Zim Online
by Lizwe Sebatha Saturday 05 July
2008
BULAWAYO - A Zimbabwean voter who vented his anger at
last week's
discredited presidential run-off election by spoiling his ballot
paper with
insulting remarks against President Robert Mugabe was yesterday
charged with
violating the Electoral Act.
The run-off election in
which Mugabe was sole candidate after opposition
leader Morgan Tsvangirai
pulled out because of political violence was
roundly denounced by the United
Nations Security Council, African and
Western nations as
undemocratic.
Lincoln Bongani Mathe, 22, a student at Bulawayo
Polytechnic college was
arrested on June 27, the day of the vote, when
instead of marking the ballot
paper against the name or symbol of the
candidate of his choice he wrote on
the paper the words: "Mugabe, he is
evil."
Mathe who appeared at the Bulawayo Magistrates Court yesterday
allegedly
wrote that Mugabe who ignored African and international calls to
postpone
the ballot was an "evil person" who would one day have to face the
wrath of
God.
Mugabe defied international and regional calls to
postpone the run-off poll
after Tsvangirai withdrew from the race saying
widespread political violence
against his Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC) party supporters made a
free and fair vote impossible.
Urban
voters shunned the polls, heeding calls by the MDC to boycott the
run-off
election that recorded a high number of spoilt papers amid reports
that many
of the ballots carried insulting remarks against Mugabe.
The Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission (ZEC) said the number of spoilt papers
increased from
39 975 recorded in the March election to 131 481 in the
run-off poll with
the Pan-African Parliament observer mission saying most
spoilt papers had
unpalatable messages.
According to the state's case, Mathe while in the
voting booth at a polling
station in Bulawayo's Cowdray Park high density
suburb wrote on his ballot
paper: "Mugabe you have stolen the election, you
are an evil person. You
will face the wrath of God."
Mathe, using his
camera phone, allegedly photographed himself writing the
insulting comments
against Mugabe. However, the clicking sound and flashing
light of the camera
alerted polling officers who promptly reported Mathe to
the
police.
He was charged with violating the Electoral Act that governs
conduct and
activities within the vicinity of a polling station.
The
Bulawayo student, who was remanded out of custody to 15 July, also faces
charges of contravening a government statute that prohibits Zimbabweans from
making statements and gestures that undermine or insult Mugabe.
Many
Zimbabweans have in the past been arrested for passing insulting
comments
against Mugabe, the only leader they have known since independence
from
Britain 28 years ago.
Many Zimbabweans accuse Mugabe of plunging the once
prosperous country into
a recession that the World Bank says is the worst in
the world outside a war
zone and is seen in the world's highest inflation
rate estimated at more
than 2 000 000 percent, severe shortages of food and
every basic survival
commodity. - ZimOnline
Duncan Campbell and Paul Lewis
The Guardian,
Saturday July 5,
2008
It was the murder of his uncle two months ago that convinced a young
prison
officer called Shepherd Yuda that he should risk his own life to
bring to
the world a first-hand visual account of life in Zimbabwe under
Robert
Mugabe.
What he did not realise at the time was that he would
also provide
incontrovertible proof of exactly how Mugabe's men rigged the
votes to
ensure his election.
As he shot his clandestine film, Yuda
was aware that it might never be seen
in the outside world and that his
reward could be nothing more lasting than
an unmarked grave in the
Zimbabwean bush. By the time he and his family were
safely out of Zimbabwe
yesterday, Yuda had a record of how the votes have
been stolen and how those
who have dared to oppose Mugabe fear daily for
their lives.
The film
shows how he and his colleagues at Harare Central prison had to
fill in
their postal ballots in front of a Mugabe supporter, how voters had
to
pretend to be illiterate so an official would fill in their ballots for
them, and how terrified Zimbabweans were using felt tip pens to colour their
fingers to pretend they had voted, lest they be murdered by Zanu-PF
gangs.
On April 13 this year, two weeks after the first round of the
elections,
Tapiwa Mobwandarika, was killed. He was a former prison officer
but also an
outspoken opponent of Mugabe. In the mopping-up operations
conducted by
Zanu-PF supporters, angry that Mugabe had lost the popular
vote, he was
stabbed to death. Mobwandarika was one of more than perhaps a
hundred - no
one knows the true figure - people murdered by Zanu-PF gangs or
members of
the police and military.
Thousands more have been severely
beaten, many too frightened to go to
hospital for treatment.
"I had
never seen that kind of violence before," said Yuda. "The impact has
left a
lot of orphans, it has left a lot of people displaced. You cannot
expect
that from your government. You expect that from a rebel group. How
can a
government that claimed to be democratically elected kill its people,
murder
its people, torture its people?
"I've been optimistic that Zimbabwe would
be a better country, even though
we were young after independence. But we
have seen that Zimbabwe has been
reduced to the worst country in the world
because of violence. Now we have a
government that is composed of people who
don't hesitate to kill innocent
civilians."
But what could a prison
officer with a young family and living on wages of
around £4 a month do to
honour his uncle's memory?
He decided that, with a secret camera, he
could at least show the extent of
the misery and brutality within his
country as reflected in the prison
service.
Yuda did not realise then
that he would be privy to the cynical manipulation
of the electoral process.
His testimony, made for Guardian Films and
broadcast on guardian.co.uk and
BBC Newsnight last night, shows how he and
his prison colleagues had to fill
in their ballots in front of Zanu PF
supporters. "This was the most
difficult moment of my life," he said of
marking his cross beside the name
of Mugabe. "This is a terrible moment."
They had all been told that they
had to use postal ballots which they then
had to fill in surrounded by
prison officials who checked their electoral
register serial numbers.
Superintendent Shambira, a war veteran and Mugabe
supporter, checked how he
had voted.
"Then he folded it and put it in the small envelope. He handed
it over to me
and said: seal it ... These people forced me to do [something]
I have never
done in my life."
Yuda explained how the intimidation
worked in government establishments. "In
the prison service, we've got
Zanu-PF militias that are known as 'the green
bombers'. These are the people
who are getting privilege to get jobs - they
get senior ranks to us. In this
run-off election they were released to go to
the rural areas, they were
released to go in towns. They are the people
causing violence, they are the
people killing, they are the people
murdering."
Unaware that they are
being filmed, his colleagues talk frankly. One is
critical of Thabo Mbeki,
the South African president: "The person who let us
down, he did not want to
come down hard on Mugabe and report accordingly.
Instead, he went on about
meaningless pan-Africanism. I don't know what
interests he is
representing."
Another describes the state of the country: "We are
starving. We can't even
feed our parents in the rural areas." He notes
defiantly that they are
already suspected of having voted MDC. "I know some
of our names are there
but I want to see who is going to get it on with me
and I will say that's
right - so what?"
