Mugabe says internal fights "eating up" ZANU-PF

http://af.reuters.com/

Fri Dec 11, 2009 12:38pm GMT

* Internal bickering emboldening Tsvangirai's MDC

* Tensions over "imposition" of candidates

* MDC not doing enough for removal of sanctions, Mugabe says

By Nelson Banya

HARARE, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe on Friday
condemned internal fighting over leadership posts, saying this was tearing
apart his ZANU-PF party and emboldening its opponents.

Mugabe was forced to share power with rival Morgan Tsvangirai in February
after an election stalemate last year, which saw ZANU-PF lose its majority
in parliament for the first time to Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC).

A fierce battle over who will eventually succeed the 85-year-old leader -- 
now in the twilight of a political career spanning more than half a
century -- threatens the future of the former liberation movement, although
a split is not imminent.

"The reason why we lost last year was because of factions in many provinces.
This is how the party has suffered damage," Mugabe told thousands of
supporters at a ZANU-PF congress which opened in Harare on Friday.

"The party is eating itself up. The more intense the internal fighting is,
the greater opportunity we give to the opposition to thrive," said Mugabe,
who read only briefly from a prepared speech he said was too long.

Mugabe will get the nod to lead the party for another five years but
tensions are running high over what members see as the imposition of weak
candidates to serve in the policy-implementing central committee.

By balancing competing factions and through a political patronage system,
the veteran leader has kept a tight grip on ZANU-PF since becoming party
leader in the mid-1970s and spearheading a guerrilla war against white
minority rule. Mugabe is unlikely to contest the next election, expected in
2013 if the coalition government lasts its full five-year term, and his
lieutenants have stepped up an internal fight for prime positions to take
over the party when he retires.

"There are too many leaders now outside the scope of the regular leaders
provided for by our party constitution," said Mugabe.

REMOVING SANCTIONS

He said the unity government was working well but that the MDC was not
putting in enough effort to call for the removal of Western sanctions
imposed against members of his party.

The travel and financial embargoes were imposed by the European Union and
United States for democratic failings and human rights abuses. But Mugabe
has argued they are meant to punish his party for seizing white-owned land
to resettle blacks, and that the West still covets Zimbabwe's mineral
resources. The 10-month-old coalition has been rocked by differences on how
to share power, with the MDC saying ZANU-PF is refusing to fully implement
the deal and branding it a "dishonest partner".

The MDC wants the central bank governor and attorney general replaced, and
party treasurer Roy Bennett and some senior officials sworn-in as deputy
agriculture minister and provincial governors, respectively. ZANU-PF says it
has met its part of the power-sharing deal and wants the MDC to urge an end
to Western sanctions and persuade radio stations broadcasting from abroad to
stop.

"We are not of one voice. The MDC told an EU troika not to lift sanctions
yet ... so we have part of us whose thinking needs to be re-oriented," said
Mugabe.

Mugabe slams Bennett

http://www.news24.com

2009-12-11 14:30

Harare - President Robert Mugabe on Friday called Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai's choice for a ministerial post an "offspring of a settler" who
was not Zimbabwean, a remark which is likely to further strain the country's
fragile coalition government.

Mugabe was referring to Roy Bennett, a white commercial farmer who was
driven off his land by Mugabe's controversial land reform targeting whites.

Mugabe has refused to appoint Bennett as deputy agriculture minister in the
coalition government with Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC),
saying he must first be cleared of terrorism charges he is facing.

Addressing a congress of his Zanu-PF in Harare, the president attacked the
MDC as a puppet of the West, saying they asked for sanctions to be imposed
on Zimbabwe.

"To the MDC I say: Open your eyes. This is your country and not for whites.
Not the Bennetts. They are settlers, even if they were born here they are
offspring of settlers," he said.

The Zanu PF congress, which ends on Saturday, has already nominated Mugabe
as its presidential candidate in the country's next election, for which no
date has been set.

Internal squabbles

Mugabe and Tsvangirai formed a power sharing government in February,
following a disputed presidential election run-off that the international
community refused to recognise. Tsvangirai had trounced Mugabe in the first
round.

In his speech on Friday, Mugabe admitted for the first time he lost an
election. He attributed the loss due to the internal squabbles of his party.

He repeated his calls for the West to remove the sanctions imposed on him
and some Zanu-PF senior members in 2002 following a spate of human rights
abuses and allegations of a rigged election.

Mugabe said the sanctions were unjustified and meant to punish him for his
controversial land reform programme.

