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WE APPEAL FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE

To enable the MDC to properly supervise the elections over June 24 - 25,
2000, we are in desperate need of logistical assistance. We are sure that
the importance of this exercise cannot be overstated.

A) We need volunteers to supply and staff up to 30 convoys of 2 - 3
vehicles each. Each vehicle would need approximately 2 people. These
convoys will be used to assist in the deployment of polling agents into
rural constituencies. Please phone 091-241197 or 091-220541 for specific
details in this regard.

B) We need to borrow cell phones - lots of them. These phones will be used
at each polling station where cell phone service is available. A
receipting/recording system will be in place to document the equipment loaned.

C) We need to borrow hand-held radios (line of sight). This equipment will
be provided to each car in the convoys described in A) above. A
receipting/recording system will be in place to document the equipment loaned.

All equipment can be taken to the MDC Support Centre on the 8th Floor Gold
Bridge, Eastgate S/Centre cnr 2nd St/Speke Ave. If this is not possible,
please contact us on 091-367151/2/3 or 091-241197 or 091-220541 to arrange
collection.

Any queries regarding any of the above, call 091-241197 or 091-220541.

Thank you for your generosity and belief in a new and dynamic future for
Zimbabwe, through the Movement for Democratic Change.


Regards,

MDC Support Centre
8th Floor, Gold Bridge
Eastgate
Harare


Guqula Izenzo/Maitiro Chinja


"Freedom has always been an expensive thing. History is fit testimony to
the fact that freedom is rarely gained without sacrifice and self-denial."
(Martin Luther King)

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Hi .....sorry I have not written for a while......no things are not better here, I just think the journalists have lost interest!!!!! In all, five white farmers have been murdered in the last two months and countless black MDC have been murdered and TORTURED. This one guy....in the latest incident was taken at gun point on his way home....he is like the publicity guy for one of the MDC guys standing for election.....he was beaten and they had a sharpened bicycle spoke, which they poked into his privates and shoved it up his bum...........left him for dead. Then he was found and put in hospital....THEN these bastards from the Central Intelligence Organisation tried to abduct him at gunpoint from the hospital......can you imagine his terror,,,,after having gone through something like that. The torture etc is on a huge scale....these poor rural folk and farm labourers are going through hell.
If they do not vote Mugabe out now, then there is ABSOLUTELY NO HOPE in this country........X has a particularly unpleasant fellow on his farm........he totally dictates how X farms....like X wanted to cut down some gum trees to fix a cattle dip...and they told him, no, you can't, this is our farm now. They made his labourers swim in the dam, roll in the mud, then tortured them and told X they were trained to kill....so basically a death threat. Before that they had told them that they had half an hour to get off the farm, but X managed to talk them out of it...he says that especially on the weekends it gets nasty as these squatters get pissed and even more unruly.
The MDC guys are literally in fear of their lives and the things going on to them and all related are DESPICABLE....and all the while, when Mugabe went to Cuba that wife e of his was in Paris....staying at the RITZ (probably at least 1000 pounds sterling a night) and sending her brats to Eurodisney and having designer packages sent to her room every day......like there is not a CHRONIC foreign exchange shortage in Zimbabwe. They should be tortured an d strung up so everyone can throw rocks at them and all their money repatriated to Zim....waltzing around Paris...I just want to VOMIT.............and their people , poor ,s starving and jobless.......mainly because he has never implemented job opportunities,,,,,he as so mismanaged this place...if he gets in again...there will be no more money from elsewhere.........the Congo stinks...and they are waltzing off with diamonds galore etc.
AND they have made it very difficult for people like me to vote....I am not on the voters roll....even though I registered....and voted in the referendum.....but now I have been given ALIEN status on my ID....even though I was BORN and LIVED here all my life....because I have a BRITISH passport So now I cannot vote. The only consolation is that Harare will DEFINITELY vote Mugabe out..........and Y is voting still. What worries me though,,,is that if I left the country for any reason .....and then came back...I think there will be trouble getting back in...it has happened to others...where they were suddenly, after a business trip to the UK, British passport holders, even tho born here,,,,were given A 30 DAY VISA, or just sent back to the UK........
I had a childminder for a whole four days before I caught her stealing,,,so she is hoofed and I am back to square one......with one very demanding baby and trying to work.....very frustrating and difficult and I am very depressed.

Anyway I had better go...breakfast has been made by my sweet hubby...albeit toast and tea!!!!!!!!
Love to you all

Write soon
Z

NOTE THE WRITER IS 2nd GENERATION - HER MOTHER WAS BORN IN RHODESIA & HER GRANDFATHER PLAYED A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN HISTORY GAINING A "FAIR DEAL" FOR THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
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VIOLENCE AND INTIMIDATION SOARS 10 DAYS BEFORE VOTERS GO TO THE POLLS
..............terrified people cower on streets, a farmer is hospitalised, a candidate
flees after threats from an army general

14 June 2000

The Movement for Democratic Change is facing a deluge of complaints about a
massive escalation of violence and intimidation in some areas.

Morgan Tsvangirai, president of the MDC said: "yesterday I was in Murehwa
South and Murehwa North - the area is totally besieged. There are some 3 000
war veterans in the area terrorising the populace. When we moved into
Murehwa the police moved in ahead of us, there were thousands of people
sitting, standing and huddling in the corridors of that community too
terrified to come forward.  People had sat down on streets within hearing
distance of loudspeakers until police said there was a petrol station nearby
they should move further back - out of hearing range.

"Murehwa is an area where some of the worst torture has occurred. Last night
and yesterday war veterans threatened shopkeepers to close stores, and told
residents that they went to door to door not to attend the rally. It is so
humbling to see the courage of those people - and their fear.

"I say to the people of Zimbabwe we will win this war through the ballot
box. The weapon you carry is the pen with which you make your cross.  We
will overcome this terror. The people of Zimbabwe carry the power to make a
change. I believe in their courage.
"It is only a week and a half from now until we vote, you, my people, can
choose between tyranny and peace and progress for this country.
"If we cannot talk to the people everywhere we go, we want them to know we
will come to comfort them in this their hour of need. I am travelling to the
areas of the worst violence, to say, I am with you, have courage, be
strong, stand firm Zimbabwe. Each vote counts - cast your vote, it will
count. It will make a difference for you, your children, your future - our
future.  We have seen the violence and terror in Murewha North and Murewha
South, in Uzumba, in Mudzi - stay alive, your vote is you weapon against
these bullies and thugs."

In response to questions posed by members of the US House of Representatives
yesterday (Tuesday) after he delivered his testimony to the house via
telephone from Harare, Tsvangirai said: "Southern Africa will not be
peaceful if Zimbabwe remains the way it is. Justice has to be restored ...
land and race are being used by ZanuPF as a smokescreen for its failures.
We are committed to democracy through the ballot box and know what that
means. People are terrified, people are living under siege...
"Everyone is unsafe in this environment, me in particular, because I am the
leader of this democratic change. The targets are MDC candidates. One today
was threatened by an army general. There is no point in having dead
candidates, everyone is in danger here.
"The international observers are well appreciated by there are not enough of
them to cover the country. Not all are being accredited in time to see this
violence. But we hope they can create a sense of peace in at least some
constituencies. Their number is small but their work is appreciated.
"There are five constituencies in Mashonaland East - all five are no-go
areas, it is impossible to campaign in two constituencies in Mashonaland
West, in Masvingo three constituencies are no go areas. The Midlands have
been very badly affected. In these constituencies people are so terrified
they dare not come to meetings, we campaign door to door at night."

