Monsters and critics
Jun
6, 2007, 16:43 GMT
Harare/Johannesburg - Police in the city of
Bulawayo Wednesday descended on
rights activists demonstrating for wider
civil society representation in
South African-brokered talks on Zimbabwe,
arresting at least 15, a statement
said.
The demonstrators, all of
them members and supporters of Women of Zimbabwe
Arise (WOZA), were arrested
in central Bulawayo shortly after their march
began.
One group was
met by riot police after one block and was beaten and
dispersed. The other
group managed to march for two blocks before again
being met by riot police
and beaten, WOZA said in the statement.
A group of between 15 and twenty
people was rounded up and taken to the
central police station, it added.
Co-ordinator Jenni Williams was also
arrested.
Several people are
being treated for beatings they received at the hands of
police, WOZA said.
Police have not confirmed the arrests.
Members of Zimbabwean civil
society are demanding inclusion in any talks
that take place between
President Robert Mugabe's party and the main
opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC).
In March South Africa's Thabo Mbeki was
appointed by regional grouping SADC
to try to resolve political problems in
Zimbabwe following an escalation in
political tensions ahead of next year's
presidential and parliamentary
polls.
WOZA had marched Wednesday to
highlight the unfairness of talks that only
involve politicians who will not
be addressing issues of social justice,
WOZA said.
The group said it
wanted to step up pressure for the inclusion of voices in
the talks that
will raise socio-economic issues that it said were at the
heart of ordinary
Zimbabweans.
WOZA says it has a manifesto, dubbed 10 steps to a new
Zimbabwe, that it
wants considered.
The manifesto calls for, among
other things, the repeal of stringent press
and security laws, the
reengagement of the international community to help
repair the economy and
create jobs, and new and transparent electoral laws
and bodies to ensure
fair elections.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur
Yahoo News
44 minutes
ago
THE HAGUE (AFP) - Africa's wild rhinos, already classified as
threatened
with extinction, are under severe pressure from poachers tied to
organized
criminal networks, conservationists said Wednesday.
All but
a handful of the 30-odd rhinoceros remaining in the Democratic
Republic of
Congo in 2002 had been killed by 2005, while poaching accounted
for
two-thirds of all rhino deaths in neighboring Zimbabwe, according to a
study
released by the wildlife group Traffic.
Only 13 and eight percent of
illegally obtained horns were recovered from
these two countries
respectively, as compared with an overall recovery rate
of 42 percent across
the continent, the report said.
"The situation in the DRC and Zimbabwe is
a particular concern," said the
organization's executive director, Steven
Broad. "It tallies with an
increase in the organization of criminal horn
trading networks operating in
Africa."
If countermeasures are not
taken, the surge in poaching "may pose a more
serious threat to rhino
populations," the report said.
One sub-species of white rhino in the DRC
is on the edge of extinction, with
only four specimens remaining, and
another sub-species in Cameroon has
disappeared entirely.
The largest
markets for illegally procured horns are the Middle East,
especially Yemen,
where they are prized as dagger handles. In East Asia,
they are ground into
fine powder and mixed into traditional remedies to
bring down
fever.
On the whole, the continent's rhino populations are well managed
and
growing, said zoologist Simon Milledge, who authored the
study.
There were an estimated 3,725 black rhinos and more than 14,500
white rhinos
in Africa as of late 2005, concentrated mainly in South Africa
and Namibia,
where the animals have become an important source of revenue
through
eco-tourism.
Their numbers have increased since then by about
six percent per year,
according to the International Conservation
Union.
"Overall, rhino conservation is a success story," said Milledge.
"At the
beginning of the 20th century there were probably only a couple of
dozen
white rhinos in all of Africa."
But in a handful of countries
plagued with economic turmoil, or lacking the
means to fight well-armed
poachers, rhinos have been decimated or even wiped
out entirely.
"In
Cameroon, failure; in the DRC near-failure; in Zimbabwe, great concern,"
was
how Milledge summed things up.
Traffic runs a database of every rhino
that has died on the continent since
2000, and can determine with a high
degree of accuracy what percentage of
their horns wind up in the hands of
wildlife traffickers, he said.
What is most alarming is the increase in
the proportion of horns lost since
2000 despite stepped up enforcement,
pointing to more sophisticated criminal
operations.
Milledge is
optimist that rhinos will continue to recover if poaching is
brought under
control and rhino populations are well managed.
"They are pretty
resilient animals. There is little doubt that they are a
viable species," he
said, adding that their numbers have been increasing
steadily since
1994.
africasia.com
HARARE, June 6 (AFP)
Israel Thebe points in despair to dozens of fresh
stumps that have appeared
overnight in the heart of Mukuvisi Woodlands, on
the outskirts of Harare.
"It takes a good 50 years for a tree to grow
fully," said the forestry
manager. "This took place in just one
night."
Mukuvisi has long been a popular destination for day trips by
schoolchildren
from the Zimbabwean capital who are able to catch a glimpse
of wildlife such
as giraffe, zebra and several antelope species on their
doorstep.
The woodlands however have also seen a recent upsurge in
night-time
visitors -- axe-wielding poachers who make a bee-line for its
forests in
order to feed the demand for firewood in a country where power
cuts have
become perennial.
Even though the authorities try to put a
halt to the scalping, Thebe fears
it is a losing battle as people become
desperate to keep warm during winter.
"We have had to hire night guards
specifically to look at that but the wood
poachers always find ways to evade
detection. Give it another two years and
most of this forest will be gone,"
he said.
Even the saplings are not spared as the poachers strip the bark
from the
tender shrubs to weave into rope to tie bundles of stolen
firewood.
Residents from Harare's townships unfazed by prospects of
arrest for
breaching forestry laws, are often seen carrying bundles of
firewood or
pushing cartfuls of chopped wood from neighbouring
farms.
Their sense of impunity is not surprising given that anyone
convicted of
cutting down trees protected under the forestry act pays a fine
of 2,500
Zimbabwean dollars -- the equivalent of five US cents at black
market rates.
The economic meltdown in Zimbabwe, where the annual rate of
inflation stands
at over 3,000 percent, has impacted on every aspect of
daily life.
But while the affect on issues such as life expectancy and
employment have
been well-documented, the environmental impact is only just
beginning to be
felt.
Zimbabwe currently imports 40 percent of its
power needs: 100 megawatts a
month from the Democratic Republic of Congo,
200 megawatts from Mozambique
and up to 450 and 300 megawatts from South
Africa and Zambia respectively.
But imports are expected to stop this
year due to an anticipated power
deficit across southern Africa resulting
from increased demand, leaving many
residents with no alternative other than
wood fires to cook and stay warm.
The demand for wood is good news for
some.
Agnes Mutero, dwarfed by a pile of firewood at her stall in
Harare's main
marketplace in Mbare, admits she is doing a roaring
business.
"For me the power cuts mean more business," said Mutero who
sells a small
bundle of firewood for 20,000 Zimbabwean dollars (80 US
dollars, 60 euros).
"If I get arrested I always pay a fine and come back
to work. I cannot let
my family starve when I can feed by selling
firewood."
Environmentalists however say everyone will end up paying the
price of such
short-term opportunism.