"If you have a rich country, well naturally-resourced whether mineral,
agricultural, or otherwise, they envy these resources, they find ways of
penetrating your system," said Mugabe.

He claimed that Britain formed the MDC to change revolutionary trends in
Zimbabwe. "That is how the MDC was formed. They (Great Britain) did not hide
this. They were blatant."

Bennett, 52, is on trial for allegedly plotting to overthrow Mugabe's
government in 2006. Mugabe's opponents have often been charged with plotting
insurgency, but none of the charges ever stuck.

- SAPA

Tongogara ‘returns’ to haunt ZANU PF congress

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Tichaona Sibanda
11 December 2009

A lobby group, Zimbabwe Democracy Now (ZDN), has called for a full
multi-party enquiry into the circumstances that led to death of one of the
country’s most revered freedom fighters, the late General Josiah Tongogara.

ZDN chose Friday, the opening of the ZANU PF congress, to reflect on the
life and sacrifice of Tongogara, whose death on the 26th December 1979
remains a mystery to this day.

Independent newspapers in Zimbabwe on Friday ran full-page advertisements
calling for an enquiry into his death 30 years ago in Mozambique. Tongogara
was the leader of ZANLA, the military wing of ZANU during the guerrilla war
that brought Robert Mugabe to power in 1980. In the adverts ZDN calls for a
parliamentary enquiry into the demise of Tongogara and another war hero,
Lookout Masuku, and for flags to fly at half-mast on Boxing Day out of
respect to Tongogara specifically.

ZDN spokeswoman, Ethel Moyo, said there was widespread suspicion of foul
play in the way Tongogara died on Boxing Day 30 years ago. The fact that he
was buried without a full post-mortem only raises more suspicions of a
conspiracy to cover-up.

‘If you asked 100 Zimbabweans for their view on the death of General
Tongogara, I predict at least 90 would say he was murdered. It is no secret
that, in 1979, Tongogara was the most popular man in Zimbabwe and he
overshadowed Robert Mugabe,’ Moyo said.

She added; ‘He was also opposed to Mugabe’s plan of setting up a one-party
state once in power and banning all opposition.’

ZDN said they will also be campaigning for more to be done for the late
General Lookout Masuku, another liberation war icon, who was jailed by
Mugabe in the 1980’s on trumped up charges. ZDN is advocating for streets
and places to be named after him.

The late General led ZIPRA, the military wing of ZAPU which was fighting Ian
Smith and his Rhodesian forces from Zambia. He died on the 5th April 1986,
shortly after he was released from prison.

‘By 1 March 1986, the general was so ill that he was transferred under armed
guard to the Parirenyatwa Hospital in Harare where he died on 5 April.
Rumours persist that he was tortured in jail and then poisoned.
Masuku was denied a place at Heroes’ Acre and is buried near Bulawayo,’ ZDN
said in a statement.

Moyo added that celebrations to mark the country’s 30th independence
anniversary would be hollow if the truth was not revealed about the deaths
of the two guerrilla leaders.

She said the issue of Tongogara and Masuku has long divided Mugabe’s
ZANU-PF, but with Mugabe in control of the army, police and the feared CIO,
few have been willing to voice their suspicion that he had a role in the
general’s death.

 

Rights lawyer says ZANU PF’s days in power are numbered

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Alex Bell
11 December 2009

A leading Zimbabwean human rights lawyer has this week said ZANU PF’s days
in control of the country are numbered, explaining the party has largely
lost the support of the once loyal armed forces.

Award winning human rights lawyer and director of the Zimbabwe Exiles Forum,
Gabriel Shumba argues in an article released this week that frustration
within the armed forces has been mounting, to the point that it is no longer
ZANU PF’s preferred weapon of intimidation. He poses the question: Does
Robert Mugabe’s control of the armed forces make ZANU PF invincible? Shumba
answered the question on Friday during SW Radio Africa’s Hot Seat programme,
saying the armed forces will turn against ZANU PF one way or another.

“The army is now more likely to turn on ZANU PF than on its own people
should there be another election, and the party will soon start panicking
when it cannot use violence against the people again,” Shumba argued.

He cited the recent deaths of at least 12 soldiers who were brutally
tortured by military intelligence, following the alleged disappearance of
weapons from Pomona barracks. This has raised tensions in the already
frustrated service, which in December 2008 clashed with police after taking
to the streets to protest non payment of civil service wages. As a result of
that demonstration, at least 16 soldiers were allegedly sentenced to death,
under Mugabe’s orders, in a case that was fast tracked through the military
court by Major General George Chiweshe.