Others discuss what is
happening in Zimbabwe prior to the run-off election.
"People are being
killed, right now there is no work going on in the rural
areas. It's rally
after rally," says one. Another remarks: "During the war,
there was no white
person going and beating up people in their homes ...
People are dying, the
international community knows it, even Condoleezza
Rice has said Mugabe has
declared war on his people."
With his hidden camera, Yuda was also able
to show Tendai Biti, the
secretary-general of the Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC), who was in
jail on treason charges and is currently on bail
awaiting trial. Biti, who
faces the death penalty if convicted, is shown in
leg-irons. Jenni Williams
and Magodonga Mahlangu, leaders of Woza, Women of
Zimbabwe Arise, who have
been detained since May 28 after taking part in a
peaceful protest, are
shown in Chikirubi security prison.
He
explained how voters were told at a pro-Mugabe rally they must pretend to
be
illiterate. "They said we don't mind if you are doctor, if you are a
teacher, if you are a prison officer or if you hold any degrees in
education. We don't mind. When the day of voting comes, you go and tell the
election agents that you can't read and write."
The film also shows a
woman desperately colouring her finger purple because
she had failed to
register. "All of those who have not voted will be taken
away and killed,"
she says.
Yuda's family, with whom he has now fled, also talk about the
state of fear
stalking the country. "Youths came and forced everyone to go
to the rally so
to protect yourself, you go," says his wife.
"They
said 'we know there are some people who need to be beaten' and I was
so
scared because I started thinking maybe they are talking of you because
last
time they were saying they want to kill you in front of people."
He
describes the effect on his children and how they feared for their
mother's
life after she was forced to attend a Zanu-PF rally.
"When I opened the
door [my daughters] were seated on the sofas. I asked:
where is your mother?
They said: 'Dad! Dad! Dad!' [I said] what's wrong with
you girls? [The girls
said:] 'Zanu PF youths were here and they knocked our
door, they said
'Anybody here? Anybody here'. Then mum said 'yes'. They said
'can you come
out'? Mum said 'who are you'? They said 'if you don't come we
will get
inside and deal with you, let's go to the rally'. My children were
so
shocked and they were instilled with fear. Then I said 'so where is your
mum?'. [The girls] said they had taken her to the Zanu-PF rally."
One
of his daughters recounts: "Youths were knocking door by door saying 'if
you
don't come out for the rally we will force you out.' I was scared to
walk in
the streets. I was very afraid. They gave us papers with Zanu-PF
information
instructing you to attend a rally, they said 'if you don't
attend, we will
come to your houses'."
Yuda describes how attempts were made to persuade
people to vote. "During
the elections, even the unemployed could get things,
they would sell some
sugar cheaply. Now [after the vote] they will sell
sugar at the actual
value, like this milk by tomorrow, it will be sold for
$5bn."
The level of intimidation is also demonstrated by a meeting inside
the
prison which workers are forced to attend.
A senior prison
official sings a campaign song and tells fellow officers:
"When I have sung,
I want you to understand what is being said in this song
in relation with
the current situation, do you understand?"
The song contains lines that
are dismissive of the opposition: "They wait to
criticise, while they stir
the soup/Forgiving each other has failed,/Living
peacefully has
failed,/Understanding each other has failed,/Return the
spirit of the heroes
into the battlefield, Return the spirit of the heroes
into the battlefield
... Return our strength to us, Jehovah, lord of war."
The speaker warns:
"I want to remind you that these whites we are trying to
send away - they
hate us. It's like, if you fall while walking in town,
whites will just look
at you and ask what happened while they are walking
away. They won't help
you up."
The footage shows both the extent of fear and the level of
resistance in the
country. One man remarks: "Gentlemen, I have a spear in my
house. Do not
underrate me." He is told: "Father, you will die holding that
spear ... Your
spear can only stab one person. Those men will be armed. It
is not just
youth we are seeing there, some are guards, police and
soldiers."
Yesterday evening, Yuda had slipped out of the country with
his family for a
new life. His family had been unaware of his plans or his
undercover filming
until the last moment. He is leaving without
regrets.
"I don't regret doing this although it is a painful decision I
have taken. I
am very glad to move out of Zimbabwe to a better, secure
country where I am
going to live peacefully with my family. We can live
without the memories of
seeing dead bodies in the prison, dead bodies in the
street, dead bodies in
my family.
"I've lost my uncle. My father was
also beaten by Zanu-PF. I am praying to
God: please, God, deal with Zanu-PF
ruthlessly."
See the video here - http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2008/jul/04/election.zimbabwe
Paul
Lewis
The Guardian,
Saturday July 5, 2008
The clandestine operation
to record the truth about Zimbabwe's prison
service began 10 months ago. Two
weeks ago undercover film specialists were
sent to the region to smuggle
three secret cameras into Harare. But the
Guardian's search for a prison
official brave enough to reveal life behind
prison walls was not
easy.
Shepherd Yuda had been proud to join the prison service 13 years
ago to
serve his country. The 23-year-old officer had a good salary and a
house in
prison grounds. A tall, highly trained weapons instructor, Yuda
ranked third
in an annual rifle contest, and received an award from
President Mugabe.
But after more than a decade in the service, he felt
disillusioned. Today,
Yuda's monthly salary would buy just two cans of
cooking oil. He struggled
to feed his young children and his wife, who is
seven months pregnant. She
traded food on the border to supplement their
income. Surviving on a meal a
day, they were forced to share their cramped
home with another family.
"I've served this government for the past 13
years, and I was loyal to my
government," he said. "Unfortunately I didn't
know that I was being loyal to
a government that was not loyal to its
people."
Unlike colleagues, Yuda refused to pander to Zanu-PF officials.
He became a
supporter of the opposition MDC in 2000, a gesture seen in the
prison
service as an act of betrayal. He was beaten, imprisoned, suspended
from
work and, after successfully contesting the suspension in court,
demoted to
a low-ranking job on half-pay.
But Yuda was still working
behind the prison gates - including Harare
Central prison, Zimbabwe's
notorious maximum security jail - and witnessed
appalling living conditions
on a daily basis. He saw many inmates die. "Some
of them were beaten by
prison officers, some of them died of hunger, some of
them died of lack of
medicine. I've seen it all."
Yuda filmed for six tense days in the run-up
to last week's election. But he
had not anticipated that he would uncover
sinister evidence of how Mugabe's
government rigged the votes of its own
employees.
Yuda's clandestine filming was a solitary operation that he
kept secret from
his wife and at night he recorded his thoughts in a video
diary. He talked
in hushed tones about locals being forced to attend Zanu-PF
rallies, his
fears for his wife and children, and the growing sense of
terror as last
week's election approached.
