Mugabe's Party Raises Threat Of New Elections In Zimbabwe

http://www.nasdaq.com

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AFP)--Zimbabwe's ruling party said Saturday it could call
new elections if the opposition fails to support a proposed constitutional
amendment meant to pave the way for a unity government.

The draft amendment will be published in the government gazette, the first
step toward bringing it to parliament for approval, Justice Minister Patrick
Chinamasa said in the state-run Herald newspaper.

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change won control of parliament for
the first time in March elections, but does not have enough seats to approve
the amendment on its own.

"In the event that the collaboration that we envisage is not forthcoming,
then that will necessitate fresh harmonized elections at some point in
time," Chinamasa said in the paper.

Negotiators for President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan
Tsvangirai have agreed to a draft of the text, but MDC spokesman Nelson
Chamisa warned that key issues surrounding the unity government remain
unresolved.

"There are still some outstanding issues which need to be resolved before
the bill goes through. These issues which are political in nature relate to
issues of appointment of governors, ministers and others," Chamisa told AFP.

Tsvangirai won a first round presidential vote in March, but pulled out of a
runoff after a deadly campaign of violence, which he accused Mugabe's party
of orchestrating.

Mugabe and Tsvangirai signed a unity accord three months ago, but so far
have failed to agree on how to form a cabinet, leaving government in limbo
as the nation confronts a cholera epidemic that has killed nearly 800
people.

  (END) Dow Jones Newswires
  12-13-080452ET

Mugabe gazettes national unity amendment to Constitution

http://www.earthtimes.org

      Posted : Sat, 13 Dec 2008 17:15:29 GMT
      Author : DPA

Harare - Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe has gazetted a constitutional
amendment bill that gives legal effect to the formation of a government of
national unity in Zimbabwe but the opposition has quickly hinted that there
are many issues that needs to be addressed. The Constitutional Amendment
Number 19 Bill formalizes the posts and institutions that were created by
the power-sharing deal signed by Mugabe and the opposition leader Morgan
Tsvangirai in September.

In the deal - brokered by the former South African leader Thabo Mbeki -
Tsvangirai who heads the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) would become
the prime minister while Mugabe remains the president.

Nelson Chamisa, the MDC spokesperson said of the gazetting of the bill:
"That is a Zanu PF project. Gazetting the bill does not automatically
translate into passing it into law. That can only take place if outstanding
issues have been addressed, otherwise we will not support the bill.

"The issues we want addressed includes the recusal of Mr Mbeki as the
mediator. He is taking instructions from Zanu PF and we have informed SADC
about it," he added.

The power-sharing deal is yet to take effect as the MDC accuse Mugabe of
taking all the key ministries such as foreign affairs, local government,
finance, home affairs and defence.

South African President Kgalema Motlanthe - who is the chairman of the
rotating chairmanship of SADC - Saturday welcomed the the amendment being
published in the official gazette.

In a statement Motlanthe said: "The gazetting of Amendment 19 of the
Zimbabwean Constitution is indeed a major step towards the formation of an
inclusive government in Zimbabwe."

He urged Zimbabwe's political parties "to establish an inclusive government
as envisaged in the Global Agreement" and said South Africa and the SADC
"stand ready to assist the people of Zimbabwe as they embark on the
difficult road towards the reconstruction and development of their country.

"We understand too well that this will indeed not be an easy task, however,
with the support of SADC, AU and the rest of the international community the
Zimbabwean people will and must succeed," Motlanthe said.

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa was quoted by the
state-run daily The Herald saying if the bill does not sail through, Mugabe
would call for fresh polls.

"I envisage that it will require two weeks for it to be debated and passed
through both Houses. If no support is forthcoming, it means that Amendment
Number 19 Bill will be dead matter," Chinamasa told the paper.

"In the event that the collaboration that we envisage is not forthcoming,
then that will necessitate fresh harmonised elections at some point in
time."

Zanu PF lost its majority in parliament in the March elections, resulting in
a hung parliament. Zanu PF has 98 seats and the rest for the opposition in
the 210-member chamber. If MDC does not support the Bill, it will not become
law.

Mugabe has twice hinted at the possibility of fresh elections should the
September power sharing deal agreement fail to get off the ground.

MDC says no Zimbabwe unity government until its demands are met

http://www.apanews.net

APA-Harare (Zimbabwe) Zimbabwe's main opposition party said on Saturday that
it would not be part of any unity government with President Robert Mugabe
until its demands for fair cabinet allocations and the recusance (removal)
of the regional mediator (Thabo Mbeki) are met, APA learns here.

The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said in a statement after a meeting
of its national council that the outstanding issues that had previously
stalled talks to form a new cabinet had to be addressed first before they
could talk of a unity government.

"The party reiterates that it will not be part of a government of national
unity unless and until there is an amicable settlement on the outstanding
issues of equitability and fairness in the allocation of ministerial
portfolios and provincial governors, the Constitution and composition of the
National Security Council (and) the enactment of Constitutional Amendment
Number 19," said the MDC.

The National Security Council is a powerful committee comprising heads of
the security forces and currently chaired by Mugabe.

The MDC wants the composition of the council to be negotiated so that they
neutralize Mugabe's power base as they see the body to be currently made up
of people loyal to the president.

The opposition party also demanded the removal of former South African
president Thabo Mbeki from his facilitation role in the dispute between the
MDC and ZANU PF of Mugabe.

The MDC statement came out on the same day that the ZANU PF announced it
would publish on Saturday Constitutional Amendment Number 19 Bill which,
when passed into law, would give Mugabe powers to appoint a unity
government.

The ruling party threatened fresh elections if efforts to form a coalition
government failed.

MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai is designated to become Prime Minister in the
new government as envisaged under a power-sharing deal signed in September.

Efforts to form the unity government have, however, faltered over the past
three months as the parties haggled over control of key cabinet ministries,
particularly the Home Affairs portfolio which is in charge of the police
force.

  JN/daj/APA 2008-12-13

'Zim PM must be sworn in'

http://news.iafrica.com

13 Dec 2008

South African President Kgalema Motlanthe said Zimbabwe's prime minister
must be sworn in immediately as a constitutional amendment providing for a
unity government was gazetted on Saturday.

"This amendment creates among others the positions of Prime Minister and
Vice-Prime Minister, the incumbent of which we expect to be sworn in with
immediate effect," said Motlanthe in a statement.

Motlanthe welcomed the gazetting of the constitutional amendment, saying it
was a "major step towards the formation of an inclusive government in
Zimbabwe".

The amendement creates the position of prime minister, earmarked for
opposition Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who
signed a unity accord three months ago with President Robert Mugabe, though
the two have so far failed to agree on how to form a cabinet.

Tsvangirai won a first-round presidential vote in March, but pulled out of a
runoff after a deadly campaign of violence, which he accused Mugabe's party
of orchestrating.

While lengthy negotiations have yielded the draft text on sharing out powers
between president, prime minister and vice-prime minister, parties have
warned there remain many issues around the formation of a unity government.

"These issues which are political in nature relate to issues of appointment
of governors, ministers and others," MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa told AFP.

Zimbabwe, currently wracked by a cholera crisis, has spiralled into massive
economic collapse during the political stalemate since first round elections
in March.

