Earth Times
Posted on :
Sat, 17 Feb 2007
09:12:00 GMT | Author : DPA
Harare - Zimbabwean police have arrested 10 opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) supporters in the capital Harare following
skirmishes in which four police officers were injured,
reports said
Saturday.
"Four police officers were injured, one seriously, during
an attack by
MDC youths in Harare," police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena was
quoted as
telling the state-controlled Herald newspaper.
"The
officers were monitoring and patrolling the streets of Harare
following
intelligence reports of possible illegal demonstrations within the
Harare
Central Business District," he said.
Bvudzijena claimed the MDC had
paid supporters to stage violent
demonstrations in Harare, targeting police
officers.
He said at least 10 MDC supporters had been arrested in
relation to
the disturbances.
But MDC spokesman Nelson
Chamisa dismissed claims that his party's
supporters were behind some acts
of violence, which saw a police post stoned
and windows at the Herald
offices shattered.
"It has nothing to do with the MDC - the MDC is
a peaceful party. We
will not resort to violence as a way of liberating this
country," he told
Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa in a telephone
interview.
The police were the ones indiscriminately beating up
people, he said.
He said a demonstration called by the MDC to
protest worsening
economic and social conditions in the country had been
well supported
Friday.
"Their (the police) reaction was to
unleash violence on innocent
civilians," he said.
Tensions are
rising in the capital ahead of this Sunday's planned
launch of a campaign by
MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai for the presidential
elections due in
2008.
Police have denied his party permission to hold a rally in
the working
class suburb of Highfield, saying they cannot ensure crowd
control.
The opposition party was Saturday due to go to court to
obtain an
order allowing the rally to take place.
Copyright ©
2007 Respective Author
By Tichaona
Sibanda
17 February 2007
The MDC MP for Glen View Paul Madzore was one
of several arrested in Harare
on Saturday in a police crackdown on
opposition activists ahead of Sunday's
star rally scheduled to be addressed
by party President Morgan Tsvangira.
Tension is high in the capital ahead
of Sunday's planned launch of a
campaign by the MDC leader for the
presidential elections due in 2008.
Party spokesman Nelson Chamisa said
police details accompanied by soldiers
in uniform were swooping on all known
MDC leaders in the capital's suburbs.
'Apart from the honourable MP, police
arrested several of our activists from
the high-density suburbs. Perhaps
this is meant to scare people from
attending Sunday's rally,' Chamisa
said.
Police have denied the MDC permission to hold the rally in
Highfield, saying
they cannot ensure crowd control. But party spokesman
Nelson Chamisa said
the rally would ahead as scheduled despite resistance
from the police. He
said 'They're not invited because they always spoil our
parties. We are
going to court on Saturday to obtain an order to bar the
police from
attending the rally.'
Chamisa also disclosed that all
their polling agents have been banned from
the over 90 polling stations in
the Chiredzi South by-election that started
on Sunday. He said information
they have been getting from the constituency
is that soldiers have been
manning the queues and helping the elderly
through the voting process. 50
000 registered voters are expected to cast
their ballots in the
constituency. The parliamentary seat fell vacant
following the death of
Aaron Baloyi (Zanu-PF) in September last year.
Zanu-PF's Callisto
Gwanetsa, Immaculate Makondo (MDC Tsvangirai faction),
United People's
Party's Miyetani Chauke and Nehemiah Zanamwe (MDC Mutambara
faction) are the
candidates for the by-election. Results of the election are
expected Sunday
at Chikombedzi Hall.
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe
news
The Zimbabwean
( 17-02-07)
HARARE - Movement for
Democratic Change secretary general Tendai Biti
has been arrested outside the
Harare High Court. Officers from the Law and
Order Section accosted Biti as
he was leaving the High Court today.
The officers threatened to use a
firearm to stop his vehicle from
leaving after MDC layer Selby Hwacha had
challenged them to explain why they
wanted to take Biti in.
Hwacha and
Biti were in chambers arguing befire Harare High Court judge
Anne-Mary Gowora
on an urgent chamber applicaton they filed yesterday
seeking a court
interdict barring police from scuttling the MDC rally
scheduled for Zimabwe
Grounds in Highfields.
Justice Gowora is currently considering submission
from both teams and
is expected to hand down judgement at 17:00
hrs.
Police say the rally cannot go ahead because they are short on
manpower
and cannot guarantee the safety of MDC supporters who will turn up
for the
rally. Police are also arguing that the rally may turn
violent
considering the intermittent sreet demos that have rocked Harare in
the
run-up to
the rally, which will mark the lauch of the MDC's
presidential campaign.
The MDC has also said they will use the rally to step
up their campaign for
a
new consitution.
Police were not immediately
available to comment on Biti's arrest.
MDC legal affairs secretary Jessi
Majome, who also accompanied Biti to
the police camp, together with spokesman
Nelson Chamisa, said they were not
yet sure what charges would be preferred
against Biti.
The secretary general's arrest comes fast n the heels of the
arrest of
the MDC's Harare province organising secretary Paul Madzore during
a dusk
raid at his Harare home.