IN INCIDENTS OF VIOLENCE AND SEVERE INTIMIDATION REPORTED ON TUESDAY:

* John Melrose (64) of Glen Somerset farm in Macheke - 90km from
Harare - was hospitalised with severe head injuries after being badly beaten
by 20 war veterans who took up residence on his farm some time ago. He is at
present in Borrowdale hospital.
* Pearson Tachiveyi, the MDC candidate for Wedza was contacted at work
in Harare at lunchtime on June 13 by ZNA Commander General Chiwenga who is
Tachiveyi's uncle, the two come from the same home village of Chigodora.
Tachiveyi says Chiwenga said: "I understand you are the MDC candidate for
Wedza. I ask you to resign the candidature as soon as possible. You should
come to my office to talk about this 'surrender'. This must be done
immediately. If you don't I will make sure I find you before the elections."
Tachiveyi replied that he would exercise his democratic right to support the
party of his choice. He says the general said: "It's up to you to decide
whether you wish to live or die." Tachiveyi refused and the conversation
ended.  Tachiveyi is so intimidated he is contemplating leaving the country.
(cell 011409389)

* Silent Dube, and election agent for Seke Rural Constituency
(023-812450) and Co-ordinator for Marirangwe in Beatrice claims consistent
harassment by war vets when he puts up posters. He fears for his life.

* Munyamana Lovemore (023.749.493) had his house burnt in Gokwe on
Tuesday, he says the assailants were well known ZanuPF supporters

* Registration books for voters to add their names to the
supplementary roll were used up by early Mnday morning at Macheke governmetn
school in Marondera, the electoral officers fled after angry would-be voters
gathered.

* In Chegutu,  ZanuPF candidate Charles Ndlovu has been picking up
illegal immigrants in the area - Mozambicans, Malawians and the ilk - and
taking them to get rapid Zimbabwean Identitity documents and to be placed on
the supplementary roll. There was a group with Ndlovu busy doing this on
Monday night at 8.30pm when polcie arrived following a complaint from MDC
candidate, Phil Mathibe (091.319.458) and chased them away.

* CHIRUMANZU - Gideon Makumbe (054-26845) reported two incidents. The
first was when Sweden Madziwa a communal farmer was approached by 3 ZanuPF
youths and told him he would be killed in the next few days. However, other
villagers came to his support and warned the youths to leave.
* Cosiom Mdala a railway worker at Fairfield was threatened by seven
ZanuPF youths sent by a central committee member.

*     VICTORIA FALLS - 200 war veterans marched into the town on Tuesday,
June 13, ahead of an advertised rally with Morgan Tsvangirai (an incorrect
advertisement), they beat up the organiser of the rally, marched up and down
the town and put chains locking stadium gates.  Professor Welshman Ncube and
Gibson Sibanda will be speaking at the rally today (Wed, 14.6)  Contact
Richard Lowe 091-239178


Keep up the momentum!

Regards,

MDC Support Centre
8th Floor, Gold Bridge
Eastgate
Harare

Guqula Izenzo/Maitiro Chinja

"Freedom has always been an expensive thing. History is fit testimony to the
fact that freedom is rarely gained without sacrifice and self-denial."
(Martin Luther King)

t testimony to the
fact that freedom is rarely gained without sacrifice and self-denial."
(Martin Luther King)

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Daily News [Zimbabwe]

When Hitler Hunzvi becomes President!
6/16/00 10:48:42 AM (GMT +2)

There are two Shona idioms which basically say one and the same thing.
The one says: Chikuriri chine chikuriri chachowo. The other says: Gone
ana gone wakewo. What they both mean, loosely translated, is that every
hero has his own  conqueror in turn.

For all his apparent invincibility and pretensions to being an absolute
monarch, President Mugabe has conceded defeat completely and
unconditionally to one person and one person only: Chenjerai Hitler
Hunzvi.

Ever since Hunzvi and his mob discovered that "the owl does not have
horns after all" and, in dramatic fashion, arm-twisted and subdued RGM
into paying them gratuities and pensions in 1997, Hunzvi has virtually
driven RGM into a tight corner. Realising that RGM knows that without
the strong-arm tactics only his ruthless mob is savage enough to employ,
he cannot hold on to power for much longer, it is now Hitler who calls
the shots.

The Mole often chuckles silently to himself listening to the garbage
coming out of the mouths of Zanu PF politicians at rallies in their
morbid fury and panic at the prospect of losing power and what that
would mean to those of them with very dark sides to their lives. Such
garbage like, for instance, mocking the abbreviation MDC as standing for
"Movement for the Destruction of the Country".

They probably havent heard what the young upwardly mobile professionals
(or "yuppies" as they are known in short) are saying about what they
call the Twin Presidency (placing Hitler and RGM on the same pedestal).

"It was bad enough when we had only one," they lament, with wry humour.
"But now we have two very ferocious bulls in one china shop. The
destruction is going to be quick and total!"

Now that Hitler has managed to frighten RGM into sanctioning his
parliamentary candidature a move that indirectly benefited Kumbirai
Kangai as well since both men had been barred from contesting on the
same grounds The Mole shudders to think what kind of laws he is going to
initiate if he succeeds in becoming an MP.

The man sees Zimbabwe as well as everyone and everything in it as having
been created solely for the gratification and comfort of Zimbabwes own
version of Robin Hood and his band of outlaws Hitler Hunzvi and his "war
veterans".

But The Mole does not see Hunzvi settling for good for the lowly job of
a mere MP. Does anyone remember the old story of the camel which, on a
bitterly cold night, started by asking to be allowed to put into its
masters tent just its nose, then its ears and on and on until the whole
of it was inside? It ended up kicking its owner out of the tent into the
cold "because the tent is not big enough for both of us".

Hunzvi probably has his eye on the Presidency itself, nothing less.

Remember him being taken to Matonjeni (or was it Njelele?) two or so
years ago when his organisation held elections at Esigodini? He was
reported then to have been bestowed with a staff and special powers to
take over the Presidency from RGM soon. What is happening now is ominous
in that regard.

Hunzvi, who, because of the enormous influence he is exerting on
national affairs through his terror gangs at the moment, is privately
being referred to, albeit in jest, as the "de facto President", could
well become President. And, with his legendary disdain for law and
order, one thing is certain.

When Hunzvi becomes President of Zimbabwe, The Mole can well see him
promulgating only one law the law making all laws illegal! An inevitable
sequel to that, naturally, will be the abolition of all agencies,
pillars and institutions of law and order.