"South Africa and Sadc stand ready to assist the people of Zimbabwe as they
embark on the difficult road towards the reconstruction and development of
their country," Motlanthe said in his statement.
Sapa

Bill Watch SPECIAL [Constitution Amendment 19 Bill Gazetted]

Pressure Grows for South Africa to Get Tough With Zimbabwe

VOA

By Peta Thornycroft
Harare
13 December 2008

There are growing calls from prominent South Africans for President Kgalema
Motlanthe, who also chairs the Southern African Development Community, to
increase pressure on Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe. The calls come as
toll from Zimbabwe's cholera epidemic reaches 800 dead with 15,000 infected
and repression increases against the Movement for Democratic Change.

Leading South Africans have called on South African President Kgalema
Motlanthe to show greater leadership in the Zimbabwe crisis.

The former vice-chancellor of the University of Cape Town and a leading
anti-apartheid activist, Mamphela Ramphele, this week said a tragedy is
playing out in Zimbabwe because of what Nelson Mandela observed is a failure
of leadership on many levels.

She said President Motlanthe has an historic opportunity as chairman of the
Southern African Development Community and leader of Zimbabwe's most
powerful neighbor, to put pressure on Mr. Mugabe to step down as president
in return for a reconstruction program under United Nations supervision.

The former deputy-chair of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation
Commission and head of the New York-based International Center for
Transitional Justice, Alex Borain, said Mr. Motlanthe had a special
responsibility. He said he should increase pressure on Mugabe to step down
or call for immediate elections under United Nations supervision.

Wilmot James of the Cape Town-based Economic Justice Initiative said Mr.
Motlanthe must lead a SADC humanitarian mission, with UN assistance, and
install Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai as prime
minister since his party won the March elections.

In an editorial Friday, South Africa's influential weekly, The Financial
Mail said that Mr. Mugabe, who it called Zimbabwe's destroyer, must leave
office immediately.

The newspaper said Mr. Motlanthe has only two options: to cut off all
supplies to Zimbabwe, in order to bring Mr Mugabe down; or to invade.

Meanwhile, humanitarian groups continue to battle a cholera epidemic that
has claimed some 800 lives. The water-borne disease emerged due to heavy
rains and the country's collapsed health, water and sanitation systems.

Zimbabwe's Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu accused the West of
launching a biological warfare on Zimbabwe in order to overthrow Mr. Mugabe.

"This [cholera] is a serious biological, chemical weapon, a genocidal
onslaught on the people of Zimbabwe by the British still fighting to
re-colonize Zimbabwe," he said. "And they are using their allies."

In addition, Mr. Mugabe's spokesman, George Charamba, said in his Saturday
column in the government-controlled Herald newspaper that international news
agencies and journalists have invited an unspecified action because of their
reporting on the cholera epidemic.

He wrote that the line between these journalistic misdeeds and espionage
grows thinner by the day and said the authorities are about to place a price
on those concerned.

Rice: World powers frustrating efforts to remove Mugabe

http://www.nation.co.ke/

By KEVIN J. KELLEY in New YorkPosted Saturday, December 13 2008 at 18:54

Despite their denunciations of gross human rights violations in some African
countries, the world's leading powers remain both unable and unwilling to
force the removal of tyrants such as Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe.

This impotence is undermining the UN's "Responsibility to Protect" doctrine,
which states that international military force should be used to stop a
governments from crushing its own citizens.

But the UN Security Council appears unlikely to respond positively to US
secretary of state Condoleezza Rice's expected call on Monday for
"meaningful action" against Mugabe.

China and Russia

Two of the council's five veto-wielding members - China and Russia - have
not endorsed demands by the other three - Britain, France and the US - that
Mugabe step down.

China and Russia both vetoed a US-sponsored Security Council resolution in
July calling for an arms embargo against Zimbabwe and financial restrictions
on him and 13 other top officials.

And there is no indication that Moscow and Beijing have grown favourably
disposed to more direct efforts to bring about regime change in Zimbabwe.

The US and its allies have also not managed to convince South Africa to take
action likely to lead to Mugabe's downfall.

An unnamed US official was quoted last week as suggesting that if South
Africa were to close its border with landlocked Zimbabwe, "within a week, it
would bring the (Zimbabwe) economy to its knees."

South Africa does have the power to bring down Mugabe, US ambassador to
Zimbabwe James McGee implied last week.

Describing South Africa as "the big dog on the block," he said that "we
expect South Africa to take an active stance on everything that happens in
the southern tier of Africa. We do continue to work quietly and behind the
scenes with South Africa to make that happen."

But just as South Africa continues to resist US pressure, America itself
shows no sign of moving unilaterally to apply the Responsibility to Protect
doctrine in the case of Zimbabwe. With the US already engaged militarily in
both Iraq and Afghanistan, the American public has no appetite for an
intervention in Africa.

The African Union, which has dispatched forces to both Darfur and Somalia,
has likewise made clear that it will not send troops into Zimbabwe, despite
calls for such a step by Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga and respected
South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Fallen short

All this has led Rice to express frustration over the world's inability to
topple oppressors such as Mr Mugabe. "We all undertook this notion of a
responsibility to protect a couple of years ago with great fanfare, and we've,
as a community, fallen short," she said in an interview last week with
National Public Radio in Washington.

The failure does not result from US inaction, she added. "We've put
unilateral sanctions on Sudan, on Burma, on Zimbabwe. And very often, we've
been joined by other states, particularly the Europeans, in several of those
circumstances. But much of the world is prepared to turn a blind eye, and
that's really unfortunate, and I think it really damages the credibility of
the Security Council."

The incoming Obama administration can break this global deadlock, a group
led by two former top-level US officials said last week.

The Genocide Prevention Task Force, co-chaired by ex-Pentagon head William
Cohen and ex-secretary of state Madeleine Albright, urged Obama and his
designated foreign policy chief, Hillary Clinton, to launch "robust
diplomatic efforts" to gain consensus for action on the part of the UN
Security Council.

"A principal aim should be informal, voluntary mutual restraint in the use
or threat of a veto in cases involving ongoing or imminent mass atrocities,"
a report by the task force said.

Rice to discuss Zimbabwe crisis at UN as cholera toll mounts

http://news.yahoo.com

HARARE (AFP) - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was to hold talks next
week with the UN on Zimbabwe, as Harare blamed Britain for a "genocidal"
cholera outbreak and President Robert Mugabe ignored mounting calls to quit.

Rice will visit New York on Monday and Tuesday to discuss among other things
the political deadlock in Zimbabwe, ravaged by a meltdown and a humanitarian
crisis, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in Washington.

McCormack said Rice hoped the UN Security Council will work more forcefully
to end the multiple crises in the southern African nation, ruled by Mugabe
since its 1980 independence from Britain.

She wants Mugabe to step down, a move backed by US President George W. Bush
and other world leaders, including British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and
French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

"We're in discussions with members of the Security Council as to what the
Security Council as a body might do," McCormack said Friday.

"And what we want to do is to start a process that will bring an end to the
tragedy that is unfolding in Zimbabwe."