"Mugabe has turned himself
into a monster," he said. "You can't even sleep
in your house peacefully -
if you hear the sound of a car coming, you think:
this is the end of me.
This is the terror that Mugabe has unleashed on the
people of
Zimbabwe."
Yuda agonised over his decision to leave Zimbabwe. But by his
final diary
entry, he had banished any doubt that they should flee. "This
country has
become a boiling pot where only stones can survive," he
said.
The Times
July 5, 2008
Jan Raath in Bulawayo
Zimbabwe is on the brink of an unprecedented
famine after its worst harvest
since independence in 1980. The plight of
Zimbabweans is compounded by the
deliberate starvation of most of the
population because of their support for
the opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC).
A crop assessment by the United Nations Food and
Agriculture Organisation
(FAO) says that the country that once fed scores of
famine-stricken African
nations will harvest only 575,000 tonnes of maize,
the national staple, from
last summer's crop - only 28 per cent of the grain
needed to feed the
country's estimated 11.8 million people.
Already
29 per cent of the population are "chronically malnourished,"
according to
the Health Ministry and the UN. A similar percentage of
children suffer
stunting.
In Bulawayo, cases of malnutrition in hospitals have increased
110 per cent
in two months.
Rural stocks of food will start running
out in August, according to the FAO,
when more than two million will have to
be fed or face starvation. By
January the number will have risen to 5.1
million. The Government gives
assurances that it has imported 500,000 tonnes
of maize, but there is no
evidence of it. The FAO has forecast a shortfall
of one million tonnes of
grain.
In spite of the dire situation, President
Mugabe's regime is maintaining a
total ban on famine relief by local and
international aid agencies. What
little food the Government has for
distribution is handed to supporters of
the ruling Zanu (PF)
party.
"It's a catastrophe," said an aid worker who asked not to be
named. "It is
much worse than the drought of 1991-92 [when thousands of head
of cattle and
wildlife died of starvation but people were fed from ample
food reserves].
Now there is no preparedness."
After being subjected
to three months of savage political violence before
the universally
condemned presidential run-off elections last week, and
trapped by an
economy in collapse, Zimbabweans are now about to be afflicted
by chronic
hunger.
"There is no village [in the low-rainfall western provinces of
Matabeleland
and Midlands] that is not touched by hunger and malnutrition,"
said Effie
Ncube, the director of a small local aid agency. "We go out on a
weekly
basis to see what they cook and eat. Many of them are eating wild
fruits,
nothing you could call a decent meal.
"Only Zanu (PF) people
have a better life, because the Government gives them
food. The majority
support the opposition and the majority are being starved
by the
Government."
In a small office in central Bulawayo, the capital of
western Zimbabwe, Mr
Ncube sits at a desk, filling in "history of violence"
reports as he
interviews a constant stream of rural people needing medical
attention after
being assaulted by militias of Mr Mugabe's Zanu (PF)
party.
In the week since the elections on June 27, most of the violence
in rural
Matabeleland had subsided, although it continued in several
pockets, he
said. Most of the rural youth dragooned into youth and "war
veteran"
militias to carry out the violence to force people to vote have
drifted
away.
The illegal roadblocks to stop people - especially the
injured - from
fleeing their homes after attack have been taken down. This
has released a
surge of people with broken limbs and lacerated and bruised
backs, buttocks
and legs to seek help for the first time, more than a week
after they were
assaulted.
Gogo (grandmother) Christina Thabani, 68,
was dragged out of her hut at
midnight in Umzinghwane district about 50
miles (80km) south of Bulawayo
last week, and thrashed until they broke her
right arm. Then she was forced
to dance and sing songs idolising Mr Mugabe
for several hours. Her broken
arm led to a cruel irony. When she got to the
polling station she was unable
to use her hand to write, and officials
insisted that she was assisted to
vote.
"Someone followed me into the
polling booth. He put his X on Mugabe for me.
I don't want Mugabe," she
said. She also told how earlier this year, she and
everyone in the village
went to their head man to register for famine
relief. "They took our names,
but then the headman and the war veterans in
the area vetted the list.
Everyone who they thought was MDC had their names
crossed off."
A
truck from the Grain Marketing Board, the state monopoly maize dealer,
comes
perhaps once a month and hands out 50kg (110lb) bags of maize - but
only to
Zanu (PF) supporters.
"You see them eating and you get angry, but there
is nothing you can do,"
she said. "Sometimes they sell it to you, for a very
high price, but only at
night, because they will get into trouble for
feeding MDC people." One after
another, the victims in Mr Ncube's office
told the same story, and also how
there was "absolutely no food" after the
disastrous harvest.
"I have eight grandchildren and two children," Mrs
Thabani said. "They are
starving." On June 5, the Government shut down all
aid agencies and
charities. Mr Mugabe claimed that they were using their
food distribution to
bribe people to vote for the MDC - exactly the tactic
that Zanu (PF) is
using.
VOA
By Patience Rusere
Washington
04 July
2008
Deadly political violence is continuing in Zimbabwe
despite efforts by
African Union leaders to encourage power-sharing between
President Robert
Mugabe and his opposition: sources in Midlands province
reported the
discovery of six bodies by the Gweru-Kwekwe rail line near the
village of
Matshekandumba, situated about 30 kilometers from Midlands
capital Gweru.
Attempts to reach police in Gweru were unsuccessful. But local
sources said
one of the dead men was a state security agent who tried to
stop colleagues
from killing local villagers.
Sources said state
agents had been terrorizing villagers in the area for
days, beating them for
failing to cast ballots in the June 27 presidential
run-off election two
days after which President Robert Mugabe was declared
the winner and
inaugurated.
Matshekandumba villagers were said have fled the area after
the bodies were
discovered.
Midlands Chairman Peter Muchengeti of the
National Association of
Non-Governmental Organizations, who has been helping
local villagers, told
reporter Patience Rusere of VOA's Studio 7 for
Zimbabwe that killings have
been on the rise since the run-off.
http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/patel1/English
by Priti Patel
JOHANNESBURG - Last week, the
United States Supreme Court ruled that
detainees at Guantánamo Bay have the
right to habeas corpus - the right to
challenge the factual and legal basis
of their detention in a court of law.
I was elated by the decision, having
spent four years working on ensuring
the rule of law in US detention and
interrogation policy, including
monitoring military commission trials at
Guantánamo Bay. But my happiness is
tempered by where I sit, close to the
border with Zimbabwe - a country where
the writ of habeas corpus and the
rule of law have become obsolete.