The police, the CIO and the courts will all be abolished on the grounds
that they are likely to interfere with the freedom of war veterans. In
short, he will officially declare Zimbabwe a lawless state! A little
scary, is it not?

* The Mole is frankly amazed that, since transforming itself into the
official propaganda broadcaster for the ruling party shortly after the
February rejection of the draft constitution, the ZBC has never been
taken to court for grossly and wilfully distorting news to please the
party leaders.

Reporting selectively is one thing. No one can force the media to report
what they dont want to. But deliberately misrepresenting and twisting
facts is quite another. It is an unacceptable affront to the ethics that
govern the journalistic profession, recently venerated by Pope John
Paul II as "sacred".

Yet ZBC seems to take special delight in routinely doing just that. It
seems to view its flagrant violation of ethical standards as its
prerogative. And, surprisingly, it does that with impunity.

Take for example its report this week on the OAUs reaction to the
United Nations election observer mission to Zimbabwes pulling out of the
country.

The import of the reaction by the head of the OAU election observer
mission, Sam Ibok, was, as The Herald correctly reported in its Tuesday
edition, that his organisation found the UN missions pulling out
"regrettable". But ZBC obviously thought that was not what the party
leaders wanted to hear. Making Iboks reaction the main item of the day
in its ZTV Main News @ Eight, ZBC decided to interpret it its own way.

"The OAU election observer mission to Zimbabwe," Dorcas Chibanda said
with a straight face when reading the headlines, "has said that the
pulling-out of the UN observer mission will not affect the outcome of
the elections." To anyone who watched that news bulletin, the puzzle of
where the news compiler got that item from shall forever remain a
mystery.

For, when Ibok himself was shown speaking in a film clip, he said
nothing that could even remotely be misunderstood to mean what was
contained in the headline which Chibanda was given to read.

What Ibok said, and which was correctly quoted by The Herald, was: "It
is regrettable that the UN should pull out . . . This is something that
we were very surprised to learn. We would have wanted the UN (to observe
the elections), but this is something they should speak for themselves.
But this is not going to affect our participation." (my emphasis).

This is serious professional misconduct putting words into peoples
mouths. Its a miracle that no one has ever sued ZBC so far. But then, of
course, it now being the Zanu Broadcasting Company, it does as it
pleases, safe in the knowledge that Hunzvis men will see to it that no
one dares take them to court.

* Talking about ZBC, did you hear about the announcer who recently lost
his job at Pockets Hill following what the fellow claimed was a "slip of
the tongue" but which claim The Mole finds totally impossible to
believe?

On Tuesday three weeks ago, Tony Gaynor, a veteran broadcaster,
surprised everybody tuned to Radio One with his "This is the Rhodesia
Broadcasting Corporation . . . " announcement.

Gaynor, who was now a part-time announcer but had joined the corporation
on a full-time basis when it was still the RBC, was, naturally, promptly
fired.

Although a fellow columnist writing in another publication expressed
sympathy for Gaynor, The Mole frankly doesnt have a grain of sympathy
for him.

He simply had it coming. In fact, I am strongly tempted to think he did
it on purpose just to irritate the directors of propaganda at Pockets
Hill for the admittedly nauseating drivel they cause the State
broadcaster to continuously drool.

Nevertheless, The Mole could not help wondering what would have happened
to Gaynor if he had instead said: "This is the Zanu Broadcasting
Corporation. . . "


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COMMERCIAL FARMERS' UNION
FARM INVASIONS UPDATE
SATURDAY 17 JUNE 2000

Most regions seem reasonable quiet aside from a large number of rallies taking place by both major parties.

REGIONAL REPORTS

MASHONALAND CENTRAL
Tsatsi - about a 1000 people attended a rally at Zanadu farm, which was peaceful. Victory Block - an all night pungwe is to be held at Kelston Ranch and farm workers from surrounding farms are being requested to attend. Another rally is been held at Shinje today.
Mvurwi - A truck from Hyde Transport was commandeered by war vets this morning and the assistant driver was assaulted. The truck was carrying tobacco, but the contents were left in tact. The vehicle was taken to Umsengedzi, but has since been returned and the police are investigating.
Glendale - a war vet has been back to Chabara and threathened extortion of $10 000. The police have already issued a warning that he is not to attempt extortion again.

MIDLANDS - very little to report, except in the Kwekwe area, a peaceful invasion on Woodcrest and a death threath received by another farmer. There appears to be some political unrest in the Kwekwe town.

MASHONALAND WEST NORTH
Chinhoyi - a farmer has received a threathening call and blamed for support of the MDC.
Lions Den - on Hillrise farm, war veterans visited yesterday and told labour to peg land for themselves and that they would return and take the balance of the land. Today the war vets arrived and are upset that nothing has been done. On Tafuli farm, war veterans were trying to stop the owner from hunting this week. This has now been resolved.

MANICALAND
Nyanga - there is an upsurge in activity in this area. Burma Valley - A farmer has been insulted and made to perform. A number of rallies are being held on Sunday.

MASVINGO
Quiet

MASHONALAND EAST, MATABELELAND and MASHONALAND WEST SOUTH
No Reports
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HARARE, June 17 (AFP) - Tempers are flaring among members of Zimbabwe's ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), faced with defectors standing as independents in next weekend's parliamentary elections.

"Even if we put a baboon in Chivi (an electorate in the southeast), if you are ZANU-PF you vote for that baboon," Vice President Simon Muzenda thundered at a rally there Friday, the government-owned Herald reported Saturday.

He was furious because of the low turn-out of about 1,000 supporters, said the newspaper, which usually multiplies attendances at ruling party rallies by a factor of two or three.

Two ZANU-PF defectors standing as independents in Chivi North and Chivi South "barred" their supporters from attending the rally, the newspaper said.

"I am called Mzee (old man), the vice president of this country ... when President (Robert) Mugabe is not there I run the country, and if I sign your death warrant you will hang," Muzenda warned.

Saturday, 17 June, 2000, 15:18 GMT 16:18 UK - BBC

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/africa/newsid_794000/794837.stm Turnout blow for Mugabe

President Mugabe: let down by Harare and Bulawayo Zimbabwe's ruling party has suffered another blow to its election campaign, with a poor turnout at one of President Mugabe's last rallies confirming the drop in support suggested by an opinion poll on Friday.

President Mugabe acknowledged that his Zanu-PF party faced a real battle to stay in power in next weekend's parliamentary elections.

The independent Public Opinion Institute said its survey suggested the main opposition party would win 70 of the 120 parliamentary seats.

Several thousand supporters attended the rally in the capital, Harare, in what used to be Mr Mugabe's home constituency.

Repeated appeals for bus drivers to ferry more supporters to the meeting failed to boost the audience, although President Mugabe arrived nearly three hours later than scheduled to address them.

The administration secretary for the ruling Zanu-PF party, Didymus Mutasa, complained that he had expected a bigger turnout, and accused the organisers of failing to do a good job.

Double disappointment

Several hundred thousand people had turned out to hear Mr Mugabe at the same site 20 years ago, shortly before Zanu-PF swept to power on Zimbabwe's independence from Britain.