But Mugabe's government struck a combative tone as the World Health
Organisation (WHO) said the death toll had risen to 792, and aid groups
warned the epidemic could last for months .

"Cholera is a calculated, racist attack on Zimbabwe by the unrepentant
former colonial power, which has enlisted support from its American and
Western allies so that they can invade the country," Information Minister
Sikhanyiso Ndlovu said.

"The cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe is a serious biological, chemical war
force, a genocidal onslaught , on the people of Zimbabwe by the British," he
said. "It's a genocide of our people."

One day earlier, Mugabe had proclaimed in a nationally broadcast speech that
"there is no cholera" -- comments his spokesman George Charamba later said
were meant as "sarcasm."

UN chief Ban Ki-moon meanwhile said he had met with the 84-year-old leader
two weeks ago at a summit in Qatar, where he urged Mugabe to leave his
legacy "in a positive way."

"Mugabe really should look for the future of his country and his own people,
who have been suffering too much, too long from this political turmoil now
coupled with very serious humanitarian tragedies," Ban said in Geneva.

But Ban said the meeting did not go well, calling the dialogue "very
difficult."

The cholera epidemic is only the latest grim symptom of Zimbabwe's collapse.

The economy has crumbled under the world's highest inflation rate, last
estimated in July at 231 million percent but now believed to be much higher.

A new 500 million dollar note, worth 10 US dollars (7.50 euros), was
introduced Friday by the central bank, which struggles to print money fast
enough to keep pace with prices that rise several times a day.

Due to currency shortages, cash can only be withdrawn once a week from
banks, and then people are allowed to take only 500 million dollars, which
is not enough to see them through the day.

Hospitals have no drugs, no equipment and no staff left to treat the cholera
epidemic, which has spread as sewage and water lines have broken down,
contaminating the drinking supply.

A political stalemate between Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai
has deepened the crisis and left the government in limbo.

The two signed a power-sharing deal three months ago after a controversial
one-man presidential run-off won by Mugabe but have so far failed to agree
on how to form a unity government.

Zimbabwe: Cholera Outbreak Fact Sheet #1 (FY 2009)

State Media Ordered to Down Play Cholera Epidemic

http://www.radiovop.com

BULAWAYO, December 13 2008 - The Government has directed the state
controlled media to down play the cholera epidemic, which has claimed well
over 700 lives over the past two months.

The Minister of Information and Publicity, Sikhanyiso Ndlovu,
reportedly sent a circular to all Zimpapers publications, including the
Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings (ZBH), ordering them to downplay the cholera
epidemic, which he said had given 'the country's enemies a chance to exert
more pressure on President Robert Mugabe to leave office'.

The Minister instructed the state controlled media to turn a blind eye
to the number of people who have died or infected with cholera, and instead
focus on what the government and Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) are
doing to contain the epidemic.

He added that everyone employed by the state media must know that they
'are now in a pre-election mode' and as such, Movement for Democratic Change
leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, must be treated like a true enemy, together with
the likes of Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, Botswana president Ian
Khama and Western powers.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Friday said the death toll from
cholera had risen to 792, with 16,700 cases.

"I don't think that the cholera outbreak is under control as of now,"
WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib said in Geneva.

Zanu PF officials are sceptical about the possibility of amendment
number 19, which will legalise an all inclusive government, being enacted
into law and as such, are already laying the ground work for possible
general elections next year.

President Mugabe was the first to let the cat out of the bag two weeks
back and on Friday, his Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary
Affairs, Patrick Chinamasa echoed the same sentiments.

Zimbabwe cholera spreads to Botswana, DRC and S. Africa

http://en.afrik.com/article15037.html



Francistown, Botswana's second largest city, has been placed on high
alert following reports that two new cases of cholera were diagnosed at the
Nyangabwe Referral Hospital, prompting fears of a possible outbreak in and
around the city, the Botswana Guardian reported.

Saturday 13 December 2008

The three cases reported at Nyangabwe Hospital bring to four the total
number of cholera cases diagnosed in Botswana in less than a month.

The new cases were confirmed by the Francistown City Council's Public
Health Specialist, Dr Paul Nashar, who urged the public to report suspected
symptoms of the contagious disease to the nearest health facility without
delay.

Dr. Nashar said the two patients, a man and woman, who were
Zimbabweans had been admitted to an isolation ward at Jubilee Clinic in
Francistown City.

"The patients were referred to Nyangabwe from different villages in
the North East District where they had gone to seek medical attention. They
had symptoms of diarrhoea that include vomiting and running stomach. The
treatment depends on the condition of the patient, but it can take roughly
one to two weeks," Dr. Nashar said.

On 19 November two people from Zimbabwe reported at Sekgoma Memorial
Hospital in the Serowe village with acute diarrhoea and were treated as
suspected cholera cases.

Both cases in Serowe village and the latest in Francistown City are a
spillover from the cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe where the disease now
accounts for nearly 800 deaths and another 12,000 people on treatment.

The disease has also been reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo
and South Africa.

Supermarkets in Botswana explained that they have since stopped buying
fruits and vegetables from Zimbabwe.

36 cholera cases reported in Malawi capital, 4 dead

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk


Saturday, 13 December 2008

Barely a day after Balaka district reported the first death of a man
suffering from cholera, government has admitted the disease is fast
spreading and four people have so far died in Lilongwe alone.  However,
government says it has put in place all procedures to control the cholera
outbreak which is slowly sweeping across Malawi.

In Zimbabwe, the outbreak has claimed 746 lives with over 14,000 new
cases being reported. The disease has also been traced in Zambia and South
Africa.

Though Minister of Health, Khumbo Kachali said yesterday there were no
confirmed cases of cholera in government hospitals, his Director of
Preventive Health Services in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Stone Kabuluzi
confirmed of 36 cholera at Likuni Mission Hospital in Lilongwe out of which
four people have lost their lives.

"Reports from the hospital indicate that two patients died right at
the hospital because they came a bit late while two others are also
suspected to have died at their homes from cholera," he said.

Dr Kabuluzi however said his ministry has instituted necessary
measures to contain the disease not to further spread to other parts of the
country.

"All District Health Officers have been alerted. We procured all the
required medical supplies such as Oral Rehydration Salts (ORS) and Chlorine
and distributed to every health facility.

"We are ready to ensure that it does not spread further. We will
identify all those diagnosed and treat and isolate them from others to avoid
further spread," said Kabuluzi.

He said cholera quarantine shelters were also present in all district
health centers.

According to Kabuluzi, the ministry had also trained health workers in
all the b[article ends here...]

Mauritius moves to check cholera spread to its territory

http://www.afriquenligne.fr

News - Africa news

Port-Louis, Mauritius - Mauritius has introduced surveillance in its ports
(both sea and air) following the cholera epidemic which is ravaging
Zimbabwe, an official of the Health Ministry announced here Friday.

The health official said passengers coming from endemic countries were
subjected to systematic screening and a daily follow-up for five days
starting from the day of arrival.

Mauritians going to endemic countries are advised to take the basic
precautions like avoiding contaminated water and food.

"We advise them to avoid consuming uncooked vegetables and fruits, to eat
cooked food, to avoid consuming ready-made food being sold on the streets
and to drink only boiled or treated water," the official said.