Habeas corpus, Latin for "you have the
body," is an old English common law
principle incorporated into the US
Constitution to ensure freedom from
unlawful detention by the state. It was
and continues to be a critical check
against the imprisonment of individuals
without oversight by independent
courts. In Zimbabwe, this right - like so
many other checks and balances -
has been torn away by a repressive
state.
Just hours before the US Supreme Court ruling, Tendai Biti, the
Secretary-General of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC),
was arrested upon his return to Zimbabwe. Despite immediate attempts by his
lawyers to locate him, his whereabouts remained unknown for days. The police
dismissed an initial court order demanding that Biti be produced before the
court.
After Biti was finally produced before the court days later,
the government
announced that he will be charged with treason - which
carries the death
penalty - for unofficially announcing the results of the
March 29, 2008,
elections. Prior to his detention, Biti had responded to
such allegations
by stating that his only crime was to fight for democracy
in Zimbabwe. It is
unlikely that he will be able to challenge the basis of
his detention in an
independent court.
Since 1999, the MDC has
offered a democratic alternative to President Robert
Mugabe's regime. In the
most recent elections, Zimbabweans made their choice
known, despite serious
obstacles and widespread repression, with the MDC's
presidential candidate,
Morgan Tsvangirai, gaining more votes than Mugabe.
But, according to the
vote counts released by the government after a
suspicious month-long delay,
the MDC's margin of victory - 48% to 43% - fell
short of the 50% required to
avoid a run-off election.
Biti is not the only MDC member to be
"disappeared" for a period of time by
Mugabe's government. Over the past two
years, police and
government-supported paramilitaries have routinely jailed,
beaten, and even
killed MDC officials and suspected MDC members. Last year,
Biti was detained
and beaten along with Tsvangirai and dozens of other MDC
officials. The
photos of Tsvangirai's pummeled body led to an international
outcry.
State-sponsored violence against the MDC and its supporters has
escalated as
the June 27 run-off vote draws near. Just weeks ago, Biti
described the
discovery of the mutilated body of Tonderai Ndira, an MDC
youth leader.
Ndira had been taken by the police from his home. He was
missing for seven
days; when his body was found, it was recognizable only by
a bracelet he
always wore.
Here in our offices in Johannesburg, we
have two Zimbabwean lawyers who fled
their country after receiving death
threats for their work defending human
rights. At least five of their
clients have been murdered in the past few
weeks. Most recently, the
Zimbabwean police suspended the work of numerous
human rights organizations
that were documenting the recent violence.
It is hard to imagine that a
free and fair election can take place against
the backdrop of such intense
and systemic violence. Indeed, even South
African president Thabo Mbeki,
who, despite an outcry from many of his
citizens, has supported Mugabe, felt
compelled to label it a "cause for
serious concern."
In the majority
opinion in Boumediene v. Bush , Justice Anthony Kennedy
wrote that "Liberty
and security can be reconciled; and in our system they
are reconciled within
the framework of the law." But there is no rule of law
left in Zimbabwe - no
habeas corpus and no check on arbitrary state action.
It is time for the
international community to step in, call for an end to
the detention and
disappearance of MDC officials and perceived supporters,
and push for a
democratic transition in Zimbabwe. Only then can the
principles underlying
the Supreme Court's decision come within reach of
ordinary
Zimbabweans.
Priti Patel is a lawyer at the Southern Africa
Litigation Center in
Johannesburg.
Digital Journal
Posted 36 min ago by Can Tran (TFactor)
Even after Robert Mugabe
has been "reelected" as the president of Zimbabwe,
most of Zimbabwe's people
still suffer with an unfathomable rate of famine.
While Robert Mugabe of the
Zanu-PF Party has been "reelected" as President
of Zimbabwe, most of the
people of Zimbabwe still suffer from hunger.
Perhaps this is Mugabe's way of
punishing those that have given their
support to the opposition group known
as the Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC) Party. MDC leader Morgan
Tsvangirai had dropped out of the contest
days before Zimbabwe had its
runoff election on June 27.
Since the election at the end of March,
Zimbabwe was plunged into a
humanitarian crisis. Mugabe's Zanu-PF mobs and
militiamen went out and
systematically hunted and exterminated members and
supporters of the MDC
into submission. The method worked and Mugabe stole
the election. At the
African Union (AU) summit in Egypt, nobody except for
Kenyan PM Raila Odinga
had lashed out at Mugabe.
While Mugabe is in
power, most of the people of Zimbabwe still suffer. The
issue of famine
still adds to the humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe.
Regardless, Mugabe still
maintains a ban on both local and international aid
agencies. The food that
is in stock is only given to members and supporters
to the Zanu-PF Party. In
a nutshell, the only people that benefit are the
Zanu-PF. Everybody else not
associated or part of the Zanu-PF end up
suffering.
It would seem
that Mugabe is intent of making most of Zimbabwe's people
suffer for not
supporting him. However, famine is not the only worry for the
people of
Zimbabwe. The other issue would be the collapsed economy of the
country. I
had recently written about the regard to Zimbabwe's economy.
While Mugabe
is "reelected," it is he who has to deal with the
hyperinflation of
Zimbabwe's economy. Several months ago, it was at 1,000
percent. Now,
inflation is at 8.4 million percent. At an inflation rate of
1,000 percent,
it made Zimbabwe's inflation right the highest in the world.
An inflation
rate at 8.4 million percent could be deemed highly ludicrous.
As
Zimbabwe's people continue to suffer from starvation, Mugabe is using
food
as a tactic to get people to bow down to him. Yes, Mugabe is the
embodiment
of a brutal dictator.
So far, Zimbabwe has turned out to be worse than
Kenya. Perhaps the
situation in Zimbabwe has turned out to be just as worse
if not anymore
worse than the situation in Burma.
In Burma, the junta
said that the Burmese people could fend for themselves.
In Zimbabwe,
Mugabe is using food to make people bow down to his will.
So far, the AU
is silent on the matter. Ironically, the AU leaders have
turned their backs
on Mugabe. South African President Thabo Mbeki, the key
mediator to the
Zimbabwe crisis, is under hot water by the international
community for his
response and approach. Mbeki could find himself stripped
of his position of
key mediator.
The UN-security council is split on extending sanctions to
supporters of
Mugabe. Nations such as China and Russia oppose such a move.
However, China
could be a potential swing vote since it's hosting the 2008
Summer Olympics.
A veto could be added onto a list of things that could
spell a potential PR
nightmare for China in regards to the
Olympics.
Britain's Ministry of Defense (MoD) is contemplating two plans
for military
intervention. However, it is easier said than done. For this to
work, they
would need cooperation from Zimbabwe's neighbors along with
permission to
fly into their respective airspaces.
Overall, while
Mugabe is still in office, it seems he is not done with
making the people of
Zimbabwe suffer.