In his speech, President Mugabe repeated the familiar themes of the election campaign of recent months.

He said that the land belonged to the black people of Zimbabwe and warned the white population that if they wished to remain, they should respect the country's laws.

He accused the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change of being a puppet of foreign forces opposed to Zimbabwe, particularly Britain.

One report said that scores of those attending left while the president was still speaking.

Mr Mugabe went on to address another rally in Zimbabwe's second city, Bulawayo, before setting off for a summit in Egypt.

About 3,500 people gathered to hear him in a stadium where the MDC drew at least 20,000 supporters last month.

Zanu-PF expects....

The poor turnout at Mr Mugabe's rallies followed a similar disappointment yesterday for Zimbabwe's Vice-President, Simon Muzenda.

The government-owned Herald newpaper, which usually exaggerates the attendance at ruling party rallies, said that Mr Muzenda was furious when only 1,000 people came to hear him speak in the southeastern Chivi region.

Two Zanu-PF defectors are standing as independent candidates there.

Opposition rallies

The MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, was due to address a rally in the northern area of Guruve, one of the poorer and more remote parts of the country, as part of his efforts to capture the key rural vote.

The MDC has found many similar areas out of bounds as a result of threats and violence by government supporters, often led by the War Veterans Association, which has spearheaded the illegal occupation of white-owned farms.

Several hundred international observers have arrived in Zimbabwe in an attempt to ensure that the elections are free and fair, but human rights groups say the intimidation has continued.

More than 13,000 rural people have sought refuge in towns and cities to escape political violence in the run-up to the election, according to the Zimbabwe Human Rights Forum.
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BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe, June 17 (AFP) - A Zimbabwe opposition candidate staged a colourful campaign show Saturday in Bulawayo's Nketa township ahead of a rally by President Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe's second largest city.
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) candidate David Coltart held what he called a "show boat" -- a convoy of open trucks driving around the township's streets and shopping centre like a carnival. The banner- and balloon-festooned convoy moved from shopping centre to shopping centre to wild cheers from people in streets and buses.
"The purpose of this is to provide our profile, more than speeches. It's festive, we have lots of fun," Coltart said. Coltart's convoy passed a group of about 20 ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) members on their way to White City stadium for Mugabe's rally.
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HARARE, June 17 (AFP) - President Robert Mugabe blamed whites once again Saturday for Zimbabwe's economic woes, but noted that he had allowed former Rhodesian prime minister Ian Smith to keep his head.

"I spent 11 years in prison at the hands of Ian Smith, but he's still here alive, keeping a head which we should -- you know -- have taken as our own," he told some 4,000 supporters at an election rally in the working class Harare suburb of Highfield.

"We allow him to keep his head," he said, noting that Smith had once said: "This man Mugabe has ruined my country."

The president also ridiculed a statement earlier this year by opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai that "whites are our cousins."

"They are not our cousins, they will never be our cousins," Mugabe said. "Citizens in our country, residents in our country ... but never our cousins."

The rally, ahead of one Mugabe was to hold later in the day in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second city, started two hours late after a sparse turn-out at the beginning.

Organisers then sent buses out to ferry in supporters from farther afield, but scores of those attending left while Mugabe was still speaking.

He was supporting the local Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) candidate for parliamentary elections next weekend.

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) is presenting the first serious challenge to Mugabe's party since independence 20 years ago, despite brutal political violence throughout the country which has claimed at least 30 victims, the vast majority of them opposition supporters.

Smith, now 81, owns a 200-hectare (500-acre) farm on the high veld in southern Zimbabwe.

It is among some 1,500 occupied since February by squatters led by veterans of Zimbabwe's independence war who fought Smith's troops after the white settlers here declared unilateral independence from Britain in 1965.

The war ended when the black majority under Mugabe's command won Rhodesia's independence in 1980.

Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe since then.
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Prayer Wheel
There is always more than one way to beat the devil! Let's see him stop this one! Here's what the wheel is all about: When you receive this, say a prayer for the person who sent it to you....That's all you have to do....There is nothing attached....This is powerful....Just send this to four people and watch God answer prayer to work in your life. Do not break this, please.... Prayer is one of the best free gifts we receive.... There is no cost but a lot of rewards....Let's continue praying for one another. How's that!

 Subject: Deborah Anointing
Please can you pass this on to any women you have on your email address that live in Zimbabwe or print it out and post it to your friends who do not have email - this is a very special request - we want to save our country and a lot of it is up to us.

On the 20th April 2000 Tim Neill, the vicar at St Lukes Church, Greendale Harare called a meeting of all the women in  the housegroups. Two days earlier, whilst praying for  Zimbabwe, Tim had received a word from God telling him to look again at the Guatamalan prophecy, particularly the part concerning the women. God showed Tim that to date all our attempts to restore our country to peace and calm, and resolve the current issues, had failed - because the women had been excluded from playing any significant role. God also said to Tim that if the women are obedient to his call, they will be blessed for generations to come, particularly in the field of womens rights in Zimbabwe. The women of Zimbabwe have been called to form a network with prayer covering the whole of  the country, from Kariba to Beit bridge, Mutare to Bulawayo. To do that all we have to do is each one of us contact a few Christian women and spread this message. They in turn will contact their friends and so on. This calling must cross denominations and race. If you wish prayer groups can be formed, or you can pray alone, but prayer must be offered to our GOD daily and in earnest. We will become a powerful force working quietly in the background to bring about the longed for change in this country and ultimately fulfilling Cindy Jacobs' prophecy.
 
When we pray we have been called to:
 a) Strengthen and uphold all the good men in Zimbabwe, whether Christian or not, naming those we know and asking for Gods blessings on them. There are many good men in this country, in government, in the police force, in the army, in our workplace, in our homes, in Zanu-PF, the MDC and other political and civic organizations. ALL of them need our prayers to strengthen them. In Judges Chapter 4 Deborah strengthens and upholds Barak, without which he would never have had the courage to go into battle. This is known as the Deborah anointing - uplifting, blessing and encouraging through our prayers all the good men of our land.
b) Denounce all evil and send satan packing out of our land, taking with him racism, greed etc, and slamming the door behind him. Our prayers should not be meek, but definite and confident knowing that we are praying accordance with His will.

 Let us women be obedient to our Father and take up this call. Let us be "like a net all over Zimbabwe with prayer". Let us step back and see the whole of  Zimbabwe as one, putting aside race, tribe, sex and class. We shall focus our eyes and hearts on our wonderful Lord Jesus Christ and allow this prohecy to come to fruition.

 Please spread this message to as many Zimbabwean Christian women you know.
 
 Thank you. Yours in Christ.