Professor Arthur Mutambara and other leaders of the MDC (Mutambara
faction)
today kicked off the MDC Defiance Campaign in Bulawayo by defying a
Police
ban on their meeting. Having initially given the go ahead for the
meeting
the Police yesterday banned the meeting on the grounds that it was
going to
be too confrontational. On Friday afternoon the 16th February 2007
an appeal
was made to the Minister of Home Affairs, Kembo Mohadi, in terms of
section
25 (5) of POSA, but he would not change the decision made by the
Bulawayo
Police. In the course of the meeting he stated that a decision had
been
taken to ban all political meetings, save for those directly related
to
elections, because of what he described as the volatile situation
Zimbabwe
is in.
At a meeting of leaders this morning it was
decided that the ban would be
challenged in the courts and at the same time
defied. Accordingly at the
original time for the start of the meeting
Professor Arthur Mutambara and
other MDC leaders, including Vice President
Gibson Sibanda MP and Secretary
General Professor Welshman Ncube MP, arrived
at the City Hall. A heavy
contingent of riot police was in attendance.
Professor Mutambara strode past
them and attempted to enter the City Hall but
the door had been locked.
After remonstrating with the Police details a
decision was made to march
from the City Hall to the MDC’s Provincial offices
which are several blocks
away. As the message was sent out to the large crowd
that was gathering
outside the City Hall the Police picked on Ndaniso Mpande,
the Chair of the
MDC Bulawayo South District Youth Assembly, assaulted him
severely and
arrested him. Despite vigorous protests the Police took him
away.
Professor Mutambara then led a group of MDC leaders and
supporters from the
City Hall to the MDC Provincial offices, closely followed
by riot police,
who periodically intervened to assault other members of the
public who tried
to join the march. The riot police did not stop the MDC
leaders who
eventually arrived at the Provincial offices to find that a large
crowd had
gathered there. The meeting to launch the Defiance Campaign then
took place
within the grounds of the MDC offices. As that was happening the
Police
surrounded the offices preventing anyone from leaving or entering.
The
meeting concluded after one and half hours and the MDC leadership then
left
the building, walking through the police line. The MDC leadership
proceeded
to the MDC regional office which had also been barricaded by the
Police. The
Police refused to let the MDC leadership in to their own
building. The MDC
leadership led by Professor Mutambara then remonstrated
with the Police but
could not gain access.
As a parallel
effort the MDC legal team drafted an urgent court application,
seeking an
interdict against the Police, challenging the Police’s decision
to ban the
meeting and the constitutionality of the Minister of Home
Affair’s “right” to
determine the appeal in terms of section 25 (5) of POSA.
In a disgraceful
reflection of the state of Zimbabwe’s judiciary the
Registrar of the High
Court in Bulawayo was unable to find a single judge to
hear the urgent
application which had been prepared. Accordingly at 4.30pm
(the original
meeting was meant to end at 5pm) a decision was made to
abandon the
application but the facts supporting it will be used in a
constitutional
challenge to section 25 (5) of POSA which will be filed in
due
course.
In an entirely vindictive act the Police late this
afternoon arrested
several staff members of the MDC who were still in
occupation of the offices
besieged by the Police. Lawyers have been
instructed to represent their
interest and Ndaniso Mpande, who was also still
in detention when this
report was prepared.
Commenting this
evening Professor Mutambara said that the Defiance Campaign
had now started
in earnest and that it would continue as the MDC, in
conjunction with its
other democratic partners in the struggle, is
determined to rid Zimbabwe of
tyranny.
MDC (Mutambara
faction)
Bulawayo
Saturday 17th February 2007 7.45pm
Reuters
Sat Feb 17,
2007 6:00PM GMT
HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe
has accused Britain of
refusing dialogue with its former colony, and said he
expects ties to
improve after Prime Minister Tony Blair steps down later in
2007, state
media said on Saturday.
They said that Mugabe, who had
been at odds with Britain since he ordered
the seizure of white-owned farms
in 2000, had asked former Tanzanian
president Benjamin Mkapa to try to
broker talks with Britain in a bid to
resolve their differences.
But
in an interview with Harare's official Herald newspaper on Saturday,
Mugabe
said he had asked Mkapa to step down because the task was
"insurmountable".
"The Blair government is a queer government, and
Blair behaves like a
headmaster, old fashioned, who dictates that things
must be done his way:
'Do it or you ... remain punished and an outcast,'"
the newspaper quoted
Mugabe as saying.
"But we are hoping that with the
departure of Blair, there will be a better
situation there and they can be
talked to," he added.
The 83-year-old Mugabe, who had ruled Zimbabwe
since its independence in
1980, charges that Britain has been trying to oust
him over the last few
years over his controversial seizures of white-owned
farms for blacks.
The United Kingdom dismisses this, saying Zimbabwe's
long-running political
and economic crisis is a result of rights abuses,
vote-rigging and skewed
policies, which have nothing to do with
London.
Blair, who plans to resign later this year after a decade in
power, refuses
to name a date for stepping down but many politicians expect
him to hand
over to chancellor Gordon Brown in July.
The Raw Story
dpa German Press
Agency
Published: Saturday February 17, 2007
Harare-
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has told former
Tanzanian president
Benjamin Mkapa not to bother mediating between
Zimbabwe and Britain, saying
the task is insurmountable, reports said
Saturday.
Mugabe last year
appointed Mkapa as Harare's mediator to London,
forestalling a proposed visit
to his country by the then UN
secretary general, Kofi Annan.
Annan was
due in Zimbabwe last year to investigate the effects of
a controversial
campaign of shack and home demolitions carried out by
Mugabe's government in
2005 that left an estimated 700,000 people
homeless and
jobless.
However, the UN chief agreed last July to give Mkapa time
and
space to do his work.