BBC
17:50 GMT, Friday, 4 July 2008 18:50 UK
Farmers in Zimbabwe have been the targets of looting following the
recent
re-election of Robert Mugabe.
See the video at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7490719.stm
VOA
By Carole Gombakomba
Washington
04 July
2008
African leaders meeting in summit this week urged
President Mugabe and
opposition Leader Morgan Tsvangirai to form a
government of national unity,
but analysts warn that more substantive action
must be taken to bring the
political crisis to an end.
Both President
Mugabe and Tsvangirai are setting conditions: Mr. Mugabe
insists Tsvangirai
recognize him as president before any talks can begin,
while Tsvangirai is
insisting that the results of the March 29 first-round
elections should be
the basis for
Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change is also talking
up a
transitional authority which would give way to new elections after two
years
as opposed to a a government of national unity which would continue
through
Mr. Mugabe's five-year presidential term.
For a look at the
chances any of these forms of crisis resolution will be
achieved, reporter
Carole Gombakomba of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe turned
to Senior Peace
Fellow Jamaal Jafari of the Public International Law and
Policy group in
Washington, and Phillip Pasirai, a senior programs officer
at the Crisis in
Zimbabwe Coalition, who opened the discussion by submitting
that a national
unity government is unworkable in Zimbabwe.
The Telegraph
By
Louis Weston in Harare
Last Updated: 10:31PM BST 04/07/2008
Robert Mugabe
has taunted Gordon Brown over the suggestion that British
companies will
have to reconsider doing business in Zimbabwe.
Speaking at a rally after
he arrived back in the country from an African
Union summit in Egypt, Mr
Mugabe targeted the Prime Minister, who has
refused to recognise the
octogenarian as Zimbabwe's legitimate leader after
last week's uncontested
presidential poll.
"The British are threatening to withdraw their companies,"
Mr Mugabe said.
"We say: The sooner you do it the better.
"Please Mr
Brown, withdraw all your companies from Zimbabwe."
Lord Malloch Brown,
the Foreign Office minister with responsibility for
Africa, said last
weekend that the Zimbabwean regime and those who do
business with it face
the prospect of new measures restricting their
dealings. "British and other
companies, will find that actually the knot is
tightening and that a lot of
activities they can do till now they won't be
able to do going forward," he
said.
British supermarkets have begun to reconsider sourcing goods from
Zimbabwe,
even when their business is with legitimate producers and they
have no
direct dealings with the government.
Among British companies
with interests in the country is Barclays, which has
faced criticism over
its Zimbabwean banking subsidiary. The bank has said it
complies with all EU
sanctions and seeks to operate in "an ethical and
responsible manner"
.
In a bullish speech to his supporters, Mr Mugabe also demanded that the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change recognise him as president, or he
would not enter talks.
"We are open to dialogue but reality is
reality and it has to be accepted -
I am the president of the republic of
Zimbabwe," he said as he arrived back
in the country from an African Union
summit in Egypt. "Everybody has to
accept that if they want
dialogue."
At the summit African leaders failed to unite in condemnation
of his
"re-election", in a one-candidate poll following a campaign of
violence
against supporters of the MDC.
The octogenarian leader
appeared bolstered by the result of the gathering,
even though at one point
during the event he had to be restrained from
assaulting a
reporter.
He said of Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC: "Let them not delude
themselves into
ever believing we will reverse that, never ever. If they
agree on that and
we are satisfied, then we shall go into dialogue and
listen to them by way
of ideas.
"Those votes can never be thrown away
as the British want. They are mad,
insane."
In an apparent reference
to tough criticism from Botswana and Zambia, he
warned neighbouring states
about picking a fight with Zimbabwe.
"If there are some who may want to
fight us, they should think twice. We
don't intend to fight any neighbours.
We are a peaceful country, but if
there is a neighbouring country that is
itching for a fight, then let them
try it."
Reports on Wednesday said
Botswana had moved heavy artillery near to its
border with
Zimbabwe.
Mr Mugabe's comments come as the US circulated a United Nations
Security
Council motion calling for sanctions to be imposed on the regime,
and the EU
said it was considering unspecific "appropriate measures" against
those
responsible for violence in the country.
However, Mr Mugabe is
showing every sign that he intends to ignore all
international
pressure.
The MDC rejected his demand, and earlier upped the toll of its
supporters
killed since the first round of the election, when Mr Tsvangirai
came first,
from 86 to 103.
Among those arrested on "trumped up
charges" of inciting violence were 20
MPs or parliamentary candidates, it
said, while 5,000 of its supporters were
missing.
"The regime cannot
talk dialogue when it is acting war across the length and
breadth of the
country," the party said in a statement.
Nelson Chamisa, the MDC
spokesman, said Mr Mugabe's demand to be recognised
as president was "an
unrealistic precondition and we are not going to accept
it".
But in a
sign that fractures within the opposition may enable Mr Mugabe's
Zanu-PF
party to divide and rule, one newly sacked MDC official said it had
to
recognise him as president.
Gabriel Chaibva, a former MP, was dismissed
as a spokesman for the minority
MDC faction led by Arthur Mutambara earlier
this week for attending Mr
Mugabe's inauguration.
"If you are serious
about talks and dialogue, immediately, unconditionally
and unreservedly
recognise Mugabe as head of state, head of government and
commander in chief
of the defence forces," he said.
Email from a reader:
I have come across an organisation: http://www.zimcouncil.org/
You can
see their objectives at : http://www.zimcouncil.org/about.html
They are
wanting to arrange conferences in various parts of the world to bring together
Zimbabweans in different parts of the world who would like to play a
constructive part in rebuilding, regardless of whether they plan on returning or
not. It is recognised that Zimbabweans have a wealth of experience and
understanding that is needed to create economic and social plans for
rebuilding.
The Zimbabwean
Friday, 04
July 2008 20:50
I can't agree more that Mbeki is more than a disgrace
to both South
Africa and Africa as a whole. I will add my points to the
debate for the
benefit of Mbeki sympathisers and those that question why we
are 'obsessed'
and infuriated with Mbeki, writes MwanaWevhu, in The Times,
Johannesburg.
The reason is simple, Mbeki is shielding
Mugabe and you don't have to
be a rocket scientist to see the evidence. He
has continuously blocked
discussions on Zimbabwe on continental and
international forums (such as)
SADC, AU and the UN. He blocked UN
resolutions that would have reigned in
Mugabe, he authorised shipment of
arms to Mugabe that were used to kill over
80 people in the run-up to failed
run-off elections, he swept under the
carpet numerous reports of election
violence (including one by his own
generals), the list is endless. In short,
Mbeki is to Zimbabwe what Charles
Taylor was to Sierra Leone (for those who
don't know Taylor is a former
Liberian leader on trial in The Hague for
supporting genocide in Sierra
Leone).