"Firewood poaching is a real
threat to our natural forests," warned Fiona
Munyepfu, a project officer
with the watchdog Environment Africa.
"One just needs to go a few
kilometres outside Harare to see the extent of
the destruction which is
being exacerbated by the electricity cuts."
According to Luckymore Kondo,
a resident of Mbare, said the power cuts leave
consumers with little
alternative even though he is well aware and concerned
about the long-term
dangers of the rampant tree cutting.
"Most of the time we use firewood
for cooking just like people in the
villages yet we pay our full bills at
the end of the month," Kondo
complained.
"I wonder what will be left
of the forests if the electricity problems
persist. Something just needs to
be done to stop this."
Zimbabwe's once-model economy has been on a
downturn for the past five
years, characterised by four-digit inflation and
shortages of foreign
currency and basic foodstuffs such as the staple
cornmeal and cooking oil.
Manufacturers sometimes switch to
diesel-powered generators to keep their
machines running but the option is
not a viable one in a country saddled
with chronic fuel
shortages.
Zimbabwe's power utility last month launched a plan to cut
power supply to
selected residential areas for up to 10 hours each day until
August to meet
higher demand from wheat farmers.
Business Day
06 June 2007
Karima
Brown
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Political
Editor
HEILIGENDAMM - German Chancellor Angela Merkel is to meet
President Thabo
Mbeki on the sidelines of the Group of Eight (G-8) summit to
discuss
Zimbabwe.
Merkel is on record as saying the crisis in
Zimbabwe is unacceptable.
German officials also confirmed yesterday
that Merkel would visit several
African countries, including SA, after the
summit.
Germany, the current president of the G-8, has promised to put
Africa's
problems on the summit agenda, but will tie this commitment to
demands for
good governance and clear plans on how to combat the spread of
HIV /AIDS.
German officials said they did not expect any new initiatives
to come out of
the summit in relation to debt relief for
Africa.
Africa is one of eight priorities, which include the break down
of
international trade barriers and moving towards a replacement for the
Kyoto
protocol, that feature on the summit's agenda.
Africa receives
about a third of the total aid given by governments around
the world,
according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development.
In the run-up to the summit, aid organisations have
complained that the G-8
countries have failed to fulfil the promises they
made at Gleneagles in
Scotland two years ago.
The world's richest
countries have pledged to boost annual aid to $50bn a
year by 2010, but
critics say they are falling well short of this promise.
German officials
said, while Gleneagles was a promise of financial aid,
there was likely to
be a switch at this year's summit.
"The solution is not only giving more
money . The key issue is how this
money is spent," said an official of the
German ministry for economic
co -operation . "We want to be assured that aid
money is used responsibly.
Also creating a sustainable investment
environment is key to assisting
Africa."
Another issue likely to come
up is how to ensure good financial governance.
"The African peer review
process will be encouraged . Micro-financing for
women and how to protect
potential investors from local currency
fluctuations - a huge deterrent for
investors - are likely to feature in
whatever package on Africa is agreed
to."
Peace and security and how to support the establishment of an
African
standby force are also likely to get attention, as will
Darfur.
Outgoing British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who was
instrumental in the
Gleneagles agreement , is likely to make a last push to
ensure the other G-8
nations come on board.
G-8 leaders would want a
greater commitment from the continent to cut
corruption in its raw materials
industries, said officials.
It is understood the summit will make clear
more investment is needed in
Africa and Africans must be given access to the
financial sector. Many
western governments are concerned Africa's vast
mineral and oil wealth is
seen as being mismanaged by corrupt elites or
stolen by warring factions.
Monsters and Critics
Jun 6, 2007, 9:19 GMT
Harare - As millions
of Zimbabweans brace for biting food shortages,
President Robert Mugabe's
ruling party has started scouting for food
donations for its annual
end-of-year conference, it was reported Wednesday.
Members of Mugabe's
ZANU-PF party in Mashonaland Central province have so
far pledged 48 cattle
and 44 tonnes of maize for the gathering, due to be
held in the mining town
of Bindura later this year, according to the
official Herald
daily.
Preparations for the conference are hotting up, with plans to
revamp roads
in the area, paint buildings and build hostels.
With
crunch presidential and parliamentary elections due in early 2008, the
ruling party appears determined to make its conference a resounding
success.
The Herald newspaper said at least 4,500 delegates were expected
to attend.
But dire warnings of worsening food shortages could put a damper
on
proceedings.
On Tuesday, the United Nations World Food Programme
(WFP) and Food and
Agricultural Organisation (FAO) predicts 4.1 million
Zimbabweans will need
food aid by early next year.
Poor harvests and
high prices for food could mean provinces like
Matabeleland South and
Matabeleland North could run out of supplies as early
as next
month.
Even in traditionally more affluent urban areas, one million
people could
need food aid, according to a report by the UN
agencies.
The report blamed the food deficit on poor harvests, the
HIV/AIDS pandemic,
Zimbabwe's worsening economic crisis and the government's
insistence on
setting low sale prices for crops, thereby discouraging
farmers from
production.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur
IOL
June 06 2007
at 11:03AM
Police in Zimbabwe have arrested close to 2 000 people,
many of them
border jumpers trying to escape Zimbabwe, in a blitz in two
southern border
towns, reports said on Wednesday.
The police
operation, dubbed Border Clean-Up, saw a total of 1 936
people arrested in
Plumtree and Beitbridge, on the Botswana and South
African borders, the
state-controlled Herald newspaper said.
Hundreds of suspected
prostitutes were among those seized, according
to the report.
"The operation has seen the arrest of 501 border jumpers, 188 touts,
605
prostitutes, 98 illegal vendors, 151 public drinkers and 393 illegal
foreign
currency dealers," the Herald said.
The arrests took place over one
week. Most of those detained paid
fines.
"The
patrols are ongoing until all is well at these points," police
spokesperson
Tafanana Dzirutwe told the Herald.
Each month, thousands of
Zimbabweans hazard the journey across
Zimbabwe's borders, lured mainly to
Botswana and South Africa by the
prospect of wages in hard currency that can
be sent back home to struggling
families.
Zimbabwe's economic
problems have caused an exodus of more than three
million economically
active people to countries like South Africa, Botswana
and Britain. Many are
there illegally.
Annual inflation is more than 3 714 percent. More
than four million of
the country's 12 million people will require food aid
by early next year, UN
food agencies said this week.
In January
police here said that more than 100 000 Zimbabweans had
been deported from
South Africa in 2006, and more than 30 000 from
Botswana. - Sapa-dpa
SW Radio Africa (London)
6 June 2007
Posted to
the web 6 June 2007
Tererai Karimakwenda
Harare residents woke
up to shocking news Tuesday as the state controlled
Herald newspaper
reported that more price increases are due on July 1st when
a new
supplementary budget approved by the illegal commission running the
city
comes into effect. According to The Herald everything from council
rates,
house rentals, refuse collection, health and burial costs will go up
by more
than 4000%. Service delivery has not improved and the local
government
minister Ignatius Chombo continues to defy the Urban Councils Act
and
several high Court rulings by refusing to organise elections for a new
council.