 PROPHETIC WORD FOR ZIMBABWE
 * a missionary Given by Cindy Jacobs (President of Generals of  Intercession organization) 30/10/98 Guatemala City, Guatemala.
The river is going to flow through Zimbabwe and I see a powerful torrent  or water, a mighty rushing torrent, many fish. I see that there are strongholds in the church of division and the accuser of the brethren is active to discourage souls. An army of women with the Deborah anointing will march across the land. They will be like a net all over Zimbabwe with prayer. With a powerful anointing, the women first and the men following. I see ancient thrones coming down, reconciliation between black and white, the spirit of racism which goes back further down the tribes. I will use Zimbabwe like a jewel; she will help feed the world with beautiful produce.  God will break the curse that came through civil war- the curse will be broken.(I know nothing of Zimbabwe.) The land will produce beautiful beef. New factories will be built. Zimbabwe has the ministry of reconciliation that will reunite the African people. The anointing of reconciliation will be all over Zimbabwe.
 
 Do not be afraid of the change,although it looks like you are going backwards.I
 have a plan for you.Satan thinks he is advancing but I will expose wickedness at high levels. Do not be afraid. Satan will try to bring war, but the people will be used to stop war and bloodshed. A treaty will be written with other nations.  Zimbabwe will be like Switzerland to bring the healing of nations- to break ancient things. Your nation came through trickery but God will restore it.

You will be given a piece of land- a beautiful place to pray. You will build a place to watch and pray. It will be like a village with a place to sleep.  Senior citizens will have places to stay and give their time to pray day and night.

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MEDIA UPDATE 2000/23
Monday 5 June - Sunday 11 June 2000

1. SUMMARY

Therewere a number of changes to the Electoral Act, adding confusion to the already bewildering electoral process. ZBC did not bother to report most of this at all. ZIMPAPERS reported the changes as though it was e most natural thing in the world to amend the electoral law two
and
a half weeks before the vote. The Daily News failed to report on the implications of, for example, placing all monitors under the control of the      Registrar General's office - the very body they are supposed to be      monitoring. The private press failed to produce adequate evidence for its contention      that the voters' roll was a mess. Zimpapers and ZBC uncritically reported      the statements of the Registrar General. The UN observer team pulled out of the election, a development that went      unnoticed by the ZBC until government officials started criticizing the UN. The ZBC Director General went on the air to explain how the "level playing      field" for political party advertising would work. .      There would be equal opportunity for anyone who could afford to pay: but      they had to be "lawful, factual, truthful and responsible".
Eighty-six per      cent of the political rallies covered in the week were ZANU (PF). ZIMPAPERSgave blanket coverage to ZANU (PF) rallies during the week:      82 per cent of the political party voices quoted. Private papers such as the      Zimbabwe Mirror and Eastern Star offered balanced and professional      coverage, although this was not a standard that the private press uniformly      maintained.
ZBC and ZIMPAPERS largely ignored an Amnesty International report on      political violence. But Jonathan Moyo as a Sunday Mail columnist      attacked the respected human rights watchdog.

2. THE ELECTORAL ACT

There were a number of changes to the Electoral Act in the week under review. These included:
Modificationof the postal ballot system
The authority over observers/monitors removed from the Electoral      Supervisory Commission (ESC) and given to the Registrar-General.
Reductionof the 21-day provision between nomination and polling in the      Electoral Act to 20 days
Extensionof the voter registration exercise till June 12

Coverage in the electronic media was simply inadequate. Radio and television failed to report that the power to accredit observers and monitors had been taken away from the ESC. Television merely reported on the early morning bulletins of 8 June that the government had gazetted a code of conduct for election observers and monitors. Radios 1 and 3 reported the same, while Radios 2 and 4 did not report the fact at all. There was no reference to the fact that the postal ballot was now reserved only for civil servants on missions abroad. And there was no reference to the reduction of the time between nomination day and Election Day. Whether this is judged by the standards of news or voter education, such a failure is quite extraordinary.

ZIMPAPERS communicated the facts more effectively, but reported the modifications as if these were a normal development - do all governments amend the electoral law less than three weeks before the election? - without analysing what effect this would have on the electoral process. Both The Herald and The Chronicle ("State seeks to modify laws on postal ballot system: Voting through post to be restricted" and "Govt. modifies laws on postal ballots", 7 June) reported that government was modifying the Electoral Act to allow only those in the disciplined forces and embassy officials to vote through the postal ballot system. The procedures for postal voting were explained. However, there was no explanation of how the votes would be allocated. Previous press reports suggested that troops in the DRC would be registered as urban voters to bolster ZANU (PF)'s waning support in the towns (Zimbabwe Independent, "DRC troops registered as urban voters", 28 April).

The ZIMPAPERS' articles made reference to the issue of accreditation of election monitors:
     The Election Supervisory Commission will only appoint      monitors who are not officers or members of any political      party contesting the poll being monitored.

Under the changes, the Registrar-General would now have authority over the observers/monitors, thereby subverting the constitutional role of the ESC. This was not given any scrutiny. The Herald ("Code of conduct for poll agents, observers", 8 June) merely reported that government had gazetted the code of conduct for election agents, monitors and observers. No comment was forthcoming from those affected parties on what impact this would have on their freedom and operations. In the statutory instrument restricting postal ballots, President Mugabe used his powers to reduce the number of days between nomination and polling. This development was reported in passing and in the context of the ZUD application to the High Court ("ZUD seek to use old constituencies during upcoming general elections", 8 June). The Herald failed to report that farms occupied by war veterans had been added to Margaret Dongo's constituency. Incidentally, no newspaper has examined the new constituency boundaries.

The Herald ("Intended modification of the Electoral Act welcomed", 8 June) followed up the amendments to the Electoral Act, quoting UP and MDC. But in the report, Morgan Tsvangirai was quoted as saying:
     This is a subversion of the democratic process where government
     decides to change this and change that to suit themselves.
The headline thus scarcely reflected Tsvangirai's sentiments. The MDC Secretary-General, Welshman Ncube, said the problem was that the law was being changed a few days before the elections, a statement not followed up by The Herald.
The ZUD application was not covered at all on ZBC, although it was given prominence in ZIMPAPERS. The Herald ("High Court throws out ZUD application", 9 June) reported that the ZUD application for an order seeking the use of old constituencies in the upcoming elections had been unsuccessful. Meanwhile, The Financial Gazette (8 June) article "New regulations rejected" reported that human rights and civic groups were opposed to the changes giving Registrar-General Tobaiwa Mudede control over the accreditation and activities of monitors and observers. The article did not examine how the ESC's mandated role would be affected. However, the statement by Brian Kagoro of the NCA gave readers a clue as to how the democratic process was being subverted:
     When you subject the monitors to Mudede whom they are      supposed to be monitoring, you are virtually subverting the      autonomy and independence of the monitors and observers.
The same article also reported that Zimbabwean nationals living abroad, for example, the estimated 1 million people in South Africa, would not be given the opportunity to vote.

The Zimbabwe Independent (9 June) reported that Sobuza Gula-Ndebele, a "prominent lawyer" and former head of Military Intelligence, had been recommended by Justice Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa to take over as chairman of the ESC to monitor the forthcoming election. While the article had background information on why the previous chairperson, Bishop Hatendi had quit - for example, under-funding - it did not analyse how the appointment of a new chairperson would help since the ESC had been marginalized throughout the electoral process.
The flaws in the electoral process came under the spotlight in The Standard ("Poll results could be challenged", 11 June) in which legal experts confirmed that results of the parliamentary elections could be challenged on the basis that the ESC was not adequately involved in the electoral process. The ESC had been undermined as it had failed to exercise two of its three constitutional functions. An ESC spokesperson Rejoice Ngwenya confirmed that the commission had not taken part in the supervision of the registration of voters and that it had also not been consulted over the changes to the Electoral Act.