Shumba quoted noted Ghanaian analyst George Ayittey, who wrote this year
that “the more an African head of state spends on security, the more likely
he will be overthrown by someone from his security forces.” Shumba argued
that it is this army ‘monster’ that ZANU PF must be afraid of, because they
have borne the brunt of an oppressive campaign that has benefited only a
minority of ZANU PF loyalists.

Shumba continued that the country is being held to ransom by a cabal of 200
people, who themselves are panicking for having blood on their hands as a
result of their own greed. These people include not only Mugabe, but the
people who will cling to power in a Mugabe-like fashion when ZANU PF begins
to disintegrate: Perence Shiri, Constantine Chiwenga, George Chiweshe and
the ‘Butcher of Matabeleland’ Emmerson Mnangagwa.

“It is this cabal who are holding the country to ransom and it is only they
who fight the hardest the keep ZANU PF in power,” Shumba argued. “But their
fight will not be supported by the army that they have mistreated and the
party will explode,” he added.

Shumba’s comments come as ZANU PF is in the middle of its congress, which
has so far been a display of open division within the party. He told SW
Radio Africa on Friday that the party is obviously ‘unstable’ and on the
verge ‘of a huge explosion’, saying the ZANU PF top brass is panicking,
trying to secure top spots for the inevitable day that Mugabe dies. He
argued that Mugabe’s death will be the end of the party, who have become an
unwelcome ‘imposition’ on the country’s political sphere.

 

Principals To Announce Talks Outcome

http://www.radiovop.com

HARARE, December 11, 2009 - Zimbabwe's political leaders are on Monday
expected to announce the outcome of the latest round of talks whichwere
called by the SADC troika in Maputo, Mozambique early last month.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said Thursday evening the three principals
will meet on Monday to consider the outcome of the negotiations and make a
possible announcement.

"I am hoping that we would be able to announce some position as towhat has
been the outcome of the negotiating process as well as ensuring that some of
the outstanding issues are resolved," Tsvangirai said, as he received the
new United States ambassador to Zimbabwe,Charles A. Ray at his house in
Harare's low density Strathaven suburb.

"The principals are scheduled to meet on Monday and we have both been
briefed by our teams, so we will meet to consider the reports andwhere there
are deadlocks, we try to find a political solution to it.Certainly we cannot
go on and on for ever and this is the message that has been communicated to
us by the South African facilitation team andwe hope we will be able to
announce them.

"We must be conscious that we do not break our own deadlines and thatis what
I was communicating to the facilitators and the facilitators are also
anxious to ensure that we have credibility in the process andso we have a
further meeting with the principals to try and receive reports from our
various negotiators."

However, Tsvangirai could not be drawn into revealing what issues would be
announced although it is expected that the issues like theZimbabwe Media
Commission and the Electoral Commission would be announced.

A South African facilitation team that was appointed by PresidentJacob Zuma
has twice been to Zimbabwe in as many weeks to press Zimbabwe's parties into
respecting the November 5 deadline set by SADC.

The MDC seeks the reversal of all unilateral appointments made by President
Robert Mugabe after the signing of the GPA in September last year.

They include those of the Attorney General, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
governor, provincial governors and ambassadors.

 The MDC also wants its treasurer general Roy Bennett, who is currently
being tried for terrorism, to be unconditionally sworn into his position as
deputy minister of agriculture.

 It is also seeking a stop to continued invasions on productive farmsby Zanu
PF supporters, state media bias, the failure by the National Security
Council to meet regularly and the continued arrest of its activists.

Zanu PF wants the MDC to unequivocally commit itself to making calls for the
lifting of western imposed targeted sanctions on its officials and
businesses and the dissolution of the so-called parallel government
structures.

 But Tsvangirai said the removal of sanctions was a collective
responsibility as opposed to that of his party alone.

"It is wrong to imply that MDC has liability over those issues. This is a
collective liability as a nation and therefore that collective liability
must be resolved collectively especially when it comes to ensuring that we
comply with the benchmarks set by those people who set out those
restrictions," said Tsvangirai.

 

Mugabe, PM set for Costly Foreign Trips

http://www.theindependent.co.zw

Friday, 11 December 2009 13:42

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe will next week take a 59-member delegation to the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Copenhagen,
Denmark, while Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's delegation will comprise
19 people putting a further strain on the country's financial resources. The
conference started on Monday this week with delegates working on a complex
draft treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol, while environment ministers and
heads of state are due to arrive next week when major decisions will await
them.