To add to the above, here
is a statement that Mbeki made this week in
Egypt at the AU summit and I
quote verbatim: "The result that comes out of
that process of dialogue must
be a result that is agreed by the
Zimbabweans," he told the South African
Broadcasting Corporation. The
transcript of the interview is on Mbeki's own
website
(http://www.thepresidency.gov.za/ or
http://www.info.gov.za/speeches/2008/08070313451007.htm)
lest he denies it
like he always does or his sympathisers blame The Times or
other news source
for framing him.
Here is the serious problem
I have with such a statement from an
alleged 'mediator' and SA President. I
will put it in South African context
so that it can be understood. What
would South Africans have said if at the
height of apartheid in the 1980s
when Nelson Mandela was still in prison and
Mbeki hiding somewhere in
Zimbabwe and Mugabe (or any world leader then)
said the same thing that the
crisis in South Africa can only be solved by
South Africans themselves and
outsiders should not meddle in SA internal
affairs.
Obviously
people would have been rightfully outraged because Mandela
was at the mercy
of Botha (like Tsvangirai is at the mercy of Mugabe) and he
had no
negotiating power. People regard Mandela as great (even the US that
still
has him included in terrorist list) but I think F.W De Klerk is the
greatest, if he had wanted to execute Mandela (like what Sani Abacha -
Nigeria did to Ken Soro Wiwa in 1994) no one would have stopped him and
nothing would have happened to De Klerk and apartheid would still be on up
to today.
And to address another question why people are more
critical of Mbeki
than Mugabe, the answer is simple, as long as Mbeki is
shielding and
harbouring him, Mugabe is untouchable and criticising him is a
waste of time
and words. This is analogous to the US that shields Israel;
everyone knows
that Israel is untouchable as long as the US is world
superpower, that's why
Osama (bin Laden) went for the US.
I
have quoted Mbeki's brother Moletsi who said, "the Mugabe regime
will not
last past the term of current South African presidency" in addition
to
saying "that the Mugabe regime exists because the South African
government
permits it to exist."
This is a view held by many including Mandela
who criticised what is
happening, they may be wrong and the pro-Mbeki and
pro-Mugabe might be
right, I would be happy to be wrong but on Mandela's
side, even if I get
listed as a terrorist by some and unpatriotic by
others.
http://www.victoriaadvocate.com
July 04, 2008 - 5:15 p.m.
If you've been
following the sad news in Zimbabwe, you will hear the irony
in the name of
its capital city, Harare. In the language of the Shona
people. It means "One
who does not sleep."
When I slipped into Zimbabwe a few years ago as a board
member of the New
York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, I slept
restlessly out of fear
of being arrested. President Robert Mugabe had shut
the door on visas to
outside journalists. Since then attacks have increased
against the press and
anyone else who does not toe Mugabe's political party
line.
And Zimbabweans sleep more fitfully. Some of the reasons are
spelled out in
a list of the Zimbabwe's dead, compiled and distributed by
Mugabe's
political opposition to international media and reported by Paul
Salopek,
the Chicago Tribune's prize-winning Africa
correspondent.
There's a man who was attacked and beaten after sitting
down to eat dinner.
There's another killed while tending his
garden.
There's a woman whose targeted husband was not home, so she was
killed as a
warning to him.
There's another woman who was locked in a
room at the shopping centre and
burned with plastic all over her body and in
the mouth.
A man was given rat poison and, when that wasn't enough to
kill him, he was
slaughtered with an axe.
More than 80 known victims
were killed in the run-up to Mugabe's June 27
sham of a reelection. The
carnage and intimidation have not stopped. The
country's economy is a wreck.
It takes millions of Zimbabwean dollars to buy
a loaf of bread, and the
prices go up every half hour or so. As many as 80
percent of the workers are
unemployed. Peaceful sleep is a luxury.
Morgan Tsvangirai, the opposition
leader, was poised to win the runoff,
despite Mugabe's best vote-stealing
efforts, but withdrew to stop the brutal
state-sponsored attacks against
thousands of his supporters.
At 84, Mugabe clings to power against all
pretense of carrying about the
lives or liberty of his country's people. He
cares only for power.
It wasn't always like this. I remember when Mugabe
was viewed as one of
Africa's brightest postcolonial hopes.
Like
South Africa's Nelson Mandela, Mugabe was imprisoned for opposing
white-minority rule. Freed in 1975 after 11 years in prison under the
breakaway British colony of Rhodesia, he led a resistance movement that
ended with his election in 1980 as prime minister of the newly named
Zimbabwe.
But power corrupted him. In the early 1980s, his special
forces, assisted by
the North Korean army, massacred an estimated 20,000
members of the Ndebele
tribe who supported a rival leader. In 2000 he
defended the seizure of land
from white farmers by self-proclaimed "war
veterans." The country
deteriorated rapidly from food exporter to food
beggar.
Ian Smith, white Rhodesia's last prime minister, observed
poignantly before
his death last October, "I was wrong about Mandela, but
right about Mugabe."
Indeed, Mugabe's always been on his best behavior only
as long as his own
power is not threatened. Subject him to something so
humbling as an honest
election and, as far as he's concerned, everybody gets
hurt.
He paints himself as Africa's champion. That's a mockery of the
Pan-African
dream for which he once stood. Instead he's a retro-throwback to
the old Big
Man system of kleptocracy and pseudo-democracy: "One person, one
vote, one
time."
So Nelson Mandela, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Sen.
Barack Obama have
condemned his violence? So, the United Nations Security
Council have joined
the condemnations? So, the Queen of England has revoked
his knighthood? So,
you think Mugabe cares?
Mugabe cares only for
power and, perhaps, keeping himself and his cronies
for having to answer for
war crimes at The Hague. Instead, he's coddled by
bodies like the African
Union.
At last week's AU meeting in the Egyptian resort of Sharm
El-Sheik, the
presidents of Kenya and Senegal were most prominent among the
few who
sharply rebuked Mugabe for embarrassing the continent. Most of the
African
Union urged a power-sharing deal between Mugabe and Tsvangirai. But,
like
resolutions the UN and others have passed, it had no enforcement
teeth.
Zimbabweans still wait in vain for what they really need to hear,
a strong
rebuke of Mugabe's arrogance from their neighbor, South Africa's
President
Thabo Mbeki. As the region's designated negotiator in the Zimbabwe
crisis -
and president of the region's biggest economic and political
powerhouse -
Mbeki could almost single-handedly persuade Mugabe to retire to
a
comfortable villa somewhere.