The chairman of the Combined Harare Residents Association
Mike Davies,
immediately urged residents who are not already boycotting
paying their
rates to withhold their money from the illegal commission. He
described the
Commission as a gang of thieves and said he was not surprised
they were
trying to steal more money. Davies stressed that CHRA was now
taking a much
stronger stance against Harare residents who continue to
finance the illegal
Makwavarara Commission by paying their rates. He said
they are now
considered collaborators and urged them to withhold their money
until
elections are organised and a legitimate administration occupies City
Hall.
According to The Herald the supplementary budget proposals were
adopted at a
full meeting of the Commission without debate and were signed
by the
commission chairperson Sekesayi Makwavarara.
As of July 1st,
the cost of refuse collection from high-density areas goes
up from Z$3 063
to Z$140 000 for each household per month. This will be
reviewed to Z$175
000 in October and up again to Z$210 000 in January 2008.
Refuse collection
for each household in the low-density areas will go up
from Z$3 675 to Z$150
000 per month in July, Z$190 000 in October and Z$240
000 in January 2008.
Businesses currently paying Z$7 350 will see it rise to
Z$195 000 from July,
Z$292 000 in October and Z$585 000 by January, 2008.
The irony of the
situation is that residents have complained for years that
there refuse is
littering the streets because council is failing to collect
regularly.
The cost of hiring an ambulance will also go up
drastically from the current
Z$300 000to Z$400 000 in July and Z$700 00 in
January. Pregnant women will
not be spared. Maternity fees go up from Z$63
300 to Z$320 000 in October.
The cost of Clinic fees, council house rentals
and burials will also go up
on July 1st.
The city claimed its
supplementary budgets with increased fees would help
improve service
delivery. Davies does not believe it. He said the real
problem is the
national political and economic crisis that has created
hyperinflation over
5000%. Until the national crisis is resolved, prices
will continue to go
up.
SW
Radio Africa (London)
6 June 2007
Posted to the web 6 June
2007
Violet Gonda
The 27 political detainees who have been in
custody for more than 65 days,
received another blow on Tuesday after their
remand hearing was postponed
again to Thursday this time, because the state
prosecutor was not available.
Ian Makone, the MDC election strategist who
was granted bail last Wednesday
after spending two months and three days in
political detention, said they
were only told the prosecutor had to attend
to some emergency which was not
disclosed in court. The prosecutor who did
turn up felt that he was not
competent to tackle the case but it's believed
that this was another way of
frustrating the defense team who had argued
that there are several state
prosecutors who could have stood
in.
Makone said: "It is obviously very frustrating because you'd
think once
people have arrested you the next thing is for justice to take
its course.
But we have been to court several times and remanded in custody
on several
occasions and this is naturally a source of frustration." But he
said
despite these hurdles the opposition prisoners are in high
spirits.
They are all facing terrorism charges, which they deny as
trumped up charges
to weaken the opposition. Makone, who is also MDC leader
Morgan Tsvangirai's
aide, said he was tortured while in police custody and
so were all the other
political detainees. He said the torture comprised of
being made to sit in a
particular uncomfortable position and "experiencing
excruciating pain and
being kicked with booted feet and baton
sticks."
He said not one person escaped being assaulted and some of the
activists
like Morgan Komichi, a National Executive Member, were seriously
injured.
Komichi has been in a prison hospital as a result of the injuries
sustained
while in police custody. Makone said the courts ordered the police
on Monday
to take him to a public hospital. At the time of broadcast we were
not able
to find out if Komichi had been transferred.
Narrating his
prison ordeal in remand prison, Makone said there were about
400 inmates in
a place suitable for about 200 people. The living conditions
were unhygienic
and there was no proper food or blankets and people lived on
a diet of sadza
and boiled cabbage.
New Zimbabwe (London)
6 June
2007
Posted to the web 6 June 2007
Lebo Nkatazo
THE two
feuding factions of Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic
Change
(MDC) are no closer to reuniting than they were when they split,
officials
said Wednesday.
Talks aimed at reuniting the two groups - one led by
Morgan Tsvangirai and
the other by Arthur Mutambara - broke down two weeks
ago.
Officials from both factions tied themselves to a strict code
not to make
statements to the media, but in separate interviews this week,
senior
officials from both factions privately told of their exasperation at
the
stalemate.
"We are as far apart as the North Pole to the South
Pole," an official
aligned with the Mutambara faction said.
Mutambara
has led calls for the reunification of the MDC, and is said to
have been
prepared to take a lesser position in the united party to leave
Tsvangirai
as the sole MDC candidate in presidential elections set for the
first half
of 2008.
The unity envisaged was to take the shape of a loose coalition
of the two
factions, possibly leading to the total re-integration of both
factions.
The MDC split in October 2005, a result of escalating internal
tensions
which saw Tsvangirai differ sharply with some of his senior
colleagues on
various policy issues, including election
participation.
After Tsvangirai lost a vote of his party on boycotting
senate elections
that year, he rejected the outcome. Some of his senior
colleagues who
favoured taking part in elections - including Gibson Sibanda,
Welshman Ncube
and Fletcher Dulini - accused Tsvangirai of being a dictator,
and claimed to
have suspended him.
Tsvangirai rejects the charges and
has insisted in interviews that his
former colleagues were dissidents, while
portraying his faction as the
genuine MDC.
There have been signals of
a thawing of relations between the two groups
after they jointly undertook
to take part in SADC-brokered talks with the
ruling Zanu PF.
The two
groups have been under pressure from their international backers and
some of
their domestic supporters who say only a united front can challenge
President Robert Mugabe's fresh bid for office.
Foreign diplomats are
known to be nudging the two groups towards forming a
coalition or reaching
agreement on outright unity, warning that a failure to
do this will be a
surrender to Mugabe.
But the efforts have been hampered by at times
intense opposition from
elements within both factions. Observers have also
warned that without
corrective measures to some of the issues that led to
the split - including
the use of violence and Tsvangirai's alleged
unilateralism - such a
coalition will crumble.
Sources in
Tsvangirai's group insisted this week that while a coalition
remained a
possibility, there was strong feeling within the faction that
they should go
it alone.
Said one official: "We have consulted our supporters up and
down the
country. The clear verdict is that they oppose reuniting with the
other
group.
"The senior leadership however is leaning towards a
political solution,
which is the practical step in the face of concerns by
some of our
influential international and domestic partners."
Sources
revealed talks had reached an advanced stage, and a document had
been
prepared by the two sides' legal teams waiting for the signatures of
the two
leaders, but Tsvangirai's group balked at the last minute.
Tsvangirai's
negotiation team, led by Tendai Biti, had insisted that there
could be no
compromise unless Tsvangirai was accepted as the sole candidate
to lead the
party in presidential elections next year. Mutambara's group
then made a
concession on that point.
The two groups also discussed candidate
selection for senate, council and
parliamentary elections, with Mutambara's
group insisting on a 50:50
representation. Tsvangirai's group was
uncomfortable with this arrangement,
and officials offered a system which
allows both factions to hold primaries,
and then select 50 officials each
who will vote on the final candidate.
A source privy to the talks said:
"It was a strange suggestion by
Tsvangirai's group, and Mutambara's people
warned that having 50 officials
each deciding on a candidate was most
certainly going to result in a
deadlock, unless someone had bribed officials
from the other group.