Delegations from the two Zimbabwean leaders will join an advance party which
is already at the summit, bringing the country's total representation to
more than 80 people.

The two leaders and their delegations are scheduled to travel separately
with President Mugabe using the national airline - Air Zimbabwe - while
Tsvangirai will connect to the Danish capital from Johannesburg and go via
Switzerland or Germany.

This comes at a time when Finance minister, Tendai Biti, when presenting the
2010 budget decried the country's total expenditure on foreign trips which
was put at US$28 million at the end of November.

This amount was used during the short life - 10 months as at the end of
November - of the inclusive government giving an average of US$2,8 million
per month.

While this figure covers all government officials, it is usually the
president and the prime minister who travel with large contingents with the
former averaging 60 delegates on the last two foreign trips.

President Mugabe has taken at least seven foreign trips since the inception
of the Government of National Unity. Some of the countries he has visited
include Italy for the UN World Summit on Food Security, Mozambique for the
Sadc Troika meeting and South Africa for the inauguration of President Jacob
Zuma.

He has also visited the Democratic Republic of the Congo for the Sadc
summit, Egypt and Libya as well as Switzerland for the International
Telecommunications Union Summit.

Apart from the cost government incurs paying for the transport for such
large delegations, there are also allowances which are paid out each member
of the entourage.

Any delegate travelling on government business is entitled to daily
allowances which are based on their level or grade.

Leonard Makombe
-------------

From the Guardian, UK

Protocol problem

Terrible problem for the Danes. It seems that protocol dictates that the head of state who has been in power the longest sits next to the Queen of Denmark at any formal state occasion. At the moment, this appears to be Robert Mugabe, who will clearly come with a plan to publicly embarrass the UK.

Muchadehama acquitted

http://www.religiousintelligence.co.uk/news/?NewsID=5377

Friday, 11th December 2009. 11:57am

By: Kumbirai Mafunda.

A Zimbabwean court on Thursday acquitted crusading human rights lawyer Alec
Muchadehama, who had been on trial for contempt of court.

Muchadehama, who was jointly charged with Constance Gambara, the clerk of
High Court Judge Chinembiri Bhunu had been on trial since June for allegedly
facilitating the illegal release from Chikurubi Maximum Prison of two
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) officials Gandhi Mudzingwa and Kisimusi
Dhlamini and photo-journalist Andrison Manyere who had been granted bail by
High Court Judge Justice Charles Hungwe.

But Magistrate Fadzai Mthombeni Mthombeni acquitted the two at the close of
the State case as the prosecutors failed to prove the essential elements of
the crime.

Ironically Muchadehama was acquitted on International Human Rights Day,
which is celebrated on 10 December every year to mark the anniversary of the
United Nations General Assembly's adoption of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights in 1948.

The Magistrate said there was no prima facie case warranting to put the two
on their defence.

"From the evidence led in court a reasonable court cannot convict the
accused persons. There is no prima facie case that warrants to put the
accused persons on their defence. The court therefore discharges the accused
persons at the end of the State case and maintains a not guilty verdict,"
read part of Mthombeni's ruling.

Mthombeni said there were some loopholes in the State's case as the State
did not file its appeal against Justice Hungwe's order granting bail to
Manyere, Mudzingwa and Dhlamini.

Influential rights group Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) on
Thursday said the acquittal of Muchadehama proves that the police and law
officers from the Attorney General (AG)'s Office are using the law as a tool
of persecution rather than prosecution.

"ZLHR feels vindicated in its belief that human rights lawyers are being
unlawfully, arbitrarily and vindictively persecuted by state agents merely
for carrying out their professional duties. The acquittal of Muchadehama
proves that the police continue to effect arbitrary arrests without first
carrying out investigations and establishing a reasonable suspicion that
crime has been committed," ZLHR said in a statement.
 

South Africa orders Zimbabwe to "clean up" ahead of 2010 World Cup

http://en.afrik.com/article16623.html

Friday 11 December 2009 / by Sakhile Modise

South Africa has told its neighbor, Zimbabwe, to speedily resolve its
political crisis saying it would not allow the country to disturb the 2010
Fifa World Cup tournament.

There are growing fears that Zimbabwe's economic and political crisis could
impact negatively on the 2010 FIFA World Cup and thus make the region
volatile ahead of the global football fiesta.

