the drafting of the
Diamond Revenue Bill.

“This Bill will create a proper legal framework dealing with the audit trail
of all diamond revenue, its sharing and distribution, as well as the role of
Zimra at both production and marketing levels,” Biti said.

He said Zimbabwe should be accorded the right to proceed with its sales
within the Kimberly Process Certification Framework (KPCS).

“It is important that the international community recognises the compliance
levels attained by Zimbabwean companies,” the finance minister said.

He said the total mining sector capacity utilisation was expected to reach
60 percent by year end from current levels of 45 percent.

“The sectors capacity utilisation is expected to increase from current
levels of around 45-50 percent to reach 60 percent by year end, enabling
mining to achieve its targeted growth of 34 percent,” Biti said.

Zimbabwe had been projected to generate potential revenues of between $1-2
billion a year from diamond sales. —Business writer/idexonline.com

Thousands attend Mukonoweshuro’s burial

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Tichaona Sibanda
8 August 2011

Thousands of mourners gathered in Harare on Monday for the burial of
Professor Elphas Mukonoweshuro, the Public Services minister, who died
suddenly on Friday last week.

Family, friends and politicians from ZANU PF and the MDC formations attended
the burial service for the Gutu North MP at Warren Hills cemetery. The
mourners were led by Mukonoweshuro’s wife, Retsepile, and his son Bradley
Thuso.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said his MDC-T colleague’s death had left a
gap ‘which can never be properly filled.’ The Minister died last week at the
age of 58 after falling ill with a heart ailment. He had been admitted at
Johannesburg’s Milpark hospital where he had been receiving specialist
treatment for the past three weeks.

Many of Mukonoweshuro’s cabinet colleagues and party cadres from his rural
Gutu north constituency were at Warren Hills, to hear the Prime Minister pay
tribute to ‘a fountain of wisdom and a dedicated patriot who cared so much
for democracy to take root in this country.’

In his eulogy Tsvangirai said Mukonoweshuro made his mark as an academic of
repute at the University of Zimbabwe, where he spent years sharpening the
minds of future leaders as a lecturer. The MDC leader noted that many of
those who attended those lectures are now cabinet ministers and were at the
burial.

‘When he joined politics, he was my chief advisor and one of the key
negotiators in the first ever inter-party negotiations between the MDC and
ZANU PF.

‘As my chief advisor, he was no psychophant and he always gave his honest
opinion and advice on key issues. Even if you disagreed with him, he was
firm on his position and left you with no option but to follow his sound
advice,’ the Prime Minister added.

He continued: ‘Today is the National Heroes’ Day, a day to commemorate those
who fought to free Zimbabwe and it is befitting that today we are burying a
distinct person. He was a person who showed commitment, courage and had a
vision not only for the community but the whole nation.’

The late Professor was born on 22 June 1953 at Gutu Mission Hospital. He did
his primary at Gutu primary school and went to Zimuto and Tekwane for his
secondary education.

In 1973 he went to the University of Zimbabwe but was arrested for student
activism. He was detained for 14 months at Kadoma Prison. On his release,
Mukonoweshuro left the country through Botswana for the United Kingdom.

In the UK, he studied for Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees before
attaining a PhD in Political Science at Birmingham University.

Vagrant prophetess draws huge crowds in Mbare

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

By Staff Writer
Monday, 08 August 2011 13:06

HARARE - A vagrant claiming to be a miracle worker is attracting hundreds of
followers in Mbare after gaining fame as a wonder spiritual healer.

Her “home and shrine” is an open ground two metres away from a public
toilet. A constant stream of raw stinking sewer flows half a metre away
while a few blankets and clothes, her only earthly possessions, are strewn
nearby.

Yet hundreds of people are flocking there to have a feel of her “miracles”.

Some come in flashy cars. Others spend as much as five days sleeping in the
open waiting for their turn to be “healed”.

While most of those who draw huge crowds by claiming to possess supernatural
healing powers are mainly found in rich Pentecostal churches, the Mbare
vagrant “prophetess” presents a new phenomenon.

A few metres from the bus stop, Mai Praise, as the vagrant prophetess is
known, packs in crowds that most politicians and pastors would die for.

Dozens of disabled people on wheel chairs patiently wait for their turn,
while other sick people can be seen lying on the ground pinning their hopes
on the vagrant prophetess.

No-one appears to know when she started living in the open space. Witnesses
and vendors who trade nearby say initially no-one noticed her presence as
she lived in the open space as a vagrant.

Then the “healing powers” came and now she has bodyguards to protect her
from the crowds.