Mugabe, in an exclusive interview in
Saturday's edition of the
state-controlled Herald newspaper, said he did not
want Mkapa to
undertake a task that would be too insurmountable for
him.
"The (Tony) Blair government is a queer government and Blair,
of
course, behaves like a headmaster, old-fashioned 'Do it or if you
dont
do it, you remain punished and an outcast'," Mugabe was quoted
as
saying.
Relations have been frosty between Harare and London
since
Mugabe's government launched a controversial programme of
land
seizures in 2000 that saw the majority of the country's white
farming
community forced off their land.
Agricultural production has
plummeted in the wake of the
programme, and Zimbabwe's economy has spiralled
downwards. Inflation
is now more than 1,500 per cent, and there are acute
shortages of
basic commodities such as cooking oil, bread and the staple
maize
meal.
Mugabe, who blames his country's problems on targeted
sanctions
imposed by Britain and the EU, said he held out hope of a
detente
once Blair steps down.
He said Britain's ambassador to
Zimbabwe Andrew Pocock had tried
to build bridges between the two countries
but had been told by his
superiors not to talk that language, said the
Herald.
In what appeared to be a veiled threat, Mugabe said there was
a
limit to which Zimbabwe can go in conceding to such behaviour,
the
Herald reported.
"We have not taken any action against them (the
British)," Mugabe
was quoted as saying.
"They have lots of property
and over 400 companies operating here,
but we do not want to be vindictive,"
he said.
Britain insists that Zimbabwe's problems are a result of
the
government's bad policies, and not as a result of a bilateral
dispute
with the former colonial power.
© 2006 - dpa German Press
Agency
Reuters
Sat 17 Feb
2007 18:39:37 GMT
By Cris Chinaka
HARARE, Feb 17 (Reuters) -
Zimbabwe's High Court ordered the government on
Saturday to let a major
opposition rally go ahead, ruling that the police
had been given adequate
notice of the party's plans and must not try to stop
the meeeting going
ahead.
The court hearing was in response to an urgent appeal by the main
opposition
Movement for Democratic Change after its planned rally in a poor,
volatile
Harare township was banned because the police said they would not
have
enough manpower to monitor it.
The MDC has said it will use the
rally on Sunday to launch its campaign for
presidential elections due in
March 2008 but which the ruling ZANU-PF party
plans to put off to
2010.
Political tension is rising in the southern African country over
the bad and
worsening economic situation, and workers, including some
doctors, teachers
and university lecturers have embarked on job boycotts to
press for higher
wages.
The MDC said more than 20 of its members,
including some legislators, had
been detained on Saturday on false charges
of assaulting police officers
during a brief protest on Friday and said it
would take legal action to have
them released.
On the rally, High
Court Judge Mary-Anne Gowora ruled that the MDC had given
the police ample
notice of its plans.
"The judge has accepted the arguments by the
applicant in this case and the
police have been interdicted from unlawfully
interfering with, or
prohibiting the rally set for tomorrow," MDC lawyer
Jessie Majome told
reporters after a chamber hearing by the
judge.
State lawyer Clement Muchengi confirmed the order but declined to
give
details.
SEEKING RELEASE OF DETAINEES
MDC
spokesman Nelson Chamisa welcomed the ruling, but said the party could
be
back in court in the coming days to fight for the release of those
detained
on Friday.
"Our tally is that 20 people are under arrest on these false
charges, and
it's all part of political harassment," he said.
Chief
police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena was not immediately available for
comment.
But state media said the police were searching for MDC officials
suspected
of severely assaulting and injuring several policemen during a
street march
in Harare.
Last week President Robert Mugabe said he would crack down on
all
anti-government protests, including those called by the MDC to fight
ZANU-PF
plans to extend his term by two years to 2010 so that presidential
and
parliamentary elections could be held at the same time.
Mugabe,
83 and Zimbabwe's ruler since independence from Britain in 1980, has
kept
the opposition in check mainly through tough policing, including
routine
deployment of security forces to crush all street protests.
Political
analysts say although Zimbabweans have largely been cowed by
Mugabe's
tactics, the crumbling economy has increased public frustration
with the
government.
The country is wrestling with shortages of food, fuel and
foreign currency,
unemployment of 80 percent and the highest inflation rate
in the world of
1,600 percent.
The Zimbabwean
17-02-07
The
Zimbabwe Republic Police might have to order police details on leave to
report for duty as tension swells in Harare and other cities in the face of
more protests and demonstrations by opposition forces, the head of the
police force in Harare Province has said.
Officer Commanding Harare
Province , Bothwell Mugariri confirmed on Friday
that the police force was
being stretched by opposition forces, increasingly
showing determination to
take to the streets and cause chaos as a way of
forcing President Robert
Mugabe to stop repression as well as embrace
reforms.
Mugariri spoke to
The Zimbabwean in a telephone interview about two hours
after a group of
about 300 demonstrators comprising students, opposition and
civil society
members overpowered police details as they ripped through the
city centre
singing and chanting slogans calling on Mugabe to go.
"We are having to
reinforce our presence on the ground because the situation
is becoming tense
and it might mean calling some officers from leave,"
Mugariri said.
A
check with Harare Central Police Station showed that no arrests had been
made after the demonstration, characterized mainly by brutal attacks at
police details as well as smashing of a police caravan in the city
centre.