Port-Louis - 12/12/2008

More aid for Zimbabwe epidemic

http://www.radionetherlands.nl

Published: Saturday 13 December 2008 14:44 UTC

The Dutch government is going to give Zimbabwe an additional two million
euros to help combat the country's cholera epidemic. Development Cooperation
Minister Bert Koenders took the decision following an urgent appeal by
UNICEF. The latest amount comes on top of three million euros the
Netherlands has previously contributed. The funds will be used to provide
clean drinking water, purifying tablets and medicines.

Minister Koenders voiced outrage at statements made by President Robert
Mugabe claiming the epidemic had been brought under control. UNICEF says the
disease has spread to two-thirds of the country and has begun spilling over
into South Africa and Mozambique. According to the World Health
Organisation, nearly 17,000 people have contracted the disease and around
800 others have died so far.

Zimbabweans need your help: please support these appeals

Iraq had ‘Comical Ali’; Zimbabwe has a ‘Sikhophant’

Dublin protest highlights Zimbabwe crisis

http://www.breakingnews.ie

13/12/2008 - 15:17:51
Protestors have gathered in Dublin to highlight the humanitarian crisis in
Zimbabwe.

"Friends of Zimbabwe in Ireland" were walking through the city centre to
Government buildings to voice their concerns over the cholera epidemic in
the country, which has killed almost 800 people so far.

The World Health Organisation estimates that up to 60,000 people could be
hit by the disease unless immediate action is taken.

There are also concerns over the disappearance of a humanitarian worker in
the country 10 days ago.

Jestina Mukoko was abducted outside her home in Harare on December 3.

Rudd 'missing' on Zimbabwe crisis

http://www.theage.com.au

Josh Gordon
December 14, 2008
PRIME Minister Kevin Rudd has "gone missing" on the problem of Zimbabwe
because he fears it could hamper his bid for a seat on the United Nations
Security Council, the Federal Opposition has claimed.

Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull said Mr Rudd had made no formal statement
on Zimbabwe since June, in contrast to the "robust diplomacy of Britain, the
United States and the European Union to galvanise international support for
the isolation of the brutal Mugabe regime".

Before this week's meeting of the United Nations Security Council in New
York to discuss Zimbabwe's economic, political and humanitarian crisis, the
US has warned it is time for countries with "unused leverage to use that
leverage".

Although it is unclear what leverage Australia has, Mr Turnbull said it was
time for Mr Rudd to put his diplomatic skills to good use.

"With plans under way to bring the plight of Zimbabwe before an urgent
meeting of the United Nations Security Council, Mr Rudd must be on the phone
this weekend, to Beijing and Moscow in particular, insisting there be no
obstruction to these important international efforts to rescue Zimbabwe from
the misrule of a discredited and decrepit regime," Mr Turnbull said.

Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Helen Coonan went further, suggesting
the inaction "is related to Mr Rudd's personal campaign to garner votes for
a seat on the United Nations Security Council for 2013", which would require
support from other African nations.

The inference is that Australia will need votes from as many African nations
as possible and Mr Rudd is reluctant to be seen intervening in African
affairs.

The Government did not respond to the claims directly, but a spokeswoman for
Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said he had been speaking "relentlessly"
about Zimbabwe all year.

Last week Mr Smith said Australia would support military action if it were
sanctioned by the United Nations.

The US and European countries are now pushing for tougher measures,
including sanctions.

Gono Caught Napping

http://www.radiovop.com

HARARE, December 13, 2008 - While Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ)
governor, Gideon Gono, is waging a bitter war against financial institutions
for engaging in corrupt activities, it has emerged that he is failing to
police his own staff.

The Herald on Saturday revealed that police in Harare impounded five
trucks loaded with 150 tonnes of fertilizer belonging to an RBZ clerk,
Ronald Ajayi.

Harare provincial police spokesperson Inspector James Sabau told The
Herald that the fertilizer was recovered on Thursday following a tip-off.

He said police have since placed under guard the five trucks loaded
with fertilizer at 399 Limpopo Way, Willowvale Industrial Area.

"Investigations are still in progress since we need to verify the
source and its destination," Inspector Sabau was quoted as saying.

The RBZ official, is believed to have left for the United States, The
Herald reported.

Ajayi, who is also the RBZ workers' committee chairman and owns the
impounded trucks, was once contracted by the central bank to ferry
fertilizer from BAK Storage to various destinations countrywide, the paper
said.

But observers felt that there was conflict of interest as they
questioned how a central bank employee was contracted by the same
institution.

It is suspected that Ajayi and some officials at the storage company
could have withheld some of the fertilizer. The five haulage trucks were
loaded with 30 tonnes each of fertilizer, three weeks ago, before being
driven to Willowvale Industrial area.

Fireworks Loom In Banking Sector

http://www.radiovop.com


HARARE, December 13, 2008 - Fireworks are looming in the banking
sector following the failure by some banks to honour their pledge to
benchmark employees' salaries in foreign currency starting November.

The Zimbabwe Banks and Allied Workers Union (ZIBAWU) and the Bank
Employers Association of Zimbabwe (BEAZ) last month agreed to peg salaries
in foreign currency or the equivalent in local currency after the 7000
member ZIBAWU threatened to down tools.

The parties agreed that the lowest paid employee would earn a minimum
of US$1 200 per month.

Sources in the banking industry however indicated on Friday that some
financial institutions had failed to honour their obligations, raising the
ire of workers.

It was not immediately clear whether the closure of CBZ Southerton
Branch on Friday was linked to the go slow in the sector. On Friday,
depositors with CBZ Southerton Branch could not access their hard earned
money after the bank failed to open.

Resolutions of the 8th MDC national council of 2008

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk


Saturday, 13 December 2008
MOVEMENT FOR DEMOCRATIC CHANGE
RESOLUTIONS OF THE 8th MDC NATIONAL COUNCIL OF 2008 Kadoma, 12
December 2008

NOTING the serious meltdown, poverty, suffering and the complete
failure by the Zimbabwean State to provide basic social amenities to its
people and to protect the lives and security of all Zimbabweans, CONCERNED
with the implosion of the cholera epidemic in the country and the thousands
of people who are dying and suffering from the same,

DISTURBED by the indifferent and casual approach by the Mugabe regime
to the cholera disease and more importantly, alarmed by Mugabe's
irresponsible and false remarks regarding the containment of cholera made on
the 11th of December 2008,

DISTURBED by the hunger and shortages in the country and the extent of
the humongous humanitarian crisis,

ALARMED by the massive crackdown on the people and the people's rights
by the Mugabe regime, the violations of Court Orders and continued
abductions of Zimbabweans all over the country,

FURTHER ANGERED by the continued assaults on MDC structures and the
deliberate and violent decimation of the same by Zanu PF militia,

AWARE of the Mugabe regime's shenanigans in creating false documents
and videos incriminating the MDC on the basis of a hatched-up plot, wherein
the Party is alleged to be training insurgencies in Botswana,