Jacob Zuma's appointed three member facilitation comprising Charles Nqakula,
Mac Maharaj and Zuma's international relations advisor Lindiwe Zulu have
told Zimbabwe principals that it is becoming impatient with their failure to
put finality to the sticking points.

Meeting Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and his deputy Arthur Mutambara on
Monday and President Robert Mugabe on Wednesday, the three member team
expressed Zuma's concern and the potential danger the Zimbabwe crisis posed
on the World Cup. Zuma is under pressure to "clean up the region" both
internally and externally for the successful hosting of the tournament, the
trio said.

Last night James Maridadi, Tsvangirai's spokesperson said the South African
facilitators had officially told the Prime Minister that South Africa is now
considered Zimbabwe's unending political squabbles degenerating into a
direct threat to their own country.

"Several issues were brought up by the facilitators including the real
possibility of an outbreak of xenophobic attacks during the World Cup if
political stability is not restored in Zimbabwe," Maridadi said.

At least 42 people died and tens of thousands of foreigners mostly
Zimbabweans were displaced across South Africa last year in riots over jobs
and rising crime in Africa's biggest economy.

Other smaller uprisings over jobs and poor delivery of sanitation and health
services have occurred since. Last month 2 700 Zimbabwean asylum seekers had
to set up temporary safety camps in rural areas after attacks, reports say.

South Africa faces an influx of visitors from all over the globe next year
when it hosts the Soccer World Cup, which will run from June 11 to July 11.

International pressure was mounting on Zuma and anxiety within South Africa
was rising while in Zimbabwe there was growing frustration over the
politicians' dilly-dallying, Maridadi said.

New U.S. Ambassador pledges additional support

Harare, December 11, 2009: Five Zimbabwean HIV and AIDS activists received awards today as the United States government pledged to scale up support to anti-retroviral treatment in the country.

The five recipients - filmmaker Hopewell Chin’ono, Batanai Support Group in Masvingo, football administrator Chris Sambo, pediatrician Rose Kambarami and Barclays Bank Zimbabwe Limited - were honored at the 2009 Auxillia Chimusoro Awards ceremony held in Harare on Thursday. The five were recognized for their outstanding contribution in mitigating the impact of HIV/AIDS in the fields of communications, community participation, leadership and corporate social responsibility respectively.

The awards ceremony - financed by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) - was attended by members of various HIV/AIDS support groups, senior government officials, diplomats and Emmy Award winning actress and Population Services International (PSI) Ambassador Debra Messing.

Congratulating the winners, U.S. Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Charles A. Ray, told delegates that his country would continue its strong partnership with Zimbabwe to contain HIV/AIDS.  “We are expecting an additional $46 million (for HIV and AIDS support in Zimbabwe) in 2010.  In Zimbabwe, in 2009, the U.S. Government supported anti-retroviral therapy for 40,000 Zimbabweans in need of care and, in 2010, we will increase that number by nearly fifty percent,” said Ray.

Since 2000, the US has provided over $200 million in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe where the pandemic has been devastating. Ambassador Ray said over the next five years, the United States will partner with other nations - including Zimbabwe - to build the long-term sustainability of their national HIV/AIDS responses. 

Minister of Health and Child Welfare, Dr. Henry Madzorera, had earlier noted that “while HIV prevalence has been declining, the number of people accessing anti-retroviral therapy has been increasing.” The Minister hailed the improved coordination under the Zimbabwe National HIV/AIDS strategy in combating HIV and AIDS.

“My ministry and our partners, including donor agencies and civil society organizations, are making concerted efforts to ensure Zimbabweans have access to HIV services as a fundamental human right,” said Madzorera.

Messing, who toured several USAID funded projects in Harare and surrounding areas, applauded the united approach exhibited by Zimbabweans and international partners in combating the spread of HIV.  “In a region ravaged by HIV, Zimbabwe has made extensive strides to stem the spread of this disease,” said Messing. “Though I am deeply saddened to see the devastation the disease has caused, I am filled with hope when I see the incredible team of people, local leaders, NGOs, the donor community and the people of Zimbabwe who are joining together in the fight against HIV/AIDS.”

Her sentiments were echoed by USAID Director, Karen Freeman, whose organization has taken a lead in implementing the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) strategy.  This strategy complements Zimbabwe’s own National Plan, aiming to strengthen the will and capacity of all to take effective action against HIV/AIDS.

“There is growing evidence in Zimbabwe that our joint efforts are starting to make a difference where it counts the most – a decreasing trend in the number of people who are becoming infected,” said Karen Freeman, Director of USAID.