An officer in the Law and Order Section said in confidence that
police were
still trying to establish the leaders behind the demonstrations
in order to
effect arrests by late afternoon on Friday.
The opposition,
students movement and civil society have warned Mugabe and
threatened to
make the country ungovernable through massive protests against
consistent
economic rot and yet another plot by the Zanu PF aging leader to
extend his
tenure by harmonizing presidential elections with general
elections for
2010.
OhMyNews
Police
officers injured in clashes
Nelson G. Katsande
Published 2007-02-17 13:05 (KST)
Zimbabwe's security forces were involved
in running battles with opposition
supporters Friday. The opposition
supporters had embarked on a peaceful
demonstration in Harare when they were
confronted by the police.
About 300 opposition supporters took to the
streets denouncing the incumbent
government. Maisireva Zhou, an opposition
supporter, blamed the police for
inciting hostilities. He told Ohmynews that
baton-wielding police officers
descended on the demonstrators at the Ximex
Mall, a shopping complex in the
heart of the city.
He also accused
the police of unleashing police dogs on the demonstrators.
"The
demonstrators were only defending themselves," he said.
Ruling party
Zanu-PF supporters disgruntled by the government's failure to
address
bread-and-butter issues were also reported to be among the
demonstrators.
They joined in the march in sympathy with the opposition. Of
the 10 arrests
made, two were said to be of registered Zanu PF supporters.
Last Sunday,
similar protests were held in the high-density suburb of
Kambuzuma. Police
officers also clashed with demonstrators, resulting in the
destruction of a
property owned by a staunch Zanu PF supporter.
The opposition accused the
President Robert Mugabe's supporters of
infiltrating the demonstrations so
as to tarnish the Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC). The MDC insists that
it is a peaceful party and abhors
violence.
The MDC is Zimbabwe's
main opposition party. It is the only formidable
opposition party to have
graced the country's political arena since 1980
when the country attained
independence from Britain.
With the soaring cost of living, rising
unemployment and cash crisis, the
MDC is widely regarded as the next
government in waiting and the peoples'
only hope. The majority of suffering
Zimbabweans have blamed Mugabe's
government for the economic woes affecting
the country.
Four police officers were seriously injured as a result of
the clashes
between the demonstrators and the police. The incumbent
government has
literally banned all opposition party public meetings and
demonstrations. In
the 2000 general elections, the opposition raised
concerns anout the
country's security situation and what it said was "an
uneven political
platform."
The government-owned media and
broadcasters were reportedly shunning
opposition meetings, while Zanu PF
rallies and campaign posters were shown
on national television and
government media.
The opposition was barred from campaigning in rural
areas and opposition
supporters were attacked by ruling party
supporters.
CNET
Broadcasters forced out of Zimbabwe find that their shortwave
programs are
blocked but stories sent via text message get through.
By
Declan McCullagh
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Published: February 16,
2007, 5:13 PM PST
PARIS--Journalists writing about Zimbabwe's repressive
government have found
a new way to circumvent their censors: sending text
messages via cell phone.
A radio station hounded out of the country by
Zimbabwean strongman President
Robert Mugabe has found its e-mails are
monitored and shortwave broadcasts
are blocked by Chinese-built jamming
devices, the station manager said at a
press freedom conference here on
Friday.
But, said SW Radio Africa founder Gerry Jackson, the censors
haven't caught
on yet to text messaging. It's a challenge to compress "the
complexity of
Zimbabwe's news into 160 characters including spaces," Jackson
said. "That's
what I do every day."
Mugabe has consolidated his iron
grip on power over the last 25 years by
harassing journalists, threatening
political opponents, and banning the sale
of independent newspapers.
Allegations of torture appear frequently in
reports by Amnesty International
and Human Rights Watch, and the free-speech
advocacy group Reporters Without
Borders has dubbed Mugabe a "predator of
press freedom." Inflation is
running at around 1,600 percent annually and
food shortages are
common.
"Internet service providers have to give the CIO, the secret
police, access
to e-mails if asked to do so," Jackson said, referring to the
Central
Intelligence Organization. "The penalty for noncompliance is two
years in
jail." Jackson fled the country after security forces pulled the
plug on her
station and now she broadcasts from outside London.
Now
on News.com:
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its executive ranks
c.. Video: CNET prizefight: Xbox 360 vs. PS3
d..
Extra: Tech execs sue over tax shelter
e.. Video: MIT grad student has them
climbing the walls
But the censorship, she said, has odd limits. "The (radio)
jammers need time
off and don't work weekends, and of course we do," Jackson
said.
Mugabe told a United Nations Internet summit in November 2005 that
"those
who have supported nihilistic and disorderly freedom of expression
are
beginning to see the fruits" of their efforts. Last fall, Zimbabwe said
mobile phones were threatening national security and need more monitoring
because they are "dangerous to the state." The country also has had problems
paying its bills for its Internet connection.
The two-day conference
was organized by the World Press Freedom Committee
and the World Association
of Newspapers and was held at UNESCO's Paris
headquarters.
zimbabwejournalists.com
By a Correspondent
HARARE - Zimbabwe's President,
Robert Mugabe, apparently hurting from a snub
from the French government to
attend this week's France-Africa Summit, has
attacked the idea of one leader
from a former colonial country shepherding
African leaders to a
meeting.
Speaking in an interview with the state-controlled Herald
newspaper in which
he also attacks the British government as queer, Mugabe
said the principle
of being called to a meeting by one Western leader was
wrong.