"It also raised the question whether the two groups
wanted to go through a
six-month primary elections exercise with all the
attendant problems instead
of campaigning against Zanu PF.
"It was
finally decided that where either faction of the MDC has a sitting
elected
official, they would be left to contest the next election should
they be
selected by their respective faction."
Officials said the remaining
seats, which are currently held by Zanu PF or
independents, were divided
into three groups: winnable seats, potentially
winnable seats and unwinnable
seats. The classifications were based on
parliamentary election results from
March 2005.
Said one official: "The first category deals with seats
where the MDC lost
but got more than 38 percent of the vote. The second
category, which
recognises that if we work hard a seat can be won, relates
to seats where we
got 28-38 percent of the vote. Then the final category is
where we had less
than 28 percent of the vote, which we consider safe Zanu
PF seats.
"Agreement was reached that we would divide those seats
equally, making sure
both groups participated in roughly the same number of
elections."
In the talks, Mutambara's group also insisted on being given
the right to
choose the single vice president.
It had also been
agreed that both groups would campaign as a single entity,
to eliminate
internal squabbles.
A source revealed: "When agreement had been reached
on all those points and
concessions made, the two groups' legal teams were
dispatched to draw up a
legal document and within days, they came back with
the document ready for
signing.
"When the time came for the signing
of the agreement, Tsvangirai's people
came back and challenged every
concession except the element on Tsvangirai
being
leader.
"Tsvangirai's officials said he had come under pressure,
particularly from
(his deputy Thokozani) Khupe who refused to step down as
vice president to
accommodate someone from Mutambara's group. It was
suggested that there be
two vice presidents, but Mutambara's group rejected
that."
An official in Mutambara's group said: "It appears Tsvangirai's
group wanted
us to concede the vice presidency, concede the presidency and
concede to the
illusion that they are the real MDC. The coalition they
wanted is one that
de-recognises us, and we told them to go to
hell.
"Tsvangirai then gave an interview to the Zimbabwe Independent
claiming that
talks were ongoing, but as far as we know, there are no talks.
We passed
that stage, there is a document waiting to be signed if they are
genuinely
for a coalition, and until then, we are preparing to enter the
next
elections separately from the other group."
Sources said the top
three officials from both factions will have one final
chance to work out a
coalition plan in Ghana in the next few days where they
are set to brief
African Union president, John Agyekum Kufuor, on the
situation in
Zimbabwe.
Tsvangirai, Khupe and Biti will travel with Mutambara, Ncube
and Sibanda for
an audience with Kufuor, and officials are saying the
opportunity could be
the last chance saloon for the feuding factions to
reach a compromise.
Institute for War and Peace Reporting
Lecturers have left in droves from the University of Zimbabwe, and
facilities are crumbling and overcrowded.
By Ezekiel Ngoni in Harare
(AR No. 115, 6-June-07)
Once one of the best educational institutions in
Africa, Zimbabwe's top
university is following the downward course once
taken by its Ugandan
counterpart.
In the Sixties and Seventies, the
University of Makerere in Uganda was
regarded as the premier African
university, and the intellectual elite used
to boast that if you hadn't
attended Makerere, you hadn't really gone to
university at all.
But
under the brutal rule of President Idi Amin, the institution was reduced
to
a pale shadow of itself.
Sadly, the same has now happened to the
University of Zimbabwe, the oldest
in the country, originally established as
a college in the Fifties. At
independence in 1980, it was the country's only
university.
A recent tour of the university campus revealed an
institution in an
advanced state of decay.
The campus grounds
resemble an abandoned industrial site, with dried yellow
grass rising
knee-high around the halls of residence. A janitor at Manfred
Hodson Hall
said there was no one to cut the grass. Piles of rubbish go
uncollected for
days on end, posing a serious health hazard.
The window panes in the main
dining hall in the oldest student residential
complex, Manfred Hudson Hall,
were shattered in recent student unrest over
poor food, and are unlikely to
be replaced any time soon.
Students share overcrowded rooms because there
are simply too many of them
on campus. In the five residential complexes,
facilities originally designed
as television rooms have been converted into
dormitories shared by up to 14
students, some of whom sleep on the
floor.
Most of the toilet facilities do not work or are blocked off with
iron bars.
The decline of the university has been slow and long. Some
date the decline
to an amendment to the 1982 University Act which the
authorities pushed
through in 1990, removing much of the institution's
autonomy by allowing
government to appoint non-academic staff onto the
university council.
Objections from teaching staff were simply
overridden, and many left as a
result. It was during this period that
Professor Walter Kamba, the
university's first black vice-chancellor, made
his now famous complaint that
there were "too many unprofessional fingers"
interfering in academic
affairs.
Interviewed by the Standard
newspaper in 2003, Professor Kamba - who died
last month - commented on the
institution's collapsing infrastructure due to
lack of funding.
He
said the government was building too many universities without proper
planning, and warned that this would reduce the quality of higher
education.
"If I were to do anything," he said, "I would set up a
commission to look
into the higher education system with a view to
establishing what we need,
that we can afford, which will provide us with
quality education. Poor
quality education can be very
destructive."
Starting with the establishment of the National University
of Science and
Technology in Bulawayo in 1994, the government has gone on a
university-building spree. There are now seven state universities across the
country, all at various stages of construction, and their students are
scattered across different locations in the Zimbabwe's major cities and
towns.
Most lack adequate facilities on campus, while teaching staff
are often
under-qualified or completely uninterested in their work. Many
have resigned
because of the poor salaries on offer.
The University
of Zimbabwe itself has experienced phenomenal expansion since
independence,
with a student population that has has ballooned from just
over 2,200 in
1980 to the current 11,700.
Here, too, the growth in student numbers has
been accompanied by a decline
in teaching staff, often as they leave for
better jobs abroad.
Professor Levi Nyagura, the current vice-chancellor -
President Robert
Mugabe is the chancellor of all state universities -
recently told the
parliamentary committee on education that the university
was badly
understaffed. Instead of the 1,200 lecturers needed to run course,
the
institution had just 627, he said. The faculty of medicine had 124
lecturers
rather than the 296 it needed, and the anatomy department had one
lecturer
instead of 25.
Nyagura's diagnosis was grim, "We are now
faced with a situation whereby
some departments are nearly non-functional. I
do not want to use the word
that they have closed."
Such staffing
levels, he said, pose "a major threat to the degree programmes
we
offer".
Students complain that they have not had lectures since the
current semester
began two months ago because teaching staff have been on
strike, demanding
better pay and improved conditions of service.
A
recent university council law, Ordinance 30, outlaws demonstrations by
students, and they are afraid even to speak to the media for fear of
expulsion.
Students hang around the campus doing virtually nothing.
The young men often
go into town to guard cars - a job traditionally done by
street children.
Some female students have been forced into prostitution, or
are in long-term
relationships with married men who feed, dress and fund
them in return for
sex.
Ezekiel Ngoni is an IWPR contributor in
Harare.
Institute for War and Peace Reporting
Mediators face dilemma of whether to limit negotiations to
the opposing
political parties or to widen the debate to include a clamour
of different
interest groups.
By Norman Chitapi in Harare (AR No.