3. VOTERS' ROLL

There continued to be confusion about the voters' roll and the inspection process. The Herald ("Voters' roll inspection marred by low turnout", 6 June) confused readers over the documents required to inspect the voters' roll:
     Voters are asked to produce national identity cards, valid      Zimbabwean passports and drivers' licenses to inspect the voters'      roll.

In fact, only one of the three documents is required.

ZIMPAPERS quoted the Registrar-General again saying that the voters' roll was not a shambles, and dismissed the concerns of civic organizations and opposition parties. No verification of either the Registrar-General's statements or the validity of the voters' roll was provided.
The issue of the roll's validity came under scrutiny in most sections of the private press which all agreed the roll was in a mess. However, although these newspapers quoted individuals and some opposition party claims, they did not provide sufficiently convincing empirical evidence to condemn the roll out of hand. The headline over The Financial Gazette (8 June) story "Parties threaten court action on shambolic register: Thousands missing from roll" was misleading, given the limited number of people interviewed. The article stated that the MDC was planning to take court action against the Registrar-General's office while ZUD said they were in the process of compiling a list of missing voters. With the exception of UP which gave a figure of 300 missing from the roll, other political parties were quoted merely saying that "lots" of people were missing. The Daily News article, "State of voters' roll angers Bulawayo residents" (6 June) indicated that the roll still carried names of dead people whilst the names of the living were missing. The Dispatch article "Voters' roll in a mess" also failed to give empirical evidence.
The issue of the voters' roll was further confused in the week under review by another modification to the Electoral Act allowing for an additional voters' roll in every constituency. The supplementary register must include all those who registered between 16 April and 12 June 2000. The initial announcement of this came from President Mugabe at a campaign rally in Gutu. This was reported on television (8 June, 8.00 pm), with a statement that registration of voters could resume now that the Delimitation Commission had finished its work. Mugabe reiterated this while addressing a rally in Mutare (9 June, ZBCTV 8pm). There was no analysis of the implications of this for the Delimitation Commission's work and constituency boundaries and whether it is legal to restart registration after the Delimitation Commission has finished.
The Registrar General was not interviewed on this point, although he did say that there might be a supplementary roll for those whose names are missing from the voters' roll (radio 6.00 pm and TV 8.00 pm, 9 June).

ZIMPAPERS ignored the President's announcement altogether. The Daily News was the only paper to report it ("Omitted voters can still register: Mugabe", 9 June). The Herald and The Chronicle (10 June) reported the modification to the Electoral Act allowing new voters to register as if it were another normal development in an article headlined "Registrar-General's Office to publish supplementary voters' roll" but did not examine the confusion this might cause or the implications this could have on the vote.

4. Foreign observers
ZBC enthusiastically reported the arrival of foreign observer missions, such as the Kenyans (TV, Nhau Indaba 6 June, 7.00 am 7 June) and South African parliamentarians (radio and TV, 6.00 pm and 8.00 pm, 8 June). ZBC managed to miss the main story of the week in relation to foreign observers: the withdrawal of the UN coordinating team. As usual, the first reference to a story that the ZBC had failed to cover came when it was reporting the government's reaction. In this instance, President Mugabe in the course of a rally said that the UN's wish to coordinate election observers was illegal (6.00 pm and 8.00 pm, 10 June). There was no comment broadcast from the UN about the reasons for the withdrawal or what was the basis for its proposed coordinating role. Instead, there were comments from other groups such as the chairman of the Commonwealth observers (TV, 7.00 am, 11 June) who said the pullout would not affect his team.

By contrast the press, both public and private, covered the UN withdrawal The Standard ("UN observers quit", 11 June) reported that the UN team had quit the elections after being relegated to observer status instead of the role of coordinating all observer missions The article emphasized that this was likely to affect the credibility of the elections The Sunday Mail (11 June) gave its own view as to why the UN team had pulled out:
     The pull-out by the UNDP was a result of the gazetting of a statutory      instrument which, among other things, sets out the code of      conduct for election observers and reduced the role of the UN to      that of observers together with others from the Commonwealth,      European Union, SADC, OAU, individual countries and      organizations
The Sunday News ("UN denounced for sending wrong team", 11 June) had another angle. The article quoted Mugabe accusing the UN of sending a technical team instead of observers.

The Daily News ("Commonwealth Adviser quits over Mugabe links", 7 June) stated that a senior Commonwealth adviser on Africa had been recalled as an election observer from Zimbabwe after allegations that he had close business links with President Mugabe. The same paper ("War veterans threaten election monitors", 9 June) also reported threats against international observers by war veterans.
5. ZBC access
With so little time left before the elections, it might have been expected that the campaign would be in full swing and issues of registration, eligibility and electoral law would have been long resolved. But apparently not. And ZBC, like the other authorities involved, seems to have been caught on the hop with only five years to prepare for the election. Hence Director-General Munyawarara went on the air (8 June), with a full 16 days left before voting, to outline the criteria for the corporation's coverage of the campaign and in particular for accepting political advertising:

     We the people of Zimbabwe have at our disposal two TV      channels and four radio channels . . . The channels convey a      wide variety of viewpoints on the political process of our country.

A cursory glance through the statistics of the week under review shows that the ZBC does not provide a service to the people of Zimbabwe but serves the interests of the ruling party. Political rallies and meetings covered were 86 percent ZANU (PF) on TV and only 10 percent MDC and 3 percent ZAPU.
Radio 2/4 did not report on any opposition rallies. Both radio and television reported the ZAPU announcement that it was fielding candidates in the elections. Only ZANU (PF) candidates were mentioned as the rivals.

The current affairs programme Election 2000 which comes out on AM
Zimbabwe on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays is supposed to be for the benefit of the whole electorate but has so far only carried panellists supporting the ZANU (PF) point of view.
     In these elections it will not be difficult for the contesting parties      to express their policies to the electorate through the electronic      media so long as they are prepared to conduct themselves      properly.
The conditions for being able to get on air - "conducting themselves properly" - are vague and open to subjective interpretation on the part of the ZBC. Munyawarara's statement continued:
     I am here to convey that there will be policy broadcasting and      advertising on our channels by contesting parties as a feature of      the election campaign. The playing field will be level for those      who can afford it and are prepared to be responsible players.
Here there is a contradiction: the playing field is level but only for those who can afford it. This effectively means that smaller political parties will not receive any airtime to advertise themselves. Furthermore the DG did not mention the fact that as a public broadcaster ZBC has an obligation to give some direct access to the political parties.
     We trust that the political parties interested in getting access to      our media will abide by the statement we made earlier this year.      We said election programmes and adverts on ZBC will have to      conform to ZBC's marketing standards and to the terms and      conditions of the ZBC rate card. This means that such      programmes and adverts have to be lawful, factual, truthful and      responsible.