"That principle is wrong. It doesn't matter which country. Kungoti
tidaidzwe
(for us to be called) the whole African continent kuenda kunyika
(to go to
one country) one, it's not right," he said. "We might be poor, but
it is not
right to do that. Let there be meetings with our delegations . . .
that is
better in my view."
Mugabe, who in the past has attended the
France-Africa Summit, to the extent
of dividing the European Union, without
questioning the idea behind Jacques
Chirac's Summits with African leaders,
said he would rather support
continental meetings such as the EU-Africa
summit. He is likely to miss this
year's EU-Africa Summit as well as
pressure grows on Portugal, the current
EU presidency, not to invite him as
targeted sanctions against Harare are
set to be extended for the fifth time
end of this month.
Mugabe did not attend the Cannes Summit because
France, under pressure from
the international community, offered Harare a
conditional invite, which
preferred any other lowly government delegation
other than Mugabe.
Harare declined the invitation and goes all the way
out in Saturday's
edition of the Herald to attack and belittle the Summit
and what it means
for the African continent.
Writing in his weekly
column, Nathanial Manheru, believed to be Mugabe's
spokesperson George
Charamba, attacks France and its apparent failure to
control the world as it
would wish.
He wrote: "Bitter grapes, you will probably say. Why did
President Mugabe
attend previous such Summits when it is clear nothing comes
from them,
outside humiliation of the continent? Let one thing be very
clear: whether
in the past or now, Zimbabwe never viewed France-Africa
Summit platform for
what it was intended by mandarins of the French
government."
"Zimbabwe sought to exploit it for its own national gain.
Paris was useful
to Zimbabwe to poke holes into Britain's European
diplomacy. It did and did
it so well that Blair writhed in
agony.
"The conditional invite, which Zimbabwe got from France, is the
comeback of
British diplomacy. Everyone in the Zimbabwean Foreign Ministry
knew the
French would not hold out indefinitely. Indeed France crumbled in
2003, when
Blair and Chirac harmonised positions on Zimbabwe, less because
France's
attitude to Zimbabwe has changed, but more because France's
European
diplomatic needs have risen. No one ever expected France to stick
her neck
out for Zimbabwe. And as Zimbabwe interacted with the French
leadership to
persuade it to take moral leadership on the Zimbabwe debate in
the European
Union, it became clear France's power and influence in the EU
was far less
than that of Britain, the same way it is so
globally."
Another anonymous writer in the newspaper writes: "Questions
have been
raised, and rightly so, over the penchant by some European and
Asian nations
to summon an entire continent to roundtable
discussions.
"While nothing seems amiss with this post-Cold War scenario
that had the
major powers try to build synergies with Africa through such
summits; the
readiness with which Africa answers Europe's call evokes
memories of the
supremacist view that Africans are perpetual minors at the
beck and call of
"adult" Europeans.
"This stereotype is buttressed by
the fact that though nothing tangible
emanates from some of these summits,
our leaders are always eager to attend
regardless."
Mugabe also tells
the Herald that mediation efforts by former Tanzanian
leader Benjamin Mkapa
between Harare and London had been shelved following
London's refusal to
hold talks. Mugabe announced last year that Mkapa had
agreed to mediate
between Harare and London after he snubbed efforts by the
former United
Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan to act as go-between
Harare and London
as he tried to help solve Zimbabwe's political crisis.
Mkapa has never
spoken publicly of his role but Mugabe says he has told
Mkapa to leave
things as they were. Mugabe also asked Andrew Pocock, the
British Ambassador
to Zimbabwe, to help "build bridges" between London and
Harare when he
presented his credentials.
"I did not want to put him (Mkapa) to a task
that will be too insurmountable
for him," said Mugabe. "The Blair government
is a queer government and
Blair, of course, behaves like a headmaster,
old-fashioned. 'Zvandataura
ndizvozvo.' (He's headstrong) Do it or if you
don't do it, you remain
punished and an outcast."
Mugabe also alleges
in the interview that Pocock had to tried to reason with
his government on
the need for talks "but was spurned and told not to talk
that language". He
said the British government told Pocock that the
"Zimbabweans know what they
must do" before there could be any talks.
"We say let them go that way
and we go our own way, but we have not taken
any action against them," said
Mugabe. "They (British) have lots of property
and over 400 companies
operating here, but we do not want to be vindictive."
Mugabe, however, said
there was a limit to which Zimbabwe could go in
conceding to such behaviour
from its former colonial master.Bemoaning the
absence of an "amenable"
Margaret Thatcher at the helm of the British
government, Mugabe
said:
"But we are hoping that with the departure of Blair there will be a
better
situation there and they can be talked to."
Tony Blair is set
to leave office this summer and Mugabe and his government
are hoping the new
Prime Minister, who is likely to be the current
Chancellor, Gordon Brown,
would see reason in the need for talks between
Harare and London.
The
British have since said they do not believe that the conflict in Harare
has
anything to do with them, adding Mugabe should sort his own mess out
without
roping them in. Harare on the other hands says all the problems in
the
country came as a result of British hostility towards its land reforms
that
have seen the greater majority of white farmers being disposed of
fertile
lands.
Mugabe also blames sabotage by the British and the West on the
state of the
country's economy.
zimbabwejournalists.com
By
Beloved Chiweshe
The Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU)
hereby, unequivocally demand
the unconditional release of Promise
Mkwananzi, Lawrence Mashungu and
Maureen Kademaunga who were arrested at
Harare Polytechnic on Tuesday 13th
February 2007.