Through carrot-and-stick threats of
international sanctions against the
landlocked Zimbabwe and Mugabe's
cronies, Mbeki could save his legacy and
Africa's future. Instead, Mbeki
behaves, in the words of an old African
fable, like a mouse in the pocket of
Mugabe's elephant while the grass
suffers - and does not sleep.
Write
to Clarence Page c/o Tribune Media Services, 2225 Kenmore Ave., Suite
114,
Buffalo, NY 14207. Or e-mail him at cpage@tribune.com.
http://www.gulfnews.com
By Fawaz Turki, Special to Gulf News
Published: July
04, 2008, 23:41
What drives an 84-year-old political leader, who had
ruled his country for
close to three decades, to cling on to power at any
cost, including that of
hunting down, incarcerating and butchering his
opponents, whom he perceives
as a threat to his ambitions for yet another
term in office?
You may think that power corrupts, and that its absolute
version corrupts
absolutely, but Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe has projected a
more pathological
expression of power, best defined by Edmund Burke, who
wrote: "Those who
have been once intoxicated with power, and have derived
any kind of
emolument from it, even though for but one year, can never
willingly abandon
it."
Leaders of the African Union meeting at a
two-day conference in Egypt last
Tuesday failed, effectively, to resolve
Zimbabwe's political crisis, issuing
a lame resolution calling on Mugabe and
the political opposition, led by
Morgan Tsvangirai, to "engage in serious
efforts" to form a national unity
government. An attempt by some delegates
to punish Zimbabwe by excluding it
from regional and continental meetings,
and introduce a strong motion
censuring the regime, was defeated. There
remain, it would appear, African
governments that are sympathetic to
Mugabe's claim that Britain's and other
Western nations' "interference" in
Zimbabwe was behind the country's crisis.
No mention was made of the fact
that Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic
change won the first election in
March but withdrew from the run-off after a
state-sponsored campaign of
violence against the party's supporters.
Leadership failures
It is
unfortunate that African countries, working in concert, failed to
address a
pressing African issue on their continent. The meltdown in
Zimbabwe is not,
sadly, unique to Zimbabwe, for there are leadership
failures across Africa,
though Zimbabwe's failure, resulting from its
president's brazen effort to
prolong his rule no matter what, is more
extreme in kind and in degree.
Surely, African leaders must recognise that a
deepening social, political
and economic crisis in one country in their
continent will systemically
affect them all. Just as, for example, the
drought that swept across Western
Somalia, and across the border in
Ethiopia, last year and again this year,
has already created a major problem
for the surrounding countries, so has
political turmoil in Zimbabwe created
a demographic problem for South Africa
with the influx there of great
numbers of Zimbabwean refugees fleeing a land
that at one time had been
self-sufficient and stable but, thanks to
mismanagement, nepotism and
corruption in government, is now turned into a
empty basket case. Those of
us who were around at the time, in the 1950s,
recall the independence era
when the colonial powers began to withdraw and
dozens of new African states
were established amid the world's applause and
giddy enthusiasm.
A bold experiment by formerly colonised peoples, in
nation- building,
economic development and social justice, was to be
launched. Fifty years on,
Africa's misfortunes - its ethnic wars, its
droughts, its famines, its
genocides - have become legion. To be sure, there
are exceptions. Take
Botswana, an enduring example of a multi-party
democracy, and South Africa,
which has emerged intact into a post-apartheid
era. But the reality is that,
two generations later and half a century after
independence, a continent
rich in resources has been brought to the edge of
despair, its many states
burdened by debt, national strife and dictatorial
rule.
Back to Mugabe who, I will go out on a limb and tell you here, is
beyond the
pale. We all read the gruesome news story last week, among many
about the
man's brutalities against his own people, of the burning to death
of a
six-year-old boy because his father is an opposition politician. In the
face
of such thuggery, I too, had I been Tsvangirai, would have been
persuaded to
withdraw from the presidential run-off on June 27.
That
the African Union summit in Sharm Al Shaikh failed to address the issue
is
indeed, I say, unfortunate. But all is not lost. The United States, with
backing from the European Union, is preparing to apply pressure on
Zimbabwe's president by pressing for a UN vote next week that would impose
sanctions on his regime.
In and by itself that may not be enough.
That is why the international
community is looking into ways to intervene on
behalf of the long-suffering
people of Zimbabwe. It would appear that under
a new concept, known as
"responsibility to protect" and dubbed "R2P",
adopted by world leaders at a
UN world summit in New York in 2005,
intervention in another country is
permitted in the event that mass
atrocity, and other crimes against
humanity, are taking place there, and
that country is unable to protect its
people. Whether the international
community would resort to such a measure
remains to be
seen.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe as a nation has become hollowed out, its
potential for
development disrupted by the predatory politics of an
84-year-old ruler who
has worked together with a ruling elite to create or
perpetuate privilege
for cronies at the expense of the national interest and
the interest of the
mass of Zimbabweans. Yes, I say in this case, we do have
a "responsibility
to protect" - or at the least to speak
up.
Fawaz Turki is a veteran journalist, lecturer and author of
several books,
including The Disinherited: Journal of a Palestinian Exile.
He lives in
Washington D.C.
Washington Times
William
Murchison
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Imperialists bad; freedom fighters, good.
Out of there, you smug, gold-laced
Churchillian types with your pith helmets
and your gin and tonics. Out of
India! Out of Africa! Out! Out!
Nor
did American liberals alone make up the chorus. Plenty of Brits
declaimed
against their overseas fiefdoms. Worn-down Frenchmen and Dutchmen
called for
withdrawal from the plains and jungles of empire. Empire, as we
would say
nowadays, was so over. The glorious dawn of independence was at
hand,
bathing in its lustrous rays ... well, for Robert Mugabe, among
others.
Robert Mugabe: exalted oppressor of the Zimbabwean people,
jailer of
opponents, suppressor of every human right known to man and then
some.
Robert Mugabe, all-round tyrant, despot and jerk, as well as unwitting
generator of a certain nostalgia for the bad old days of topees and gin and
tonics.
Maybe, after all, we think, watching Zimbabwe's plunge into
the Dark Ages,
amid economic ruin and the shutdown of civil liberties, black
isn't
automatically the color of virtue, nor white the color of viciousness.
Maybe
the old empires, which certainly had their demerits, had, as well,
some good
points. For one thing, they would allow you a fair
trial.
Western liberal antipathy for empire and, at one time, the
white-ruled
relics of empire - e.g., South Africa and Rhodesia - never had
much
discernment about it. The supposition was that when the colonial
masters got
kicked out, or left of their own accord, native successors to
power would
initiate the reign of freedom and justice and love. It has been,
here and
there, a little messier than that, a little
rockier.