REPULSED by the unlawful detention and abduction of our Party
activists in particular Concillia Chinanzvavana; Emmanuel Chinanzvavana;
Fidelis Chiramba; Fanwell Tembo; Terry Musona; Lloyd Tarumbwa; Violet
Mupfuranhehwe and her two year old baby; Collen Mutemagawo; Pieat Kaseke;
Gwenzi Kahiya; Tawanda Bvumo; Agrippa Kakonda; Larry Gaka; Mapfumo Garutsa;
Gandhi Mudzingwa; and Christopher Dhlamini,

FURTHER REPULSED by the abductions and extra-legal actions taken
against Jestina Mukoko and other members of the Zimbabwe Peace Project,

NOTING the directionless, lack of structure and the stalled nature of
the (SADC) dialogue, the clear lack of paradigm shift and sincerity on the
part of Zanu PF and its continued pursuit of the power retention agenda,

FURTHER CONCERNED by Zanu PF's fundamental breach of the MoU and the
GPA as reflected in the reappointment of RBZ Governor, Gideon Gono, the
appointment of Provincial Governors, the convening of Parliament, violence
against the people, proscription of the MDC's political movement and violent
crackdown on the MDC and the promotion of police and army officers,

DISTURBED by the partisanship and lack of objectivity of the dialogue
Facilitator, Mr. Thabo Mbeki, and

CONCERNED by the non-sitting of Parliament and the continued
harassment and attacks on Members of Parliament,

TAKING NOTE of the peaceful and successful election held by the
gallant people of Ghana on the 7th of December 2008,

The Council Resolves that:
1.    The United Nations, the international community, Africa and
SADC,
under the United Nations' responsibility to protect, must address the
issue of cholera and intervene to render humanitarian assistance to deal
with the breakdown in the health sector and lack of food in Zimbabwe,

2.    The Mugabe regime and its militia must forthwith release all
abducted and kidnapped people including and in particular, Concillia
Chinanzvavana; Emmanuel Chinanzvavana; Fidelis Chiramba; Fanwell Tembo;
Terry Musona; Lloyd Tarumbwa; Violet Mupfuranhehwe and her two year old
baby; Collen Mutemagawo; Pieat Kaseke; Gwenzi Kahiya; Tawanda Bvumo; Agrippa
Kakonda; Larry Gaka; Mapfumo Garutsa; Gandhi Mudzingwa; Chris Dhlamini;
Jestina Mukoko and members of the Zimbabwe Peace Project,

3.    The Mugabe regime must allow the lawful and free movement of
humanitarian assistance in Zimbabwe and must cease the unlawful
interference and hindrance of lawful humanitarian work by humanitarian
agencies,

4.    The Party remains committed to the SADC dialogue but demands a
definitive resolution of the same, in the shortest time possible,

5.    The Party reiterates that it will not be part of a government of
national unity unless and until there is an amicable settlement on the
outstanding issues of;
a.    Equitability and fairness in the allocation of ministerial
portfolios and Provincial Governors
b.    The Constitution and composition of the National Security
Council
c.    The enactment of Constitutional Amendment No. 19

6.    Mr. Thabo Mbeki be recused as Facilitator in the SADC Dialogue,

7.    The Party demands the reversal of all unlawful executive
decisions
done in breach of the MoU and the GPA,

8.    The Party restates, out of an abundance of caution and out of
emphasis Resolutions No. 5; 6; 7; 10 and 11 of the 14th of November
National Council meeting, which read as follows:

5.    Notes that there was a sham election on the 27th of June 2008
and
therefore neither Robert Mugabe nor Zanu PF have the legitimacy of
forming any government or running this country in the absence of the
consummation of the GPA, the enactment of Constitutional Amendment No.
19 and the resolution of all other outstanding issues. In addition,
the SADC resolution of the 9th of November does not bestow any right on
Robert Mugabe or Zanu PF of forming any government or inviting any Party to
joining that government.

6.    The longer that this crisis remains outstanding, then the
obligation on SADC, AU and the people of Zimbabwe that a transitional
authority be instituted pending the enactment of a new people driven
constitution and the holding of elections under African and international
supervision.

7.    In the event of an illegitimate government being unilaterally
formed, the MDC will not be part to the same and will peacefully,
constitutionally and democratically mobilize and campaign against the
illegitimate government.

10.    Parliament must be convened as a matter of urgency to carry out
its normal business of overseeing the Executive.

11.    Ignatius Chombo and the Zanu PF authorities desist from
obstructing and interfering with the work of Local Authorities.

9.    The MDC congratulates the people of Ghana for an exemplary and
democratic election and trusts that the run-off shall also be free,
fair and peaceful.

FOR AND ON BEHALF OF THE SUFFERING AND STRUGGLING PEOPLE OF ZIMBABWE

THANK YOU

Play Mugabe at his own brutal game

http://www.timesonline.co.uk

December 13, 2008

Only direct and convincing threats to the regime in Zimbabwe will achieve
change there
Robin Renwick
At Lancaster House I spent three months locked in a suite of rooms
negotiating with Robert Mugabe. Power, he explained to me, came from the
barrel of a gun; also, he had an advanced degree in terrorism. These were
and are his sincerely held beliefs. Although those negotiations back in 1979
gave him what he wanted - majority rule - he still refused to sign the final
documents. We had to get President Machel of Mozambique to pretty well
literally put a gun to his head to oblige him to do so.

This is why the international response to the drama in Zimbabwe has been so
ineffectual. Western governments have wrung their hands and imposed limited
sanctions, which they know have no real prospect of changing the conduct of
the Mugabe regime. NGOs and aid agencies naturally feel that they have to go
on trying to get relief through, though the supply of aid itself has been
used by the regime as a means of controlling the population. Mugabe does not
care if his people are starving; nor if, as a result of the implosion of
water and sewage services, they are dying from cholera. His only concern is
to stay in power.

We have returned to the diplomacy of Harold Wilson who, by publicly ruling
out any possibility of intervening, gave a green light to Ian Smith to
declare the Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) without needing
even to consult the Rhodesian defence commanders, who were against it. We
have delivered an eerily similar message today, thereby reassuring Mugabe
that he has nothing to fear, at any rate from the British.

I worked for a government - that of Margaret Thatcher - which was made of
sterner stuff. She would not have ruled out intervening, even in the most
desperate circumstances. She would have enjoyed creating uncertainty in
Mugabe's mind; and, knowing her, he would have believed that she might just
do it. She did not believe in purely declaratory diplomacy.

As for diplomacy, it is unfortunate that its instrument has been Thabo
Mbeki, the former President of South Africa, whose latest construct has been
to create a "power-sharing" arrangement that would leave Mugabe in control
of the army and the Central Intelligence Organisation and give the
Opposition a half share in the Ministry of Home Affairs. This despite the
fact that in the absence of real political change there is no possibility of
Western governments and companies contributing the investment that Zimbabwe
desperately needs and which could make a rapid difference to people's lives.
Nor could the deal have any meaningful effect without the dismissal of the
Central Bank Governor (who has just been reappointed by Mugabe) and a
fundamental reform of the currency by linking it to the rand.
So what hope is there for the people of Zimbabwe?

After a period of denial and assertions of non-interference in Zimbabwe's
internal affairs, a number of African governments, led by Botswana, Zambia
and Kenya, have made clear that they consider the situation catastrophic and
have been openly calling for regime change. Nelson Mandela and Archbishop
Tutu would like to see Mugabe removed, by any necessary means.