ZINASU calls on the
government of Zimbabwe to halt its intrusion,intervent
ion and involvement
in the activities of ZINASU.
We have noted that the incumbent government
has planted its stoogies and
surrogates in institutions of higher learning
who are doing a good job of
informing the regime of the Save Our Education-
Save Our Future Campaign.
We have also noted the perpetual and deliberate
exploitation of the diabolic
POSA to arrest students and detain them for
long periods without trial.
We have also noted the selective
victimisation of students perceived to be
sympathetic to the opposition and
it is now getting out of hand.We notice
also with concern the contiunued use
of state financial and human resources
to further the inte rest of ZANU
(PF), whose illegitimacy is not
questionable. We want to inform the police
that we will never notify them of
our intentions to hold meetings at
institutions of higher learning, for our
gatherings are legal even under
the draconian act POSA.
We are shocked by the level of bankruptcy of
ideas currently being displayed
by the Aneas Chigwedere and Isaak Stanislaus
Gorerazvo Mudenge.
The ailing ministers have literaly let the sector
collapse and do not have
any solution in sight.As we speak the few remaining
qualified lecturers and
teachers are on strike and universities have
postponed opening for the third
time due to the strike. Surely we will not
sit idly and watch as the
situation degenarates.
We urge all
progressive forces to remain vigillant and come up with a well
concieved,comprehen sive and all inclusive package for Mugabe's
regime.
This patchwork of disjointed ,pluralistic and liberal efforts
will not by
any whisker of imagination shake the tiniest of the regime's
pillars. Its
high time we shelve our personal interests and small
ideological difference
and focus our efforts on fighting the
common
enemy.
In defense of academic freedoms.
Beloved Chiweshe is Zinasu's
Secretary General
Chiredzi South By-Elections
The MDC rally was held at Dorman Long
Township near the Hippo Valley Estates mill not Dumisa Township as I had
reported yesterday. Morgan Tsvangarai arrived late from a morning rally that the
party had organized at Chikombedzi; some 150 km away on some of the worst roads
in Africa (No feed back on this rally yet)
No sooner had Morgan arrived
10 police officers also arrived in a L/Rover which I had seen parked near the
mill an hour before. (Obviously waiting for word of Morgan’s arrival.) The
police spoke to Mishek Marava (The shadow MP for the MDC Zaka East) who went
over and spoke to Morgan obviously to tell him that he was out of time for his
meeting. (This was confirmed later)
Morgan ignored this and managed to give
a 15 minute speech where he described the hardships that the ZANU PF Government
had caused the people and the only way out was to vote for the MDC. He never
once mentioned the break away faction and ended by daring the police to arrest
them, telling them that he was ready for this if they did try.
The rally
ended with a prayer by Elias Mudzuri (The suspended mayor of Harare) who
finished with “we hope that GOD will give the police some new boots.” This did
bring out a roar of laughter from the crowed including the police. (All the MDC
rallies that I have been to have started and ended with a Prayer)
The
rally I feel was a disappointment as there were only about 80 people there and
they seemed to be very subdued and Morgan did not have enough time to get his
full message across.
The good news though, is that on the way to and from the
rally I was greeted with the MDC’s hand signal many times, in fact for the last
3 to 4 months I have noted an increase of these signals, not once in the last 12
months have I seen a ZANU PF fist signal directed at me. I have found the people
in the communal areas very friendly but always begging for a hand out. However
this is very different on the occupied farms, there a white person would be in
grave danger, this is where Mugabe’s supporters are located. Mugabe in just 27
years has turned this country into a land of dying people, thieves and
beggars.
There is no doubt in my mind that sooner or later the economics
in this country will trigger mass action, hopefully the leadership in the MDC
will be ready for this.
Comment from The Daily Telegraph (UK), 17 February
Harare - There was high and low farce on Friday in Harare's
scruffy
Magistrate's Court where Britain, or rather Britons were in the
dock. Simon
Francis Mann, 53, Old Etonian and former SAS officer is fighting
extradition
to one of the world's worst hellholes, oil-rich Equatorial
Guinea. Mr Mann
is serving a four year sentence in Chikurubi Maximum
Security Prison on the
outskirts of Harare. He has regular meals delivered
to prison, is in a cell
alone, and receives mail from his seven children,
four of whom live with
second wife Amanda, in Hampshire. He is due for
release in May but now has
to fight off the regime of President Teodoro
Obiang Nguema Mbasogo who want
him to stand trial accused of being the
mastermind behind a plot to
overthrow the noxious regime. The accusation is
that Mr Mann recruited 69
mercenaries from South Africa who flew into Harare
in March 2004 for
refuelling and to load weapons Mr Mann bought from
President Robert Mugabe's
pals. Tipped off by South African intelligence, Mr
Mann's private army was
stopped, dragged out of the plane by Zimbabwe's
Central Intelligence
Organisation, banged about a bit, then locked up, and
later convicted of
minor immigration and firearm offences and released after
serving year long
sentences. At that time Zimbabwe had no anti mercenary
laws.