During the referendum, ZBC set a precedent in which those with alternative viewpoints were limited in their access to the electronic media, because their programmes were not "balanced". Those campaigning for a No vote were obliged to include representatives of those campaigning for a Yes vote in their broadcasts! To be fair to the ZBC it should not even be in the position of formulating the criteria for direct access broadcasting. That should be done by an independent electoral commission, or failing that the Electoral Supervisory Commission, which has almost completely disappeared from view. But so long as it is the ZBC itself which decides, this should be done on the basis of a fair allocation between parties, based primarily on the number of seats contested, rather than subjective and unverifiable criteria such as "factual, truthful and responsible".

6. THE CAMPAIGN IN THE PRESS
ZIMPAPERS gave blanket coverage to ZANU (PF) campaign rallies during the week. Forty-six (82 per cent) of the political party voices quoted belonged to ZANU (PF), nine (16 per cent) MDC and one (2 per cent) Democratic Party. The private press has provided a better representation of voices, although it is slanted in favour of the MDC.

ZIMPAPERS relays extraordinary allegations made by ZANU (PF) candidates at rallies without any verification or response from those attacked. For example, the Sunday News ("NRZ workers accused of holding up fuel", 11 June) quoted Minister Dumiso Dabengwa accusing his rival, Gibson Sibanda, an MDC candidate and train driver, of delaying the delivery of petrol to worsen the situation. Also, ZIMPAPERS has in the past weeks been inundated with apparently unconnected articles on land, which is the main campaign issue of ZANU (PF).

The private media particularly the Zimbabwe Mirror and the Eastern Star continued to give fair coverage to candidates in various constituencies this week. For example:

Fireworks expected to set Highfield alight (Zimbabwe Mirror, 9 June)
     Bruising encounter in Chimanimani (Zimbabwe Mirror, 9 June)
     Infighting threatens ZANU PF's chances in Harare North
     (Zimbabwe Mirror, 9 June)

The Eastern Star focused on candidates for Mutare Central constituency in the stories "Chingosho aims to provide affordable accommodation", MDC's Gonese says residents impatient for change" and "Mvenge accuses ZANU PF's top hierarchy of trying to block him". These were all given equal prominence and provide an example of how professional, balanced journalism can help voters in choosing between candidates.

However the Standard in the article "Youthful candidates welcomed" provided an example of extreme bias. The article, which quoted four MDC voices against one from ZANU (PF), was unbalanced and biased against ZANU (PF), and began with the paragraph:
     The presence of aspiring youthful candidates on the Movement      for Democratic Change (MDC) list for the forthcoming      parliamentary elections made good reading, in a country where      the economy has been brought to a standstill by docile dinosaurs      of ZANU PF, who like puppets, were consistently controlled by      President Robert Mugabe, once they entered parliament.

7. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORT
An Amnesty International report on pre-election violence received negligible coverage in the public media, except for the Sunday Mail. The Herald (9 June) covered it in a small article "Violence rapped", which was relegated to page 6. ZBC characteristically had Minister of Information Chen Chimutengwende attacking the report (Nhau/ Indaba and 8.00 pm, 9 June) without having first communicated its contents. The Daily News, by contrast, gave a detailed account of political violence, accusing ZANU (PF) of being responsible ("Amnesty accuses Zim of human rights violations", 9 June).
The Sunday Mail was more interested in the Amnesty report than the rest of the publicly funded media. An article headlined "MDC perpetrates more violence on the ruling party" (11 June) criticized the report for only focusing on incidents in which ZANU (PF) was accused of violence. The article claimed      .statistics on incidents of political violence have shown that the      Movement for Democratic Change has perpetrated more violence      than Zanu (PF). .
However, the article does not quote these statistics, although it does cite "police records" on violent incidents perpetrated by the MDC dating back to February.

An article by Professor Jonathan Moyo editorializes on Amnesty
International's bias and lack of credentials. He refers to "the British and their associates. sending Africans to observe things in Zimbabwe", a claim that has no factual basis and is gratuitously offensive not only to the Kenyan director of Amnesty's Africa programme who visited Zimbabwe, but also to the Senegalese Secretary General who sent him. And when Moyo writes of the "irrelevance of Amnesty International in Africa", he might first have consulted the leader of his own party who was an Amnesty adopted prisoner of conscience in the 1960s and 1970s. Indeed, Zimbabwe, before independence in 1980, saw Amnesty's largest ever prisoner adoption programme. Thus the organization was scarcely approaching the country on the basis of naivete or inexperience, as Professor Moyo suggests.
Announcement Beginning Friday this week, MMPZ will issue daily bulletins on media coverage of the forthcoming parliamentary elections. These will replace the weekly bulletins until the election process is complete. ENDS

The MEDIA UPDATE is published and distributed by the Media Monitoring
Project (MMPZ), 221 Fife Avenue, Harare, Tel/fax: 263 4 734207, 733486,
E- mail: monitors@icon.co.zw, Web: http://www.icon.co.zw/mmpz
MEDIA MONITORING PROJECT ZIMBABWE
DAILY UPDATE FOR 15 JUNE 2000

PRINT MEDIA

THE ELECTORAL PROCESS
ZIMPAPERS' dailies gave front-page prominence to ZANU PF rallies in
Matabeleland.
President Mugabe was extensively quoted. No other political party rally was covered.
The Financial Gazette reported that the Electoral Supervisory Commission was taking government to court over the subversion of its role in the electoral process. Only The Financial Gazette reported that some international organizations such as the Friedrich Naumann Foundation and the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) had been refused accreditation by government. The Chronicle inaccurately quoted acting ESC chairperson saying her organization was ready to deploy 2000 instead of 20 000 election monitors. The Herald and The Chronicle reported that the United States would keep its observers in Zimbabwe despite concerns that prompted the United Nations to abandon plans to co-ordinate international monitoring efforts, and that the UN had been invited to send observers but could not do so because of the little time left before the elections. The Chronicle quoted Justice Minister Mnangagwa's announcement that soldiers in the DRC would vote, but gave no explanation how their votes would be allocated or monitored. The Financial Gazette and The Daily News reported that observers had rebuffed the war veterans' leader's warning that they should not speak to farm workers vowing they would speak to anyone and go anywhere. The Daily News also quoted the Organization of African Unity (OAU) observer team calling for an end to the use of inflammatory language by politicians, which they argued, contributed to political violence. The Chronicle reported that the Commonwealth Group had deployed 20 observer teams in Matabeleland. The Daily News quoted the Police Commissioner and Election Directorate Chairman's assurances that the poll would be free and fair. The police commissioner said that political violence had been over-publicized by the media.