“We are working together, with all of our local partners, in support of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, to create a new vision for Zimbabwe – one where there are fewer people infected and affected with the disease,” said Freeman.

The awards are named after Auxillia Chimusoro, who was among the first persons in Zimbabwe to disclose her HIV positive status. Born in rural Gokomere, she rose to international prominence by virtue of her bravery, leadership, common sense and good humor in defense of human rights for HIV-infected people, particularly the right to medical care and medicine.

###

This report was produced and circulated by the U.S. Embassy, Public Affairs Section. Comments and enquiries should be directed to Tim Gerhardson, Public Affairs Officer on hararepas@state.gov , Tel. +263 4 758800-1, Fax: +263 4 758802. Previous reports and media statements from the U.S. Embassy can be accessed at http://harare.usembassy.gov

2 Progressive Teachers Union members found guilty of inciting violence

http://www.swradioafrica.com

Alex Bell
11th December 2009

ZANU PF's selective use of the rule of law is evident in Zimbabwe again as
two women teachers, Moreblessing Hliziyo and Isee Makhuyana, have been found
guilty of inciting violence against ZANU PF war veterans.

The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition reports that the two members of the
Progressive Teaches Union of Zimbabwe were found guilty of the offence by
Chipinge Magistrate Mr. Zuze on 8th December.

But according to the PTUZ the facts of the case are somewhat different. They
say that during the run-up to the 2008 June election, war vets stormed the
Mount Selinda High School premises in Chipinge and forcibly dragged off
Pastor Mhlanga, the clergyman in charge of the mission. He was taken to a
ZANU PF base in the area, severely assaulted and accused of preaching
propaganda on behalf of the MDC.

In fact the reverend was well known for being outspoken and he had recently
delivered a sermon on injustice, corruption and mis-governance and someone
reported him to the ZANU PF base.

Students and teachers tried to mount a rescue mission for the pastor, armed
only with stones, but the war vets retaliated with knobkerries, machetes and
spears and twenty students and three teachers were injured. As was the norm
in such circumstances eight students and four teachers were arrested while
nothing happened to the war vets and ZANU PF youths.

The students and two of the four teachers were tried earlier and found not
guilty, but the two who were found guilty on Tuesday, have not been so
lucky. They now await sentencing.

Hundreds of MDC supporters were murdered during last years violent election
campaign, tens of thousands were brutally tortured, hundreds of thousands
lost their homes and a recent report details the brutality of the rape
campaign against MDC women and girls, some as young as five.

None of those perpetrators of extreme violence have been brought to justice.

 

New daily in Zimbabwe will launch online first, then in print

http://www.editorsweblog.org

Posted by Elizabeth Redman on December 11, 2009 at 4:42 PM

The newest daily newspaper in Zimbabwe, NewsDay, will be launched online six
months before it appears in print, as the political situation in the country
stabilises.

NewsDay will be Zimbabwe's first independent daily newspaper in six years
and is projected to create 300 jobs.

Newspaper proprietor Trevor Ncube told South African technology website
TechCentral that the Zimbabwean government has not yet issued the licence
they need to start printing. Although he has been waiting for the licence
for almost a year, he hopes that a deal being finalised between Robert
Mugabe's ZANU-PF and Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change will
allow current restrictions on media to be lifted.
"A deal between the protagonists might be clinched, if not before the end of
this year, then certainly by early next year," Mr Ncube said.

He hopes that the print version of NewsDay will be available by June 2010 at
the latest. In the meantime, there are plans for the NewsDay website to
launch in the next week.

"We will use social media like Twitter to help publicise the website," he
added.

News websites in Zimbabwe are not subject to the same licensing rules as
print newspapers. Because of this, the site will be hosted locally, at
NewsDay.co.zw.

Trevor Ncube is the CEO of several newspapers including the Mail & Guardian
in South Africa, as well as the Zimbabwe Independent and The Standard in
Zimbabwe. At the recent World Newspaper Congress in Hyderabad, India, he
argued that it was important for newspapers to have both a clear mission and
a sustainable business model. He has also expressed support for charging for
some online news, such as in-depth analysis, while providing breaking online
news for free.

Source: TechCentral
 

Latest report on violence against opposition is another indication that GPA is not feasible

STATEMENT BY ATHOL TROLLIP MP

DA PARLIAMENTARY LEADER

11 DECEMBER 2009

Release: immediate

The horrific details regarding the mass rapes of Zimbabwean opposition
supporters in a report released on Thursday by the New York-based advocacy
group, Aids-Free World is yet another example of the critical need for an
alternative to the failing GPA.