During his trial, Mr Mann, who made a fortune out of African
wars admitted
buying the weapons but claimed they were to be used to guard a
mine in the
Democratic Republic of Congo. Other British names bandied about
in court on
Friday were former foreign secretary Jack Straw, (he knew about
the coup
plot, the court heard) former Tory MP Jeffrey Archer, allegedly an
investor
in the get-rich-out-of-African-oil-plot, British lawyer, Henry
Page, who,
according to evidence earns a packet for himself and British law
firm
Penningtons for services rendered to President Obiang. Also mentioned
were
alleged coup plot financier, Lebanese tycoon, Ely Calil, living in
London,
another African war adventurer, British businessman Greg Wales, and
of
course Mark Thatcher convicted by his own admission of providing money
for
the foiled coup plot in a South African court two years ago. Mr Mann's
lawyer, Jonathan Samkange savaged the Equatorial Guinea Attorney-General
Jose Ole Obono who appeared for his government, asking why he produced
documents in Spanish when Zimbabwe courts conduct business in
English.
The document in question was allegedly the court record from
the trial of Mr
Mann's employees arrested in Equatorial Guinea who are now
virtually
starving and in jail for between 13 and 34 years. Mr Obono became
agitated
at persistent cross examination, and eventually bleated: "I don't
want to
come back here (Harare) again," when magistrate Omega Mugumbate
adjourned
the case until March 23 at Mr Samkange's request. He asked for
time to
gather documentation from Amnesty International and the
International Bar
Association to prove that Equatorial Guinea tortures
people and has a
barbaric justice system. Mr Samkange grinned broadly in
court when he was
thanked by Mr Obono for information that an appeal he
lodged in London for
access to Mr Mann's bank accounts in the Isle of Mann,
was turned down. "How
could Equatorial Guinea's top lawyer not know his
government lost their
appeal? I wonder if he has told his president?" Mr
Samkange said outside
court.
Saturday, February 17, 2007 -
IranMania.com
LONDON, February 17 (IranMania) - President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad in a meeting
with the outgoing Zimbabwean Ambassador to Tehran
Stephan Chiketa called for
implementation of Iran-Zimbabwe economic
agreements, IRNA reported.
At the meeting, the chief executive said that
expediting execution of the
mutually signed memoranda of understanding will
have a decisive role in
expansion of mutual ties in various
domains.
Declaring Iran's full readiness for bolstering ties with
Zimbabwe, the
president said that the problems hindering the implementation
of the
relevant agreements can be solved through the attempts of
officials.
Ahmadinejad said that the outcome of Iran's valuable
achievements in various
sectors will be availed to serve the welfare and
tranquility of world
independent and free nations, including the people of
Zimbabwe.
On his part, Zimbabwe's ambassador voice his country's call for
expansion of
cooperation and ties with Iran as well as access to Iran's
expertise in
various fields.
Turning to his diplomatic term in Tehran
as one of the best in his lifetime,
the African diplomat said that
implementation of the projects on which
agreement has been reached within
the framework of joint cooperation
commission can serve as a great support
for mutual ties in other sectors.
Please send any material for publication in the Open Letter Forum to
jag@mango.zw with "For Open Letter Forum" in the
subject
line.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Letter
1 - Author unknown
The Day I quit
One day i decided to
quit..
I quit my job, my relationship, my spirituality. I wanted to quit
my life. I
went to the woods to have one last talk with God. "God," I
asked, " Can
you give me one good reason not to quit?" His answer surprised
me. " Look
at around you," he said, "Do you see the fern and the
bamboo?"
"Yes," I replied.
"When I planted the fern and the bamboo
seeds, I took very good care of
them. I gave them light. I gave them water.
The fern grew quickly from the
earth. Its brilliant green covered the floor.
Yet nothing came from the
bamboo seed, but I did not quit on the
bamboo.
"In the second year the fern grew more vibrant and plentiful. And
again,
nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo,"
he
said.
"In year three there was still nothing from the bamboo seed.
But I would not
quit.
"In year four, again, there was nothing coming
from the bamboo seed. I
would not quit," he said. " Then in the fifth year a
tiny sprout emerged
from the earth. Compared to the fern, it was seemingly
small and
insignificant. But just six months later the bamboo rose to over
one hundred
feet tall.
"It had spent five years growing roots. Those
roots made it strong and gave
it what it needed to survive. I would not give
any of my creations a
challenge they could not handle."
He asked me,
"Do you know, my child, that all this time you have been
struggling, you have
actually been growing roots? I will not quit on you.
"Don't compare
yourself to others," he said. "The bamboo had a different
purpose than the
fern but they both make the forest beautiful.
" Your time will come," God
said to me. "You will rise high." "How high
should I rise?" I asked. "How
high will the bamboo rise?" He asked in
return. " As high as it can?" I
questioned. " Yes", he said, " Give me
glory by rising as high as you
can."
I left the forest and brought back this story. I hope these words
can help
you see that God will never give up on you.
Never, never,
never give up!
Author unknown. Reproduced from "The Messenger", St
John's United Church,
Pietermaritzburg
Filed: Artists Insp/Bamboo and
fern Don't quit
Filed: Inspiration
files/God
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Letter
2 - Veronica Scott
Dear Jag
RE: THE LUCKY ONES
Yes, we
all do know who the 'lucky ones' are (Clive Midlane, JAG Open Letter
Forum No
466 dated 13 February 2007).
However, I have said it before and I will
say it again - are we not ALL
supporting the illegal land acquisition in one
way or another? We all eat -
and who grows the food? The 'lucky ones' and
the 'new farmers'.
Unless we all want fingers pointed at us for
collusion, and our names
appearing in the press, perhaps we should stop
buying food?