Kgalema Motlanthe, the South African President, does not regard the Mugabe
government as legitimate. South Africa has declined to provide any further
financial assistance in the absence of power-sharing. The
President-in-waiting, Jacob Zuma, has no illusions about his neighbour.
Across a broad swath of South African opinion - in the ruling African
National Congress, the unions and the political class - there is a
realisation that South Africa can scarcely afford to let this situation
endure.

In 1980 this country intervened to put an end to the war in Rhodesia by
organising internationally supervised elections. It certainly would be the
desire of what we like to call the "international community" to see genuine
elections held once again. The problem is that the "international community",
on which we seek to rely, does not exist as a viable force and a regime like
Mugabe's does not feel that it needs to pay the slightest attention to its
pronouncements. No external party is likely to be taken seriously by him
unless he and his associates feel that the pressure it exerts directly
threatens their hold on power. Any attempt to deal with Mugabe needs to be
based on that reality.

- Lord Renwick of Clifton was adviser to Lord Carrington during the
Lancaster House negotiations and deputy to Lord Soames as Governor of
Rhodesia

Comments
Thanks Robin. Yes, we need leaders with the bravery to stand up and bring
this charade to an end.

TimF, Worcester, UK

At last, someone else who understands the problem. Just as S Machel & Kaunda
were "pressured" (with blown up bridges) to get Mugabe & Nkomo to sign, SA
pulled the plug on Smith to get him to sign. How? Pressure, SA wanted an end
to Apardheid. Simply find SA's new pressure point & apply pressure.

Quentin Kelly-Edwards, Wimborne, United Kingdom

Mr. President, Liberate Zimbabwe

http://www.weeklystandard.com

A good deed for Bush's final days.
by James Kirchick
12/22/2008, Volume 014, Issue 14

In the final days of his presidency, George W. Bush will face an avalanche
of requests. Well-connected political hands will inquire if so-and-so could
receive a coveted pardon, lobbyists will ask for that last-minute executive
order, obscure foreign leaders will finally call in chits for having joined
the Coalition of the Willing. In the routine and predictable nature of these
appeals, Bush's remaining time in office will be little different from those
of his predecessors granting last-minute favors to the privileged and
powerful. But Bush has an opportunity to benefit some of the world's most
destitute individuals and to secure a positive and lasting legacy in a
country that has suffered under the boot of a megalomaniacal thug for
decades.

Zimbabwe, which for the past eight years has been careening from one
disaster to another, is today on the precipice of humanitarian catastrophe.
Ruled by Robert Mugabe for nearly 29 years, the country has been in
political stalemate since March when Mugabe lost a presidential and
parliamentary election to Morgan Tsvangirai and his Movement for Democratic
Change. Mugabe rejected the results and won a rigged follow-up. He was then
coaxed by African leaders into negotiations to establish a coalition
government, but has refused to cede control of the army, the police force,
or the central bank. He uses the negotiations to prevent any handover of
power to the real winners of the country's election and to frustrate all
attempts at economic reform.

What ought to bring Zimbabwe to the forefront of  international concern is a
spreading cholera epidemic, incubated in sewage-infested townships, which
threatens to overtake the country and the region. The World Health
Organization has confirmed nearly 800 deaths so far (though it believes many
more have perished) and 16,000 more cases. Most of the country's hospitals
are inoperative, and the Zimbabwean government has no means to stanch the
spread of the disease. Indeed, it couldn't prevent the initial outbreak,
which it blames on Western governments' poisoning of water wells.

Given the massive refugee outflows to bordering states and an intensified
mortality level brought about by the policies of the Mugabe regime over the
past several years, it is no longer possible to even state Zimbabwe's
current population. U.S. government estimates of the number of citizens
residing in-country range from 5.8 million to 12 million. Most of these
people are in need of emergency food supplies, and they will starve unless
outside actors like the United Nations or the United States comes to their
help.

Calls for Mugabe's forcible removal are growing stronger. For some time now,
the president of neighboring Botswana, Ian Khama, has supported intervention
to topple Mugabe. He was joined earlier this month by the Kenyan prime
minister, Raila Odinga, who said that "it's time for African governments ..  .to push [Mugabe] out of power." He told Tsvangirai to boycott the stalled
power-sharing talks as the negotiations, with their patina of international
legitimacy, have become a way for an illegitimate leader to maintain his
grip on power--not unlike another "peace process" in a different part of the
world. Even South Africa's Desmond Tutu supports intervention.

African leaders have long protected Mugabe, fearful of the precedent that
ushering out a liberation-era hero could set for their own political
survival. Last week, amid the growing chorus of calls for Mugabe to step
down, a spokesperson for the chairman of the African Union said, "Only
dialogue between the Zimbabwean parties, supported by the AU and other
regional actors, can restore peace and stability to that country." Mugabe,
meanwhile, continues to threaten violence against anyone who would try to
ease him or his party out of power. "We won this country through the barrel
of the gun and we will defend it the way we won it," a government spokesman
said.

Mugabe has the backing of both Russia and China, meaning that, as with
NATO's intervention in Bosnia, military action would have to be taken
outside the parameters of the United Nations. With the vocal support of
Botswana and Kenya, an American- and British-led force could work alongside
African troops to decapitate the regime and facilitate the delivery of
emergency aid and the installation of the duly elected government. The
Zimbabwean military is poorly equipped and demoralized; last month, soldiers
rioted in response to the government's failure to pay them on time (a task
complicated by the fact that the country faces 231 million percent
inflation). In the face of professional armies, many units would surrender
or revolt against their commanders. "The [Zimbabwean] military would be very
weak and have a difficult time in resisting any credible intervention," says
J. Anthony Holmes, a former Foreign Service officer now with the Council on
Foreign Relations.

A few days ago, I chatted online with the Zimbabwean fixer I worked with
during a visit to the country in 2006. He has not been wanting for work.
Since the March election, a steady stream of journalists has come to report
on the stalled negotiations and needed his skills at ferrying them around
the country, arranging interviews, and dodging military cordons and security
operatives. But he finds the utter lack of political progress frustrating
and the humanitarian situation unendurable. "I have given up," he says. He
described the horrors he saw recently taking a French journalist to the
cholera-infected area. "He cried," my friend told me.

"It is time for Robert Mugabe to go," Bush said last week, recognizing the
growing momentum in favor of a humanitarian intervention to save Zimbabwe.
"Across the continent, African voices are bravely speaking out to say now is
the time for him to step down." Asked to reflect upon his legacy in an
interview last month, Bush said, "I'd like to be a president [known] as
somebody who liberated 50 million people and helped achieve peace." In his
final days in office, he could liberate millions more.

James Kirchick, who has reported from Zimbabwe, is an assistant editor at
The New Republic.

Uniting against Mugabe's corrupt regime

http://www.boston.com

By Robert I. Rotberg
December 13, 2008

DESPERATE Zimbabweans cannot understand why Africa and the forces of world
order have abandoned them in their hour of need, when what is left of their
once wealthy nation decays irredeemably. President-elect Barack Obama has
spoken critically of Africa's irresponsibility. So have French President
Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. All three want
Africa to eject Robert G. Mugabe, Zimbabwe's unelected ruling despot.