115, 6-June-07)
The Zimbabwe mediation process being steered by the
Southern African
Development Community is fraught with dangers, analysts
warn. Not only are
the differences between President Robert Mugabe and his
opponents close to
irreconcilable, but there is a real possibility that the
process could be
derailed because there are simply too many voices trying to
be heard.
Following the arrest and beating of opposition leaders and
supporters on
March 11 for trying to attend a banned rally, leaders of the
Southern
African Development Community, SADC, convened an emergency meeting
in
Tanzania at which they are reported to have expressed concern to Mugabe
about rising state-sponsored violence. The SADC then nominated South African
president Thabo Mbeki to take the lead in negotiating a solution to the
political confrontation.
Analysts say that whether Mbeki tries to
bring all interest groups into the
negotiations or confines himself to
talking to Mugabe's ZANU-PF and the
opposition Movement for Democratic
Change, MDC, he will encounter
difficulties.
"Mbeki might choose to
narrow the discussion to accommodate the two main
political parties," said
an analyst in the capital Harare. "This was the
initial projection. What
this means is that if the two parties agree on the
minimum conditions for
free and fair elections, these could be held as
scheduled in March next
year," he said.
The presidential election originally due in 2010 is
likely to be brought
forward to coincide with next year's parliamentary
ballot.
The two MDC factions have used several meetings with Mbeki to
make their
position clear. Their demands include an end to violence, access
to
publicly-owned media for the opposition, the right to hold political
rallies, a new constitution, changes to electoral laws, and free and fair
elections under international supervision.
Mbeki has reportedly
written to Mugabe, although details of their
communication have not been
made public.
The analyst warned that confining the negotiations to the
main political
parties would not satisfy all the interest groups lobbying
for change in
Zimbabwe. He said such a process was likely to create
resentment as it would
be seen as facilitating political change at the top
without addressing
fundamental issues that would benefit wider
society.
"There are many people who would challenge the legitimacy of a
process they
saw as hurried for political expediency, rather than a
comprehensive process
leading to complete political, economic and social
transformation," he said.
The other option is a fully-fledged process in
which Mbeki invites
submissions from all interested parties. In principle,
this approach would
be "ideal", the analyst said, but the danger would be
that it would take a
lot longer - possibly beyond the point when Mbeki could
oversee it.
"This approach is ideal but has two ramifications," the
analyst said.
"First, it means that Zimbabweans would have to defer next
year's elections
indefinitely while they debate and discuss the
transformation they require.
But given that Mbeki's term [as South African
president] ends in 2009, he
[could be] the wrong man for the task at hand
and could. leave the process
half-done. There is a serious dilemma
here."
A foreign diplomat in Harare said Zimbabweans themselves must
decide which
route best serves their interests, although prolonging the
process could
only make recovery that much harder.
"While Mbeki will
need to be tough about what obstacles are placed in his
way and keep his eye
constantly on the watch, Zimbabweans must decide what
they want," said the
diplomat, who did not want to be named.
Mbeki is expected to submit a
preliminary report to the SADC on the progress
he has made before the end of
June. "He will have to report progress or
failure. It depends on what
Zimbabweans want. This is probably the best
opportunity for the country to
resolve its dire crisis," said the diplomat.
But as well as the MDC,
opposition-aligned pressure groups are also pressing
for their voices to be
heard - and their demands are for a different kind of
process.
Lovemore Madhuku, chairman of the National Constitutional
Assembly, a lobby
group that has been calling for a new constitution for
years, said recently
that civil society groups must be involved in the
dialogue. He said
politicians were obsessed with political power and not
with fundamental
transformation, and could not be trusted to negotiate
fairly.
His comments suggest that non-government groups which hitherto
appeared to
speak with one voice with the MDC are now pursuing a different
agenda.
In other remarks - this time speaking on behalf of the Save
Zimbabwe
Campaign, SZC, a coalition of some 30 disparate groups ranging from
students
and labour groups to churches and political parties - Madhuku said
the SZC
grouping had drawn up a position paper which its members wanted
Mbeki to
consider before any serious dialogue went ahead.
Another
umbrella group, the National Association of Non-Governmental
Organisations,
also said it was consulting stakeholders so that it could
come up with its
own position paper to submit to Mbeki. It said there were
many important
issues to be discussed - such as corruption, HIV/AIDS and
unemployment -
that had a directly impact on the lives of ordinary voters,
but did not
affect politicians.
There is a risk that too many competing agendas could
be to the Mugabe
administration's advantage.
"Let's hope all the
people now wanting to get involved in the dialogue know
what they are
doing," commented a journalist working for an independent
newspaper. "Only
recently, people were complaining that Mugabe was afraid to
face the
electorate. But their demands might just work in ZANU-PF's favour
if they
agree to postpone the election. Whether Mugabe is sincere or not
about
negotiations, he would welcome [a delay] so long as he is not
personally
accused of stalling the process," he said.
Mugabe has said he is not
interested in a new constitution, since he blames
the opposition for the
public's rejection of a revised document that he put
to voters in a February
2000 referendum.
The journalist said an all-inclusive process like the
Convention for a
Democratic South Africa, Codesa, which led to the first
post-apartheid
elections in South Africa in 1994, could not be achieved in
the period
remaining until March 2008. But he warned that taking too many
shortcuts
would only store up bigger problems for the future.
Norman
Chitapi is the pseudonym of a journalist in Zimbabwe.
The Zimbabwean
(06-06-07)
By
Violet Gonda
The Mbeki-led initiative hit a snag this past weekend after
a meeting
between Zimbabwe's political parties failed to take off. Some
sources
within the opposition movement confirmed that Zanu PF requested a
postponement
but declined to comment further.
MDC Secretary
Generals Professor Welshman
Ncube and Tendai Biti had been expected to sit at
the negotiating table in
South Africa with Zanu PF Ministers Patrick
Chinamasa and Nicholas Goche.
South Africa based political analyst
Brian Raftopoulos said not much is
getting out about the nature of the talks
and it has been unclear as to why
the
meeting was postponed. There has
been a strict media blackout and the
political parties are keeping a tight
lid on the discussions.
This has led civic groups to insist on their
inclusion in the talks. This
has
resulted in MDC and civic officials
meeting in Pretoria this past week to
discuss
how they can inform each
other about the talks and how the civic society
can make an
input.
Meanwhile the MDC, which was severely weakened by a
split in
October 2005, has been holding discussions on the issue of unity
and
election conditions. Sources said that last week the MDC held
a
roundtable meeting in South Africa, but that also hit a snag on the matter
of
formalizing the issue of unity. Raftopoulos said the opposition
is
going to face many challenges ahead and there are going to be issues that
civic
groups and opposition may disagree on.
"There are huge
problems ahead.
I think Mugabe feels that he is going into these
negotiations to appease
his SADC colleagues but clearly it's going to be very
difficult to proceed
along the issue of talks. I think at the moment the
problem is alternatives
to these talks are not clear. It's not clear what
either the opposition or
the civics would do apart from the talks."