Witnesses claim she can heal the blind. They say she makes the lame walk by
simply telling them to “stand up and walk.”

“That is why you see so many people in wheelchairs,” explains a man claiming
to bear witness to the prophetess’ miracles.

Witnesses say those lucky to “receive prophecy” during her first miracle
days could not believe it.

“Others thought she was mad,” says a vendor who claims to have witnessed the
rise of the vagrant “prophetess”.

“After she performed various miracles, people started to come in their
numbers and now as you can see it is growing into a movement,” said the
vendor.

Interjected another vendor: “There is a municipal police officer who came
limping and was healed by the woman. Another woman who is a vendor had her
sight restored by the woman.”

It was practically impossible to get close to the “prophetess” when the
Daily News visited her base in Mbare.

Surrounded by bodyguards wielding sticks to control the crowd, the woman
sits on the ground while a man who seems to be her aide calls out names of
people needing attention.

The aide urges people to sleep at the “shrine” if they wish to be attended
to on time. People register their names in a book and one can only be
attended to after registering with an aide.

The Daily News crew did not witness any miracles when it visited the shrine
but hundreds of people were waiting patiently while others received
prophecies from her.

While she charges only a dollar for her services, the “shrine” has become a
cash cow for unemployed Mbare youth.

Scores of youth ask stranded salvation seekers to pay them bribes to
facilitate faster access to her.

Marange diamonds torture exposure vindicates civil society

By Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, 08/08/11

Attempts to cover-up human rights abuses in Marange diamond fields have
dismally failed after the BBC Panorama programme found that a torture camp
run by Zimbabwean soldiers is operating in the area (BBC.co.uk, Marange
diamond field: Zimbabwe torture camp discovered, 08/08/11).

The discovery will definitely cause deep embarrassment throughout the world
encompassing the European Union, the Kimberley Process, South Africa and of
course Zimbabwe where the regime is desperately trying to launder the ‘blood
diamonds’ cash by ‘bribing’ civil servants possibly in exchange for votes in
the next election.

Those who have been politicising human rights abuses and campaigning for the
lifting of the Chiadzwa gems embargo must be feeling terrible and ashamed of
themselves now that the torture has been finally exposed.

Some politicians had adopted the ‘see no evil, hear no evil and speak no
evil’ approach to the controversial Marange diamonds for sheer political
expediency. Others, driven by unethical business opportunism resorted to
demonising civil society activists in Marange for calling for the
demilitarisation of the diamond fields and increased transparency before the
lifting of the gems embargo.

However, Farai Maguwu, Director of the Centre for Research and Development
(CRD) maintained that there were ongoing abuses and was arrested and
‘tortured’ by the regime in an effort to suppress revelations of human
rights violations at Chiadzwa.

It would be interesting to know on what basis the EU was about to let some
banned diamonds onto world markets. Equally, the KP cannot shrug off
responsibility after South Africa’s Abbey Chikane controversially approved
the sale of the blood diamonds followed by Chairman Yamba’s decision to
declare them ‘conflict free’.

According to Global Witness a member of the KP Civil Society Coalition,
exports of rough diamonds from Marange are dependent on key commitments made
in the Joint Work Plan and a follow-up agreement reached in St Petersburg in
July 2010 namely:

     Endorsement and respect of the local civil society monitoring mechanism
established by the St Petersburg agreement. It is through this mechanism
that Zimbabwean NGOs report to the KP on conditions in Marange;

     Measures agreed by Zimbabwe and the Kimberley Process to remove the
military from Marange and put in place system of law enforcement by civilian
authorities;

     Steps to tackle illegal mining and cross border trafficking of
diamonds, including the establishment of regulations that allow for small
scale mining of diamonds” (Global Witness.org, Conflict diamond scheme must
resolve Zimbabwe impasse, 05/11/10).

Incredibly, the Government of National Unity (GNU) has not found it right
and proper to order a public enquiry into the massacre of about 241 miners
at Marange diamond fields, instead embarked on a vigorous campaign to have
the blood diamonds certified as conflict free. The torture camps are a
practical example of the culture of impunity that has paralysed the GNU by
replacing the rule of law.

Civil society’s outcry has been vindicated as well founded in the face of
the regime’s vicious propaganda campaign at home and abroad under the guise
of a pan-Africanist fight against colonialism. It is hoped that the GNU will
finally probe the diamond massacres and torture camps and that a New Diamond
Act will restore order.

Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, Political Analyst, London,
zimanalysis2009@gmail.com

Bill Watch - Parliamentary Committees and Status of Bills Series - 5th August 2011