Despite decisively losing an election in March and declaring himself the
victor in an uncontested runoff poll in June that many African observer
missions and the wider world condemned, Mugabe has continued to govern
Zimbabwe tyrannically. He repeatedly thumbs his nose at South Africa's
attempt to forge a workable compromise with Morgan Tsvangirai, Mugabe's main
opponent.
Although Tsvangirai has gone out of his way to be reasonable, even agreeing
in September to become an executive prime minister, Mugabe refuses to keep a
promised fair division of cabinet positions. Indeed, every time former South
African President Thabo Mbeki, the main mediator, has extracted a concession
from Mugabe, Mugabe has rapidly backtracked. Thus Tsvangirai and his
Movement for Democratic Change majority in the nation's parliament cannot
exercise the authority that is rightly theirs. Mugabe and his ilk continue
to run key ministries and what is left of the country's economy illegally.
Additionally, Mugabe's thugs continue to maim and kill officials of the
Movement for Democratic Change and its supporters.

They do so negligently. Nothing works in Zimbabwe. Eighty percent of all
schools are closed. The best hospitals have shut down because of acute
shortages of medicine, bandages, and anesthetics. Because Mugabe's men have
taken over the national water authority and have stopped chlorinating
supplies, there is no drinkable water in the cities. Hundreds of Zimbabweans
have already died of cholera, with more avoidable deaths to come.

Everywhere there is hunger. The World Food Program estimates that 5 million
people, about half of Zimbabwe's diminished population, is hungry or close
to starvation. (An estimated 4 million Zimbabweans have fled to South Africa
and Botswana.) Eighty to 90 percent of Zimbabweans are unemployed, so few
can generate cash to purchase food. The local currency is effectively
worthless.

Only President Seretse Ian Khama of Botswana and Kenyan Prime Minister Raila
Odinga have declared Mugabe a usurper. Other African leaders wring their
hands, speaking piously, but doing nothing.

When Obama assumes office, the power of his roots and his charisma may be
able to persuade Africans to disbar Mugabe. But the end of January is too
late. Zimbabwe needs political re-fashioning now, and not by telling
Tsvangirai to take whatever he can get and somehow move forward from a point
of palpable weakness, as suggested by former President Jimmy Carter and the
Elders. Mugabe cannot be trusted.

First, the African Union needs to declare Mugabe a non-president and
recognize Tsvangirai as at least an interim ruler. Second, South Africa
needs to make the Mugabe problem its own and present the nearly 85-year-old
tyrant with two options: to exit gracefully to a soft landing in South
Africa or to exit under South African military compulsion. Third, after a
year or so, a new election to confirm Tsvangirai and the Movement for
Democratic Change should be held under international auspices. If all else
fails, the International Criminal Court should indict Mugabe for crimes
against humanity.

Would South African forces be able to compel Mugabe's removal? If such an
action were legitimated by the South African Development Community or the
African Union (preferably both), resistance from Mugabe's praetorian guard,
the rump of the Central Intelligence Organization, and corrupt generals
would easily be overcome.

Mugabe has already lost credibility at home. A push from countries that have
so far supported him passively, sometimes actively, would be sufficient.
Even China, which backs Mugabe, would quickly withdraw. Thus, the key to
ending the depravity and odiousness of Mugabe's corrupt regime is decisive
declarations by a collective leadership of an Africa that should know
better, and now, at the 11th hour, can make matters right.

Robert I. Rotberg is director of Harvard Kennedy School's Program on
Intrastate Conflict and president of the World Peace Foundation.

Nowhere to Hide

http://www.nytimes.com

Editorial

Published: December 13, 2008
Here are the fruits of Robert Mugabe's rule of horrors: political chaos,
economic collapse, desperate food shortages, violence and now a fierce
cholera epidemic. Eight-hundred people have died. More than 16,000 are
infected, and there is no end in sight.

The increasingly delusional Mr. Mugabe - Zimbabwe's illegitimate president -
announced on Thursday that the cholera crisis is over. Tell that to the
Chigudu family which, as The Times's Celia Dugger reported, lost five
children, aged 20 months to 12 years, in a matter of hours. Or to the World
Health Organization, which warns that the crisis now poses a regional
threat.
Mr. Mugabe blames the West for the epidemic that is spread by water
contaminated with human excrement. The blame is all his. Water taps in the
capital's dense suburbs went dry last week, so people could not wash their
hands or food. Hospitals are closed. Garbage is everywhere. Sludge spews
from burst sewer lines.

The international community must provide emergency shipments of food, water
purification tablets and anti-cholera drugs. The United States has allocated
another $6.2 million for supplies like soap, rehydration tablets and water
containers. Unfortunately, the dying will continue until Mr. Mugabe allows
international health care workers to enter the country and do their jobs.

There will be no end to these horrors until Mr. Mugabe is gone. He stole
this year's election and has blocked a unity government. South Africa and
other states that insist on an African-led solution to this crisis must stop
enabling Mr. Mugabe and lead. They must renounce their recognition of Mr.
Mugabe as president and press him and his cronies to cede power. The cholera
epidemic, spilling into South Africa and other border states, shows there is
nowhere to hide from Mr. Mugabe's legacy.

High Time For Mugabe To Exit

http://www.namibian.com.na/columns/full-story/archive/2008/december/article/high-time-for-mugabe-to-exit/

12.12.08

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe's ability to use international forums to get his way
is the stuff of history books. Lancaster House in 1979, when he negotiated
Ian Smith out of power, was the first sign that the man had abilities only
the die-hard conservative and right-winger would deny.
Throughout the decade of the 1980s, the new Zimbabwe, under his command, was
painstakingly unambiguous in its commitment to reconciliation and growing
the breadbasket of the subcontinent. At that time the leader of Zanu-PF was
the toast of the world and governments, left-wing groups, civil society and
the world rightly awarded the man and his acumen the accolades he deserved.
Today, all that has changed.
After 28 years in power, the man has become one of the most notorious
pariahs of Africa. He has become a callous despot. When The Namibian
editorialised about Thabo Mbeki's mediation efforts two months ago, we
predicted that they would not pan out. It now finally appears that the
mediation is doomed and that the Mugabe regime is bent on trying to keep it
alive to prolong its stay in power.
African voices, while silent for some time, have come to the fore and have
stated unambiguously that the man is way past his sell-by date.
Botswana President Seretse Khama has been the most outspoken of the southern
African leaders. Together with Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu of South
Africa, Khama has called for the physical removal of Mugabe. Kenyan Prime
Minister Raila Odinga has called for an international armed force to get rid
of Mugabe and his cronies.
The ANC has been strangely ambivalent. Its alliance partners, the SA
Communist Party and labour giant Cosatu, have called on Mugabe to step down.
The ruling party in South Africa has previously stated Mugabe has to go if
there is to be any improvement in Zimbabwe. Now the ANC praises, and sticks
to the mantra that the Mbeki-led mediation must be supported to get a unity
government off the ground in Zimbabwe.
Most Namibian opposition parties want Mugabe to go.
The Swapo Party and the Namibian government have been deafeningly silent
about the slide in Zimbabwe, except to say they agree with the mediation
efforts - which has been read as complicity with Mugabe.
While considerably more African and local voices need to be heard on
Zimbabwe, The Namibian welcomes the statements from international bodies
such as Amnesty International and Open Society Foundation which have added
their voices to growing condemnation of Mugabe and the recent abductions
that have taken place in that country.
"Behind the political crisis and health emergency, there is a worsening
human rights crisis in Zimbabwe, with the most recent development being this
unprecedented spate of abduction of human rights defenders," says Irene
Khan, Secretary General of Amnesty International. "This shows the audacity
of a regime that is desperate to stay in power, no matter what the cost."
While The Namibian is acutely aware of the different political agendas
playing themselves out in the voices of divergent and often antagonistic
groupings, the human rights situation and the growing humanitarian crisis in
that beleaguered country have been the direct product of Mugabe's utter
failure to listen to the voices of his own people.
We will continue to urge the African Union, the Southern African Development
Community and other top government leaders in Africa to form a united front
against Mugabe. This newspaper will not support an invasion force to effect
regime change in Zimbabwe, but we do understand why democrats and socialists
alike are calling on the international and African community to support such
a move.
The sooner Mugabe gets out of office, the better it is for regional
integration. The responsibility is to lift our people out of poverty and
Mugabe is a hindrance to these efforts.
Africa deserves better than a Robert Mugabe. He has effectively destroyed
any respect that he had as a liberation leader and we in Africa cannot
continue to support people who have been absolutely corrupted by power.