The Zimbabwean
(06-06-07)
From Natasha Hove in BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe
Bulawayo &
Matabeleland north bureau chief
CAJ News
Agency
06/06/2007
BULAWAYO:
NATIONAL Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ)'s
two commuter trains were grounded this
morning (Wednesday) amid reports that
enginemen and security officers, who
are on a go slow over low salaries
refused to run the trains demanding
audience with
management.
Thousands of people, mostly school children and factory
workers were forced
to walk over 10 km to the city center and the industrial
areas after the
trains failed to turn at the usual times.
The two
trains service the Emgwanwini and Luveve routes, which cater for
most of the
high density suburbs in Bulawayo. Of late commuters have
resorted to using
the trains because they are relatively cheap compared to
commuter
omnibuses.
Trains charge $1000 for distances of up to about 10 km, while
fares for
commuter omnibuses are pegged at $15 000 for a similar trip. This
has led to
overcrowding on the inner city trains with reports that two women
were
seriously injured, while trying to board trains which were already full
last
month.
An NRZ engineman said workers refused to operate the
trains demanding
assurances from management that they will be given a salary
increment of 750
percent backdated to January. He said salaries of $250 000
a month for the
lowest paid worker had become unsustainable.
"We have
been on a go slow since 1 May and management has not shown any
willingness
to look into our grievances," said the employee who requested
anonymity.
"The workers had no choice but to take this drastic action."
But NRZ
public relations manager, Fanuel Masikati dismissed reports that the
go slow
forced the suspension of the trains, blaming it "on a technical
fault that
has since been rectified."
The Zimbabwe Railway Workers Union (ZWRU)
deputy secretary, Washington
Chitima confirmed that workers and management
were locked in a wage dispute
but refused to comment further.
NRZ
says it plans to move 3, 3 million intercity passengers and 11,8 million
city commuters this year.
But critics argue the targets are too
ambitious following years of
shortcomings in the shipping of coal, minerals,
tobacco, maize, sugar and
cotton due to operational constraints- CAJ News.
Mail and Guardian
Rebecca Wynn: COMMENT
05 June 2007
11:59
Across Southern Africa today men, women and
children are being
deceived. Struggling to survive in situations of
destitution, they are
promised jobs that seem to offer life-lines, but
merely mark the beginning
of their exploitation. These people are victims of
one of the most chilling
aspects of contemporary migration -- human
trafficking.
For 15-year-old Faith, the impact was
devastating. Struggling to
make ends meet in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, she was
approached by a man offering
waitressing at a Johannesburg restaurant. But
the promise was false. There
was no restaurant job. Once in Johannesburg,
Faith was beaten, abused,
locked in a Hillbrow flat and forced into
prostitution to earn profits for
her traffickers.
Globally, human trafficking is considered the third-largest
source of
profits for organised crime with only small-weapons trafficking
and drug
smuggling more lucrative. It is estimated that up to one million
people are
trafficked across borders annually, with many more trafficked
internally in
their own countries.
Human trafficking is the process of
recruitment and
transportation of people by means of deception or force for
the purpose of
exploitation. This exploitation most commonly involves forced
prostitution,
but victims are also trafficked for bonded labour and domestic
servitude.
Victims can be men, women or children.
Having
conducted research on trafficking issues in the region
since 2003, the
International Organisation for Migration (IOM) Southern
African
Counter-Trafficking Assistance Programme has found human trafficking
is
thriving in Southern Africa, with South Africa and its expanding sex
industry the main regional destination. Research also reveals that victims
are trafficked from SADC states into South Africa, as well as from South
East Asia and Eastern Europe. IOM has also helped victims trafficked to
South Africa and assisted South Africans who have been trafficked abroad,
for example into forced domestic labour in Ireland and the
Middle-East.
Globally government action on trafficking is
centred on the
United Nation's protocol to prevent, suppress and punish
trafficking in
persons, and the majority of governments in the region have
ratified this
instrument. This has committed governments to criminalising
human
trafficking and developing legislation against it.
However, translating a willingness to stamp out trafficking into
effective
legislation is not an easy task. To assist with this, IOM brought
government
officials from 13 Southern African countries, as well as Comoros
and
Seychelles, together in Gaborone, Botswana, as a part of its Migration
Dialogue for Southern Africa process this week. The aim is to galvanise the
counter-trafficking efforts of governments and to provide them with a forum
in which to share ideas and experiences on the development of effective
anti-trafficking legislation.
It is crucial that
trafficking is criminalised across the
Southern Africa region to ensure that
traffickers are properly prosecuted
and victims adequately protected. There
are existing legal measures that can
be used to prosecute traffickers, but
are not sufficient to adequately
punish or deter traffickers or protect
victims effectively. Currently
traffickers can be charged for criminal acts
that happen as a part of the
trafficking process, but not for trafficking
itself.
Crimes such as kidnapping, abduction, rape and
bringing people
into the country without proper documentation, often occur
as a part of the
trafficking process and traffickers can be tried for these
offences. However
this is a blunt instrument. These acts do not necessarily
have to occur for
trafficking to take place. For example, trafficked Thai
women arriving at OR
Tambo International Airport often have all the correct
documentation needed
for entry to South Africa and are more commonly lured
by false promises than
taken by force. Defining trafficking in law as
recruiting and transporting
people by means of deception or force for the
purpose of exploiting them,
means that these women's traffickers will not
escape prosecution.
Comprehensive trafficking legislation
would also secure victims
of trafficking more protection. Ironically under
today's legal framework it
is the trafficked victims who are being treated
like criminals. A victim of
trafficking can be arrested and prosecuted for
offences committed as a
direct result of him/her being
trafficked.
A victim who has entered the country without
documentation can
be charged under the Immigration Act and a woman who has
been forced into
prostitution by her trafficker can presently be prosecuted
for prostitution.
A law that recognises trafficked persons as victims of a
severe human rights
abuse would change that. It would also prevent the
summary deportation of
trafficked victims back to the circumstances that
made them vulnerable to
trafficking in the first place. Under a
comprehensive trafficking law,
safeguards would need to be introduced to
protect and rehabilitate the
victim both in her destination and home
country.
Human trafficking thrives, in part, because it
offers human
traffickers high profits with relatively low risks.
Anti-trafficking
legislation will help change this opportunity structure as
it will add to
the arsenal that law enforcement in the region can use to
prosecute
traffickers. It is crucial that countries in the region coordinate
as they
develop trafficking legislation. Trafficking by its very nature
often
involves the transport of victims across borders, so sharing
experience and
ideas across the region will ensure that all countries have
harmonised
legislation and are equally able to prevent human trafficking,
assist the
victims and prosecute human traffickers
Readers can call IOM's Human Trafficking Helpline -- 0800 555
999 -- for
information and assistance on combating trafficking.
Rebecca
Wynn works for IOM's Southern African
Counter-Trafficking Assistance
Programme
The Zimbabwean
From Sydney Saize in MUTARE, Zimbabwe
Manicaland Bureau
Chief
CAJ News Agency
06/06/2007
MUTARE - THOUSANDS of blind and
other handicapped people with their families
are illegally staying in
neighbouring South Africa after running away from
the ever deepening
economic situation in Zimbabwe, a member of the Aruna
Mission Fellowship a
non-governmental organization which assists the
physically challenged
revealed recently.