According to the report, entitled "Electing to Rape", youth militia and
liberation war veterans amongst others, working for president Robert Mugabe's
Zanu-PF political party carried out a campaign of rape and torture of
opposition supporters ahead of the June 2008 elections, presumably as an
intimidation measure. A total of 380 rapes are documented in the report

The report which is based on testimonies from 70 survivors states that most
(65; 93%) of the women either held positions as officers within the Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC) or described themselves as "active" members of
the MDC. Of great concern is the reported warning that Zanu-PF is "already
gearing up for its next campaign of sexual horror in future elections."

What is damning about this report is that it provides concrete evidence of
the extent to which Robert Mugabe is willing to go to ensure he and his
Zanu-PF party remains in power. The DA believes that the fact that he quite
strategically orchestrates violence and abuse against his own people also
shows that the current rather shaky GPA is not a feasible alternative to
creating a constitutional democracy in Zimbabwe. Mugabe and Zanu-PF has, and
continues to disregard and violate the GPA. The fact that three main
political parties have still not reported any concrete agreements in the
current negotiations in spite of President's Zuma's task team facilitating
the process,  also suggests that real change is not happening any time soon.
This makes the need to step up action in the country paramount.

Even more damning is the fact that the report criticises South Africa for
its failure to take action against Robert Mugabe even though it is
regionally, the country in the best position to do so.

For the DA these latest reports only serve to reinforce our call for South
Africa and President Zuma in particular, to take stronger action with regard
to the abhorrent conditions in Zimbabwe. As Zimbabwe's neighbours we can no
longer justify our "politically correct" silent diplomatic approach to
Robert Mugabe and his Zanu-PF supporters, especially in the light of such
harsh realities as revealed in this report.

The DA therefore once again calls on President Zuma to make use of our
proposed "Road Map to Peace and Democracy" to finally bring the country
closer to becoming a constitutional democracy. This is essential in ensuring
political stability in the region.

In his address at the closing ceremony of the 16 days of activism campaign
on no violence against women and children yesterday, President Zuma said
"government is firmly committed to lead a coordinated effort to sustain the
campaign into its next decade. This campaign has increased awareness of the
detriments of violence on women, children and society as a whole." In light
of this report, we believe that this should extend to our neighbouring
countries as well.

With Zimbabweans set to face another bleak festive season due to political
meltdown, economic crisis and unacceptable political harassment, South
Africa can no longer continue turning a blind eye to the people in Zimbabwe.
Jacob Zuma must now finally put Robert Mugabe and Zanu-PF on terms by
unequivocally stating that their human rights abuses and political excesses
can no longer be tolerated.

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." - Martin Luther
King, JR

MEDIA ENQUIRIES:

Athol Trollip MP - 082 417 9254

Ross van der Linde - 076 543 7254

 

Dogs of war still prowl

http://www.mg.co.za

CHENJERAI HOVE - Dec 11 2009 13:04

A few days ago Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai repeated his call for
Zimbabweans in the diaspora to return not only in person but with funds to
rebuild the country.

He was jeered in London over the same call and caused much tension among
Zimbabweans in Britain as the government there waved his speech at
asylum-seekers as proof that things were fine and warned that they would be
forcibly returned to the "comfort and safety" of home sweet home.

Zimbabweans are generally a peace-loving people to the point of sometimes
being desolately apathetic. One unarmed man in a small powerful position can
torment dozens of Zimbabweans and subdue them to silence. I remember a bus
driver tormenting and threatening to throw me and another man out of the bus
for protesting about his bad driving and the bribe he had given to a police
officer manning a roadblock to be allowed to drive a bus with worn-out
tyres.

None of the passengers supported our protest. They unanimously agreed to
have us thrown out of the bus without a refund of our fare money. We were
allowed to continue our trip only on condition of silent humiliation ("you
don't own a bus, so you can't control a bus").

But shortly afterwards, a front tyre burst and we ended up in a wheat field,
lucky enough to have missed a huge tree on the roadside. It was only when
their lives had been seriously threatened that the other passengers realised
their folly in supporting the driver.

Some people think Zimbabweans are on the cowardly side when they employ what
I call survival strategies. Faced with extreme danger to their person,
Zimbabweans use two major approaches: run away or fall silent. So, the
diasporans took the first option, to escape "to live to fight another day",
as Bob Marley says. It is pointless to be a dead hero. No Zimbabwean will
engage in "suicide bombing". What is the point of bombing and dying if you
cannot live to enjoy the benefit of the act?