Botswana wants end to Zim invasion talk

http://www.mcst.gov.bw/dailynews/index.php

  GABORONE - Botswana has appealed to people who have been calling for
military action to oust President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe from power to
stop doing so.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation says in a
statement that the move will only prolong and bring more suffering to the
people of Zimbabwe who have already suffered enough at the hands of the
authorities in that country.

Furthermore, the ministry says, the calls can only give credence to claims
emanating from Zimbabwe of a plot to invade it.

"The claim of an invasion in our view is nothing more than a desperate
attempt to gather support and sympathy from within and outside Zimbabwe in
order to distract attention from the real problem."

It says the situation in Zimbabwe is dire and what is needed is for the
international community and in particular the SADC region to bring pressure
to bear on the leadership of ZANU-PF.

The ministry says the convening of a ZANU-PF Congress next week comes at a
time when the country is facing serious challenges, including the
implementation of the Global Political Agreement signed on September 15,
2008, and the humanitarian crisis gripping the country.

Consequently, Botswana calls on ZANU-PF, as a political party that
championed the liberation struggle leading to freedom and democracy to
solemnly reflect on the country's economic and political situation.  "It is
vitally important that the ZANU-PF Congress consider the serious problems
facing the Zimbabwe nation and decide on how its membership can meaningfully
contribute to extricating the country from the crises and move it forward
with a leadership that genuinely cares for the people."

Meanwhile, Botswana is considering giving Zimbabwe additional assistance,
including water purification chemicals and medical supplies to fight the
spreading cholera outbreak.

This is in addition to the P3 million that the country has channelled
through  the World Health Organisation, United Nations Children's Fund and
the World Food Programme,  "The international community should act now,
through the UN for an urgent and robust resolution to address the
difficulties facing the country," the ministry says.

Further, it expresses hope that the new year will bring Zimbabwe a new
leadership and hope, as well as peace and prosperity, within the framework
of the September 15, 2008 Global Political Agreement or a re-run of the
Presidential election which will offer the long suffering people of Zimbabwe
the opportunity to decide through a vote who their true leaders should be.
BOPA

Africa's imperative

http://www.chicagotribune.com

  December 13, 2008
Finally, a prominent African leader has cut through all the diplomatic
niceties and spoken the blunt truth about Zimbabwe's longtime leader, Robert
Mugabe.

"It's time for African governments . . . to push him out of power," Kenyan
Prime Minister Raila Odinga recently told the BBC. "Power-sharing is dead in
Zimbabwe and will not work with a dictator who does not really believe in
power-sharing."

Odinga and Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf have been the
continent's most forthright leaders about the tragedy of Zimbabwe. Odinga
said in June that his nation did not recognize Mugabe as the legitimate
leader of Zimbabwe, after Mugabe had rigged a March election and unleashed
violence against his political opponents.

Odinga called on South Africa, a regional powerhouse, to act. "I do believe
strongly that if the leadership in South Africa took a firm stand and told
Mugabe to quit he will have no choice but to do so," Odinga said.

South African leaders have not been willing to do that. Meanwhile, life in
Zimbabwe grows more dire by the day.

At least 775 people have succumbed to cholera since August. Nearly 16,000
have been diagnosed with the disease. Millions more are in danger. Fleeing
refugees are transporting the epidemic to neighboring South Africa,
Mozambique, Zambia and Botswana.

No one who has influence on Mugabe can in good conscience let this go on.

Zimbabwe, through South Africa

http://www.latimes.com

Editorial

Zimbabwe's Mugabe won't yield to Western pressure. Maybe his key ally, South
Africa, should step up.
December 13, 2008

In one of his most strongly worded statements directed at the government of
Zimbabwe to date, President Bush recently joined a chorus of international
leaders and statesmen in calling for its monstrous president, Robert Mugabe,
to step down. As he has done since the United States first started imposing
targeted sanctions against his country in 2002, Mugabe shrugged and blamed
Western interference for Zimbabwe's problems. Memo to Bush et al: This
strategy is not working.

Mugabe's tyrannous rule and refusal to cede power have turned Zimbabwe from
a relatively prosperous country into a sinkhole of poverty and disease whose
populace, lately suffering from cholera, is fleeing in droves and
threatening the stability of its neighbors. The situation is so bad that
even African leaders who are ordinarily reluctant to interfere in the
internal affairs of other nations are calling for military intervention;
Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond
Tutu have both recently pleaded for international troops. No one is eager to
send any, least of all the United States, already bogged down in two Middle
Eastern wars. Yet if the military option is still off the table, there's
another potential solution that hasn't been sufficiently explored. The world
may be directing its anger and sanctions at the wrong country.

Zimbabwe is deeply reliant on South Africa, its key trading partner and the
source of much of its imported energy, food, machinery and other goods. Some
say that cutting off these resources would only harm Zimbabwe's poor, yet in
a country with inflation running at 231,000,000%, it's hard to imagine how
they could be any worse off; meanwhile, without Pretoria's support, Mugabe
would be unable to pay the military and police forces he needs to prop up
his regime. Yet South Africa has refused to exercise its vast leverage,
paralyzed by fears of angering a domestic contingency that still sees Mugabe
as a hero who liberated his country from its racist white rulers.

In the 1980s, the United States and other countries organized an economic
protest against South Africa's apartheid government that helped bring about
its end. The country has made great democratic strides since then, but it
still has a ways to go; as the world acknowledged the 60th anniversary on
Wednesday of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it pointed up how
many of them are being violated in Zimbabwe while Pretoria looks the other
way. Perhaps with a little more 1980s-style activism, South Africa would get
the push it apparently needs to join the fold of responsible democracies and
end the suffering at its doorstep.