Peter Kamutepfa of Aruna Mission Fellowship says many
of their members had
lost lives by illegally entering South Africa through
illegal ports of
entries such as through the Limpopo River. He said this
recently while
contributing during a national congress gathering organised
by the Centre
for Peace Initiatives in Africa, CPIA on how the economic
meltdown had
impacted on needy groups.
"More than 1 000 families are
in South Africa living there illegally. Some
are in Johannesburg and some in
Pretoria and Messina.
"Their contributing standards are deplorable as many
families share a room
destroying privacy among the adults and their
children. All this has been
because of the economic problems they faced at
home.
He said the desire for greener pastures in begging had led some of
them to
lose lives as they were swept away by the flooded Limpopo or beaten
by the
crocodiles.
"We have had reports of some having been mauled to
death by lions while
sneaking into that country," he said.
He said
many of the illegal immigrants in South Africa who are their members
find it
difficult to acquire passports and proper documents of traveling
owing to
poverty.
Kamutepfa said donor fatigue among the organizations and
individuals led
some of their members to leave streets of Zimbabwe's small
towns and major
cities for countries like Botswana and South
Africa.
He appealed for organizations that assists the disabled, the
blind among
other minority groups to deal with real affected people and be
honest in
their dealings as some organizations that purported to assist
their members
are bogus.
He said those that had left the country were
exposing their children to
prostitution as the situation is not as rosy in
South Africa as many
thought.
"Some of their children have had early
pregnancies and some are now sick
with HIV/AIDS; while the number of orphans
has gone up.
Officials with the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare were
reluctant to
shed light on the number of needy people they are
supporting.
But it is estimated that at least 40 000 needy people are at
the mercy of
hunger in Manicaland province which has much of its populace in
dry areas
that fall in natural regions four and five.
Poor rainfalls
coupled with the deteriorating living standards in Zimbabwe
as a result of a
poorly performing economy has rendered the physically
challenged at a more
precarious position in society than any other human in
the Southern African
country- CAJ News.
International Herald Tribune
The Associated PressPublished: June 6,
2007
EDINBURGH, Scotland: Edinburgh University stripped
Zimbabwe's President
Robert Mugabe on Wednesday of his honorary degree after
reviewing evidence
of a tribal massacre soon after he took power.
The
decision by the university's Senate comes after years of campaigning by
students and Scottish lawmakers.
Three senior professors recommended
that the degree be revoked after
reviewing evidence about Zimbabwe in the
early 1980s, including the massacre
of at least 20,000 people in
Matabeleland, which the university says was not
available when the degree
was conferred.
The Zimbabwe army's North Korean-trained Fifth Brigade are
accused of
slaughtering the civilians, who were accused of harboring rebels
of the
minority Ndebele tribe loyal to former opposition leader Joshua
Nkomo.
Most Fifth Brigade soldiers were of Mugabe's majority Shona
tribe.
"The university has been acutely aware of ongoing developments in
Zimbabwe,"
a spokesman for the university said while speaking on condition
of anonymity
in line with the institution's policy. He described the move as
"unprecedented."
Mugabe, 83, will be told of the decision in writing and
be requested to
return the certificate he received for "services to
education in Africa" in
1984.
"When he was given this degree, the
West thought he was a saint, but all the
time his people knew he was a
monster, a tyrant and a killer," said Jaison
Matewu, organizing secretary
for the United Kingdom branch of the Movement
for Democratic Change,
Zimbabwe's opposition party.
Prime Minister Tony Blair told the House of
Commons earlier in that day that
he "fully endorsed" the decision to revoke
the degree.
cricketworldcuplatest.com
Submitted by Rohit Bhandiye on Wed, 2007-06-06 08:12.
The
condition of cricket in Zimbabwe might have detoriated under Robert
Mugabe's
regime, but young and aspiring cricketers of the country have
nothing to
worry about, as the Australian Cricket Board is planning to
invite them to
their cricket academies to hone their skills.
'The Herald Sun' quoted
Cricket Australia (CA) chief executive James
Sutherland as saying that CA
had full sympathy for the troubled African
nation 'in a cricket
sense'.
"There might be ways we can help and do something for them.
Inviting young
cricketers to spend time at our Centre of Excellence,
perhaps," Sutherland
said.
Sutherland's statement came after the
Australia government last month
cancelled their national team's Zimbabwe
tour in September.
Sutherland said after the cancellation of the tour, CA
had been 'put in a
really difficult position regarding public sentiment and
our conscience' as
the tour became such a political issue.
If CA does
what it preaches then it would be a blessing in disguise for the
turbulent
Zimbabwean Cricket that is already reeling under a Test ban from
the ICC
until a large-scale improvement in their standards to maintain the
integrity
of the game.
SABC
June 06,
2007, 21:15
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has questioned why Parliament
finds time to
debate the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, when it has not found
time to
debate the Zimbabwe situation. Douglas Gibson, a DA MP, says South
Africa's
ability to influence on the Middle East is very
small.
Parliament today debated a motion calling for Israel's immediate
withdrawal
from the Palestinian territories and other measures. Ronnie
Kasrils, the
intelligence minister, condemned Israel as a military and
aggressive state.
Pieter Mulder, the Freedom Front Plus leader, says
South Africa needs to
take a different approach. "We can help the
Palestinian cause by a balanced
and wise position on the Middle East
conflict. The motion in this House is a
one-sided propaganda motion.
One-sidedness is good for propaganda and
mobilising people but it is very
bad for international credibility and if
you really want real solutions,"
said Mulder.
'Double standards'
The African Christian Democratic Party
(ACDP) took a similar position to the
DA on Zimbabwe and Israel.
"The
ANC that called for this debate has never called for a debate on the
atrocities committed by the Zimbabwean government against their own people.
They choose to use quiet diplomacy when dealing with Zimbabwe but
condemnation when dealing with Israel. How can they justify their double
standards and hypocrisy?" said Kenneth Meshoe, the ACDP president.
The Zimbabwean
UK Parliament
House of Lords
Tuesday, 5 June
2007
Zimbabwe
Lord Blaker asked Her Majesty's Government:
What
conclusions were reached about Zimbabwe at the Prime Minister's meeting
with
President Mbeki of South Africa on 1 June.
The Parliamentary
Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
(Lord Triesman):
My Lords, the Prime Minister and president agreed that the
states in the
region had a key role in finding a solution to the crisis in
Zimbabwe. The
Prime Minister expressed his concern at the situation and
reiterated the
Government's support for SADC initiatives and President Mbeki's
leading
role. President Mbeki described the progress of his mediation
between the
MDC and ZANU-PF. The Prime Minister stressed that Zimbabwe's
crisis was one
of internal governance and that the United Kingdom remained
committed to
help, together with international partners, in the
stabilisation and
economic recovery of a reformed Zimbabwe.
Lord Blaker: My Lords, is not
Africa one of the two main subjects for
discussion at the G8 conference,
which begins tomorrow, and do not those
attending include representative
strong leaders from other African
countries, who recognise that the Zimbabwe
disaster is bad for the whole of
Africa and who need our support? Also, has
not the German Chancellor said
that the policies of Mugabe are not
acceptable and called on African
countries to use their influence for the
good of Zimbabwe's people? Is not
the G8 better positioned to use its
influence for the good of the people of
Zimbabwe than almost any other
organisation one can think of? Could this not
give President Mbeki a great
opportunity at last, if backed by the G8, to
show that he is capable of
decisive action?