The prime minister has to assure the exiles that the reasons for their
"running away" are no longer there, especially in terms of economic and
personal welfare -- fear as well as psycho-emotional trauma inflicted on
them by the state. But while he wants diasporans to return with their purses
open, he does not assure them that the reasons millions of them left have
been rectified. The political bus still has worn-out tyres.

Recently the youth development ministry announced that it has trained more
than 80 000 Green Bombers in the Border Gezi camps. In the negotiations on
outstanding issues there are substantial omissions -- such as who the Green
Bombers are being trained to bomb. All ordinary Zimbabwean citizens know
that they are the flies waiting to be devoured by these merciless youths
trained in the arts of brutality and human degradation.

As an educationist, I would like to have Tsvangirai's government tell the
nation the exact content of the training courses these youths go through. In
normal schools parents know their children's curriculum. The instructors and
teachers have well-recognised qualifications that give the public some
confidence in what the students are learning in preparation for respectable
careers and professions.

And, in normal schools, parents are assured of the quality of education and
training by the frequent visits of inspectors and evaluators. Parents also
have the right to visit and talk to the teachers and inspectors who are, as
we say in teaching, acting in loco parentis, some kind of second parents.

But in these youth camps, no one is allowed to visit to see what their
children are being taught. The results are visible only when the youths come
out, equipped with all sorts of skills of human and material destruction.
They are taught methods of torture, how to rape their own relatives, how to
destroy houses and all sorts of property. At least, this is what Zimbabwean
society sees them doing after leaving those camps.

The prime minister is not assuring us that if we return home to rebuild, the
destructive youths will not be on standby to destroy, kill and maim as per
their training. They are still President Robert Mugabe's little dogs of war,
bent on terrorising their parents, political critics and opponents. It is as
if Tsvangirai is saying: come home and, if you are not a member of the
president's party, share the violence with me.

Parliament is there, but basic changes to the laws that forced journalists
and other citizens out of the country are not about to be made. The army and
police are completely out of the control of the prime minister. Joint Home
Affairs Minister Giles Mutsekwa makes a few noises about the arrest of one
or two murder suspects, but every sane Zimbabwean knows that the Mwales, the
Kitsiyatotas and the others will surely never be arrested anytime soon. They
still salute their murderous bosses who wear medals and look forward to
being buried at Heroes' Acre should they die anytime soon. The same
murderers, rapists and torturers are still the heroes parading in our
streets and villages.

Yes, the coalition government is a small sign of hope, but who wants a
"small sign of hope" in the political turbulence that forced so many to
abandon their whole lives and start afresh as beggars and nobodies in other
lands? Even the prime minister himself is continually insulted, as he was
when leader of the opposition. He is forbidden from appearing too much on
national radio and TV. The new ministers are treated as if they do not
exist.

Police chief Augustine Chihuri will never take orders from Giles Mutsekwa.
And innocent people are still being arrested, tortured and imprisoned on
fabricated charges. The "disappeared" are still unaccounted for and no one
is about to be arrested for illegal abductions, torture and imprisonment of
innocent citizens.

This is the scenario to which Tsvangirai wants people in the diaspora to
return. The diasporans know that the Mugabe wing of the government does not
respect a word of what they sign for. The Central Intelligence Organisation
is still on the rampage, harassing innocent civilians going about their
normal lives. The generals are having all they want in a political climate
of fear that they know the ageing president thrives on.

I have a feeling that most Zanu-PF leaders are happy that the old man is so
old that he has lost control. They are then in charge and no one seems to
supervise their public conduct anymore. They can loot and plunder national
wealth as well as human lives as long as they sing their daily praises to
the "Supreme Leader". The Mugabe ministers have the permission of the
president to ignore the prime minister or even insult him.

To the prime minister, for whom I have tremendous respect, I would say:
please dismantle the national climate of fear and then ask the exiles to
return. As long as the two wings of government are still antagonistic and
separate, the people still feel they are being invited back to be the grass
that suffers when two elephants fight. Unfortunately, of the two elephants,
one has its tusks still intact while the other has only its soft trunk.

Chenjerai Hove is a prize-winning Zimbabwean author living in Europe

Reinvigorating the Party

This document has been sent to me - it appears to be a ZanuPf plan

PREAMBLE