ZIMPAPERS not only quoted ZANU PF candidates castigating the MDC, but also ordinary people in some constituencies dismissing the party for "its policies and alliance with the British and sections of the white community". The newspapers made no effort to verify these allegations. According to The Herald, older villagers in Masvingo were not interested in opposition politics, while the younger generation was reported to be generally divided. ZIMPAPERS' dailies reported that 30 people were injured and 13 arrested in incidents of political violence in Mwenezi and Murehwa. The MDC was accused of perpetrating the violence. In contrast, The Daily News reported a door-to-door campaign by war veterans and ZANU PF supporters in Mwenezi, in which they confiscated identity cards and passports of suspected MDC supporters to stop them from voting.  The Herald continued to report that disgruntled MDC youths in Masvingo marched against their candidate.
The Daily News carried two front-page photographs of people who had been attacked, but did not provide further detail.
The Financial Gazette reported the condemnation of political violence by the United States government which said, "conditions for free and fair elections did not exist at the moment". The Herald quoted ZANU PF candidate for Guruve South, Edward Chindori-Chininga, as having urged his supporters to refrain from violence. ZIMPAPERS has repeatedly quoted ZANU PF officials urging supporters to refrain from violence. Stances of other political parties on political violence have so far received no mention in ZIMPAPERS.
The Herald's article comparing the ZANU PF and MDC candidate for Buhera North was biased in favour of the ZANU PF.
Other stories included an Air Zimbabwe announcement that post-election reservations in to the country had soared (The Herald and The Chronicle), an announcement that it was impossible for MDC to fire civil servants on accession to power, and the Supreme Court rejection of an application by Capital Radio to grant it a licence and nullify Section 27 of the Broadcasting Act which gives the ZBC monopoly to broadcast in the country (The Herald and The Chronicle). Reporting of the court's reasons for its ruling was inadequate. The Herald linked the Capitol Radio Application to the new radio station, "Voice of the People". No verification and/or comment was sought from Capitol Radio. Incidentally, no newspaper reported a provisional order passed by the Supreme Court ordering ZBC to cover issues impartially.
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
MMPZ welcomes the publication of the "Election 2000, Your Vote Is Your Secret"
supplement in The Financial Gazette, which carried policy statements of six different political parties. Statements were in English, Ndebele and Shona, therefore widening the access to the public. However, only the bigger political parties, which have enjoyed much of the pre-election media coverage, were featured.

THE ELECTRONIC MEDIA- ZBC Television & Radio

POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS
Although there is nine days to go to the elections, ZBC's coverage of political issues on its news bulletins remains biased. ZBC television gave no coverage to the opposition's activities. As in ZIMPAPERS, the only reference to the opposition was in an incident of political violence. (ZBCTV 6pm, ZBC Radio 2 6pm & 8pm).
The five rallies featured on ZBC were ZANU PF. Invitations by the Committee Organizing President Mugabe's rallies, including pick up points in Rimuka were given 2nd item status on radio and 1st item status in the Nhau/ Indaba television bulletin. No similar free advertising has been afforded to the opposition.
THE ELECTORAL PROCESS Voter education was limited to a joint press conference by the National Election Directorate, the Registrar General and the Police. The report contained information on documents required for voting: either a passport, a driver' licence or a national identity card. Radio reported statements by the Ministry of Justice and Parliamentary Affairs that Zimbabwean soldiers in DRC and prisoners might for the first time be allowed to vote.
No questions were asked about the social and legal precedent of such a move or how the RG would prepare to facilitate the process, how the monitors and observers would participate, or what constituency the prisoners and soldiers would fall under.
The only coverage of the opposition on radio 2/4 was when they called for their supporters to desist from violence.
VIOLENCE
News bulletins are not reflecting the levels of political violence as reported by the police. Only one incident of political violence was reported on all the news bulletins in the electronic media. A Police TV programme on AM Zimbabwe reported 15 clashes between June 14  8 am and June 15 8am. The police said there were 12 injuries of which one was ZANU PF and 11 were MDC. However, the only news report on violence (ZBCTV, 8 pm) was against a ZANU PF man in Chitungwiza who had been beaten by four men from the opposition.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
The current affairs programme "Election 2000" is attempting to balance out the bias in news bulletins. The programme featured a policy announcement by ZAPU and an interview with Zimbabwe Integrated Party (ZIP) president Heneri Dzinotyiwei.
ENDS
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 "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what can you do for your country."

 John F Kennedy

I am a 4th generation Zimbabwean, my name is Topper Whitehead " my objectives in this the 3rd circular letter to you and others is NOT political but the survival of the country and its 13 million people.

Please hear what I have to say.

" The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in a moment of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy"

                                                                                    Matrin Luther King  Jr.

In this the darkest hour of Zimbabwe's history, we the citizens of the country are faced with two options.

·        Surrender to the threats, intimidation, murder and rape of ZANU  PF  -  

-------------  OR  ----------------

·        Unit for democracy and freedom, and vote for the MDC.

 This is now a national issue and the nations future " and yours " is at stake.

 After the initial euphoria of the emergence of MDC as a means to break the shackles of the Mugabe de-facto dictatorship, there are now a growing number of people who are succumbing to the intimidation and suggesting that a "strong opposition" is sufficient for the future of the country.  This is the most diabolical idea that could ever enter anyone's mind and the consequences of such a situation " heaven forbid if it should happen " another 5 years of  Mugabe taking everything " farms, mines, industry and giving nothing in return.

 In the light of the current situation those who contemplate another 5 years of ZANU can only fall into one of the following categories.

1.      Are on the "gravy train" and consequently must protect their income and secrets

2.      Are too insensitive to the country and say " this is Africa" and as long as I am OK then let them get on with it as long as "me or mine" are not effected to hell with the rest of the country.

Now " at this the eleventh hour " it is time for everyone to stand up and be counted " hiding behind a secret ballot is not good enough!  In order to give the people, the victims of ZANU PF's reign of terror most of whom are blacks, the confidence to come out in strength to cast their votes, we the white Zimbabweans "must put our money where our mouths are".

 I refuse to be intimidated and with total conviction I am working for the survival of this Country and its 13 million people. It has left me with a sense of patriotism that I last felt a long time ago.  Try it! "

One cannot be part of the wealth of the country without being sensitive to the poverty " Get involved and be a leader " your strength in standing up to intimidation will give strength to the povo who are the ones who have been beaten, raped, had their worldly possessions burnt and yet are still determined to stand up the tyranny of Robert Mugabe.

Please do not be fooled into thinking that Mugabe will not continue his reign of terror and the countrie's destruction if we allow him to steal the election " your vote and public stand are important.

 Morgan Tsvangirai will address a Star Rally at Rufaro Stadium on Sunday 18th at 12 midday, be courageous, there's strength in numbers and come and listen to the real issues facing the country.

 Finally, please forward, print and circulate this message to everyone you know, or is on your address list.  I can be contacted at :-   e-mail is  topper@samara.co.zw 

cell number is 011 401 847  or  091 240 919   fax is  263 (1) 4 336876  

Cheers for now, Topper Whitehead

 Do not be afraid of what  MIGHT HAPPEN  when MDC win "

be afraid of   WHAT WILL HAPPEN  if ZANU PF win.

 
from the desk of  R W  { Topper }  Whitehead
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