Yours
Veronica
Scott
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Letter
3 - Jean Simon
Dear Clive
There are no "lucky ones". Every single
person who lives in Zimbabwe as well
as those who have left Zimbabwe as a
result of the political unrest that has
taken place over the past decade, are
victims. It would help us all to heal
and to move forward if we all realised
that.
Jean
Simon
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Letter
4 - Annon
Dear Jag,
It is with a heavy heart that I read the
comment made by Clive Midlane about
the "lucky ones". We are still on our
farm and have been downsized a lot.
We have gone through many hardships and
we made the decissison that as long
as we were "allowed" to farm that we
would do so but we would not sell our
soul for a piece of land.
We
(and many other farmers) that are still on our farms are still here
because I
believe that God wants us here. We are not allies with Zanu PF
and we do not
bribe and corrupt to stay.
We know of many farmers who are indeed allies
with Zanu PF and corrupt and
as you can imagine they make it very difficult
for us and they may very well
be the reason that we might still be chased
off. This makes us very sad and
cross but they will get their day some day
and it is not up to us to judge
them.
So, please don't judge all the
farmers because MANY of us are not the "lucky
ones" in the sense that you
describe it. If your email was not directed to
the farmers I apologise but I
wanted to send this email anyway just to make
sure that everyone knows that
all the farmers still on their farms are not
there because they are allies of
Zanu PF and the maddness. What a
terrible
insult!
Annon
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
All
letters published on the open Letter Forum are the views and opinions of
the
submitters, and do not represent the official viewpoint of Justice
for
Agriculture.
From: Kiki Cherry
Website: www.prayzimbabwe.org
Message: Several
of us in the US are organizing an International Day of
Prayer for Zimbabwe,
to be held April 18, 2007. Already over 1200 have
joined our facebook
group. Can you help us get the word out? All
we%u2019re asking is for
people to 1) pray, 2) organize a prayer event in
their city, and 3) pass the
word along to everyone in their address book and
ask them to do the
same.
Thanks!
Kiki Cherry
www.prayzimbabwe.org
United
States Department of State (Washington, DC)
February 16, 2007
Posted
to the web February 17, 2007
Jim Fisher-Thompson
Washington,
DC
The United States does not regard China's emerging interest in Africa
as a
security threat, says an African affairs specialist at the State
Department.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs James
Swan says he
wants to dispel "alarmist views" appearing in the press and
even in
scholarly journals concerning China's growing interest and influence
in
Africa. Swan spoke February 9 at Columbia University's School of
International and Public Affairs.
China's role in Africa has
become such a hot topic, Swan told the scholars,
that the U.S. State
Department hosted a conference on China in Africa in
December 2006 following
China's Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, held
earlier in Beijing, which
drew 43 African heads of state and representatives
from five other African
nations.
The Beijing meeting was significant, Swan said, because it
attracted more
African leaders "than normally attend an African Union summit
on the
continent."
Chinese President Hu Jintao again is touring
Africa during February, his
third visit in three years. In what Swan called
a "sober, realistic look" at
China's engagement with the nations of
sub-Saharan Africa, he told the
Columbia University audience that China's
policy "motivations and
intentions" are not unusual for a large and growing
global power.
In recent decades, he said, China has re-emerged as a major
economic,
diplomatic and military entity on the world scene. "It is
important that we
see China's role on the continent within this broader
context," he added.
China has important interests in Africa, Swan said,
which include access to
resources and markets and the pursuit of diplomatic
allies. "None of these
is inherently threatening to U.S. interests. And
because China has real
interests there," he explained, "it will, of course,
be engaged on the
continent," as is the United States.
Swan said U.S.
policy is "not to curtail China's involvement in Africa, but
to seek
cooperation where possible; moderate negative influences in some key
areas,
especially governance and human rights; and continue efforts to nudge
China
toward becoming a responsible international stakeholder."
This means, he
said, that "we want China to act in ways that help bolster
the global system
and promote peace and prosperity, and exhibit behavior
commensurate with its
status as a global power."
In that regard, he said, China has made
positive contributions, such as
taking part in international peacekeeping
operations in Africa, where it has
deployed more than 1,300 troops to
Liberia, the Democratic Republic of Congo
and southern Sudan.
On the
negative side, Swan said, the Chinese have not been very willing to
encourage democracy, good governance and transparency for African leaders
with whom they do business.
There is a perception, Swan said, that
China is "willing to coddle
authoritarian regimes," for example, Zimbabwe's
Robert Mugabe, "whose
misrule and political repression has led to seven
consecutive years of
economic decline amid egregious human rights
conditions."
The problem, Swan said, is that "this hands-off approach to
human rights and
democratic governance increasingly puts China at odds with
the African
consensus that these are important matters."
Despite the
differences between the U.S. and the Chinese approaches in
Africa, there is
considerable room for cooperation," he said. "For example,
by finding
complementarity in our aid programs, continuing support for
peacekeeping
operations and looking for opportunities to collaborate in the
health
sector."
The Chinese also have come closer to U.S. policy regarding
controversial
issues such as Darfur, Swan said. For example, China recently
endorsed the
United Nations' three-phase program for deploying a
peacekeeping force in
the province and have shown interest in helping
"convince the Sudanese
government to accept it."
The hope now, Swan
told his audience, is that the Chinese "will keep
pressing the Sudanese on
this [Darfur] issue."
(USINFO is produced by the Bureau of International
Information Programs,
U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)