Zimbabwe isn't the only example, but it's a good one. After
Britain, the
former colonial authority in Rhodesia helped peel power away
from Ian
Smith's rebel white regime, and Robert Mugabe governed for a time
with some
success. Then he decided to become president for life. Autocracy
descended,
as did hunger and imprisonment. He seized the productive
farmlands of the
country's then-numerous whites. Racial mythology protected
him. He was black
and, as the New York Times called him this week, "a
revered liberation
hero." The whites were, well, white.
Not that
whites were Mr. Mugabe's most conspicuous victims; blacks were,
too - blacks
like himself. Whites had the money and motive to flee; not so
the blacks he
had killed or thrown in prison, or whom he shut out of power
for demanding
what had been represented to them as their lawful human
rights.
White
liberals abroad kept largely quiet. It was so embarrassing: A black
oppressing blacks! - and, with the implied acquiescence of other black
African leaders happy to cut some slack for a revered liberation hero. Until
now, that is. Now, when widely acknowledged as the author of all Zimbabwe's
problems - including an inflation rate of percent - and the brazen theft of
the most recent presidential election - Mr. Mugabe seems to be wearing out
his international welcome.
Kenyan President Raila Odinga calls recent
developments in Zimbabwe "a shame
and an embarrassment to Africa in the eyes
of the international community."
He calls on the African Union "to send
troops to Zimbabwe" and restore order
and justice.
A good idea, one
would think. There's one more good idea. It's to cut the
racial component
out of political discourse. If we're all for freedom and
justice - we are,
aren't we? - it hardly makes sense to judge in racial
terms alone, the bona
fides of this or that government, this or that ruler.
We're past that,
aren't we? Or where would Barack Obama stand in the
electoral pecking
order?
Of course, old habits die hard. A Western liberal prone to
excusing revered
liberation heroes on the slightest grounds doesn't
automatically abandon the
habit - the habit that goes with sliming and
slandering white
"imperialists." Not rational. Not useful in the full
securing of human
rights. But so Western liberal, don't you
know?
William Murchison is a senior fellow of the Texas Public Policy
Foundation
and a nationally syndicated columnist.
Daily Mail
By Chris Foy Last updated at 8:49 PM on 04th July
2008
Nelson Mandela was last night identified as the inspiration for
a courageous
stand by South Africa which helped to free England's players
from the
spectre of the Zimbabwe issue.
When Peter Chingoka, the
chairman of Zimbabwe Cricket, confirmed that his
country had withdrawn from
next summer's Twenty20 World Championship in
England, it averted the threat
of a devastating split in the international
game.
In the past:
England one-day skipper Paul Collingwood plays a shot as
Zimbabwe keeper
Brendan Taylor looks on during the 2007 Twenty20 World
Championship in South
Africa
With the British government adamant that players from the African
nation
would not be granted visas, Chingoka was forced to abandon his
defiant
position under pressure from Zimbabwe's Indian
'friends'.
The fact that the Indian delegation were convinced to
adopt the role of
mediators was down to the ECB holding their nerve when
talks were on a knife
edge. But they in turn owed much to the strident
support of Norman Arendse.
The Cricket South Africa president was
hailed as 'outstanding' by his
English counterparts, who recognised the need
for an African voice to chip
away at Zimbabwe's stubborn
position.
But the African voice which seemingly galvanised Arendse
and others was
Mandela's. Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman, claimed that when
the former
president of South Africa spoke out against Robert Mugabe's
regime last
week, it struck a chord.
'Nelson Mandela has enormous
international standing,' he said. 'His
statement was quoted during the board
meeting by the chairman of Cricket
South Africa and had a substantial impact
on opinions.
'Nelson Mandela has a huge significance throughout
Africa and also
throughout the sub-continent. He is, as Norman Arendse said,
a "modern-day
saint". His pronouncements carry weight. When he made his
comment in London,
I was sure it would have an impact.'
Informal
talks on the Zimbabwe question went on throughout Thursday night.
Once India
had been coaxed into accepting that sport and politics are
sometimes, as in
this case, 'inextricably linked', Chingoka was finally
convinced to pull out
of the Twenty20 showpiece.
In return, Zimbabwe Cricket will
retain their ICC full-member status and
funding and receive a participation
payment for an event they are no longer
taking part in.
England
and South Africa both hoped to see Zimbabwe banished from the world
game,
but that was not an option within the constraints of the ICC
constitution.
However, the country's status will be urgently reviewed
in terms of
cricketing strength, administration and
infrastructure.
Future suspension remains a possibility. Arendse
called yesterday's
development a 'step forward', but added: 'The Zimbabwe
issue remains on the
table.'
The Government were quick to
congratulate the ECB, but there was evident
disappointment that Zimbabwe had
not been banished. Andy Burnham, the
Secretary of State for Culture, Media
and Sport, said: 'I would have
preferred the ICC to take a stronger
stance.'
Hi Folks
I wanted to know if you could assist in
publicising a fund raising venture that my brother, Graeme Schlachter, is
undertaking later this year.
Graeme has taken up the challenge to swim
the English Channel later this summer in an effort to raise money for elderly
people in Zimbabwe.
Why the channel? Well, I take part of the
responsibility for that. It was an idea I came up with late on a Friday
afternoon in October 2006. The recent arrival of my first son Nikolas, in May
this year, has put paid to my attempt (phew!) but Graeme has taken up the
challenge and his swim is scheduled for late September.
And quite a challenge it is. It’s known as
the “Everest” of swimming and in some respects, it’s tougher. More people have
summited Mount Everest then have swum the channel. At 35km, it can take up to 18
hours to complete, with strong tides, bad weather, ships and the cold the most
obvious obstacles to contend with. Those less obvious, include finding the time
and mental strength to shoe-horn in 20-30km of training a week, most of it in
cold water.
I am immensely proud of the way Graeme has
risen to these challenges, motivated by the chance of personal achievement and
the opportunity to help others as well. The Charities Graeme is raising money
for are Homes in Zimbabwe (Charity no. 1104512) and ZANE. http://www.zane-zimbabweanationalemergency.com/
(Charity no.1112949)
These charities focus on helping the elderly
in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe is a crazy place at the moment and no part of society is
spared the impact of the current situation. However, for those who retired
prior to the onset of the hyperinflationary spiral, they are in some serious
trouble and that’s where these charities help out.
Our parents still live and continue to work
in Zimbabwe, just about keeping pace financially, although their pensions have
been destroyed and retirement plans deferred indefinitely. They consider
themselves the lucky ones.
If you can assist in raising the profile of
Graeme’s challenge and fund raising activities, check out his blog at http://www.zimhippo.blogspot.com/
or contact us on the details below.
All sponsorship will be gladly accepted at
http://www.justgiving.com/zimhippo
.