Lord Triesman: My Lords, the facts relating to the
statements of the German
Chancellor and the potential statement of the G8
are absolutely accurate. I
hope that President Mbeki will listen to the
points that are made with
proper and due attention. He says that he is
trying to find a means by which
the contending parties, including the
opposition, can move forward, and that
is part of his mission, but he will
be in no doubt about the opinion of this
country, the European Union or, as
I believe we will see in the statement,
the G8.
Lord Kinnock: My
Lords, is my noble friend aware that President Mbeki's
current mediation
efforts are the fifth such initiative since 2000 and that
none has so far
managed to shift Mugabe or to provide protection for civil
rights in
Zimbabwe or for those who work peacefully to secure democracy in
that
country? Will Her Majesty's Government join President Kufuor and
President
Kikwete, both African presidents, in recognising that Mugabe
treats such
quiet diplomacy with contempt and that more direct African
pressures are
required? As the machinery of state terror is about the only
thing that now
works in Zimbabwe, does my noble friend agree that those who
seek refuge
from that repression by coming to this country should not be
returned to
Mugabe's Zimbabwe when they are bona fide opponents of that
regime, even
when the current litigation is concluded?
Lord Triesman: My Lords, no one
can doubt that we are aligned with what
President Kufuor and others,
including President Kikwete, have said. Indeed,
we have gone way beyond
anything that they have said. In Africa, we have
been widely accused of
having engaged in what people have called "noisy
diplomacy", by which I
think they mean that we have been outspoken. I see
nothing at all wrong in
having been outspoken. It is certainly true, as my
noble friend Lady
Scotland said, that no one is being returned to Zimbabwe
at the moment.
Those who are entitled to make proper claims for asylum
should have their
claims treated in exactly the same way as this country
historically has
always treated claims for asylum, and they should not be
subjected to any
further peril.
Lord Avebury: My Lords, did the Prime Minister discuss
with President Mbeki
the vote by the Pan-African Parliament- by a majority
of 149 to 20-to send a
fact-finding mission to Zimbabwe? Notwithstanding the
fact that that was
rejected contemptuously by the Foreign Minister of
Zimbabwe, do the Prime
Minister and the Government think that President
Mbeki and the other leaders
of SADC could make a significant move forward if
they pressed the ZANU-PF
regime to accept that mission?
Lord
Triesman: My Lords, as regards any kind of delegation going to
Zimbabwe, it
is hard to know what would impress Mugabe. The Prime Minister
was completely
clear in what he said in South Africa and in his meeting with
President
Mbeki. He said:
"African governments should also hold other African
governments to account.
In Zimbabwe, decades of repression have forced up to
one third of the
country to flee".
I shall not read further from the
quote; it deals with life expectancy and
the tragedies and crimes that we
know have been committed in that country.
No one is in any doubt about the
United Kingdom's position or the overall
position of the EU. President Mbeki
understands that perfectly.
By Lance Guma
06
June 2007.
The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition in South Africa will this
Friday launch
protest music CD's by Zimbabwean artists living in that
country. Dubbed the
'Isivumelwano-Tiripachirangano' CD launch, the project
brought together
Durban based Timothy Rukombo and his band plus another
group called Abanqobi
Bomhlaba. According to Nixon Nyikadzino a press
officer in the Coalition, 2
albums will be launched and all of them are
aimed at encouraging people in
the diaspora to take an active part in
political activism. Nyikadzino said
the albums would also be used to
encourage activists based in Zimbabwe to
soldier on in the struggle just
like what used to happen during the
liberation war.
Explaining the
title of the first album he said 'Tiripachirangano-
Isivumelwano was the
title of a touching song that Zimbabwean activists who
were tortured after
the Save Zimbabwe Campaign prayer rally were singing
when they were being
led to court. The other album is titled 'Varovereyi'.
He says the protest
music CD's will be instrumental in sending a message to
Mugabe's regime that
those fighting for change will not give up and will
keep plugging away. He
says as the Crisis Coalition they will use their
regional civic society
networks to distribute the CD's. They will also rely
on private and
independent radio stations broadcasting to Zimbabwe to get
airplay for the
protest music.
Several community radio stations operating in the Limpopo
area will also get
the CD's as thousands of Zimbabweans are said to be
living there. At the
launch on Friday, Nyikadzino says they will distribute
copies of the CD's to
the various media who will be in attendance and also
ensure Zimbabweans
present will get copies. Asked if they could distribute
the CD's in Zimbabwe
given the level of repression, he said this type of
music was very popular
despite the fact that state broadcaster ZBC banned
such songs on their radio
stations.
NB: This week on Behind the
Headlines, Lance Guma speaks Bongani Nxumalo a
protest musician based in
South Africa who took part in the Crisis in
Zimbabwe Coalition music
project.
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
zimbabwejournalists.com
6th Jun 2007 23:59 GMT
By Patrick Chikwande
HARARE -
Human rights lawyers have challenged the judiciary to stand up
against the
executive following a spate of attacks on lawyers and the non
enforcement of
court rulings by those in authority.
Speaking at the New Zimbabwe Lecture
Series, under the theme "Judiciary in
troubled times" Advocate Eric
Matinenga accused judges of compromising their
independence in making their
rulings.
"Judges in the main have compromised their independence.It is up
to the
judges to show the public that they have not been compromised and to
tell
the executive in appropriate manner that that their rulings should be
enforced," said Matinenga.
Matinega said judges would receive support
from the members of the public if
they stood up against the
executive on
issues of independence and the need of their rulings to be
enforced.
Law Society of Zimbabwe president, Beatrice Mtetwa said the
bench is largely
comprised of ruling party
functionaries adding that
human rights lawyers will continue to go to court
to set the record even if
rulings sometimes are compromised.
"Lawyers should continue to go to
court even if the judges are compromised
for it sets the the record," Mtetwa
said.
There human rights lawyers were this year assaulted by law
enforcement
agents for representing opposition
supporters and individuals
viewed as enemies of the state.
Lawyers have been denied access to their
detained clients, court orders have
been ignored and it has proved dangerous
for human rights lawyers to
approach police stations on their own for fear
of being attacked.
Zimbabwe's judiciary has been heavily undermined by
the executive in the
past. On November 21 in 2000 war veterans invaded the
Supreme Court saying
they were not happy with the way it was handling
political cases involving
land.
The late war veterans leader
Chenjerai Hunzvi threatened the judiciary in
Parliament but the government
did not do anything to deter him and his
colleagues.
"We are not
afraid of the High Court, their days are numbered. We are
telling them what
the comrades want," Hunzvi said then.
Several High Court judges resigned
at the height of the government-sponsored
land invasions following threats
by ministers and war veterans.
The New Zimbabwe Lecture Series is the
brain child of the Arthur Mutambara
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
faction.
The MDC said its vision is to see a democratic free new
Zimbabwe.
Retired Supreme Court judge Smith was expected to make a
presentation at the
lecture series but failed to turn up.
Patrick
Chikwande is a pseudonym of Zimbabwean journalist.